Introducing... Ray LaMontagne

Ray LaMontagne is an American born, floppy haired and bushy bearded singer-songwriter of hauntingly reflective, folksy songs. Even though I’m just hearing about him now - his debut album was in 2004 - he’s unlike anything I’ve heard before (and enjoyed)

I guess this could be a sign of my musical taste buds evolving and quickly becoming more mature right? (no more Chicken Noodle Soup!). I’m surprised I managed to like Ray’s music seeing as he doesn’t have any discernable hook, obvious ad lib or Timbaland sounding beat but I guess all those things merely garnish otherwise dull radio-catered songs anyway (just thing about it)

The genius of LaMontagne is in the simplicity of the tracks such as Trouble and Empty which pack more punch then Naomi Campbell’s blackberry. The marriage between his lived in yet fresh sounding vocals coupled with minimal musical production gives his songs a vintage quality, focusing the listener to the meaning behind the music.

Another reason I like LaMontagne is because of his bizarre alienation. He’s unashamedly disengaged from his audience refusing to acknowledge them when performing, rarely giving interviews and preferring to sing in the dark. This all adds to his whole appeal and makes the emotions he does display that much more credible and real. His painful and bizarre awkwardness has turned Ray into this instantly cool enigma who lets his voice do the talking.

His second album, Till the Sun Goes Black is out so go and buy or download now! Listen to some tracks on his MySpace: www.myspace.com/raylamontagne

Biggie: Revisiting the Legacy

With the release of what’s said to be his final album, to coincide with the tenth anniversary of his death I wonder if we can finally lay Biggie to rest?

Words by BoyWonder

By now everyone should be pretty familiar with Biggie’s story right? A young, 6’3 big-boned kid from the mean projects of Brooklyn and an even meaner rhyme flow releases his debut album on Bad Boy records and is hailed the greatest. Repping the East coast to the fullest Christopher Wallace soon develops a beef with 2 Pac (signed to West Coast label Death Row) and days before the release of his second album gets gunned down. His death, six months after the demise of 2 Pac is one that left the hip hop world stunned and shaken to its very (hard)core. The events played like a hip opera or a Shakespearean tragedy of which the repercussions are still felt today.

However, events could have been so different as the night of the fatal shooting, Biggie was supposed to have been in the UK! “I was on the phone to his manager as he was meant to be flying that night and I was expecting him, but his manager said he was going to go to the Vibe party” says Mervyn Lyn who at the time worked as Head of R&B Repertoire for Arista Records. “Then I remember taking my dog for a walk down the common early in the morning and the phone ringing and they said that Biggie went to the party and had been shot dead... that was quite a moment to be so far away but yet still be involved in the whole thing in a superficial way.”

After the rappers befitting burial in Manhatten which was attended by thousands, Bad Boy released Life after Death which has now been certified diamond (boasting sales of more then 10 million worldwide). The double disced collection recorded before his death featured collaborations from the likes of R Kelly, Jay Z, Lil Kim and 112 who sang the hook on Sky’s The Limit. “Working with Biggie was incredible, he was like a big brother” remembers Slim from 112. “I miss him a lot. He definitely took us underneath his wings and when we first moved from Atlanta to New York, he was one of the first people that really took us around and to his shows. He had just come out and he was letting us see what he had to deal with and what we should be ready for.”

Well known for his laid back delivery and semi autobiographical rhyming, not a lot is made of Biggie’s talents outside of the rap game. “He could definitely sing” continued Slim “he had great melodies and he was an incredible comedian (laughs). When you look at him he looks intimidating but he was very peaceful and he’d give you the shirt of his back… he was very, very kind.”

Since his passing, posthumous releases such as 1999’s double platinum Born Again and 2005’s Duets: The Final Chapter have reintroduced the big friendly giant to a younger and wider audience further keeping his legacy alive.
With the latest release being Notorious B.I.G’s Greatest Hits which is also said to be his final and with his death still unsolved (despite the tireless campaigning by his mother Voletta Wallace) it’s a wonder whether we can actually finally lay Biggie to rest?

However it seems that for as long as there’s a new crop of rappers citing Biggie as their influence and while there’s still inner city kids benefiting from the ‘Christoper Wallace Memorial Foundation’ Biggie’s status will always be cemented in hip hop history. In the words of friend and collaborator P. Diddy:
“Christopher Wallace was more than an artist, he was my friend. The Notorious B.I.G, as most knew him, was a rapper, a story teller, and a prolific poet. Through his words, persona, life and music, he was able to open doors and create opportunities for hip-hop as a whole. The release of Greatest Hits makes it clear to the world why the Notorious B.I.G is the greatest rapper of all time”

Notorious B.I.G’s Greatest Hits is out now on Atlantic Records!

Have Pretty Ricky Broke Up?

Over the weekend I was informed that the four illegitimately related brothers have split up so here’s the story…

Pretty Ricky are in the UK right now doing promo for their new LP On The Hotline so they’ve been busy doing press with a number of publications including RWD. However during these interviews one of the brothers Ricky is noticeably missing and that’s Pleasure ie the most talented one in the group and the sole good singer. The reason given for his obvious absence is apparently because he not in the country but according to Omarion’s dancers (who were in the UK last week touring with Omarion) this information is false.

They claim that not only is Pleasure in the country but he’s been kicked out of the group by the other members for reasons unknown. What is known is that on Thursday night, Omarion along with his dancers went to see Pretty Ricky perform at a club. Minutes before they were due on, Spectacular, Baby Blue and Slick’em had a huge row with Pleasure which resulted in them performing as a threesome. The row was said to be so bad that pleasure ended up staying at the same hotel as Omarion, 112 and Sisqo hotel in Vauxhall.
Today Pretty Ricky’s press officer today denied the rumour so we’ll have to wait and see. In the meantime check out an interview (below) I did with Pretty Rick early in January and pay close attention to the break up question I asked at the end!

BoyWonder Meets Pretty Ricky!

Presenting what must be any parents with teenager daughters worst nightmare, Pretty Ricky are the musical brothers with the intriguingly sounding nicknames. Described by many as the modern day Jodeci, 2007 marks the return of Baby Blue, Spectacular, Slick’ Em and Pleasure who fresh from their sell out tour are readying to release the sophomore follow up to Bluestars.

Interview by BoyWonder

Warning: This interview contains excessive levels of testosterone, male chauvinistic bravado and over inflated ego.

Firstly, where have you been as we hadn’t heard anything from you in a while?
We’ve been working on the album and producing this new album. We’ve got a new album out called late night special and we’ve just been working real hard man.

How have your fans been reacting to your new material?
Oh, they’ve been going ridiculous, they’ve been going crazy like the album front to back is a smash record. We tried to make sure that we don’t put album fillers on our album so front to back all our records can be singles so you know we’re just doing it real big.

What can we expect from the new LP?
It’s going to be way bigger, way bigger. The album this time is better then the first album and is going to have way more romance.

So can you each tell us your favourite song of the album?
All of them front to back. There’s no favourite one. We’ve got maturity and we’ve got a variety of different kinds of records. We’ve got songs you can dance to, songs to make you fall in love and songs to make you cry. We’ve got all of it.

So can you tell us about the first single On the Hotline?
It’s just a vibe, a lot of females can relate to the record and all we did is put it on track. We went in the studio, brought a phone machine, dimmed the lights down low, got some candles, lit some incense and just set the mood. We called some girls up and talked a little dirty to them and just cut the record. We got the vibe for the record.
Who produced the single?
This track is produced by Music Royale and we didn’t get that many producers on the album. Most of it is produced by Music Royale. We wanted to have a sound that was Pretty Ricky and Music Royale had the sound that we were looking for.

Will there be any collaboration’s on the album?
We got two groups on our label, Blue Star Entertainment. We’ve got a female version of Pretty Ricky called Butta Creame, and another group called Meat and Bones where one of the members from that group is our older brother Rick Ravish.

Is this the brother that used to be in the group before?
Yeah once upon a time, I mean we a family so everything we do is a family orientated. He used to be in the group back in the day but his age difference was bigger then ours. He had a bigger age gap so we just ended up doing our thing and he did his own thang.

You all come from a big family of 13. Should we expect any more of your siblings to release music?
Of course, we come from a family orientated business. Everybody in the family is talented. There’s more to come so make sure you keep on looking out, Blue Star Entertainment.

You've drawn comparisons to Jodeci, how do you feel about that?
Well were new school and everything. Were a mixture between R&B and hip hop. You can look at us as a new school Run DMC if you want to but we just making good music. We go back and we listen to all the greats and just try to produce good music.

In the Scream tour, you were featured alongside many other popular male singers, so who got the biggest screams?
That’s just common sense you know. All the music we do is for the ladies. When we go on stage we dress for the ladies, we make sure our performance is for the ladies and a lot of the other acts just cater for the different audiences. The ladies just love Pretty Ricky for some reason. We got a female clothing line called pretty, that we’re launching on the tour.

Are there any plans to bring the tour to London?
Well that’s in the works, but as Pretty Ricky, we are planning to come over real soon.. We all single and we’re looking for some ladies. I heard that London’s got some of the most finest women in the world over there.

So how is the relationship between all of you? Do you guys argue a lot?
We fuss and fight all the time, but we bring it back together because we family. Its real love and we can bring our issues out on the table. We get our problems out and we got over it.

Is there a time where you could see yourself doing your own solo thing and breaking up?
We’d go out and do our solo things but there aint no break up involved. We would support each other and do it together.

www.prettyricky.com
www.myspace.com/prettyricky