Jean Grae may not have announced her return to hip hop music, but Jeanius, her latest studio effort produced by none other than 9th Wonder, is slated for a July 8th release. The different covers for the album, all of which previously paid homage to classic hip hop albums, has been paired down so as to not encourage infringement by bootleggers. Frothing at the mouth for more Jean after the debut of the sexy and conceptual video for "Love Thirst"? The new single "Don't Rush Me" from Jeanius is below. Savor this as well as the upcoming album. One of hip hop's most talented may have called it quits for good. Hopefully, Jean may be pulled out of retirement if her enough fans clamor for her return.
Chante Moore is prepping her return to the solo scene and looks absolutely fabu on the cover of her upcoming set, Love the Woman. The tasteful cover shows Chante looking grown and definitely sexy. As we previously reported, producers Raphael Saadiq, Warryn Campbell and George Duke have gone behind the boards to craft Moore's disc. (And, no there's no Polow Da Don to be found.) Peak Records will release Love the Woman on June 17, and it will find Chante taking a stab at jazz and also returning to her R&B roots after taking a slight detour to sing gospel with her husband, Kenny Lattimore.
Until we get our hands on the CD at SBHQ, we'll wait patiently and just thank the Lord that she's left her ghetto R. Kelly and Mr. Big days behind. Check the tracklist after the bounce.
Do you find yourself reciting the lyrics to "Ay Bay Bay" when no one is looking?
Or perhaps you think you'll lose your street cred amongst your neo-soul loving friends if you admit to knowing how to Crank Dat Soulja Boy?
If you answered yes to any of these questions, then I'd like to recommend a new album that may solve your problems and that you can play around the family without your grandmother or child asking you to explain the meaning of "skeet, skeet, skeet."
Hidden Beach is coming to the rescue and dropping another installment of their popular Unwrapped series on June 24. As in previous releases, the Hidden Beach All-Stars are performing smooth and funk jazz versions of popular hip-hop songs. But unlike previous installments, Unwrapped Vol. 5.0: The ColliPark Cafe Sessions has taken the majority of source material for this disc directly from the Dirty South. So now you'll be able to bounce to jazzy instrumentals of your favorite radio and club jams without your pastor giving you the side-eye.
Check out the sampler below to hear the jazzed up versions of "Get Low" by Lil' Jon & the Eastside Boyz, "Soul Survivor" by Young Jeezy, "Splash Waterfalls" by Ludacris, and "We Fly High" by Jim Jones. You can also download the sampler directly from the Hidden Beach website.
Unwrapped Vol. 5.0: The ColliPark Cafe Sessions Sampler
Synesthesia is a condition which describes one stimulation evoking a different sensation. The best example of this are those individuals who can taste colors or see sounds. N*E*R*D may be onto something since their forthcoming album Seeing Sounds describes this phenomenon. We've had a taste of two of the tracks from the album, but the jury's still out on whether it will be worthy of our time given the Lindsay Lohan cameos and cocaine talk. This cover, however, is a bit...umm...different? Is this their homage to King Kong? Or that Lebron James Vogue cover? (jokes!) We're not sure, but I hope this album as good as their first album, In Search Of...