(Akiit.com) Former Roc-A-Fella Records crooner Rell was one of three men arrested in a drug sting in Calhoun County, South Carolina yesterday (Mar. 29).

Rell, born Wilbur Gerrell Gaddis, was arrested after Postal Service agents intercepted a package containing 50 pounds of marijuana in Columbia, SC.

Agents allowed the package to be delivered to a home in Saint Matthews, SC, where police arrested Rell and two associates.

Rell, 30, originally hails from Bowman, SC, but listed a New Jersey residence at the time of his arrest.

All three men were charged with conspiracy to traffic marijuana.

Rell was the first male R&B singer signed to Roc-A-Fella Records.

He first appeared in Jay-Z’s movie Streets Is Watching and contributed the single “Love For Free” to the movie’s soundtrack.

He also appeared on “The Message” featuring Mary J. Blige, from Dr. Dre’s album 2001.

While signed to Roc-A-Fella, Rell also recorded with artists like Kanye West, Consequence, Young Gunz, Beanie Sigel and others.

By Roman Wolfe

(Akiit.com) Some singers take two-year breaks between albums. Rihanna is working on her third disc, just two years after releasing her first.

“It’s a nonstop pace, very speedily, and Def Jam does not play, that’s all I can tell you,” she joked of her record label in an interview with Akiit.com. “We just keep going and going it’s fun, we make sure that we have fun while we do it.”

The hits are likely to keep coming and coming for the 19-year-old Barbados beauty, who has had success with “S.O.S.,” “Unfaithful” and “Break It Off.” Her new single, “Umbrella,” was due out Thursday, the first song from her upcoming, not-yet-titled album, set for release June 5.

“It shows such growth for her as an artist,” Def Jam President Shawn Carter, better known as Jay-Z, told the AP. “If you listen to the lyrics to that song, you know the depth and how far she’s come.”

Jay-Z delivers the opening salvo on the dramatic song, about the strength of a relationship.

Rihanna said the song can be about a romantic or platonic relationship.

“`Umbrella’ is a serious song, a relationship song. … It’s different, and that’s what I love about it,” she said. “People are not going to expect a song like that from me.”

The singer made her debut with island-flavored dance groove “Pon de Replay” in 2005, from her debut album, “Music of the Sun.” Less than a year later, she released “A Girl Like Me,” a platinum success that broadened her mainstream appeal.

Artists usually don’t release another album so quickly, especially when they’re having success with their current one. But Island Def Jam Chairman Antonio “LA” Reid said Rihanna’s upcoming album, which features labelmate Ne-Yo and a song written by Justin Timberlake, is being released this summer because the label feels it’s that good.

“In the past, Rihanna has made really great singles. This time, Rihanna has not only made really great singles, but a great album,” he told AP. “We want people to hear it now and experience it now.”

But fans may be surprised by what they hear.

“My sound has changed,” Rihanna said. “It’s a lot edgier than the rest of the stuff that anyone has heard from me before. I’m singing about different things, it’s a lot sexier.”

She also considers the album more adult, reflecting the quick growth she’s had to do in her short time in the spotlight.

“This business really helps you to find out who you are, and how strong you are,” she said. “You need strength and determination with all the negativity coming at you sometimes … I’ve grown a lot.”

Part of the negativity Rihanna has faced involved talk of an alleged affair with mentor Jay-Z. Rihanna said the rumor was upsetting but she’s learned not to let the gossip mill get her down.

“At first I was like, `Ha ha, it’s funny,’” she said. “Now I just ignore it and I’m numb to it. … You cannot stop people from saying what they want to say.”

(Akiit.com) ST. LOUIS — Luther Ingram, the R&B singer and songwriter best known for the 1972 hit “(If Loving You Is Wrong) I Don’t Want to Be Right,” has died. He was 69.

Ingram died Monday at a Belleville, Ill., hospital of heart failure, friend and journalist Bernie Hayes said Tuesday. He had suffered for years from diabetes, kidney disease and partial blindness, his wife, Jacqui Ingram, said.
 
Ingram performed with Ike Turner at clubs in East St. Louis, roomed with Jimi Hendrix in New York and was the opening act for Isaac Hayes. He recorded through the 1980s and performed in concert until the mid-1990s, when his health began declining.

“His instrument was his voice; his heart and head were his inspiration,” said Hayes, a St. Louis journalist, disc jockey and author of “The Death of Black Radio.”

Ingram was born Nov. 30, 1937, in Jackson, Tenn. He started writing music and singing as a boy in a group with his siblings after his family moved to Alton, Ill., in 1947.

He had a five-year association with Memphis, Tenn.-based Stax Records during the height of its success. In 1971, Ingram and songwriter-performer Sir Mack Rice co-wrote “Respect Yourself” for the Staple Singers, which turned into Stax’s biggest hit.

Ingram recorded “(If Loving You Is Wrong) I Don’t Want to Be Right,” in 1972 on Koko Records, which Stax distributed. The song was No. 1 on Billboard magazine’s R&B chart and was later a hit for Barbara Mandrell.

His other popular songs include “Ain’t That Loving You (For More Reasons Than One),” “I’ll Be Your Shelter” and “You Never Miss Your Water.”

“He was a soft-spoken, quiet person that I think relished peace,” said Deanie Parker, who spent her career at Stax and Soulsville. “He was a very intense singer; he took it very seriously. When he was rehearsing, he’d go over it and over it and seek perfection.”

A “musical visitation” will be held Sunday at St. Augustine Catholic Church in East St. Louis. He is to be buried Monday at Mount Carmel Catholic Cemetery in Belleville.

By CHERYL WITTENAUER