Feature Friday Special #2: Meet George Lovett

~ Happy NEW Year! ~

Feature Friday Special #2:
George Lovett

And now it's time to introduce you to some supreme vocals. I discovered this extraordinary man singing Louis Armstrong's "What A Wonderful World" (To view this video click here). My first reaction was a brief swoon followed by a blinking blank stare and a jaw drop of amazement.
You probably guessed right, I'm talking about none other than George Lovett.



The Baltimore City native, George Lovett, currently attends Savannah College of Art and Design (SCAD) on a full scholarship. Please feel free to insert your "Amen's" and "I know that's right's" for a free ride due to his gifting. Halle-BERRY-lujah! I'm sure your anxious to get to know George better so, lets dive right into the meat and potatoes. Shall we?

George draws his early influences from artists such as Patti LaBelle, Phyllis Hyman, Whitney Houston, and Jennifer Holliday. This is only appropriate seeing George "grew up in a musical family of ALL women". Taking pride in his high pitch voice fashioned after his alto/ soprano role models, great devastation arose when good ol' puberty hit.

However, George finds comfort when he's accepted into The Baltimore School For the Arts (BSFA); which happens to be on the TOP 5 art schools in the nation. At BSFA George is introduced to classical music, learns musical history, has his beginnings in music theory, and learns the limitless possibilities of a versatile voice & a creative mind.

George accredits his musical background, his devotion to leaving a legacy of good music behind and his journey of displaying every aspect of his voice; as reasons why anyone should listen to him. I must admit all of these factors are good enough reason for me. Anyone who knows anything about me knows I promote GOOD music, and solid artistry.



When I asked George who his contemporary influences are, his reply was Brandy, with NO hesitation. George says; " My theory on good singing is this; If you want to be a great singer and recording artist, listen to Brandy. I could talk for days on why I say Brandy out of all the artist out there, but if you’ve heard her “Full Moon” album then you will understand why".

He is currently working on a project with Jimmy Fisher. George dubs Jimmy as "a musical genius" and "great friend". Together Jimmy Fisher and George Lovett form the group "Purely Acoustik" (To view a video click here). Jimmy plays the piano and guitar in addition to writing. He is "the kind of REAL musician and producer the industry needs", George exclaims.

Even as talented as George is, he has respect for other artists and their crafts. Here are some constituents of choice he believes you need to get into; Brittany Nicole (Check out her FaceBook Page), Wayne Wilson (Check out his YouTube channel), Jeremy Lloyd (Check out his FaceBook Page), and TT the Artist (Check out her Myspace Page).

Be sure to check out George's YouTube Page, Twitter, FaceBook Page and Music Myspace to hear more of this talented brother. George passionately explained to me "[He] will NOT be put in a box or stereotyped. ... [W]ith generation we’re living in ... [He] is needed in the world". With that said I suggest you get into him now. Of course I'll leave an ear tickler. Enjoy. :D

What Sounds Good Wednesday Special #2: Yahzarah (Purple St. James) (Soul)

What Sounds Good Wednesday:

Yahzarah (Soul)

I rarely miss a beat or a 16th note when it comes to underground music or the goodies that the kiddies always seem to pass up, but I somehow missed this "BlackStar" when she first hit the scene.


None other than Yahzarah, also known as Purple St. James. Who is she? Where did she start? Let's jump back in time to one of my favorite albums; "Mama's Gun" by Erykah Badu.


(Catch Yahz in the yellow)

Yahzarah pops on the scene doing backgrounds. Hailing from the Washington DC area born Dana Williams. Yahzarah loosely translates to "Queen Mother [who] is the brightest star". She gives herself this stage name as a tribute to her deceased grandmother. (Allow me to take a minute to thank the Google Search Engines for that tidbit of information.)


When she comes to the forefront, she storms the scene. She releases her first independent project; "Hear Me", which include songs like "Roof Top", "Fire Fly", and "Nova" in 2001. Yahzarah hits us again in 2003 with another independent release entitled; "BlackStar". But, Yahz's "The Prelude" is the project that introduced me to her and caught my attention.

The project opens with "Four Alarm Fire". (Listen here) This song sets the album off the right way; with proper exposure to Yahzarah's impressive range. Specifying favorites on this album would be futile, I love everything on it. But, the song that holds a special place in my heart is none other than; "Where I Is". (Listen here)

I strongly suggest (aka subliminally forcing) you get into this amazing woman now (aka yesterday). Stay tuned to get a glimpse of what Yahzarah has been working on. Be sure to get the information from the horses mouth by following Yahzarah on Twitter and Facebook. Until the NEXT time, enjoy Yahzarah's tribute to MJ.


Yahzarah singing "Billie Jean" at the Soul Sista Serenade 06-28-09 (Birchmere, VA)

MIA Monday Special #1: Bilal (Soul/ Jazz)

MIA Monday:

Bilal (Neo-Soul/ Jazz)

I MUST say the music industry wasn't ready for this man. His talent does more than speak for itself, it speaks for EVERY artist making REAL music. Yeah! I'm talking about the unearthly artist, Bilal.


Bilal Sayeed Oliver (what a mouth full), NOT to be confused with Bilal Salaam, was born August 21, 1979. He's both classically trained and ahead of his time musically. Also, I've recently learned Bilal is a part of a "loose collective" called the Soulquarians.

After hearing Bilal's first CD release; "First Born Second", my life was forever changed. The lyrics of "Fast Lane" triggered something deep down inside of me that NEVER turned off, and the music video JUST solidified those emotions.


His second album, which was unreleased, "Love For Sale" is FULL of songs that scream, yell, and boldly proclaim artistry at it's finest. But, we haven't heard from Bilal in a while. He's been MIA in the music industry for some time, and he's being sorely missed by many.

For ALL of the people, like me, who've been on the look out for Bilal's musical prodigal son return; I've got some fire for your ears. He's FINALLY BACK! It's rumored he's working on a project to be released in 2010; "Airtight's Revenge".


In one of his most recent performances for the CMJ Marathon, he unveiled one of the singles from his forthcoming project; "Levels". I'm MOST literally going to count the days until Bilal drops his NEW project. But, until then enjoy his NEW single...



You heard it here FIRST! Shauny signing off!

Feature Friday Special #1: Meet Alesha "LeLe" Lawson

Feature Friday:
Alesha "LeLe" Lawson

It's NO secret, in my opinion, the female vocalists on The Tube* are not nearly as good as the male vocalists. No matter how the female vocalists classify themselves; they all tend to be mediocre, lack character, and the vocal control that music children, like myself, look for.


One day while browsing YouTube, I stumbled across a series of videos that blew my mind. The first video was a "Talent Tuesday" radio interview on station 97.1 hosted by Buster Brown where a young lady named, Alesha Lawson, was the spotlight.



The radio interview was a direct result of her outstanding performance at TRIAD Idol. Her song selection; "Summertime" from George and Ira Gershwin’s opera, "Porgy and Bess". If I must say so myself; she killed the stage, and awed the audience with her commanding performance.



In this interview we come to know; Alesha is a SO much more than a phenomenal vocal talent. Her mother is a minister, a pastor to be exact, and supports Alesha undoubtedly. To add to the package; with such a mature voice it may shock you to know LeLe is ONLY 15 years old.

You can find LeLe featured on several YouTube channels, but she does have one of her own; which is where I found my second batch of videos. She covers artists such as Fantasia, Chrisette Michele, Tamia, Beyoncé, Deborah Cox, India Arie and Jazmine Sullivan; just to name a few.


Fantasia Barrino's "Free Yourself" from the "Free Yourself" album

People like Miss Alesha "LeLe" Lawson give music lovers everywhere a real hope for the continuance of grade A vocalists. I indulge you to check out Alesha's Youtube page. But, if you NEED some more convincing check out one of my favorite videos by her.


Jazmine Sullivan's "After the Hurricane" from the "Fearless" album



Terms Key:
*The Tube - YouTube

What Sounds Good Wednesday Special #1: Conya Doss

What Sounds Good Wednesday:
Conya Doss (Neo- Soul)

If anyone is familiar with my vast eclectic musical taste; it should come as NO surprise that I absolutely adore, admire, and live for the artistry and musical stylings of the neo-soul artist; Conya Doss.

The beautiful, 37 year old (yes I said 37 year old), Conya Doss has a voice that flows like the water of a calm steady flowing stream. You can expect nothing less than beauty from this Cleveland, Ohio native whenever you press play.

The musical talents that rest in the Cleveland, OH area are quite often underrated, down-played and plain overlooked. In light of this fact, Conya Doss built her fan base the "hard-way", by releasing a series of independent projects. But, her hard work had definitely paid off.

Her album releases include; "A Poem About Ms Doss", "
Just Because", "Love Rain Down" and her most recent installment; "Still...".

If you enjoy music that touches the soul, stirs the unsteady heart, and speaks the words of the lovers mind; I suggest you purchase her ENTIRE discography NOW.

Some of my favorite songs from her include; "Coffee", "Zoning In My Dome", "Feelin' You", "Just Because", "Missing You", "Here We Go Again", "Those Wur De Dayz", "Beautiful Thing", "The One", "Let Me Love You", "Something 2nite" and my ALL time favorite; "What I'd Do".

You can check out Conya's website; http://www.conyadoss.com/ to find out how to book Miss Doss and other information is also available on the site. Quiet as kept, Conya does has a YouTube page; http://youtube.com/user/conyad and a Twitter; http://twitter.com/conyad.

Enjoy some covers of Conya's songs;

"Feelin' You" from the "A Poem About Ms Doss" album. Covered by Durand Bernarr


"What I'd Do" from the "Still..." album. Covered by Shauny J

Allow ME to Re-introduce Myself! ...

*Jay-Z jams with Linkin Park in the background* Allow me to re-introduce myself! ... My name is Shaun-Y to the J. Haha! Greetings folks!

I'm JUST finding another way to express myself & keep everyone updated. This may VERY well keep me sane.

Get into me, I'm an internet legend TOO. *LOL* I'm ALL over the world wide web. Google ME baby; Shauny J aka OrigSupawoman! :)

Contacts:
E-mail1: OrigSupawoman@yahoo.com
E-mail2:OrigSupawoman@gmail.com
BlogTV: http://blogTV.com/people/OrigSupa
Ustream: http://ustream.tv/OrigSupawoman
Twitter: http://twitter.com/OrigSupawoman
YouTube1: http://youtube.com/user/OrigSupwoman
YouTube2: http://youtube.com/user/DetoxMisery (Debuting NEW Years Day!)
Daily Motion: http://dailymotion.com/OrigSupawoman



KEEP your eyes peeled for some NEW stuff! Check you later folks!
Signing off! Take Care, Shaun :D