Sunday July 27th, 2003
New CD's this past week:
- Mya - Moodring
Music news stories this week:
Erykah Badu Releases 'Danger'
Soul singer Erykah Badu will release a new
single, "Danger," to radio
next week. The song is the first single from the singer's upcoming set,
Worldwide Underground, which will be released on September 16th.
Worldwide Underground will feature guest appearances from Lenny Kravitz
on "Back In The Day," and Queen Latifah, Angie Stone, and Bahamadia on
re-working of Sugar Hill Records' all-female rap trio Sequence's "Funk
You Up."
Badu is scheduled to attend the Soul Train Lady Of Soul Awards on August
23rd at Pasadena Civic Center where she will receive the 2003 Aretha
Franklin Entertainer of the Year Award. The singer is also nominated for
Lady Of Soul awards in three categories for "Love Of My Life"
including:
best R&B soul single-solo, R&B/soul or rap song of the year, and best
R&B/soul or rap music video.
112 Debuts 'Na Na Na Na' Video
R&B quartet 112 recently debuted the
video for the group's first single
"Na Na Na Na" featuring Super Cat. The video was shot in Ocho Rios and
Kingston, Jamaica with video director Jake Nava.
Recently group member Q shared what it was like to shoot the video in
Jamaica. "The video was crazy, man," Q said. "We shot it in Ocho
Rios
and Kingston, Jamaica. We shot it in an authentic dancehall. You know it
was real hot, man. It was real wet. Everybody was all greasy, just
dancing all over the place man. Body parts just moving every which way
man."
Q also shared why the video was special. "It's special because we
brought Super Cat out of retirement or whatever you want to say," Q
added. "But we haven't heard from Super Cat in about maybe some years
and for him to come out on a 112 record man that's some new stuff.
That's one thing 112 has always been known for is reinventing ourselves,
always coming up with the next new thing."
"Na Na Na Na" is the lead single from the group's fourth album Hot
& Wet
which will be released September 23. The set was produced by group
member Daron Jones, Sean "P. Diddy" Combs, and Stevie J., and features
guest appearances by Joe Budden and Super Cat.
The group will also release a remix of "Na Na Na Na" later this summer
which will feature Spragga Benz, Lady Saw, Buccaneer, and Damian "Jr.
Gong" Marley.
Barry White Compilation To Be Released
The deep sexy voice of Barry White lives
on, in a new compilation set to
hit stores on August 19. The Best Of Barry White, which was co-produced
by the pop-culture icon just before his death on July 4, will feature 12
hits from 1973 to 1999.
White hit the scene in 1973, and within just two years he landed four
gold Top 10 pop singles, three of which appear on the new compilation
including "I'm Gonna Love You Just A Little More Baby," "Never,
Never
Gonna Give You Up," and "Can't Get Enough Of Your Love, Babe."
Other songs featured on the disc are "What Am I Gonna Do With You,"
"Let
The Music Play," "Practice What You Preach," "It's Ecstasy
When You Lay
Down Next To Me" and "Playing Your Game, Baby," which is often
sampled
by hip-hop artists today.
White showed no signs of slowing down. His songs were heard on popular
TV series such as Ally McBeal and the Simpsons. White won the best male
R&B vocal performance Grammy in 1999 for the single "Staying
Power."
Usher Works With R. Kelly, Neptunes To Deliver Real Talk On New LP
All Usher had to do to find inspiration for
his new album was go hang
out. Before diving into the recording process he's been in for the past
two and a half months, the singer says he found time in his "25-hour"
workdays to visit cities around the country.
"From L.A. to Maine to New York, back to Atlanta," he said with a
smile
in Right Track studios Tuesday night (July 22). "We just keep the energy
going to pick up a little something from everybody. We've been going
everywhere to get a little bit of different energy. We want to
understand what's going on in Houston. We wanna know what's going on in
D.C. We feel what's happening in Miami. We want a little bit of
California love. That's the objective in moving around so much."
On Tuesday night Usher was stationary; waiting for Jermaine Dupri to
return so they could finish up work on a track called "Confessions."
Besides his work with Dupri, the singer has churned out tracks with the
Neptunes, Rich Harrison (Beyoncé), Pied Piper (B2K) and Jimmy Jam and
Terry Lewis.
"I got R. Kelly working on this record," said Usher, who is racking up
more writing credits on this LP than he has on previous albums. "Magic,
man. The best of the same world."
Besides teaming with Kelly, Usher has something else in common with
Jay-Z. They both want Prince on their next album.
"There's been a lot of talk," Usher explained. "I been in New
York
talking to a few different people. I don't like to throw too many names
out there and get you motivated, but I've talked to Ashanti, Irv Gotti.
I've been talking to Stevie Wonder. He's one of the people I've always
wanted to work with. [I want to] have him play something on this record.
I reached out to Prince. I'd love to have Prince on this record. Thus
far nothing is concrete."
What's even shakier is the relationship Usher describes in a ballad he
started playing, tentatively called "Confessions."
"You got a girl and you got a chick on the side," he detailed over his
singing. "One day you decide you want to confess. You want to take your
relationship to the next level, so you gonna tell the truth. That's
really what this album is ultimately about: real talk. That's one of the
names [I'm considering for] the album."
"The last album ... was so crazy," Dupri, who produced
"Confessions" and
"Confessions Part 2," chipped in later. "People was really
feeling it.
My goal is to try to capitalize on that sound because that's his sound.
It's been proven. People really love him when he makes them records. So
we trying to make records that's really touching. We got another song
called 'Let It Burn' that everybody is thinking is the second single. I
think ['Confessions'] might be the second single. We on that page to
make sure we capitalize on the Usher sound."
Prince Wants His Music Back ... Now
Prince wants his music back. Just a month
before he releases the first
DVD from his New Power Generation Music Club, the club has sent its paid
members a list of album rarities Prince would like returned in his
continuing struggle to guard against bootlegging and to control his own
sonic real estate.
In an e-mail sent Wednesday to the NPGMC, fans were asked to "Help the
cause!" and look for "anything with a WB logo that was unofficially
released during Prince's tenure at that label."
Among the suggested discs to send in, according to a list provided by
the NPGMC, were releases by such companies as Back 2 Back, 2-on-1 and
BackTrax, which included such classic Prince singles as "Purple Rain,"
"Little Red Corvette," "Erotic City," "When Doves
Cry" and "Let's Go
Crazy." Much of the material on the list - from CD and cassette singles
to box sets and home videos - was released as imports sold in Germany,
Japan and the U.K.
The e-mail asks for the material to be mailed to The Ways of the
Pharoah, PO Box 169, Vermilion, OH 44089-0169, but without mention of a
reward, reimbursement or compensation.
Fans are already in an uproar over the missive. One fan posting to a
message board on Prince.org under the name Goldie's Parade wrote, "I
bought all those in a shop, so I legally own them, and Prince wants me
to send them back free of charge. Fool."
An explanation was later posted on the NPGMC Web site. "Not long ago, an
unauthorized version of the concert film 'Sign O' the Times' surfaced
online," the message read. "Supposedly originating in Brazil and
distributed by WEA International, this DVD is not something that was
approved by Prince or any of his affiliates. ... We all know that Prince
is one of the most bootlegged artists of his generation, and while much
of the activity is tolerated, it crosses the line when Prince's [former]
record company ... gets in the mix. The [reason for this request is] to
show a federal court the actual truth of this age-old rift between
artist and label."
"Let Prince steward his own catalogue," the message pleaded.
"Then the
'coupled,' poor-quality, unmastered versions of his classics would
cease. Imagine in 2004, a brand new, pristine, remastered version of
'Purple Rain,' released on high-definition DVD with extras, outtakes and
liner notes from the Artist himself."
Prince recorded albums between 1978 and 1996 on Warner Bros., whom he's
accused of unfair business practices. He split from the label circa the
release of Chaos and Disorder, citing issues of control. Though he
failed to get Warner Bros. to return the ownership of his master
recordings (the label still owns Prince's back catalogue), Prince is
legally allowed to re-record any of his Warner Bros. songs.
A spokesperson for the singer could not reach Prince for comment at
press time.
Celebs help ailing Luther
Luther Vandross is too ill to film a video
for his new song, so Beyonce
Knowles and other friends and admirers filled in for what turned out to
be an all-star tribute to the ailing star.
Vandross, 52, is still recovering from an April stroke that left him
hospitalised for two months. His album, Dance With My Father, was
released last month, and it has sold almost one million copies.
In a recent interview with The Associated Press, Knowles talked about
her appearance in the video and on Vandross's album, on which the two
sing the duet The Closer I Get to You.
Knowles, 21, said the duet showed she'd made it as a singer.
"I couldn't believe I was doing a song with him," she says.
"That's
crazy, because he's so classic and so talented, and that's just crazy to
me! Those are those moments in your life, like everything is worth it,
you know?"
More than a dozen celebrities turned out to appear in the video to the
title track, including Knowles, Whitney Houston, Celine Dion, Stevie
Wonder, Quincy Jones, basketball star Jason Kidd, Monica and Patti
LaBelle.