Maxwell Earns 15th Top 10 Billboard Adult R&B Radio Hit "Off"

 

Three-time Grammy Award-winning singer-songwriter Maxwell earns his 15th top 10 entry on the Billboard Adult R&B Chart this week for his latest song "Off" at No. 10

Co-produced with longtime collaborator Hod David, the seductive and quiet storm groove serves as the lead single to Maxwell's upcoming album blacksummers'NIGHT, the final album in the trilogy set after BLACKsummers'night and blackSUMMERS'night via his imprint label Musze in partnership with BMG.

Maxwell will also embark on The Night Tour with fellow singers Anthony Hamilton & Joe.

New Video: Alicia Keys - "Come for Me" ft. Khalid & Lucky Daye

Grammy Award-winning Superstar Alicia Keys unveils the self-directed visual to her single "Come for Me" which features fellow artists Khalid & Lucky Daye.

"Come for Me" appears on Alicia Keys' recently released 26-track double album KEYS featuring 'Originals' and 'Unlocked' versions to her songs.

New Music: Raheem DeVaughn - "Mr. Midnight" (Remix), Announces Tour Dates + Album

 

Three-time Grammy nominated R&B/Soul singer-songwriter Raheem DeVaughn shares the official remix to his single "Mr. Midnight" which features musician and producer Bee Boy$oul to all digital platforms via the New Era Soul/Mr Bawsaw Music/Media Group.

"'Mr. Midnight' is tastefully sensual and was inspired by black love" -Raheem DeVaughn

"Raheem asked for something stripped down, piano and vocals, in the mood of the original 'Mr. Midnight' for the remix" -Bee Boy$oul

The original 'Mr. Midnight' was written by DeVaughn and produced by 812LABS Media Group and appears on the crooners album 2020 album What a Time to Be In Love while the remix serves as the lead single to his upcoming project, Raheem DeVaughn presents Bee Boy$oul's "Back 2 Love" for January 2022.

DeVaughn also took to social media to share tour dates for The Love King Live.

New Music: Joss Stone - "Breaking Each Other's Hearts"

 

British soul singer-songwriter Joss Stone shares her new single "Breaking Each Other's Hearts" to all streaming platforms.

Produced by the Legendary Dave Stewart of The Eurythmics, the ballad finds the Songstress singing her heart out to lost love.

"Breaking Each Other's Hearts" follows after the previous Stewart-produced song "Never Forget My Love".

In other Joss Stone news, the Grammy winner is set to embark on a North American tour with Corine Bailey Rae in early 2022. Visit TICKETMASTER for more details.

Top 100 R&B Songs of 2021 ...Presented by RnBJunkieOfficial

As the year is ending and the new year is approaching, we thought it was only right to compile the R&B Songs that have impacted 2021. From Bruno Mars & Anderson .Paak forming the award-winning duo Silk Sonic to Jazmine Sullivan dropping her highly anticipated project Heaux Tales as well as the debut albums from Jam & Lewis and The Shindellas and the return of Maxwell. We present the Top 100 R&B Songs of 2021. 

100 SHEENA O. MURRAY - "Sending My Love"

99 DENIECE WILLIAMS - "One Kiss"

98 J.D'S TIME MACHINE FT. CLEVELAND JONES - "Kiss of Freedom"

97 WILL DOWNING - "Let's Go"

96 J. HOLIDAY - "Ride"

95 BJ THE CHICAGO KID - "Making Me Mad"

94 KEM - "Not Before You" (Remix)

93 LADY NICOLE WRAY - "Under the Sun"

92 TWEET - "Neva Gonna Break My Heart Again"

91 WILL PRESTON - "Let's Play"

90 CHANTÉ MOORE - "Right One"

89 CHAKA KHAN - "When the Time Comes"

88 SALAAM REMI FT. CLAUDETTE ORTIZ - "All I Need Is You"

87 DONDRIA - "Let It Be"

86 LEDISI - "Feeling Good"

85 DAWN RICHARD - "Jacuzzi"

84 SYLEENA JOHNSON - "Never Been Better"

83 BRIAN MCKNIGHT - "Faithfully"

82 LEELA JAMES - "You're the One"

81 RUFF ENDZ - "All of My Love"

80 STEPHANIE MILLS - "Let's Do the Right Thing"

79 BRANDY - "Hear Me"

78 MYA - "Forever My Love"

77 LATOCHA SCOTT - "Full Time Love"

76 DAWKINS & DAWKINS - "In My Feelings"

75 TEEDRA MOSES - "Make Me"

74 SPARKLE - "Open Letter"

73 KEITH SWEAT FT. RAHEEM DEVAUGHN - "Can't Nobody"

72 KELLY PRICE - "Dance Party"

71 AFTER 7 - "No Place Like You"

70 ALICIA KEYS FT. KHALID & LUCKY DAYE - "Come for Me"

69 STOKLEY - "Cascade" (Lovers Quarrel Mix)

68 JAMIE JONES - "Sunny"

67 ANTHONY HAMILTON - "Love Is the New Black"

66 THE SHINDELLAS - "Volcano Love"

65 BJ THE CHICAGO KID FT. PJ MORTON, KENYON DIXON & CHARLIE BEREAL - "Bring It On Home"

64 RAHEEM DEVAUGHN - "If I Made Love to You"

63 SINÉAD HARNETT - "Where You Been Hiding"

62 KENNY LATTIMORE - "Pressure"

61 MARIO - "Luxury Love"

60 NAO - "Messy Love"

59 SUMMER WALKER FT. SZA - "No Love"

58 D-NICE FT. NE-YO & KENT JONES - "No Plans for Love"

57 LOUIS YORK - "Headphones"

56 KEVIN ROSS - "Looking for Love"

55 DONELL JONES FT. DAVE HOLLISTER, CARL THOMAS, RL & JACQUEES - "Karma" (Remix)

54 LYFE JENNINGS FT. AMINA BUDDAFLY - "Flawless Diamond"

53 VANJESS FT. LUCKY DAYE - "Slow Down"

52 AALIYAH FT. THE WEEKND - "Poison"

51 ANDRA DAY - "Tigress & Tweed"

50 ERIC BELLINGER FT. SEVYN STREETER - "What About Us"

49 SINÉAD HARNETT FT. LUCKY DAYE - "Anymore"

48 KELIS - "Midnight Snacks"

47 EARTH, WIND & FIRE FT. LUCKY DAYE - "You Want My Love"

46 GALLANT - "Comeback."

45 KELLY ROWLAND - "Black Magic"

44 TANK - "I Deserve"

43 JENNIFER HUDSON - "Here I Am (Singing My Way Home)"

42 TREY SONGZ - "Brain"

41 JAZMINE SULLIVAN FT. ANDERSON .PAAK - "Price Tags"

40 LUCKY DAYE FT. TIANA MAJOR9 - "On Read"

39 INDIA SHAWN - "Don't Play With My Heart"

38 MIGUEL - "So I Lie"

37 JUSTINE SKYE - "Intruded"

36 VICTORIA MONÉT - "Coastin'"

35 ASHANTI - "235 (2:35 I Want You)"

34 TONE STITH FT. H.E.R. - "When You Love Someone"

33 ALICIA KEYS - "Best of Me"

32 ROBIN THICKE - "Look Easy"

31 JOYCE WRICE FT. FREDDIE GIBBS - "On One"

30 SEVYN STREETER FT. JEREMIH - "Wet Dreamz"

29 THE SHINDELLAS - "Feeling the Pain"

28 CHLOE - "Have Mercy"

27 ERIC ROBERSON - "Lessons"

26 SUMMER WALKER FT. ARI LENNOX - "Unloyal"

25 LUCKY DAYE - "Over"

24 KEYSHIA COLE - "I Don't Wanna Be In Love"

23 GIVEON - "For Tonight"

22 NE-YO - "What If"

21 NORMANI FT. CARDI B - "Wild Side"

20 H.E.R. - "Fight for You"

19 LEON BRIDGES - "Motorbike"

18 SILK SONIC FT. THUNDERCAT & BOOTSY - "After Last Night"

17 SZA - "I Hate U"

16 SNOH AALEGRA - "Lost You"

15 THE ISLEY BROTHERS - "Friends & Family"

14 JAZMINE SULLIVAN FT. ARI LENNOX - "On It"

13 QUEEN NAIJA FT. ARI LENNOX - "Set Him Up"

12 MARY J. BLIGE - "Good Morning Gorgeous"

11 JAM & LEWIS FT. MARIAH CAREY - "Somewhat Loved"

10 LEELA JAMES - "Complicated"

09 JAZMINE SULLIVAN FT. H.E.R. - "Girl Like Me"

08 ANTHONY HAMILTON - "You Made a Fool of Me"

07 ARI LENNOX - "Pressure"

06 TIWA SAVAGE FT. BRANDY - "Somebody's Son"

05 MAXWELL - "Off"

04 H.E.R. FT. CHRIS BROWN - "Come Through"

03 TANK - "Can't Let It Show"

02 WIZKID FT. TEMS - "Essence"

01 SILK SONIC - "Leave the Door Open"

New Video: Mary J. Blige - "Amazing" ft. DJ Khaled

 

Mary J. Blige shares the official music video to her latest single "Amazing" which features DJ Khaled.

The Eif Rivera-directed visual features cameo appearances by DJ Khaled, Diddy, her sister LaTonya Blige-DaCosta, stylist Misa Hylton, rapper/radio host Angie Martinez & rapper Trina having a party in a mansion.

"Amazing" is set to appear on Blige's upcoming 14th studio album Good Morning Gorgeous on February 11, 2022.

About the album, Blige says:

"Working on this new album has been so much fun. I'm excited for my fans to hear these first two songs ["Amazing" & "Good Morning Gorgeous"] to give them a taste of what's to come. I'm grateful to all my collaborators and partners who have walked with me through this process and even more grateful to my fans who I hope have a blast with this new music."

Mary J. Blige Earns 24th Top 10 Billboard Adult R&B Hit "Good Morning Gorgeous"

 

This week the Legendary Mary J. Blige scored her 24th overall top 10 Billboard Adult R&B Airplay hit "Good Morning Gorgeous" at No. 8 after three weeks on the chart.

Produced by D'Mile & H.E.R. who contributes guitar and background vocals, the empowering track is set to appear on Blige's upcoming 14th album of the same name which arrives February 11, 2022.

In a statement about the song, Blige shares:

"It's something I had to do and something I had to say when I was in my darkest moments in that life, to build myself up to this person that I can see and accept my nose, accept my eyes, accept my cheeks, accept all the things that I used to hate."

"Good Morning Gorgeous" has also impacted the R&B Digital Song Sales, R&B/Hip-Hop Airplay and Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs charts at No. 3, 20 & 49 respectively.

In other Blige news, the nine-time Grammy winner is set to perform at the Superbowl Halftime Show on February 13th at the SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, California along with Dr. Dre, Snoop Dogg, Kendrick Lamar & Eminem.

Miracles Across 125th Street Soundtrack ft. Chrisette Michele, Morris Day, Karen Clark-Sheard & More

 

Award-winning comedian, actor, recording artist and TV Host Nick Cannon has released the motion picture soundtrack to his upcoming film Miracles Across 125th Street to all streaming platforms via his imprint Ncredible Entertainment in partnership with Republic Records.

The 13-track album features an array of artists such as Nick Cannon, Lil' Kim, Fred Hammond, Kierra Sheard-Kelly, Morris Day, Chrisette Michele, Jim Jones & Karen Clark-Sheard.

Written, produced, directed and starring Nick Cannon, Miracles Across 125th Street is about a Harlem rapper who returns to his family's church to confront his past drug addiction.

Miracles Across 125th Street also stars Lil' Kim, Chrisette Michele, Tommy Davidson, Teyana Taylor, Karen Clark-Sheard, Akon, Kierra Sheard-Kelly, Fred Hammond, Luenell, Bruce Bruce, Cameron J. Wright, Vena “Pretty Vee” Excell, Marsha Warfield, Ashley Adair, Bobb’e J. Thompson, Santwon McCray, Airean Josiah aka AJ Boogie, Jarun Jones aka YM, Connor Finnerty, Golden Cannon, AJ Bernard, Destiny Renee Boyd, Cosme Flores, Rahja Fuller, Todrick Hall, DC Young Fly, and Rickey Smiley.

See the music video for "This Little Light of Mine" featuring Nick Cannon, Karen Clark-Sheard, Fred Hammond & Kierra Sheard-Kelly below.

Miracles Across 125th Street premieres Monday, December 20th at 9 p.m. ET/PT on VH1.

Bryan Abrams (formerly of Color Me Badd) talks New Single "Because of You", Reclaiming Sobriety & More

 

Bryan Abrams is an internationally-recognized, Grammy-nominated, American Music Award and Soul Train Award-Winning R&B/Pop Singer-Songwriter with over 12 million albums sold worldwide, three Billboard #1 Hot 100 and R&B hits, and an inductee of the Oklahoma Music Hall of Fame. Bryan is best known around the world as the original lead singer, frontman and founding member of the hit 90’s crossover group Color Me Badd. Having lived with addiction for over 25 years, Abrams has now put his focus on his mental and physical health, and proudly in his third year of recovery. He has dedicated his life and musical artistry to addiction awareness and mental healthcare advocacy, focusing on issues affecting minorities, marginalized and underserved communities, as well as philanthropy work. Listen/stream Abrams latest heartfelt single "Because of You"

TERRANCE: First, congratulations on the release of your new single "Because of You". Talk about it's concept and what inspired it.

BRYAN ABRAMS: Thank you. Well, my wife Kimberly inspired it. She is my best friend. My soulmate. We've been together for a long time. I've put her on quite a ride to be honest with you. She's been with me through it all, so that song was actually a song about getting sober, getting my life together, figuring out who I was and holding myself accountable and letting her know how much I care and thanking her for believing in me when I didn't even believe in myself.

TERRANCE: Is there a project in the works that you could share details about?

BRYAN ABRAMS: Actually, I have enough material for an album. I'm really excited and the cool thing is, it's songs that I've recorded through this journey and finding myself. Whenever Melvin Childs contacted me about wanting to put that song in the movie For the Love of Money, it blew my mind. I was really excited especially because I'm the only one from my group that still lives in Oklahoma. I am a Choctaw Indian that I never really talked about much, but I'm really into trying to continue doing a lot of stuff homegrown, you know what I'm saying? The movie was filmed here. Melvin actually went to Millwood High School with Hamza Lee who produced that track. Hamza Lee also produced "I Adore Mi Amor" on the first Color Me Badd album, so he and I have stayed connected and continued to write through all of these years. While the music kind of left the 90s sound and is now kind of rotating and coming back, it's so exciting to me and perfect timing because I still feel like we have that sound. Of course it evolved with the new software and new sound. I love the piano and strings in it and that's all Hamza. We worked together and vibed off of each other and always have, so I did quite a few songs with him on this album, but there's a few more songs I wanna do and I feel like once I've done those songs it'll be complete.

TERRANCE: You've been open about past addiction and other struggles and reclaiming sobriety, so talk about the recovery journey.

BRYAN ABRAMS: Wow! The recovery journey has been something else man. I'm in my third year of sobriety and it's an amazing thing. You got to take it day by day. One step at a time. But because I'm a Christian, I do believe when some people make a decision that they take a step in a certain direction, they know because of faith and how they believe that they're done with something or they've made a change and it's permanent, if that makes any sense. When the push happened on stage in our group, there are no excuses for that and that was a horrible thing to do. But what that did was open my eyes, because the next morning before I could even get on the plane, I'm hearing from family members and my wife that it's already on TMZ. The first thing that came to my mind wasn't my own reputation or what I did, it was that my daughters have to go to school and meet people whose parents know who I am. That mistake that I made sent ripples through my family and friends and everybody that knew me. I knew but I didn't know. That day when I knew how I was living and the mistakes I was making were affecting all the people that I loved in a really negative way. The whole flight home was the longest day of my life. I was like, what have I done? What are my daughters gonna say and what do they think of me? What kind of parent am I being? It felt horrible, but to turn that into a positive, that was the catalyst in what woke me up and what I decided that day was different from any other day was I couldn't hide it anymore. I thought I was hiding addiction and struggles with mental health. I didn't want to hide it anymore. A few days after that, my wife and I were sitting talking about it for days. I was like, maybe this was something that meant to happen? Maybe this is something that God allowed to happen so he could open my eyes and I said what I think I need to do is go public and just let people know what I've been going through, what I've been trying to hide and maybe I'll inspire some people to want help. At that moment, I thought by being open, honest, transparent and holding myself accountable instead of making excuses. I thought maybe if I do that and become selfless instead of selfish and continuing that journey in destroying myself and destroying whatever hope and faith my kids had in me. I could just destroy that or I could hold myself accountable and just face the music. When I did the Dr. Phil thing, I thought that would help my family, fans and people out there help me hold myself accountable.

TERRANCE: Your group Color Me Badd came along when other groups were booming as well such as Boyz II Men, Jodeci & Mint Condition. What was it like to experience that and to be a part of the movement?

BRYAN ABRAMS: It's so funny that you mentioned that, because Jodeci were my heroes. Mary J., gosh man. That whole thing was incredible. We were flying back and forth to New York working on getting our record deal and the management company we had flew me to New York to actually meet Andre Harrell at Uptown. This is a story that I only started telling recently, but he actually offered me a solo deal and wanted to sign me to Uptown Records and I'm like, this is Mary J., Al B. Sure!, Jodeci, are you kidding me? He was like, I wanna make you like a white Al B. Sure! And I'm like, I'm Choctaw Indian and not white, but okay and I was like, what about my boys? He said, well they can sing the harmony and you can still be a group but we're just not gonna call you Color Me Badd. It scared me. I don't know if it's because I didn't believe in myself or if it was because I was young. Those were guys I grew up with and spent my life with working on harmonies and that craft, so I told my managers to let me think about it because I couldn't tell the guy no, right there in his office. I was scared to death and excited, so when we left I told them, I just didn't think I could do it and I didn't want to do that to my boys and they went ahead and said, okay well we'll keep pushing and try to get you a record deal, but they were angry with me for a little while to be honest with you. The guys in the group I think they were happy that I didn't do that, but I think it also created a little bit of  tension. So we continued to struggle, we lived in New York and got our deal.

TERRANCE: It's been 30 years since the chart-topping smash "I Wanna Sex You Up". How did that song come about?

BRYAN ABRAMS: Giant Records executive Cassandra Mills liked the music. We did a showcase and she mentioned the movie New Jack City and the song and as soon as she mentioned Dr. Freeze, I was sold, because I was already a huge New Edition fan and Bell Biv DeVoe fan. I knew whatever came from him was going to be good and it was. We got lucky because Christopher Williams, Bell Biv DeVoe and a couple of other artists turned down "I Wanna Sex You Up" and so we were all over it man. I think that was the smartest decision we could have ever made was to work with Dr. Freeze and Howie Tee and just that whole movement because it just all fell into place. I think we were the first to coin the term "Hip-Hop Doo-Wop". I don't think anyone used that term before us. I could be wrong, but I'm pretty positive because people wanted to know what we called it. We literally been singing Doo-Wop on top of beats in concerts in Oklahoma before we got a deal. We would get a drummer and us and we would literally sing Doo-Wop and have somebody throw beats in there with it and we called it Hip-Hop Doo-Wop, so we loved that whole sound. Other than the 50s, 60s, 70s and 80s leading up to the 90s, the 90s was a gumbo of all of those decades, especially Hip-Hop because of those sounds. The loops and the sounds from the retro records. There wasn't anything like it and I still don't think there's anything like it and I'm not saying that because we were part of the 90s, I'm saying that because I was really blown away. The 90s was just the decade of my life. All of the groups and solo artists. I lived in New York during that, so you couldn't have been in a better place and that's not taking away from LA because I've lived there for a while too and I loved it, but to be in New York in the 90s was nuts man. It was an awesome experience.

TERRANCE: Are there any personal favorite songs from the Color Me Badd debut album?

BRYAN ABRAMS: That's a tough one. Probably "Thinkin' Back" which is another one that was produced by Hamza Lee and Troy Taylor. Meeting Troy was an incredible experience too. That's a bad dude. I remember hopping on the subway to Connecticut and meeting him and working on that song and from the second I heard it, I was like, I don't care whatever it takes, we gotta get that song. The funny thing about that song is another opportunity that we had before signing to Warner Brothers and Giant, Teddy Riley wanted to sign us but naturally he wanted control and understandably so. We were young and that song is what did it. He wanted that to be a first cut. He was like, I'm all over that track and that's what we put out first. He wanted to sign us but our management had a clause so deep that they weren't trying to share certain things. Politics got in the way if you know what I'm saying. 

TERRANCE: One thing about life that you know for certain to be true.

BRYAN ABRAMS: Cherish your family. Put your family first. The ones you really know that love and care about you, even when they make you mad or feel like you can't be around them. Family is always gonna be there in the end, whether you have fame or anything. Put your family first, be true to them and treat them with respect because they're the ones that're gonna be there for you in the end regardless of anything else.

TERRANCE: Any last words you would like to share with your fans?

BRYAN ABRAMS: I hope that they like "Because of You". I'm not on a major label like we were back in the days. I'm still kind of learning the ends and outs of the business and how it works, but I'm coming out with an album soon and I'm also working on some other things. I'm trying to start a nonprofit based on mental health and addiction and substance use, so just keep an ear open and hopefully I'll be coming out with some things soon. I'm really excited to share some of the things that I've learned along the way. My album is gonna be like a diary basically. There's a lot of stuff in there. A lot of fun, but it's a real album. I'm telling my truths in there, so I hope they like it.

Follow Bryan Abrams:

www.bryanabramsmusic.com

Twitter & TikTok @bryanabrams

Instagram & Facebook @bryanabramsmusic

New Video: Leela James - "See Me"

R&B/Soul Powerhouse vocalist Leela James shares the official music video to her sixth album title track "See Me".

Directed by Eric Daniels & Matthew Houck, the emotional ballad is described as an anthem for anyone that's been overlooked or feels they don't matter.

The See Me album also includes the chart-topping single "Complicated", "Put It On Me", "You're the One" & "Break My Soul".

Alicia Keys Scores Her 22nd Top 10 Billboard Adult R&B Radio Hit "Best of Me"

 

This week fifteen-time Grammy Award-winning singer, songwriter and musician Alicia Keys earns her 22nd top 10 Billboard Adult R&B radio hit for her single "Best of Me" at No. 10

Written by Keys & Raphael Saadiq, "Best of Me" samples Sade's classic "Cherish the Day" and serves as the second single following the Swae Lee-assisted "LALA" from Keys recently released double album KEYS.

Keys holds the record with the most No. 1's (12) on the chart.

New Edition Announces "The Culture Tour" with Charlie Wilson & Jodeci

 

Multi-Platinum and Grammy nominated R&B sextet group New Edition (Ricky, Mike, Bobby, Johnny, Ralph & Ronnie) has announced dates for "The Culture Tour" with the Legendary Charlie Wilson and special guests Jodeci.

Jodeci recently announced their reunion with P Music Group Management who also represents Wilson & Gill.

The 30-city tour kicks off February 16, 2022 in Columbus, GA and ends April 10th in Miami, FL.

Presale starts on December 16th at 10 AM and general on sale this Friday at 10 AM.

Marsha Ambrosius Announces "Casablanco" Album with Dr. Dre

 Grammy nominated Songstress Marsha Ambrosius took to social media to announce an upcoming album entitled Casablanco with Iconic rapper, producer and entrepreneur Dr. Dre.

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A post shared by Marsha Ambrosius (@marshaambrosius)

Violinist Eric Gorfain adds:

"The cat is out the bag. I spent this summer arranging strings for this entire album, reuniting with @drdre and @marshaambrosius. 'Casablanco' is seriously good. Marsha Ambrosius is ridiculously good. Dr. Dre is The Greatest.

Casablanco will serve as Ambrosius' first set of new music since her third album Nyla in 2018.

New Music: Soul for Real Returns with Single & Visual for "After the Rain"

 

Platinum-selling 90's R&B sibling group Soul for Real (Jase, Brian, Andre & Chris Dalyrimple) returns with their latest heartfelt single and visual for "After the Rain".

"After the Rain" pays tribute to their mother who passed away early this year.

New Music: Morris Day - "Grown Man" (featuring Big Daddy Kane)

 

The Legendary Morris Day returns with his funky groove "Grown Man" which features iconic rapper Big Daddy Kane.

Produced by The Whole 9, "Grown Man" follows after Day's previous singles "Headrush" & "Cooler Than Santa Claus".

New Album: Alicia Keys - "KEYS"

 

Fifteen-time Grammy Award-winning Superstar Alicia Keys delivers her eighth overall album KEYS to all music streaming platforms via RCA Records.

KEYS comes in the form of a double album. One side of 'Originals' produced by Keys herself while the other side features 'Unlocked' versions to the originals produced by Mike Will Made-It.

The 26-track set includes appearances from Lil Wayne, Brandi Carlile, Lucky Date, Pusha T, Khalid &  Swae Lee who's featured on the lead single "LALA".

The current single from the project is "Best of Me".

Jodeci Reunites + Signs With P Music Group Management

The Legendary Jodeci (Cedric & Joel Hailey and Donald & Dalvin DeGrate) has announced that they've reunited as a group and signed a new management deal through P Music Group.

During the 90's the group was known for their sexy smooth harmonies and No. 1 hits such as "Forever My Lady", "Stay", "Come and Talk to Me", "Cry for You" & "Freek'n You".

In a statement P Music Group's founder/CEO Michael Paran says:

“During the pandemic, the guys started reaching out to each other and began talking about reuniting. They’re ready to build something new, done the right way without continuing the missteps of the past. I want to be long-term with them and help them show the world that they’re back to begin a whole new era.”

“I’m excited for Jodeci to join P Music Group with Michael managing us. We’ve come a long way. It’s a blessing to be back together and give our fans what they’ve been asking for.” -K-Ci Hailey

“Michael is a a man with a plan, a vision and a mission. We’re looking forward to a great partnership.” -Mr. Dalvin

Since their multi-platinum 1991 debut album Forever My Lady, Jodeci has released three subsequent albums: Diary of a Mad Band (1993), The Show, the After Party, the Hotel (1995) & The Past, The Present, The Future (2015).

P Music Group Management also represents Charlie Wilson, Johnny Gill & K-Ci Hailey.

An Interview with Kenny Lattimore

With a career spanning over two decades, highlighted by his 1996 breakthrough single "Never Too Busy", wedding staple "For You" and an NAACP Image Award for Best New Artist, Grammy nominated R&B singer-songwriter Kenny Lattimore returns with his 10th overall album Here to Stay available on all major music platforms via The SRG/ILS Group in partnership with SincereSoul Records. I caught up with the Washington DC native to discuss the album, his journey as an artist, upcoming tour and more.

TERRANCE: You recently celebrated 25 years since your self-titled debut album. What has the journey been like from then to now?

KENNY LATTIMORE: Wow! The journey has been so interesting. I'm watching an artist get comfortable in his own skin and watching an evolution. I also happen to be an artist that has recorded with almost ten or more different major labels. It was a journey that was really tough considering the fact most people don't have careers that have experienced that, because you're constantly starting over from zero to tell people who you are and to prove something over and over again, so when I think of those 25 years I'm grateful that through collaboration I was able to find people who respected my legacy, but understood the future of music and even when they didn't understand the future of music, they were able to give me just advice about different projects and how to approach albums, so that I could continue creating, because I have to admit there was a time where I just didn't know who I was anymore as an artist. People talk about cover songs and all that and thank God I had a lot of success with cover songs, but there was a time when I needed to do those cover songs because I didn't know what I sounded like anymore as a singer and once I gained my confidence as an original creator again, it allowed me to be in a space to create new music, but it wasn't until then that I was able to do like Anatomy of a Love Song. Since then I've done a lot of original music, but my Timeless project, I needed that project. I had came out of singing so many duets and covers after my first few albums, so this journey has been full of twists and turns, but I thank God for just having great people around me to keep me encouraged and allow me to be experimental in the process and not lock me in and see me as one dimensional because sometimes that happens too.

TERRANCE: Talk about the direction you took sonically for your new album Here to Stay.

KENNY LATTIMORE: The album as a whole put me in the position to be a student to the main producer whose Madicin aka Dra-kkar Wesley. We call him Madicin as an artist, and as I kind of sat at his feet making the project, he just kept challenging me to step outside of my comfort zone like, let's try this with this sound and that with this sound and each song was like a process of discovery and it took boundaries off of me which I've always wanted to be a singer that had no boundaries and when I say no boundaries I mean I was raised singing Jazz, Classical music and different things like that, so then when it gets into this modern day sound I was like, Hey how can I do it and not have boundaries in the modern sound? So that's what this whole process has been like, collaborating with people that are going to stretch me a bit. (Laughs).

TERRANCE: So give us a little backstory about the songs starting with the opening track "Nothing On You".

KENNY LATTIMORE: Well, the whole album is inspired lyrically by my relationship and marriage to Faith Jenkins, so "Nothing On You" really is about that. I'm just starting over and I didn't realize it would be as beautiful as it is, but I'm ready to give everything that I need to give because I look at marriage as a position of servitude and I wanted to come in healthy and whole and able to serve and give her what she deserved. I bring happiness, wholeness and healthiness and all of that, so that is where "Nothing On You" is.

TERRANCE: "Never Knew"

KENNY LATTIMORE: I loved going back and partnering with Daryl Simmons because I have had success with him with "If I Lose My Woman", so doing this song allowed me to just revisit some of the sounds of traditional. But even Daryl is evolving as a producer and surrounding himself with young producers to make sure the sound is today, so I loved the fact that he's given me all of the traditional elements like the hooks but with a little more subbase in it.

TERRANCE: "Only Girl"

KENNY LATTIMORE: This song was produced by Darren "Champ" Jenkins and what's beautiful about that is he was a baby, like a young toddler running around while his father did the demo for the first album at Columbia. His father had songs on my first album, so this is the second generation producing on this album which I felt was just a full circle moment. I held on to that song for about a year and a half prior and when I heard it, I was like, this I can do.

TERRANCE: "All In"

KENNY LATTIMORE: Madicin took his pen back to it. It reminded me of "Full Moon" by Brandy with all the backgrounds. That's what I loved about that song and I thought this is so great and then I wrote a little bit on too where I thought about my relationship again and then just diving in, but wanting to give back my audience the romantic sound.

TERRANCE: "What Are You Waiting For?"

KENNY LATTIMORE: That was my fun song and it was one of the last songs, if not the last song recorded for the album. I knew I had all of these beautiful ballads and I thought, let's do something funky and unexpected and different that would just break up everything, because I didn't want people to listen to the album and feel like it's just one thing. So I wanted to have a party song, but I wanted to make it inspirational, so lyrically it's like my inspirational song to tell people that if you're alive right now, you're not an accident. You are here and live life to the fullest and love to the fullest.

TERRANCE: "Lose You"

KENNY LATTIMORE: "Lose You" is my experimental song where another intergenerational kind of thing happened with Aaron Lindsey and his daughter Kennedy were working on music together and he had a track that he had started and it was nice and had this beautiful keyboard thing in the beginning and I said, I would do this, but when we took the track in and we started to write to it and all of that, it evolved to something completely different. Then Juan "Natural" Najera came in and started to play with it and give it all of these atmospheric sounds and all kinds of things, so he just took it to another level and honestly I didn't even think it was going to be something ever presented as a single. I just thought that it was so different for me, but it's so fun and so dramatic and I can see myself doing it live. I was like, I hope I get to do this live. It became a single and people are loving that song, so I'm just really happy that the experiment paid off.

TERRANCE: "Take a Dose"

KENNY LATTIMORE: This was the first song I recorded for the album and it was a little stretch for me at first. (Laughs). Because it was funky and it reminded me of something from the 80's or 90's. Some of the elements were bubbling under it, but then it had this 2000something bass groove going through it and Madicin has a way of creating the background vocals to compliment those tracks and making them still suttle and not overpowering, but somehow the contrast of styles work. They work really well together.

TERRANCE: "Pressure"

KENNY LATTIMORE: "Pressure" was a song that I had heard that Madicin was working on with this guy named Bizness Boi. I heard it one day and said, that's a hit song. It has this thing that reminds me of the UK and come to find out some of the guys were from the UK and there's a sparseness to it, but at the same time the elements work together where it's simple, but it's got a lot of little catchy hooks in there. When I went in to talk to Madicin, I said, we need a lead single for June which is Black Music Month and he said, what about "Pressure"? I said, what? I didn't think he was giving that to me. I thought he was just playing me a song one day while we were writing, but I loved that song immediately. 

TERRANCE: "Priority"

KENNY LATTIMORE: That song was all about the lyrics for me. I was like, oh my gosh. Then the futuristic sounds that were put together with it, I thought was really fantastic. It was one of those songs that allowed me to stretch out my range, falsetto and all of that. So I enjoyed recording that as well.

TERRANCE: "Survive"

KENNY LATTIMORE: "Survive" was the greatest falsetto stretch for me. (Laughs). Another one where I was like, Wow!. It was really beautiful and sexy to me and it was a real showcase in my voice if I could pull this off. (Laughs). That's what I thought, because again, when I'm writing with some of the people there's a demo. Madicin is a great artist and singer, so I got to hear him sing it first. When I went in, I said, let me hear how my voice sounds doing this, and when I went in for the first note, I was like, I'm okay with me in this space. Because sometimes you record a song, it doesn't turn out right, so when I went in, he made me feel comfortable and I was able to lose myself and survive.

TERRANCE: Can we expect any special appearances or tour in support of the album?

KENNY LATTIMORE: Yes! I am putting everything in order now. The 16th of January will be my first show in Baltimore at Rams Head Live and that is my long form show with a band and from there we start to travel. We're just talking to folks and figuring out who wants to go on the road. I'm super open because I know a lot of great people are putting out new music from Alicia Keys to Mary J. Blige. Live music is back and I'm just excited and I'm hoping that I will be able to put together the right combination of shows that allow me to showcase everything that I really do. That's been the key for me, because sometimes you get to do shows and appearances, but when I get to do my live long show, it is so much fun, because I still love it and I'm passionate about it, and that's why we're working now just putting things together so that when people hear and see, it will be right.

TERRANCE: Any final words you would like to share with longtime fans as well as new ones?

KENNY LATTIMORE: Oh my goodness. The longtime fans thank you for just hanging in there with me through every transition whether you always thought what I did was great or not, it was my journey and that's what life is about, so I appreciate the longtime fans for being on this journey with me. In addition to that, I want to say to the new fans, welcome. Keep me honest. So what I'm gonna do is keep trying to just create music that I believe is authentic and the new fans to help keep that authenticity in that, so I'm appreciative that they're on board.

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