A Girl Could Get Used To This...
It's unofficially official! Summer is here. If the weather's nice, please use the sunshine to your advantage, and go out and get some. Enjoy the weather and the people (and the food!) and drive slow, homie (you know, so everybody sees you).
It's gonna be a great one.
It's been a great week. I thank you for reading! I thank the artists for noticing. Thank you! Now finish up, the light is waiting for you.
Enjoy the weekend.--GB
Girl Blue Exclusive Interview: NATALIE IMANI (Part I)
@NatalieImani
It's time to put the GBSTL spotlight on Natalie Imani. The singer has captivated audiences with a complete package of tight vocals, sexy dance moves, and passionate lyrics. GB caught up with her at her BET Music Matters Showcase showcase last month, where she worked it out in the performance sector, losing both of her earrings by the end of her set!
Natalie honed her skills singing background for John Legend and Jazmine Sullivan, but now she's branching out and doing the solo thing with an EP out now called Passion Mark; as she says, "Music is the mark of my passion." Not only that, but a passion mark is akin to a bodily mark that fans know of very well. "I feel like Passion
Mark, when they say 'Passion Mark,' you think of a hickey. You leave your
mark on somebody to show somebody else, 'Look I showed them love.' So I feel
like with Passion Mark, that’s my
mark that I am giving to everyone."
Find out a little about Natalie Imani below, and stay tuned for Part II, where GB pop quizzes the singer with some Sonic Facts!
Q: Hi I’m here with
Natalie Imani for the Bet Matters Music Showcase for April. Natalie put on a
dope show, so I just wanted to get some background on her. When did you start
to sing, Natalie?
A: I started to sing when I was, the very first time I
realized I could sing, I was 6 years old. I started out in school. In Glee
Club.
Q: And you attended
performing arts high school, is that right?
A: Yes, I went to LaGuardia
High School.
Q: What did you learn
in terms of singing, songwriting, stuff like that?
A: When I was in high school I learned a lot about performing, stage presence, we do a lot
of shows, I was a part of gospel choir; I learned a lot a bout singing
background, I learned all the different notes, writing music, so I learned a
whole lot in high school.
Q: Did you play any instruments?
A: No, I’ve never played any instruments.
Q: Really?
A: I’m in love with guitar.
Q: So, guitar is the instrument you
would want to play, if you could play one.
A: Yes.
Q: Okay. At the time you got signed to
RSA, what type of work did you do with them?
A: When I got signed to RSA, I was 14 years old. And they were a subsidiary of
Atlantic Records. I did a couple of songs, but I never put my album out. So I’ve
been working at it, trying to get my music out since I was very little.
Q: You worked with
artists, you worked with John Legend, is that correct? And you’ve worked with
Jazmine Sullivan. Did you do background singing for them?
A: Yes.
Q: So what did you
learn as a background singer when you did background singing for them?
A: I loved the fact that I had the opportunity to be a
background singer because it showed me the music industry from behind the
scenes. I was able to see, really what it takes to be an artist. To be a
performer every night. To be a songwriter, to be a business person. To have
good camaraderie with your band and everyone who works with you. I’ve learned a
great deal.
Q: Is every
background singing experience different? Working for John Legend is different
than working for Jasmine Sullivan. How are they different?
A: It’s always different, because you’re dealing with a
different personality. Some artists are very close to their band. Others are
very like, you get on stage, you get off stage, and that’s it. Very business
like. It’s always a different dynamic, you just have to feel it out and see
where you fit in.
Q: You’ve worked with
some greats, so who would you love to work with in the future?
A: In the future, I really like Miguel; I’d really like to do some work with
Miguel.
Q: He’s dope.
A: Yeah he’s dope. And I could see how our styles are going to complement each
other. I would love to work with John [Legend] as well, on my own project. I
could go down the list with people I would love to work with!
Q: When is it that
you decided that you wanted to do your own thing and be a solo artist?
A: It’s actually always been my desire to be a solo artist;
that’s actually the way it started out. After high school, I went to college, I
studied and stuff like that and it kind of took me off the mark a little bit as
far as being a solo artist. So I started singing background and I’m grateful
for that experience, I’ve learned a lot while I was back there. And I feel like
it geared me up, to be able to know what it’s about to be an artist now. I feel
the most ready now than I’ve ever been, all my life.
Q: And you have an EP
called Passion Mark now. Tell me
about that EP…
A: Passion Mark, I came up with that title because music is the mark of my passion. It’s
all about love, giving love, making love, bad love, you know, all the ups and
downs. I’m very in tune with my heart and what I feel, and I love “love,” as
they say. I’m sure everyone does. So that’s where passion mark came from, And
after, I feel like, I feel like Passion
Mark, when they say “Passion Mark,” you think of a hickey. You leave your
mark on somebody to show somebody else, “Look I showed them love.” So I feel
like with Passion Mark, that’s my
mark that I am giving to everyone. That is my mark that I am leaving for them
to walk away with.
Q: And you wrote the
songs on the Passion Mark EP correct?
A: Yes.
Q: Is there any song that was
particularly hard to write? Like, harder than others
A: As far as the topic or the style or…
Q: Either writers
block or a song that the feelings just wouldn’t come out, like you really
wanted to do it but it was just hard?
A: No, it wasn’t difficult with this EP. With this a lot of the songs I just
listened to the track and the words just came to me. I actually also collaborated
with Jazmine Sullivan on “So In Love.” That was a great opportunity. That’s
another thing about singing background; it kind of opened up doors and
relationships with other people as well.
Q: So the video for “It’s
Yours” was really, really sultry. Will there be another video off of the Passion Mark EP?
A: Yes! There is a video coming soon for “Designated
Driver.”
Q: Talk about how BET contacted you for
the show.
A: I went to high school, actually, with
one of the guys who works at BET. He’s been talking to me about getting on the
show for over a year now. I didn’t have my EP ready; Time was going by, and I just wanted to make sure that
I was ready, that everything was right. Like I said before, now I feel the most
ready, and I feel really good about tonight.
Q: What’s next for
Natalie Imani?
A: I’m going to be hosting my own showcase every third Friday of every month at
Nightingale Lounge. Also, I’m going to be performing in North Carolina, really trying to get Passion Mark out there to different
states. Do radio, get my songs out there, really get my name out there. And I’m
also working on my next project as well. Stay tuned for Part II!
Propers: Mars Phoenix (Photo)
Ngaiire Goes To Japan To Record Debut/Shoots "Two Minds" Video
@Ngaiire
Last time we heard from Papua New Guinea starlet Ngaiire, she was singing about filth and having random people rub food on their faces and blow cake out of their noses. Alas, the singer has buckled down on recording her debut album in Japan, and has recorded a video for "Two Minds;" In off time from being painted in white with a skirt made of bamboo and a doll hat, the ever-so-innovative Ngaiire discusses the process of the two, while fans wait in feet-trembling fervor for her first release.
Lauriana Mae & #Month Of Mae/Homage To Arrested Development
Lauriana Mae opens for Tank in the Mid-Atlantic Tour.
May flew by fast, but Lauriana Mae put in #MonthofMae promo time each week with a webisode and song clip for the fans to enjoy. Footage as B.o.B's opening act surfaced previously, with a Soundcloud of the intense relationship angst of "Bring Me Back My Car." This week, a performance in Baltimore and Virginia featuring Tank, with the premiere of the song "Thank You," and a song drop: a rendition of Arrested Development's "People Everyday." It's called "All Time High," and it will have you shaking your rump in the middle of all the BBQ's this coming weekend.
This week's drop is above; For the previous drop, click "Read More."
5 THINGS YOU SHOULD KNOW ABOUT KIRBY LAURYEN
@Kirbylauryen
If you haven't heard of Kirby Lauryen, you need to. This songbird is sweeping YouTube up with her original songs, simply performed with vocals and piano. One could call Kirby Lauryen a singer/songwriter, but it would do well to put "author" on the bill as well. For the Memphis, Tennessee bred songstress' songs clearly tell tales.
Here's five things you need to know about one of tomorrow's bright young stars.
NEW SONG: tabi Bonney Featuring Yasiin Bey (Formerly Mos Def), "CHOP CHOP"
For those who can't get enough of DMV bred tabi Bonney, there's luck. He has posted another tune from his The Endless Summer free download release on May 17. This muffled-steeldrum tune is entitled "CHOP CHOP" with "Bed-Stuy Do or Die" Yasiin Bey, formerly known as Mos Def. Check it out, below.
#CHOPCHOP!
#CHOPCHOP!
Blue Thumb: Steve Jobs
--Steve Jobs, Stanford University Commencement Address
VIDEO: Jaden Smith "Give It To Em"
13-year-old Jaden Smith of The Karate Kid fame (belongs to a famous family, you might have heard of them), is on his rap game, and he has just released a music video on YouTube. It's called "Give It To Em," a song about the toils of fame, fortune, and lust for women. What?
They grow up fast.
VIDEO: Tabi Bonney "Castle on A Cloud" feat. Terri Walker
Here are the visuals for "Castle on A Cloud," Tabi Bonney's latest single featuring Terri Walker. What color would those pants have been, anyway?
The Endless Summer. Free Download. May 17.--GB
Lynn Nottage's "Fabulation, or the Re-Education of Undine"/Last Weekend in BK
Undine (Natalie Venetia Belcon) and Hervé (Scott Voloshin) have a moment.
They say in the army they break you down, to build you back up again. That’s probably the best way to describe what happened in the Brooklyn Lyceum’s performance of Lynn Nottage’s Fabulation, or the Re-Education of Undine; it is a story about a fall from grace of Undine, a premier African-American PR starlet. The bold narrator was ripped from her stealing ex Hervé, and had to return to her humble roots. Losing high-saddidy friends along the way, she was led back to a family who supposedly died in a fire (or that’s just the story she told others); she found most of them living their in-the-box security guard lives in Brooklyn, NY. The worst part wasn't the stories of who down the block had solved a math equation that made him genius, or her brother’s epic poem that will fail to do any damage while he’s alive; yet it was her grandmother’s addiction to heroin disguised as diabetes insulin shots that really ruptured Undine down to pieces.
When Grandma forced Undine to buy some heroin for her, and
Undine got caught by the authorities, she was sentenced to rehab, and that’s
where the true story begins. Undine must make the best out of the situation
that was given to her, the short end of the stick, and turn lemons into
lemonade. The biggest lemon? The unborn baby fathered by an ex who could have loved
her more dearly. Most of the people she met along the way pushed her through this
process, but not by making it any easier. There were her surprisingly
successful double-dutch childhood friends from around the way; an acquaintance
who she used to rub elbows with, now working at Duane Reade with an optimistic
attitude; her doctor, who was a little less than understanding; the Medicaid
secretary, who had the patients wait in line, for however long, only to wait in
line again; and the people in rehab, her pseudo-support group for a problem she
didn’t have; yet one member in particular caught Undine’s eye.
It was the love story between Undine and this suitor, Guy, that was the light
peering at the end of the tunnel; His purity brought Undine solace, and as their
love blossomed, her womb did, too. The end of the play was significant of a
blessing in disguise, a turn of events that almost made everything that
happened to the protagonist seem, bearable. --GB
Directed by Cynthia Babak
Fabulation, or the Re-Education of Undine, is playing in its
last weekend at the Brooklyn Lyceum Theatre, NY, on May 10, 11, 12, and 13.
Tickets.
#MonthofMae Is Upon Us: Lauriana Mae Gets Promo With New Video's/Downloads UPDATED
If you haven't heard of Lauriana Mae, now is an acceptable time to start. The jazz/pop artist is spreading the word with weekly promo videos and download drops. Last week was her video of her MGM Grand performance; this week, background clips with James Blunt. So watch above, and don't be late to get on the bandwagon. All aboard!
UPDATE: Lauriana has posted this week's song in her #MonthofMae series, "Shine;" it's below. Something good to gravitate towards.
NEW SONG: tabi Bonney "Castle On A Cloud" + Download
tabi Bonney has released the single, "Castle On A Cloud," featuring Terri Walker, as a prerequisite to his re-release of The Summer Years; it is entitled The Endless Summer, and will be a free release with some new tracks come May 17; all that's asked is a download. Until then, take a listen to the track and download it below.
DOWNLOAD "CASTLE ON A CLOUD" FROM TABI BONNEY
Propers: DJ BOOTH, AO
VIDEO: Aesop Rock, "Zero Dark Thirty"
Amongst an ever changing mural of skeletons, bird heads and mutants, Aesop Rock drops "Zero Dark Thirty," his first video for the album Skelethon, arriving July 10.
Propers: COS
Propers: COS
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