Sunday March 31rst, 2002
New CD's this week:
This week again four albums for you all to
choose from. First an excellent soul set on UK
release only from Kloud 9 called "On Kloud 9". Also the second album
from Avant,
"Ecstasy". After an absence of almoast 4 years All-4-One return with
their fourth album.
Also back is Nicole Mccloud with her album "So What?". Nicole is best
known for her
1989 hit "Don't you want my love".
Short news stories this week:
Alicia Keys Lets Her Hair Down In New 'Call Me' Clip
Alicia Keys is off the road until July, but
fans can catch a glimpse of her live show in the
upcoming video for "How Come You Don't Call Me." The clip, which was
filmed last
weekend in Los Angeles, opens with Keys singing around the house, but the
setting and
music soon change."The interesting part is that halfway through the song
she actually
switches to singing the song live," Key's J Records spokesperson explained.
"So you have
the studio version and the live version as the scene changes. Pretty hot."
Keys and director Little X (Jay-Z, DMX) filmed the live portion of the video at
the
Orpheum Theatre in Los Angeles. Along with the innovative use of music, the
video also
marks a historic moment for Keys - it's the first time she will reveal her hair
without
braids, the spokesperson said.
"How Come You Don't Call Me," the third single from the acclaimed
Songs in A Minor,
is a reinterpretation of Prince's 1982 B-side "How Come U Don't Call Me
Anymore?"
Keys debuted a year ago with her massive hit "Fallin' " and has been
on a red-hot streak
since. She won five Grammys at last month's ceremony, tying Lauryn Hill for most
wins
by a female solo artist, and she was named Best New Artist at the World Music
Awards
in Monaco a week later.
Before launching a two-month tour July 2 in Milwaukee, Keys will work on
material for
her next album, due by the end of the year or in early 2003. After the Grammy
Awards,
Keys said she wasn't feeling any added pressure to follow up Songs in A Minor.
"I'm not even one bit concerned about that," she said. "How you
top anything is by
coming from your heart and doing what you have always done. Nothing has changed.
I
am ready for the next album."
Lauryn Hill's 'Unplugged' Set For May Release
Lauryn Hill's Unplugged set, which was
recorded last summer, will now be released on
May 7. The album was originally scheduled for an April release, and it will be a
double-
album comprising almost two hours worth of music from the Grammy Award-winning
singer-songwriter.
An abridged one-hour version of the Unplugged TV special will air on MTV at 10
p.m.
ET on April 19. The show will feature Hill performing new material acoustically,
as she
taught herself how to play the guitar during her downtime between releases.
The tracklisting for Lauryn Hill's Unplugged album includes "Mr.
Intentional," "Adam
Lives In Theory," "Oh Jerusalem," "War In The Mind,"
"I Find It Hard To Say (Rebel),"
"Water," "I Just Want You Around," "Peace Of
Mind," "The Mystery Of Iniquity," "I Get
Out," "I Remember," "So Much Things To Say," and
"The Conquering Lion."
Chaka Khan & BeBe Winans To Join KMart Ad Campaign
Chaka Khan and BeBe Winans will be part of
a new Kmart advertising campaign
targeted at urban customers. Khan and Winans have both recorded original music
for
radio and TV ads that will be part of the "Stuff Of Life" campaign,
which kicked off in
February with a series of commercials done by director Spike Lee. The ads
featuring
Khan and Winans--as well as Latin hero Jose Feliciano--will begin airing April 7
in
regions with a high percentage of black and Hispanic families.
Winans is a native of Detroit, where Kmart is headquartered, and has previously
taken
part in Kmart-sponsored Black History Month ads and gospel tours that have also
featured his sister and sometimes singing partner CeCe Winans and other members
of
their celebrated musical family.
Kmart filed Chapter 11 bankruptcy in January and is in the process of shutting
down
several hundred stores around the country.
Vanessa Williams To Guest Star On 'Ally McBeal'
Singer-actress Vanessa Williams will guest
star on the hit television series Ally McBeal in
April. The episode, "Another One Bites The Dust," will air on Fox TV
at 9 p.m. ET on
April 29. Williams will play the role of Sheila Hunt, a former girlfriend of Jon
Bon Jovi's
character Victor Morrison who sues Morrison for not fulfilling the terms of a
contract he
entered while employed as an artist by Hunt. Ally McBeal (Calista Flockhart)
handles the
case, and things get a little spicy since McBeal is also Morrison's former
girlfriend.
Williams last studio album of new material, Next, came out in 1997. Her
breakthrough
release was 1991's Comfort Zone, which was certified triple platinum. The
follow-up,
1995's Sweetest Days, was certified platinum.
Alicia Keys Wants To Know 'How Come You Don't Call Me?'
Singer-songwriter Alicia Keys has released
the new single "How Come You Don't Call
Me," a re-interpretation of the Prince song "How Come U Don't Call Me
Anymore." The
song is the third single from Keys's debut album, Songs In A Minor, which is
currently
Number 12 on the Billboard 200 albums chart. The collection propelled Keys to
five
Grammy wins last month, including best new artist and best R&B album, and
the set has
sold more than 4.8 million copies since it came out in June 2001.
Keys, who will head out on tour this summer, shot a video for "How Come You
Don't
Call Me" last weekend with video director Little X, and the clip should hit
video outlets
in the coming weeks.
In related news, Keys is scheduled to perform at UrbanAID2, a concert for
LIFEBeat The
Music Industry Fights Aids, on April 9 at the Beacon Theater in New York City.
Other
scheduled performers for the benefit include Jay-Z, Ja Rule, Sean "P.
Diddy" Combs,
Ashanti, Fat Joe, Musiq, the Roots, and several surprise guests.
Brandy Says Pregnancy Has Been Easy So Far
In three months, Brandy and her husband,
producer Robert Smith, are expecting the birth
of their first child, a baby girl. Brandy, who recently released her third album
Full Moon,
is overjoyed with the anticipation of motherhood.
So far, things are going smoothly--Brandy told us that she has felt comfortable
during her
pregnancy: "It's not hard at all. I've had the easiest pregnancy. I can't
say I've had the
easiest pregnancy because I'm three months away, so I don't know what those
three
months are going to bring to me. But in the last six-and-a-half months, my
pregnancy has
been very, very, very gentle, and easy. But I sighed because she kicks, and it
feels so
good because sometimes she doesn't kick. Sometimes she moves around. I sighed
like,
'Oh, she's there.' That's why I sighed."
Brandy realizes that there's a difference between carrying a baby in her womb
and rearing
a child, but she can't predict what parenting techniques she will follow:
"I don't know
what kind of mother I'm gonna be 'cause I don't have the baby in my arms yet,
and I don't
know what the feeling is going to be like. I don't know what's going to come
over me. I
know it's going to be something, but I know that I'm going to try to be the best
example
and the best friend to her that I possibly can, and not judge her, and just let
her know that
whoever she is, it doesn't matter. It's what's inside that matters. And love is
something
that is inherited, and no one can teach you that. That's what you are. And
that's all I can
say."
Brandy is preparing to release Full Moon's title track as the second single from
the
album. The song is produced by Mike City.
Sisqo's Protege Group LovHer Explains Meeting Mr. 'Thong Song'
Sisqo's sophomore album, Return Of Dragon,
may have sold poorly when it was released
last year, but the lead singer for Dru Hill, known for his hugely successful
solo hit
"Thong Song," has found a gem in the female R&B quartet LovHer.
The group which includes members Chinky, Buttah, Serenade, and Kenji, recently
leaked
their song "How It's Gonna Be" to radio stations in New York, as the
first release from
their debut album, To Know Her Is To LovHer, which is scheduled to be released
on May
21.
Chinky, who was the first member in the group, explained her connection to Dru
Hill:
"Well, I actually know all of Dru Hill. We all pretty much caught the bus
to school
together. I went down to their jobs 'cause they worked at a store called the
Fudgery. And
they used to sing about fudge. And they put the group together and did demos,
you know,
and as soon as I know it, they're out. He was like, 'Yeah, we're going to put
together this
female group, you going to do it?' I was like, 'Yeah.' I was like, 'It depends
on the girls.'"
Later, Sisqo met Buttah and Serenade, who were living in Milwaukee at the time.
Buttah
explains: "Yeah, we met him while we were there. Me and her (Serenade)
interviewed
talent every time they came to town for, like, public access TV shows. And at
the time,
me and her were in a group. So at the same time we were trying to push our stuff
so we
could try to get a deal or something. Their management wanted to manage us, but
that
didn't work out. So he mentioned him trying to put together a group."
Kenji, the last member to join the group, was linked to Sisqo via her sister,
who was in a
group that shared the same manager with Dru Hill. Kenji's sister invited her to
come see
the group perform when they passed through Los Angeles: "She was like,
'There's
nothing but guys there, and I don't want to be the only girl.' So I'm like,
'OK.' And I had
done other groups, so I was like, 'I don't know if I want to do a group. I'll
just go with
her.' And I met Sisqo, and he was like, 'Oh, my God. Your look would be perfect
for the
group. If you sing half as good as your sister, I would love for you to audition
for the
group.' I didn't believe him, and I heard Chinky, and I was like, 'She can sing.
I mean if
he gets it together, definitely, I want to do it.'"
LovHer recently taped the "How It's Gonna Be" video in Los Angeles. A
release date for
the single has not been set.