“Artists are here to disturb the peace,” concludes a James Baldwin quote projected during the extensive opening sequence of Madonna’s Madame X tour. It accompanies a typing silhouette of Madame X herself, and a brilliantly choreographed dancer who falls to a cacophony of gunshots. It’s a strong (and long) opening […]
It was surreal to be at Pier 17 watching Wyclef Jean, Pras, and Ms. Lauryn Hill, AKA the Fugees, standing shoulder-to-shoulder on stage for the first time in 15 years. The trio announced their reunion less than 48 hours prior to taking the stage at what was initially a secret […]
“I want to have fun” Janet Jackson says on the introduction to 2006’s 20 Y.O. The album’s album cover reflects that sentiment. It’s the third consecutive Janet Jackson album to feature a beaming Jackson on the cover. These jovial covers contrast the quad of classics that all feature a more serious […]
By 1981, Aretha Franklin was finding her musical footing again. The 70’s had started strong for Aretha, producing some of the most significant work of her career, but they ended dismally. After departing Atlantic Records for Clive Davis’ Arista Records at the turn of the decade, Aretha opted for a […]
A few songs into Lady Gaga’s set the question began to loom: where was Tony Bennett? This was his 95th birthday show after all, but these two last-minute shows (August 3rd & 5th, and announced just two weeks before taking place) at Radio City Music Hall were billed ominously as […]
In 2009, Maxwell made a triumphant and long-awaited return to music with BLACKsummers’night, his first album in 8 years. The melancholic lead single “Pretty Wings” soared, proving that Maxwell just gets better with time. To the delight of fans, he announced that BLACKsummers’night was the first installment in a trilogy […]
What You See Is What You Sweat isn’t at the forefront of the Aretha Franklin canon. In fact, the 1991 album helps bring up the rear, and there’s been very little written on it since its release. It’s just not a solid representation of the tenacity of Aretha Franklin musically […]
I still remember excitedly hurrying down to my hometown Sam Goody in July 2001. I was 11. The copies of Mariah Carey’s new single “Loverboy” were in stock and I was getting mine. It was my first full album cycle as a Mariah fan, and I was prepared to devour […]
Prior to his tragic and untimely passing, DMX was working on a new album for Def Jam. It was slated to be his first major label release in a decade and a half. There was a melancholic excitement when initial reports stated that X completed the album before his passing. […]
“She was afraid she didn’t belong there,” Aretha Franklin’s producer Jerry Wexler told David Ritz in Respect: The Life of Aretha Franklin. That was Aretha’s mentality about staging a show in the heart of the hippie revolution: San Francisco’s Haight-Ashbury district. For all her hesitance, Aretha Franklin was sitting on […]
