Everyone is born. But, not everyone is born for the same pur-pose. Some are born to sing, some are born to write, to teach, to design, or to act. As for East Stroudsburg local, Robin Smith, she was born to sing. It’s no coincidence that, like the bird, her name is Robin.

“I could sing before I could talk,” said Smith. “It’s just what I was born to do.”

Most people think the ultimate measure of success is fame and money, but that is not the case for this 30-year-old singer. Grow-ing up, she dreamed of being great. Deep in her heart, she knew she wanted to make an impact on people. Her gift of singing and song writing paved the way to her dream.

When someone says “Robin Smith” in the Poconos, most recog-nize her name. In 2005, Smith was invited to sing at The Pocono Leadership Prayer Breakfast, which is annually attended by over 700 local business owners, community leaders, as well as politi-cians and Supreme Court judges. That single event has opened doors for her. Now, she is usually referred by others because of the name she has acquired in the community by singing at public events public such as the Pocono Medical Center’s Presidential Banquet, Stroud Township Fire Department’s Annual banquets, state representative Mario Scavello’s campaigns, Stroudsburg’s Annual Christmas Tree Lighting, East Stroudsburg University’s men’s baseball games, other ESU events, churches, and youth functions, to name a few. On top of that, Smith and her friends wrote a Christmas play that they have performed over the last four years. Last year it was performed in the Sherman Theater. Not only does this production offer entertainment, but it delivers an uplifting message and touches the heart.

With her unyielding drive, Smith has every intention to keep on the track of her mission—to reach and inspire people through her music. She is willing to do whatever it takes. Whether singing a patriotic song for politicians, or rapping one of her own songs for teens, Smith wants to reach all people. She is a woman of many hats: a singer, songwriter, pianist, actress, minister, and youth director. Through her talents, she wants to make each person feel special.

Although it is not her dream to get famous through a singing completion such as American Idol or X Factor, Smith feels that the more famous she is the more lives she can reach. A personal dream of hers is to sing in the White House one day. She consid-ers herself to be a patriotic person and wants to write a patriotic song that will be sung across the nation. Along with the patriotic song she one day hopes to write, Smith has written countless songs of her own. She has a gift to not only

sing, but write songs as well. Her lyrics come from everyday experiences that she goes through personally or things that she sees happening in the people around her. For instance, recently her neighbor’s father was tragically killed in a motorcycle ac-cident and she was inspired to write a song for the son, and when the earthquake happened in Haiti, she wrote a song for a huge orphanage in Port-au-Prince where the earthquake hit the most and was able to mail the song to the director there. She has writ-ten songs that would appeal to kids and teens and she has written songs that would appeal to an older crowd. Smith uses whatever inspiration she can to reach all different audiences. “We’re living in a different era. People need to be told they are loved,” said Smith.

Smith ministers bi-weekly to a local second chance school in her area. She also runs an organization on the ESU campus, called, “The Awakening,” which has radically grown over the past few years. Through singing and ministering to students, she sees the impact she leaves on them, and that gives her inspiration to keep doing what she is doing.

“I was put on this earth for a purpose. I’m on a mission, a mission to spread purpose and love,” said Smith. “A little love can go a long way.”

Photo by Shane Izakowski

Robin SmithA Small Town Girl with Big Dreams

By BROOK WADLE

The Stroud Buzz | 3

Contents3 | Robin Smith: A Small Town Girl with Big Dreams By Brook Wadle

4 | The Burg Boogie Revealed By Valentina Caval

6 | Rebelution Gives Peace of Mind By Sean Sanbeg

10 | The Rise of J. Cole By Rick Orengo

16 | Q & A With Turning Down Harvard By Stephen Kane 22 | Usher Raymond: From LaFace to Now By Samantha Olahfimihan

Friday night. I was doing what I enjoy, and doing it for a good cause just made it ten times better,” said Kathryn Bock, a member of the Public Relations Student Society of America (PRSSA).

Four hours later, the night had regressed to sluggish lilting in place. The water bottles that were stacked high in the beginning had quickly diminished; the event concluded at 10:30 PM.

The Grand Total ESU students were successful in the money raised at the dance marathon, ending the night with a total of $15,709. “Our origi-nal goal was $10,000, which we beat with a fair amount of time left. It than got bumped to $15,000, which we also beat. The site is still up and running and people are still donating. We expect to break $16,000 before we close the site,” said Pearce. Among the students, Pearce was the top individual for raising the most money with a total of $4,745, followed by Rebecca Perri with $549 and Chris Tracy with $485. Thirteen organizations at ESU participated in Burg Boogie. The top five for earning most dona-tions included , The Theta Chi Fraternity, with $6,745, Alpha Sigma Tau, with $1,530 ,Sigma Sigma Sigma, with $1,505, Al-pha Omicron Pi, with $1,229, and the Sigma Pi Fraternity, raised $910. PRSSA raised $335,--the most out of any non-Greek Life organization.

The Comeback

The Greek Life at ESU will organize and run the Burg Boogie annually. It is entirely student run, and opened to everyone on campus. As far as being on the committee, however, that is some-thing that is exclusive to Greek Life. “With the amazing success we had at this first one, everyone is already excited about next year and looking at how we can make it better,” Pearce concluded enthusiastically.

By Valentina Caval

PRSSA at The Burg Boogie

Tired of blasting through your sticks in a matter of weeks? Unless you’re a real basher (which isn’t al-ways a bad thing), the Zildjian Laminated Birch heavy drumstick series should constitute a solid solution. With 18 years of drumming experience, I’ve had the chance to sample numerous different types of sticks. I’ve recently taken to using more rim shots. As a re-sult, I not only broke more sticks, but I broke the bank as well.

After receiving a pair of Zildjian’s Laminated Birch Heavy 5A’s from a member of my band, I put them through rigorous trials. And after two weeks - includ-ing three long practice sessions and a live performance - the sticks barely have a dent.

While hickory sticks remain the most common, the higher density of the compact sized, laminated birch sticks provide additional durability. This weight is not compensated by additional length or diameter, as both remain consistent with the 5A norms of 16 inches and 0.56 of an inch respectively. They also have the same oval tip shape as the Zildjian Hickory Series, provid-ing, as the highly credited Musician’s Friend puts it, “warm tones with a moderate amount of overtone.” So if you’re looking for longer-lasting sticks, grab a pair and put them to work. By Sean Sanbeg

Musician’s Review:Zildjian Heavy 5A DrumsticksThe Burg Boogie Revealed

Thundering dance music bounced off the walls and sparkling lights ricocheted from one end of East Stroudsburg University’s Kohler Fieldhouse to the other. Hundreds of students blended to-gether in matching hot pink t-shirts ready to take on the challenge of dancing for six hours straight at the Burg Boogie ¬–a marathon founded to raise money for Naomi Chan, who suffers from Acute Myeloid Leukemia (AML).

“An event like this is not about a few people doing a lot. It is about a lot of people doing a little bit. Thankfully for us, we had both of these kinds of people,” said Sam Pearce, the founder and head coordinator of Burg Boogie, his eyes full of gratitude. Getting There

Sam Pearce has always believed that members of Greek Life should hold themselves in a higher standard than independent students, mainly because they are entitled to resources that are unavailable for most students. With a strong desire to meet this higher standard, Pearce worked on creating a noteworthy philan-thropic event. When a friend informed him of the UDance event that recently occurred at the University of Delaware, Pearce knew he found his answer. He immediately contacted the B+ Founda-tion and started from there, unaware that his event would be ranked the highest philanthropy at East Stroudsburg University.

The Greek Organizations at East Stroudsburg teamed up with the B+ Foundation to create the Burg Boogie dance marathon that took place on Friday, April 13. The foundation set up a program known as B+ heroes, in which the students “adopt” a hero in order to personalize the cause. The B+ foundation found Naomi Chan, who lives locally in East Stroudsburg. Naomi is 12 years old and was diagnosed with AML, a type of cancer that interferes

with the production of normal blood cells. Naomi’s story just made ESU students more committed to Burg Boogie. Naomi and her family attended the dance marathon on Friday, making sure to express their gratitude to the money raised on her behalf. When it came to spreading the word about Burg Boogie, Pearce admitted that it was the most challenging part of coordinating the event. “Getting the message across was tough and it’s an area we hope to improve most for future events. The committee was very small so it was hard to get the name out there,” he explained, “but I emailed every coach and reached out to a lot of organizations. So, hopefully, next year we can get everyone’s involvement and turn this into a huge event.”

Keeping Up With the Beat

Approximately 400 students walk through the doors of Kohler Fieldhouse on Friday, April 13. The event included music played by Djs from local bars Siamsas and Maritas in East Stroudsburg. Burg Boogie also held a raffle in which the prizes were donated. The students who were a part of Greek Life designed specific t-shirts for Burg Boogie. The hot- pink shirts included the emblem of the B+ Foundation.

As the night began, students threw in their best dance moves as they sang along to the music. Dancing in groups and individually, the event was an explosion of energy and movement. The hours blew past the students, as they appeared to be enjoying their time. Dancing among friends and listening to popular hit music was not much different from their typical Friday night. “I honestly could not think of anything I would rather do on a

4 | The Stroud Buzz The Stroud Buzz | 5

Rebelution Gives Peace of Mind

The Californian Reggae band, Rebelution, performs live for the audience’s entertainment.

Whether you’re a fan of the band or of their music genre, Rebelution’s new album, “Peace of Mind,” makes for a safe addition to your music collec-tion. The new triple album, which includes full length acoustic and dub versions of each song, is the fourth studio album for the reggae band out of Santa Barbara, California. “Peace of Mind” allows the four members of Re-belution to flex both their creative and musical muscles. There’s a bit of everything on this album, including plenty of reggae¬ influenced tracks, a lighter song that makes listeners want to hold their lighters up, and a heavier song that listeners can get into. Eric Rachmany’s guitar and sitar work creates a beautiful melody that changes with each song. To accompany this melody, Marley Williams’ fat bass lines, combined with the ever-steady work from Wesley Finley’s drums, provide the perfect back drop. Jesse Kosterman’s keyboards tie ev-erything together, bolstering the band’s hypnotic reggae feel. And to top everything off, Rachmany’s vocals deliver powerful lyrics that entertain audi-ences as much as they tell a story.

The album’s radio single, “Sky is the Limit,” features a dominant horn section that drives the in-strumental sections and choruses. The upbeat keys from Kosterman create a powerful reggae groove that is complimented by the drums and bass. Rach-many pours guitar riffs all over the song, includ-ing a short, yet strong solo, and delivers a message that many should hear through his vocals. He sings about how, as the title suggests, the sky is the limit, and that no one should get in the way of reaching for it. As the chorus tells us, “The sky is the limit - out of my way, you can’t get me down.”

Easily the heaviest song on the album, “Lady in White” delivers message as heavy as its music. The song could easily be about a struggling relation-ship, but if you sift through the lyrics, you find out that this relationship is with cocaine. Part of the second verse strongly references this: “...I should see the sun, but you never let me - line after line, sometimes too many. So who am I to blame? I point the finger at a lady I can’t tame. She’s got me hand-cuffed, locked up, and chained. An addiction is the name of the game.” Rebelution’s music accompan-

Rebelution’s 2012 Album:

Peace of Mind

ies this message, matching it with an equally heavy base track. “Lady in White” might not deliver the happiest message, but its music provides a nice change of pace for the album.

The fourth track on “Peace of Mind,” titled “Route Around,” makes the perfect love ballad for long distance relationships. The slow, melodic music, combined with heart-felt lyrics, creates a perfect blend of sound for when listeners think of that special someone that’s far out of arm’s reach. Lines like, “And all day I share the memories in sound waves across the country to where you lay, right on your side. [There’s] no need to feel alone, not tonight” drive straight through to the heart. And if the listener isn’t looking for remembrance of a distant lover, “Route Around” gives the chance for some easy listening. And much like “Lady in White,” “Route Around” changes things up on the album, making “Peace of Mind” even more multi-dimensional.

There are plenty of songs with a reggae origin on the album, and “Calling Me Out” is no exception.

Listeners can easily groove to the reggae beat cre-ated by the drums, bass, and keyboard. This song also features an appearance by the studio horn section, emphasizing the overall feel to the music. The vocal melody plays a crucial role in the reggae feel as well, trading off with the music and reflect-ing the groove equally. Rachmany creates a strong outro to the song, using his guitar to melodically mimic the horn section’s riff. Like almost every song on the album, listeners can easily relax to the music. If you’re a reggae fan, or even a music junkie in general, Rebelution’s “Peace of Mind” will give you just that. They may be a reggae band, but the songs on “Peace of Mind” can easily be enjoyed by anyone. The four musicians from the west coast put together another great album, making “Peace of Mind” an excellent addition to any music collec-tion. The songs detailed above give only a taste of the album as a whole, so in order to truly appreci-ate, and enjoy, Rebelution’s music, find the album and give it a listen. By Sean Sanbeg

Available at:

The Stroud Buzz | 76 | The Stroud Buzz

Since their creation in the 15th century, trombones have played an important role in the development of music. Mozart, Hayden, Brahms, Rimsky-Korsakov, and many other composers have dedicated entire concertos to the instrument.

Although few individuals actually master its brassy eloquence, the trombone still boasts a reputation of unrivaled flexibility, covering numerous genres and offering a wide array of models that cater to almost any desired sound.

If you play trombone, know the type; each offers a distinct timbre and character. Al-though many beginners learn to play trombone with a tenor model, musicians utilize several types in contemporary music:

Know Your Bone - S. Kane

The Contrabass Trombone:• Commonly used in operatic performances

• In tandem with the slide, employs two ro-tary valves/triggers and additional tubing to lower pitches and resonate power

• Produces a dark sound

• Often used to play notes below the low B

The Bass Trombone:• Commonly used in orchestral performances

• In tandem with the slide, employs one ro-tary valve/trigger and additional tubing to lower pitches and resonate power

• Produces a dark to mellow sound

• Often used to play notes between the low Band the F

The Tenor Trombone:

• Commonly used in jazz and big band per-formances

• Relies solely on slide movement to raise and lower pitches

• Produces a mellow to bright sound

• Often used to play notes between the B and the high C (and higher).

*Uncommon models include the Alto, Soprano, and Valve Trombone.

The Stroud Buzz | 98 | The Stroud Buzz

By Rick Orengo

THE RISE OF

J. COLE

As J. Cole said in his Drank in my Cup freestyle, he “Went from crappin’ in diapers, to rappin’ in cyphers, to doin more numbers than all the lifers in Rikers,” J. Cole has come along a long way. J. Cole grew up in Fayetteville, North Carolina, where his mother, aunt and cousin raised him while his father served in the United States Army. Cole always had dreams of becoming a rapper. After he graduated high school in 2003, he decided to at-tend St. John’s University on an academic scholarship in hopes of getting noticed in the city of dreams, also known as New York City.

Up and coming rap artist J. Cole went from a college student at St. John’s University, to signing with Jay-Z’s label Roc Nation

By Rick Orengo

J. Cole started rapping at age 13 and was mainly inspired by Tupac, Nas, and Cani-bus. From there, he developed a love for telling stories in his lyrics. At age 15, Cole had several notebooks filled with lyrics but no beats to record on, so his mom bought him an 808 beat machine so he could start producing for himself. Before he graduated high school, he went on various internet forums and posted songs he made, referring to himself as the Therapist. The Therapist name came along when a local group that had been mentoring him, called The Bomb Shelter, got him trying to come up with a clever rap name. Two of the group members were Nervous Reck and Filthy Rich, who J. Cole thought had the best rap names ever. Cole used to look through the dictionary in hopes to find a creative, catchy rap name but never found anything he really liked. So one day, The Bomb Shelter told Cole to use the rap name, Therapist. A few years later, Cole realized that Therapist sounded more like a wrestler’s name and decided to ditch the name, adopting the name J. Cole which felt more real to him.

After graduating high school in 2003, Cole moved to New York City in hopes of getting signed where he chose to attend St. John’s University on an academic scholarship. He graduated in 2007, and towards the end of the year, he dropped his first mixtape titled The Come Up. The Come Up was a mixtape showing J. Cole’s talent as a lyricist. Content-wise The Come Up was about J. Cole’s move from North Carolina to the bright lights of New York City. Some notable tracks from this tape include: Simba, School Daze, Dolla and

a Dream, Quote Me, Can’t Cry, and Goin Off. DJ On Point hosted The Come Up and J. Cole produced 14 out of the 21 songs on this mixtape, including his debut single, “Simba,” which he also shot a music video for. The Come Up was a very underground type of mixtape, not gaining much popular-ity as Cole was not signed yet and didn’t have the greatest promotion. The mixtape itself is a very good tape successfully dem-onstrating Cole’s lyrical ability.

After missing multiple months’ rent, J. Cole owed his landlord a lot of money. Cole told his landlord he would be getting signed soon, so just believe in him and he would pay him back-plus extra. Two months after graduating from St. John’s University, his mother wanted to know what his plan was. Cole told her that his plan was to get signed by a label that would then help him release an album and make a lot of money. Well one day, Jay-Z ran across a song from J. Cole called “Lights Please”. After hearing the song and wondering who made it, he had his people first find out who made the song, then reach out to the artist, which happened to be J. Cole and set up a meeting that day. Cole flew out to meet with Jay-Z and got signed shortly after.

The Warm Up, is J. Cole’s second mix-tape, released on June 15, 2009 just about a year and a half after releasing his debut mixtape. On this tape, J. Cole wanted to focus on making better songs to go along with his lyrical ability and he did just that. All songs besides “Dreams,” “Ladies,” and “The Badness” are featureless. J. Cole raps over mostly original beats, but also raps on a couple rap classics such as Jay-Z’s “Dead Presidents,” Kanye West’s “Last Call” and Talib Kweli’s “Get By”.

A few of the best songs on this tape include “Can I live,” “Grown Simba,” “Lights Please,” “Dead Presidents II,” “Dreams” and “Last Call”. Al-though with this mixtape, just about every song is classic. Me personally, this is when I started lis-tening to J. Cole, and I still listen to The Warm Up to this day. Many established hip-hop websites, such as Hiphopdx.com, gave J. Cole a 4.7 out of 5 rating, giving The Warm Up a classic title.

J. Cole then got back in the studio, making more

THE RISE OF J. COLE THE RISE OF J. COLE (cont)songs and a year later releasing a mixtape called Friday Night Lights on November 12, 2010. This is Cole’s third official studio album, which was rumored to be named The Blow Up, which would continue his theme from his previous two mix-tapes album to be released in June of 2012 and some people speculate that he might release it on June 15, which would be the third year anniversa-ry of his release of The Warm Up. Cole’s popular-ity is steadily rising and surely will only get better over the next few years.

The Stroud Buzz | 1312 | The Stroud Buzz

Mac Miller

Just a Regular KidBY BROOK WADLE

If the rise to stardom isn’t hard enough, try having a number one debut album and selling out shows—all while not having a ma-jor record label behind your name. This Pittsburgh born rapper has done it all before the young age of twenty. Mac Miller has taken the hip-hop scene by storm and rightly earned a name in today’s most talked about artists.

With seven successful mix tapes, a homegrown album, and a twit-ter fan-base of over two million followers, Mac can say his drive and determination has turned his dreams into a reality. Since his breakthrough mix tape K.I.D.S. was released in 2010, Mac has earned himself a buzz worthy name in just two years. Even be-fore his album, his single “Donald Trump” reached No. 75 on the Billboard Hot 100.

Upbeat, fun, and catchy rhymes have attracted a vast fan base of mostly high school and college-

aged kids. His raps about partying, friends, and girls have

earned him the image of just being a regular kid. Mac’s crew,

“Most Dope,” travels across the country on tour with him.

Even his friends are “living the dream.”

Despite his rapid rise to star-dom, Mac seems to be keep-

ing his feet on the ground. His latest mix tape Macadelic was

released in March and is the name of his current tour. With

millions of YouTube views, the gift of creating catchy lyrics,

and a dream, there’s no saying what Mac might do next.

Photo taken by blogs.independent.co.uk

The Sherman Theater

Bringing live entertainment to the Stroudsburg area since 1929

www.shermantheater.com

Q and A with Turning Down Harvard: Local Band Earns a Spot at Bamboozle FestivalLocal band Turning Down Harvard is gearing up for Bamboozle—an annual three-day music festival hosted in Asbury Park, New Jersey this year. The five-man group boasts an alternative rock feel with grooves of reggae-funk and solid Sublimesque jives. The Stroud Buzz had a chance to talk with drummer, Sean Sanbeg, and key-board player, Charles Johnson, in an exclusive interview regarding the band’s aspirations and rising success.

How long have you guys been playing together?

Sean: Only four months.

From where did the band name originate?

CJ: Turning Down Harvard’s name comes from a story I heard in my senior year of high school, and its meaning is much deeper rooted than some may think. On the surface, it may seem like it is based on our personal feel-ings towards college, but it’s more towards following your dreams, even if it’s down a path unexpected by those around you.

Someone was talking about a kid who got a big scholarship to Harvard, but that wasn’t the main part of the story. It was said that the kid turned it down to pursue another path in his life. As expected, many people were against it, and as you could imagine, the question, “How the hell could you turn down Harvard?” was brought up quite a bit.

That’s exactly when the idea came about to name our band that. Not only is it catchy, but it serves another purpose other than our name. It’s a message that we think everyone should take on the long hard journey of life. Everyone has choices and opportunities, but if they’re not going to make you happy, is it really worth taking them?

If your answer to that is no, then you can think of yourself as Turning Down Harvard.

Every time you take a risk, you are Turning Down Harvard.

Every time you go after a new goal, maybe one that people wouldn’t expect, you are Turning Down Harvard.

Every time you make a change to make yourself or others happy, you are Turning Down Harvard.

sadasd

From what bands does the group draw inspiration?

Sean: Echo Movement, 311, Coldplay, Streetlight Manifesto, The Beatles, The RedHot Chili Peppers, Maroon 5, The Killers, August Burns Red, and Texas in July to name a few.

Does Turning Down Harvard primarily cover songs, or do you guys generally play origi-nals?

Sean: With the exception of two covers, “The Scientist” by Coldplay, and “Moving Out” by Billy Joel, we play all originals. A few song names include “The Song We’re Not CallingMardi,” “The Guarantee,” “Slow Down,” “Life,” and “DNA.”

So who writes all the lyrics and music for the band?

CJ: We write the music collectively, usually jamming off someone’s riff or idea. Jesse writes our lyrics, with “Slow Down” being the exception. “Slow Down” was written by Sean.

Are you looking to expand and add a horn section for your reggae-funk feel?

CJ: Not currently, but it has been a thought. We’re happy with our sound right now.

The Bamboozle Festival is undoubtedly a big deal. How did the band earn a spot?

Sean: We joined up with The Break Contest, sponsored by YuuZoo—a social media network. Throughout the competition, we competed against the bands from our original venue. For us, this was the bands from The Note. We played in round one [at The Note] and came in second, advancing on to the second round [at The Landis Theater] where we came in first to move on to the regional finals [at The Stone Pony], where we became the runner up—representing West Chester, PA at The Bamboozle Festival.

What direction would the band like to go?

Sean: We’re trying to get our name out there, hoping to live out that age-old dream of making it big. We all want to use our passion to make a living, and if we’re successful in that, we’d be happy.

So, what’s next?

CJ and Sean: Bamboozle!

CJ: It’s returning to its hometown this year for its 10-year anniversary. As for the times, we’re not sure yet. The show gates open Friday at 5:30pm, Saturday at 2:00pm, and Sunday at 2:00pm. We haven’t been told when we’re playing yet.

The band has frequented and performed at West Chester, PA’s The Note, Philadelphia, PA’s Fergie’s Pub, Sciota PA’s Club Vertigo, The Landis Theater in Vineland, NJ, and The Stone Pony in Asbury Park, NJ. If you are in-terested in hearing some of Turning Down Harvard’s music or finding out where their next gig will be, visit the band’s site at www.facebook.com/TurningDownHarvard. ByStephen Kane

Charles Johnson- Keyboard/Backing Vocals; Ryan Gouger-Bass/Backing Vocals Photo by Turning Down Harvard

Sean Sanbeg-Drums; Jesse Montalvo- Lead Vocals; Billy Berretta- Guitar; Ryan Gouger-Bass/Backing Vocals Photo by Turning Down Harvard

Jennifer Hudson is known as one of the finalists for the third season of American Idol in 2004. Although she did not win, her soulful voice is recognized as a blessing. The singer has dabbled in a bit of everything from TV weight loss commercials, to the Broadway musical “Dreamgirls”, to her role as Carrie’s assis-tant in the hit movie “Sex and the City”. She has won several awards including an Oscar for her first role in “Dreamgirls.” Jennifer is the daughter of Samuel Simpson and Darnell Hudson Donerson and is the youngest of three children.

In late 2008, a tragedy struck the Hudson family. Jennifer Hudson’s mother, brother, and nephew were found dead and many believe Jennifer’s brother-in-law, William Balfour is guilty. Balfour and Jennifer’s sister, Julia had been reportedly separated for about eight months. Balfour has been on trial and is accused of fatally shooting Darnell Donerson, Jason Hudson, and her nephew Julian King in October 2008, alleg

edly because he was upset with his wife wanting a divorce.

Hudson’s mother, 57, and brother, 29, were found shot to death in their home. Her nephew was found a few days later in a car, dead from multiple bullet wounds. A lifelong friend of the family, Christopher Mitchell, reported that Balfour showed him a .45-caliber pistol. In a recent trial, Myers, the husband of Julia’s close friend, reported that on a few occasions Balfour had made threats about killing the Hudson family while flashing his handgun. He also witnessed him slouched down in a car in front of where both Julia and Myers’s wife work prior to the murders.

Jennifer Hudson continues to wait for the court’s ver-dict on the tragedy befallen her family.

BY SAMANTHA OLAFIMIHAN

Hudson Tragedy goes to Trial

California 37’ Are You Ready for the Ride?

BY VALENTINA CAVAL

Train continues riding the road to success living up to their name “the comeback kids,” with the release of their new album California 37. The album is their sixth studio album overall, and catching the attention of plenty with its lineup of pop songs. California 37 is jam-packed with songs about pop- culture, romance, and a special shout to those who think their magic ride has run its course.

Pat Monahan takes a chance on this album providing his listeners with lyrics that are a lot more audacious than we would expect. Throwing the rulebook out the window, Train leads their fans into a different direc-tion with an album based on autobiographi-cal references rather than just “silly” songs.

With wistful tunes and several references to pop culture artists Jimi Hendrix, Bob Mar-ley, and Sitting Bull the songs on the album are more than entertaining. Monahan lets his fans peek into his life with songs about his ex-wife, his mother, and a mention of his long fired band members. Criticism rises from Monahan’s song “Sing Together,” as he sings of meeting his beloved after it’s all said and done.

Overall, Train maintains their consistent image with their catchy songs that practically anyone can enjoy. The rather harsh criti-cism they have received on this album is nothing short of un-called for. Musicians without the desire to take a risk are simply colorless. So, kudos to Train for attempting something new; their true fans will always come along for the ride.

The band Train continues on the road to success. photo credit/ www.mtv.com

photo credit/ www. najastories.com

The Stroud Buzz | 2120 | The Stroud Buzz

USHER RAYMOND:

FROM LAFACE TO NOW

No one has to be a music buff to know or at least recognize the name “Usher.” He is still one of the most successful R&B singers of our time and had the pleasure (one could say) of knowing the “King of Pop,” Micheal Jackson. The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) ranks Usher as one of the best-selling artists in American music history, having sold over 23 million copies in the United States. He has sold over 65 million records world-wide, making him one of the best-selling music artists of all time. Usher has also won numerous awards, including seven Grammy Awards—a feat many artists have yet to surpass (besides the late Whitney Houston).

Usher Terry Raymond IV was born in Dallas, Tex-as, but lived majority of his life in Atlanta, Geor-gia with his mom and half-brother James. Usher began singing at the young, tender age of six within a church choir. Gifted with a voice at such a young age, Usher was lucky to have a mom who contin-ued to devote time to making sure he developed his natural talents for singing and dancing. He partici-pated in many local talent shows in which his talent was recognized by Bryant Reid, the brother of An-tonio Reid, who was a famed R&B producer at the time and co-president of Laface Records. Usher recorded and released his debut album Usher on LaFace in 1994. It sold over 500,000 copies. The album’s hit record, “Think of You,” was co-execu-tive-produced by Reid and Sean ‘P. Diddy’ Combs, (now the head of Badboy Records).

In 1997 Usher recorded his sophomore album My Way, which was released on September 16, 1997, included the hit “You Make me Wanna” (still a fa-vorite of mine today). The hit reached number one in the UK, which led to it being popular here in the U.S., becoming his first gold and platinum-certified single in the U.S. In 1999, the single won the Best Male R&B/Soul Single at the Soul Train Awards. The second single, “Nice & Slow,” off the album gave him the number one spot on the Billboard Hot 100. Usher also performed on Puffy’s No Way Out tour, and earned an opening spot on Janet Jackson’s The Velvet Rope Tour. His first concert album, Live, included many top hip-hop/R&B artists of the time—Lil’ Kim, Jagged Edge, Shanice, Twis-ta, Trey Lorenz and Manuel Seal.

The prime of his career was in the 2000’s, in which I truly appreciated him as an artist. His album 8701 included the popular tracks “U Remind Me” and “U Don’t Have to Call” which topped the Bill-board Hot 100 consecutively.

It connected to the audience with the following lyr-ics: “You remind me of a girl, that I once knew. See her face whenever I, I look at you. You won’t believe all of the things she put me through. This is why I just can’t get with you.” The song talks about a guy who cannot get over his ex and sees her in the qualities of the woman he at first decided to pursue. With its lyrics pertaining mostly to him, the song appealed to both the younger and middle-aged audience; Usher’s powerful voice, comple-mented the song’s beat, and rhythm very well... His second single, “U Don’t Have to Call,” talked about the attitude/mindset he has of finally being over his ex, Chilli, from the popular 90’s hip-hop group “TLC” (Tender Loving Care). The song is more up-beat, a sort of ironic celebration that he will be going out, having fun and not thinking about how much he misses her and the love they shared.

On March 23, 2004, Usher released his fourth al-bum, and by far the best one—Confessions. It was an album in which he blew away his audience (and me) with the hit “Yeah” featuring southern rap artist Ludacris. The album sold over 1.1 million copies in its first week –the highest numbers ever sold by any male R&B artist. Confessions earned Usher

numerous awards, including four American Music Awards, two MTV Europe Music Awards, two MTV Video Music Awards and three World Music Awards. “Burn,” which was one of Usher’s realest songs about falling out of love, topped the Billboard Hot 100 for eight weeks, unlike his former hit singles. His 2008 album, Here I Stand, was the indication of his downfall, it only sold about 433,000 copies the first week, but was number one on the Billboard Hot 200. The songs on the album were okay, but not his best. The only memorable singles included “Moving Mountains” which peaked at number 18 on Billboard Hot 100, and “Love in this Club” which peaked at number one on Billboard’s Hot 100.

Usher’s 2010 album Raymond vs. Raymond and deluxe edition Versus did not even begin to reach the millions his album Confessions reached. It was released a few months after his divorce with ex-wife Tameka Foster. His single, “Papers,” peaked at 30 on the Billboard Hot 100. His album was said to be about his life as a newly single bachelor and as a father (he had 2 kids with ex-wife Tameka). Aside from recording, Usher is involved in other busi-nesses, including several restaurants. He has acted in feature films, debuting in 1998’s “The Faculty.” He was among the stars in “Light It Up” and “In the Mix.” Usher founded his record label US Records, a vanity label, in 2002. The label is a subsidiary of Clive Davis’s J Records, which is distributed by Sony BMG. The first album released by US was the soundtrack to “In the Mix” in late 2005, which was used to introduce the label’s acts, such as rapper Rico Love, Canadian teen R&B artist Justin Bieber, R&B vocal group One Chance and singer Rayan. Usher is currently working on a new album, his seventh, called Looking For Myself. It is scheduled to be released by June of 2012. Usher fans can only hope that it will be as good as or better than Confessions—an album many avid Usher fans still play on “repeat.”

BY SAMANTHA OLAFIMIHAN

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