Artist Julius Dubose, known professionally as A Boogie Wit Da Hoodie, is an American rapper/singer/songwriter from New York City. Dubose began rapping at age twelve after hearing Kanye West and 50 Cent. Dubose released the single “Temporary” at age nineteen. On June 13, 2017, Dubose was named one of XXL magazine’s ten “2017 Freshmen Class.” On September 29, 2017, Dubose released his debut album, “The Bigger Artist.” He released “Hoodie SZN” in 2018.
Eric Bellinger Jr. is an American singer/songwriter/producer from Los Angeles, CA. He began his career as a member of the R&B group AKUN. The group as signed to Epic Records and in 2010 Bellinger was invited to work with the songwriting collective The Writing Camp. Bellinger wrote for Selena Gomez And The Scene, Jacob Latimore and Big Time Rush. In 2012, he contributed the track “Death Penalty” to rapper The Game’s mixtape “California Republic.” Bellinger also contributed several songs to The Game’s album “The Documentary 2”, for which he received recognition and a publishing deal with Sony ATV. However, problems with the deal lead Bellinger to leave and sign a deal with publisher BMI. In 2013, Bellinger released the three part mixtape series “Born To Sing Vol. 1”, “Born To Sing Vol. 2” and “Born To Sing Vol. 3.” On May 17, 2014, Bellinger released his debut full length studio album “The Rebirth.” He has also released the albums “Cuffing Season” (2015), “Cuffing Season 2” (2015) and “Eazy Call” (2018).
Ariana Grande pulls at the heartstrings on her new single “Imagine.” On the track, produced by Pop Wansel and Happy Perez, the pop superstar delivers intoxicating vocals about a day with her significant other, which includes eating pad thai and sleeping until noon. “Imagine” follows Grande’s smash single “Thank You, Next”, which currently sits at the top of the Billboard Hot 100. She’s also preparing the album “Thank You, Next”, the follow up to “Sweetner.” Grande has certainly added her name to the conversation regarding R&B. In the wake of the national debate regarding who the King of R&B is, Eric Bellinger releases the single titled simply, “King.” On the hard-hitting mid-tempo number, Bellinger explains why he believes his name should be added to the conversation. Bellinger recently took to Instagram to respond to the rhetoric about who is the king of R&B. Music fans weighed in as Jaquees, Tank, J Holiday, Diddy, A1 Bentley and others shared their thoughts. Following the singles “You Give”, “Link Up” and “You Got It”, independent R&B singer Coline Creuzot returns to the spotlight with the music video “Dead End.” In the clip, Coline and her band set up shop on a rooftop; backed by a blue Los Angeles skyline and surrounding buildings, she delivers powerful vocals. “Dead End” was written by Coline and Troy “RBdio” Johnson. Pop/R&B icon Janet Jackson is among the artists who will be inducted into the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame next year. The prestigious selection will see Jackson join her brothers Michael, Marlon, Jackie, Tito and Jermaine, who were inducted in 1997 as The Jackson 5. Michael Jackson was inducted as a solo artist in 2001. Other inductees include Stevie Nicks, who was inducted as a member of Fleetwood Mac in 1998, The Radio head, Def Leppard, The Cure, Roxie Music and The Zombies. The ceremony will take place in March at The Barclays Center. It’s been a busy week for rapper Kodak Black. After making headlines after walking out on Ebro In The Morning and his Hot 97 interview, he releases his latest studio effort, “Dying To Live.” The project features special guest appearances by Travis Scott and Offset, who appear on the single “ZeZe.” Fellow Florida native Lil Pumps appears on “Gnarly.” He also teams up with Juice WRLD on “Moshpit.” “Dying To Live” is solid from start to finish.
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Richard Martin Lloyd Walters, known professionally as Slick Rick, is a British-American rapper. He began his career as a member of the rap group the Kangol Crew, performing at school contests, parks and local clubs. In 1984, he met fellow rapper Doug E. Fresh at a talent showcase. Impressed by Walters’ talent, Doug made him a member of the Get Fresh Crew, along with DJs Chill Will and Barry Bee. In 1985, Walters was featured on the single “The Show”, and it’s even more popular B side “La Di Da Di”, which featured Walters rapping over Doug’s beatbox. In 1986, Walters signed with Russell Simmons’ Rush Artist Management and became the third artist signed to Def Jam Records. Collaborating with friend DJ Vince Wright, Walters produced his debut solo album, “The Great Adventures Of Slick Rick”, which was released in 1988. The album included the singles “Teenage Love”, “Children’s Story” and “Hey Young World.” “The Great Adventures Of Slick Rick” is considered a hip hop classic. Style wise, Walters is known for his storytelling ability. He has released the albums “The Ruler’s Back” (1991), “Behind Bars” (1994) and “The Art Of Storytelling” (1999).
The Fatback Band, known later as simply Fatback, is an American funk/R&B band from New York City that rose to prominence during the 1970s and 1980s. The band was formed in 1970 by session drummer Bill Curtis, who was inspired to merge the fatback jazz of New Orleans into a funk band. In addition to Curtis, the group’s initial lineup included Johnny King (guitar), Johnny Flippin (bass), George Williams (trumpet), Earl Shelton (saxophone), George Adams (flute) and Gerry Thomas (keyboards). The band specialized in playing street funk. The group also later included Wayne Woolford (congas), vocalists Jayne, Gerry and Deborah Cooper, Fred Demerey (saxophone) and Louis Wright and George Victory (guitar). The Fatback Band signed with Perception Records and had a hit with “Street Dance”, which reached the Top 30 on the Billboard R&B chart, but failed to cross over to the pop chart, a pattern the group would follow for the rest of their career. The band released the albums “Let’s Do It Again”, “People Music” and “Feel My Soul” before signing to Event Records in 1974. In the mid-1970’s, the band incorporated jazz elements and moved toward a disco sound resulting in the singles, “Keep On Stepping”, “Yum, Yum (Give Me Some)” and “(Are You Ready) To Do The Bus Stop”. The band later signed with Spring/Polydor Records and released the singles “Party Time”, “The Booty” and “Double Dutch.” In 1977, the band changed its name to Fatback and had a Top Ten single with “I Like Girls.” The song “King Tim (Personality Jock)” is considered the first commercially released rap single. In 1980, Fatback had their biggest hits with “Gotta Get My Hands On Some (Money)” and “Backstroking.” They also charted with “Take It Any Way You Want It”, “I Found Loving” and “Spread Love.” They released the albums “Let’s Do It Again” (1972), “People Music” (1973), “Feel My Soul” (1974), “Keep On Stepping” (1974), “Yum Yum” (1975), “Raising Hell” (1975), “Night Fever” (1976), “NYCNYUSA” (1977), “Man With The Band” (1977), “Fired Up ‘N’ Kickin” (1978), “Brite Lites Big City” (1979) and “Fatback XII” (1979).
Jacques Berman Webster, known professionally as Travis Scott, is an American rapper/singer/songwriter/producer. He began his career as a member of the rap duo The Graduates. In 2008, The Graduates released their debut self titled EP via the social media cite MySpace. The following year, he and OG Chess formed the group The Classmates. The Classmates released two projects, “Buddy Rich” and “Cruising USA.” The group disbanded in 2012 following personal and financial disputes. Scott’s first solo project was the mixtape “Owl Pharaoh.” He has released the full length albums “Rodeo” (2015), “Birds In The Trap Sing McKnight” (2016), “Astroworld” (2018).
Singer/songwriter/actor Usher and producer Zaytoven released their collaborative album “A” last month to celebrate Usher’s 40th birthday. “Peace Sign” is an uplifting track fans will enjoy.
