This business gets PRETTY SKETCHY very quickly and sometimes things go awry.
Lets run down the TL of this particular issue and see what we can learn? We are gonna start with a Tweet that (was sent to me by source A WHILE AGO.) I have only seen on one or two of the sites that have reported it start with. Without this tweet, Anita doesn't type a thing. Without this tweet, THIS IS A NON STORY. Has no legs. Without it, she takes the high road and no one is the wiser as to what went down...
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Not how you want to conduct business....
So basically she wanted to rehearse the song and have it done right. Might have taken up some time BUT they all would be rest assured to have gotten on stage and things would have been right. That last tweet should have been the only tweet IMO. The first tweet (I posted) should have never happened.
So I asked my source about this tweet below. She said that didn't come from anyone's manager either. It came from an artist. One who didn't perform....
Now even IF SHE SAID IT IN A PLAYFUL WAY, you don't say that to a legend/peer. I mean we are talking "Her, MJ and Lionel Ritchie were the ONLY ONES I EVER HEARD PLAYED IN THE ELEVATOR STATUS...MAMA I REALLY MADE IT...LEGEND status here." @ Anita's position. Even if you DIDN'T WANT TO DO IT, you don't say it like that. Sorry. You don't. I mean, it is my understanding that even though she is 'more relevant' than Anita at PRESENT, Mary J. Blige goes OUTTA HER WAY TO MAKE SURE HOMAGE IS PAID. So you know, while I LOVE JILL SCOTT'S TALENT, I gotta ask...
WHAT HAPPENED THAT MADE YOU COME AT ANITA BAKER LIKE THAT? It's ANITA BAKER. I want to hear it from you. I guess I should ask you..."DID YOU REALLY SAY THAT TO ANITA BAKER ABOUT HER SONG??" Please tell me you didn't say that to her about her song. I can't IMAGINE the reaction you would have had if someone would have ran up to you with some bullshit about something that you wrote and performed. So yeah, I am asking...Did you ACTUALLY SAY THAT TO HER?
You don't need to respond to my little blog either. You can go on SOME BIG RADIO station and do it. You can do it via Twitter. I don't care. Although I DO KNOW YOU READ BLOGS/forums/etc. (okayplayer) Which I am not even knocking. What better way to know what folks think than to read what they are saying straight from the water source. I just want to know YOUR SIDE OF IT. 'Cause the way it is looking now, it makes you look REAL CRAZY outchea and your manager's original tweet didn't help... Talk to us Jill. I have heard (and read via a lil forum that we both frequent..you know the one..I don't have to call its name. It is Philly based..) all types of stuff which I don't wanna repeat for VARIOUS reasons.
DO you 'owe me' an explanation? Nope. I figured that since you seem to be a 'very up front person', I would just ask you flat out though. All you can say is no or make no comment. What happened according to you Jill?
The Lesson Learned here for everyone else....
So how is this gonna 'help' the people I know. I mean after all, I am not running a 'gossip' blog per say so the only OTHER REASON I would run this story is to ACTUALLY HELP SOMEONE OUT IN THEIR QUEST FOR A PIECE OF THE PIE..
Easy. I think I have explained this before on my own Twitter but seeing as though I don't have a large 'black twitter following', it has not had a chance to matriculate down to the bowels of those trying to come up in the entertainment game via the Internet yet:
A good PR TEAM combats trouble..not starts it.
This is a PR nightmare. I know a lot of you who WORK IN PR. You have an artist (or a roster) that you would like to represent. Some of you are in situations (lanes of the business) that you may think 'require' this sort of drama. No. This is NOT WHAT YOU WANT YOUR PR PERSON DOING. Starting fires. Especially ones like this. This should have NEVER MADE IT TO THIS WEBSITE/BLOG, the radio websites or any of that. The PR person's job is to PUT OUT THE FIRES. Not start 'em. Leave that up to the artists...@ starting them if they so desire.
Clear your affairs up behind closed doors. This could have been avoided if the PR had not made his original tweet. Definitely uncalled for and very unprofessional and according to those backstage...UNTRUE.
Social network responsibly so that your artist doesn't get caught up in bullshit like this with folks like me @'ing them on Twitter or hitting them with questions in interviews that have NOTHING TO DO WITH WHY THEY ARE BEING INTERVIEWED. It is bad enough the artists are out here tweeting/acting crazy. You can't have your staff and your reps doing the same.
In addition, artists out there, this is a just a glimpse of what you can expect from your peers from 'time to time'. Someone is wrong in this situation regardless of the story as the scheduled performance did not go down. In addition, the person most upset WAS ASKED AT THE LAST MINUTE (for performing standards anyway) to perform and she did a favor. Now when she doesn't do any more 'favors', she is going to be the bad 'guy'. smh Again, those little voices in the back of your head (or those coming from your STAFF) shouldn't be brushed off. :) Sometimes they save you the heartache...
*I have NEVER SAID THE WORD 'SOURCE' on my blog. This is the first time. There is a reason for that. It is because I have someone who wants the story to be known that I personally know. As in, HAS BEEN TO MY HOUSE personally know. So I feel like I can say 'source' on this one 'cause well...I trust them and I know they are DEAD IN THE MIDDLE OF THE SITUATION.
