Your thoughts?

Rapper Eve has left her long-time label Interscope Geffen A&M Records. The ‘Tambourine’ performer also noted that she is currently in the studio working on a new album. Here is what the rapper had to say:

“Let me tell u what happened with music so ya’ll don’t think I quit,” she told her followers [on Twitter]. “Left Interscope, free agent now. Went back in re-doing music. Trust me.”

As for her oft-delayed fourth studio album, the first since 2002’s ‘Eve-Olution‘, she says it’s coming this year. “Not letting this year pass wit out an ALBUM! Can’t take the non-sense MUSIK.” {Source}

Is this label breakup season? First we had Michelle Williams leaving Music World Entertainment and now this. I hope Eve has thought this through fully because with industry in it’s current turbulent form, independent artists, especially female rappers, are going to have a tough time making a splash on the charts.

Thoughts?

An unreleased track from the Sugababes’ newest member Jade Ewen has surfaced. Titled ‘I Had Him First’, the up-tempo boasts a pulsating, club-destined beat, with Jade’s impressive vocals never getting swallowed up in the busyness of the production. One, quite major, critique however is the fact the song sounds very R&B-meets-Pop circa 2002. Yet putting that to one side, this is pretty good and kinda has me wishing things worked out for Ms. Ewen as solo act as instead of her having to now so-blatantly outshine Heidi and Amelle in the group. Oh well…

Hit or Miss?

A few days ago, we provided you with images from Rihanna’s recent photoshoot for W magazine. Now details from her interview with the periodical have surfaced which reveal the characteristics of her relationship with former boyfriend Chris Brown. Check out an excerpt from the discussion below:

“There were control issues, insecurity,” she says in the February issue of W magazine. “When people are insecure, they become very controlling and they can get very aggressive and in turn abusive. It doesn’t have to be physical. Like, they would say bad stuff to you to make you feel lesser than them, just so they would have control in the relationship. It takes a big toll on your emotions and on your everyday life. It changes you.”

Rihanna reiterated that she doesn’t speak publicly about the assault to hurt Brown’s reputation but because she wants to help other girls in similar situations. “At first, I completely shut down. But now I feel like this happened to me so I could be a voice for young girls who are going through what I went through and don’t know how to talk about it,” she explained. “It’s not about Chris, about hurting him or sabotaging his career. I don’t care about that part of it.”

Recording her album became part of her healing process, she told the magazine. “I started to go crazy after about a month in the house, so I went back to work, and the mic was my therapist,” she said. “With the mic, there were no negative comments, no negative energy.” {Source}

It’s good to see that Rihanna continues to exhibit strength in dealing with the circumstances of her abuse. Many people (both men and women alike), take years to overcome the trauma of an abusive relationship whereas Rihanna has bounced back rather quickly. If she didn’t perform on stage with leather panties and engage in overt public groping with her ‘friend’, she would indeed be an ideal role model for young girls in similar situations. About her mic being her “therapist”…I’m going to leave that one alone.

Thoughts?

Jay-Z is featured in the February edition of Interview magazine. The Hip-Hop icon was interviewed by noted critic Elvis Mitchell and discussed a range of issues. Perhaps most prominent were his thoughts on Kanye West’s MTV VMA controversy. Check out an excerpt from the conversation below (Courtesy of Rap-Up.com):

On the VMA debacle: “I just think the timing of what [Kanye] did was wrong, and that, of course, overshadowed everything. He believed that ‘Single Ladies’ [by Jay-Z’s wife, Beyoncé] was a better video. I believed that. I think a lot of people believed that. You can’t give someone Video of the Year if they don’t win Best Female Video. I thought Best Female Video was something you won on the way to Video of the Year. But, hey, I guess it wasn’t—and that’s a whole other conversation about awards shows and artists.”

On award shows: “You can’t have the woman who wins Video of the Year not win Best Female Video. I mean, Herbie Hancock is great, but you can’t have him beat the Kanye album that year. I mean, come on, seriously. That can’t happen. That just lets me know that the people who get to pick these ballots just check the only name they know. I think that’s what’s happening with rap music now.”

Jay Z is usually a man of few words but when he speaks his mind, he speaks the truth. Everything that he said about the awards shows makes perfect sense and can be translated especially in the cases of the MTV Awards and the Grammy Awards. I still find it baffling that Talor Swift’s video was selected over Beyonce’s ‘Single Ladies’.

Thoughts?

Kelly Rowland continues to spread her wings on the international front, this time in China. The singer performed a full concert at ‘Hennessy Artistry’ for her Asian fans and was joined on stage by popular Chinese act Jackie Cheung. Among the songs performed by Rowland were ‘Emotions’, ‘Bootylicious’, ‘Dilema’ and ‘When Love Takes Over’.

Thoughts?

Lady GaGa was forced to cancel a recent performance at Indiana’s Purdue University, West Lafayette in Indiana. The Pop star canceled her show after she collapsed moments before she stepped on stage. Rolling Stone reports:

“Due to exhaustion and dehydration, Lady Gaga collapsed and passed out before her show tonight in West Lafayette, Indiana,” the singer’s publicist tells Rolling Stone. “Her physician has advised her to take a few days off to rest.” Lady Gaga’s rep didn’t specify how long she’ll be out of commission; the Purdue show has been rescheduled for January 26th.

On her Twitter, Lady Gaga informed fans that she was devastated to have missed a performance. “An hour before the show, I was feeling dizzy and having trouble breathing,” she wrote, adding that paramedics diagnosed her with an irregular heartbeat as a result of exhaustion. “Can’t apologize enough for how sorry I am,” she added, explaining that her stage set has moving parts that could have proved dangerous had she passed out onstage. “I could hear my fans cheering from my dressing room, I begged everyone to let me go onstage. … I hope you can forgive me. I love my little monsters more than anything, you are everything to me.”

Certainly GaGa’s intense promotional schedule is placing a lot of stress on her body. Between her ‘Monster Ball’ tour and her extensive list of television appearances, including Oprah, it was only a matter of time before she began to feel the strain. Hopefully GaGa paces herself in the future because the last thing that she needs right now is a Mariah Carey ‘Glitter’ moment.

Thoughts?

‘It’ girl Ke$ha hit the stage on ‘The Wendy Williams Show’ during yet another promotional appearance. The singer performed her smash hit ‘Tik Tok’ which remains perched at #1 on the Billboard Hot 100. Ke$ha’s debut album ‘Animal’ is in stores now.

Ke$ha sure is working for that paper isn’t she? I must admit that I admire her work ethic and the fact that she is pushing this album as though it wasn’t already a #1 hit. On the other hand, it’s time for her to switch up that ‘Tik Tok’ routine because it looks the same everywhere she goes.

Thoughts?

Toni Braxton appeared on ‘Walmart Soundcheck’ recently. The contralto singer performed her new song ‘Yesterday’, the first single from her upcoming album ‘Pulse’, which hits stores on March 2nd. To date, the song has peaked at #12 on the Hip-Hop/R&B chart and has yet to appear on the Billboard Hot 100.

Something about that performance didn’t seem quite right. I sense that she was wither lip-syncing or using a very loud backtrack because they only time she appeared to be doing any real work was at the end. However, Braxton is without a doubt one of the best singers to ever pick up a microphone and given her medical condition, I fully understand why she might need a bit of assistance to get through the song. I eagerly await the 2nd single from the album though, as ‘Yesterday’ does absolutely nothing for me. Check out her interview below:

Thoughts?

Alicia Keys was the headliner on ‘AOL Sessions’ recently. The singer performed ‘Unthinkable (I’m Ready)’ from her new album ‘The Element of Freedom’. The LP debuted on the Billboard 200 at #2 in December with 417k units sold.

That was a solid performance from Keys. Her vocals sounded almost exactly like the track and her band was on point. It’s great to see Keys perform the unreleased material from the record to give people who have not purchased the record an idea of how the rest of the LP sounds. To be honest, her first two singles are actually the weakest songs on the entire album. Naturally, I am sure that everyone is eager to see her perform ‘Put It In A Love Song’ with Beyonce.

Thoughts?

A few days ago, we provided you with images of Kelis in London. Well, it seems that the singer has come under fire from PETA for wearing fur while she braced against the UK cold. Kelis has taken the time to respond to her critics in a very extensive yet hilarious blog post provided by Bossip.com:

Kelis’ Letter to PETA

There is no humane way to kill anything, let me start there. It’s unfortunate but it’s part of life. With that being said, I would eat pterodactyl if you found some and you told me it was meaty and delicious. And after doing a very minimal amount of research……. I found out that the founder Ingrid Newkirk is completely batty. I had a feeling but she far exceeded my expectations. I mean certifiably insane! Lol this chicks will is nuts, google it – it’s a riot! Beyond the fact that I think she’s a diabetic, which means she needs insulin, which is taken from lab pigs (I know this because my sister happens to be in veterinary school), which would be completely hypocritical. It’s like don’t abuse animals unless it can help me.

I feel very strongly about a lot of things such as the sweatshops that spin cotton and the blood on their hands. Btw it’s not just the look of fur. It’s warm as hell and feels glorious, ever rubbed faux fur on your body? Nothing luxurious about that. Then the letter proceeded to name artist and designers who don’t wear real fur. Great! More for me! I don’t judge them, don’t judge me.

If I started wearing endangered animals like polar bear or orangutan then talk to me. (Which btw for the record I would not – I do believe in the preservation of endangered species) But the minks and chinchilla that quite honestly are rodents and if weren’t in the form of a coat I would demand they be put to death anyway are not an issue to me.The death of high fashion. Ugh.

I eat meat, and in fact my mouth salivates as I type the word meat! And the paint throwing that’s just ridiculous! What if I was hurling Loubitons and Pierre Hardy’s at every sad poorly dressed person on the street? As right as I may be it’s just fanatical and crazy. And people have the right to feel as they please. What about art? Survival of the fittest. Natural selection? No let’s just let all the rodents run free and over take our cities. Oh wait they have, NY and LA in particular are infested! Why don’t u save them all from scavenging on the streets and ruining my evening strolls, take them home. Make them pets! Get off my back! Pun intended!

Underpaid minorities picking your vegetables, now that’s fine for you right? Please, fight for their rights. How about the poverty in the communities of brown people around the world. She had the nerve to say (and I quote) “get over it” talking of the issue of black people and slavery in this country verses cows being slaughtered. Is she kidding me? Lol yes she must be. Actually, she’s lucky most black people have real issues to worry about in the U.S and don’t give a crap what her delusional privileged opinions are. But she should try saying that again just for kicks n giggles on the corner of Adam Clayton Powell Blvd in Harlem n see how well people “get over it” lol. If u want to preach do it about something worthwhile don’t waste my time trying to save the dang chipmunk.

Find a worthwhile cause like the women being maimed in these Middle Eastern countries. Or female circumcision. Or women’s rights here in America, we still get paid less for doing the same jobs as men. Quite honestly if you hate the world so much go live in the forest where no one else has to hear you complain about the perfectly good food chain the good Lord created. Everyone has the right to an opinion, and that’s mine on that! xoxo

Thoughts?

UK singer Leona Lewis made a guest appearance on ‘The Today Show’ recently. She performed her Golden Globe-nominated song ‘I See You’ from the ‘Avatar’ soundtrack. ‘Avatar’ is now ranked as the second highest-grossing film of all time, second only to another James Cameron flick, ‘Titanic’.

Though she struggled through this performance a bit, she still displayed the kind of technique that proves why is in a completely different league from most of her contemporaries. ‘I See You’ is an amazing song and certainly deserves any accolade that it is awarded. Hopefully there are more vocal masterpieces like that in Lewis’ future instead of the underwhelming material she provided on ‘Echo’.

Thoughts?