Neo-Soul diva Jill Scott is preparing for the release of her new studio album this year. The record, entitled ‘The Light Of The Sun’, serves as the 4th installment of her critically acclaimed ‘Words And Sounds’ series. It is scheduled to be released in late August or early September.

One of the highlights of my summer was seeing Jill Scott perform live when she came to Detroit, MI so to say that I’m excited about this album is an understatement. The above photo is rumored to be her new album artwork but nothing has been confirmed. In the meantime check out her website and enjoy this Trailer promoting her new album.

The female vocal group is now as close to extinction as any beautiful rare bird.  Killed off by commercial demand and video vixens, for me, and my girlfriends, they will live on forever in our, “Girl do you remember…” conversations. It is their voices that made us proud to be young black women coming of age in the 1990s and this is what they meant to us…

Salt-N-Pepa= Swagger. Do you remember where you were the first time you hummed along to “Shoop?”  I was in 7^th grade and I spent long afternoons praying that someone would order the video on The Box.

The lyrics dripped with confidence mixed with just the right amount of sex appeal and a dash of cocky, giving birth to the idea of the female mack.  Shoop was the epitome of “go for yours girl, because I’m surely going for mine.” These ladies made respect a requirement, not an option.

En Vogue= Sophistication. Who didn’t want to be Dawn, Terry, Cindy, and Maxine all at the same time?  I practiced “Hold On” on a daily basis in my bathroom mirror in preparation for my sold out concerts on the playground during the summer of 1990.  I wanted to emulate everything that I perceived En Vogue to be, beautiful women with extraordinary vocal talent.

Their words reflected self-esteem, self-worth, independence, and empowerment, all wrapped up in four lovely packages. True, I was only 8 years old and I couldn’t conceive the weight of the lyrics of “Hold On” until adulthood, even today, there still hasn’t been a group that’s had the same impact as En Vogue.

TLC= Sass. Crazy….Sexy…Cool…put ‘em all together and what did you get …T-Boz, Left-Eye, and Chilli. These sistas combined their individual talents to inspire girls all over the world to embrace their uniqueness and dare to be different. T.L.C. was unconventional in a funky and classy way.

While I love everything that T.L.C. has ever given life to, “Baby-Baby-Baby” will always be my number one. Talk about making somebody love you on your terms. You’d have to be dumb, deaf, and blind to miss the meaning of…

“Cause a girl like me, Won’t stand for less, I require plenty conversation with my sex…” enough said.

S.W.V= Soul. No talent show of the early 1990s was complete without at least two groups of girls performing one of S.W.V.’s songs, and it may have even been the same song. Sister’s With Voices stepped up the female vocal group game when they introduced emotion into the equation.  To this day, I cannot sing “Weak” without closing my eyes and losing myself in the words of the song. We may not have understood what true love was, but baby we knew what it was supposed to feel like.

Destiny’s Child= Style. Before there was “The Beyonce”, there were four beautiful girls that sure could “sang” and looked good doing it.  “No, no, no” was innocent and playfully flirty. Say what you want with your mouth boy, but your eyes are really telling the truth. Destiny’s Child (the first edition) was stylish without being tacky, seductive without being raunchy, and youthful with just the right amount of maturity. The last great female group of the 90s, Destiny’s Child will always be my very own dream girls.

And the tombstone reads, “R.I.P. Female Vocal Groups: Gone But Not Forgotten.”

Enjoy!!

What do you think of her performance?

Artist: Christina Aguilera

Album: Bionic

Release Date: June 8th

With 30 million albums sold worldwide and the prestigious honor of being the only artist under the age of 30 included in Rolling Stone Magazine’s list of the 100 greatest singers of all time, 5 time Grammy Award winner Christina Aguilera has already achieved an unprecedented level of success. Aguilera’s been hard at work in the studio for the past year and is pleased to announce the released of her highly anticipated 4th studio album Bionic (RCA Records) on June 8th, 2010. The first single from Bionic is the fiercely energetic anthem “Not Myself Tonight”, produced by Polow Da Don.

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Artist: Sheryl Crow

Album: 100 Miles from Memphis

Release Date: July 20th

For Sheryl Crow, the title of her seventh album isn’t just a location; it’s a state of mind. “I grew up in a small town 100 miles from Memphis, and that informed not only my musical taste, but how I look at life,” she says. “The drive to Memphis is all farmland, and everyone is community-oriented, God-fearing people, connected to the earth. The music that came out of that part of the world is a part of who I am, and it’s the biggest inspiration for what I do and why I do it.”

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Artist: Brittney Wright

Album: The Beginning

Release Date: August 24th

Thrilling audiences since her first church solo at the age of three, Brittney continues today through her soulful lyrics and captivating contralto. A native of Cleveland, OH, she attended Cleveland School for the Arts perfecting her craft as a trained soloist in several disciplines; then relocated to Baltimore to pursue a degree in music at Morgan State University. Brittney has shared the stage with Fred Hammond, Kelly Price and even Burt Bacharach and Wynton Marsalis! After adding songwriting and vocal arranging to her extensive resume´ the depth of her talent shines on her debut release!

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Artist: Fantasia

Album: Back To Me

Release Date: August 24th

At the age of 19, Fantasia Barrino won the third series of American Idol, and became the first ever artist to top the US Hot 100 chart with a debut single. “I Believe” stayed at the top for 11 weeks, firmly establishing Fantasia as a new force in pop music. Back to Me is the third studio album by American singer Fantasia Barrino, released by J Records on August 24, 2010 . Back to Me is her first studio album in four years since 2006′s Fantasia.

Amber Riley will then perform the “Star Spangled Banner”  prior to the All-Star Game.

Unlike the World Series game last fall where she was joined by her “Glee” castmates, this time she’ll be going solo.

The pre-game will also feature celebs like Charlize Theron, Ben Affleck, Matthew McConaughey, Harrison Ford, Sheryl Crow, Salma Hayek and Julia Roberts. They’ll be part of a video recognzing people honored by MLB for their community service.

TV personality Nene Leakes stepped behind the bar to serve up a couple of drinks to patrons as well.

Photo Credit:
Frank Micelotta Photos
Belve Music Lounge

Visit Maiysha.com for more information.

This subway tuned singer brought the audience to its feet with her rendition of Etta James’ At Last. Even host Nick Cannon was inclined to encourage her while she was on stage. A grateful Ridley was praised by the judges. 

Judge Sharon Osbourne was in awe and Howie Mandel commented on how amazing her voice was. Piers Morgan concluded: “In terms of raw talent, the best audition of the day.” And, we suspect, the one everybody’s going to be talking about tomorrow.

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On June 21st, The Sellout, her first album in three years will be released by Concord Records in the U.S., Island Records in the U.K. and Universal Music Group, internationally.

Featuring 12 news songs, my favorite song is title track Sellout, because it sets the tone for the entire album. After listening to this album it’s evident that Macy set out to be herself, Period. Whether she was emancipating herself from a relationship or empowering herself, the message of self preservation is clear throughout the entire album.

Macy gives listeners the perfect blend of fun and funky with songs you can Rock out to like Kiss It to the inspirational Beauty in the World. As the lead single, Beauty in the World explores and admires the many unique and lovely things that the world has to offer. Another standout song is the retro influenced That Man. Bobby Brown fans get a real treat as he joins Macy on the racy yet simpistic ballad Real Love. Other collaborations include The Bodyrockers’ Kaz James and Slash, Duff McKagan and Matt Sorum formerly of Guns N’ Roses and Velvet Revolver.

In a recent article on Huffington Post Macy questioned the place of a 40 year old woman in a music industry that underestimates the souls of youngsters. She goes on to say, “there are over 40 million women, in the United States alone, in their 30s, 40s and beyond, that are starving to be musically inspired and lyrically represented.”

As a plus size woman and one of those 30+ year old women she speaks of, listening to the Sellout was not only a refreshing break from the norm but addressed issues that I could relate to.