the chal banz blog

Hey people! I know its very rare that I greet you all personally but I wanted to say this post is being labeled the "Shade Edition". A lot of shade was thrown last night and over the last few days. So I'll start with Lee Daniels, creator of "Empire" who shad some words for his dear friend Mariah Carey. He said "Mariah shouldn't do reality TV!". Mariah responded by saying her new show, "isn't a reality show". Take that Lee Daniels! Ha! On a totally different note, Madonna is facing a backlash after her Prince tribute fell on deaf ears. Madonna was joined by Stevie Wonder for a somber duet of Prince's "Purple Rain". While I feel the tribute left a lot to be desired, at least Billboard did pay tribute to Prince, had they not, people would of been upset about that. Immediately after the performance, BET shaded Madonna by posting a 15 second clip with the caption, "Yeah, we saw that. Don't worry. We got you"....

DRAKE AND THE CHART MAN: So according to this weeks Billboard charts issued on Thursday, Drake has 14 songs that has simultaneously hit the charts. Among those songs are selections from his new album and of course his guest appearances including "Only", "Tuesday" and "Truffle Butter". This feat for Drake with 14 songs hasn't been done since the Beatles and it was 41 years ago. WONDER MAN: Speaking of charts, Stevie Wonder is back on the charts thanks in part to his CBS special "Songs In The Key of Life", the album which is back on the charts. The album was #1 on the charts back in 1976 and 1977. HAPPY FRIDAY: Speaking of music charts it is being reported that album will now be released on Friday instead of the traditional Tuesday. The move is said to start this Summer. Prior to Tuesday, albums were available for purchase on Monday. In the past some artists and labels went against the grain and released when they wanted to but Friday will be ...

Justin Timberlake, Jay-Z, Madonna, Kanye West, Others Join Stevie Wonder's Florida Boycott (Report) - Yahoo! TV I saw this story on a blog but not the full story just the artists that were mentioned. Click the link above to learn more. 

Kreayshawn will release her debut album through Columbia Records Somethin' Bout Kreay . There is no release date for the album but you can look forward to the video of her new single Breakfast featuring 2 Chainz on May 21. Elsewhere on the upcoming album Kreay collaborated with White Girl Mob member V-Nasty(who has also collaborated with Gucci Mane), Kid Cudi, and Diplo(produced Usher's Climax ).  I was thinking someone like Kreayshawn would of had a more interesting album title than Somethin' Bout Kreay . I have noticed the whole "Somethin 'Bout..." album title continues to be a popular album title amongst rappers over the years.  50 Cent has revealed that he will be working alongside Cam'ron in a series of movies and mixtapes. What brought the two together is beyond me but I'll take it! You can look forward to their upcoming collaboration early next month. A tribute ain't complete without Alicia Keys and she will be taking part in a tribut...

VH1 plans to tribute Whitney Houston as part of their VH1 Divas festivities this December. The show is still in its early stages and no one has been tapped to appear or perform.  We can see Whitney Houston in her last movie role Sparkle in theaters this August. The accompanying soundtrack includes production from The Underdogs(worked with Marques Houston) and R. Kelly.  Speaking of tributes another legend is being paid tribute to: Stevie Wonder. The Billboard Music Awards which will air later this month will honor the legend. No word on who exactly will honor the singer.  We know nowadays its always a big deal as to who will honor or tribute a singer; dead or alive. Usually it seems like the programmers never quite pick the right people or its always the same people like Alicia Keys. 

By now we're not surprised when Drake gushes about Lil' Wayne and that's exactly what he's doing again. He speaks about his favorite guest verse from friend; Wayne and his collaboration with Stevie Wonder. Read more below: Lil Wayne has recorded thousands of verses, but just which one stands out the most to Drake? In an interview with VEVO, the Canadian rapper revealed why Weezy’s contribution to the remix of Mario’s 2007 single “Crying Out for Me” is his favorite. “I still don’t understand how he pieced that together, how he came up with that. If I could take any verse from anyone, it would be that,” said Drizzy, who then proceeded to recite the obscure lyrics. “It was just the most mind-blowing verse I’ve ever heard in my life.” He also reflected on collaborating with Stevie Wonder, who plays harmonica on “Doing It Wrong” off Take Care. “Stevie texted me and he was like, ‘Where you at? I heard you in the city.’ I’m like, ‘Yeah, I’m recording.’ And then like ...

Drake speaks on working with Stevie Wonder for his new album; "Take Care" which will be in stores and online October 24. Coincidentally that's Drake's birthday if I read it correctly. Below the singer/rapper talks about working with the legend: The 2nd Annual OVO Fest in Toronto was a huge success yesterday. Apart from The Weeknd and Rick Ross, Drake brought out special guests J.Cole, Nas and Stevie Wonder out on the stage to perform. Footage will be up in the next post but here’s something exciting that Drizzy told RapCity host T-Rexxx after the event: Stevie Wonder is on Take Care. “Stevie Wonder is a very close friend of mine. I’m honored to call him a friend, someone who embraced me very early in this music business. This is an exclusive right here, because it’s MuchMusic, and we’re Canadian: Stevie Wonder is actually on ‘Take Care.’ He helped me out with a lot of the music, just came and sat with me, listened to my music, told me where I could add a coup...

Here are some of the latest music stories and headlines! Lloyd Leaves The Inc.! R&B singer LLOYD has parted ways with his longtime record label The Inc.- just a month after ASHANTI walked out of her contract at the music firm. Ashanti left the label, run by music mogul Irv Gotti, in May (09) after years of reportedly frosty relations with The Inc. bosses. And Lloyd has now followed her out the door after releasing three albums with the company - but insists the split was amicable. He tells AllHipHop.com, “I’m ready for a change. There’s no bad blood. I just feel I need to take more control over my career and get a fresh start. Hopefully Irv can understand my position." This comes as quite a surprise to me because I thought Lloyd was going to be with The Inc. for the long run. Brian McKnight Plans New Album! Brian McKnight is "almost done" with his first set of all-new material in three years and predicts its first single could "go to radio in the next two weeks....

I asked around some of the message boards I frequently visit to name the 'most influential artists'. I didn't have a particular criteria for who people should pick. On second thought I wish I had of as people were just naming all types of artists but that's what made it fun and interesting. Putting together these results were not that surprising to me. Everybody who is somebody was mentioned but only the top 10 matter here. Without further a due I present to you the list of the 'Top 10 Most Influential Artists" according to various internet users. 10. Madonna This is not a surprise to me nor should it be to anyone for that matter. Over the span of three decades, Madonna has transcended the face of pop music. A musical chameleon is still punching today with shocking behavior and sold out tours. 09. Beyonce She is the 'it' girl in the industry and continues to inspire and be duplicated by many a R&B chicks. Her style and music set the standard in what...

Audio: Brandy feat Lonny Breaux - Surprise Ending This is a newly leaked track from Bran Bran. This was more than likely recorded during the sessions for her "Human" album in stores December 9. Audio: Ciara - The Fit Of Love This is another leaked song from CiCi possibly from her "Fantasy Ride" sessions. As you know "Fantasy Ride" has been pushed back to spring 2009. This is a nice little song and is a lot better than a lot of the leaked material from earlier this year. I read that Ciara scrapped "FR" and is doing a different album but we'll see when it comes out. Audio: Plies feat Sean Garrett - Street Lights Newly leaked track from his "Da Realist" album in stores December 16. Kanye West also has a song called "Street Lights" but the songs are about two different things. Plies speciality is more hood and sex tales. The song isn't that bad but it's not moving me like that. I am eager to hear his song with Ashanti...

Check out the new album cover from producer/singer/songwrinter Raphael Saadiq. The former frontman of Tony Toni Tone has produced hits for TLC, Joss Stone, and Kelis just to name a few. The album is preceded by first single, "Love That Girl". The album will be in stores September 16. Check out the tracklisting below! 1. Sure Hope You Mean It 2. 100 Yard Dash 3. Keep Marchin' 4. Big Easy - (featuring The Infamous Young Spodie/Rebirth Brass Band) 5. Just One Kiss - (featuring Joss Stone) 6. Love That Girl 7. Calling 8. Staying In Love 9. Oh Girl 10. Let's Take A Walk 11. Never Give You Up - (featuring Stevie Wonder/CJ) 12. Sometimes 13. Oh Girl [Remix] - (remix, featuring Jay-Z)