Friday, February 22, 2013

New Video: Kendrick Lamar featuring Drake "Poetic Justice"

Kendrick Lamar quietly released the video for "Poetic Justice" today. A standout track from his wildly successful 2012 album good kid m.A.A.d city, "Poetic Justice" paints a well-versed portrait of Lamar's affections for a particular woman.

In the video, he protects the life of a beautiful girl during a street brawl from a stray bullet while Drake keeps it cool (as usual) with a woman in his bed. The video is dark and brooding, yet has striking visuals.

I love how the prominent women in the video are dark-skinned African-American women. Not to knock any other race or anyone's skin complexion, but in today's videos, many women of other races or mixed heritages are usually the "leading" women, so it is refreshing and healthy to see these images :)

Enjoy!


Wednesday, February 20, 2013

New Video: Miguel "Candles In The Sun"

Today, Miguel released a striking video for the socially conscious single "Candles In The Sun" from his critically acclaimed album Kaleidoscope Dream.

Arguably one of the best songs on the album, Miguel urges us to look at the state of the world today and how we treat each other.

He performed this song live while on tour with Trey Songz in Charlotte on December 14th, 2012 as a tribute to the children who died in the Sandy Hook shooting. I was blessed to see this emotional performance.

Here it is!


-T. Amour

Happy Birthday Rihanna - 10 Songs to Celebrate Her Career

I love Rihanna. She's fun, fearless, brash, beautiful, and living the luxurious life. Yeah, she's had her share of bad news moments, but Rih is the type of girl you want to hang out with for one epic night of fun. I will readily admit to wanting to grab a drank, talk trash, and party with the Barbadian bad gal.

Today is Rihanna's 25th birthday and I wanted to celebrate her wild music ride with 5 of her many cool songs:

1) "If It's Lovin' That You Want" 
*a flashback to the beginning of her career in 2005. Can you believe its been 8 years?!?!*


2) "SOS"
*Rihanna cemented her status as a rising star with this song. And she looks hot in this video*


3) "Umbrella"
*guilty pleasure..ella ella eh eh eh*


4) "Rude Boy"
*Bad Gal RiRi*


5) "Skin"
*OH YES...love this joint*


6) "Nobody's Business"
*Well, it really ISN'T anyone's business..*


7) "Where Have You Been"
*Perfect video*


8) "Diamonds"


9) "Stay"
*her best song, in my opinion*


10) "We Found Love"
*one of my favorite songs by her*



Happy 25th Birthday Rihanna!

- T. Amour

Sunday, February 17, 2013

Beyoncé: A Creative Artist in a Commercial World

Last night, I spent approximately 2.5 hours watching Beyoncé in a way I have never seen her before. Typically  she is in "Sasha Fierce" performance mode, or she is giving a carefully constructed interview. While I have literally grown up listening to and influenced by her (Destiny's Child came out when I was in middle school), I have always felt that she was an enigma, a completely unrelatable figure in a celebrity world. And, this never bothered me. Like megawatt stars before her time, including Prince and Sade, I completely respected her decision to fiercely protect her personal life. To me, it gave her a certain mystique and aura.

But, after many years of people constantly speculating about her marriage, her true personality, and even her pregnancy, Beyoncé decided to crack the doors to her personal gateway. First, she did an interview with Oprah, followed by a self-directed documentary of her life and struggles as a wildly successful commercial artist.

Here is a quick recap of both and my thoughts:



Next Chapter Interview - Bey showed up to chat with the legendary Oprah with leather pants, a white T-shirt, a black blazer, and her signature long honey blond locks. Since this was her first interview after her show-stopping Superbowl performance, Oprah started off with questions about how she prepared for and felt during her 12 minute spectacle. Bey's eyes lit up as she talked about how excited she was to have her girls (Kelly and Michelle) by her side and how proud her husband Jay-Z was. The experience was so ethereal that it took her into a complete "zone".

Oprah then asked about her firing her father as a manager. Beyoncé simply stated that it was time for her to grow and strike out on her own. She wanted her father to be just that: her father. However, the best moments of the interview came when she talked about Jay-Z and baby Blue Ivy. Bey confidently told Oprah that she is a better woman because of her relationship to Jay-Z and how Blue Ivy was her best friend and made her life complete. Bey hinted that she wanted to expand her family after this year's Mrs. Carter Show tour and she wanted to take more time to enjoy her incredible life.

My Thoughts: First, I thought Oprah was going to come a bit harder on the questions, to be honest. But, I realized that many of them would probably be answered in the documentary. I still think this was one of Bey's best interviews. She let down her emotional walls and gave us a peek into who she truly is. To me, when she talked about her daughter, her well-intact persona gave way and she was, just for a moment, a regular mom gushing about the joy of having her first child. As a mom of one daughter, I finally felt like I could relate to her. My favorite part was when she said Blue Ivy was fiery and she shook her head while saying "Lord, I'm gonna have myself a time." Hilarious. I also found it interesting how much Oprah respects and admires Beyoncé, almost to the point where Oprah feels like Bey is the most powerful woman on Earth.

Life is But a Dream (moments and my thoughts):

Life is but a dream opened with footage of a young Beyonce and toddler Solange on the front steps of the house they grew up in. Bey was stylish and bold at a young age as she harassed honeybees in a bush with white cowboy boots on. As the film opened, Beyoncé immediately laid the foundation of her inner thoughts. She acknowledged her commercial success, but realized that it was not enough. She laid out the pitfalls of being a brand by stating that she didn't "want to sing about the same thing for 10 more years" and how she can't grow creatively. To me, this confirmed my long standing suspicion that Bey is slightly jealous of her younger, infinitely cool, and free spirited sister Solange. Since Solo is not a huge commercial brand, she is allowed to say and do what the hell she wants.

The film then moves into discussing Bey's relationship with her father and former manager Matthew Knowles. She chose to focus on the pain of their strained relationship instead of shedding light on stories about his infidelity and subsequent child out of wedlock and divorce from her mom. Honestly, I thought it was smart to do this because the documentary is about her and her growth, not about him.

There were many great moments. We discovered that Beyoncé has a potty mouth when she is passionate about something. For instance, when discussing how she would go about managing her career, Bey said "First, you have to figure out what you want....Do you want to kiss asses? Do you want a career?". She also revealed just how passionate she is about women's rights. During her Billboard performance, she worked hard and experienced many setbacks while preparing for the show stopping performance of "Run the World". What we didn't know is that she was also in the early stages of pregnancy at that time. She ranted about how men make more than women overall and how men use money to define what power is and to define sexiness in women. Bey said that it was all "bullshit".

Beyoncé showed her fun side several times during the movie. One of the best fun moments was an impromptu living room performance with Solange and Kelly. Like three middle school aged girls, they danced around and sang The Cardingans "Lovefool" while giggling and laughing. Bey even had Jay-Z singing along with her as they dined over wine.

Jay-Z and Bey's love was a focal point of the documentary. There was great footage of them on a yacht smiling and joking and Jay showing up to many of her performances to quietly support his wife. However, the best moment was home footage from 12/4/2006 (his birthday) when Bey stood up and made a heartfelt speech to her (then) future husband. She told a room full of close confidants how he had helped shape and mold her as a woman, artist, and spiritual being. My favorite line was "Every year, I'm more in love with you." They have a real love that transcends money and power.

There love was strengthened during the documentary by a surprise. Bey laid in bed at night sans makeup, looked into the camera and bravely stated that she was "with child". Her emotions were clearly all over the place by the unplanned pregnancy: fear, joy, wonder, excitement, exasperation. Most of her fear stemmed from her prior miscarriage, which she addressed in the documentary as being the saddest thing she has ever experienced. She played a song she wrote about it with poignant lyrics: "I guess love just wasn't enough for us to survive...you took the life right out of me." At the end, we finally got to see Blue's cute face and her interaction with her famous mom.

Bey FINALLY showed her pregnant stomach not once, but twice. The first time was at around 20 weeks when she was going to attend the MTV Awards in 2011. Known for her sexy outfits and wild performances  she decided she could not keep it a secret any more. After her infamous performance (remember the mike drop and belly rub?) there was footage of her backstage hugging her husband and feeling relieved. The second shot was at about 37 weeks and finally put the surrogate rumors to bed.

To be honest, Beyoncé is not known as the most intellectual chick around, but she did make several great points that resonated with me. She shed light on the price of commercial fame for a creative soul. She discussed how we are so image focused and feel entitled to know things about celebrities that are just not our business. I agree with her about how celebs need and deserve separation between their personal life and public persona. She believes that today's commercial artists push singles instead of albums, and this is largely true.

Overall, I think she did a great job at cracking the surface at who she is. Do I expect her to start Tweeting everyday and post 1,000 pictures of Blue everyday? Will I start to refer to her as King/Queen Bey or Bey-sus? No. Nothing personal, just not a fan of celeb worship. But the respect I have always had for her as a woman who works hard and lives her purpose has been increased. It is impossible to get to completely know the totality of a person in a 1.5 hour documentary, but Bey did a good job at revealing what she chose to reveal.

-T. Amour

Saturday, February 16, 2013

Blast It or Trash It? Chris Brown "Home"


Chris Brown recently released a "docu-video" for his latest track "Home". Chris Brown takes a nostalgic look at the blazing highs and crushing lows of his career and longs for a simpler time in his life. Of course, Chris reminisces in his unique way with a bit of edginess and profanity, but the message is clear.

**Sidenote: I am personally not a fan of auto-tune, especially with an artist like Chris who can actually SING, but it works for me in this song.

Sometimes, we ALL wish we had a rewind button!

What do you think? Would you BLAST this or TRASH it? Comment below!

-T. Amour

Friday, February 15, 2013

HOT Video: Justin Timberlake feat. Jay-Z "Suit And Tie"

Loving the new visual for Justin Timberlake's latest hit "Suit & Tie". The video is in black and white and it's chocked full of soul and sophistication.

Will you purchase his album, The 20/20 Experience, on March 19th??

-T. Amour


Wednesday, February 13, 2013

New Music: J Cole Truly Yours



Yesterday, we all got a much needed surprise from lyricist J. Cole.

He released a free EP entitled Truly Yours as a gift to his loyal supporters. I listened to the entire EP in one sitting last night (it's only 5 songs) and the only bad thing about it is its not long enough!! J. Cole always delivers on his mixtapes and this effort should suffice until his next album drops later this year.

Just imagine: if these are the tracks he gave away for free, then the album is going to be crazy!

Check it out here and download it HERE



Download Mixtape | Free Mixtapes Powered by DatPiff.com

-T. Amour

Monday, February 11, 2013

New Video: Rihanna "Stay"



One day after delivering a captivating performance of "Stay" at the GRAMMYs, Rihanna has released a visual for this standout track on her latest album.

The video consists of simple shots of a tearful, forlorn Rihanna in a tub of water.

This is one of Rihanna's best songs.

-T. Amour
Twitter: @poetrymusiclife










The GRAMMYs 2013: Memorable Moments

In continuation of the performance post, (see here) there were many great memories at this year's awards show as well. From sexy dresses and funny punchlines to strange moments and "boss moments", here are some great moments.

Miguel and Wiz Khalifa - I didn't put this under performances because it was so short. But man, was it sweet to hear Miguel serenade the crowd with "Adorn". He won Best R&B song for "Adorn" and it was WELL DESERVED. Wiz brought his usual unique swag out with a oddly patterned suit, no shirt, and a few great lines to add to an even better song. Miguel NEVER plays with the vocals.


Kelly Rowland slays the Red Carpet- Okay. I know you all think I am some closet lesbian when it comes to Kelly Rowland. I am not, but I have no problem admitting when another woman is beautiful. And when Kelly stepped on that red carpet in the dress below, she shut it down. Best dressed woman of the night. Point. Blank. Period. If you don't know why Trey is obsessed with her, you can see why.



Beyoncé and Ellen - So, Bey and Ellen were the announcers for Justin Timberlake's big comeback performance. Beyoncé tried hard to be her usual, focused self, but her silly, playful side came out as Ellen gave her a stare down, causing her to slightly flub her lines. Good Moment. 


Prince and his Greatness - Last night was so awesome that Prince decided to emerge and grace us all with his presence. Although he didn't perform (*sad face*), the Great One came out to present the "Record of the Year" award looking half his age in an all-black ensemble. You know you are a legend when you show up, say literally 2 sentences and the internet goes nuts.


2 Chainz as Black Zorro - Speaking of people with all black on, rapper 2 Chainz pulled up to the scene with a cape on last night. Idk what look he was channeling (Zorro, bullfighter...), but it was all Versace baby!



Mavis Staples saying "Yeah, Yeah, Yeah" - I love gospel music and I love Mavis Staples. But I don't know what was going on at the end of her performance with Elton John when she kept singing "yeah, yeah, yeah". Holy Spirit, maybe? Either way, she is a legend, so she can do that, I guess...



Jay-Z's Low Blow - Mr. Carter hit artist and producer The Dream with a low blow. The Dream went on stage with Jay-Z and Frank Ocean to accept the award for "No Church in the Wild" and The Dream looked pretty damn ridiculous with two strange hats on. Jay-Z walked up to the mike and said "I would like to thank the swapmeet for his hat". Twitter was set on fire. Hilarious.





Reunited and It Feels So GOOD: Breezy and Rih

BUT, one of the best moment (and picture) of all was seeing Chris Brown and Rihanna together again at the GRAMMYs and making their love known to the world. Despite how anyone may feel, they looked great and what they do is their business! Sending good vibes their way.



What were your memorable moments from the 2012 GRAMMYs?

-T. Amour





GRAMMYs 2013: Performances

Last night, all the (music) stars aligned at the Staples Center for the GRAMMYs. Irrefutably "music's biggest night", the Grammys is an eclectic music lover's paradise, a smorgasbord of genres and artists to satisfy virtually everyone on the planet.

The sheer amount of awards and albums/songs that are released in a year is mindboggling. And the beauty of seeing vastly different artists come together for music, fun, laughter, and performances is breathtaking.

Here are a few of MY favorite Grammy Music Moments:

Elle Varner and Tyrese - Anyone who reads my blog or follows me on Twitter knows that Elle is my girl. And, I think Tyrese is an all-around amazing entertainer (movies and music). Elle started things off with her inescapable 2012 smash "Refill" and looked rather lovely doing it with long straight hair and red outfit. Tyrese followed with the smooth R&B "Stay" and they combined forces to perform Marvin Gaye's "Let's Get It On". I loved Tyrese's soulful sound blended with Elle's bluesy grit!



Ed Sheeran and Elton John - Elton John is legendary and Ed Sheeran is an incredible English singer-songwriter. They teamed up for a great rendition of Sheeran's "The A Team". Pure perfection.


Rihanna times 2 - Rihanna graced the stage not once, but twice last night. The first time, she performed a spellbinding version of "Stay", a highly emotional song from her latest CD. While Rihanna is not known as a powerhouse vocalist, she sings this song with such clarity and unadulterated emotion. This is one of her best performances in her career. She also brought out Mikky Ekko, an original collaborator on the song. 



The second performance was a collaborative effort between Rih, Bruno Mars (and his kick-ass band), Sting (the BOSS), Damian Marley and Ziggly Marley. They came together to honor the late great legend Bob Marley. Rihanna's Barbadian accent was perfect, Bruno's band was insane, and the Marley brothers shut it down. I was mad they only did ONE Bob Marley song! One of best performances of the night.



The Performance King: Justin Timberlake

BUT, the BIG PERFORMANCE of the night was the return of Justin Timberlake. He came out and had the Grammy crowd going insane with "Suit and Tie" featuring Jay-Z and a new buzz single, "Pusha Love Girl". The entire performance was WAVY.



What were your favorite performances?

-T. Amour





Friday, February 8, 2013

Song of the Day: Casey Veggies "Life Changes"




Casey Veggies is working hard. The California based lyricist is only 19 years old, but his youth has no correlation with his productivity. Since 2007, he has released an impressive 6 mixtapes, including his latest, Life Changes, on January 22nd of this year.

For more on him, check out my previous post here: Most Interesting Rappers

Life Changes is his first release under Roc Nation and the title track "Life Changes" sets the tone for the entire mixtape.

Crazy flow, killer lyrics, and an overall wavy vibe. Check it out below!


-T. Amour

Wednesday, February 6, 2013

New Music: TGT "Sex Ain't Never Felt Better"



***WARNING: THIS POST IS FOR THE LADIES...AND SOME OF MY GUYS OUT THERE LOL

When R&B hotties Tyrese, Ginuwine, and Tank said they were forming a sexy supergroup named TGT, women everywhere starting saving their coins for the tour that would surely follow a smash album (myself included).

The stars have finally aligned for TGT and their lead single, "Sex Ain't Never Felt Better", is a steamy prelude to their first album. The title is self-explanatory and the sound is bedroom-friendly.

Check it out here!



-T. Amour
Twitter: @poetrymusiclife

Monday, February 4, 2013

SuperBowl 2013: The Conspiracies and Bad Twitter


The Conspiracies:
What's a great Superbowl game without conspiracy theories?

Illuminati - As soon as Beyoncé stepped on stage, there was a flurry of tweets about her supposed involvement with the Illuminati. I won't get into all the background about that here, but Bey has a tendency to play into the hype by throwing up pyramids (see exhibit A below) and having random images of herself with multiple arms. I have no idea whats up with this stuff, but its kinda creepy.


Lights Please - After Bey shook her thang on stage, she apparently did it so well that the lights at the Superdome decided to take a break and go out in the 3rd quarter (see exhibit B below). It was a good thing for the 49ers, who were until that point getting their asses kicked by the Ravens. Especially Jacoby Jones, who ran all over them pretty much the entire night. The 35 minute delay caused a major momentum shift, with the 49ers almost coming back and still managing to lose. But, what everyone wanted to know was, who turned out the lights?




Twitter and Keyshia Cole:
As you know, many people like to pick on Kelly and Michelle and call them Bey's backup singers and dancers. Personally, I find it funny how people can joke on them, yet they are still much more rich, famous, and overall winning than most of us will ever be. Anyway, everyone found out exactly how R&B singer Keyshia Cole felt about Michelle. 

She Tweeted:
The first thing I thought was "well damn, that was mean", but its Twitter and she is entitled to her opinion, even if it is not worded in a politically correct way. Apparently, everyone else was not going to let it roll off their backs. She got attacked by the BeyHive, Kelly Rowland fans, people who already hate her, and even Michelle Williams' gospel fans threw some virtual holy water at her. Soon, #KeyshiaColeCantSing was trending and it got messier when she added a photo of herself with the caption "You Mad".



Twitter is a cold world.

My blogger she-ro Nicole Bitchie pointed out that Keyshia was entitled to her opinion but went about it the wrong way and Keyshia was sure to let her know that Michelle had said something bad about her previously. She also referred to Michelle as a b**ch. WOW. I have no dog in that fight, so I will leave that one alone....

What do you think about this Illuminati, power outages, and bad Twitter mess?

-T. Amour

SuperBowl 2013: The Music



Yesterday, many of us witnessed on of the most watched sporting events in the WORLD, the Super Bowl. Everyone tuned last night to watch Super Bowl XLVII for various reasons. Some watched to see the now infamous commercials, some tuned in for Beyoncé's halftime show, and others tuned in to actually, ya know, watch the battle royal between the Baltimore Ravens and San Francisco 49ers. Personally, I tuned in for a bit of all three and stayed logged onto Twitter to keep an eye on viewer comments and reactions.

Here is a breakdown of the Music and Memories of yesterday's big game:

Music - NO event is complete without great music. 

Jennifer Hudson - Before the kickoff, Jennifer Hudson and the Sandy Hook Elementary School Choir sang a touching rendition of "America The Beautiful". As always, Jennifer Hudson brought her naturally powerhouse vocals, but she managed to keep it mellow as we were all reminded of the tragedy that this school faced less than two months ago.



Then, Alicia Keys came out to sing the National Anthem. I will admit that I was feeling a bit nervous about Ms. Keys doing the National Anthem. As I have said before, the National Anthem is one of the toughest songs to tackle and, although I like Alicia Keys, I have never seen her as a powerhouse vocalist. But, she gave all the doubters a pleasant surprise! Alone on the 50 yard line with a white piano, a stunning red dress, and a slicked down coif, she gave a serene, soulful, powerful delivery of the National Anthem. I love how she tailored the song to fit her style as an artist instead of trying to do what Beyoncé or Whitney would do. Cheers!



**See her performance here on the NFL website: Alicia Keys National Anthem

Beyoncé - When Bey was announced as the halftime entertainer back in October, the BeyHive and millions of others went into a frenzy. As one of the biggest, yet most private celebrities in music today, everyone always looks forward to a performance from her. But, this was no ordinary performance. For Beyoncé, the chance to perform at the Super Bowl Halftime show was one of the biggest moments in her already gargantuan career. Many of were happy to see her succeed and many more wanted to see her fail. The latter were disappointed.


**See Beyoncé rock out on the NFL website Super Bowl Halftime Show

I'm not a huge Bey fan, but she put on one hell of a show. Donned out in a black leather outfit with sky high heels and her signature honey blond locks, she strutted, shimmyed, and sang her heart out. Starting the show off with her first solo hit "Crazy In Love" Beyonce worked her magic as she moved on to "End of Time", which was a lesser known, but perfect song choice for the big show. Halfway through the set, she confirmed speculation of a Destiny's Child performance and brought out her homegirls Kelly Rowland and Michelle Williams for "Bootylicious" and "Independent Women" (LOVED IT).


Now, I will admit, when Kelly Rowland came out, I almost forgot about Bey. I'm a straight woman, but that woman has a BANGIN' BODY!! But I digress...

She ended the show with two of her biggest hits: "Single Ladies" and "Halo" and was met with thunderous cheers and applause.

As an Black woman, I was proud of everyone. As the slogan goes: "Black Girls Rock!"

What did you think about the various acts??

-T. Amour



Sunday, February 3, 2013

A Sunday Word: You Gotta Work

Happy Sunday! Happy Superbowl Sunday! Happy (insert whatever you care about) Sunday! :)

Right now, I am reading a book entitled "7 Days To A Positive Attitude". Although the actual advice isn't anything Earth-shattering, this book is filled with great quotes and encouraging words. 

I came across this quote today:

“If you want to succeed in the world you must make your own opportunities as you go on. The man who waits for some seventh wave to toss him on dry land will find that the seventh wave is a long time a-coming. You can commit no greater folly than to sit by the road side until someone comes along and invites you to ride with him to wealth or influence” - John. B Gough



In short, you have to be a trailblazer and work hard to experience success. Sometimes, we hope that our dreams will supernaturally manifest out of thin air and we will be able to "reach out and grab them". Or, we believe that if we do what "person X" does, associate with the "right people", or pray hard enough, the universe will align in our favor. WRONG.

I do believe in God and prayer. I do believe that it is beneficial to surround yourselves with people who are progressive and can help you and motivate you to be a better person. But, no matter how much you pray or whom you associate with, you have to be willing to do the work to get what you want out of life. Even religious books encourage hard work (i.e. "faith without works is dead")!

You are responsible for making the necessary changes to create the life you want. What worked for others may not work for your because YOUR dreams, YOUR goals, YOUR life is a unique experience. No one is going to hand you what your desire in a box.

The grass often looks greener in your neighbor's yard, but are you taking care of your own lawn?

-T. Amour

Saturday, February 2, 2013

2013: Music to Look Forward To pt. 2

We are only 33 days into 2013, and the anticipation of new music continues to escalate.

In part one, I highlighted a few fine female R&B stars to keep your eyes on. This time, we want to show their male counterparts a little love!

Here are the male R&B/soul/pop (they do it all) artists to watch in 2013:



John Legend
He has it all- smoldering looks, smooth vocals, and soulful music. John Legend's music and undeniable skills on the ivory keys have shown us that he is indeed legendary. Soul aficionados have loved Legend's music since his 2004 smash debut album Get Lifted. But, like legends of the past, John is more than an artist. He is a philanthropist and global citizen (now that's sexy!). His 4th album, Love in the Future, is slated for an early 2013 release.



Justin Timberlake
You know Justin. He successfully "brought sexy back" in 2006 and made a transition from the cute guy in a pop boy band to a smokin' hot singer with an eclectic taste in music. But, as soon as his career skyrocketed, he stopped releasing solo material to focus on acting and was a feature artists on a few songs. But, Justin is looking to reclaim his spot on March 19th with The 20/20 Experience, his first album since 2006. He has already gained buzz from the lead single "Suit & Tie" featuring Jay-Z. (listen to it here)



Maxwell
One of the founder's in the 1990s "neo-soul movement", Maxwell has been melting hearts for over 15 years with his tantalizing tenor voice and emotive lyrics. His new album, supposedly named "Summers", will be a follow up to the 2009 smash BLACKsummers'Night. So far, an official release date has not been confirmed  nor a lead single released, but it doesn't matter. We will all buy it and love it anyway!



Avant
Avant was one of the biggest R&B stars of the early 2000s with a string of hits ("Separated" "Read Your Mind"). Although he has released music on a relatively consistent basis since 2000, his past couple of albums have not performed as strongly as they should have. There can be many things to blame, but his talent is not one of them. Avant is ready to bring another collection of great music in 2013 with Face the Music, which comes out THIS COMING TUESDAY 02/05 (throws confetti)! The first single, "Best Friend" was featured previously on my blog (Check it out here). We say we want authentic music, so let's support our man Avant and get his album in stores and on iTunes.



Sammie
Yep, you heard right. Some of you remember him from back in 1999 with his infectious single "I Like It". Now, Sammie is all grown up and making incredible music. Many of his then teen fans reconnected with him via social media and downloaded his mixtape Insomnia, which is one of the best R&B mixtapes of 2012. Now, Sammie is gearing up for his new album entitled Coming of Age. While we wait on a release tape, let's continue (or begin) to luxuriate in Insomnia.

-T. Amour