Sunday November 10th, 2002

 

New CD's this past week:

- Deborah Cox - The morning after: third album from Deborah
- Jaheim - Still ghetto: second album from Jaheim, still good
- Donnie - The colored section: long awaited debut album from Atlanta's Donnie
- Shaun Escoffery - Shaun Escoffery (UK release): after 3 singles finally an album

 

Short news stories this week:

Aaliyah LP Will Have Hits, Six New Songs, DVD Of Her Videos

Details are emerging on a posthumous Aaliyah album that will include six
previously unreleased tracks alongside the late singer's greatest hits.
Tracks confirmed for I Care 4 U include "Try Again," "Back and Forth,"
"One in a Million," "Are You That Somebody?," "At Your Best (You Are
Love)," "More Than a Woman" and "I Care 4 U," according to a Blackground
Records spokesperson.
Among the new songs on the disc, due December 10, is the single "Miss
You," which premiered online last week. Teddy Bishop produced the
ballad, while Timbaland handled one of the other new tunes.
I Care 4 U is different from the tribute album Missy Elliott is
organizing, which will feature Aaliyah's musical peers finishing several
songs the singer was working on before she died last fall. A
spokesperson for Elliott had no details on that project.
Included with I Care 4 U will be a DVD of the R&B star's videos. A
portion of the proceeds will go to the Aaliyah Memorial Foundation.

Bobby Brown Arrested For Drug Possession, Speeding

Singer Bobby Brown was arrested on Thursday morning in Atlanta for
speeding, driving without a valid license and possession of marijuana.
Brown was driving in his black Cadillac Escalade SUV on Peachtree Road
in the tony Buckhead area of Atlanta at around 2:35 a.m. Police clocked
him at 52 miles per hour in a 35 mph zone, and proceeded to arrest the
singer not only for speeding, but, upon further inspection, for driving
without a valid license and possession of less than an ounce of pot,
according to a police department spokesperson.
At around 10 a.m., Brown posted his $1,300 bail and was released ...
directly into the hands of Atlanta's neighboring DeKalb County
authorities. Brown had failed to appear in DeKalb County Court after a
1997 arrest for similar offenses: DUI, speeding and "failure to maintain
lane."
Brown quickly posted a $10,000 bond and was released. The DeKalb County
hearing is set for Friday afternoon, where the "Thug Lovin' " singer
(see "Ja Rule Masters Art Of 'Thug Lovin' ' Thanks To Karate-Kicking
Bobby Brown") may face either a fine or jail time.
While hitting two jails before noon certainly doesn't sound like a day
at the beach, at least Brown was amongst friends. Said one Atlanta
Police Department rep, "Oh yeah, we know Bobby quite well around here.
He comes through here often."


Mariah Carey's 'Rain' Won't Be Released Commercially In The U.S.

Mariah Carey's current radio single, "Through The Rain," will not be
released commercially in the U.S.
Sources at the singer's parent label, Island Def Jam Records, confirmed
that no commercial single release is scheduled and one is not planned,
in order to focus more on Carey's upcoming album Charmbracelet, which
has had its release date moved up a week and is now due on December 3.
The official track listing for Charmbracelet includes its first single
"Through The Rain," "Boy I Need You," "The One," "Yours," "You Got Me"
"I Only Wanted," "Clown," "My Saving Grace," "You Had Your Chance,"
"Lullaby," the second single "Irresistible," "Subtle Invitation," a
cover of the Def Leppard track "Bringing On The Heartbreak,"
"Sunflowers," and the "Through The Rain" remix featuring Kelly Price and
Joe.
Fans writing on various Carey-centric websites have expressed
disappointment at the lack of a commercial single, and the fact that
they will have to seek out imports instead. The "Through The Rain"
single, with various mixes, is being released in other countries. An
Australian edition has been issued in two formats, with four tracks each
and including two collectable postcards. A British edition of the single
will also be released in two formats, including an enhanced CD that will
include the song's video.
Among the remix versions found on international editions of the CD
single are "Mariah's Remix," featuring Joe and Price, a club reworking
by Hex Hector and Mac Quayle, a remix by Maurice Joshua, and the "Full
Intention" mix in club and dub form. Carey may also be turning to DJ
Sammy for remixes off the new album, having been impressed with his
dance floor-styled reinterpretation of Bryan Adams's "Heaven."
In other Carey news, the singer visited the Fame Academy in Britain on
Tuesday (November 5) for a master class song-writing session with the
school's top hopeful stars-to-be students. Carey spent four hours at the
London school, which is featured on a BBC TV reality show. U.K.
newspapers reported that she used students to record backing vocals for
a special version of "Through The Rain." She's also invited to attend a
live talent show on Friday (November 8) to judge performances.


Solange 'Feeling' It With Beyonce, N.O.R.E., Others

You might think Destiny's Child singer Beyoncé Knowles would feel
threatened by her younger sister Solange, who is rapidly becoming the
talk of the pop industry and earning praise from various producers
scrambling to work with her.
However, according to producer Damon Elliott, who worked on five songs
on Solange's debut album, there's no time for sibling rivalry in the
Knowles household. In fact, Beyoncé will be performing along with her
16-year-old sis on various tracks on the disc, which is due January 21.
One of Beyoncé's most notable contributions comes in the song "Thinking
About You," Elliott revealed.
"Beyoncé is just so talented," he said. "And the two of them sound
amazing together, totally off the hook. And they're really close. They
had a great time."
Another standout track is the first single "Feeling You," which features
N.O.R.E. Elliott asked the rapper to sing on the track after "Nothin' "
started blowing up at radio.
"I'm a big N.O.R.E. fan," Elliott said. "That song was just popping in
the clubs, and I was like, 'Man, this cat is out of here.' It was just
perfect timing because that's still riding strong right now. If that's
got the staying power like that, just that imagine what Solange and him
could do on the record."
Elliott wrote "Feeling You" with Solange, then sent it to the rapper,
who added his part in New York before mailing it back to the producer in
Los Angeles. Although Elliott is thrilled with the collaboration, he was
initially a little concerned.
"You always worry if they're going to get what you're striving for," he
said. "But he just nailed from the gate. From the first three lines that
he said in the song, he just had it. I was a little nervous, because I
creatively moved his vocals around a little bit [in the mix] and slicked
up the intro. So when I saw him, I was a little worried he'd go, 'Yo,
damn, man. Why you f--- up my song?' But he came up and said, 'I love
it. You think like me.' "
A video for "Feeling You" was recently shot in Los Angeles by Sanna
Hamri, who directed Kelly Rowland's "Stole" video. Solange came up with
the treatment for the clip, which also features N.O.R.E.
"There's a guy she's digging and she's hanging out and coming out of a
café," Elliott said. "She's really feeling for this guy and she sees him
and he throws her off a little bit. Then she goes off into the park and
has a big barbecue. It's basically about her having fun with her
friends. It's a performance video, but it's also got a little bit of the
theatrical side, and it does the song so much justice."
The Solange record also features production by IMX, Timbaland and
Pharrell Williams of the Neptunes.
As impressive as the roster of producers and guests is, Elliott said
it's Solange who makes the songs shine.
"People going to be shocked, man," he said. "I think they're lying about
her age because she's too smart. She's just too on it. I think she's
maybe like 70 or something in a 16-year-old's body. She wrote the lyrics
to almost every song and that's not really heard of for somebody that
young. And then she also produced a couple tracks. It's like, damn, man.
It's amazing."

Ashanti, Keys and Solange 'Proud' Participants In Animated Series

Penny, Bee Bee, Cee Cee, Trudy and Oscar have more reason than ever to
be proud.
The clan from the animated series "The Proud Family" is about to be
visited by some of pop and R&B's biggest stars, including Ashanti,
Alicia Keys and Solange Knowles, according to a Disney Channel
spokesperson.
Not only does Solange perform the show's theme song with a little help
from big sister Beyoncé's Destiny's Child, the 16-year-old up-and-comer
will surface in the episode "Behind Family Lines," scheduled to air
December 13. Knowles lends her voice to Penny's snotty cousin Chanel,
who winds up being the catalyst for a sweeping change of attitude at a
chaotic family gathering.
Ashanti, with a relatively lighter itinerary than she had right after
releasing her multiplatinum self-titled debut, also found time to tape
an episode. In "It Takes a Thief" she portrays a store manager who hires
Penny for an after-school job. When some items turn up missing, a moral
lesson on shoplifting soon follows. The episode will be part of the
show's third season, expected to launch next year.
If the voice of a judge on "The Good, the Bad and the Ugly," - a riff on
the reality talent show "American Idol" - sounds like it's in A minor,
it's because the real-life pipes behind the animated adjudicator belong
to ivory-ticklin' B-girl Alicia Keys. Scheduled to tape November 20,
Keys' episode will also air next year.
The Proud Family" chronicles the life of 14-year-old Penny Proud as she
copes with her family, friends and school. The show recognized the value
of musical guest stars early on when an episode featuring the voice of
Lil' Romeo garnered the series' highest ratings.
Rapper/poet/actor Mos Def's cameo precedes the pack when his episode,
which finds him in a creative stretch playing himself as the host of a
poetry slam, airs Friday.
Contemporary gospel singer Kirk Franklin and R&B pop quintet 3rd Storee
are also set to appear in next season episodes.
"The Proud Family" airs Fridays at 7p.m. on the Disney Channel.

 

 

News 2002

News 2001