Life after Bad Boy Records can be an uphill battle marked by career extinction (most of the roster from the past two decades), or they can come out on top (yay Faith Evans!). Day 26 is hoping for the latter. The R&B quartet is gearing up for the release of their new album, A New Day, with the release of the project’s first single, “Made Love Lately.”

The video premiered last night on BET’s 106 & Park, marking the group’s official return to music. “It was a very special moment to know that our fans were excited to see us back and that they are ready to continue to support the Day 26 brand”, said group member Brian Angel.

When Carl Thomas‘ debut single “I Wish” hit the radio in 1999, it’s release brought on both excitement and fear. Excitement among fans who were hungry for R&B that was lacking in a musical landscape dominated by pop, and fear among industry insiders who were nervous about the trajectory of his career—he was signed to Sean “Diddy” Comb’s Bad Boy Records, notorious for its reputation of artists finding great success only to fall into relative obscurity, financial instability, or running off to another label—Craig Mack, Total, Cheri Dennis, Yung Joc, Loon, B5, 112, Faith Evans, and The Lox among them.

While his first album, Emotional, was a critical and commercial success in 2000, selling nearly two million copies; his follow-up releases—2004’s Let’s Talk About It and 2007’s So Much Better—failed to make a huge impact, and consequently he got lost in the shuffle of changing musical taste and the new wave of R&B artists who crept up on the scene in the mid noughties. While lack of promotion is to blame for the lackluster returns, his grief over the 2004 drive-by shooting death of this step-brother Duranthony Evans, greatly affected his focus on music.

But after being away for six years—of which included a move to Texas—the Grammy Award nominated singer is back and ready to regain—if not surpass—his former glory with Conquer, his recently released fourth studio album. Fans will be pleasantly surprised that Carl is still the same artist they fell in love with—only stronger.

How has your music evolved from your days on Bad Boy?
I didn’t really feel a need to change my style or anything. I felt the need to let the music breathe and let it broaden. [I want] to expose myself to brand new fans that have never heard of Carl Thomas. I think that’s where the music has grown—there’s broadness and an acceptance of a certain audience that I have ignored. The [new] album consists of songs that for some reason have eluded me in my career because maybe producers thought I wasn’t good enough to sing (laughs).

So you survived the Bad Boy curse?
I think that’s ridiculous. I wouldn’t be sitting here doing this interview with you if there was no Bad Boy. How deep is that curse, really?

So it seems you didn’t have the same issues with Diddy that other artists have had, right?
I didn’t have a problem working with Puff. The problems that we had were never business [or] personal problems. They were always creative run-ins and those are not necessarily negative. Harmony creates a good product, but nothing creates a better product that fiction in my opinion. [I mean] I like a little hot sauce on my greens (laughs). Read the rest of this entry »

What’s an artist to do when their single proves successful? Make a remix, naturally. Tyrese has been flying high off the radio success of his latest single, “Stay,” and he’s trying to up the ante with a remix featuring Faith Evans and Rick Ross. The tempo has been bumped up, and it even features a sample of The Stylistics’ 1980 song, “Hurry Up This Way Again.”

Think the remix treatment to this song works? You be the judge: HIT or MISS?

 Tyrese’s Open Invitation is available now

Dubbed the first lady of Bad Boy Records, Faith Evans’ second single “Soon As I Get Home,” off her 1995 debut album, Faith; is stil regarded as one of her signature hits. Written and co-produced by Evans, the song peaked at #3 Billboard R&B singles, and stayed on the charts for 20 straight weeks.

(Washington, D.C.) –The 26th Annual Black Family Reunion Celebration “One Day Mega Festival” attracted over 200,000 people to the National Mall. The family focused festival, provided attendees with performances from  Gospel Singer Hezekiah Walker, R&B singers Faith Evans and Miguel, as well as Centric’s Master of the Mix judge DJ Kid Capri.

WATCH: Miguel – “Quickie”
WATCH: Faith Evans – “Love Like This”

Photos by: Tyrone Clemons

Who is Rahsaan Patterson? Try a critically acclaimed singer and songwriter—he co-wrote Brandy’s 1995 hit “Baby”—who has released five albums and a string of noted R&B tunes including, “Where You Are” (1997), “Stop Breaking My Heart” (2007) and “Feels Good” (2008).

After over a decade in music, the New York native is releasing, Bleuphoria, his sixth studio album and the follow-up to 2007’s Wines & Spirits.

“This album is a summation of my worldly experiences and really offers musical insight into my journey and what has influenced and inspired me over the years,” says Rahsaan. 

The 13-track CD, out July 19, features an array of artists from various genres including, Grammy Award winning singer Jody Watley, gospel great Andrae Crouch and his choir, Shanice Wilson, Lalah Hathaway and Faith Evans. 

“Of course I’m rooted in classic R&B soul but I’m so much more than one category and this album is the proof.”

R&B singer Faith Evans releases a beautiful video for “Right Here,” the second single off her latest studio album, Something About Faith. Evans recently hit the stage with El Debarge on the late night talk show “Lopez Tonight”  to perform their duet “Lay With You.” Hit the drop for the video.

2010 marked the return of El Debarge, and 2011  will mark his ascension back to the top. With a new tour, alongside Kem and Ledisi, set to start soon, the legendary singer hit the stage of comedian George Lopez’s “Lopez Tonight” late night talk show to perform his latest single “Lay With You” featuring Faith Evans off his hit album “Second Chance.”

2010 has been an amazing year in music. From Erykah Badu’s strip down for a cause in “Window Seat” to Janelle Monae tipping along on the “Tightrope,” to the return of El Debarge; this past year has been jammed packed with hits. So how do we celebrate? With a countdown of course. Centric will be counting down the top 50 hottest videos with a little help from our resident funny man Chuck Nice. So who made the cut? Check out the first twenty videos below. Read the rest of this entry »

SoulTrain.com caught up with Faith Evans and stylist Misa Hylton Brim (mother of Sean “Diddy” Combs’ first son, Justin) on the red carpet. Faith dished on her tribute performance to Soul Train Legends Award recipient Anita Baker and the new reality show she and Brim have in the works. Check out the video below for details: