(January 19, 2021) - "It's the last song my brother wrote...about world peace," said Robert "Kool" Bell (Kool and the Gang) about the group's new single "Pursuit of Happiness", co-written by the late Ronald Bell, who co-founded Kool and the Gang (1964) with his brother Robert. "It's to celebrate 40 years since the release of ‘Celebrate' and to celebrate 50 years of Kool and the Gang."

Ronald Bell co-wrote the single "Celebrate" that gave the Kool and the Gang their first #1 hit, solidifying their legacy in the music business. Since then other hits that have help make them living legends of that fresh distinct sound includes "Jungle Boogie," "Hollywood Swinging," "Ladies Night," "Get Down On It," and their #1 Pop single "Celebration." Their hits have been sampled by the best.

"I grew up in New Jersey," said Robert. "The group is from New Jersey though we kind of scattered. I have a place in Orlando...and another original member is in California."

The band started while Bell was in high school. The original members included brothers Robert (bass) and Ronald (keyboard) Bell, Robert Mickens (trumpet), Dennis Thomas (saxophone), Rick West (piano), George Brown (drums), and Charles Smith (guitar). James "J.T." Taylor came on as lead single in 1979. Kool's other brother Kevin Bell joined the band later on. They went on to sell 80 million "albums", which included 25 Billboard "Top 10 R&B" hits and nine Billboard "Top 10 Pop" hits. They garnered two Grammy Awards and seven American Music Awards. J.T. Taylor was a former teacher and nightclub singer before joining the band. He start a solo career in 1988 after leaving the group and his most memorable release is the infamous hit single "All I Want is Forever" featuring Regina Belle. Robert Bell did his solo thing too by launching his own brand of champagne (LeKoolChampagne.com).

"The video is of different things that are going on right now. Quotes by....Martin Luther King, Jr. ...Gandhi...Mandela," said Kool about the "Pursuit of Happiness" music video.

The single is from the upcoming new Kool and the Gang album titled "Perfect Union" (Omnivore Recordings). It is to be released sometime in 2021.

"We thank God for all the blessings," Robert Bell added. "My brother was key to ‘Celebration'. We, as a group, started in 1964 as a Jazz act called The Soul Tour Band. We backed a lot of groups...then as Soultown Review, like Motown Review. Then as Kool and the Flame...then changed it cause of James Brown and The Famous Flames...to Kool and the Gang." www.KoolandtheGang.com www.LeKoolChampagne.com  

(January 22, 2021) - "It's released January 22nd...digital and CD. The CD has a nice cover. Some people really like CDs, want to hold it," said Bill Champlin about his new solo album "Livin' for Love" (Imagen Records). Its single "Reason to Believe" is currently being promoted.

Bill is the former front-man for the group Chicago ("Hard Habit to Break") - for 28 years continuously touring on the bands' success, and is an infamous songwriter/producer for artists such as Earth Wind and Fire ("After the Love is Gone") and George Benson ("Turn Your Love Around"). Those two singles, some of my favorite songs, each garnered him a Grammy Award win. Let us not forget his song picked up for a television series of the same name, "In the Heat of the Night," which premiered in 1988.

"I started taking piano lessons at 5 and joined my first group at 14," Champlin said. When I said how amazing it is that he is still deep-into the music business with all he has done, he laughed a little and said, "It's mainly because I can't do anything else."

"It ("Livin' for Love") has a couple Pop songs...the CD has a booklet," said the keyboardist, guitarist, singer, songwriter, producer and arranger about the tangible version of his new project. "It tells you who is playing what. The single came from out of nowhere. We (him and his wife) were sent a track, ‘Reason to Believe'. I heard it and we said we on this, and we sent him the melody and lyrics."

The song was not made because of the pandemic but Bill said it was fitting to release it now.

"The song is about gratitude. It's a cool song and when you know the history of it... One of the few ways to touch is through music," he said sincerely. "My son passed away 4 years ago and I couldn't write a song about him for 2 years."

Bill came to a point where he was able to open up again and the result is "Livin' to Love", which will give us a "Reason to Believe."

The hit-maker formed Sons of Champlin in 1965 when he was 18 years-old. They still play together to this day. That is amazing when you look at his life includes almost 30 years as the front-man for a legendary "always touring" group - Chicago, is a two-time Grammy winning songwriter for Earth, Wind & Fire and George Benson, and therefore making him a very sought after musician, songwriter and producer for such industry icons as Patti LaBelle, Elton John, Lou Rawls, Boz Scaggs, Donna Summer, Nancy Wilson, Amy Grant, Neil Diamond, and Kenny Rogers.

"There is so much anger in the world," said the Oakland native in talking about the condition of the U.S. today and how fitting his single "Reason to Believe" is for its people. In explaining where that anger comes from he said, "I just want the media to tell me...what happened. It (the visuals) causes people to be angry and they don't know why they're angry."

The "Livin' for Love" CD, with the "Reason to Believe" single, will help you eliminate that anger. You can go to his website for the hard copy and for the digital copy wherever digital releases are sold. www.BillChamplin.com www.ImagenRecords.com

(January 26, 2021) - "It's like a love song, ‘walk with me through life'," said Grammy winning Joss Stone, real name is Joscelyn Stoker, about her new single release "Walk With Me" (S-Curve/BMG). "My son told me to rewrite it to be more...what's going on in the world."

Born in England Joss is known for her gritty soulful vocals. In fact, her debut album in 2003 was titled "The Soul Sessions." It became a multi-platinum selling project, which means the album sold over 2 million copies. Her second album release "Mind, Body and Soul" also became a multi-platinum selling project. Today, Joss Stone has accumulated over a billion streams of her music worldwide.

"My job is not just to make noise but to make people feel better," she said about having to stop touring because of the pandemic. "That was taken from me. I thought they need happiness."

So to compensate for not being able to reach her fans on tour with her music, she launched a podcast called "A Cuppa Happy" and a live weekly "Cooking with Joss" show on Facebook where you may hear her sing, and she released new music - the single "Walk With Me."

When I asked her about her gritty vocal style she said, "I had to work at it. I remember screaming as a child. I was like wow that's fun! I find it therapeutic, making noise. There is a sound out there for them (people who do not like strong vocals). It's the same with colors. It's about what works for your soul...same with food and conversation."

Joss Stone's last album was in 2015 titled "Water for Your Soul" - it was her seventh project.

"I was trying to write for a new album...it comes out next year. It became necessary to release this single," said the two-time Brit Award winner. "We went through difficult things last year. It was beautiful seeing people helping each other. The idea that we (different races) are not working together is not true. So my lyrics are saying, ‘we in this together.'"

Joss is also a five-time Grammy nominee and one-time Billboard Award winner. If this was not enough the singer/songwriter is an actress. Her credits include the 20th Century Fox release of Eragon in 2006 and the Fox drama "Empire" from 2018-2019. www.JossStone.com

(January 29, 2021) - "'TakeOff' is my second single from my solo project," said Cincinnati Rapper/Singer E. Renee (Erica Renee Crayton), who is also part of a husband and wife duo called CrayZ. "I wanted to put something out people could dance to."

The "TakeOff" (B4GMG/Visible Grid Media) single features her husband Rapper Jay Wiz (James Crayton) and is from her upcoming solo project off the Blaze 4 Glory Music Group imprint. It is written by E. Renee and produced by Atlanta based Producer/Engineer Tone Jonez (Antonio Jones).

"My husband speaks to police brutality and the rioting. I want to take a second...and have some fun," she pointed out when I commented on the nice rapid flow of her husband. "He is very versatile...original Hip-Hop, a storyteller. Together we elevate each other."

"I feel I am still in developing," E. Renee said of her style when I mentioned I like her flow as well.

The Hip-Hop artist recently released an album via CrayZ titled "At Home" (B4GMG) in mid-2020. Now, she is promoting her second solo single, that she says means to go forward, don't look back at what's bad that has happen, but forward to the good times ahead.

E. Renee's style of flow says "I am here, I am empowered, hear what I have to say" and you can feel that attitude in her delivery.

When I asked how is it to have a husband who is an artist too, she said, "Its lots of fun. He shares the same passion as I do. He brought me back out my shell. He challenges me. He's been in the game longer than me."

Coming from the church and taking music in high school resonates in the quality of her sound and the passion she gives to her flow. Her imprint Blaze 4 Glory Music Group also handles management, marketing and publishing for the Craytons. Its roster includes Urban artists of the Hip-Hop culture that include Rap, R&B, Gospel and Spoken Word. www.Blaze4GloryMusicGroup.com 

(February 2, 2021) - "It's from my EP. I'm still working on it, still recording songs," said Shardella Sessions about her new single "Everything" (Atlas Elite Entertainment). The R&B single, to me, has a Hip-Hop flavor to it; it's written by Shardella with music by Roy Chase. 

Sessions is not new to the music business, starting professionally at the tender age of 12. She appears on the "Nothing Shall Separate Me" Contemporary Gospel single of her mother, veteran R&B/Cotemporary Gospel recording artist Angel Sessions. She became a member of R&B group One Unity and soon after started expressing her songwriting talents writing songs for her solo career. Shardella signed to Atlas Elite Entertainment (Angel Sessions, Rodney Crews and Demetrius Guidry) and released her solo debut album "Evolution" in 2017. Sessions immediately became a "chart topper" when "Evolution" debuted at #1 on the Amazon chart.

"I'm really inspired by old-school R&B," Shardella pointed out. "My mother was an R&B singer before singing Gospel...Aliyah is one of my favorite artists."

"I'm old-school and new-school," she said of her style.

Shardella Sessions, a Hollywood Music in Media Award nominee, is the one to watch out for. www.AtlasEliteEntertainment.com 

(February 5, 2021) - "The best way to get people to learn is to entertain," said Dr. Kerri Moseley-Hobbs when I mentioned how entertaining her lectures are. She is an author, historian and lecturer who is a former model/actress that now manages her son Anthony Michael Hobbs, an award winning actor and filmmaker. Dr. Kerri Moseley-Hobbs has successfully tapped into those entertainment experiences when she speaks in her lectures and presentations on the history and culture of African Americans in America in the 18th Century. "I am talking to people saying, ‘question everything,' I am talking to my son saying, ‘know your history,' and I am talking to David saying, ‘I got the message'."

David Walker was an abolitionist, anti-slavery activist and an author that Dr. Kerri Moseley-Hobbs came across during her research into enslaved Africans in America. He was the son of a slave and a free person, thereby born free in 1796. He wrote a book, a call for black unity and a fight against slavery for generations to come. So when I attended three of the many lectures and presentations of Dr. Moseley-Hobbs in 2020, aside from them being all different, all interesting because of her research documentation and the fact that her delivery was very entertaining, she always ended each with encouraging words.

In one lecture on Civil War research she ended it saying "...as Thomas (her enslaved ancestor who fought for his freedom in the Civil War) said, ‘I am a free man, I do what I want'." In another lecture and presentation of African Artifacts she documented how the enslaved Africans that were forced to come to America were not illiterate, unintelligent and untrained, but were highly literate farmers, wielders, fabric makers, etc...who taught American Colonist how to do these trades. She ended that lecture by saying, "...you are more than the ancestors of an enslaved people." Such serious dialog was made light by how she gave it, like a skilled comedian.

"Some are second-hand stories. Some are first hand experiences. A lot of them (former enslaved) tell their stories...instead of academia. Fredrick Douglas ran from slavery and Rev. J. Wesley Loguen (who became a Bishop of the African Methodist Episcopal Zion Church) is a pastor who ran an underground railroad in 1859. We are not told these literatures exist," she pointed out about black history taught in America.

She noted that she also prays on what she should say for each engagement. She said, "God and Scripture are not separate from science. Science teaches you how Heaven is...Scriptures teach you how to go to Heaven."

Her lectures began when she published a creative nonfiction book on the research and documentation she collected on her own ancestors the Fractions titled "More Than a Fraction: Based on a true story." The research led her to a plantation in Blacksburg, Virginia called Smithfield that is now the campus of Virginia Tech University. It seems the site, where her ancestors were brought from Africa, had overseers that were looking for descendants of the Fractions who were enslaved on the estate - now a museum. The search was part of their attempt at reconciliation with those whose ancestors were enslaved there. By their request Dr. Kerri Moseley-Hobbs became a Trustee of the Board of the Smithfield-Preston Foundation and an Advisor to the Virginia Tech Committee that oversees the property. Virginia Tech and Historic Smithfield have invited Dr. Kerri Moseley-Hobbs to lecture about her scientific research into the Fractions many times since the release of her book and it was to standing room only crowds.

Dr. Moseley-Hobbs said. "I like to connect what you do now with your culture to what they did then to get people excited about sharing that information."

As far as being a great entertaining lecturer she concluded by saying, "I'm told that I come off honest and authentic. For some people it could be hurtful, but some people find it entertaining. I don't talk at you, I'm talking to you. I am reacting to them. In my lectures I also like to leave time for questions."

Upcoming engagements of Dr. Kerri Moseley-Hobbs in 2021 are for Historic Smithfield, the Bay to Ocean Conference and the Uplifting Minds II Conference. www.MoreThanaFraction.com