Jamaican hitmaker Sean Paul is credited with leading the charge of popularizing dancehall music upon its arrival to American shores in the early 2000s.  With a wave of hits such as ‘Gimme Da Light,’ ‘Get Busy,’ and later ‘Temperature’ and ‘We Be Burning,’ the noughties saw Paul burn up Billboard charts with some its hottest hits.

While most of the 2010s had the genre taking a back seat to EDM and later trap music, 2015-17 has seen a resurgence of sorts in island-influenced music. Thanks to the likes of Tory Lanez (‘Luv’), Justin Bieber (‘What Do You Mean’ & ‘Sorry’), and Drake‘s massive hits ‘One Dance’ and ‘Controlla,’ the Hot 100 has been set alight again with dancehall-tinged offerings.

Because of this, Paul thinks today’s artists – especially Drizzy – should give more credit to the genre.  Taking to Metro UK, the ‘I’m Still In Love With You’ crooner lent the Canadian rapper and some other big named stars a little advice about using dancehall music without paying proper respects.

Read more below:

Sean Paul [via Metro UK]:

“I think at the time when it was popping off, it would have been good for him [Drake] to actually put accolades towards the whole culture. [Drake is] friendly with a few people in the business in Jamaica and that’s good, I love it,” he continues. “But if he had given more accolades when he was actually making it and said ‘this is the music I love,’ it would have been cool.”

Paul, reflecting on 2017’s biggest hit so far (Ed Sheeran‘s ‘Shape of You’), also notes its island influence.

“Ed Sheeran has done one song that is huge and it’s dancehall reminiscent,” he explains. “But that is one song, [Drake] had an album full of dancehall, so I think he should have paid a bit of an accolade and told people in the press ‘that is where I’m coming from, I have a love for that music.’”

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Longtime fans of Paul know this isn’t the first time he’s called out Drake.  Just last Fall the ‘We Be Burnin’ beau took to The Guardian to call out Drizzy, Bieber, Major Lazer and Kanye West.

“A lot of people get upset, they get sour,” he said of the frustrations of dancehall fans. “And I know artists back in Jamaica that don’t like Major Lazer because they think they do the same thing that Drake and Kanye did – they take and take and don’t credit.” [source]

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With her third studio album, ‘Back 2 Life,’ in stores now, Letoya Luckett is still hitting her heels hard on the promo trail in its support.

Already taking to multiple print, radio, and television outlets to spread awareness of the critically acclaimed project, now fans can see Lady Luck a-front next month’s issue of Kontrol magazine.

Helping the Urban publication celebrate its 8th anniversary, tuck in below to see the sultry behind the scenes shoot:

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While things haven’t exactly gotten nasty (yet) between pop icon Janet Jackson and soon-to-be-ex-husband Wissam Al Mana, the diva is reportedly in talks with Netflix to do a documentary series about her life as a newly single woman, new mother, and so much more.

Jackson, the fiercely private performer who’s been fairly mum since the separation announcement (other than her short, but telling video announcing the reboot of her postponed tour and confirming the separation rumors), will reportedly also use the streaming special as a vehicle to push new music.

Sources say:

“The show will run as a ten-part documentary and will feature recording ­sessions in the studio, co-parenting her child with Wissam and preparing for the European and Asian legs of her tour. Netflix [is] negotiating a big sum for the rights to the show as they expect it to perform well…”

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Exciting times for Janet fans!

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Nicki Minaj is hit hunting, so who better to team up with than a name lodged in the upper echelon of pretty much every chart.

That’s right, Onika has linked up with Migos front-man Quavo.

She revealed as much moments ago on Instagram:

???????? @quavohuncho ?????????

A post shared by Nicki Minaj (@nickiminaj) on May 31, 2017 at 7:38am PDT

We’re torn.

On the one hand, Nicki is a proven force – especially on the collaboration front. Hence, it’s entirely plausible that she and Quavo could be cooking up fire.

HOWEVER…

As her ‘Swish Swish’ collaborator Katy Perry learned, not every Migos pairing works. Particularly at a time when they seem to be operating on a quantity over quality M-O.

Word on the curb is that Nicki’s album is scheduled for Fall, so it’ll be interesting to see if she can conjure up a smash strong enough to serve as a launchpad for the LP. Thus far ‘No Frauds’ – her reunion with Drake and Lil Wayne – has charted highest of all her recent efforts, peaking at #14 on the Billboard Hot 100.

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Buckle up because the BET Awards are bringing the fire for their 2017 ceremony.

Set to air live June 25th from the Microsoft Theater in Los Angeles, it has been confirmed that the Leslie Jones hosted show will feature performances from some of Urban music’s most notable talent.

The initial wave of names taking to the stage are Bruno Mars, Tamar Braxton, Migos, Trey Songz, and Future. Additional performers will be unveiled in the run-up to Urban music’s biggest calendar night.

As reported, Beyonce leads the pack of nominees with seven while Mars follows with five. Solange and the omnipresent Migos each have four.

Stay tuned to That Grape Juice for your complete BET Awards 2017 fix!

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There are no questions about it – Camila Cabello is striking out in a big way.

The former Fifth Harmony singer has just been revealed as the new face of GUESS Jeans.

As part of the partnership, the 20-year-old will front the Fall 2017 campaign for the fashion brand. She will appear in the major print and online roll-out.

Speaking on the venture, the ‘Crying In The Club’ singer said:

“I couldn’t be more excited to partner with Guess on this incredible campaign. I’ve grown up loving their aesthetic and not in my wildest dreams did I ever think I’d be lucky enough to be a part of it.”

GUESS CCO Peter Marciano added…

“Camila’s confidence, strength and beauty reflect the qualities I look for in a Guess Girl. Choosing Camila to be the face of Guess this fall celebrates that Guess Girls are multi-talented, dynamic and accomplished women.”

Needless to say, Team ‘Mila are coming full force.

The campaign appears like it’ll tie-in with the arrival of her album ‘The Hurting. The Healing. The Loving.’

Excited?

Your thoughts?

Ashanti is ringing the alarm for her return.

The R&B chanteuse has busied herself on the live circuit since the 2014 release of ‘Braveheart,’ but she finally seems ready to deliver the newness.

Taking to social media, the 36-year-old unwrapped a teaser for a fresh video. And she’s looking like a snack!

Check it out below…

Video Cred @aaronklisman #Justwaitonit

A post shared by Ashanti (@ashanti) on May 30, 2017 at 7:19pm PDT

Some may scoff, but we feel there’s still some mileage in the Ashanti tank. It’s all about the music and how she rolls it out.

We’ve yet to see her truly make the indie route work for her (in the way it has for others), but maybe it will this go round?

Your thoughts?

A low-end sports publication has apologised for calling the Pop superstar Rihanna “fat” after facing heat from critics who accused them of weight-shaming her.

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For many in the Hip-Hop community, the creative life force that is Dapper Dan stands as the heart of its relationship with fashion.

Responsible for the looks and styles sported by many a fashion-forward musician in the 80s and 90s, the visionary saw his art receive a fresh dose of his life when one of his creations became a meme on social media.

Little did he know that the boys and girls of Instagram weren’t the only ones “liking” his work.

For, much to the horror of his supporters, the fashion house Gucci seems to have “borrowed” his idea to support their ‘Gucci Cruise’ collection.

Confused, some took to social media to criticise the company.

this hits home, especially after viewing Gucci's resort collection & seeing absolutely no credits towards the style icon Dapper Dan. pic.twitter.com/7ZNwgaLlaD

— Brown Girl Alchemy (@amberjfinney) May 30, 2017

Is Gucci gonna, say, pay Dapper Dan to license that design? Or is it just one of those feel-good unpaid homages on which businesses thrive

— Matthew Schneier (@MatthewSchneier) May 30, 2017

On the left Dapper Dan creation circa 1980 something, then on right Gucci cruise 18'….. ? pic.twitter.com/0O8OQsR769

— Shelton Boyd (@flyrebel) May 29, 2017

@gucci y'all stole Dapper Dan's design yet you sent him plenty of cease n desists and had his shop raided multiple times in the 80s and 90s. pic.twitter.com/VB7ueqQnF7

— D Bruze (@darienbruze) May 30, 2017

Your thoughts?

The R&B prince August Alsina has revealed that he is battling a serious illness with the help of his good friend Jada Pinkett-Smith.

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Janelle Monae is to star in the brand new Sci-Fi project ‘Electric Dreams’!

Commissioned by the UK’s Channel 4, the anthology series will introduce Monae to its weird, wild and wonderful party as a woman named Alexis in an episode named ‘Autofac‘.

Its premise?

Despite society and the world as we know it having collapsed, a massive, automatic product-manufacturing factory continues to operate according to the principles of consumerism – humans consume products to be happy, and in order to consume continuously, they must be denied freedom of choice and free will. When a small band of rebels decide to shut down the factory, they discover they may actually be the perfect consumers after all.

News of her union with her series follows her success in the movies ‘Moonlight‘ and ‘Hidden Figures‘.

Keep it locked on TGJ for its premiere date.

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Just hours after shocking news broke that WGN America had canceled ‘Underground’ (one of its flagship original series) after just two seasons, its executive producer – Oscar/Grammy winner John Legend – is already on the hunt for its next network home.

The groundbreaking historical show, which depicted the lives of brave American slaves attempting to navigate the Underground Railroad, had been a consistent winner with critics and viewers since its debut.  Yet, with the network’s restructuring due to recent buyout, it was removed from their airing roster due to its high “production cost” [reportedly $5 million per episode].

Undeterred, Legend took to Twitter today to give hope to faithful viewers of the series.  Read his comments below:

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