She may be one of the biggest r&b stars on the planet, but that doesn’t mean MARY J/ BLIGE is happy with her lot. in one of her frankest
intervews yet, she tells HELEN TOLAND why she’s been given a bad rap
Mary J. Blige has always commanded the respect of her peers, and as usual the album features an abundance of movers and shakers like Missy Elliot and Dr Dre on production.
Although Real Girl is too inconsistent to have you rushing down the bookies, nonetheless it’s a steely attempt at spirited urban R’n’B pop, with nods to Mary J. Blige, Macy Gray, Joss Stone and even Jamelia.
As far as self-aggrandising and self-promotion goes, Love & Life is truly an exercise in excellence. Just don’t expect the tunes to be quite as inspirational.
Belfast/Glasweigan quintent Snow Patrol entertained the crowds at the American Music Awards last night, where Black Eyed Peas and The Red Hot Chili Peppers were the big winners.
Unless my memory deceives me, didn’t Christopher Wallace die around the same time as Diana? I know this because I remember Sting performing with Puff Diddy Daddy wearing a mourning suit. Anyway, while Diana has kept her public appearances to something of a minimum since, Biggie’s recording career has seemingly been unaffected.
For his third album, Lemar announces himself as “Britain’s premiere soul singer”. Them’s fightin’ words; but the fact that he got his big break from reality TV ensures that few soul aficionados will ever accept it. Is this fair?
Stacie Orrico has had some catchy tunes in the past, like ‘More To Life (There’s Gotta Be)’, but her new album Beautiful Awakening is mediocre at best.
On this outing he’s accompanied by a plethora of collaborators, as if his own reputation is no longer enough to hold things together, and some work and some don’t.
Carlos Santana is not afraid to share the spotlight. On his 38th album, the Latino virtuoso adopts a revolving door policy, roping in collaborators as though in mortal terror of being left alone. What results sounds like a sprawling salsa jam, frantic yet fatally devoid of a unifying mood or style.
What looks like a rather finely crafted album on paper ultimately fails to materialise once heard. In today’s oversubscribed R&B circles it takes more than a six-pack and an A-list mentor to make the magic happen.
One doesn't need much imagination to deduce that, after the runaway success of Macy Gray, the critical reanimation of Whitney Houston and the enduring mainstream popularity of Lauryn Hill,
Although under constant review, the word from the U2 camp is that they are still planning to go ahead with the return visit of the Elevation tour to North America.
The relative silence of rock stars in relation to Bush’s war on Iraq has been both morally repugnant and revealing. Even Ireland’s officially designated “humanitarians” Geldof and Bono choose to focus more on the issue of Third World Debt...
Will U2's studio homebase be demolished to make way for the neighbourhood's redevelopment (or more specifically, for a "two-million-Euro leisure complex")? The public hearing began this week...
He's done it again. Arguably the most credible and without doubt the most adventurously talented figure in mainstream hip-hop, ex-Fugee Wyclef Jean has managed to outmatch his first solo outing, 1997's Carnival.
It gives your reviewer great pleasure to report that on this album the singer has quite literally cut the crap and created a vibrant and inventive urban variation on an old school R&B set (that’s R&B as in rhythm in the beats and blues in the voice rather than rhinestones and baubles).
They've earned a reputation as catfighting divas. But in person Sugababes turn out to be absolute sweethearts. New 'bab' Amelle Berraba talks about fame and dodging the papparazi.
In a year that saw events which will forever change the world in which we live, selected hotpress contributors offer some personal recollections of the past twelve months. We begin by listing the critics’ choice of 2001’s single and album releases
“I hate these questions,” cries David Holmes, DJ, re-mixer, producer, free associate, film-scorer and friend to the stars. Yet he gamely faces the pan-ish inquisition that is the hotpress mixed grill
Paul Weller has a reputation as one of the most truculent men in pop, with a deep-seated dislike of the promotional process. But with the release of his latest solo album Illumination, the man who once led The Jam and the Style Council agreed to put himself in the firing line. Looking back over a career that's studded with success, he's reflective and forthright - but the anger that inspired much of The Jam's finest output still burns
Currently the hottest female property in music, Alicia Keys has come a long way from the little girl whose first record was kermit's 'it's not easy being green'. Admittedly, she's had some serious assistance from heavy friends - including music biz mogul Clive Davis - but mainly she can thank her own prodigious talent and spirit of independence. Matt Diehl hears how Alicia Keys came to share the grammy limelight with U2
Sting – all dull AOR anthems, mawkish charidee singles and empty celeb blather, right? wrong! The artist formerly known as Gordon Sumner here talks to hotpress about the lingering fall-out from the break-up of the police, hanging with über-hip filmmakers Terry Gilliam and David Lynch, and getting the seal of approval from the late Johnny Cash.
LAURYN HILL s debut album, The Miseducation Of Lauryn Hill was the fastest selling album ever by a female artist in the United States. What s more it s just garnered her five Grammy Awards, confirming her status as one of American music s most important new icons. OLAF TYARANSEN went to London to hear the singer talk frankly about success, motherhood, the future of The Fugees and her father-in-law, Bob Marley.
Full profiles on Faithless, Antony & The Johnsons, Slayer, The Who, Bell X1, Status Quo, The Flaming Lips, 50 Cent, Madness, Christy Moore, Elton John and Lionel Richie.
It is five years since rapper TUPAC SHAKUR was gunned down on the streets of las vegas in a gangland-style shooting that took place on September 7, 1996. Since then he has become the subject of one of modern music’s most bizarre death cults, as he continues to sell millions of records and to top charts all over the world. but behind his death lies a story of hip-hop babylon – a sordid tale of intrigue, egos, drugs, sex, intimidation, violence – and, almost by the way, some great and enduring music.
By PETER MURPHY
