New album is "all about the club bangers"
It's that time of year again, when the Def Jam honchos rub their palms in glee and calculate how much their prize signing, otherwise known as Mariah Carey, is gonna bank them when her new album hits shops. Matiah's UK publicist (and coincidentally my very first boss) Connie Filippelo invited me to her playback session at the Mayfair hotel in London, where chairman of Def Jam and all-out music legend Antonio "LA" Reid had flown over to introduce both Mariah's and Janet Jackson's new albums to the UK press.
This is Mariah's 11th studio album, and considering the last offering, The Emancipation of Mimi, sold 7 million copies in the US alone and helped stabilize the prospects of the record label, you can understand LA taking a hands-on interest in his cash cow.
T-Pain, Young Jeezy and Damian Marley make an appearance on the album, which is called That Chick, and where the previous album excelled with the We Belong Together anthem, this year's record is all about the club bangers. Rest assured, Mariah's got another hit on her hands.
LA invited me down to the after-party, which was being held at the Crystal nightclub, where he'd bought the club for the night, but Jack Frost and the January blues got the better of me, so I declined.
LA's been hot news this week, having stood firmly behind Def Jam artist Nas and the controversial decision to call his new album Nigger. Reid said: "Anything Nas wants to do, I completely stand behind him. Nas is prolific, he's a genius-an amazing artist of respect." Never one to shy from controversy, the attention on the album is sure to enhance sales, and between God's son, Mariah and Janet, 2008 has got LA smiling all the way to the bank. (Pride Magazine - Mariah Connection)
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