Kenny Lattimore bursts unto the music scene in 1996 with his self-titled album that gave us the brilliant floor mover 'Never too busy' and the ultra smooth ballad 'For you' (that went on to score top ten success on the Billboard Top 100 R&B charts). With the success of the debut came his sophomore set 'From the Soul of Man' (in '98) and again another fine body of work but sadly garners no attention from the airwaves (neither radio and internet) or consumers. 

Now 3 years on, Kenny has a new outlook as he switches gears and signs a deal with a new label in Arista and now has a fantastic new tune out called 'Weekend' that's making the rounds on the R+R circuit. Taken from the "yet to be titled" album the track is written by Kenny and produced by the ever so popular, up and coming producers Troy Taylor and Charles Ferrar (aka The Characters). 

The album features a wide array of writers and producers including George Duke, Raphael Saadiq, Battlecat and the Marley Brothers to name a few. With that said one can hardly wait to get their hands on the finished product. I'm really looking forward to the full length set which has a tentative release date slated for September.... keep you posted with more news as I get it.  Another TY-D Pick here and I promise you will hear this one a lot on the show.

TD

 

The fusion of reggae and rap is nothing new to the medium as evident in the recent barrage of Shaggy hold on the gender but what often stands out is the way its presented or laid down, production style and of course a catchy hook. Case and point remember 'Informer' from years back by a young youth from Canada who called himself Snow well Kardinal Offishall hails from Toronto, Canada and he is taking the radio world by storm with his debut single. 

'Barkardi Slang' has one exploring the reggae ridden with ample understanding of the reggae language as Mr. Offishall schools the general public on what means what in both English and 'pot wha' (the Jamaican English language). The song as a whole is a bouncy head bopper that even the skeptic of fans would nod their heads to. Taken from his debut album 'Vol.1 - Quest for Fire - Firestar' which will be in stores at the end of the month. This seems to be another hit for the masses here and I'm sure we'll see and hear a lot more of Mr. Offishall. A most def Ty-D Pick

TD.

 

One would think there relationship was solid and only happy times are ahead but Kenneth 'Babyface' Edmunds recently left Epic Records (his home since 1985) to sign with former partner Antonio 'LA' Reid's Arista Records according to Arista.com who confirmed the signing this past October. The combination of Babyface and LA  who once partnered their own label Laface Records (for parent company  Arista) but went their separate ways after a dispute a few years back didn't seem to materialize in past years but it would seem that they have put their differences aside and begin work together again. 

Babyface signed to Solar/Epic after his days with the RNB group 'The Deele' (in which he and LA were apart of) and had a great deal of success there with hits like 'Lovers', 'Whip Appeal', 'Tender Lover' and 'This is for the cool in you' among others. LA on the other hand stayed consistent and kept producing. He was offered the position of president of Arista after Clive Davis's departure last year. What made him (Babyface) decide to leave is yet unclear rumor has it that it was due to creative differences. 

At first listen to his new single 'There she goes' you'd not think it was him 'cos he sounds different. Produced by The Neptunes (who seems to be everywhere nowadays) this is a change of pace in rhythm and style for the singer/producer as he comes across with a lil' harder sound on this track compared to the norm mellow drama beats you've come to expect from 'the face' in past efforts. The album will be in stores July 17th so fans of his be on the lookout. A TY-D Pick nevertheless on merit of doing something different.

TD