Wayna Masterfully Addresses the Hard Knocks of Marriage
Domestic abuse is one of the most difficult topics to touch upon in both music and video.  Artists oftentimes have a tendency to become overly preachy and melodramatic when addressing it horrors. Newcomer, Wayna does it admirably with the video of new single, “My Love.” Poetic and poignant, both the song and video bring home the point, in the most poetic way.

Giving it rousing thumbs up, let me know hear from you. Are you feeling the song and video? 

Before we start, let’s get it out on the table to say that this is all a rumor. But supposedly, Beyoncé’s little sis, Solange has weighed in on the heating fuss between her big sister and Janet Jackson, after Beyoncé uttered the inflammatory statement: “We’re African-American, and we work together as a family, so people assume we’re like the Jacksons. But I didn’t have parents using me to get out of a bad situation.”

Sources reports that Solange said that “Beyoncé ain’t scared of Janet,” over the weekend when asked about the beef at a dinner. “All my sister did was tell the truth… she wasn’t trying to hurt nobody.”

Again, no one is coming forth to say that Solange indeed said this. And if this is all a concoction, do you think this is just a publicity stunt on part of Beyoncé’s team? If so, why stir up unnecessary drama when you’re already at the top of the charts.

Seems like Lance Bass is missing his old crew, ’N Sync. He told Billboard that he hopes for a reunion soon and that he looks at the group’s separation in 2002 as more a “long hiatus” than a final breakup.

He also said that he was surprised of how Justin Timberlake’s solo career skyrocketed. “We especially didn’t know that Justin Timberlake’s career was gonna take off like that,” Bass said. “There’s no way we’d ever stand in his way. We talk all the time and are always involved in each other’s careers.”

That said, what’s the likelihood of Timberlake returning to the boy-band fold? Slim, if you ask me. With his solid R&B career, that’ll be like Diana Ross returning to the Supremes.

But what if Timberlake did return? What would ‘N Sync sound like? Pop, rock or R&B? So you tell me. Do you see a reunion with ‘N Sync happening?

As the hip-hop nation prepares for the forthcoming biopic, Notorious, which details the life of slain rapper, Notorious B.I.G., Lil Kim is already fuming about her portrayal in the movie as the constant concubine in Biggie’s life, while he was married to Faith Evans.

I’ve had enough and I’m about to expose them both… I’ve been quiet for a long time,” Lil Kim told Hip-hop Weekly, also referring to Biggie’s mother, Violetta Wallace .  Lil Kim argues that the movie sensationalizes her relationship with Biggie.

Umm. OK. It’s interesting that Lil Kim is playing it all humble and everything as if she didn’t know that Faith was Biggie’s wife. I haven’t seen the movie yet, but this little titillating bit makes me want to see it even more. 

Do you think Lil Kim’s statement is a publicity stunt to draw attention to herself and revive her career? Or are her concerns legitimate? And lastly, do you think that she should let bygones be bygones?

Remember that disparaging remark Beyoncé made about the Jacksons, when she was comparing her middle-class upbringing to the Jackson’s working-class struggles in Gary, Indiana? Beyoncé basically said that her parents didn’t use her like Joe Jackson did his children.

Well rumor has it that Janet Jackson is furious and set to confront Beyoncé about the statement. According to singerroom.com, inside sources stated: “[Janet] feels Beyoncé went out of her way to tell the world she’s from the upper class and the Jacksons were like a bunch of dirty gutter rats. Beyoncé has a lot of growing up to do and that she needs to stop trying to impress everyone.”

If inside sources are true, do you think Janet will confront Beyoncé in a public forum or read her the riot act in private?

Black music lost one of its greatest trumpeters yesterday. The legendary Freddie Hubbard died in Sherman Oaks, Calif. of heart failure. He was 70.

His half-century-long career epitomized the triumphs and tribulations of playing the trumpet, arguably the most demanding instrument associated with jazz. When his prowess was at its peak, Hubbard’s improvisations took on the heroic virtuosity of a prized boxer. Flurries of notes crackled with precision; melodies were cogent; rhythms were fanciful forceful. He kept that stamina up for nearly three decades, recording a historic string of albums for Blue Note, CTI and other labels, but when he overblew his lip in 1992, an infection occurred and never quite recovered.

This year, Hubbard graced the covers of both JazzTimes and Down Beat as he aimed for a noticeable comeback with the help of fellow trumpeter and arranger, David Weiss. Hubbard’s last disc, On the Real Side, came out June to celebrate his 70th birthday.

In addition to leaving behind a wife of 35 years, Briggie Hubbard and a son, Duane, Hubbard is survived by a formidable body of work that include landmark hard-bop dates on Blue Note – Breaking Point, Open Sesame, Hub-Tones, among others; and jazz-funk classics on CTI that provided memorable hip-hop samples – Red Clay and First Flight.  He also made memorable contributions to the works of Art Blakey, Herbie Hancock, Ornette Coleman, John Coltrane and Eric Dolphy, among others.

Send your condolences to the Hubbard family and tell us what’s your favorite Freddie Hubbard album.

As 2008 come to a close, it’s time to do that agonizing year-end review of music. So without further adieu, Ta-Dah!

1. Erykah Badu
   New Amerykah, Part 1
   Motown

Not really the commercial comeback that Motown was hoping for, the album nevertheless solidified Erykah’s status as a risk-taker both in terms of sonic and thematic exploration. By recruiting underground heavyweights such as Madlib, Jay Electronica, Georgia Ann Muldrow and SA-RA Creative Partners and touching upon themes of artistic exploitation, consumerism and urban strife, Erykah delivered material on par with some of Curtis Mayfield’s early-’70s social-conscious masterpieces.

Key tracks: Telephone, The Hump, Master Teacher

2. José James
    The Dreamer
    Brownswood

Just when we thought that young black male jazz singers were a thing of the past, emerges José James, who deftly positioned himself as a bona fide jazz singer for the hip-hop generation, without resulting in didactic “Jazzmaatazz” platitudes. For the most part, he kept the vibes acoustic while underpinning the grooves with skittering hip-hop and electronica-flavored beats.

Key tracks: Nola, Love, Park Bench People, Spirits Up Above

3. Q-Tip
   The Renaissance
   Motown

Finally! A Q-Tip album that’s officially released, The Renaissance marked one of the biggest comebacks in hip-hop, after the veteran rapper spent much of this decade in recording purgatory. The album captures him in all of glory, recalling the buttery magic he concocted with A Tribe Called Quest up to the experimental singing he exploited on his landmark bootleg classic, Kamaal/The Abstract.

Key tracks: Manwomanboogie, Getting’ Up, Johnny Is Dead

4. Jazzanova
    Of All Things
    Verve

Let’s face it, when it comes to retooling vintage soul, this German collective has it down pat. Jazzanova’s knack for nailing lesser-known sounds like early-’80s SOLAR Records Mtume and Kashif makes them all the more impressive. On this lush, beautifully executed album, Jazzanova recruits José James, Paul Randolph, Phonte and the legendary Leon Ware on a handful of cuts.

Key tracks: Little Bird, Rockin’ You Eternally, Dial a Cliché

5.   I.G. Culture
       Zen Badizm
      Freedom School

In parts, this album can be viewed as post-broken beat as I.G. Culture explores more straight-ahead jazz, sonic-collage hip-hop and Afrobeat. Still that jagged, avant-garde yet feet-friendly pulse of West London is noticeable. Thematically, the album hits hard on social issues in the same manner as Erykah Badu’s New Amerykah.

Key tracks: Adjusted Perspectives, B Free, Separate, Girl U Need a Change of Mind

6. Moodymann
   Det.Riot ’67
  Mahogani Music

Hardly anyone brings the grit and grace of Detroit in electronica music as well as Moodymann. He can allude to the city’s Motown, jazz, blues and techno legacies in one swooping track. On this EP, he pays tribute to Detroit’s seedy pimp culture, unraveling randy verses that rival Prince’s Jamie Starr-phase.

Key tracks: Freeki MF, For 1 Night, Det.riot

7. The Foreign Exchange
    Leave It All Behind
    Nicolay Music

Nicolay and Phonte swap hip-hop for R&B on their sophomore album; and it plays to their advantage, especially as Phonte muses over the trials and tribulations of being in a relationship over Nicolay’s sensual soundscapes. At times, recalling the melancholy of Marvin Gaye’s Here, My Dear, but not nearly as vindictive, this is a newfound wounded-R&B classic.

Key tracks: Daykeeper, House of Cards, If She Breaks Your Heart

8. The Roots
   Rising Down
   Def Jam

Undoubtedly, the hardest-working band in hip-hop, The Roots delivers yet another brass-knuckled classic, loaded with sharp social commentary, edgy beats and passionate verses.

Key tracks: 75 Bars (Black’s Reconstruction), The Show, I Will Not Apologize

9.  Roy Hargrove
     Earfood
    EmArcy Records

No longer a young lion, Roy Hargrove emerges as jazz mentor on this delightful, smart outing as he leads a new quintet, composed mostly of younger musicians. Hargrove’s trumpet playing is in stellar form as he sublimely reconciles his love for modern jazz with R&B.

Key tracks: Mr. Clean, Strasbourg/St. Denis, Starmaker

10. Al Green
      Lay It Down
     Blue Note

It took drummer and music geek, ?uestlove to help Al Green find his groove back, after two lukewarm reunions with Willie Mitchell. Lay it Down harkens back to the sexy Hi Records sound more convincingly than Green’s previous two discs, as it invites cherry-picked guest vocals from Anthony Hamilton, John Legend and Corrine Bailey Rae.

Key tracks: You Got the Love I Need, Take Your Time, Standing in the Rain

Hip-hop has always for the most part, being a young person’s game. Eventually, listeners grow out of it and start yapping about the good ole’ days. I’ve always thought that R&B had a longer shelf life. Well that was until, it started mimicking 21st century mainstream hip-hop both in of production and lyrical paucity. 

So when R&B crooner Anthony Hamilton told Associated Press, that maybe he’s “too real,” when explaining why he’s constantly underrated, I can feel his pain. “Right now we’re living in a time that’s youth driven, hip-hop based. I’m not old (but) my music sometimes comes across a little mature,” Hamilton said. “Maybe they’re afraid of that, maybe I might say the wrong thing, (like) something positive.”

That makes me root for him even more. But that’s just me. Do you think Anthony Hamilton’s music is too throwback? Listen to his new album here.

Stevie Wonder has seldom let his blindness hold him back.  In fact, the musical genius has made fun of being sightless on a number of occasions. Now, Stevie wants to show that blindness doesn’t necessary translate to clumsiness as he hopes to join the eighth season of Dancing with the Stars.

Keep in mind that, he won’t be the first star contestant to join the show who is physically impaired. In the past, the show has featured deaf actress Marley Matlin and amputee Heather Mills.

According to the New York Daily News, Stevie said during a radio interview: “You’ve got to think. If I have 7 children, I’ve got to be able to dance right?”

OK, fair enough. You can also chalk up all those funky classics such as “I Wish,” “Do I Do” and “Master Blaster (Jammin’)” as evidence of Stevie’s rhythmic acumen. [Side note: Stevie also played drums on a lot of his signature tunes]. So I’m rooting for Stevie’s chance to “dance with the stars.”

What about you? Do you think he’ll make the cut? And if so, do you think that he’ll embarrass himself or pull off another genius move?

After a whirlwind of bad press surrounding Aretha Franklin, most of which distracted people from the fact that she released This Christmas, there’s a breath of fresh air regarding the “Queen of Soul.”

She’s giving a free concert next month, Jan. 19, on the Kennedy Center’s Millennium Stage in celebration of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Day. The concert, Let Freedom Ring!, is co-sponsored by Georgetown University, and will happen on the eve of the Inauguration for President-elect Barack Obama.

We all know that she’ll probably kill it on stage with those classic vocal pipes. I just hope that she’ll be on her best behavior and not bring up Beyoncé or Tina Turner. But wouldn’t it be great though if they joined her on stage as a gesture of goodwill?

Do you think this concert will put Ms. Franklin back on the good side of many music fans?