COLUMN Incognito's Bluey takes a ‘Leap of Faith' with his first solo album release on Shanachie By Eunice Moseley        "It was more like a lightening bolt," said Bluey, founding member of the internationally known band Incognito about his solo release "Leap of Faith" on the Shanachie imprint. "I hadn't done a solo album...I've thought about it. I always have great musicians and singers around me...so it's not something that would easily come to me."     Bluey's pioneering UK blend of Jazz/Soul/Funk created by his band Incognito help give birth to a new genre of music called Neo-Soul. You get that feel on this album as he also offers his vocal masteries. I love the selection "Sky" for its Spanish flavor. I also liked the title track "Leap of Faith," which included a perfect blend of spoken word courtesy The Floacist - with a very inspiring message. Another favorite is "If You Really Wanna" and then there is "Live like a Millionaire," because I loved the electric guitar support, Bluey's tenor style and the ending.     "I said to myself...no Incognito for a month. Just turn out some songs," the UK native said about the process of creating his solo project. "The idea was to write a song a day. I didn't stop and 27 days later I was finished."     Bluey enlisted the help of  ... Read the full May 107 2013 column...> BET is about to show ‘Anything Can Happen' with its BET Awards '13 and BET Experience at L.A. Live June 28 - 30, 2013    BET Network "must have had a good year" the media crowd whispered at the recent BET Awards '13 Nominees Announcement held at the ICON Ultra Lounge in Los Angeles. The awards show with its theme of "Anything Can Happen," will air live from the Nokia Theatre L.A. Live in Los Angeles at 8 p.m. ET/PT Sunday, June 30, 2013 on BET.     I felt like an Egyptian Princess with the setting, the abundance of food and the over-flowing bar of tropical looking fruit drinks as we waited for the announcements to begin. Stephen G. Hill, President of Music Programming and Specials, was the host and he introduced Chris Tucker (the BET Award '13 host), Chris Brown (nominee, performer), Charlie Wilson (nominee, Cadillac Lifetime Achievement Awards recipient), and Kendrick Lamar (nominee) and Tamar Braxton (nominee) who both... Read the full May 17, 2013 column...> _________________________________ LIKE US! FOLLOW US! 2013 "Uplifting Minds II" Enter Conference. (866) 938-5220

NEWS Natalie Cole added to performances at 'On The Vine' Music Festival in August, 2013 (New York, NY) -  On August 22, 2013, "On The Vine," a four-day music and entertainment festival starring Ms. Natalie Cole and benefiting kidney disease research will launch. "On The Vine" will take place on the beautiful island of Martha's Vineyard August 22 - 25, 2013 and will feature live stellar performances by: Kenny "BabyFace" Edmonds, jazz greats Kahil El Zabar, Roy Hargrove and James Carter, music legend and icon Smokey Robinson, comedian and kidney disease survivor Richard Lewis, Grammy Award winning violinist Miri Ben-Ari, singer-songwriter Angie Stone and others. Lana Parilla to host the Gracie Awards May 21, 2013 in Beverly Hills (Beverly Hills, CA) - Lana Parilla (Once Upon A Time) will host the 2013 Gracie Awards to be held  at the Beverly Hilton Hotel Tuesday, May 21, 2013. Oscar and Grammy Award winning Melissa Etheridge will perform. Cat Deeley ("So You Think You Can Dance") will be  the "Caring is Sexy" Award recipient. Slated to appear are Amy Poehler & Jim O'Heir (Parks & Recreation), Brain Williams (NBC News Anchor) presents to his daughter, Jane Williams (Bloomberg), Chandra Wilson (Grey's Anatomy), Brenda Strong (Dallas), Lucy Hale & Ian Harding (Pretty Little Liars), Sarah Chalke (How to Live With Your Parents), Angie Harmon (Rizzoli & Isles), Catherine Bell (Army Wives), Julie White, Sarah Baker, Suzy Nakamura & Tonita Castro (Go On), Vanessa Marano (Switched at Birth), Giuliana & Bill Rancic (E!/Style Networks), Sandra Lee (Food Network), Maria Menounos (Extra), Shaun Robinson (Access Hollywood), Meg Tilly & Bomb Girls Cast, Sara Sidner (CNN), Sutton Foster (Bunheads), G. Hannelius (Dog With a Blog), Mary Hart (post ET), Hannah Storm (ESPN Sports Center), Ashlan Gorse (E! News), Erik Logan (Pres. OWN Network), Kate Juergens (EVP ABC Family), Sara Sidner (CNN), Martha Raddatz (ABC's Foreign Affairs Correspondent), Brooke Anderson (Entertainment Tonight), Maria Elena Salinas (Univision), Moll Anderson (Moll Anderson Show), Megan Chuchmach (ABC Journalist), Nikki Boyer (No Time), and Rory Kennedy (Moxie Firecracker).

VIDEO CLIP OF THE WEEK New York native Mariah Carey has acquired five Grammy Awards, 17 World Music Awards, 11 American Music Awards and an astounding 31 Billboard Music Awards. She has released to #1 status 18 singles in the U.S.  Carey is preparing to release her 14th studio album this month with the lead single 'Beautiful,' featuring Miquel recently released. Watch the video to the first single featuring Miguel below! HOTTEST MUSIC VIDEOS

SPOTLIGHT of THE WEEK "USHER" (New York, NY) -  The American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers (ASCAP) will honor eight-time Grammy Award-winner Usher with the prestigious ASCAP Golden Note Award during its 26th annual Rhythm & Soul Music Awards. The invitation-only event will take place on Thursday, June 27th, 2013 at the Beverly Hilton Hotel in Los Angeles, California. ASCAP's Golden Note Award is presented to songwriters, composers and artists who have achieved extraordinary career milestones. Previous honorees include Sean "Diddy" Combs, Jermaine Dupri, Jimmy Jam & Terry Lewis, Jay-Z, Quincy Jones, Alicia Keys, LL Cool J, Lionel Richie, Pharrell Williams and Stevie Wonder,. ASCAP President and Chairman Paul Williams commented: "Usher's musical evolution over the years clearly proves his versatility and longevity as an artist, performer and songwriter. The world has moved to his music for nearly two decades. Happily for the rest of us, from the sound of his latest work, it's clear that the beat will go on and on. Usher is the perfect candidate to receive one of our top honors - the ASCAP Golden Note Award." "We at ASCAP have been a fan and advocate for Usher since day one. He's a tried and true music trailblazer who's constantly pushing boundaries and redefining genres," commented ASCAP VP of Rhythm & Soul Membership Nicole George-Middleton. Usher (full name Usher Raymond IV) first rose to fame in the late 1990s with the release of his second album My Way, which spawned his first Billboard Hot 100 #1 hit, "Nice & Slow." The album, which has since been certified 6-times platinum by the RIAA, displayed Usher's talent for songwriting by co-writing six of the nine songs. His third studio album, 8701 (2001), quickly reached multi-platinum status and went on to sell over four million copies, bringing Usher his first Grammy win in 2001 for Best Male R&B Vocal Performance; a category in which he repeated a win in 2002 for "U Don't Have to Call." His next album Confessions (2004) took the music world by storm and is Usher's most successful album to date, making him the first artist to top the charts with four consecutive number one songs ("Yeah," "Confessions, Pt. 2," "Burn," and "My Boo"). His most recent albums - Here I Stand, Raymond v. Raymond and Looking 4 Myself - introduced the world to several massive hits, including "Love In This Club," "DJ Got Us Fallin' In Love" and "Scream." The RIAA ranks Usher as one of the best-selling artists in American music history, having sold over 23 million copies in the United States alone. To date, he has sold over 50 million records worldwide, making him one of the best selling music artists of all time. The 26th annual ASCAP Rhythm & Soul Music Awards will also honor the songwriters and publishers of the most performed ASCAP songs on the 2012 R&B/hip-hop, rap and gospel charts. Top awards will be given to the Songwriter of the Year, Publisher of the Year, Top R&B/Hip-Hop Song, Top Rap Song and Top Gospel Song. The evening will also feature performances by several award-winning songwriters/performers. The American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers (ASCAP) is a professional membership organization of songwriters, composers and music publishers of every kind of music. ASCAP's mission is to license and promote the music of its members and foreign affiliates, obtain fair compensation for the public performance of their works and to distribute the royalties that it collects based upon those performances. ASCAP members write the world's best-loved music and ASCAP has pioneered the efficient licensing of that music to hundreds of thousands of enterprises who use it to add value to their business - from bars, restaurants and retail, to radio, TV and cable, to Internet, mobile services and more. The ASCAP license offers an efficient solution for businesses to legally perform ASCAP music while respecting the right of songwriters and composers to be paid fairly. With over 460,000 members representing more than 8.5 million copyrighted works, ASCAP is the worldwide leader in performance royalties, service and advocacy for songwriters and composers, and the only American performing rights organization (PRO) owned and governed by its writer and publisher members. www.ascap.com.