Digital Black from Playa is the embodiment of Kentucky soul. Digital Black is pushing R&B in a whole new direction. "My sound comes from the heart. Its old school and emotional yet still ghetto, "says Digital Black."It's about knowing which parts need harmonies and which parts don't. Or you might need to sing one line really, really soft and blow up on the next line. I write my songs so I know exactly how they should sound."
Digital Black had begun to make a name for himself when he wrote Ginuwine's number one hit, So Anxious and he has also worked with the late Aaliyah, Missy Elliot, Timbaland, Al Green, David Hollister, Tweet, Nicole Ray, Tank, Gerald Levert, Jodeci, Jo Jo, Toni Braxton and a host of producers such as Dr. Dre, Jazzy Pha, Kanye West, Seven, Scott Storch and Stevie J. "I think he brings a spiritual soul back to R&B that has been missing for the past decade or so. It's rare to see a solo artist that is as vocally solid and talented as Digital Black," said the late Aaliyah.
"My styles are also influenced by older people," says Digital Black. "Donnie Hathaway, Stevie Wonder, Al Green, Smokey Robinson,& Charlie Wilson" Digital Black's real strength is his versatility. From one track to another, the album moves easily from lover's jam to party ruckus. There is nothing this young man can't do. With style, flair and down-home flavor, Digital Black is bringing on the next wave of soul. People get ready and let the music speak for its self.
Digital Black - Memoirs of a R&B Thugfeatures Aaliyah, Jazze Pha, Smokey and Static from Playa. Enjoy.
There is a new pageant in town, but its unlike any other, The Miss Urban Beauty Pageant! This pageant features women who have full-figured physiques, community-oriented outlooks with the smarts to build successful careers in Corporate America and they love the hip-hop culture.
Hip-hop has become one of the most popular, profitable music genres and lifestyles in the marketplace today. The hip-hop culture is the basis of billions of dollars in annual sales of clothing, accessories, fragrances, automobiles, spirits, movies and more. A large part of hip-hops appeal is the beautiful models featured in music videos, magazine layouts and other aspects of the culture. Shannon Anderson, founder of the Miss Urban Beauty Pageant, would like to bring urban models to the forefront in a different, more positive light. She says they contribute significantly to the marketability and power of hip-hop, but are usually seen as just a group of pretty girls with glossy lips and voluptuous hips.
We are taking urban models and placing them in a more mainstream setting. The Miss Urban Beauty pageant is designed to break the barriers and stereotypes associated with urban models by giving them more mainstream appeal while still maintaining the integrity of being an urban model. "This pageant will be Miss America meets Americas Next Top Model and the Apprentice,"Anderson says, "and with the expected release of the calendar, DVD, and submission to television networks this pageant is definitely setting the path for major success!"
This years Atlanta pageant will be held at the Rialto Theater on Sept. 9th,2006.
After a delayed start Cheryl "Salt" James solo debut will finally be released. Originally due in 2001 as Salt Of The Earth, the forthcoming project is now titled Salt Unrapped. Her new sound, filled with trademark hip hop and r&b fused with inspirational messages, classified as “Urban Inspirational."
In her own words, she is ‘much wiser now, happier and has a new outlook on life. She left the industry on top, and has spent the past six years building her faith with God, sharing life with her family, building her businesses, and preparing to be an asset to the Kingdom.
Along with her musical career, she is currently working on a series of children’s books, her biography, and would also like to explore television and movie roles. Salt is relevant and wants to share her testimony with Generation Y. “All That Glitters Ain’t Gold.”, she says, with this theme her heart is bleeding to speak to the world.
"This is about me giving my testimony, completely straight from the heart," James said of her CD. "It's just me talking about things that I've gone through, where I've been and what I've learned. It's also about what God has meant to me and my life and done for me as well."
It's been a very sad few days period for music... after Jay Dee's passing, don-e's myspace page is reporting the passing of UK soul singer Lynden David Hall... after a two year battle with cancer. The London born singer succumbed to Hodgkin's Lymphoma on Feb 14.
If you didn't know him please check his three LP's (Medicine 4 My Pain, The Other Side & In Between Jobs) and his guest appearence in the movie Love Actually. In a successful career, Hall released three albums and won the Best Newcomer Award at the 1998 Music of Black Origin (MOBO) awards.
Nona Hendryx, one-third of the pop-soul act LaBelle, is hard at work on her first new music in 10 years, including a planned reunion album with LaBelle members Patti LaBelle and Sarah Dash. Hendryx says the trio has laid out plans to record this year and is looking to release a project in 2007. Meanwhile, new LaBelle material will appear in the form of two songs featured in the Cataland Films/Code Black Entertainment film Preaching to the Choir. Due April 14 in U.S. theaters, the film premiered in October at the Chicago International Film Festival. A label for the soundtrack has yet to be determined.
The movie revolves around fraternal twins who part ways when one chooses a career in ministry while the other seeks hip-hop fame. Patti LaBelle stars as a choir director and also performs three new songs composed by Hendryx. "The title song is the reunion song by Patti, Sarah and I, and that will be in the film's credits and also in the trailer," Hendryx tells Billboard.com. "We also did a song called Dear Rosa as a tribute to Rosa Parks. Those two songs are sort of like our start."
Hendryx says her label, Rhythmbank Entertainment, will also play a role in the reunion album. Most of her projects are funneled through the company, which she formed two years ago with partner Bobby Banks. The roster currently includes singer/songwriter David Ryan Harris and 10-year-old gospel singer Najiyah. As for Hendryx's solo project, the singer is looking to add more hip-hop components to the album and has reached out to several writers and producers, including M-1 of dead prez and Rahzel of The Roots. But Hendryx insists she plans to stick to her pop-rock style. "I like that sort of young, street, edgy element that they bring to my more rock, melodic, song-structured creativity," she says. "It's about making that blend between R&B-rock music and making songs rather than just beats with flow on top. I'm looking to come up with classic songs."
Hendryx recently composed new music for the soundtrack to the Showtime series Sleeper Cell, released Feb. 7 via Rhythmbank. Hendryx served as executive-producer of the album, as well as co-producer along with Grammy-nominated composer Paul Haslinger. "Half of the soundtrack is music I performed with Paul," says Hendryx. "The other half is music from the show." The disc also features music from Sufjan Stevens, Tricky, Faithless and Citizen Cope. A podcast interview with Hendryx and Haslinger about the soundtrack will be available later this month via the Rhythmbank web site, iTunes and Showtime's web site.
American Express announced a new partnership today with the UK's Product RED to help fund the fight against AIDS and malaria on the African continent. As part of the program, the financing giant has launched a new product, American Express Red, a credit card that will contribute 1% of everything spent with the card toward the humanitarian group the Global Fund. (Product RED is an initiative whose primary objective is to engage the private sector in the fight against AIDS in Africa by channelling funds from the sale of RED products directly to the Global Fund To Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria.)
American Express RED will be the first credit card to meet the payment needs of a new and growing group of individuals it calls 'Conscience Consumers.' These are consumers who make decisions about the brands they purchase based on their social, ethical and environmental values. Companies whose products take on the RED mark have made a commitment to contribute a portion of profits from the sale of that product to the Global Fund to finance AIDS programs in Africa.
Besides Amex, current partners are Converse, Gap and Giorgio Armani. Launch partners will channel a portion of profits to the fund from selected 'Red-branded' goods -- including, respectively, T-shirts, wraparound sunglasses and training shoes made from African mudcloth. Rumors are circulating that Apple may join by offering its highly popular ipod in red.
The companies will roll out the Red brand in various markets at different stages, mainly targeting Britain at first, where Amex expects a market of some four million 'conscience consumers' by 2009. It will unveil its card in the UK in March. www.americanexpressred.co.uk/ http://www.joinred.com/
ABSOLUT recently launched ABSOLUT KRAVITZ – a new music project which sees Lenny Kravitz creating an exclusive new track based on his interpretation of the ABSOLUT brand. Famous for its creative collaborations with leading world-famous artists and designers, this collaboration marks the first time Absolut has worked with such a well-known figure from the world of music.
ABSOLUT KRAVITZ is the first project that has seen ABSOLUT teaming up with an internationally recognised recording artist. Lenny Kravitz joins the long list of talented individuals – Andy Warhol, Gianni Versace, Damien Hirst and Helmut Lang among them – who have collaborated with ABSOLUT to create exclusive new works.
Kravitz recorded a new song entitled Breathe , which will be featured in the campaign. Although this collaboration marks Absolut’s first collaboration with a musician, the brief given to Kravitz was exactly the same as the one any world –class artist working with the brand would receive:present your personal interpretation of Absolut and its core values. The result is a track that is a transition from Kravitz’s traditional rock and roll to a distinctly dance music sound, with minimal lyrics, a memorable melody and pulsating beat.
Pending a signature from the President of the United States, the deadline for all American televisions to go digital will be February 17, 2009, where all US TVs will either need to be digital or have a digital to analog converter. Luckily for consumers prices are falling too. The clock is ticking and only three years remain.
A man was shot to death early this morning (Feb. 5) near a video shoot for rapper Busta Rhymes in the Greepoint section of Brooklyn, N.Y. According to reports,Israel Ramirez was shot once in the chest, he was pronounced dead a short time later. Ramirez who was working as a bodyguard at Kiss the Cactus Productions, where the video for Rhymes' Touch It remix which was being filmed.
Police said 14 shots were fired from an AK-47 assault rifle outside the studio. Police are looking for a man they say gunned down a security guard at a video shoot. Rhymes was inside the studio at the time and was not injured and at deadline it is unclear whether the incident had any connection to the artist. Surveillance tapes are being analyzed for evidence.
Israel Ramirez, 29, a relatively new addition to the rappers' security detail, was shot once in the chest around midnight in front of 259 Green St. in Greenpoint, where up to 500 people, including several hip-hop artists, gathered for a filming of the rapper's hit single police and witnesses said.
Busta Rhymes, who was unhurt and may not have heard the gunfire, was filming footage inside the studio at the time, an employee of the studio said. The rapper left before he could be questioned.
Missy Elliott was at the studio, but also left before police could talk to her, police sources said. Those sources also confirmed that rappers 50 Cent and Lloyd Banks along with singer Mary J. Blige, who also raps on the single, had been expected in the studio, but it was unclear whether they were there at the time of the shooting.
A spokesperson for Busta Rhymes or his record company could not be reached.
Ramirez was standing outside the building, while recording took place in a ninth-floor sound-proof studio, police said.
The shooting occurred as a large group of people spilled out from the warehouse onto the street and several of them began arguing, police said. The origin of the dispute was not clear, but more than 10 shots were fired from at least one gun, police sources said.
"Everyone started hiding. People started running," said a studio grip, who declined to be identified, but said he was inside the studio and hid behind a scissor lift with 20 others. "It was a chain reaction; people just running everywhere."
Ramirez, of 200 W. 107th St. in Morningside Heights, was shot once in the chest and pronounced dead at Woodhull Hospital Center at 1:10 a.m., police said.
No one was arrested in the shooting, but police said they were looking for several people who were there to understand what happened.
Hours after the shooting, police recovered a small, silver handgun with a black grip about 100 feet across the street from the studio.
The business is part of a network of production studios in Brooklyn that operate under the name Broadway Stages. A woman who picked up the phone at the company's main office declined to comment. A resident says it's been a long time since this neighborhood has seen this kind of violence.
"I've noticed that this neighborhood has changed over the last few years in terms of soundstages being developed and a new arts community thriving. We haven't heard of this kind of news since the 1980's when there was so much gang violence and street violence rampant in our community," he says.
"It's kind of disheartening to know that after so many decades, there is a looming threat of that kind of street violence once again emerging in this neighborhood."
No word yet on a motive for the shooting, or any possible suspects.
1,000,000,000 worldwide television audience 130,000,000 US viewers 70,000 fans at Ford Field in Detroit 720p HD standard of the broadcast 500 monitors in control trucks 400 crew people for production, technical, administrative and support 180 frames per second of Sony’s new experimental super slo-mo camera 100x optical zoom of the longest Canon lens to be used 90 inputs on the video switcher 90 miles of cable for cameras and microphones 60 microphones, including 12 on-field parabolic mics 54 cameras used by FOX at last year’s Super Bowl, but not all were HD as they are this year 40 digital video instant replay units 36 TV cameras 36 seasons of ABC NFL coverage, of which this is the last season and last game 29 mobile vehicles 25 degrees, forecast temperature outside the domed stadium at kickoff, a concern of ABC technicians 20 “hard” cameras (stationary as opposed to hand-held) 10 television production trucks (not including the infamous horse trailer) 10 commercials bought by the game’s biggest advertiser, Anheuser-Busch 7 handheld cameras 6 robotic cameras 6 super slo-mo cameras 5 million dollars per minute to buy a commercial 4 announcers: Al Michaels, John Madden, Michelle Tafoya and Suzy Kolber 3 60-second advertisements (the rest are :30), bought by General Motors, Burger King and ESPN 2 operators for SkyCam: one cameraman, one “pilot” 1 director, Drew Esocoff, his second Super Bowl as a director 1 winner Pittsburgh Steelers
Digital Black from Playa is the embodiment of Kentucky soul. Digital Black is pushing R&B in a whole new direction. "My sound comes from the heart. Its old school and emotional yet still ghetto, "says Digital Black."It's about knowing which parts need harmonies and which parts don't. Or you might need to sing one line really, really soft and blow up on the next line. I write my songs so I know exactly how they should sound."
