
[/p]Every year during the Grammy Awards, Clive Davis party is the coveted place to be for A-List celebrities. New artist granted the luxury to perform receive an introduction to the upper echelon of the industry followed by a successful career.[/p]The L.A. Times did a Q&A with Mr. Davis where he talked about in the state of the industry and if CD's were a thing of the past, Alicia Keys introduction to the industry and who is on his RSVP list for this year's Grammy.[/p]
The Grammy Awards give the industry a chance to celebrate its successes, so with that in mind, what do you think is going right in the much beleaguered business today?
There certainly is freshness: There is, and has been, the emergence of Lady Gaga; when you look and you see the great album Eminem did, there certainly have been some very strong records that have come out in the past year.
What are the issues that concern you the most?
We’ve got to make sure that music is not homogenized, that music does not exist only to fit into a radio format — which is just encouraging rhythm and tempo and discouraging artistry.... We’ve got to be careful that we not just concentrate on having hit records but that we launch the careers of stars. That’s what the business has always been for me: equal parts discovery of new artists like Whitney or Alicia, but also showing, in effect, how long a career can last. If you begin with a young Aretha or Luther [Vandross] or Rod [Stewart], if they are only allowed to make records that fit into a dance tempo radio format, you can’t do that. I would welcome more diversity. No one’s trying to stem the tide of newness and freshness, but we’ve got to make sure we’ve got the opportunity to build new artists that have careers that will last 10, 20, 30 or 40 years.
[p][/url]Conventional wisdom says the CD is dying, the album format is pass?nd the individual track you can download from iTunes is king. Do you buy into that line of thinking?
This is certainly a very challenging and tough time for music based upon the transition to digital overall. We just have to make sure we don’t just become that industry convert to singles and abandon albums. We need the full panoply, we still need the great album artists, whether historically that’s been the Who or Pink Floyd or Bruce Springsteen. With some of the new artists like Arcade Fire and Mumford & Sons, I’m hopeful we’re not going to be that homogenized. It’s more difficult for the unique artist to break through today, [but] I have confidence the situation will right itself…. I have overall confidence that music is playing a vital part in more lives than ever.
Your annual pre-Grammy Awards party has typically offered testament to the notion of stylistic diversity. Can you give us a sampling of who’s onboard this year?
I’m looking at the RSVP list and it goes from Akon to Earth, Wind & Fire and Jeff Beck, Sacha Baron Cohen, Keyshia Cole and Jermaine Dupri, Berry Gordy, Quincy Jones, Dr. Luke, Whitney Houston, Magic Johnson … and that’s just up to the Js.
Do you strive to keep upping the ante each year, and what can you tell us about what’s in store Saturday night?
Historically, I’ve always started my shows with a rock artist, whether we’re going back to the Foo Fighters or Velvet Revolver or Kings of Leon. I think it’s important to showcase the diversity of music and also salute and welcome new artists…. [In the past] we’ve put together Alicia and Aretha, Lou Reed and Rod Stewart, and last year we had Fergie and Slash doing a Guns N’ Roses song. It’s the unexpected; it’s really sharing the music that I love…. It is a healthy diversity that showcases great talent that lifts people out of their chairs all night long. That’s always been my criterion: You don’t slacken the pace. Every artist that performs, you want them to lift everyone up out of their chair. For 35 years, it seems to be working.
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Erykah Badu or DJ Lo Down Loretta Brown, when she is manning the wheels of steels just released a new visual for "Gone Baby, Don’t Be Long” off New Amerykah Part Two: Return Of The Ankh.
[p]Erykah Badu - Gone Baby, Don't be Long
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You can watch it here:
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[/p]The widespread ignorance and buffoonery on Reality T.V. continues to feed America's insatiable appetite for anything anti-social. The latest pseudo celebrities to join the ranks are Olivia (former G-Unit girl), Chrissy Lampkin (Jim Jones), Emily Bustamente (Fabolous), Somaya Reece (Joe Budden) and Mashonda (Swizz Beatz). The show premieres on March 15th.[/p]

After winning a million dollar bet on the Super Bowl, rapper Birdman took to his twitter page to send subliminal shots at Jay-Z, who deliberately downplayed the financial status of the Cash Money Records, CEO.
N-ggas fantasize about the shit that I do daily likeI wonder how much of the cash prize is he going to donate to help hip-hop founding father Kool Herc
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Expect to see more rappers releasing sappy love songs about heartbreak days leading up to Valentine Day. The DMV native Wale, using a go-go infused sound for his latest offering, "The Breakup Song". The song is off the 'More About Nothing' mixtape.

[/p]The rhyme talent of F-Mills become more evident with each release off the highly popular mixtape series consisting of original songs and tracks with a few remixes here and there. The Chi-town native's punchline heavy flow meshes perfectly over the hypnotic drums of the Kanye produced track "Devil In A New Dress". [/p]

[/p]Superstar rapper Lil Wayne & R&B singer Ray J gives a new meaning to the term product placement when they poured alcohol on a female groupie. I wonder if Diddy sponsored the Ciroc?[/p]Watch Video[/p]

[/p]Tyler Perry speaks about the importance of a film like "For Colored Girls" and how he did not want anyone to be disappointed from it.[/p]via: Rolling Out[/p]Had there been no Madea, had there been no Meet The Brown, had there been no House of Payne then "For Colored Girls" would not have happen. What people do not understand is you must build a brand and make it profitable, before Hollywood would allow you to do a film like this. That is why it took "For Colored Girls" 35 years to make.[/p] Related posts TYLER PERRY'S "I CAN DO BAD ALL BY MYSELF" (May 14, 2009)">TYLER PERRY'S "I CAN DO BAD ALL BY MYSELF" (0) Tyler Perry's $41 Million Reign at The Boxoffice (February 23, 2009)">Tyler Perry's $41 Million Reign at The Boxoffice (0) Tyler Perry Unveils New Studio (October 5, 2008)">Tyler Perry Unveils New Studio (0) Tyler Perry Takes Stand In Copyright Lawsuit (December 5, 2008)">Tyler Perry Takes Stand In Copyright Lawsuit (0) Tyler Perry Scold Latecomers During Play (February 11, 2010)">Tyler Perry Scold Latecomers During Play (0)