Second Listen Sunday: Subway, Good Times
With the help of the group Subway, Bivins attempted to take on the teen market again in the spring of 1995. We all remember “Fire” and how big that song was in our middle school days.
Slow Jam Saturday: Ralph Tresvant, “Sensitivity”
Throughout “Sensitivity” and his later work, Ralph Tresvant’s high tenor voice had evolved from his squeaky Michael Jackson manqué to a more polished and refined high tenor tone. As far as his voice is concerned, he was still a perfect fit for a romantic or good-guy ballad, and “Sensitivity” from the 1990’s worked like a charm and became a classic.
EP Review: Kem, Full Circle
Musician Kem returns to the scene with his latest EP, Full Circle. The Detroit-based singer opens up his latest project with “Stuck On You,” which has seen success on the Urban AC charts.
Album Review: Ne-Yo, Self – Explanatory
After numerous delays and title changes, R&B singer Ne-Yo returns with his latest project, Self-Explanatory. Due to the COVID pandemic, Ne-Yo had to put the project on the back burner despite releasing singles for the project going to 2020.
Second Listen Sunday: James Ingram, It’s Your Night
Vocalist James Ingram was no stranger to the music industry as his older brother Philip was a member of the late seventies R&B band Switch. Before releasing his debut, It’s Your Night, Ingram had already built a fan base two years prior. On Quincy Jones’ 1981 album The Dude, Ingram supplied vocals for “Just Once” and “One Hundred Ways,” garnering him three Grammy nominations, including Best New Artist. For his efforts on “One Hundred Ways,” he garnered the Grammy Award for Best Male R&B Vocal Performance.
Slow Jam Saturday: Teddy Pendergrass & Whitney Houston, Hold Me
For this week’s Slow Jam Saturday, I wanted to feature a rarely mentioned duet between two late R&B legends. Teddy Pendergrass was already one of the premier voices in R&B when his duet “Hold Me” with future superstar Whitney Houston hit the airwaves in 1984.
Ryan Gosling & Chris Evans are toe-to-toe in the enjoyable The Gray Man
Following a dabble in drama with last year’s Cherry acclaimed directors, The Russo Brothers return to the action genre with The Gray Man from Netflix. An adaptation of Mark Greaney’s same-titled novel, the script for the film hails from Joe Russo, Christopher Markus, and Stephen McFeely.
Paws of Fury is a decent enough Blazing Saddles update
Iconic seventies comedy Blazing Saddles gets somewhat of an animated update in Paramount Pictures, Paws of Fury: The Legend of Hank. Chris Bailey, Mark Koetsier, and Rob Minoff share directing duties. At the same time, Ed Stone and Nate Hopper pen the screenplay.
Last Seen Alive is an enjoyable but by the numbers thriller
With the help of director Brian Goodman, Gerard Butler tones down his action hero heroics in Voltage Pictures Last Seen Alive. Lisa Spann (Jamie Alexander) and Will Spann (Butler) are on the brink of ending their marriage.
Dakota Johnson barely saves Persuasion
British theatre director Carrie Cracknell dips into the oeuvre of literary legend Jane Austen for her feature film debut in Netflix’s Persuasion. Scriptwriters Ronald Bass & Alice Victoria Winslow writes the screenplay adaption of Austen’s 1817 novel.
Gone in The Night is a decent Winona Ryder project
Following a successful television adaptation of his same-titled podcast series, Homecoming, Eli Horowitz makes his feature directing debut with Gone in the Night from Vertical Entertainment.
Second Listen Sunday: The-Dream, I Am Sam
Terius Nash, better known as The -Dream was already an established artist when he released his I Am Sam EP a few days before Christmas in 2015. The EP was a collection of covers by the legendary Sam Cooke and was recorded during the sessions, The-Dream had with Beyoncé for 4 album.