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MUSIC BITS: Kanye at Coachella; Ziggy’s new ‘Love’; Jive/BMI Shine Showcase; Jazze Pha’s “Cherish’; Shyne’s assets unfrozen.
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(April 28, 2006)
*Kanye West has joined the lineup for this weekend's Coachella Valley Music & Arts Festival in Indio, Calif., a largely alternative rock event featuring such acts as Depeche Mode, Tool, Franz Ferdinand, Daft Punk and Massive Attack. In another departure, Madonna has also been added to the roster. West will perform Saturday (April 30) on the main outdoor stage directly after fellow rapper Common, whose 2005 album, "Be," he produced and released on his own G.O.O.D. Music label.
*Bob Marley’s eldest son, Ziggy, has wrapped work on his second solo album, “Love is My Religion,” described as a groove-heavy record that has love as its central theme. He tells Billboard.com: "It's all about love and all aspects of love. The title track is about love between a man and a woman. It just means, 'Hey baby, I'm all love.'" Without his band the Melody Makers, Ziggy plays most of the instruments on “Religion,” and says the material reflects his three decades in music. He says: "It's my best, because I've taken all that experience and I've learned so much, and I kind of understand where I want the music to be." Marley’s Tuff Gong Worldwide label will likely release the set in July.
*Jive Records, BMI and Shine Network are teaming to launch a national tour in search of the next big star, reports Allhiphop.com. Each tour stop will showcase top local talent as they perform for industry executives in hopes of winning a record deal with Jive. The Jive/BMI Shine Showcase tour kicks off in Oakland on April 30 and will travel to Miami (July 4th weekend) and Atlanta, with more cities to be announced. Judges scouting the best artists, producers and writers of R&B, hip hop and rock include Jeff Fenster (Sr. VP A&R Jive Records), Jeff Sledge (A&R Jive, Too Short), Toi Greene (A&R Jive, 3LW, Too Short), Malik Levy (BMI), Memphis (A&R, T-Paine, Youngbloodz) and DJ Juice (official Hyphy Mix-Tape DJ).
*Producer Jazze Pha has put together an R&B quartet called Cherish, reports MTV.com. Their debut album, “Unappreciated,” is due August 1, while the set’s first single, "Do It to It," featuring Sean Paul of Youngbloodz, has just been released.
*A portion of rapper Shyne’s assets frozen under the “Son of Sam” law will be released thanks to Wednesday’s ruling of New York Judge David Vaughan. He granted a motion to release $100,000 so that the artist may pay for legal representation in an upcoming civil lawsuit stemming from the Club New York shootout. According to allhiphop.com, Shyne had been without a lawyer or access to his earnings as a recording artist since Nov. 2004. Judge Vaughan ordered two law firms that previously represented Shyne to turn over related case files to Shyne's lawyer, Oscar Michelen, by May 3rd.
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