Filed under: News
September 18, 2008 • 1:04 pm 0
Motown songwriter Whitfield dies
Norman Whitfield, a Motown songwriter and producer of hits including Marvin Gaye’s “Heard It Through The Grapevine“, has died this week.
Working at Motown in the ’60s and ’70s, Whitfield often co-wrote with Barrett Strong and the pair enjoyed recognition in the form of a Grammy in 1972 for “Papa Was A Rolling Stone” (The Temptations), and Whitfield collected another Grammy in 1976 for the theme tune to Car Wash (Rose Royce). The songwriting pair were inducted into the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame in 2002.
Whitfield was the chief producer for The Temptations for almost a decade, his work going into all their chat hits. He also produced Edwin Starr’s number one hit “War“, many songs for Gladys Knight and The Pips, and he was hailed by Smokey Robinson as “one of the most prolific songwriters and record producers of our time”.
[Source: BBC News]
Filed under: News , died, Heard It Through The Grapevine, Marvin Gaye, Motown, Norman Whitfield, producer, songwriter
September 15, 2008 • 1:04 pm 0
MOBO Nominations 2008
The 13th annual MOBO Awards will take place at Wembley Arena in London on Wednesday 15th October. Spice Girl Mel B will co-host the awards alongside Rev Run, founding member of iconic hip hop outfit Run DMC.
And the nominees are…
Best UK Female Best UK Male
Adele Dizzee Rascal
Duffy Jay Sean
Estelle Sway
Leona Lewis Taio Cruz
M.I.A. Wiley
Best UK Newcomer Best International Act
Bryn Christopher Akon
Chipmunk Alicia Keys
DJ Ironik Chris Brown
Skepta Jay Z
T2 Kanye West
Mariah Carey
Mary J Blige
Ne-Yo
Rihanna
Usher
Best Reggae Best Jazz
Beenie Man Courtney Pine
Busy Signal GuyBarker
Etana Lizz Wright
Mavado Tony Kofi
Tarrus Riley Yolanda Brown
Best Gospel Best African Act
Ekklesia 9ice
GreenJade Asa
Jahaziel D’Banj Mo Hits Allstars
Kirk Franklin Faze
Tye Tribbett Hip Hop Pantsula
Jozi
Jua Cali
Magic System
P-Square
Wahu
Best Song Best R&B / Soul
‘American Boy’ – Estelle Chris Brown
‘Dance Wiv Me’ – Dizzee Rascal Estelle
‘Lollipop’ – Lil ‘ Wayne Jay Sean
‘Low’ – Flo Rida Ne-Yo
‘Wearing My Rolex’ – Wiley Usher
Best Hip Hop
Dizzee Rascal
Jay-Z
Lil’ Wayne
Lupe Fiasco
Wiley
Best Video in association with MTV Base
‘Kidulthood to Adulthood’ – Bashy
“American Boy’ – Estelle
‘Bleeding Love’ – Leona Lewis
‘Stryderman’ – Tinchy Stryder
‘Heartbreaker – Will.i.am
Best Album
‘As I Am’ – Alicia Keys
‘Shine’ – Estelle
‘Spirit’ – Leona Lewis
‘The Carter III’ – Lil’ Wayne
‘Here I Stand’ – Usher
Best Radio DJ in association with Sony Ericsson
DJ 279
Ace and Invisible
Masterstepz
Rampage
Robbo Ranx
Semtex
Shortee Blitz
Steve Sutherland
Tim Westwood
Trevor Nelson
The UK public can vote for their favourite nominees on the MOBO website to decide the ultimate winners: www.mobo.com
Filed under: Events, News , London, Mel B, MOBO Awards 2008, Nominations, Rev Run, Wembley Arena
September 5, 2008 • 11:31 am 0
No Vibe for white artists?
Robin Thicke recently criticised Vibe magazine for not putting him on their cover due to the colour of his skin.
“When I did a recent interview with Vibe Magazine I asked, ‘Why can’t I get the cover? This is a magazine I love. If there’s one magazine that I’d want to be on the cover of, it’s Vibe,” Thicke told Billboard. “Their response was they don’t have white artists on the cover; that the only white artist they’ve had on the cover was Eminem.”
Speaking to SoulCulture.co.uk in 2007, Robin said “[Being white] always is affecting my career. I mean the world is racist and the world is stereotyped, and you know everybody has a tendency to go with what they see rather than what they feel and I’ll forever be seen as the ‘soulful white guy’ and I don’t mind that, just as Ray Charles will forever be seen as the soulful black blind guy. We all have our labels depending on who we are visually, but when I listen to Ray Charles’ CD I don’t see anything except what I feel from his music, and that’s what I’d like people to do – is open their hearts, and just be touched by the music. But you gotta make great music for that to happen, for you to be able to break down visual barriers.”
Danyel Smith, Vibe’s Editor-In-Chief, released a statement regarding Robin Thicke and his comments on the magazine:
“We have a great deal of respect for Robin Thicke and his music, and we remain flattered by his desire to be on a Vibe cover,” Smith explained in her statement. “A Vibe cover is a huge milestone in any artist’s career — recent cover stars include Young Jeezy, Mariah Carey, 50 Cent, Usher, Senator Barack Obama, Eminem, Lil Wayne, and Robert De Niro, to say nothing of our 15-year history. We wish Thicke the best, and we’re glad he discusses his thoughts on race and R&B in the new October 2008 issue of Vibe.”
Robin Thicke’s interview will appear in Vibe’s October issue with Ciara on the cover.
Source: HipHopDX
Filed under: News , cover dispute, Danyel Smith, Robin Thicke, skin colour, Vibe magazine
