The Adult Contemporary force John Legend has released his latest album ‘Darkness and Light‘ today.

Filled with 13 songs, the set was executive-produced by the Alabama Shakes‘ Blake Mills and offers the singer’s views on love, life, politics, racism, marriage and fatherhood with help from Chance the Rapper, Brittany Howard and Miguel.

If you follow me on Twitter, you know I have a point of view. I want to do the same with my art. I want to contribute to the conversation.

Press play to stream the release below!

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J.Cole‘s ‘4 Your Eyez Only’ LP will arrive on December 9th.

Before that, he drops a 40-minute documentary named ‘Eyez’ via Tidal.

You get to this height or this level in your career, in terms of platform, the next one might go down, it could go up. You’re never guaranteed to be this high again. While I’m here, let me use this opportunity to say the realest shit I’ve ever said.

Undoubtedly aware of Drake’s superstar status, Cole presents himself as Hip-Hop’s underdog, shying away from the pomp and pageantry he feels has created a disconnect between his peers and the fans they share.

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1) Beyonce & The Dixie Chicks – Daddy Lessons

2) Bruno Mars – Chunky

3) Bruno Mars – That’s What I like

4) Gallant – Bourbon

5) Mariah Carey  & John Legend – When Christmas Comes

What are Your Top 5 Songs of The Moment?

Bruno Mars certainly has the American Music Awards to thank for rubbing some of its magic on his newest album, ‘24K Magic.’

The opus, originally projected to sell as little as 110,000 its first week, surged in sales after his show-stopping set at the annual awards’ show.  Nearly doubling industry analysts’ predictions by the time its inaugural tallying week was over, the commercial performance of the project even saw Mars’ name added to history books due to buyer response on iTunes.

Finishing with his highest first week sales ever at 231,000 SPS (194,000 pure sales), Bruno-fever was so high his first two albums – ‘Doo-Wops & Hooligans’ and ‘Unorthodox Jukebox’ – both saw boosts in sales as well.  Tuck in below to find out where all three of his projects landed on this week’s refreshed ‘Chart Check’:

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R. Kelly & Frank Gatson Want You!

That’s right, you!  The Grammy-winning R&B legend, who is currently taking North America by storm on his ’12 Nights of Christmas’ tour in support of the holiday-themed album of the same name (in stores now), is giving his talented fans the gift of opportunity.

Think you’ve got what it take to impress legendary creative director/choreographer Frank Gatson to earn a spot opening for Kelly when his tour visits a city near you? Tuck in for details and let us know:

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As the “end of the year” lists continue to pour in, fan groups of music’s biggest artists are getting more and more amped up for the opportunity to add new feats to their lengthy lists of bragging rights.

The latest?  Instagram numbers.

That’s right, while ‘Good For You’ singer Selena Gomez made good on securing her role as the outlet’s most followed member (with 103 million followers as of time reported), IG was good to a number of other musical artists in 2016 including Ariana Grande, Rihanna, and Beyonce (all of whom released albums this year).

Tuck in to see who owes the social networking site the biggest “thank yous” in 2016:

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11 years after taking home an Academy Award for his portrayal of music legend Ray Charles in the biographical film ‘Ray,’ singer/songwriter/actor/comedian Jamie Foxx is taking on the role of executive producer for the biopic of another legendary story:  Marvin Gaye.

Coming in the form of a “limited series” about the Motown star, best known for hits ‘What’s Going On,’ ‘Sexual Healing,’ and ‘Let’s Get It On,’ the showing comes as the first authorized recount of his storied life and times.

Billboard reports:

F. Gary Gray, Cameron Crowe, James Gandolfini, Scott Rudin and actors including Jesse L. Martin and Lenny Kravitz all have tried to bring Gaye’s story to screen, but until now none had been authorized by Gaye’s family.

More inside:

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Streaming’s King and Queen, Drake & Rihanna, saw their respective thrones unbothered this year (as recent reports reveal).

Spotify’s #2016Wrapped list arrived today and, to the surprise of few, the ‘Work’ duo jointly and individually worked up some jaw-dropping stats over the course of the year.  Drizzy, thanks to his record-breaking album ‘Views,’ topped Spotify’s “most streamed list” for the second year by racking up a whopping 4.7 billion streams (more than twice his tally in 2015).  ‘One Dance’ – the megahit birthed from the chart-topping release – now sits in record books as not only the most streamed song of 2016, but also of all time.

Following those 4.7 billion streams is Rihanna, thanks to 2.5 billion streams of hits found aboard her 8th opus ‘Anti’ and across her hit-filled catalog.

Curious to see who else made the tally?  Tuck in below:

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Mariah Carey may be making headlines for questionable reasons, but it’s not hindering her ability to book a stage.

The seasoned diva has just been announced as the headliner of Dick Clark’s New Year’s Rockin’ Eve. 

Full story below…

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Readers of That Grape Juice know what avid music lovers we are – especially of hits past.

So, as our retrospective features ‘From the Vault’ and ‘TGJ Replay’  allow us the chance to re-spin the gems and jams of yesterday of one artist, our newest feature Chart Rewind – a variation of our current Retro Rewind assay – accedes salutes to an entire era of music history.

This week we’re showing some love to Mary J. Blige‘s inaugural top 10 ‘Real Love,’ lifted from her debut album, ‘What’s the 411?’  Written by L.A. Reid, the tune – released in August 1992 – had a tough act to follow in the album’s first single, ‘You Remind Me.’  Peaking at #29, ‘Remind’ gave listeners their official introduction to the raspy voiced New Yorker.  But, as time would prove, it was only a foretaste of many great things to come.

This week its follow-up, ‘Real Love,’ was hoisted to the top 10 on the back of strong airplay and sales.  Finding its peak at #7 on the tally, the feat is all the more impressive given the unrelenting domination of Whitney Houston‘s ‘I Will Always Love You’ during the time.

Tuck in to see who joined Mary and Whitney in the top 25 this week 24 years ago:

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The Alt-Right’s Tomi Lahren made her controversial way to Trevor Noah‘s ‘Daily Show’ last night with hopes of reaching out to those who may have turned off by her views on ‘Black Lives Matter‘, Colin Kaepernick and Beyonce.

Unfortunately, her hopes of doing so were crushed Noah, by way of questions we’d all like answers to, exposed how little the political commentator knows about the topics she often discusses on her platform.

Watch below…

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As one of rap’s elite talents, J. Cole is one of few names able to pull off a surprise album roll-out.

And having proven his gravitas on that front with ‘2014 Forest Hills Drive,’ which arrived with little warning, the revered rapper is going that route again.

Because, just moments ago, he revealed he is releasing his fourth studio album…next week.

Full story below…

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