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SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 21, 2009
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NEWS ABOUT: R&B

R&B stories: 13 news summaries
music review

Bad News: Chris Brown's New Song Is Good

Is it OK to like the music but hate the abusive jerk behind it?

Oct 29, 09 1:56 PM CDT
(Newser) - Chris Brown may be a reprehensible guy, but unfortunately, he can still sing. With the ink barely dry on his guilty plea, Brown released the lead single on his upcoming album last month, and it’s actually good, Jonah Weiner is sad to report. The instrumentals from Swizz Beatz lay... More »

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music • Lil Wayne • Chris Brown • R&B

OPINION

 Pink Is Ridiculously Underrated 

She can out-sing all those pop starlets, so why isn't she getting the same hype?

Oct 7, 09 11:32 AM CDT
(Newser) - After watching Pink dangle from a trapeze 60 feet above the Radio City Music Hall stage—while belting out "Sober" perfectly—James Montgomery had a revelation: "Pink is totally underrated." She's "the total pop-star package,” he writes for MTV: tattooed, clever, confrontational, and a damn... More »

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entertainment • music • rock stars • pop music • celebrity • R&B • Jay-ZTV • Pink

 British R&B 
 Star Climbs 
 US Charts 

Jay Sean finds a home on Lil Wayne's Cash Money label

Sep 23, 09 2:12 PM CDT
(Newser) - “It doesn't matter if we're from a little place called Hounslow,” Jay Sean tells the BBC. “If you have some good music, you can make it anywhere.” That’s how the British R&B singer found himself collaborating with Lil Wayne, and climbing to No. 2... More »

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entertainment • music • rapper • rap music • Billboard charts • Lil Wayne • R&B • Jay-ZTV • Jay Sean

 Brown Begins 
 Community Service 

Singer cleans up in Va. as punishment for Rihanna beating

Sep 16, 09 7:10 PM CDT
(Newser) - Singer Chris Brown today began the community labor that’s part of his sentence for beating girlfriend Rihanna, MTV reports, with the singer posting a photo from the work to his Twitter feed. His 6 months of labor will include picking up trash in his native Virginia; Brown, 20, also... More »

MORE ABOUT:
entertainment • garbage • domestic violence • Virginia • probation • community service • Rihanna • Twitter • Chris Brown • R&B • Jay-ZTV • Twitpic

(Newser) - How fierce: Beyoncé has been named Billboard's Woman of the Year. The magazine singled her out as the most inspirational female recording artist of the last 12 months. The honor comes on the heels of a world tour to promote I Am...Sasha Fierce that saw the singer's philanthropic alter... More »

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entertainment • Beyonce • Billboard charts • R&B • Jay-ZTV • women's issues

(AP) - A judge today sentenced Chris Brown to five years' probation and six months' community labor for the beating of Rihanna, then ordered the R&B singer to stay away from his former girlfriend for the next five years. The judge told Brown he could be sent to state prison if... More »

MORE ABOUT:
singers • sentencing • hip-hop • assault • Rihanna • Chris Brown • R&B

ALBUM REVIEWS

Maxwell and K'Jon Force
Soul Music to Grow Up

Maxwell, K'Jon lead return to classical soul era's adult themes and sound

Aug 8, 09 3:52 PM CDT
(Newser) - Soul music has always been adult, conveying mature themes like financial insecurity and emotional anxiety. Now, with the emergence of K’Jon and the return of Maxwell, it finally sounds adult, too, Jon Caramanica writes in the New York Times. “K’Jon and Maxwell represent a strain of R&... More »

MORE ABOUT:
music • hip-hop • music review • R&B • Jay-ZTV • soul music

 Ghostface on New Album: 
 No 'Slinging Crack' in R&B 

Rapper will still be in the game when he's 70, he says

Jul 31, 09 11:42 AM CDT
(Newser) - Ghostface Killah is one of today’s most critically acclaimed rappers, and he doesn’t plan on quitting any time soon: “I’ma definitely be old in hip-hop. This is a mental thing. You can write music till you 70,” he tells New York. His new album,... More »

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entertainment • music • celebrity • rapper • rap music • Ghostface Killah • album • R&B • Jay-ZTV

 Brown Apologizes 
 for Rihanna Assault 

'No one is more disappointed in me than I am,' singer says in YouTube video

Jul 20, 09 4:55 PM CDT
(Newser) - Chris Brown breaks the silence on his alleged assault on Rihanna with a YouTube confessional posted today, E! reports. “I felt it was time that you heard directly from me that I am sorry,” the singer said, explaining that he had remained silent since the February incident on... More »

MORE ABOUT:
entertainment • music • battery • domestic violence • hip-hop • Rihanna • domestic abuse • Chris Brown • R&B

MUSIC REVIEW

 Ciara Lost on Fantasy Ride 


May 21, 09 1:33 PM CDT
(Newser) - Ciara's tiny voice can't survive in the spaces her producers leave on her new album, Fantasy Ride, but the disc does provide a few fascinating diversions. Some critical opinions:
  • "That's what you get with Fantasy Ride," Tom Breihan writes on Pitchfork. "A few brilliant left turns
... More »

MORE ABOUT:
entertainment • hip-hop • singer • Beyonce • music review • album • R&B • Jay-ZTV • Ciara

Beyoncé Hit Is Soundtrack
for More Market Chaos: Prof

Analysis of pop charts finds steady songs predict turbulent finance

Jan 12, 09 2:37 PM CST
(Newser) - Beyoncé’s smash hit "Single Ladies (Put a Ring On It)" might be the harbinger of continued chaos in the financial markets, the Guardian reports. Hit songs with steady, regular rhythms—or “low beat variance”—throughout correlate with volatility in the American markets, an NYU professor... More »

MORE ABOUT:
music • depression • recession • hip-hop • Beyonce • economy • financial crisis • R&B

 Rihanna Sporting a Diamond 

But Chris Brown's rep says they're not engaged

Jan 5, 09 1:20 PM CST
(Newser) - Rihanna got the rumor mill going when she was spotted wearing a large diamond ring over the holidays, the Daily News reports. But boyfriend Chris Brown's rep says the two aren't engaged. The couple have dated since 2007, but Rihanna is tight-lipped on their relationship: “People always want to... More »

MORE ABOUT:
celebrity • engagement • singer • relationship • rumor • Rihanna • celebrity engagements • Chris Brown • R&B

Thicke's Blue-Eyed Soul Hits Big Across Racial Divide

Hollywood-raised Canadian R&B star proud his fans are 'mostly grown black women'

Sep 29, 08 3:57 PM CDT
(Newser) - In a society that says white men can't dance, Robin Thicke has surmounted the race barrier: His single, Lost Without U, topped Billboard’s Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart for 11 weeks last year, outperforming songs by Beyonce, Usher, and Alicia Keys. "Eighty or 90% of my fans are... More »

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music • race • African Americans • Billboard Music awards • artist • musician • Robin Thicke • R&B

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