As an artist, finding a producer who can bring out the best in your voice and arrange hit records is hard. And for those lucky few who do, staying together can be even harder. For the artists on this list, we loved the music they made with their producers, but just like divorces in real life—some we hated to see separate, while others were clearly for the best.

Credit: Getty Images

Brandy and Rodney Jerkins

Although Rodney Jerkins didn’t begin working with Brandy until her second album “Never Say Never,” the musical match helped boost her into super-stardom. Together they made a unique sound and we all loved it. With hits like “The Boy is Mine,” “What About Us?” and “Almost Doesn’t Count,” the duo was on a roll. So, we were all surprised when the two went their separate ways after the success of the “Full Moon” album.

On Brandy’s fourth studio album, “Aphrodisiac,” Jerkins did not produce one song; instead she turned to producer Timberland to create the majority of the CD. The album had little success, and she returned to Jerkins and the Darkchild crew to produce her fifth studio album “Human,” but it was too late, the musical magic was long gone between the two. The reason they parted ways in the first place is still a bit unclear, but tension remains high between the two judging by the brief run of Brandy’s family reality show when they had dinner together.

I’ve been perplexed and dismayed for a few months now when thinking about the current state of music. We’re living in the era of music that relies too heavily on free downloads, more beats than thought-provoking lyrical content and shocking ‘announcements’ to drive album sales.

I just started listening to the radio again at the beginning of the summer. Was I happy with what I was hearing? Meh, maybe 75 percent as opposed to the good 90 percent of the late 90s and early 2000s. The cause, I realized, was that every song pretty much sounded the same. If I wanted the depth and relatable sounds I had grown up on, the SWV, Jagged Edge, Guy, Brian McKnight, Aaliyah, and Joe, then I would have to dig deep, reach back and pretty much forsake much, if not all of what is being played right here and now in 2012.

R&B was a mainstay for me growing up. There was soul there. Though I couldn’t completely relate to Faith Evans telling her man that she would never let him go, or Babyface outlining just exactly how fierce his girl’s “Whip Appeal” was, I saw R&B as a goal. I wanted to know love like that and yes even in some silly way I wanted to know the heartbreak of it too. R&B was what we came home to after pop, rock and rap amped us up for the day. Now, the house is no longer a home because R&B has been kicked out to fend for itself outside the realm of the mainstream music industry.

It’s been kicked out by everyone in the house: First of all, consumers. We complain that “Don’t nobody sing about nothin’ no more,” yet we twiddle our thumbs and look everywhere but to the music shelves in our local retailers when great R&B albums are released. When do we come out of pocket? For a Jay & Yeezy concert? Okay, that’s cool if that’s truly your preference. But honestly, Carl Thomas and Tamia, two of the brightest voices of R&B for YEARS, have put out absolutely phenomenal albums this year and I had to go in search of reviews for both. We say we want it, but do we support it? I’ll never forget how people used to wait in line to buy whole albums. To get that CD in their hands. To support the artistry that spoke the most into their lives. Now we pick apart these artists’ hard work and effort, barely ever spending that little $9 to $12. I’m guilty of it.

Secondly, R&B has been kicked out by the new generation. And to be fair, it’s not entirely their fault. When I was coming up, R&B was good music because it was relatable. People were in love. It wasn’t corny or foolish to put yourself out there for the sake of love. It was real, honest, respected. Grown folks could see themselves in the music and us young folks had something beautiful to look forward to. Nowadays, people mostly look to music to live a life vicariously that they’ll never get to experience firsthand. I will never know the life of a bada** rockstar. I’ll never know the lifestyle of a foul-mouthed, bootylicious Barbie but Rihanna and Nicki Minaj give me an all-access pass into that world. No shade. They’re getting theirs. But the depth they’ll deliver to me is few and far between. And so it is with the newer generation. “Love” and all of its highs and lows is for the birds to them. It’s wack. They can’t relate to a love song, but they can sure get with a jam about sex. People who thought the 90s were hyper-sexualized and overly gaudy are probably crapping bricks right now. Where we used to love music we could relate to, we now love music we pretty much know nothing of the lifestyle except in fantasy. People are not openly proclaiming that they are in love and everyone is cynical about the possibility. The real R&B artists who are STILL MAKING MUSIC, as an amazing musician friend of mine pointed out, aren’t being supported and won’t draw a cult following like Nicki Minaj because nowadays the masses want crazy, flashy sex in their music instead of easy, sweet adoration. We cling to heavy beats and synths instead of deep, poetic lyrics.

Thirdly, the music execs and DJs have abandoned R&B. Raphael Saadiq’s Stone Rollin’ album last year was the bees knees. It brought a sense of balance from new and old school back to today’s music. How much press did he and his ridiculously talented band get? How much promo did he get? How much air time did he get? DJs play the same four songs in the heaviest of rotations DAILY. Where’s the pressure for them to be more open to a wider range of music? DJs have a larger amount of power than they let on and we, AS THE LISTENERS, even believe.

The blame can’t be placed on any one group. All of us, consumers, execs, DJs, lovers and friends have done our part to push R&B out to make way for anything and everything that will “cross over.” Anything that will make a fist pump, and anything that can become a dance jam for a club where they twirl around glow sticks and dance off beat. It’s time we start making our way back to the artists who are still making music of substance before we look up and realize too late that one of the greatest genres has become extinct.

La Truly is a late-blooming Aries whose writing is powered by a lifetime of anecdotal proof that awkward can transform to awesome and fear can cast its crown before courage. Armed with the ability to purposefully poke fun at herself and a passion for young women’s empowerment, La seeks to encourage thought, discussion and change. Her blog: www.hersoulinc.com and her Twitter: @AshleyLaTruly.  

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In the ’90′s when it came to black films, you were most likely to see portrayals of gang violence, drug use or some other type of hood classic. (Nothing wrong with that.) But then there came Soul Food. There was drama and the movie was certainly entertaining; but all of it came together in the end, because they were family. Anybody who watched this movie could relate to at least one aspect of this family dynamic. We all remember the scandalous drama, we argued whether a “push” was too much and who could forget Teri, (Vanessa L Williams) pulling that knife on her husband and cousin?! You remember all of that but do you know these behind the scenes secrets?

We love each of these actors and singers for their talent, but no role in film, TV or stage is more perfect than the roles they have together, reliving some of the most classic movie roles and songs as a duet. Here are 15 Black celebrity couples, primarily from the 90′s and beyond, we love to see together on the big screen, the main stage or in our headphones, and the many projects they’ve starred in together.

Source: Goldstar

Angela Bassett & Laurence Fishburne

This perfect cinematic couple have been featured in multiple projects together, from the big screen to the small stage. This couple most famously played Ike and Tina Turner for “What’s Love Got To Do With It,” were mother and father to Tre Styles (Cuba Gooding Jr.), performed on the stage together in “Fences,” and appeared together again in the 2006 film, “Akeelah and the Bee.”

Source: lastfm.com

Let’s face it, gone are the days when R&B music would top the Billboard 100 without sounding like a mix of techno or house music.  Sure, you have artists like Usher and Chris Brown throwing out a few dance-worthy tracks here and there, but that’s nothing compared to the overload of pop music on the radio everyday (some of it Brown and Usher contribute to). Don’t take this the wrong way, the whole dance-meets-pop music thing can be fun sometimes, but don’t you ever miss hearing that those classic R&B vocals and tracks from back in the day? The “Come and Talk to Me,” “Candy Rain,” “Groove Me” type of joints we used to act a fool to? And while these crooners did talk about sex from time to time, that’s not ALL they talked about every time you listened to them (C’mon Trey, it’s getting old). Sadly, it appears that none of today’s most popular artists are capable of providing the type of classic music we reminisce over, and would rather spend their time dancing in skinny jeans talking about how they’ll “beat it up.” *Sighs* Let’s have a look at some of our favorite male R&B artists that no one has been able to match in recent times. This is who we like to call the real men of R&B Music.

Source: blacksportsonline.com

Before I get into Tom Joyner minding other people’s business, here’s a little background on Tracey Edmonds. She met Babyface in 1990, married him in ’92, filed for divorce from him in 2005, and exchanged wedding vows with Eddie Murphy in 2008. I say all that to say it’s been several years and a couple men since she and Babyface were together, which is why Tom is trippin.’

The morning radio show host stopped by the Wendy Williams show today and while there he was asked for his opinion on Pilar and Deion Sanders’ dwindling relationship, but he was more concerned with how Tracey Edmonds and Babyface fit into the picture. What’s funny is he’s not even concerned about the fact that Deion is still married to Pilar while dating Tracey, he’s wondering how Babyface is handling the relationship. According to The Jasmine Brand:

“Tom said that he was doing a show recently and was backstage with Babyface, Tracey’s ex-husband. According to Tom, Tracey decided to come backstage and say hello, with her new boyfriend, Deion. And from Tom Joyner’s perspective, he felt that it was disrespectful to purposely bring Deion around Babyface.”

Dude they’ve been divorced for seven years now, what was she supposed to do, tell him wait in the hallway? I could see if she was purposely parading Deion around to make Babyface jealous, but I feel like another marriage and all these years later, she’s not on that. Plus Babyface has his own thing going on with his backup dancer/girlfriend/baby mama so why should he care? I’m thinking Tom may be Babyface’s boy and this rubbed him the wrong way, but this is one instance where I don’t think Tracey was being disrespectful.

What do you think?

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urbaninformer.com

Some people have all the talent: they’re blessed enough to have their own singing careers and they write huge hits for some of their peers. Color me jealous!  Here’s a SHORT list of some of the songs I deemed noteworthy (and trust me, I could have gone on for pages and pages). What are some of your favorite songs written by singers for other singers? Let us know…

It doesn’t happen often, but every once in a while you’ll play the first chords of a record and you know immediately that this piece of art is going to become a part of you. Not just something you listen to as background music, not something you dance, absentmindedly in the club, but something you internalize. You find yourself recalling the lyrics to songs and applying them to the real life situations you face. We all have these gems. So let’s dig in with the masterpieces that I carry with me.

The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill – Lauryn Hill

No need to beat around the bush. Quite a few black people born after 1970 would include this national treasure on their list. Lauryn was preaching in her first solo album. The Miseducation is the perfect combination of righteous and real. It always amazes me how perspective-changing art makes it’s way into our lives. A friend of my mother’s gifted me with this album for a random occasion and for months it never left my discman. I was only a fifth grader when this album hit the streets but even as a youngster I knew it was profound. I can’t tell you how many hours I sat, in my room, in my back yard, on the school bus, absorbing the knowledge Lauryn was dropping. The album made me laugh, cry, dance and think. It was perfection.