City High's Robby Pardio on A&E's Intervention

I have never actually watched one of those Intervention shows on A&E before but I saw this link at Rhymes With Snitch and couldn't stop watching it.

It's all about the intervention of Robby Pardio, the founding member of the 90's R&B/rap trio City High....and it was both heartbreaking and fascinating to me.....the tears flowed freely as I watched this young man battle his demons.

If you haven't seen it before you should definitely check it out. My heart goes out to him and I truly hope that this brother can get his life back.

Parents BE WARNED!!! This is what happens when you give your children everything they want and then raise your children WITH NO BOUNDARIES......

"In the final analysis, it is not what you do for your children but what you have taught them to do for themselves that will make them successful human beings." - Ann Landers

Who Dis?

Know Who dis is?

(The brother on the right....lol NOT the white boy on the left)

It's legendary 70's funk master Sylvester "Sly" Stewart

frontman for the baddest band ever!!!
Sly & The Family Stone

According to the article that the above picture was attached to (click here to read it)

Sly is gearing up to release a new album in 2010.

Btw...did you know that Sly's music catalog was purchased by Michael Jackson's company?

Is this THE END for The Boys Choir of Harlem?

I simply can't believe this is happening....Oooohh...HELLO? Jay-Z & P. Diddy y'all know you need to step in and correct this situation asap!! This institution has saved the lives of thousands of young black men by taking them off the streets by allowing them to see the world OUTSIDE of their neighborhoods, educating and nurturing their dreams & talents through music. We desperately need outlets like these to continue to nurture, mentor and educate our young men.

My love of music (and English) certainly kept me from dropping out of high school cuz for a long minute I found the streets much more appealing than school...lol...
Your thoughts fam?

For the audiences that marveled at the Boys Choir of Harlem, it was an additional wonder that the young performers with world-class voices had emerged from some of the most difficult neighborhoods of New York. December was always a busy month, as the choir toured the country’s premier concert halls and appeared on television Christmas specials.

But this year, the boys are nowhere to be found. Last week, Terrance Wright, a 39-year-old choir alumnus, picked up a microphone in front of the altar of Metropolitan Community United Methodist Church in Harlem, the choir’s last home, and delivered news that surprised few people but saddened many.

“Tell the people. Let it be known,” Mr. Wright said, glistening and exhausted after leading a Christmas concert by former singers in the choir. “There is no Boys and Girls Choir of Harlem.”

The choir’s last official performance was in 2007, around the time of the death of its founder, Walter J. Turnbull. But no one ever announced that it was gone. Board members and alumni had hoped to revive it, but they acknowledged last week that they had not had any success.

For a famous organization that politicians had vowed would outlive its founder, it had a quiet end. Many of the choir’s materials, like copies of handwritten scores and its trademark burgundy blazers, now sit in black garbage bags and open boxes in the church’s damp dirt-floor basement, amid overturned tables and sacks of plaster of Paris.

Led by Dr. Turnbull, who started the group in 1968, the choir sang at the White House for nearly every president since Lyndon B. Johnson, and it was awarded the National Medal of Arts by Bill Clinton. But it did not survive long enough to perform for the country’s first black president.

The choir’s demise as a functional organization was a result of many factors, but everyone agrees it was set in motion by a single episode: an accusation by a 14-year-old boy in 2001 that a counselor on the choir’s staff had sexually abused him. The counselor eventually was sentenced to two years in prison.

To read the full NY Times article click HERE

Additional sources

Fat Boys Prince Markie Dee to toss his hat in the wrestling ring

The Fat Boys burst onto the eighties music scene and have since dwindled down into part of a Hip-Hop history lesson. Now more than 20 years since their debut, one of the original members is having his name thrust back into the spotlight. Prince Markie Dee of the Original Fat Boys is preparing to try his luck in the wrestling ring. The Fat Boy is taking retired WWF Wrestler, Iron Sheik to the ring following comments he made on the Howard Stern show.

According to the old school veteran, he witnessed Shiek call a staff member on Howard Stern's radio show a “little nigger.” Feeling offended, Dee challenged the retired wrestler to step up and meet him in the ring.

Via Twitter, UFC/MMA Legendary fighter, Frank Trigg has offered to train the Fat Boy for the fight. When this fight goes down, Prince Markie Dee will donate the money raised to charity.

To continue reading click here


Source: Hip Hop Wired

Boy George Comes Home...

Judging by Boy George's healthy new look, being locked up for false imprisonment of a male prostitute may have been the best thing that's ever happened to him.


George only served 4 months of his 15-month sentence.

He looks good. It's nice to see him healthy again.

Source: TMZ.com

New Single "Pretty Wings" from Maxwell!!!

Check out the new video for Maxwell's new single "Pretty Wings" from his eagerly anticipated new album....Enjoy!




As for me, I pretty much LOVE ANYTHING that Maxwell's sings and this song is no different...I like it a lot!!!

"VH1 DIVAS" To make a comeback in September 09!!!

NEW YORK, April 20 /PRNewswire/ -- One of VH1's most recognizable and beloved franchises, "VH1 Divas" returns after a four-year hiatus with what promises to be a star-studded show. VH1 will air "VH1 Divas" LIVE from the Brooklyn Academy of Music (BAM) Howard Gilman Opera House in Brooklyn, New York, on Thursday, September 17. Continuing in the "Divas" tradition, VH1 will bring together some of the biggest names in music today for an exclusive, high-voltage night of unforgettable performances. Performers, presenters, and special guests will be announced as they are confirmed.

"Over the years, we've received constant calls and emails asking us to bring back our 'Divas' show. Now more than ever, the time feels right to re-launch this beloved show as a new generation of talented female artists has come to the forefront of music," said Lee Rolontz, Executive Producer for "VH1 Divas" and Executive Vice President, Music Production for VH1. "We've heard our viewers, and we promise to deliver a live show that will generate the same 'Divas' excitement as in the past -- while also infusing some new twists along the way."

VH1 wants to hear from "Divas" fans to help determine the direction of the show. Beginning today, VH1 is asking users to tell them who they'd like to see perform at this year's "VH1 Divas." Go to Divas.VH1.com now to leave your comments about who you'd like to see on stage this year.

Premiering on VH1 in 1998, "VH1 Divas" became synonymous with some of the most memorable live female vocal performances in television history. The show quickly became a highly anticipated annual phenomenon, generating speculation among music fans and industry executives on who would be part of that year's telecast. Previous featured performers over the years included Diana Ross, Tina Turner, Cher, Mariah Carey, Celine Dion, Aretha Franklin, Mary J. Blige, Shania Twain, Faith Hill, Whitney Houston, Beyonce, Chaka Khan and many more.

"VH1 Divas" is executive produced by Lee Rolontz, Rick Krim and Patrizia DiMaria.

Click HERE to read the rest of the article.

Source: PR Newswire

What Ever Happened To: Maysa Leak

Yet again in conversation, a formerly familiar name came up and I (once again) wondered aloud where this chick disappeared to. Y'all remember jazz singer Maysa Leak right? I heard her on the "Positivity" album with Incognito (every cut on this CD was awesome!!) and became an instant fan....she left Incognito, recorded several solo albums and then...nothing. Well I did some research and this is what I found about Maysa on Soulwalking.co.uk

b. 17th August 1966, Baltimore, Maryland, U.S.A.

Maysa Leak embarked on a singing career at an early age.

By the age of 6 she had already determined that she was going to be a singer, and she spent her elementary and high school days performing in choir and musical theater productions.

Maysa majored in Classical Voice Performance at Morgan State University; during her studies there she began writing and recording original material.

She also placed second in Baltimore's first annual Billie Holiday Vocal Jazz Contest and auditioned for Stevie Wonder's vocal group Wonderlove.

She was accepted into the group but joined only after she had earned her degree from Morgan State.

Upon graduating, Maysa moved to North Hollywood to perform with Wonderlove on the 'Jungle Fever' soundtrack and appeared in live and televised performances to promote the film.

Maysa also recorded jingles on her days off from performing with Wonderlove and worked at local record shops.

In 1991, she was recommended to the British funk-jazz group Incognito by producer Steve Harvey, a mutual friend of Maysa's and of the band's leader, Jean-Paul 'Bluey' Maunick.
Maysa moved to London and joined the band in time to record the 1992 album 'Scribes, Tribes & Vibes', which included the hit single 'Don't You Worry 'Bout A Thing.'

She also recorded the 1993 album 'Positivity' with Incognito before returning to Baltimore in 1994 to record her first solo album, 'Maysa'.

'What About Our Love,' the album's single, reached number 52 on Billboard's Top 100 List.

In 1997, Maysa returned to Incognito and recorded 'Beneath The Surface'.

During this time she began collaborating with the neo-blues group Grainger, and appeared on their album 'Phase 1'.

Maysa has also recorded with Rick Braun, Rachel Z, Rhythm Logic and Pieces Of A Dream.

Incognito's 'No Time Like The Future' followed in 1999, and her second solo album 'All My Life' (which was produced by Maunick), was released on Japanese Warner Brothers in 1999.

The album was released on Expansion Records in the UK the following year to critical acclaim.

On the 6th Decemer 1999, Maysa gave birth to a baby boy whom she called Jazz.

**Maysa was 6 months pregnant when her physician told her that she was in good enough shape to go on an international tour with Incognito. During an encore performance in Osaka, Japan, Maysa's water broke. She didn't realize what was happening since she wasn't due for another three months, so she went back to the hotel and went to bed. It wasn't until breakfast the next morning when the group's leader noticed she was in pain and called an ambulance that she finally realized she was in labor.

Maysa delivered Jazz at 25 weeks gestational age at a small hospital in Osaka. Weighing only 2 pounds, he was as little as a bag of sugar and fit in the palm of her hand. Jazz was immediately placed in the NICU, where he stayed for the next two and a half months.

Alone and scared, Maysa turned to music to help get her through the crisis. "I wrote Out of the Blue to capture the emotional journey that I faced when my son Jazz was born," said Maysa. Eight months after coming home from Osaka, Maysa thought they were in the clear, but they weren't. She thought Jazz had a cold, but then noticed his chest was heaving and he was having trouble breathing. When she took him to the hospital, she found out that Jazz had RSV (Respiratory Syncytial Virus), a very contagious and common virus that's potentially very serious, especially for premature babies.

Knowing how serious RSV can be, Maysa is proud to be the National Spokesperson for RSV Awareness.**

**courtesy of celebrity parents.com

To find out more about what's happening with Maysa Leak: http://www.maysa.com/

And here is the update!!! Maysa will be performing with her band on Jan 20 at The Lincoln Theater in Washington DC to honor President Barack Obama!

On Jan. 20 stunning jazz artist Maysa Leak, along with urban jazz band Spur of the Moment, will hit the Lincoln Theatre’s storied stage to honor our newly elected president, Barack Obama.

The award-winning songstress will showcase songs from her newest album, Metamorphosis.

Tickets are $50 and can be purchased at http://www.lovethelincoln.com/ and http://www.ticketmaster.com/.

The Lincoln Theatre

1215 U St. NW

Washington, D.C.

Cool! I'm glad she's doing well!

"Just don't give up trying to do what you really want to do. Where there's love and inspiration, I don't think you can go wrong."

-- Ella Fitzgerald, Jazz Singer

What Happened To: Martha Wash

You know fam....I was at a party the other night hanging out with my homegirl Mia Amber and the DJ put on "Everybody Dance Now (Gonna Make You Sweat)" and we both wondered at the same time what happened to Dance Diva Martha Wash......I found a good deal about what's happening with Martha Wash from DivaStation.com & Wikipedia.....I am glad the news is good y'all!

Although you may think yourself unfamiliar with the powerhouse voice of dance diva Martha Wash, you are probably wrong. With songs such as "You Make Me Feel (Mighty Real)", "It's Raining Men" and "Gonna Make You Sweat (Everybody )" to her credit, it seems likely that anybody who has stepped onto a dance floor since the 1970s has encountered this musical force of nature. from unknown back-up talent to girl group co-conspirator to solo siren, Martha Wash's voice has contributed more to dance music than other single person's.

Little is publicly known about Martha Wash, prior to her debut as half of Two Tons of Fun. as Two Tons of Fun, Wash, along with friend Izora Armstead, sang back-up for 70s sensation, Sylvester.

Having garnered a large following among gay men, two tons of fun release two albums—Two Tons of Fun and Backatcha—as well as appearing on a Paul Jabara album (which also featured a twenty year-old Whitney Houston).

Baby!!! We wore the GROOVES RIGHT OFF that first Two Tons of Fun album!!! That "Just Us" track was (and is STILL a killer!!)

The first single from their third album, "It's Raining Men" made a name for two tons of fun…literally. rumor has it that DJ's unfamiliar with Two Tons of Fun, took the opening line of "It's Raining Men"—which introduces Izora and Martha as "your weather girls"—too seriously and mistook it for the group's actual title. the name stuck and the song became a huge success, returning to the charts again in 1984.

Success produced two other singles—"I'm Gonna Wash That Man Right Out Of My Hair" and "Success"—but none fared as well as their signature song. Sadly Izora Armstead passed away from heart failure in 2004.

The Weather Girls were reborn in 1988, with a self-titled release. This time, Cheryl Pepsii Riley's boys, full force, stepped in for Jabara, producing three of the album's tracks. as the eighties faded into the nineties, Martha stepped behind the scenes to provide back-up vocals for some of the industry's heavy-hitters.

Just then (with the Milli Vanilli scandal still fresh in the minds of the music industry), yet ANOTHER scandal broke! Allowing greed to cloud good judgement, producers of Black Box, C+C Music Factory and Seduction used tracks intended as background harmonization as lead vocals without crediting or compensating The Diva.

It is alleged that the groups committed this heinous act to cover the fact that their own barbie-doll front girls couldn't sing; they feared that by including Wash, a full-figured woman, in promotional materials it would damage the groups' image within the club community.

(Sadly, enough...this BS still prevails in the music industry today. Don't y'all know by now that the Gay Boys LOVE the fierce plus sized Divas who can really BLOW!!)

Lawsuits were filed and, after a long and hard battle, Wash prevailed. Wash's courtroom efforts spurred legislation making vocal credits mandatory on CD's and music videos.

(Vocalists all over the WORLD, including myself, thank you for this one mama! A WHOLE LOT of folks are eating better because of this legislation!)

During an interview with Arsenio Hall, the talk show host asked Wash how she could have possibly proven that hers was the voice we heard on the songs in question. Without so much as batting an eyelash, Wash opened her mouth and let loose, "Everybody Dance Now!"; There were no further questions.

Settlements with Black Box included a recording contract with RCA Records, which led to her debut, self-titled solo album in 1993. As an aside, Black Box has since suffered relative obscurity, releasing only one new single since losing their golden goose. Clivilles and Cole (who died in 1995), regretting their transgression, invited Wash to accompany the factory's front girl, Zelma Davis, on their album Anything Goes. (lol...anyone else remember when Zelma Davis (shortly after the scandal broke) tried to prove she could sing on a televised awards show and was resoundly booed?) Details of any settlement reached between Wash and Seduction have gone undisclosed.

Wash's self-titled solo album, which produced the singles "Give It To You" and "Carry On", refused to perform as well as one might expect from the queen of club music, despite respectable club play.

(Really? Both these songs hit #1 on the charts...isn't that way past "respectable"?)

Wash has toured extensively on the club circuit and remains a favorite among gay men, performing at pride celebrations across the country. in 1996, Todd Terry teamed Martha with Jocelyn Brown for "Keep On Jumpin" and "Something Goin' On" which was released both as a single and on Terry's album. In 1997, Wash re-released the 1993 hit "Carry On" with '97 remixes, as well as the 1983 hit "It's Raining Men" with drag diva RuPaul replacing Izora Armstead.

In January of 1998 Martha's long-awaited greatest hits album, "The Collection" was released.

Wash was scheduled to appear on Broadway (along with Sarah Dash of Labelle) in "Gals Too Big for Broadway." The show was supposed to run in late 2006, but has been temporarily postponed.

(hmmm....I am usually "in the know" about these sort of things...but I'll admit, I didn't hear a peep about this show.)

Martha Wash has endured a twenty year career peppered with hardship and strife, throughout which she has witnessed the death of friends and loved ones. By standing up for herself and for the gay community, and by setting a new standard of beauty for the music industry, Martha Wash has truly earned the name Diva and the title "Queen of Clubland".

Martha's most current project is one that is extremely close to her heart. In 2004, she began her own record company, Purple Rose Records, and immediately saw the first single, "You Lift Me Up" soar high into the top 5 on Billboard Magazine's Club Play Chart.

She is currently recording material for her upcoming project which she says will be "inspirational and uplifting".

To see what Martha Wash is up to next check out her website http://www.martha-wash.com/

Well, I am not surprised that she's doing okay...you simply CANNOT have a talent like hers and NOT do well (okay...well you can...but that's the exception and not the rule!). I bet she has a HUGE following in Europe (where they appreciate our artists MUCH more than we do!)

I am just glad she's well and I thank her for her changing the playing field for Plus Sized Divas everywhere!!!

"I stand alone in the eye of the storm. Pressures all around, tryin' to wear me down. But it's alright, I won't give up the fight. I said, 'Lord, lift me up!' Let me rise above. Nobody's gonna take my pride, I won't stop, I will not be denied - I carry on!". - Martha Wash

What Ever Happened To: Angela Bofill

Raised in New York by a Cuban father and a Puerto Rican mother, Angela Bofill was a student of many styles of music, from the latin sounds played regularly by her family to the soul and jazz sounds of her neighborhood in the Bronx. She began singing professionally as a teenager as a member of New York’s All City Voices and as featured lead soloist for the Dance Theater of Harlem.

After completing her studies in California, Bofill was introduced by her friend, jazz flutist Dave Valentin, to Dave Grusin and Larry Rosen of GRP records, and they signed her for her 1978 debut, "Angie" (produced by Ashford & Simpson). The album was a breakout smash on contemporary jazz radio and the tastefully arranged jazz vocal disc showed a gifted young artist with a rich voice beyond her years. Featuring a number of great cuts, including most notably a cover of “This Time I’ll Be Sweeter,” Angie became one of the year’s biggest jazz albums. She followed it in 1979 with the even better "Angel of the Night," a more muscular album that showed she had the chops to handle upbeat material like the title cut and the fantastic “What I Wouldn’t Do” as well as softer tracks such as “I Try” (later beautifully remade by Will Downing).

Sensing a star in the making, Clive Davis and Arista Records bought out Angela’s GRP contract and teamed her with hot writer/producer Narada Michael Walden for "Something About You," an attempt at a more straight-ahead pop/soul album. While some of Bofill’s jazz fans balked at the new album, it was undoubtedly a critical success, providing her with some of the best material of her career, including the stepper “Holding Out For Love” and the wonderful ballads “Break It To Me Gently” and Earl Klugh’s “You Should Know By Now.” It was one of 1982’s best albums and still sounds great today (it was reissued in expanded form in 2002). Unfortunately, Arista pulled a rare blunder in its choices of singles to be released from the album, and the disc never received the props it deserved.

She teamed up again with Walden in 1983 for "Too Tough," which was even more directly aimed at the urban market, with a funk-laded title cut and very little resembling her earlier jazz stylings. And while it became her highest charting album on the R&B charts, it was at the expense of her loyal jazz following, which never really came back. She again teamed with Walden for Teaser, which featured the nice ballad, “I’m On Your Side.”

Whether singing jazz, soul or funk, and regardless of the quality of material she worked with, Bofill always got the most out of her material and made even poorly produced work sound better than it should.
She recorded two more modestly successful albums for Arista (with the help of the System and George Duke) before moving to Capitol and producer extraordinaire Norman Connors for "Intuition," in 1988. It was her last notable chart success. She recorded three more albums over the next eight years of varying quality, and provided backing vocals on a number of other albums, most notably Connors’ excellent "Eternity" in 2000, where she sounded as wonderful as ever.

She’s appeared in a number of stage plays over the last few years, including “God Don’t Like Ugly” and “What A Man Wants, What A Man Needs.” She's also regularly toured the US and Europe in multi-artist jazz artist shows.

In January, 2006, Bofill suffered a massive stroke that left her paralyzed on her left side. It's doubtful she will ever perform or record again.

Bofill, 53, was eventually released from intensive care and will require speech and physical therapy. She was uninsured, so many of her friends organized benefit concerts to raise money for her medical treatment. She currently resides in Seattle, Washington.

Source: Soul Tracks.com

"I love to see a young girl go out and grab the world by the lapels. Life's a bitch. You've got to go out and kick ass." - Maya Angelou

Whatever Happened To: Lisa Nicole Carson

Lisa Nicole Carson (born July 12, 1969) was a popular actress. Carson was born in Brooklyn, New York and spent her adolescence in Gainesville, Florida, attending F. W. Buchholz High School and graduating in June, 1987.

Carson was noted for her talented singing voice, which contributed largely to her placing as a runner-up in the 1986 America's Junior Miss scholarship/talent pageant for the state of Florida. After she graduated high school, she moved back to New York to pursue a career as an actress, where she began her career by appearing in a number of 'After School Specials' and Home Box Office made short films.

Carson appeared on two critically acclaimed prime time shows, in some cases simultaneously. She had a recurring role on ER from 1996 to 2001, and a supporting role on Ally McBeal as Ally's best friend Renee from 1997 to 2001.

Carson received press notice for both roles, and in 2000, she was voted by readers of Black Men Magazine as one of "The 10 Sexiest Women of the Year." In 2001, she was fired from roles on both shows, because of her "unpleasant attitude and her mood swings and the frequent amount of times she came into work while inebriated.

In 2000, she was arrested for 'interfering with a lawful business establishment' and 'not leaving the premises' after a disorderly conduct incident at a luxury hotel. Shortly after, she was hospitalized in a mental health facility which was reportedly due to a drug-related incident. However, in recent years her family and friends have acknowledged that Carson's aberrant behavior was actually due to her developing schizophrenia.

Little has been known of her life since she made her last on-screen appearance on the series finale of Ally McBeal. Carson has since withdrawn from acting and public life while suffering from schizophrenia. Currently, Carson is being cared for by family and mental health specialists-who are treating her debilitating disease.

Damn. This chick was hot for a GOOD LONG minute....damn shame.

"The ability to be in the present moment is a major component of mental wellness." -Abraham H. Maslow