As previously reported, ‘IT girl of the moment’ Rihanna headlined MTV Italia’s Mobile Bang show a few weeks back. During her set the 2o year old performed a string of covers of hits by the likes of Beenie Man, MIA and Lauryn Hill. Check out the medley of ‘Who Am I / Paper Planes/ Doowop (That Thing)’ below:
Call me a hater or whatever else you choose, but there is no denying that was the pits. She sounded like Billy Goat Gruff with all that bleating. Horrible.
Randomness: It would be great to hear a little of ‘pre-industry cleansing’ Rihanna (aka Caribbean flavoured sound) on her new music – even if just a little. Just a thought…
Solange recently released the controversially titled ‘F*ck The Industry’ on her official blog ‘The Hadley Street Journal’. Speaking on the track, the youngest of the Knowles clan said:
In this journey I have been so blessed to come across many faces and spaces that have shown so much love. I hear so many folk who love that the record is a departure from most of the traditional things out right now. I get people who love my steez and encourage me to be me and I THANK YOU!!
Unfortunately I’m in an industry where diversity is not celebrated the way it should be. When some people see and hear something different it feels foreign to them and they don’t like that. Everyone has a choice of what they like and that’s a beautiful thing!!!
BUT Record labels, managers, publicist, journalist, media ect… have a tendency to see something work and try to reciprocate that with another artist thinking that’s what makes success. To me what makes success is letting people be truly who they are.
“When I heard Kanye’s “Everything I Am” I instantly fell in love. I felt my story somewhere in his. I felt his frustration yet acceptance of who he was. So I decided to put my own little twist on it:)
Warning: This song in NO WAY shape or fashion has a negative light to any of the artist I mention…I love and respect them ALL. I am just simply expressing myself and my story. When I say F.U. I am talking to no one in particular, only those that feel guilty of categorizing :)”
You can listen to the track below:
Awesome track. I’m really respecting Solange’s artistry more as the days go by.
‘F*ck The Industry’ is slated to feature on Solange’s forthcoming mixtape ‘I Can’t Get a Clearance’ (due in the coming months).
The UK’s leading girl group, the Sugababes, are reportedly looking to serve up a ‘funkier’ sound on their forthcoming sixth studio LP. Check out the report via Digital Spy below:
Despite the girls vowing to take things slowly earlier this year, the new disc is now expected to be released in October – just one year after they brought out Change.
Orson’s lead singer Jason Pebworth, who has been working with the group in the studio, has predicted that the new record will be their best yet.
“I’ve just come out of the studio with the girls and they’re like machines – they don’t stop working,” Jason told the Daily Star. “You gotta admire them. The new tunes are taking them in a much funkier direction.
“I think this next album will be their finest moment. You’re always trying to do something special for Sugababes because they’re no ordinary pop band.”
The group are expected to perform some of their new tracks at the Virgin Mobile V Festival later this month.
In an industry oversaturated with non-singers with pretty faces, the ‘Babes – who are all great vocalists IMO – continue to stand as a refreshing breathe of fresh air. Having enjoyed the girls last record ‘Change’, I’ll definitely be paying close attention to their new LP.
Your thoughts?
{Do you want to see more of the Sugababes and similar artists on That Grape Juice?}
Mariah Carey took to the stage at the 2008 Teen Choice Awards, which aired in the US last night. The 38 year old diva performed a medley of ‘I’ll Be Loving U Long Time’ and ‘Touch my Body’. Though marginally better than most of her more recent showings, I’m still none-too pleased with Mimi’s live performance game. She was clearly lip-syncing during some parts, whereas in others it was hard to tell. For an artist renown for being ‘The Voice’ her insistence on miming like her life depended on it is becoming a little tiresome. What’s more, her lack of stage presence makes watching paint dry seem more appealing than a 2008 Mariah performance. SMH…
Anyway, here’s hoping the performance helps the, otherwise great song (IMO) on the charts; after an impressive start, the single has pretty much stalled on US radio, iTunes and consequently the Billboard charts.
Bad Boy’s Cassie appears in the August/September issue of Complex Magazine. The 21 year old ‘singer’ spoke frankly on a number of issues check extracts from the feature below: On her voice:
“Based on my past and how my last album came out, I really need to come back much much stronger, I wanted to have more personality. I really want to tell a story when I’m doing a song. Vocally, either you like my voice or you don’t. I’m not trying to blow like Mariah, back when she was doing that.”
On the harshest thing that’s been said about her:
“She’s fu***** for checks. I don’t f*** for checks–I’d rather live on the street.”
On her song “Official Girl” being a marketing ploy to cash in on the P.Diddy rumours:
“Nope. It wasn’t planned. It was just a song I really loved that I heard. Nobody will ever know who “Official Girl” is about. They think it’s about certain people but it’s not. Anything that happens in my personal life is personal. I never actually put anything out there. Nobody’s really known who I’ve dated.”
On dealing with her ethnicity growing up:
“What’s funny about it is, when I was growing up, I wasn’t confused. I knew exactly what I was. My dad’s Filipino, my mom is Mexican, West Indian and black–I’m a little melting pot. In school, you were either black or white. Being Asian really wasn’t anything until I got to high school and was modeling all the time, and it was important because it intrigued people. Black people definitely didn’t claim me before. They were like, ‘Light skinned over there, she’s just not for us.’ It’s all perception. The other day, I was at the drugstore and this girl in line was like, ‘She’s next, the white girl.’ I’m not white. I’m not even close.”
Seems like she’s got a thicker skin this go round. That said, if she’s not doing…well…’you know what’ for tracks/checks, how else could her still having a deal be explained?
Surprisingly, will.i.am is still churning out video’s from the flop that was his ‘Songs About Girls’ LP (I’m not being harsh…it’s the truth), the latest being for ‘One More Chance’. Though the video is pretty ‘blah’, I must say I do like the song more than anything he’s released on a solo tip to date.
As many of you guessed correctly, it was Michelle Williams who I caught up with at the Sony BMG UK head office in London last week.
In what serves as a part 2 of sorts to our interview with her back in May, Michelle spoke candidly to That Grape Juice about a number of issues including the recent push-back of her ‘Unexpected’ LP, future plans for the record and label issues. What’s more Michelle, offered a surprising response to that age-old question: “Will we see another Destiny’s Child reunion?”
Be sure to keep it LOCKED on That Grape Juice this week for the goods!
Missy Elliott has expressed her wish to adopt a child in the near future:
“I most definitely want kids, but I’ll probably adopt kids,” the 37-year-old tells PEOPLE. “I don’t know if I can take that kind of pain [of labor]. Maybe in the year 2020 you could just pop a baby out and it’d be fine. But right now I’d rather just adopt.” {Source}
Peep the preview of the video for Cassies new single ‘Official Girl (ft. Lil’ Wayne)’ below:
While the song has grown on me and vid looks pretty good, I’m left with other things on the mind. Evidently, Bad Boy have pumped the dollars into this video, yet their more successful and promising artists i.e. Danity Kane, Day26 and Cheri Dennis are rewarded with bargain bucket videos and promotion (I still can’t fully watch the atrocity that was the ‘Damaged’ video…terrible). SMH…
Some of you may remember ‘Supernatural’; indeed, the track, which surfaced a few months back, is slated to feature on Ciara’s forthcoming LP ‘Fantasy Ride’. Interestingly, Mary J. Blige has put her own spin on the song, which surfaced today. Though Mary’s version is far from poor, it surprisingly doesn’t offer much in the way of improving on the original; if anything, Ciara’s offering (which you can listen to below) is better IMO.
That Grape Juice has received word that we will likely be sitting down with Solange in the coming week(s).
With the her current single ‘I Decided’ generating a buzz on both sides of the Atlantic, and sophomore LP ‘Sol-Angel & the Hadley Street Dreams’ out this month, the singer/songwriter looks set to be one the year’s breakout stars.
Do you have any questions for Solange? As usual, drop them in the ‘comments’ section. Remember, only appropriate questions will be considered. Thanks guys 🙂
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Interview Updates
Ashanti: Still awaiting slot. Bear with me guys 🙂
Ne-Yo: Will be posted shortly; there’s a very specific reason why it has yet to be – which you will learn of soon. Once more, please bare with me.
