Sunday October 22nd, 2006 HOME
New CD's this past week:
- Mary Mary - A Mary Mary Christmas
- Silk - Always and forever
- Ruben Studdard - The return
Music news headlines this week:
New Beyonce Track Leads 'Dreamgirls' Soundtrack
A new Beyonce song, "Listen," leads the soundtrack to the film
"Dreamgirls," due Dec. 5 via Music World/Sony Urban, 16 days before the
film opens in wide U.S. theatrical release. The cut, which Beyonce
co-wrote, is due to arrive this week at U.S. radio outlets; its video will
premiere the week of Nov. 13.
Although the full track list has yet to be announced, another song from
the album, "One Night Only" has been making the rounds as a dance mix. The
Underdogs (Harvey Mason Jr. and Damon Thomas) produced all the songs from
the film. "Dreamgirls" will also be available in a two-disc edition with
extra music from the movie.
"Dreamgirls" is loosely based on the rise and fall of the Supremes and
stars Beyonce as a member of an up-and-coming vocal trio. Jamie Foxx,
Eddie Murphy and Danny Glover also appear.
Beyonce will perform Nov. 21 at the American Music Awards, although it is
unknown if she will play a track from her new album, "B-Day," or a song
from "Dreamgirls." The cast of the film is expected to visit MTV's "TRL"
in early December.
Two Sides Of Tyrese Revealed On 'Alter Ego'
Originally due Dec. 5, Tyrese's double-disc R&B/rap effort "Alter Ego"
will now arrive Dec. 19 via J. The hip-hop side finds the singer/actor
rhyming under the rap persona Black Ty and features guest appearances by
the Game, Snoop Dogg, David Banner, Method Man and Lil Scrappy, among
others. Producers include R. Kelly, Bryan Michael-Cox, Mannie Fresh and
Scott Storch.
The Underdogs produced the R&B-leaning lead single "One." "I didn't write
any of the lyrics but they were speaking my language," Tyrese tells
Billboard.com. "You get to a point where you're just tired of sleeping
around and being on the phone with 12 different girls a day. I'm saying
I'm just cool with one."
Other album cuts include "Better To Know," "Gotta Get It," produced by
Bryan Michael-Cox, the Lil Jon-produced "Turn You Out" and "Lights On,"
one of Tyrese's personal favorites. "The concept [of that song] is about
this girl who I was about to go there with and she wanted to leave the
lights on," he says. "Everybody's always singing about 'Baby, turn the
lights off' but she wanted the lights on. That record excites me."
As for Tyrese the rapper, the Watts, Calif., native actually got his first
taste of rhyming as a member of the local rap group Triple Impact. "This
rap thing has always been in me and I'm never gonna disrespect my
creativity by not bringing it to light," he says. "For me, Black Ty can
rhyme about things that Tyrese would never be able to sing about. When I
was young it was all about gangsta rap -- NWA, Eazy E, Ice Cube, Snoop,
Dr. Dre -- that was our sh*t."
The singer also feels he's at a point in his career where he can take
risks, and rapping grants him that outlet. "This album is definitely a
little more edgy," says Tyrese. "I feel like my R&B career is in a box.
There's only so many songs that I can sing about. I choose to not want to
sing about the streets, I don't want to sing about what I went through
with my friends, jealousy and envy and hating. I don't want to sing about
none of that stuff. I want to sing about love. I want to sing about
relationships, sex -- the things that I know. I would never sing a song
like R. Kelly's 'I Wish' so for me, that's where Black Ty comes in."
Tyrese will embark on a national tour later this month, with his group
Rehab in tow. The singer is also wrapping production on the action film
"Transformers," which is executive-produced by Steven Spielberg and
directed by Michael Bay. The movie will arrive in theaters July 4, 2007.
In addition, Tyrese is developing film scripts through his multimedia
company HeadQuarters Entertainment and co-writing the book "Fly on the
Wall" with author/inspirational speaker Iyanla Vanzant.