ms. jade-- whatever happened to...?: funky fresh dressed edition.

Timbaland's Beat Club Records was created ca. 1999/2000, but around 2004 the label dissolved. This forced most of the artists to venture alone into the music industry for a new home. You may remember some of these artists. Hell, some of them may still be playing on your radio. Some of them.

Bubba Sparxxx ("Ugly"): Despite a mediocre debut and his critically acclaimed, commercially ignored sophomore slump, Mr. Sparxxx is getting some radio play with "Ms. New Booty" and "Heat It Up" thanks to Big Boi of Outkast's Purple Ribbon Label.

Petey Pablo ("Raise Up"): Petey was last heard on Ciara's song "Goodies". He also had a minor hit with the Lil-Jon produced single "Freek-a-Leek". Currently, Mr. Pablo is signed to Death Row Records and will be releasing his third album Same Eyez on Me in late 2006 or early 2007.

Tweet ("Oops, Oh My"): Due to mismanagement and promotional problems over at Atlantic Records, Tweet's second album It's Me Again did not do as well as it should have. Tweet has been working on collaborations with Monica, Jessica Betts, Fantasia Barrino, and possibly Chili of TLC. Her new album will feature a duet with Whitney Houston and production by Missy Elliott, Timbaland, Dre & Vidal (Usher's "Caught Up"), Kanye West, and possibly Rich Harrison (Beyonce's "Crazy in Love").

Sebastian (featured on "All Yall"): Sebastian is actually Timbaland's little brother Garland Mosley. In his early career, Garland was a ghostwriter for Timbaland. He has never released an album, but was featured on several songs. You can actually find him over at the space.

Ms. Jade ("Feel This Girl", "Big Head"): Hailing from Philadelphia, Ms. Jade struggled to enter the rap game because of comparisons to fellow Philly native Eve. By sheer luck and hard work, she was signed to Beat Club Records. Once she got there, she built herself upon respect for her skills (not her body) stating, "I’ve never been the type of person to fit in. I’m not into the sexual bandwagon. I want somebody to listen to my music because they like it, not because they think I’ve got nice breasts and a big butt. I want them to like my music because I’m nice. It’s as simple as that. I’m not a copycat. There’s not another female rapper like me. I’m nice, so respect it.” She hoped to land movie roles, support her family, and become a fashion mogul...but apparently her "niceness" was not enough. Though her album produced three singles, included a collaboration with Jay-Z, and led to a tour with Nelly Furtado & Ludacris...Ms. Chevon Young essentially fell off the planet around 2002.

Google her. Wikipedia her. There is no information about where Ms. Jade went off to. Did she decide to make use of her beauty school diploma or is she back in Philly peddling fake Gucci bags? Though Ms. Jade never produced a Top 40 single, her flow was critically acclaimed by both the industry and the streets. If she was so determined to make it in the game, why isn't she still making music with or without Timbaland? On that note, if Timbaland once said, "You don't understand, I didn't like no female rappers until I heard you"...then why hasn't he picked her back up for his new label, The Mosley Music Group? Is she still alive? Is she still rapping? Did she ever exist?

Call home Chevon. We're worried about you!

LAST HEARD: MISSY ELLIOTT f/ MS. JADE- Funky Fresh Dressed
LAST SEEN: Video for "Gossip Folks" with "Funky Fresh Dressed" interlude

NOSTALGIA: MS. JADE- Feel This Girl
NOSTALGIA: MS. JADE- She's a Gangsta
NOSTALGIA: Watch music video for "Ching Ching" featuring Nelly Furtado & Timbaland

BUY Girl Interrupted, BUY Under Construction

BLOGWATCH: This is a looooong overdue shoutout to shitparade for Max's awesome June DANCEPARTYSCENESTER MIX.

CORRECTIONS: "Big White Spaceship" by Pharrell Williams is not actually from his upcoming album, but is an early track produced by a collaboration between Timbaland, Pharrell, Magoo, and another individual. The name of their production group was Surrounded By Idiots. In fact, several of the tracks on the leaked copy of In My Mind (on some file-sharing networks) are NOT new. "Maybe" is actually a song by Pharrell's group N*E*R*D off of their album Fly or Die.