John Legend: Show Me Campaign

source: Show Me Campaign

About the Show Me Campaign:
“Show Me” is a beautiful song that charts a conversation with God about the state of the world and the individual’s place in it. These simple themes form the founding principles for the Show Me Campaign which was launched as a platform to contribute to the betterment of the world. The mission of the Show Me Campaign is to fight economic and spiritual poverty through fostering sustainable development (personal, social, educational, economic) at the individual, family, and small community levels. The Show Me Campaign is a grassroots movement that engages all of its participants as agents of transformative change from the bottom up.

The Show Me Campaign operates from a basic principle of thoughtful action versus more words and calls on all of us to commit to making a difference in the world. We see power in individuals working in concert toward tangible ends and believe that we all have responsibilities to address the issues that imperil our collective human future. For more information check out the webiste at http://www.showmecampaign.org/.

Video Premiere: John Legend

This is John Legend's second single "Everybody Knows" off his third album Evolver. I really love the single and the video. Check it out!

R&B Guys

So we know the R&B ladies are coming hard this season but what about the guys? Here are some of the contenders.

John Legend-I Love, You Love:

Ryan Leslie-How It Was Supposed To Be

Robin Thicke-The Sweetest Love

Ne-Yo- Mad

Albums of the Year!

In a year where Lil' Wayne sold over 1 million copies in a week and great artists like Nas, N.E.R.D., Christina Aguilera, Danity Kane, Jesse McCartney, Lloyd, Michelle Williams, Nelly, Ashanti, Nickelback, Pink, James Blunt, Natasha Bedingfield, Pussycat Dolls, J. Holiday, Colby O'Donis, Soulja Boy, One Republic, Maroon 5, Robin Thicke, Panic at the Disco, Ludacris, Brandy, Matchbox Twenty, Jennifer Hudson, Solange and Usher all failed to sell that much in a year is crazy. Billboard Magazine just called the compact disk DEAD! CD sales are down 23% from 2000 and they are expected to go down more every year.

Here is my list of my favorite CD's of the year:

1. Robyn-Robyn

2. John Legend- Evolver

3. Alicia Keys- As I Am

4. Nas- Untitled

5. Raphael Saadiq- The Way I See It

6. Coldplay- Viva la Vida or Death and All His Friends

7. Janelle Monae- Metropolis Suite I

8. Jason Mraz- We Sing, We Dance, We Steal Things

9. Estelle- Shine

10. Miranda Lambert- Crazy Ex-Girlfriend

11. Kanye West- 808s and Heartbreak

12. Ne-Yo- The Year of the Gentlemen

13. Kings of Le0n- Only By The Night

14. Beyonce- I Am...Sasha Fierce

15. Al Green- Lay It Down

16. Santogold-Santogold

17. TV on the Radio- Dear Science

18. M.I.A.- Kala

19. MGMT-Oracular Spectacular

20. Erykah Badu- New Amerykah: Part 1 (4th World War)

21. Common- Universal Mind Control/Q-Tip- The Renaissance

22. Calle 13- Los De Atras Vienen Conmigo

23. Zac Brown Band- The Foundation

24. Jazmine Sullivan- Fearless

25. Lil' Wayne- The Carter III/Radiohead In Rainbows

Not so great year:

1. 50 Cent (album pushed back twice!)

2. Solange (snubbed by the Grammy's)

3. N.E.R.D. (208,000 albums sold)

4. Eve (album pushed back 2 times)

5. Robin Thicke (140,00 albums sold)

6. Guns N' Roses (ouch!)

7. Amerie (album pused back 3 times)

8. Mya (album released in Japan)

9. Solo Efforts: Michelle Williams & Will.i.Am (album flops)

10. Danity Kane (2 members gone)

11.Lady Sovereign and Lil' Mama (dropped from her labels)

12. Christina Aguilera (greatest hits has sold 220,000)

13. Diva Letdowns: Janet Jackson & Mariah Carey (backlash?)

14. Pussycat Dolls a.k.a. Nicole Scherzinger (commercial dud)

15. Duffy/Adele/Amy Winehouse/Lily Allen (1 hit wonders)

Best New Artists:

1. Janelle Monae

2. Estelle/MGMT

3. Keri Hilson/Sam Sparrow

4. Leona Lewis/Jennifer Hudson

5. Jazmine Sullivan/Lady Gaga


BIG in '09:

1. Jay-Z

2. Sasha Fierce

3. Rihanna

4. Timbaland

5. Keri Hilson

In My Opinion

Top Fifteen Singles of the Year:
1.John Legend Featuring John Mayer- I Love, You Love
2.Robyn-Eclipse
3.Miranda Lambert- Gunpowder & Lead
4. Alicia Keys- Tell You Something (Nana's Reprise)
5.Raphael Saadiq Featuring Jay-Z- Oh Girl
6.Nas Featuring Keri Hilson- Hero
7.Estelle Featuring Kanye West- American Boy
8.Jason Mraz Featuring Colbie Caillat- Lucky
9. Gnarls Barkely- Who's Gonna Save My Soul
10.Kanye West Featuring Mr. Hudson- Paranoid
11.Janelle Monae- Many Moons
12.Jay-Z- Jockin' Jay Z
13.M.I.A. - Paper Planes
14.Ne-Yo- Closer
15.Justin Nozuka- After Tonight

10 Worst Singles of the Year:
1. Lil' Wayne-Lollipop
2. Briney Spears- [insert any single]
3. Pussycat Dolls- When I Grow Up
4. Mariah Carey- Touch My Body
5. Madonna & Justin Timberlake- 4 Minutes
6. T.I. Featuring Rihanna- Live Your Life
7. David Cook- Light On
8. Usher- Love In The Club
9. Danity Kane Featuring Missy Elliott- Bad Girl
10. Tokio Hotel [insert any single]

Single Highlights

John Legend Featuring Faith Evans- Everybody Knows

This is John's third single from his third studio album "Evolver". It feels like a lot of R&B dudes promise opulent nights of ecstasy, but Legend is so classy that these fantasies seem like real journalism. John puts it out there so easily and respectfully tells the love of his life, "I wish you the best, I guess."

Zac Brown Band- Chicken Fried

Zac has developed a unique experience and is steadily achieving his goal of breaking down barriers and bringing people together. Music Industry Executives from New York to Nashville are working to find the angle but folks from all walks of life have already found it. Drawing upon influences like the musical freedom of the Allman Brothers, the spiritual heartbreak of Bob Marley, and the working class grind of Willie Nelson, Zac has created universal appeal, simply by being himself.

Janelle Monae- Sincerely, Jane

No Making The Band drama for this Bad Boy Records upcoming artist, Janelle has been featured on a few track by Outkast on the soundtrack for Idlewild and now has a Grammy nomination for her debut album. Her first single "Many Moons" had some success but the next single "Sincerely, Jane" will do the trick as she questions our youth, "Spending money on spinners but won't pay college loans".

Beyonce Featuring Kanye West- Ego

Sasha Fierce is demanding "It's too big, It's too wide, It's too strong, It won't fit, It's too much, It's too tough!" What the heck is she talking about, well take a listen and debate on this self-declared arrogant no scratch that confidant track. Take a listen below:

Kanye West Featuring Young Jeezy- Amazing

This song is true to its title, the use of the classic Roland TR-808 drum machine and the Auto Tune make for a track that is undeniably the best song on this album. The highlight of this song begins at 2:23 where there is silence and then Young Jeezy commands us to watch out for the high pressure that could result from this song. Check it out: