Friday, November 21, 2008 |
Kanye West returns with his fourth studio album, 808s & HEARTBREAK on Monday, November 24th. The 10x Grammy Award® winning rapper, producer, (and now singer) takes listeners on a very different journey from his past albums and experiments with the ever popular auto-tune.
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While in Los Angeles last month, I attended the 808s & Heartbreak listening party and joined the star in the studio as he finalized the album. And I have to be honest, I was only feeling like 4 songs then. With almost every song on the radio using auto-tune, I asked myself why Kanye jumped on this particular bandwagon. However, after hearing the final version and finding his reasoning behind this sound, I would have to say this is a great overall album. Not Graduation great, but great nonetheless.
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Monday, November 17, 2008 |
Beyonce gets a little conceptual and reveals a little bit of both sides on her third studio album, I Am… Sasha Fierce, which hits stores and online tomorrow, November 18th.
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I Am… Sasha Fierce is probably some of Beyonce’s most impressive work to date. Much different from her previous releases, 2006’s B’Day or her acclaimed 2003 debut, Dangerously In Love, Beyonce explores uncharted territories, especially on the ballad-heavy, pop-driven I Am… side.
With the leaking of her first singles, “♫ If I Were A Boy” and “♫ Single Ladies,” bloggers, fans, stans and haters alike knew that it would be time for the Beyonce media blitz.
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Wednesday, November 12, 2008 |
♫ Album Review: T-PAIN - THR33 RINGZ ♫
We all know that when it comes to making a radio hit, T-Pain seems to be the go-to guy these days. So it only makes sense that his third release “Thr33 Ringz” is a clever take on how he’s running the game.
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Although it’s hard to remember radio without auto-tone T-Pain deserves honorable mention for bringing it back to life—in a major way. “Thr33 Ringz” showcases T-Pain’s silly and somewhat versatile nature. Yes there are the obligatory club hits and dance tracks but he also tries his hand at rapping. He was after all a “rappa ternt sanga” when he first hit the scene so trading in voice distortion for raw rap lyricism seems natural.
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Tuesday, October 28, 2008 |
♫ Album Review: JON B. - HELPLESS ROMANTIC ♫
Remember singer/songwriter Jon B.? Well after a long break, he released his 5th studio album, Helpless Romantic, today.
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Jon’s classic sophomore album, Cool Relax, put the singer on the map back in 1997. The album contained three of his biggest hits; “They Don’t Know,” “Are U Still Down” (ft. Tupac Shakur), and “I Do (Whatcha Say Boo),” and was hailed as one of the best R&B albums released that year; not to mention, was certified platinum.
A lot has changed in the R&B game since he took a break to get married have a child and just live life. With the addition of new prominent R&B players, Ne-Yo, John Legend, and of course Robin Thicke and Justin Timberlake, you would think that he might be a little scared. But with his new release “Helpless Romantic” he proves that he still has it.
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Monday, October 27, 2008 |
John Legend releases his third studio album, Evolver tomorrow, October 28th. It seems as though this time John has decided to step from behind the piano, and show that he can dabble in some electronic elements for his third studio effort…
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I was super siked when I heard that Legend would be teaming with Kanye West, who he’s worked with before, as well as Andre 3000 and The Neptunes for his new album. And when the snippet of the lead single, “♫ Green Light” leaked, I was extremely excited. It was slightly reminiscent of the work that Andre 3000 had done with Gwen Stefani as Johnny Vulture on her Love. Angel. Music. Baby. LP, which I had fallen in love with back in 2004. It seemed that they were keeping the project under wraps because not much material leaked until the full album dropped, which I think was good. Legend managed to experiment with some interesting new sounds that he’s never showed us before on previous albums, while not straying away from what made his old fans love him in the first place.
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Monday, October 6, 2008 |
Former Destiny’s Child bandmate Michelle Williams had already released two solo albums, but in a genre in which the other members hadn’t tapped into. Now, she’s back, with a more contemporary album, where she dabbles into dance, pop and a little bit of electronica, with her third solo set, Unexpected, due out October 7th.
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When I first heard that Michelle would be departing from her gospel solo career, I was a little worried. What was she going to talk about? What was the music going to sound like? Even though she started off as an R&B artist with Destiny’s Child, I just wasn’t sure what she what type of sound she could possibly go for on this album. A snippet of a Stargate/Ne-Yo-sounding song entitled “♫ Stop This Car” (which did make the album) leaked, and I gained confidence in Michelle’s solo project. But I was even more pleasantly surprised by her official first single, “♫ We Break the Down” when it dropped back in April.
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Tuesday, September 30, 2008 |
After much anticipation, Jennifer Hudson finally released her self-titled debut album today…
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We first familiarized ourselves with Jennifer Hudson on Fantasia’s season of American Idol, where she was voted off and was told by Simon that she’d never really amount to much. I guess he’s eating his words. Hudson scored the much sought-after role of Effie White in the critically acclaimed 2006 adaptation of the Broadway music, Dreamgirls. Hudson performed with an all-star cast, including the likes of Oscar-award winning Jamie Foxx, Dannie Glover, Eddie Murphy, as well as Beyonce, and actually won an Academy Award herself for Best Supporting Actress. The girl with the big voice and the big dreams was definitely making her way, and it was then that Clive Davis offered her a deal with J. Records to record her debut album.
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