courtesy of: The Morning News
By Rosalie Klein
Soul Beach Music Festival 2012 is this weekend!
Back again for 5 days of great parties, concerts and media and celebrity encounters, is the 12th Aruban edition of the Soul Beach Music Festival. Three amazing concerts surrounded by parties on Nikki Beach and after-parties stretching late into the night will begin on Wednesday, May 23 and finish on Sunday, May 27. The combination of Aruba and the traditionally top talents has made it the Memorial Day Weekend must-do for the festival’s veteran patrons, guaranteeing a great time and entertainment for all.
Festival Producer Mark Adkins officially announced the line-up yesterday afternoon. Headliners this year include LL Cool J and Ledisi performing on Saturday night, and R Kelly and Melanie Fiona finishing the festival with a flourish on Sunday. Friday night will open the weekend with Soul Beach Comedy Jam” featuring the hottest names on the comedy circuit.
Saturday, May 26 Line up:
LL Cool J:
Nearly 25 years since he first burst onto the scene, LL Cool J continues his vibrant, trailblazing career with the release of EXIT 13, his appropriately titled 13th album for the only label he has called home - Def Jam Recordings.
What began for LL Cool J in the nascent, burgeoning rap and hip hop scene of the 80's, has now seeped throughout the musical and cultural phenomenon that is today's hip hop. All the while, LL Cool J has remained a musical and cultural force, a living icon and a significant, relevant artist still churning out the hits.
As an entertainer, he has succeeded in crossing into multiple mediums. Already a talented actor, author, recording artist, two-time Grammy Award winner and NAACP Image Award winner, LL continues to display his wide range of talents in his projects.
An accomplished actor, he has appeared in more than 30 films and starred opposite acclaimed actors such as Samuel L. Jackson and Colin Farrell in Sony Pictures blockbuster "S.W.A.T.," Al Pacino, Jamie Foxx and Cameron Diaz in Oliver Stone's "Any Given Sunday," and Gabrielle Union in Focus Features' "Deliver Us from Eva." Other film credits include "Rollerball," "Charlie's Angels," "Kingdom Come," "In Too Deep," "Toys," and "Slow Burn," with Ray Liotta. He has also received a Blockbuster Award for best comedic performance as the "Chef" in Renny Harlin's blockbuster action film "Deep Blue Sea."
Three years ago, LL transitioned to television with a dramatic and critically acclaimed performance on the second season premiere of FOX's hit drama "House." He recently guest starred on the NBC comedy "30 Rock" in a memorable performance as hip hop mogul Ridiculous. He currently has a new dramatic television series is in development at CBS.
Among a number of books he has authored, including a children’s book, he penned a 1997 autobiography, “I Make My Own Rules.”
LEDISI:
With her new album PIECES OF ME, Ledisi undoubtedly proves that she is a woman to know. Loaded with emotion and charged with unparalleled soul, this record adds another dimension to the persona the singer has been sharing with audiences since her explosive entrance on the music scene a few short years ago.
Following her last two critically acclaimed albums-2007's breakthrough hit Lost and Found, which was nominated for two Grammy® awards including Best New Artist, and 2009's rock & funk, attention-stealing Turn Me Loose, which also garnered two Grammy® nods and a No. 1 debut position on the Billboard R&B chart - PIECES OF ME is a natural progression for a singer possessing an involuntary penchant for growth.
Born in New Orleans and raised in Oakland, CA, where she says she developed ambition, drive and an appreciation for opera, gospel and R&B, Ledisi struggled for years. After constant rejection from recording companies, she and a partner formed their own label on which they released two independent albums, both of which gained national attention, resulting in her 2007 major label deal with Verve. “PIECES OF ME” is a culmination of the challenges she's experienced and lessons she's learned.
Sunday, May 27 Line up:
R. KELLY:
The three-time Grammy winning king of R&B makes music of epic proportions. After 18 years of stardom, the multi-instrumentalist, producer and vocalist continues to forge an artistic path that caters to fantasy and captures the hearts of adoring fans, which is in essence, how an artist sells over 34 million records, and wears the crown of a king.
The charts are telling of the Chicago native’s storied success— six #1 albums, 11 #1 singles, and 12 consecutive platinum albums. Yet, beyond the numbers is his vital contribution to the soul music continuum. R. Kelly’s musical tome is ripe with scintillating delivery and stirring rhythms that outlast thinner melodies by fleeting one-hit sensations. In one moment, he is the virtuoso that delves into slow, deep delicious seduction, and the next finds him the sexy showman at the center of the party, in full body-rocking up-tempo flavor. From the tantalizing 8-times platinum R., to the Grammy-award winning anthem “I Believe I Can Fly,” to his recent hit single “I’m a Flirt” with Bow Wow, which garnered a 2008 ASCAP Rhythm and Soul Music Award, R. Kelly is the essence of true R&B.
As a songwriter, he revisits simple but profound aspects of the human experience – love, lust, desire, joy and pain that define classical art and drama. He applies his concept to rich, full vocals that exude his intended effect. This precise craftsmanship led to a 2006 Stevie Wonder Award for Outstanding Achievements in Song Writing at the Soul Train Awards.
MELANIE FIONA:
Singer/songwriter Melanie Fiona’s debut album The Bridge reveals a sweet push-and-pull between countless elements of herself; at once Canadian and Caribbean, strong and sexy, contemplative and joyous, blending the sounds of pop and soul. Despite the many moods and musings of Melanie Fiona’s debut, all agree there is one defining element: the girl’s got soul.
Born to Guyanese immigrant parents and growing up in a music-filled house in the inner city of Toronto, Fiona knew from the very beginning that music is what moves her and a strong sense of family translates to her team. Though Fiona had been writing her own songs for years, the introduction of songwriter Andrea Martin would prove seminal for The Bridge. “When I met Andrea, it was an instant connection,” she explains. “We developed this very personal working relationship where we were both inspired by each other.” Sharing each other’s life experiences, they collaborated on some of the defining songs in the collection. Other producers on the album include UK producers Future Cut, Florida’s Vada Nobles, LA’s The Stereotypes, NYC’s J. Phoenix, Peter Wade, and Salaam Remi, Andrew Wyatt, Rob Fusari, and Angela Hunte.
“This experience will never happen for me again,” she muses. “I’ll never be a new artist again. I’ll never be a complete and utter student of the game.” Whatever may come when The Bridge releases on Steve Rifkind’s SRC/ Motown Universal Records in Fall 2009, Fiona is poised and ready.
