Elephant Man’s Lets Get Physical (Bad Boy/VP) album tops Billboard’s Reggae album chart
*Elephant Man’s Let’s Get Physical (VP/Bad Boy) album which was released commercially on April 8, has debuted at number one on Billboard’s Reggae Album chart. The album experienced first week sales of 2,764 units. By comparison, Elephant Man’s previous set, Good 2 Go for VP/Atlantic sold more than 31,000 units in its first week of release in 2004.
Elephant Man was overjoyed when he learnt that Let’s Get Physical had topped the publication’s reggae album tally. ‘We just give God thanks because this means a lot to me. I worked very hard to do this album and the fans have been waiting about three years now for it. We put in so much work that we had to ensure that the fans were satisfied with the finished product’, Elephant Man commented.
Let’s Get Physical which according to Elephant Man had gotten four star ratings in publications such as Vibe and XXL magazines, says he wants fans to appreciate the album. ‘The release of the album was put off many times and now we have something that the fans can listen to. This is the album where its going to be either or either. I know what I can do, and getting a number one album on Billboard is very motivating for me’, Elephant Man confided.
Let’s Get Physical is a joint venture between independent reggae label VP Records and Sean ‘P Diddy’ Combs’ Bad Boy imprint. ‘I did the Hot 97 show in New York a few years ago and Diddy came there with Chris Tucker and he told me he came to watch me perform. He said his staff had been telling him about me and he wanted to see what I can do. That’s how the link with Diddy came about’, said Elephant Man.
Asked whether he came under any form of pressure while working on the album, Elephant Man said ‘None at all. Diddy said he wanted me to keep the album as dancehall as possible. The best moment for me while working on the album was when Diddy gave me a studio to work on the album. The studio is at his house and I took Baby G, Richie Feelings, and Assassin there with me and Diddy came out and met all of them. That was a good vibe’, said Elephant Man.
Boasting production work from the likes of Trevor ‘Baby G’ James, Swizz Beats, Mario Winans and Diddy, Let’s Get Physical isn’t short on collaborations. Among the guest shots are Demarco (who teams up on Our World); Rihanna (Throw Your Hands Up); Kat Deluna (Body Talk), Wyclef Jean (Five O); Shaggy and Busta Rhymes (The Way We Roll) and Chris Brown (Feel the Steam);
Let’s Get Physical is Elephant Man’s second number one album on the Billboard Reggae Album chart. His previous chart topper was 2004’s Good 2 Go. His 2001 effort Log On peaked at number two on the chart, while 2002’s Higher Level stalled at number 12.
R City bringing the Caribbean flavor to the R&B world
*They are originally from St. Thomas in the Virgin Islands, and today they are one of the most in demand songwriters in the hip hop and R&B world. The duo R City which is signed to KonLive/Geffen Records is set to release its debut album Wake The Neighbours.
Among the acts that R City has written and produced tracks for are Akon, Usher, Mario, Sean Kingston, Rodney Jerkins, Nicole Scherzinger and the Pussycat Dolls, Jesse McCartney, Macy Gray, Ashlee Simpson and Enrique Iglesias.
In between producing music for international acts, the duo has been able to produce an inferno of anticipation amongst the industry and the streets for the release of its album Wake the Neighbors.
R. City (comprised of brothers Theron a/k/a Da Spokesman and Timothy a/k/a Don’t Talk Much) have created a sound that blends Caribbean twangs of consciousness and struggles of street and island life coupled with hip-hop/pop appeal. They realized their immense talent and started honing their craft at an early age. By the time they reached 10 and 11 they were winning local talent shows and used their prize money to pay the family’s household bills. “We definitely are first and foremost artists more than anything else,” states Timothy. “We were getting a lot of love from the people in the streets from us performing.”
By the time they graduated from high school; they had a big choice to make. Their parents challenged them to “continue in school and we will find a way to help you, continue music and you will need to fend for yourselves and become men.” They obviously chose the latter and came to the U.S. to test the musical waters. “We’ve always been writers for ourselves. Then me and my brother were like, let’s try to write for other people”, said Timothy. Landing in Atlanta after a short stint in Miami, they began writing songs for other artists and placed their first song The Rain for Akon via his DJ, Benny D.
In a short time, R City has penned a number of tunes for well known artists. “We built a lot of relationships, got cool with a lot of people, networked and found ourselves in a lot of doors we never thought we were going to enter. When we started doing the writing thing, everybody started messing with us,” says Timothy.
The fact that their music is a genre bender isn’t lost on the siblings. “Give us the opportunity to be ourselves because what we’re doing, nobody has ever done.” It’s never been about money with us, to be honest. We don’t drink or smoke, or go to clubs. So when people are in the club partying, we work, when they sleep, we work, when they work, we work. So at the end of the day, we are going to get more work done than anybody”, says Timothy
The duo’s album Wake The Neighbors is anything but a work in progress. They are clearly masters of lyric, melody, harmony, hooks, and performance. Their St. Thomas, Virgin Island upbringing is also evident on the Madd Scientist produced, Calypso influenced party anthem Wave. ‘As soon as we did the song we called Akon. When he heard it, he went crazy and set up a meeting with Jimmy Iovine and Ron Fair at Interscope Records to hear the song’, explain Theron.
Wayne Marshall to release mix CD this month
Wayne Marshall is in the final stages of completing a mix CD called True Story. According to Marshal, this will be a one of a kind project which will not only feature new music but also a mix of many artistes doing dub plates and exclusive freestyles.
The beats and the songs are going to be unpredictable as it will consist of dancehall, hip hop and reggae riddims. The CD will be for promotional purposes and will be available on the streets of Jamaica and the internet. Sean Paul, Bounty Killer, Mavado, Bling Dawg, Demarco, and Steven Marley are all featured on the Mix CD.
The CD was produced by Max Glazer and it will be available this month. A DVD will be included detailing the making of the project.
Marshall’s latest single Me by Myself is making the rounds at music video outlets.
BITS AND PIECES
Trinidadian roots reggae artiste Jah Melody will release his debut album Be Prepared on May 6 on VP Records. The album features production work from the likes of Bobby Digital and Carl James. Among the tracks on the album are Give Thanks, Ithiopia, Pressure, All That I Pray, Since You’ve Been Away and Since You’ve Been Away. There are also covers of Stevie Wonder’s Ribbon in the Sky and Boyz II Men’s Its So Hard to Say Goodbye to Yesterday.
The video for Beenie Man’s chart riding single Wine Gal was directed by Ras Tingle recently the Asylum Nightclub in Kingston. The video features lots of hot girls which should provide some eye candy for male viewers. The Wine Gal song was produced by TJ Records.
After winning most of the major awards that she was nominated in earlier this year, singer Etana is set to unleash her debut album Etana the Strong One on June 17 via VP Records.