Music: RIP Rod Temperton, Invisible, yet Heard Everywhere

- The Guardian

the British songwriter behind Michael Jackson’s Thriller and Rock With You, has died aged 66.

Jon Platt, the chairman of music publisher Warner/Chappell said Temperton died in London last week following “a brief aggressive battle with cancer”.
“His family is devastated and request total privacy at this, the saddest of sad times,” Platt added.
Temperton, whose other credits include Boogie Nights, Off the Wall, Give Me the Night, Sweet Freedom and Always and Forever, is one of the most important songwriters and composers in contemporary pop.


Hailing from Cleethorpes, his career began in the disco group Heatwave, a band best known for Boogie Nights, and went on to write for the likes of Anita Baker, Aretha Franklin, The Brothers Johnson, Herbie Hancock and Quincy Jones, who enlisted him to work alongside Jackson.

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His compositions for the King of Pop – particularly on the Thriller album – are some of the most famous pop songs in history, and the album continues to sell more than 100,000 copies a year.
He came up with the title for the smash hit song and album Thriller,

“I wrote two or three hundred titles and came up with Midnight Man. I woke up the next morning and I said this word, Thriller,” he has been quoted as saying.

Musician Mark Ronson paid tribute to the songwriter on Twitter: “so devastated to hear that Rod Temperton has passed away. a wonderful man & one of my favourite songwriters ever. thank you for the magic x”.

Temperton was described on social media as “a great British songwriter” by former Culture Club singer Boy George, while rapper LL Cool J said “we have lost a true genius”.
Temperton was also nominated for the best original song Oscar for Miss Celie’s Blues in 1986, a track he co-wrote with Quincy Jones and Lionel Richie for the film The Colour Purple.

Music: Steph-eyi, the Up Rise

A Muliti-talented young lady, born in Kingston Jamaica, Stephanie Wright aka Steph-Eyi,

started writing and singing her own songs at the age of 13, trying to make it in the industry. Determined to do music despite the  odd’s, she joined the church choir and formed a girls trio at her High school by the name of ‘Earth Angels’. There Stephanie Harnessed her silks of writing and musical arrangement, constructing the harmonies of the songs for the Group. In 2009 the Group’s name was changed to ‘3 Angels’ dropping and adding a new member. 

The group was heard by Officer Laing, C.E.O at Supreme Promotions and promoter of one of Jamaica’s biggest Dancehall shows ‘Sting’, he then decided to take the group under his wings. Under the management of Officer Laing the group released several songs and performed at several major events including ‘Sting’.
Stephanie departed from the in 2010 and to pursue a career of her own doing Reggae music. The multitalented singer took a 1 year break from music to pursue her childhood passion for dance and drama.

In 2011 she started the Jamaica Theological Seminary doing a B.A in Music and Media, there she released two Gospel songs under The Covenant Entertainment company. She then transferred to the Excelsior Community Collage School of the Performing Arts.

It was there she caught the eye of Music Producer Andres Lopez with her silky smooth voice at the age of 20, during a Major play ‘Backslider’, where she played one of the lead characters, ‘Rose’. Stephanie also became a member of the 2013-2014 Pantomime cast.

Stephanie has been under the guidance of Lopez and his label ‘I-Pez Productions’, she released her first single ‘Dreaming’, which caught the attention of the European market. Steph-Eyi  has recently released her EP  and her new video ‘One step at a time’. She is currently working on her album to be released later this year.

The Church impacted Stephanie in a great way and has now led her to dive deeper on a spiritual journey conveying her message through reggae music, writing songs depicting the society, unity, peace, love and the socio-political system. Few of her major influences are Alborosie, Chronixx, Ikaya and Etana, Bob Marley, Protoje and Keznambi,. She is determined to send a message to the world through her lyrics. Stephanie is quickly making her way up in the Reggae industry all of the world, becoming a household name.