Back on the Scene!

After disappearing from the scene for quite some time, due to the birth of her child Blue Ivy, the Queen Bey, Beyonce Giselle Knowles, will be starring in the 2013 Super Bowl XLVII halftime show. It will be held on February 3^rd in New Orleans, LA. She has been spending her time off with baby, as well recording new tracks from her upcoming album. During Super Bowl XXXVIII in 2004, Beyonce performed the national anthem, so she is no foreigner to singing at the Super Bowl. The talented artist will be debuting some of her new music during this performance, according the producer/songwriter/artist The-Dream . Beyonce and The-Dream has worked on numerous projects together, so they are well acquainted with each other. He produced her song Single Ladies and produced and wrote some tracks off her Platinum album 4 (http://www.vibe.com/article/dream-calls-beyonce-crazyshes-just-maniac-good-way). She is set to release some new music prior to the Super Bowl, so the fans will get a preview of what is to come. There are going to be some pretty high expectations from critics and her fans as she hits the stage on the 3^rd of February. Beyonce being the performer she is will not let the people down, if anything she is going to raise the bar for future performers. She has given great performances at award shows and while on tour.

Not only will be Beyonce be returning in 2013 with a soon to be spectacular performance, but she will be directing and starring in an HBO Documentary of her life. This documentary will be looking back into her childhood, her journey as a businesswoman, preparing for tours, and her arrival back into music. This ought to be a very interesting film, because she is a very private individual and we’ll be getting an opportunity to look into her life conveyed by Beyonce herself. This will also debut in February of 2013.

Looks like 2013 will be Beyonce’s year and I’m looking forward to her return. I’m interested to see what sound and look she’ll be going for. She seems to always reinvent herself during the time of her album release. With her being a new mom and being married to rapper Jay-Z, I can’t wait to see what she has up her sleeve. 

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Mixtape Nicki vs Pop Nicki

On November 19, 2012, female rapper Nicki Minaj dropped her album entitled, Pink Friday: Roman Reloaded- The Re-Up. In an interview, Nicki stated, “the feel of the rerelease is kind of like my first sound, like the mixtapes,” when referring to this album. Since her claim to fame as one of the hottest female rap artist out, many of her fans and spectators have said that she has lost her substance in a lot of her mainstream music lately. Many prefer the ‘mixtape Nicki,’ so many of her fans anticipated that she would return to old days in this Pink Friday: Roman Reloaded- The Re-Up album.

Two exact years prior to the release of her third album, she debuted her first album, Pink Friday. It debuted at #2 on Billboard’s Top 200 albums, along with #2 in R&B/Hip-Hop Album, Rap, Digital Album, and Tastemaker. She was recognized as MTV’s first female artist to be included on MTV’s Annual Hottest MC and one of the first artists to have seven songs on the Billboard Hot 100 back to back . As a new mainstream female rapper in the industry, Nicki Minaj was starting off on the right foot. Her album Pink Friday went certified Platinum.

It was then year and a half later when she released her sophomore album, Pink Friday: Roman Reloaded. This album dropped this year on April 12^th. It is currently charting on Billboard as #7 for Rap Albums, but debuted as No. 1. Although it debuted at number 1, people did not react well to the content of the album.  

As stated earlier, a lot of people have said that Nicki Minaj has lost her substance as a female rapper. A lot of her records have turned Pop and people are not responding well to it. Many believe that she is losing her originality. If you haven’t noticed, her album titles have been the same name for the most part and have not shown much originality or creativity. Sales for her third album has not been released as of yet to know how well or poorly it did. Projected sales for her album though, were not looking too good anyways; many retailers such as Target and Wal-Mart did not distribute her album. Best Buy offered it, but had a limited amount. In an interview, Nicki said, "it is hard to get the album because the stores basically said that the last few re-releases they had put out did not do well and they didn’t want to take a chance. So, Target and Wal-Mart is not selling the album, and Target is actually my biggest retailer — they’ve always been my biggest retailer. They’ve sold the most Nicki Minaj albums ever, so, thank you, Target. But I wish you could’ve sold this one.”

I myself have enjoyed some of music that Nicki Minaj puts out. I did notice her transition to more of the Pop genre, but many R&B/Hip Hop artists have been successful in catering to both genres. Who’s to say that Nicki Minaj may not be successful in it as well? Although she may be losing some of her original fans when she was ‘mixtape Nicki,' but those fans could be easily replace as she transitions to the Pop culture. 

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106 & Hoax

     12 years ago, BET Network debuted a show called 106 &Park that featured the top 10 hottest songs along with entertainment news. Free and A.J. starred as hosts for the show for the first five years. After their retirement, BET Network started the competition BET New Faces, where they looked for the show's next host. College graduate, Terrence Jenkins aka Terrence J from North Carolina A&T, along with Chicago radio personality Rocsi Diaz were chosen to host the highly rated television show.

     This show has helped launch the career of the fresh faces in the industry. Terrence J pursued acting and was a part of Stomp the Yard 2: Homecoming, Burlesque, TV Series The Game, and Think Like A Man. Rocsi continued working on the radio starring in her daily show Rocsi on the Radio.

     After 7 years on the air, it was time for Terrence J and Rocsi to part their ways and extend their services outside of 106 & Park. After announcing their departure from the show on May 29, 2012, BET once again went on a nationwide search for their next host. The competition 106 & Search consisted of fans submitting videos via YouTube expressing why they should be chosen to be the next and viewers had the opportunity to vote upon the best one. This competition lasted about 5 months. On September 28,2102 hosts Terrence Jenkins and Rocsi Diaz were featured in a farewell show, where many guest stopped by with gifts and wishing them luck in their future endeavors.

     The following week, on October 1, 2012 the new hosts for 106 & Park were revealed. They were hip-hop artist Shad “Bow Wow” Moss, who holds the title as Mr. 106 & Park, radio personality Jordan “Shorty da Prince” Johnson, Mykel “Miss Mykie” Gray, and Kimberly “Paigon” Walker. The line up of the line was something very different because instead of having two hosts, they had four.

     What is so astonishing to me about the current hosts of 106 & Park is that neither one of them has a video online for the competition 106 & Search competition. Before the host were announced, it had been rumored over the summer that Shorty da Prince and Kimberly “Paigon” Walker were considered for hosts of the show. Once the hosts were finally revealed and two of them were the ones mentioned over the summer confirmed that the competition was rigged and BET already knew whom they wanted. Many fans submitted their tapes and put their heart and everything into the video. For BET to do choose the hosts the way that says a lot about them. In my opinion, the competition was a hoax and by them making the decisions they made, they lost a lot of viewers. 106 & Park can be found on your local cable station on BET Network on Monday through Friday at 6/5c.

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We Got You

Nobody’s got your back like Black Entertainment Television Network (BET). This past spring, BET started the campaign ‘We Got You.’  In an interview, VickyFree, Chief Marketing Officer and Executive Vice-President of Marketing for BETNetwork stated, "We created this campaign to convey to our core audiences, the African American community and lovers of black culture, that we clearly understand their needs and are committed to creating niche, unique and engaging programming exclusively for them." BET has created these new shows to target their audience and to let them know that they’ve got their backs on the latest news, whether its politics, music, film, etc.

On January 25, 1980, America’s first African American billionaire, Robert L. Johnson founded Black Entertainment Television. Shows such as BET News, BET Tonight, BET’s MAAD Sports, Teen Summit, Rap City, Cita’s World, and Bobby Jones Gospel had been aired throughout the years. This was a network where the African American culture could enjoy music, movies, and news that appealed to them. After becoming the first black own company on the New York Stock Exchange in 1993, Johnson sold the network to Viacom network for $3.2 billion in the year 2000. Fives years later, Johnson retired and assigned Debra L. Lee as CEO of BET, who had been working the company for many years.

As a child, BET was one of my favorite channels to watch, along with cartoons. Even from back then, I would have to say that the content of the network has not been the same. They have taken away a lot of shows and added shows that has watered down the network and in the process, I believe they lost their vision. Prior to Johnson’s retirement is when I believe the network started to lose sight of why the network was created. When Debra Lee took over the position as CEO, it got no better for me and I’m not the only person who believes so. She tried to make things better, but that was not the case. I do applaud her effort to try and make the network better and maybe with this campaign she can do so.

With this new “We Got You,” campaign BET has launched, I hope that it returns to how things use to be, but more modernized. They have numerous of upcoming shows lined up and I’m setting high expectations for them, but then again I don’t want to be disappointed. After the show The Game had been taken off the air and BET was going to produce it, people thought this would be IT for BET, but IT just was not. The show was just not the same and The Game started to lose some of their audience. They also created shows like Let’s Stay Together and Reed Between the Lines and I did not care too much for them. They seemed very cheesy. This October, the show Don’t Sleep will premier, where host T.J. Holmes talks about subjects that affects the African American Culture. They have also modernized they original Showtime at the Apollo. I’m actually looking forward to these two upcoming shows. They have created original shows such as The Mathis Project, Second Generation Wayans, Luv, Asylum, and many more. I’m anxious to see how well this new campaign will succeed or fail and how the audience will respond to it this next year. Does BET really ‘Got Us’ like they say they really do?  

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Return of The Hottest Female Rapper

     After disappearing from the music scene for 7 years, Missy Elliot debuts her new singles ‘9th Inning’ and ‘Triple Threat,’ from her upcoming album Block Party.  The album is expected to drop on later in the year. It has been postponed since 2009, because her songs were leaked on the Internet. Missy Elliot collaborates with Timbaland on this project to hopefully produce another top selling album.

     The five-time Grammy winner is recognized in the industry as a rapper, singer, songwriter, producer, dancer, and actress. Her innovative style has accredited her to being one of the hottest female rappers in the game. With six certifiedplatinum albums under her belt, she is the only female rapper to accomplish this goal.

      Since 2008, Missy Elliot has suffered from a thyroid condition, called Graves. After experiencing tremor in her hand and fingers, along with symptoms such as weight loss, brittle hair, and fatigue, it made it hard for her to do simple things such as driving and using a pen. She has received treatment to relieve some of her symptoms. Through dieting, exercising, and receiving treatment, she has managed to pull through and return to the spotlight as if she never left.

     In early August, rapper Drake produced and was featured on the late great Aaliyah’s single ‘Enough Said.” It was rumored that he was suppose to executive produce her posthumous album, but nothing has been confirmed. This shocked people, if anyone was going to produce an Aaliyah album, why not Missy Elliot and Timbaland??  During an interview with radio station Hot 97, Missy stated, “No call has been made to me. I have to respect her family, and until they come and say, 'We're ready to do an Aaliyah album,' then I don't really want to come and try to get into that because that's very sensitive.” Missy Elliot and Timbaland had a huge impact on Aaliyah’s success and it would not be an Aaliyah album without them two producing it.

     Missy Elliot is taking the hip hop industry on a journey as she switches up music once again, as stated on Ustream about her return. After being in the industry for more than two decades, people are anticipating this album do as well as her previous 6 albums did. Fans have wondered what took her so long to come back and she stated, “We needed to refresh our brains. And come correct, or don’t come at all.” As she continues to work on her album, let’s see how correct she comes or should she had just stayed where she was.

          

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