Friday October 12, 2012
Back in the spring and summer, it was reported that R&B singer/songwriter Marcus Cooper -- who was better known as Pleasure P. during his years in the Florida-based boy band Pretty Ricky -- was preparing to release his sophomore solo album this Sept. 18, 2012 via eOne Music. Well, that date came and went with no album released. But the word on the street now is that the album, which was tentatively titled Marcus Cooper the last we heard, now is expected to drop in February 2013. Time will tell if that rumor's actually accurate, but lending a little bit of credence to it is that earlier today Marcus/P. released a new song, "I Really Need to Know." The track is apparently the follow up to his previous single, "I Love Girls," which was released in June and features the rapper Tyga. On the new song, an overwrought Marcus sings dramatically about how a relationship is making his life pure torture.
"I can't sleep like I used to, eat like I used to, think like I used to, be who I used to, And it's out of my control, someone let me know, is this the way love's supposed to go?," he sings. "I really need to know."
Reinforcing the song's tortured them is the single cover (pictured above, on the left) which shows a straitjacket on a hanger in what appears to be a padded cell. The song can be streamed at Marcus' official Soundcloud page; a link's included below.
Wednesday October 10, 2012
Fans of R&B crooner/sex symbol Trey Songz have had a lot to be happy about lately. First, Trey released his fifth studio album, Chapter V, earlier this year. Secondly, the album became his first to debut at No. 1 on the Billboard charts. And now, Trey's about to embark on a world tour in support of the album. And when I say a world tour, it truly is a world tour, stretching from an opening show in Atlanta to a closing one in Glasgow, Scotland. In between, he'll travel everywhere from Los Angeles to Chicago to Dallas to Paris to London. The tour, which kicks off Nov. 17, is planned to last through Feb. 6, 2013, with the American leg ending with a Dec. 31 show in Houston. The opening acts for the massive trek will be Miguel and Elle Varner, both of whom released critically acclaimed albums earlier this year. The complete itinerary for Trey's "Chapter V World Tour" is below. For ticket prices, on sale dates and other info, visit the tour's page at ticketmaster.com.
Trey Songz' 2012-13 "Chapter V World Tour" Schedule:
- Nov. 17 - Atlanta, GA - Fox Theater
- Nov. 18 - Baton Rouge, LA - River Center
- Nov. 21 - Las Vegas, NV - Orleans Arena
- Nov. 23 - Oakland, CA - Coliseum
- Nov. 24 - San Diego, CA - Sports Arena
- Nov. 25 - Los Angeles, CA - Nokia Theater (L.A. Live)
- Nov. 30 - Saginaw, MI - Dow Events Center
- Dec. 1 - Chicago, IL - Arie Crown Theatre
- Dec. 2 - Milwaukee, WI - Milwaukee Theater
- Dec. 5 - New York, NY - Theatre at Madison Square Garden
- Dec. 7 - Detroit, MI - Fox Theater
- Dec. 8 - Nashville, TN - Municipal Auditorium
- Dec. 9 - St. Louis, MO - Fox Theater
- Dec. 13 - Washington, D.C. - Constitution Hall
- Dec. 14 - Charlotte, NC - Bojangles Coliseum
- Dec. 15 - Hampton, VA - Coliseum
- Dec. 16 - Baltimore, MD - 1st Mariner Arena
- Dec. 27 - New Orleans, LA - UNO Lakefront Arena
- Dec. 28 - Birmingham, AL - BJCC Arena
- Dec. 29 - Southaven, MS - Landers Center
- Dec. 30 - Dallas, TX - Verizon Theatre
- Dec. 31 - Houston, TX - Reliant Arena
- Jan. 5 - Stockholm, Sweden - Annexet
- Jan. 6 - Oslo, Norway - Sentrum Scene
- Jan. 7 - Copenhagen, Denmark - VEGA
- Jan. 9 - Hamburg, Germany - GroBe Freiheit
- Jan. 10 - Berlin, Germany - Columbiahalle
- Jan. 12 - Oberhausen, Germany - Turbinenhalle
- Jan. 13 - Mannheim, Germany - Maimarkt Club
- Jan. 14 - Munich, Germany - Tonhalle
- Jan. 17 - Lyon, France - Le Transbordeur
- Jan. 18 - Toulouse, France - Le Bikini
- Jan. 20 - Marseille, France - Le Dome
- Jan. 23 - Paris, France - Zenith
- Jan. 24 - Brussels, Belgium - Ancienne Belgique
- Jan. 25 - Amsterdam, Holland - Heineken Music Hall
- Jan. 26 - Amsterdam, Holland - Heineken Music Hall
- Jan. 28 - Birmingham, UK - LG Arena
- Jan. 29 - Bristol, UK - Colston Hall
- Jan. 30 - London, UK - Hammersmith Apollo
- Jan. 31 - London, UK - Hammersmith Apollo
- Feb. 1 - London, UK - Hammersmith Apollo
- Feb. 2 - London, UK - Hammersmith Apollo
- Feb. 4 - Manchester, UK - Apollo
- Feb. 5 - Glasgow, UK - Academy
- Feb. 6 - Glasgow, UK - Academy
Tuesday October 9, 2012
Despite being one of the most talented and influential artists of her time, Nina Simone was -- and still remains -- an underappreciated artist. And if there's anyone who can be considered a modern-day equivalent to Nina, i.e. a highly talented and underappreciated artist, it's Meshell Ndegeocello. So it makes perfect sense that Meshell would pay tribute to her kindred spirit by recording a tribute project. And that project, Pour une Ame Souveraine: A Dedication to Nina Simone is a brilliant labor of love that features not only Meshell, but some of her kindred spirits in the alternative-urban music world, including Lizz Wright and Cody ChesnuTT. Pour une Ame Souveraine, which is French for For a Sovereign Soul and was released in the U.S. Oct. 9, 2012, is a fitting, loving tribute to one of the more substantive American performers of the 20th century. For more, click the link to check out the full review of Meshell Ndegeocello's Pour une Ame Souveraine.
Monday October 8, 2012
The word regarding Ne-Yo's upcoming album R.E.D. is that the official release date's now in early November 2012. But even though that's still just about a month away, he's already released his third single from the album. Following on the heels of the songs "Lazy Love" and "Let Me Love You" from this past spring and summer (not to mention his hit collaboration with Young Jeezy "Leave You Alone," also from earlier this year) Ne-Yo has another radio-friendly song out and on it, he stays true to form and literally sings the praises of an extraordinary female. "Don't Make 'Em Like You" is sort of a thematic cousin of his 2008 top 10 hit "Miss Independent." The latest song is practically a sequel to the original and has Ne-Yo singing somewhat familiar lines like:
"She know what she want, know how to get it, know how to have fun, Baby you're the one, few and far between sexy as they come, swag so mean, I'ma raise a glass, here's a toast to the ladies with class."
The track even coaxes rapper Wiz Khalifa into revealing his more gentle side as he drops a few verses referencing marriage and having kids. He even makes it pretty clear the lyrics are meant for his fiancee, model Amber Rose, whom Wiz is currently engaged to and expecting a child with. Overall, the song's a pretty positive representative of love and relationships, typical of what we've come to expect from Ne-Yo. The R.E.D. album (it stands for Realizing Every Dream) is due out Nov. 7, 2012, but for now, the latest single can be streamed via the link below.
