Friday, May 24, 2013

The Musical Genius: Singer/Songwriter/Producer


As you viewers can see, I love music and the message it portrays. Rhythm and blues (R&B) is one of my favorite genres of music. I am not picky though when it comes to listening to different music. As long as the song has a good beat and lyrics, then I’m willing to listen to it. I enjoy everything from R&B, Rap, Jazz, Rock, Pop, Country, Gospel, and the list goes on. The artists singing the song keeps me going, but I have always been interested in the musical genius behind it all, the songwriter and producer.  You’d be surprised by some of the people who have written and produced some of your favorite hits. Interestingly enough, quite a few of the songwriters and producers have ventured out into the spotlight and started their career as an artist.

Terius Youngdell Nash aka The-Dream launched his career as a songwriter and producer shortly after high school. He has written and produced tracks for popular artists such as B2K, Britney Spears, Madonna, Mariah Carey, and Beyonce. His work of art has charted the Billboard Records in the music industry. After finding his success as a songwriter and producer, he went on to establishing himself as R&B artist. By the end the year 2007, singer/songwriter/producer, The-Dream released his first album, Love/Hate. As of now, The-Dream is still writing and producing hit songs of other artists, as well as himself. Next week he will be releasing his fourth album, IV Play , so be sure to check it out!

About a month ago, I discovered this new artist by the name of Eric Bellinger , who had released one of his singles. Little did I know, he had been in the music industry for a while and has worked with some well-respected artists. Prior to Eric entering the industry, he had given up a football scholarship to University of Southern California. I guess his passion and heart was really in music. As a former member the band AKNU (A Kind Never Understanding) that did not do too well, he started to develop his craft and explore other options. Since then, he has written and produced songs for Grammy winning artists such as Chris Brown and Usher. He has also had the pleasure of working with Tank, Justin Bieber, and Ne-Yo. As a new singer/songwriter/producer in the music industry, I think he is doing pretty well for himself. He has released three mixtapes, Born II Sing Vol. 3, and it has some pretty good material on there.
There are plenty more artists involved in the industry who has achieved much success by writing and producing tracks. Like I mentioned earlier, you would be shocked by who has written some of your favorite artists material. A lot of the different artists who write and produce for others sound can be heard in their music. So the next time you’re listening to song, do some research and see who is the musical genius behind the music. 

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Friday, May 10, 2013

Usher Raymond and Justin Bieber sued for $10,000,000?!?!


R&B superstar Usher Raymond and his protégé Justin Bieber are being sued for alleged copyright infringement for the hit song "Somebody To Love." Artist Devin Copeland and his team are suing them for $10,000,000. Usher is an 8 time winning Grammy artist, who has sold millions of albums, since he has been in the music industry at a very young age. He is now one of the judges on the hit show, The Voice. On the other hand, we have Justin Bieber who is on track to follow the same footsteps his mentor has shown him. He was discovered at a young age, while posting videos on YouTube. It was then that Usher’s team discovered this future pop star. Since Justin Bieber’s career has launched, he has been quite successful.
 It was until this past week when Pop sensation Justin Bieber and R&B Artist Usher got hit with the big whammy! The hit song "Somebody To Love" that featured both artists was not so original. Artist Devin Copeland aka De Rico claims that he wrote a song with the same title and similar lyrics. This was back in 2010 when all this news sparked up.
Copeland started taking all the necessary steps to pursue a lawsuit against Justin Bieber and Usher.  In order for Copeland to prove this was a case of copyright infringement, he must have evidence that the opposing party had access to the content and that they were similar. Both songs have been compared heavily and there are some similarities. According to Devin Copeland, he had conversed with Usher’s mom and they expressed an interest in his album. They wanted him to do some touring with Usher and re-record the album. It just so happens that one of the tracks on there was titled "Somebody To Love." After that conversation, Copeland never heard from Usher’s mom or anyone from Usher’s team.
Neither Usher nor Justin Bieber has responded to these allegations concerning the lawsuit. It’ll be interesting to see how it plays out in the end. Although the song is Justin Bieber’s, I don’t think that the lawsuit should be pushed heavily towards him. Usher seemed to have played a big role in this case. It is just a matter of time until we know the results. Check out the remix to "Somebody To Love" below.