Michelle Obama Is Idolized With A Doll

Danbury Mint, the company responsible for bringing us countless collectible coins and figurines has introduced the Michelle Obama doll.  I don’t know if I’m late on this or not but I saw the add for this collectible doll while on my facebook page.  Dressed in the white chiffon dress she wore at the Inaugural ball, the Michelle Obama doll portrays her confidence and style.  According to the Danbury Mint website, “It is an exquisite, all porcelain collector doll capturing the essence of our first lady.”

The Michelle Obama doll is exclusive to Danbury Mint and can be purchased for $149 plus $9 for shipping and handling.  You can pay it in full or in four installments of $39.95.  However, it seems like it’s not available for shipping until November 11th, but you can reserve your doll today.

Support Detroit’s Karate Kids

Michael Jackson: The Remix Suite

Did you actually think the talks of Michael Jackson would ever dwindle?  I think not!! MJ fans can look forward to some  new MJ music sooner than they might think: Universal Motown is preparing to release Michael Jackson: The Remix Suite this fall. Star producers including the Neptunes, Polow Da Don, Stargate, Ryan Leslie, Q-Tip, Salaam Remi, and more are set to rework Jackson’s hits for the album, mostly drawing from his Jackson 5 years. And while the full project won’t be on sale til Oct. 27, many of the remixes have been released already.

Head over to ThisIsMusic.com & listen to some snippets.  Make sure you come back to Rhythmic Soul and tell me what you think.

Black College Football Comes To Xbox 360 Aug. 24th

Normally we don’t talk about video games on Rhythmic Soul.  It’s not that we don’t like them, it’s just that we don’t get them.  Until I get my Nintendo Wii that I was promised last Christmas, I doubt if I will ever be extremely enthusiastic about video games, PS3 or XBox 360 (unless you count my Guitar Hero obsession).  However I come to you with good news today and yes it is video game related. 

Set to hit your local Gamestop on August 24th is the first ever Black College Football Game made for Xbox 360.  With 36 HBCU’s, video game players can play in games such as the Bayou Classic, the Labor Day Classic and others.  Expect to receive the same realistic feel of any other video game.  In an effort to add that HBCU flair, players even sway back and forth during the half-time show. 

I’m extremely satisfied because this gives young men and boys who have no idea of what the HBCU football experience is like, a glimpse into a rich history on a level that they understand. I love it!!!

Diddy Introduces Dirty Money

What do you think?

E.Lynn Harris Dies At 54

From the Arkansas Times:

E. Lynn Harris, the best-selling Arkansas author known for contemporary stories about African-Americans, has suffered a serious health setback. His personal assistant confirmed an unspecified health event, but said she was awaiting word from a hotel where Harris was staying on a book tour before providing further information.

UPDATE: Arkansas Sports 360 reports that Harris has died at age 54 during a West Coast book tour. The item does not cite a source, but Harris was close to the UA Athletic Department and had worked as coach and sponsor of the cheerleaders.

Word of the health event began making the rounds on Twitter earlier in the morning.

Born in Michigan, Harris grew up in Little Rock. He attended the University of Arkansas at Fayetteville, where he was the school’s first black cheerleader. He continued to be a diehard Razorback fan. He has taught adjunct courses in the English department, most recently last fall.

Nappy Roots Release 2nd Single, Down N Out

The Southern hip hop group known to the world as Nappy Roots has another hit on their hands with the release of Down N Out, their second single off their most recent album, The Humdinger.  Released August 5, 2008, their first single was feel good anthem, Good Day ft. Gregg Street.  I must say when I first heard Down N Out, I felt a sense of familarity as if I could relate to what they were talking about.  In my opinion that’s the secret to their success, their ability to relate to their fans through song.  I for one can’t wait for the video to this song, until then enjoy the single and go out and support these guys.

Maxwell Enters Billboard Top 200 with No. 1 Album

After 6 lengthy years away from the limelight, it seems as if Maxwell still has that “it” factor.  His highly anticipated album BlackSummer’s night entered the Billboard Top 200 at #1 this week. 

With first week’s sales of 316,499, according to SoundScan, BLACKsummers’night is enjoying the highest debut sales week, and best overall sales week of Maxwell’s career. BLACKsummers’night is #1 on the SoundScan Album Retailer chart and is #1 on the Current R&B chart.

Maxwell recently returned to the top of the nation’s singles charts when “Pretty Wings,” the first single from BLACKsummers’night, rocketed to the #1 slot on America’s Urban Adult radio stations less than eight weeks after its release.

I am a little curious to know if artists weren’t releasing such lackluster albums, would we still be this enthusiastic?  Either way Maxwell is one talented (and handsome) man.  With that in mind I can’t wait for the next album.

Ledisi “Turns It Loose” with New Album

 

 

When Rhythmic Soul supports an artist, we really support that artist. This summer is filled with soulful releases from artists that “Get It”. An artist who get’s it stays true to themselves and delivers great song after song after song with their listener in mind. One artist who “get’s it” is New Orleans native Ledisi. My introduction to this rare and talented songstress came from an Earth, Wind & Fire tribute album. She sang a rendition of their song ‘Devotion’ and by the end of the song I found myself scatting with her on search for the closest church in sight. It was just that powerful! After hearing that song, I was hooked! My research then began as I went searching for anything and everything by her. Little did I know, she had just released her third album (Lost & Found) so I immediately went looking for that. Since the great artists don’t get the recognition they so often deserve….Best Buy, Circuit City & Target didn‘t have it. The album was released on August 27, 2007 and Best Buy didn’t have it in stock until October.

*Side note* that has to change.

Of course I eventually got my copy and because I lost it I ended up buying it again. I support any artist that I like more than once if I have to. Now as she gears up to release her newest album ‘Turn Me Loose’, I would be lying if I said I wasn’t completely excited about the release of this album. This is probably my most anticipated album of the year and if you know anything about that good, soulful, heartfelt music….you would be anticipating it as well.

Now that you truly understand how much I love this woman’s music, you can come close to understanding how excited I was to see the album cover revealed on twitter. Remember when you were a child and you got excited about Christmas once Thanksgiving came because you knew it wasn’t far behind? Well that’s how I felt. With the album cover released, it’s only a matter of time before Ledisi hits us with our soulful fix. Until August 18th, we’ll just have to wait but in the meantime head over to her website (www.ledisi.com) and listen to snippets of some of the gems that will appear her album.

Share your thoughts with us and tell us what you think of this album so far. If you have never heard of her, let us know and we may have a special treat for you.

BET Awards Makes History With 10.7 Million Viewers

Many of us who tuned into the BET awards just wasn’t feeling what some believe was an embarrassment of a show.  As I’ve previously stated, the network could’ve done better but I’m sure they were faced with many obstacles.  Despite the overall disapproval of the award show, tribute or whatever it was, BET broke records the night that it originally aired.  On Sunday June 28th, the BET awards show had 10.65 million viewers making it the #1 telecast on Cable television this year so far.  Not bad for a network that no one is happy with.  But if we’re being honest with ourselves, we all know that announcing that there will be a Michael Jackson tribute contributed to this large number of viewers.  Considering fans did not approve of the way the tribute portion was executed, makes me wonder if this broken record will be a curse and not a gift.  Hopefully this positive doesn’t work against them and they are able to recover gracefully.