Beyonce adds 14 new tour dates to the Mrs. Carter Show

Mrs. Carter is adding dates to her critically acclaimed and sold-out tour, including a new date in her home town of Houston, Texas. Beyonce's new album has yet to receive a name or release date. Her husband, rap mogul, Jay-Z's new album drops July 4th.

Sneak Peek: Amazing Art in South Houston

This weekend, I was driving around looking for something to film/shoot and I came across this amazing graffiti art. After talking to the shop owner, I plan on writing and shooting a piece for the blog. Here's a sneak peek at some of the art there: [photo credit: Jessika Davidson]

 

We almost had it all-What happened to R&B?

In the 40s and 50s, we had jazz. In the 60s and 70s, we added soul and funk. Then soul and funk blended with the then emerging genre Hip-Hop in the 80s and introduced us to the "modern R&B" we came to love. Sorting through my email this morning, I found a press release for a Mint Condition concert in Houston this weekend. Known for hits like Breaking My Heart (Pretty Brown Eyes), and What Kind of Man Would I Be, lead singer Stokley Williams' unique voice quickly pushed their albums to Gold in the early 90s. But what happened? They had nearly a 7 year gap between albums, and their music of the new millennium has yet to leave a lasting impact.

Unfortunately, there are several groups and musicians from the 90s that are no longer relevant to the music industry. The 90s were a time for Black renaissance, we had billion dollar urban clothing companies, several leading black sitcoms, hip hop had re-invented itself with the introduction of gangsta rap by the group NWA, R&B artists were touring the world, topping the charts, and sweeping award ceremonies. We had several girl groups that belted out ballad after ballad; including Brownstone, En Vogue, 702, Total and Xscape. Young R&B Songstresses like Monica and Brandy had every girl pairing up to do their rendition of The Boy is Mine. Jodeci and Dru Hill made hits for the heartbroken, the in love and the "in lust" crowds. R. Kelly was on the top of the game, releasing multi-platinum album after album. Mary J. Blige was labeled the "Queen of Hip Hop Soul" and had women everywhere-both married and single singing the lyrics to I'm Going Down. In the mid 90s, the birth of Neo-Soul brought us artists such as D'Angelo, Erykah Badu, and Lauryn Hill's solo career. Remember in 1998, when Lauryn Hill's The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill, a perfect blend of hip hop and R&B and widely renowned as one of the best albums ever crafted won 5 grammys in one night? What happened?

If you follow music, it seems that the turn of the new century left R&B on its death bed. In the early 2000s, very few of these artists and groups were still thriving, if they were even still making music. However, it seemed we had a new line-up of R&B artists waiting to take the torch and run with it. Houston group Destiny's Child with lead Beyonce released The Writings on the Wall and Survivor between 1999 and 2001 and the albums collectively sold 22 million. Rolling Stone regarded Survivor as one of the best albums released in the past decade. Usher, a young star coming into manhood at the beginning of 2000, released two critically acclaimed albums- 8701, which sold close to 5 million copies and the praised Confessions in 2004, which is certified diamond, and is the second highest selling album of the 2000s to date. Beyonce even released her own solo R&B album in 2003, Dangerously In Love, her best selling album to date, which sold 317,000 copies in its first week. R&B seemed to be in a good place. Even black boy bands did well in the early 2000s, with groups B2K and B5 creating a fan base of extremely loyal girls (I was one of those screaming tweens in the crowd) and even creating a culture around boy bands, which including movies such as You Got Served.

But over time, groups broke up, personal demons came before the music, limewire and napster severely damaged urban sales, the demand for beautiful ballads about love died, new genres emerged to be top sellers, such as the "crunk" music of the mid 2000s, or the club bangers that sell now. Also, artists  "evolved" away from the genre; mostly for preserving their spot and relevance in music. Usher makes hits for techno clubs in Miami now simply because they sell. Beyonce isn't even R&B anymore. She's just...Beyonce. Her music is its own, but a far cry from the strong R&B feel of Dangerously in Love. R&B fans are seemingly left with a nostalgic dream of what used to be. They have to turn on their Pandora to re-live the "glory days" of R&B.

Of course, every once in a while there is a glimmer for R&B. Ne-yo released three albums in the past decade that were reminiscent of 90s R&B before taking the Usher route to techno club hits. Maxwell released Black Summer's Night Dream in 2009 to an audience missing his sound and did very well. We even have newcomers to be thankful for. Miguel, Frank Ocean, and Luke James, just to name a few are the new school of this genre. But even their music crosses those blurred lines of what it means to be an "R&B artist".  Are they enough to uphold R&B?

The solution to our problem is obvious but hidden. Just like shows like the Game, Tyler Perry's House of Pain, and Let's Stay Together won't bring back Girlfriends or hold a candle to Martin or Fresh Prince, it's highly unlikely that R&B will make such a large comeback. Black TV has resulted to web series, which have great writing, great actors, and a huge following. The secret to the next "goldmine" of R&B music, like Black TV, and hip hop, lies in the underground. Check out your local or indie R&B artists. It's our job as music enthusiasts and consumers to find what's missing in this disappearing genre.

BREAKING: Soprano's Star James Gandolfini dead of heart attack at age 51

rest in peace.

'Girl Meets World' gets the greenlight from Disney

The highly anticipated Boy Meets World spinoff will be on Disney in 2014. 

Described as “a comedy series for kids,” the show will reunite original cast-members Ben Savage and Danielle Fishel, as on-screen sweethearts Cory and Topanga, and follow their tween daughter Riley, played by Rowan Blanchard. 

Fans have been buzzing about the ’90s sitcom reboot since news of the pilot broke late last year, with plenty of speculation about which BMW castmembers would be reprising their roles. So far, that includes William Daniels, who will be returning — at least for the first episode – as Mr. Feeny.

Other fan favorite alums of the show have tweeted photos of them on set. 

Personally, im excited. Disney will become relevant again, as they haven't had a super "hit" show since Hannah Montana.

Jay-Z to release new album 'Magna Carta Holy Grail' on July 4th with Samsung Deal

No one can me more hype about this than me. At the end of the second quarter Heat vs. Spurs NBA Finals game on Father's Day, Samsung released a commercial announcing Jay-Z's new album release in a partnership that will make Jay-Z $5 million dollars richer before the album even drops. Samsung purchased 1 million copies of the new album as part of the promotional deal.

The countdown is here. 18 days until Magna Carta Holy Grail.

Peep the commercial below:

Yeezus is here.

(Click the photo for the link. You're welcome.)

Yes. It leaked.

It was inevitable. Unlike Watch the Throne, which was a digital only release in its first week, and Jay and Kanye made sure NO one on their close knit team leaked it (can you say engraved rolex watches for the production team?), Yeezus leaked only hours after making it to the stores prepping for its official release on Tuesday. I found a link immediately and began the long process of analyzing the album. Trust me, I'm not going to spoil your listening experience.

Its hard to form your own opinion among Twitter, Tumblr and Facebook (even though facebook is surprisingly quiet about it...chunk it to the fact that facebook is the "senior citizen" of social media in a sense.) comments about the release, but lets face it; it's impossible not to talk about the album. First, lets give a round of sarcastically-laced applause to those "true" fans who refuse to listen to the album until Tuesday. By the time you get around to hearing the 10 tracks, the hype will be dead and all we will be talking about is soundscan numbers.

Now, lets get to the music.

The production is genius. Its a reduced rendition of your typical Kanye. While, MBDTF was full of perfectly placed strings, wood instruments, percussion, and some of the most famous singers singing BACKGROUND vocals for the album ('All of the Lights' had 11 superstars singing vocals...can you name them all? Thought so.), Yeezus is the anti-MBDTF. Expect bass, and raw, clear cut vocals. Kanye is in a dark, but creative space with this album. It's gritty, it's nasty, it's fresh, it's everything.

For those of you turned off by the "lack" of production, you will get your share and some on my favorite track, Blood on the Leaves. Who else but Kanye can put together Nina Simone and C-Murder samples and turn it into the perfect track? Some other favorites are New Slaves (of course) and I'm In It (because im nasty like that).

If for some reason you are waiting for Kanye circa 2004 (College Dropout era) to appear on this album, prepare to be disappointed. Also prepare to be shocked: no one is popping their collars up anymore and we have a black president now. In other words, College Dropout Kanye metaphorically died YEARS ago, and it now the year 2013 A.D. This is the most honest Kanye we've ever gotten, and dare I say it, his most "real" album. No apologizes, no fitting a mold, no barriers. Its the level artists of all mediums hope to get to; the point where they can literally create anything and create such a strong following/hype.

Beware: Yeezus is not for everyone. Is it my favorite kanye album? No. Hell No. That doesn't make it any less amazing. It is an acquired taste. My overall rating, an A-. Yes, im greedy and I can't give an album under 12 tracks (no matter how amazing) an A+. And, at the risk of being persecuted, I think Yeezus lacked a track. I don't know what I was expected to hear from the album, but the album left me with a strange feeling that one of those tracks that were left on the cutting room floor could have completely changed the album. But eh, that's just my intuition-who knows.

The official release date is next Tuesday, June 18th. Yes, I will be at my local Target to buy the album.

And no: I will not do a full review of Born Sinner. It was a straight album. Really good production. One problem: J.Cole was on it. As always I wanted other artists to do every song.

And for those Houstonians disappointed with the city's choice to shut down the New Slaves projections two weeks ago, Yeezus is gracious enough to try it again with several locations. Let's be progressive Houston, because I'm trying to scream 'YASSSSSSS' in downtown houston tomorrow night. Here's the screening locations:

9:30 p.m.: Houston Public Library
10:30 p.m.: TOC Bar
11:30 p.m.: Stereo Live
12:30 a.m.: 407 Main St.
1:30 a.m.: 2401 San Jacinto

The discouraged journalist.

This might come off as a rant.

I got into media (I spent almost three years in the science/pre-med field in college) because it is truly what I love to do. I get excited at the idea of putting a good news piece together. My learning didn't stop when I crossed the stage last year. I still watch newscasts and listen to radio shows, both locally, nationally and some international to keep abreast about what is going on in the art of television and radio news/production. I have applied to EVERY entry level and junior level position in radio and tv (and some in PR) in my state. For the jobs that do contact me, I get "entry level" pay offerings, some that equal less than $1200 a month for producing positions that are seven hours away from where I live. As a recent graduate and passionate journalist, how am I supposed to live off the salaries they are offering. No, I didn't get into journalism to get rich, but I also didn't expect to pay for 4 years of college, come out with an impressive resume, a hunger to work, student loans to pay, and still live below the poverty line.

Unfortunately, minority owned companies, both in Houston, and in the US, rarely hire entry level applicants, which I think is a disservice as well.

I beg of stations to employ new grads, or least consider us. Our age, and experience has little to do with our skill set. It is easy to become discouraged, but I have to remember, as a double minority in the media, that I have to stay in this field, because we need representation!

Sigh. I just wanted to give my readers a peek into my current struggles.