Motown Records star Barrett Strong has passed away at the age of 81. Strong was Motown’s primary hitmaker and songwriter as the label transitioned through the 1960s.
Born in West Point, Mississippi, Strong was one of the first acts to sign with the startup record label. His first hit, “Money (That’s What I Want)” reached the number two spot on the U.S. R&B chart. This led to Strong writing hits for many artists for years to come. Barrett had a hand in writing songs for The Temptations, such as “Cloud Nine”, “Papa Was A Rolling Stone”, and “Just my Imagination” to name a few. He helped write Marvin Gaye’s “I Heard It Through The Grapevine” and Edwin Starr’s “War.”
By the 70s, Strong’s time with Motown was up and he set out to resume his music career, this time behind the microphone. The “Money (That’s What I Want)” artist released albums with Epic Records as well as Capitol Records. His biggest song during that time was “Is It True”. Strong’s career started to dwindle in the 1980s as he started to make less music for himself. He still had the fire to write for other artists and just focused on that. But, in 2008, he decided to release Stronghold II, a sequel to his album, Stronghold.
Motown Records founder Berry Gordy made a statement regarding Strong’s death:
“I am saddened to hear the passing of Barrett Strong, one of my earliest artists, and the man who sang my first big hit. Barrett was not only a great singer and piano player…Barrett is an original member of the Motown Family and will be missed by all of us.”
Barrett Strong received a Grammy in 1973 for his work on the song, “Papa Was a Rollin’ Stone” and was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2004.
Diddy is headed to Motown. The legendary Hip-Hop hitmaker is preparing a new album under the iconic Motown Records. According to theJasmineBRAND, Diddy is currently at work preparing the release.
Although he is on Motown, Bad Boy Records is said to still exist. Diddy was noted to have Off The Grid Vol. 1 set to release last September but could have been held off due to the label change.
Motown is currently the home to Quality Control, which has a stacked roster of Lil Baby, Migos, City Girls, Lil Yachty, and more.
In addition to the Motown news, Sean “DIDDY” Combs will host the “2022 Billboard Music Awards,” according to MRC and NBC (BBMAs). This year celebrates the 25th anniversary of Diddy’s first Billboard Music Award, which he received in 1997 for his multi-platinum album No Way Out. Diddy will also serve as executive producer, reimagining the experience and bringing together the greatest in entertainment, with some surprises in store.
“This will be unlike any awards show – I’m bringing the love and setting the frequency at an all-time high,” said DIDDY. “The Billboard Music Awards truly represent the artists and where music is today, so I’m excited to curate the biggest live performances and surprises. The world has to tune in to see.”
Founder of The Supremes, Mary Wilson, has passed away at the age of 76.
Wilson’s publicist Jay Schwartz confirmed the death to the Associated Press, detailing she died in her Las Vegas, Nevada home on Monday night. There is currently no reported cause of death.
Wilson along with Diana Ross, Florence Ballard and Betty McGlown composed the original version of The Supremes.
“I was extremely shocked and saddened to hear of the passing of a major member of the Motown family, Mary Wilson of the Supreme,” said Berry Gordy in a statement. “The Supremes were always known as the ‘sweethearts of Motown.’ Mary, along with Diana Ross and Florence Ballard, came to Motown in the early 1960s. After an unprecedented string of No. 1 hits, television and nightclub bookings, they opened doors for themselves, the other Motown acts, and many, many others. … I was always proud of Mary. She was quite a star in her own right and over the years continued to work hard to boost the legacy of the Supremes. Mary Wilson was extremely special to me. She was a trailblazer, a diva and will be deeply missed.”
I just woke up to this news , my condolences to you Mary's family ,I am reminded that each day is a gift ,I have so many wonderful memories of our time together "The Supremes " will live on ,in our hearts
One entertainment’s most iconic figures is calling it quits. Berry Gordy had confirmed that he is stepping away from music.
Vibeis reporting that the Motown Records founder has announced his official retirement. He alerted his peers at the 60th-year celebration of Motown. “I have come full circle. It is only appropriate (to announce this) while here in Detroit, the city where my fairy tale happened with all of you”. He went on to admit that this move has long been on his mind saying he has “dreamed about it, talked about, threatened it”.
On January 12, 1959 Gordy founded the label and would grow the company as an R&B soul powerhouse by discovering and developing legendary acts like Smokey Robinson, The Supremes, The Four Tops and The Jackson 5. Additionally he proved to be a formidiable contributor behind the scenes penning hits such as “Lonely Teardrops”, “Shop Around” and “Do You Love Me”. He was inducted to the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2017. His eighth son and grandson are the two sole members of LMFAO.
Legendary musician Stevie Wonder is facing serious but manageable health problems, but he continues to perform and make music, sources close to the singer say.
Reports have been coming out that the iconic Motown star is “doing better now than he was a couple of months ago,” one close friend of Wonder told theDetroit Free Press, as he prepares to head overseas for a pair of concerts. Wonder has been traveling with a medical team, the source said.
“He’s got some health challenges, but he doesn’t want a big PR thing out of this,” said musician Joan Belgrave, a longtime friend of the singer. Her late husband, Detroit jazz trumpeter Marcus Belgrave, met Wonder when the latter was a 13-year-old Motown prodigy, she said.
He knows what he has to do to get himself together, and he’s doing it,” Belgrave said. “He’s got a team around him — that’s what he needs. He’s got people around him who love him.”
Wonder was “joking and laughing” when they spoke by phone earlier this week, she said.
“He’s in great spirits. You would never know anything is going on. That’s how he wants it, and that’s how he wants to keep it,” Belgrave said. “He’s making music and doing what he does, and that’s what he wants to focus on.”
Speculation spread like wildfire on June 25 when a video went viral from a Philadelphia radio personality claimed that Wonder is suffering kidney failure and has begun dialysis.
Wonder’s publicist, Shelley Selover, declined to comment beyond saying: “Please know that nothing is verified unless it comes directly from us.”
Wonder has been trying to keep his health matters private, those close to the singer said, but he’s aware concerns if his legion of fans have for him.
“He said, ‘I love prayers, but tell them not to make a big deal about it,’” said Belgrave.
February 2019 needs a restart, 21 Savage possibly is getting deported, Liam Neeson was out here talking about his racist rape revenge moment, and now the news of Jennifer Lopez headlining a Motown Tribute at The Grammys has #BlackTwitter confused.
Black History Month is off to a rough start.
Rap-Up reported yesterday (Jan.6) the strange news that this years Grammys hosted by Alicia Keys will feature a special performance to honor Motown’s 60th anniversary that will feature Jenny from the block. As you can imagine the confusion hit the timeline swiftly as Black folks questioned why in the world would they select Jennifer Lopez to headline the significant moment?
#BlackTwitter immediately pointed out how odd the decision to use Lopez is by pointing out that Motown legends like Stevie Wonder, Lionel Richie, Diana Ross, and Smokey Robinson are still here and fully capable of performing. Not to mention there is tons of you know Black talent available The Grammys could have chosen from to help celebrate Motown’s Black excellence.
We can only assume and hope that possibly J.Lo will just be a part of the performance and it will feature other Black artists. We will have to wait and see when the 61st Grammys air this Sunday on CBS at 8pm. For now, you can see the fallout from the decision in the gallery below.
February 2019 needs a restart, 21 Savage possibly is getting deported, Liam Neeson was out here talking about his racist rape revenge moment, and now the news of Jennifer Lopez headlining a Motown Tribute at The Grammys has #BlackTwitter confused.
Black History Month is off to a rough start.
Rap-Up reported yesterday (Jan.6) the strange news that this years Grammys hosted by Alicia Keys will feature a special performance to honor Motown’s 60th anniversary that will feature Jenny from the block. As you can imagine the confusion hit the timeline swiftly as Black folks questioned why in the world would they select Jennifer Lopez to headline the significant moment?
#BlackTwitter immediately pointed out how odd the decision to use Lopez is by pointing out that Motown legends like Stevie Wonder, Lionel Richie, Diana Ross, and Smokey Robinson are still here and fully capable of performing. Not to mention there is tons of you know Black talent available The Grammys could have chosen from to help celebrate Motown’s Black excellence.
We can only assume and hope that possibly J.Lo will just be a part of the performance and it will feature other Black artists. We will have to wait and see when the 61st Grammys air this Sunday on CBS at 8pm. For now, you can see the fallout from the decision in the gallery below.
February 2019 needs a restart, 21 Savage possibly is getting deported, Liam Neeson was out here talking about his racist rape revenge moment, and now the news of Jennifer Lopez headlining a Motown Tribute at The Grammys has #BlackTwitter confused.
Black History Month is off to a rough start.
Rap-Up reported yesterday (Jan.6) the strange news that this year’s Grammys hosted by Alicia Keys will feature a special performance to honor Motown’s 60th anniversary that will feature Jenny from the block [Editor’s Note: The Bronx native is nowhere on this official guest list]. As you can imagine the confusion hit the timeline swiftly as Black folks questioned why in the world would they select Jennifer Lopez to headline the significant moment?
#BlackTwitter immediately pointed out how odd the decision to use Lopez is by pointing out that Motown legends like Stevie Wonder, Lionel Richie, Diana Ross, and Smokey Robinson are still here and fully capable of performing. Not to mention there is tons of you know Black talent available The Grammys could have chosen from to help celebrate Motown’s Black excellence.
We can only assume and hope that possibly J.Lo will just be a part of the performance and it will feature other Black artists. We will have to wait and see when the 61st Grammys air this Sunday on CBS at 8pm. For now, you can see the fallout from the decision in the gallery below.
November 4, 2008 was a day laced in change. Marking the Presidential election that led Barack Obama to Office, American politics and culture was in the midst of a transformation. Hip-Hop artists became increasingly vocal in the conversation of change in America. In addition to US politics, Rap music seemed to be undergoing its own remodeling. Accompanied by the historic election, Q-Tip’s second album, The Renaissance, presented itself as the perfect declaration of change on all fronts.
Tip had a good idea of what he was up against with the release of this album In an interview with Thomas Hobbs of NME, he describes how the new scene transcended into his studio sessions for the album. “It felt like I had re-entered Hip-Hop. At the time I exited, music was vastly different,” he says. The Abstract then goes on to describe how the differences overcoming the culture were those of a newer model to a familiar ride, “I came back and was like ‘Okay, the brakes are still there. This is the steering wheel. We don’t put the keys in doors no more, I can handle that!’ It was like even though things had changed, the premise of a car is still a car. Once you get in, you keep things moving.”
The MC/Producer of A Tribe Called Quest didn’t seem fazed by the new wave of artists at the time. On the album’s fourth track “Official,”Q-Tip describes how he doesn’t need the charts to validate his message. In hindsight he sees the energy and message of the record speaks to what Hip-Hop has become. “Up until DAMN., Kendrick didn’t have a lot of radio play, yet he was still selling albums,” Tip observes. “J. Cole didn’t have a lot of radio spins either, but was doing world tours and has legions of fans.” The Queens, New Yorker was looking to instill a sense of individuality in how to make it music to the generation of upcoming as well, “When I said ‘don’t need a Billboard hit for me to hit you‘ – that thinking ties into the logic behind Soundcloud Rap as well. Those lyrics were about showing rappers that there are other pathways and conduits to reach your audience. That lyric spoke to the archaic construct of the 21st-century record business, which a lot of people were still trying to cling onto at the time. I saw it deteriorating, so that lyric was a little prophetic. I wanted to show there was a different path to success.”
Looking back, the new age of Hip-Hop was not the only challenge Q-Tip faced. The then-Universal Motown Records artist was facing the comparisons of his solo work to the likes of what he did with A Tribe Called Quest. “Living underneath or inside the corridors of A Tribe Called Quest is a lot, you know? People always judge me against what Tribe was. I try not to pay attention to those shackles, but everyone else does,” he admits. Despite the frustration as a result of the criticism, the multi-talented artist received them as fuel to create more music, “I try to rely on the humanitarianism of the listen. Meaning, everybody else has those hangs ups on me, but I don’t pay attention to it… I just keep making music that moves me, and hopefully, it connects to people and changes their world too.” It seems like the only thing that could stop the artist is himself.
The Renaissance celebrates its 10th-anniversary during a very different time. “I think The Renaissance has an optimism that doesn’t really exist anymore,” he declares. “If you look at The Renaissance and the last Tribe album [We Got It From Here… Thank You 4 Your Service], then the former is bright, and the latter has a darker tone because we knew [a Trump Presidency was happening].” The negative influence of the political climate seemed to mirror itself in pop culture as well.
Music began to take on darker views and shallow subject matter which Q-Tip describes as a loss for creativity in Hip-Hop, “[Right now] you don’t see a lot of harmony in the music. You don’t hear a lot of depth. The music is a little darker. The young rappers now have a much more limited subject matter, which is fine, but that means their imagination has to be immense and it just isn’t, for the most part.”
Despite the unsuspected changes in the state of Hip-Hop and pop culture, Q-Tip has no intentions in pulling back his influence on the game. “I ain’t stopping. I am too talented. I will do this to my death,” he tells NME. “I am going to be like James Brown or Louis Armstrong or Prince; they did music until they couldn’t do it anymore and were gone. In my final days, I will still be doing this. I don’t believe in retiring. I will probably keel over my drum machine. I’m 48 now, which, I guess, means I’m only half-way done!” Now teaching music courses at NYU, The Renaissance man is looking forward to fulfilling the longevity of his career and impacting music.
