Sunday January 26th, 2003
New CD's this past week:
- Solange - Solo star
Short news stories this week:
Chico DeBarge Is "Free" Again
KOCH Entertainment is proud to announce the
release of the new Chico
DeBarge album on March 25, 2003. After a 2 year hiatus Chico DeBarge
returns to the musical scene with a new album, a new
label and a new attitude. He wrote and produced "Free", a 12 track
collection that plays like an odyssey into his heart and mind.
"The album's personal, it's just me expressing myself. I didn't try to
be contrived; it's very true to what I'm going through." Chico DeBarge
confesses.
Chico DeBarge has had numerous gold albums since the mid 80's both as a
member of DeBarge and as a solo artist. In 2000 he and Motown
respectfully parted ways and he quickly created his own label which
enables him to call the shots on all levels and has now partnered with
KOCH Records.
"Going independent means having a destiny secured, you can only be a hot
singer for so long and really what have you achieved ... a Gold album?
You want to be able to set up a career where you can be 70 years old and
still call the shots."
Vibe Magazine writes, "Free is reminiscent of 1972's (Stevie Wonder)
Music of My Mind. And though DeBarge has yet to develop Stevie's
breadth of vision with "Free"; he's well on his way to higher ground..
Kenny Lattimore & Chante Moore To Share 'Things That Lovers Do'
Husband-and-wife duo Kenny Lattimore and
Chante Moore will release a
duets album, Things That Lovers Do, on February 11 via Arista Records.
The collection will feature several covers and two original songs,
"Things That Lovers Do" and "Loveable." The new tracks were
both
produced by Jimmy Jam & Terry Lewis, who are up for producer of the year
honors at the forthcoming 45th Annual Grammy Awards on February 23.
Other songs featured on the new set include "Close The Door" by Teddy
Pendergrass, "You Don't Have To Cry" by Rene & Angela, "With
You I'm
Born Again" by Billy Preston & Syreeta Wright, and "You're All I
Need To
Get By" by Marvin Gaye & Tammi Terrell.
In addition to the new set, Lattimore and Moore will hit the road as
part of a musical stage play, also titled Things That Lovers Do, which
loosely chronicles their lives and how they met. The play is directed
and staged by Tony Award winner George Faison (The Wiz). The tour was
set to begin Friday (January 17) and run until March 30, with scheduled
stops in Baltimore, Atlanta, New York, Washington, Detroit,
Philadelphia, Chicago, and Richmond, Virginia.
R. Kelly Arrested On Child Porn Charges Again
Already awaiting trial on child pornography
charges in Chicago, R. Kelly
was arrested Wednesday morning in Miami on additional child porn
charges. Authorities said they found 12 photos of a nude girl at the
singer's home.
The Polk County sheriff's office, with the assistance of Miami-Dade
police, arrested the singer at the Grand Bay Hotel in Coconut Grove,
Florida, where he had been staying. Kelly was in town to shoot a video
for the remix of his latest single, "Ignition."
Authorities said the charges stem from the discovery of child
pornography images during a search of the singer's rented Davenport
residence in June. That search was conducted during his initial arrest
in Polk County on an Illinois fugitive warrant. Then two search warrants
were executed at his home, and 12 digital images were found that
depicted an underage female. Three images also depicted Kelly involved
in sexual conduct with the female minor, authorities said.
Col. Grady Judd of the Polk County Sheriff's office would not say
whether the minor in the digital photos was the same girl who appears in
the videotape at the center of the case in Chicago (see "R. Kelly Under
Investigation After Sex Tape Surfaces"). Police said they'll continue to
investigate before considering any additional charges.
"Even though the evidence was seized last summer, the pictures
themselves did not establish a case," said Chip Thullbery, spokesperson
for the state attorney's office. "We had to confirm the identity of the
girl, establish that the pictures were real, not computer-generated, and
all of that takes time."
Kelly was being held at the Turner Guilford Knight Correctional Facility
before he posted $12,000 bond ($1,000 per count). If convicted, Kelly
faces up to five years for each of the 12 felony counts, according to
the state attorney's office. An arraignment date has not been set.
"At this point," R. Kelly spokesperson Allan Mayer said, "it
looks to us
like a classic case of piling on, in which a local jurisdiction tries to
make headlines by attaching itself to a celebrity case. As far as we can
tell, the charges all relate to R. Kelly's arrest last summer. In other
words, there is nothing new here."
Kelly's new album, Chocolate Factory, has been pushed back to February
18. The "Ignition" video shoot will proceed as planned, according to a
label spokesperson.
Bobby Brown Hospitalized
R&B singer Bobby Brown, who had been
incarcerated since turning himself
in to DeKalb County (Georgia) officials on Friday (January 17), was
hospitalized at 3 a.m. ET on Tuesday morning (January 21). The singer
was rushed from county jail to Atlanta's Grady Memorial Hospital.
Details of Brown's medical condition were unavailable, according to a
DeKalb County Sheriff's Office spokesperson, because medical information
about inmates is confidential.
Brown was serving an eight-day sentence for pleading guilty to charges
of drunk driving, speeding, no proof of insurance, and failure to
maintain a lane. The singer was also placed on a two-year probation,
ordered to perform 240 hours of community service, ordered not to drive
for a year, and fined $2,600 fine plus additional court fees.
If Brown remains hospitalized until Wednesday (January 22), he could be
released without having to return to jail due to a policy of 25 percent
sentence reduction for good behavior.
This is Brown's second stay in the hospital in the last seven months.
The singer was hospitalized in Virginia in June of 2002 after running a
fever while traveling from Atlanta to New Jersey on a tour bus with his
wife, Whitney Houston. Brown's publicist Nancy Seltzer told AP at that
time that Brown was given intravenous antibiotics at a hospital in
Fredericksburg, but the nature of the singer's infection was not
disclosed.
Brown was initially arrested outside Atlanta in April of 1996, when his
red Mercedes-Benz was seen weaving in and out of traffic, and he was hit
with the aforementioned charges. The singer then missed a 1997 court
date, but was apprehended again in Atlanta in November of 2002, at which
time he was pulled over and arrested for speeding, having no proof of
insurance, driving without a license, and possession of an ounce or less
of marijuana.
Bobby Brown Turns Himself In, Begins Serving Eight-Day Sentence
R&B singer Bobby Brown is no longer a
fugitive. The singer turned
himself in at the State Court building in DeKalb County, Georgia, on
Friday (January 17) at 11:30 a.m. ET, according to DeKalb County
Sheriff's Office spokesperson Nicki Jones.
The singer pleaded guilty to charges of drunk driving, speeding, no
proof of insurance, and failure to maintain a lane. He was sentenced to
eight days in jail, 240 hours of community service, and a $2,600 fine
plus additional court fees. He began serving the sentence on Friday.
Brown was initially arrested outside Atlanta in April of 1996, when his
red Mercedes-Benz was seen weaving in and out of traffic, and he was hit
with the aforementioned charges. The singer then missed a 1997 court
date.
In Atlanta in November of 2002, Brown was again pulled over and
arrested, this time for speeding, having no proof of insurance, driving
without a license, and possession of an ounce or less of marijuana.
After posting the $1,300 bail in Atlanta, he was transferred to nearby
DeKalb County to deal with outstanding charges from the 1996 arrest.
Brown subsequently posted a $10,000 bail bond and was freed.
A bench warrant was issued for the singer by Georgia State Court Judge
Wayne M. Purdom on Tuesday (January 14) because Brown violated the terms
of his bail bond--which required that he stay in the state of
Georgia--by leaving and performing live at the American Music Awards on
Monday night (January 13) in Los Angel
Actress/Singer Heather Headley Tell Us Who "He Is"
Tony Award winner and musician Heather
Headley announced her engagement
to former New York Jet Brian Musso yesterday. Headley, who won the
exalted Tony Award for her starring role in the Broadway musical
"Aida"
in 2000, became engaged on Jan. 8, according to RCA Records. No details
about the future nuptials were released. The couple has been dating for
two years. Headley has said the fact that Musso wasn't involved in the
music business was a big plus when they first met. "I tested him the
first day. I was like, 'Sing a song,' she said during a recent interview
with The Associated Press. 'I was like, 'Good, can't hold a note, that's
great.' The 28-year-old, who also starred in The Lion King, made her
transition from Broadway star to R&B singer with her album, This Is Who
I Am. The disc, released late last year, includes the single He Is.