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Britney Spears

Contributor — Mon, 28 Mar 2011 03:24:41 +0000

Britney Spears announces her seventh studio album is titled Femme Fatale. The iconic global superstar’s title Femme Fatale is a tribute to bold, empowered, confident, elusive, fun, flirty women and men. It’s not a conceptual album, Spears is letting the music speak for itself. She’s worked hard on it for two years and she considers it to be her “best album to date,” true to where she is now personally and professionally. Femme Fatale (Jive Records) is executive produced by Max Martin and Dr. Luke. Few artists have earned the distinction of having five No.1 debut albums, and 24 Top 40 hits. She most recently set a new one-day precedent for single sales with her current No. 1 hit song, “Hold It Against Me.”. Jonas Åkerlaund shot the video for the song. Spears is peerless among her contemporaries. Throughout the years, Britney has consistently released hit after hit for over a decade, selling close to 70 million albums cumulatively worldwide. During her 12-year career, Britney has had five albums debut in the No. 1 position on Billboard ‘s Top 200 Albums chart and she’s had 24 Top 40 hits on Billboard’s Mainstream Top 40 chart. Globally, Britney Spears is one of the top-selling artists of the past decade, dominating charts with her albums, selling an astonishing 67 million albums worldwide. Her previous albums include: …Baby One More Time (1999); Oops!… I Did It Again (2000); Britney (2001); In The Zone (2003); Blackout (2007); Circus (2008); and The Singles Collection (2009).

Marvin Sapp

Contributor — Wed, 12 Jan 2011 21:01:22 +0000

Marvin Sapp’s calling began in the early 90′s when he began singing with Fred Hammond and Commissioned. However, his career truly exploded when he began recording his solo projects in the late 90′s which would inevitably lead to his breakout song ‘Never Would Have Made It’ from the project ‘Thirsty’ and the album debut of ‘Here I Am’ at #2 on the Billboard 200, making it the highest charting album ever by a Gospel artist. ‘Beginnings’ showcases music from the first three solo projects that Marvin recorded for Word Records and features a guest performance by Donnie McClurkin.

Whitney Houston

Contributor — Wed, 10 Jun 2009 02:00:26 +0000

In the 1980s, Houston was one the first black artists to receive regular rotation on MTV in the network’s early years during a white male rock dominated time.Her debut album became the biggest selling debut album of all time for a solo artist (a record that has since been broken), her follow up album became the first album by a female artist to debut at #1 on the Billboard 200, and she had a record seven consecutive #1 singles on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. Houston continued her success into Hollywood in the 1990s, starting with the box office hit The Bodyguard. The soundtrack became the best-selling soundtrack of all time, and the single “I Will Always Love You” the best-selling single by a female artist and 6th best-selling song in history of music. She continued the decade with other successful and culturally significant projects before returning to the studio. Houston is the fourth best-selling female recording artist according to the Recording Industry Association of America and is the “The Most Awarded Female Artist of All Time” according to the Guinness Book of World Records.

Mint Condition

Contributor — Mon, 08 Jun 2009 02:00:59 +0000

Discovered and originally signed to Perspective Records by music producers Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis in 1989 (after being heard at a performance at a club in downtown Minneapolis called First Avenue), their debut album was entitled Meant To Be Mint (released in 1991). Despite their musical versatility the band attempted to attract New Jack Swing listeners with their dance cut “Are You Free”, but it wasn’t successful (the song hit #55 on the R&B charts). However, they did enjoy major success with the ballad “Breakin’ My Heart (Pretty Brown Eyes)”. The song stayed on the charts for 34 weeks, hitting the R&B top 5 (#3), and the Pop Top 10 (#6) and was certified gold by the RIAA. “Forever In Your Eyes” was also successful (#7 R&B). Two years later they released their 2nd platinum album, From The Mint Factory (1993). They enjoyed success with the #2 hit “U Send Me Swingin’”, while “Someone To Love” and “So Fine” hit the R&B Top 30. 1996 saw the release of Definition of a Band. The album hit the R&B Top 20. Some successful singles on this album are: “What Kind Of Man Would I Be” (#2 R&B, #17 pop), and “You Don’t Have To Hurt No More” (#10 R&B). Two years later, The Collection: 1991-1998, a greatest hits compilation, was issued.After Perspective Records/A&M folded, the group signed with Elektra Records in 1999, releasing their fourth full-length album, Life’s Aquarium (#7 R&B). Its main single, If You Love Me, hit the R&B Top 5. As the 21st Century came around, Mint Condition was the only R&B/Funk band signed to a Major Record Label. After a six year hiatus, the group resurfaced as a quintet due to former member and keyboard player Keri Lewis leaving the group to produce for other artists, such as his wife, singer Toni Braxton. During the same year, they released Living The Luxury Brown on their independent label Caged Bird Records. The album hit #1 on the Independent Album Charts. Live From The 9:30 Club, a performance of a concert at the 9:30 club in Washington DC, was issued in 2006.

Scarlett Johansson

Contributor — Tue, 28 Apr 2009 01:14:57 +0000

Recorded at Dockside Studio in Louisiana’s Cajun country, Scarlett Johansson’s debut album ANYWHERE I LAY MY HEAD features her distinctive vocal interpretations of ten songs by legendary singer-songwriter Tom Waits. It also introduces one original track, “Song For Jo,” which she co-wrote with David Andrew Sitek (TV on the Radio), who produced the album and lent his instrumental skills throughout. The title track comes from Waits’ 1985 opus Rain Dogs, and Johansson’s set also pulls cuts from Alice, Swordfishtrombones, Big Time, Orphans: Brawlers, Bawlers & Bastards, Real Gone,Small Change and Bone Machine. David Bowie adds backing vocals on two tracks, “Falling Down” and “Fannin Street,” and the disc also features the talents of Yeah Yeah Yeahs guitarist Nick Zinner and multi-instrumentalist Sean Antanaitis from Celebration, among others.

Angie Stone

Contributor — Wed, 22 Apr 2009 04:08:16 +0000

Her music is raw, honest, always real. Just as straight ahead is her attitude to that music. A lyrical poetess of the first order and leader in the neo-soul movement, Angie Stone lays it on the line, no-holds-barred: “I don’t go for the trendy commercial approach. What I do is basic soul music – no frills added.”The international record-buying public found that out when they turned Angie’s 1999 platinum debut “Black Diamond” into a critically acclaimed global best seller, spurred by the success of “No More Rain (In This Cloud),” a major pop and R&B hit single. That Angie would continue to keep it real was without question: what the eager audience she created discovered was that this multi-talented singer, songwriter, musician and producer’s last work, MAHOGANY SOUL went even deeper lyrically than its much-loved predecessor.The song titles tell it all: “Pissed Off,” which like many of the other tunes on the album, is based on Angie’s experiences in life, love and relationships; and “Brotha,” the first single, a positive, uplifting anthem that lauds the strengths and qualities of black men.”I was reaching out for a certain freedom of self-expression on my second album. I went into making it with the attitude that it would be better than my first album, that it would still have the sensibilities of old school soul but with more of a street edge,” says Angie. Working with a cast of producers that includes Raphael Saddiq, Warryn Campbell, Gerald Isaac, Eddie F., Ali Shaheed Muhammed, and Eran Tabib, Angie masterminded the direction for MAHOGANY SOUL: “It was about setting the tone for whatever I wanted the album to be. I worked with some great people but my thing is, if we’re gonna work together, you have to understand where I’m coming from. Whatever you’re doing production-wise has to coincide with what I’m saying musically and lyrically.”STONE LOVE: THE VERY BEST OF ANGIE STONEDrawing on the influences of soul ancestors like Curtis Mayfield, Marvin Gaye and Donny Hathaway – three of the artists who inspired her during her formative years – this first ever Greatest Hits collection is filled with the kind of tell-it-like-it-is musical statements that have made Angie Stone a pioneer in the realm of today’s black musical griots. Starkly honest “What You Dyin’ For” has a serious message for “young people who get suicidal over silly stuff, like a bad relationship. I’m saying, ‘It’s not about giving up your life just because things don’t go right.’”Where Angie Stone has come from is a tradition of great gospel-rooted singing and music-making and where she finds herself now is on the cutting edge of inspired creativity: ” There’s a natural high, a rush of adrenalin that I get when I’m writing, recording, producing…”Getting to the place where she could experience the range of her creative skills took a moment for the Columbia, South Carolina-born songstress. Hailing from a musical family (“my father performed in a local gospel quartet”), Angie was exposed to great gospel groups and joined the choir of the First Nazareth Baptist Church “when I was knee-high to a duck’s tail. I’ve been singing and writing poetry ever since.”Listening to R&B legends like Aretha Franklin, Smokey Robinson, Hathaway, Gaye and Mayfield and performing their songs in the mirror in her bedroom, a teenaged Angie was destined to pursue a career in music even though at one point, “I was offered a few basketball scholarships to college…” A self-taught keyboard player, Angie took what she calls “a lot of dead-end jobs” to raise the money to make her first demos.After a stint with a local trio that led to her first experience as a recording artist, Angie contributed her burgeoning songwriting skills to “Baby Cries,” a track cut by Prince protégé Jill Jones. The word was out and Angie soon found herself working with futuristic rappers Mantronix and superstar Lenny Kravitz, at one point playing sax in his band. By the late ’80s, she had formed the trio Vertical Hold, whose A&M 1993 debut album “A Matter Of Time” achieved critical acclaim on both sides of the Atlantic, in part as a result of the Top 20 R&B hit “Seems You’re Much Too Busy.”In addition to collaborating with Mary J. Blige, Solo and Malik Pendleton, Angie was a key musical collaborator on D’Angelo’s platinum-plus 1995 debut album “Brown Sugar,” working on several tracks with D’Angelo, whom she describes as “a musical soulmate.” The talented singer-songwriter was one of the luminaries who contributed to BLACK DIAMOND, Angie’s auspicious 1999 Arista debut album, collaborating with her on the track “Everyday.”With rave reviews from media pundits and critics across the world, BLACK DIAMOND also included guest appearances by longtime musical friend Kravitz and former A Tribe Called Quest member Ali Shaheed Mohammed. Tracks like Angie’s own “Bone 2 Pic (Wit U),” and standouts like “Life Story” were embraced by a record-buying public hungry for a slice of homemade funk and soul that hearkened back to the traditional R&B of the ’70s. By using a sample of the Gladys Knight & The Pips’ hit “Neither One Of Us” on the beautiful “No More Rain,” Angie brought young and old soul music audiences together.”I had been preparing for years and by the time “Black Diamond” started to take off and “No More Rain” hit, I was ready for the world,” she recalls. “It took me a long time to get excited about what was happening. I worked very hard and I felt comfort in a spiritual way once people started getting into my music. I was grateful to God for the blessings and,” she says, “when I received two Lady Of Soul Awards (in 2000), that was a turning point. The acceptance of the crowd that night was overwhelming. It was like they were saying, ‘it’s about time, you’ve earned it.’”Balancing the demands of being the single mother of a young son and a teenage daughter, Angie hit the road and performed on shows in late 1999 and throughout 2000 with a variety of different artists. Getting to perform and be in the company of legends like Ron Isley, Maurice White and Charlie Wilson (of The Gap Band) was “amazing for me. Those people paid their dues and paved the way for artists like me so it was a real honor to have them respond to my music…”A hectic year included a European tour that gave Angie another highly emotional experience: “Having people not of my race embracing me as a human being and my music was overwhelming. It made me cry with gratitude and made me determined that I would work twice as hard on my second album.”That hard work is evident throughout MAHOGANY SOUL which fittingly includes a beautiful brand new Andrea Martin song, “I Wish I Didn’t Miss You,” which includes a sample of The O’Jays’ “Backstabbers.” For me, it’s about not watering down but using the roots of gospel and R&B.”STONE LOVE: THE VERY BEST OF ANGIE STONELove, indeed, and a whole lot of blood, sweat and tears. The result is an amazing album that reinforces Angie Stone’s emergence as a one-of-a-kind, passionate, honest and remarkable artist who is carving her own niche in the world of contemporary music. Ain’t no doubt, in the realm of new millennium soul sisters, Angie’s the real thing. This is a must have for any musical collection.