Sunday June 20th, 2004
New CD's this past week:
None to report
Music news stories this week:
Jaheim Pleads Not Guilty To Drug Charges, Released On Bail
R&B singer Jaheim entered a plea of not guilty to drug charges, after he
was arrested when police officers found 25 plastic bags of marijuana in
his car during a traffic stop in Hillsborough , New Jersey on Monday, June
14th.
Jaheim pled not guilty, posted bail, and was released on Tuesday night,
June 15th. The Associated Press reports that a patrolman pulled over the
singer's car after running the plates of his 2004 silver Mercedes-Benz and
discovering that he had an outstanding traffic warrant for failing to pay
a $211 ticket.
While awaiting arraignment on Tuesday, the singer told the Star-Ledger of
Newark that he plans to sue. He said, "I've got to file this lawsuit
today. I just want them to leave me alone. They really violated me this
time."
Jaheim, who had two other people in the car with him, allegedly began to
berate the officer during the traffic stop and was taken into custody. The
officer smelled burnt marijuana and following a search of the vehicle,
discovered 25 plastic bags of marijuana.
The singer was also charged with disorderly conduct and will appear at a
hearing in municipal court next month.
Jaheim, whose full name is Jaheim Hoagland, was originally given the $211
ticket for failing to provide his documents when police were called to
break-up a gathering in a parking lot.
The singer had a prior drug conviction in 1996 in Middlesex County , New
Jersey . He was sentenced to five years probation in the case.
Jaheim has released two platinum albums: 2001's Ghetto Love and 2002's
Still Ghetto.
Keith Sweat And Gerald Levert Sign with Cash Money Classics
R&B singers Keith Sweat and Gerald LeVert, who collectively make-up
two-thirds of the group LSG which also includes Johnny Gill, recently
inked solo recording deals with Cash Money Records newest division, Cash
Money Classics.
Cash Money Records recording artist Lil' Wayne confirmed the signings
during a recent interview with LAUNCH. The rapper also added that hip-hop
veteran Scarface has also inked a new deal with Cash Money Records.
Sweat and LeVert will be joining singer Teena Marie on the Cash Money
Classics roster.
LeVert released his eighth solo album, Stroke Of Genius, last October on
Elektra Records. The singer is presently working on a LeVert reunion set
with his brother Sean LeVert and Marc Gordon.
Keith Sweat's last release was a best-of compilation, The Best Of Keith
Sweat: Make You Sweat, which peaked at Number 31 on the Billboard 200
albums chart earlier this year.
Teena Marie Invited Rick James For Duet On “La Dona”
Teena Marie's first album in ten years, La Dona, is putting the veteran
soul singer right back in the spotlight. The album, which stands at Number
4 on the Billboard Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart, got a great lead-in with
the single "I'm Still Loving You." Another highlighted track from the
album reunites her on record with her former mentor and duet partner, Rick
James.
James discovered Marie and produced her first album, 1979's Wild And
Peaceful, and the two embarked on a famously stormy personal and
professional relationship through the '80s. They also paired on records,
including the radio favorite "Fire And Desire" from James' multiplatinum
1981 Street Songs album.
For La Dona, Marie invited James to co-write and perform the tune " I Got
You," which takes the "Fire And Desire" concept to the next level. She
wrote the melody with bassist Doug Grigsby, and wrote about her
relationship with James. She said "We did a song together, it's called 'I
Got You (Don't Worry About Sh...). ' And basically I had did the track
with my bass player Doug, we produced the track together and we did
everything, but I said, 'Don't do the guitars, I want Rick to do the
guitars.' And so I came up with the bassline, we put the track together,
and I wrote about Rick, about how it was with us back then. "
She then sent the tune to James for him to write his lyrics about her,
creating the very first tune that they'd ever written together. Marie
continued: "And then I gave him the track, and I said, 'OK, I wrote about
you, now you write your verse back to me.' So it was really kind of
beautiful because we've never written together before. In all the times
that we've made music either he's produced something and I came to sing on
his stuff, or I produced something and he's come to sing on my stuff, you
know."
Bobby Brown Avoids Jail By Paying Back Child Support
Bobby Brown received a 90-day suspended prison sentence Tuesday after
paying the three child support payments that he missed. The singer came up
with the money to pay ex-girlfriend Kim Ward, the mother of two of his
children, on Monday (June 14). "I'm still trying, you know," Brown said
after his hearing. "Working, you know, and that's the most I can do. I can
work harder, you know, to try to keep up with the payments."
Dawn Robinson Says Reunion Set With En Vogue and Lucy Pearl
Singer Dawn Robinson says that she will be reunited with pioneering girl
group En Vogue as well as neo soul trio Lucy Pearl in the near future. In
the meantime, Robinson will be heard as lead singer of the Dre Allen
Project, which will release its rock-leaning debut album, L.Y.F.E. (Live,
Yearn, Fulfill and Enlighten) on July 6th. The album is the brainchild of
Robinson's husband, singer and songwriter Andre Allen.
Robinson told Billboard that she will reunite with original En Vogue
members Terry Ellis, Maxine Jones and Cindy Herron for a new En Vogue
project in 2005, after Herron gives birth. Robinson was an integral part
of the diva quartet's early '90s success, but departed the group in 1997
to pursue a solo career. En Vogue continued as a trio, but Jones also
exited the group. With new member Rhona Bennett, Ellis and Herron recently
released the En Vogue album Soul Flower.
The singer will also reportedly return to the studio with producer Raphael
Saadiq to work on another Lucy Pearl project with former A Tribe Called
Quest member Ali Shaheed Muhammad. The three collaborated on the first
Lucy Pearl album in 2000. But Robinson was not part of the second Lucy
Pearl project, Live!, which featured singer Joi.
Robinson is also working on a solo album with Allen, a former member of
the R&B quartet IV Xample. Like the Dre Allen Project's L.Y.F.E., her
album will be released on Movemakers Entertainment, the label co-headed by
Robinson and Allen.
“Forever, For Luther” Crew Considering Concerts For Vandross Diabetes Fund
The producers and artists involved in the upcoming Luther Vandross tribute
album Forever, For Always, For Luther are hoping to put together some
high-profile fund-raising concerts to benefit the Forever, For Always, For
Luther Fund that was established by Verve Records recently to support the
American Diabetes Association.
Vandross is still recovering from the diabetes-related stroke he suffered
in April 2003. Fans can make a tax-deductible donation through the mail,
which can be sent to: American Diabetes Association, "Forever, For Always,
For Luther Fund" 1701 North Beauregard St., Alexandria, Virginia 22311.
Forever, For Always, For Luther, which is due July 27th, was produced by
musician Rex Rideout and executive produced by Verve exec Bud Harner. The
set features a who's who of smooth jazz artists, including Boney James,
Kirk Whalum, Mindi Abair, Richard Elliot, George Benson, Paul Jackson Jr.,
Dave Koz, Brian Culbertson and Lalah Hathaway.
Rideout says that he planning possible concerts that would feature some of
the top talent from the album with the blessing of Vandross' mother, Mary
Ida Vandross. He told LAUNCH: ["We're trying to put those together right
now, which would be to involve all the other artists and some other
artists, some other vocalists, and do those concerts and maybe have it be
a kind of benefit thing for the American Diabetes Association, which is
closely involved with us in the record now. Which is something we wanted
to do initially, was to donate a portion of the proceeds to the American
Diabetes Association."] Details about upcoming concerts are not yet
available.
News 2004