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John Legend Has Something to Show Us

Tuesday, October 16th, 2007

John Legend

All the John Legend fans who’ve worn out both Get Lifted and last year’s Once Again and are currently experiencing withdrawal, your fix is on its way.

In a recent interview with Rolling Stone, John divulged some juicy details about the recording sessions for his third album. He revealed that for this go-round, instead of his label CEO, Kanye West, he’s tapped Black Eyed Peas’ mastermind Will.I.Am - who most are unaware is the co-writer/producer behind John’s Grammy Award-winning hit “Ordinary People” - to helm the project. He also recruited a British songwriter simply named Think as well as several unknown-for-now songwriters to help freshen up his sound.

“When I write, I don’t really have a goal that day, I always just go in and say, ‘We’ll see what comes.’ I don’t have any rules about it other than that I have to love it. We’ll see what happens”, said the crooner when asked about his writing process. So far, 5 demos are in the can and John could barely contain his excitement about the new direction the material is taking. “It sounds different than anything else I’ve done before,” he said. “There’s some piano, there’s some guitar. It’s more guitar-driven than piano-driven so far, but that’s because I’m writing with a couple guitarists.”

For those desiring a point of reference from Legend’s material past to help connect with the new material, John himself suggests “Show Me”, track 4 on Once Again that was produced by Raphael Saadiq. “The only song that’s kind of similar to a past song on this new project so far is a song that’s kind of in the same vein as ‘Show Me,’ vocally, and I love that song, so I was definitely not avoiding going back to that spot again.”

Fans of “Show Me” as well as fans of Legend who are unacquainted with the track will get a chance to get acquainted and reacquainted very soon.. John just completed the shooting of the music video as a tie-in with his apropos-titled Show Me Campaign charity for Africa.

For more information about the Show Me Campaign, log on to www.showmecampaign.org and send a friend request to www.myspace.com/showmecampaign.

Posted in New Releases | 2 Comments »

Kevin Michael | Kevin Michael | In Stores Now!

Tuesday, October 2nd, 2007

Kevin Michael

1. We All Want The Same Thing feat. Lupe Fiasco
2. It Don’t Make Any Difference To Me feat. Wyclef Jean
3. Can’t Get Enuff feat. Shorty Da Kid
4. Ha Ha Ha
5. Viki Secrets
6. Hood Buzzin’
7. Ain’t Got You
8. Stone Cold Killa
9. Weekend Jumpoff
10. Love Letter
11. Ghost
12. Liquid Lava Love
13. Too Blessed feat. Q-Tip
14. We All Want The Same Thing (Acoustic) feat. Akil Dasan
15. It Don’t Make Any Difference To Me (Acoustic) feat. Akil Dasan

**Get2Kno: Kevin Michael**

There are artists who’ve got something and there are artists who’ve got IT. Upon hearing his voice for the first time, it’s obvious that Kevin Michael is firmly in the latter category. With an irresistible blend of soul, funk, r&b and pop, he evokes greats from the past while bringing something totally new to the game - honoring the roots of r&b while imagining it all anew simultaneously.

Growing up, Kevin heard the music within and began recording as a teen. “At 16, I wrote my first song,” he recalls. “I woke up in the studio one night and something literally clicked in my head! I really heard it, so I said, ‘I better write this down.’” As far as Kevin was concerned, music was the only option of his worth considering. “I had the offer of a full scholarship to Hofstra, but I never seriously thought about it. I feel real strongly about doing what it is you want to do.”

YaDig?, an iTunes-only EP released over the summer, was just a brief introduction to Kevin’s unique sound and style and set a stage of anticipation for his self-titled debut album. The buzz single, “We All Want The Same Thing”, was included in two ways: the hip-hop inflected version featuring Lupe Fiasco and the stripped-down acoustic style featuring guitarist and beatboxer Akil Dasan, who also also appears on the acoustic versions of “Vicki Secrets” and “It Don’t Make Any Difference To Me”, both featured on the EP.

“We All Want The Same Thing”, both the EP and album’s opener, is both a statement of purpose and roots for Kevin, a biracial child grown into a biracial man who’s lived in world both black and white (“All my gangster friends/and all my skater friends/We all want the same thing/DJ’s in the clubs/Jesus freaks and thugs/We all want the same things”). “Vicki Secrets” showcases Kevin’s creamy falsetto and proves him as a singer with considerable sex appeal who knows how to communicate to the ladies. And then there’s Kevin’s ode to Michael Jackson, “Stone Cold Killa”, which weaves a Latin percussive feel with snappy pop phrasing and layered vocal harmonies to conjure up a world of good times, beautiful women and smiles on the dance floor.

Lead single, “It Don’t Make Any Difference To Me”, shows both the range of Kevin’s songwriting abilities and the depth of his pride in who he is. (“All you gotta do is look at me/Three generations of my family you see/People treat you different/When you’re in between/He was black and she was white/You know that most people thought that it wasn’t right/I can still remember what she used to say/It don’t make any difference to meâ€?). The song combines an irresistible pop feel with poignant lyrics, and what emerges is a trans-racial modern day anthem. The album version of the song was produced by and features Wyclef Jean, bringing a Caribbean flavor to the mix.

But those descriptions are just a brief sample of what can be expected on Kevin Michael. Featuring additional production by Jonathan Rotem, The Clutch, Brian Kidd, Shea Taylor, L-Rock, and Bloodshy, the album is a destined-to-be classic. “I don’t know where I begin and the music stops,� Kevin professes. With this stunning debut ready to be unleashed upon an unsuspecting music public, this young man brimming with soul and confidence is ready to take his vision on the road and to the next level.

**Kevin Michael Media**

Posted in New Releases | No Comments »

J. Holiday | Back of My ‘Lac | In Stores NOW!

Tuesday, October 2nd, 2007

Back of My 'Lac

1. Back of My ‘Lac
2. Ghetto
3. Thug Commandments
4. Bed
5. Betcha Never Had
6. Laa Laa
7. Come Here
8. Be With Me
9. Suffocate
10. Fatal
11. Without You
12. Pimp In Me
13. Thank You
14. Fallin

**J. Holiday Media**

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There Eve Is….In 2008!

Tuesday, October 2nd, 2007

Eve

Eve fans today had to breathe a collective sigh of disappointment as it was announced that the femcee’s impending fourth album, aptly titled Here I Am and originally due in August only to be bumped to Oct. 16 and finally December 18th, has now had its 2007 release canceled and won’t appear on store shelves until 2008. A spokesperson for her label, Geffen Records, had no comment on the reason for the delay.

The first single from the project, the Swizz Beatz-produced “Tambourine,” had modest success on Billboard’s Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart, peaking at No. 17. However, the album’s second single, “Give It To You” featuring Sean Paul, didn’t fare nearly as well. Although it has been at radio since the end of July, the song has yet to crack any formal Billboard chart.

“I wrote this album after a breakup,” Eve told Billboard in June. “So it’s very ‘Look who’s single’ and flirty. I wanted to make a happy, good summer album, that you can play when you’re getting ready for the club … Though a lot of my rhymes were entertainment [before], I was definitely much rowdier at that time. I’ve learned how to curb my temper.”

Also, with the album, Eve got to showcase another hidden talent of hers aside from rapping, acting, and fashion designing — singing. “Pharrell made me sing a whole song. I finally got up the nerve [but] I feel like I was bullied into it,” she jokes when speaking about “All Night Long”, a track produced by Pharrell that finds Eve singing rather than spitting, something the rapper had previously been reluctant to undertake despite persuasion from her label.

“It’s one of my favorite songs on the album. I was really stressed about it but it was fun to do. I consider myself somebody who can maybe hold a note on a good day. I sang hooks before, which is super easy, but I had to get out of my comfort zones.” One reviewer stated that the record sounded “like an ’80s pop song” and that Eve “tries out her singing skills here and succeeds. There are no crazy, over the top vocals, but she sings much better than most so called songstress’ today.”

Here I Am is Eve’s first album since 2002’s Eve-olution, which debuted at No. 1 on Billboard’s Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart and has sold over 630,000 copies, according to SoundScan. The album went on to spawn the hits “Gangsta Lovin’” and “Satisfaction.”, the latter earning Eve a 2002 Grammy nomination for Best Female Rap Solo Performance.

**Eve Media**

Posted in General, New Releases | 1 Comment »

Alicia Keys | As I Am | 11.13.07

Friday, September 14th, 2007

As I Am

1. No One
2. Reckless
3. Sweet Tooth
4. Savior
5. If I Was In Love
6. Go Ahead
7. Kiss Me Like You’ll Never See Me Again
8. Teenage Love Affair
9. Sure Looks Good To Me
10. Superwoman
11. The Thing About Love
12. Heavy Times
13. Lessons Learned

To all the Alicia Keys fans out there peeping this, don’t get too excited just yet. That IS the official cover for Alicia’s upcoming 3rd album, As I Am, but that is NOT the official track-list; rather, it’s a list of the songs that have been confirmed b Alicia and her J Records camp as being on the album. I’m sure we’re all somewhat aware of how labels work and how often things change so take the list with a grain of salt! But rest assured that the gorgeous cover you see is official and that the album will officially hit stores on November 13th!!

Describing herself as being “in love with this album” and describing its contents as being “very fresh and new” and “Janis Joplin meets Aretha Franklin”, Keys and the set of collaborators she enlisted for this go-round - John Mayer, Marsha Ambrosius (of Floetry fame), and Linda Perry, just to name a few - have crafted what looks to be one of the year’s most unforgettable releases. Already spiking interest by leaps and bounds is the record’s lead single, “No One”.

Already a top-10 smash on Billboard’s Hot R&B Singles chart and quickly ascending the Hot 100, “No One” is already blazing a fast trail to becoming another one of Alicia’s certified classics. Much in the vein of previous hits like “Fallin’” and “If I Ain’t Got You”, “No One” is a love song but not in the expected sense. Alicia describes it as an ode to that “unbreakable bond two people share, be they husband & wife, boyfriend & girlfriend, mother & daughter, father & son, or best friends. that kind of love that makes your heart explode and makes the earth move and gives you the courage and strength to go anywhere and do anything”. The video, co-directed by Justin Francis (who directed Alicia’s clip for “Unbreakable”) and The Saline Project, is in the can and will hit your TV screens this coming Monday.

For more to satisfy your Alicia fix, click on the album cover to link to her website and check out some awesome behind-the-scenes footage of the final recording sessions for As I Am, click around down below for a listen to the song and a clip of Alicia’s debut televised performance of it on the MTV VMAs, and mark your calendars now to remind yourself to go pick up As I Am when it hits stores on November 13th!!

**Alicia Keys Media**

Posted in New Releases | 3 Comments »

Jennifer Lopez | Do It Well | 10.9.07

Friday, September 14th, 2007

Brave

1. Stay Together [3:28]
2. Forever [3:38]
3. Hold It, Don’t Drop It [3:57]
4. Do It Well [3:07]
5. Gotta Be There [3:57]
6. Never Gonna Give Up [4:18]
7. Mile In These Shoes [3:15]
8. The Way It Is [3:08]
9. Be Mine [3:18]
10. I Need Love [3:49]
11. Wrong When You’re Gone [3:55]
12. Brave [4:10]
13. Do It Well feat. Ludacris [3:34]
*iTunes Bonus* Frozen Moments *iTunes Bonus*

Check out the official cover and track- list for Jennifer Lopez’s brand new album, Brave. Her first English studio album since 2005, the album is set to hit your favorite music retailer’s shelf on October 9th (unless you frequent the mom & pop record shops in your neighborhood *hint hint*). As a personal description of the album, Jennifer promises that the record will be a fusion of “dance, funk, R&B, hip-hop, all that stuff, all mixed up together to make some great pop music….[there's] a little Jamiroquai, a little Sade. It’s real feel-good music”.

Boasting production from J.R. Rotem, Bloodshy & Avant, Midi Mafia & Ryan Tedder (who produced the set’s lead single “Do It Well”), and priding itself on boasting a sole guest appearance from Ludacris (although technically the label added his remix at the last minute), the album’s shaping up to be one of the year’s most danceable and a staple for your favorite dance floor for many many months to come. Click on the cover to peep Jennifer’s site for more info, check out the video, remix, and some of the album artwork below, and keep your calendars marked for October 9th!!

*Jennifer Media*

Brave1

Brave2

Brave3

Brave4

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Nu Artist Spotlight: Emily King

Wednesday, August 29th, 2007

Emily King

There is a young, female biracial singer-songwriter-instrumentalist from New York out there in the music world who writes, produces, and plays her own critically-acclaimed material, recorded her debut album under the watchful eye and at the expense of legendary music mogul Clive Davis, and released the album to a quite positive critical and consumer buzz on Davis’ own J Records. And her name is not Alicia Keys.

The young woman just described goes by the name of Emily King and although on paper, she may sound like a descendant - or knock-off depending on your level of indebted loyalty - of Ms. Keys, on record you instantly get the sense of knowing that Emily King is her own artist (in fact, she plays the guitar, not the piano).

Emily KingThe music on Emily’s debut album, East Side Story, reveals roots that are both deep & ambitious. Her words are packed with references to the wide range of great artists that inspired her - the Beatles, Nas, Sarah Vaughn, Radiohead & Michael Jackson. “Every record that I’ve ever heard has been an influence on me,” she says. Unable to be contained by any one category both lyrically and musically, East Side Story represents the best of what our musical future might look like.

From commentary on greedy commercialism (“Business Man”) to records about overcoming life’s expected obstacles (“You Can Get By”), the struggle to figure one’s true identity (“Colorblind”), and the struggle to maintain it once it’s found (“Walk In My Shoes”), with a couple of heartfelt love songs (“U&I”, “Moon”) and a steller reading of the Bill Withers classic “Ain’t No Sunshine” thrown in for great measure, East Side Story concentrates not on the differences between hip-hop and rock, party music and protest music, black and white, but on finding common ground amidst it all; it also easily proves itself as one of the finest R&B listens of the year. Check out more album info, some links, and a sample of Emily’s work below.

***More Info***

East Side Story

1. Walk In My Shoes
2. Colorblind
3. Alright
4. U&I
5. Hold Me
6. Ain’t No Sunshine
7. You Can Get By
8. E Melody
9. It Was You
10. Moon
11. Business Man
12. Never Be Lonely
13. Ride With Me
14. Walk In My Shoes feat. Lupe Fiasco

www.emilykingmusic.com
Emily King’s MySpace

Posted in New Releases | No Comments »

New Singles of the Week | 7.30.07

Friday, July 27th, 2007

Check out some of the hottest new songs being sent out to impact radio stations all across America in hopes of becoming our favorite new piece of ear candy!

Tears Dry On Their Own

The Art of Love & War

Give It To You

Comeback

It Don't Make Any Difference To Me

Ridin'

Taste For Your Love

Wear The Crown

Give It Up

I Got It From My Mama (Genetics)

Posted in Announcements, New Releases, Streaming Music | 1 Comment »

Will.I.Am Wrote a Song About a Girl. Then He Wrote 11 More.

Friday, July 27th, 2007

Will.I.Am

The in-your-face leader of the Black Eyed Peas, Will.I.Am admitted he felt a bit of hesitation over releasing what is his 3rd solo album but 1st official solo release in the US. According to Will, “[I was] really excited and nervous at the same time. I was like, ‘How and why should I put out a solo project?’ I could just do another Black Eyed Peas record”. But he vowed to see the project through to completion and what got him hooked was making his album a semi-conceptual piece he dubbed simply Songs About Girls.

“All the songs tell a story of falling in love, falling out of love, trying to get back in love, destructing love and destroying love and then starting a new situation. That journey is what makes this unique”, he said. The album tells its story through a concise, 12-song set (with only 1 collabo - Snoop Dogg on a song called “Donque”). 8 of the tracks are to be turned into visual form via a set of music videos that, stitched together, will show , as Will described, “a movie about making a movie”. The videos will be included in the CD packaging as well as a new digital platform devised by Will and his label boss, Jimmy Iovine, to allow fans to share in revenues generated by sales and sharing of the CD.

BEP are gonna hit the road on September 4th for a 2-month international trek and Will will debut his solo material there. He also told BEP fans not to worry because a new BEP album, tentatively titled From Roots to Fruits, will be in stores late 2008.

Songs About Girls will be on the shelf of your favorite music retailer come September 25th. To hear the album’s lead single, “I Got It From My Mama (Genetics)”, click on the iMeem player below and to see a clip of the video, check out Will’s official website.

Will.I.Am’s Official Website

Posted in Announcements, New Releases | 1 Comment »

Johntá Austin | Ocean Drive | In Stores September 4th!!

Thursday, July 19th, 2007

(cover art provided courtesy of RoJay and MiddleChild Promotions)

Even though it’s been almost a year since its original release date, Johntá Austin has done his best to ensure that his debut album, Ocean Drive, will have been worth the wait. Boasting production by Jermaine Dupri, Jazze Pha, Scott Storch, Stargate, Cee-Lo, and collabos with Mary J. Blige among others, the album is set to prove that Johntá is handy with more than just a pen and that he’s kept some of his hottest work for himself.

The album includes his singles, “Turn It Up” and “Video” feat. DJ UNK, as well as destined-to-be classics such as “Mutual”, “If I Was Your Boyfriend”, and “The One That Got Away”. So make sure you mark your calendar, program your cell phone scheduler, make a notation in your palm pilot, or even stick a Post-It on the fridge! Just make sure you remember to go out and pick up Ocean Drive on September 4th.

**Related Johntá Media**

Johntá’s Official Website
Johntá’s Official MySpace

Posted in New Releases, Up And Coming | No Comments »

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