Electronic Arts’ Boogie for Wii gets funky

Electronic Arts have released the full track listing for the upcoming Boogie for Nintendo’s Wii game console.

”This is a breakthrough game with a landmark soundtrack,” said Steve Schnur, Worldwide Executive of Music and Marketing at EA. “We’ve brought together generations of the biggest hits in pop music history for a game that takes Wii innovation to a whole new level. Boogie is truly the ultimate family fun experience.”

Players will dance, sing and create music videos with this package that takes advantage of the innovative Wii controls. Gamers can sing their favorite tunes or dance to the latest hit songs as well as catch their best dance moves, record their own voice and make music videos with the easy-to-use music video creator.

* “ABC,” The Jackson 5
* “Baila Me,” Gypsy Kings
* “Boogie Oogie Oogie,” Taste Of Honey
* “Brick House,” The Commodores
* “Canned Heat,” Jamiroquai
* “Celebration,” Kool & The Gang
* “Dancing in the Street,” Martha Reeves & The Vandellas
* “Dancing Machine,” Jackson 5
* “Don’t Cha,” Pussycat Dolls / Busta Rhymes
* “Fergalicious,” Fergie
* “Get Right,” Jennifer Lopez
* “Get The Party Started,” Pink
* “Girls Just Want To Have Fun,” Cyndi Lauper
* “Groove Is In The Heart,” Dee-Lite
* “I Want You Back,” The Jackson 5
* “I’m A Slave 4 U,” Britney Spears
* “It’s Raining Men,” The Weather Girls
* “Karma Chameleon,” Culture Club
* “Kung Fu Fighting,” Carl Douglas
* “Le Freak,” Chic
* “Let’s Get It Started,” Black Eyed Peas
* “Love Rollercoaster,” Red Hot Chili Peppers
* “Love Shack,” The B-52’s
* “Mambo No. 5 (A Little Bit of…),” Lou Bega
* “Milkshake,” Kelis
* “One More Time,” Daft Punk
* “One Way Or Another,” Blondie
* “Oops I Did It Again,” Britney Spears
* “Pop Muzik,” M
* “S.O.S.,” Rihanna
* “Stars,” Simply Red
* “That’s The Way (I Like It),” KC And The Sunshine
* “Tu Y Yo,” Thalia
* “U Can’t Touch This,” M.C. Hammer
* “Virtual Insanity,” Jamiroquai
* “Walking On Sunshine,” Katrina & The Waves
* “We Are Family,” Sister Sledge
* “Y.M.C.A.,” The Village People

American Idol gives boost to Seattle’s underground hip-hop scene

RA Scion and DJ Sabzi, Common MarketRA Scion of Common Market, one of this Seattle’s most popular rappers, has a day job as a custodian.

But, given his recent appearances on stage with American Idol finalist Blake Lewis and Sir Mix-A-Lot, the quality of Common Market’s debut album and the buzz surrounding Seattle’s underground hip hop scene, but this won’t be for long.

Common Market is one of two talented, politically minded rap duos in Seattle anchored by the producer DJ Sabzi. The other group, Blue Scholars, has just released its third CD, Bayani.

Blake Lewis, the beat-boxing finalist of American Idol, spent a generous amount of time during his downtown homecoming concert urging thousands of fans to check out the Blue Scholars and Common Market. RA Scion rapped on stage over Lewis’ beat-boxing, as did Sir Mix-A-Lot. That night, Lewis – who also wore a Blue Scholars shirt on American Idol – performed at a show celebrating the upcoming nationwide release of Bayani.

RA Scion met Sabzi through their shared religion, the Bahá’í Faith. The Bahá’í Faith is a religion founded by Bahá’u'lláh in 19th century Persia. There are around six million Bahá’ís in more than 200 countries around the world.

Hip hop beefs on YouTube

Beefs and dis tracks have always brought out the best in rappers.

In 1986 a beef launched KRS-One. When MC Shan and Marley Marl released “The Bridge” a celebration of their Queensbridge neighborhood it was an affront to KRS-One, the Boogie Down Productions crew and the South Bronx, the birthplace of hip-hop. Enter rap’s first holy war and KRS-One’s withering attacks on MC Shan effectively ended his career.

The following year, a young LL Cool J established his legend by felling old-school pioneer Kool Moe Dee.

The 90s were almost dominated with well documented beefs both within and between America’s east and west coasts.

And in 2002, a beef reignited the careers of two giants, as Jay-Z and Nas clashed for the title of King of New York.

For most of rap’s history, one-upmanship has been hip-hop’s engine of change. Recently, however, beefs have lost some of their creative spark, as battles have migrated from albums and mix tapes to YouTube.


In an MTV Cribs-inspired self-congratulatory 50 cent attacks Cam’ron. The weak music takes a backseat to a tacky parade of images: a garage filled with all-terrain vehicles and another one that appears to have been converted into a cramped shooting range.

Sly Stone gives first interview in 25 years

Sly Stone 2006 GrammysIn the Vanity Fair’s August issue, the frontman of Sly and the Family Stone talks about his music, his disappearance from public view and his long-awaited return.

Stone, 64, who made a brief, awkward appearance at the 2006 Grammys with giant blonde mohawk, says he plans to start work on a new album in autumn.

“It’s kind of boring at home sometimes,” he tells the magazine. “I got a lot of songs I want to record and put out, so I’m gonna try ‘em out on the road. That’s the way it’s always worked the best: Let’s try it out and see how the people feel.”

Stone says he has “a library, like, a hundred and some songs, or maybe 200″ that he’s been sitting on at his Napa Valley compound, also home to an eclectic collection of cars that includes an old London taxicab.

He is humble when asked about his contributions to music and unapologetic when pressed about his reputation for missing gigs. And though he has been isolated, he says he’s been enjoying life.

“I do regular things a lot,” he says. “But it’s probably more of a Sly Stone life. It’s probably … it’s probably not very normal.”

As songwriter, producer, bandleader and singer, Stone dazzled the world of pop music more than 35 years ago with a string of superlative anthems – timeless songs, including Dance to the Music, I Want to Take You Higher, Hot Fun in the Summertime, Family Affair and Everyday People.

George Clinton was forced to rethink his approach to music after hearing Sly and the Family Stone’s landmark 1969 album, Stand!

“He’s my idol; forget all that peer stuff,” Clinton said. “I heard Stand!, and it was like: Man, forget it! That band was perfect. And Sly was like all the Beatles and all of Motown in one. He was the baddest thing around. What he don’t realize is that him making music now would still be the baddest. Just get that band back together and do whatever it is that he do.”

Among the first fully integrated groups on the American music scene, with blacks and whites and men and women together onstage, the seven-piece San Francisco band played the world’s biggest venues while cranking out hit after cutting-edge hit.

But as Stone’s star was ascending, he was deteriorating personally – skipping concerts (he missed a third of the band’s shows in 1970), blowing off record-label deadlines, acting increasingly ornery. By 1975, the hits had dried up, and Stone’s downward spiral quickened.

Sly Stone“He was so creative, one of the most talented guys I’ve ever met,” said R&B great Bobby Womack. “It was inspirational being around him. He made some great music. He just wasn’t happy in his personal life. He got to the point he wouldn’t even listen to his own stuff. That’s paranoia. As the drugs set in, the warm, creative side went away. And then it got worse and worse. He was a person out of control.”

Stone, who’d once earned a reported $2 million per album, was cut loose by Epic Records in 1978. Warner Bros. offered a half-million-dollar contract, and in 1979, the label released Stone’s Back on the Right Track. It didn’t even crack the Top 150 – a disastrous showing for an artist who was once a fixture at the top of the charts.

Stone summarily retreated from the studio and the spotlight. His brother Freddie told Spin magazine several years later that Stone had “wanted to get away from the fast pace. He just kicked back. . . . He didn’t want to be out in front anymore. The glamour didn’t mean anything anymore. He wanted to be normal.”

In 1981, Stone – who’d been raised in a strict Pentecostal household and grew up singing gospel songs with his siblings – reemerged to work with Clinton on a Funkadelic album, a summit that resulted in both artists getting arrested for possession of cocaine and drug paraphernalia.

As Stone’s career faltered, his legal problems mounted. In 1983, he was charged in Illinois with possessing a sawed-off shotgun; was found barely conscious in a Florida hotel room, apparently a result of a cocaine overdose; and was then arrested during the middle of a show in Fort Lauderdale on charges that he’d stolen a ring from a hotel owner. (During one court hearing that year, bailiffs had to shake Stone awake.)

In November 1987, on the eve of a two-night comeback engagement at a small club in Hollywood, Stone told a Los Angeles Times reporter that he was clean, saying: “I’m fine, I’m fine, I’m fine. I’m straight, I’m clean. What else can I say?” The night after the first show – which was declared a disaster by a Times critic – Stone was arrested outside the club for having failed to pay $2,856 in child support. He was also charged with cocaine possession.

In 1989, after failing to show up for a court date in Los Angeles, Stone was declared a fugitive. The FBI arrested him in Connecticut and extradited him to Los Angeles, where, in a two-week span at the end of the year, Stone pleaded guilty to driving under the influence of cocaine and then guilty again to two counts of cocaine possession.

Since then, the world has heard very little from – or about – Sly Stone. Just the 1993 appearance at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction, where the six original members of Family Stone (drummer Errico, bassist Graham, saxophonist Jerry Martini, trumpet player Cynthia Robinson and the siblings Freddie and Rose Stone) walked onto the stage, sang a bit of “Thank You (Falettinme Be Mice Elf Agin),” said their thanks . . . and then waited for Sly to surface.

“As usual, it’s just us,” Rose said, looking at her watch. Sly finally materialised, in an electric-blue leather jumpsuit, and gave a brief speech, which concluded: “See you soon.”

Bucking Hall of Fame tradition, he didn’t stop afterward to pose for pictures with his band mates, instead disappearing into the night – and into the ether, for 13 years of radio silence until the 2006 Grammys.



“It’s amazing he’s still here,” Errico said in an interview recently. “But he is. I always say that a cat has nine lives, and Sly has nine cats. He’s a character in every respect.”

Product placement in music lyrics

FergieStacy Ann Ferguson has undertaken to include mentions of the brand Candie’s in her future songs as part of the deal which sees her hit Big Girls Don’t Cry being used to advertise the women’s clothing line. “With record sales in decline,” says an industry spokesman, “you must find novel ways to make money out of the music.” The deal is apparently worth £2m.

Two years ago, P Diddy was reported to have begun talks about a similar deal with Range Rover. In 2002, Sean Combs collaborated with Busta Rhymes and Pharrell Williams on Pass the Courvoisier, reportedly written thanks to a deal with the manufacturers of the cognac. (Sample lyric: “Give me some money/You can give me some cars/You can give me the bitch/Make sure you pass the Courvoisier.”) In the wake of its release, US magazine Business Week reported that fans of the trio had obediently developed a taste for upscale brandy, and sales had “taken off”.

In 2004, Petey Pablo inserted two lines at the behest of Seagram’s gin: “Now I got to give a shout out to Seagram’s gin/Cause I drink it, and they payin’ for it” in his Freek-A-Leek hit.

50 Cent has not only collaborated with Reebok on lines of trainers and sportswear, but dutifully included the brand in his songs.

Pussycat Nicole solo release date

Pussycat Doll Nicole ScherzingerAccording to FMQB.com Pussycat Doll Nicole Scherzinger will release her debut album in September, with the single, “Whatever You Like,” featuring T.I., making its way to radio this month.

Nicole has recorded a series of duets or guest appearances, predominantly with male vocalists. In 2005 she appeared on recordings by Shaggy, Vittorio Grigolo, and Will Smith. In 2006 she sang on Avant’s single “Lie About Us”, Diddy’s hit “Come to Me” (which she also co-wrote), and Daddy Yankee’s “Papi Lover”. Also, it has been confirmed that Scherzinger has recorded a track called “I Am the One” with pop superstar Britney Spears for Spears’s upcoming album.

Scherzinger has been working on her debut album over the last 2 years with record producers including will.i.am, Timbaland, Kara Dioguardi and Bryan Michael Cox. In a recent interview Ne-Yo has said that he originally wrote songs for Britney Spears’s new album (which should also be released sometime this year) but thinks that they would work better for Scherzinger’s new upcoming solo album. Scherzinger announced in a March 17, 2007 interview in Winnipeg, Manitoba, that the album would be called “Her Name is Nicole”.

Barbra Streisand plays Germany for the first time

Barbra StreisandBarbra Streisand told a sell-out Berlin concert crowd on Saturday that she was delighted to perform in Germany for the first time after turning down several invitations in the past. German media have linked the Jewish star’s refusal to sing there previously to Germany’s responsibility for the Holocaust and had hailed her decision to appear.

Streisand quickly warmed to the enthusiastic audience of 18,000 that gave her more than a dozen standing ovations. “I’m so very happy to be in your country,” Streisand said, speaking in flawless German. “It’s exciting for me to be here, too,” Streisand added before listing some of the things she likes about Germany – from currywurst and apple strudel to Beethoven and Bach. She recited a Goethe poem, which she said was a lifelong favourite.

“Germany has always been a place where you buy a lot of my records. I feel very good here. I’m always amazed how music can transcend all our differences. Even though I may complain about certain things, I’ve come to look at the glass as half full. I’m really glad to be in your city – it’s filled with culture…and the deserts I love,” Streisand said in the open-air Waldbuehne arena, next to Berlin’s Olympic stadium used for the 1936 Olympics and tarnished by its association with the Nazis.

Paul Spiegel, late leader of Germany’s Jewish community, said he had made repeated appeals to her to come, and, before dying last year, Spiegel blamed her refusal on the Holocaust. “Barbra Streisand was the only one,” Spiegel said, when asked if artists had reservations about Germany. Spiegel, a top German talent agent, said he could understand her stance.

Streisand, one of the best-selling female artists of all time, is on a six-week, eight-city tour through Europe. Born in New York to Jewish American parents in 1942, according to online biographies, Streisand has never played outside North America except for London and Australia. The 65-year-old singer did not want to comment on her reasons for not coming to Germany in her career before. But in a statement to Reuters on Friday she had said: “Germany is a very different place than it was before World War Two.”

“Thank you for coming to Berlin!” shouted one fan at one point late in her two and a half hour long show. “It’s my pleasure – I’m thrilled to be here,” she replied.

Hip hip is dead; long live hip hop

Hip hip is dead; long live hip hopThis year rap and hip-hop sales are down 33 per cent, double the decline of the CD album market overall, which is under pressure from music download sites such as iTunes, where fans can buy individual songs.

In 2006, rap sold 59.1 million albums, down 21 per cent from 2005. Not one rap album made the American top 10 sellers of the year - a list headed by the saccharine tunes of the soundtrack to Disney’s made-for-television High School Musical. The bad boys of rap are now trailing the cowboys of country and the headbangers of heavy metal.

Since rap’s apotheosis five years ago, when Eminem’s album The Eminem Show topped the American charts with 7.6 million sales, no rapper has come close to emulating his success.

Rap has been deserted by many white fans and middle-class blacks, apparently tiring of the “gangsta” attitude to women, racism, violence and bling - the gold rings and medallions that have made hip-hop a byword for vulgarity.

“The public has made a choice. They’re saying, ‘We do not want the nonsense that we see and hear on radio, and we are not putting our money there’,” said KRS-One, a rap legend from the Bronx. “Rap music is being boycotted by the American public because of the images that we are putting forward.”

Tom Vickers, a former talent spotter for Capitol/Mercury records said: “Rap has gradually degenerated from an art form into a ring tone. That’s why we’re seeing this backlash. There’s only so much bling the public can take.”

The early pioneers of rap are also seen to have sold out. Snoop Dogg, once famed for his ghetto lyrics, is now helping to advertise Pony trainers while 50 Cent is pushing grape-flavoured vitamin water. The rap artist Nas bemoans the decline on his new album Hip Hop Is Dead, complaining that everyone sounds the same and that they have forgotten their roots.

No one embodies the decline of rap like Marion “Suge” Knight, the man who created Death Row Records and became known as the John Gotti of hip-hop. When Knight, reputedly a member of the LA gang the Bloods, helped mastermind the careers of Dr Dre, Snoop Dogg and Tupac Shakur, his company boasted annual sales of $200 million (£100 million) and the monicker “Motown of the Nineties”.

Now he is an ex-convict, a bankrupt who is $137 million in debt and facing a civil trial in which the family of murdered rap star the Notorious B.I.G. claim that he was gunned down in 1997 by hitmen hired by Death Row as part of an East Coast-West Coast rap feud. Now the bad boy of rap is planning to withdraw the entire Death Row back catalogue and bleep out each and every instance of the word “nigga” in its songs. “To me, it’s never too late to change,” he told The Washington Post last week.

Earlier this year, the radio “shock jock” Don Imus sparked a media storm by referring to black members of the Rutgers ladies basketball team as “nappy headed hos”, a derogatory term for unkempt prostitutes. The fury that ensued cost Imus his job but immediately prompted claims that an ageing white man is judged by different standards from the “gangsta” rappers who use such terms with abandon.

The Democrat presidential candidate Barack Obama joined the conservative Fox News channel in calling for a crackdown on rap lyrics.

Hip-hop mogul Russell Simmons, who made millions co-founding and then selling the Def Jam label, called a meeting of music industry executives shortly afterwards and called for the words “nigga”, “bitch” and “ho” to be bleeped out of radio versions of songs.

The New York civil rights leader, the Rev Al Sharpton, protested outside the offices of leading record labels and met executives from Universal, Warner and Sony Music, who control 90 per cent of the rap market between them. He declared: “We plan to continue to march until those three words are gone.”

In the rush to condemn, the leading black magazine Ebony removed the rapper Ludacris from its cover. Verizon records then dropped Senegalese-American hip-hop star Akon after video footage surfaced of him simulating sex with an underage fan on stage.

For many, though, this capitulation to mainstream taste is another sign that rap is dying. An unrepentant 50 Cent said he had no intention of cleaning up his lyrics. “Music is a mirror,” he said, “and hip-hop is a reflection of the environment we grew up in. If I ask you to paint a picture of the American flag and not use the colour red, you’re going to have a difficult time.”

But others see in this reappraisal a renewal of the genre. Michael Dyson, professor of African-American and Religious Studies at the University of Pennsylvania said: “The most powerful sign that hip-hop culture is alive is the withering critique from within about the industry. Horrible hip-hop must die so that regal hip-hop can live. Hip-hop is dead; Long live hip-hop.”

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