Sunday April 13th, 2003

 

New CD's this past week:

- Ginuwine - The senior
- Miles Jaye - Humanity

 

Short news stories this week:

Destiny's Child Reunites

Destiny's Child reunited in a New York studio this week to record an
inspirational song called "I Know" for "The Fighting Temptations," the
upcoming gospel-themed movie that Beyoncé stars in with Cuba Gooding,
Jr. Beyonce originally planned to record "I Know" as a solo project.
But after she listened to the song she decided it "sounded like a
Destiny's Child song."

New Edition Working With P.Diddy

R&B group New Edition is celebrating its 20th anniversary in the music
business with a new album in September that will be released via Sean
"P. Diddy" Combs's Bad Boy Entertainment. The group--which comprises
original members Ricky Bell, Michael Bivins, Ronnie DeVoe, and Ralph
Tresvant, as well as Johnny Gill, who replaced original member Bobby
Brown--recently wrapped up some recording in Miami. Johnny Gill
explained that working with P. Diddy was fun: "It's been fun. It's been
cool. You know, I think when you get to a point when you're just in a
mindset that you don't want to be open to learning and trying new
things, then you have problems. I'm always open and game for trying new
things--it's just another experience."
Gill also shared that he expects the new set to be very successful:
"Some things work, some things don't, but that's the nature of it--but
I'm enjoying. I think it's gonna be fun and I'm sure it's going to be
very successful."


Brian McKnight's "U Turn" is his most personal album

Brian McKnight's latest album, U Turn, is now Number Seven on the
Billboard 200 albums chart. The singer, who recently divorced, shared
that the set is his most personal album.
McKnight also made it clear that his divorce was not a messy divorce,
but rather a decision by two adults that they couldn't continue
together: ["This is the most personal record that I made, and it's
really not so much about a bad breakup. This hasn't been a bad breakup.
We just decided that, you know, we should try something else. We love
each other, you know--she's still my baby, but we just cannot be
together for whatever reason."]
Contrary to expectations, U Turn isn't filed with songs dealing with the
singer's divorce. McKnight only addresses the issue once--on the song,
"So Sorry": ["It's all those feelings, not necessarily the situation,
but all the feelings that go--the emotions that go through--that have
come out on this record. The only song that really talks about the
situation would be the 'Sorry' song. That song I wrote that right after
this all sort of fell apart and disintegrated."]
The first single from the set, "Shoulda, Woulda, Coulda," is Number Nine
on the urban adult contemporary Radio & Records National Airplay chart.

Prince demolishes Minneapolis home

Prince secured a demolition permit two-and-a-half months ago and
recently leveled his home in the Chanhassen area of Minneapolis. The
home--a Tudor stucco house in the singer's favorite color, purple--was
inhabited as recently as last fall.
According to sources, Prince is either planning to build a new, larger
home, or to relocate to Toronto.
Last year the artist and his wife, Manuela Testolini, purchased a
multimillion-dollar mansion in Toronto's posh Bridle Path neighborhood.
Testolini hails from Toronto.


Beyonce's First Solo Single Will Be A Club Banger

Beyoncé's version of "In Da Club" made its way onto several mixtapes
after being released a couple of weeks ago, but it never quite made its
way into the clubs as a dancefloor favorite.
Still, there's good news for anyone jonesing to shake their jelly to the
sounds of Jay-Z's Bonnie at a favorite hot spot. Beyoncé's father and
manager, Mathew Knowles, said they're choosing between two songs as the
first single for her solo LP, Dangerously in Love, now due in June.
According to Knowles, both tracks are geared toward the club, and
whichever one wins out should be out by the first week of May.
Knowles said his daughter's "In Da Club" was just a buzz cut and will
not be on the album, but he said to look for guest appearances by Sean
Paul, Missy Elliott and Jay-Z. In fact, B's Clyde stepped a little
outside the hip-hop realm and wrote two R&B songs for the album. One
will definitely be included on the LP.
R. Kelly also contributed to Dangerously in Love, according to a
spokesperson for the R&B crooner. Knowles would only confirm the
aforementioned artists, but he did admit that Beyoncé was either in
talks with or had worked with a few other artists.


Toni Takes On Broadway

R&B star and new mom Toni Braxton will take over the starring role in
the Broadway show "Aida" in May (that's the role that won Heather
Headley a Tony Award). Braxton's gonna live in fine style during her
nine months with the show; she recently signed the lease for a
3,000-square-foot two-bedroom furnished apartment at the Trump World
Tower. The rent is $20,000-a-month.


Motown/Universal Prepares for Re-release of Groundbreaking CD "The
Colored Section"

Giant Step Records and Atlanta based soul singer, Donnie, have joined
forces with Motown/Universal Records for the re-release of his
critically acclaimed CD, "The Colored Section." Originally released by
Giant Step Records on November 6, 2002, the album, "The Colored
Section," will now be re-released collaboratively by Giant Step Records
and Motown/Universal Records on May 20, 2003.
As a member of Atlanta's renowned Earthseed camp -- the production
company that launched the career of India.Arie -- Donnie has maintained
a loyal following both domestically and internationally for years. Among
those following the singer's success were executives at Motown who
earlier this year offered to partner with Giant Step Records to enhance
the marketing and promotion of "The Colored Section."
"We have been following Donnie's progress for a while now," says Motown
President/CEO Kedar Massenberg. "And we are delighted that he has chosen
to join the Motown family. What makes this partnership special is that
we share a common vision with an artist that represents all of what
Motown stands for."
Giant Step Records President and CEO, Maurice Bernstein, commented,
"When we initially released Donnie's "Colored Section" in November 2002,
our goal was to create enough of a ground swell to attract a major label
to become our partner. Giant Step Records is delighted to work with Mel
Lewinter (Chairman, Universal/ Motown Group), Kedar Massenberg
(President/CEO, Motown Records), and Monte Lipman (President, Universal
Records) and their team, and we look forward to achieving even greater
success for Donnie."
The album, written entirely by Donnie, features production by Los
Angeles-based producer Steve "The Scotsman" Harvey and guest
performances by Billy Preston, Al McKay of Earth, Wind & Fire, and
Rufus' Bobby Watson. The first single release from "The Colored Section"
will be "Cloud 9" on March 25, 2003. This track was already received
enthusiastically by many radio stations and was a Number 1 record on
WHUR in Washington DC, KJLH in Los Angeles, WGPR in Detroit and KMJK in
Kansas City and a Top 10 record at Hot 92 Jamz KHHT-FM in Los Angeles.
Michelle S, Program Director at Hot 92 Jamz KHHT-FM in Los Angeles
wrote, "From the second "Cloud 9" hit the air at Hot 92 Jamz, the phones
started ringing. It's consistently a Top Ten request and many of our
listeners have made an instant comparison to R&B legends like Stevie
Wonder or Marvin Gaye? Donnie is the real deal."
"The Colored Section," began as a series of demos and showed early signs
of success after Giant Step released a 7-inch entitled "Do You Know?"
and was championed by Radio DJs, including, KCRW's Garth Trinidad and
New York DJ Bobbito Garcia. On the strength of "Do You Know?" Donnie was
invited to perform at London's famous Jazz Café. Since then he has
toured consistently in the United States and Europe to sold-out
performances. "The Colored Section" is heralded for its artistic
innovation and its poignant messages. "I've been making this record all
my life, really, truly I have," Donnie told the Los Angeles Times
recently. "The songs have been building up over the years."
Currently Donnie is appearing in national TV and print ads for Coca Cola
along with Musiq, Angie Stone, Amel Larrieux, Aaries, and Questlove. One
of the album's tracks, "Our New National Anthem" is featured as the
music bed for BET's 2003 on-air ad campaign and "Cloud 9" is featured in
the film "Brown Sugar," starring Taye Diggs, Mos Def and Queen Latifah.




K-Ci & JoJo Free On Bail Following Tax-Evasion Charges

R&B singing duo and brothers K-Ci (Cedric Renard Hailey) and JoJo (Joel
Lamont Hailey) were arrested in Raleigh, North Carolina, on Saturday
(April 5th) after a performance. The two were charged with several
counts of tax evasion for failing to pay taxes in North Carolina.
The 33-year-old K-Ci was charged with two counts of tax evasion for
failing to pay taxes in North Carolina in 1999 and 2000. The singer was
released on $287,000 bail. The 31-year-old JoJo was charged with three
counts of tax evasion for failing to pay taxes in 1999, 2000, and 2001.
He was released on $370,000 bail.
K-Ci and JoJo, who were released on Sunday (April 6th), are due back in
court on May 1st. The brothers' attorney, James Williams, offered an
explanation of the charges to AP, "Both of these young men, as artists,
do not handle their own affairs. They were victimized. The best I can
discern, their main problem is that they changed accountants. It's just
a matter of paperwork that needs to be filed and money that needs to be
sent."
K-Ci and JoJo lived in New York for 11 years after leaving Charlotte,
North Carolina, and relocated to Los Angeles six years ago. K-Ci
explained that the brothers wanted to be in a better position to watch
their money: "Out there in L.A., it's, like, you know, that's where, you
know, you can handle business better there. And that's one reason why,
the main reason why we live out there, because we can take care of
business and watch our money, you know what I'm sayin'? Can't do that
3000 miles away."


Ginuwine's 'The Senior' Out Tuesday

R&B singer Ginuwine released his fourth album, The Senior, on Tuesday
(April 8th). The singer believes that his latest set is totally
different than what fans are used to hearing from him: "You got to take
care of all parts of the world. I like to take care of the lovers, the
love makers, the strippers, the dancers, the everything, so I have a
little bit of everything on this album, man. This is totally different
than what you're used to hearing from Ginuwine--totally different."
Ginuwine also explained that you can see the growth in his latest work,
and that's he's a lot more aggressive: "You can basically see the growth
of me from the first album to the second one to the third one and now
this one. It kind of changes 'cause I have a little bit more
aggressiveness."
The Senior features guest appearances by Sole, Tweet, Blu Cantrell,
Baby, Snoop Dogg, Method Man, Missy Elliott, and newcomer Jose.

 

 

News 2003

News 2002

News 2001