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Solange Knowles may not have released any music for the better part of three years, yet that hasn’t stopped the youngest of the soulful songstress from getting that all-important face time.

Indeed, the 25 year old was this week spotted at the Macy‘s press preview at New York’s Openhouse Gallery, bringing son Julez along for the fun.

We need that new album already! Till then, more pics below…

Your thoughts?

In what will be sure to re ignite their long standing feud, Rap royal Foxy Brown has given her two cents on how she feels about Lil Kim‘s  infamous ‘Black Friday’ release during a performance shot just hours ago.

Although aimed at a certain younger and far more commercially potent rival of Ms.Jones,  the song ‘Black Friday’ does indeed feature a line which many music enthusiasts agree remarks on an near death incident involving Ms. Brown.

Which many say came as a result of her long standing war of words with the former jail bird.

Find out what Foxy had to say below…

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Teairra Mari’s story went from fairy tale to forgotten tale in less than 12 months. Once upon a time heralded the ‘princess of the Roc’, 2005 saw Mari making her way onto the charts with ‘Make Her Feel Good’ – the thumping summer grown woman anthem. The then 17-year-old sang the commanding lyrics with a ‘Miss Thang’ conviction that would even make Monica proud. But even with all the promise and supposed support from then-mentor Jay-Z, Mari slowly found herself fading behind the chart success of wicked label-sister Rihanna. The latter, who was capitalizing off the then declining Caribbean craze sweeping the charts (see: Sean Paul, Elephant Man, etc), saw instant out-of-the-box success – interestingly with less visible support from shared mentor Jay-Z.

As both singer’s second singles from their debut albums failed to make much noise on charts, it seemed both were headed down the road to obscurity. That is, until 2006 saw a revamped Rihanna – more sex appeal, bigger budgets, stronger support. On the other hand, those who waited for a remixed Mari…waited.

…and waited. Mari finally reappeared in the late 2000s with the single ‘Hunt 4 U’, which failed to capture much attention the charts. Since then, Mari has become the mixtape queen; releasing song after song with no real response. Even when things appeared to look up after she scored high profile rapper assistance with singles ‘Cause a Scene’ (featuring Flo-rida) and ‘Sponsor’ (featuring Soulja Boy), Mari still failed to manage anything more than a briefly bated buzz.

Regardless of taste, one has to admit that all three singles from Mari’s unreleased sophomore album were quite commercially viable. Even in a musical landscape dominated by electro-Pop, the disregard of Mari’s music is surprising given the number of releases (visuals and audio) the singer has amassed over the last 2 years. However, this week Mari may have found her prince charming in label-head, producer Rico Love after word spread about the singer’s recent record label relocation to Love’s imprint ‘Division 1’ (Universal motown). Alas, we will all have to stay tuned to find out how that story ends.

So, That Grape Juice wants you to weigh in: Teairra Mari – Product vs. Promotion?

Is her product just not commercial enough for success (given the musical climate)? Or have Mari’s musical endeavors suffered marketing mishaps? Does she actually have a chance this go round?

Your thoughts?

As if inciting a backlash from police officers and followers alike after a Twitter prank-gone-wrong wasn’t enough, rap star The Game caused another fan frenzy when he took to VladTV to rank the ‘Top 5 Wackest Rappers’ (interestingly omitting himself from the list).  Now, in proven fashion. the rapper has turned up the heat on an already boiling argument when he weighed in on female rappers – namely TGJ faves Nicki Minaj and Lil’ Kim.

See what Mr. Taylor talked about the ladies after the jump:

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R&B belter Jennifer Hudson was spotted on the most recent cover of ‘Self’ magazine (on sale Thursday).  In the mag the ‘Spotlight’ singer shed light on the usual topics – weight loss, movies, and more.  She revealed:

Via People magazine:

“I didn’t even know I was considered plus-sized until I came to Hollywood.  [It was not until an interviewer asked] ”How does it feel to be plus-sized in Hollywood?’ I looked around, like, Who is she talking to? Oh, me? I’m plus-sized? In the neighborhood I’m from in Chicago, a 16 is normal. But in Hollywood, everyone looks exactly the same, so I stood out.”

See photos of the Oscar winner below (via Self):

Your thoughts?

Beyonce may be used to seeing her name #1 on music charts, but this time the ‘Love On Top’ singer’s name appears atop another tally.  The star has been granted the honor of the UK’s top selling fragrance, besting chart rivals Britney Spears’ (‘Radiance’) and Mariah Carey’s ‘Lollipop Bling’.

Heat’s follow-up fragrance ‘Heat Rush’ is also said to be making its way up the rankings.

See the entire list here (thanks to SR).

Your thoughts?

Black Eyed Peas star Will.I.Am appears to have caught Bieber-fever (or some other unfortunate affliction) as, in a recent interview, he is quoted as saying:

Via MTV:

“Justin Bieber could be like Prince. Justin Bieber could be like Michael Jackson where his career is like, for like, ‘Wow! Explain its 2030, Justin Bieber, your career is so long. You’re the first artist to be broadcasted to Mars. How do you feel about that?’ Justin Bieber could be that dude.”

Will.I.Am is said to be hard at work at multiple projects, including that of Bieber’s.  The star also has the honor of being one of the last producers featured on Jackson’s work before his untimely passing.

First Beyonce, now Bieber.  Who’s next?

Your thoughts?

As has been making waves across the net, rap royal Jay-Z and partner-in-crime Kanye West topped charts this week with the release of their joint album ‘Watch the Throne’.  The album, which sold a staggering 436,000 copies its first week of release, comes as the highest male debut of the year (second overall to Lady Gaga‘s ‘Born This Way’).  Aside from providing an unprecedented (for recent times) unleaked album, Jay-Z also set a few other precedents with his most recent release.

Check out Mr. Carter’s stats after the jump:

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R&B heartthrob Trey Songz has been making his rounds on the promo trail lately.  Most recently Trigga talked with Uptown magazine, providing details on upcoming tour plans as well as his recent crowning as the face of Rocawear’s ‘Evolution’ fragrance.

Though often quizzed on the subject, the ‘Say Aah’ singer also informed readers what he looks for in a lady (besides being able to tolerate his singing of course).  See more on Songz after the jump:

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Ahead of her performance at the MTV Video Music Awards 2011, three different promotional visuals starring Lady GaGa have been released by MTV to generate excitement for the showing.

Shot in black and white, the release of these videos come just hours after the surfacing of her latest visual for the song ‘You & I’.

Watch GaGa’s MTV Promo below…

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She may constantly remain at the receiving end of many a criticism, but it seems that not even her naysayers are stopping Lil Kim‘s quest to re-establish her fan base across the globe.

For she recently wowed fans in Australia with some of her most well loved numbers  at the WinterBeatz Festival ahead of the release of an upcoming single and LP.

More images of the Rap Icon below…

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