Every new R&B crooner says they are here to bring R&B back, but once you listen to Raphael Saadiq's newest album The Way I See It, you will see that he is bringing real R&B in its original form. From Motown to Curtis Mayfield, Raphael tapped into some of the best sounds in the era of true R&B. It's like a period piece as an ode to the greats.

His debut single, "Love That Girl" possesses a sense of Smokey Robinson and transports you to the late 50s when the kids gathered at the local community center for dances. In an love song about a New Orleans miss, the trumpet-heavy "Big Easy" features the renowned brass band, The Rebirth Band. Even Stevie Wonder makes an appearance in the soulful "Never Give Up." One of my favorites, "Sure Hope You Mean It" is eerily reminiscent of The Temptations and his style right out the David Ruffin playbook. To top it off he teams up with Jay-Z for the smooth remix of "Oh Girl."

Touching these classic sounds make the album feel so familiar. If you are a fan of the classics - Motown, Stax, Chi-town, Philly - like me, you will thoroughly enjoy The Way I See It! I had the pleasure of getting the scoop straight from Raphael on making the FAB album, his inspirations, and of course, will there ever be a reunion with Tony! Toni! Tone!?


Check out a preview of the full album on his Official MySpace! Plus, keep up with dates of upcoming shows on his official website, RaphaelSaadiq.com. Make sure to get your copy of The Way I See It, in stores now!

Watch the video for the debut single, "Love That Girl" here.

Labels: Exclusive, Raphael Saadiq

Labels: Exclusive, Slim

This is for my Louisiana fam...come meet me at the Musiq Soulchild show August 23rd! The Hip Hop Doc and Max 94.1 are bringing you Musiq Soulchild live in Baton Rouge at the Baton Rouge River Center Theater, with special opening performance by Dee-1.

Pick up your tickets now at Ticketmaster! See ya there!

Labels: Exclusive, Musiq Soulchild

Labels: Exclusive, Jill Scott

R&B has another edition with the Florida-bred crooner, Casely. Born Jean Carlos Casely, the 22 year old is making waves with his hot single "Emotional." After attending world-famous Berklee College of Music on full scholarship, this classically trained pianist is a singing-acting-dancing-songwriting quadruple threat who embodies what it means to be a child of the 80s - his influences range from Prince and Michael Jackson to Death Cab for Cutie and John Mayer, and it shows. On 1985, Casely's debut album for Epic Records, we find a brave new artist bringing it back while bridging a gap to the future.

Check out his debut video "Emotional below and continue reading for our exclusive interview I had with the up and coming singer...


Melody: Tell me about yourself and how you ended up at Epic records.

Casely: Basically, I’m 22. I’ve been signing and doing music since I was about 6 years old. I’m a songwriter as well. When I was about 12 I started taking piano lessons. I started writing and recording when I was 14. I’ve been trying to get a deal for a very long time. It wasn’t just an overnight type of thing.

I released an independent album a few years ago called “I’ll Be.” I’ve worked with several producers like Jim Johnson and Develop. I’ve just been trying to spread my music out and trying to get deal for the past 8 to 10 years. I linked up with Diaz Brothers last March and we got into the studio and did a few records. I wrote and recorded “Emotional” and they brought it to all the mixtape DJs that they had a relationship with and knew [they put out Pittbull before Casely]. The response was really good and B96 in Miami decided to push the record and response was so great that they upped the spins to 70 to 90 a week. That got the attention of Epic Records and we had the meeting with Epic, everything was lovely and here I am today with a music video for “Emotional” and a single all over the radio.


Melody: Tell me a little bit about growing up in Florida.

Casely: You get the heat, you get the beach, you get the sun, so it was definitely an experience that I loved, that’s home right there. It definitely played a part in my music and the creative process.


Melody: How would you define your style or your music?

Casely: My style of music is definitely R&B at its core it’s very synthesized, very electronic. A little left field but it’s something brand new. I tried to set myself a part with this record.


Melody: Let’s talk about your hot single “Emotional”

Casely: You know the Diaz Brother, we were doing through some beats and we came across the one for “Emotional” and I said, ‘hold on, back that up, what that right there?’ I definitely do something with that. So I took the track home and then I started writing the first verse and the hook in the car. That was my little challenge to myself, if it was catchy enough for me to remember by the time I got out of the car. We recorded it and I was really excited about it.


Melody: What can we expect from your album?

Casely: You can expect a lot of high energy music, a lot of good music. I know everyone says they want to bring good music back but honestly this is it. It very vibey, get your neck bobbin’, and something new and unique. If your tired of the same old stuff on the radio, then you going to want to pick this up.


Melody: Cool, so who are you working with?

Casely: I linked up with Jim Johnson, he did a couple of record, Diaz Brothers, Infamous, and that’s it for right now.


Melody: When can we expect this album to come out?

Casely: Around May or June.

For more information on Casely, visit his Official Website or on MySpace

Labels: Casely, Exclusive

We welcomed five girls into our home on MTV's Making the Band, and with a ready made fanbase the group shot to number one and became a household name. However the road to a sophomore album wasn't as easy for Danity Kane. Rumors of breakups, breakdown in management and poor promotion, left the group vulnerable to being yet another casualty of reality television.

Lucky for these girls they have talent that surpasses the average pre-packaged record label product. So when I had the opportunity to chit chat to the home team chick Dawn Richard, I made sure to get the dish on everything from how she went from New Orleans HoneyBee to international pop star to how she really felt about working with Diddy. Dawn also gives you insight on their newest release Welcome to the Dollhouse which is available today. Plus, what's up with her and Que? What other reality show did she try out for? Do bloggers get under her skin?



Continue reading to listen to the entire interview and catch The Leak...

Part 2: Welcome the the Dollhouse



Part 3: What's Next for Danity Kane


Part 4: Fan Questions

The sophomore effort of Danity Kane is a collection of futuristic sounds that lends itself to 70s and 80s grooves. A healthy set of songs, laced with a few artistic interludes, Welcome to the Dollhouse reintroduces a set of talented vocalists. From R&B to Pop, it is a well rounded collection that touches on fun and flirty, hot and steamy, and get up and dance tracks.

Back in the lab with producers Brian Michael Cox and Mario Winans from their debut release, they also worked with new hitmakers such as Stereotypes [“Damaged”], The Clutch [Mary J. Blige, Ciara] and Scyience [Jay Z, Beyonce]. The ladies were able to stretch their writing skills [and collect on those publishing rights] with tracks like “Strip Tease” and “Lights Out” and “Picture This.”

The ladies vocal acrobatics are fierce and blend so well on the album, while being able to maintain their individual sound. You’ll hear more from Shannon as well as Aubrey, and as always Dawn, D. Woods and Andrea stand out as homerun hitters. You can definitely hear a softer side of D. Woods. The move toward “International Pop” is very evident in choice of melodies and beats, there’s an infusion of dance, techno, and funk through out the album, especially in “Bad Girl” which features Missy Elliot and “Pretty Boy.” The group-penned “Strip Tease” is pop-friendly track that is dripping in sex. You won’t miss on their ability to produce a beautiful ballad with the beautifully dramatic “Is Anybody Listening.” The complex layering of voices is beyond the average girl group.

As with their debut, Danity Kane, you get a complete album and fans won’t be disappointed. This time around, I won’t be surprised when they go platinum.


For more visit their official website: http://www.danitykane.com/

Myspace: http://www.myspace.com/danitykane

Dawn Richard Myspace: http://www.myspace.com/dawnrichard

Special thanks to Dawn for the interview and exclusive look at the new album.

Labels: Aubrey O'Day, D. Woods, Danity Kane, Dawn Richard, Exclusive, The Leak

Don't we love free ish!? I have more for you. In honor of the release of Kelis' greatest hits album, Kelis - The Hits, I have a copy to give to 3 lucky readers!!


To enter, all you have to do is email me and enter "Kelis Giveaway" in the subject line with your name, mailing address, and age. That easy!

Check out the tracklisting after the jump...


KELIS - THE HITS

(Star Trak/Jive/Legacy 88697 25278 2 6 - explicit)

(Star Trak/Jive/Legacy 88697 25467 2 8 - clean)

1. Caught Out There R&B #9, H #54 #4 Kaleidoscope Virgin 1999

2. Milkshake R&B #4, H #3 #2 Tasty StarTrak/Arista 2003

3. Got Your Money R&B #19, H #33 #11 [N***a Please] [Elektra] 1999

(w/Ol' Dirty Bastard)

4. Trick Me -- #2 Tasty StarTrak/Arista 2004

5. Lil' Star (with Cee-Lo) -- #3 Kelis Was Here LaFace/Jive 2006

6. Get Along With You R&B #57 #51 Kaleidoscope Virgin 2000

7. Young, Fresh N' New Dance #15 #32 Wanderland Virgin 2001

8. Truth Or Dare -- -- [In Search Of...] [Virgin] 2002

(w/N.E.R.D)

9. Bossy (with Too $hort) R&B#11, H #16 #22 Kelis Was Here LaFace/Jive 2006

10. In Public (with Nas) -- #17 Tasty StarTrak/Arista 2005

11. Millionaire -- #3 Tasty StarTrak/Arista 2004

(w/André 3000)

12. Finest Dreams -- #8 [X-Factor Vol. 1] [Astralwerks] 2003

(w/Richard X)

13. Suspended -- -- Kaleidoscope Virgin 2000

14. Good Stuff -- #19 Kaleidoscope Virgin 2000

Notes:

H indicates Billboard Hot 100 singles chart (U.S.)

-- indicates single did not chart or was not issued in designated country.

Year indicates single release date, not album.

[Brought to you in partnership with Cornerstone Promotions]

Labels: CONTEST, Exclusive, Kelis

I had the pleasure of talking to J Records artist Mario last month as he promoted his third album, Go, out today. The Baltimore native, is working on his grown man status and promises to bring something different with this album. Determined to make a fresh album, Mario worked through direction changes and album pushbacks, but now he feels it's time to present another chapter in his musical journey.

From the sultry "Crying Out For Me" to the sexy title track "Go" this album is definitely a solid effort by Mario to show his growth as an artist.



Check out the exclusive interview...



Check out more Mario online:

Official Mario Website | Mario on MySpace


IN STORES NOW!

Labels: Exclusive, Mario

As I previously reported, The-Dream and wive Nivea have decide to end their marriage, however the split is amicable. In a statement sent exclusively to POP-JUNKIE.com, Nivea responds to the ending of her marriage to Terius "The-Dream" Nash:

I am also sorry to have to report the news of our separation. It is however a mutual decision for the both of us. We see this as an attempt to try and maintain the friendship we've developed since our marriage and also to allow growth for myself as well as him. Unfortunately I was not prepared for partnership or even real life for that matter. I am completely and truly grateful and thankful to God for sending him into my life and to him for everything that he has done for me and my family and that includes monetarily as well as spiritually and mentally, especially for myself, which was never his responsibility in the first place. None of you are aware of the real me and I plan to make that as clear as possible on this next album. I come from a sad and scary past that I am still in the process of overcoming and growing past, thanks to the man I love and always will. This is truly the only person I've ever known or heard of that is incredibly loving, passionate, wise, psychic, wise, creative, genius, and many more things that I could never put into words. I don't feel it is fair for neither of us, especially him, to continue this never-ending battle of the minds that he and i have continued for long enough. I want nothing more than for him and I to be happy. His happiness is all i want, for I could never repay him for what he has endured by being my friend, partner, and husband.

Terius has said he will issue a statement in due time, but has chosen to focus on his upcoming release.

Labels: Exclusive, Nivea, The Dream

Reports are starting to surface about the pending divorce of the marriage between Terius "The-Dream" Nash and wife Nivea...

It's not a rumor. A source very close to the situation confirms that divorce papers have been drawn, I was told last week. However, the marriage isn't ending on a sour note. The pair have decided that marriage has run its course and that this is the best thing to do... They also note that the split doesn't have anything to do either's success or lack there of.

They do have a daughter together, Navy Talia, born in 2005.

There are also rumors of a brewing relationship with Kris Jacobs, who is in the "Falsetto" video. When asked, my source laughed off the notion as yet another attempt to drag out more drama as The-Dream album's release is less than a week away.

Sticking to the music...check back for The Leak: LOVE/HATE album!

Labels: Exclusive, The Dream

I know ya'll been waiting on this...and it is here! My conversation with J. Holiday, the D.C. Cadillac Kid that has had us all swooning over his breakout debut single "Bed." The Capitol Records artist released his critically acclaimed debut album Back of my Lac just two months ago and is now sharing his voice with the country on the Double Up Tour.

I crossed my fingers, wished on a star, and said a prayer that this interview wouldn't get rescheduled again and after about 3 months of emails, phone tag, and texts, we finally got the chance to talk again. I literally had pages of questions from fans wanting every juicy detail of his life. However, as you'll read, once we began to talk, the conversation took on a life of its own. J. opens up about the music industry, love, his fathers passing, and why he wants you to just ride with him...


Continue reading to check out part deux of the J. Holiday Exclusive interview!

Part 1: The Basics...Back of my Lac

Melody: So, your album’s out!

J. Holiday: Yes, ma’am!

Melody: So how are you feeling about that?

J. Holiday: It feels good, I’m just at the point now where its time to turn on the after burners to make sure I stay here, you know, in the place that I’m at.

Melody: Right, you’re a pretty low-key dude, you’re real just chill, so did you wild out just a little bit for your release?

J. Holiday: Definitely! I did have 3 different release parties in New York, D.C., and Atlanta. Of course when I was in D.C. I saw my family. When I was in Atlanta I saw my music family and of course New York is New York, so did a little bit of wildin’.

Melody: Let’s go through the album, which is definitely one of the best albums of 2007, just off top. It was really highly anticipated, I think a lot of people where waiting for that album. The title track, “Back of my Lac” which is pretty much about how you wind down and get through things, so is that one of the most personal songs on the album?

J. Holiday: Yeah, definitely. We named it that because that is actually a song that I wrote that was on the demo package and it’s one of the songs that I got signed off of and that song is basically a song a that I wrote when I was about to quit. I’m like ‘Man, I don’t know if I want to keep doing this music thing, it’s pointless, it’s a waste of my time.’ I was just like, we have to name the album this, because this is what got me through, which got this album even out. That’s why we call it “Back of my Lac” and we ready to just keep it rockin’.

Melody: Let’s talk about some of the songs that you wrote on the album. I know you wrote “Fallin’,” “Ghetto,” and “Back of my Lac,” are there any others that you wrote?

J. Holiday: “Fallin’,” “Ghetto,” and “Back of my Lac,” I co-wrote on “Be With Me,” I co-wrote on “Without You” and I co-wrote on “Laa Laa.”

Melody: Okay, now “Fallin’,” I have a hard time picking a favorite, but that’s definitely one of my favorite songs on the album. Was that from personal experience?

J. Holiday: Actually that’s from a combination of a lot of stuff. I’ve been in more than one relationship, more than one serious relationship. Lets just say that every male would be a liar if they said they didn’t break up with a girl or that girl broke up with them, and they didn’t sit at home and wish they had them back. Every male is going to do that, I don’t care who you are, so that’s me just putting it on front street. Like, I know I messed up or whatever but I really need you back.

Melody: So “Ghetto” from the first verse, it just takes you, it captures you from the front so that’s definitely a hot song, is that one of your favorite songs?

J. Holiday: Um, anything I put my pen on is my favorites [laugh], yeah definitely. I mean I’m more of a soulful person anyway. I’m not this selfish type of artist, like I’m only going to the make music that I like to listen to. There’s people that like to listen to the real soulful music, and then there’s people who listen to the R&B classic type of music, and then there’s people that like to listen to the hip hop sounding music. It’s like I tried to put a little bit of all that into the album but anything soulful I love.

Melody: Speaking of sounds, I’ve read a lot of pieces and feedback and views and people kind of place you in the category of an R&B thug. Is that a misconception, do you embrace that, or is that something that you really don’t feel is accurate?

J. Holiday: I mean, what really an R&B thug?

Melody: I don’t know…

J. Holiday: You’d be pretty surprised, not to put anyone on front street but, as far as my music is concerned, I’mma always be me. I’mma show people who I really am. I’m not going to try to sugarcoat anything for the public or anything like that. Trying to make it seem like I’m this goody-goody two-shoes, now I’m in the club wildin’. If you can’t accept that through my music, then you really can’t accept me. And there are a lot of artists out here, that sugarcoat things, then they be out in the street and people see them, it’s ‘Oh my God, why is he acting like that?’ And it’s like, okay that’s who he really is but he did tell you that through his music, so you didn’t know that. So I don’t necessarily look at it as being an R&B thug, I just look at it like being me. You gotta look at it like my mom’s a preacher, so I can’t be that much of a thug. People don’t really listen to the story or really try to get involved the person or really listen to the lyrics that I’m really saying. Versus saying ‘Well, he said something about smoking didn’t he, oh that’s gotta be a thug’ or ‘oh he said something about drinking, oh that gotta be a thug.’ There’s preachers that take communion, that’s wine, you don’t call them no thug. So it’s like, people really need to figure out what their definition of R&B thug is.

Melody: You worked with a lot of great producers and up and coming producers and writers, is there any one that you worked with that you feel you connected the most with, that really got you as an artist?

J. Holiday: Actually the guy that produced “Ghetto,” he has a clique called State of Emergency, they’re basically a clique of live instruments, they play live instruments. He was definitely was real instrumental in my Marvin Gaye influences and he was there in the beginning stages of the demo. That’s just a relationship that I’ve had over the years, even when I was with my group [295]. We just always seem to make magical music together. We got songs that are reminiscent of Mint Condition and stuff like that. It’s just some songs that some people aren’t ready for yet, but that’s definitely one of the people that I connected with the most on the album. His name is Donnie Scantz.

Melody: Well shout out to him, he did you good on that song, I love “Ghetto.” Now you also worked with Ne-Yo on the album, but none of the songs made the album, is there a reason why?

J. Holiday: Actually, I worked with Ne-Yo in the way beginning stages of the album and he actually wrote some dope joints, but after years of preparation for the album, it got to the point of well, certain songs started getting pushed to the side. By me being a writer, of course they’re going to, the labels and everybody’s always like, well we have to make sure he makes some money. Which isn’t really a big deal to me, I feel as long as I’m doing what I’m supposed to do, I’m going to make money anyway. But they started leaning more to the songs that I was writing, because of course I’m the artist. But he wrote some dope stuff, and Ne-Yo, that’s one of my homies. I’m pretty sure we’re probably going to work on some stuff on this upcoming tour. We’re going to be out and about, so I’m sure we’re going to work on some stuff, might surprise you and put something together.

Melody: That’d be interesting, I’d love to hear that. There was only one song that had a collaboration, with 8 Ball & MJG, but it didn’t make the domestic release. Is there a reason why?


J. Holiday: Honestly, I wrote “City Boy,” I’m really not sure why it didn’t make it but I’m pretty sure it’s the politics, some people scared, everybody has their opinion of what song they think are hot and what songs they think are dope, so as long as it’s making a release, then I’m cool, I’m happy. I’m going to let God do his work.

Melody: Well, with technologies these days, eventually people will hear it.

LISTEN NOW: J. Holiday - City Boy

J. Holiday: Oh I know, if I have anything to do with it, they’ll hear it anyway.

Melody: Yeah, so people are going to hear it. Speaking of technology, your advance and a lot of songs got pretty much leaked early on over the last couple of months before and a lot of the songs that didn’t make the official release, but a lot of them were some wonderful songs.

J. Holiday: Thank you…

Melody: A lot of people would say ‘Well, why didn’t this song make it?’ and I know there’s a lot of politics, but just off top, from what I heard, “A Love of Your Own” and “Don’t Wanna Lose You” are…

J. Holiday: Actually, “A Love of Your Own” might, we’re supposed to be doing a re-release, and that may be one of the songs that make the re-release. People can still be looking out for that. Like I said, it’s politics, you’d be surprised how many politics going to making an album and that was personal situation. Actually, Donnie Scantz did that one too, big shouts out to him, but you know it’s sad that, especially African Americans, that we live so much off of status, that other things get pushed in the background because we still thinking about ‘Well. We want to be up here, so we’re going to hold somebody down there,’ or what ever the case maybe. That’s what I’m trying to get away from, I’m trying to get the people away from the politics and get back to making real music and making real decisions that make sense, versus it being that ego thing or it being something like ‘Well, if we put that song on there, somebody else’s song that I like better going to be taken off and I want to build that relationship.’ I don’t care about all that, I don’t care about none of that stuff. I want the best music for the album, anybody else that got their feelings hurt, they can keep it moving. That’s just how I look at it because it shouldn’t be about strictly relationships. It should be about the music.

Part 2: The Music

Melody: Definitely, that’s one of the things that I really, really like about you as an artist, and you as really a person, is your whole philosophy on music and bringing back real music and real R&B not really being with everything being status quo, and the politics of music. I know, but the average consumer definitely isn’t tapped into that...

J. Holiday: [laugh] …and it’s sad that, and this is why music is the way it is now and people do end up messing up because you’ll have artists that are really dope, dope artists and they’ll have people holding them back for so long that when they get a chance to make those decisions, they make all the wrong decisions. Because, like now, it’s like ‘I don’t care what you say, you’ve held me back for so long, I’m going to do what I want to do.’ Which you still help, you still need a little bit of guidance, but it’s like, let’s bring it back to the actual music. Where the artist will go sit down in the studio for two months and then come back and be like, ‘Aight, tell me which songs y’all like and which songs y’all don’t like.’ Versus saying, one by one, each song ‘Nah, I hate that song,’ let the artist be creative. That’s why my album sounds the way it sounds because those songs were done over such a spread out period of time that none of them can sound the same because I didn’t do them all back-to-back-to-back.

Melody: Well it was a well-crafted album…

J. Holiday: Thank you.

Melody: …so kudos to you! Now “Bed” was the last song to be recorded, right?

J. Holiday: Yes, exactly.

Melody: Did you record “Bed” after the release of “Be with Me?”

J. Holiday: Yeah, that was way after the release of “Be with Me.” Capitol and Virgin [Records] had just did a merger so a lot of people that we had working on “Be with Me” isn’t part of the system anymore. I just think at that point in time, it just didn’t get the right push. Because I lot of people are like ‘Yo, what happened to Be With Me?!’ and nobody knew about me and then when “Bed” came out, it was like ‘Oh this the same cat that did Be with Me?’ or ‘I heard that song before and just didn’t know who that was.’ Then what happened to this one? It’s like, it is what it is. It’s the politics, it’s the egos, it’s the everybody-wants-to-be-on-top, that’s what happened.

Melody: No, you're right, you are so very, very right…

J. Holiday: It’s like, I’m trying to get that. People always say, what happened to hip hop, or what happened to R&B? And real talk, it don’t start with the artist. It starts with the labels, I’m sorry to say that, but it does, ‘cause the label make the tell-all, be-all decisions.

Melody: Oh, definitely! I know a lot of artist get frustrated and to tell you the truth, man, you have some fans!

J. Holiday: Oh, they be scared to let me talk.

Melody: You have some fans who were ready to come tear down Capitol Records.

J. Holiday: [Laugh]

Melody: They were serious! No you really have some outstanding fans and they love you so much that they really have been like ‘We need to promote him, because they not doing it right!’ So, I’m so glad that you were getting the shine that you were getting because just hearing some of your other material, I was like ‘This album is going to be really great,’ and I think a lot of people will be happy to hear to hear it because it is real R&B…

J. Holiday: Right, I just tried to approach it like De’Angelo approached his first album. I’m going to do me, I’m going to make my music and see what the world like you know what I’m saying. I make all types of music, it doesn’t just stop with R&B, I do everything and I feel like artist should be able to do everything. It’s a growth thing, it’s a growth process. I’m going to take my time, I’m going to still be here. I’m going to be like Avant, even though people don’t respect Avant, Avant been around. You can’t nothing away from that man. He has faithful fans and he’s still here. As long as you stay true to yourself, it will happen for you.

Melody: Once you have a fan base, they will follow you and as long as you stay true to who you are and don’t lose yourself in the industry, you’ll be alright. So let’s talk about the Chocolate City Mixtape. That could have been a whole album.

J. Holiday: …and that’s the point that I was trying to get across. Just as an artist, I work all the time if I’m at home. I haven’t been able to get into the studio that much, but a lot of that mixtape I did at home. I have a Pro2 set up at my house and you would think that was a commercial studio but it wasn’t. It’s just that I’m trying to get people to understand, look get on your grind, work! I’m going to give you a whole free album, that’s basically what it was, just called it a mixtape. This a free album, even though it’s some commercial tracks on here, I’m going to give you all new songs. I’m going to show you that you can make music, you have to love what you do.

Melody: That comes out though, that comes out in your work.

J. Holiday: Yeah, I definitely was trying to get a couple of the fella’s attention and show them, I know I got “Bed” on the radio and of course it’s a big baby making song, but it’s like I make music for everybody. There’s just not one situation that happens, life is about a lot of things other than just love and getting somebody to bed. I just tried to portray that in the mixtape. Give a couple more songs for the fellas, and we are probably going to reprint that up too and start shipping that out.

Melody: That’s good though, when we first talked you would say this whole album – the ladies can listen to while they are in the tub but the guys can put this on their ride and ride to it too, and that’s not easy feat when you can put together an album that transcends different audiences and I think you did a good job with that.

J. Holiday: That’s how I grew up, man. I had church on Sunday and I was on the streets on Monday through Saturday.

Part 3: Life, Being a PK, and his Father...>

Melody: Let’s talk about that because that’s something we have in common, I’m a preacher’s kid too. I know I lot of people on the outside say, oh preacher’s kids, they like this or they like that. But being a preacher’s kids, it’s something that not everyone can identify with. I know you said your moms really supportive and a real preacher would support of their kid, but sometimes I call and I’m like I don’t want to talk to the preacher, I want to talk to my dad. Do you ever get that with your mom?

J. Holiday: Not now, I can talk to my mom just regular, like I’m talking to my other peoples. Growing up, of course, I didn’t talk to her a lot, that’s when I had my homies but I think for me, it also depends on the type of character that you have. Because a lot of preachers kids, both of their parents are in the church, the typical preachers kid, their mother and father are in the church. My dad was straight fresh out of D.C., my mom was from Carolina, my mom was a preacher, my dad was dude from the street. He didn’t go to church, he read the bible, he knew the bible like the back of his hand, but he didn’t go to church, smoked cigarette, drank beer, and that was my balance you know. It gave me that automatic, that thing in my head that said you know what, I can think for myself. If it’s something that I don’t want to do, or something that I don’t feel comfortable with, then I won’t do it or I just won’t feel comfortable. A lot of stuff I didn’t do in church because I didn’t want to be fake about it. I was like, I know that’s not where I’m at so I’m not going to be fake about it. I think most PKs, they’re forced. Like if I told my mom I didn’t want to do something and she knew I didn’t feel comfortable doing it, she didn’t make me do it. Most PKs are forced, and that’s when they rebel, like they just came fresh out of Babylon. It’s just I think I had that foundation to where I knew how far to take it.

Melody: I know a lot of people think that your dad just walked out, but your dad passed when you were young, you were 11…

J. Holiday: Yeah

Melody: and I know you said it’s still with you, so how does losing your father at a young age, how does that affect you now?

J. Holiday: Now I’m older, honestly it’s crazy because it’s a catch 22, because I love singing and I’ve always said that I would give all this up to have my pops back, but then on the reverse side, had he never died I probably would have never ended up here. Because a lot of the circumstance and situations that happened after him passing away led up to me being exactly where I’m at right now, so I can’t be mad but at the same time they always say everything happens for a reason. Even though it’s something that you may seek, you might be pissed, and you might even be mad at God, or whatever but it’s like God will never put more on you than you can’t handle. That was something that I had to go through to see exactly, it helps me be a better father to my daughter, it helps me say you know what, I’m going to make sure I don’t make that same decision. My daughter don’t have to grow up like I grew up and she can make whatever decisions she wants to make in life. So it helps, but then you get those time when you’re like, awe man, I wish I could share this, I wish I could share that, but it is what it is.

Melody: A lot of the things that we go through in life shape who we are today, so I can definitely identify with that, and I think that a lot of people can identify with that whether it be a loss of a parent or their parent just not being there in general.

Part 4: What's Next...

Okay, so let’s talk about “Suffocate” because that’s your second single and I know you took a lovely trip to Paris to shoot the video so when can we expect that?

J. Holiday: “Suffocate” should be adding on the radio around the 13th and the video should be coming soon after that. I just actually saw the second edit of the video yesterday and it’s looking pretty good. It’s looking pretty romantic!

Melody: Uh-Oh

J. Holiday: Well, we shot it in Paris so I don’t know how you could not look romantic in Paris.

Melody: So, Nik from America’s Next Top Model, she the love interest in the video?


J. Holiday: Nah, we were going to use her, but we ended up using Jennifer Gordon, she the same girl from the first [“Bed”] video, we wanted to make it something consistent to where it really is a story line. It’s not about having the next prettiest girl in your video, it’s about actually telling a story and being consistent. I think people have been scared to do that, like ‘Aw man, we need to go get the next flyest chick that was in the Maxim Magazine’ or whatever and it’s not about that.

Melody: Well, they were all gorgeous girls so…

J. Holiday: Oh yeah, definitely! But I think the consensus, for especially African American music, is to have the next best girl in your video because such-and-such just has so-and-so in the video and you have to outdo them. But now we got a girl that don’t want to do any other videos, so it’s like now what are you going do? Because you can’t get her, so now what are going to do? But we just trying to bring back the essence of saying we are going to build careers and relationships and have fun doing it.

Melody: Have you thought far enough ahead to what your third single might be?

J. Holiday: Honestly, I would like to switch it up a bit, because I don’t want people to get caught up into this strictly lovey dovey in it. Because that’s not what I am in whole, I got different sides to me just like everybody. Everybody has different sides to them and it’s just to show them the passion inside. That I can take care of my woman, and love my woman and then the side that may even mess up and say I did crazy stuff but I still need you back, or the side that says we need to better as African American males. Just getting people involved into Blackness again. What’s funny is, even though I say certain things on my records, always make sure you look at the credits, just because I said, doesn’t mean I wrote it. Like the two song you pointed out, I didn’t write those songs. Ride with me, get involved completely. That’s what I want people to do, get involved completely and understand just who it is that I am. I may cuss sometimes, I may get mad and say ‘Ah Shit!’ but that’s just life. It’s talking about a specific situation and you like, ‘Yo, you fine as a muthaf--’ that’s just what it is. It’s not that I’m going to walk around the house calling you a M-Fer, that’s just saying yo, right now, I’m trying to get at you. I’m going to make sure people ride with me and I got a lot of positive stuff to say. I’m like Common, I’m for the people. That’s one dude, I definitely respect and ain’t changing for nobody.

Melody: Definitely gotta admire you for that...

Outtake: The Haters...

Need more J. Holiday in your life? Check out:

J. Holiday's Official Website | J. Holiday on MySpace


Make sure to catch J. Holiday on the Double Up Tour in a city near you!



J...Holla atcha girl!

Labels: Exclusive, J. Holiday

In a Pop-Junkie.com Exclusive, check out the hot track "City Boy," which was left off the domestic release of his debut album, Back of My Lac. Written by J. Holiday, it features Memphis' own 8Ball and MJG, and features that soulful side that is reminiscent of 70s funk. This track was produced by the production team, The J.U.S.T.I.C.E. League. The live horns are fire...


It is slated to be on the international release... PLUS, In other new music, check out the new single from Fat Joe ft. J. Holiday, "I Wont Tell."

J. Holiday is now on tour with R. Kelly, Ne-Yo, and Keyshia Cole, coming to a city near you... Stay tuned for our exclusive interview, which will be up this week.

Labels: Check It, Exclusive, J. Holiday

Is it pop, is it R&B, it is soul? All of the above, says Kevin Michael of his sound. At just 22, he's lived on the both sides of the world, but that's what gives him the edge to produce fresh music and a unique sound. His voice is not that of your average R&B crooner and he's not looking to be the average, because well...he's not easily categorized!

With his self-titled debut album, Kevin Michael, out now, he's ready to give you a little bit of everything.

READ THE FULL INTERVIEW



Melody: Well Kevin Michael, why don’t you tell everybody, who may possibly not know who you are, about yourself?

Kevin Michael: Hmmm...What about me, Kevin Michael. I’m 22 years old, from outside of Philadelphia, born and bread, and I do music. Music is my life, I don’t do anything else really that well. So I just do music, always have.

Melody: Tell me about growing up in Chester, Pennsylvania.

Kevin Michael: Yes, Chester. Chester is a not-so-nice city, know for some not-so-nice things, but we won’t talk about that because we focus on the positive. I grew up around a lot of music, my father’s a musician. So I was singing in a band early on in my life. That’s where I kind of got my passion for the music. I love live music and geeking and all of that. I didn’t go to school in Chester, I went to school outside of Chester, at a Catholic school, so it was a little bit weird going to Catholic school back then. Hanging out with predominantly affluent and white kids, then going home to the hood at night. So I got the best of both worlds. That was kind of what my childhood was like.

Melody: That’s interesting how you had to go between worlds, how did that affect you or how does it affect you now?

Kevin Michael: It left me a lot more open minded, I’m not so narrow minded. I think it opened up my musical tastes a lot, because that’s where I got introduced to alternative and grunge and Goth music, so I just call it the best of both worlds.

Melody: Your music is not one that is easily categorized; you’re very much a hybrid of a lot of sounds. So how would you put that into words for those that may not have heard much from you?

Kevin Michael: Honestly I just call it good music. I don’t like to focus on labels or categories. Yes, it’s soul. Yes, this is pop, this is R&B, this is funk, this is hip hop. It’s rock at times. It’s all of those things, not just one of those things. So I just describe it as good music, hopefully other people will say it’s good music and everything’s good.

Melody: Your debut album, which is self-titled, is out now, it came out on the 2nd [of October].

[click to buy]

Kevin Michael: Yes!

Melody: …and why don’t you tell me about the album, which I am sure is not going to be easily described either, because it’s your sound.

Kevin Michael: It is just all over the place. From track to the next, it’s very different, and I try to prep people by saying “expect the unexpected from me” because I don’t want people to put me in one box or hear the first single and say “oh, Kevin Michael’s this positive, happy-go-lucky dude, who you know…” I don’t want people to think one thing from me, just get prepared for a lot of different type of sounds of music but at the end of the day it’s good music and the common bond is my voice. The tone of my voice is a little bit different from everybody else, not saying I’m the sh*t, but you know, it’s different.

Melody: You can call yourself the sh*t, you gotta embrace that kind of thing.

Kevin Michael: [Laughs] Thank you mama!

Melody: Your welcome! I’ve listen to your album, front to back, back to front…

Kevin Michael: Thank you.

Melody: No problem, I thoroughly enjoyed it. Now when someone does that, what would you like them to walk away with, after they’ve listened to the whole album? Like you said, it’s all over the place, it touches on a lot of different genres and sounds, it’s not necessarily something that you would expect from one person to go through so many different genres, but you could say that, what would you want people to walk away with?

Kevin Michael: Well, the message isn’t such a literal message as it pertains to the music. I jut want people to take away the fact that, here’s this young kid, 22-years old, living out my dream. I’m not doing anything that anybody else can’t do. I’m not a genius. I’m not this prodigy. I’m just somebody that was blessed to have a vision early on and stayed focused. I’m living out my dream right now. Anybody can do that and it’s not just about music, it’s about whatever, it could be you want to be a doctor, it could be you want to be the greatest housewife. It doesn’t really matter. Just be you, don’t be afraid to do what you want to do. Anybody could do it honestly.

Melody: Like you said, your living out your dream, you had a vision. When did the vision come to you to say, this it, I’m going to pursue music?

Kevin Michael: You know what? I don’t know if this sounds scary or cliché or whatever, but there’s never been a time in my life where I didn’t now that I was going to do music. I mean, my earliest memory is of singing or acting out something I saw in a video, listening to the radio. Like I’ve always been that kid.

Melody: That’s good that your living out your dream, not everyone is able to do that, so that’s definitely a blessing for you. Now who did you work with on the album, as far as production?

Kevin Michael: Obviously we have Wyclef on the first single, Bloodshy and Avant from Sweden, Brian Kid from Atlanta, L Rock from Atlanta, The Clutch, Erica Hudson, Shay Taylor, Paper Boy, J.R. Rotem, and that’s it. The rest is me on the album. There’s 13 tracks on the album, 2 bonus tracks. I wrote and produced around 9 of the 13 and it’s just me, man!

Melody: Which song on the album, was the first one that you wrote?

Kevin Michael: Wow! It would probably be “We All Want the Same Thing,” “It Don’t Make Any Difference to Me,” “Vickie Secrets,” and “Ain’t Got You” are all songs that we wrote in 2004 and 2005. But “We All Want…” was probably the first.

Melody: There are a lot of different sounds on the album, one that really sticks out with “Liquid Lava Love,” you listen to that and you probably, for most people, the first thing that comes to your mind is Prince.

Kevin Michael: Uh Huh…

Melody: Who are your other influences that you have musically, that will show up in this album?

Kevin Michael: Prince, Michael [Jackson], Stevie [Wonder], Rick James, there’s moments of like Quincy [Jones] and Rod Temperton. There’s definitely like that crazy, funky, Parliament, Bootsie [Collins], George Clinton, and weird type stuff at some moments. Brandy’s a big inspiration to me, I love her, I love the way she makes her background vocal arrangements like that. I don’t know, just some good soul!

Melody: That’s good, I like that! Both of your lead singles, “It Don’t Make Any Difference to Me” and

Kevin Michael: “All We Want...”

Melody: …right, are not your typical singles, it not about dancing, it’s not about clubbing, it’s not about…

Kevin Michael: Booties, ass, bling bling, all that stuff.

Melody: Right! So it’s definitely on that other spectrum and did you particularly put those out first?

Kevin Michael: Well, I don’t think I did it consciously, because I think there are playful moments on the album where it feels, quote-unquote normal, but I think these songs were just a good representation of who I am. I kind of wanted to let people know off the bat that I’m not just the typical average, snap-your-fingers, do-your-step, ringtone, here-today-gone-tomorrow, type artist, and I think those first singles kind of displayed that.

Melody: “It Don’t Make Any Difference to Me” is kind of autobiographical in a sense because you are bi-racial and it hits on that. Did you go into that saying, I want to write about myself, or did it just come out?

Kevin Michael: If I’m being honest, part of it was the label, and then the other part was me wanting people to know who I am because, putting it politely, I hear this all the time. “What are you?” I just kind of wanted to lay all the card on the table and let people know yes, he’s not white boy Black, he’s not Black boy white, he actually both. He’s bi-racial. I kind of wanted to clear that up and I also wanted to be the voice for the young, mixed kids in the world right now.

Melody: I’m mixed too so, hey Power to the Mixed kids!

Kevin Michael: Hey! We rule the world baby!

Melody: Most people are mixed at this point anyway! Now the two bonus tracks are the acoustic versions, which feature Akil Dasan, which some people may remember from the Missy [Elliot] show, which hit me about 2 months later.

Kevin Michael: [Laughs] That’s because he cut off the dreads!

Melody: He did cut off the dreads, that’s what it was! But both of the acoustic versions are getting critical acclaim, did you record the acoustic after or before?

Kevin Michael: After, it was right after we had done the album and we had just started hitting the road, and going to see people and the first couple of shows people were like, “Well this isn’t what I was expecting, the album doesn’t sound like that.” So we kind of wanted one, to wean people in to our like stripped down acoustic set, but number two, also set up an online presence before we dropped the album or did anything. So with the press we wanted to the online fanbase first. We released that EP exclusively on iTunes for digital downloads.

Melody: Well that worked out very nicely for you I believe.

Kevin Michael: Thank you!

Melody: Now you’re about to hit the road with Maroon 5, about to make a nice cross-country trek. How did that come together?

Kevin Michael: We did a Secret MySpace Show with them in San Diego and from that they liked us so much that they asked us back out and I have a great booking agent!

Melody: What’s next for Kevin Michael?

Kevin Michael: The tour, promoting the single, promoting the album, we just got Discover Download with MTV, I’m a Big 10 artist, shout out to MTV. We’ll go back overseas, do some more shows overseas, and just working everyday grinding. That’s it!

Melody: Now music is your life, but do you see yourself in any other realm outside of music, in the industry?

Kevin Michael: Oh, absolutely! But I can’t let those cats out of the bag just yet but I got to work on it. I’m the kind of person who doesn’t like to talk about it, I like to be about it! So in the next couple years, we’ll see!

Melody: Well that’s good you have aspirations outside of music and I’ll be looking for you, where ever you may turn up! Thanks for talking to pop-junkie.com and good luck with everything.

Kevin: Thank you very much, hopefully I’ll see you at the show!

Check out the Official Kevin Michael Website and add him on MySpace!

Labels: Exclusive, Kevin Michael

Labels: Check It, Exclusive, The Dream

In an exclusive statement to Pop-Junkie.com, The Dream [after speaking with Chris] clarifies his statement to Billboard.com about Chris Brown's interview with Vibe Magazine in regards to J. Holiday's hit "Bed," which was penned.

I'm apologizing for comments directed toward Chris Brown on Billboard.com. I spoke to Chris and I advised him that when he made the statement I was disappointed because he said things that were in my direction and that since I'm the only public figure surrounding the song "Bed," I took it as disrespect as well as the media and respected friends felt the same way.

Chris said the comments were towards another part of the situation surrounding the song and I stand here not to defend my comments but take full responsibility for my classless choice of talking through the media.

I apologize to Chris, Mark Pitts, and Jive Records.

Word on the curb is that J. Holiday's management has been less than easy to work with and I can't say that is what Chris was truly speaking about, but I put a pack of Chicklets and a coupon for a free jalapeño at Church's Chicken on it!

Labels: Chris Brown, Exclusive, The Dream

You may know him as Lem Van Adams of the Showtime hit series "Soul Food" or remember those infomercials touting the latest dances from the biggest pop artist around, but I had a chance to chop it up with one of Black Hollywood's hottest heartthrobs, Darrin Henson about what's going on now. From award winning choreographer to leading man on the stage and silver screen Darrin Dewitt Henson has transitioned successfully while sticking to his dancing roots. With his grand aspirations he is sure to be around a long time, and with a smile like his, we can all be happy with that!

Check out what he had to say about his latest projects, what's to come next, and where he's headed.


Melody: Tell me about your new project April Fools.

Darrin: Well, it’s a movie I did two years ago that’s out on DVD now. Directed and written and produced but Nancy Norman. It’s in the same vain as “I Know What You Did Last Summer.” I play a young detective who is a partner to Obba Bomatunde’s character and his daughter has witnessed a murder that seems to have come back to haunt her.

Melody: How did you get involved with the project?

Darrin: Nancy Norman actually called me. I’d met her through someone else and she told me that she really liked my work and she was doing this movie and wanted to know if I would be interested in doing the movie. She’s a really nice lady and she’s worked with Treach [of Naughty by Nature] who’s a friend of mine, so I said sure why not. I’d never done anything like that or played a detective, so I thought it would be fun.

VIEW TRAILER | BUY NOW

Melody: Okay, expanding your repertoire. Now some may recognize you as the dancer/choreographer, or some may know you as Lem [of Soul Food] or from "Stomp the Yard", so which came first, acting or dancing?

Darrin: Dancing, dancing definitely came first.

Melody: So how did you transition into acting?

Darrin: I just made the choice to do that. I’d spent a lot of years dancing and choreographing and wanting to evolve I chose to go into acting. I started going on acting auditions as opposed to dancing auditions.

Melody: Are you still dancing and choreographing?

Darrin: Absolutely, I just released a DVD, “Darrin’s Dance Grooves Part 2” and you can find that on my website DarrinHenson.com. I still teach classes, I just taught a class here in L.A. this weekend. Most of the time people go to my website to see what I’m doing and where I’m teaching but I am definitely still heavily involved in choreographing.

Melody: I must admit that I do own Darrin’s Dance Grooves Part 1…

Darrin: Ah, thank you! We have a following clothing line right now, it’s a whole lot of fun. It’s called Henson, the logo is real vibrant, and the clothes are really fun as well. A lot if ladies gear, hoodies, and tops. For working out, you know. We designed as line that is definitely for the mature woman who likes to exercise.

Melody: Okay, a line activewear, that really falls into your area of expertise. So can they find out more information about that on your website?

Darrin: Absolutely.

Melody: So what are some other projects that you have outside of the DVDs?

Darrin: I just finished filming a movie, The Express, with Dennis Quaid, myself, Charles Dutton, and Rob Brown and that is due out October of 2008. It’s a football film, and I play Jim Brown. So I am excited about that. I am also on a 5 episode arc right now on the ABC Family show Lincoln Heights which comes on Tuesdays at 8.

Melody: Are you focusing on more films or television?

Darrin: Um, both. You know I dance on the weekends, so that’s taken care of. As long as I am acting, it doesn’t matter if its film or television.

Melody: So where you do you see yourself in the next 5 to 10 years?

Darrin: What I would have liked to do is, win an Oscar, an [NAACP] Image Award, I would like to win an Emmy by then. I would like to open a school for children who have reading and writing problems, to help them with their artistic side meaning singing, dancing, rapping, what have you while they work on their curriculum in school. I would like to participate in the movement to heal Africa and just be a person who is consistently growing. Though I don’t believe in a destination, it’s all a process.

Melody: So a little background on you, where are you from and where did you grow up?

Darrin: I’m from New York and I grew up in the Bronx.

Melody: Okay, my mother’s from the Bronx.

Darrin: Good woman.

Melody: That she is. [Side Note: He recognized my Louisiana accent, which was crazy.] Do you come to Louisiana often?

Darrin: I’ve been to New Orleans quite a few times.

Melody: That’s a great place to visit.

Darrin: Where do you live at in Louisiana?

Melody: I live in Baton Rouge, about 45 minutes away from New Orleans.

Darrin: Oh Baton Rouge! I shot a movie in Baton Rouge a couple of month ago.

Melody: Really?

Darrin: It was called “A Good Man is Hard to Find,” and they just finished shooting the movie with Patti LaBelle and Ciara “Mama I Want to Sing.”

Melody: That’s right, I knew about that one, but I didn’t know about “A Good Man is Hard to Find.”

Darrin: “A Good Man is Hard to Find” is me, Hill Harper, and Golden Brooks. Also Darius McCray and Mel Jackson.

Melody: Okay, is there a release date for that one?

Darrin: You can go to Codeblack.com to find out.

Melody: Okay and that is the same one as “April Fools.”

Darrin: Yup.

Melody: Wonderful, is there anything else you would like to highlight or promote?

Darrin: Definitely, my clothing line, just come to my website DarrinHenson.com and check it out. Drop me an email, drop me a note, I answer all the emails myself. Pick up a copy of “Darrin’s Dance Grooves Part 2.”

Melody: I will have to do that. I have to say part one was a little difficult for me though.

Darrin: We made part two a lot easier to learn from.

Melody: Okay, are there any particular styles of dance in part two?

Darrin: It’s Hip Hop but we do it with a split screen, back and front. So when you dance, you see it from the back and the front.

Melody: That’s good, I wish more people would do that! Now do you have a MySpace?

Darrin: Yes, www.myspace.com/darrinhenson, all my new pictures and everything are up on there as well.

Melody: Okay great, I’ll have to stop by there. Well thanks for taking the time to talk to pop-junkie.com come.

Darrin: Thank you.

Labels: Darrin Henson, Exclusive

Labels: Exclusive