HOLD THE SALT: Just when we thought that old-school hip-hop groundbreakers had some hope with major record companies, we get word that one half of the leading rap female super-group has hit hard times with her respective musical endeavor.
The Ru Report has learned that the major label solo debut album from Cheryl “Salt” James, of the once-multi-platinum-selling trio Salt N’ Pepa has been scrapped by its distributor. Originally slated for release last spring, the 10-track set entitled Salt Of The Earth, has been officially removed from Virgin Records urban music roster.
The project –which was to feature collaborations with Carl Thomas and Angie Stone—was initially put on hold but reps at Virgin say the label has no plans to release it. Insiders hint that the unreleased album cost a whopping $2 million in production fees.
Salt Of The Earth was to be the first release on James’ self-owned imprint, GavFam Entertainment, a joint venture with the Houston-based Rap-A-Lot Records, that her and her newly-wed husband, Gavin Wray, formed last year.
James, who along with Sandi “Pepa” Denton and featuring DeDe “Spinderella” Roper, formed Salt N’ Pepa and was one of the biggest-selling hip-hop acts in the 90’s, delivering a total of five gold and platinum full length albums and a string of Top 40 hits including, “Shoop,” “Whatta Man” (featuring EnVogue), and “Push It,” amongst others.
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OUT & ABOUT: Last week, I had a gang of events to attend that really help me appreciate the work that I do. It was like icing on the cake.
MCA Records held a swank party at New York’s Metropolitan Pavilion to celebrate the diamond-selling-status (10 million copies sold) for reggae boy wonder Shaggy and his chart-topping album Hot Shot. The Jamaican-themed celebration –planned and catered by Ronnie Davis of New York’s Great Expectations--featured outstanding performances by Shaggy and his Big Yard family members RikRok, Rayvon, Prince Mydas, Marsha, and Brian & Tony Gold, among others.
Guests at the celebration --whom included actor Taye Diggs and music acts Cherokee, The A*Teens and Joe-- were treated to Caribbean delicacies such as jerk chicken, red snapper, rice and peas, and other traditional Jamaican food. They even had one-of-a-kind drinks named after Shaggy and the artists on his clan.
An honorable mention for one of the best soirees goes to the Council of Fashion Designers of America (CFDA) annual fall fashion preview party. This year, the stars were limited, but the style was aplenty. Held at New York’s posh Saks Fifth Avenue department store, the event took on an international flair with an African dance troupe, and delicacies from the Orient and India. It was just the touch of class I needed to cap off all the mayhem of this year’s MTV’s 2001Video Music Awards.
Speaking of fashion, I spent some time in the company of legendary fashion publicist Eleanor Lambert at her swank upper east side digs overlooking the New York skyline, this past Sunday. The 99-year old publicist and New York socialite held her bi-annual Fashion Week brunch at her high-rise Fifth Avenue penthouse. While feasting on baked macaroni, baked Alaska, steamed salmon and salad, Central Park never looked so good. Lambert, who earned her stripes sixty years ago as Coco Chanel’s PR flack, is currently repping designers Jim Hjelm, Joan & David shoes and Tiffany’s jewelry.
I am proud to state that without the help of anyone associated with him, I scored nice tickets to Monday’s finale of Michael Jackson’s 20th Anniversary Celebration at Madison Square Garden. Nah, nah, na, na, Nah, Nah! Whitney Houston, N*Sync, Britney Spears, Quincy Jones nor Marlon Brando didn’t make it to what really was the second half of an over-produced and over-hyped TV show taping, but a great time was still had by all. Elizabeth Taylor, Lil’ Romeo, Master P, Luther Vandross, Aaron Carter, Dionne Warwick , Deborah Cox, Gloria Gaynor, Jill Scott, 98 Degrees, Al Jarreau, Monica, Billy Gilliam, Rah Digga, Tamia, Missy “Misdemeanor” Elliot featuring Nelly Furtado and “The woman who discovered Michael Jackson:” Gladys Knight did, however, make it to the stage with various performances and presentations.
In all of my years of covering the entertainment scene, I’ve never witnessed such a frenetic energy at the world’s most famous entertainment complex. Folks were packed at the rafters and going crazy when the King of Pop first hit the stage with his brothers to do a medley of their most popular hits.
But the real show came into play when Jackson performed his solo numbers “Billie Jean,” “Beat It” and “The Way You Make Me Feel.” And the highlight of the evening—at least in my humble opinion—was when R&B crooner Usher and comic actor Chris Tucker joined the man of the evening on stage towards the ending of his current hit single, “You Rock My World.”
Say what you want about Mr. Jackson, but we can never take his musicality away. He may not have his color anymore, but he definitely still has his voice and his moves.
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DIVA DRAMA: There’s a storm brewing over the status of nationally circulated Black female lifestyles magazine, and innocent parties are getting sucked into it. On the heels of the upcoming appointment of a new editrix, the ousted party –who was reportedly paid a whopping fee for services “not” rendered—is trying to maim the character and reputation of her more popular successor. And it doesn’t stop there either; she’s getting other media types involved by playing a very juvenile game of “He Said, She Said.” That’s not being very “elegant.” I guess being forty-ish gets some of the girls in a gander, with nothing else better to do. Well, alls well that ends well.
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THIS JUST IN: In the wake of the Attack On America this week, we hear that media maven Rosie O’Donnell is rallying up her celebrity friends to raise millions of dollars for a disaster relief fund. She’s the first millionaire celebrity to hit the ground running and do something to help the cause.
STUFF: Uh, publicist Karen Taylor’s debut literary offering has been re-titled to the more diplomatic title The TaylorMade Approach: From Grassroots to Mainstream (My Passion For Publicity). I liked the former title, “How I Became A (Damn Good) Publicist” much better. It had much edge. Taylor just returned from what she calls a very productive weekend in Chicago at The Open Book Fair…Just in time for the release of his breakout dramatic turn in the much-buzzed about biopic Ali(Columbia Pictures), Will Smith will go Inside The Actor’s Studio. This week, the Bravo network announced its fall lineup for the popular hour-long talk show hosted by James Lipton. Other actors to be featured on the show include Bruce Willis, Stockard Channing and Nicholas Cage. Smith’s segment is scheduled to air on November 19th, two weeks before the scheduled opening of Ali, which also stars Giancarlo Esposito, Jamie Foxx, Jada Pinkett-Smith and Jon Voight…Cable’s longest running sports series, Inside The NFL, will premiere tonight (September 13th), at 8:00 on HBO with its 25th anniversary season opener. Hall of Famers and Co-hosts Len Dawson and Nick Buoniconti will embark on this season with 22 consecutive weekly editions of highlights and analysis of every NFL game. Miami Dolphins superstar quarterback Dan Marino returns for his second year as co-host of the sports Emmy award winning program. Also, Minnesota Vikings stand-out receiver Cris Carter and Baltimore Ravens defensive lineman Tony Siragusa will appear in segments, regularly…Also, tonight on HBO, Real Sports With Bryant Gumbel returns with a new edition with profiles on Joe Paterno and Penn State, “Bullet” Bob Hayes and improper conduct of high school coaches. Get well wishes go to Isidro “Junior” Suriel of Interscope Records. The publicity boy wonder, who works with rappers Jadakiss, The Black Eye Peas and City High is recovering nicely from a temporary illness…Grammy-winning song stylist Dee Dee Bridgewater is scheduled to play a week-long engagement at the world’s famous jazz club The Blue Note, starting on Tuesday, October 9th in New York’s Greenwich Village. For more information, call 212-475-8592…And speaking of jazzy, I ran into Capitol Records singer-songwriter Pru (nee Pru Renfro) at New York’s Hudson Hotel this week and she was in great spirits. She looked great too. She has every reason to, too. Her label is retooling its initiatives on the marketing and promotion of the Houston-bred diva’s self-titled album. Pru just re-recorded a new version of her song, “Aaroma (Of A Man)” which will eventually be stripped on newly manufactured versions of her album, which was released last fall.
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Email: TheRuReport@aol.com