Faith Evans appears in...
Demo Contest Winner Flies to NYC for Recording Session
Atlanta-based urban singer/songwriter/producer daRome Bentley, winner of the inaugural BMI/Demo Center/Sonicbids Demo Contest, stopped by the New York office after laying down tracks at the recording session he won as part of the grand prize. Shown in the New York office…
Atlanta’s daRome Bentley Wins Demo Contest
Atlanta-based singer/songwriter/producer daRome Bentley is the winner of BMI's inaugural Demo Contest, co-sponsored with music production company the Demo Center and electronic press kit producer Sonicbids.com. Over 1,000 songwriters and artists entered the highly anticipated competition, which ran from January through early April 2006, with Bentley chosen as the winner by a panel of prominent music…
Chucky Thompson
Who would have thought that a toddler beating on pots and pans would become one of the most sought-after music producers in the industry today? Well, welcome to Chucky Thompson’s world. While in his teens growing up in the Washington, DC area, Chucky Thompson, a self-taught musician who plays drums, guitar, piano, acoustic and electric bass, along with trombone, began his career by writing songs…
The Game Gets Play on Both Coasts

"NWA, Biggie, Tupac, Snoop and Jay-Z all had something to say. Then Biggie, Pac and Eazy died and it was devastating ... I feel like it's my turn now and I can fill the shoes." The Game . . . When word began circulating in 2004 that rap legend and Aftermath Entertainment mogul Dr. Dre had inked a recording deal with underground…
Sheryl Crow, Eminem, Norah Jones Top Grammy Nominees List
BMI songwriter/artists Sheryl Crow, Eminem and Norah Jones lead the list of nominees for this year's Grammy Awards with five nods each. Nominees were announced today (1/7) at a press conference at New York's Madison Square Garden. The 45th Grammy Awards will be held on February 23 at the Garden, and will be broadcast live on CBS from 8-11:30 (ET/PT).
Sting, Michael Jackson Among Song Hall Honorees
The National Academy of Popular Music/Songwriters Hall of Fame , the organization dedicated to recognizing the work and lives of those composers and lyricists who create popular music around the world, returns for its highly anticipated 33rd Annual Induction and Awards dinner, scheduled for Thursday, June 13 at the Sheraton New York Hotel & Towers. At a kick-off event yesterday in New York City, SHOF Chairman and…
At BMI, Black Music Month Is Celebrated All Year Long

At BMI, Black Music Month Is Celebrated All Year Long By Rob Patterson From the dawning days of rhythm & blues through today's multifaceted urban music scene, BMI has been at the forefront of music from the African American tradition, styles and community. A continuity of teamwork between BMI and Black music-makers extends from Aretha Franklin to…
Eric Benet
When he set out to make an emotionally-charged album, Eric Benet didn't need to look far for inspiration: "As a songwriter, I just opened myself up to whatever came out of my heart. Most of the songs lyrically come from me slipping through old diaries and journals from over the years. I've got notebooks and things from years back. I would just flip through them, and something…
Faith Evans Master of Her Own Destiny

by Bruce Britt Though her career only spans a brief four years, Faith Evans' biography already reads like some urban Dickensian novel. The 26 year-old singer was widowed in 1997 when her husband, rapper Biggie Smalls (aka The Notorious B.I.G.), was slain in a mysterious drive-by shooting. The tragedy left Evans to raise the couple's…
