where’s t-pain when you need him?

i’ll be brief.  here’s the skinny… mary j. blige’s sister latonya is supposedly preparing to release a gospel album.  the first single has released and whooooooa bessie… apparently making a “joyful noise” unto the lord is much more a relative concept than i was aware.  i love me some mary j. and will readily admit that she’s not exactly the best singer herself,  but where i’ve got to give it up to mary is that no matter what she is singing, you feel her. i certainly feel this as well, but in a much, much different way.

latonya blige – “it’s coming (feat. mary j. blige)”

i’m not exactly sure what happened here, but it’s reeeeeeeeal special.  and i’m actually surprised that mary j. is actually singing on it!  more than that, i’m kind of shocked that mary would let her put herself out there like this.  then again, maybe they think it’s hot.  i appreciate mary’s verse, but dude… i mean, i love Jesus too and er’rything,  but, but…  the track is wack and this is just ………… and it all sounds about 15 years old to boot. (yes, “to boot”)

perhaps singing isn’t necessarily latonya’s bag… may i suggest a handbell praise album?  i’m going to need her to begin to operate in an auto-tune spirit expeditiously!   i’m just sayin’… i’m certainly not his biggest fan, but where’s t-pain when you need him?!?!  this is one gospel record i wouldn’t mind him jumping on.  stretch your hands and pray, saints… where’s my oil?

is it just me???

shout out to thafeedback.com for the 411.

the essence of elegance

heather headley is a tony award winning actress and grammy nominated recording artist.  at the same time, she has managed to slip under a lot of people’s radar. i am hoping that will change with the release of her first gospel project, “audience of one”.

if heather’s name is new to you, check out this video of her singing “the prayer” live with andrea bocelli in 2006.

ever the definition of class, heather headley delivers a gospel record in a fashion that is both distinguished and refined.  on her first gospel release, heather seems to have already perfected the art of balance that is often difficult to come by, even for many of the genre’s mainstays.  striking the perfect balance between reverent restraint and passionate praise, heather lets each song breathe and speak for itself, and speak they do.  heather headley’s “audience of one” is quite simply the essence of elegance.

heather headley “simply redeemed”

heather headley “jesus is love” (featuring smokie norful)

“audience of one” is available now.

party like it’s 2009

prince is a baaaaaaaad somebody.

2008 marks the 30 year anniversary of prince’s first album release.  30 years, people.

you would be hard pressed to name any other artist who has single handedly changed the game, across the board, to the degree that prince has.  all artists experience their share of career highs and lows, but there are so many notable peaks in prince’s storied career that his impact and influence on pop culture is undeniable.  as a musician, songwriter, performer, innovator, you name it… he is ever evolving and revealing new facets of his artistry in ways that are consistently ahead of his time.  he is in a class by himself.  always has been, always will be.  sure, he’s eccentric (code for “weird”), but he has continually pressed the envelope and challenged the status quo with such brazen swagger that quite simply, no one can touch him.

i’ve actually been a prince fan since 1984, during the height of the purple rain era.  yes, i was only 9 but i had never heard any music like that before.  the rest is history.  i will never forget thursday, may 6, 2004.  i got a call from a friend who had purchased a ticket to prince’s musicology tour stop in nashville that night but had to go out of town for business unexpectedly at the last minute.  she only had one ticket, but gave it to me… so i went to the concert by myself, and had a blast!

in the past few days, news has leaked that prince is poised to crash hard into 2009.  what rolling stone recently scooped as one new album was just this week revealed to la times’ writer ann powers to be no less than three new albums.  that’s right, not one, not two, but three new albums this year… two bearing the title “mplsound” and one “lotus flower”.  reportedly, he is in final negotiations with a major retailer for the physical release of the new music.  check ann’s blog for details.

two weeks ago, in keeping with his new mantra “the gatekeepers must change”, prince side stepped the power players and premiered 4 brand new songs on los angeles’ indie 103 radio.  the new songs “4ever”, “colonized mind”, “wall of berlin” and “crimson & clover” are now floating around cyberspace and sending prince fans worldwide into a frenzy.  sure, he’s notorious for fiercely fighting for copyright protection, but he’s no fool… he knows exactly what he’s doing.

prince’s career is nothing short of iconic.  always the innovator, expect to see some very outside the box things from him this year… and i can’t wait!

the hawtness

one of the dopest songs this summer is chris brown’s “forever”.  I freaking love this freaking joint!  freak!  =)

check out this clip from last night’s sytycd as dave scott put together a blazing routine to “forever” for comfort and twitch…

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