Drake- I’m Ready For Ya (Song Leak)

By Kia O. Moore (kia@mingleberry.com)

What do you get when you intertwine the vocals of Nigerian-German, hip-hop/soul singer Nneka into a melodic hip-hop beat? Drake’s latest leak: I’m Ready For Ya.

Take a listen:

Check out the song that was sampled to create Drake’s latest track. View the video below:

Bilal is back and providing a download to set you FREE

by Kia O. Moore (kia@mingleberry.com)

His fans have had that soul music junky itch for nine years. They got a quick hit in 2006 when his unofficial second album Love for Sale was leaked into cyberspace. It instantly become an underground soul music holy grail. This coming September, Bilal is back on the market and ready to inject a fusion of soul & jazz into the veins of his longstanding fans and soul music lovers in general.

His album Airtight’s Revenge is scheduled to drop Sept. 13 via Los Angel’s based label Plug Research Music. It features production from Bilal, Nottz, Shafiq Husayn, 88 Keys, Steve Mckie, and Conley Tone Whitfield.

Airtight’s Revenge Track list:

1. Cake & Eat It Too (Produced by Bilal Oliver & Steve Mckie)
2. Restart (Produced by Bilal Oliver & Steve Mckie)
3. All Matter (Produced by Bilal Oliver & Steve Mckie)
4. Flying (Produced by Bilal Oliver & Nottz)
5. Levels (Produced by Bilal Oliver & Shafiq Husayn)
6. Little One (Produced by Conley Tone Whitfield)
7. Move On (Produced by Bilal Oliver & Steve Mckie)
8. Robots (Produced by Bilal Oliver)
9. The Dollar (Produced by Bilal Oliver & Steve Mckie)
10. Who Are You (Produced by Bilal Oliver & Steve Mckie)
11. Think It Over (Produced by 88 Keys)

Here is a little audible taste to satisfy that Bilal music itch:

Freebie

If you missed Bilal’s unofficial second album Love for Sale, Mingleberry.com got you: CLICK HERE

Can Chris Brown keep it DRAMA FREE?

 Article provided by SoulSummer.com

 By Kia O. Moore (kia@mingleberry.com)

I am sitting in the car, the air conditioner is broken, and it feels like 102 degree weather. The radio is on, but I am not really listening to it. The thick North Carolina humidity plus the usual Charlotte 5′oclock traffic jam has my musical focus turned way down. Then I hear, “Here is your No. 1 requested jam of the day: Chris Brown’s Deuces.” My ears perk up and a turn the volume dial on high.

A beat that sounded like a mellowed out, remixed version of LL Cool J’s 1995 hit Doin’ it blasted from my speakers.  My head began to nod. I had that feeling that said, “Okay, Breezy is back and the people are loving him.” Then my head nod began to slow down as I listened to the lyrics.

It is basically Chris, Tyga, and newcomer Kevin MaCall saying “Bye, Bye,” to some girl and moving on to the next one.  Then Chris said a line that made my head nod stop mid rock.

“She know just what I need. She know just what I mean when I tell her to keep it drama free.” - Chris Brown

His intonation strongly stressed the words DRAMA FREE.

Then I got to thinking, this sounds like a well-crafted double entendre that I don’t want to like, but can’t stop grooving to. My head nod resumed with slight hesitation.

That line felt like an upper cut in reference to “the incident.” MaCall even makes reference to the famous Ike & Tina limo scuffle. (Not the best reference to use in a Chris Brown song, even if Tina fought back during that domestic incident.) If one is listening to Deuces from a slightly rhetorical feminist prospective and psychological prospective, one can correlate that this song was a straight up upper cut to domestic violence and could be used as an example of the domestic violence cycle.

From a feminist rhetorical approach, I ask, “Why does he have to “tell her” to keep it drama free? Could he not “ask her” to keep it drama free? Could she not understand if he “say[s] keep it drama free”? The word “tell” gives off the feeling of control. When observing domestic violence, control is what it is all about.

From the psychological prospective, Chris Brown’s public behavior through social media and song lyrics can be associated with a typical domestic violence cycle. After “the incident” Chris made what seemed to be a well scripted and not so well rehearsed YouTube apology. Then his apologetic, please, baby baby, please song was released: Crawl.

Next, we hear reports of Chris lashing out on Twitter about his less than pleasing sales of his 2009 studio release Graffiti. On May 17, 2010 Chris unleashed the Fan of a Fan Mixtape featuring the now Charlotte, NC radio favorite Deuces. June 27th came along, and many music listeners forgave Mr. Brown when he performed his moving tribute to Michael Jackson and apologized to his fans at the 2010 BET Awards.

• Did anyone catch the pattern? Incident, apology, please baby, lash-out, apology
• Domestic violence cycle: Incident, calm, making-up, tension building, incident
• Chris Brown’s track record: “the incident,” YouTube apology,Crawl, Deuces, ….

Deuces‘ lyrics sound like the tension building stage of the domestic violence cycle. The question is, can Chris Brown keep away from the incident stage?       - Mingleberry.com blogger

Chris Brown’s Deuces is ranked No. 2 as the Biggest Jump on the Billboard Ringtone Charts. The single also broke into the Billboard R&B/Hip Hop Top 50 at No. 48.

Check out the Deuces Video for yourself:

Longing for the Moonwalker

By Kia O. Moore      (kia@mingleberry.com)

It has been three days since the anniversary of Michael Jackson’s death. I have been googling my brain for three days trying to figure out a way to pay tribute to the man that introduced me to my soul mate: music.

The year was 1988. The song had a pronounced bass guitar melody that pervaded my ear canal, thumping my eardrums as I moved in time to the beat. I mimicked every move he made on my TV screen. At the age of 3 the “smooth criminal” had me in his grasp. Band-Aids on my fingertips, a fedora atop my head, and the rhythm in my feet. Michael Jackson and me only needed the music.

When I was a toddler my grandma bought me the VHS of Michael Jackson Moonwalker. From the opening sequence to the closing credits, I was mystified by the power of music and the rhythmic movement it evoked. Thinking back on those days, I didn’t realize that music would be my best friend for the rest of my life. I didn’t have a choice, really. Living in my house was like living in a record store. The wall of my mother’s and godmother’s room was lined with vinyl records, which were mostly composed of the R&B, Soul and Funk genres with a few classic Old School Hip-hop records sprinkled in.

But at the age of 3, all I needed was my Michael. Every single day I watched the nonsensical movie that was Michael Jackson Moonwalker. I knew the lyrics to every song that played. I recited the words to every line said. I learned every dance move I saw on the screen. Michael Jackson was my musical idol and my alter was the TV screen every time I watched that movie.

Only a child’s mind can truly grasp the wonderment and joy that this hodgepodge film brought. A string of claymation segments, dance sequences, and mini-movies put together to make a VHS. This patchwork of entertainment molded my musical mind.

As I got older, I had the desire to share the magic that was Michael Jackson.

Several months prior to Michael’s death, I sat and watch Moonwalker with my then 6-year-old nephew. I felt it was my duty to teach him about Michael Jackson. As he watched the film, he had the same look of wonderment and joy in his eye that I had when I was a little tike absorbing the greatness of Michael Jackson.

Then June 25, 2009 came. My nephew and I watched the headlines announcing Michael Jackson had died. His little heart was broken just like mine. My heart was broken because I knew we would not get the chance to see MJ in the flesh. My heart was broken because I knew we would not get the chance to hear new music from MJ. My heart was broken because I knew that Michael Jackson the man, never got to be a little boy.

But my little boy, my nephew, gets the chance to carry on the spirit of MJ throughout his childhood and into his adulthood. My nephew will pass on the legacy of Michael Jackson to his children.

2010 BET Awards in Review: The Overview

By Kia O. Moore    (kia@mingleberry.com)

When BET announced Queen Latifah was going to host this year’s awards, I was not so sure about that decision. With past years being hosted by comedians like Jamie Foxx, Mo’ Nique , Steve Harvey & Cedric the Entertainer and others, I was not confident that Queen was going to keep me thoroughly entertained during those down moments between performances.  But the Queen was a class act, taking us down memory lane with her many costume changes: from her award-winning Matron “Mama” Morton from the musical Chicago to her latest character from the motion picture Just Wright.

The movie character that stole the show was Cleeo from Set it Off. Cleeo was the comic relief when T.I. and she transitioned into one of the many BET performances. As Cleeo made a motion that looked as if  she was reaching for a gun tucked in her waist, T.I. jokingly made reference to a flashback of his bad run-in with gun possession charges and award shows. But, what really won me over on BET’s decision to have Queen Latifah host the show was when Queen let the MC out and spit over Drake’s radio-beloved track Forever.

The host was not the only great selection the BET Awards producers made. The individuals they selected to represent the New Era of Hip Hop were top notch. Drizzy Drake’s performance on the main stage was passion-filled. Fayetteville-native J. Cole had a snippet of a performance on the side stage during a transition to a commercial. Although it was short, his performance exuded the same intense passion as Drake’s did.

This year’s BET Honorees were a great choice that truly represented the best of black music: Prince Rogers Nelson for the ‘Lifetime Achievement Award’ and John Legend for the ‘BET Humanitarian Award.’ The tribute performance to Prince was quite a delight. Janelle Monae, Esperanza Spalding, Alicia Keys and to conclude the harmonic tribute: Pattie Labelle (the only performer to bring Prince to his feet prior to the end of their performance).

Prince may have been a tough music enthusiast to crack, but the vast majority of the BET performances put smiles on people faces, kept people on their feet and inspired them to groove.

The 2010 BET Awards gets a 9.2. (Hey, next year they may top this award show. I got to give them room to grow).

To get the dish on the Top 10 BET Awards Performances click here.

2010 BET Awards in Review: Top 10 Performances

By Kia O. Moore   (kia@mingleberry.com)

It took ten years, but after a decade of practice BET executed its Award Show in an exquisite manner. The nominees, the honorees, the sets, and YESSSSS the performances made 2010 BET Awards one you won’t mind watching repeatedly throughout the year. (This is BET we are talking about. You know they are going to play the BET Awards 10, like, twice a day until March 2011.)

To get the overview of the overall show click here.

BET Awards 10 | Top 10 Performances

The performances are what made this year’s awards show the best of all the BET Awards Shows of the past decade. Mingleberry.com put together its own awards list for the BET Awards 10 performance. We welcome your comments, so add some categories of your own.

Most Memorable Performance Award: Chris Brown’s MJJ Tribute

Copy, Paste, and Publish my words: “This performance revived Chris Brown’s barely breathing career. ” I would have sworn that the BET Award Producers, Jermaine Jackson, and Chris Brown held a séance seconds before Young Breezy went on stage. Every move Chris made was all Michael Joseph Jackson: Chris Brown was no longer present. The kick then leg tap, the crotch grab then hunch, the Motown 25th Anniversary Moonwalk routine; MJJ was alive in the body movements of CB.

Then Chris closed the performance with, what seemed to be sincere, crocodile tears. Singing Man in the Mirror must have resonated with the young singer. A song “asking him to change his ways” combined with him paying tribute to a man that people around the world love may have helped Chris “crawl back to [the] love [of his fans]” and move  his public persona from the seemingly cold and heartless Brown many came to know after “the incident.”  Later that night he won the Fandemonium Award, and award based on fan participation in social media voting.    (To see the performance click here.)

Chris Brown channels the spirit of the greatest entertainer that ever lived: Michael Jackson.

Most Dazzling Performance Award: Diddy-Dirty Money “Hello Good Morning”

The BET Awards truly raised its budget this year. All you needed to do was checkout the Diddy-Dirty Money performance. (Yeah, Diddy changed the name of the group from Dirty Money to Diddy-Dirty Money. Did anyone else notice that?) The performance was FIRE, literally. Every stanza and drum slap was accented by a flashing light or pyrotechnical blast. Everyone knows that Diddy is a flashy guy, and BET made sure he got all the pyro flash he needed.

Best Use of Set Award: Kayne West “Power”

With Kayne opening the show, you knew he would set the bar with the use of his stage set. Performing his latest single Power on top of a mountain that looked like the Nickelodeon GUTS Aggro Crag was a great attention grabber.  With every line he spat, the mountain spewed out red clouds of smoke that accented his Kool-Aid red, skateboarder-tight jeans and matching jean jacket.  Kayne took audience members and viewers on a powerful ride over the top of mountains as a background movie screen showed IMAX size movies with cameras panning over snowcapped mountains.

Kayne West perfoms his latest single "Power" on top of the BET Awards mountain.

The “No Y’all Didn’t BET” Award: El DeBarge

Wavey hair, soft high-pitched voice, and suave charm that make the ladies swoon: Who is it? Young Money’s Lloyd would be a great guess, but you got to go back about two decades…I am talking about El DeBarge. Yeaaaaaahhhhh Man! Black Entertainment Television took it back to the Video Soul days with the hazel-eyed Donnie Simpson. (If you don’t know what I am talking about, then you need to get your Soul Music IQ together.)  El took us on a DeBarge old school soul montage with songs All This Love and Rhythm of the Night, just to name a few.

Best Tribute Performance Award: Janelle Monae and Tyrese

BET Awards 10 could be known as the “Night of the Tributes.” Two tributes that stood out, besides the obvious Michael Jackson tribute mentioned above, were Janelle Monae with her rendition of Prince’s “Let’s Go Crazy” and Tyrese with his Teddy Pendergrass medley. Monae fidgeting around on the stage with her eccentric flare and ended her performance by being dragged from the stage. Her performance just transmitted that entertainment aura associated with his Purple Greatness. Tyrese unleashed his soul man sexy and drew panties out of pockets at he sang the songs of Teddy P. (the real Teddy P., not the Auto-Tune minstrel-show-like character we have come to know since 2005.)

Janelle Monae gives an insane performance as she sings Prince's "Let's Go Crazy."

Black Ty get in touch with his inner Teddy P.

Most Forgettable Performance Award: Eminem

I guess Em was out to reconnect with his black audience, but uhhhhh, he lost one.  Believe me, Em used to be in heavy rotation in my portable CD player back during his LP days: Slim Shady LP and Marshal Mathers LP to be specific. From 1999-2002, I could recite every lyric to every song off of both of those albums as soon as the beat dropped.  However, Em dropped the mic on this one and I cannot give you any details about his performance because I lost interest and changed the channel. If you can enlighten me and the other readers about the Eminem performance please leave a comment about it.

Eminem goes back to black as he raps to a predominately black audience.

Most Energetic Performance Award: DJ Khaled “All I Do is Win”

With a barrage of people on stage, an amped-up beat, and a dance instruction based chorus, audience members and viewers could not help but get energized. Everyones hand’s were “Up….and they stay[ed] there.” Then they proceed to go “UP. DOWN. UP. DOWN. UP. DOWN.” DJ Khaled and his crew: Ludacris, Rick Ross, Busta Rhymes, Diddy, Nicki Minaj, and T-Pain definitely won the crowd over with this song.

Mixtape DJ/Hypeman/Mr. We Da Best: DJ Khaled

‘I expected more from you’ Performance Award: Usher “There Goes My Baby”

All I can do is shake my head from side to side when I think about this on this one.  I can understand why Ush went with the more R&B friendly “There Goes My Baby” instead of the upbeat MTV favorite “OMG,” but the performance was boring. The element that kept me most intrigued was the special effect the BET crew used to make it look like Usher was standing on a cloud. Come on dude, I was more captivated by a cloud than your performance. Now that’s a problem.

This is not the Usher that I know and love. I have been rockin’ with Ush since his Call Me a Mack days. See, I grew up with an Usher-obsessed older sister and Usher and I share the same hometown (Chattanooga, TN), so I  can’t help but ride with the R.A.Y.M.O.N.D. However, this performance forced me to get off the Usher ride. His performance was for the birds, but it was nothing to tweet about.

Usher performs in the clouds.

BET Reminisce Award: Love Jones Reenactment

The BET Awards 10 stole my heart when they reminded me of “the sweetest thing I’ve ever known”: poetic black love. Nina Mosley and Darius Lovehall were in the building and the Love Jones was still strong between them.  The beautiful Nia Long strolled on stage in a  flirty cocktail dressed and begin to recite the final poem from the classic black love romance movie Love Jones. Larenz Tate was planted in the audience and armed with a mic. He responded to Nia’s Nina’s poem with Darius’s well-known and highly seductive lyrical verse. Tate ended the reenactment on the stage with his eyes transfixed on Nia’s blues-filled left thigh trying to become a funk-filled right. And that was alright with me! (Coffeehouse snaps for a wonderful poetic performance.)

Nia Long momentarily revives her role as Nina Mosley from "Love Jones."

Most Memorable BET Presentation Award: Terrence J & Rocsi

Another male/female duo that stole the show with their “so-called performance” was 106 & Parker’s Terrence J & Rocsi. While presenting the final award with a fan, the fan asked if the two had a lil’ something, something going on between them. Terrence J and Rocsi proceeded to kiss each other passionately and turn to the fan and said, “No,” in unison. Terrence J seemed to enjoy it and Rocsi had a hard time finishing her presentation after the kiss.

Cutty-buddies? Couple? Co-workers? Your guest is as good as mine.

Those are all the awards I have to give out. You ladies and gentlemen come up with some. Just leave your comment below.

2010 BET Awards in Review: Chris Brown’s Teary-eyed tribute to MJ

• What’s your take on the performance?

• How do you feel toward Chris Brown now?

Leave your comments below.

2010 BET Awards in Review: BET & El DeBarge Throwback

Check out the video below to get your Soul Music IQ up.

Donnie Simpson’s Video Soul Interview w/ El DeBarge

Small World… Or Small Industry World?

Small Wonder

Bentley’s RSVP hosted Small World’s listening party 6/8/2010 exposing the city to another emerging artist that vows to put NC on the map. Having been in the game for 3 years his first single “Pinky Ring Shining” featuring Luda and current single “Keep it Going” can be heard on satellite radio. As a Henderson native with roots in RDU and the QC this southern rapper stays true to his southern heritage which is displayed in his beats, delivery, and swagger.

Having worked with many producers worldwide this is not just a southern breed star but a music pioneer that is sure to make more than just ripples here in the South and abroad.

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