Dionne defines musical brilliance. Her songs are balm for the soul, exploring the most intimate corridors of the heart and powerfully conveying both the joy and pain of life. As a Grammy-winning singer, songwriter, and producer, she's not only garnered a legion of fans but also earned praise from music icons like Prince, who inspired her forthcoming album Revelation (2017) to be released on Free & Clear Records. "Dionne Farris … she really got me through a lot of this time," Tupac Shakur once stated about his incarceration, further underscoring the transcendence of her artistry. Dionne's solo journey began with Wild Seed-Wild Flower (1994), which spawned the Top 5 Grammy-nominated hit "I Know," while her timeless recording of "Hopeless" for the movie Love Jones (1997) became a modern classic. Following the long-awaited release of For Truth If Not Love (2011), she won critical acclaim with a trio of self-produced albums Signs of Life (2011), Dionne Get Your Gunn (2013), and her tribute to Dionne Warwick, DionneDionne (2014), which reached the Top 5 iTunes Jazz Chart as well as the Top 20 on Billboard's Jazz Chart. Whether melding rock and funk, bringing a soulful edge to jazz, or infusing hip hop and house with her singular style, Dionne's voice is a gift of untold wonders.

The Minority Trailblazer is a weekly podcast posted every Thursday hosted by Greg E. Hill (www.GregEHill.com). This podcast is dedicated to minorities who are blazing a trail in a variety of industries such as education, business, comedy, entrepreneurship, etc. My goal is to share their stories in hopes to inspire, educate, and ultimately encourage others to live with purpose and passion.

Detroit bred Brandon Williams' life has always included music in some capacity, first as a listener, then as a musician, and ultimately as a producer. The aptly named Brandon "B." Williams - The Music Architect, is quickly making his name and stake as a front-runner in the music industry.

His career is astonishing, a direct protégé of Grammy and Billboard super producer Michael J. Powell, B. Williams is a powerhouse of musical knowledge and ability. His talents include production, arranging, engineering, and playing over 15 instruments, and in 2009 he was nominated for 9 Stellar Awards and a Grammy Award and in 2010, he was nominated for a NAACP Image Award.

On the music scene since he was 13 starting at Baker's Keyboard Lounge, B. is known as a prodigy and for being the go-to-guy for the Detroit music industry. He gets request to perform, engineer, MD, arrange and produce around the clock.

As a producer, B. has lent his hand to such artists as Yolanda Adams, Janet Jackson, Pharoahe Monch, Bobby Creekwater, Vickie Winans, Jadakiss, Lin Rountree, J Dilla, Gene Dunlap, and Motown own "Young Dynasty Entertainment. 30 year old B. Williams is a taste and hit-maker with an undeniable track record. As an artist B. has performed and toured with and alongside some of the industry's finest including Morris Day & The Time, Kim Burrell, George Duke, Jaguar Wright, Kelis, Jerald Daemyon, Gene Dunlap, Joe Sample, Norman Brown, Jonathan Butler and just to name a few. Along with national tours, B. has also graced the stages of all of Detroit's premier venues and clubs including The Fox Theatre, Chene Park, Freedom Hill, Detroit Opera House, Hart Plaza, The Music Hall, and Bakers Keyboard Lounge.

Because of his plethora of abilities B has acquired the respect of many friends in the music industry such as George Duke, Stevie Wonder, Denaun Porter, Pharoahe Monch, James "J. Dilla" Yancey, Michael J. Powell, George Clinton and a host of others.

If nothing else you can bet your paycheck that he is much more than your average musician and he will continue to move full steam ahead. . Bottomline...stay tuned because he has the blueprint for success. In his own words… I want people to know I'm a real producer and not just a beatmaker…a producer plays all the parts in the studio. If the guitar player isn't getting it, you must show him, the piano player not getting the correct feel, sit down to the piano and show him. You must know how to do it all. I also want people to know that i want to bring good music back to the world, feel good music is what I'm about.

My album 'Back of My Mind' is out everywhere now!

Meshell has changed. So has her music. It’s more peaceful, freer. Her new album, Weather, cloaks itself in the colours of autumn, full of in-between shades and hues and with a certain mildness to it. The singer has let her feelings carry her along. Meshell has never been scared of sharing her most intimate thoughts in explicit or colourful terms that always come from the heart. As ever, she is true to herself. But Weather’s folk sensibility and pregnant acoustic melodies make this a supremely accessible album.

“For a long time I was at war with everyone else. I dug my heels in, I fought hard. That’s all over now. I have my opinions, but they’re no longer a source of conflict with the rest of the world.” On Weather Meshell’s usually deep vocals slip into a register more like a whisper, sharing secrets about subjects that are straightforward, almost light-hearted. She has pared down her style to something like pop. “I started to write this album on the guitar and you can hear it. The final atmosphere’s gentler.”

And then the singer agreed without fuss to put her fate in the hands of a producer. Joe Henry (Ani DiFranco, Bettye Lavette, Allen Toussaint, etc.) helped her reveal a different side to herself. And Meshell went along with this. “I’ve known him since the Bitter album; Craig Street introduced us. I hadn’t called on someone from outside for several albums. But contrary to what everyone thinks, I love getting other opinions, hearing a different point of view and allowing myself to be led by someone with strong ideas. It’s a dialogue. This kind of experience really motivates me.” One might well have imagined her bent protectively over her compositions, her own personal, contradictory and profound world. But she says that she wants to continue this experience in future projects with other musicians. She mentions Brian Eno and Lee Scratch Perry.

She worked the way she likes to with Joe Henry - just two or three takes to capture the spontaneity and freshness of the moment. She is accompanied by Chris Bruce (guitar), Deantoni Parks (drums), Keefus Ciancia (keyboards), Gabe Noel (cello) and guests Jay Bellerose (drums) and Benji Hughes (backing vocals). Meshell recently did some producing herself – for jazz singer Laïka Fatien and rising star Selah Sue. Despite the pop-folk sound of Weather, jazz remains a major source of inspiration. “I love jazz musicians. They’re free; they have no fear. I’ve done pop and there are lots of barriers, lots of holding back. You have to stick to the conventions. Jazz musicians embrace uncertainty and adventure, even in their private lives. They’re more open and often more skilled, both in the studio and on stage.”

On Weather, Meshell sings of the ups and downs of love, one of her favourite subjects. Her heroines are marked by the void left by the loved one (“Object”) or else, like a game of mirrors, pour out their heart about the hurt they have caused others. She does a cover of Leonard Cohen’s “Chelsea Hotel”, dedicated to Janis Joplin, an extremely sad and somewhat sexist song, as well as “Don’t Take My Kindness for Weakness” by Soul Children, a sixties soul band, whose message she has made her own. Her own lyrics are always concise, precise or allusive, full of images and poetry (“I want to be your answer”). “They’re like mantras, some phrases cast to the wind, images that pop into my mind. Then I add the music.” She also talks about the wider world on a few tracks. ‘Oysters’ is about “the change that everyone talks about but never comes”. Meshell explains that “Consumerism is gaining ground all the time. We all live to get a new car or a new computer, but what’s the point?” So, join the great world party? “Not for me,” she replies in Dirty World. “I live two hours from New York. I ran away from all the dirt. There’s a farm where I live, and healthy food. I love cooking – it’s not all that different from making music. You need ingredients, and the greatest pleasure is when you share it share it with others.”

I'm from Oakland California and formally of the group Christion and Roc A Fella Records. I have my own indie Label called Blue Zane Music in the ATL. These are songs from different producers that I have been working with for a while now. Anthony Gilmour, CMT, Ikey Boy , J2, Que bEATS. I love to write and arrange vocals. All of these songs are written by me . I hope you enjoy my works. 

WritePlayLove is following