Tag Archives: Alicia Keys

John Legend Says Kanye West Doesn’t Make Beats Anymore

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Nobody can question Kanye West‘s acumen as a producer. Yeezy has crafted smash hits for Jay-Z, Alicia Keys, Freeway, Nas, Lil Wayne and G.O.O.D. Music signee John Legend. Speaking of Legend, the smooth R&B crooner stopped by Power 105‘s The Breakfast Club morning program and chatted up the crew about working with Sade and other news. The big bombshell he dropped, however, was revealing that Kanye West has stopped banging out the beats and instead enlists others to do his some of his heavy lifting. To be fair, Legend didn’t dump on Yeezy as if he’s not involved in the music making process. The singer clarified his statements; he was careful to mention that West is still very much a producer and stating they remain close creative collaborators.

“He doesn’t really make beats anymore,” shared Legend. “But he suggests beats to write to. He has all these young producers coming through and he just curates it and just helps put the album together. He helps write songs, he curates the beat selection, all that, song selection and helps with the videos.” Legend was clear in restating the West is still hands on, after a flabbergasted Charlamagne balked at the news. Legend even added that West will still “tweak” the beats himself but he’s not involved in all stages of the track as once before. “We think of production as making beats, but production is the vision and Kanye is a producer in a classic sense, that’s how Quincy Jones was,” added Legend. John Legend‘s upcoming album Love In The Future is slated to drop June 25

via:hiphopwired.com

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Famed Record Executive Clive Davis Comes Out The Closet In New Memoir

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Legendary record executive, producer and Rock-and-Roll Hall Of Famer, Clive Davis, comes out of the closet in his new memoir, Soundtrack to My Life. 

The man who is responsible for bringing the world such acts as Whitney Houston, Aretha Franklin, Alicia Keys, Christina Aguilera, Carlos Santana, Kelly Clarkson, Leona Lewis and Jennifer Hudson reveals that after a period of  ”soul searching and self-analysis,” Davis separated from his second wife in 1985, and says that he went on to have simultaneous relationships with two women and a man.

Via Rolling Stone:

In a candid five-page section toward the end of the book, due in stores today, he writes that he first had a s*xual encounter with a man during “the era of Studio 54.” “On this night, after imbibing enough alcohol, I was open to responding to his s*xual overtures,” writes Davis, who says he had only been with women before. Being with a man, he writes, provided “welcome relief.”

Davis went on to reveal that he entered a monogamous relationship with a male doctor in 1990 that lasted until 2004.  Since that relationship ended, he’s been in a relationship with another man to this day. The multiple-time Grammy winner says that his relationship with one of his sons, Mitchell, was deeply affected after he came out to him but worked out their differences after one “very trying year.” The book serves as an overdue sequel to his 1975 memoir, Clive: Inside the Record Business. 

via:hiphopwired.com

ALICIA KEYS BECOMES BLACKBERRY’S GLOBAL CREATIVE DIRECTOR

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BlackBerry is really looking to revamp their brand and bring it some new light. Enter, Alicia Keys! The R&B superstar has been announced as BlackBerry’s Global Creative Director. The ‘Girl on Fire’ was on hand for the announcement today at RIM’s BlackBerry 10 launch event in Waterloo, Ontario, Canada. In her new position, Keys will work closely with app developers, content creators, retailers, carriers, and the entertainment industry to further shape and enhance the BlackBerry 10 platform through music, books, film, and apps. “Alicia Keys has come to BlackBerry because she believes in the product and technology, and subscribes to our overriding philosophy to ‘Keep Moving’: to empower people through mobile computing and communications,” said BlackBerry President and CEO Thorsten Heins. “We are excited she will be bringing to us her enormous capabilities, as well as a vast network of relationships in the entertainment, social media and business communities, to help shape our brand and grow our business.”

Alicia shared her excitement over her new job. “I have been using the BlackBerry 10 for a few weeks now, and I’m truly inspired by its innovation,” she said. “It has entirely revolutionized the experience. I know the potential this platform has to help creative people be more productive, and help productive people be more creative. This is such an incredible age to be living in, with such profound advances in communications and technology. As Global Creative Director, my goal is to inspire creativity with this platform, and I’m so excited to jump right in.” As part of BlackBerry’s “Keep Moving” Project, she plans to use the device to create a music video for each city she tours in on her “Set the World on Fire” tour, launching this March.

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via: thisisrnb.com

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Swizz Beatz Buys 150 Copies Of Alicia Keys’ New Album [PHOTO]

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Alicia Keys’ Girl On Fire album dropped Tuesday (Nov. 27), and Swizz Beatz is responsible for a portion of her record sales for the week.

Swizzy showed his lady the ultimate sign of support by going out and buying 150 copies of her new album.

The super producer admitted to being a fan of his wife via Twitter. “Ok I might get stan of the year award! So what! I just got 150 copies to give out 2 fans.”

Girl On Fire, Keys’ fifth studio album, is expected to sell between 150,000-175,000 copies in its first week. Although a major drop from her fourth release The Element of Freedom which moved 417,000 units in a week, the numbers are respectable by today’s sales standards. The New York native may dethrone Rihanna who is currently in the No. 1 spot on Billboard after her Unapologetic album sold nearly 240,000 last week.

No matter the figures, one thing Keys can be thankful for is her supportive husband. “I swear I love this man with all of me!” she wrote.

View proof that he really bought all those CDs below.