Where do I begin?! Aside from being one of cheapest looking movies I've seen in...well...a long time, the storyline had to be a joke. I can't even lie; I don't even know what the film is about as I type - all I know is that that budget zombie nonsense was a mess. Hold on...

Ok, I just watched it back again and am in hysterics. This can't be for real, can it?

Will you be going to see 'Single Black Female'?

Labels: Farrah Franklin

She was getting it - especially on the Destiny's Child Medley ("Haters can't stop me now"). Great stuff.

What do you think of the performances?

Labels: Kelly Rowland

R&B singer Akon is set to be charged in connecton to the much-publicized fan-tossing incident back in June. Check out the report via PEOPLE magazine:

The YouTube clip of Akon tossing a 15-year-old fan into the crowd of a concert has come back to haunt him: Police are slapping the hip-hop star with criminal charges after a fan said she suffered a concussion in the incident.

Akon is due in a Fishkill, N.Y., courtroom Monday to be arraigned on misdemeanor charges of endangering the welfare of a minor and second-degree harassment, the Associated Press reports.

During the June concert, Akon threw the audience member from the stage into the crowd. According to AP, the boy landed on another fan, Abby Rosa, who told the Poughkeepsie Journal that she suffered a concussion.

There was no immediate comment from Akon's camp.

I'm glad. It's about time some of these artists started taking responsibility for their actions and, by that, I don't mean making wack 'Sorry' songs.

Labels: Akon

Check out this new track from R&B singer Mario. 'City', which features Akon, was recorded for Mario's forthcoming album 'Go!', however ended up being left off the final track listing. Though I like the overall vibe of the song, I can see why it didn't make the final cut; the album's material is simply alot stronger than this. Still worth a listen, though. {Our interview with Mario will be up on Monday next week}

Hit or Miss?

LISTEN: City (ft. Akon)

Labels: Mario

Labels: Tamia

The video for Snoop Dogg's latest video 'Sensual Seduction' made its debut yesterday. I'm kinda shocked that Snoop went through with the concept of the vid, but must say that it worked. Hilarious. It's actually made me like the song a little better now. The track is the first to be lifted from his 9th studio album 'Ego Trippin' (due early 2008).

What do you think of the video?

Labels: Snoop Dogg

Check out this pic of Whitney Houston and Bobby Brown's daughter Bobbi Kristina smoking...well...something. Not trying to be on some moral high ground or whatever, but at 14 years old, this just isn't cutting it. SMH...

Labels: Bobby Brown, Whitney Houston

The video for Cheri Dennis' new single 'Portrait of Love' kinda premiered yesterday. I say 'kinda', as I actually managed to catch the vid last week (thanks Kevin!), however Atlantic Records took it down and kept it on lock and key until the official premiere last night. Anyway, enough with the rambling...

About the video, it's awesome! After some ten or so years of Cheri being on Bad Boy Diddy finally hooked her up - everything from the video's budget to it's concept to the choreography was on point. Great stuff.

Cheri's debut album 'In And Out Of Love' (a very solid effort) is available now on iTunes. The physical version of the LP - which may feature newer tracks - will hit stores in February of next year.

What do you think of the video?

Labels: Cheri Dennis

It appears the controversy surrounding the women in Usher's life has simmered following the birth of his son earlier this week. News of spats between his mom Jonnetta Patton and wife Tameka Foster has rampant for months, however Patton had nothing but good things to say when speaking to PEOPLE magazine about the new addition to the family:

I'm extremely excited and filled with joy about the birth of my grandson, Usher Raymond V," Patton says. "He is beautiful, precious, healthy and such a blessing. I'm very happy for my son and his wife. God has truly blessed them with a special gift. This will be an amazing holiday season for all of us."

Labels: Usher

According to Billboard, Janet Jackson's as-yet-untitled Def Jam debut has been confirmed for a February 2008 release. Jackson is also said to be prepping a worldwide tour in support of the album - the follow-up to 2006's Platinum certified '20 Y.O'. As previously reported, label honcho L.A. Reid will be at the helm of the project, as opposed to boyfriend Jermaine Dupri.

Labels: Janet Jackson

Chart topper Alicia Keys' appearance on the Tyra Show aired yesterday (November 26th). The singer discussed, among other things, the pressures of non-stop work and being near depression as well as how she found herself again. It was a really good interview. Alicia also gave great performances of the first two singles from the album 'No One' and 'Like You'll Never See Me Again'. Check out the performances below:

No One

What do you think of the interview/performances?

Labels: Alicia Keys

According to MTV News, Nas' controversial forthcoming album 'N*gger' has been pushed back from it's December release and will now hit stores in February next year - Black History Month in the US. Check out the report:

Nas had originally planned to put the project out next month, but according to his camp, the album has been pushed to February: Black History Month. Nas told MTV News the first single will drop sometime in January.
{Source}

Labels: Nas

Following the news earlier this month that the legendary Jackson 5 would possibly be reforming for a tour, Jermaine Jackson has gone on record to confirm that the brothers are set to hit the road in 2008 - with Michael. Check out the report via Yahoo Music:

The Jackson 5 will tour in 2008 with Michael Jackson, according to his brother Jermaine.

Rumours about a possible reunion of the pop legends has been rife for some time, culminating in claims from promoter Leonard Rowe recently that live dates were being planned.

Jermaine Jackson has now given the clearest indication yet that the comeback is on and will take place next year, featuring their most famous member.

"Michael will be involved. We want to tour. We want to touch the lives of everybody who's bought our records and supported us.

"It will probably start here first, but it will be sometime in 2008. That's our plan", he told the BBC in a new interview.

Discussing Michael's acquittal on child sex offences in 2005, Jermaine said the five-piece are now "stronger than ever" and "owe" the fans who have supported them through thick and thin.

I'm really looking forward to this. Here's hoping something eventually comes from all the 'talking about a reunion'.

Labels: Michael Jackson

In an interview with The Sydney Morning Herald soulful singer Jill Scott detailed a recent incident where she was called a 'n*gger' and how she dealt with it:

“I was waiting outside for the valet to bring the car round, and these … I say kids, but they must have been 25, looking wealthy, five-o’clock-in-the-morning wasted. And this guy’s saying, ‘Step back nigger, step back nigger.’ He’s saying it like it’s a song, but there’s nobody out there but me. I was taken aback, and I said, ‘Excuse me?’

And he said, ‘Shut your mouth and don’t say a word when a white man is talking.’

“I’m not kidding. I started laughing, and I followed him and his cohorts through the parking lot laughing hysterically, and they became more and more uncomfortable. It was one of the best moments of outrageous laughter I’ve had. To think for one moment I could possibly fit into that box … I am so far from that word that it is funny. They looked so uncomfortable; I wanted to emasculate him, to make sure he was getting no nookie that night. The girls sobered up and were looking scared. It was something else - the first time in my life I’ve been called that. Wow. But I enjoyed it. You must fight back; it’s imperative. I like the fight in me now.”

I agree with her 'fight back' conclusion. It's baffling that even in today's society, racial discrimination still exists. SMH...

Any thoughts?

Labels: Jill Scott

A new Mya track has surfaced from her ill-fated (unreleased) 2005 album 'Control Freak'. The interestingly titled track 'Shake It (Like A Dog), features rapper Jim Jones. I’m feeling the song a lot; Mya’s ‘in your face delivery’ as well as the production are on-point. However, it’s the song’s lyrics that let it down IMO. There’s something not quite right about her likening herself to a dog?? Still, lyrics aside, it’s a good track (better than much of ‘Liberation’) and it makes me wonder what other hidden gems were shelved when the album was scrapped.

Labels: Mya

This week's 'From The Vault' video is En Vogue's 1996 mega-hit 'Dont' Let Go'. Arguably one of group's career defining songs, the video also marked the last time the girls would appear as a quartet. Lead singer Dawn Robinson left shortly after the track was released in 1997 due to negotiations to keep her place as a member - whilst embarking on a solo career - falling through:

Timeless. The track's powerful lyrics and even better delivery made this a classic for me. It's a shame Dawn left when she did, as neither she or the group managed to reach the same level of success (or anywhere near) again. Who knows how much further their legacy would have carried on to?

Bonus: 'Don't Let Go' (w/o Dawn) (Live On Saturday Night Live)

Your thoughts?

Labels: From The Vault

After much uncertainty, Kelly Rowland has embarked on a North American tour in support of her 'Ms. Kelly' album. That Grape Juice reader Brice attended the Philadelphia show at the House of Blues; check out their review of the show:

Kelly Killed it............It was a little short but Kelly worked it out. She did a mix of songs from Work, Stole, Cant Nobody, Comeback, This Is Love, Like This, Bad Habit, and DC3 stuff like Say My Name, Survivor, Bug A Boo, Soldier and Bootylicious. The show was wonderful (and) during the song This Is Love Kelly broke down a little and told us that she was thankful for having a loving crowd like us and that for a while recently she didn’t know if she wanted to sing anymore and that her love for the music was burning again.

It's good to know that Kelly is pressing on and isn't letting the negativity force her out of the limelight. Saying that, it's times like this that make me wonder how genuine talent like Kelly can be so overlooked in favour of some of the mediocre artists that populate the music scene at the moment. Hopefully things look up for Kelly soon....

{Click pics to enlarge}

Labels: Kelly Rowland

The 2007 World Music Awards were held earlier this month in Monte Carlo. R&B stars Ciara and Rihanna performed at the event. Check out their performances below:

Ciara (ft. 50 Cent) - 'Can't Leave Em' Alone'



Rihanna - 'Umbrella'

I actually enjoyed both performances. Ciara's vocals were on-point throughout and Rihanna did her thing too.

What do you think of the performances?

Labels: Ciara, Rihanna

Labels: Alicia Keys

In a recent interview with popular UK urban magazine RWD, Amerie spoke candidly on her current label situation/frustrations. Check out the extract below {Thanks Adrian}:

How has your label treated you?
Er, you probably don’t even want to ask me that right now. That’s how I feel abut it. I personally love some of the people that work here in the UK; my publicist Shoshanna and Simon... but I really don’t want to talk about it cos I want to keep it all positive, you feel me?

Well, it seems the album didn’t really perform as well as it should have?
Cos they’re not pushing it like they should.

Why aren’t they?
We want to release Crush, but they feel there’s a lot going on. This is my thing; I’m an artist and this is not rocket science. Take Control was going good, so we knew we had to schedule the video for Gotta Work. But you need money to do a video, and by the time we got it cleared, it was late. They didn’t feel like that, but anybody with half a brain could see it was late. So then Gotta Work was going up, but it peaked and rapidly started coming down, so we knew we needed to do Crush. They said ‘Wait.’ I love the business and I studied the business and I told them we needed to do the other video, because you need to have another single when your other track is peaking. They’re talking about doing it next year, but I’m not doing it next year! So I don’t know what to tell you. I get that everyone’s filled with good intentions, but the road to perdition is filled with good intentions. There should have been no gaps.

I'm kinda surprised (yet pleased) she was so open about the whole thing. I guess, one can only be dragged through the dirt for so long. It's a shame too as 'Because I Love It' is a really solid record - one of my favourites from this year.

Labels: Amerie

R&B singer Kelly Rowland is set to star in NBC's 'Clash of The Choirs' special airing throughout the holiday season. The show pits Rowland against stars such as Patti Labelle and Michael Bolton to create a choir that will go head to head with the other choirs led by artists on the show. It looks pretty interesting and it's good to see Kelly still keeping her name out there.

Will you be tuning into 'Clash of the Choirs'?

Labels: Kelly Rowland

Ashanti performed the US national anthem 'The Star Spangled Banner' earlier today at the NFL Thanksgiving Game (The Dallas Cowboys vs. The New York Jets). For the record, I like Ashanti and know she can sing, but that was a mess. Just horrible. Aside from the fact that it was real pitchy, that last high note...what the hell? Here's hoping she steps up her live performing game by the time she drops her new album 'The Declaration' (due early next year).

What do you think of Ashanti's performance?

Labels: Ashanti

Part 2 // Part 3

Superstar songstress Mariah Carey stopped by The Ellen Degeneres Show on Wednesday to promote her new fragrance 'M By Mariah Carey'. She also briefly touched upon her forthcoming album which is due out 'at the top of next year'. Mariah's always entertaining to watch and came across well.

Any thoughts?

Labels: Mariah Carey

Labels: Beyonce

Check out the new iPod commercial featuring Mary J. Blige. 'Work That' is playing in the background. The track will apparently serve as her next single.

What do you think of the commercial?

Labels: Mary J. Blige

Check out this steamy photoshoot Rihanna and Robin Thicke appear in for GQ magazine. This is kinda random, but I can't deny that it's a great shoot. You can read their joint feature, in which they speak about the success they have enjoyed this year, by clicking here.

What do you think of the pics?

Labels: Rihanna, Robin Thicke

R&B songstress Alicia Keys has surpassed initial sales expectations for her new album 'As I Am'. Whereas the LP was forecast to sell in the region of 600,000 copies first week, Billboard has it's final sales at 742,000 - a career best for Keys. 'As I Am' now stands as having 2007's 2nd highest opening week numbers behind Kanye West's 'Graduation'. {Source}

Labels: