What's da deal family? I hope everyone had a good holiday. Shout out to Ryan Cameron , who I heard had a slamming "15th Annual Ryan Cameron Celebrity Bowling Challenge" this year. Yung Joc, and most of the Block Entertainment family were in attendance. I must have gotten my invitation lost in the mail right Ryan? Nah, but for real though, it was a good look for the kids!

Special shout to Akon who currently has the number 1 and two single in the country. It looks like the Ohio-born African is really trying to make an impact on the music game. If you haven't heard his two singles yet, though I don't see how you couldn't have, you know SohhGyant has your back. Listen to them below. ***SOHH.com does not authorize or promote the illegal downloading or distribution of copyrighted material. I had to say that shit because you know muthafuckas be trying to throw your ass in jail now-a-days over this music shit!

AKON - "SMACK THAT" Feat. EMINEM

AKON - "I WANNA FUCK YOU"

I think the brutha has a talent, but his performance on the American Music Awards last week left much to be desired. For this performance to be the last one of the night, they could have left that shit on the cutting room floor.

Akon had a "Cassie-astic" performance. If you aren't aware what that is, it's when an artist lip synchs to their own track on stage, but they're slightly behind on the vocals so you can hear them singing over their recorded track. It's not a good look at all!! Bad Boy's newest singer, (and I use that term loosely), Cassie has made the singing over tracks performance (and I also use that term even more loosely) legendary lately. Remember this….

I'm gonna give my homie a pass on that performance. Snoop definitely saved him from making the shit totally garbage. Y'all know I speak the truth!

Love you all like BootyTalk and Kool-Aid.

Until tomorrow, Peace!

--SohhGyant.

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Yesterday I made an early pilgrimage downtown to meet up with Omarion to talk shop on his new cd 21 and why we still see him as just that dude from B2K.

I first have to acknowlege that it was early. I also have to acknowlege that no matter how early it was young dude put his best foot forward and had a real cool homeboy disposition. When I arrived he was listening to the Tyrese cd Alter Ego.

We talked about whether there will be a B2K reunion... uh, NO! And thank God. One thing I discerned is that Omarion is just fine without the lesser charasmatic members of the group.

SOHH I went straight to the question that most people in their own way ask. WHY? Omarion so what? Whether it is in the barbershop or whether it is in a staff meeting, people always seem to say, "I like that song [fill in the blank with any of Omarion's hits] but I don't like that dude. Maybe because like child movie stars, you get branded and it's hard for people to see you outside the parameters of where you first caught their attention. Especially when you were internationally successful. Scream Tour anyone.
Omarion had a pretty decent response. He said that as a younger performer he was singing the words written for him. Now as a young adult he is writing of his own experiences. He referred to Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis when they say that if you want to get to know Janet, just listen to her music. Referring to the stuff she writes herself.

So y'all, LISTEN TO OMARION's MUSIC. That's who he thinks he is. Give it a chance. Put it on in the car, while your ass is doing the dishes; while you burning that kush and see if you give a damn. His new single is "Icebox." .naj I know you say it sounds like he need some Advil Cold & Sinus. But run it a few times in the whip.

But while you were wondering why BEYONCE IS RE-RELEASING B'DAY in 2007 LED BY A MASSIVE INITIATIVE AROUND THE SINGLE "BEAUTIFUL LIAR" and RECORDING A DUET WITH SHAKIRA, we were down at the Triple 5 Soul sample sale, wondering what "RING THE ALARM" sounds like in SPANISH (hint, hint) and compiling our
SOHH SOULFUL TOP 5 SONGS OF THE MOMENT!

5. Stephanie Mckay - "Tell It Like It Is"
Check her music out at her website, StephanieMckay.com. She is an independent artist out of the Bronx with some interesting flava.

4. Mya - "Lock U Down"
CLICK BELOW TO LISTEN TO IT.
http://www.supload.com/listen?s=SEF90UOTndm

3. Rihanna - "Break It Off"
Listen to it here.http://www.supload.com/listen?s=SijcPnZ3J5N

2. Danity Kane - "Ride 4 U"
1. Justin Timberlake - "My Love Acoustic, Love Stoned" live from Victoria Secret Fashion Show.
KSH, this shit is dope as fuck and I know I said I was done posting versions of this single but come the fuck on.
listen to it here http://www.supload.com/listen?s=SNenaCbaWbR#

And one more thing... Promotion on Janet Jackson's 20 YO has been halted according to Janet's fansites.

SOHH SOULFUL GIVE A WAY!!!!

I've got a pair of tickets to the SCREAM TOUR 5 featuring Omarion, NeYo, Pretty Ricky, Yung Joc, Jibbs and whoever else. Here in New York City, December 23rd at Madison Square Garden. Email me at [email protected] and tell me just what you're willing to do for them. LOL!

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I hope LL heard that one.
Shoutout to Sherry at Complex.

It looks like the new Complex is filled with some hot shit. In the new December/January issue of the mag, Nas had quite a bit to get off his chest. A lot of people don't know that before Nas' deal with Def Jam, he was offered a president's position at Atlantic... which would've given him a substantial amount of power over Jim Jones. And although Nas didn't take the position, he says:

"I'm still his boss [laughs]. I am above him. Who's not above Jim Jones? I don't know any of his records and I'm not even being funny. Like I know he's got a record called 'Ballin.' I hope it sells some records, but I swear to you I've never heard it.

Nas, on why he didn't take the position...

"Artists are fucking crazy and they'd want to blame me for shit. I can't deal with that right now."

Which leads right to Jay-Z being blamed for artists flopping at the label:

"The music should be enough, and sometimes things slip through the cracks. But people getting mad at Jay is corny. Especially someone like LL Cool J. He's too old of an O.G. to be mad at Jay. He's been at Def Jam since we were kids dreaming about being on Def Jam. We gotta get off this bullshit 'cause I never remember those artists talking about any white executives. That's some slavery shit. If my record comes out and goes wood, I can't blame Jay because it's my doing."

"If you look at these niggas that love hip-hop, they're broke or they're frustrated artists. I'm trying to learn from B.B. King. I'm going to be rapping when I'm 80."

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Aiight... sohh, I'm not sure whether it was Tyrese or Black Ty that called me this past Friday, but I talked on the phone with one of them kats about the new cd Alter Ego.
"I wasn't looking to the fans to back me on this. But a lot of them did. I was looking to win over one of the biggest challenges... which to me are my peers. The people in the industry. All across the board I won every time. All I did was press play. You don't get it when I talk about it, you've got to hear it," Tyrese told me.

So I'm gonna take the challenge and really listen to Alter Ego. Not just the one or two times I played it to get familiar with what it was all about. I've got it on the mp3 player.We'll see what happens. Thus far I think this is first single is just okay for a voice as dope as his.Imma post the rest of the interview this week as more of you listen to the new album. As for Black Ty, if you are still unfamiliar, check out the multi part video series he has on YouTube. Here is part one.

lso check out these tracks. I kinda like that Bobby V, although the vocal arrangement on the background is weak. Too simplified for that track, almost amatuerish... but I like it overall. Good music for the treadmill.
-"Let's Go" - Bobby Valentino
-"Upgrade U" Instrumental - Swizz Beatz
-"Kings and Queens" - Mary J. Blige & John Legend

And what do y'all think of J. Holiday?

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Monday - November 20, 2006 by Kevin R. Scott
Ne-Yo

R&B singer/songwriter Ne-Yo is teaming with Omarion, Pretty Ricky and rapper Yung Joc on the Scream 5 Tour, kicking off on November 22 at Miami's American Airlines Arena.

Ne-Yo, who is known to be pretty mellow on stage, promises more dancing and a more entertaining stage show since being inspired by Chris Brown while on the Up Close and Personal Tour.

"Being on this tour with Chris showed me that comparison's are going to be made regardless to what you do anyway and that you should not limit yourself just because you're trying to avoid comparisons," Ne-Yo told SOHH Soulful exclusively, of trying to avoid comparisons to Usher.

"Chris' show is electric from start to finish... I have been holding back from the whole dancing thing trying to prove a point and I lost my own damn point. The point of this whole thing is entertainment. It's all about entertainment. It's all about giving everything you've got when you get out on that stage. That's what Chris does. He inspired me to go back into myself and just realize that I was basically cheating people by not giving everything that I got" Ne-Yo told SOHH.

Ne-Yo who penned Beyonce's third single "Irreplaceable" from her sophomore cd B'Day and recently co executive produced the Save the Last Dance 2 soundtrack has also begun working on new material for his own second solo set which is expected in Spring 2007.

Scream 5 Tour Dates:

Nov. 22: Miami (American Airlines Arena)

Nov. 24: Greensboro, N.C. (Greensboro Coliseum)

Nov. 25: Birmingham, Ala. (Jefferson Arena)

Nov. 26: Atlanta (Philips Arena)

Dec. 1: Memphis, Tenn. (FedEx Forum)

Dec. 2: St. Louis (Scottrade Center)

Dec. 3: Kansas City, Mo. (Kemper Arena)

Dec. 8: Oakland, Calif. (Oakland Arena)

Dec. 10: Inglewood, Calif. (The Forum)

Dec. 21: Hampton, Va. (Hampton Coliseum)

Dec. 22: Philadelphia (Wachovia Center)

Dec. 23: New York (Madison Square Garden)

Dec. 26: Detroit (Joe Louis Arena)

Dec. 28: Rosemont, Ill. (Allstate Arena)

Dec. 29: Cleveland (Wolstein Center at CSU)

Dec. 30: Baltimore (1st Mariner Arena)

Dec. 31: Washington, D.C. (Verizon Center)

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I've been seeing John Legend pop up all over the place. Just yesterday he performed "Heaven" on "Ellen," when it hit me.

This guy is sohh choreographed. He grabs the mic at the same point each time in the song, he looks to the audience at the same time. It kind of reminds me of when you go to a Janet Jackson concert and when it's time to perform her 'ballad,' "Again" from the Janet CD and she cries during the same point of the song each time. I saw that tour about three times and it never failed. Same with John.

We've mentioned before how he is consistent to a fault. The album is good ... damn good. It's bonafide to be exact but can someone give this nigga an extasy pill or a double shot of Henny before he hits the stage?

He was even tight with Ellen. Maybe he couldn't loosen up during the interview because she is gay. And he is not quite gay, but just kinda geigh.

Oooh pictures from the World Music Awards....

SOHH Chris Brown performed "Thriller" and not Michael. Great, but bummer. For more pics head over to Juicy News.

Check out this video shot from the crowd, Chris sounds great vocally.

Shout out to Dig for video. The funny thing is, you'll sit and watch it all the way through because "Thriller" is just that song. All these years later it still gets you amp'd. Don't front! This must have been Chris Brown's dream.

But while you were wondering where Kanye is and if he is still peeved at John for not taking his advice by making "Heaven" the first release we were staring at this:

nd compiling our
SOHH Soulful Top 5 Songs of the Moment

5. Levert - "Cassanova"
This was the first time I ever heard the name Levert. My mom use to run this track. R.I.P. Gerald!

(shoulder pads and all)

4. Fantasia - "Hood Boy"
I saw Fantasia last night. I've witnessed the hysteria. I'm a fan now.

3. Shareefa - "Butterfly"

2. John Legend - "Again"
Track #8 on the cd. GRAMMY, GRAMMY, GRAMMY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

1. Jay & Bey - "Hollywood"

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