Sunday May 26th, 2002
New CD's this week:
None to report
Short news stories this week:
Fat Joe Hooks Up With Brandy For 'Full Moon' Remix
Red-hot rapper Fat Joe has hooked up with
Brandy for a remix of her latest single, "Full
Moon." The original version of the song is Number 37 on the Billboard Hot
100 singles
chart. Brandy's latest album, Full Moon, was recently certified platinum for
sales of a
million copies and is currently Number 30 on the Billboard 200 albums chart.
Fat Joe has been riding high on the charts with his latest release, "What's
Luv?" featuring
Ashanti, which is currently Number Three on the Billboard Hot 100. His latest
album,
J.O.S.E.: Jealous Ones Still Envy, is approaching platinum status and is
currently
Number 41 on the Billboard 200.
Earth, Wind & Fire Tour Heats Up
Earth, Wind & Fire (EWF) continues its
concert tour on Friday (May 24) with a
performance at the Horseshoe Casino in Bossier City, Louisiana. This current
U.S. outing
has kept the Rock And Roll Hall Of Famers on the road consistently since the
closing
ceremonies of February's Winter Olympic Games in Salt Lake City.
EWF vocalist Maurice White was asked for his take on the whole Olympic
experience:
"That was an incredible experience. When the Olympics said they needed an
R&B act to
close the ceremonies, they called us. It was a really great honor, you know--it
was a great,
great honor. You know, I was nervous, nervous, nervous. It was...but it was
wonderful--it
was really wonderful, you know what I mean? I'm still on a high from it."
New Prince Album Available Only To Members Of His Music Club
There's a new Prince album out--but you
can't get it in stores, and you can't even buy it
online. One Night Alone is a new CD of exclusive performances that has been
mailed to
members of Prince's New Power Generation Music Club.
The acoustic disc--which features Prince playing piano without a band--includes
a
number of songs that fans heard the artist perform on his recent One Night Alone
tour of
small venues across America. The collection is mostly demo tracks that fans have
been
able to download individually from the website at various times during the past
year.
Highlights include a shortened version of Joni Mitchell's "A Case Of
You;" and fan
favorite "Pearls B4 The Swine," which has been widely circulated in
different versions on
the Internet.
This is the first-ever disc for New Power Generation Music Club members, but
most
members aren't complaining about the tracks not being all new--Prince has
promised club
members at least three more new albums by the end of the year, all for the price
of their
$100 membership. The membership fee also includes opportunities to buy concert
tickets
before the general public, and to attend soundchecks and after-parties for any
show
bought presale. Interested fans can go to npgmusicclub.com for more details.
The full tracklisting of the 35-minute album includes: "One Nite
Alone," "U're Gonna C
Me," "Here On Earth," "A Case Of U," "Have A
Heart," "Objects In The Mirror,"
"Avalanche," "Pearls B4 The Swine," "Young And
Beautiful," and "Arboretum
(instrumental)."
Ashanti Explains Why She's So 'Happy' About New Video
As Ashanti holds down the Number One spot
on the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart with
her debut single "Foolish" and the Number Three slot with her Fat Joe
collaboration
"What's Love?", the young singer-songwriter prepares to release the
video for her second
single, "Happy," which is Number 43 on the Billboard Hot
R&B/Hip-Hop Singles &
Tracks chart.
The Glencove, New York native recently explained why she's so excited about the
"Happy" video, which is expected to be serviced to outlets in coming
weeks: "The
'Happy' video
meant a lot to me. We shot it in my hometown, like literally two minutes from my
house.
A lot of people that I went to high school with in my town came out, supported,
you
know, and we had a really good time. My family was there, you know, Ja, the
Murder
Inc. family was there, and we put it down. So it should be hot."
The artist, who has written songs for J. Lo and Christina Milian, added that
"Happy"'s
upbeat storyline makes a great follow-up to "Foolish," which
chronicles the trials of a bad
relationship: "I would say so, you know. 'Cause after we're foolish, we get
unfoolish, so
now we're happy."
Tyrese May Be Getting 'Fast And Furious'
Tyrese may be starring in the sequel to the
hit movie The Fast And The Furious. The
recent announcement by Vin Diesel that he would not appear in the sequel to the
film has
prompted quite a stir, and Diesel's former co-star Ja Rule has yet to commit to
the new
project. Reports have now surfaced that Tyrese is currently in negotiations to
star
opposite Paul Walker in the flick.
Fast And The Furious director Rob Cohen has also declined to direct the sequel,
and the
production company, Original Films, is now said to be in negotiations with
director John
Singleton, who directed Tyrese in 2001's Baby Boy.
According to the Hollywood Reporter, the Original Film has also committed to
pick up a
thriller written by Tyrese titled Extortion, which the singer will star in and
executive
produce.
In related news, Tyrese is currently working on his J Records debut. The singer
has
previously released two albums on RCA, including 1998's platinum-certified
Tyrese, and
2001's gold-certified 2000 Watts.
Lathun Is 'Fortunate'
Detroit-based singer, songwriter, and
producer Lathun is set to release his debut album,
Fortunate, on June 11. The lead single and title track from the set is currently
Number
Nine on the Billboard Bubbling Under R&B/Hip-Hop Singles chart. Lathun
produced the
bulk of his collection, which features a guest appearance by India.Arie on the
song
"When Love Came In."
Lathun recently told us that, as an artist and producer, he isn't afraid to take
risks: "I don't
mind taking a chance, far as being creative. I think a lot of songwriters and
producers are
afraid to take a chance. It's, like, whatever the norm is out there, they try to
stick with
that. Or if there's something that's working--like, if everybody is sounding
like
Timbaland--then everybody will kinda jump in there and try to sound like
Timbaland.
Whereas I'm the type of guy, I don't mind taking a chance on feeling. As far as,
like,
creatively, I would much rather express myself truthfully and fail then try to
like change
what I'm doing to fit what everybody else is doing."