Pop & Hiss premiere: Phlo Finister's youthquaker-inspired R&B

Phlo Finister knows transforming R&B is a rather lofty ambition to try to accomplish. Especially when you have no label backing and just a small street team.

But the 19-year-old is hoping to generate buzz for “Crown Gold,” her self-issued six-track EP of hip-hop, jazz and grunge mash-ups with R&B melodies and slick productions.

“Urban fan bases need to be revolutionized. I think it can be authentic and classic, but it can have a new spin,” she said while sipping a Thai tea at downtown L.A.’s Demitasse Café. “People are copying so much these days, it's hard to separate. What I'm doing, I want to be more innovative for my generation. I want to make a classic R&B, but the R&B that I'm making is going to be more avant garde.”

Dawn Richard: Diddy's 'Dirty' girl ready to go solo

Dawn Richard has accomplished a rare feat in pop music: she found success in two sonically different groups. First, after competing on MTV’s reality competition, “Making the Band,” Sean “Diddy” Combs handpicked her to be one-fifth of the urban pop girl group Danity Kane. After four years of on-camera turmoil, and two hit albums, Combs disbanded the group and Richard was announced to be the sole girl signed to his Bad Boy imprint. She later became a member of his hip-hop fusion collective Diddy Dirty Money, whose first project, "Last Train to Paris," was released in December. 

Now Richard is ready to step out on her own. The 28-year-old issued her first mixtape, “The Prelude to a Tell Tale Heart,” in February and logged more than 1 million downloads in a month. The mixtape is a teaser to her long-gestating solo debut, which she plans to release as a broken-up trilogy of albums entitled "GoldenHeart, "BlackHeart," and "RedemptionHeart."

With Diddy Dirty Money between projects, she is prepping for her first major solo show at the Roxy Theatre on Thursday alongside buzzy crooner Mateo. Pop & Hiss caught up with Richard to talk about the upcoming album, the breakup of Danity Kane and why she choose to collaborate with Diddy again.

Remembering R&B singer Vesta Williams

R&B singer Vesta Williams might not have garnered the acclaim of contemporaries such as Teena Marie, Chaka Khan or Anita Baker, but the big voiced singer, who was found dead in a hotel room in El Segundo on Thursday, left an impression on soul music in the '80s.

Often praised as a singer's singer, Williams wasn't able to log a massive hit album in her discography, which stretches back to her eponymous debut in 1986, but she will be known for a string of successful singles, including "Special," "Congratulations," "Once Bitten Twice Shy" and "Do Ya." She was also tapped to provide backing vocals for Sting and Khan during her career.

Williams, 53, was found in a room at Homestead Studio in El Segundo, according to Los Angeles County coroner's officials.

Her last album was 2007's "Distant Lover," released on Shanachie Records. She was slated to perform at the 21st annual "DIVAS Simply Singing!" in October.

"Vesta created some timeless hits that the world knows but there were depths to her artistry that the world at large did not get to hear," Randall Grass, general manager of Shanachie, said in an email to Pop & Hiss. "Her peers in the industry knew what a special talent she was. Aside from music, Vesta had many other accomplishments and brought a touch of class to all she did."

Take a listen to some of her most celebrated singles after the jump:

Aaliyah: 10 years later, impact holds without posthumous releases

Ten years after the untimely death of Aaliyah,  her imprint hasn’t waned -- despite resting on a small back catalog that never had a chance to develop.

The "street but sweet" brand of R&B she crafted, with the help of R. Kelly and strengthened by longtime collaborators/friends Missy Elliott and Timbaland, both defined and reinvented the sound of ’90s urban music. Her slinky dance moves, breathy falsetto, tomboyish silhouettes and innovative beats that flirted with a number of genres quickly awarded her the moniker the “Princess of R&B.”

When the singer born Aaliyah Dana Haughton died in a plane crash in the Bahamas 10 years ago Thursday, all fans were left with was a brief discography. Aaliyah purists have waited for additional music to surface; with the exception of a handful of tracks, there's been nothing.

A confident Kelly Rowland calls new record 'a statement for me'

Kelly Rowland opens her third solo effort, “Here I Am,” with the roaring “I’m Dat Chick,” on which the diva boasts a newfound confidence. And for a solo career that has seen as much criticism as triumph, the assertion couldn’t have come at a better time: She's out to prove something.

“Yeah, I be the one that they love to mention / I tell 'em keep on talking, cause I love the attention,” she sings on the Tricky Stewart-produced track.

It's paid off for Rowland. “Here I Am” debuted at No. 3 on the Billboard 200 after logging 77,000 copies, according to Nielsen Soundscan -- her highest out-of-the-gate charting outside of the multiplatinum clutch of Destiny’s Child.

Though the 30-year-old appears to have found her footing now, a year ago she was stuck on a path of stalled singles and delays for the album, her first in four years, and with both a new label and management.

“I wanted this record to be a statement for me. Every song was showing every side of me from a personal side on ‘Heaven on Earth’ to a more sensual side with songs like ‘Motivation,’ ” Rowland said during a recent phone conversation. “For me, it was more so about making that statement of ‘Here I Am.’ ”

Jill Scott debuts at No. 1 and discusses how she 'stopped believing in love'

Jill Scott’s fourth effort, “The Light of the Sun,” marks two major firsts for the singer. It's her first No. 1 debut on the Billboard 200 and her first release under a recently inked distribution deal between Warner Bros. and her own Blues Babe Records.

The triumph, however, hasn't come without its share of pain.

"The Light of the Sun" lands after a four-year hiatus from recorded music, a period in which Scott garnered plenty of headlines -- the positive ones touted her acting career. Among the singer's credits: A role on HBO's critically acclaimed series "The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency,” two Tyler Perry flicks and Lifetime’s “Sins of the Mother,” which scored her an Image Award.

Yet it was Scott’s personal life that started to overshawdow her career. Following a divorce from husband Lyzel Williams in 2007, and the breakoff of her engagement to her former drummer, Lil' John Roberts, which came after the birth of her first child (with Roberts) in 2009, Scott was a tabloid target.

Additionally, there was a rather public legal battle between the singer and her label of 10 years, Hidden Beach Recordings, which led to a countersuit from the label claiming that she hadn’t completed the terms of her contract. The split was described as amicable in a press release from Hidden Beach, and was ultimately settled.

Missy Elliott won't let battle with Graves' disease halt comeback: 'It’s time to concentrate on Missy'

Missy Elliott knows people are constantly talking and asking questions. Where has she been? Why does she look so different? Is she sick? These are just a few of the long list of queries that have circulated about the Grammy winner over the last few years.

It’s been nearly six years since her last album, “The Cookbook,” and the hitmaker all but vanished from the pop landscape. Yes, she made appearances, but Elliott slid into the background and mostly produced, lending her voice to singles from Monica, Jazmine Sullivan, Jennifer Hudson, Ciara and Fantasia.

The rapper, who once playfully made jabs at the online rumor mill in her hit “Gossip Folks,” answered each of those questions in the season premiere of VH1’s “Behind the Music.”

Naturally, her recent admission that for the last few years she has been battling Graves' disease, an autoimmune illness that affects the thyroid, has made headlines. She was diagnosed in 2008, and the disease has affected her motor skills, as well as afflicted her with some of the illness' other symptoms, including mood swings, hair loss and dizzy spells. After being treated with radiation and medication, Elliott says she is able to manage the disease.

When the 39-year-old called into Pop & Hiss, we discussed her new album, set for release this year, her health, reuinting with Timbaland and the 10-year anniversary of Aaliyah's passing.

Album review: Raphael Saadiq's 'Stone Rollin’'

Raphael Saadiq was born in 1966 but sounds like he entered his prime that same year. The subtlest of shape-shifters, his resume includes stints playing bass on tour for Prince, fronting New Jack swing stars Tony! Toni! Tone!, forming hip-hop and R&B supergroup Lucy Pearl, and producing for D’Angelo, TLC and Mary J. Blige.

In the last decade, he’s built a big tent for his solo soul revival, winning the undying affection of National Public Radio audiences and Grammy voters. At this year’s ceremony, the Oakland-raised crooner was tabbed to play guitar alongside semi-kindred spirit Mick Jagger, with whom he shares a love of the loud intersection between rock and rough electric blues.

It’s little surprise then that his stellar fourth solo effort nicks both Bo Diddley and Ray Charles (“Day Dreams”) and the rave-up era Rolling Stones (“Radio”). Little Walter gets love (“Stone Rollin’ “) as does Sly and the Family Stone (“Heart Attack”).

R. Kelly to give fans 'love letter' on summer tour

R. Kelly,  the self-proclaimed king of R&B, is set to hit the road this summer in support of his acclaimed 11th album, “Love Letter,” he announced Tuesday.

The three-time Grammy winner kicks off the month-long trek June 2 in Southaven, Miss., and will hit Los Angeles on June 11 with a stop at the Nokia Theatre.

“Love Letter” won the singer raves for its throwback to the classic soul of Marvin Gaye, Sam Cooke and Donny Hathaway. The disc marked a departure from the sexual lothario role he has delivered for most of his career, and Times staff writer August Brown applauded the singer for delivering “a full record of slow-simmered, grown-man emoting.”

Kelly remains one of the biggest-selling R&B artists, having moved more than 34 million albums, landed 12 No. 1 singles and eight No. 1 albums. 

Joining Kelly on the Love Letter tour will be R&B songstresses Keyshia Cole (who previously supported the singer on his 2007 Double Up tour) and Marsha Ambrosius.  The singer is also prepping his memoir.

“Soulacoaster” may finally shed light on the laundry list of career setbacks that have  plagued his life and slowed his career down over the years, incluing legal problems, being blacklisted by many urban radio stations and a rather nasty beef with Jay-Z, which led to a cancellation of a joint tour.
 
"I'm tired of being misunderstood,” Kelly said in a statement about the book. “I will show you the tears, fears, and sweat. I will open my heart and reveal the good in my life as well as all the drama. I want to tell it like it is.”

Check out the dates for the tour after the jump:

Songwriter Ester Dean steps out front after penning work for Britney Spears, Chris Brown, Katy Perry and others

Pop songwriter Ester Dean’s Brentwood home is vibrating with heavy synths as the singer-songwriter lays down the vocals on one of the handful of demos she is completing that day.

The first thing she does when she emerges from behind the sound booth is comment on this writer’s tardiness to a scheduled interview and listening session.

“You’re late,” she said, adding an expletive, before erupting into fits of laughter.

Dean’s unabashed demeanor is infectious -– especially as she apologizes for the amount of curse words she said she's sure will hit the cutting room floor. Her engineers and co-producer barely keep a straight face as they work as she cracks jokes and throw out vulgarities in between takes.

As clichéd as it sounds, it’s tough to imagine the amount of work the hugely in-demand, Grammy-nominated 24-year-old is able to get accomplished with her playfulness often keeping her doubled over in laughter. She's written songs for Britney Spears, Chris Brown and a host of others, and is prepping a solo record.

“Three years ago I was dead broke,” she said in a rare moment of seriousness.

A wall in her studio is covered with collages of the goals she still hopes to achieve. Pictures of castles, cars and money are pasted together and surrounded by self-affirmations. She dreams big, but is the first to tell anyone who will listen that her success came only after she altered her outlook on herself.

“My mind set changed. I started thinking I deserved more,” she said of her positive outlook, which she attributed to the popular self-help DVD “The Secret.” “Things started happening for me. And quick.”

And in those three years she went from “dead broke” to one of urban pop’s most sought-after scribes.