Pharrell @ Neighbourhood!

Widespread pandemonium crash landed into the once quiet Neighbourhood in Ladbroke Grove last week. The overwhelmingly large crowds were drawn out by the promise of delicious Bacardi (who sponsor the B-Live event). Almost like a self fulfilling prophecy the name would eventually prove true to form but it took a long time getting there. Half an hour to be exact - the time spent outside waiting to get in, (even on guestlist!). The original line-up featured the unique sounds of Tortured Soul, Osunlade and Pete & Kyri. But while their music is worthy of generating such audiences, it was the late addition to the bill, the man who has just signed a deal with the fashion emporium Louis Vuitton that generated such a turn out.

The man in question was Pharrell Williams and at around 1.15am, Skateboard P, came on the stage to his Neptune’s produced Clipse track Grindin to almost deafening screams. He looked extremely younger then his 33 years would have us believe and was dressed in an Ice Cream jumper, baggy shorts and fisherman cap (straight-up skater-chic). Mr Williams then wasted no time in beginning with the first single release from his eagerly anticipated - forever delayed - solo LP In My Mind. Taking a breath he addressed the fans saying that “It makes me feel good to be here and if it weren’t for you there wouldn’t be any Justin or Snoop etc”

After that, the man who is half of the production duo that is the Neptune’s took us on a journey down his exhaustingly vast collaboration back catalogue. From Jay-Z, he sung the hook to I Just Wanna Luv U (Give It 2 Me) to which the crowd enthusiastically and accurately took the Jay-Z part. Then to Busta he performed Pass the Courvoisier and then Snoops’ Drop It Like It’s Hot and then serenaded the ladies with Beautiful. However, the only insight that he gave us into his mind was You Got It Like That and with his collaboration with another Louis Vuitton Don (although unofficial) in the form of Kanye West with No.1.

By now, people in the packed VIP were now standing on the tables trying to get a look-see at the diminutive rock star. After Frontin and Excuse Me Miss, he went onto name check all the other collaborations that we can look forward to hearing soon from the likes of ‘Snoop, Omarion, Justin, Jay-Z and Beyonce’. To finish the set he started with an impromptu acapella version of rock star before the rocky drum rifts of the 2002 headbanger.

Clearly paying attention to the screaming females fans, his last song, She Wants To Move did nothing to subdue them and when he said “All the pretty girls put your hands in the air” it was now called ‘All Eyes on Pharrell Night’ and left many annoyed males complaining.

Boywonder Ent Ezugwu for more insights check out http://www.myspace.com/boywonder_ent

Tim-ba-land-ing with a Jay-Z collaboration!!

The creative genius of Timbaland is set to be brought back to the musical forefront, as the uber producer has confirmed that he will be working with Jay-Z on his yet to titled LP.

Words by Boywonder Ent

Without a doubt, the producer/ rapper is looking to re-cement his status as the hottest producer bar none. Speaking to BBC’s 1xtra, the super producer who has just launched the Mosley Music Group – a joint label venture with Interscope/Geffen/A&M – also revealed that he is giving Hip Hop a break and is focussing on pop. “Hip-Hop is too easy for me…… I’m trying to do pop [and] bring Top 40 into the hood”

He has most definitely been on the production-grind; chipping away at new sounds to compliment his distinctly decreased waistline. He recently applied his new pop inclination straight to the top of the UK charts with Nelly Furtado’s Maneater who is signed to his label. He produced the tracks from her Top five charting album Loose and was in London recently promoting his Justin Timberlake produced single Sexyback. Taken from Justin’s eagerly anticipated sophomore release Futuresex/Lovesounds the duo are in the studio working on putting the final touches to the LP.

The news that Jay-Z has plans to come back out of retirement has been the cause of much speculation ever since the Brooklyn MC announced his retirement from Hip Hop. The impending collaboration between the two won’t be the first time they have collaborated and their most recent work together was Dirt Off Your Shoulder from Jay-Z’s 2003 Black Album.

However, Mr Mosley is not the first producer to announce his involvement on Jay-Z’s new project as only last month these same sentiments were echoed by Pharell Williams who also revealed of a future Jay-Z collaboration. So whatever the case is, we know that when/if Jay-Z does drop his new LP, trust Boywonder Ent to give you all the latest info as soon as!

ONLINE REVIEW @ TROY BAR

If you’re a live, soulful music conossuier then there’s only on place to be on a Tuesday night and that is most definitely Troy Bar. The premise is simple and yet effective - a guest presenter introduces the vocalists; who are accompanied by a musician, while in front of the stage sits three in-house backup singers who ride to the rhythm of the performers. The amalgamation of all these things translates into an extremely organic vocal masterclass and its 100% free!!!!!!

I had the pleasure of going down there last week and was amazed at what I saw. The romantic aroma of the red lights painted a prolific silhouette of the artists and so it gave their performances an authentic vintage feel. Were it not for the reminder of the modern a/c and the drink prices, I would have truly believed that I was in a place that the millennium forgot. Rather then listening to music performed by unoriginal and talentless individuals, the singers at Troy Bar represented what music was back in the soul days – pure and emotion filled.

Most noticeable stand out performances was by Patrick Alan and definite rising star, Sabrina, who performed an improvised set and from an artist called Jnay. In 2003, Jnay was the winner of the MOBO unsigned award and performed an original song only accompanied by his guitar that had me well and truly astounded.

But again he is one of the many talents on show in what I can only say must be an A&R heaven. So check it out!

Troy Bar
10 Hoxton Street
London
N1 6NG
0207 739 6695

http://www.myspace.com/jnaybaby

Words by ‘Boywonder Ent’

KEISHA WHITE JAZZ CAFE REVIEW!! (1/2)

The Keisha White that stood before a packed Jazz Café was one of a singer that exuded confidence, grace and tremendous singing capabilities. So captivated were the audience by the soul starlet that when she had finished her last song, chants of ‘Keisha, Keisha, Keisha’ brought her back on the stage once more.

Words by ‘Boywonder’

The stage is something that she is used to and as a 14 year-old school girl, Keisha White found herself standing on a similar stage in front of an audience of music execs. Incredibly, undaunted by the situation, she went on to sing If You Should Lose s Good Thing by Aretha Franklin acapella and blew everyone away. Now 19, she looks fondly on that moment saying, “I remember the song as being one that stood out with the record labels and it was the very first song I ever performed live.” Needless to say, that career defining moment lead to her being signed on the spot and as she sang it for her encore, we could clearly see why.

On her lukewarmly received debut album 17, Ms White went on to experiment with many different music styles, from a rocky debut of Whatcha Gonna Do through to the commercial sounds of Don’t Care Who Knows featuring the rapper Cassidy. Of the debut album she remains poised saying, “It was an experiment and I wanted to show people that I’m capable of numerous styles of music.” However, the disappointing sales of the debut album enabled her to establish a sound that she felt most comfortable in and heralded the arrival of the soulful sounding artist we have now. As she explains “the change in direction musically, was not that I wanted to change from the dance tracks, it was more that the songs I’m singing now work better for me”. Her new sound has resulted in her fan base changing and she is now reaching audiences beyond Channel U and MTV’s TRL. Through her experiences, her vocal ability has been constant and generated much praise with her seen as ‘One to Watch’ and ‘The Next Big Thing’. Of the compliments, she now feels undaunted. “It’s all good now but at first I was thinking that I really need to deliver and it was slightly nerve racking. But I see it as being positive as people know and appreciate what I do”

Now she’s back with her second album, Out of Hands and is ready to remake her mark on the music scene. She was headlining a gig at the jazz café to showcase tracks from the new album which is more in keeping with the song sung by the 14 year-old school girl…

After a nervous start with Complicated Emotions and Brother she soon overcame it with Love is the Deepest Hurt. Dressed in a brown camisole top and white skinny fit jeans, she took a break to thank us all for coming down and clearly couldn’t believe the turnout. After singing on the funk filled, bass guitar rifts of Baby Come to Me she dedicated the next song “for all the lovely ladies out there”. The single, was Out of My Hands (the name of her second LP) and was performed with a confident swagger, which lent perfectly to the haunting piano chords. It generated a very strong crowd reaction whilst What’s On Your Mind translated into pure poetry. To the next song, she ordered everyone to sing and went into her massive top 20 hit The Weakness in Me. Before we were able to give applause, she went into her stand out performance of the night. The ballad was Stronger Man and showed off the depths of her vocal ability to full effect and left us all amazed. It was a definite 10/10 performance and should most definitely be a future release. The gig ended with what will be her latest single I Choose Life and explained how “the words are so beautiful with a powerful message that talks about appreciating life”. The song then turned into a jam session for her and her band and after giving us a massive thank you for coming, she left it to her bands to carry on.

There’s a popular saying that the future is orange, but I now suspect that the future will most definitely be white – Kiesha White.

http://www.myspace.com/officialkeishawhite

http://www.keishawhite.co.uk

Out of My Hands is released on July 3rd on Korova Records

(stay tuned for part 2)