With 2014’s arrival rendering her ‘forthcoming‘ ‘Hardcore 2K13’ EP irrelevant, Lil Kim finds herself career met with more despair this year, now that she has been slapped with a fresh lawsuit.

For last year, before the release of her latest release ‘Dead Girl Walking’, the former chart-regular released a promotional image fans had believed was an image of herself sporting ‘Zombie’ make-up.

Alas, her efforts to pull the wool over the world’s eyes came to no avail when Canadian artist  Samantha Ravndahl revealed that the snap was not of Lil Kim at all, but was rather stolen by the Rapper after she uploaded it to Yishan Wong‘s ‘Reddit.‘

Now, after urging the MC to cut all ties with the image, Ravndahl has now filed a lawsuit demanding a minimum of $150,000.

Full story below…

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Fergie‘s back!

Yes, eight years after rocking many a music loving world with ‘The Dutchess’, the ‘Velvet’ star has announced the birth of its follow up, doing so during an interview with ‘On Air With Ryan Seacrest.’

While saying little of its sound or release date, the star did confirm it would drop via Interscope Records and would precede the arrival of a brand spanking new ‘Black Eyed Peas’ project.

Watch below!

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The speculation is over!

After weeks of teasing and titillation, Rihanna has – so it seems – confirmed her presence on Shakira‘s hotly anticipated new single.

Details after the jump…

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When a song is soaked in as much smash-potential as Lady GaGa‘s ‘Do What U Want’, it’s almost expected that its video will be awaited with fever-pitch anticipation. However, for Mother Monster’s fans, the “waiting” has been never-ending.

Indeed, despite ample teasing, the clip has yet to materialize – leaving last August’s ‘Applause’ as the sole video to be lifted from the star’s ‘ARTPOP’ album. Alarming, right?

Well, even more perplexing was the lack of explanation for the hold up. That is until today, though.

The 27-year-old singer shattered the silence with a lengthy note to fans on LittleMonsters.com.

Her reasons for the odd delay after the jump…

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Guess which Hip Hop staple was snapped posing it up with fans hours ago.

Hint: They can cite Lil Wayne, Tyga, Diddy and ‘Massive Attack’ star as long time friends and collaborators!

Wait…you’re still not sure?!

Alright…the identity of our mystery musician below!!

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Before its headline-dominating release back in November, Lady GaGa‘s ‘ARTPOP’ LP found itself met with reports claiming it had been armed with a $25 million budget…employed to fund the fun filled release.

Alas, after struggling to rock the charts quite as hard as 2011’s ‘Born This Way‘ did before it, this report was picked by many major news outlets, who now claimed the performer’s label, Interscope, had lost that amount due to the album’s ‘underperformance.’

Now, after keeping mum on the matter for months, the entertainer took to her official fan community site ‘Little Monsters.Com‘, to address the allegedly false report.

Her words below…

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Our first From The Vault of 2014 comes courtesy of Brandy and Kanye West and their R&B groove ‘Talk About Our Love’.

Rolled out as the lead single from B-Rocka’s fourth effort ‘Afrodisiac’ which came out in Summer 04 after the singer took some time out to focus on motherhood, ‘Love’ was produced by West and was also written by him alongside Harold Lilly. Like most of Yeezy’s’ work at the time, the track was built around a Funk sample, in this case ‘Gilly Hines’ by Mandrill and featured Israeli violinist Miri Ben-Ari.

The song deals with a relationship marred by rumors, gossip and “he said, she said”.

Released to critical acclaim, the song was only a moderate hit for the Vocal Bible in the US, peaking at #36 on the Billboard Hot 100, #16 on the Hip-Hop/R&B charts; but it fared a lot better in the UK with its #6 peak position on the Official Singles Charts

Dave Meyers handled the visualization of the song, delivering a stunning clip which sees the protagonists drifting apart since they are never able to catch a moment alone because their house is constantly crowded. The use of intricate choreography was also a pleasant touch and one indicative of B growing the length and breadth of her skill-set.

With Bran hard at work on a new project, our thoughts are running wild just imagining what she will come up with this go around. We’re worried though, because Ms. Norwood always delivers a chapter and verse in musical brilliance.

As always, Brandy, we’re rooting for you!

Your thoughts?

The Pop Prince that is Chris Brown may be used to pulling hits in foreign markets, but there’s no doubt Kid Ink finds himself in pastures new this year, as the pair’s new single ‘Show Me’ storms the British charts.

Good news for the tatted twosome below!

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16 years removed from its 1998 release, Lauryn Hill’s self-penned/produced classic ‘Ex Factor’ found itself honoured in a unique fashion hours ago…by none other than R&B Empress Ciara.

Reportedly hard at work on her forthcoming studio album, the ‘Hotline’ performer took to Instagram to share her very own playful rendition of the cut, sharing the joy her recent engagement to the entertainer Future has brought her, with her fans.

The finished product?

A lighthearted Ciara below…

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Four years.

Despite maintaining a very present ‘presence’ at the forefront of R&B’s scene, four years have passed since the release of Keri Hilson‘s last studio album, ‘No Boys Allowed.’

Back then, the double Platinum status of its lead single ‘Pretty Girl Rock‘ and the 102,000 units sold in its first week paled in comparison to digits moved by the likes of Keyshia Cole, Beyonce and Alicia Keys months/years earlier.

However, with the gap between today’s R&B haves and have-nots wider than ever before, ‘Boys’ sales now place Hilson in a small group of ‘Urban’ belles whose labels can depend on them to pull in a profit. So, baring recent releases by Ciara, Kelly Rowland and Brandy in mind, we ask…

Is the world ready for a new Keri album?

…better yet…

Are you looking forward to a new Keri  album?

Weigh in below!

Ever keen to broaden our musical scope, recent months have seen That Grape Juice venture into a number of new musical landscapes including, most recently, gospel.

Spearheaded by well-received interviews with gospel singers Yolanda Adams, Hezekiah Walker, Twinkie Clark, Fred Hammond, Kierra Sheard, Dorinda Clark Cole, Israel Houghton, Marvin Sapp, Micah Stampley, Joshua Rogers, and more, TGJ is now offering readers ‘The Overflow’ – a collection of the top gospel-themed news stories from the week.

Tuck in below for the latest news on Faith Evans, Karen Clark Sheard, Mary Mary‘s Erica Campbell, J. Moss, James Fortune & FIYA, The Showers, Dewayne Woods, The Super Bowl, and more:

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Believe it or not, 2015 will mark the tenth year of Rihanna“s Pop presence, introduced to the world by LA Reid, Jay Z and former manager Marc Jordan.

Now seen as competition for many of the acts she once cited as idols, the vocalist has now seen her career praised by long time friend and collaborator, Anthony Mandler- responsible for many of her more memorable visuals.

Yes, in an interview with Graydon Carter“s “Vanity Fair“, the “Unfaithful” director went to great lengths to explain why believes the singer is the biggest star in the world, revealing that she has overcome more hardship than the world will ever be aware of.

Moving words below…

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