29 Jun

Posted at 15:50h in Uncategorised

There was a time when Bad Boy Records were the hottest thing in Hip Hop and RnB with the likes of Biggie, Mase, Lil Kim, Faith Evans, Mary J Blige, 112 and of course Puffy/Diddy all dropping killer tracks that were storming the charts globally. The influence of the music that came from this collection of artists should not be underestimated and it could be argued that they created that Hip Hop / RnB bridge sound that we now know and love from the likes of Drake and Tinashe.

With the arrival of Neo-Soul in the late 90’s and the rising emphasis on the need for ‘real’ music with a more organic sound, along with a lot of personal problems in the lives of the Bad Boy artists, there was a rapid decline in hits, despite efforts to try and re-launch New Edition and re-vamp 112.

Rewind a few years later to last night and Diddy storms onto the BET Awards stage to remind everyone what they’ve been missing!! With a killer 10 minute tribute that saw 112, Mase, Faith Evans, Lil Kim, French Montana, Jadakiss and Pharrell performing with unmatchable energy and conviction the Bad Boy camp definitely grabbed the attention of everyone at home and in the audience (who were seriously hyped!)

There’s always a risk with throwback performances that artists might just end up proving that their time is over, luckily this was the complete opposite! Everyone looked good, sounded great and even Lil Kim was back in full force bursting up from nowhere and owning the stage. But this reunion wasn’t just about nostalgia, it serves as a reminder that Bad Roy Records made INCREDIBLE music that still sounds fresh and with the last track being a forthcoming one from Pharrell and Diddy, lets hope that Bad Boy Entertainment are coming back to conquer once again!

Click Here to Watch the Full Bad Boy Performance!

@CarlyMond

08 Feb

Posted at 16:59h in Uncategorised

I just had to write about everything that’s been going on in music this week! For RnB fans, especially those of us that love the 90’s vibe this week has been colossal in the world of music. So if you’ve slept all week or been working too hard to take note, here’s what you’ve missed:

The week began with the return of Babyface and Toni Braxton on their collaboration album, ‘Love, Marriage & Divorce’. No doubt people will have misconceptions that an album by these 2 artists will be full of ballads but don’t be mislead the album is Fresh! Babyface and Toni’s voices have never sounded stronger and the vibe of the album is slick, sophisticated soul; ‘Sweat’ and ‘Heart Attack’ in particular are great up tempo tracks.

Then came the Timbaland leak during an online fan chat that he is in talks with Devante about working on the new Jodeci album!!! It’s been 18 years since the RnB sensation released a new single and the music world is so hyped about the return it even made a feature in the Guardian newspaper! Maxwell teased and excited fans with the news that he has finished recording the second installment of his ‘Blacksummer’s Night’ trilogy tweeting, ‘#Summers #recording #finish‘. Jermaine Dupri has also been tweeting from the studio this week, he’s been reunited with Mariah Carey, P. Diddy and Trey Songz and promised us all he’s working on ‘#somuchnewmusic’

As if that wasn’t enough Eric Roberson dropped his new album, ‘B-Sides, Features and Heartache’s’, Miguel released an incredible new track, ‘Simple Things’ and in hip hop Nas announced that he will be releasing a 20th Anniversary 2-disc special edition of ‘Illmatic’, entitled ‘Illmatix XX‘ expected to drop on the 15th of April.

The hottest track of the week for me has been ‘Take It’ by Amp Fiddler feat Rapheal Saadiq from his latest EP ‘Basementality 2’ and if you’re a Raphael Saadiq fan you can catch him live with Tony Toni Tone, Blackstreet, En Vogue, Mint Condtion, Total, Silk and Kut Klose at Wembley Arena on the 15th of February for the ‘RnB Superstars Valentines Special.’

How will the world of RnB top this? Looking forward to next week………….

Carly – ann (@CarlyMond)

Amp Fiddler feat Raphael Saadiq – Take it
http://youtu.be/SQTFrl50FZg