Efrem’s Album Review: Lalah
Hathaway – “Where It All Begins”
Lalah Hathaway’s new album “Where It All Begins” is
really toned around the ups and downs of love, and the purity therein. You can
definitely tell that it’s an empathetic album rather than just lyrics on a page.
It’s got the “love what you got, because it could be gone” vibe on some songs,
the ever popular romantic falling in love tracks, and of course: what R&B
album would be complete without a smooth, sexy ballad?
‘If You Want To’ the lead single from ‘Where It All
Begins’ is that party starter you pull out once you hit the clock after a long
work week. Put all your worries away and have a good time are the only
instructions needed.
However the first song “Strong Woman” has a energetic
electron R&B sound along with miss Hathway’s vocals that solidifies her
strength as Strong Woman. Also her remake her Dad’s “You Belong to Me” is smooth
a sweet sound to remind us all of the matriarch who gave Lalah her chops! And
let us not forget her remake of her own tune “I’m coming back” slowed down and
updated to a 21st Century R&B quite storm jam! Just
Beautiful!
Lalah’s real attribute is obviously her voice. The
music is your typical R&B backing tracks so that the pure vocal power can
stand out. And stand out it does.
Efrem's rating 5 ******
stars!
If you’ve got a chance to go grab this
album, I’d highly recommend it!!!
UPDATE: Details emerge in the death of
Vesta Williams and also her upcoming “UNSUNG” episode.
Details have emerged regarding that death of R&B
singer Vesta Williams, who was found dead in her California hotel room.
R&B Chanteuse singer Vesta Williams, 53, was found
dead in her El Segundo, CA hotel room Thursday night. According to Los
Angeles County coroner's Capt. John Kades, Vesta was found dead at 6:15pm on
Thursday night and officials also discovered several empty prescription pill
bottles.
Mary Vesta Williams (December 1, 1957 – September 22, 2011)
was an American R&B singer. Originally credited as Vesta Williams, she was
sometimes simply billed as Vesta from the 1990s onwards.[2] Although Williams
never had any albums certified gold nor any Top 40 hits on the Billboard Hot
100, she scored six Top 10 hits on the US Billboard R&B chart from the mid
1980s to the early 1990s. Williams was known for the hits "Once Bitten, Twice
Shy," "Sweet Sweet Love," "Congratulations" and "Special.".
Norwood Young says he was in the process of booking
his close friend Vesta Williams as the first guest for his new Internet talk
show set to premiere next month when he heard the shocking news that her body
was discovered Thursday in an El Segundo, CA hotel room.
“Vesta
was like my sister. We’ve been friends for over 15 years and we worked together,
sang together, partied together, loved together, and we spoke quite often as
family does,” Young told EURWeb’s Lee Bailey in an exclusive phone
interview.
With an episode of TV One’s “Unsung” in the works,
Norwood said the powerhouse singer “was at another
highpoint in her life” when she passed. While TMZ.com is reporting
of “multiple bottles of prescription pills – some empty” – found in her hotel
room, and that her death is being treated as either an accident or suicide,
Norwood insists this was “absolutely not” a suicide.
Norwood said Williams was living at the hotel where
her body was found because she was in the process of moving from her apartment
to a new place. He said he knew something was wrong on Sunday when she failed to
return his phone call as quickly as she normally does.
In the audio below, Norwood explains Vesta’s
excitement over shooting “Unsung” and details the timeline of events leading up
to her death. Listen:Norwood speaks on Vesta and the future!
Vesta Williams was scheduled to participate in Sheryl
Lee Ralph’s 21st DIVAS Simply Singing event next month when she passed
away.
Deeply saddened at the news, Ralph stated that “We
were thrilled in anticipation of having Vesta join the cast of this year’s 21st
annual Divas Simply Singing! AIDS benefit concert. Her passing came as a great
shock and we share our heart felt condolences with her family and fans around
the world.
‘A planned tribute was in the works for Teena Marie,
who passed away suddenly last year after her performance in the 20th DIVAS,
which was her final public performance. We will now pay tribute to both of these
outstanding artists.”
Other scheduled performers include Kelly Price,
Jennifer Lewis, Frenchie Davis, and Niecy Nash. There will also be a reunion of
Broadway’s original “Dreamgirls” cast, which includes Ralph, Jennifer Holiday
and Loretta Devine.
DIVAS Simply Singing! takes place Saturday, Oct. 22,
at 7:30 p.m. at the Wilshire Ebell Theatre, 4401 West 8th Street, Los Angeles.
Tickets range from $35 to $250. For tickets and information, go to
www.brownpapertickets.com, call
(800) 838-3006, or contact the Wilshire Ebell Theatre box office (323)
931-1277.
VIDEO FLASHBACK; Vesta Williams - Don't Blow A Good
Thing
For now, law enforcement is treating the death as
either an accident or suicide. A cause of death will likely be determined after
a coroner's examination has taken place, which could take 6
weeks.
All so so sad! R.I.P Lady Vesta and
THANKS for your contributions to the R&B Music industry!
R&B
Singer ‘Vesta Williams’ Found Dead in Hotel Room
R.I.P. to R&B singer Vesta Williams, who was found
dead in a hotel room in Los Angeles. Vesta produced Top 10 R&B hits “Sweet
Sweet Love”, “4 U”, and “Congratulations”
Our condolences goes out to her
family.
UPDATED AT @3:00 PM Vesta Williams, the diva known
for her powerful voice and 80's hits, was found dead in her California hotel
room last night, according to reports. Though news sources have reported the
singer was 48 years old,Williams can be seen in a 2010 interview saying she was
53.
TMZ is reporting that bottles of prescription pills
were found in the hotel room, and that the authorities are treating the singer's
death as an accident or suicide. Williams scored a big hit with
"Congratulations," a song about a woman who is distraught upon learning that her
former lover is getting married. "Congratulations," with its vocal acrobatics
and dramatic story, became a talent show staple.
In the 1990s, Williams made headlines for her dramatic
weight loss. She told Ebony that she started to rapidly gain weight when her
singing career began to falter. Williams, who was 5-foot-3, eventually reached a
size 26. She said her size was the reason she lost her recording contract.
"When I lost my record deal and my
phone wasn't ringing, I realized that I had to reassess who Vesta was and figure
out what was going wrong," she said. "I knew it wasn't my singing ability. So it
had to be that I was expendable because I didn't have the right look."
The singer went on to lose 100 lbs, and got down down
to a size 6, while finding something of a second career as a songwriter and
session singer.
In recent years, Williams had become an advocate for the
prevention of childhood obesity and juvenile diabetes.Pray for Vesta’s family and all of us who are
FANS of the R&B Songstress!
Celebs have been tweeting like crazy!
For those that do not know who she is..
Here are some
vids from the legendary songstress!
"Once Bitten,Twice Shy"
"Congratulations"
"Sweet, Sweet Love"
stay tuned to The Chronicles for any information on funeral services!
