Mariah Carey’s upcoming highly anticipated album finally has a title! Thanks to longtime collaborator and friend Jermaine Dupri, who made the official announcement last night. The Art Of Letting Go will be released on July 23rd. As you know the album will feature contributions from of course Jermaine Dupri, Bryan-Michael Cox, Mike Will Made It, Hit-Boy, The-Dream, Big Jam Wright, R. Kelly, Darkchild, and Miguel.
From that tweet one would gather that Carey has now finished putting the final touches on her new album, which I’m beyond excited for. So far lead single "#Beautiful," which features talented vocalist Miguel has thus far peaked at #15 on Billboard Hot 100. Speaking on "#Beautiful" Carey recently shared some behind the scenes photos and tweets leading one to believe that there could be a remix on the raise.
Whatever the case I cannot wait to hear this album! Based off the title I’m guessing there will be a lot of ballads, which is the strongest area Carey shines in. I wouldn’t be surprised if it’s revealed that Carey will be one of the performers for the upcoming BET Awards. Meanwhile all we need is one last album announcement from one person….
Drake's announcement for hip hop fans, to add onto Jay-Z's bombshell during last night's halftime, is a new tour alongside Miguel & Future. He'll be busy from September to November across Canada and the U.S., undoubtedly playing new music from his upcoming album,Nothing Was The Same.
September 25 – Portland, OR – Rose Garden Arena
September 26 – Tacoma, WA – Tacoma Dome
September 27 – Vancouver, BC – Pepsi Live at Rogers Arena
September 29 – Calgary, AB – Scotiabank Saddledome
September 30 – Edmonton, AB – Rexall Place
October 2 – Saskatoon, SK – Credit Union Centre
October 3 – Winnipeg, MB – MTS Centre
October 5 – Minneapolis, MN – Target Center
October 6 – Kansas City, MO – Sprint Center
October 8 – Saint Louis, MO – Scottrade Center
October 9 – Chicago, IL – United Center
October 11 – Indianapolis, IN – Bankers Life Fieldhouse
October 12 – Auburn Hills, MI – The Palace of Auburn Hills
October 13 – Cleveland, OH – Quicken Loans Arena
October 15 – Columbus, OH – Schottenstein Center
October 16 – Buffalo, NY – First Niagara Center
October 18 – Pittsburgh, PA – CONSOL Energy Center
October 19 – Philadelphia, PA – Wells Fargo Center
October 21 – Montreal, QC – Bell Centre
October 22 – Ottawa, ON – Scotiabank Place
October 26 – Hartford, CT – XL Center
October 27 – Newark, NJ – Prudential Center
October 28 – Brooklyn, NY – Barclays Center
October 30 – Boston, MA – TD Garden
October 31 – Washington, DC – Verizon Center
November 2 – Charlotte, NC – Time Warner Cable Arena
November 3 – Raleigh, NC – PNC Arena
November 5 – Miami, FL – AmericanAirlines Arena
November 6 – Tampa, FL – Tampa Bay Times Forum
November 7 – Atlanta, GA – Philips Arena
November 9 – New Orleans, LA – New Orleans Arena
November 10 – Dallas, TX – American Airlines Center
November 12 – San Antonio, TX – AT&T Center
November 13 – Houston, TX – Toyota Center
November 16 – Phoenix, AZ – US Airways Center
November 18 – Sacramento, CA – Sleep Train Arena
November 19 – Oakland, CA – Oracle Arena
November 21 – Anaheim, CA – Honda Center
November 22 – Las Vegas, NV – MGM Grand Garden Arena
Finally my prayers have been answered! Mariah Carey who recently just announced her departure from American Idol (which I knew was going to happen the moment she signed on) is officially ready to reclaim her spot as the chart diva! Mariah has finally revealed the release date to her still untitled album via her Twitter.
Dropping July 23rd (my birthday month YAY!) The album is led by lead single “Beautiful,” featuring Miguel. Mariah’s new album will feature productions from the industry heavyweights such as Jermaine Dupri, Bryan-Michael Cox, The-Dream, Hit-Boy, Darkchild, Big Jam Wright, and Mr. Mike Will Made It! Excuse me while I praise the man upstairs for this news today…
Summer Jam was last night and took over your social media streams if you weren't out in NYC seeing Hot 97's 20th installment of the festival. Here is a quick-hitting summary of some of the highlights, beginning with 2 Chainz premiering his new single "Feds Watching" above and performs with Nicki Minaj here.
What did you guys think of Summer Jam XX? Did it live up to the hype? And is Summer Jam in the pantheon of hip hop's biggest concerts/tours this year?
Fabolous brought out Lil Kim:
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Mariah Carey joined Miguel for "#Beautiful":
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French Montana brought out Lil Wayne:
Kendrick Lamar & TDE's full set:
A$AP Rocky's full set:
And the talk of Twitter (somehow), Papoose's seemingly surprise performance after Kendrick/TDE (more details in a new post coming...)
Here is my 2nd pick for must-see music videos (J. Ivy's "Everything" being the other) in the past 24 hours. Talib Kweli premiered the unexpected animated visual for his smooth hit with Miguel "Come Here" and it was such the artistic expression that gave the song a new interpretation. When music videos do that, they jump another level in my eyes. Here, Kweli takes inspiration from Ancient Egypt's Anubis and Isis. The former is the half-man, half-jackal who is the protector of the dead and embalming. Isis is the goddess of motherhood, magic, and fertility, and worshipped as the ideal mother and wife. She then matches the lyrics as the ideal target that Kweli rhymes about and Miguel croons after. Plus, the connection to Anubis could be that she is also a protector of the dead.
Nonetheless, it was fun to go back into my memories of Ancient Egypt education to further understand this video that quite honestly came from left field. And I love that. The concept and the animation were not done tacky and was in fact the opposite — smooth, well-edited, and bringing to life "Come Here" in another way. Props to director Galen Pehrson. Give this a press of the play button and cop Prisoner Of Conscious in stores now!
