Shortly after the public was ready to move on from the hoop-la surrounding her ousting at FOX talker ‘The Real,’ the rumor mill began buzzing around new news concerning ‘Love & War’ wailer Tamar Braxton.
Her beloved #Tamartians may know very well the embattled Braxton has been slammed with reports that she and husband/record executive Vincent Herbert were headed to splitsville due to her alleged extramarital affairs.
Taytay – seemingly never one to bite her tongue about anything – has been surprisingly mum to the story (which began gaining traction earlier this week). However, that ended this weekend.
If you missed it, tuck in below to see how the Grammy-nominated singer silenced the naysayers on social media this weekend:
Looking at Rihanna‘s post ‘Umbrella’ success, it’s hard to believe she was once labelled a one-hit-wonder. Today we journey back to 2006 – just before she cemented her “here to stay” status.
This week’s From The Vault pick is ‘Unfaithful’.
The follow up to 80’s kissed ’S.O.S,’ ‘Unfaithful’ was the work of winning squad Stargate and Ne-Yo; a collective who’d craft a slew of other hits for her down the line.
Serviced as Ms. Fenty’s first ballad single, it was quite a risk given the domination of danceable cuts. Yet, it would quickly become apparent, the pick paid off as the track became the stunner’s third US and UK Top 10 – peaking at #6 and #2 respectively during Summer 2006. With the single reaching the Top 10 of several European countries, it was safe to say RiRi had almost completely done away with the notion of being a novelty act.
Based on the 2002 movie of the same name – starring Richard Gere, the song’s accompanying visual saw Ri stray on her boyfriend. A visual mirroring of the lyrics, she is depicted feeling remorseful about the act. The cinematic piece showcased a more mature side of the star; one that would only heighten comparisons to idol-turned-rival Beyonce (who is routinely praised for being able to do it all). It was the first of many Rihanna videos directed by Anthony Mandler.
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Kudos to Def Jam for releasing this track as a single; for not only did the gamble paid off, it was a huge brick in the wall that is RiRi’s giant sized career.
The song reclaimed the narrative concerning her voice (or lack-thereof) and made her an act capable of selling an “emotional” ballad. This, in spite of whether folk thought her vocals fit or not. Most importantly, they gave her that real, raw and relatable appeal that’s been her unique selling point ever since. Indeed, she wasn’t the scorned female, the victim, instead she was the abuser, the guilty one, the bad girl.
And just like that, a star was really born and – as they say – the rest is history.
After a decade and some change in the game, how much more mileage do you think “that Rihanna reign” has left in it?
Grammy winning soulstress India.Arie joins the long list of artists using their talents to raise awareness and speak out against social injustice.
Courtesy of an intimate, stripped down black-and-white video, Arie does not mince words as she delivers heartfelt lyrics to shine a spotlight on the subject matter surrounding the #BlackLivesMatter movement.
‘Hotline Bling’ beau Drake has rung up yet another record on Billboard charts thanks to the performance of his latest album ‘Views.’ Amassing a sales equivalence of over 2.6 million since its April premiere, the album and its contents continue to dominate every applicable chart.
Debuting at #1 on the Billboard 200 and holding tight for 9 consecutive weeks, ‘Views’ and its #1 hit ‘One Dance’ were jointly one week shy of breaking Michael Jackson‘s record for longest consecutive control of both the Hot 100 and Billboard 200 simultaneously among solo males this time last week(read more on that here).
Yet, while falling one week short of the achievement this week thanks to a brief Blink-182 induced dethronement from the top of the album charts (read more on that here), the fall still helped Drizzy see his name scribbled in history books for another accomplishment.
Looks like after some unearthed controversial comments from last year, 2016 sees ‘F**kin’ Problems’ performer A$AP Rocky with just that on his hands – a f**kin’ problem.
Indeed, the hitmaking rapper took to Time Out magazine last year to dish on new music and other happenings in his career at the time. However, when quizzed on his thoughts about the shooting of Michael Brown at the hands of policemen in Ferguson, MO, he replied:
“I did not sign up to be no political activist..I don’t wanna talk about no f*cking Ferguson and sh*t because I don’t live over there. I live in f*cking Soho and Beverly Hills. I can’t relate.”
Going on to say he’d much rather talk about drugs, alcohol, fashion, and women, the year-old comments somehow found new life recently in light of similar tragedies that have taken over headlines this month. The heat got so intense it led Rocky to go on a Twitter rant to address his detractors. Read his now deleted tweets below:
Is Fetty Wap eyeing yet another hit via the new Tiffany Evans tune ‘On Sight?’ Fans say yes as the infectious tune makes its rounds across the blog-o-sphere.
Accompanied by a colorful Renzo Henderson-directed video, the song – found aboard Evans’ forthcoming ‘All Me’ EP – sees the R&B starlet and rapper swap verses over a bass-heavy cut.
Need some new Ms. Evans in your life? Lend your ears and eyes to ‘On Sight’ below:
It appears M.I.A. is no longer interested in being missing in action from Stateside charts.
For, just a day after premiering her new Skrillex and Blaqstarr-produced tune ‘Go Off,’ the starlet drops a bomb on fans via its accompanying music video. Playing double duty as the clip’s “star” and director, ‘Off’ is an explosive visual that sees M.I.A. draw inspiration from a simplistic, war documentary-inspired filming style.
While its intent (be it political or not) may leave a few heads scratched, it certainly fits in the rapper’s eclectic list of visuals. See what we mean below:
If for some strange reason you thought Rihanna‘s reign was “local,” then you’ll probably be equally surprised to learn that her domination of the Canadian Hot 100 is almost as extensive as her rule over its American counterpart.
In fact, up until this charting week, the island beauty and her gal pal Katy Perry were tied for the most #1s over the chart’s history.
Well…that was then.
For, with the ascension of her Calvin Harris-crafted hit ‘This Is What You Came For’ to the top spot this week, Riri came for claim of Canadian Hot 100 queen. Curious to know how many she has to her name?
There’s one place M.I.A. will certainly be missing in action from – this year’s Afropunk Festival. The ‘Bad Girls’ beauty may have recently lived up to the title of her song more than the event organizer’s would’ve liked when she spoke out against the current ‘Black Lives Matter’ movement.
As we reported here, just a few weeks ago she took to Twitter to silence the rumor mill who initially suggested she was no longer participating in the fest:
However, the fest’s organizers later cleared up the confusion by taking to Instagram to announce she would remain the headliner for its inaugural London run.
The stairway to the top of the Billboard 200 for Schoolboy Q found a serious block in the form of Canadian emcee Drake.
The hitmaking ‘Views’ rapper, whose 9 week grip on the tally’s top spot was interrupted by Blink 182 this week, is already reportedly on track to reoccupy the #1 position next week.
