After working his way up through Radio Disney, a sort of farm system for aspiring pop singers, and relocating to Atlanta,14-year-old Milwaukee native Jacob Latimore signed a deal with Jive Records last year. The son of one of the singers for the Milwaukee R&B/gospel vocal group The Latimore Brothers, Latimore is now receiving a push for his first single for the label, "Like 'Em All," a sort of G-rated, teen-pop rewrite of Young Money's "Every Girl." His debut album is scheduled for release later this year.
In other local R&B news, Milwaukee singer Aliesa Nicole releases her latest mixtape, #BadGurlsClub, tonight with a party at 618 Live on Water. Geraud Blanks spoke with the singer for the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.
Last week Milwaukee rapper ¡OYE! followed up his debut EP, In My Mind, with another EP, The Brown Bomber, which he posted for free streaming and download on his Bandcamp site. Teeming with anxious, discretely experimental beats and unblinking commentary, it plays a bit like how I imagine Lupe Fiasco's Lasers was intended to.
Here's a fine relic of Milwaukee's fertile, math-rock-flavored turn-of-the-century hardcore scene: The Remote, The Cold, the 2000, Steve Albini-recorded final release from Hero of a Hundred Fights, is posted for free streaming and pay-what-you-like download on Bandcamp. Forge Again Records is re-releasing the EP on vinyl in April.
Naima Adedapo survived another round of "American Idol" this week, though between the judge's chilly reception to her performance of Tina Turner's "What's Love Got to Do With It" and her subsequent placement in last night's bottom three, it seems she has an uphill battle ahead of her.
