Lauryn Hill returns to the charts after more than 10 years

Former Fugees member Lauryn Hill makes a return to the Billboard charts this week. Hill, who has been absent from the chart radar for more than ten years, jumps onto the R&B Hip Hop Singles & Tracks chart at number 94 with the track Repercussions.

Hill, who hasn’t released a studio album since 1998’s Grammy award-winning and multiplatinum-selling The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill, is reportedly working on a new album.

Repercussions is the first single with Hill as lead artiste to chart on Billboard, since Turn Your Lights Down Low featuring Bob Marley peaked at number 49.

A quick recap of Hill’s hit list includes tracks such as Doo Wop (That Thing); Everything is Everything; Lost Ones and Can’t Take My Eyes off You.

Richie Stephens to release new album Reggae Evolution

September 7 is the release date for crooner Richie Stephens’ newest album Reggae Evolution. The album will feature collaborations with Assassin, Maxi Priest and Beres Hammond.

Among the tracks on the album are covers of Hold On to What You Got and Salt of the Earth (Let’s Drink). Other tracks include Heart of Love and Cool it Down.

Stephens has to date released more than 12 albums.

Gyptian rebounds on Billboard

Gyptian’s Hold Yuh single continues to gain in airplay at rhythmic and mainstream formats stateside. This has resulted in an upward movement of the track on several Billboard charts.

On Billboard’s Heatseekers chart, Hold Yuh which peaked at number three a few weeks ago, has moved from seven to number six. Over on the R&B Hip Hop Singles chart, it inches up from 39 to 38. It peaked at number 31 last month.

On the Hot 100 Singles chart, Hold Yuh creeps up from 95 to 94 after peaking at number 77.

CP looking hit bound with Big Foot

A new dancehall duo calling themselves CP Inc remains optimistic about their latest single Big Foot. The hilarious song which was released a few weeks ago on the Good Life imprint is reminiscent of Lt Stitchie’s 1980’s hit Wear Yuh Size.

The duo, who hails from the Seaview Gardens area of Kingston, is hoping that Big Foot will break the barriers for them. To date the single has been generating some buzz and the members Wayne Rose and Shawn Reynolds are confident that it will only be a matter of time before the song becomes a hit.

Asked how the song came about, Rose explained: “Wi deh up a di studio one day an si a youth in a pair a square mouth shoes from di way di bredda a walk yu coulda si sey him inna pain, him foot too big an di shoes too tight. Same time mi bredrin look pon him an seh big foot and square mouth caan work and everybody start laugh.”

CP Inc recently shot a music video for Big Foot, under the guidance of music video director Wayne South. The video was released to television stations locally last week.

The duo will be leaving the island at the end of August for a monthlong US promotional tour which will see performances in New York, Boston and Virginia.

Caribbean entertainment updates

Trinidad and Tobago soca artiste Champeon has been promoting his latest smash single Move. The song is a collaboration between himself and producer Shawn ‘Da Mastamind’ Noel.

Over in the British Virgin Islands, the Showtime Band captured the 2010 Road March competition beating out the Extreme band by 67 points. This is the band’s fourth win.

St Vincent 2010 Road March Song D King Road by Raeon Madzart will be hitting television screens soon, as a music video for the track is currently in the works. Madzart also placed third in the Soca Monarch competition.

BITS AND PIECES

Rapper Eminem has the year’s second biggest selling album in North America, to date. His latest album Recovery has sold 2.1 million copies. Lady Antebellum’s album Need You Now has moved 2.5 million copies to rank as the top seller to date.

Congratulations are in order to international deejay Shaggy and his girlfriend Rebecca Packer who are the proud parents of twin sons born recently.

Reports have indicated that Voice Mail and Alaine’s tour of Europe has been going well.