Sunday August 12th 2001
Finally, this week I got some more webspace
so in the next couple of weeks you can
expect to see more real-audio files. Not only singles, but also albumtracks. If
you have
any request for tracks of new albums you would like to hear please mail
it to me and
I'll see what I can do. To start it of, this week you can listen to the new Isley
Brothers album.
This week the highly anticipated new Isley Brothers album "Eternal"
was released, for
more info on that just read on. Also the debut album of Toya was released, but
so far
I haven't heard a single track of it, so can't tell you much about that.
Last week I promised to have some news about UK artist Beverlei Brown. Her album
"Next to you" which was already released in Japan in march this year
finally gets a
UK release. This album features three extra tracks that are not on the Japanese
release,
including a duet with fellow Dome recording artist Dennis Taylor and will be in
stores
septemeber 3rd.
Isley Brothers - Eternal
If the response to the new Isley Brothers
song, "Contagious," is any indication
(it's currently No. 6 on Billboard's Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Singles & Tracks
chart),
the act's appeal definitely hasn't waned after 40 years. And this week, brothers
Ronald and Ernie Isley have something else to "shout" about: their
DreamWorks
debut, "Eternal," the follow-up to their 1996 album, "Mission to
Please."
The cast of "Eternal" collaborators reflects the Isley's diligent
planning. The list
includes producers Jimmy Jam & Terry Lewis, Steve "Stone" Huff
(Joe), and
Raphael Saadiq, as well as singer/songwriters Jill Scott (who guests on
"Said Enough,"
which she co-wrote), Avant (who co-wrote "Secret Lover"), and Angela
Winbush
(Isley's wife, who co-wrote "Move Your Body").
In addition to a host of original songs, Ronald's instantly recognizable vocals
and
Ernie's distinctive guitar chords reinterpret Chicago's 1976 classic "If
You Leave
Me Now." The 14-track set also reunites the Isleys with R. Kelly, who
worked on
"Mission to Please" and this time around wrote, produced, and arranged
"Contagious."
The track reprises Isley's Mr. Biggs alter ego, who appeared in Kelly's 1996
video
for "Down Low (Nobody Has to Know)."
Other news this week :
Lauryn Hill Writes For Kool & The Gang
Former Fugee's lyrics to appear on R&B
hitmakers' Gangland.
Lauryn Hill's renewed writing efforts aren't limited to her upcoming album. The
singer/songwriter contributed the lyrics for "All My Time" to fellow
New Jersey
denizens Kool & the Gang for the '80s R&B hitmakers' new release,
Gangland,
due August 21.
In addition to founding members Robert "Kool" Bell and Ronald Bell
(now known
as Muhammad Bayyan and Khalis Bayyan, respectively), the album will feature
appearances by younger acts signed to the group's KTFA Entertainment label.
Bayyan's son Da Prince Hakim is featured on the first single, "Bigg
Thangs," while
Khalis' son Rachid handles the vocals on "Jungle in My House."
The group is also working on the DVD Kool & the Gang Live for September 11
release as well as a Bill Duke-produced film based on the group's Jersey City
roots.
"Left Eye" album pushed back
Lisa "Left Eye" Lopes, one-third
of pop act TLC, will have to wait until October to
spread her wings as a solo act. Lopes's debut set "Supernova," which
was initially
scheduled for release on August 14, is now due out October 16.
Arista Records didn't specify why the album was pushed back, but it might be due
to
the muted reaction to Lopes's first single, "The Block Party." The
delay in the release
of Lopes album could also affect the timetable for the next TLC album since the
trio
was scheduled to return to the studio this fall to begin work on the follow-up
to
1999's "Fanmail," which has sold more than 6 million copies to date.
Lopes has enjoyed a great deal of success both as an artist and as an executive.
In addition to selling millions of records as a third of TLC, Lopes launched the
career
of teen pop act Blaque, and she manages several artists, including her fiance
Andre
Rison, who is contemplating retiring from the NFL to pursue a musical career.
India.Arie Says Stevie Wonder Loves Her 'Brown Skin'
Neo-soul singer India.Arie is optimistic
that"Brown Skin," the second release from
her debut album Acoustic Soul, has yet to reach its peak on the charts. The
romantic,
soulful ballad has held the Number 39 position on Billboard's Hot
R&B/Hip-Hop
Singles & Tracks chart for the last three weeks.
The singer, currently opening for Sade on tour, said that the song needs time to
build momentum, and she's fine with that: "It's the second single right
now. People
are catching on to it slow, and they caught on to 'Video' so fast, that it's
making it
look like it's catching on really slow. But to me, I feel like it's just not as
fast as 'Video.'
I know a lot of people relate to it. Lyrically, I know a lot of people feel it
in their heart.
So I know it has potential to do something. It's just not a flash-in-the-pan
kind of song.
Not to me. And Stevie Wonder said it was going to be a big hit, like a lasting
icon of
black love, and music, so I believe him. So, it'll catch on."
Bobby Brown Back Home After Suffering Seizure
Singer Bobby Brown spent nearly 90 minutes
at a New Jersey hospital Wednesday
morning, but was not admitted after having a seizure, the New York Post
reported.
An ambulance rushed him to the hospital after his wife Whitney Houston made a
call
to 911 at about 3 a.m.
Brown's seizure was caused by heat and his non-stop recording schedule,
Houston's
spokesperson Nancy Seltzer told the Post. "He hadn't been getting enough
fluid and
basically he was lightheaded," she said.
Brown, however, declined to provide blood and urine samples because "he was
feeling better by the time he got there and he didn't feel it was
necessary," Seltzer
said.
A spokesperson for Brown said she was not aware of the seizure, and does not
have
a date for his next release.
Usher's "Got It Bad" for second single
R&B-pop superstar Usher will release
"U Got It Bad" as the second single from his
latest album, "8701," which came out on Tuesday (August 7). The singer
is shooting
a video for the song today and tomorrow (August 9 and 10) with director Chris
Robinson.
Initially, the Neptunes-produced track "I Don't Know" featuring P.
Diddy was the
frontrunner to follow Usher's chart-topping first single "U Remind
Me," but "U Got
It Bad" got the nod.
Usher recently shared why it was important to release "U Got It Bad"
next: "The
next single is 'U Got It Bad.' You know, if you wanna know what a Usher record
is,
then that's it. One thing that really showed you or solidified that Michael
Jackson
and Bobby Brown were great entertainers, they had their own sound, so I have my
own sound now after this record."
Earth, Wind & Fire to tour with Rufus
& Chaka Khan
Earth, Wind & Fire will celebrate its
30th anniversary next month with the Cool
Blue September tour, due to launch Sept. 1 at the National Car Rental Center
Ft. Lauderdale, Fla. Sponsored by pharmaceutical giant Pfizer, the trek has
dates
scheduled through Sept. 30 in Concord, Calif., with more expected. The recently
reunited Rufus featuring Chaka Khan will support EWF throughout the tour.
The tour carries with it a healthcare awareness message. Pfizer and the American
Academy of Family Physicians Foundation (AAFP) will provide free check-ups
for concert-goers at each stop along the tour, as well as for the public in some
cities
along the way. In addition, a portion of proceeds from sales of tour merchandise
will benefit the AAFP Foundation.
"There's no way that we'd be able to do what we do on stage night after
night for 30
years if we didn't take good care of ourselves," EWF co-leader Philip
Bailey said in
a statement. "[Fellow band members] Verdine [White], Ralph [Johnson] and I
all
turned 50 this year, so maintaining our health is of primary concern. But not
enough
people out there, especially men, see their doctors for regular checkups.
Basically
our message to our fans is to please take care of themselves."
The group has also been working on a new, as-yet-untitled album. "The nice
thing
about this record is having a chance to work with different people," White
recently
told Billboard. "We started the project originally with Wyclef Jean, who's
going to do
a couple of tunes, and Eric Benet worked on a couple of songs. We're finishing
some
things to make it the Earth, Wind & Fire sound."
In other news, a retrospective documentary on the band, "Earth, Wind &
Fire:
Shining Stars," will be released Aug. 21 on DVD and VHS via Eagle Vision.
Along
with telling the EWF story, the film features footage of the band working on the
new album. "It's really about our life, but in our words," White
recently told
Billboard. "Over the years, everybody has always explained why they thought
Earth, Wind & Fire was great, [but this story is] from Philip, Ralph, [group
founder]
Maurice [White] and myself [and it features] footage you haven't seen before.
It's really
a heartfelt thing." Negotiations are underway to allow a cable television
network to
broadcast the Kathryn Arnold and Stephanie Bennett-directed film in the near
future
Syleena Johnson's new single "Hit On Me" to create awareness of domestic violence
Powerful Video Expected to Reach Many
Voiceless Victims
Jive Records recording artist Syleena Johnson expects her unprecedented new
video
for the upcoming single, "Hit on Me" to touch the lives of women who
are victims
of domestic violence. The video was directed by Jessy Terrero and was shot in
Chicago in July.
"Hit on Me" was written by Syleena and is on her debut album
"Chapter 1: Love,
Pain and Forgiveness" along with her hit single, "I Am Your
Woman," penned by
R.Kelly. She is currently on a 35-date tour opening for R. Kelly.
The video for "Hit on Me" reflects the lives of three women who are
enjoying a
Syleena concert but are also silently suffering the devastating affects of
domestic
violence. The dramatic surprise ending reveals a fourth victim of domestic
violence,
guaranteed to leave audiences shocked.