After eleven years, Fergie has finally released the long-awaited follow-up to her mega-successful debut solo album, "The Dutchess". Although an unfinished version of the entire album was leaked in July, the official version of "Double Dutchess" is now out. Much like her debut, the forty-two year old mother and soon-to-be former wife to actor, Josh Duhamel has created another solid collection that features an eclectic mix of sounds ranging from hip-hop, reggae, soul, dance and modern pop.
Fergie decided to take full control of this project with her co-producing and co-writing nearly all of the tracks. She also decided to leave her record label, Interscope and to launch her own label, Dutchess Music. The album does feature the singles that failed to get much attention including "L.A. Love (La La)" which was dropped back in 2014 and "M.I.L.F.$" and "Life Goes On" from last year. But the new single, "You Already Know", that includes Nicki Minaj providing her trademark sassy rap, seems to be the step in the right direction. As for the hyper-sexual imagery she's projecting all over the promotional album pictures and videos, it does come across a little extreme and desperate. But I guess you do what you gotta do to get noticed in this competitive pop environment.
Taking a page from Beyoncé and her "Lemonade" album, Fergie has made videos for each of the songs on the album and assembled them together as a film called "Double Dutchess: Seeing Double". Take a look at a few of these videos:
It's quite clear that Maxwell likes to take his time, After an eight-year gap between his 2001 release "Now" and 2009's "BLACKsummers'night", the neo-soul vocalist has finally returned with a follow-up. This sequel, "blackSUMMERS'night" arrives seven years later and is certainly worth the wait. With his reliably smooth voice, Maxwell delivers more lovely ballads and inspirational songs on love and relationships. Despite the still quite striking forty-three year old artist calling this new collection "progressive soul" which is a merging of gospel, disco, rock and a touch of psychedelic pop, the album doesn't offer any real surprises or major shifts in sound, just his sensual, old-school, funk-driven vibe that made him a major player back in the '90's.
The first single, "Lake By The Ocean" has been riding high on top of the adult r&b chart and I'm sure there will be more to come.
BLOOD ORANGE
Dev Hynes, or as he's better known, Blood Orange, has been devoting much of his time of late working on music for several pop artists. Solange Knowles, Sky Ferreira, FKA Twigs, Florence and the Machine, Carly Rae Jepsen and Kylie Minogue are just a few of the artists that have benefited from the dynamic writing and producing talent of this thirty-year-old Brit. Now, he's ready to focus on himself with a third Blood Orange CD, "Freetown Sound". Far removed from the lightweight fizz of hit-making pop, this record explores the racial, sexual and political tensions happening in the world today. Adding to the quirky rhythms and hook-less tunes are a collection of eclectic guest performers ranging from the expected (Jepsen and Debbie Harry) and the unexpected (author, Ta-Nehisi Coates and slam poet, Ashlee Haze).
I love that a track now on this record, "Hadron Collider" (that features a long-absent, Nelly Furtado) was first released only as a promotional cassette tape last December and sold during his shows at the Apollo Theater. Have a listen:
Fergie is once again back with some new music. Much like what happen with Gwen Stefani, Fergie dropped a song, "L.A. Love (La La)" way back in 2014 after a long absence from the scene but nobody was feeling much love for the tune.
After regrouping, the forty-one-year-old singer is giving it another try with a sexy little ditty called "M.I.L.F.$" (pronounced "MILF Money"). If you don't know what a M.I.L.F. is, well, let's just say it means someone that would enjoy an intimate encounter with a mature woman with children. To be perfectly honest, I'm not really feeling this song but I do love the music video. The colorful, hyper-sexual clip, directed by Colin Tilley, is littered with hot fashion models like Alessandra Ambrósio, Chrissy Teigen, Amber Valletta, Devon Aoki, Angela Lindvall as well musician, Ciara and the notorious, Kim Kardashian who all happen to be mothers. And model, Jon Kortajarena plays the milkman lusting after all these women. You must check this out:
Finally, here is that infamous video by Kanye West for his latest single, "Famous". Inspired by the painting, "Sleep" by Vincent Desiderio, the clip features notable figures like Donald Trump, Hillary Clinton, Bill Cosby, Taylor Swift, Rihanna (who provides vocals on the track), West, former girlfriend, Amber Rose and his wife, Kim Kardashian, all sleeping nude in a bed together (with the help of synthetic look-alike bodies). Personally I think all the outrage and shock about this video is much ado about nothing but take a look and see for yourself. BE WARNED: NUDITY MAKES THIS NSFW:
While "The Great Gatsby" is not due in movie theaters until May 10th, that doesn't mean it's too early to hear some tunes from the soundtrack. Much like what he did with the soundtracks for "Romeo + Juliet" and "Moulin Rouge!", the director Baz Luhrmann has incorporated contemporary music in to his period films.
This time, he has enlisted Jay-Z to help produce the music and together they have assembled a very impressive array of artists. Some of the musicians on board include will i. am, Sia, Jack White, Bryan Ferry, and the producer's wife, Beyoncé who does her take of the Amy Winehouse classic, "Back To Black". The hot British pop artist, Emeli Sandé, is here as well and provides a slinky version of Beyoncé's breakout first solo single, "Crazy In Love".
The song, "Young and Beautiful" by Lana Del Rey will be the first official single (out April 23rd) to help create some buzz.
Here is a video currently out that provides little snippets of some of the other tracks on the album:
I am loving what I've heard so far and I really can't wait to see the film. The full versions of a couple of tracks have leaked with "A Little Party Never Killed Nobody (All We Got)" a hip-hopped jazzy tune by Fergie (with assistance by Q-Tip and GoonRock) and "Over The Love", a gorgeous ballad by Florence & The Machine that are floating around out there.
Have a listen to Fergie's tune:
"A Little Party Never Killed Nobody (All We Got)" - Fergie featuring Q-Tip and GoonRock (2013)
