Chrisette Michele On How To Say Good-Bye ‘And It Comes To Me…Like An Epiphany’

 

The room is abuzz with industry chatter, as record label executives and staff, retailers, press and some other chosen few enjoy libations and each other’s company. They are patiently waiting for a rarity in today’s fickle music industry: an artist with a sophomore album. She is Chrisette Michele and her new Def Jam album is called Epiphany.
Debuting at #1 with her new album on Soundscan with first week sales of more than 83,000, the Grammy Award-winning songbird proves label head Antonio “L.A.” Reid right: she has staying power. She’s a keeper. Her single, “Epiphany,” had already been the precursor of this fact, topping both UAC and Urban playlists and charts.
Indeed, as she elegantly takes the stage, the room comes alive with the sudden realization that this is a star. There is something about this young lady and the way she wraps her rainy-day voice around a song, soaking it with a fresh yet old school flavor. Her live performance draws you into an intimacy with her that is compounded by her voice of experience that knows how to elevate each note into its own choir of recognition. That’s her magic: she compels you to listen and, inevitably, to enjoy.
The debut single, “Epiphany,” showcases her unique style inside a springy tune with precocious percussion and a compelling rhythm that allows her festive voice to shine in ‘spring forward’ sparkly colors. Star songman Ne-Yo produces and writes a variety of the album’s cuts, but Michele is without question the star of this show, as she takes cuts like “Playing My Song” and bounces them along with a sweetness while at the same time filling them with passion and fervor. Her style is different than the current crunch of lightweights driven by hip beats – it’s not ‘churchy’, it’s not urban… it’s very sexy and laid back. Sometimes scintillating, sometimes sad.
And she’s not afraid to take chances, as on “Blame It On Me,” where the story she so gracefully weaves takes a journey into heartbreak. That song is actually an amazing collaboration between Claude Kelly and Michele writing, with Chuck Harmony producing. A producer/songwriter who is part of Ne-Yo’s production collective Compound Entertainment, Harmony has worked on projects with Mary J. Blige, Janet Jackson and Celine Dion.
Michele’s debut album, I Am, earned her a Grammy and was certified Gold. Despite its success, Michele felt she needed to step up more for her next LP. “I felt like I was a little too shy and laidback my first time out. On my new project, I wanted to raise the bar and step out of my comfort zone. I wanted to make songs that were more edgy, youthful and urban.”
Encouraging her to stretch her vocals as well as the topics in her lyrics, Ne-Yo and Harmony provided the right combination of keyboards and beats to set off the LP at a perky pace. “Ne-Yo took out time from his crazy schedule to talk about direction for some of the songs, including the pain of break-ups and the joys of new love,” she explains, adding the significance of the title track. “That word ‘epiphany’ just meant so much to me because it was during the time that I was preparing to record that something clicked in my spirit.”
Singing the praises of her collaborators, Michele identifies her favorite song on the album. “Another One,” also written by Ne-Yo and Harmony, opens with a lovely and languid acoustic guitar. “That is my favorite song on the album,” she admits. “Nobody captures New American music like Ne-Yo and the Compound crew.”
Epiphany continues where I Am left off, laying out the organic evolution of this artist whose talents promise much more depth and longevity.  Super producers Rodney Jerkins and Claude Kelly (Kelly Clarkson, Britney Spears, Leona Lewis) started that evolution with I Am, and Ne-Yo and Harmony elevate Epiphany with new pop wizardry that further establishes Michele as a career artist.
On top of a media blitz on television in May that had her appearing on the top three networks from CBS’s “The Late Show with David Letterman” where she performed her single “Blame It On Me.” to NBC’s “Late Night with Jimmy Fallon” (5/22) and CBS’ “Early Show” (5/23), she was also featured in a first of its kind intimate concert on VH1-Soul And VH-1 Soulstages called “Chrisette Michele Presented by Infiniti,” which re-aired May 18 and May 21.
Having gained valuable experience touring with a live band and fellow singers Raheem DeVaughn and Solange Knowles, Michele says she loves performing live because it allows her to feel feedback from fans. “To me, nothing is more important than touring. Communicating with the audience through song can be magical. Singing in the studio is one thing, but you must be able to bring it to the stage, too.” And she kicks off a new tour with soulmates Anthony Hamilton and Musiq Soulchild on May 28th in Houston at the Reliant Arena that promises to feed that hunger for communicating directly with her audiences. At a recent two-evening special at the King of Prussia Mall outside Philadelphia, presented by leading beauty retailer Sephora, Michele proved she’s ready to bring her brand of beautiful music to soulstages across America.
Also interested in an acting career, Michele says she caught the bug after appearing on an episode of “Girlfriends.”  “That experience was amazing because they allowed me to have so much input and led me to write my own scenes.”
Fans, both old and new, are logging in with such declarations as “fan for life” (tpearson) and  “blown away!” (ChocLitFactory). “It’s this album that is getting me through my situations,” blogs ChynaBlack, “Keep doing it girl!” For the artist who initially turned down “Irreplaceable” that Beyoncé later blew off the charts, Michele is now espousing the new female empowerment anthems for 2009: “I think I’m just about over being your girlfriend.” Bringing both elegance and edge to her new ‘epiphany,’ she coos good-bye with the touch of an iron hand in a velvet glove.

Where to Find Chrisette Michele On Tour
With Anthony Hamilton and Musiq Soulchild

M a y 2 8    H o u s t o n ,   T X            Reliantt   A r e n a
2 9    Dallas ,   T X            Nokia Live   G r a n d   P r airie
3 0     S o u t h a v e n ,   M S         D e S o t o   C e n t e r
3 1    S t .   L o u i s ,   M O        F o x   T h e a t r e
J u n e 0 4    L o s   A n g e l e s ,   C A        Nokia  Live Theater
0 6      O a k l a n d ,   C A              P a r a m o u n t   Theater
11    C o l u m b u s ,   O H        Palace   T h e a t r e
1 2    Detroit ,   M I              O p e r a   H o u s e
1 3     Chicago ,   I L            Arie  C r o w n   T h e a t r e
1 6    Newark,  N J             N e w   J e r s e y   Performing   A r t s
1 8    N e w   Y o r k ,   N Y        W a M u   T h e a t r e   a t   M S G
1 9      Washington ,   D C        D A R   Constitution Hall
2 1    Baltimore ,   M D        Pier Six Pavilion
2 5     A t l a n t a ,   G A              F o x   T h e a t r e
2 6     A u g u s t a ,   G A             Ball Auditorium
2 7    Birmingham ,   A           B J CC Concert Hall
2 8      Charlotte ,   N C         O v e n s  Auditorium

Bo Benton Turns It Up

Poised as the next ‘Don Diva,’ daring enough to step outside the box, singer, songwriter, producer Bo Benton exemplifies the annotated lyrics below to her next single “Blue Flame (Turn It Up).”

Temperature rising…(turn it up)

On fire…(turn it up)

Hot, hot, hot…(turn it up)

Blistering…(turn it up)

Boiling point…(turn it up)

Ignite my soul/give it all you’ve got

It ain’t hot enough

Take me to the blue flame!

Turn it up!

In preparation for the July 28 release of her pop/rock/R&B/dance-infused debut album, Queen of the Night, exclusively on her own Gold Starr label through Bungalo/Universal Music Group, the electrifying vocalist is already riding the airwaves of urban from Chattanooga’s WJTT-FM  to Chicago’s WGCI-FM,  rhythmic and Top 40 from Tucson’s KOHT-FM to Salisbury, Maryland’s WOCQ-FM, and urban AC from Fayetteville, NC’s WCCG-FM to Augusta, Georgia’s WIIZ-FM.  Hot on her current single, “I Know You Want It,” radio is spreading the sound of what’s in store.

Backed by a stellar production team that includes producer Lil Ronnie (Bow Wow, Nelly, R. Kelly, T Pain), writer and Gold Starr labelmate Pusher Deville, and mixer KD aka Kevin Davis (Pink, Usher, NSYNC), Benton personally assembled the right ingredients to satisfy any musical thirst. “I have great producers,” she says confidently.  “This is a very exciting album. I wanted to make a classic album and that’s why it took me so long to complete. I did 40 songs, but I only chose ten for this album.”

Formally trained at the Chicago Sherwood Conservatory of Music, the Southside Chicago native began performing as a child.  A writer and producer as well, she also plays the piano and isn’t too bad with a guitar. “I was always a natural performer,” Benton shares. ” My father is a bass player and ran a small record label in Hollywood back in the ’70s.  My mother is a pianist and my grandmother was an opera singer. It’s in my DNA.”

“This is the first song that I ever made where I’m outside of it.”

Expect the unexpected on Queen of the Night. Cameos with Raekwon of Wu Tang Clan on the cut “Baller” with a rare appearance by Too Short. ” There are one or two slow songs and I’m rapping on this album as well,” says Benton. “Sometimes I might hear a track that motivates me or I might be in a certain mood and I want to write about what’s happening in my life. It’s not one particular thing that happens at one particular moment. The continuity, however, between everything is that it’s always in the moment, whether it’s a beat, the mood or just in the studio having fun. We capture those moments in time.”

These moments manifest in one of Benton’s favorite songs, “Blue Flame (Turn It Up).” “This is the first song that I ever made where I’m outside of it,” Benton exclaims. “It’s like wow! I’m a fan of this song. I knew when I was getting ready to record “Blue Flame” that I had to come out of myself. It wasn’t about Bo; I had to let it go.”

Letting go seems to be just one theme in many of the tracks. Empowerment is another. The title track, “Queen of the Night,” is a power anthem that aims to motivate women to rise above and live their own lives.  Inspired by a personal experience, Benton wrote the lyrics to “Queen of the Night” in 15 minutes during a stay in room 403 at the Magic Castle in Hollywood, California. “It’s a rock song. It’s a hellified song,” she explains, “about a girl getting her heart broken, but she finds the power in herself to not only move on, but also, not be bitter and to cherish what they had.  It’s like she’s saying, ‘Thank you for that, it’s going to make me stronger and better.’” Produced by Jason Edmonds (Michael Jackson, Jon B., Sisqo), Mark Tabb and Ansone and mixed by Rob Beaton (“Devil Wears Prada,” “Batman Begins”), the song radiates the heat and passion that radio and clubs can feel.

Referred to as the “hot chick on rollerskates” on one blog for her first single “Bounce” that independently surged to the top spot on YouTube.com and MySpace.com in December 2006 knocking out both P. Diddy and Jay-Z for the number one spot, Benton showed she had all the moves visually as well. Her second single, “Make That Move,” confirmed the buzz was real. Leaked to servers, it quickly attracted more than 3.6 million viewers.

“I strive for a perfect blend of style and substance,” she was quoted as saying about her early releases. “Style definitely has its place, especially since my album is upbeat fun music to be played in the clubs. People going to clubs are usually stylish and hot-looking.”

“Style definitely has its place, especially since my album is upbeat fun music to be played in the clubs. People going to clubs are usually stylish and hot-looking.”

But ultimately, she describes herself as “a hybrid of yesterday and tomorrow… I feel like I have a unique sound and do not sound like another artist. And that is the way I’d like to keep it.”

Inspired by such diva legacies as Diana Ross and Whitney Houston, Benton has been on a mission to establish and maintain her own identity. With an industry saturated with cookie-cutter starlets that many times are left to compete for a space on the charts through vamping up their image of seduction, Benton takes pride in discovering and signing herself to her very own label–Gold Starr Records. Described as “the female Jay-Z” because she both runs the label and is at the same time its main asset, Benton says she is very hands on.

Although analytical in her decisions as president of Gold Starr, Benton, nevertheless, sees the stuff of legends in herself as the artist Bo Benton. “Music has to be raw human emotion. It’s the purest art form for me,” Benton the artist explains. “I can be a glamour doll one day, be grungy the next and rock and roll, or go hood on you and street. I don’t think you can be a real artist unless you are making the art you’re feeling. How is somebody going to tell me I don’t want you to rap, I don’t want you to do a country song, I want you to do R&B? The industry is changing rapidly. It’s like the wild, wild west right now.”

And, with all guns blazing, she’s foraging her own path…doing it her way.

Applying the same standards for other artists as she does to herself, as a label executive she has also been building Gold Starr into an artist-friendly entertainment company.  “I have two super dope rappers–one from Atlanta and the other from Miami.” Pusher Deville, the rapper from College Park, is featured on Benton’s single “I Know You Want It” and already has his own release, “Bodies In the Club” on the streets.  Rapper Live Wire, whom she describes as “extremely talented,” is currently in artist development and almost ready. ” We have a pop female artist too,” Benton adds. “She’s 16 years old and very well-versed. Her mother is a trained opera singer and she’s been singing since she was four.”  The label’s website is open to more new artists and invites them to contact the label with the opening, “Are you ready to be a Gold Starr?”

“I met Roberto Cavalli in Milan and he promised me at the time, ‘Whenever your record comes out, find me and I will make you stage outfits.”

Looking at the long term, Benton is bent on building a career for herself as the artist and for the artists she is selecting to develop under her brand. “If it weren’t for the love of music that I have, I wouldn’t be doing this,” she assures us, “but music is in my heart and soul.”

Her planning and hard work are now paying off. With almost deadly precision, she has orchestrated the unfolding of herself, the artist Bo Benton. A 12-city promo tour kicks off in the coming weeks as radio continues to pump her singles. Her online presence at www.bobenton.com and myspace.com/bobenton add fans daily and she’s all atwitter on the Internet’s sites from blackhollywood to ca.askmen, celebritywonder to sumotv. People are calling in to find out more about Bo Benton. It’s heating up! The momentum is building for the album release on April 21.

“I’m finally feeling excited,” she exclaims. “I met Roberto Cavalli in Milan and he promised me at the time, ‘Whenever your record comes out, find me and I will make you stage outfits,’” Benton gushes. “I’m looking for Roberto Cavalli.”

BRE founder and Chairman of the Board Sidney Miller recalls the confidence and charisma Bo exuded when they first met. “When I first met Bo about two years ago at the Black Enterprise Oscar party at the Beverly Wilshire Hotel in Los Angeles, she came up to me and said, “Mr. Miller, you don’t know me, but one day I’m going to be on the cover of your magazine.” I asked her what label she was on and she replied, “My own.” I thought at the time this was someone who was going to make it.

Written by Tanisha Williams, freelance journalist/reporter and publisher of
Renaissance Women magazine. www.renaissancewomenmag.com

A True Messenger

Heather Headley inspired millions with her performance of “Jesus Is Love,” her duet with Smokie Norful that appears on both artists’ new albums, in Washington, D.C. at the HBO live concert special during the presidential inauguration activities.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I’d give you the moon

But you’d never know the warmth of the sunshine

I’d give you the world

But exactly what would that do

I’d promise you wings to fly

But how would you ever learn to run

So I wish you all you need

To be than I could be

This is what I wish for you

                                    –I Wish

 

            Heather Headley inspired millions with her performance of “Jesus Is Love,” her duet with Smokie Norful that appears on both artists’ new albums, in Washington, D.C. at the HBO live concert special during the presidential inauguration activities. Dubbed his “favorite singing partner” by classical star Andrea Bocelli whom she joined as a featured artist on his international tour, his “Live In Tuscany” PBS special, and his “Under The Desert Sky” live concert DVD, Headley reached millions more. The accomplished Tony-award winning Broadway star has also wowed audiences daily in her long runs in “Aida” and “Lions King.” But her performance at the Harvard Bible Chapel she attends in Chicago registered just as resoundingly when she sang from her new EMI Gospel album Audience of One. 

Joining songbird Heather Headley at the refurbished Roosevelt Hotel in Hollywood where she had recently returned from a jazz cruise, I knew I was in the presence of a beautiful child of God.  BRE has interviewed the multiple Grammy nominated R&B songstress (This Is Who I Am, In My Mind) before, but this new incarnation of Headley on EMI Gospel was just another barometer of her many talents. Comfortable in any setting whether on the world stage or performing for presidents, Headley remains grounded and balanced, beautiful on both the outside and inside.  And what you hear in whatever form is really who she is.

Her performance at President Barack Obama’s inauguration weekend on the HBO special of her single “Jesus Is Love” touched many that day when so much hope was manifest. But she’s actually performed for four of our U.S. presidents. In addition to Obama, she had performed for both Bushes and Clinton. “It was probably the coldest I have ever been in a performance before,” she offered, still recovering from the effects. “The rehearsal day was 10 degrees. We had tents but they had not yet installed the heaters. After I got back to my hotel I had to jump into a hot shower to warm-up. My toes had actually turned purple. The actual day of the performance warmed up to a toasty 22 degrees, but whatever the weather, it was worth it to just be there for such a momentous occasion. It was quite uplifting for me as well.”

This uplifting song may seem a change in genre direction for Headley, but recording a gospel album is a natural transition for her. “I spent most of my life in and around the church,” she explains. “My father was a preacher at a one-room church in Trinidad, and I lived either next to the church or above it most of my life. In fact, it was there where I first began to sing. I used to go in the church when no one was there, close all of the doors and windows and sing to the empty pews,” she confided. “My mother always told me I should do a gospel album and I would say, ‘Maybe someday.’ Now I felt the time was right.”

 

 

Actually, the concept for a gospel CD became concrete after label executives heard her breathtaking performance of the spiritual “I Know The Lord Will Make A Way” from the EMI Gospel/Vector compilation album, Oh Happy Day. They were so impressed that they suggested she record an entire album of songs of faith. Her 2006 CD In My Mind also contained the inspirational song “Change,” co-written with producer Warryn Campbell and Eric Dawkins. “God is such a big part of who I am, who I want to be, and what’s in my mind,” she had declared then.

 

Joining with Grammy award-winning producer Keith Thomas (BeBe & CeCe Winans, Yolanda Adams, Gladys Knight, Luther Vandross, Whitney  Houston), Headley says it was time to give back some praise for all her blessings. “This is my gift to God,” she declares. “I want to make sure God is happy. This album is for Him.”

Whether it’s the song “Ordinary Me,” inspired by her pastor James MacDonald’s sermons, that starts out, “Looking for an answer, trying to turn the page/but always holding onto the past,” or when she asks “I am a Christian/do you know what that means?” on “Simply Redeemed,” Headley addresses faith concerns that are both personal and universal at the same time. And when she goes astray, she always finds solace and forgiveness in a cover of one of Commissioned’s songs “Running Back To You” or “I Know The Lord Will Make A Way.”  From traditional hymns like “Here I Am To Worship” to the orchestral heights of “Power of the Cross,” Headley gives her all.

 ”Today I still transform myself mentally back to my father’s church in Trinidad by closing the doors and windows to my bedroom and turning the lights out to recreate those conditions,” she confesses. “It makes it easier for me to go back to that little church, the place of creative comfort for me both physically and mentally.  That’s where I went to play, that’s where I learned to play the piano and would use my brush for a microphone. Today, when I record I always request they turn out all the lights.”

Both Gospel and Urban AC radio formats have welcomed the inspiring songs from Audience of One. “My colleagues and I agree,” says Alvin Stowe, Program Director of Radio One’s UAC WQNC-FM (92.7) and inspiration WPZS-FM (Praise 100.9) in Charlotte, NC: “This rendition of ‘Jesus Is Love’ is as good, if not better than the original.”

The accolades continue for this little girl from Trinidad with the angelic voice and full range. “I grew up in the church and that’s where my roots are,” she contends. “If the sincerity of my performance connects, then I have won a true new fan. And even though it would be an honor to be invited to perform in some of the mega churches around the country, that is not a part of my promotional campaign to sell product.”

Indeed not, this truly gifted artist finds her ministry most fulfilling when she is singing to God. When she was talking to her husband about how she used to turn the church into a sanctuary, she says he told her that she was not singing to the empty pews but to God. An audience of one.

Change is Now: Renewing America’s Promise

Music and the President

Let’s face it, our young, brilliant new President makes history every time he steps out or speaks out.  For real, there was a history collision goin’ on in D.C. during Inauguration Week. No other American President has listened to his i-Pod or had a day-to-day “Music Guide” to his Inauguration. No other American President has had a grass roots movement or such a size-boggling Internet presence for his campaign. Social networking sites fueled the grass roots movement. There were new videos up on YouTube all the time from anybody with an idea. A recent survey says will.i.am’s “Yes We Can” video has been seen almost 30 million times online. Almost daily from one name artist after another, there were email chain letters telling us why we had to get involved in the process of making Barack Obama the 44th President of the United States. Then there was the first of its kind ever — an Official Presidential CD-DVD inauguration collector’s item from Hidden Beach Recordings, in collaboration with the Presidential Inaugural Committee (PIC).

When the Inauguration was about to happen, D.C. turned into the center of the world for a shining, breathtaking time.  It was cold and it was crowded beyond anyone’s imagination—look at the photographs from space of the Swearing In.  The captured shots from a zillion miles away gave us scope and breath but it was only up close, snuggled up against loving strangers that those in the crowd and at home felt the true humanity of the day—impossible to describe, although thousands of talking heads in hundreds of languages were describing it for their listeners and viewers back home.

In D.C., people were both crying and smiling at being part of history, grabbing up souvenirs of the event to someday show their grandchildren. Among the tickets, banners, flags, stickers and tee shirts, there was this official Presidential Inauguration Collection Commemorative CD-DVD, Change is Now– Renewing America’s Promise.  It was available for purchase at some stores around D.C. as well as on-line, at the PIC and some lucky celebrants got it as take-aways from the high-end parties.  In short, Hidden Beach was all over Washington, D.C.

 

Probably never before in modern history has a political campaign inspired so many artists to create art in the reflection of the themes, hopes, aspirations and ideals embodied in the movement that was created in its wake. This first of its kind album inspired by a presidential campaign and its supporters’ quest for a more perfect union contains performances by some of the most talented recording artists alive today expressing themselves through instruments and voice. 

 The eighteen artists on this album truly represent how our differences can come together to celebrate our common purpose.  We are grateful for their creativity and their musical contributions.”—Presidential Inaugural Committee (PIC)

 

And there was no more appropriate home for this project than Hidden Beach. The Santa Monica-based boutique label from its inception had its own audacity of hope and its own “yes we can” state of mind. They followed the road less traveled from the ones populated by the behemoth record labels. There are many parallels in what HB was trying to do and the ambitions and hopes of the young Illinois Senator claiming Chicago as his homebase.  In fact, it could be something in the water in Chicago.  Obama and HB’s Steve McKeever are fast friends from back in the day when they were dreaming of making the world better through community activism, Harvard Law School and music that made a difference.

             McKeever admits this project “might be the hardest thing” he’s ever done. But early on there was a mandate to struggle through the Herculean task of being able to get all the ducks in a row with clearances, schedules, legalities and other impossibilities. Clearly many people of good purpose needed to do something.

McKeever spins the years backwards to recall, “The early believers tried to figure out a way to make the Obama dream a reality and that included music makers of all kinds, with new songs and old songs that mysteriously seemed to speak of hope and promise.” People on the campaign trail were forever having CDs and song lyrics thrust into their hands.  In the first set released, Yes We Can: Voices of a Grassroots Movement (inspired by Barack Obama and His Movement for Change), McKeever talks of trying to put a collection together years earlier after receiving a call from Hans Reimer, then a youth field rep for the Obama campaign who wanted to brainstorm about marshalling the burgeoning grassroots movement which was beginning to express itself musically. But the obstacles and legalities seemed “insurmountable” so they decided to keep in touch and speak again if a brainstorm solved some of the inherent problems in such a project.

 Finally, there was the first CD, no doubt a baptism by fire for the package to come. Right above its track listing are these words: 

“Probably never before in modern history has a political campaign inspired so many artists to create art in the reflection of the themes, hopes, aspirations and ideals embodied in the movement that was created in its wake. This first of its kind album inspired by a presidential campaign and its supporters’ quest for a more perfect union contains performances by some of the most talented recording artists alive today expressing themselves through instruments and voice.”   

The first part of the mission was underway big time.

            McKeever, with emotion in his voice, recounts his own struggle and the battle of his “Team Mission Impossible” to deliver the CD, what they wanted to do and the timeframe of having it ready for the Inauguration.  Just sorting through the thousands of submitted tapes and the thought process of what songs would actually make it onto the CD was hard to wrap their heads around. Then came the actual recording process.  “It was unbelievable trying to get everything finished on time. We had artists in every studio, flying in and out on such crazy schedules that I actually took a nap on the bare carpet in places.”

 The list of credits and accolades is long. McKeever cites his long time associate and invaluable project manager Bruce Walker whose name kicks off a roster that reveals double duty for Walker and many such as Meaghan Burdick and Kim Alfred for PIC and the Change Is Now Squad; Ron Gillyard for half a dozen credits in the A&R and Talent categories. Right there too is Bonnie Greenberg and PamRobinson who show up in the Art Squad and Talent divisions. Erik Steigen is listed as Precinct Captain and in Talent.  Dale Voelker was big in the Art and Design credits. On a somber note, listed in a different color from all the other names is the Project Angel: Jheryl Busby (May 5, 1949-November 4, 2008). Candace Bond McKeever is on the Change Is Now Squad and there’s a note that Berry Gordy provided Special Inspiration and Advice. There are also about 300 thank yous and then the big one–Special Thanks to Barack Obama, Michelle Obama, Joe Biden and Jill Biden.

            The artists included on this official inauguration collection are enough to give you hope and let you know that HB believes in inclusion. This is a once in a lifetime, instantly collectible package. Did you ever think you’d see a compilation featuring both Jennifer Hudson and Death Cab for Cutie or Ozomatli and James Taylor?

            Was the Senator involved from the beginning?  No, McKeever quickly says, “I’m not sure at what point he even knew about it.”  Tracing any given point might be difficult, but what McKeever does know is that it’s never been done before. But the people involved with President Obama, back when he was still just Barry, seemed to be instilled with an elixir of daring dreams.  I remember McKeever calling me to come to a fundraiser at least five years ago. He was in it early and was rooted in his knowledge that this man was going to be President. 

“Just listen to him, Ruth,” he said. 

Ok, now it’s your turn. Listen to him here. There are nine iconic speeches starting with the campaign announcement for President in Springfield, Illinois on February 10, 2007. Next is the Iowa Jefferson Jackson Dinner in Des Moines on November 10, 2007. Thenthere’s the Iowa Caucus Victory Speech on January 3, 2008. In New Hampshire on January 8, he delivered his Primary Speech.  Next is the speech most often called the “Race Speech” given in Philadelphia on March 18, 2008, actually entitled “A More Perfect Union.”  And who thought a man who wasn’t even the nominee yet could draw hundreds of thousands to Berlin on July 24, 2008 for his “A World That Stands As One speech?”

Brilliant, brilliant strategy. 

The last two are “The American Promise” delivered in Denver, Colorado on August 28, which was chilling in its power, and lastly is the Election Night Victory Speech in Chicago. Listening to him again brings back the memory of a weeping Oprah, the sea of faces and the sobbing of those who could only gasp, “I never thought I’d live to see this day.”

            The speeches time out at three hours, but watching evokes so many personal emotions, the time hardly seems that long.  There are even excerpts from some speeches included in the song selections, such as will.i.am’s “It’s a New Day,” Melissa Etheridge’s “God is in the People,” Maroon 5’s 2009 version of “Pure Imagination” and a bonus track by Lionel Richie called “Eternity.”

Many of the 18 songs on the CD-DVD are newly recorded. Highlights include Stevie Wonder’s “All About the Love Again,”  BeBe Winans’ “Born for This” and Death Cab for Cutie’s “Grapevine Fires.”

            PIC made the comment, “The eighteen artists on this album truly represent how our differences can come together to celebrate our common purpose.  We are grateful for their creativity and their musical contributions.”

            This Obama victory has been music to the ears of countless millions. This special collector’s CD and DVD provide the opportunity to savor again and again the Change that Has Come to America.

Marvin Sapp Awarded 8 Stellar Gospel Music Awards

 

 

The 24^th Annual Stellar Gospel Music Awards knew what they were doing when they lauded Marvin Sapp with eight Stellar Awards at its recent January 17 awards show that returned to the Grand Ole Opry House in Nashville, Tennessee for the fourth consecutive year.

 

The outstanding Zomba Gospel artist and his award-winning album Thirsty racked up most of the coveted awards including “Artist of the Year,” “Song of the Year,” “Male Vocalist of the Year” and “CD of the Year.” Passed over by the Grammys this year because of a technicality in its time parameters, Sapp, whose inspirational single, “Never Would Have Made It,” set 2008 records as the longest running No. 1 single on radio across all genres, was indeed vindicated with the multiple Stellar wins. And the Grand Rapids native flew in three generations of his family to Nashville to join in his moment.

 

 

Other winners included Zomba Gospel labelmates Dorinda Clark-Cole for Female Vocalist of the Year,  The Canton Spirituals for Traditional Group/Duo of the Year and Kirk Franklin for Urban/Inspirational Single or Performance of the Year.  Kingdom Records’ Shekinah Glory Ministry claimed Praise and Worship CD of the Year, while Integrity’s Jonathan Nelson featuring Purpose nabbed Group/Duo of the Year, Habakkuk Music’s Jessica Greene claimed New Artist of the Year and NuSprings/EMI Gospel’s Ricky Dillard & New G took home Choir of the Year honors.

Don Jackson, Central City Productions Chairman/CEO, welcomed performances from Tye Tribbett, Stellar winner Kirk Franklin and Rap Hip Hop Gospel CD of the Year winner, Da’ T.R.U.T.H., who can be seen on the show that airs nationally on WGN America on March 7 and exclusively on cable on the Gospel Music Channel (GMC) on March 1, and on RushmoreDrive.com, the show’s official search engine that also airs, for the first time ever, the awards pre-show as well. Photos by Moses Robinson

 

 

Sherri Shepherd, Marvin Sapp and actor Clifton Davis

Da Truth performs "That Great Day"

Jor'el, Evin and Torrence of 21:03 perform "You"

Jessica Green wins New Artist of the Year

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I AM…SASHA FIERCE

            In short, Beyoncé appeals to all her growing legion of worldwide fans with this project.  From her Destiny’s Child persona to the Foxy Cleopatra of “Austin Powers and Goldmember” to her solo songs and Jay-Z features, Beyoncé has been constantly widening her musical spectrum right before our very eyes.  The dual persona, double album approach of I Am…Sasha Fierce removes even more layers revealing a multi-faceted Beyoncé with a lot more for everyone. 

            “The double album allows me to take more risks and really step out of myself, or shall I say, step more into myself,” she confides, “and reveal a side of me that people who only know me see…  When I started the record, I knew that, artistically, I had to grow.  Even though I’ve been very successful and very fortunate, I want to still be challenged and still be nervous and still be anxious about all the things that make my career exciting.”

The double album discs are separated by personality. One side is ballads and the Sash Fierce disc is up-tempo.

”It’s about who I am underneath all the makeup, underneath the lights, and underneath all the exciting star drama.  Sasha is the fun, more sensual, more aggressive, more outspoken and more glamorous side that comes out when I’m working and when I’m on the stage.”

Whatever people might have known before, some of the content on the new album could surprise them. There are hints of “folk songs and alternative songs and acoustic guitar stuff that’s different from what I sing.”

For her I Am… collection, Beyoncé collaborated with some “writers and producers that I normally hadn’t worked with,” including producer Toby Gad on “If I Were A Boy” and UK songwriter Amanda Ghost on “Disappear,” which reminds Beyoncé “of the Beatles a tad bit.”  On “Satellites” and “Ave Maria,” she re-imagines a classic aria in a new and original musical setting.  “When I knew that certain things I wanted to say, I couldn’t say myself, I invited other writers to come in,” she explains.  “Lyrically, it’s the best album I’ve ever had.  If a song didn’t say anything or mean anything to me, I didn’t put it on the record.”

According to Beyoncé, “Sasha is kind of the opposite, she’s more the other side because sometimes you don’t want to think; sometimes you just want to feel good.  She’s the party girl, she’s Bootylicious.  She is, but I’m not.  She’s my alter ego.  I’m finally revealing who I am.”

It’s her first new studio collection since her Grammy-winning multi-platinum-selling B’Day debuted at #1 on charts around the world shortly after its international release on September 4, 2006.

            Music World CEO Mathew Knowles, who has carefully shepherded the career of his oldest daughter, predicts this album will do more than 750,000 in the first week.  Embracing the broader approach of the album artistically, Knowles plans a global launch that expands the B Brand into even further corners of the universe. 

            First, he made sure there was a price spread for everyone.  In addition to the normal digital methods of distribution, which include a massive presale iTune’s push, the hard copies of the album will come with two different price points.  There is a standard disc with 11 songs to be priced at $9.99 along with a deluxe edition for somewhere between $12.99 and $14.99 that will have 16 songs, as well as videos for the first two singles. 

            Both versions are split between the alter egos of Sasha Fierce and Beyoncé.  In addition to the deluxe editions, additional bonus songs that weren’t used on the album will be featured as exclusive bonus content on each major brick and mortar retailer’s version of the album.  From Best Buy to Wal-Mart, each will have its own exclusive version of the album. 

            Knowles also wanted to ramp up the release time of the album to encourage less people to download the single and more people to buy the whole album. “Most releases have a 90-day marketing period from the release of the first single to the release of the album,” he explains.  “We felt that was one of the reasons single downloads were up and album sales were down and that is why we wanted to shorten our schedule to 30 days.”

            Since the first two singles, “if I Were A Boy” and “Put A Ring On It,” were leaked to radio the second week of October, the whole mysterious marketing push of the Sasha Fierce alter ego has begun.  With a website at www.whoissashafierce.com enticing visitors to guess who Sasha Fierce is to win a phone call from the real Sasha Fierce, there has a been a mysterious, viral, internet buzz around Beyoncé’s soon to famous alter ego.  Music World/Columbia has also retooled the Beyoncé international website with the intent of linking the campaign for this album with multiple corporate tie-ins from L’Oreal to Armani.  

            In short, look for a tsunami effect.

            The recording schedule was on a similar pace and scale. Recording three songs a day, Beyoncé brought in the biggest names in the industry and recorded 75 songs before narrowing down to the final 16.  The selection process was so stringent that songs from established hitmakers like The Neptunes and Danjahandz did not make the cut.  In the end the I Am… side features more ballad like pop-friendly production and songwriting from Kenneth “Babyface” Edmonds, C. “Tricky” Stewart and Terius “The Dream” Nash, Toby Gad and Ryan Tedder (One Republic), just to name a few. 

            Sasha Fierce, on the other hand, features very modern, often sexy, hip hop leaning, urban R&B that utilizes production and songwriting from Rodney “Darkchild” Jerkins, Sean “The Pen” Garrett, Solange, Rico Love and Jim Jonsin.  The fresh modern sound of the alter ego is typified by Shondrae “Bangladesh” Crawford’s production.  Known for doing hardcore rap songs like Lil’ Wayne’s “A Milli,” which is one of the biggest club songs of the year, Bangladesh brings that same edgy sound to tracks like “Diva” and “Video Phone.” 

            The only producer/songwriter duo to make both sides of the album is Tricky Stewart and Dream.  They did “Smash Into You” from the I Am… side and the lead-in track on the Sasha Fierce disc, “Single Ladies (Put A Ring On It).”

“That song is all about: ‘I’ve been with you all this time, you’re taking too long and now I’m looking hot and you see it and you gotta suffer because you shoulda put a ring on it,’” explains Beyoncé.

“Sasha Fierce is fun,” she continues.  “There’s an up-tempo song called ‘Radio’ that basically talks about my childhood. It just seems like a feel-good record but when you really listen to the lyrics, it’s about me growing up.  In my household, I didn’t go to all of the parties and I didn’t do all the things that a lot of the other teenage girls did because I was so in love with my radio and my music.  I was so in love with this radio and my parents were happy that I was into something positive.  I try to make up-tempo records that feel good but underneath they’re still saying something.  Sasha Fierce is a collection of the kinds of songs that I’m usually known for and I love just as much as the more intimate side of me.”

The first release from the album, “If I Were A Boy,” presents a video that is both compelling and reflective of the independent woman stance that Beyoncé has exhibited throughout most of her career. The tantalizing theme of the song’s video is role reversal and at the end, you realize the husband is a cop and what her male character has been doing throughout the video is what her female character has had done to her all along. She wonders perhaps what women would do if they ‘were a boy.’ “It’s not a traditional R&B song,” she offers.  “It’s difficult to grow and to break out and do new things because people have strong expectations. I feel like at this point, I wanted people to hear songs with stronger lyrics and songs that made you feel.  I love singing ballads because I feel like the music and the emotion in the story is told so much better.  It’s a better connection because you can hear it and it’s not all these other distractions.  I really wanted people to hear my voice and hear what I had to say.”

            It’s the kind of bold, strong-minded feminine message that has become a Beyoncé signature and typifies the character of this album. From “Bills, Bills, Bills” to “Irreplacable,” she has always spoken from an empowered female perspective that did not take any B.S. from anyone.  Her third album only builds upon that lyrical reputation.

            Beyoncé, currently in Japan, also recorded a cover of Billy Joel’s “Honesty” which was included on a Matthew Knowles/Music World CD released only in Japan towards the end of June 2008 to celebrate the tenth-year anniversary of Destiny’s Child.

                        The performer/writer/actress is on a non-stop career whirlwind. She has completed two films, which will be released within the next six to eight months.  In “Cadillac Records,” she plays R&B legend Etta James, and she also has just wrapped a starring role opposite Ali Larter and Idris Elba in a thriller film called “Obsessed.” This film is due to be released in the U.S. during January 2009, with an international release slated for March 2009. 

According to Beyoncé, becoming Etta James on-screen, “was a challenge for me emotionally because Etta had a lot of challenges in her life, things that I’ve never experienced. I had to really dig deep so that I could have the right performance and represent her well. One thing she taught me is her fearlessness; she was Etta all the time.  She was bold and she did not try to change who she was for anyone.  She was one of the queens. It was the best performance I think I’ve done on screen.  It gave me the strength and the confidence to step out of my comfort zone even more.”

            Reportedly, Beyoncé is ready for an Amazon-sized challenge — the pop superstar wants to be the first actress to wear Wonder Woman’s famed red, white and blue bathing suit on the silver screen.  “I want to do a superhero movie and what would be better than Wonder Woman? It would be great. And it would be a very bold choice. A black Wonder Woman would be a powerful thing. It’s time for that, right?” 

            Beyoncé says that she has met with representatives of DC Comics and Warner Bros. to express her interest in a major role in one of the many comic-book adaptations now in the pipeline following the massive success of “The Dark Knight,” “Iron Man” and the “Spider-Man” and “X-Men” franchises.

             Her acting career to date has included a comedic role in “Austin Powers in Goldmember,” the lead in “Fighting Temptations,” and two notable music world roles, the singer in a ‘60s girl group in “Dreamgirls” and as the defiant and heroin-addicted Etta. 

            “After doing these roles that were so emotional I was thinking to myself, ‘OK, I need to be a superhero,” adding she would enjoy the physical challenge of the “action role.”

            Beyoncé’s third solo album comes out November 18th and it will be followed two weeks later by her portrayal of Etta James in “Cadillac Records,” with the January release in 2009 of “Obsessed.” The tsunami is on its way.

For the little girl who rose to fame in the late ‘90s as the lead singer of Destiny’s Child, with the group ultimately selling 50 million records worldwide, the Houstonian’s rise has been nothing short of meteoric.

When she released her debut single in ’03, Dangerously in Love became one of the most successful albums of the year, producing number-one singles, “Crazy in Love,” and “Baby Boy.” She earned five Grammys in a single night in ‘04.

The group disbanded in ’05 and she continued her successful solo career with the second album B’Day in ’06 with the hits “Déjà vu,” “Beautiful Love,” and “Irreplaceable.”

Over time, Beyoncé has pushed glamour up a higher notch and given a generation of little girls something to look up to without them realizing perhaps that she is also giving them something to think about. Listen to the lyrics of “If I Were A Boy,” and have your brother listen too.

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