The mastermind behind the hit TV series ‘Empire’ has shared his thoughts on why African-American audiences are often unreceptive to African-American characters penned by non African-Americans.

Will you agree with what Lee Daniels has to say?

Find out below…

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Last week’s news cycle found itself dominated by the story of Rachel Dolazel, a senior figure in the National for the Advancement of Coloured People who had been pretending to be an African-American woman.

Now, after one of her close friends came forward to clam she had hired him to serve as her ghostwriter, Iggy Azalea will learn that she has been compared to Dolazel by an Aboriginal writer from her homeland, Australia.

A controversial message below…

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Janet Jackson is officially back!

Pick up details on her brand new world tour below!

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Rihanna was spotted out and about in Los Angeles yesterday, joined by members of her team as she made her way through Los Angeles International Airport before the release of her new album.

Her sighting came as her ex-boyfriend Chris Brown took to Instagram to blast her former romantic rival Karreuche Tran.

Read more on that here.

More snaps and footage below…

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‘Obey Your Thirst‘ becomes ‘Obey Your Verse’ when Nas and Drake are in the mix.

Yes, the rappers have teamed up to support the beverage ‘Sprite’ and star in a brand new commercial endorsing the product and their critically acclaimed lyrical skills.

That isn’t all.

For, the company has released a number of special edition cans which feature some of their more memorable lines.

Will the ad below prompt you to pick one up?

Find out below…

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JanFans worldwide were sent into a frenzy moments ago when LiveNation unveiled the first string of dates for Janet Jackson‘s forthcoming world tour.

Titled ‘Unbreakable,’ the tour is set to kick off August 31st in Vancouver and touch every corner of the North America before jetting off to its international leg.

Will the pop queen be gracing a town near you with her royal presence? See the first set of stops below to find out:

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Exactly two weeks separate us from the 2015 BET Awards!

Airing live on June 28th, the 15th annual showing of Urban entertainment’s biggest night is set to be hosted by ‘black-ish’ stars Tracee Ellis Ross & Anthony Anderson and (to date) has seen Nicki Minaj, Kendrick Lamar, and Chris Brown announced among stars tapped to hit the stage.

But, per usual, BET is saving for last its announcement of who will be the recipient of the coveted Lifetime Achievement Award.  Already listing legendary acts like Whitney Houston, Chaka Khan, Patti Labelle, Prince, and Lionel Richie among its honorees, the 2015 trophy has been shrouded in murmurs that pop queen Janet Jackson will be its designated awardee.  But, that hasn’t stopped fans of other music royals – Queen of Hip Hop Soul Mary J. Blige, King of R&B R. Kelly, or Queen of Rock N’ Soul Tina Turner – from vying and eyeing the prize.

Alas, with no official confirmation, we turn to you – That Grape Juice faithful – for your weigh in:

Who should be the recipient of the 2015 BET Lifetime Achievement Award?

&

Should the award ever go to a recipient posthumously?

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If Nicki Minaj vs. ex-boo Safaree Samuels wasn’t enough to satisfy your appetite of lovers’ drama, today’s slamfest between Karrueche Tran and Grammy-winning ex-beau Chris Brown should do the trick.

The on-and-off-again duo exploded into a spat today when Brown accused Tran of using his name to score attention.  The result?  Tran responded with a serious clap back.

Did you miss any of the action? It awaits below:

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If there ever was a seductive-jam to lock in one’s vault it would be our pick of this week. This week’s From The Vault selection is Marvin Gaye‘s infectious ‘Sexual Healing.’

The classic was released during Fall 1982 and saw the crooner venture further into grown-and-sexy territory. Written and produced by Gaye, it was the first offering from his seventeenth and final album ‘Midnight Love’ – his sole under Columbia after leaving Motown – and is undeniably the artist’s signature song.
From a musical stand-point the jam was a departure from the Motown sound – which at that time was very – Disco-oriented – and lyrically, it is an unapologetic “baby making” track.
Commercially, the song peaked at #3 in the US, #4 in the UK and hit the top spot in Canada.

The video for ‘Sexual Healing’ presents the artist first as a nightclub singer assisted by four female dancers and later on a patient of a sexy lady-doctor who only has eyes for him after drinking the Midnight Love Potion. Fun times.

Throughout his career, Marvin Gaye managed the art of “balancing”, hence why it never felt contrived witnessing him sing about social issues but at the very same time dealing with matters of the sexual persuasion. Indeed, even the “dirtiest” song of his repertoire boasts an air of class.

We wish more artists – especially today’s male R&B stars – would take notes from The Master and express their sexuality in more a tasteful fashion.

Your thought?

For well over a decade, Lil Wayne has fervently repped the Cash Money/Young Money movement. Indeed, the rap titan has been at the forefront of the cause alongside mentor Birdman and achieved the lion-share of his success with the imprint

However, following a very public falling out with the latter, Weezy has made no secret of his desire to move on to pastures new.

And if his words at a concert last night hold any weight, he may have done exactly that…with Jay Z.

Details below…

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Ever keen to broaden our musical scope, recent months have seen That Grape Juice venture into a number of new musical landscapes including, most recently, gospel.

Spearheaded by well-received interviews with gospel singers Yolanda Adams, Hezekiah Walker, Twinkie Clark, Fred Hammond, Kierra Sheard, Dorinda Clark Cole, Israel Houghton, Marvin Sapp, Micah Stampley, Joshua Rogers, J. Moss, and Jonathan McReynolds, TGJ is now offering readers ‘The Overflow’ – a collection of the top gospel-themed news stories from the week.

Tuck in below to get the latest on Erica Campbell, Dewayne Woods, K. Michelle, Karen Clark Sheard, Micah Stampley, Jonathan McReynolds and many more:

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Ciara has passion is her life and she’s not afraid to show it.

The R&B chanteuse looked like a bag of actual money alongside her new boo Russell Wilson last night.

Smitten, the the pair took to their Instagram pages to share snaps of their latest date night.

Ms. Harris is currently on vacation with the Seattle Seahawks football star after wrapping up her well-received ‘Jackie Tour’ at the start of the month.

With new single ‘Dance Like We’re Making Love’ due for official radio release later this month, it would appear CiCi is resting up ahead of another round of promo.

In the meanwhile, peep more pics of the striking couple above and below…

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