Big Winner: Esperanza Spalding shows off herGrammy for Best New Artistin the press room at the 53rd Annual GRAMMY Awards on February 13 in Los Angeles.- Latina.com
Esperanza upsets Bieber!!!!
Rising jazz star Esperanza Spalding was named best new artist at the 53rd Grammy Awards, besting a group of more mainstream and well-known artists. Spalding, who in 2010 released her third album, “Chamber Music Society,” has rapidly become something of a crossover star in the jazz community, having performed at the White House as well as at major pop festivals such as Austin City Limits. Source
Maybe I've been under a rock or something but I just heard Brandy's latest single I Can't Wait and I really like it! I appreciate the pulsing beat- how it skirts around the techno/dance club vibe that saturated the airways during the latter part of 2010 while not completing succumbing to it. I love how her last few albums have a mature pop sound that cannot be boxed into R & B but retain a sense of soulfulness that can only be attributed to the unique huskiness of her voice. Seems like she's had a good year with her show co-starring alongside brother Ray J and her stint on Dancing with the Stars. I am a fan of her voice and sound (not to mention her latest set of box braids!) and I hope 2011 proves to be a continued success for her.
Had you all heard the song already? If not, take a listen below and tell me what you think.
OMG I just saw this and had to share it with you. This is the cutest thing ever! Star Andrews is a 9 year old amateur skater and she did a fantastic routine to a remix of Willow Smith's "Whip My Hair". You can see she channels the singer's unique fashion sense and funky hawk style ponytails. Aside from being extremely cute, this girl is really good! Give her a few years and she will be amazing. Check it out and tell me what you think.
I belive I mentioned before how much I love the singer Seal. I have listened to his music since I was in middle school and I am super excited to hear these new tracks from his upcoming album Commitment. I wish I could go to iTunes right now to get it but I guess I will have to hold my horses until September 28th like everyone else!
Click HERE to listen to 6 of the 11 new tracks on Commitment and prepare to fall in love with Seal all over again! I really really really like the third one, Secret.
Did you watch the Haiti Telethon this weekend? It was pretty good and they raised like 57 million dollars for aid. Amazing! The two performances that stood out
in my mind most were those of Wyclef Jean and Jay-Z/Rihanna. I remember that in Wyclef's he made a comment about being Hatian and furthermore being African.
So when I saw this video it made me think of that and how so many of our issues about hair, skin, etc stem from shame of our Blackness, our African-ness.
We are Africans. It's cool. We should be proud. You may not like all the song's lyrics or the video (some of it is quite silly,lol) but the message is clear.
I just heard this and I LOVE it! I love the hair, the beat, the colors, the sleek look, everything! Mary looks beautiful and Drake ain't bad either, lol! This song entitled The One has a street edge but is slick and melodious.
"Mary J. Blige has collaborated with Canadian rapper Drake for her new single “The One”, which got released on June 5, 2009. Blige’s new album, the ninth one she was realized so far, is scheduled for a November 2009 release date. She performed the single recently at the Hot 97’s 2009 Summer Jam Concert."~Source
Check it out!....and if you like that, check out Stronger w/Chris Brown.
One of my favorite Italian singers, Tiziano Ferro, has a new song with Kelly Rowland. The Italian version does not feature her but there is an English version on which she sings. As I mentioned in my post on her newest song, When Love Takes Over, I really like when she ventures out and does something atypical as opposed to sticking strictly to R&B. The Italian version of the song is called Indietro or Behind in English. The English version is called Breath Gentle. I the Italian version but I like that she sings on the English one, and they do sing a little in Italian at the end. So here is the duet version.
Ok, so this Sunday Cuteness is dedicated to the one and only Maxwell. Ladies, not only his he fine but he is super talented. This past Wednesday, I was lucky enough to attend the final concert of his summer tour at the DPAC (Durham Performing Arts Center) in downtown Durham.
Let me just say, from the moment he stepped on stage till the last bow at after the energetic encore, Maxwell was the consummate performer. We all know he can sing like an angel, but did you know he can dance with the best of them?! I had no idea how well that man can move. And let me just say he turned the heat up in that house!
Whew, I am still catching my breath! He sang all the old favorites and a bunch of the new stuff, including Pretty Wings. His band, his moves, those pants.....omg ladies, this one was the one to see. I am so glad he's back and I have a completely new appreciation for what he can do!
Oh, and I thought I would miss the hair, but he's still absolutely beautiful without it. Here's a look at the old, the new, and the forever wonderful Maxwell!
Ok, so I know I just did two posts at one time but...eh who cares! This is so freakin cute I had to share. How sweet! Great coordination! Beautiful energy! And that dude at 1:14 was gettin it won't he?! I almost cried. Seriously.
...and Tuesday! I love this song. For about 3 years dance music was an obsession. It has since simmered into slowly burning flame that gets stoked every so often when I hear a cool track like this one.
I have not heard this here in NC but I caught my first listen on the way to ATL this weekend. It reminds me of Mexico and Italy (two places you gotta go if you want to dance in really cool clubs) and I can't resist the urge to move when I hear it. I really hope Kelly makes a whole album like this. Her voice fits well with this type of music and she could finally truly set her self apart from Beyonce's pop and RnB songs.
So that's what I'll be humming on this lovely day...and this might just be my summer anthem. What's yours?
I said it once and I'll say it again. I love Jordin! It's not her virginal image or striking good looks. I'm simply a sucker for a good pop hook and she delivers that. Her new album Battlefield drops the day before my birthday.
'Jordin Sparks has said she recorded 30 songs for the Battlefield album. She says that she contributed in the songwriting on 12 of them. No duets for the album have been confirmed, but Jordin Sparks has said in interviews she hopes to collaborate with Leona Lewis on a power ballad. Among the producers who are working on the project are Stargate, Max Martin, T-Pain, Ryan Tedder, and Dr. Luke.' ~Top 40
I am liking the cover art for the new disc and dare I say she might go back to rocking her natural curls?! The long, straight, blown-out look was nice on her but I began to feel like she had been made over into typical black pop tart by her people to sell more records. Who knows. All I can say is I like what I see so far and I hope there is more curl where those came from on the inside artwork. The track listing for Battlefield (deluxe edition) includes 14 cuts and there is a DVD portion as well.
1. Walking On Snow 2. Battlefield 3. Don’t Let It Go To Your Head 4. S.O.S. (Let The Music Play) 5. It Takes More 6. Watch You Go 7. No Parade 8. Let It Rain 9. Emergency (911) 10. Was I The Only One 11. Faith 12. The Cure 13. Postcard (deluxe edition bonus track) 14. Papercut (deluxe edition bonus track)
DVD
1. Hangin’ With Jordin Sparks 2. Battlefield Behind The Scenes 3. Battlefield Photo Shoot 4. Battlefield (music video)
From listening to the preview below, Walking on Snow, Let It Rain, The Cure & S.O.S. are some of my faves. There are also some great new promo pics! Battlefield Preview:
I was literally at the gym in step class when I saw the news flash across the screen across the way. I had to stop, put up my step, and go home. How could I continue? I am so sad and music will never be the same without him. RIP Michael Jackson (August 29, 1958 – June 25, 2009)
Aaahhhh the blowout. Nothing like it. I cannot imagine what could make our naturally coily/curly/kinky hair bigger than a good old fashioned blowout. Hair looks light and fluffy, and sways in the wind. I remember I was riding through Greensboro one day and saw a man walking down the street with a little boy. I guess he could see where he was going but I don't know how, all I could see were inches and inches of glorious black hair swaying in the air in all directions. His blowout was fabulous!!!!!
I suppose if you're gonna do a blowout, make sure you use a good heat protectant first, especially on the ends. And stretch your hair without heat as much as possible before the final blow out.
One major blow out inspiration is the lovely an talented miss Leela James...isn't it gawjus!
...by my favorite singer. I have the Spanish version of the Italian CD this was on, so I am hearing it for the first time tonight. I could be disappointed that it took this long and I'm just now hearing it. But then again, it's kind of like discovering a little hidden treasure, like finding money in a pocket you haven't checked in a while. By the way, it was a song she wrote for her sister's wedding. Couldn't you just imagine a lovely bride walking down a rose petal-covered aisle to this? Ahhh...I just love love. *sigh*
Here's the translation:
I Take You I take you Your hands And I take us. Look at me
I take the one who Is my tomorrow. Love me. I am here
Love me For however much time next to you I will tell myself at night And I will protect you
I will have more feeling together with you If I think that you have me. Always close to each other
Ask me today Ask me today About sharing with each other If it will even turn off the darkness
I take you I take you Your hands Love me I am here Love me Love me
I just saw this woman on another blog and instantly wanted to know more about her. Turns out, her name is Paula Lima, she is Afro Brazilian, and she is a famous composer and singer. I saw her and the first thing I noticed was her amazing hair! Picture after picture of this beautiful woman and I was taken aback by how cool her hair looks. At first I could not tell what was exactly going on but upon closer look I realized she has braid extensions that she wears curled. Very interesting. I could not find a pic of her without them so I assume this is her staple look. I have not seen braid extensions styled like this before and it looks really cool. Actually, they remind me of BeautifulBrwnBabyDol's (love her!!!) twists now that I think about it.
Aside from her amazing hair (and skin by the way), she has a beautiful voice! I love listening to Portuguese, especially Brazilian Portuguese. Watch her move people!!!!!!!
Wednesday, April 15, 2009
I was watching an episode of Oprah I DVR'd (procrastinating yet again...this semester is killing me ya'll) and the whole episode was dedicated to some of country music's hottest stars. The guests were Carrie Underwood (love her), Kenny Chesney (ehh), Sugarland (yeah!), and Darius Rucker (if you were a Hootie and the Blowfish fan you know who he is). Oprah said something to him like "Wouldn't you agree that country is the real soul music" or something like that. She brought up how he's only the third African American to top the country charts behind Ray Charles and Charlie Pride. Cool. I thought about it and how country music is seen as such a "white" thing typically. But if you look at country's roots you see it has a complex history:
Country music was a federation of styles, rather than a monolithic style. Its origins were lost in the early decades of colonization, when the folk dances (Scottish reels, Irish jigs, and square dances, the poor man's version of the French "cotillion" and "quadrille") and the British ballad got transplanted into the new world and got contaminated by the religious hymns of church and camp meetings. The musical styles were reminiscent of their British ancestors. The lyrics, on the other hand, were completely different. The Americans disliked the subject of love, to which they preferred pratical issues such as real-world experiences (ranching, logging, mining, railroads) and real-world tragedies (bank robberies, natural disasters, murders, train accidents).
The instrumentation included the banjo, introduced by the African slaves via the minstrel shows, the Scottish "fiddle" (the poor man's violin, simplified so that the fiddler could also sing) and the Spanish guitar (an instrument that became popular in the South only around 1910). Ironically, as more and more blacks abandoned the banjo and adopted the guitar, the banjo ended up being identified with white music, while the guitar ended up being identified as black music. For example, Hobart Smith learned to play from black bluesman Blind Lemon Jefferson, but went on to play the banjo while Jefferson played the guitar.
Growing up I always felt conflicted about the type of music I 'should' like versus the music I did like. Sometimes what I liked was different that what I thought I 'should" like and sometimes it was the same. Being from Nashville, TN, I always heard "Oh you're from Nashville so I know you like country!" Back in the 90's I really didn't. But now, since country is slightly more pop Ifind myself liking it more and more. I love Carrie Underwood and Sugarland. And before Darius went country (although he always sounded a little country to me), I liked Hootie and the Blowfish.
So each act performed on the show. When it was Darius's turn, he chose a beautiful slow song written about his daugter. Pictures and videos of his wife and kids splashed across the screen behind the band as they played. It is such a tender song about a dad watching his babies grow, knowing that one day they will be all grown up. I liked it so much I thought I'd share. Country might not be your thing but this song is lovely. I'm thinking I'll go check out his cd this weekend...
Oh...and if you haven't heard this one by Sugarland, Miss Jennifer Nettles will make a believer out of you. (BTW the other half of Sugarland is Mr. Kristian Bush of Bush's baked beans, lol!!!)Brings me to tears to watch her. Click here to see the actual video, for some reason I can't embed it.
Starts of a little shaky...but then he gets in and makes beautiful sounds with his hands. Lollipop already has a nice melody to it anyways...but the piano makes it soar...around 1:07 or so.
Once you find the key the song's in the rest is just playing with different melodies. But he does it so nicely. I likes it. I likes it a lot.
