John Legend addresses Anthony Stokes' allegations

By The Music Scoop
JR Staff Writer

Through Kanye West, John Legend is one of the newest artists signed to Def Jam. Over the past few years, Def Jam has been primarily focused on their R&B talent. Adding John Legend to a roster that already included Ne-Yo and Jeremih was a major plus for them.

Being signed to Def Jam is also a major plus for John Legend. With things going so well, the only problem is the lawsuit he is facing. A young man, Anthony Stokes, is accusing John Legend of stealing his song. When Legend visited UNC in 2004, he saw Stokes perform a song he used on his 2006 album.

The song Anthony Stokes is referring to is "Maxine's Interlude," which Stokes claims is his song, "Where Are You Now?" For months, Anthony Stokes has been pushing his lawsuit. He has spoken with several magazines and websites about the situation. As much as Stokes has talked, John Legend has said nothing.

Recently, he decided to break his silence and discuss the issues. John Legend said stealing a track is something he would never do. The G.O.O.D. Music singer said Anthony Stokes is making statements he knows are not true. Until he found himself sued by Stokes, John Legend said he had never even heard of the song Anthony Stokes is referring to. John Legend said he has never done anything like this and he will fight in court to clear his name.

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John Legend facing lawsuit over Debut Album

By The Music Scoop
JR Staff Writer

John Legend rose to fame due to his association with Kanye West, which landed him major collaborations. Before the release of his debut album, The College Dropout, Kanye West created his imprint, G.O.O.D. Music. John Legend was among one of the first artists signed to the label.

G.O.O.D. Music's first year, 2004, was very successful with the release of West's debut and Legend's debut, Get Lifted. Two years later, John Legend released his second album, Once Again, a platinum success. The album featured a track called "Maxine's Interlude."

Five years later, John Legend and the entire G.O.O.D. Music label, are facing a lawsuit over the song. Written by Anthony Stokes, a student at UNC Chapel Hill, Stokes never received proper credit for the song. Stokes claimed he had the lyrics to the song copywritten in 2004. Before he registered the song, Stokes said he attended a John Legend concert.

Upon meeting John Legend backstage, Anthony Stokes presented the singer with his demo and his contact information. With no copyright on the song, apparently John Legend used the song and featured it on his second album. Anthony Stokes is suing G.O.O.D. Music and former distributor, Sony Records, for copyright infringement and unjust enrichment.

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Chris Rock talks about The Music Industry

By The Music Scoop
JR Staff Writer

For years, Chris Rock remained under the shadow of Chris Tucker. He used this as the basis for many of his comedy routines, but many still viewed him as inferior. But, following his 2003 film, Head of State, Chris Rock emerged after years in the game.

Two years later, Rock began producing the would-be hit television series, "Everybody Hates Chris." For one year, the show aired on UPN. The next three seasons would air on The CW and was cancelled in 2009. "Everybody Hates Chris" built a cult following through reruns on BET.

In the later years of "Chris," Chris Rock began receiving invites from several rappers. Ludacris called upon Rock to be a part of his "Everybody Hates Chris" single. Ice Cube also featured his fellow television producer on his own song, "Ya Ain't Gotta Lie (Ta Kick It)." Chris Rock's most famous collaboration came late last year.

Kanye West teamed up with John Legend for a relationship song, "Blame Game," off his comeback album, My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy. Following the song, Rock had a two-minute skit, in which he talked to one of the women who had relationships with Kanye West. After coming back from Kanye, Chris Rock said he was going to thank the Chicago rapper for changing this girl. In real life, Chris Rock was just as thankful because he was featured on the top hip hop album of the year.

Chris Rock revealed he loves doing comedic skits on rap albums just as much, if not more, than he likes reading scripts. First off, they do not take half as long as reading film skits and plus he does not have to get made up because no one will see him. Rock went on to say the rap collaborations have boosted his career and he learned many rappers are willing to work with comedians if they just ask. In the future, Chris Rock has plans of asking more.

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Cee Lo may be a judge on "The Voice"

By TV Insider
JR Staff Writer

Ever since 2009, NBC has been revamping its programming, due to the low ratings. The network has been steadily losing viewers for nearly eight years. In order to bring more viewers to the network, NBC's new programs have been featuring more black characters. This spring, NBC has plans of bringing more shows to the network.

NBC is preparing to begin airing a singing competition show later this spring. The show will be called "The Voice" and it will feature people singing songs. These singers will be judged by music industry insiders and casting is still taking place for judges. Among the people being cast as a judge is Cee Lo.

After being overlooked for years, Cee Lo rose to the top of the game last year. His single, "Fuck You," grabbed listeners ears with the aggressive title. But, after it was censored to "Forget You," the song won over pop culture and made Cee Lo a pop icon. He had been recording for years, but he never had much recognition outside of the R&B community. With one song, this has all changed.

Aside from Cee Lo, NBC has also approached Mary J. Blige, Lenny Kravitz, John Legend, and others. The show is being compared to the FOX hit, "American Idol." But, instead of winning a record deal, the winner of the contestant will win $100,000 in cash. On "The Voice," the judges must listen to the contestants while their back is facing them, so they only judge based on their voice. Adam Levine, of Maroon 5, has already agreed to join the cast of the series, along with an unnamed female singer.

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John Legend talks Kanye West and New Album

By The Music Scoop
JR Staff Writer

Outside of his own successful career, Kanye West has been carefully working with many other artists. Before making it big in rap, West was one of the top producers in hip hop and R&B. Around the same time, he launched his rap career, Kanye also launched his own record label, G.O.O.D. Music.

John Legend was one of the first artists signed to the new label and his debut album came in 2005. Throughout the years, John Legend has remained close to Kanye West. When West took a hiatus, late in 2009, one of his closest associates was Legend. Recently, Legend spoke about his boss.

Despite releasing My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy right before the end of 2010, Kanye West is still working. First, he has his project with Jay-Z, Watch the Throne, but he also wants to release his next solo album before the end of the summer. Kanye West is already recording his next solo record and one of the first people to hear it has been John Legend.

Recently, he spoke on the new music, saying Kanye West has continued to sharpen his lyrical abilities, putting his lyrics on his last album to shame. Outside of his own album projects, Kanye West is helping out his G.O.O.D. Music label-mate on his next album. Earlier this month, John Legend announced he had hit the studio. After being in the studio for a couple of weeks, John Legend said he has a good feeling about the new music. Kanye West has produced a couple of beats and he has already recorded on them.

John Legend plans to release his album before the end of this year.

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John Legend joining Sade's Summer Tour

By The Music Scoop
JR Staff Writer

Sade has been preparing her North American tour for the past few months. Her 2009 album, Soldier of Love, was a very successful comeback. The music from the album did relatively well throughout most of 2010.

At the time, Sade began organizing her tour. She decided 2011 would be a better time to begin her tour. Sade has set her sights on touring during the summer. Because she is not as known as other stars, she decided to only tour select places.

Recently, G.O.O.D. Music star, John Legend, decided to join her tour. The addition of John Legend to the tour means more stops have been added to the schedule. John Legend will headline the stops made in Baltimore and New Jersey.

The tour will only take places in a few American cities and a few locations in Canada.

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Keri Hilson rates the Men of Hip Hop and R&B

By Mr. Hollywood
JR Staff Writer

During a recent interview with Funkmaster Flex, Keri Hilson was asked to rate some of the men in hip hop and R&B. Among the men she rated were 50 Cent, Lil Wayne, and Drake. In the interview, Hilson gave her honest opinion. She was afraid her honesty may end up hurting some of the mens' feelings.

When speaking on Trey Songz, Keri Hilson said he was extremely sexy. She likes his body, but she is not into the sexy guys like him who make sexy faces. Hilson gave him credit for also being handsome in the face and rated him between a seven and an eight. She felt as if that was a good number for him.

Keri Hilson said she thinks J. Cole is sexy, but mainly because of his talent. Hilson says talent is a major turn-on for most girls. She later went on to say he is not her type because she likes chocolate and she does not like tall men. Most of the men on the list were high-yellow said Hilson. She ended up giving J. Cole between a five and a six.

More of her type, however, was Usher. Keri Hilson had a lot to say about Usher. The two recorded together on the remix of Trey Songz' "I Invented Sex." Hilson admitted she always liked Usher's body and his dancing abilities. Because of all of this, and the fact that he was not too tall, Keri Hilson ended up giving the "There Goes My Baby" singer a nine.

As the interview went on, she gave John Legend a seven. While she said 50 Cent had a nice body, Hilson said he was not her type, she gave the G-Unit general a five. Keri Hilson said she did not want to hurt his feelings, so she could not really rate Drake. In her opinion, Hilson felt some of Drake's attractiveness came from his sensitivity because females like that. She ended up giving Drake a six.

Last year, Keri Hilson teamed up with Lil Wayne and scored her biggest hit to date. Again, because of his creativity, Wayne scored pretty high. But, one major turn off for Hilson was all of his children. She said that would be very hard to deal with. Wayne's life, to her, is like one big happy family. But, even with the big family and the legal woes, Keri Hilson gave Lil Wayne a seven.

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