Story via Contact Music:

Rapper PIMP C has been found dead in a Hollywood hotel room. He was 33. The UGK member was discovered in bed by paramedics answering an emergency call at the Mondrian Hotel on Sunset Boulevard on Tuesday (04Dec07) morning. Pimp C – real name Chad Butler – was one-half of rap duo UGK.

R.I.P.

This is beyond a joke now, she needs help – fast:

If Amy Winehouse’s fans were hoping she might be trying to get her act together, these pictures will not provide much reassurance.

Barefoot, and clad only in her bra and jeans, the troubled singer emerged from a friend’s house in Bow at 5.45am on Sunday looking distressed and agitated – as her mother-in-law says she taking more drugs than ever.

Onlookers said she appeared disorientated as she wandered around on the pavement for several minutes in the freezing cold before disappearing back inside.

Quite why she came outside only half dressed in the early hours is unclear. One onlooker said she looked up and down the road as if she was waiting for someone, but no one arrived at the house.

“She came out of the house, walked down the drive and wandered around on the pavement for a bit.

“She looked upset and agitated but there was no obvious reason for her to have come outside. It was weird.”
{Source}

SMH…

Although Amerie’s third album ‘Because I Love It’ has seen it’s release here in Europe several months ago and spawned 2 top 10 singles, fans in the US have yet to get their hands on the album (legally, that is).

Things, however, seem to be on the up for the ‘Take Control’ singer. Word has it that her label in the US, Sony BMG, are working overtime -behind the scenes – to make sure the album is a success. Yet the fact that much of it is available online has meant that instead of releasing the European version in the US, select tracks from it will be kept and newer recorded tracks will be added. It has been said that Amerie will be heading into the studio with Pharrell of the Neptunes shortly.

Meanwhile, ‘Crush’ is still on-course for release here in the UK early next year. The video has been shot already and was directed by Scott Franklin.

Having recently signed with Atlantic Records, R&B crooner Jaheim is set to release his latest album ‘The Makings of A Man’ on December 18th. This new track ‘I’ve Changed’ (ft. Keyshia Cole) features on the set. I liked the song upon first listen; both Jaheim and Keyshia ride the beat with ease and great delivery. What’s more the song is lyrically engaging. Check it out…

Making The Band 3 winners Danity Kane were spotted Friday night at a Diddy-thrown party at Mansion Night Club in Miami. I’m feeling some of the girls’ new looks; Shannon actually looks like she has a personality now and Dawn’s darker do suits her. D.Woods has had better days lol….

The group are currently in the studio recording their sophomore effort (due next year). Word has it that the girls will be featured in a joint season of Making The Band with season 4 winners (pictured at the party, below).

The ‘From The Vault’ video chosen for this week’s installment is Joe’s ‘All The Things (Your Man Won’t Do)’. Lifted from the singer’s 1997 album ‘All That I Am’ (which also featured the hits ‘Good Girls’ and ‘Don’t Wanna Be A Player’) , the song has long stood as one of my all-time favourite R&B tracks. Check it out:

Singing legend Whitney Houston kick-started her ‘comeback’ campaign in front of a 10,000 strong crowd at Malaysia’s Live & Loud music festival yesterday (December 1st). Reviews of the 44-year old star’s set have been generally very positive. You can listen to some of her set below and make your own judgments. I, personally, thought she did very well considering the circumstances, which has me optimistic about her new album.

Def Jam’s Rihanna continues to crank out singles from her current effort ‘Good Girl Gone Bad’. According to Billboard, the 5th confirmed song to be lifted from the album is fan-favourite ‘Breakin’ Dishes’. It’s unknown, at present, if a video will be shot for the release, however the track has already impacted on the Hot Dance Club Play chart at #40. To date, Rihanna has scored 7 #1 songs on that chart.

Having initially not understood the hype around the song, I’ve actually grown to like it. Yet I can’t help but think that it may have lost much of its appeal, as she went ahead and released several sub-par songs before it. Anyway, it seems her label are going to milk everything they can get out of this album – which has yet to sell as many copies as its ‘platinum’ status would have you believe.

‘Me & U’ singer Cassie recently sat down with the team over at AllHipHop.com to discuss her forthcoming sophomore album. As well as revealing that she is working with hit-makers Brian Michael-Cox, Danja and Kanye West, she had the following to say of the new CD:

AHHA: Let’s get into the new album. What do you want people to feel once they have heard it?

Cassie: It’s a more vulnerable album; it’s a little bit stripped down as far as vocally and the content in the songs. Like I did a song last night called “That’s Not What Love Is” and it’s about a very, very real situation that a lot of people can relate to. It has a lot of emotion behind it. I really hope people get it and they see me in a different light – without the makeup, the hair and the clothes…just me, by myself. My album artwork is going to be really intimate. I want people to see me, how my boyfriend would, if I had a boyfriend that is. The way the music is coming together; I sound like I feel it.

As reported back in October, Kelly Rowland recorded a track with Gym Class Heroes front man Travis McCoy. The full song, titled ‘Daylight’ (a Bobby Womack cover), surfaced today and I am pleasantly surprised. Upon hearing the snippet earlier this month I wasn’t too optimistic, but listening to the mid-tempo track in its entirety has made me like it more.

‘Daylight’ is to feature on the soundtrack of French film ‘Asterix’. What’s unknown, at present, is whether the song will be on (or be the first single) from the previously announced ‘Ms. Kelly’ re-release – due early next year. A tidbit: ‘Work’ has been re-scheduled for release in the UK on 28th January 2008 meaning the long-awaited video should be premiering soon. Anyway, ‘Daylight’…