Alicia Keys, Jay-Z won't do World Cup song

Mo 'York'? That's the word today from Jay-Z and Alicia Keys' camp, who were supposed to collab again to record an anthem for the World Cup.
The duo, who garnered immediate success with "Empire State of Mind," and gained an immediate groupie by the named of Lil Mama, couldn't put lightning in a bottle a second time. According to Keys, the pair didn't feel comfortable enough with the sport, with Keys indicating her unfamiliarity would hurt the music. "If we did a record about soccer it would be obvious we didn't know much more about the sport than who David Beckham is,” said Keys, who dropped "Empire State of Mind 2" on her album "The Element of Freedom".
Of course, that hasn't stopped music executives in the past from cashing in or trends, and it obviously hasn't stopped fans from buying songs by artists who they don't understand (Yeah, Souljaboy, YOU tellem).
While it's questionable as to whether the two would be able to produce a track with the same passion and truthfulness that "Empire" had, it's no question that Lil Wayne, if he were free, would have not only jumped at the chance, but put a few rhymes together in, say, the time it takes red syrup to be poured into Styrofoam.
Don't worry, A. Keys, and Jay, "Empire" is aging just fine, thank you.


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Tameka Foster: Don't blame me for last album

Recent Raymond divorcee' Tameka Foster says don't pin Usher's last album, "Here I Stand," on her. The followup to the 2004 smash "Confessions," didn't hold up well with Usher adapting the music and lyrics to a married lifestyle.
Foster says don't blame her. “People say it’s my fault he made all those songs,” she told the New York Times recently.
Foster, who's had to defend herself in different ways since the breakup became public, says the problem is with Usher's fans, who haven't grown with the singer.
“It was saddening,' she says. "For a man to find a mate and profess their love publicly, and then for fans to be mad at him just shows the immaturity in so many of them.”
Does she have a point? Usher has been taking his shirt off on stage and on videos since he was 14. When the sex appeal ran into a brick-wall-realization that he wasn't the same person, fans deserted him. But "Here I Stand" wasn't a disaster by any means.
The single "Love in This Club" proved popular to younger fans, and Usher actually sold 443,000 copies in the first week. But "Confessions" sold 10 milli.
Now, Usher hopes "Raymond v. Raymond" returns him to the raw, scandalized, bedroom secret success of "Confessions."
Foster probably wanted him to cater to older fans ala Brian McKnight, or Joe, but Usher's DNA screams otherwise. Since he just got a divorce, so will his wallet.


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Keri Hilson acoustic version of "Knock You Down"

Miss Keri "Babay" knocks it down with this acoustic version of "Knock You Down," from Billboard.





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Introducing ... the Carolina Chocolate Drops

You'll have to excuse the 'coon' imagery and thick Mississippi Burning-like sensitivity around this this project, for the Carolina Chocolate Drops are not an R-n-B band; nor are they a funk band. Nada on the rock band either.
They are a black jug band, and the only modern day African-American one, too.
Has this been done before? Sure it has -- it's not a comeback by any means -- but, just like all of the great traditions, black folk music, especially in the backwoods, is dying fast.
See, where they're from, parts yonder of the Appalachian foothills, folk music is the equivalent of crunk to Atlanta. It's like Bounce Music to New Orleans.
So, instead of an electric guitar, or even a beat machine. The Drops have a fierce banjo player.
They play to nearly all-white audiences, despite getting major exposure albeit quickly in the Denzel Washington-directed movie "The Great Debaters."
The Carolina Chocolate Drops are Dom Flemon, Rhiannon Giddens and Justin Robinson.
And they will rock you.
Don't call it a cotton-pickin' comeback.

Bebel Gilberto: Bossa Nova Lova

With the recent successful comeback of Sade Abu, I'm reminded of another calm-voiced starlet that has simmered just below superstardom in the States but is part of a musical legacy in Brazil and parts of South American: Bebel Gilberto.
One part Sade, the other part Sheila E., (no Bebel doesn't play drums) Gilberto learned the music business from her father, João Gilberto, who basically created bossa nova. Bebel's mother is an accomplished musician as well, having sung all over the world. But don't get it twisted, Bebel is American, born in New York City and even has the distinction of performing at Carnegie Hall at age 9.
She's got a crisp lineup of beautiful albums, adding to her catalog of laid-back music. My fave, released a few years back, is Tanto Tempo. Oh, yeah, it's in Portuguese.

Nneka: Reppin' Africa

In the sea of new music that is on the horizon this winter/spring (Sade, Erykah Badu, Nicki Minaj are all skedded to drop) comes the Afro-beat/hip-hop/soulfulness of Nneka.
Since Lauren Hill is still AWOL we've had a few activist-musicians step into the void, Nigerian-German singer-songwriter Nneka is the freshest face. Her music -- to American ears -- offers a world perspective (with a lens focused on the Niger Delta) on the pillages of the rich class and corruption so familiar to the USA.
Not since a singer named Marley have we had such an innocent, wrenching voice proclaim the injustices of people of color. It is a welcome respite from the barbiefication that is currently enveloping the U.S. music scene.
On the music scene since 2003, Nneka finally got some shine with 2008's "No Longer at Ease," which made some noise in Europe. Now, she's back with "Concrete Jungle," worldwind mix of boom bap, keyboards and conga drums.
While more folksy than Badu but more political than say, a Tracy Chapman, Nneka's album is full of heart, or should I say Heartbeat.
If you want "bling bling" or "get money," then go elsewhere. If you want the truth, then you want Nneka.

Jahcoozi: Music that's Cooz like that

Straight outta Berlin, the anything-goes trio made up of Sri-Lankan/British MC Sasha Perera, Robot Koch and Israeli born Oren Gerlitz are rocking the music world with their blend of hip-hop, raggae and electronica. They are fun, brash and totally averse to what you hear on the radio. And while they're not new (the group has commercial releases dating back to 2003), their hit "Black Barbie" is what kinda pique interest across the pond, as they say. Their label quotes xlr8r magazine as saying "“despite underground tendencies, they manage to find pop songs buried in digital grit.” We kinda agree with that statement. Plus, Sasha is like the anti-Keri Hilson right now. Sasha gets her twitter on too, so don't be a stranger.

Introducing Nicole Willis and the Soul Investigators

At first glance you'd think this photo was obviously taken from the 1960s or 1970s, instead of 2007.
And that's just the point, musically.
U.S. music artists have been stuck in a rut lately; dulled and lulled by the T-painization and Lil-Wayneism of popular music, if you will.
Nicole Willis, who's "If This Aint Love" is on constant rotation in my ride, is from New York, and her band from points in Finland and beyond, the Soul Investigators just may be about to blow.
The band has been tearing up performances across Denmark, Spain, Portugal and France, to name a few, but the U.S. beckons.
It won't be a British re-invasion.
Willis and her troupe are content to stay across the pond, but when it comes to real instrumentation and earth vocals, the U.S. scene is in trouble.
And that may be a good thing.