Diddy, Lil Wayne, and Justin Timberlake rock sunglasses at night on “Shades,” the latest leak from his oft-delayed album ‘Last Train to Paris’. Formerly released with tags, this version sees the Bad Boy mogul switching roles with J.T., with Puff singing through Auto-Tune and the former *NSYNC-er spitting a hushed rap verse.
Diddy’s far superior single, the sweet and melodic “Loving You No More” featuring Drake, hit iTunes today. Go pick that up instead of replaying this jumble of inconsistent beats.
Check the dark, electronic club tune below, and look for the Train’s arrival this December.
LISTEN: Diddy feat. Lil’ Wayne & Justin Timberlake – “Shades”
Newcomer Alja Jackson has confirmed that she has done some writing for the new Beyoncéalbum.
“I’m listening to the record I wrote for Beyonce” she says “Oh mane! Sh*t snappin! So Pretty Girl Bad! ‘Bout to have B on dat PGB! She on it!”
More on Alja after the jump….
Alja Jackson is a new, up and coming singer/songwriter/rapper signed to Interscope Records/Geffen Records. She even runs her own label “LEFTFIELD”…
Alja Jackson has been in this music game for more then 5 years now. She is known for going against the norm, using guerilla tactics & strategies with a new sense of style & flair, with her eclectic musical taste.
“When my mother would drive me around in that old Toyota Corolla, all we had was that broken car radio. It was stuck on one station and that only played pop music. I listened to that a lot and then we got home I listened to R&B and hip-hop. That’s the music I knew I wanted to do when I became an artist. I knew I wanted to be an R&B/soul star”.
What she didn’t know is that pop music would make its influence known when she started writing and shaping her sound. Alja moved to NYC to be in the heartbeat of music and to be where she thought she would find fame and fortune. She sang background vocals for iconic artists like Maxi Priest and Sean Paul. She took meetings with labels, knowing that one day she would be a star. But NYC wasn’t the dream for Alja’ Jackson and than she moved to ATL
“I knew that I had to go home because I just wasn’t feeling the vibe. I knew that ATL was the new hotspot for music, so I moved.” Alja’ was motivated but everyone wasn’t digging her sound. “It’s not that they didn’t like my music. They liked my music, but I didn’t have a sound. Every artist needs to know their own voice, their sound, and I didn’t really have one..You have to take a minute to find out who you really are. A lot of artists don’t want to struggle, but that advice opened every door. I started working with all these producers and artists and it changed everything. Then, one day I was in the studio working with the Pussycat Dolls and the next day, I was in an artist meeting with Jimmy Iovine.” Alja’ slouched in the chair, sure that this was just another “we don’t get you and your style” meeting, but “Jesse Jane,” her vibrant alter ego, knew that this was it. “Jesse Jane” was right.
Interscope Records got it and signed her the next day.
As a songwriter Alja has written songs for Diddy-Dirty Money, Trey Songz–“Already taken{Co-wrote it with Ester Dean}”, and Sharaya {Missy Elliott’s new artist}-“What is Love”. And she has worked with many big names in the music industry such as producers Mad Scientist, Ike Dirty, Chuck Cha-Loa, MissyElliott, Timbaland and Pharrell Williams. It’s just been confirmed that the singer will release “I’m the Prettiest Girl”, as the first single off her upcoming debut album. It’s also been confirmed that the single will have an alternate remix that will feature Lil Wayne and Missy. The video is said to be directed by Nicole Ehrlich who also directed Kelis’s video “Acapella”.
You can listen to the single below, with lyrics that go like “I’m Hotter Than Electricity In A Wire”:
“Angels (Remix)” by Dirty Money featuring Rick Ross was released digitally back in February and can be purchased on iTunes and Amazon.com, among other outlets.
Music video by Diddy – Dirty Money and Rick Ross performing Angels (Remix)
Sunday night marked the 2010 BET Awards, hosted by Queen Latifah, and an all-star roster of celebrities presented, performed, and took home top honors.
Between Prince‘s Lifetime achievement award and Queen Latifah running the show, there was plenty of royalty at last night’s 10th anniversary of the BET Awards. But in the midst of the performances of accolades, the stage was also set for a few big names to make their comebacks.
Jermaine Jackson announced the first return of the evening when he introduced the tribute to his late brother, thanking everyone for their love and support over the past year. He added, “There is one tribute performance we have yet to see…here he is.”
Chris Brown was poised behind the curtain, looking like the silhouette of Michael Jackson himself. Once he came out, there was a palpable moment of tension so strong, it could almost be felt through the TV.
Brown crotch-grabbed and moon-walked his way like a pro through the Michael Jackson songs as a supportive audience cheered him on.
But then the opening bars from “Man in the Mirror” began to play, and we all braced for the irony of the words. Brown got through about one line of the song before his voice started to quiver with tears. After a few heartfelt efforts to regain composure, Brown fell to his knees sobbing and completely gave up trying to sing as the backup track took over.
But Brown wasn’t the only one returning to the stage: Kanye West opened the show on top of a mountain – literally – as he performed his latest single, “Power.” T.I gave an upbeat performance that had the whole crowd moving, and El DeBarge was also a surprising treat as he performed a new song from his upcoming album and a medley of his R&B hits.
Queen Latifah kept the show flowing as she changed outfits about 500 times, and Alicia Keys also had a good night. She won Best Female R&B artist, Best Collaboration for her work with Jay-Z in “Empire State of Mind,” and also fit in two performances: a medley set of her own songs early on in the program, and then she joined in the Prince tribute.
But probably the best Prince performance of the night came from the one and only Patti LaBelle, who sang “Purple Rain” like we’ve never heard it before. LaBelle flicked her shoes off into the audience where Prince picked one of them up and gestured in respect to the diva.
LaBelle came back and joined Chaka Khan on stage to formally present Prince with his Lifetime Achievement Award.
Overwhelmed by the amount of praise coming from the audience, Prince asked everyone to sit down and said he was “speechless.” He started by thanking Jehovah, and then remarked on the future of music. “I do believe the future is in good hands, there is so much talent here,” he said.
Then Prince offered some words of wisdom to the young talent in the room. “I was pretty wild in my younger days and you don’t have to do what I did and you don’t have to make the mistakes I made,” he said. “Thank you for a wonderful night tonight, I’ll never forget it as long I live.”
Trey Songz took home Best Male R&B Artist and Drake won Best Male Hip Hop Artist. Nicki Minaj received the award for Best Female Hip Hop Artist and thanked the female rappers who paved the way for her.
Rihanna received the coveted Viewer’s Choice Award for “Hard,” but was not there to accept it. Also not there to accept Awards were Beyonce’ and Lady Gaga, who won Video of the Year for their collaboration in “Video Phone,” and Jay-Z was absent from the show as well.
Chris Brown had the last word, at least for the night. After his Jackson tribute, he was announced as the surprise winner of BET’s Fandemonium award, a prize determined by fan votes, beating out apparent favorites like Justin Bieber, Trey Songz and Nicki Minaj.
Stepping to the stage to receive his trophy, Brown gave a quick acceptance speech. “I let you all down before, but I won’t do it again,” he said. “I promise you.”
Here’s a breakdown of all the winners…
Winners included:
Viewers’ Choice: Rihanna (not at awards ceremony)
Best Female R&B Artist: Alicia Keys
Best Male R&B Artist: Trey Songz
Best Female Hip Hop Artist: Nicki Minaj
Best Male Hip Hop Artist: Drake
Best New Artist: Nicki Minaj
Best Group: Young Money
Video of the Year: Beyonce and Lady Gaga for “Video Phone” (not at awards ceremony)
Best Actress: Mo’Nique
Best Actor: Idris Elba
Best Movie: Precious
Sportsman of the Year: Lebron James
Sportswoman of the Year: Serena Williams
Prince also won a Lifetime achievement award and John Legend won a humanitarian award.
The show’s top performances were given by Chris Brown, who paid tribute to Michael Jackson and ended sobbing on stage during “Man In The Mirror,” and Patti LaBelle’s cover of “Purple Rain” in honor of Prince.
Below is a video from Chris Brown’s Michael Jackson Tribute:
Alicia Keys Tribute to Prince:
Source: CNN, BET, YOUTUBE
~ “Alicia Keys’ performance had me at the edge of my seat when she climbed on top of her piano. I was so nervous that she wouldn’t fall, even Prince looked nervous. As for Chris Brown, I was so excited to see him perform, and hear how the crowd cheered him on. It was one of the best performances I saw. He really knows how to break down Michael Jackson’s moves. Welcome back Chris Brown.”
It’s here! Check out the hot new video from Diddy – Dirty Money, the latest project from Sean “Diddy” Combs in which he is joined by singer/songwriter Kalenna and former Danity Kane member Dawn Richard.
Rappers Rick Ross and T.I. also are featured on the track from Diddy – Dirty Money’s debut album‘Last Train To Paris’. The video was directed by Hype Williams, the talent behind such videos as Jay-Z‘s “Big Pimpin'” and Kanye West‘s “Gold Digger.”
After numerous obstacles, Diddy‘s long awaited ‘Last Train to Paris’ will finally hit stores June 29th.
JNEL & J. Magazine 