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New Music: Rahsaan Patterson - 'Don't Touch Me'

Wed, 22 Feb 2012 18:59:15 +0000

It's a rare thing these days when an R&B song with a deep message also manages to be entertaining. A lot of times, these kinds of tracks can be preachy to the point that the message feels like a verbal sledgehammer being driven over and over. But on his new song, "Don't Touch Me," indie Soul star Rahsaan Patterson has created a message-oriented track that manages to massage both the ears and the mind. The song, which tackles the highly unpleasant topic of child sexual abuse, was specially recorded for Rahsaan's new role as a spokesman for RAINN: the Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network, the largest anti-sexual violence organization in the U.S. Rahsaan says he became involved with the non-profit organization because an incident in his past:

"I was sexually assaulted when I was 6 years old and wasn't able to share it with my family until I was 18. Looking back on it, I wish there was an organization like RAINN that I could have turned to for help with dealing with what happened to me," Rahsaan revealed in an interview.

"After 30 years I finally have an appreciation and love for myself that has been missing for most of my life," he said. "The most important thing for me at this point is to be able to communicate through music and art and help others."

Rahsaan's song, which he recorded to bring awareness to RAINN and its efforts, can be streamed via the link below.

"Don't Touch Me" audio stream (via soundcloud.com)
R&B Artist Bio: Rahsaan Patterson

New Music: Ruben Studdard - 'Wear Me'

Mon, 20 Feb 2012 20:18:03 +0000

When Ruben Studdard won the second season of "American Idol" back in May 2003, yours truly pegged him as The Next Big Thing in R&B and the heir apparent to legendary singer Teddy Pendergrass, whom Ruben had often been compared to. Since then, Ruben's life and career have both had their ups and downs, but it looks like the Alabama native's music could get back on track in a big way with the release of his upcoming fifth studio album. One song on it, his recently released cover of Bobby Brown's "Rock Witcha" is easily one of the better songs of his career so far. And on his new single, "Wear Me," Ruben displays a lot of the qualities that some of his post-Idol music had been lacking: genuine warmth, openness, charm and confidence. The upbeat and sexy song, on which Ruben compares himself to womens' clothing, will be on his Letters From Birmingham album, which is due out March 3 from Shanachie Records. It can streamed via the link below.

"Wear Me" audio stream (via SoundCloud.com)
Music: Ruben Studdard - "Rock Witcha"
R&B Artist Bio: Ruben Studdard

R&B News N Rumors: 2/19/12 Edition

Sun, 19 Feb 2012 11:03:07 +0000

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

The funeral for Whitney Houston was held Feb. 18 at a Newark, NJ church. Among the 1,500 people in attendance were Mariah Carey, Beyonce, Jennifer Hudson and Whitney's cousin, Dionne Warwick.
Numerous R&B artists released free mixtapes in celebration of Valentine's Day, including Raheem DeVaughn, J. Valentine and Bobby V.
Cee-Lo Green, Melanie Fiona, Chris Brown and Corinne Bailey Rae were among the R&B artists who won at this year's Grammy awards.
Usher has a new album due out this spring, and collaborated with producer Diplo on the first single.
Robin Thicke was arrested in New York City for allegedly smoking marijuana in an SUV.
Day26 says they never considered a replacement after one member left the group.
Janet Jackson revealed that she's seen people use drugs since she was 10.

New Music: Mateo - 'Back to Your Heart'

Fri, 17 Feb 2012 15:01:38 +0000

Valentine's Day can sometimes bring out the best in people, and that certainly appears to be the case with up-and-coming R&B singer/songwriter Mateo. Inspired by the most romantic of holidays, he's just recorded and released a beautifully emotional ballad called "Back to Your Heart." On the piano-driven song, he sings about still loving an old girlfriend and trying to convince her to get back together with him: "I will never leave again, there's nothing in this world without you," he sings. "Baby can we start again, 'cause I don't wanna love without you in my life/I wanna go back to the start." It's got some pretty powerful lyrics (that's them pictured above), and the song's made even more impactful by relying on just his voice and his piano playing to tell the tale. The song can be streamed via Mateo's official SoundCloud page; a link's included below.

"Back to Your Heart" audio stream (via soundcloud.com)

New Music: Usher - 'Climax'

Thu, 16 Feb 2012 15:31:11 +0000

Music superstar Usher was in the studio recently working on material for his seventh album, which is due out this spring as the follow up to his 2010 release, Raymond Vs. Raymond. And while in the studio, he teamed up with Philadelphia-based super-producer Diplo, who's probably best known to R&B fans as the man who produced Chris Brown's 2011 smash hit "Look at Me Now." The result is a slow-burning jam called "Climax," where over a moody electronic beat, Usher sings about a bad break-up: "I gave my best, it wasn't enough/you get upset, we argue too much," he sings. No definitive word yet on if this is the official lead single, or the name and release date of Usher's new album, but Diplo has posted the song on his SoundCloud page for public listening. You can stream it via the link below.

"Climax" prod. by Diplo (via SoundCloud.com)

Free R&B: J. Valentine - Love & Other Drugs Mixtape

Tue, 14 Feb 2012 19:19:32 +0000

San Francisco-bred R&B singer-songwriter J. Valentine -- not to be confused with the clothing company of the same name, or with R&B crooner J. Holiday -- is living up to his name this Valentine's Day by releasing a digital EP of free new music for all the lovers out there. His seven-song Love & Other Drugs mixtape is a seductively romantic release that features JV sharing vocals with Chris Brown, LeToya Luckett and Tank, among others. The EP's mostly produced by the LA-based Song Dynasty team, which is run by Tank and Valentine, among others. It can be streamed or downloaded via the link below.

Love & Other Drugs mixtape stream/download (via datpiff.com)

Free R&B: Raheem DeVaughn - Destination Loveland Mixtape

Tue, 14 Feb 2012 14:25:38 +0000

Today's Valentine's Day, and as a special gift to his fans, self-proclaimed "R&B hippie neo-Soul Rock star" Raheem DeVaughn has released a free new digital mixtape, Destination Loveland, that's all about love. But if you're looking for wall-to-wall ballads and syrupy expressions of romance throughout, this isn't what you're looking for. Although Destination Loveland does have its flowery moments meant for late night listening, like "Be the One" featuring Snoop Dogg, and the sensual "All Ready," a good portion of the mixtape's about the ups and downs of relationships. There's plenty of faster-paced tracks like "Rockin With the Best," and "Dooms Day," a booming, hip-hop reworking of UK singer James Blake's "The Wilhelm Scream." On the whole, it's a well-rounded look at love, not just a one-dimensional one. The mixtape can be streamed or downloaded for free over at DatPiff.com. A link's included below.

Destination Loveland mixtape stream/download (via datpiff.com)

Free R&B: Bobby V. - V Day Mixtape

Tue, 14 Feb 2012 03:03:03 +0000

Southern smooth R&B singer Bobby V. took his original stage name -- Bobby Valentino -- from the fact that he was born near Valentine's Day. So it makes sense that if anyone would release new music on the holiday dedicated to love, it would be him. And despite the fact that he just released a free mixtape called Vitamin V right around Christmas, he's back again with another one. Bobby's latest mixtape, V Day features, as you might expect, songs about love and lovemaking. There's a few new songs here, mixed with the re-release of three songs that were on Vitamin V and Bobby's remix of Keith Sweat's "Make You Say Ooh." It's not the most groundbreaking music you'll hear, but it can definitely help set a sexy mood for you to celebrate the love holiday. You can stream or download V Day via the link below.

V Day mixtape stream/download (via datpiff.com)
Free R&B: Bobby V. - Vitamin V mixtape

2012 Grammy Awards Photos

Mon, 13 Feb 2012 01:51:53 +0000

The biggest music ceremony of the year, the 54th Grammy Awards show, was held Sun., Feb. 12, 2012 in Los Angeles. And as usual, many of the biggest and brightest R&B, Soul and urban music stars in the industry were in attendance as guests, presenters, performers and award recipients. This 2012 Grammy Awards photo gallery, which includes Jennifer Hudson, Chris Brown, Alicia Keys, Stevie Wonder, host LL Cool J and others, represents some of the larger moments of the show. Enjoy.

LL Cool J photo by Getty Images.

2012 Grammys: R&B Category Winners

Sun, 12 Feb 2012 23:53:44 +0000

The results of the 2012 Grammy Awards were announced Feb. 12, 2012 live on CBS, and the winners in the R&B categories included Cee-Lo Green, Melanie Fiona, Chris Brown and Corinne Bailey Rae. On a side note, this is the first Grammys since the announcement that the R&B awards were being downsized from eight to four as part of a larger elimination of a total of 31 categories. The full list of 2012 Grammy winners in the R&B categories can be seen via the top link below. For the nominees and winners in all music categories, visit grammy.com/nominees.

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