There's seven young artists today who prove that R&B; music is very much alive. Not all will become household names, or rack up huge sales, or win lots of awards. But each has displayed an amount of talent that indicates that R&B; is far from dead.
Legendary R&B group Sade kicked off a spring 2011 European tour in Nice, France on April 29, and they'll also tour the U.S. and Canada, with John Legend, during much of the summer. These exclusive pictures by photographers Sophie Muller and Gabriel Coutu Dumont of the European tour's opening night show in Nice give you a taste of what you can expect when Sade tours North America this summer. Enjoy.
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The French urban music duo known as Les Nubians released their third studio album, Nü Revolution, this week (April 26, to be exact). It leans more toward what we Americans call "world music" instead of traditional R&B, so yours truly won't be reviewing it. What I will do though, is present you with a song on the album that's sung partially in English and owes its creation in part to two famous Americans. The song, "Liberte," which is dedicated to Martin Luther King Jr., is partially inspired by Barack Obama's 2008 U.S. presidential election victory. The song, which is as light and airy as a butterfly on a spring day, can be streamed via the link below.
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Image © Shanachie Entertainment.
If there's one theme that has always run through Beyonce Knowles' career, it's female empowerment. From songs like "Independent Women" and "Survivor" from her Destiny's Child days to solo material like "Ring The Alarm" and "Single Ladies," Bey has shown that's she's all about girl power. So it should come as no surprise that the first official single from her upcoming, but as yet untitled fourth studio album, "Run The World (Girls)," is a female empowerment anthem. What is a mild surprise though, is that the song's co-written by producer-singer Terius Nash, better known to most music fans as The-Dream. Apparently, Dream is either very in touch with his feminine side, or else knows how to tap into it quickly. Anyway, "Run The World," is undeniably a memorable addition to Beyonce's catalog of songs. But whether it's a great track or not is very much debatable. If you haven't heard it yet, you can stream "Run the World" via Ms. Knowles' official SoundCloud page. A link's included below.
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Image © Columbia Records.
If you hadn't heard, R&B (and sometimes Gospel) singer Kelly Price is releasing a new album next month, and here's a little taste of what to expect from it. The song, called "Himaholic," is about a woman who's so strongly attracted to a man that he becomes something like an addiction for her. "I can't break free, I get so weak, is there any help for me?," she sings. The song's one of the better tracks on her new album, which is simply called Kelly and is due out May 3. You can play the song via the link below.
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Image © My Block/Malaco Records.
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