Estelle at VH1 Hip Hop Honors

Estelle embraced her inner Iman on the VH1 Hip Hop Honors Awards red carpet.

She also performed in a tribute to De La Soul.

Seal Chanels Sam Cooke

Seal returns to the music scene and this time he takes it back, way back to the smooth sounds of Sam Cooke with A Change Is Going To Come.  Even now, all these years later, this song hold true.

Seal’s new album, Soul will be released on November 11th.

Trey Songz Engaged to Ethiopian Girlfriend

Ladies and Gents meet Helen.

She is the Ethiopian beauty that caused quite a stir when she told Lil Wayne, “thanks but no thanks” when he tried to holla.  She told him she already had a man and that man is R&B crooner Trey Songz. Weezy was quite taken aback by the rejection and told Vibe Magazine all about it.

“I don’t even wanna put that man out there, that might not be his girlfriend, but in her mind she think she yours, dog, and she told me no for you, so you’s a G. And this wasn’t long ago, this was recently, I was the president, I had all that going for me, b*$#&h said NO! She sent me a picture of y’all and everything, like that new video from 50 and Ciara, that’s how y’all was.”

Trey has been smitten for quite some time.  Here is what he had to say to Sister2Sister Magazine

Jamie: Your girlfriend is very pretty. I was really surprised!

Trey: [laughs] Why were you surprised?

Jamie: Well, because her look is so opposite of what the guys in the industry tend to go for. You know, she’s a pretty little brown-skinned thing.

Trey: She’s Ethiopian.

Jamie: What attracted you to her?

Trey: We met about two years ago. We started off just kicking it. She’s a dancer.

Jamie: What does that mean, “kicking it”?

Trey: We’d talk and chill. I didn’t see her much because when I met her, she was on the road with Omarion.

Jamie: She’s one of his dancers?

Trey: Now she dances for Chris Brown. She was on the road dancing for Omarion and Marques Houston at the time. Eventually we would talk on the phone, ’cause my homeboy Pleasure, from Pretty Ricky, actually hooked us up.

Jamie: He hooked you up?

Trey: Well, I’ll say he introduced us. From there, we went on that first tour together. I was on the Holiday Jam Scream Tour. She was on it too. We ain’t never really get a chance to kick it. She’d see me and she’d just kind of brush me off, but I’d be trying to holler at her. She’d see me with all different kinds of chicks and she wasn’t really feeling that.

The internets say this cute two-some have taken the next step and are engaged.

Congrats Helen and Trey!  You’ll make some pretty babies.

Naija Boyz Ode to Delicious African Food

I am a huge fan of these guys.  They have quite a following.  They already covered Solja Boy by doing Crank that Naija Boy.  They had us in stitches with their version of Kiss, Kiss and now they hit us with this ode to wonderful African food.  Gotta love these guys! Stay tuned to the end of the video for what they have coming up…it’s huge!!!!

Father & Daughter Duet (Go ‘Head Miss India)!

I am a Daddy’s girl, no question.  And I love to see other Daddies girls. 

Eric Benet and his daughter share a close relationship.  He has raised her solo.  Halle played step-mom until that whole sex addict scandal went down.

It was a pleasant surprise to see this duet of father and daughter promoting Eric’s upcoming new album.

It is so touching just to see the special bond they share.  Aaaannnndddd Miss India can blow!  Go girl!  Hope an album is in your future star

Robin Thicke’s Magic Video Featuring Celestina

Robin Thicke is bringing all kinds of sexiness with his new song and video for his first single, “Magic” from his upcoming album.  Celestina makes an apperance in the video and as usual, she works it out.

Akon & The Gloved One (MJ) Part 2

They colloborated before on Wanna Be Starting Something for the 25th anniversary of the Thriller album and reviewers loved Akon’s African spin on the song.

They have colloborated again and well, lets just say someone at Universal was very busy in the last 24 hours because many websites had the song and now it has magically dissapeared.

A song that the two worked on for Akon’s upcoming album has leaked to the Internet, and it’s called “Hold My Hand.” A mid-tempo ballad featuring strings at its beginning, ”Hold My Hand” layers the singers’ vocals over a drum machine and a twinkling piano melody as the pair trade off lyrics like “We’re better off being together than being miserable alone” and “Nothing can come between us if you just hold my hand.” Jackson’s softer, more lilting vocal lines start the duet, but Akon soon becomes dominant, thanks to his distinctive phrasing.

Akon’s label rep said that the singer’s as-yet-untitled third album, due later this year, has not been completed, so there’s no word on whether “Hold My Hand” will make the cut, and as such, there hasn’t been any plan to release the song as a single.

Akon previously told MTV News that working with MJ was a dream come true, calling the King of Pop “incredible” and a “genius.”

“Just to be in the same room [with him], I felt everything I wanted to accomplish in life has been achieved,” Akon said. ”That aura … that’s how incredible that aura is. We about to shake the world up, man. You know how you be with somebody and you can’t even explain [the feeling]? I used to sit and think, ‘How does somebody sell so many records and dominate a whole business genre to a point [where] nobody can’t be a part of that without associating with you?’ The way he thinks … some artists think regional, some think national, I was thinking international. He thinks planets. It’s on another level.”

And although those who heard the song say they love it, the jokes are plenty because of the song title and MJ’s legal troubles over the years.

Zambian Soul Sister Hil St. Soul

ZAMBIA stand up!!!!

Our very own Hillary Mwelwa, half of soul group Hil St. Soul is back with her 4th album, Black Rose.

This, my friends is a huge accomplishment in today’s rocky music climate.

I first saw Hillary performing the Aretha Franklin cover, Until You Come Back to Me on VH1 Soul years ago. Her voice was captivating. Once I found out she was Zambian….man, you just don’t know. I talk her up to every single Zambian I meet. Her albums, Soul Organic (amazing, my absolute favorite), Copasetik and Cool (love Pieces), and Soulidified (still blasting the Dwele duet Baby Come Over) prove that my girl is a true R&B/Soul singer.

Black Rose opens with the head bopping Wash Away and continues into Don’t Forget the Ghetto. My absolute favorites that get put on repeat every time are Life, Broken Again, and Hanging On. Danity Kane did it with Damaged but they failed by putting all the blame on the fella that left them damaged instead of taking responsibility. On broken, Hillary takes full responsibility and makes a song about heartbreak sound so sweet.

I once heard criticism of India Arie, Jill Scott, even Lauryn Hill that they tend to be TOO PREACHY. Have you ever heard such nonsense? Hillary and all the aforementioned ladies sing about loving your self and staying positive. If that is being too preachy then sign me up! Hillary is in excellent company and I know there are many more albums to come from this Zambian soul sister.

Support your girl and show her some love by buying her albums. You can download them at amazon for a very cool $8.99 so don’t sleep!

For more information on Hil St. Soul, check out her myspace page.

Check out the lead single Sweetest Days video below

Ethiopain Songbird Wayna

I first heard Ethiopian songbird Wayna in a Honey Soul interview.  When honey first heard Wayna, she knew she had to do her part to let the world know about the underground soul star.  As soon as the interview was over, I had ordered the album.

I love soul music and I love songs that have meaning.  Add to that, that this beautiful, positive music was coming from an African sister and I was SOLD!  The album was Moments of Clarity – Book 1 and I played it over and over and over.  I still play it.  I even got to interview Wayna and it was beautiful to speak to such a beautiful soul.

Wayna’s fans eagerly anticipated her follow up to Moments and we are not disappointed.  The second album is titled Higher Ground.

Wayna got a beautiful surprise when the first single Moonlight Rendezvous hit Billboard at number 3!!!
Moonlight Rendezvous spent 7 consecutive weeks in the Top 10 on Billboard’s R&B/Hip Hop Singles Chart peaking at #3 and 7 consecutive weeks in the Top 50 Billboard’s 100 Hot Singles Sales peaking at #12.

Not bad for this African girl who heads her own Quiet Power Label.  Who needs a record label when you can do that?

I am a HUGE fan and I could give you a play by play on each and every song on Higher Ground but I will spare you and just give you high lights.  My favorite song has to be the laid back Home that speaks of the African immigrant experience in one verse.  Like Erykah Badu did with Tyrone, TLC with Scrubs, and Beyonce with Irreplacable, Wayna’s Mr. Duracell is the female anthem for the summer.

Check out more info on Wayna, check out her website and myspace page.

And see Wayna in action in the video below.

The Real Solja Boy

I read one of the realest quotes ever from Emmanuel Jal in the May 15th, 2008 issue of Rolling Stone magazine. He has a hard time taking 50 cent seriously.  He says,

“You can’t kill people and then talk about it on TV.  If you take somebody’s life, for the rest of your life it will haunt you.  My experience and the horrible things that I’ve done – the pictures are still clear.”

okay?!!

Emmanuel Jal  was a child soldier in Sudan.  His music has been featured in ER episodes, the powerful documentary God Grew Tired of Us and the movie Blood Diamond.

His new album War Child is out today and his documentary War Child is expected to be released soon.