La Toya Jackson Returns With Previously Unreleased Single

Watch out world. Janet isn't the only Jackson making a comeback in 2015. Much like her sister, La Toya is bringing back the Jackson name into present day, but she's going about it in a totally different way. Instead of releasing a brand new track, she's digging into her recording library and bringing forth a track that may be old, but is still something you've yet to hear. Check out "Trouble".

It can definitely be said that this track sounds like it is from the 80s. This song is a track that didn't quite make it onto La Toya's '88 smash hit La Toya (or You're Gonna Get Rocked! depending on which version or when you picked it up). It's not unusual for artists to record tons of songs for an album and narrow it down, but what is unusual is to release a track more than twenty years later. But it's not an ordinary release. This is a remix package -- an awesome one.

This release features a lot of talented artist, brought together by JRED Music. The remix masters include Jared Jones, Matt Pop, Ranny, Sweet Team, Dr. Brooks, and Argonaut. Each artist brings their own unique sounds to the project, turning this one single into ten distinctly separate works. Some even manage to make the song hardly recognizable (in a good way), making the entire album worth your money.

I know I'm a little bit late on this one, but given that the original version of the track was released back in 2013, I'd say that I'm a bit closer to the single's release than the album's. And hey, La Toya is from an incredibly talented family and one of the least talked about Jacksons, so why not give her a quick shoutout.

"Trouble" is available from JRED Music now on iTunes. Grab it now!

Celebrate Pride Month With Chase Silva And His New Single

It's Pride Month! In case you've been living under a rock, as of this year June is nationally recognized as LGBT Pride Month. It has been the designated month for gay pride events for a long, long time beforehand, though. And now to get you in the mood, we have a new anthem for everyone out there. It comes from a talented and promising new artist Chase Silva, and trust hunty, you are going to love.

In order to get his voice and his message out there, Chase has teamed up with international DJ duo Groove Addix to bring this track to life. Chase has his own credentials, including being a sexy Pacific Islander (Hellloooo Hawaii!) and winning the Pride Idol contest in Seattle last year. He has been a local talent for a while, but now he's trying to spread his voice across the nation. He's already beat out over forty competitors in his home town, and now he's ready to slay the competition, uniting us all with this special track.

"Free To Be Me" is exactly what it sounds like. It's a song celebrating the world we live in today. Things have come so far, and even though we still have a long way to go, we are to a point in history where being gay isn't a death sentence. Sure not everyone loves us, but we know exactly where we can all go to feel safe and, well, free to be who we are. The message that this song carries is so important for the history of LGBT, and with the national recognition of gay pride by our nation's president, I feel like this song's importance cannot be overstated.

On his side, he has not only the crazy talented Groove Addix, but also remix masters such as Paul Goodyear, Sweet Team, and Jared Jones, taking this from one song to a full album, guaranteeing that you can find one mix that is going to be a good fit for you and your tastes. Be sure to grab the single, out now on iTunes courtesy of JRED Music.

Mrs. Kasha Davis Proves Her Elimination Wrong With Single "Cocktail"

This season of RuPaul's Drag Race is throwing everybody for a loop. Actually, up until this week, I'm pretty sure they've sent the wrong queen home every single week. Mrs. Kasha Davis was one of these wrongful eliminations, but at least we get to see more of her. This smart lady is taking full advantage of her comedy stylings shining through on her final episode and channeled it into a fun and catchy song. Check out "Cocktail".

I had no idea what to expect going into this. I think we already all knew that Kasha wasn't the best singer from Drag Race, but she is one of the funniest from this season, so I knew that she would work some kind of magic to make it fun. And that's exactly what she did. Mrs. Kasha Davis embraces the fact that her voice isn't Mariah Carey and goes for a more comical approach, throwing in jokes, but still managing to make it a coherent song that doesn't get sidetracked by comedy.

It's this balance of funny and catchy that I like. So many other queens have went the comedy route after discovering they aren't a strong singer, and many of them fall flat because they forget that it's still a song and not a standup routine. Sure you can throw jokes at us, but if you don't have a good beat and a hook that people will remember, then you won't be a success. Kasha will forever have "Cocktail, cocktail, cocktaaaaaiiiil" stuck in my head. For. Ever.

The release of "Cocktail" is handled by my friend Jared Jones and his new(ish) label JRED Music. JRED is a fun new independent record label releasing music from talented up and coming artists, and is always packed with remixes and fun jams. In fact, on Youtube, you can find a preview of Jared's Mojito mix for the song!

For now, pick up the single on iTunes and get your jam on!

Pop Singer Levi Kreis Gives Back

It's a touching thing when artists give back to their community. I know first hand how expensive and exhausting music making can be, so when an artist feels the need to give to charities or work for the people who got them to where they are today, it's always heart warming. Levi Kreis, famous for his work in musical theater and his stint on XM Radio, has now decided that the gay community could use a little love from him.

This single follows in the footsteps of his previous release "Gonna Be Alright", keeping with the more upbeat and disco feel than what he's previously had out. This release is a collection of remixes for the track "Love Revolution" which is a very catchy tune. It is a co-release of two labels, Vision 9 Records and JRED Music, manned by my friend and talented remixer Jared Jones. This version also features a very HIV friendly rap by QBoy. It features remixes by Jared Jones, DeepSoundEffect, Bluetrax, Day.Beat, and more.

From now until November 4th, 100% of the profits from this single will go to benefit a charity called "Positively Living", a not-for-profit service agency that provides housing and care for persons that are homeless and suffering with HIV/AIDS, mental illness, addiction, or physical disability. You can either buy the full thing for ten dollars, or name your own price if you want to donate more. It's for a good cause, and you get some hot tracks in return!

Check out his official BandCamp to snag this gem for yourself.

Song of the Month - Levi Kreis "Gonna Be Alright"

Imagine this: I was writing up a story on this artist, Levi Kreis, about his new single "Gonna Be Alright" when the media splashed with the news that DOMA had been stricken down. Homosexuals can now get married (where legal, obviously) and not have to call it something like "domestic partnership". This is for real. "Everything's going to be alright," I said. Awkwardly enough I was singing along to this track when I said that. Point is, this song fits so perfectly with this month, that I've dubbed it June's song!

This track isn't exactly new. It's actually from Levi's 2009 album, Where I Belong, but it has been redone to a point that it's nearly unrecognizable. The vocals have been updated, the beats are pulsing, and it has magically become a club banger. Another odd thing about this song is that there's no "real" version of it. By this I mean there are a lot of mixes, but no original version aside from the '09 one. For the time being, the "Jared Jones 2k13 Radio Mix" is being used for the basic analysis of the track.

What I love about this song is that it really is an anthem for LGBT Pride -- which is the month of June by the way -- and this combined with the recent triumphs in the US Supreme Court -- really make this song have a much more special meaning. It is a message of hope to the community (whether or not that was it's original intention) and it gives us what we all want: Something to shake our booties to. Someone back me up here!

With both the choosing of this song, as well as it's message that I hope to continue sharing, I wish everyone a Happy Pride! I have worked hard at TOTU to point out as many of the positive aspects of LGBT in today's music and television. I hope everyone, LGBT, straight, or otherwise, can see what positivity the homosexual community has to offer.

You can also grab the track on iTunes now!

Interview: Producer Jared Jones On Manila Luzon and Latrice Royale's "The Chop"

I keep telling myself that I won't overload my site with RuPaul's Drag Race posts, but how can I resist talking about Manila? Sure, she may have gone home, and yes, I have next to no reason to continue watching the season, but who the hell cares? She's released a new song! Thanks to my relentless social-media whoring, I've finally made a few connections, and what do you know -- My friend Jared Jones, the famed Drag Race Remix King, dropped by to give me the scoop on "The Chop".

Top Five: Favorite Recent Remixes

It's been a while since I've done a Top Five post, and I think it is about time this got a revival. This go around I decided to go through my favorite remixes. I had to ponder for a long time on whether it should be "of 2012", but instead I went with "recent" because a few of them that I still listen to today pre-date this year.

Let me also take a moment to explain exactly what I find a "good remix" to be. First off it has to be exciting. Nobody likes a boring song. Secondly, it needs to have the lyrics in tact. I don't want a remix of an artists song with the lyrics only spliced in every couple of minutes, or reduced to an annoying constant stutter where nothing is audible. Lastly, I generally fall in love with remixes of songs that I liked to begin with, and the remix gives it either new life or a new point of view. Now that I have that settled, we can move on to our first song.

5. Nadia Oh - No Bueno (Cory Martin Remix)



It wouldn't be a top five list without Nadia. I placed her so low on the list because the original song isn't even close to being one of my favorite tracks by her (She has an amazing musical library), but this remix really saved the song for me. The remix is sped up from the original, but keeps that same Nadia vibe. I guess I had just had too much Moombahton for one sitting when she had released the original. Thankfully this remix came out and saved the day.

Jared Jones Remixes Drag Race Royalty

I've quickly become a fan of Jared Jones. He is becoming popular in the music community, and it's easy to see why. After doing a mix for Ru Paul's smash "Sexy Drag Queen", he has now set his sights on new targets. Jared is releasing not one, but two mixes with queens from the hit TV show Ru Paul's Drag Race, Willam, resident bad girl from season four, and Manila Luzon, the runner up from season three.

First up, he did a special remix of "Trouble", the club single from season four's Willam. I really like this version of the song (which is already available on iTunes!) because it not only extends the depressingly short track, but it also give the song an entire new raw and dancey feel. The clip below won't even do the full track justice, and you can get an even longer preview on iTunes. Give it a shot, and let me know what you think.




His other remix, which has a release date of "very soon" according to Manila, may be the best remix to come from Mr. Jones yet. I love the placement of the vocal notes, using actual bits she sang but rearranging them so that it sounds completely different. I love that it will be a "radio mix" as well, meaning that is a bit more mainstream and keeps the original flow of the song. I have been waiting months for this one, Ms. Luzon, so "very soon" needs to speed up a bit!




Jared Jones has certainly become the go-to mix artist in the gay realm of music. I guess doing exclusives with Ru Paul will do that for you. I hope that he can continue to work with the Drag Race ladies, as well as other up coming artists such as Jipsta (for whom he remixed "Lover Who Rocks You", and did a freaking fantastic job).

Who would you like to see Jared work with next? Any other fabulous mixes I missed? Comment below and let me know!

Song of the Week - Lover Who Rocks You

Prepare for a ton of name dropping. This song is by my buddy Jipsta, who teamed up with amazing mix master John Rizzo and crazy talented singer Reina. Not only that, but Jipsta has employed some of the top remix artists such as DJ Ranny, Jared Jones, Manny Lehman, and more. Impressed yet? You should be.

The king of gay circuit club rap has returned! About time, too. He has been teasing us all with this song for months and months. The original edit of the song is a true circuit track made to get you dancing out on the floor and singing along. Believe me, the lyrics will get stuck in your head. Reina sounds great on the song, and I really wish she was present in the song more.

Along with the original edit are a huge list of remixes. All of them shine in their own ways, but anyone who knows me knows that I am a huge lover of dance music, so the Jared Jones mix wins hands down. The best part has to be the over the top electro-stutter by Reina at the end of the track.

And as a disclaimer, yes, Jipsta is an awesome guy and I do consider him a friend, but I was a fan of his music before I ever spoke with him. So no bitching at me, OK?

Buy the track and support the artists!

Jipsta, Ru, And Sahara Too

Ok, so the rhyming was kind of lame and cliche, but it's my blog and if I want to look stupid, I will. Don't judge me.

The point of this blog entry is to bring up that RuPaul, the queen of all queens, has released a remix EP as an extension of her latest album "Glamazon". Usually I don't give a crap about remixes (unless they are done by notable DJ's/Groups or are hilarious like the Goldfrapp remix for Judas), but this one is special. Why, you ask? How could any old remix catch my attention? Well the opening track, and most "sick'ning" of them all, features the always funny and rather adorable Jipsta. Enter: Sexy Drag Queen.

Jipsta is a character. His solo music is hysterical. I reviewed his album "Bandoozle" last month and I've been bothering him via Twitter ever since. He is buddy-buddy with all my favorite drag queens, making me jealous all the time by talking about hanging out with Pandora Boxx and Sahara Davenport! Yes, the world revolves around me, obviously. All joking aside, I am a big fan of both Jipsta and RuPaul, and this song doesn't disappoint.

The song is pure dancey fun, and it doesn't really sound like a remix. Ru's voice is very autotuned, but as I've said time and time again, I don't place a lot of value on singing well. It sounds horrible, but thats how it is. You can have an amazing singing voice, but if you are boring, I, as well as the majority of the country, won't give a damn. Ru knows how to have fun and how to work with what she's got.

Jipsta's verse is a plea for us to all party with him. Amen, brotha. He is kind of like that announcer at all those sporting events I don't go to but see in movies -- or a beauty pageant emcee. Announcing that you better bow down to the queen as she makes her way through.

Speaking of queens, Ms. Davenport continues to taunt me with her upcoming single. She has released a snippet of the studio version of "Go Off" on youtube and has been hammering it on her twitter... and I finally caved in and listened to it. My initial plan was to ignore it until it came out so it could be this amazing surprise, but I just couldn't resist any more. The song is HOT! Give it a listen for yourself.



I really hope this girl puts out a full album. I hate seeing the trend of endless singles being released. So many people either loose interest or loose funding and never get to release an album. I have a lot of faith in Sahara, though. She knows how to make a good track, as proven with "Pump With Me". Maybe we could even see a collaboration with Manila in the future?

Check out my review of "Bandoozle" here. You can buy "SuperGlam DQ" and the "Sexy Drag Queen" Remix feat. Jipsta here. And if you haven't yet, get Sahara Davenport's first single "Pump With Me" here.

Also: I'd like to give a big thank you to Jared Jones! He was a good sport in that I forgot to credit him. It was a huge oversight and kind of embarrassing. He's got three mixes on "SuperGlam DQ" so you'd best check them out!