Reina Williams: The Mixtape on YouTube
Many people around the world for whatever reason dont have the ability to download music. 
So with that in mind, I have uploaded ALL the tracks from my recent release to my YouTube Channel for everyone to enjoy in a streamable slideshow accompanied format. 
ENJOY!
Curve Magazine. . . Again.
One of the last awesome things I did in 2011 before saying goodbye to a very interesting and successful year, was do an interview with Curve Magazine. The previous year, my EP Full Circle, which was fresh off the burners, was reviewed by Curve and garnered a positive write up by freelance writer turned Pro Dog Walker, Margaret Coble.
This time around, I had the pleasure of being officially interviewed by Curve. It was my first phone interview in a minute. I usually get an email with 3 or 4 questions where I answer them in a few sentences, so it was refreshing to have a dialogue interaction with Emelina Marinero. She and I had been corresponding via email since October to find out how I can share my new project with the Curve subscribers. So you can imagine my excitement when she finally sent me the "we want to interview you" email.
Release Date/Publication TBA
The Mixtape
For those of you unfamiliar withe the difference between a mixtape and an album, let me explain. A Mixtape is exactly what it sounds like (with the exception of it being digital and not a cassette, RIP Analog) . .
It is a compilation of music by one or many artists and it SHOULD cover a wide range of genres. The modern day mixtape which is much more Hip Hop focused, made popular by sites like DatPiff.com, have become the normal way for artists in the underground communities to get heard over familiar tracks made popular by superstar rappers who are "already hot". But that never stops veterans like Jada Kiss, or upcoming legends like Lil Wayne to make mixtapes of their own. Often times expressing themselves more freely with less frills than an album.
Which brings us to the difference. An ALBUM is a more focused and polished project. Great care, planning, production and execution come to making an Official Album. There is often a theme or common thread running through a good album. Not to mention a more personal look into the artist's mind and heart. At least that is my interpretation of what an album should be for the listener.
That being said, my FIRST mixtape will be a compilation of songs that no one has heard, songs that i love to play, and new verses that im purging from my creative block as to make way for the flow on the album set to release the end of 2012. This will be a fun ride. . it already has been.
Stay tuned.
The X-Factor USA
As many of you know, or may NOT know, in June i auditioned for the FOX Network show THE X FACTOR, a super produced and emotionally charged version of American Idol which allows kids and groups to audition as well as solo performers. Having advanced to the Bootcamp round and being picked to participate in the show out of over 100,000 hopefuls from around the country, i feel truly blessed to have had the opportunity to be on the show.
However, there is some what of a strange quasi controversy surrounding my getting booted off of the show after an AMAZING audition in Newark NJ, which resulted in a standing ovational sing along from an arena full of strangers and 4 excited YES's from the celebrity judges. And after and equally impressive Bootcamp performance where, to many, including RollingStone.com writer Joe Berkowitz, I clearly stood out among my fellow contestants. Oddly enough that amazing audition, which can be seen HERE, never made it to the viewing audience, although the grainy camera phone video captured by an audience member has almost 12,000 views and counting. . . with NO PROMOTION. There are many theories as to why I was X'd out of the X Factor, but that will never stop me from doing what I know i was put here to do.
Here is the interview from my arrival at Bootcamp. One of the only pieces of footage that the producers released on the X Factor website.
