Sunday September 1rst, 2002
New CD's this week:
None to report this week
Short news stories this week:
Truth Hurts Releases R. Kelly Collab As New Single
Truth Hurts, who is signed to Dr. Dre's
Aftermath label, recently issued
"The Truth." The song is a duet with R. Kelly, who also penned and
produced the song, and it is the new single from her debut album,
Truthfully Speaking, which came out in June.
The song's video, directed by Brian Barber of FM Rocks, is still in
production.
Kelly, who is fighting 21 counts of child pornography charges for
allegedly taping a sexual encounter with a 14-year-old, likely does not
appear in the video.
Truth Hurts declined to offer the specifics of the video. "You'll see it
[soon]. Very clever," she said Saturday (August 24), while backstage at
the eighth annual Soul Train Lady Of Soul Awards.
In June, before "The Truth" had been selected as the single, Truth
Hurts
said that her record label initially had some reservations about using
the R. Kelly song as the release.
"There was no hesitation for me," according to Truth Hurts. "But
of
course there was, 'cause record companies think about money, that's it.
I thought about it being a great song, and I thought about it being my
song. And I don't judge, man. That's what I thought about when that
happened."
Truth Hurts' debut single, "Addictive" featuring Rakim, reached Number
Two on Billboard's Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Singles & Tracks chart. She was also
nominated for the best solo R&B/soul or rap new artist honor at the Lady
Of Soul Awards.
Mario Needs Comb And Hair Grease To Escape
Sometimes the simple things in life provide
the most pleasure,
especially when you're a budding superstar.
On Wednesday, Mario, who has been traveling across the country getting
the word out about his self-titled debut, said that in his new video for
"Braid My Hair" he'll be showing how he finds some escape: All he
needs
is a comb and a little hair grease.
"We about to do the video next week [in Los Angeles]," the Baltimore
singer revealed. "It's basically just the storyline of the song. About
me on the road every day, doing my thing and me just needing to get some
time to myself. All I want to do is go home and let my girl braid my
hair."
While Mario said that he's going to be staying on his musical grind away
from home, he won't be doing it as part of the Nellyville tour, a deal
that had been in the works "Right now I'm just doing promotions," he
explained. "But after that we might be doing a tour at the top of the
year."
Before 2002 is over, however, Mario said he wants to hit the studio.
"We about to start on the next album, probably in December," he said.
"We'll probably have some [guests] on the album, but you all just stay
tuned."
3LW Members Say They Didn't Ask Naturi To Leave
3LW's Kiely Williams and Adrienne Bailon
say they took the manner in
which Naturi Naughton departed personally, and they refute Naughton's
claims that she was kicked out of the group and that a food fight was
the final straw.
"At no point in time was she asked to leave this group," Bailon said
Wednesday (August 28).
Williams and Bailon claim Naughton's decision to leave, which she
announced August 21 on a New York radio show (see "3LW Become 2LW:
Naturi Says She's Out of the Group"), caught them completely off guard,
though they do admit tensions between the members had been mounting for
some time.
"It was a shock," Bailon said, "because although we were a group,
we
were friends. And that's what kind of throws us off after hearing
everything she said."
Naughton used the airwaves to declare that she was driven out of the
group by their manager, Michelle Williams, Kiely's older half-sister,
because she didn't "fit the Girl Can Mack image," a reference to 3LW's
second album, A Girl Can Mack, due October 22. Amidst swirling rumors,
Naughton also said Michelle Williams complained about her performance,
her image and loyalty to the group. (The split drew impassioned
reactions from fans. Check out what they said in "You Tell Us.")
The remaining members of 3LW are following through with the release of A
Girl Can Mack and, despite talk of the contrary, aren't re-entering the
studio to re-record the LP. They're also in the process of setting up a
tour, which, for the time being will be staged by just Williams and
Bailon.
Despite an urge to press their friend for an explanation immediately
after the controversial radio interview, Bailon and Williams were
advised to lie low and not engage in a mudslinging match.
But it wasn't mud that Naughton claimed was slung her way; mashed
potatoes were the final salvo (see "Naturi Describes Alleged 3LW Food
Fight That Led To Split"). The ex-member said Kiely Williams threw a
plate of food in her face, and she deemed the action assault. "Nobody
has the right to hit me," she told MTV News last week. "That's not
what
I'm here for ... to be physically abused."
The girls said Williams' 3-year-old sister was actually the culprit.
While the girls and their entourage were enjoying a KFC meal, the
excited child was flailing her arms about, which flipped her plate and
showered everyone in the vicinity with food.
"The food was on everybody," Bailon said. "It was on me, it was
on
Kiely, it was on our manager. ... For her to turn around and say she was
physically assaulted, ... we had to laugh."
Williams and Bailon cite the end of last year's TRL tour in September,
which also featured Destiny's Child, as the first time they saw signs
that Naughton's heart and mind were not in sync with the other members,
and they said the events of September 11 may have played a part in her
decision to leave. Naughton's initial reaction, they recalled, was to
return to Newark, New Jersey, to be with her family and re-evaluate her
life. Their response to the tragedy, like that of many others, was to
stand strong and try not to let it disrupt business as usual - which in
their case included finishing their album.
The girls also said Naughton's allegations that she was booted because
she was the darkest-skinned of the three are completely unwarranted and
insulting. They claimed to have overheard Naughton tell their production
manager that they were trying to kick her out because of her color.
Bailon, who is Latino, added that Naughton had alleged that she carried
a switchblade and had threatened the former member with it.
"The whole issue of color saddens me
as a girl of color," Bailon said.
"We never felt we had to [explain] the whole racial thing, but it's
hurtful for her to say something like that. This group was formed to
bring girls of color together and not rip them apart."
"We were hand-picked for this group," Williams added. "If we
wanted to
have three light-skinned girls in the group, that's what we would have
had."
The solo album that Naughton says is coming also came as a surprise to
Williams and Bailon. And while they admit that an understudy was hired
for Naughton's part in the group, they said she was only employed as a
precautionary measure while the group was attempting to iron out its
differences.
"I don't ever intend on bashing Naturi," Bailon concluded. "I
don't care
what she has to say about us. I know there was a point in time where
there was a friendship there."
Jaheim Headed Out On Seagram's Gin Live Tour
Jaheim is slated to kick off the Seagram's
Gin Live tour on September 16
at Transit in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The singer will be joined on
the road by Biz Markie, who will serve as the tour's DJ, and an opening
act that had not been confirmed at press time.
Jaheim said that he and Seagram's have a great relationship: "Yeah, me
and Seagram's, we like cousins, man. I can't wait to get out there with
them, but y'all know how we do. We're coming through a city near you,
and we definitely going to have some fun."
In related news, Jaheim is currently working on his sophomore set, I'm
Still Ghetto, which will be released later this year. He provided an
update on the project: "The new album is very sick. I got some crazy,
crazy songs on there. I'm having a lot of fun. When I say I'm having
fun, I'm having fun, man. I feel like a kid right now in the studio,
just doing pretty much whatever he want. I hope the fans love it. I
think they gonna love it because this album is more what I want, and not
everybody else making songs for me."
Whitney Houston Officially Releases 'What Chu Lookin' At?'
Whitney Houston has officially released
"What Chu Lookin' At?" as the
lead single from her forthcoming set, Just Whitney, which is scheduled
for release on November 5. "What Chu Lookin' At?" was produced by
Andre
Lewis and Jerry Mohammed. The song was initially leaked to radio in
July.
Just Whitney was produced by Dallas Austin, Kenny "Babyface" Edmonds,
Rodney Jerkins, and several new producers. The set is Houston's first
release of new material since 1998's My Love Is Your Love, which
included the hits "It's Not Right But It's Okay," "Heartbreak
Hotel,"
and the Wyclef Jean-produced title track, "My Love Is Your Love."
India.Arie To Launch 'Voyage To India' With Tour
Neo-soul singer India.Arie will release her
sophomore album, Voyage To
India, on September 24. The first single, "Little Things," is
currently
Number Two on the Billboard Bubbling Under R&B/Hip-Hop Singles chart.
The singer will perform at a spot date in San Francisco on September 22
that will be followed by a full-fledged tour in October.
Arie will be joined on tour by Floetry, K-OS, and Slum Village.
Negotiations are still ongoing with DJ Rodgers Jr., who might also join
the tour. Prior to the official announcement of the tour, We spoke
Natalie Stewart of Floetry, who shared what fans can expect from their
stage show: "Our stage show...I mean, that's an invitation. Like, really
and truly what we should have wrote on our album is, you know, 'You're
cordially invited to come and see the show.' Our band is crazy, you
know, bananas. Everything is live, everything is live. A lot of love, a
lot of just energy and vibe, you feel cleansed...It's real."
India.Arie/Floetry/Slum Village tour dates (subject to change):
September 22 - San Francisco, CA - Golden
Gate Park
October 19 - Columbus, OH - Veterans Memorial Auditorium
October 20,21 - Chicago, IL - Chicago Theatre
October 23 - Boston, MA - Orpheum Theatre
October 24 - New York, NY - Madison Square Garden Theatre
October 25 - Washington, DC - DAR Constitution Hall
October 26 - Upper Darby, PA - Tower Theatre
October 27 - Canton, OH - Palace Theatre
October 30 - New Haven, CT - Palace Theater
October 31 - Cincinnati, OH - Convention Center
November 1 - Atlanta, GA - The Atrium
November 2 - Newark, NJ - New Jersey Performing Arts Center
November 3 - Pittsburgh, PA - Heinz Hall
November 6 - Norfolk, VA - Chrysler Hall
November 8 - Charlotte, NC - Ovens Auditorium
November 9 - Atlanta, GA - Atlanta Civic Center Theatre
November 10 - Nashville, TN - Ryman Auditorium
November 13 - Memphis, TN - Orpheum Theatre
November 14 - New Orleans, LA - Saenger Theatre
November 15 - Houston, TX - H'Town's Arena Theatre
November 19 - Phoenix, AZ - Celebrity Theatre
November 21 - Oakland, CA - Paramount Theatre
Left Eye's Last Album Scheduled For October Release
The last "solo recording" from
TLC member Lisa "Left Eye" Lopes, who was
killed in an April automobile crash in Honduras in April, is scheduled
to be released in October on Suge Knight's Tha Row Records.
The still-untitled album will be billed under Lopes's alias, N.I.N.A.
Last fall, Lopes released the solo album Supernova overseas, though it
was originally scheduled to also make a U.S. bow.
Surviving TLC members Tionne "T-Boz" Watkins and Rozanda
"Chili" Thomas
are working on the group's still-untitled fourth album, due out on
November 12.