2025 - M.I.Connected

Grammy-Winning R&B Group Blackstreet Joins XOXO Entertainment Ahead of 2026 Plans

Dec 21, 2025Dec 21, 2025 MIConnected

Blackstreet is entering a new chapter with XOXO Entertainment Corp., signing with the company for label and management. The move brings one of R&B’s most recognizable groups into a partnership that points toward fresh activity in 2026, including new music and upcoming tour dates. For many listeners, Blackstreet’s name is inseparable from “No Diggity,” the group’s signature hit that spent four weeks at the top of the pop charts and earned a GRAMMY Award for Best R&B Vocal by a Duo or Group. The track has also continued to find…

Rock The Bells Cruise Sets Sail in 2026 on Norwegian Joy With T.I., Public Enemy, Jermaine Dupri, and More

Dec 19, 2025Dec 19, 2025 MIConnected

Rock The Bells is taking its Hip-Hop cruise into bigger territory for 2026, and the upgrade is not subtle. After three straight sellouts and a waitlist that keeps growing, Rock The Bells Cruise: A Hip-Hop Experience is back November 1 to 6, 2026, sailing out of Miami with a first-time stop in Montego Bay, Jamaica, plus an extra day at sea to stretch the whole thing into a full-on floating festival. The biggest change is the ship. For 2026, the cruise moves to Norwegian Joy, a newer, state-of-the-art ship that…

Von Venn Makes Sense of Growing Up

Dec 19, 2025Dec 19, 2025 Barrington

Gary Cox’s second album under the Von Venn name landed on my desk at exactly the right moment. I’d been scrolling through news feeds feeling that familiar knot in my stomach, the one that comes from watching the world bend itself into increasingly absurd shapes. Then “Still Falling” came through my speakers and I thought, oh good, someone else gets it. “Forgetting the Fall” is the sound of someone who believed the adults had everything under control, then grew up and realized nobody really does. Cox doesn’t dress this up…

Chip Tha Ripper Debuts “Santa Save Me”. Announces Gift Raps 2

Dec 18, 2025Dec 18, 2025 MIConnected

Just in time for the holidays, Chip Tha Ripper is giving fans a gift they didn’t know they needed. The Cleveland-bred artist, entrepreneur, and cultural tastemaker is set to release his highly anticipated holiday project Rapping Paper: Gift Raps 2 on Christmas Day, delivering a festive yet fearless body of work that blends humor, hunger, and high-level bars. Serving as the sequel to his cult-favorite Gift Raps, the new project elevates the concept with sharper production, bigger collaborations, and a rollout designed to cut through the noise of holiday releases. The project features…

Indie Spotlight: Logan LNXK

Dec 16, 2025Dec 16, 2025 MIConnected

Logan LNXK doesn’t just blur genre lines — he erases them. At 23, this southern-raised storyteller moves like a country boy with city-boy confidence, blending hip-hop swagger, heartfelt lyrics, and country soul into something entirely his own — and it’s the heartbeat of Logan LNXK, a group that takes that same fearless energy and expands it across country, pop, R&B, and hip-hop. Together, they’ve built a sound that hits where the mud meets the neon — 808s under twangy guitars, honesty under attitude, harmony under heat. Every verse feels lived-in.…

Ervin Munir and Kate Swanson Team Up For “Lifeline”

Dec 15, 2025Dec 15, 2025 Barrington

There’s a sincerity to “Lifeline” that hits deep wit Ervin Munir teaming up for this new with Kate Swanson. The track opens with piano, then Kate Swanson’s voice comes in, and it’s the kind of vocal performance that makes you stop what you’re doing and actually listen. There’s a calmness to it, but also real strength underneath. When Ervin joins her for the chorus, their voices work together in a way that feels smooth, like they’ve been singing together for years rather than this being their first collaboration. It starts…

The Here And Now’s “Riptide” Hits Hard

Dec 15, 2025Dec 15, 2025 Barrington

The Here And Now aren’t trying to ease you into anything with “Riptide”. This thing comes out swinging from the first second, and Cherry Terzza’s vocals make sure you’re paying attention whether you planned to or not. What really works here is the directness. The metaphor is right there in the title, and the band leans into it with confidence. We’ve all had that person or habit or situation that we know is bad news, but we keep going back anyway. The track captures that feeling without getting preachy about…

“Thank You” by Educatable Marks a Careful Step Forward

Dec 15, 2025Dec 19, 2025 Barrington

It is the first time I reviewed a song by Educatable and it is refreshing to find an artist who doesn’t let tragedy end the story. Ricky Barson’s journey with Educatable has taken him from drummer to frontman, and “Thank You” feels like the moment where he’s finally comfortable in that role. The track itself is immediately pleasant. It’s got that summer festival energy, the kind of indie pop rock that makes you nod along without really thinking about it. You can hear the Coldplay influence in the way the…

Award-Winning Artist TONE Shares “The Meaning of Life”

Nov 29, 2025Nov 29, 2025 MIConnected

rapper tone standing in the snow wearing LOA themed clothing

Tone is an award-winning independent artist from New Orleans, Louisiana. His new album “The Meaning of Life” shares an honest and vulnerable look at the survivor’s guilt following Hurricane Katrina. “This project is an autobiographical memoir exploring the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, the heavy weight of survivor’s guilt, and the search for spiritual resilience“, he says. “In an era of viral moments, this album is built on purpose—a clean, self-produced testimony about finding eternal success by never forgetting where you started’ Tone has previously won an award for “Best Song in a…