NY Daily News is reporting that R&B star Alicia Keys has pushed back the release of her third album from June to October. The official reason given by her spokesperson was that there were ‘scheduling conflicts’ with her blossoming acting career. However, it is rumoured that the singer is unhappy with the promotions situation at her label, J Records. Ken Wilson, the promotions director Keys ‘trusted and relied on’ was fired from the Clive Davis owned label.

Whatever the case, there are definite problems over at J Records. Solid albums by previously successful artists such as Fantasia and Monica severely underperformed due to bad promotion. It was as if the label’s artists would pop-up a month before their album would drop. With no single out now, Alicia would have been in the same situation come June. The label need to sort themselves out if they want their artists to actually sell; it’s not good when the top artist isn’t happy. It kinda makes me worry for upcoming J Records releases from Whitney Houston and Jennifer Hudson.

Ciara – Do It

This unreleased track was featured as a bonus on the European version of Ciara’s sophomore CD, ‘The Evolution’. ‘Do It’, which was produced by Will i Am (of the Black Eyed Peas), is the type of up-tempo song you would expect from Ciara. While it’s decent, it sounds like something that would fit in better on her first album ‘Goodies’.

LISTEN: Do It

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Ali & Gipp – Almost Made Ya (ft. LeToya)

As you may have noticed, new tracks from Ne-Yo’s sophomore CD ‘Because of You’ have been leaking pretty quickly. Having now listened to the album in full, I can say that he has definitely managed to avoid the ‘sophomore slump’ by delivering a pretty solid album. After listening to the earlier leaked tracks and snippets, I felt that Ne-Yo hadn’t really pushed himself creatively and was just dishing out more of the same. However, the album has proven me wrong as there are quite a few great songs that aren’t typically his style. Though I’m unsure whether this tops his fantasitc debut, ‘Because of You’ (due May 1st) is definitely worth a buy. Check out some of my highlights from the album (which I haven’t posted already)…

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I posted a small clip of this song last week and now the full version has hit the net. I’m liking this one alot; it’s a typical Jermaine Dupri production and Bone Thugs are back at their best. It doesn’t rate as high as their past collaboration with Mariah ‘Breakdown’, but is good in it’s own right. Check it out…

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It has been reported that Remy Ma has officially been released from her deal with Terror Squad/Universal. The New York rapper apparently requested that she be granted the release after the poor performance of her debut solo album ‘There’s Something About Remy’ which sold a disappointing 75,000 in it’s opening week. Speaking of her next move, Remy had to say:

I’m sitting in meetings all day, everyday politicking my own label, with me being my first artist…I have so many other projects involving films, TV and endorsements, but most important is my album.

Ok then, whatever you say lol. Ma’s release was inevitable after she called out her fellow Terror Squad member Fat Joe on radio last year after her album flopped. What happened to the female rap group Ma, Jackie-O and Shawna were supposed to be in?

Source: AllHipHop.com