As a songwriter and performer, R&B crooner Ne-Yo‘s run of back-to-back hits in the noughties almost knew no equal.  Debuting atop the Billboard 200 with his debut LP, ‘In My Own Words’ (2006), his presence on the album charts in the decade that followed – despite varying degrees of success – still saw each of the 5 projects that succeeded ‘Words’ premiere in the tally’s top 10.

His latest effort, ‘Good Man’ (released June 8th), is unfortunately unable to boast the same.

Kicked off by a number of teaser tunes before seeing its title track and the Bebe Rexha/Stefflon Don-assisted ‘Push Back’ named its official launching singles, the effort admittedly went to chart battle with little fanfare – especially compared to antecedent albums.

That absent buzz, coupled in a week dominated by news surrounding the releases of Dave Matthews Band and Kid Cudi & Kanye West‘s first joint album respectively, saw ‘Good Man’ pushed back to a much lower entry point on the Billboard 200.  Its debut not only comes as Ne-yo’s first project to miss the top 10 upon its release, but the entire top 30!

Details inside:

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‘Whatever she does, everyone else follows’ – a comment lent by the Queen Bey herself in reference to the Queen of Pop Madonna.

The two music royals have made no secret of their mutual respect for each other over the years, but it appears the latter may have been a bit too presumptuous with the extent of said respect when she took to Instagram to upload a photoshopped image of Beyonce and Jay Z from their most recent ‘Apeshi*t’ music video.

In the real image the husband-and-wife team are admiring some of the centuries old art exhibits featured in the world famous Parisian museum The Louvre, but in the edited image they are instead admiring Madge’s (legendary) albums.  With a caption that read ‘learning from the master,’ her suggestion set off a firestorm of ongoing controversy that has left the ‘Like a Prayer’ performer in need of just that.

See the hoop-la inside:

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As fans await Jazmine Sullivan‘s next body of work, the songstress teams with a California rap collective for their debut performance on Jimmy Fallon‘s ‘Tonight Show.’

Garnering buzz from the e-streets, BROCKHAMPTON is comprised of 13 members and is led by rapper/singer Kevin Abstract. The group’s founding member, Ameer Vann recently came face-to-face with abuse allegations from multiple women, which ultimately led to his exile from the ensemble.

Still, the group is soldiering on and hit the ‘Tonight Show’ stage for the first time.

See their heartfelt performance of new song ‘Tonya’ with Ms. Sullivan below…

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As huge releases go, few come as anticipated as Drake‘s ‘Scorpion.’

Due June 29th, the set will arrive on the heels of hits and headlines for the Canadian rap star.

Indeed, he’s racked up smashes such as ‘Nice For What,’ ‘God’s Plan,’ and ‘I’m Upset,’ while his lyrical tussle with Pusha T (‘Duppy Freestyle’ / ‘Story Of Adidon’) polarized the public.

And it looks as though he’ll be on the tongues of many with ‘Scorpion.’ Find out why below…

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The star-maker Joe Jackson is reportedly close to death.

Full story below…

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Destiny’s Child and Lupita Nyong’o in the same project?

It’s a possibility.

An exciting report below…

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Cardi B has big dreams and is signing big deals to make them come true.

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Soulful crooner Maxwell made his return to the music landscape this month with new song ‘We Never Saw It Coming.’

The track debuted as part of short film ‘The Glass House,’ which premiered exclusively on TIDAL.

With said window of exclusivity now lapsed, the singer has made the visual (directed by Bush + Renz) available to all.

Issued as the first taste of new album ‘NIGHT’ (the concluding part of his ‘BLACKsummers’night‘ trilogy), the visual awaits below…

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Omnipresent smash ‘Boo’d Up’ has officially launched the London-born Ella Mai into mass consciousness.

The infectious single, plucked from her 2017 EP ‘Ready,’ has garnered acclaim from fans and critics alike and has accomplished the difficult task of evicting Drake’s ‘God’s Plan’ from the No.1 spot on the R&B/Hip-Hop tally – a big feat for a fairly new artist.

Now Mai has reached another milestone – because she can now add “Platinum recording artist” to her resume.

Full story below…

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After witnessing their network peers of ’13 Reasons Why’ renewed for season 3, cast and production of ‘Dear White People’ can now rejoice as Netflix has finally renewed the dramedy for its third season.

Details inside…
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Tiffany Haddish appears to be just what the doctor ordered for MTV as the channel has had a heavily documented number of viewership mishaps since its late 2016 rebranding.

With the revamp of its annual Movie Awards, christened the ‘TV & Movie Awards’ as of 2017, the former music channel enlisted the help of the ‘Girls Trip’ star to assist with breathing new life into the franchise.  The investment proved lucrative.

Haddish, the first African American female host of the shindig, not only brought the funny but also brought the ratings with this year’s showing (which aired June 18th).  Details inside:

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‘Chun Li’ creator Nicki Minaj is among the celebrities using their platforms to fight against the current U.S. administration (which has made headlines for its current immigration policies that has seen countless children stripped from their families and detained).

Minaj – born in Saint James, Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago – took to Instagram to say:

“I came to this country as an illegal immigrant @ 5 years old. I can’t imagine the horror of being in a strange place & having my parents stripped away from me at the age of 5,” 

As the current border crisis continues to enrage Americans and onlookers across the globe, look inside to see the Grammy-nominee’s full statement on the pressing matter:

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