Sun, Nov 08 2026 /Mpelembe Media/ — Sophie B. Hawkins emerged from New York City with a distinct rhythmic sensibility rooted in her percussion studies at the Manhattan School of Music and training under master drummer Babatunde Olatunji. After being abruptly dismissed from touring as Bryan Ferry’s percussionist, she channeled her artistic voice into songwriting, penning the seminal confession of longing, “Damn I Wish I Was Your Lover”. While working as a coat-check attendant at Manhattan’s Joe Allen restaurant, her demo tape circulated to industry executives, triggering an intense bidding war among multiple record companies. Hawkins signed with Columbia Records and released her 1992 debut album, Tongues and Tails, which achieved widespread international acclaim, earned Gold certification, and garnered her a Grammy Award nomination for Best New Artist. Continue reading
Tag Archives: Albums
Beyond the Funk
Fri , Nov 06 2026 /Mpelembe Media/ — I’m Every Woman – The Chaka Khan Musical is a biographical jukebox stage production developed over several years by Adrian Grant Productions in direct association with ten-time Grammy Award winner Chaka Khan. Featuring a book by Nia T. Hill, direction by Racky Plews, musical supervision by Mark Crossland, and choreography by Ebony Clarke, the musical charts Khan’s five-decade trajectory from her Chicago upbringing and teenage involvement with the Black Panther Party to her breakout success with funk band Rufus and subsequent global solo career. Rather than delivering a sanitized hagiography, the narrative delves into the artist’s personal and professional challenges, addressing industry misogynoir, fraught marriages, the strains of working motherhood, and long-standing battles with substance dependency. The score weaves Khan’s celebrated solo and Rufus repertoire into both concert numbers and dramatic scenes, highlighting anthems such as “I Feel For You,” “Tell Me Something Good,” “Ain’t Nobody,” “Sweet Thing,” “Through the Fire,” and “Higher Love,” alongside appearances by contemporaries including Stevie Wonder, Prince, Joni Mitchell, and Steve Winwood. Continue reading
Chisenga – Loco feat. Joyce Tanmuoh
From Dance Mats to Club Bangers: The Evolution of Nightlife Narratives and Social Chemistry in Pop Music
Sat Oct. 16, 2026 /Mpelembe Media/ — Modern nightlife in contemporary popular music functions as a dynamic microcosm of youth culture, where crowded dance floors, late-night bars, and house parties become vibrant stages for complex emotional negotiations and romantic chemistry. Across featured tracks like Chisenga’s “Loco feat. Joyce Tanmuoh,” artists capture energetic club settings where crowded dance floors, penthouse after-parties, and complicated relationship statuses form the backdrop for unexpected romantic connections. A key narrative device identified across these works is the spectator-protagonist, an individual who balances active participation in collective party rituals with an internal observation of peer dynamics and romantic desire. Works such as Brynn Cartelli’s “Girl Code,” Olivia Rodrigo’s “bad idea right?”, and Ed Sheeran’s “Shape of You” illustrate this tension by contrasting the social safety of friend circles against the impulsive pull of immediate physical attraction, ex-partner relapses, or late-night courtship. Continue reading
Voices of Preston’s Windrush generation – when I first arrived, I said: ‘Really? I thought there were no slums in this place!’
Alan Rice, University of Central Lancashire and Jack Hepworth, University of Oxford
From the earliest arrivals of what would become Preston’s “Windrush generation”, the status of the Caribbean diaspora was hotly contested in this post-industrial Lancashire town, as elsewhere. Discrimination and prejudice dogged the daily lives of people from the Caribbean who made their home here.
How to Hire Beyoncé for Your Private Party
Hiring a celebrity like Beyoncé for a private party is a complex and expensive process. Here are some steps you can take to get started: Continue reading
Six pack like LL Cool J
LL Cool J, an American rapper, actor, and television personality. He is best known for his hip hop music, which has sold over 30 million records worldwide. His biggest hit single is “I Need Love,” which reached number one on the Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart in 1988. He has also had success in acting, appearing in films such as “Independence Day,” “Scream 2,” and “The Last Dragon.” In 2002, he starred in the television series “NCIS: Los Angeles” as Special Agent Sam Hanna.
Here are some of LL Cool J’s most notable achievements: Continue reading
What is going on with Ed Sheeran?
Ed Sheeran has won a copyright infringement lawsuit filed by the family of Marvin Gaye. The lawsuit alleged that Sheeran’s 2014 hit song “Thinking Out Loud” copied elements of Gaye’s 1973 song “Let’s Get It On.”
A jury in New York City deliberated for about three hours before finding Sheeran not liable for copyright infringement. Sheeran testified during the trial that he did not copy Gaye’s song and that any similarities between the two songs were coincidental. Continue reading
DONNA SUMMER’S SHE WORKS HARD FOR THE MONEY IS CELEBRATED WITH EXPANDED, DIGITAL-ONLY 40TH ANNIVERSARY DELUXE EDITION – AVAILABLE NOW
Today, Mercury/UMe releases a digital-only 40th-anniversary Deluxe Edition of Donna Summer’s all-time classic solo album, She Works Hard For The Money. Originally released June 13, 1983, when musical tastes were changing by the minute, She Works Hard For The Money sealed Summer as a creative multi-genre force to be reckoned with following her amazing string of chart-topping disco and dance hits that helped define the sound of the 1970s. The 13-track Deluxe Edition features the original 9-song She Works Hard For The Money album plus four bonus tracks consisting of two club mixes and two instrumental tracks (full track listing below). These bonus tracks have not previously been available for digital download or streaming. Continue reading
THE WHO: THE WHO WITH ORCHESTRA LIVE AT WEMBLEY
On July 6, 2019, The Who headlined Wembley Stadium in London for the first time in forty years. The show was the only U.K. date on their ‘Moving On’ Tour and featured the band accompanied by an over 50-piece orchestra performing classic tracks from Quadrophenia, Tommy, Who’s Next, Who Are You and more as well tracks from their WHO album, their first studio release in thirteen years. Continue reading
SONY MUSIC & THE ESTATE OF MICHAEL JACKSON ANNOUNCE THE START OF THE THRILLER 40 GLOBAL CAMPAIGN
Forty years after the release of Thriller, the album that catapulted Michael Jackson into the superstardom stratosphere, Sony Music and The Estate of Michael Jackson announce the start of the global campaign to celebrate the 40th anniversary of the King of Pop’s landmark album. As part of the campaign, the Estate of Michael Jackson and Sony Music will host fan events around the world, all free to the public, including immersive experiences, screenings of the Thriller 40 documentary and other fan parties. Continue reading