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Solid Gold Soul
May 15, 2007
Welcome to Solid Gold Soul
About Freddie Bell
Freddie Bell, velvet morning voice talent is a mellifluous voice actor, broadcast-journalist, speaker and National Voice Actor. His vast voice over credits, include hosting several radio programs including the Tom Joyner Morning Show, The Love Train, It’s The Gospel in Tampa, The Freddie Bell Morning Show in radio on KSGS – 950AM, Solid Gold Soul in Minneapolis, plus This is Music, The Freddie Bell Countdown Show and The Minneapolis NAACP Community Affairs television Programs in Minneapolis.
Invite Freddie to your next event or seminar as a Keynote Speaker, covering topics including You Gotta Have H.E.A.R.T., Tuning In to R.A.D.I.O, Maximizing Your Potential, Imagination, The Secret Key To Success, Winning Through Community Service, Dreaming Your Way to Success and a variety of topics related to sales and sales management. Freddie shares ideas and techniques he used to propel Solid Gold Soul Radio into a household name.
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KANYE WEST SETS SEPTEMBER RELEASE DATE FOR ‘GRADUATION’ 
Rapper Kanye West is ready for graduation. The rapper will release his third album, Graduation, on September 18th. The rapper’s mother and manager, Donda West, told MTV.com, “This Graduation album is his best ever — musically, as well as the lyrics.”
West and music director Hype Williams have already shot two videos for the project. West explained, “Me and Hype went out, we shot nine days. We were out in Japan, we were out in the desert. We’re taking it serious.”
As for the overall concept of the new album, West said, “I’m graduating from a school called ‘Universe City.’ I think the sound is bigger this time. It’s bigger and simpler, where the notes really connect with you and I say lines … I know the power of my words, so when I rap, I know it’s gonna impact the world.”
AKON READY TO WORK WITH WHITNEY HOUSTON 
Singer, rapper, and producer Akon is forging ahead with plans to write and produce several other artists, chief among them Whitney Houston, who is working on what the industry regards as her “comeback” project. Akon has signed on to provide material for the set, but says he’s currently in the writing stage and won’t hit the studio with the diva for a while.
Akon said: “So right now I’m just coming up with a lot of different ideas and different directions. Me and her haven’t actually went into the studio to actually work. Because I like to pretty much come up with the ideas, come up with different directions, come up with angles with which to attack the situation, and then afterwards come up with … you know, then critique what has already been created.”
Houston hasn’t released new material since 2003’s One Wish: The Holiday Album, or a full set of new songs since Just Whitney in 2002. Her multi-platinum, Grammy winning success has been overshadowed recently by drug and health issues, a legal dispute with her late father, financial problems and a drama-filled 14-year marriage to Bobby Brown, whom she has just divorced.
Akon is positive that Houston will rise above the bad publicity and deliver an album that fans want to hear. The diva should balance her lyrics between her experiences of the last few years with an upbeat outlook, he added: “I think the music will overcome everything that she’s been through. Of course you incorporate a lot of that stuff into the music so people can get a better sense of what that was, of the truth, because coming from you it means a lot more. But you just forget about all the troubles, all the negative stuff that the media portrayed, and then just come with happy records.”
No title or release date for Houston’s new album have yet been announced.
BOBBY BROWN WANTS CUSTODY OF DAUGHTER WITH WHITNEY
R&B bad boy Bobby Brown filed suit last month against his former missus, Whitney Houston, to have the custody arrangement for his daughter set aside. He is now seeking joint custody, as well as child support and spousal support from his Grammy-winning ex, saying that neither he nor Houston are in possession of the prenuptial agreement that would prevent him from receiving such support.
Houston was granted sole custody of 14-year-old Bobbi Kristina when the couple’s divorce was finalized last month by an Orange County, California judge. The divorce proceeding was hurried along last December when Houston requested that her split from Brown be expedited, and Brown failed to respond by the court-appointed deadline.
Brown claims that he was in emotional and financial distress at the time of the divorce proceedings and that Houston knew he would have trouble conforming to the sped-up deadline, according to E! News. His struggles left him incapable of fighting for custody of his daughter, he said.
In court documents filed April 26th, Brown explains, “When we discussed my need to respond to the petition, Whitney specifically told me, ‘Don’t worry about it,’” and told him that he had at least six months to deal with it. Brown adds that Houston assured him on several other occasions between September 2006 and January 2007, at one point telling him that she would have her lawyers “back off.”
Within the last year, Brown has been struggling to pay thousands of dollars in court-ordered child support for the three children he had before their high-profile marriage. Houston herself was forced to auction off many of her belongings to pay back storage bills and property taxes in New Jersey and auctioned off the Atlanta mansion featured in the reality show Being Bobby Brown.
“It was no secret that I (as well as Whitney) had financial commitments which we could not meet,” Bobby continues in his suit. “Additionally, after Whitney and I had separated, I had nowhere to go and very little money to live on. I was, for all intents and purposes, homeless. My marriage had fallen apart, I was without a home, I had no money, and I was experiencing legal problems associated with my child support obligations. It is no wonder that by the end of 2006 I had become distraught and depressed.”
Brown says that by the time he was able to hire an attorney to respond to Houston’s filings, his petition was denied because his default had already been entered and the divorce finalized. But the “My Prerogative” singer says he’s ready to fight for his daughter.
“I believe that I have a wonderful relationship with my daughter Bobbi Kris — a relationship that I would like to see strengthen and grow … I love Bobbi Kris dearly and want to spend as much time with her as possible,” Brown said.
JOHN LEGEND TO PERFORM ON COUNTRY MUSIC AWARDS
Pop and R&B star John Legend will appear on the 42nd annual Academy Country Music Awards, set to air tomorrow (May 15th). Legend will be performing as a special guest of country duo Big & Rich. Other performers on the show, staged at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, include country stars Faith Hill, Toby Keith, and Martina McBride. It will be the first appearance by Legend on the esteemed country music awards show.
The “Save Room” singer has noted that he enjoys all types of music. His latest album, Once Again, features collaborations with producer Craig Street, who has injected a folk-funk ethic into the music of Norah Jones, Holly Cole, and k.d. lang in addition to Lizz Wright, Me’Shell NdegeOcello, and Cassandra Wilson.
Legend said that it wasn’t his original plan to work with Street, but when he met him by chance at an NdegeOcello show in New York, he had to get him on board. He said: “Craig Street was the most interesting story I think because I didn’t even know what he looked like. I was at Me’Shell NdegeOcello’s show at Joe’s Pub and my guitarist Sharif introduced me to him. And I was like. ‘Aw, man I’ve read your name in a lot of credits and I really like what you do.’ Edgy, interesting stuff, classic stuff. And I just thought it would be cool to play a couple of songs for him and see if he had any ideas. He did, and I ended up letting him work with me on a lot of stuff on the album.”
The Academy Of Country Music Awards will air Tuesday night at 8 p.m., 7 Central on CBS.
FANTASIA FARING WELL ON BROADWAY
Singer Fantasia Barrino is getting a whole new musical education by starring nightly as the troubled Celie in the musical adaptation of The Color Purple. The former American Idol winner, who has released two best-selling CDs and an autobiography, says that performing the role has been a highlight of her career.
Fantasia was sought to fill the role by the musical’s producers, who felt that Fantasia’s own life story as a teen mother who struggled with relationships and literacy had parallels with the Celie character. Now the 22-year-old ages 40 years during the show, and earns standing ovations for her performance of “I’m Here,” the character’s emotional breakthrough and Fantasia’s vocal tour-de-force.
But performing in the show can be something of an emotional roller coaster, the singer says. “If you really put yourself in her shoes, that can be very tiring. It can take a lot of energy out of you,” Fantasia told Playbill.com. “I know when I get off the stage at night from shows, I’m exhausted. I run to my room, and I fall on the couch, and I have to take at least about 10 minutes to wind down and to get my thoughts together and come out of the part of Celie.”
After her six-month run in The Color Purple, Fantasia plans to go back in the studio to rehearse for another national tour.
BEYONCE’S DAD TO LAUNCH BABY JAMZ TOY LINE
Mathew Knowles, the music executive and manager of his superstar daughter Beyonce’s career, has announced that he is getting into the toy business. The Music World Entertainment chief has entered into a 50-50 partnership with Planet Toys to create a hip-hop-inspired toy line called Baby Jamz. The deal calls for a line of toys and accompanying CDs to be sold exclusively at Wal-Mart stores beginning in July. His daughter Solange will be the official “voice” of the CDs, while her young son Juelz is the “face” of the line, with his image appearing on all packaging, according to Billboard.com.
The initial Baby Jamz collection includes five toys, beginning with the Mixmaster Chair and a CD titled Baby Jamz Nursery Rhymes, Vol. 1. The next Baby Jamz item, a “Drum machine” that attaches to a child’s car seat, will arrive next spring. Six additional Baby Jamz CDs are scheduled to hit Wal- Mart shelves before the end of the year.
“There is a real opportunity for us to make a benchmark here, with Planet Toys making the toys and Music World making the music,” Knowles said.
Long-term plans for the line include getting Beyonce involved in the CD series, as well as launching a Baby Jamz clothing line that would be linked to House of Dereon and Dereon, the fashion lines overseen by his wife, Tina Knowles, and Beyonce.
TRACY MORGAN SOUGHT FOR FLORIDA GROPING INCIDENT 
Actor and comedian Tracy Morgan, already wearing a court-ordered ankle bracelet to monitor his alcohol consumption, is now wanted in Miramar, Florida, after a local radio personality claimed that he groped her after an appearance on a co-owned radio station. Yuleika DeCastro, who uses the name Sandy Domingo on the air, filed a misdemeanor battery complaint on Friday (May 11th), according to the Miami Herald.
DeCastro says that after Morgan finished an interview on Big 105.9’s Paul & Young Ron morning show, Morgan stumbled into her studio at Mega 94.9 and proceeded to grab her arms, kiss the back of her head, and lay his head in her lap. She pushed him away and his handlers escorted him out, she told police, who said witnesses have corroborated her story.
These same witnesses say that during his 20-minute one-air interview, the 30 Rock star seemed “totally out of it,” and uttered several expletives while promoting his upcoming show at the Improv Comedy Club and Dinner Theatre in Coconut Grove.
DeCastro also noted to the police that Morgan smelled like alcohol.
Drinking has already proven a problem for the actor, who is set to be fitted with a Secure Continuous Remote Alcohol Monitoring, or SCRAM, ankle bracelet on May 25th in Los Angeles. He’s been ordered to wear the device, which will test his skin for alcohol vapors every 30 minutes, for 90 days in penance for a recent DUI conviction in New York while on probation for another DUI incident in Los Angeles. A positive test gets Morgan a new 90 days; a second positive test means a 30-day jail term.
AL SHARPTON LABELED ‘RACE BAITER’ BY FIRED IMUS PRODUCER
In a heated debate on Friday, a fired producer of the Don Imus show called the Rev. Al Sharpton a “race baiter” who was just looking for publicity when he rallied to have Imus fired from his long-running radio and TV gigs. Bernard McGuirk and Sharpton appeared together on Hannity & Colmes on Fox News to debate the fallout from Imus’ reference to the Rutgers University women’s basketball team as “nappy-headed hos.” The 20-year-old McGuirk was a producer and on-air sidekick to Imus In The Morning. While McGuirk did acknowledge that “these words did hurt these girls,” he added, “until you, Reverend Al, got involved, they probably never would have heard of it. They would have probably never, quote unquote, got scarred for life until you got involved for your own self- serving interests.”
Sharpton blazed back saying he wasn’t looking for more attention and added that while Imus and McGuirk may have apologized for the remark, “forgiveness is not the point. The question is the penalty.”
McGuirk added that Sharpton “terrorized these spineless, thumbsucking executives” into taking Imus off the air, and said that Imus “Made one small mistake, he ran a red light.”
Sharpton noted that many people indeed wanted Imus fired. “What he is saying is we want to apologize and we want to decide what the penalty is,” noted of his debate opponent.
Imus has not spoken publicly since his April 11th dismissal, but he is mounting a $120 million lawsuit against NBC for breach of contract.
O.J. SIMPSON WON’T SUE RESTAURANT THAT TOSSED HIM OUT
O.J. Simpson has no plans to sue the Louisville, Kentucky steak house whose owner ordered him to leave the premises during the Kentucky Derby weekend, according to his attorney.
The owner, Jeff Ruby, said that he had ejected the former NFL star because he was disgusted by his behavior after his 1995 acquittal on charges he murdered his ex-wife Nicole Brown Simpson and her friend Ron Goldman. Simpson was later found liable for the deaths in a civil case filed by the victims’ families.
“I didn’t want to serve him because of my convictions of what he’s done to those families,” Ruby told AP after the incident. “The way he continues to torture the lives of those families … with his behavior, attitude and conduct.”
Simpson and party of 12 were getting settled in the back of Jeff Ruby’s Steakhouse on May 4th, the night before the derby, when a customer came up to Ruby, “giddy” about the presence of the Heisman winner. That’s when Ruby said he’d had enough, going to his table and saying to Simpson, “I’m not serving you.”
For his part, Simpson reportedly said “I understand” and left without incident.
Simpson’s lawyer, Yale Galanter, initially said that the ouster was about race and that he intended to pursue the matter. But now Galanter says Ruby is using the episode for publicity and he and his client want to drop it. “If we had our druthers, this would have died that night and been over,” Galanter said. “We are not pushing it.”
Black History Fact
In 1867, during a riot in Mobile, Alabama, the Knights Of White Camelia, a paramilitary white supremacist organization, were responsible for the deaths of two people.
In 1885, African American jockey Erskine Henderson won the Kentucky Derby on a horse trained by African-American trainer Alex Perry.
In 1961, a bus with the first group of Freedom Riders was bombed and burned by segregationists outside Anniston, Alabama.
In 1963, 22-year-old Arthur Ashe became the first African-American to make the U.S. Davis Cup tennis team.
In 1966, “Message To Michael” by Dionne Warwick peaked at Number Eight on the pop singles chart.
In 1969, John B. McLendon became the first African-American coach in the American Basketball Association when he signed a two-year contract with the Denver Nuggets.
In 1970, two students were killed by officers in a major racial disturbance at Jackson State University.
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Celebrity Birthdays
Raphael Saadiq, singer, producer, former member of Tony! Toni! Tone!, 41
Shanice, singer, 34
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Words To the Wise
Victory comes in the morning!
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Contact Information
Freddie Bell
PO Box 390521
Minneapolis, MN 55439
fbellsolidgoldsoul@gmail.com
888-639-9738
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