Serena Williams attend the 25th Annual Footwear News Achievement Awards

A Look at the History of Champagne as we bring in the New Year.

Champagne is basically a sparkling Wine with it's orgins in the country of France.
The popularity of Champagne is attributed to the success of the wine producers in marketing the drink. Champagne first became famous because of its association with the anointment of the French kings. The message of the unique sparkling wine from Champagne was spread by royalty through Europe and its corresponding association with luxury and power.  In 2007 researchers found that moderate amounts of champagne consumption helps vicitms of strokes cope with the trauma experienced by the brain.  There's a little history and little know information about the wonderful drink called Champagne.

T.I. and Tiny attend the premiere screening of T.I. & Tiny: The Family Hustle at the Yotel Hotel

Kick Start Your Rap Career in Three Phases

When an artist begins their rap career they must go through three phases and a few steps. There are a few phases and steps within each phase.

Phase 1: Writing lyrics and picking the right instrumental

The first step in phase 1 is picking the right instrumental, whether its "gangster", classical rap, hip hop, club, etc. depending on the lyrics and flow, choosing the right genre in rap is key for a successful track. The second step is the quality of the instrumental and voice. Never rush into things. Use a beat that people bob their heads and like. If you use an instrumental that's not very good the listener's attention span in listening to your music will decrease. Same goes for the voice. If you scream in your microphone and leave your voice distorted, the instrumental can be hot, but people will not like the track because of the bad quality in voice. To fix this issue spend a little more money on a quality microphone. The Samson C01U USB Studio Condenser is a good starter.

Phase 2: Mixtape

Step one: focus on a theme for your mixtape. Basically pick out a name and use an intro to introduce the theme and the outro to conclude your mixtape so people will remember it and/or talk about it. In between you can have any kind of song, just make sure one of the tracks follows the theme. Usually track 2 is the theme song. Step two: do not make your mixtape to long. Eight to twelve songs is the perfect length. Remember a mixtape is not a debut album. Step three: do not make the mistake of having a good mixtape, but crappy self-put-together mixtape. Get a professional to design artwork or do the artwork yourself, but spend some time on it. Use quality paper for the inserts and such. Also, make sure the cds are not just burned and wrote on. Find a company to make real authentic cds. And ALWAYS shrink wrap the cd, it looks better in local stores. Step four: always add the credits to your songs. Make sure you give credits to the producers and featured artists.

Phase 3: Marketing

Step one: use free tools to market your mixtape. Make a music video or just a slideshow and put it up on YouTube. Show the world your talent. Add a link to a website where people can buy your mixtape. Use Craigslist for your local cities (where you perform and such) to promote your shows and mixtape. Last, use social media like Facebook, Twitter, and MySpace to promote your mixtape and talent.

Step two: book a few shows around your local city. Performing is a good way to promote your mixtape. Make sure to either hand out or sell your mixtape at the place you perform. There are many bars, clubs, social spots that will let you perform for cheap or free in return for customers.

Step three: Get your own domain and website to promote your music. Stop using sites that let you have a small spot and get your very own entire website. There are free places like weebly.com.

Step four: find a local or online record label that is free and will promote your music on their site. Usually they will add a biography and/or link to your website.

That's it. If you are a good artist these three phases will kick start your rap career and possibly land you a record deal.

http://www.almeidabeatz.com is an online record label with cheap instrumentals. They have a promotion where they let you pick out an instrumental and write to it. Send in your request to their email and they will send you the instrumental to record. Send it back finished and they put quality songs on their mixtape. This will gain exposure and recognition for your music.

Hip Hop CSS Artist Spotlight: Desmond Sean, soulful, stylish and talented.

Don't Blame It On Love

In today’s competitive and image driven music industry, one gentleman from the South has undeniable talent and musicianship that is rewriting the standards for today’s mainstream artist. His name is Desmond Sean. His bluesy tones, soulful style & vocal range is sure to set him apart from the average R&B crooner, landing him on the same playing field with the likes of John Legend, Seal & Stevie Wonder.

Born in eastern Arkansas, raised in the small military town of Lawton, OK., Desmond was introduced to music by his father, who was the church’s musician, and his mother, who sang in the choir.  Songs by the Winans family and Commissioned were major influences, and as he grew older, his repertoire expanded to include mainstream artists such as Boyz II Men, Mint Condition, Michael Jackson, Meatloaf & Madonna who were making extreme moves in the industry at that time.

With a passion to progress the current state of music, Desmond Sean showcases raw singing ability and showmanship which is what the Pop/Soul genre was built upon. With material exploring subject matters that represent a realistic viewpoint of today’s listener, Desmond adds a creative, exciting musical flair that is sure to keep the listeners entertained as well as informed.

Though known for his extensive work as an industry background vocalist, having lent his vocals to some of music’s legends including being a regular house singer on BET’s The Mo’Nique Show & Sunday Best Season 4 & touring with R&B/Soul songstress, Angie Stone, Desmond is currently in the process of finishing his debut album, expected to be released in 2012. The leading single, Don’t Blame It On Love, was released digitally worldwide to rave reviews.

Desmond Sean, along with his team of producers, the HitSmiths, hopes to continue in the tradition of legendary artists and producers who have blazed the trail. “I’m a storyteller,” he proclaims, “and I get to share great stories to an amazing soundtrack. It doesn’t get much better than that!”