The Neptunes #1 fan site, all about Pharrell Williams and Chad Hugo

Here is the Proper Version of ‘I Apologize’ by the UK Girlgroup ‘Hope’, produced by The Neptunes from the Studio Session back in 2008 for their debut album leaked by Raquelle Gracie on her Twitterpage. Raquelle Gracie was one fifth of British girl group Hope. They reached the semi-finals and came 5th in the competition. Following this endeavor, the girls went on tour with the X-Factor, playing huge venues and performing in front of sold out crowds often numbering in the tens of thousands of people.

After securing management, the girls then toured with Westlife, Boyzone and Shayne Ward. “Recording with Pharrell was the most surreal and invaluable experience. He is a musical genius and I learnt so much from him. His professionalism and his method of working was inspirational.” Raquelle is now establishing her solo career, not only as a recording artist, but also as a writer and producer. “Its absolutely amazing what you can do from your bedroom with a keyboard, laptop and logic pro!”

*twitter.com/raquellegracie

Hope – I Apologize feat. Pharrell (Proper)

Pharrell vistited Jared Evan (22) this week in the studio to check out some of his new stuff. “Very dope to have Skateboard P interrupt the @JaredEvan session to say he has been hearing so much hot shit he had to introduce himself, Record Plant is popping tonight, we got Skateboard P, Game and Ester Dean in the building”. Jared Evan is an American musician from Nassau County, New York. He is currently signed to Zone 4 under Interscope Records.

*twitter.com/brndmgmt

Jared Evan Working On Album

Jared Evan Plays Timbaland His Frozen Video

A new documentary film will be released that highlights the legacy, influence, and artistic path created by the legendary 90’s Hip Hop group A Tribe Called Quest. Created by notable actor and avid fan of ATCQ, Michael Rapaport, Beats Rhymes & Life: The Travels Of A Tribe Called Quest follows the groups lineage through Hip Hop. Rapaport and his team of film producers have documented over 200 hours of footage, including interviews with Mos Def, Pete Rock, Common, Pharrell Williams and many others. The film is currently in its editing stage, with no current release date set.

*hiphopdx.com

In the intensive care unit at Joe DiMaggio Children’s Hospital in Hollywood, 11-year-old Barbara Valencia is watching television from a hospital bed when Liset Alea, a musician from Miami, walks in and asks if she wants to hear a song. Barbara nods but keeps her eyes trained ahead. Alea strums her guitar and sings Perfidia, an old Latin love song, softly in Spanish. Barbara sneaks a glance over. Alea switches to an up-tempo beat, wanting to end on a happy note. ”Everything is going to be all right,” she sings. Barbara shoots her a little smile. After Alea leaves, Barbara dabs at tears in her eyes. ”That was really good,” said Barbara, who is recuperating from a repair to an artery. ”It made me feel happy.”

Alea was there as a volunteer with the new local chapter of Musicians On Call, a New York-based nonprofit that has offered nearly 180,000 patients, family members and healthcare workers the gift of a song since it was formed 10 years ago. Musicians go room-to-room, knocking on doors and asking the patient if he or she wants to hear a song. A quick bedside serenade later, the entertainer is off to spread a three-minute dose of joy to the next patient. ”Our mission is to deliver the healing power of music right to the bedsides of patients,” says Michelle Klinger, program director for the South Florida chapter of Musicians On Call, which was formed in September. Since then the chapter has recruited 20 volunteer musicians and singers to visit patients at two hospitals, Joe DiMaggio and South Miami Hospital. Klinger said she plans to add more venues as her volunteer base increases.

Among the artists who have visited local patients are Latin Grammy winner Jorge Villamizar and hip-hop artist and producer Pharrell Williams, Klinger says. The musicians who take on the gig say it is satisfying for the soul. Last year, Alea performed as a backup singer for Colombian rocker Juanes in her native Cuba, in front of more than a million fans. But there is something so intimate about singing to someone who can benefit so much from a tune, she said. ”It’s the most immediate connection I’ve seen with music and people,” Alea said. ”I strongly believe in music as therapy.” At Joe DiMaggio during Alea’s recent visit, 15-year-old Stephanie Perez lay in a darkened room, crying from the pain of a debilitating headache. After receiving permission to enter, Alea began to gently play chords on the guitar, softly weaving in a few lines from Sway, a 1950s mambo song. Nurse Sherrie Rivera stroked Stephanie’s hand, murmuring softly as the teen quieted.

”She was in so much pain, but I think it did calm her down,” Rivera said later. ”Her heart rate went down,” Katelynn Maltby a patient advocate at Joe DiMaggio, said she also has seen positive results in patients. ”You can see their spirits lift and their eyes get wide. It makes them feel special, like somebody came here just for them and to play just for them,” she said. ”Their smiles are just from ear to ear.” Songs are carefully selected for bedside performances, Klinger says, with special attention given to the lyrics. ”We have to make sure the lyrics are appropriate for the patient, and that there is nothing about death or dying or anything depressing,” she says. ”Our songs have to be uplifting.”

*miamiherald.com
*sofeminine.co.uk

According to hiphopdx.com, Antonio McLendon was almost a Star Trak Artist back in 2008. With a growing fan base behind him and his music, Connecticut R&B singer/song-writer Antonio McLendon has officially released the single “Rather Just Leave (acapella)” through TVA America, LLC. McLendon had gained a buzz a few years back as a former artist on Dr. Dre’s Aftermath Records, even being at the center of a bidding war between Dre and producer/rapper Pharrell Williams of The Neptunes. However, a stint in prison put a hold on his emerging career under Dre’s record label.

Before being incarcerated, Antonio McLendon had collaborated with the likes of Jennifer Lopez, Game, and Smoke of Field Mob. Along with his new single, McLendon can be heard on the hook for Stat Quo’s “Ghetto U.S.A.,” the latest single off his debut album Statlanta. Similar to McLendon, Stat Quo had once been on Aftermath Records before leaving for business reasons.

*hiphopdx.com

Antonio Mclendon – I’d Rather Just Leave (Madir Wear)

Check out this old Pharrell x Kidult.com Interview from December 2009, thanks to
WhyPR.
Kidult.com is your brainchild. Are you a kidult?
Pharrell: I’m very much still a kid, still feel the same way I did when I was 15. My hunger and desire for personal growth has never stopped. I just think that’s how everyone should live, but I especially want to encourage teens to approach life curiously, no matter how strange or weird this may make them seem to other kids who don’t share their same thirst for knowledge. I don’t think age brings you wisdom. Curiosity, more than anything, brings you wisdom.

I’d rather have a conversation with a teen who’s thirsty for knowledge, than an adult who thinks he knows it all. It’s sad when people get to a certain age and think they’ve learned everything the world has to offer. There’s nothing more happy or free than living like a kidult. It’s a world where intelligence gets you in the door, not an age or archetype. I totally believe that kids and adults can engage in the same common interests, have conversations or debates on things like politics, science and culture worldwide.

K: What inspired you to start a news and entertainment website for teens?
P: When I look at the media, whether it’s television, online, CDs, DVDs, games, etc., I feel like there are all these very specific voices, but no urban voice in its proper context. Unfortunately, in my opinion, the urban arena has always been for urban, by urban, to urban, it’s very locked in, a very constricted zone. My thing is, why not use this powerful voice to comment on anything and everything. Just like there’s democratic news, republican news, Christian news, where’s that urban voice that speaks to the world and just gives its perspective on everything going on? I admire brands like Time and CNN, especially how people rely on what they say, they’re pretty well respected and reliable sources. The young urban voice needs something like that. Kidult can fill that void.

K: Why are you so interested in media?

P: The media helps steer the collective consciousness in a specific direction. In general, when you communicate you have an agenda. Some may choose to communicate selfishly, others for a greater good. Other than the simple fact of being informative, I want Kidult to inspire kids to dream in ways they never thought possible. No kid should ever have to jump through hula hoops and obstacles to find things out. When you don’t even know that you’re interested in something—that’s the biggest crime of all. I hate the idea that a kid might not know if they like something because they haven’t been exposed to it. Every child should know what Australia air smells like, what African soil feels like and what Chinese spices taste like. If they’re not curious to try and find out, we’re doing an extreme disservice to our children. It’s our responsibility to really engage them and peak their interests in every way imaginable.

*kidult.com