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NYC’s Motown to Def Jam Art Exhibit Celebrates the Legacy of Black Music

Souleo, Aanisah Hinds, Macy Gray. From Motown to Def Jam.
Souleo, Aanisah Hinds, Macy Gray. From Motown to Def Jam. (Photo: John Brathwaite)

Curator and art afficiando Souleo has put together a multi-destination art exhibition called “Motown to Def Jam” in collaboration with ArtCrawl Harlem in New York City.
The meticulously planned, four-gallery, 49-artist exhibition takes visitors from the early days of Chess Records in the mid 20th century, all the way through to the contemporary offerings of rap and R&B label Def Jam in a series of visionary visual works.  Also referenced in the show are the legendary Stax and Philadelphia International labels that helped pave the way in bringing new African-American sounds to the mainstream.
For pieces in the show, participating artists created or contributed works that described their interpretations of specific songs from singers and rappers at these record labels. Each piece, inspired by a beloved song, or songwriter, from black and American pop music history, brings black music history to life in a new way.
“A lot of people don’t know that June is African-American Music Appreciation Month,” said Souleo. “I wanted to share our struggles and triumphs and the unique ways that we express ourselves. For example, instead of the usual pop hits from Motown, I wanted to use more of the later socio-political music that came out of Motown.”
A lively Black Music Month kickoff
Souleo kicked off the five-weeks exhibit with gallery tours and a series of parties. An exhibition this grand required not one, but four different galleries, and these ancillary events connected them all.
The guides for a special preview tour were celebrity columnist and author Flo Anthony, pop culture critic Patrick Riley, historian John T. Reddick and renaissance media man Walter Rutledge. “I chose these people as the tour guides because they are the experts and they have been in the same room with some of these musical artists. They can give those extra tidbits that you would not get anywhere else,” said Souleo.

'My Promise,' Earth, Wind & Fire's Comeback Single, Hits The Web (AUDIO)

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PyV4iMKxjl8&w=560&h=315]
R&B super band Earth, Wind & Fire is releasing its first album in eight years on Sept. 10 and dropped the record’s lead single onto the web on Monday.

Earth, Wind and Fire“My Promise,” which leads the promotional effort behind “Now, Then & Forever,” the band’s twentieth studio album, features Philip Bailey, Verdine White, Maurice White and Ralph Johnson, as well as contributions from one of the group’s founding producers, Larry Dunn and Bailey’s son, Philip Bailey Jr. The single was written by the band and Academy Award nominee and Grammy Winner Siedah Garrett.
article by Kia Makarechi via huffingtonpost.com

John Legend Sells 4th Scripted Series To Showtime

Today it was announced that John Legend and his Get Lifted Film Company have teamed up with the Showtime network for a half-hour comedy. The untitled project will take place in the world of high-profile music managers and will be penned by Austin Winsberg (Gossip GirlJake in Progress), who will also executive produce alongside Legend and Get Lifted Film.
Since making an exclusive deal last summer with Universal Cable Productions to develop TV series for cable and broadcast networks, Legend and his company have been busy.  It sold its first project to Fox in October – a comedy project, which will center on a guy in his early 20s who becomes the guardian to his own siblings, while having to manage his fledgling career as well as a social life, and is said to be loosely based on John Legend’s years growing up.Earlier this year, Legend sold a second project, a crime drama, to the USA network. Titled The Edge, it was described as a crime drama about “an idealistic Harvard Business School graduate named Jeff Cross who joins a progressive financial firm called Edgeton Global (aka The Edge), where he discovers the company’s dark secrets while becoming entangled in a high-stakes FBI investigation.”

Rihanna Passes Justin Bieber As YouTube's Most Viewed Artist

rihanna justin bieber youtube
Rihanna & Justin Bieber
Justin Beiber used to be the king of YouTube, but a new queen has taken over. Rihanna recently passed Bieber in total video views, with 3.784 billion views across her 77 videos, outclassing Biebers 79 clips.
Those numbers are from the singers’ respective official VEVO pages on YouTube, Billboard notes. Rihanna also edges out Bieber in YouTube subscribers (8.73 million to 3.7 million) and Facebook likes (72.3 million to 54.3 million).
Where Bieber continues to reign supreme, however, is Twitter. The teen idol has over 40 million followers, putting him ahead of even Lady Gaga, who was in the lead on the social networking platform for some time.
What can account for Rihanna’s global dominance? For one, the singer appeals to a wider demographic of listeners, including urban audiences and an older fan base than Bieber has been able to tap into. Bieber’s latest efforts, particularly 2012’s “Believe,” see the 19-year-old doing his best to acquire older fans without alienating his teen and young adult base, but the jury’s still out on just how successful these efforts have been.

R.I.P. Clarence Burke Jr., Lead Singer of the Five Stairsteps

The Five Stairsteps
The Five Stairsteps: Clarence Burke Jr., surrounded by his siblings. Clockwise from top, Alohe, Dennis, Kenneth and James. (Gilles Petard / Redferns / January 1, 1966)

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Clarence Burke Jr., lead singer of the group the Five Stairsteps that sang the 1970 hit “O-o-h Child,” (see video below) has died. He was 64.
His manager, Joe Marno, says Burke died Sunday in Marietta, Georgia, where he lived. The cause of his death was not disclosed.  Formed in Chicago in 1965, the Five Stairsteps included Burke and four siblings.
The group had several hits in the 1960s and ’70s, including “You Waited Too Long,” ”World of Fantasy,” and “Don’t Change Your Love.”
The Los Angeles Times says the group disbanded in the late 1970s but the brothers briefly reformed as the Invisible Man’s Band and had a 1980 success with the dance single “All Night Thing.”  His family says in recent years, Burke performed solo concerts and continued to record.
[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yrotsEzgEpg&w=420&h=315]
Copyright 2013 The Associated Press via thegrio.com

Usher, Darius Rucker Join Oklahoma Tornado Benefit Concert

(Images courtesy of Getty)
(Usher, Darius Rucker; Images courtesy of Getty)

The event, titled “Healing in the Heartland: Relief Benefit Concert,” was organized by country singer and native Oklahoman Blake Shelton. Joining Rucker and Usher, who worked with Shelton on The Voice, are country stars Miranda Lambert, Luke Bryan, Rascal Flatts and Reba McEntire, among others listed in the lineup.
“I’m hoping it will raise a lot of money,” Shelton told Billboard after announcing his project during last Tuesday’s edition of The Voice.  According to Reuters, the May 20 tornado was the deadliest windstorm to hit the United States in two years and left 24 dead and 377 injured. After decimating the city of Moore and surrounding areas, the tornado caused an estimated $2 to $5 billion worth of property damage and loss while over 1,200 homes were left destroyed.
The proceeds from the benefit concert will go to the United Way of Central Oklahoma May Tornadoes Relief Fund and will be used for recovery and rebuilding needs.  The concert will be held tomorrow, May 29, and is set to air on NBC at 9 p.m. EST. According to the network, tickets went on sale Saturday morning and were sold out within five minutes.
article by Lilly Workneh via thegrio.com

Candice Glover Wins 12th Season of "American Idol"

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZKc50N-K178&w=560&h=315]
The third time’s the charm for Candice Glover on “American Idol.”  The 23-year-old vocalist from St. Helena Island, S.C., won the Fox TV singing competition after auditioning a trio of times and making it to the finals this year.  Glover looked stunned when “Idol” host Ryan Seacrest announced she bested soulful 22-year-old country singer Kree Harrison from Woodville, Texas.
Candice GloverGlover said backstage after winning she learned to “Have fun, live in the moment and be confident.”  “Because in previous years I wasn’t, so that’s definitely the key if you want to audition for the show or have a career,” she said.  After her crowning, an emotional Glover sobbed her way through her new single “I Am Beautiful.”
Grammy- and Oscar-winning former “Idol” finalist Jennifer Hudson returned for Thursday’s finale for a show-stopping duet with Glover on Natalie Cole’s “Inseparable” (see above).
Glover’s win marks the first time a female and a nonwhite singer has won the competition since Jordin Sparks dominated the sixth season in 2007. The previous five winners — Phillip Phillips, Scotty McCreery, Lee DeWyze, Kris Allen and David Cook — were all Caucasian guitar players, known to “Idol” fans as WGWGs, or white guys with guitars.
The lack of a female champion for the past five years was mocked in a finale bit featuring the female finalists, in cahoots with Sparks, jokingly sabotaging this season’s five male contestants.  “The good news is ‘Idol’ leftovers have been doing really well on ‘The Voice,'” Sparks teased.

Besides the coronation of Glover, Thursday’s finale also served as a farewell for Randy Jackson, the show’s last remaining original judge who announced last week that he’s leaving “Idol” to focus on his record label and other business opportunities. Jackson served as a judge on all 12 seasons of “Idol.” He first appeared on the panel alongside Simon Cowell and Paula Abdul when the competition debuted in 2002, becoming famous for his easygoing “yo, dawg” rapport with contestants.

Happy 47th Birthday, Grammy-Award Winner and Actress Janet Jackson (VIDEO)

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q-gu1KETjVY&w=560&h=315]
Janet JacksonBorn to Joe and Katherine Jackson on May 16, 1966, Janet Damita Jo Jackson is the youngest of nine children of the musically legendary Jackson family.  Although she started her career in entertainment primarily as a television actress (Good Times, Diff’rent Strokes, Fame), it was Jackson’s music, produced by Minneapolis duo Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis, that catapulted her to international fame and stardom.  Though Control was her third solo album, it was the first one to go multi-platinum and kick-started a career that has spanned decades and generated over 100 million record sales worldwide.  To celebrate Janet and her musical legacy, above is one of her early, iconic dance videos –  “Pleasure Principle.”  Enjoy!
article by Lori Lakin Hutcherson

Dr. Dre, Jimmy Iovine Donate $70M for New Arts and Technology Center at USC

Music industry entrepreneur Jimmy Iovine, left, and hip-hop mogul Dr. Dre at a Grammy Party in Los Angeles. Dre, whose real name is Andre Young, and Iovine have donated a combined $70 million to create a new institute at the University of Southern California, the school announced Tuesday, May 14. (Photo by Todd Williamson/Invision/AP, file)
Music industry entrepreneur Jimmy Iovine, left, and hip-hop mogul Dr. Dre at a Grammy Party in Los Angeles. Dre, whose real name is Andre Young, and Iovine have donated a combined $70 million to create a new institute at the University of Southern California, the school announced Tuesday, May 14. (Photo by Todd Williamson/Invision/AP, file)
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Hip-hop mogul Dr. Dre, whose real name is Andre Young, and music industry entrepreneur Jimmy Iovine have donated a combined $70 million to create a new institute at the University of Southern California, the school announced Tuesday night.
The huge gift from the two who have been music business partners in the past will be used to create the Jimmy Iovine and Andre Young Academy for Arts, Technology and the Business of Innovation.
The academy will provide a special four-year program for undergraduates whose interests span several fields from marketing to computer science to visual design and other arts. It will include one-on-one faculty mentoring with professors from programs around the university and interaction with entertainment industry luminaries.

Usher Becomes 1st Artist to Curate Music for Macy’s 4th of July Fireworks

Recording artist Usher attends NBC's "The Voice" Season 4 Red Carpet Event at the House of Blues Sunset Strip on May 8, 2013 in West Hollywood
Usher will collaborate with Macy’s to curate the concept, music and design for the Macy’s 4th of July fireworks show, which will be launched from barges off Manhattan.
It’s the first time the company has worked with an artist on the concept for its annual show, Macy’s said Thursday.
Usher will score the music for “It Begins With a Spark,” which will feature his songs, as well as songs from Rihanna, Swedish House Mafia, Jimi Hendrix and Frank Sinatra.
He will also provide visual design cues and direction for the pyrotechnics that are choreographed to the musical score.
The 37th annual Macy’s 4th of July Fireworks display will air after the annual concert on NBC.
article via eurweb.com