Friday, 27 June 2008
Sunday, 22 June 2008
R&B star walks free
The month-long trial centred on whether Kelly was the man who appears on a sexually graphic, 27- minute videotape at the heart of the case, and whether a female who also appears on it was underage.Over seven days presenting their case, prosecutors called 22 witnesses, including several childhood friends of the alleged victim and four of her relatives who identified her as the female on the videotape.In just two days, the singer's lawyers called 12 witnesses.They included three relatives of the alleged victim who testified they did not recognise her as the female on the tape.Kelly won a Grammy in 1997 for I Believe I Can Fly, and is known for such raunchy hits as Bump N' Grind, Ignition, and for Trapped in the Closet, a multi-part saga about the sexual secrets of an ever-expanding cast of characters.Despite his legal troubles, Kelly - who rose from poverty on Chicago's South Side to become a star singer, songwriter and producer - still retains a huge following, and his popularity has arguably grown in recent years.The singer has released more than half a dozen albums, most of them selling over a million copies. He has also had a multitude of hits and gone on tours.Kelly has a new song, Hair Braider, out now, and is due to release a new album next month.Kelly, always meticulously dressed in a suit and tie, appeared tense at times during the trial, furrowing his brow. He seemed ill at ease when prosecutors played the sex tape in open court after opening arguments.In the video, entered into evidence as "People's Exhibit No. 1," a man has sex with a young female, who is naked for most of the recording. She is often blank-faced.The man speaks to her in a hushed voice, and she calls him "Daddy".In one scene, alluded to in one count of the indictment, the man urinates on the female. Cross examination was often heated and several witnesses cried on the stand.- AP
Sunday, 15 June 2008
Estelle - Estelle Im Glad I Was Dropped By Label
British rapper/singer ESTELLE is glad she was dropped by the record label which released her debut album - insisting the knock-back has made her stronger.
The star was dumped by V2 Records after her first single 1980 failed to make the U.K. chart's top ten in 2004. She failed to make a major impact on the British music charts until her latest hit American Boy shot to the number one spot in March (08).
And the star, who was quickly signed by John Legend's Homeschool label after her departure from V2, is thankful the set-back happened - stating singers must first struggle in order to "prosper".
She says, "I look at it like building a mountain. If you get placed at the top at the start, you'd fall down quickly. You have to be confident to survive in this industry.
"You have to be screwed greatly by one label to prosper."
See Also
Monday, 2 June 2008
Groovenics
Artist: Groovenics
Genre(s):
Other
Discography:
Groovenics
Year: 2001
Tracks: 13
Many assumed that the wave of blue funk alloy bands that cropped up in the later '90s (Korn, Limp Bizkit) had began to drop dead down by the new millennium, merely south Florida's Groovenics unbroken partying like it was noneffervescent 1999. The six-piece stria (singer K*rl Michaels, guitarists Jim Austin and Matt Swig, bassist Pete Carmichael, drummer Mike Darookie, and keyboardist Josh Mullenix) specializes in the testosterone-heavy sound of the two aforesaid bands. Their self-released debut album, Wedgie Fever, was issued in 1999, as the group open local shows for such big time acts as the Misfits, Mötley Crüe, Less Than Jake, and Drain STH, and built up a following. In gain to victorious awards from both Jam Magazine's Jammy Awards and the South Florida Slammy Awards (Stria of the Year, Best Vocalist, Best Bassist, and Best Local Release), Groovenics besides appeared on both Billboard's and Talent Net's specialization charts. By 2001, the sestet was signed to Spitfire Records, which promptly issued their self-titled sophomore effort. The guys called it quits, however, in September 2003. A distich members went on to play in Suicide City.