The Last Word: Amy Winehouse and Sade Pose Nude Michelle Williams Turns Dance and The Marley Movie Features No Marley Music?

What’s good smart world? Once again another week has gone by as we head toward the weekend with thoughts of Chris Webber announcing his NBA retirement while dealing with a knee injury and Barack Obama being a distant cousin of Brad Pitt and George W. Bush.Meanwhile his presidential rival Hillary Clinton, a distant cousin of […]

What’s good smart world? Once again another week has gone by as we head toward the weekend with thoughts of Chris Webber announcing his NBA retirement while dealing with a knee injury and Barack Obama being a distant cousin of Brad Pitt and George W. Bush.Meanwhile his presidential rival Hillary Clinton, a distant cousin of Pitt’s lady Angelina Jolie and Madonna, said she “misspoke” after being put on the defense about her version of what happened during a trip she took to Bosnia in 1996.Thoughts and prayers go out to British songbird Corinne Bailey Rae, who is reportedly distraught over the death of her husband Jason who died Saturday of a suspected drug overdose after his body was found in an apartment in Leeds, England.Congratulations go out to American Gladiators host and former boxing champ Laila Ali, who is expecting her first child. Shout out to the sounding boards for just being themselves. So now I present to you…the Last Word for the week ending March 28, 2008.1. Amy Winehouse and Sade Go Nude for Breast CancerWith all of the tabloid stories that come out everyday, it’s easy to label Amy Winehouse as the celebrity most likely to do whatever without so much as a look of shock on the faces of the music loving public.But there is a bit of good inside the British songstress as she bared all for a photo shoot to raise awareness of breast cancer among young women. Winehouse’s black and white picture, which will appear in the April issue of Easy Living magazine, was taken by photographer Carolyn Djanogly. It shows the singer playing a strategically placed guitar that covers her genitalia.The only piece of clothing Winehouse wore were two pieces of duct tape that covered her nipples. “I’m really pleased to be supporting this project as I feel it’s so important that people understand breast cancer affects young people as well as older women,” the Grammy winner told ShowbizSpy.com about her motivation for taking part in the effort.Winehouse wasn’t the only star to pose nude for the cause. R&B songbird Sade and actress Helena Bonham Carter also stripped for the campaign, which is the brainchild of the Lavender Trust at Breast Cancer Care, an organization that helps more than 8,000 women under 50 who are diagnosed with breast cancer every year. Maybe being in rehab has done more than we thought for Amy? Good stuff. If that’s the case then can we admit Sade into the same facility so she can finally focus on giving us some new music? I say yeah, yeah, yeah!2. Michelle Williams Prepares Unexpected Dance for FansWith a decent showing for her two albums, Do You Know and Heart to Yours, you may expect Michelle Williams to stay the course and deliver more gospel flavor for her forthcoming album Unexpected. But according to Billboard.com, the Destiny’s Child member is taking a different path as she utilizes “synth-y, driving bass samples, electronic keys and bopping drums” to create a sound that could easily be described as dance. But don’t tell Music World Entertainment CEO Matthew Knowles this. “It’s a pop and dance record, but don’t call it dance,” he said, adding that Michelle’s new direction shouldn’t be so hard to swallow since she spent much of last year playing the sexy character Shug Avery as part of the Chicago-based cast in Oprah Winfrey’s The Color Purple.“Destiny’s Child fans bought Michelle’s last album. So now those fans are in their late ‘20s and early ‘30s. With Unexpected, she’ll be able to appeal to those fans and reach back to the 16-year-old audience and hit mainstream pop radio.”??Fans can expect Unexpected to have production from Stargate, Rico Love, the Heavyweights, Wayne Wilkins, Andrew Frampton and SoulShock & Karl. The first single from the album, “We Break the Dawn” is slated to be released in April, followed by the second single “Stop This Car.” Williams even channels her inner T-Pain as she uses as vocoder on the song “Lucky Girl.”?While I don’t see her doing a 360 into Beyonce territory, it will be interesting to see what fans will make of Michelle’s new album. Do you think Michelle should keep riding the gospel train or try her luck on another musical vibe? No law says she can’t do both, but with Bey and Kelly Rowland covering the secular side, Michelle could be getting the short end of the stick.3. Anthony David Makes Major Move on New India.Arie LabelAnthony David may be one of R&B’s best kept secrets, but the Georgia singer is preparing for his close up as he unleashes his upcoming album Acey Deucey on India.Arie’s new record label SoulBird Music. The album, which is slated to hit stores June 17, will feature songs from David’s two critically-acclaimed independent releases Three Chords and the Truth and The Red Clay Chronicles.The major label move marks the latest achievement for David, a former backup singer for Arie who wrote “Part of My Life” a song featured on the songstress’ 2001 album Acoustic Soul. The first single off Acey Deucey will be “Words,” a duet David performed with Arie that first appeared on The Red Clay Chronicles.The track is scheduled to invade R&B radio outlets around the country on April 15.? As for what people can expect from Arie’s label, she sums it up plain and simple.?”Music with wings. In this era, soul is not a sound or a color, it’s an intention,” stated Arie, who plans on playing an active role in the operation of SoulBird.”That’s the kind of music I want SoulBird to represent: music with intelligence and heart, music that moves people in their souls and their bodies. Music with wings.”?If SoulBird can live up to its potential, then it will surely fly high. Having Anthony David on board is a good way to get the ball rolling. So here’s to music with wings! Sky’s the limit! 4. No Marley Tunes For Biopic? WTF! It may be hard to imagine, but there’s a good chance that a planned film on reggae legend Bob Marley won’t feature any music from the late singer.?According to The Hollywood Reporter, the Marley family has refused to license any of Bob’s music for a biopic that is being executive produced by the singer’s widow Rita Marley. The red flag stems from a Martin Scorsese documentary that the Marley family’s company Tuff Gong Pictures is producing. Apparently the Marleys who are taking part in the Scorsese film believe that Rita’s film, which is projected to come out in late 2009, would conflict with the documentary’s February 2010 release date. The 2010 date is slated to coincide with Bob Marley’s birthday.”All our efforts and support are currently directed toward the documentary,” the untitled project’s executive producer Ziggy Marley told the Reporter. “We believe that this project is the best way to represent our father’s life from his perspective, and any other film project pertaining to our father will be empty without his music to support it.”?They may have a point, but to hear Rita tell it, having a soundtrack of Bob’ tunes isn’t that big a deal for her film. “When I sold the film rights to my book, the contract did not include any rights to use my husband’s music,” she said. Despite Rita’s view, Marley music could end up in the widow’s feature as Marley family lawyer Terri Dipalo mentioned that, “anything’s possible.”Overall, efforts are being made toward a peaceful resolution that will benefit everybody, according to spokesman for Weinstein Co., the studio making Rita’s film. Let’s hope that both films will be worth all the fighting. One love for all.?5. Lloyd Offers Love Lessons on New Album?Looks like the summer will be one of musical returns as Lloyd comes back on the scene with his new album Lesson in Love. ??The release will feature St. Louis rapper Nelly on the track “Lose Control” as well as the Ludacris-assisted first single “How We Do It.”Production will be handled by Baby Boy and Superkidd, Tricky Stewart, The-Dream, Polow Da Don, J-Lack, Jasper and Big Reese and Eric Hudson.? ?Lesson in Love is the follow up to Lloyd’s sophomore album Street Love.The project, which peaked at number two on the Billboard 200 Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart, spawned the hit singles “You” featuring Lil’ Wayne and “Get It Shawty.”? ?Look for Lesson in Love to hit stores on July 15.?