Alicia Keys offers up a little something for her fans after the holiday season with the brand new “freestyle,” “Speechless.” This is basically Alicia Keys’s interpretation of Kanye West’s track, “Devil In A New Dress,” produced by her husband, Swizz Beatz. The track also features rapper, Eve, who is currently working on a new studio album.
Alicia says that the track is not from the new album, which is slated to drop a single within the next couple of months.
Keri released her debut album, In A Perfect World… just last year. The album spawned many singles, a couple Grammy nominations and solidified Keri with a successful transition from behind the scenes to the forefront.
With the sophomore effort No Boys Allowed, Keri again shows why she was one of the top writers in the game. The album title alone describes the fact that Keri’s dealt with her share of boys, but at this point and time in her life, she’s not even looking for or considering anything except a man. The album opens with the J. Cole-assisted, “Buyou,” and then explores female empowerment (see, “Pretty Girl Rock”), sexuality and, of course, the high and low points of a relationship.
What’s most interesting about No Boys Allowed is the fact that Keri chose to use a series of interludes as a means of creating a seamless flow to the album. The songs all make sense together with the melodic interludes that Hilson created for transition. She fuses soul elements, pop sounds, ’80′s synths and even touches on some reggae all through the album, with great cohesion. This isn’t much of a surprise, considering Keri’s musical versatility and background.
No Boys Allowed shines best on songs like “Toy Soldier” (written by Ester Dean, produced by Danja) and the Timbaland-produced, “Beautiful Mistake.” There’s a great mixture here, which is the best for listening. There’s a mood and sound for everything, with still staying consistent to the concept of the album.
In his first televised appearance since being released from prison, Lil Wayne joined Eminem on the Saturday Night Live stage to perform their collaboration, “No Love”, among other tracks. Check out Eminem’s “Won’t Back Down” (ft. Pink) and Weezy’s “6 Foot 7 Foot” below. Continue
Check out Diddy-Dirty Money performing their single, “Coming Home” on the 8th annual WWE Tribute to the Troops, which premiered Saturday on NBC.
Following their performance, Diddy took to the mic to express his feelings:
“It’s a blessing to be here around you guys. I want to say you are my heroes. I just want to speak from a personal note…Today has really changed me. You know a lot of times in life there are so many things we take for granted. Being around you all and seeing how hard you work and how focused and serious you are that it just connected with me that we don’t sometimes show our appreciation the way we should. You guys, for real, I thank God for you guys.”
