John Legend To Release New Album Once Again On October 24

G.O.O.D./Sony Urban Music/Columbia Records will release Once Again, the much-anticipated second solo album from the multi-platinum Grammy-winning artist John Legend, on Tuesday, October 24.

John Legend is celebrating the release of Once Again with a special appearance on “The Oprah Winfrey Show” (check your local listings) on Thursday, September 21.

Once Again is available for pre-order now at JohnLegend.com and iTunes.

Executive produced by John Legend and Kanye West, Once Again premieres 13 new John Legend songs: “Save Room,” “Heaven,” “Stereo,” “Show Me,” “Each Day Gets Better,” “P.D.A. (We Just Don’t Care),” “Slow Dance,” “Again,” “Maxine,” “Where Did My Baby Go,” “Maxine’s Interlude,” “Another Again,” and “Coming Home.”

Lending production support to John, who co-produced seven of the album’s track, are some of the hottest talents in contemporary sounds: Will.I.Am; Kanye West; Devo Springsteen & Tom Craskey; Raphael Saadiq; Eric Hudson & Jack Splash; Craig Street; Sa-Ra Creative Partners (Om’Mas Keith, Taz Arnold & Shafiq Husayn); Dave Tozer; and Ken Lewis.

In 2004, John Legend — then known primarily as an in demand all-star studio session man — stepped into the solo spotlight as a premier singer-songwriter-pianist performer in his own right with his debut album Get Lifted. Driven in part by the hit singles “Ordinary People” and “Used To Love U,” Get Lifted was a critical and commercial triumph, earning John an astounding eight Grammy nominations — he won Best New Artist, Best Male R&B Vocal Performance (“Ordinary People”) and Best R&B album — and selling more than three million copies worldwide.

http://www.johnlegend.com
http://www.columbiarecords.com

Via PRNewswire

Beyonce Set to Headline Nigeria’s THISDAY Music Festival

Pop culture icon Beyonce will make her first-ever trip to West Africa to headline the first night of the first annual THISDAY Music Festival in Lagos, Nigeria, on October 7.

Held in celebration of Nigeria’s 46th year of independence, the two-day THISDAY Music Festival will feature, on its first night: Beyonce, Jay-Z, Ciara, En Vogue and, on its second night: Snoop Dogg, Mary J Blige, Missy Elliott, and Busta Rhymes.

“It’s a great thrill to come to West Africa for the first time to celebrate Nigeria’s independence,” said Beyonce. “I feel blessed for this opportunity for my all female band and me to appear on stage with some of the world’s most talented artists and share the universal message of peace, hope and beauty that music brings to all of us.”

Beyonce’s second solo album, B’Day, recently entered the Billboard Top 200 best-selling albums chart at #1 while her “Check On It” video took home the MTV Video Music Award for the year’s Best R&B Video.

Beyonce became one of the most widely-recognized and highly-respected women in pop culture as a founding member of Destiny’s Child, the top-selling female group of all time.

Over the past decade, Beyonce has earned numerous accolades including Grammy Awards, American Music Awards, World Music Awards, and NAACP Image Awards. In 2001, when Beyonce took home an ASCAP Pop Songwriter of the Year Award, she became the first African-American woman — and the second woman ever — to receive that honor.

Beyonce made her acting debut in 2001 in the made-for television production “MTV’s Hip Hopera: Carmen.” In 2002, she co-starred as “Foxxy Cleopatra” opposite Mike Myers in “Austin Powers In Goldmember,” cited in the Guinness Book of World Records for achieving the Highest Box Office Comedy Film Gross in film history. The iconic performer took home her 9th Grammy Award (for her duet with Stevie Wonder, “So Amazing”) in 2006 as her then-current single-”Check On It”–topped the Billboard Hot 100 for the third week in a row; and her then-current film, “The Pink Panther,” starring Steve Martin become America’s #1 box office sensation. Both “Austin Powers in Goldmember” and “The Pink Panther” opened at #1 at the box office in the U.S. Beyonce’s latest film project, the movie version of the hit musical “Dreamgirls,” is slated for release in December 2006.

THISDAY, one of the largest Africa-owned media groups in Africa, publishes newspapers, magazines and online (http://www.thisdayonline.com) and hosts the biggest awards events in Africa including this year’s inaugural first annual THISDAY Music Festival.

http://www.beyonceonline.com
Fan club: http://www.welovebeyonce.com
http://www.houseofdereon.com
http://www.columbiarecords.com

Via PRNewswire

TMZ.COM: Rev Run Loses New Baby

Eminem to Introduce New Shady Records Artists on ‘Eminem Presents: The Re-Up’ Compilation

Rumors about an upcoming mixtape project prompted Eminem today to reveal details about the album. “So much wrong information has gotten out,” said the multiplatinum-selling rap superstar, “it’s time to set the record straight.”

Eminem Presents: The Re-Up(Shady Records/Interscope Records), to be released December 5th, began as a street mixtape project — an underground, unofficial CD with raw production values — designed to help launch new Shady Records artists Stat Quo, Ca$his and Bobby Creekwater. “But what happened is that the material was so good and the tracks were getting produced like a regular album,” said Eminem. “Instead of putting it out there rough and unfinished, I thought we should add some other new tracks, make it a real album, and put it in the record stores to give these new artists a real boost.” The album was executive produced by Eminem, who also produced the majority of the songs. A handful of selections were produced by The Alchemist, who also compiled the album in true mixtape fashion. The Alchemist is best known for his work with Cypress Hill, Nas, Snoop Dogg, Mobb Deep, and Jadakiss.

Each of the tracks makes its official CD debut on Eminem Presents: The Re-Up, though Stat Quo’s “Billion Bucks,” and Obie Trice’s “Cry Now” (Remix), produced by LT Moe, was recently released on mixtapes and to radio. The first single and video will be “You Don’t Know” from Eminem, 50 Cent, Ca$his and Lloyd Banks. With Eminem and Ca$his from the Shady camp and 50 Cent and Lloyd Banks from G-Unit, the rap illustrates the unity of the two organizations.

Rampant misinformation about Eminem Presents: The Re-Up included many false internet tracklistings and that the mixtape would be a tribute to D12′s Proof, the recently slain rapper and close friend of Eminem. “The D12 album and those unreleased songs with Proof are coming,” said Eminem. “But The Re-Up is about these new artists and these new songs. It isn’t fair to them or to the memory of Proof to mix them up.”

Ciara Returns With Her Highly Anticipated Sophomore Album

Multi-platinum R&B star Ciara returns with her highly anticipated sophomore album, Ciara: The Evolution (La Face/Zomba Label Group), due out December 5, 2006. Ciara has evolved from a teen who signed a record deal at only 16 years old into a young woman who has toured several countries and sold over three million records with her debut album. Ciara: The Evolution reflects all that, and more.

Ciara: The Evolution sees Ciara calling the shots. In addition to writing or co-writing every song on the album, she earns her first production credits, co-producing almost every track. She is joined by all star producers Rodney Jerkins, Pharrell Williams, will.i.am, Lil Jon, Polow, as well as up-and- comers. Ciara: The Evolution shows Ciara’s growth as a singer, songwriter, producer and as a performer. The album reflects not only Ciara’s new directions but also her vision of the ever-evolving worlds of music, dance, and fashion.

“When ‘Goodies’ came out, people labeled me the ‘Princess of Crunk N B,’ but that was just one song, one sound. My first album had a much bigger variety than that, and I’m taking that even further with Ciara: The Evolution,” says Ciara. “For this album, I took my inspiration from many different influences and the sound really reflects that.”

The world will get their first taste of Ciara’s new sound with first single “Promise,” written by Ciara and produced by Polow (“London Bridge,” “Buttons”). And although her sound has evolved, fans can still expect the dance numbers Ciara is known for. Ciara explains, “The world loves to dance, so I wanted to give them music to dance to, but at the same time, the message is so much stronger. This time around, I’m taking people into my world and letting them see more of who I truly am.”

Ciara: The Evolution is the follow-up to 2004′s triple platinum Goodies, which spawned three #1 singles (“Goodies,” and “1,2 Step,” and “Oh”) and earned Ciara four Grammy nominations (including Best New Artist), five ASCAP Awards for Songwriting, three Teen Choice Awards, two BET Awards, two MTV Video Music Awards, Two Lady of Soul Awards, a Vibe award, and the Female Entertainer of the Year Award from the Soul Train Awards. Ciara has also proven to have the magic touch at radio, as all the songs she has been featured on – “Like You” (Bow Wow), “So What” (Field Mob), and “Lose Control” (Missy Elliot), which won the two a Grammy – quickly went Top Ten.

Racial Disparities in Childhood Immunization Coverage Rates Closing

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention announced that 2005 childhood immunization rates for vaccines routinely recommended for children between 19 and 35 months of age remain at or near record highs. For the first time in the past ten years, rates for the full series of recommended vaccines did not vary significantly by race and ethnicity.

According to CDC’s annual National Immunization Surve (NIS) released today, estimated immunization coverage rates for the 4:3:1:3:3:1 series ranged from 79.5 percent for children of multiple race, 77.1 percent for Asian; 76.3 percent for black; 76 percent for white, and 75.6 percent for Hispanic children. Coverage for the previous series that excluded varicella vaccine (4:3:1:3:3) was 10 percent lower for black children in 2002, compared to 3 percent in 2005. For Hispanic children coverage for the 4:3:1:3:3 series was 7.5 percent lower in 2000, compared to 3 percent in 2005. The 4:3:1:3:3:1 series includes four doses of Diphtheria, Tetanus and Pertussis (DTaP), three doses of polio vaccine, one dose of measles-containing vaccine, three doses of Hib vaccine, three doses of hepatitis B vaccine, and one dose of varicella vaccine.

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Verizon Celebrates African American Legacy With Common and Jamie Foxx at CBC Weekend Gala

Thousands of Verizon customers along with company executives, celebrities and dignitaries partied in style at Verizon’s “Realize the experience” soiree on September 8, at LOVE. This is the second year that Verizon has sponsored a gala during Congressional Black Caucus (CBC) weekend, which was attended by business leaders, civic and Greek-letter organization heads, CBC members and the media.

Pictured above: (L-R) Jamie Foxx, Jerri DeVard, senior vice president, Marketing and Brand Management for Verizon, Foxx’s manager, Rosario Dawson, Common and Jeff McFarland, director of multicultural marketing for Verizon, enjoy the festivities at Verizon’s gala during CBC weekend. (PRNewsFoto/Verizon Communications Inc.)

Lil Kim Joins Joins Line Up For VH1 Hip Hop Honors

Lil Kim joins the line-up of performers at the 3rd annual “VH1 Hip Hop Honors” premiering Tuesday, October 17 at 9PM*. She will honor MC Lyte with a performance of “Lyte As A Rock.”

“MC Lyte is at the top of the list when you talk about Hip Hop pioneers. She paved the way for myself and many of today’s greatest MC’s. I’m honored to have the opportunity to show my respect and how she influenced me,” said Lil Kim in a statement.

Hosted by Ice T, “VH1 Hip Hop Honors” pays homage to the hip hop pioneers and luminaries who transformed the genre into a true cultural phenomenon. The music and influence of each of the honorees will be recognized through performances by classic artists in collaboration with today’s hottest new talent. This year’s celebration will honor Ice Cube, Wu-Tang Clan, Afrika Bambaataa, Russell Simmons, MC Lyte, Rakim, Beastie Boys and Eazy E. With the exception of Russell Simmons, Afrika Bambaataa and Eazy E, all the honorees are set to take the stage and showcase their legendary talent, along with Lil Kim, Diddy, Fat Joe, Lil Jon, Da Brat, Xzibit, Talib Kweli, Remy Ma, Q-Tip, Common, The Roots, George Clinton, Young Jeezy, Erykah Badu and KRS-One. With appearances by Outkast and Mike Epps. Ahmir “?uestlove” Thompson of the Roots will be this year’s musical director. Additional performances and appearances will be announced shortly.

Past honorees include Run DMC, Sugarhill Gang, KRS-One, DJ Kool Herc, DJ Hollywood, Public Enemy, Rock Steady Crew, Tupac Shakur, The Graffiti Movement, LL Cool J, Big Daddy Kane, Ice T, Notorious B.I.G., Grandmaster Flash and The Furious Five, Salt -N- Pepa, and the film Boyz N The Hood with performances by Kid Rock, Nas, Anthrax, MC Hammer, Kanye West, Nelly, T.I., En Vogue, Ludacris, Chic, Doug E. Fresh, Faith Evans, Ciara, The Roots, Pete Rock and Biz Markie.

Whitney Houston files for divorce

UrbanMecca Interviews AKON

Akon grew up in Senegal before he and his family (including his father, jazz percussionist Mor Thiam) eventually moved and settled in New Jersey when he was just seven years of age. Along the way he ran into trouble in the streets and faced some adversity as many Black men do, which makes his success all the more rewarding and encouraging. Akon released his first album Trouble in 2004 and scored unprecedented success in 2005 both here and abroad, with his multi-format smash hit single “Lonely,” and its predecessor “Locked Up,”. Fast forward to the present, as anticipation builds for the release of his newest collage of hip-hop melodies, Urbanmecca.com gets to hear a preview of the album just before we sit down to speak with the man behind the music.

You’d think that a 25 year old with mutli-platinum record sales, international stardom, and astonishing street credibility would be cocky, boastful, or (deservingly) even a little stand-off-ish. At least, that’s what I expected to find before I introduced myself to rappersinger Akon at a listening party for his sophomore album Konvicted, to be released Nov 21st, 2006. Instead, I quickly realized that he is very humble and appreciative of his success. I got the feeling that he is a good person, a sincere guy with a strong sense of family. Seeing such qualities in any entertainer these days is a refreshing observation, and one that made for a pleasurable experience and a compounded impact.

Check it out……

UM: “First of all I have to thank you.”

A: “Oh, it’s nothing.”

UM: “It’s natural for an artist to progress with time. What do you feel this album has that the last one might not have?”

A: “Well, pretty much what this album has that the last one really didn’t have (I think) is the expectation of it and anticipation of it. The last one we had to pretty much work it from the ground up because at the time I wasn’t really known and I had a distinct sound that people weren’t familiar with so I had to go out and actually grind it out. With this album it’s different because I can still continue to do what I do, but with this one people are actually listening and anticipating this album so I think it’s going to be a big success.”

UM: “Definitely. Aside from focusing on your own career as an artist you’ve also been working with other artists signed to your record label Konvict Muzik. Can you tell us what it was like to work with some of those artists, such as Chilli?”

A: “I mean, it’s always incredible when you can work with in house and people that your move around with and work out with. Not only that, but each and everybody is lending a hand to progress and help everybody’s career as far as the success. So it’s always better to work with in-house artists rather than outside artists anyway. A lot of times you just go outside to create another market and another avenue for yourself. You know what I mean?”

UM: “Akon, now that you have reached stardom, do you feel like the multi-platinum recording artist that you are?”

A: ”Well, now that I’ve reached this stardom I don’t know if I feel that way because everything pretty much feels the same. I’ve been on the road so much and for so long that I haven’t really had time to enjoy the success. It’s almost like I’m still promoting the first album. The only difference is (you know) of course you get a little more money, and a lot of friends that used to be around aren’t around anymore because they feel like they want to come up before they come and see you. It’s crazy because we all were broke together so now that I got a little bit of something you shouldn’t feel ashamed to come see me because you’re still driving the same car. You still know me. We’re still peoples and I could even put you in a position where you could even come up. But I know sometimes there are egos that play roles to where a lot of people that you grew up with don’t come around anymore.”

UM: “Yes, that’s sad, but you are really definitely still really tight with your family?”

A: “Oh yeah, family… that don’t change. You know? That’s an African culture. We grew up 17-18 people in a house. That’ll never change. The family is actually even stronger now because now we’re able to provide for each other and put our minds together to create new businesses and more investments.”

UM: “You have a song called “Smack That” that you did with Eminem. I heard that the video for it was inspired by the movie 48 Hours starring Eddie Murphy. Where did you come up with the concept? “

A: “Well, the whole concept for the video was inspired by 48 Hours by Eddie Murphy and Nick Nolte. We, (Eminem and I) have the whole white-guy black-guy thing, we were trying to come up with a concept that would create a good surrounding so that he could stay where he is and I could stay where I am. As you know, he and I are on two totally different levels so we just had to figure out something that could compliment both of our styles and artistic ways so that’s how that concept pretty much came about. We had that and we were thinking about… Well, actually I’m going to have to hold on to those other ideas because I may have to use some of them in the future.”

UM: “What is it that you listen to in your car, or when you are in the crib relaxing?”

A: “Me, I listen to everything. I’m more of an abstract, alternative type of listener. I don’t listen to too much r&b, and not too much hip hop.”

UM: “Do you listen to zook?”

A: “I listen to zook all day. I listen to reggae all day. I’m listening to reggae-tone now. I like a lot of the alternative stuff you know, from R.E.M. to Seal, to Tracy Chapman? Just other stuff. Those things kind of help me with melodies too when I write my own albums because it kind of helps me be able to channel all of those melodies, put them together and create something that r&b and hip-hop aint putting out. You know what I’m saying?”

UM: “That’s right. Well, thank you so much for taking the time to interview with us. We’re definitely big fans and we want to see you do great things.”

A: “That’s what’s up. You got it. I appreciate it.”

BLACK ENTERPRISE Announces the Top 50 Colleges for African Americans

BLACK ENTERPRISE (BE) announced its 2006 list of the Top 50 Colleges for African Americans. Of the 10 highest ranking schools for 2006, five are historically black colleges and universities (HBCUs); five are located in the South; and eight are private institutions.

Attaining the No. 1 rank is Florida A&M University in Tallahassee, FL. Founded on October 3, 1887, as the State Normal College for Colored Students, the venerable HBCU offers 62 bachelor’s degrees in 103 majors/tracks and provides 36 master’s degrees in 56 majors/tracks. Florida A&M previously achieved the No. 6 rank in 2004. “FAMU’s reputation for educational excellence continues to thrive,” said Interim President Castell Vaughn Bryant. “We provide our students with well-rounded experiences and equip them with the skills they need to be successful and productive citizens. The impact of our students’ success penetrates into an improved quality of life for the communities they go on to serve.”

Closely following Florida A&M is No. 2 ranked Howard University in Washington, DC, which ranked No. 4. in 2004. Rounding out the top 10 are: No. 3, North Carolina A&T State University, Greensboro, NC; No. 4, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA; No. 5, Spelman College, Atlanta, GA; No. 6, Hampton University, Hampton, VA.; No. 7, Stanford University, Stanford, CA; No. 8, Columbia University, New York, NY; No. 9, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA; and No. 10, Wesleyan University, Middletown, CT.

To develop the 2006 list, BE surveyed more than 500 African American higher education professionals including presidents, chancellors, and directors of student affairs for their assessments of the social and academic environments for African American students at the nation’s
colleges and universities. The list was derived using the following variables: black student graduation rate; average survey score for the school’s academic environment; average survey score for the school’s social environment; total black undergraduate enrollment; black undergraduate students as a percentage of total undergraduates (credit for this variable was capped at 50% for HBCUs); and ranking on the 2004 BE Top Colleges list.
The results were then narrowed to the published Top 50.

The variable given the heaviest weighting was black graduation rates, followed by the average academic and social environment scores. Due to added emphasis on these factors and other adjustments to the survey process itself, 17 schools that made this year’s list didn’t appear in 2004, including Mills College and Northwestern University. Morehouse, which had been the top school on the last two listings, slipped 44 spots, from No. 1 to No. 45, primarily because its graduation rate fell from 56% to 49% over the past two years. Several of the newcomers, such as Dickinson and Babson colleges, have graduation rates of 90% or higher, so schools with rates below 50% were pushed further down or off the list completely. However, larger HBCUs like Florida A&M did well, even though they had graduation rates of less than 50%, because they benefited from having higher black enrollment numbers.

The BE 50 Top Colleges for African Americans report, which debuted in January 1999, was developed in collaboration with Thomas A. LaVeist, Ph.D., CEO of DayStar Research and professor at Johns Hopkins University. The complete list of the Top 50 Colleges for African Americans appears in the
September BLACK ENTERPRISE on newstands now.

via PRNEWSWIRE

Terrence Howard to Host Fifth Season of PBS’s Emmy Award-Winning Series Independent Lens

Independent Lens announced that Terrence Howard, Academy Award(R) nominee for his performance in Hustle & Flow, will be the host of the 2006-2007 season. Celebrating its fifth anniversary this fall, the critically acclaimed PBS series will kick off with THE WORLD ACCORDING TO SESAME STREET on Tuesday, October 24th at 9 PM (check local listings).

“As the Series Producer of Independent Lens, I am so pleased to announce this year’s host as Terrence Howard. Every season we have had an extraordinary actor as our host, including Edie Falco, Angela Bassett, Don Cheadle and Susan Sarandon. Terrence Howard is a truly exciting addition to this wonderful list of actors who support Independent Lens,” said Lois Vossen. “Terrence Howard lights up the screen with his incredible talent as an actor and trained musician. He has demonstrated his commitment to the craft of acting and especially to the unique endeavors of independent filmmaking. He is the perfect host of the new Independent Lens season and we are honored to be working with him.”

“I am so thrilled to be the host of Independent Lens this season. I’m a passionate believer in the power of independent filmmaking to take us to places we never thought we’d see, and to connect us to people we would likely never know,” said Howard. “In this season alone, our filmmakers take us from Ethiopia to Cuba to small-town USA, with portraits of people as diverse as the jazz genius Billy Strayhorn, the people behind the Enron scandal, and a man who saves a flock of wild parrots — even teenage beauty queens who skin muskrats for their talent competition. I hope everyone will join us for the amazing season ahead.”

via PRNEWSWIRE