Category: Features
-
Kelly Price Returns: Letting Go Of Failure, Fear and Depression
R&B music in the mid-to-late ’90s was heavily dominated by make-up to break-up songs with soft beats and smooth melodies by the likes of Babyface, Aaron Hall, Blackstreet and Dru Hill, with Keith Sweat, R. Kelly and Mariah Carey dominating the airwaves. Mention the name Kelly Price and expect to recall a string of hits…
-
BP In Deep Water: A Bird’s-Eye View Of The Oil Spill
For the past four months, a grandiose ecological problem exists in the waters located in the Gulf of Mexico. On April 20, 2010, the catastrophic Deepwater Horizon oil spill took place in the Gulf of Mexico. British Petroleum (BP) has claimed responsibility for this environmental disaster, but has blamed Transocean Ltd. and Halliburton for their…
-
Arrested Development: Filling A Void In The Industry
Since the group’s founding in 1988, Arrested Development has been blessing the world with their infectious melodies and grooves. Their first album, 3 Years, 5 Months & 2 Days…in the Life was released in 1992. The album’s title was a reflection on how long it took them to establish a record deal. During the same…
-
Rhian Benson Previews 5 Songs From New Album, Hands Clean
With a long awaited follow up to her 2003 Gold Coast debut, Ghanaian soulstress Rhian Benson is back with new album Hands Clean, due later this year. Today she unveils FIVE snippets from the new album… • ‘Better Without You’ • ‘You Always Know’ • ‘1’ • ‘Can’t Sleep, Won’t Sleep’ • ‘Rewind’ New single…
-
Wiley’s Grime Giveaway: Gems From The Zip Files
Roll Deep, Eskimo dance, the Godfather of Grime and not turning up to events are some of the things associated with Richard Cowie aka Wiley. But all would agree that the man’s work rate is second to none and his latest venture will confound the few who still doubt his graft. Wiley, in an act…
-
Don’t Stop ‘Til You Get Enough: A Tribute to Michael Jackson
As I sit here on the bus, composing this piece on my BlackBerry, the guy next to me has his headphones up real loud. He can’t be that old, 14 or so. I’d usually be annoyed, but today I’m not. It’s ‘Billie Jean’. It’s such a familiar and distinctive sound, I’d spot it from a…
-
Michael Jackson by Marsha Ambrosius
I learned too much from Michael Jackson. Having the opportunity to be both observer and writer/vocal producer was too rich to put into so many words. Watching his breathing techniques, the vocal scales he would go over and over again before even stepping in the vocal booth at the studio every day we recorded. He…
-
If Biggie Were Still Here….
It’s the 21st of May 2010 and this morning I found myself sat watching Dirty Money‘s “Hello Good Morning” video on TV. It was a bit early for me to be watching a video with such glitz, pizzazz and all the bells and whistles which normally accompany any video by Puffy (I was born in…
-
Stevie Wonder: Perennial Inspiration or Blagger’s Legend Of Choice?
There are a handful of artists who, on discovery, change the way I listen to music. Without question the first one to start the trend was Steveland ‘Stevie Wonder’ Morris. I was seven years old when I truly understood the power of music and its potential for socio-political impact and I have Innervisions to thank…
-
Happy Birthday Stevie Wonder: An Ode To Music Of My Mind
Stevie Wonder turns 60 today. I don’t need to tell you how hallowed a figure he is in the world of music, or his Grammy tally. His legendary status speaks for itself. His career has been phenomenal and his reach is far further than just ‘Black’ music, influencing countless artists from a variety of genres.…