Father’s day is upon us and we are ready to celebrate all of the fathers hanging in there with their children and providing the guidance and support needed to produce a dream team of young men and women.

Fathers tend to get the short end of the stick on their day when you compare it to the celebration of Mother’s Day.  But African American fathers really get a bad rap and are pushed to the bottom of the fatherhood totem pole throughout the year and on their day.  But we want to remind our little people that their fathers are equally important to their development as their mothers…and what better way to remind them than with a history lesson.

To also continue in our celebration of Black Music Month, we are happy to celebrate both with Esperanza Spalding’s Black Gold.  Her beautiful video and song reminds all of us that our heritage is one of strength, royalty, and the first civilization…and our fathers are instrumental in our very beginnings in this world.

So to our African American Fathers…this one’s for you.  We salute you!   And Happy Father’s Day to all the fathers making a positive difference in their child’s heart and soul every day.

Enjoy!

-J.C. Brooks
“Black Gold” -Esperanza Spalding

Travis Pratt of Tifton, Georgia, shocks the crowd and judges of America’s Got Talent with his unusual singing voice.

We’ve been celebrating Black Music Month with exceptional artists from all America and overseas, but nothing we’ve seen has prepared us for the talent of the man you are about to experience.

Travis Pratt is a resident of Tifton, Georgia and they should be proud.  He performed for the judges on the NBC show America’s Got Talent and they were visibly blown away…as were we.  The man is there to sing, but what comes out of his mouth was the most unexpected treat we’re sure they had never heard before.

The judges responses were:

Howard Stern:  This is the most outrageous audition I have ever seen.  And I mean this in the kindest way, sir, you are a freak, but I mean it like in a good way!

Heidi Klum: You have an amazing voice.

Mel B: It was perfection.

Pratt dedicated his performance to his girlfriend.  He said she put him up to it and he would’ve never done it without her.  So Howie Mandel invited her to the stage where Pratt asked her the ultimate question.

Check it out! You won’t be disappointed!

-J.C. Brooks

Laura Mvula

Some artists make you jump up and dance at first listen to their music.  It frees you from the stresses of your day and transports you either into wonderful past days or gives you vision for a brighter tomorrow.

Laura Mvula’s music is a refreshing celebration of black music that we haven’t seen in some time.  She makes you dance, but she also pumps you with pride and admiration for black culture.  The soul sister hails from Birmingham, England.  She trained at the city’s Conservatoire.

Her music like “Green Garden” makes you want to start over.  Whatever you’ve been doing can be revived and done better.  Her song “She” celebrates women’s struggles evolving from a child to a woman in the difficult navigation necessary for little black girls who Rock!

Check out her music for yourself.  It’s a blessing from beginning to end.  She will surely be around for years to come.  Her new album “Sing to the Moon” dropped in March.  Take a listen. You will thank us!

-J.C. Brooks
“She”

“Green Garden”

 

The music business has changed a lot over the years with the inception of music downloading sites like iTunes.  A lot of artists are not interested in signing with the big companies anymore in an effort to make the best deal possible…independently.

Prince is a trailblazer and musical genius that has been at the forefront of informing artists on remaining a true artist that maintains artistic control over everything their create.  According to Black Enterprise:

“In August 1991, Prince inked a $100 million deal with Warner Bros., making him the highest-paid artist at the time. The deal included two joint record companies as well as a vice president post for him. In 1993, the pop and rock icon would become “the Artist Formerly Known as Prince” during a legal battle with the label over artistic and financial control of his music. After a long, highly publicized battle, in which he began performing in protest using only a symbol as his name, he was able to gain release from the contract, serving as one of the most prolific public examples of an artist’s success in standing up for his artistic beliefs and financial due.”

Prince is still helping artists to realize their worth by being a great role model for musicians.  In February, Prince charged his fans £1.13 to download the video for his new song, “Screwdriver”.  Some fans were definitely upset by the move, but Prince is also very generous as The Independent reminded those fans that Prince charged an affordable £31.21 for his O2 residency shows, and then gave away two albums to fans for free.  

All Hail the Prince!  Read more here about the elusive purple one or watch his biography below.

-J.C. Brooks

Leon Timbo

There have been many artists that launch their careers with a big start and an equally quick finish.  But, there is one new artist on the horizon that we think has longevity in his talent.

Leon Timbo is a singer and activist that we were introduced to by Tyrese and R. Kelly in a video Tyrese took of the three hanging out together in a restaurant on the set of Transformers 3 in 2010.  As soon as Timbo began to sing, the raw talent was so overwhelming we wanted to get his album that very moment.  Fortunately, Timbo’s album is due this month …early this month.

In October 2012, he released a three-song ‘single.’  One of the songs released was “Don’t Call,” which is the first song we heard him sing when he hung out with R. Kelly and Tyrese.  According to Star Pulse.com, Timbo is not just interested in music and wasn’t seriously interested in music until the age of 16.

His main focus is connecting with his audience whether it be through his music or community involvement.  From “children’s charities to those dealing with HIV and AIDS,” he concentrates his efforts in three cities he loves.  His hometown of Jacksonville, Florida, Jacksonville Community Rehab Center,  as well as, Atlanta’s Hope and Light Foundation, and Cleveland Church on the North Coast, as well as St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital.

Leon told Star Pulse.com,

“My career goal is pretty lofty, although very simple,” he explained. “I want an opportunity to give an individual my view, my insight, my experience on life – to give them the ability to see themselves differently, to see people differently. I’m really passionate about having that experience, because I’m crazy enough to think that I have something to say.”

Check out his music below.

-J.C. Brooks

“Smile”

"Don't Call" by LEON TIMBO from Sebastian Davis on Vimeo.

Cameron Sherman is an 11-year-old singer that will blow your mind with the talent of Michael Jackson as a child.

The month of June is Black Music Month and we want to celebrate it with identifying new, upcoming, and undiscovered talents that we think enhance black music.

Some of our most coveted treasures in the realm of black music is Stevie Wonder, Prince, Michael Jackson, Aretha Franklin, James Brown, Miles Davis, John Coltrane, Herbie Hancock, just to name a few. But while the radio may lead us to believe that black music is dying a slow death, it is alive and strong in new and upcoming artists that continue the legacy of feeding the soul.

So today we want to bring you a talented 11-year-old singer named Cameron Sherman that is not cutting an album…as far as we know, but is probably far more talented than anyone in the studio today.  In fact, we don’t know if he’s been discovered by any major music companies.  We’ve only seen him in home videos.  We hope someone sees him soon because he really does embody the talent of Michael Jackson.

We also want to thank former President Jimmy Carter for launching Black Music month June 7, 1979, that President Obama observes as African-American Music Appreciation Month.  Either title is fine as long as it is accompanied by good music from African-American artists.

Check him out!

-J.C. Brooks

Cameron Sherman covers Bruno Mars “When I was Your Man”

Cameron Sherman covers Jackson Five’s “I Wanna Be Where You Are”

Andre Young, also known as Dr. Dre, is giving $35 million to USC for new program.

College can be a life-changing experience for a young person, especially when they have a program that fits their  passion.

Andre Young, also known as the hip-hop master producer Dr. Dre, has pledged $35 million of his own money in  a $70 million collaboration with producer and co-founder of Interscope records Jimmy Iovine to begin a program in his and Jimmy Iovine’s name at the University of Southern California.  The Jimmy Iovine and Andre Young Academy for Arts, Technology and the Business of Innovation will launch in the Fall of 2014 with 25 students, according to the Los Angeles Times.

But, Dr.  Dre’s contribution to the school has come under scrutiny because he has not pledged his money to a black school or historically black college and/or university where that kind of money would completely revive some institutions and make a complete transformation of others.  USC is around the corner and down the street from his humble beginnings in Compton, California, where he successfully launched himself into the Hip-Hop stratosphere through the rap group NWA.

Dre told the New York Times:

“I feel like this is the biggest, most exciting and probably the most important thing that I’ve done in my career.”

The program is a dream come true for anyone wanting to pursue a career in ANY area of production.  ”The four-year undergraduate program aims to foster entrepreneurship and bridge entertainment, engineering, computer science, fine arts, graphic design, business and leadership training.”

But now, something that he feels so passionate about is being tarnished by criticism of his donation to a school that as of Fall 2012, black students only made up five percent of its student body.  Walter Kimbrough is  one of the youngest college presidents in the country at Dillard University, and is often referred to as the “hip hop President.”

He stopped in his tracks when he saw that Dr. Dre was donating the largest contribution of any African American to any school in the country.  Not even Bill and Camille Cosby have given such a significant amount of money to one school.  So, why is it that Kimbrough finds it necessary to express his concern.

“USC is a great institution, no question. But it has a $3.5-billion endowment, the 21st largest in the nation and much more than every black college — combined. Less than 20% of USC’s student body qualifies for federal Pell Grants, given to students from low-income families, compared with two-thirds of those enrolled at black colleges. USC has also seen a steady decrease in black student enrollment, which is now below 5%.”

While those numbers all make sense, should we hold our feet to the fire on decisions like this one? Should we be obligated to connect with the HBCU’s whether we’re alumni of the schools or not?  Jimmy Iovine’s daughter is an alum of USC, so there’s a connection for him and he was their keynote speaker for this year’s graduation.  Kimbrough went on to say:

“I hope this groundbreaking gift inspires other celebrities and musical artists to make similar donations to higher education. And that they will consider doing it in a manner that will be truly transformative. This gift is gravy for USC; for a black college, it would transform not just individuals but whole institutions and communities.”

It is our hope that Dre will do his part to recruit black students for the program that is in an area near and dear to his heart.  We would love to hear what he has to say about his personal reasoning behind his donation.  But what’s ironic about Kimbrough’s statements is that he has never attended an HBCU himself.  While his editorial gives great insight into his criticism of Dre’s choice,  it’s ironic that he never chose to be educated at an HBCU. He received his bachelor’s, master’s and doctorate at University of Georgia, Miami University in Oxford, Ohio, and Georgia State University, respectively.  Go figure.

Read more here.

-J.C. Brooks

Jay Harris, aka Jay Datbull, loses full-ride scholarship to Michigan State University this fall for rap video posted on YouTube, May 14, 2013.

As tuition rises daily at our nation’s universities, parents everywhere are working diligently with their kids and praying for scholarships.  But, what if your child got a full ride to college and chose a rap career over the scholarship? (Lady, put your belt down and keep reading!)

Jay Harris also known as Jay DatBull played football for Downingtown High School East in Exton, Pennsylvania.  He was a phenomenal receiver for his high school and to his surprise,  received a full-ride to Michigan State University. He told everyone via a YouTube video how he was so happy to represent the Spartans, but then he made, what many may perceive as a foolish choice.  He posted a blunt smokin’, expletive laden, rap video called “Datbull 4 Life”about some bull that cost him the golden ticket to MSU.

Jay Datbull said that he would be working with a producer, M. Stacks, this summer, but Stacks manager denies the claims.

Once the university got a gander of what they were accepting into their football program and student body, they immediately rescinded their offer and wished him luck.  Now his parents may be upset, but he isn’t.  According to the Huffington Post, Harris was scared to tell his parents, but he would much rather pursue a rap career than go to MSU.  He told the Inquirer that a producer, M.Stacks, would be working with him over the summer, but Stacks’ manager said there could be nothing further from the truth.

Read more here.  Check out Jay DatBull’s video that lost him a scholarship to attend MSU this fall and tell us if it was worth it.

-J.C. Brooks

During American Idol, Fox has shown commercials for the new “Beats Pill” featuring Nicki Minaj and comedian DeRay.  It’s a cute commercial that focuses on the Beats Pill’s sound capability by morphing it into Nicki’s loud mouth girlfriend.

But Radio Shack has a different ad for the newest addition to the Beats by Dr. Dre family.  Radio Shack is attempting to bring sexy back to its brand, and by that we mean revive the brand by attracting to a younger crowd that have no nostalgic ties to the store.  In their ad, Robin Thicke is getting his sexy on with a group of scantily clad ladies with a Beats Pill between them all …even on a hot dog bun?

The commercial features the hot track by Robin Thicke called “Blurred Lines” featuring T.I. and Pharrell.  As they groove to the song, they keep passing around the Beats Pill that at one point ends up on a hot dog bun.  From that point on, you can’t see the Pill as anything but a hot dog or other phallic-shaped item.

Check it out! Does it make you wanna run to your nearest Radio Shack?

-J.C. Brooks

“Tanning Mom” Patricia Krentcil hits the booth with new single available on iTunes today!

If you thought the woman popularly known as the tanning mom was ridiculous for being in denial of her tanning regiment, taking her daughter to a tanning salon, and the fried skin she thought was so attractive, you have a new item to add to your list.

Patricia Krentcil is now launching a rap career.  Now, it’s not a certainty if she is going on tour anytime soon, but she will be launching her new single on iTunes today.  She starts her chart stopper with ”It’s Tan Mom….. bitch!”  Not sure if that’s the title, but it goes downhill from there.

The single was written and co-produced by singer Adam Bartais, according to News.com.  Krentcil appears to be under the influence of something other than stupidity.  But, hey, we shouldn’t speak too fast. We’ve heard some pretty dumb songs that have sold well!  Naaah! We’re gonna go out on a limb and say THIS IS NOT GOING TO SELL!

Check out the report as she talks about her single and her new best friend Adam Bartais.  The tune is also below.

-J.C. Brooks