Check out the official cover of Teairra Mari’s ‘Point of No Return’ EP. The mixtape, which is a collaborative effort with DJ Drama, will be available on August 6th.

What do you think of the cover?

This week’s Best You Never Heard feature returns this week with little known gems by Whitney Houston & Deborah Cox, Jill Scott, The-Dream and Cherish.

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Whitney Houston & Deborah Cox – Same Script, Different Cast

For a collaboration of such magnitude, it’s surprising to note that so little has been made of Whitney Houston and Deborah Cox’s 2000 duet ‘Same Script, Different Cast’. Lifted from Houston’s multi-Platinum ‘Greatest Hits’ LP, the stirring ballad sees the divas soar to new vocal heights, over a soulful reinterpretation of Beethoven’s ‘Für Elise’

In an age where the beauty of great lyrics is almost entirely confined to the past, this is a potent reminder that an engaging story can skilfully be conveyed via song. Indeed, the track features Houston playing the former lover of Cox’s current boyfriend, warning Cox of his hurtful ways. Yet Cox refuses to acknowledge it, accusing Houston being jealous. A divas clash of epic proportions!

If ‘The Boy Is Mine’ had a sassier, older sister, this would be she! Awesome track.  (SAM)

Listen:

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Jill Scott – The Real Thing

Serving as the title track from her 2007 release, ‘The Real Thing: Words and Sounds Vol. 3’, Jill Scott’s ‘The Real Thing’ demonstrates her versatility as both a songwriter and vocalist. The powerhouse singer gives the listener the opportunity to hear the restrained yet gritty side of her renowned voice while unleashing a wave of lyrical fire over the live instrumental.

Scott spits rhymes in the second verse with the precision of the most talented MCs; combining her Neo-Soul roots with her poetic skill. When it comes to being a true artist, Scott is definitely ‘the real thing’. (TRENT)

Listen:

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The-Dream – Put It Down

Listen:

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Cherish – Chevy

Though now no longer together, sister-group Cherish served up many an underrated gem in their short stint on the music scene – cue ‘Chevy’. Taken from their 2006 debut ‘Unappreciated’, the track is best characterised as R&B bliss.

The Old School inspired car-bumper manages to not only be racy (with clever use of metaphors), it also remained age-appropriate for the ladies – who at the time were mostly in their teens. How or why this wasn’t a single, I have no idea! (SAM)

Listen:

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Nicki Minaj’s ‘Pink Friday’ album may be more than 3 months away (November 23rd to be exact) but she’s already revealing some of the track titles. The rapper has even highlighted the name of one of the upcoming singles which is set to premiere closer to the LP’s debut. Check out what she had to say below:

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Kanye West rocked the ‘SINGfest‘ music festival in Singapore yesterday. The radiant rapper (see his suit) performed several of his hits including ‘Heartless’, ‘American boy’ and ‘Jesus Walks’. Moreover, during a rendition of his new song, ‘Power’ – the lead single from his upcoming album which hits stores on September 14th – Yeezy declared himself “a new man”. Peep the performances below:

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T.I. and Keri Hilson hit the stage at the ‘Takers’ premiere after party last evening. The self-proclaimed King of the South performed ‘Yeah Ya Know (Takers)’ and was joined by Hilson for the 1st single from his ‘King Uncaged’ album, ‘Got Your Back’. Check out the performances below:

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Janelle Monae has been garnering much in the way of acclaim (both critically and commercially) as of late. The quirky singer looks set to continue the trend, following today’s debut of the video for ‘Cold War’ – the latest single to be lifted from her ‘‘The ArchAndroid (Suites II and III of IV)’ LP

Check out the concept-focal clip below…

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Following this week’s headline-grabbing announcement of the nominees for the MTV’s Video Music Awards, the first set of performers to rock the stage at this year’s show have been revealed.

Find out who they are after the jump…

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Chris Brown rocked the stage at the after-party for the première for his new movie ‘Takers’ – which took place at Los Angeles’ ArcLight  Cinemas a few hours ago.

Check out the 21 year old’s full set below, which included live renditions of ‘Wall to Wall’, ‘Deuces’, and ‘Forever’, below…

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The Urban entertainment world came out full force to celebrate the release of Chris Brown‘s new movie ‘Takers’ tonight. Hosted at the ArcLight Cinema in Hollywood, the première was attended by, among many others, Keri Hilson, T.I. (who also stars in the film), Snoop Dogg, LaLa Vasquez, Idris Elba, and Michael Ealy.

Peep more red carpet pics below…

Your thoughts?

With the (music) world all but falling at the feet of a certain Lady GaGa, it appears Pop princess Katy Perry is not amongst them. Indeed, in the latest issue of Rolling Stone magazine, the 25 year old  took specific aim at the ‘Bad Romance’ singer’s use of shock tactics and religion.

Full story after the jump…

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The official trailer for Christina Aguilera and Cher‘s hotly anticipated movie ‘Burlesque‘ was unveiled a few moments ago. Check it out after the jump…

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Check out episode 6 of Trey Songz‘s new BET’s reality series ‘Trey Songz: My Moment’, which aired last night…

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