Saturday, March 31, 2012

Name This Tune

I know money is the root of all evil
Do funny things to some people
Give me a nickel, brother can you spare a dime
Money can drive some people out of their minds

Got to have it, I really need it
How many things have I heard you say
Some people really need it
How many things have I heard you say
Got to have it, I really need it
How many things have I heard you say
Lay down, lay down, a woman will lay down

What Happened? Tevin Campbell

Tevin Campbell
Tevin Campbell, was born November 12, 1976 in Waxahachie Texas. Campbell began by singing gospel, first as a choir member, and then as a soloist at Jacob's Chapel in a small town just south of Dallas, Texas.

In 1988, a friend of Campbell's mother arranged for him to audition for jazz flutist Bobbie Humphrey by singing over the phone to her in New York. Humphrey took an interest in Campbell and submitted an audio and videotape to Warner Bros. This led to a meeting with Benny Medina, the Warner's senior vice president and general sales manager of black music.

Campbell was introduced to the R&B world by Quincy Jones in August 1989. Campbell's debut single was "Tomorrow (A Better You Better Me)" which reached number 1 on the Billboard Hot R&B/Hip hop Singles chart in June 1990. Tevin recorded a vocal version of a 1976 instrumental by The Brothers Johnson. It was the lead single from Jones' critically acclaimed ensemble LP Back on the Block which won the Grammy Award for Album of the Year in 1991. Campbell's first solo hit was "Round and Round", which charted at #3 on R&B charts in November 1990 and #13 on the Billboard Hot 100 in April 1991 was produced by Prince and was featured in Prince's film Graffiti Bridge. After his appearance in the 1990 film Graffiti Bridge, Campbell made a guest appearance the following year on The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, playing fictional teen idol, "Little T", a celebrity crush and date of Ashley's in the first season episode, "Just Infatuation". In a later episode, he was referenced when Will threatened to destroy Ashley's Tevin Campbell posters after she plays with Will's autographed baseball.

Campbell followed the success of his first two singles by releasing his debut album, T.E.V.I.N., in November 1991 which featured the R&B hit singles and Campbell's #1 R&B hit: "Tell Me What You Want Me To Do" followed by:, "Alone with You", and "Goodbye". The CD was nominated for a Grammy in the category best R&B male vocal performance in 1993
October 1993, Tevin follow the success of debut CD with a mature sophomore offering. “I’m Ready” yielded the US top ten pop and #1 R&B hit "Can We Talk" in December 1993; "I'm Ready", a US top ten and top five R&B hit and "Always in My Heart" which charted at the US Hot 100 top twenty and #3 on the R&B chart. He also scored a Top 30 R&B hit with a fourth single, "Don't Say Goodbye Girl. In September 1994, Campbell also scored an R&B hit with the single "U Will Know" as part of the R&B supergroup Black Men United. In 1995 he sang two songs featured in A Goofy Movie which were "Eye to Eye" and "Stand Out. Tevin would again be nominated for a Grammy for best R & B male vocal for the cut “Can We Talk” in 1994 and in 1995, he was nominated for best R & B male performance and R & B Album for “I’m Ready”.
In 1995, Campbell voiced the character Powerline in Disney's A Goofy Movie, singing the songs were "I2I" and "stand out". He also appeared singing "The Closer I Get to You" with Brandy on the September 28, 1995 "NY Undercover" episode called "Digital Underground.Com". The year 1996 saw the release of his third album, Back to the World (#11 R&B). The title track was a success (hitting the R&B Top 20), but additional singles failed to make an impact on the chart. His early 1999 self-titled album found Campbell venturing into the neo-soul venue. The project was rushed, and as a result charted below the R&B Top 30, with only a single charting, a Top 30 song called "Another Way.
In September 1999, Campbell was arrested after soliciting a lewd act from an undercover police officer during a sting operation in Van Nuys, California. The sting operation was reportedly conducted in an area where there had been numerous complaints from the public about cruising and solicitation. According to police reports, Campbell was also in possession of a small amount of marijuana at the time of his arrest.
Campbell pleaded no contest to the misdemeanor of solicitation, and as a result was ordered to pay $1080.50 in fines, attend meetings of Narcotics Anonymous and participate in a court-sanctioned AIDS awareness class. He returned to court in February 2000 to provide proof that he had completed the requirements of his sentence.
Campbell played the role of Seaweed J. Stubbs in the Broadway musical Hairspray. He joined the cast in December 2005. In 2009, Campbell made an appearance at the 2009 BET Awards as he paid tribute to The O'Jays with Trey Songz, Tyrese, and Johnny Gill.

In May 2010, Campbell performed on The Mo'Nique Show. He said that many people wanted him to work again on music and is thinking about a comeback. In November 2010, he was featured on the remake of a song by Quincy Jones called "Secret Garden". The remake features Usher, Robin Thicke, Tyrese Gibson, LL Cool J & Barry White. TVOne's hit show Life After will feature Campbell's life and career, as well as updates on his comeback. Air dates are scheduled for early 2012.
Campbell is currently reprising his role of Seaweed in the Broadway musical, Hairspray in the Melbourne & Sydney production in Australia

Friday, March 30, 2012

What Happened? Aaliyah

Aaliyah


Aaliyah Dana Haughton was born on January 16, 1979, in Brooklyn, New York. She was the second and younger child of Diane and Michael Haughton.  At a young age, Aaliyah was enrolled in voice lessons by her mother, and she would perform at weddings, church choir and charity events. When she was five years old, her family moved to Detroit, Michigan, where she was raised along with her older brother, Rashad. She attended a Catholic school, Gesu Elementary, where she received a part in the stage play Annie in first grade. From then on, she was determined to become an entertainer. Aaliyah's mother was a vocalist, and her uncle, Barry Hankerson, was an entertainment lawyer who had been married to Gladys Knight. As a child, Aaliyah traveled with Knight and worked with an agent in New York to audition for commercials and television programs, including Family Matters; she went on to appear on Star Search at the age of nine. She then auditioned for several record labels and appeared in concerts alongside Knight at age 11.
Barry Hankerson signed a distribution deal with Jive Records, he signed Aaliyah to his Blackground Records label at the age of 12. Hankerson later introduced her to recording artist and producer R. Kelly, who became Aaliyah's mentor, as well as lead songwriter and producer of the album, which was recorded when she was 14. Aaliyah's debut album, Age Ain't Nothing but a Number, was released under Jive and Blackground Records; the album debut at number 24 on the Billboard 200 chart, selling 74,000 copies in its first week. It ultimately peaked at number 18 on the Billboard 200 and sold over three million copies in the United States, where it was certified two times Platinum by the RIAA. Aaliyah's debut single, "Back & Forth", topped the Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart for three weeks and was certified Gold by the RIAA. The second single, a cover of The Isley Brothers' "At Your Best (You Are Love)", peaked at number six on the Billboard Hot 100 . The title track, "Age Ain't Nothing but a Number", peaked at number 75 on the Hot 100. Additionally, she released "The Thing I Like" as part of the soundtrack to the 1994 film A Low Down Dirty Shame.

“Age Ain't Nothing But a Number “received generally favorable reviews from music critics. Some writers noted that Aaliyah's "silky vocals" and "sultry voice" blended with Kelly's new jack swing helped define R&B in the 1990s. Her sound was also compared to that of female quartet En Vogue. Christopher John Farley of Time magazine described the album as a "beautifully restrained work", noting that Aaliyah's "girlish, breathy vocals rode calmly on R. Kelly's rough beats”.

With the release of “Age Ain't Nothing but a Number, rumors circulated that their work relationship was more than that. Shortly after, the release of "Age Ain't Nothing but a Number" there was speculation about a secret marriage between the two. Vibe magazine later revealed a marriage certificate that listed the couple married on August 31, 1994, in Sheraton Gateway Suites in Rosemont, Illinois. Aaliyah, who was 15 at the time, was listed as 18 on the certificate And Robert Kelly as 19; the illegal marriage was annulled in February 1995 in Detroit by her parents. The pair continued to deny a marriage ever existed. Recent allegations surrounding the marriage is the subject of the book “Behind The Man” a book written by a former road manager for R. Kelly. stating that not only either were they  married but R. Kelly impregnated Aaliyah .
In 1996, Aaliyah left Jive Records and signed with Atlantic Records. She worked with record producers Timbaland and Missy Elliott, who contributed to her second studio album, “One in a Million”, the album yielded the single "If Your Girl Only Knew", which topped the Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs for two weeks. It also generated the singles "Hot like Fire" and "4 Page Letter". The following year, Aaliyah was featured on Timbaland & Magoo's debut single, "Up Jumps da Boogie". “One in a Million “ peaked at number 18 on the Billboard 200, selling over 3.7 million copies in the United States.

Aaliyah attended the Detroit High School for the Performing Arts, where she majored in drama and graduated in 1997. Aaliyah began her acting career that same year; she played herself in the police drama television series New York Undercover. During this time, Aaliyah participated in the Children's Benefit Concert, a charity concert that took place at the Beacon Theatre in New York. Aaliyah also became the spokesperson for Tommy Hilfiger Corporation. She contributed on the soundtrack album for the Fox Animation Studios animated feature Anastasia, performing a cover version of "Journey to the Past" which earned songwriters Lynn Ahrens and Stephen Flaherty a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Original Song. Aaliyah performed the song at the 1998 Academy Awards ceremony and became the youngest singer to perform at the event. The song "Are You That Somebody?" was featured on the Dr. Dolittle soundtrack, which earned Aaliyah her first Grammy Award nomination. The song peaked at number 21 on the Hot 100.

Aaliyah landed her first major movie role in “Romeo Must Die”. Aaliyah starred opposite martial artist Jet Li, playing a couple who fall in love amid their warring families. It grossed US$18.6 million in its first weekend, ranking number two at the box office.  In addition to acting, Aaliyah served as an executive producer of the film soundtrack, where she contributed four songs. "Try Again" was released as a single from the soundtrack; the song topped the Billboard Hot 100, making Aaliyah the first artist to top the chart based solely on airplay; this led the song to be released in a 12" vinyl and 7" single. The music video won the Best Female Video and Best Video from a Film awards at the 2000 MTV Video Music Awards. It also earned her a Grammy Award nomination for Best Female R&B Vocalist. The soundtrack went on to sell 1.5 million copies in the United States. After completing “Romeo Must Die”, Aaliyah began to work on her second film, “Queen of the Damned”. She played the role of an ancient vampire, Queen Akasha, which she described as a "manipulative, crazy, sexual being”. She was scheduled to film for the sequels of “The Matrix” as the character Zee. She was in negotiations to play Sparkle in the movie of the same  title.

Her third and final studio album, Aaliyah, was released on July 17, 2001, under Blackground and Virgin Records. Preparation for the album started in 1998 but, with the filming of martial arts film Romeo Must Die (2000), Aaliyah postponed the recording of the album. Much of the album was completed in various studios throughout New York City prior to Aaliyah's trip to Australia for the filming of”Queen of the Damned” (2002). While recording process lasted more than a year, most of the tracks were completed by early 2000, when the production team and songwriters had secured recording time at New York Sound King Studios to work on the album together. In September 2000, Virgin Records flew the group out to Australia, where it spent a month recording the majority of the album at the Sing Sing Studio in Melbourne with Aaliyah. With three recording studios going simultaneously, producers J-Dub, Bud’da and Keybeats each worked in separate rooms. During the sessions, Garrett and co-writer Digital Black would move from studio to studio to check each producer's progress. At peak periods, they would work on 10 songs at the same time. With filming ending in Australia in December 2000, production of the album went into full-force in America and Europe.

The first single, "We Need a Resolution", featured Timbaland and was released in late April in the United States. The song reached number fifty nine on the Billboard Hot 100 chart in the issue dated June 9, 2001, and remained on the chart for sixteen weeks.  The music video was premiered on Much More Music, Black Entertainment Television's (BET) 106 & Park and MTV's TRL on April 26, 2001. "Rock the Boat", the second single, was released in early August. Aaliyah started promotion for the expected second single "More Than a Woman", but the single was pushed back to promote "Rock the Boat" the  summer single that gain recognition due to her untimely death. "Rock the Boat" was the second single in America while and the third single internationally. "I Care 4 U", the fifth single (US only), was released on Mother's Day 2002. It managed to reach number 16 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart and number three on Billboard's Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart.
Aaliyah entered the US Billboard 200 and the R&B/Hip-Hop Albums at number two, with 190,000 copies sold in the first week. Within 5 weeks of the album release it was certified Gold for sales. In the week of her death (seventh week) the album rose to number one on the Billboard 200 and two on the R&B/Hip-Hop Albums . It also became the third album from Aaliyah to receive the award of multi-platinum.  The album has sold more 2.95 million copies in the US. The album spent 188 weeks on the Billboard 200, making it one of the longest stays in the Billboard 200 albums chart up to that point. The album debuted at number two on the charts. In the week of her death the album rose from number 25 to number 1, with more than 888,000 copies sold.
August 25, 2001, at 6:45 pm (EST), Aaliyah and various members of the record company boarded a twin-engine Cessna 402B (registration N8097W) at the Marsh Harbour Airport in Abaco Islands, The Bahamas, to travel to the Opa-locka Airport in Florida, after they completed filming the music video for the single "Rock the Boat". They had a flight scheduled the following day, but with filming finishing early, Aaliyah and her entourage were eager to return to the United States and made the decision to leave immediately. The designated airplane was smaller than the Cessna 404 in which they had originally flown. When the aircraft attempted to depart, it was over its maximum takeoff weight by 700 pounds (320 kg) and was carrying one excess passenger, according to its certification. The plane crashed shortly after takeoff, about 200 feet (60 m) from the runway.  Aaliyah and the eight others on board, pilot Luis Morales III, hair stylist Eric Forman, Anthony Dodd, security guard Scott Gallin, video producer Douglas Kratz, stylist Christopher Maldonado, and Blackground Records employees Keith Wallace and Gina Smith, were all killed.

According to findings from an inquest, conducted by the coroner's office in The Bahamas, Aaliyah suffered from "severe burns and a blow to the head", in addition to severe shock and a weak heart. The coroner theorized that, even if Aaliyah had survived the crash, her recovery would have been virtually impossible given the severity of her injuries. The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) report stated that "the airplane was seen lifting off the runway, and then nose down, impacting in a marsh on the south side of the departure end of runway 27 and then exploding in flames.” It indicated that the pilot was not approved to pilot the plane he was attempting to fly. Morales falsely obtained his Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) license by showing hundreds of hours never flown, and he may also have falsified how many hours he had flown in order to get a job with his employer, Blackhawk International Airways. Additionally, an autopsy performed on Morales revealed traces of cocaine and alcohol in his system. The NTSB reported that the maximum allowed gross weight of the plane was "substantially exceeded" and that the center of gravity was positioned beyond its rear limit. John Frank of the Cessna Pilots Association stated that the plane was "definitely overloaded.
The day of the crash was Morales' first official day with Blackhawk International Airways, an FAA Part 135 single-pilot operation. Morales was not registered with the FAA to fly for Blackhawk. As a result of the accident, Aaliyah's parents filed a wrongful death lawsuit against the company, which was settled out of court for an undisclosed amount.  

What Happened? Bobby Brown

Bobby Brown

Bobby Brown was born in Boston as one of eight children to Herbert "Pops" and Carole Brown. Herbert was a construction worker and Carole was a schoolteacher. Brown and his family grew up in Roxbury's Orchard Park Projects. As a child, Brown got involved in petty theft including robbery later saying "I didn't wanna ask my mother or my father because they didn't have a lot of money", stating that whenever he saw something he wanted, "I'd just go to the store and take it."
New Edition originally started as a trio formed by nine-year-old Brown and best friend Michael Bivins. Under the name, The Bricks, the group included another close friend, Ricky Bell. In 1981, the group grew to include a fourth member, Ralph Tresvant. The quartet became a quintet when their manager Brooke Payne insisted on his younger cousin, Ronnie DeVoe, to complete the group. After performing in several talent shows in the Boston areas in 1982, they won a deal with Maurice Starr's label and released their debut album, Candy Girl. The title track became an instant million-seller in which Brown sung co-lead alongside Bell and Tresvant. Brown's first full lead vocal performance was on the New Edition ballad, "Jealous Girl", which was a minor hit when it charted in 1983.
The group became pop sensations with their self-titled sophomore release. The album included the crossover hits "Cool It Now" and "Mr. Telephone Man", which Brown also co-led.

Despite the group's success, however, Brown felt the group was never rightfully paid the money they felt they had earned from their success, later saying "the most I saw from all the tours and all of the records we sold was $500 and a VCR." Brown also allegedly grew jealous of the attention given to fellow New Edition member Ralph Tresvant and during some of their tour performances, would often step out of his position and perform out of turn, performing seductively and singing, which caused hiccups from the group's management team. Brown was featured on two more New Edition albums before leaving the group in early 1986. Brown later said he felt that the group's management treated them "like little slaves by people who were only interested in money and power, and not in the welfare of New Edition." A little controversy arose over how Brown got kicked out. Some say Brown asked to be let out of New Edition but a VH-1 Behind the Music documentary on the group claimed Brown was voted out by the group via their management team, with some of the members, most prominently Michael Bivins, against the decision.
Following his exit, Brown signed a contract with his former group's label, MCA, which had earlier promised Brown a solo deal if he had decided to leave New Edition and also signed with manager Steven Machat, who also worked with New Edition. The label released his debut album, King of Stage, in 1986. Brown had a number-one R&B hit with the ballad, "Girlfriend" but the album produce little else.
Brown laid low for more than a year working on his follow-up album. With the help of Machat and an MCA representative, Louil Silas, Brown began working with some of the top R&B producers and songwriters including Babyface, Antonio "L.A." Reid and Teddy Riley. The producers helped to compose what became Brown's most successful solo album to date, Don't Be Cruel. Released in 1988, the album launched five top ten hits on the Billboard Hot 100 including the number-one single, "My Prerogative", which became, along with "Every Little Step" and the title track, signature hits for the performer. Album sales eventually would reach eight million alone in the United States making it the best-selling album of 1989.

In 1989, Brown contributed two songs to the soundtrack of Ghostbusters II, in which he also appeared in a cameo role in the film. The leading track from the soundtrack, "On Our Own", became another top ten single for the singer, peaking at number two. The same year, a remix compilation, Dance! Ya Know It, was released and found fans in the United Kingdom, where Brown had a fan base and had major success. Brown ventured on a world tour to promote the Don't Be Cruel project in 1988. The tour became a success with Brown's former group New Edition sometimes opening for him. At the 1989 Soul Train Music Awards, Brown met his future wife, late singer Whitney Houston, following his well-received performance at the show. Critics would later say the show sparked a change in Houston, who was receiving backlash from recording crossover pop material and had been briefly jeered during the Soul Train telecast. It's also alleged that the relationship between Brown and Houston was concocted to make Houston have an edgier image. Brown and Houston clicked after Brown attended Houston's birthday party celebration in her New Jersey hometown. Brown and his girlfriend Kim Ward broke up following the birth of their first-born, daughter, LaPrincia Brown, The tour lasted into 1990 but not without Brown gaining notoriety for simulating sexual acts onstage, which got him in trouble with the law.in 1990 and shortly afterwards, Brown began courting Houston after she ended her relationship with comedian Eddie Murphy.
New Edition reunions Brown made his first reunited appearance with New Edition at the 1990 MTV Video Music Awards. Their performance later sparked the recording of Bell Biv DeVoe's "Word to the Mutha!" in which Brown, Ralph Tresvant and later NE member Johnny Gill was included.
Brown and Houston kept their relationship under wraps until late 1991, when Houston confirmed that she and Brown were involved. During a brief breakup, Brown returned to a relationship with Kim Ward and their reunion produced another child, Robert Barisford, Jr. However, as soon as they had reunited, Brown and Ward again broke up after Brown reunited with Houston in early 1992. That year, Brown proposed marriage to Houston, who accepted despite the fact that Bobby was having another woman's child. Around the time Bobby Jr. was born, Brown and Houston would marry on July 28, 1992 in front of several well-wishers at Houston's New Jersey residence.
Brown's next album, the Bobby album wouldn't come until 1992. While released during the final days of the new jack swing era, an era that Brown had dominated, the album did become a success, selling more than a million copies and spawning several hits including "Humpin' Around", "Get Away" and "Good Enough"
. However the sales of Bobby didn't match its predecessor. Some of that may have to do with Brown deciding not to continue his career as he was now married to his famous wife, Whitney Houston, who with Brown, contributed a UK hit with their duet, "Something in Common", from the Bobby album. on March 4, 1993, Brown and Houston welcomed the birth of their first and only child, daughter Bobbi Kristina Houston-Brown, nicknamed Krissy. Brown and Houston tried producing more children but Houston suffered several miscarriages. Brown would release his fourth solo album, Forever, 1996 arrest while in Florida, during a high-speed police chase, he crashed what was his wife's Mitshubishi, and would be later cited for resisting arrest after he yelled expletives at officers and allegedly performing public urination in the back of one of the squad cars.
New Edition released a full-fledged reunion occurred with the 1996 release of the album, Home Again. Brown contributed lead vocals on two hit singles, "Hit Me Off" and "You Don't Have to Worry". In 1996, Brown found himself involved in a drive-by shooting in Boston while with his brother-in-law. His brother-in-law died from gunshot wounds from intruders, Brown narrowly escaped being shot. When police found Brown, he appeared to have been shaken and distraught. However a subsequent 1997 tour to support the album led to problems between Brown and the other New Edition members. Brown later admitted that he was struggling with drug addiction and alcoholism during the tour.

Prior to its release, Brown had been in negotiations with rapper Tupac Shakur to get signed to Shakur's new label Makaveli Records. However, Shakur died before that would take place. Leaving MCA following the release of Forever, Brown laid low for several years, re-emerging in 2002 where he was featured in a duet with rapper Ja Rule on the song "Thug Lovin'". Brown had been signed to Murder Inc. Records. However much like the situation with 2Pac, Murder Inc. began dissolved, leading to Brown's tenure with them brief. In late 2003, Brown was arrested for misdemeanor battery, allegedly for striking Houston while shouting epithets. In February 2004, Brown was arrested and jailed in Georgia on a parole violation related to a previous drunk driving conviction. In June 2004, Brown was sentenced to 90 days in prison for missing three months of child support payments. That sentence was immediately suspended after Brown made back payments totaling about $15,000.
In 2005, at the BET 25th anniversary special, Brown again reunited with New Edition to a receptive audience. In 2005, Brown signed a deal with Bravo to overlook the direction of the reality series, “Being Bobby Brown”, but it was said that he had to convince producers that his then-wife Whitney Houston would appear on the show. The show lasted one season but received bad reviews in the duration of its run. It however became Bravo highest rated show leading to a fallout in both singers' careers. In 2006, Brown appeared adding vocals to Damian Marley's song "Beautiful" on Marley's album, Welcome to Jamrock.

Brown and Houston's marriage was tempered by rumors of Brown's infidelity and the couple's frequent drug use, which was often the subject of jokes at their expense especially on sketch shows, Saturday Night Live and, much frequently, MadTV, in which they were spoofed by actors Debra Wilson and Aries Spears. Spears' depiction of Brown was that of a jealous, verbally abusive, philandering cocaine-addicted drunk who bristled at his wife's more iconic popularity. Following fourteen years of marriage, Brown and Houston filed for legal separation in September 2006. Their divorce was finalized on April 24, 2007, with Houston receiving custody of their then-14-year-old daughter.


In June 2007, Brown took part in the ITV television series "24 hours with...", a chat show format as celebrity and interviewer spend an intense 24 hours locked in a room together. The show's host, Jamie Campbell, asked Brown questions about his career and private life, and infamously joked about making "sexual moves" towards the singer. Brown was furious and threatened to beat Campbell up live on air. Brown's later tenures in reality shows included appearances on Celebrity Fit Club and Gone Country.
Since 2007, Brown has been at work on a long-awaited fifth album titled The Masterpiece.  On May 30, 2009, Brown had son Cassius with his partner of two years, manager Alicia Etheridge. At the 2009 BET Awards, the six New Edition members again reunited to perform a medley of Jackson 5 hits in honor of Michael Jackson untimely death. Brown and Etheridge became engaged in May 2010, when Brown proposed during a performance at the Funk Fest in Jacksonville.

In 2010, Brown was featured in a duet with singer Macy Gray on the song "Real Love" off Gray's”The Sellout”.  Brown's parents Carole and Herbert Brown died within a year of each other, Carole Brown dying in 2011 and Herbert "Pops" Brown dying in January 2012. In 2011, he released the single, "Get Out the Way", which was supposed to have been the leading single for his forthcoming CD “Masterpiece”. As of 2012, the album has yet to be released. 
The sudden death of his ex-wife Whitney Houston on February 16,2012 Brown struggled to perform at a New Edition show the night of Houston's death, shouting, "I love you, Whitney", while in tears. Brown then excused himself from the stage and New Edition canceled their remaining show. Brown was invited to attend Houston's memorial service at New Jersey but left before the service began. He claim he was being disrespected.
On March 26, 2012 Brown was arrested for DUI after being pulled over for allegedly using a cell phone while driving.

information edited from wikepedia

Wednesday, March 28, 2012

What Happened? Marvin Gaye

Marvin Gaye

Marvin Gaye was born Marvin Pentz Gay, Jr on April 2, 1939 at Freedman's Hospital in Washington, D.C.. His father, Marvin Gay, Sr., was a minister at the House of God (the House of God headquarters is located in Lexington, Kentucky), which advocated strict conduct and taught and believed in both the Old and New Testament. His mother, Alberta Gay (née Cooper), was a domestic and schoolteacher. Gaye was the second eldest of four children.

Developing a love for music at an early age, Gaye began playing instruments, including piano and drums. Upon arriving to Cardozo High School, he discovered doo-wop and harder-edged rhythm and blues and began running away from home to attend R&B concerts and dance halls, defying his father's rules. Gaye joined several groups in the D.C. area, including the Dippers with his best friend, Johnny Stewart, brother of R&B singer Billy Stewart. He then joined the D.C. Tones, whose members included another close friend, Reese Palmer, and Sondra Lattisaw, mother of R&B singer Stacy Lattisaw. Gaye's relationship with his father led him to run away from home and join the United States Air Force in the hope of becoming an aviator. However, discovering his growing hatred for authority, he began defying orders and skipped practices. His sergeant stated that Gaye refused to follow orders. Upon returning to his hometown, Gaye worked as a dishwasher to make ends meet. He still dreamed of a show-business career, and rejoining Reese Palmer, the duo formed a four-member group called The Moonglows.



A 1959 The Moonglows hit "Mama Loochie", which was the first time Gaye sang lead on a record. The record was issued in late 1959 and became a hit in Detroit. Following a concert performance there, Gaye and other band members were arrested for small possession of marijuana. Afterwards, Fuqua decided to disband the group, keeping Gaye with him, as he favored him over the other members. In 1960, Harvey Fuqua had met Gwen Gordy and the couple embarked on both a personal and professional relationship. That year, the couple formed two record labels, the self-named Harvey Records, and Tri-Phi Records. Gaye was signed to the former label, whose other members included a young David Ruffin and Junior Walker. He provided drums for The Spinners' first hit, "That's What Girls Are Made For", which was released on Tri-Phi. Stories on how Gaye eventually met Berry Gordy and how he signed to Motown Records vary. One early story stated that Gordy discovered Gaye singing at a local bar in Detroit and that Gordy offered to sign Gaye on the spot. Gaye's recollection, and a story Gordy later reiterated, was that Gaye invited himself to Motown's annual Christmas party inside the label's Hitsville USA studios and played on the piano, singing "Mr. Sandman". Gordy saw Gaye from afar and, noting that Gaye was connected with Fuqua, began to make arrangements to absorb Fuqua's labels and bring all of the label's acts to Motown. Gordy said he immediately wanted to bring Gaye to Motown after seeing him perform, impressed by his vocals and piano playing. While working out negotiations, Fuqua would sell a 50 percent interest in Gaye to Gordy, as Gaye would find out later. After Gordy absorbed Anna and Harvey labels in March 1961, Gaye was assigned to Motown's Tamla division.
Developing a love for music at an early age, Gaye began playing instruments, including piano and drums. Upon arriving to Cardozo High School, he discovered doo-wop and harder-edged rhythm and blues and began running away from home to attend R&B concerts and dance halls, defying his father's rules. Gaye joined several groups in the D.C. area, including the Dippers with his best friend, Johnny Stewart, brother of R&B singer Billy Stewart. He then joined the D.C. Tones, whose members included another close friend, Reese Palmer, and Sondra Lattisaw, mother of R&B singer Stacy Lattisaw. Gaye's relationship with his father led him to run away from home and join the United States Air Force in the hope of becoming an aviator. However, discovering his growing hatred for authority, he began defying orders and skipped practices. His sergeant stated that Gaye refused to follow orders. Upon returning to his hometown, Gaye worked as a dishwasher to make ends meet. He still dreamed of a show-business career, and rejoining Reese Palmer, the duo formed a four-member group called The Moonglows.

A 1959 The Moonglows hit "Mama Loochie", which was the first time Gaye sang lead on a record. The record was issued in late 1959 and became a hit in Detroit. Following a concert performance there, Gaye and other band members were arrested for small possession of marijuana. Afterwards, Fuqua decided to disband the group, keeping Gaye with him, as he favored him over the other members. In 1960, Harvey Fuqua had met Gwen Gordy and the couple embarked on both a personal and professional relationship. That year, the couple formed two record labels, the self-named Harvey Records, and Tri-Phi Records. Gaye was signed to the former label, whose other members included a young David Ruffin and Junior Walker. He provided drums for The Spinners' first hit, "That's What Girls Are Made For", which was released on Tri-Phi. Stories on how Gaye eventually met Berry Gordy and how he signed to Motown Records vary. One early story stated that Gordy discovered Gaye singing at a local bar in Detroit and that Gordy offered to sign Gaye on the spot. Gaye's recollection, and a story Gordy later reiterated, was that Gaye invited himself to Motown's annual Christmas party inside the label's Hitsville USA studios and played on the piano, singing "Mr. Sandman". Gordy saw Gaye from afar and, noting that Gaye was connected with Fuqua, began to make arrangements to absorb Fuqua's labels and bring all of the label's acts to Motown. Gordy said he immediately wanted to bring Gaye to Motown after seeing him perform, impressed by his vocals and piano playing. While working out negotiations, Fuqua would sell a 50 percent interest in Gaye to Gordy, as Gaye would find out later. After Gordy absorbed Anna and Harvey labels in March 1961, Gaye was assigned to Motown's Tamla division.



Gaye and Motown immediately clashed over material. While Motown was yet a musical force, Gaye set on singing standards and jazz rather than the usual rhythm and blues that fellow label mates were recording. Struggling to come to terms with what to do with his career, Gaye worked mainly behind the scenes, becoming a janitor, and also settled for session work playing drums on several recordings, which continued for several years. One of Gaye's first professional gigs for Motown was as a road drummer for The Miracles. Gaye developed a close friendship with the label's lead singer Smokey Robinson and they'd later work together.
In May 1961, Tamla released Gaye's first single, "Let Your Conscience Be Your Guide". The single flopped. A third regional hit, "Soldier's Plea", an answer to The Supremes' "Your Heart Belongs to Me", was the next release in the spring of 1962. Gaye had more success behind the scenes than in front. Gaye applied drumming on several Motown records for artists such as the Miracles, Mary Wells, The Contours and The Marvelettes. Gaye was also a drummer for early recordings by The Supremes, Martha and the Vandellas and Little Stevie Wonder. Gaye drummed on the Marvelettes hits, "Please Mr. Postman", "Playboy" and "Beechwood 4-5789" (a song he co-wrote). Later on, Gaye would be noted as the drummer in both the studio and live recordings of Wonder's "Fingertips" and as one of two drummers behind Martha and the Vandellas' landmark hit, "Dancing in the Street", another composition by Gaye, originally intended for Kim Weston. Gaye said he continued to play drums for Motown acts even after gaining fame on his own merit. For Gaye's fourth single, the singer was inspired to write lyrics to a song after an argument with his wife, Anna Gordy Gaye (née Anna Gordy). While working out the song, Gaye mentioned he had his first "major" power struggle with Motown head Berry Gordy over its composition. Gordy insisted on a chord change though Gaye was comfortable with how he wrote it, eventually Gaye changed the chord and the song was issued as "Stubborn Kind of Fellow" in September 1962. The song became a hit on the Hot Rhythm and Blues Sides chart reaching number 8 and eventually peaked at number 46 on the Billboard Hot 100 in early 1963.
Gaye's hits continued throughout 1964. Several top 20 pop hits from this period included "You Are a Wonderful One", "Try It Baby" and "Baby Don't You Do It" kept Gaye's momentum building. Gaye made his first public TV performance on American Bandstand in 1964. Gaye reached the top 10 in early 1965 with "How Sweet It Is (To Be Loved By You)", which sold close to a million copies. Gaye eventually scored his first immediate million-sellers in 1965 with the Smokey Robinson compositions, "Ain't That Peculiar" and "I'll Be Doggone". These songs and other singles released during the 1965–66 period would be the result of Gaye's next release, Moods of Marvin Gaye.
Terrell and Gaye's first major hit was the Nick Ashford and Valerie Simpson composition, "Ain't No Mountain High Enough". The duo quickly followed up with the top five hit ballad, "Your Precious Love". Despite rumors of a romantic relationship – Gaye was married to Anna Gordy and Terrell was dating Temptations lead vocalist David Ruffin – both singers denied such a relationship with Gaye saying later that they had a brother-and-sister relationship, a statement reiterated by Ashford & Simpson. Other hit singles the duo scored within an eighteen-month period included "If I Could Build My Whole World Around You", "Ain't Nothing Like the Real Thing" and "You're All I Need to Get By". Other hits such as "You Ain't Livin' till You're Lovin'" and "The Onion Song" found success in Europe. The duo's recording of "If This World Were Mine", the b-side of "If I Could Build My Whole World Around You”.


The duo was also a success together onstage, Terrell's easy-going nature with the audience contrasting from Gaye's laid-back approach. However, that success was short-lived. On October 14, 1967, while performing at Virginia's Hampden-Sydney College, Terrell collapsed in Marvin's arms. She had been complaining of headaches in the weeks leading up to the concert, but had insisted she was all right. However, after she was rushed to Southside Community Hospital, doctors found that Terrell had a malignant brain tumor.
Terrell's illness put Gaye in a depression. He refused to acknowledge the success of his song "I Heard It Through the Grapevine", released in 1967 by Gladys Knight & The Pips (his version was recorded before, but released after theirs), his first number-one hit and the biggest selling single in Motown history to that point. His work with producer Norman Whitfield, who produced "Grapevine", resulted in similar success with the singles "Too Busy Thinking About My Baby" and "That's the Way Love Is". Meanwhile, Gaye's marriage was crumbling and he was bored with his music. Wanting creative control, he sought to produce singles for Motown session band The Originals, whose Gaye-produced hits, "Baby, I'm for Real" and "The Bells", brought success.

Despite releases of several anti-war songs by The Temptations and Edwin Starr, Motown CEO Berry Gordy prevented Gaye from releasing the song “What’s Going On”, fearing a backlash against the singer's image as a sex symbol and openly telling him and others that the song "was the worst record I ever heard". Gaye, however, refused to record anything that was Motown's or Gordy's version of him. He later said that recording the song and its parent album "led to semi-violent disagreements between Berry and myself, politically speaking." Eventually the song was released with little promotion on January 17, 1971. The song soon shot up the charts topping the R&B chart for five weeks. The album "What's Going On" released on May 21, 1971, instantly became a million-seller crossing him over to young white rock audiences while also maintaining his strong R&B fan base. Because of its lyrical content and its mixture of funk, jazz, classical and Latin soul arrangements which departed from the then renowned "Motown Sound", it became one of Motown's first autonomous works, without help of Motown's staff producers. Based upon its themes and a segue flow into each of the songs sans the title track, the concept album became the new template for soul music.



Other hit singles that came out of the album included "Mercy Mercy Me (The Ecology)" and "Inner City Blues (Make Me Wanna Holler)", making Gaye the first male solo artist to have three top ten singles off one album on the Billboard Hot 100. All three singles sold over a million copies and were all number-one on the R&B chart.
Gaye's success was nationally recognized: Billboard magazine awarded him the Trendsetter of the Year award, while he won several NAACP Image Awards including Favorite Male Singer. Rolling Stone named it Album of the Year, and was nominated for a couple of Grammy Awards though inexplicably wasn't nominated for Album of the Year. Following its success, Gaye signed a new contract with Motown Records for a then record-setting $1 million, then the most lucrative deal by a black recording artist. In late 1972, Gaye produced the score for the Trouble Man film and later produced the soundtrack of the same name. The title track was the only full vocal work of the album and was released as a single in the fall of 1972 eventually reaching number seven on the pop chart in the spring of 1973.



"Let's Get It On" was written by Gaye and producer Ed Townsend, originally as a gospel song, and later as a protest song before eventually turning into a funk-oriented love anthem. It became Gaye's second number-one hit in 1973. March 18, 1973, recorded "Let's Get It On", reputedly inspired by Gaye's new-found independence, after separating from Anna Gordy the previous year. The single was released as a single in June of the year and became Gaye's second number-one single on the Billboard Hot 100. It also was a modest success internationally reaching number 31 in the United Kingdom. With the success of its recording, Gaye decided to switch completely from the social topics that were on What's Going On to songs with sensual appeal.



With the success of What's Going On and Let's Get It On, Motown demanded a tour. Gaye only reluctantly agreed when demand from fans reached a fever pitch. After a delay, Gaye made his official return to touring on January 4, 1974 at the Oakland Coliseum in Oakland, California. The recording of the performance, held by several music executives as "an event", was later issued as the live album, Marvin Gaye Live!. Due to Gaye's growing popularity with his increasing crossover audience and the reaction of the performance of "Distant Lover", which Motown later released as a single in late 1974, the album sold over a million copies. Gaye's subsequent 10-city tour, which took off that August, was sold out and demand for more dates continued into 1975 while Gaye had struggled with subsequent recordings. A renewed contract with Motown in 1975 gave Gaye his own custom-made recording studio.
In 1976, Gaye released his first solo album in three years with “I Want You”. The title track became a number-one R&B hit, also reaching the top 20 of the national pop chart. The first of his albums to embrace the then popular disco sound of the time, Motown released a double-A 12' of "I Want You" alongside another smooth dancer, "After the Dance". The songs found success as a unit on the Billboard Hot Disco chart, reaching number-ten. By itself "After the Dance",
Gaye faced several lawsuits with former musicians and also faced prison time for falling behind on alimony payments ordered by law following his first wife Anna Gordy filing legal separation after a 15-year marriage. Gaye avoided imprisonment after agreeing to do a tour of Europe, his first tour of such in little over a decade. His first stop was at London's Royal Albert Hall and then at the city's London Palladium, where a recording was later released in early 1977 as Live at the London Palladium
In the spring of 1977, Gaye released "Got to Give It Up, Pt. 1", which gave him his third number-one US pop hit, the final one Gaye released in his lifetime. The song also topped the R&B and dance singles chart and also found some international success reaching the top ten in England. Released as the only studio track from the Palladium album.
In March 1977, his long, drawn-out court battle with former wife Anna Gordy ended. As a compromise to settle matters between the ex-couple over issues of alimony payments for their adopted son, Gaye's attorney until his death, Curtis Shaw, advised Gaye to remit a portion of the revenue that he was to get for his next studio album. Gaye entered the recording studio intending to produce a "lazy" album, but ended up with the sprawling double-album set, Here, My Dear, which was held up from release for over a year. Finally released after Motown's demand for new product in late 1978, the album was initially a flop, tanking after only a couple months on the charts. Its only single, "A Funky Space Reincarnation", peaked at number 23 on the R&B chart, in early 1979, becoming Gaye's first single since "Soldier's Plea" 17 years earlier to not hit the Billboard Hot 100.



After several offers landed, Gaye accepted a deal for CBS Records, a deal that was finalized in March 1982. "Sexual Healing" was written by Gaye alongside Odell Brown and David Ritz. Ritz said Gaye advised him to write a poem after telling the singer he needed "sexual healing" while living in Europe. The song became an international hit after its release in 1982.



On the advice of Belgian concert promoter Freddy Cousaert, Gaye moved to Ostend, Belgium, in February 1981 where for a time he cut down on drugs and began to get back in shape both physically and emotionally. While in Belgium, Gaye began to make plans to renew his declining fortunes in his professional career, starting with a tour he titled "The Heavy Love Affair Tour" in England.
After signing with CBS' Columbia Records division in 1982, Gaye worked on what became the Midnight Love album. Gaye reconnected with Harvey Fuqua while recording the album and Fuqua served as a production adviser on the album, which was released in October 1982. Gaye wrote "Sexual Healing" while in Ostend. Curtis Shaw later said that Gaye's Ostend period was "the best thing that ever happened to Marvin." The now-famous video of "Sexual Healing" was shot at the Casino-Kursaal in Ostend. "Sexual Healing" won Gaye his first two Grammy Awards including Best Male Vocal Performance, in February 1983, and also won Gaye an American Music Award for Favorite Soul Single. It was called by People magazine "America's hottest musical turn-on since Olivia Newton John demanded we get "Physical".

The following year, he was nominated for Best Male R&B Vocal Performance again, this time for the Midnight Love album. In February 1983, Gaye performed "The Star-Spangled Banner" at the NBA All-Star Game, held at The Forum in Inglewood, California, accompanied by Gordon Banks who played the studio tape from stands. In March 1983, he gave his final performance in front of his old mentor Berry Gordy and the Motown label for Motown 25, performing "What's Going On". He then embarked on a US tour to support his album. The tour, ending in August 1983, was plagued by Gaye's returning drug addictions and bouts with depression.

When the tour ended, he attempted to isolate himself by moving into his parents' house in Los Angeles. Marvin's mental and physical condition spiraled out of control. Groupies and drug dealers hounded Marvin night and day. He threatened to commit suicide several times after bitter arguments with his father. On April 1, 1984, Gaye's father fatally shot him when Gaye intervened in an argument between his parents over misplaced business documents. Ironically, the gun had been given to his father by Marvin Jr. four months previously. Marvin Gaye would have celebrated his 45th birthday the next day. Doctors discovered Marvin Sr. had a brain tumor but he was deemed not fit for trial and was sentenced to five years of probation after pleading guilty to voluntary manslaughter. Charges of first-degree murder were dropped when it was revealed that Gaye had beaten Marvin Sr. before the killing. Spending his final years in a retirement home, he died of pneumonia in October 1998.

Tuesday, March 27, 2012

What Happened? Lauryn Hill

Lauryn Hill

Lauryn Hill was born in South Orange, New Jersey the second of two children born to high school English teacher Valerie Hill and computer programmer Mal Hill. As a child, Hill listened to her parents' Motown 1960s soul records. It's Showtime at the Apollo. She sang her own version of Smokey Robinson's song "Who's Lovin' You?", where she was booed tremendously, but persevered and ended up with audience applause.

The Refugee Camp ("Fugees") formed after Prakazrel "Pras" Michel approached Hill in high school about joining a music group he was creating. Soon after, she met Michel's cousin and fellow Haïtian, Wyclef Jean. At some point, Hill was nicknamed "L Boogie", as she began to convert her poetic writing into rap verses. Hill began her acting career at a young age, appearing on the soap opera As The World Turns as Kira Johnson. In 1993, she co-starred in Sister Act 2: Back in the Habit as Rita Louise Watson, in which she performed the songs "His Eye Is on the Sparrow" (a duet with Tanya Blount) and "Joyful, Joyful". It was in this role that she first came to national prominence, with Roger Ebert calling her "the girl with the big joyful voice".



Hill's singing gained worldwide acclaim with the Fugees' remake of "Killing Me Softly with His Song", accompanied by a sample from Rotary Connection's "Memory Band". The Fugees' first album, Blunted on Reality, peaked at No. 49 on the U.S. Hot 100. The album sold over two million copies worldwide. Blunted on Reality was followed by The Score, a multi-platinum, Grammy-winning album that established two of the three Fugees as international rap stars. Singles from The Score include "Ready or Not", "Fu-Gee-La", "No Woman, No Cry", and "Killing Me Softly"

Her other acting work includes the play Club XII with MC Lyte, and the motion pictures King of the Hill, Hav Plenty, and Restaurant. After her rise to musical stardom, she reportedly turned down roles in Charlie's Angels, The Bourne Identity, The Mexican, The Matrix Reloaded and The Matrix Revolutions. She appeared on the soundtrack to Conspiracy Theory in 1996 with "Can't Take My Eyes Off You", and on Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood in 2002 with the track "Selah".

Hill began production on an album that would eventually become The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill. The title was inspired by The Mis-Education of the Negro book by Carter G. Woodson and The Education of Sonny Carson, a film and autobiographical novel.[10] The album featured contributions from D'Angelo, Carlos Santana, Mary J. Blige and a then-unknown John Legend. Songs for the album were largely written in an attic studio in South Orange, New Jersey and recorded at Chung King Studios in Jamaica. Several songs on the album concerned her frustrations with The Fugees "I Used to Love Him" dealt with the break-down of the relationship between Hill and Wyclef Jean.



There was "label pressure to do the Prince thing," wherein all tracks would be credited as "written and produced by" the artist with little outside help. While recording the album, when Hill was asked about providing contracts or documentation to the musicians, she replied, "We all love each other. This ain't about documents. This is blessed." Hill, her management, and her record label were sued in 1998 by New Ark, claiming to be the primary songwriters on two tracks, and major contributors on several others. The suit was settled out of court in February 2001 for a reported $5 million. In 1998, Hill released The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill, which was both critically and commercially successful. It sold over 423,000 copies in its first week and topped the Billboard 200 albums chart for four weeks and the Billboard R&B Album chart for six weeks; it would go on to sell more than 7 million copies over the next decade. The first single off the album was "Lost Ones" (US #27), released in Spring 1998. The second was "Doo Wop (That Thing)", which reached No. 1 in the Billboard charts. Other singles released off the album were "Ex-Factor" (US #21), "Everything Is Everything" (US #35), and "To Zion". At the 1999 Grammy Awards, Hill broke records by becoming both the first woman ever to be nominated in ten categories in a single year, and the first woman to win five times in one night. Hill won the awards for Album of the Year (beating Madonna's critically acclaimed Ray of Light and Shania Twain's bestselling Come on Over), Best R&B Album, Best R&B Song, Best Female R&B Vocal Performance, and Best New Artist. In the late 1990s,


Hill was noted by some as a humanitarian. In 1996 she received an Essence Award for work including the 1996 founding of the Refugee Project (an outreach organization that supports a two-week overnight camp for at-risk youth), her support of well-building projects in Kenya and Uganda, and for staging a rap concert in Harlem to promote voter registration. In 1999 Hill received three awards at the 30th Annual NAACP Image Awards. Also in 1999, Ebony named her one of "100+ Most Influential Black Americans". She was named with Congressman Jesse Jackson, Jr. and others among the "10 For Tomorrow," in the EBONY 2000: Special Millennium Issue.

-– Hill talks about why she left music "There were a number of different reasons. But partly, the support system that I needed was not necessarily in place. There were things about myself, personal growth things, that I had to go through in order to feel like it was worth it. In fact, as musicians and artists, it's important we have an environment – and I guess when I say environment, I really mean the [music] industry, that really nurtures these gifts. Oftentimes, the machine can overlook the need to take care of the people who produce the sounds that have a lot to do with the health and well-being of society, or at least some aspect of society. And it's important that people be given the time that they need to go through, to grow, so that the consciousness level of the general public is properly affected. Oftentimes, I think people are forced to make decisions prematurely. And then that sound radiates."

In 2000, she dropped out of the public eye. She described this period of her life to Essence: "People need to understand that the Lauryn Hill they were exposed to in the beginning was all that was allowed in that arena at that time… I had to step away when I realized that for the sake of the machine, I was being way too compromised. I felt uncomfortable about having to smile in someone's face when I really didn't like them or even know them well enough to like them." She also spoke about her emotional crisis, saying, "For two or three years I was away from all social interaction. It was a very introspective time because I had to confront my fears and master every demonic thought about inferiority, about insecurity or the fear of being black, young and gifted in this western culture."
On July 21, 2001, Hill unveiled her new material to a small crowd, for a taping of an MTV Unplugged special. An album of the concert, titled MTV Unplugged No. 2.0, focused on the lyrics and the message rather than the musical arrangements. "Fantasy is what people want, but reality is what they need", she said during the concert. "I've just retired from the fantasy part." The songs featured only her acoustic guitar and voice, the latter somewhat raspy from rehearsal on the day before the recording. Hill used the set as an opportunity to give information on why she had been absent from the public for a period of time and what she had found while away.

Unlike the near-unanimous praise of The Miseducation, 2.0 sharply divided critics. AllMusic gave the album 4 out of 5 stars, saying that the recording "is the unfinished, unflinching presentation of ideas and of a person. It may not be a proper follow-up to her first album, but it is fascinating."[24] Rolling Stone called the album "a public breakdown".[6] Slant Magazine's Sal Cinquemani wrote, "Hill's guitarwork is multi-textured and fine-tuned but her vocals lack confidence and seem to toe the edge of her range throughout the album. And though the stripped-down nature of the show is fitting, many of the songs sound as if they are still in their infancy." Despite the mixed reviews, 2.0 debuted at No. 3 on the Billboard 200 and went platinum four weeks after its release. Despite Hill's departure from the media and celebrity, she continued to have some success in the music world. Her song "Mystery of Iniquity" was nominated for a Grammy without promotion or radio airplay and used as an interpolation by hip-hop producer/song-writer Kanye West for his single "All Falls Down" (eventually recorded by Syleena Johnson).

On December 13, 2003, Hill made headlines by denouncing "corruption, exploitation, and abuses" in reference to the molestation of boys by Catholic priests in the United States and the cover-up of offenses by Catholic Church officials. The statements were made during a performance at a Christmas benefit concert at the Vatican.

The Fugees also appeared at BET's 2005 Music Awards on June 28, 2005, where they opened the show with a 12-minute set. One track, "Take It Easy", was leaked online and thereafter was released as an internet single on September 27, 2005. It peaked at No. 40 on the Billboard R&B Chart. The song was mostly panned by critics, as The Village Voice wrote, "Turns out that a Fugees reunion wasn't really what anyone was waiting for; we just wanted Lauryn to start rapping again.

"I'm trying to open up my range and really sing more. With The Fugees initially, and even with Miseducation, it was very hip-hop – always a singing over beats. I don't think people have really heard me sing out. So if I do record again, perhaps it will have an expanded context. Where people can hear a bit more."

She has toured several times in recent years, though most of her concerts have received mixed reviews. Hill is often late to concerts (sometimes by over two hours) and reconfigures her well-known hits in to "unrecognizable scat chants" while "sporting frizzy orange hair and exaggerated makeup".

On some occasions, fans have booed her and left early; some fans have also demanded their money back after concerts.

"There are a lot of different creative energies out there right now. I respect the different sounds that I'm hearing. It's been such a long time since I've gotten my voice and my ideas out [...] In terms of collaborations, that's not even something I've been thinking about per se. I'm happy that people are still making music. That we still have a platform with which to make music. It's gonna be interesting to see what the future holds."

In spring of 2011, Lauryn Hill performed at the Coachella Valley Music Festival to a multitudinous crowd. Hill also played at the New Orleans JazzFest on Saturday, May 7 and at The Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas on May 13. On February 29, 2012, Lauryn Hill performed a new song titled "Fearless Vampire Killer", during a sold out performance at the Warner Theater in Washington, DC.



We are waiting on you Ms. Hill to re-educate us to real soulful music. Take your time,get your house in order before stepping back into the scene that disappionted you.

Infomation edited from WIKIAPEDIA