Sunday September 8th, 2002
New CD's this week:
- Don Blackman - Listen: After 20
year the second album from this somewhat legendary
artist (UK release)
- Jazzyfatnastees - The tortoise and the hare: Second album from Tracey
Moore and
Mercedes Martinez, also known as the Jazzyfatnastees
Short news stories this week:
Monica's 'All Eyez On Me' Due In November
Atlanta-based songbird Monica has set a
November 12 release date for her
third solo album and J Records debut, All Eyez On Me. The set was
initially scheduled for release in July and then pushed back to
September before this latest date change.
The first single from the collection is the Rodney Jerkins-produced
title track. "All Eyez On Me" features a sample of Michael Jackson's
"P.Y.T. (Pretty Young Thing)," and Jackson provided some background
vocals and ad-libs on the new cut. The song is currently Number 82 on
the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart.
Some of the other songs featured on All Eyez On Me include "I Wrote This
Song," "Breaks My Heart," "Ain't Gonna Cry No More,"
"You Should've
Known," and "If I Were The Girl."
R. Kelly Co-Produces Syleena Johnson's 'Tonight I'm Gonna Let Go'
R. Kelly, whose alleged sexual
relationships with teenage girls are the
subject of an expose in GQ magazine, co-produced the remix of Syleena
Johnson's "Tonight I'm Gonna Let Go" featuring Busta Rhymes and the
Flip
Mode Squad. The original version helmed by Dunn Ruff Ent.'s Chi-town
Mike Dunn, who also contributes to the remix, uses a portion of the
music from the Busta Rhymes 1997 song "Put Your Hands Where My Eyes
Could See."
"Tonight I'm Gonna Let Go" impacts at radio this week. The song is the
first release from Johnson's second album, Chapter 2: The Voice, due out
on October 29.
The album will also feature production from Carvin & Ivan, Hi-Tek, and
Donald Lawrence, whose credits include Jill Scott, Mos Def, and Mary J.
Blige, respectively.
Kelly also worked with Johnson on her 2001 debut album, Chapter 1: Love,
Pain, & Forgiveness. He wrote and produced her single, "I Am Your
Woman," that reached Number 42 on Billboard's Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Singles
&
Tracks chart.
In June, Kelly was charged with 21 counts of child pornography for
allegedly taping himself having sex with a girl who was 14 at the time.
The GQ article, penned by Chicago Sun Times writer Jim DeRogatis, who
broke the scandal, claims that the underage girl in the R. Kelly sex
tape is the singer's goddaughter.
Gloria Gaynor Continues To Climb The Charts
Gloria Gaynor's newest single, "I
Never Knew," climbs up to Number 10 on
this week's Billboard Hot Dance Music Chart. The track appears on the
disco diva's forthcoming I Wish You Love album, which is due out
September 10 and her first album of all new material to be released in
the U.S. in 15 years.
Gaynor has received accolades and rewards throughout her recording
career. She won a Grammy for "I Will Survive," and most recently was
given the World Music Awards' Legend Award by Prince Albert of Monaco.
However, despite all the physical accolades, Gaynor tells us her
greatest reward comes from touching the spirit of today's youth: "When
adults that listen to adult contemporary music, when they like your
music, it's wonderful. But when a kid comes up to you that's 10 years
old and tells you that you've inspired them, that you've uplifted them,
that you impacted positively their life, this is a reward beyond
compare. It's wonderful."
Destiny's Child's Kelly Rowland Says Debut Solo Album Is 'Simply Deep'
Destiny's Child member Kelly Rowland plans
to make her solo debut in
October. Her song "Dilemma," a duet with Nelly, continues to hold down
the Number One position on the Billboard Hot 100 chart.
While backstage at the eighth annual Soul Train Lady Of Soul Awards
Saturday (August 24), Rowland explained the status of her forthcoming
record: "My album will be out on October 22. It's entitled Simply Deep.
The song that I did with Nelly is actually the first single off my
album. I'm moving on to the second single which is entitled 'Stole.'
That song is amazing. I'm really excited about the song. It's a little
different from Destiny's Child sound, which is a good thing. I'm really
excited. I can't wait until it comes out."
According to a spokesperson for Rowland, the album title is listed as
Kelly on the company's album release schedule. The spokesperson could
not confirm whether "Stole" will be the album's second release.
Rowland released her first solo effort in 2001, when her song "Angel"
appeared on the soundtrack for the Chris Rock film Down To Earth.