The post ’80s Singer Jermaine Stewart Passed Away Too Young, During Controversial Time In His Life appeared first on I Love Old School Music.

In case you haven’t heard ILOSM fam,’ New Edition legend, Ralph Tresvant, and his wife of approximately seventeen years are no-more. In fact, they’ve apparently been no-more for quite some time. And the “N.E. Heartbreak” crooner couldn’t be more happier, so it seems. He’s been in a committed relationship with the mother of four of El DeBarge’s twelve kids for a while and they still seem to be going strong.

Meet El DeBarge’s Ex…Ralph Tresvant’s Girlfriend

Introducing Monique DeBarge. She and El DeBarge were reportedly married for years and share three children – two daughters and one son – together. Though the two are no longer together, word on the Old School curb is they’ve maintained a cool friendship for the sake of their children. Cool to see them handling their responsibilities like grown folks, moving on…

Fast forward to today and it appears that he and Monique DeBarge are still going strong. Monique sometimes shares photos of her man, championing his latest projects and big up’ing him for his birthday, much like she did for Ralph’s May 16, 2021 b-day when he turned 53 years old. She shared below pic of Ralph online, captioning her post with:

“Happy Earthday Supa Dupa Fly! #beautifulsoul #beautifulheart #beautifulmind #amazinghuman #beautifulspirit #lightbringer #strongman #beautifulenergy 🎂🎊🎁🎊”

One of Monique and El DeBarge’s daughters, Bobbie Monique DeBarge, commented, “Gorgeous couple,” underneath Monique’s b-day tribute to Ralph. While Ralph’s eldest daughter, Naquelle Tresvant, liked the post and commented, “I love this Mo.”

Their Kids Love Their Union

Speaking of their kids, both the Tresvant and DeBarge beautiful offspring — there are quite a few — have been showing their parents’ lovey-dovey union their full support on social media.

Monique also posed it up with Ralph’s beautiful daughters, Naquelle and Mariah Tresvant…

The Latest On Ralph’s Estranged Wife, Amber Tresvant

At this point it’s very clear that Ralph has long ago moved on from his ex [or estranged] wife, Amber…but it’s unclear if the two of them have officially divorced on paper. Clearly, Amber’s well aware of his union with the new love of his life, because their son, Dakari Tresvant, is cool with it, as seen in the photo up top. Not sure how Amber feels about it, but for reportedly for the first time since their split, Amber has only recently displayed her left ring finger for the camera…minus her wedding ring, as seen in the photo below.

Nevertheless, Amber happily celebrated her b-day recently with family and friends in May of this year. She also oftentimes shares many self-help memes about moving on with life and such.

Wishing the best to them all.

Source

The post No Longer With His Wife: Ralph Tresvant Dating El DeBarge’s Ex-Wife And His Kids Love Her appeared first on I Love Old School Music.

Charlie Wilson opened up and shared with the world, some of the most painful times he experienced soon after the height of The Gap Band’s success. Check out what he had to say…

My brothers and I wrote all of the songs, we didn’t receive any of the writers’ money…any of the publishing money. One year I remember doing 99 shows back to back, making probably more than $100K per night, but when we would get home we’d have to stand in line for $150.

He also said:

I had a brick for my pillow, a piece of cardboard for my bed, and 3 carts wrapped in cellophane. Time stood still for me, couldn’t go no farther from that point on, drugs played a huge part…from that day on for two years just nothing but drugs every single day.

Here are the emotional video clips of Charlie explaining how this happened to him and how he eventually survived it all…

And here…

We already had much respect for our man, Uncle Charlie, but after watching him tell his story, we gained a WHOLE new respect for this brotha- not only as an artist, but as a human being. He is an excellent example of what it looks like when you never give up on your dream. You can be down, your spirit may even be broken at times, but when you don’t allow your dream to die, you can fight through ANY battle.

The lesson we can take from this is that when we completely hit rock bottom, we need to pause and simply ask ourselves one basic question: ‘What is it that I have?’ Then once we’ve recognized what gift we have, we need to do everything in our power to properly build off of our gift – no matter how small it is. That gift that we all have, represents possibility- the possibility to be greater than what we were yesterday. Charlie Wilson did that and there’s no denying that he’s a walking, talking testimony of what being triumphant mentally and psychologically truly means. All he had was his voice, which was his gift, and it is his voice and his perseverance that has allowed him to fight his way back to the top.

We’re glad to see this brotha’s in a good space again. ILOSM family, take a trip back down memory lane with us with this old school Gap Band video…

And y’all already know Charlie Wilson is still shuttin’ the stages down to this very day! Watch him do his thing below…

********

The post After Fame Charlie Wilson Was Broke, Homeless, Strung-Out: ‘I Had Cardboard For My Bed’ appeared first on I Love Old School Music.

SEE WHAT STEVIE’S EXES REVEALED

Stevie, 70, is currently in a committed marriage with his wife, Tomeeka Bracy, 46 (pictured below), who gave birth to Stevie’s ninth child in December 2014, so we’re assuming he’s hung up his playa hat. But it’s never too late to reminisce with those who got to know him the most. Check out what his exes and friends had to say.

STEVIE HAD GAME

According to Page Six, just because Stevie is without sight, does not mean he needs help to determine which lady is the one for him. When they asked Stevie’s friends how he pulled his current girlfriend Tomeeka, this was their reply:

“Like he does with all of the other women, they were at the same gathering and he smelled the kind of perfume she was wearing, she walked past him and he said she seemed light on her feet so she must be a pretty lady,” the source said.

But there are times when Stevie gets a lil’ input from his friends:

Via PS: One former girlfriend, whom Wonder met in a Los Angeles church during Sunday worship, told The Post that the singer’s entourage helps as well.

“I mean look, he’s sitting in the pew right behind me. He’s Stevie Wonder. Later, I found out that one of his guys that were with him told him, ‘Wow, she’s got a nice butt and a face to match,’ ” she said. But, I remember him tapping me on the shoulder, and his pick-up line was asking me what was it that brought me to church. I said, ‘I’m here every single Sunday because I believe in God’ and he says that he could give me all of the things God has promised to give me, only I didn’t need to pray to him.”

Another one of Stevie’s exes, whom he dated for five years had a similar story to tell about him>>>

WOOED HER WITH BIG DREAMS & LOVE SONGS

Although Stevie was a ladies man, he apparently had fantasies of being a family man too.

Via Page Six: Another ex-girlfriend, who dated the singer for nearly five years, said Wonder wooed her by repeatedly showing up at church, even staying late, stealing her heart by giving piano lessons and turning gospel songs into love songs.

“He’d change the words and insert my name and his name in there and he’d even talk about what he thought would be good baby names and how he’d buy the most fabulous of houses and how he knew I could help him to take care of himself and do his heart right,” she said. “So, naturally, it wasn’t hard to fall for.”

Alright now Stevie! Do your thing playa!

The post Ex-Girlfriends Of Stevie Wonder Spilled Details On What He Did To Get Them appeared first on I Love Old School Music.

Before Phaedra Parks was a housewife on The Real Housewives of Atlanta, she was counsel to Bobby Brown when he was filming the reality show, Being Bobby Brown.

Blinded By Fame:

Being Bobby Brown is not easy, as the multi-talented singer has had his share of heartache and pain. Brown became famous at a young age and acquired a lot of wealth. Being wealthy, Brown had access to lots of drugs and women. Through Brown’s career, he’s had a lot of children, a lot of drama, and a lot of it was caught on tape. During a difficult time in his life when Brown faced jail time, former Real Housewives of Atlanta star, Phaedra Parks, represented him as his attorney. Just as Bobby Brown gained notoriety from his music, he began to be known for being in and out of jail as the media seemed to capture footage of him in court.

Phaedra Parks has often been criticized for not winning cases. Many people have commented about Parks as an attorney by describing her as mediocre. Brown shared how he felt about Parks in his book, Every Little Step.

Bobby shared how Phaedra seemed to be more concerned with the attention she was receiving as his lawyer, instead of defending him:

“My lawyer at the time was a black woman named Phaedra Parks, who went on to become a reality television star on The Real Housewives of Atlanta. Her later television stardom didn’t surprise me because she always seemed like she was craving attention and publicity. Every time I stepped into the courtroom when she was my lawyer, there would always be a host of television cameras. It was as if she had her own traveling media contingent. I even complained to her about it, telling her I didn’t like having the press there everytime I approached the courthouse. But it didn’t seem to deter her.”

“I Usually Wound Up Going To Jail”

Bobby continued by saying:

” I won’t cast aspersions on her lawyering skills, but I will say that when she was my lawyer, I usually wound up going to jail. I haven’t had much luck with my legal representation over the years.”

Maybe Bobby B. felt like Phaedra Parks wasn’t there for him as his attorney…however, she seemed to be there for him as a friend. Phaedra has always spoken highly about Bobby Brown and Whitney Houston. In an interview with OK! magazine, Parks gave Bobby and Whitney credit for her notoriety as people often referred to her as the ” Bobby and Whitney lawyer”:

“I always loved Whitney, I’ll always credit her and Bobby for a very important part of my career and for my notoriety. Because a lot of the time when people hear Phaedra Parks, the first thing they say is Bobby and Whitney, that’s the Bobby and Whitney attorney, Parks shared.”

At the time of Whitney Houston’s death, Phaedra revealed that Whitney actually retained her as Bobby’s lawyer because she heard that Phaedra was the best attorney in Atlanta. After their first meeting at the Ritz Carlton, they talked for hours and eventually, Parks became Bobby’s lawyer. Phaedra went on to work with the couple for 7 years. While they didn’t always agree, Phaedra maintained that they loved each other:

“She said to meet her at the Ritz Carlton. I met her and we spoke for probably 3 or 4 hours and later I would meet Bobby, she hired me and 7 years later… I worked with them throughout the divorce and everything. We didn’t always see eye to eye on things but she was very good to me. Her family has been very good to me. His family has been very good to me. I consider them very good friends and I’ve seen them at their best and I’ve seen them at their worst but I just love her, I love Bobbi Kiristina.”

Every Little Step was published in June 2016 and resurfaced amid the bubbling hype surrounding Bobby’s 2018 BET biopic. With all the years that he worked with Parks, it’s safe to say that she could’ve possibly been featured in the movie…but after hearing what Bobby B. had to say about her lawyering skills, she may not have been depicted very well. So, smart move for Phaedra, I suppose.

The post Bobby Brown Detailed His Past Dealings With Phaedra & Going To Jail While She Was His Lawyer appeared first on I Love Old School Music.

Okay ILOSM family, who remembers when Jermaine Stewart had everybody singing “We don’t have to take our clothes off, to have a good time, oh no”? He had radio on fire for a while, but after his initial success of “The Word Is Out” and “We Don’t Have To Take Our Clothes Off,” his light just kind of dimmed.

While many of us probably assumed that maybe Jermaine Stewart has been living his life doing something else away from the spotlight, it turns out that sadly he passed away years ago. Unfortunately the man who had us jammin’ back in ’87, was dead just 12 years later.

His Unfortunate Controversy

Jermaine’s life was cut short, but in his almost four decades of life, he still was connected to a few rumors that were never proven. At the time of his death, word on the Old School curb was that he was in the process of completing a tell-all book about his life that would have exposed several down-low male entertainers that he’d been romantically involved with. Many of these alleged men were known to be heterosexual men with families, children, and thriving careers…

Cause Of Jermaine Stewart’s Passing

In 1997 by the age of 39 years old, Jermaine had the AIDS virus and he ultimately passed away from AIDS related liver cancer.

What Happened To His Manuscript After His Death

It’s been said that after he passed away in the Chicago suburb of Homewood, Illinois, his manuscript disappeared off of the face of the earth and there were probably several famous men wiping their brows in a sigh of relief…if the rumor is true.

His Good Friend In Music, Jody Watley

Although many of us R&B fans in the U.S. only know Jermaine for his top ten jam, “We Don’t Have To Take Our Clothes Off,” he had another hit that was inspired by his good friend, Jody Watley, called “Jody,” which reached the top twenty on Billboard. After the hype surrounding his 1986 album, Frantic Romantic, fizzled out, Jermaine continued to have some success in the U.K. Throughout his career, he actually released a total of 4 albums between 1984 to 1989, with a fifth album that was never released in 1992, and two additional albums that were released posthumously.

Old School Fun Facts About Jermaine Stewart

Jermaine was a regular dancer on Soul Train, who was very good friends with Jeffrey Daniel and Jody Watley of Shalamar (Jody and Jeffrey were both Soul Train dancers as well). When Don Cornelius announced he and Dick Griffey were putting together a group, Jermaine auditioned but didn’t make the cut. He instead traveled around the country as one of Shalamar’s backup dancers before being offered the opportunity by Arista Records (after getting discovered by the Culture Club’s Mikey Craig) to release his solo projects.

And there ya’ have it family. A memory about an entertainer who made an impact on R&B music and pop culture of the 80’s, but was somehow overlooked by mainstream media when he sadly passed away. Jermaine Stewart is gone, but definitely not forgotten and his song “We Don’t Have To take Our Clothes Off,” is a message that a many of these youngins today probably need to here. May Jermaine continue to rest peacefully.

The post 80s Singer Jermaine Stewart Died Too Young, During Very Controversial Time In His Life appeared first on I Love Old School Music.

Back in the day, Chaka Khan had one shocking incident that was definitely kept under wraps, but she dodged this bullet by the skin of her teeth! She has admitted to being involved in a very hostile situation with her then husband, Richard Holland. It all went down while Chaka was 8 months pregnant with their son, Damien, and she ended up doing the unthinkable.

What Happened

Typically when we think of domestic disputes, we usually think of the man being the aggressor, Chaka said this particular incident was provoked by her. In her 2003 memoir, “Through The Fire,” Chaka had previously detailed the dangerous incident, but didn’t disclose who the man was. It wasn’t until 2012 that she revealed it was her ex-husband, Richard, whom she’d once fired multiple shots at during a very hostile argument.

She stated that one night in 1976, she called Holland to let him know she was on her way home had forgotten her house keys, therefore, requesting him to leave the keys in their secret hiding spot. She says that when she finally returned home, the keys were not there, so she had to break a window to get in. This pissed her off and once Richard arrived later that evening, Chaka explained what happened:

Via Wenn: [Chaka] tells National Enquirer, “I went for the shotgun, loaded it, pulled the trigger. I missed him because as soon as he saw the gun, he high-tailed it into the office, slammed the door, and turned out the lights.” Khan…called police for help, but lied to authorities and blamed the shooting incident on an intruder. She continues, “When I came to my senses, as blood trickled from the wound above my eye, I wanted to damn myself to hell that Milini (her then-four-year-old daughter) had witnessed something like this. Not that it was the first fight she ever saw, but it was definitely the worst. I called the cops and made like there was an intruder in the house.”

Apparently when the cops showed up to Chaka’s home, they didn’t buy her story, because they hauled her husband off to jail instead. Following the fiasco, Chaka had a chance to settle down and soon realized what the depth of her actions:

“So there I was, an almost felon, the mother of a five-year old, with another baby on the way, a screwed up marriage and bills on top of bills. And there were thousands of women out there envying Chaka Khan, thinking if only they were me.”

Needless to say, Chaka’s trigger happy moment ended her marriage to Richard Holland, the man she wrote her hit song, “Sweet Thing,” for.

Lawd ha’mercy, Chaka almost went to slammer for this one! Had Chaka landed one of those bullets into her husband, soul music as we know it, would have been totally different, because Chaka would not have been able to build the long lasting legacy she’s built now. Split-second decisions are vital- they can be our best friends, or our own worst enemies if we’re not thinking logically. We’re glad that Chaka had a bad aim that day and hopefully the effects of her daughter, Indira, experiencing such a volatile event, didn’t mentally or psychologically scar her for life.

On a side note, Chaka’s daughter, Indira Khan can SANG! Don’t believe us, watch her do her thing in this video above.

Source

The post Chaka Recalls Almost Killing Ex-Hubby In Crazy Incident That Nearly Sent Her To Prison Pregnant appeared first on I Love Old School Music.

When Rebbie Jackson, the eldest child of Katherine and Joe Jackson, married her husband, the late Nathaniel Brown, in 1968, they vowed to stay married forever and that they did. During their marriage they had three children- two daughters and one son. Their daughters might as well have been models. They are absolutely beautiful, but one thing we couldn’t help but notice is that the more people get to see them online and at events, the more folks are surprised at how Rebbie’s daughters actually look.

Rebbie Jackson’s Daughters & Why Many Are Surprised

Bam!!! Meet Rebbie’s daughters, Yashi Brown (now 43) and Stacee Brown (now 49). They are gorgeous right?!!

So why are people shocked at their gorgeous looks? Well it’s probably because it has less to do with their beauty and more to do with there skin complexion.

What the public is accustomed to seeing from the Jackson family, are mostly images of the Jackson kids who are biracial, since most of the elder Jacksons have had children with partners of different races, other than African American. There’s nothing wrong with their biracial side of the family whatsoever, because all of the Jackson kids are beautiful souls, but it is also quite interesting to see some Jackson kids who remind us of the Jackson brothers and sisters that we grew up on back in the day.

Meet Rebbie’s Husband/Father Of Her Kids

Rebbie’s husband and the father of her children, Nathaniel Brown, is African American. Nathaniel sadly passed away in 2013 from cancer and he and Rebbie were married from 1968 up until the time of his death. Now that’s real love right there!

Rebbie’s Daughter & Son-In-Law

Stacee Brown is Rebbie’s and Nathaniel’s eldest child. Stacee was also a singer at one point (pictured below with husband and son). She’s 49 years old and married to producer/songwriter/musician, Rex Salas. They have one son together, London Bleu Salas (pictured below in a throwback photo).

https://www.instagram.com/p/BTuo71gATAh/?tagged=staceebrown

Rex has an extensive musical background and he was also once a part of the The Jacksons’ band, of Janet Jackson’s band, and he’s worked many times with Michael Jackson, Stevie Wonder, Mariah Carey, The Gap Band, Stacee’s mother, Rebbie, and many more artists throughout the years. Nowadays Stacee tends to shy away from the limelight more than her younger sister, Yashi.

Rebbie’s daughter, Yashi, is Rebbie’s and Nathaniel’s second born child and she’s 43 years old. Like her big sis,’ Yashi’s a very beautiful and intelligent woman. She doesn’t have children as of yet and she is a poet. In 2011 she released a book about her life living with bipolar disorder.

Rebbie is very proud of all of her babies.

The post Why Are Fans Surprised About How Rebbie Jackson’s Daughters Look? appeared first on I Love Old School Music.

The rivalry between ‘Mr. Cold Blooded’ and ‘The Purple One’ started when Prince and his band were the opening act on Rick James’ tour. At that time, Rick was the bigger act, but allegedly Prince was added to the tour’s line-up  to boost ticket sales because Rick’s popularity was starting to suffer. 

Prince opened for Rick James in 1980 and Killed the stage! This started the rivalry between the two. pic.twitter.com/Dz2H8e5PE1

— SheilaEdrummer (@SheilaEdrummer) April 22, 2018

Prince’s guitarist, Dez Dickerson, told biographer, Dave Hill, that “It was a rough period for Rick. We would go over like gangbusters, because the black audience was just dying for something new.”  

Rick also began to publicly take shots at Prince, here’s what he once told Rolling Stone:

“I can’t believe people are gullible enough to buy Prince’s jive records. [Prince is a] a mentally disturbed young man. He’s out to lunch. You can’t take his music seriously. He sings songs about oral sex and incest.”

Ouch!

But Rick Didn’t Stop There…

James even said Prince was jacking his performance style:

[Prince was] emulating my moves like a motherfu*ker. I know imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, but because my act followed his, it looked like Rick James was copying Prince rather than vice versa.”

Later, once Prince became famous, he refused to sign an autograph for James’s mother. It didn’t end well.

The you-know-what really hit the fan after Rick got tired of losing, and since many say he felt like he was losing to the new kid on the block, Prince, Rick handled it in a true Rick James-like fashion:

‘[According to Teena Marie, James got back at Prince by] allegedly stealing Prince’s programmed synthesizers and using them on his own 1981 album “Street Songs,” and then sending them back to him “with a thank-you card.” ‘ 

Now that was really “COLD-BLOODED!”

Peep How Prince Got The Ultimate Revenge…

He ‘Stole’ Vanity? Of course Prince was sitting quietly in the cut, plotting his payback at Rick, and he ultimately did the unthinkable- he stole Vanity. That’s right he stole Vanity from Rick, who was Rick’s artist at the time and was going to be the lead singer of The Mary Jane Girls.

After Prince called her up and persuaded Vanity to go on a date with him as his date to the American Music Awards, Vanity never looked back and became the lead singer of Prince’s girl group, Vanity 6, instead.
Rick later admitted to losing his to Prince:

“I always felt our competition was healthy, although I was jealous when he started getting big—more than jealous—I was pissed… because I felt his songs… and a lot of his stuff wasn’t real.”

Here’s another old school fun fact about Prince and Rick’s never-ending beef:

Eddie Murphy and Prince were always cool, but when Eddie was looking to work on his album, which ultimately included his 80’s hit, “Party All The Time,” he first went to Prince. Eddie soon realized that working with Prince in the studio made him uncomfortable, so he asked his friend, Rick James, to help him. Rick eventually agreed because he said that “There wasn’t anything I’d rather have done than write a hit for Eddie — and stick it in Prince’s ear.”
[Sources: Rolling Stone; Pop Matters; Pitchfork]

As far as we know, this rivalry lasted until Rick’s James’ last days. The competitive nature that he and Prince had may have gotten out of line at times, but it also helped to push both of them to be the best artists/musicians they could possibly and as true Old School music fans, we’re eternally grateful to them for that.

-ILoveOldSchoolMusic, old school news with a new point of view

The post Payback: Rick James Did Prince Dirty, But Prince Got Revenge On Him & It Was Epic appeared first on I Love Old School Music.