Sam Cooke

T-Pain Ditches The Autotune For “On Top Of The Covers” Album

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He’s known as the God of Autotune, but T-Pain is a crooner without the extra help. He’s delivered some of our favorite hits with the help of autotune, but it’s been well-established that T-Pain’s natural singing voice doesn’t need assistance. He dominated on The Masked Singer and has flexed his R&B stylings when performing live, so it was only a matter of time before we received an album. T-Pain delivered, and he’s revisiting classics on his record, On Top Of The Covers. The Nappy Boy Entertainment release is an anticipated arrival as fans are excited to hear the other side of the singer-producer’s talents.

On Top Of The Covers features T-Pain’s creative take on Sam Cooke’s “A Change Is Gonna Come,” Journey’s “Don’t Stop Believin’,” Dr. Hook’s “Sharing The Night Together,” Sam Smith’s “Stay With Me,” Chris Stapleton’s “Tennessee Whiskey,” Frank Sinatra’s “That’s Life” ft. NandoSTL (a Nappy Boy Entertainment artist), and Black Sabbath’s “War Pigs.” Additionally, there is an interlude, “Skrangs” (in K Major Sus).

T-Pain Explains Why He Chose These Tracks

“Each one of these songs means something to me and helped me fall in love with music at different points in my life,” the musician said in a press release. “I’m releasing this covers album from the view of what I hear when I listen to each song. I can’t wait to share with the world what I’ve been working on the past several years.” Further, he has planned a special weekend in Los Angeles to help celebrate the project.

Today (March 17) through Sunday, T-Pain will perform intimate shows for three nights. He’ll take over The Sun Rose at Pendry in West Hollywood for ‘An Intimate Evening with T-Pain,’ as he and his live band showcase his covers and fan favorites. The carefully curated setlist is a secret as of now, but we’re sure T-Pain will share highlights from the event in the days to come. Check out On Top Of The Covers by T-Pain, and let us know what you think.

Tracklist

  1. A Change Is Gonna Come
  2. Don’t Stop Believin’
  3. Sharing The Night Together
  4. Skrangs (in K Major Sus)
  5. Stay With Me
  6. Tennessee Whiskey
  7. That’s Life ft. NandoSTL
  8. War Pigs

Mary J Blige and Diddy Discuss How Pop Music Tried to”Kill” R&B on IG Live

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Mary J Blige

She may be the queen of R&B, but Mary J Blige expressed some concerns about the current state of her kingdom (queendom?) on a spirited discussion with Diddy on IG live in which she claims that pop music killed the R&B genre.

Diddy took to IG live on this week via Hollywood Unlocked after he had asked his followers: “Who killed R&B?” Mary J Blige joined him for a live session (which is archived here) to discuss her thoughts on the genre’s current state and how it got there.

Of R&B being “killed,” she said that “You can’t kill something that’s in our DNA. It’s going to keep transitioning from generation to generation to generation,” noting how many people her age have passed down a love of the genre to their children.

She did however, note that many mainstream radio stations have tried to kill R&B, or at least change the genre to be more in line with mainstream taste.

She first thanked the radio stations around the country that play and support R&B music before explaining that radio stations tend to jump on the bandwagon and play whatever is popular.

She said that the radio stations call it “popular music” when artists like Justin Timberlake and Adele get ahold of it, before explaining that “it [R&B] has been popular music.”

She stated that R&B can’t be killed, explaining that “we have to keep ourselves alive. You can’t kill us because we’re already in the system, in the bloodline, the DNA.”

She cited many popular R&B artists including Chris Brown, Chaka Khan, Etta James, Usher, Sam Cooke, Aretha Franklin, Jazmine Sullivan, and SWV that have not been “killed” and are keeping the genre alive.

She also encouraged R&B fans not to be “sheep” and get angry at the radio stations, but rather be shepherds and promote the genre and request more R&B on mainstream radio.

Mary J Blige’s “Good Morning Gorgeous Tour” starts September 17.

The post Mary J Blige and Diddy Discuss How Pop Music Tried to”Kill” R&B on IG Live appeared first on The Source.

‘P-Valley’: Here’s All The Music You Heard In The Season Two Finale

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P-Valley S2 Flyer
STARZ

(SPOILERS for this week’s P-Valley episode will be found below.)

After ten weeks of love, hate, pain, pleasures, highs, lows, and so much more, P-Valley will wrap things up with the finale for its second season. There are so many questions that remain as we enter the closer for Katori Hill’s hit show. Will Andre become the mayor of Chucalissa? Will Haley successfully sell The Pynk for $10 million? Will Uncle Clifford be able to stop Hailey from selling The Pynk? Will Mercedes be able to win back Terricka? Will Keyshawn be able to escape from her abusive boyfriend Derrick and out of Chucalissa with her two children?

For what it’s worth, each of the aforementioned questions will be answered in a yes or no fashion. However, it means that there’ll be a big shift in the future for The Pynk and its lovely ladies. Bigger obstacles will be left for the strip club to deal with while big moments of love and pain will only serve as fuel to the fire for what goes down in the valley.

The aforementioned events in the finale of season two are soundtracked by songs that help to accentuate the emotions behind each scene. They include Jucee Froot’s thumping “Down In The Valley” which serves as the theme song for the series.

What Songs Were In The Season Two Finale Of P-Valley?

The songs that soundtracked the standout moments on this week’s episode of P-Valley are Jazmine Sullivan’s “The Other Side” and L.T.D.’s “Love Ballad.” Jazmine Sullivan’s “The Other Side” plays as Mercedes pole dances in the space she initially purchased to hold dance classes for young girls prior to the pandemic. At this moment, she just received a wonderful gift from Farrah, Coach’s wife, when her mother Pastor Woodbine walks in to brag about her success, but more importantly, to also inform her about news regarding Mercedes’ daughter Terricka.

L.T.D.’s “Love Ballad” can be heard during a party at The Pynk hosted by Earnestine who wants to celebrate successfully recovering from COVID. While Lil Murda was expected to have left for his tour by the time the party began, he delayed his departure in order to say his goodbyes to Uncle Clifford. As a result, it sparks a moment that will forever change their relationship.

The soundtrack for this week’s episode also includes the following songs:
J. Alphonse Nicholson — “Seven Pounds Of Pressure”
Tonay Marie — “Eat It”
Sam Cooke — “Bring It On Home To Me”
Big KRIT — “No Playground”
Mint Condition — “Breakin’ My Heart (Pretty Brown Eyes)”
Erykah Badu — “Didn’t Cha Know”

Season 2 of ‘P-Valley’ is now available to watch on STARZ.

Some artists covered here are Warner Music artists. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.

‘P-Valley’: Here’s All The Music You Heard In Season 2, Episode 1

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P Valley S2 E1 Lil Murda
STARZ

(SPOILERS for this week’s P-Valley epsiode will be found below.)

After almost two years, P-Valley made its return to STARZ to kick off the show’s long-awaited second season. The Katori Hall-led show, which is an adaptation of her play of the same title, follows a group of strippers who work at The Pynk, a strip club in Chucalissa, Mississippi. For season two of P-Valley, things are a bit different at The Pynk. Hailey, who came to Chucalissa after surviving a hurricane, is now a co-owner of the strip club after she paid $250,000 to buy it at an auction after it went into foreclosure towards the end of season one. Additionally, all of the girls at The Pynk are figuring out how to stay afloat as the world navigates the coronavirus pandemic.

The aforementioned events in this week’s episode are soundtracked by songs that help to accentuate the emotions behind each scene. They include Jucee Froot’s thumping “Down In The Valley” which serves as the series’ theme song.

What Songs Were In ‘P-Valley’ S2E1?

The songs that soundtracked the standout moments on this week’s episode of P-Valley are Jucee Froot’s “Distance” with A Boogie Wit Da Hoodie and J. Alphonse Nicholson’s “Mississippi Pride (Extended)” with FM New Money and “When I Get Out.” Froot’s record appears as a man (Rolando Boyce) checks out a make-shift car wash that the Pynk Ladies have set up to bring in some dollars. It’s this scene that establishes the new day-to-day lives of everyone at The Pynk.

Nicholson’s records support his role as Lil Murda on the show. Both records show that the aspiring rapper is finding his sound as he aims to spread his name far past the Mississippi Delta.

The soundtrack for this week’s episode also includes the following songs:

Jennifer Robles & Belinda Robles — “Drip Wet”
Shae Marie — “IDFWYB”
LightSkinKeisha — “Spend Sum Cash”
Sam Cooke — “The Last Mile Of The Way”

STARZ’s ‘P-Valley’ airs on Thursdays at 9:00 pm EST.

Some artists covered here are Warner Music artists. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.