12.30.05 (AP/VNU Media) All those "Free Pimp C" T-shirts and baseball caps can finally be put away now. Houston, Texas-based Rap star PIMP C -- half of the acclaimed duo UNDERGROUND KINGZ (a.k.a. "UGK") with fellow vocalist Bun B -- was released on parole today after serving about half of an eight-year sentence. Since he was imprisoned in January 2002, "Free Pimp C" has been a rallying call for rappers and UGK fans across the country. Numerous Rap stars have appeared in music videos and at concerts and awards shows wearing gear with the phrase. PIMP C, whose real name is Chad Butler, was sentenced when he fell behind on community service required after pleading no contest to aggravated assault. He was charged after brandishing a gun during an argument with a woman at a mall. Several people waited for him outside the state prison in Huntsville and he spoke with them for about 10 minutes before leaving, Texas Department Of Criminal Justice spokeswoman Michelle Lyons said. The head of the parole board did recommend parole for him, so that's about as good a push as you can get in this situation," said Bun B. It's been a bittersweet year without PIMP C for Bun B, a driving force in the national breakthrough of the Houston Hip-Hop scene. His recent Rap-A-Lot 4 Life/Asylum Records album, "Trill," debuted at No. 6 on the Billboard Top 200 Albums chart and has sold more than 300,000 copies in the United States since its late October release, according to Nielsen SoundScan. Regardless, Bun B hasn't been too fond of his own stint as a solo artist, and is overjoyed at the new possibilities for UNDERGROUND KINGZ now that PIMP C has been released. "The album is probably going to be one of the most anticipated projects in rap," Bun B said of UGK's next project, which will be the first album with new music from the group since 2002. "I just think that as a group there's going to be a lot more things that we can take advantage of." Bun B says he has stayed in contact with Pimp C as much as possible while he was incarcerated, and is itching to begin collaborating with him again. "Where he was at is only about 25 minutes outside the city, but unfortunately I only was able to go on the weekends, which is when I work most of the time," he says. "I was able to squeeze one or two visits in here and there, but basically I just sent messages through his wife or wroe him letters. He (Pimp C) says he has over 200 songs written, not to mention a list of song ideas and samples he wants to use," he continued. "I'm really anxious to see what he wants to do. I'm not taking him to a studio. I'm going to set him up in a house so he can record there." PIMP C, who turned 32 years old yesterday, has sold more than a million records since 1992 from five major label releases with UGK. Last March, Houston-based Rap-A-Lot Records released his first solo album, "The Sweet James Jones Stories," created from a series of freestyle raps he did years ago. PIMP C has called that album subpar, yet it still debuted at No. 3 on Billboard magazine's Rap charts. He is also featured on the single 'Get Throwed' from the "Trill" album. PIMP C will be on parole until December of 2009.

12.29.05 (AP) A police commander who led a commando-style, anti-crime team that human rights groups accuse of multiple killings is hitting the airwaves with a Rap-style song that pledges to restore law and order in Jamaica. Senior Superintendent Reneto Adams' song was released after a jury last week acquitted him and two other policemen on charges of murdering two men and two women and planting guns on their bodies. The song, 'To Protect And Serve,' quickly stirred an outcry from rights groups. The 57-year-old Adams, who often wears aviator-style sunglasses and black combat gear, has led raids resulting in at least 40 killings, according to local rights group Families Against State Terrorism. Carolyn Gomes, executive director of Jamaicans For Justice, called the song "irresponsible, frightening and distasteful." In 'To Protect And Serve,' Adams threatens criminals, who have given Jamaica one of the world's highest murder rates, saying: "They will feel the full extent of the law. People of Jamaica, listen to this: The law is here to serve and protect, and no one is above the law," he sings. Adams also lashes out at human rights groups, singing: "These criminal rights organizations are trying to stop me from doing my job, while hoodlums continue to destroy the only livelihood we have." Jamaica, an island nation of 2.6 million people, reported a record 1,145 homicides for 2004, compared with 975 the year before. Police blame much of the violence on street gangs vying for control of lucrative drug and extortion rings. Jamaica also has one of the world's highest rates of killings by police, but few officers have been charged with crimes, according to Amnesty International, a London-based rights group. In an interview published Wednesday in a local newspaper, Reneto Adams said he relishes confrontations with members of criminal gangs, who rule the slums surrounding Kingston. "We have communities in Jamaica where, as you enter as a policeman, you are fired upon without any notice," Adams told the Jamaica Gleaner. "So I find it a joy to go and look for the hardened criminal - men who fire M-16 rifles and AK-47s. The return action would be decisive and probably final, in some instances," he added. Police Commissioner Lucius Thomas declined to comment on Adams' song, said police spokesman Karl Angell. Reneto Adams and two other officers were acquitted on December 20th of killing the four people during a May 2003 raid in Kraal, a village about 40 miles west of Kingston. Three other officers were acquitted earlier. "It was the mother of all trials and the mother of all acquittals," Adams told cheering supporters following the verdict. After the Kraal raid, authorities disbanded Adams' Crime Management Unit and assigned the officers charged in the deaths to administrative posts. Commissioner Thomas has said they won't resume active duty until they undergo psychological evaluations.
[LISTEN]

12.16.05 (MusicPortal.com) Grammy Award-winning writer/producer and contemporary music visionary WILLIAM ORBIT makes a return February 7th with a new album entitled "Hello Waveforms" on Sanctuary Records. His first solo release since 2000's "Pieces In A Modern Style," the new offering is performed and produced by Orbit. "Hello Waveforms" is ethereal, ambient, subtle and distinctive in style, fusing strong melodies with electronic synths to produce his definitive signature sound. Recorded in London and America, the new album features a collection of collaborations and influences - the track 'Humming Chorus' is taken from "Madame Butterfly," 'Spiral' features the SUGABABES and Kenna on vocals, while Finley Quaye plays acoustic guitar on the dreamlike 'Who Owns The Octopus.' WILLIAM ORBIT has also reunited with former "Strange Cargo" band member Laurie Mayer, who plays piano and synthesizer on 'Surfin' and provides vocals on the tracks 'Bubble Universe' and 'Who Owns the Octopus?' An artist who individually determined the new age of modern mixer/producer credibility, WILLIAM ORBIT's most high profile projects to date include his contribution to Madonna's "Ray Of Light" album - on which he produced, co-wrote and performed, U2's 'Electrical Storm', Blur's "13," and his smash-hit single, 'Barber's Adagio For Strings.' In 2001, WILLIAM ORBIT performed as part of Barbican's celebrated Elektronik Festival. Well-known for his contributions to modern music, Orbit is undoubtedly one of the world's most accomplished talents, and continues to be internationally recognized as a premier artist, writer, producer and composer. Influenced by an eclectic range of musicians including Jimi Hendrix, KRAFTWERK and Miles Davis, WILLIAM ORBIT's involvement in the music industry has not only created an impressive list of critically acclaimed work that spans genres and styles, but also ceaselessly defines the Dance/Electronica genre. While music is clearly his forte, it was never an obvious career choice. "My parents are both teachers, but I left school at 16 with no university education and worked a variety of jobs such as a fruit picker and in a shoe factory, before spending time in the seventies doing my own thing, which included living on a boat in Holland," he says. It was only when squatting in an old school house in Paddington during the 1980's that he formed TORCH SONG with Laurie Mayer and began to explore his innate creativity - thanks to the free electricity and lack of overheads. "We'd make cassettes and send them to everybody in the industry, which is basically how my music career began." Four critically acclaimed albums followed under the name "Strange Cargo," one of which produced the classic hit 'Water From A Vine Leaf,' featuring Beth Orton. During the 1990s, WILLIAM ORBIT also released under the names THE ELECTRIC CHAMBER and BASSOMATIC, whose material included the hit 'Fascinating Rhythm.' "Pieces In A Modern Style" was a pioneering collection of ambient Classical pieces interpreted with his distinctive vision. Featuring 'Barber's Adagio For Strings,' Erik Satie's 'Ogive Number 1,' Antonio Vivaldi's 'L'Inverno' and a Henryk Gorecki piece for the track 'Piece In The Old Style 1,' that album earned WILLIAM ORBIT instant worldwide commercial and critical success.
[LISTEN]

12.12.05 (MusicPortal.com) With their fourth Atlantic Records release, "Testify," San Diego multi-platinum Hard Rockers P.O.D. are ready to do just that come January 24th. Testify to the power of Rock; to the sway of perseverance and sweat; to the valor of hard work; to the might of unity; and to the importance of remaining true to your convictions. "To us, that word speaks for itself. It's powerful," P.O.D. front man Sonny Sandoval says of the one-word album title. "In our 13 years together that's what we've been doing. We've been testifying to the things that we believe in and that we've come to know." Since forming in San Diego in 1992, P.O.D. have never stopped testifying to the values that are at the core of the group. Indeed, "testify" is a word that has become synonymous with P.O.D. during the band's 14-year odyssey from a local band to "overnight" multi-platinum rock stars whose superb 2001 release, "Satellite," went triple-platinum, spawned such hit singles as 'Alive,' 'Youth Of A Nation,' and 'Boom,' and propelled the foursome to the elite of a new wave of Hard Rock acts. And even after undergoing a tumultuous line-up change in 2003 when original guitarist Marcos departed and was replaced by Jason Truby just weeks before the quartet was to begin work on the album that would eventually become "Payable On Death" (which went on to sell a million copies worldwide), P.O.D. remains at its core the same group that built a sizeable following on its own touring around the United States for years. "Six years into the mainstream and six years of seeing a whole other side of music the things that we believe in haven't changed," Sandoval, deliberately choosing his words and delivering each one with conviction, says. "If anything, the struggles or the things that we've experienced and gone through the past years have reinforced what we've believed all along. What we've been saying from the beginning and the faith that we have stands on our own, with or without music. On this record we never let go of that because that is the cornerstone of who we are as people. You realize it just comes down to that love we had in our heart to make music." Yes, P.O.D. have rediscovered their love for making music, for, in Sandoval's words, "putting little smiles on people's faces." Part of that rejuvenation comes from taking a much needed break. While Sandoval and drummer Wuv took their extended families to Italy, bassist Traa got married, and guitarist Jason Truby spent time at home in Arkansas, the quartet are feeling more amped than they have in a long time. "We're definitely ready to go out and do it," Sandoval says. "I just want to get on the road, for people to hear it and I want to go rock out. It's been so long since we played; the longest we've ever done it. But for us, because we've always been busy and we've always been doing it, I think it's essential that we took this time to recharge the batteries to be excited about the record, be excited about going on tour," Wuv adds. This time around, the band are... [full story]
[LISTEN]

12.08.05 (AP) Saxophone player BRANFORD MARSALIS is working with Habitat For Humanity and singer Harry Connick Jr. and to create a "village" for New Orleans musicians who lost their homes to Hurricane Katrina. More than $2 million has been raised for the project dreamed up by Marsalis and Connick - a neighborhood built around a music center where musicians can teach and perform, said Jim Pate, executive director of New Orleans Area Habitat For Humanity. The first $1 million came from benefit concerts in New York three weeks after the storm, said Quint Davis, the New Orleans Jazz And Heritage Festival producer who helped arrange the concerts. "The money being used to build these homes for New Orleans musicians was raised by New Orleans musicians. Our pact with them was to help New Orleans' musical community," Davis said at a news conference Tuesday. In a telephone interview Monday, Connick said he and Marsalis - both honorary chairs for the national Habitat's hurricane rebuilding program - returned to their hometown several weeks after the storm and were trying to think of ways to help. "I had been kind of coming up blank. The problem is so massive, it's hard to know where to begin," Connick said. "As we talked, we both realized we should really stick to what we know, which is music." Connick said four or five of the 16 musicians in his own band lost their homes. "There's a ton of musicians who have no place to go," he said. Pate said Habitat For Humanity hasn't decided on a location for the village, but is looking at three older, predominantly black neighborhoods in New Orleans. He said $7.5 million to $15 million is needed for the project, which would include a music center named for Ellis Marsalis, the Jazz pianist, educator and patriarch of the musical family that includes Branford, Wynton, Delfeayo and Jason. "Ellis has been kind of a rock for music in this city," Mayor C. Ray Nagin said. Branford Marsalis said the project is a thank you to the musicians "who made it possible for people like me and my brother Wynton and Harry Connick Jr. to get out and spread the word." Habitat For Humanity cannot reserve houses for a specific group, and non-musicians would also live in the village, Pate said. However, musicians who lost their houses and have no or too little insurance - and will provide labor for a Habitat house - will be asked if they'd like to live there. "We'd hope some of our musician partner families could do some of their sweat equity by doing performances or concerts for some of our volunteers who are coming from all over the world," Pate said. It's a fantastic idea, said Banu Gibson, who sings '20s and '30s Jazz. "So many musicians have moved out of town, and a lot of the good ones, too, which is really depressing," she said. Gibson is back in her own house, but two of the seven musicians in her band lost homes they had bought in the last couple of years. "All the money they raised to put down as a house payment, $25,000 to $35,000, is gone," she said. Bassist Peter "Chuck" Badie, 80, would love to see the dream become reality, and to live in a Habitat For Humanity home. "I'd be tickled to death," said Badie, who's staying at a Jazz enthusiast's home after floods destroyed his house in the Lower Ninth Ward.

12.07.05 (Billboard) Rapper 50 CENT and rockers GREEN DAY were the toast of Las Vegas last night, as each nabbed six trophies at the 2005 Billboard Music Awards. 50 CENT, who was the top finalist with mentions in eight categories, was honored as "Artist Of The Year" and took the "Album Of The Year" prize for "The Massacre," while GREEN DAY earned "Rock Artist Of The Year" honors and won "Rock Song Of The Year" for 'Boulevard Of Broken Dreams.' Mariah Carey, who was a finalist in seven categories, won five awards, while recent "American Idol" winner Carrie Underwood and Shakira each took home three. The show was broadcast live on Fox from Las Vegas' MGM Grand Garden Arena and hosted by veteran artist/actor LL Cool J. 50 CENT's awards were rounded out by "R&B/Hip-Hop," "Rap" and "Hot 100 Artist Of The Year" titles, as well as the "Ringtone Of The Year" award for 'Candy Shop' featuring Olivia. In Paris and unable to attend, 50 CENT was informed of his feats via a cell phone call from LL Cool J. GREEN DAY, who opened the show with a rousing performance of 'Holiday,' also won "Pop Group," "Billboard 200 Album Group," "Hot 100 Group" and "Modern Rock Artist Of The Year" awards. Frontman Billie Joe Armstrong was additionally charged with presenting the "Century Award," Billboard magazine's highest honor, to Tom Petty. "I love music, I love rock 'n' roll, therefore I love Tom Petty And The Heartbreakers," Armstrong said. "If you're going to come up (on stage) and thank God, thank God for Tom Petty." "We haven't always been boy scouts, but we never lost sight of the music," Petty said in accepting the honor. After thanking many who have been involved in his 30-year career, he added, "Let me remind you that this ain't the end. I can still kick some ass." Carey capped her 2005 comeback by being named the "Female Billboard 200 Album Artist" and "Female R&B/Hip-Hop Artist Of The Year." Her long-running No. 1 single 'We Belong Together' earned her the "Hot 100 Song," "Hot 100 Airplay Of The Year" and "Rhythmic Top 40 Title Of The Year" awards. Among Underwood's honors was the top-selling "Hot 100 Song Of The Year" award for 'Inside Your Heaven/Independence Day,' while Shakira's awards included the "Latin Pop Album Artist Of The Year" trophy. NO DOUBT singer Gwen Stefani won the "New Artist Of The Year" award on the strength of her solo debut, "Love.Angel.Music.Baby," while her single 'Hollaback Girl' was the Digital Song Of The Year." Stefani called up collaborator Pharrell Williams to the stage to accept the latter award with her. Toby Keith won both awards for which he was a finalist, scoring both "Country Artist" and "Country Albums Artist Of The Year." He was also among the show's performers, belting out the new song 'Let's Get Drunk and Be Somebody,' backed by a large band that included a horn section. Reggaeton sensation Daddy Yankee also won two trophies, including "Latin Album Of The Year" for "Barrio Fino" (El Cartel/Machete), as did Mario for his single 'Let Me Love You,' including R&B/Hip-Hop Song Of The Year." Though he's just two albums into his solo career, Kanye West was honored for his significant success with Billboard's "Artist Achievement Award." "When I first came out, I was a hot head -- I thought I was the greatest," he said in accepting the trophy. "I still think I'm the greatest."
[LISTEN]

12.05.05 (AP) Vocalist FOXY BROWN is almost totally deaf, her lawyer revealed Monday to The Associated Press. Attorney Joseph Tacopina disclosed Brown's hearing problem after a question about why they exchanged notes while waiting in Manhattan Criminal Court for her case to be called on an unresolved 2004 assault charge. "She's pretty much totally deaf now," Tacopina said. "She can't hear me. We have to write things back and forth. Anything I have to communicate with her now has to be written." Brown, 25, revealed during a court appearance in September that she would soon undergo surgery to try to correct her hearing. Obviously straining to hear questions, she refused to discuss the possible cause of the problem. Tacopina said Monday the prognosis from that surgical procedure is still undetermined, but "hopefully it (the condition) is reversible. She has to undergo another surgery." Meanwhile, Judge Melissa Jackson adjourned FOXY BROWN's case until December 23rd when, Tacopina said, he expects it will be resolved. Brown, whose real name is Inga Marchand, is charged with misdemeanor assault, attempted assault and harassment. Brown has rejected at least two misdemeanor plea deals that would have let her avoid any jail time for allegedly assaulting two nail salon workers on August 29th, 2004, in a fight over payment for a manicure at Bloomie Nails in Manhattan's Chelsea district. Prosecutors alleged that Brown, with a cell phone clutched in her closed fist, attacked and kicked one worker, and hit a second worker in the face. Under the proposed plea deal, Brown would have pleaded guilty to misdemeanor assault and served 10 days of community service. "I'm innocent," FOXY BROWN said at the time. "I feel like I'm being railroaded." Tacopina said they rejected the offer because he wanted Brown to plead guilty to a disorderly conduct violation, an offense less serious than a misdemeanor. Tacopina said in September that the complainants in the case, the nail salon workers, "don't want to proceed. This is a waste of their time, her (Brown's) time, and the public's time." However, he said Monday that he also did not want to expose Brown to an easy civil lawsuit by allowing her to plead to assault. "We're concerned about the motives of others," he said. "She's been seen as a bull's-eye for a quick payday." FOXY BROWN's latest album, "Black Rose," is expected to be released soon.

12.02.05 (AP) A Hip-Hop music producer who cultivated a gangster image by taking the last name "Gotti" finally has something in common with the late Teflon Don: an acquittal. A federal jury in Brooklyn found Irving "Irv Gotti" Lorenzo and his brother Christopher not guilty today of laundering piles of drug money for a notorious crack kingpin. Jurors also acquitted the Lorenzo's record company, until recently known as Murder Inc., at a trial that was followed closely by some of the music industry's big stars. Supporters in the gallery erupted in cheers after the acquittals were announced. Amid the jubilation, a small group of jurors asked that the Lorenzos and their mother be taken into an antechamber with them so they could congratulate them in private. Irving Lorenzo's two lawyers then carried him out of the courthouse as he shouted: "We did it! We did it!" Minutes later, he threw his arms around juror Gloria Menzies, who called the brothers "my boys" and invited Irving to attend church with her. "They had nothing to pin on these two guys," Menzies said. "It was so weak." Beaming, Lorenzo accepted her invitation and said the trial had brought him closer to God. He also promised that his legal troubles were behind him for good. "I'm never going to get into any other trouble, no jaywalking, nothing," he told reporters. Assistant U.S. Attorney Sean Haran said he would respect the jury's verdict. The Lorenzo brothers had faced up to 20 years in prison if convicted. They were accused of agreeing to launder money for Kenneth "Supreme" McGriff, a man a prosecutor called "one of the biggest, baddest, most dangerous drug lords in New York City." McGriff allegedly funneled more than $1 million in drug money through Murder Inc. in return for providing protection for the Lorenzos. A government witness who once worked at the label testified that he saw a "huge amount" of money delivered in shopping bags and a shoe box. Murder Inc. cut tens of thousands of dollars in checks for corporations controlled by McGriff, including a movie company that produced a straight-to-video film called "Crime Partners 2000." The label also covered his expenses as he traveled around the country, ostensibly working as an entertainment executive. The defense said the Lorenzos were legitimate businessmen whose associations with McGriff were legal. The brothers said they decided to invest their own money in McGriff's movie because he was an old friend from their Queens neighborhood. The trial was a spectacle for celebrity watchers. Courtroom supporters included Jay-Z, Fat Joe and Russell Simmons, along with Ja Rule and Ashanti, the platinum-selling artists signed by the defendant's Murder Inc. label. Ja Rule, on hand for the verdict, said he was elated. "I can't even explain the feeling that's in my body." Murder Inc. changed its name to The Inc. last year after executives said the label's image was hurt by the racketeering case. Christopher Lorenzo said outside the courthouse Friday that the gangster motif, including his brother's adoption of the "Gotti" name, was always just show business. "You want to know his real name?" he said. "It's Magoo, because he squints all the time." He said the pair would now work on reviving the business, which he said had been hurt financially by the case's "black cloud."

12.01.05 (MusicPortal.com) Following up last year's highly acclaimed "Top Ska" album, legendary Ska Selector GAZ MAYALL returns January 16th via Trojan Records with "Gaz's Rockin Blues - Club Classics," a new collection in celebration of the 25th anniversary of his popular London club night of the same name. Having first made his mark on the London club scene in the early eighties playing a wild selection of vintage Jamaican and R&B sounds, his aptly named "Gaz's Rockin Blues" nights -- London's longest running one-nighter held every Thursday night at St Moritz Club on Wardour Street in Soho, where he occasionally plays live with his Ska band THE TROJANS -- continue to draw huge crowds. Comprised of celebrities, dreads, mods and skins, everyone is united by their desire to hear and dance to GAZ MAYALL's latest selection of killer tunes. Now, for the very first time, a wide selection of his club favorites stretching from early Blues and R&B from the 1950s through to classic Ska and Rocksteady from the 60s and 70s have been brought together on this deluxe 2-disc set, which includes tracks from the likes of THE KINKS, THE SPECIALS, GAZ'S REBEL BLUES ROCKERS (Mayall's first band), THE 101'ERS (featuring Joe Strummer from THE CLASH), Nina Simone, John Mayall (Gaz's father), and Desmond Dekker. GAZ MAYALL originally launched "Gaz's Rockin' Blues" nights on July 3rd, 1980, following a stint at the now-legendary Two-Tone club on Oxford Street (1979). The eldest son of British Blues legend John Mayall, Gaz was raised on a healthy diet of R&B, and frequented every Beat, Pop and Rock festival he could. As a child, he first discovered Reggae on the football terraces during the skinhead era (1968-1972). By the time he was 17, GAZ MAYALL regularly purchased entire Reggae and Ska record collections for dirt-cheap prices at street markets that included Portobello Road and Brick Lane. A passionate and devoted fan of Rock 'N' Roll, Boogie Woogie, traditional Irish music, World Music, Soul and Funk as well, Mayall was heavily influenced by family friend and mentor Alexis Korner, Radio One DJ and Blues musician. These days, GAZ MAYALL owns a world renowned collection of predominantly black dance music, ranging from tribal drum beats to the latest sounds in Drum 'N' Bass. For the past twenty years, Mayall has run his own record label, Gaz's Rockin' Records, producing Ska acts and recording artists around the world. The label launched in October of 1985 with the debut release of 7" and 12" singles from POTATO 5, which inevitably led to the imprint's first album release, "Floyd Lloyd & Potato 5 Meet Laurel Aitken" (1987). The record label was conceived alongside the promotion of the "Gaz's Rockin' Blues" club, and was based on the sound system style of 1960's Jamaican Ska labels that included artists such as Prince Buster, Coxsone Dodd, and Duke Reid.

[Urban News: November 2005]
[Top]