Back On The Red Carpet: SAMMIE 'Coming Of Age' LP

By Ross Guity aka R.G. Major (www.instagram.com/R.G.Major)

Since his 1999 debut on the radio airwaves as a young teen, the now 30-year-old Sunshine State native Sammie has definitely experienced his fair share of highs and lows in this unforgiving music industry. Now as 2017 comes to a close, his new album release 'Coming Of Age' truly reflects his growth as a man, but with still more to learn in the game of life. Tracks like the lead single 'C.O.A.' and 'Confessional' are strong, soulfully emotional pleas for forgiveness that indeed touches the heart. Other quality selections are 'Good Life' featuring Florida brethren Rick Ross, the sexy flow of 'Tsunami,' 'Be Alone,' and the Caribbean-spiced 'Bad Gal,' which has definite potential to be on heavy rotation at radio stations worldwide. After releasing a few fairly nice EPs over the past couple of years, the awesomely talented Sammie Leigh Bush, Jr. and his creative songwriting/production team came through positively solid this time around, and has literally, truly COME OF AGE as we head in to Chapter 2K18 as the Savior of R&B!

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A big 2017 for Adult R&B/Soul music

To the pessimists who insisted that the state of traditional R&B/Soul music is on a downward spiral towards irrelevancy has proven to be false here in Chapter 2017. Yes - I know and I got it that album sales aren't what they used to be, but you cannot deny the incredible quality of work that's been put out this year by super-talented newbies such as Kevin Ross, Yuna, La'Porsha Renae, and multi-faceted actress/singer Demetria McKinney - just to name a few. But for me, what's been amazingly impressive in 2017 has been the vibes released by the legendary O.G.s of the game like Mary J. Blige, Keith Sweat, Charlie Wilson, Joe, Leela James, Chante' Moore, Musiq Soulchild, Will Downing, Bell Biv DeVoe, Johnny Gill and so many others that have quietly slayed it majorly on the Urban Adult Contemporary radio airwaves, giving hope for the truly 'grown and sexy' demographic that 'Real R&B/Soul Music' performed by truly talented, top-quality, real R&B/Soul recording artists are still in vogue, and is showing 'zero' signs of slowing down going into year 2018. No disrespect to the artists doing the 'Urban R&B/Hip-Hop' thing, but the Adult/Traditional vibe is STILL winning in my book. Oh, and who could forget the big reunion of Kandi, Tiny, LaTocha and Tamika - aka multi-Platinum-selling vocal quartet Xscape?

Wizards rout Celtics to even up East Semis

Fueled by a 42-point offensive explosion in the third quarter - which included a 26-0 run, the Washington Wizards evened up their best-of-seven Eastern Conference semifinal round series with the top-seeded Boston Celtics at two-apiece with a resounding 121-102 victory at the Verizon Center in DC. John Wall bounced back from a slow start and finished with 27 points and 12 dimes. Bradley Beal shot an efficient 11 of 16 from the field and led the Wiz and all scorers with a 29-spot. Isaiah Thomas was held in check on the offensive end for a second straight game by Washington's collective defensive effort, scoring just 19 points to pace the Celts in the loss. A pivotal Game 5 will be played in Boston on Wednesday night, May 10.

Michel'le's TV biopic SURVIVING COMPTON a rousing success on LIFETIME

Saturday, October 15, 2016

So many talented female vocalists have come along and placed their mark in the music landscape over the past three decades to date, but to me, one woman in particular who is so vastly underrated and who I believe should hold the title of 'Queen of Hip-Hop and R&B' is Michel'le Toussaint. Her LIFETIME TV biopic SURVIVIVING COMPTON: Dre, Suge and Michel'le' is compelling, revealing and shocking. The 120-minute mostly dramatic visual detailed her rise to fame through her affiliation with legendary producer and her then-boyfriend Andre 'Dr. Dre' Young back in the late 1980-era. But what was depicted brutally throughout much of the film was the awful domestic violence she endured at the hands of Dre that was eerily reminiscent of what the iconic Tina Turner unfortunately experienced in her marriage with volatile musician Ike Turner. I tell ya - when alcohol/drugs is in the mix of things, most times it's NEVER a good thing, and as sweet a person as Queen Ley-Ley (my nickname for Michel'le) seems to be, the physical and verbal abuse hurled at her was ugly and unwarranted, and further exposed the now billionaire mogul as being the unhinged, crude and disrespectful monster that he was behind the scenes. Ley-Ley also connected with notorious former Death Row Records CEO Marion 'Suge' Knight, which to me completely took me by total surprise after going through what she went through with Dre. Michel'le was very much a part of the rise of the groundbreaking Rap group NWA while with Dre, and with her one-of-a-kind, kid-like speaking voice and soulfully anointing singing voice, Ley-Ley overcame the odds and went on to record successful, timeless classic hit songs like 'No More Lies,' 'Nicety,' and the painfully beautiful 'Something In My Heart,' as well as her feature on the World Class Wrecking Crew hit 'Turn Off The Lights' to jumpstart her promising career. Talented, versatile actress/singer/dancer Rhyon Nicole Brown did an outstanding job in the lead role, along with upcoming acting talent Curtis Hamilton as Dr. Dre. I also loved the narration of the story and on-camera appearance of Ley-Ley, who at 45-years-young is as gorgeous as ever and is ready to reinvent herself and conquer the world again with her all-around greatness as Chapter 2K16 comes to a close and going into 2K17. Big blessings go to her amazing 'babies' - 25-year-old Marcel Young (Ley-Ley's son with Dre) and her lovely 14-year-old daughter Bailei Knight - her child with Suge. Truth strengthens the heart, mind and soul, and we are so blessed that Queen Michel'le is still standing on Earth today to boldly share her truth with the masses globewide by way of the creation of SURVIVING COMPTON!

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R.G.'s Weekly Sports Recap (Tues 10/27 - Sun 11/1/2K15)

My notable happenings in the sports world this past week:

 

MLB: For the first time in exactly three decades, the Kansas City Royals won the 111th edition of the World Series by outlasting the New York Mets in five exciting, action-packed games. Catcher Salvador Perez was voted the Most Valuable Player of the Fall Classic - becoming the first backstop since Pat Borders of the 1992 champion Toronto Blue Jays took home the trophy....New managerial hires - Don Mattingly, Miami Marlins; Andy Green, San Diego Padres

NFL: Through Week 8 and the halfway point of the 2K15 regular season, the defending Super Bowl champion New England Patriots, Cincinnati Bengals and the Denver Broncos are your teams still without a blemish in the 'loss' column with 7-0 marks. The Carolina Panthers will also try to improve to 7-0 on the year when they face the struggling Indianapolis Colts on Monday night, November 2 at home...Game of the Week - New Orleans Saints 52, New York Giants 49. Both starting QBs Eli Manning (6) and Drew Brees (7) combined to throw a league-record 13 TD passes in the game.

NBA: The 2K15-16 regular season got underway, and as of Sunday, November 1, the reigning champion Golden State Warriors led by interim head coach Luke Walton are off to a perfect 3-0 start early on. Head coach Steve Kerr is still recuperating from off-season back surgery and will return to the bench once he's fully healed-up.....Indiana Pacers legend and Hall-of-Famer Mel Daniels passed away at the age of 71.

College Football: Associated Press Top 10 - 1. Ohio State. 2. Baylor. 3. Clemson. 4. LSU. 5. Texas Christian. 6. Michigan State. 7. Alabama. 8. Notre Dame. 9. Stanford. 10. Iowa

Distance Running: 33-year-old Mary Keitany of Kenya won the women's pro division of the TSC New York City Marathon for the second year in a row with a time of 2 hours, 24 minutes and 25 seconds. In the men's pro, 29-year-old Kenyan Stanley Biwott emerged victorious with a 2:10:34 mark.

Misc: The 2K15 World Cup champion U.S. women's soccer team was honored by President Barack Obama at the White House, and all-time goal-scoring great Abby Wambach announced her retirement.