Beyonce & Rihanna aren’t the only vocalists making independent moves this year.

For, kicking out the middle man to reach their fans directly are R&B singers LeToya Luckett, Lyrica Anderson and Chrisette Michele, all of whom are making major moves on an independent front this year.

What the ladies have been up to since the start of the year?

Catch up with our independent women below…

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‘Black is beautiful’ year-round, not just in February.

But, just in case you were looking for a reminder this month, head to your local newsstands to catch the slew of new magazine covers featuring some of your favorite stars.

From basketball stars Kevin Durant and Kobe Bryant styling afront ‘GQ’ and funny man Kevin Hart on ‘Men’s Health’ to Grammy winners Will Smith and Michelle Williams, join us below as we zoom through some of the month’s best offerings.

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Ahmad Givens, ‘Real’ of VH1’s ‘I Love New York’, has passed on this week, losing his life after a long fight against colon cancer.

Sad news below…

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Welcome to TGJ Replay!

Designed much like our ‘Retro Rewind’ and ‘From the Vault’ features, ‘Replay’ is That Grape Juice‘s newest reflective segment to act as a written quest to re-spin the gems and jams of yesterday. Unlike its retrospective predecessors, ‘Replay’ looks to dust off and showcase entire albums (anderas) from a library of pop and Urban pop music hits.

Now, as fans continue to enjoy ‘Living It’ – the fifth full length studio album from the legendary Dorinda Clark-Cole (released February 17th), we take it back to 2002 when the gospel diva first put her heels on the beaten path to solo success.

It all awaits below:
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Catfishes beware…Charlamagne Tha God is here!

That’s right, when the fourth season of MTV’s Catfish returns on February 25th it will do so with ‘The Breakfast Club’ frontman, signing on to help the show’s host Nev Schulman following the departure of Max Joseph.

Details below…

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Lady GaGa‘s status as one of Pop’s hardest workers is no dream sequence. It’s reality.

The ‘Bad Romance’ belter has only just come off the road from ‘The ARTPOP Ball’ world tour, yet is still promoting Grammy winning Jazz effort ‘Cheek To Cheek’ with Tony Bennett and recording the follow-up too 2013’s ‘ARTPOP’.

As reported, the latter has seen her return to the studio with longtime parter in rhyme RedOne.

News that Mother Monster had re-teamed with the creator of ‘Romance’, ‘Just Dance’ and many of her other hits, delighted fans in earnest – given their lengthy “break” from one another and the  climate of expectation awaiting the singer’s next project.

Unlike previous LP’s, GaGa has been notable in her (relative) silence about the creation of this, her fifth, set.

RedOne, however, has – in a new interview – shared a morsel of info about their reunion and their process of recording.

His words below…

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With a hurricane of hype and only promo pics to show for it, is Rihanna finally ready to hit the live circuit in support of her new music?

It seems so.

Having only given one performance of current single ‘FourFiveSeconds’ at this month’s Grammys, it appears Rih is gearing up to take to the stage at the UK industry’s most prestigious night – the BRIT Awards 2015.

Details below…

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Grammys 2015 may have seen a dip in ratings despite an all-star line up(down to 25 million this year compared to last year’s 28 million), but – as per usual – the star’s who got to perform at the ceremony saw respectable sales boosts of their respective projects.

From Ed Sheeran to Rihanna and Sam Smith, those 25 million seem to have been quite impressed with the performances that lined the 57th annual showing, as evidenced by their collective 87% sales gains. This, just in time to accompany news that Grammy-nominated rapstress Nicki Minaj‘s latest release, ‘The Pinkprint,’ has passed the “Gold” mark for sales in excess of 500,000 in just two months.

More on this below:

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Central Saint Martins. The London College of Fashion. The Royal College of Art.

One might advise Kanye West to attend any one of the schools mentioned above this week, no doubt equipped to arm him with the skills fashion export Kelly Cutrone says he’ll need if he’s ever going to be taken seriously as a fashion designer.

For, after founding the fashion public relations firm ‘People’s Revolution’, the tastemaker has called West a “joke” when it comes to crafting clothes, billing his latest fashion venture a “disaster.”

Her words below…

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Fiery quintet Fifth Harmony continue to blaze the promotional trail in support of their debut album ‘Reflection’.

Having peaked at #5 on the Billboard 200 earlier this month, this week the LP’s campaign take the ladies to VH1’s Big Morning Buzz Live – where they performed a multitude of new songs, including new single ‘Worth It’.

Due to set sail on the ‘Reflection Tour’ across the US from next Saturday, flip the hood to see Normani, Dinah, Lauren, Ally, and Camila give a taste of what to expect.

Vocals, weave whips, and a whole lot of sass await below…

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Ciara is hot on the comeback trail with new single ‘I Bet’ and its housing album ‘Jackie’.

Produced by Harmony Samuels, ‘Bet’ is the first offering from the project, which follows 2013’s self-titled LP.

Prior to heading out to Australia, where she is currently on a promo tour, Super Ci attended the Fashion Los Angeles Awards and wilfully spilled on ‘Jackie’ and its first visual – which has already been shot.

Details below…

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That ‘Empire’ reign just won’t let up!

The Lee Daniels music drama has been building on its blockbuster ratings with weekly climbs – a trajectory which continued with its most recent episode.

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