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New Music: Mayer Hawthorne - 'Designer Drug'

Mon, 01 Apr 2013 22:33:18 +0000

For years, yours truly has been a big fan of Michigan-born, LA-based singer-songwriter Mayer Hawthorne, mainly because of his cool, pseudo-Motown, distinctly soulful vocal style. But it looks like he might be going in a different direction on his third album. On his first two releases -- 2009's A Strange Arrangement and 2011's How Do You Do -- Mayer produced all the songs himself in addition to handling most of the vocal duties. But in a recent interview with Billboard magazine, he revealed that he's expanding his horizons and collaborating with other artists and producers, including Pharrell Williams and Jack Splash. But it was another producer, Rodney Jerkins, who indirectly helped guide the album's sound, Mayer said in the interview:

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R&B News N Rumors: 03/31/13 Edition

Sun, 31 Mar 2013 00:25:44 +0000

Some of the more interesting R&B-related news and rumors from the past week:

Justin Timberlake's new album, The 20/20 Experience, debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 chart, selling 968,000 copies in its first week. 20/20, which was released March 19, is Timberlake's second No. 1 album and marks his best sales week to date. It follows his last release, 2006's FutureSex/LoveSounds, which arrived atop the list with his previous sales high: 684,000 copies.
Bobby Brown and his wife Alicia Etheredge-Brown have filed a million dollar defamation lawsuit against the owner of the National Enquirer over a story the gossip rag published alleging that Bob and his ex, Whitney Houston had been planning to remarry before Whitney's untimely death in February 2012.

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Spring 2013 R&B/Soul Concert Tours

Sat, 30 Mar 2013 19:45:55 +0000

Spring has officially sprung, and with the warmer weather comes more entertainment options, including concerts. And this spring, some of the bigger names in R&B and Soul music are out touring the U.S., North America and even the entire world. Among those who may be playing at a venue near you between late March and mid-June are: Rihanna, who's in the midst of her 27-date "Diamonds" world tour right now; Beyonce, whose latest tour begins with 23 shows in Europe from mid-April through late May before migrating over to North America for an additional 22 shows. Also touring is his purple majesty, Prince, who'll perform 28 shows in seven cities in April and May; and Alicia Keys, who's on tour with Miguel from early March through mid-April. Click the link below for more details on the hottest R&B/Soul music tours of Spring 2013.

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New Music: India.Arie - 'Cocoa Butter'

Tue, 26 Mar 2013 18:17:13 +0000

It's been a long four years since India.Arie released her most recent studio album (2009's Testimony: Vol. 2, Love & Politics), but according to her music label, a new release will be on it's way to stores later this year. India's devoted fans have heard that before -- several times in fact -- but this time it looks like it will actually happen. Not only does her fifth album now have an official title, SongVersation, there's even a mid-summer release date attached to it. And here's a few more details: it was recorded in Los Angeles as well as in India's hometown of Atlanta, and was produced by India herself and Grammy-winning songwriter Shannon Sanders, with additional production from singer-songwriter David Ryan Harris and songwriter Michael Ruff. But the most convincing piece of evidence that her upcoming album is near is that a brand new single, "Cocoa Butter," is slated for release to radio stations on April 1, 2013. The song is about the healing power of love:

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New Music: John Legend feat. Rick Ross - 'Who Do We Think We Are'

Mon, 25 Mar 2013 23:19:48 +0000

A few days ago, John Legend offered up a taste of his new music in the form of a promo/buzz song called "The Beginning," from his upcoming album, Love in the Future. And now, just a week later, the album's official debut single has just dropped. The song, titled "Who Do We Think We Are," samples Jean Knight's 1971 classic tune 'Mr. Big Stuff," a song that late hip-hop legend Heavy D. also famously sampled back in the 1980s. On Legend's song, he sings about a couple that has the nerve and audacity to actually live their lives to the fullest and have a great time doing it. Or as Legend sings on the song:

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Album Review: Brian McKnight - 'More Than Words'

Sun, 24 Mar 2013 23:45:19 +0000

On his 13th studio album, R&B legend Brian McKnight proves two things: one is that he still has one of the purest, most silky-smooth voices in urban music. Despite being ...

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R&B News N Rumors: 03/24/13 Edition

Sun, 24 Mar 2013 12:57:23 +0000

Some of the more interesting R&B-related news and rumors from the past week:

In mid-April, Prince is embarking on a seven city West Coast trek that's been dubbed the "Live Out Loud Tour," after the current single, "Live Out Loud," by his all female backing band, 3rd Eye Girl. Although Prince and company will only be visiting four cities, they'll play four shows in each, including two each night (one at 8 pm and another at 11:30 pm), for a total of 28 performances.
Up-and-coming R&B singer Josh Xantus has just released latest free digital mixtape (actually, it's a full digital album), The Antidote. The 14 songs on the album represent various stages of love and relationships, particularly the trials and tribulations.
Another up-and-comer, Jarell Perry, also just dropped a free digital album, Simple Things. And yes, it's an actual and full album of complete songs, not a mixtape or an EP or just snippets of tracks.
John Legend has just given us a taste of what to expect on his upcoming Love in the Future album. It's a brand new romantic ballad with the very appropriate title of "The Beginning."
Bobby Brown, who was sentenced to 55 days in jail for a DUI, served only nine hours behind bars. He checked into LA County Jail at 10 am March 20 and was released at 7 pm.

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Prince Announces West Coast 'Live Out Loud' Tour

Thu, 21 Mar 2013 20:47:32 +0000

If you live in a major city on the West Coast of the U.S. or Canada and have a yearning to see his purple majesty, Prince, perform live, you're about to have your chance. Or to be more accurate, you're about to have multiple chances. The news was revealed yesterday (March 20, 2013) by Prince's new all-female backing band, 3rd Eye Girl, on a podcast hosted by Prince fan site Drfunkenberry.com. In mid-April, Prince is embarking on a seven city West Coast trek that's been dubbed the "Live Out Loud Tour," after 3rd Eye Girl's current single, "Live Out Loud." Although Prince and company will only be visiting seven cities, they'll play four shows in each, including two each night (one at 8 pm and another at 11:30 pm), for a total of 28 performances. The tour schedule, which is always subject to change, is included below. Info on how to get tickets for individual shows will reportedly be announced next week sometime and will be posted here once it becomes available.

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Free R&B: Josh Xantus - 'The Antidote' Mixtape

Wed, 20 Mar 2013 23:11:33 +0000

Up-and-coming R&B singer-songwriter Josh Xantus, aka Josh X, has been featured on this site a few times, and deservedly so: over the course of the past couple of years, he's shown himself to be one of the better young artists in the game, even if he hasn't yet gotten the acclaim he deserves. But despite being overlooked by many -- or maybe because of it -- he's become very prolific when it comes to writing and recording songs. The case in point is his latest free digital mixtape (actually, it's a full digital album), The Antidote. The 14 songs on the album represent various stages of love and relationships, particularly the trials and tribulations. It's a mostly soft, sensitive collection of songs that's pretty much the antithesis of the shallow, sexually obsessed works that you hear from a lot of male artists these days. Here's what Josh recently had to say when explaining the album's title and content:

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New Music: John Legend - 'The Beginning'

Tue, 19 Mar 2013 19:55:53 +0000

If you hadn't heard yet, R&B singer-songwriter John Legend is due to release his fourth studio album, Love in the Future, in the coming months and is planning to launch a world tour in support of the album later this year. And as the release date gets nearer, so does the dropping of the first official single, 'Who Do We Think We Are," which features the rapper Rick Ross. The single's due to officially debut Mon., March 25, 2013, but for those who can't wait that long, Legend has just given us a taste of what to expect on Love in the Future. It's a brand new romantic ballad with the appropriate title of "The Beginning." The song, which was released earlier today, serves as the album's teaser/promo single. On the song, Legend employs his lavish crooning to woo the object of his love and affection:

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