Today we celebrate an R&B gem that was unleashed 11 years ago. This week’s From The Vault pick is Bobby Valentino’s ‘Slow Down.’

A modern day serenade, ‘Slow Down’ was produced by Tim & Bob and contains a sample of Hans Zimmer’s ‘A Way Of Life’ from the ‘Last Samuraï’ OST. It served as Valentino’s debut single and was included on his self-titled LP released in 2005.

A worldwide hit, the track reached the Top 10 in both the US and the UK, peaking at #8 and #4 respectively.

Directed by Erik White, the song’s clip was shot in Los Angeles, precisely Melrose Avenue, and took a literal approach to the cut’s lyrics.

Ludacris makes a cameo, as a way of introducing the new talent to the world. Literally. The rapper had signed Valentino to his Disturbing Tha Peace imprint.

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Though neither visually nor sonically groundbreaking, ‘Slow Down’ reminds that the mid 00’s served up many a memorable moment.

Your thoughts?

In times of past, many Pop acts opted to steer clear politics in fear of their careers. However, with the upcoming US presidential election being one of the most polarising in years, some of music’s biggest names are stepping forward and making their voices heard.

Such was the case last night in Miami where Jennifer Lopez took to the stage at a Hillary Clinton support rally.

Joined by her trademark troop of dancers, J.Lo dazzled with performances of songs such as ‘Waiting For Tonight’ and ‘Ain’t Your Mama.’ 

The ever-fierce 47-year-old was joined by Clinton – the favourite for the White House – and ex husband Marc Anthony on stage sips tea.

Pics and clips await below…

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Bruno Mars may be etched in the upper echelon of the charts with new single ’24k Magic,’ but he’s being haunted on Halloween by a lawsuit.

Full story below…

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All roads lead to November 4th for Alicia Keys.

The 15-time Grammy winner will uncage new album ‘HERE’ on said date after a lengthy wait from her fans.

Unlike prior projects, the set isn’t proceeded by a hit; but given Keys’ track-record as an album artiste, she could well deliver with the LP as a body of work.

With less than a week to go before its arrival, the album’s official tracklist has surfaced.

Find out which songs will populate ‘HERE’ below…

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As the day of ‘Redemption’ nears (Nov 18th), songstress Dawn Richard continues to demonstrate her wide-spanning skill-set.

For, though the queen of hearts’ vocals reign over the high-energy beats of indie EDM, she may have a tactic to conquer the colorful world of animation too.

Though mum on whether it’s tied to the her LP, the NOLA native has teased a trailer for an animated short film; one produced in partnership with Adult Swim.

Take a peek…

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Time indeed flies.

Leona Lewis may feel like a relative newcomer to some, but it’s actually been 10 years since the soaring songbird won the third season of The X Factor UK.

The time since has brought blazing success with releases such as ‘Bleeding Love’ and 2007’s ‘Spirit’ album. There have also been challenging windows, including a departure from Simon Cowell and a comeback campaign that didn’t quite connect.

Still, as the narratives of the most seasoned careers highlight, every journey is filled with peaks and troughs.

Lewis celebrates all in touching new performance of ‘Somewhere Over The Rainbow.’

Dedicated to her legions of loyal fans, the song’s selection gives a nod to her X Factor audition song.

Watch her in action below…

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Lady Gaga has a ‘Million Reasons’ to be elated this week, following the chart-topping success of new album ‘Joanne.’

The potent performance of the LP at retail has been bolstered by the popularity of “promotional” song ”Reasons.’ Indeed, as reported, the track  topped iTunes after a spirited performance on ‘Carpool Karaoke’ – an appearance which gave a lift to every song performed.

Now, its success has seen Team Gaga seize on the moment and make an interesting switch.

Details below…

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It looks like Chris Brown is taking a break on ‘Heartbreak (On a Full Moon)’ – his eight official solo LP – by inviting fans to press play on a new mixtape to tide them over in the mean time.

‘Attack the Block,’ which dropped today to the delight of #TeamBreezy, follows Brown and OHB’s ‘Before Da Trap:  Nights in Tarzana’ mixtape effort released earlier this year.  Featuring the likes of Young Blacc, French Montana, Ray J, and more,  ‘Attack’ is available in full for your streaming pleasure before.

Been needing a Chris Brown fix?  You’re in luck:

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Man this Kid Cudi vs. Drake beef is turning into the royal rumble!

In case you’ve been under a rock, the whole issue was reignited earlier this week when Drizzy dropped four new tunes – one of which, titled ‘Two Birds, One Stone,’ housed a diss aimed at Cudi’s current mental condition due to previously perceived shade from the ‘Day & Night’ hitmaker. After social media and news outlets went all the way in on Drake for his insensitivity, Cudi, currently undergoing treatment at a rehab facility for his highly publicized bout with depression, took to Twitter to clap back:

After his response got the internet stirring, rapper Lupe Fiasco added his two cents by slamming Cudi for clapping back to Drake’s clap back.  Confused?  Yeah, we kinda are too.

Anwyho, tuck in below to see his addition to this ever-evolving drama:

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Lady Gaga has done it.

The superstar singer will officially open atop of the Billboard 200 this week.

With initial estimates rising over the course of the week, all eyes are on where the diva’s fifth studio effort bowed.

Well wonder no more because the numbers await below…

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Hard to believe, but we are only one week away from ‘Here’ – the long-awaited new album from 15-time Grammy winner Alicia Keys (due November 4).

The songstress, who’s been building ample buzz for the project via releases ‘In Common,’ ‘Hallelujah,’ and ‘Blended Family (ft ASAP Rocky),’ is now looking to put the icing on top via her newest single ‘Holy War’ (unveiled today via Apple Music).

An acoustic affair, Keys shows off her oft-praised pipes yet again in this simple, yet stunning arrangement.  Hear what we mean below:

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After the false alarm that was 2015’s ‘LA Love,’ Fergie finally rang the alarm on news surrounding her long-awaited sophomore album, ‘Double Dutchess.’  Rumored to have been completed as early as March 2016, social media-lifted photos and unconfirmed reports started to get wheels spinning that some official release from the set was nigh.

Though the rumors began to cool by the end of spring, they were given a fresh douse of heat when the singer’s husband, actor Josh Duhamel, went on record stating the project would arrive by Mid-June.  With refreshed excitement over the album – 10 years in the making – Fergie Ferg finally took to Instagram to began teasing it herself via snippets for songs ‘Hungry’ and ‘M.I.L.F. $.’

The latter – a critical polarizer – would be gifted a full fledge roll-out with star-studded video to boot.  Initial response signaled that maybe, just maybe, the world really was ready for a new Fergie album:

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