INDUSTRY NEWS: DIDDY LEAVES ATLANTIC/WARNER

According to Billboard Magazine, Diddy is leaving Atlantic Records/Warner Music Group after a five-year partnership.

His fifteen year old imprint Bad Boy Records will still be distributed through Atlantic/WMG, yet Diddy has elected to change his recording home. Reports suspect that Diddy will be partnering with Interscope Records/Universal Music Group at the end of this month to release his new LP, "Last Train To Paris," along with his new group Dirty Money featuring Dawn Richard, formerly of the now defunct Urban Pop group Danity Kane and new singer-songwriter Kalenna.

This is honestly a shocker cause how is it possible for Diddy to leave Atlantic yet the rest of Bad Boy must stay. In addition, Diddy only released one album on the label so it makes no sense for them to release him from his contract. Atlantic seems very lenient on releasing artists from their contracts (ie. Brandy), but this sounds too shady (ie. When Diddy tried to sign Foxy Brown and release her from Def Jam; and she claimed he and Lyor Cohen were trying to illegally trade her masters). I can only imagine the new deal with Interscope means more money, but I question if it means more money for Dawn and Kalenna.

Nonetheless, I look forward to his new project with Dirty Money and the video for their new single "Love Come Down."

INDUSTRY NEWS: CIARA RECORDING NEW ALBUM

According to Rap-Up Magazine Ciara has officially began recording her fourth album which will feature sole production from The-Dream and Tricky Stewart.

Tricky Stewart claims her album could see a release as early as 2010. He says the trio have already recorded 14 songs for the project, and the albun will have an uptempo/club-driven vibe overall. Instead of previous reports of a "Fantasy Ride," re-release Ciara and her team have just decided to leave that project in the past and embark on creating new material to be feature on a new album.

This does not come as a surprise to me because "Fantasy Ride" just doesn't stand the chance of being revitalized. The album leaked too way in advance, and although its reported that Ciara recorded well over 50 songs for the project, she still could not secure any real hit singles, or hit lead singles for that matter. How can the album's first ever single "Go Girl," be released in early to mid 2008, and "Fantasy Ride" sees a summer 2009 release. That's not common for a commercially established artist like Ciara who has a following.

I don't really know how to judge the situation. I just think Ciara made some bad decisions about the "Fantasy Ride," project like her overall concept and trying to become a pop artist; but at the same time Jive failed her in terms of handling the issue of her album leaking very prematurely, approving her creative direction, and promotional ploys. This entire ordeal definitely seems like it was a learning process for both parties, and this next LP will be handled with great care.

I think its smart that Ciara let The-Dream and Tricky Stewart produce her album entirely. The songs they produced for "Fantasy Ride" stood out the most, and their production efforts on Electrik Red's debut album"How To Be a Lady Vol. 1" and more recently Mariah Carey's twelth studio album "Memoirs of an Imperfect Angel" were impressive. I've always said that Electrik Red's material should have been sold to Ciara because she could have done it just as much justice, in addition to the idea that Ciara's third album should have been an updated ode to Janet Jackson's "Control" LP with just a little more Hip-Hop and Prince influence.

NEW VIDEO: MELANIE FIONA

Here is a new video from new artist Melanie Fiona entitled "It Kills Me," from her debut album, "The Bridge," released last tuesday in the United States.

I first saw this video Friday on 106 & Park, and was amazed. It was the first time I really listened to this chick's music. I had seen her name tons of times, but never really checked her out. She reminds me of Alicia Keys back in 2001 in a way with her delivery and overall performance on "It Kills Me." The song is a dramatic, piano-driven ballad with some strong soul roots and a hint of Motown influence. Nevertheless, this song is definitely a breath of fresh air, and reaffirms that there is real music out there that has the potential to crossover to the masses.

I doubt this song will reach number one like Ms. Key's "Fallin" from 2001, however it just may help the newcomer recieve some Grammy nominations. She's already toured with Kanye West in Europe back in 2008, and has a major following amongst music critics. BET is already featuring Ms. Fiona on its program "Rising ICONS," so it will be just a matter of time until she has a breakthrough. If Keri Hilson can do so, Melanie should not have a problem doing so cause her vocals are better in addition to being a main contributor creatively to her own music.

VINTAGE SOUL DISCOVERY: MINNIE RIPERTON

When you first think of Minnie Riperton, immediately her 1974 smash single "Lovin' You" comes to mind, then if you are familiar with soul music songs such as "Inside My Love" and "Memory Lane," may come to mind. Needless to say, many people pass this genius vocalist off as a one-hit wonder, yet a one-hit wonder who influenced generations with her uncanny ability to not only hit whistle notes, but incorporate them into song in which that skill is introduced in her first solo album, "Come to My Garden."

"Come to My Garden" is almost forty years old and it sounds more innovative than anything that is on the radio today. I will admit this album is better than Minnie's "Perfect Angel" LP that feature "Lovin' You," because every song is a statement that builds off of every song on the LP. It's loud, rich, bold, boisterous, yet very sensitive all at the same time. The LP seamlessly fuses Jazz, Soul, and Pop and speaks to the work of Dionne Warwick and Burt Bachrach's 60's sound, which was Minnie's overall goal for the album.

The songs are ornately decorated with full orchestrations that show great influence from Bacharach. The songs are always jazzy with some cool big band antics, bossa-nova at times, feature multiple time changes, emphasis on certain refrains, and have transcendental lyrics that that throw story-telling out of the window. But Minnie makes this album her own by utilizing her whistle register as an instrument. She's highly skilled at sustaining notes for long periods of time while changing inflection effortlessly gliding while still singing at the top of her head voice. The long musical phrases she belts out serve as a backdrop at times while Minnie sings in her tender chest voice for all of the lead vocals. All in all, this album is just amazing, and its evident where Mariah Carey gets much of her inspiration and some vocal and recording techniques from.

CLASSIC ALBUM: I WANT YOU

Marvin Gaye's 1976 smash hit single "I Want You" was a slick fusion of disco and quiet storm that ultimately confirmed his transition from social to sensual after his 1973 landmark album, "Let's Get It On" served as just an introduction into Marvin's new musical direction. Quincy Jones refers to this album as "musical ear candy," and it surely is.

The entire album has a light-rhythmic, slick quiet storm feel with lyrics about love-making and more love-making. Each track has a similar tranquil, cosmic sound element, and Marvin's layered and echoed, multi-harmonized vocal parts add a glaze to every track as well.

This piece of work is simply genius and speaks to Marvin's ability to interpret someone else's song in the case of this album just as well as he interprets his own. This entire album was produced and written by Leon Ware, long-time Motown contributor and rookie artist at the time, with additional contributions from Diana Ross' brother T-Boy Ross. It is rumored that Leon Ware presented this album completed to Motown president Berry Gordy, and he suggested that the young entertainer give the album to Marvin Gaye to record instead in return for a recording contract. Ware did so, and "I Want You" was brought to life. Nonetheless, Leon's contributions helped Marvin expand his artistry and Ware's influence on Marvin can be heard on subsequent works because Marvin's clear idea of quiet storm before Ware came was bluesy-esque ballads that reflected his days of singing Doo-wop with the Moonglows, ie. "Let's Get It On" and "Come Get This." In retrospect, in a way, Marvin made disco viable with this offering because of its duality to appeal to the dance floor listeners and soul and jazz purists since most of the album is cosmic yet rhythmic.

NEW MUSIC: MARY J. BLIGE

Here is a new song entitled "Said and Done" from the Queen of Hip-Hop Soul Mary J. Blige, produced by Ryan Leslie. The track is dope, like an updated classic Mary joint circa 1994. The bass-driven, heavily synthesized cosmic beat sounds like typical Ryan Leslie, but it works for Mary. Her vocals are very in sync with the track and the song-writing is decent.

There is no word if this song is a single or an actual track slated to appear on Mary's ninth studio album "Stronger," due out in November. I hope this song makes the album but from the material Mary has put out thus far I don't get the direction of the album. "The One," "Stronger," "Good Love," and this track are all different musically which leads me to believe that this new LP is going to allude to "No More Drama," which had a similar potpourri sound.

Mary is one of my favorites but I can honestly say I'm not overly excited or anxious to hear her new project anymore. I was really hoping that the overall concept of her album was vintage soul, then when she came out with "One," i was confused for a second but then receptive because I figured the album was going to give me a "What's the 411" vibe. However, "Good Love" and "Stronger" were big disappointments. I feel as though "Stronger" should not be included on the album because it's Pop, and i wanna hear Mary raw not polished. And now "Said and Done" just confuses me. Believe me, I like the song and think its hot but I just know I don't want to hear a Mary album with a bunch of random songs that are sort of cohesively put together after sly sequencing.

NEW MUSIC: DIRTY MONEY

THIS IS STRAIGHT FIRE! Here's a clip of Dirty Money's first single "Love Come Down," from his overly hyped new album/movement "Last Train To Paris." Not gonna lie, I thought the group's music was gonna be total garbage from watching recording sessions from "Making His Band." However, Diddy has clearly brought magic. The beat is bananas and everyone does their thing on this track, including Diddy. The song has a slight old-school vibe like mid-90's bad boy glory, yet its futuristic, funky, and fresh at the same time. I know the video gonna be on point!

PERFORMANCE: WHITNEY HOUSTON

Here is the uneditied performance of Whitney Houston's concert for Good Morning America. It's horrible, point blank. She blames her Oprah interview for this bad performance. I don't buy it. You can be the judge; please comment.

ALBUM REVIEW: TREY SONGZ

And the Grammy award for Best Contemporary R&B Album will go to... "Ready" by Trey Songz. The Grammy deadline was monday, so out all the albums released throughout this past year Trey Songz has one of the best. He has really evolved on this project. During every interview, he mentions how this album symbolizes growth, and it surely does. His voice, delivery, songwriting, and production has risen to another level with is album. It sequences perfectly, and the album cuts are amazing. Singles "I Need A Girl," the Drake record "Successful" and "LOL :)" are all bonafide hits, and after listening to the entire he could have plenty more to come.

Rating: (4/5 stars)

INDUSTRY NEWS: USHER ALBUM RELEASE DATE

Usher's new album entitled "Monster" is tentatively scheduled for a December 8th release. Previous reports said the album would see an October release but December sounds more accurate. Right now, Usher has been in the studio with long-time collaborator Jermaine Dupri, Adam Levine, and even Ne-Yo. Reports say that a new single should be released within the next couple of weeks, so I'll be sure to write a post about it.

Sidenote: I don't understand why Usher would record with Ne-Yo. He's not going to produce or write his best for Usher, so I don't understand the logic behind hiring dude. Someone like The-Dream doesn't even put his best foot forward for competition. Times are hard and singer-songwriters working for their competition has never been rewarding except if the singer-songwriter were Smokey Robinson or Burt Bacharach. Here's a wild thought: Usher should should do a record with Smokey, or remake one of his songs and update it. That would be a Grammy award winning smash without a doubt.