Busta Rhymes - 'Don't Touch Me (Throw Da Water On 'Em)After a brief hiatus, rapper Busta Rhymes is back on the music scene. Set to release his brand new album ‘Blessed’ on June 17th, Busta will drop Don’t Touch Me (Throw Da Water On ‘Em) as the LP’s first single. The track, which sounds like a Neptunes production, is a hit and miss affair IMO; Busta’s return to the rapid-paced delivery – that he has become renown for – suits the track’s high-octane production pretty well. However, lyrically, the song doesn’t really go anywhere. Still, I’m definitely anticipating Busta’s new record; as I had high hopes for his moderately received last LP ‘The Big Bang’.

Hit or Miss?

 

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Continuing along the promo trail for her upcoming ‘E=MC²’ here in the UK, Mariah Carey tapped a special for T4 which aired today. As part of her set, she performed her the album’s second single ‘Bye Bye’ Check out the performance below:

SMH. Granted we’ve finally got to hear the song it’s entirety – which is pretty good IMO – it’s very disappointing to see that she lip-synced the whole performance; not partially – all of it. While I’ve warmed more to the what the album looks set to be offering, I still stand by my claim that Mariah has become pretty much a studio singer – as she either doesn’t care to perform live anymore or can’t. I’m thinking it’s more the latter. Yes, I know the Lambs will probably chew me out, so with without further ado…..

What do you think of the performance?

R&B stars Kelly Rowland and Ciara hit London earlier this week to perform at premier urban station Choice FM’s 18th Birthday bash. Check out their performances below:

Kelly Rowland – Like This / Work



Ciara – Goodies / Like A Boy

Kelly nailed it! Whoah. She worked it like a pro. From her stage presence, to the the audience interaction, to the vocals, she definitely shined. After watching this, as well as her BBC 1Xtra set, I’m gonna need Ms. Kelly to be performing like that all the time from on here on out. Awesome. {Random tidbit: Did anyone else catch Def Jam head LA Reid (who was there with Mariah) recording Kelly on his mobile? Just an observation…}

Ciara was solid too. While I would have really liked to see a ‘Promise’ performance (her career defining song IMO), it’s understandable why she she performed ‘Goodies’ and ‘Like A Boy’ – both of which are her biggest hits in the UK to-date. Good stuff.

What do you think of the performances?

Check out some of the arrival pics from one of the undeniably biggest events on the industry calender, the Beyonce and Jay-Z wedding {Some pic credits: The YBF} :
Matthew Knowles
Solange Knowles
Kelly Rowland
Michelle Williams
A guest arrives

A media circus to say the least. Peep the pic above of the scene a car arriving at the wedding was greeted with. Still, it’s expected, considering Bey and Jay’z level of celebrity. Granted I don’t usually buy into the hype, I must say the suddenness of this all kinda makes it all the more engaging.

What do you think of the pics?

Beyonce & Jay-Z - It's Legit!

Following much-speculation, PEOPLE.com have confirmed that Beyonce and Jay-Z did indeed tie the knot today. Check out their report below:

After years of speculation, singer Beyoncé Knowles wed her longtime boyfriend, rapper Jay-Z, on Friday, a friend of the couple tells PEOPLE.

Though there is no official confirmation, the friend says, “It happened earlier this evening. Jay wanted it to be a really private affair – close friends and family.”

The ceremony was followed by a lavish party at the rapper’s Tribeca apartment that drew Beyoncé’s mother Tina Knowles, her father/manager Mathew, her sister Solange, her Destiny’s Child mates Kelly Rowland and Michelle Williams, and the couple’s friend Gwyneth Paltrow.

The wedding buzz began when the couple went to get a marriage license at a village hall in Scarsdale, N.Y., on Tuesday.

Wow, so it turned out to be true after all. Congratulations to them!

Your thoughts?

Diva Mariah Carey is currently on a UK promo blitz in support of her 18th #1 single ‘Touch My Body. The singer performed the smash earlier on today on the Paul O’Grady show. Though, by no means great, this definitely stands as Mariah’s best performance of the song to date. Good stuff.

What do you think of the performance?

'Ms. Kelly: Diva Deluxe' (UK) Cover Following the massive success R&B star Kelly Rowland has been enjoying here in Europe as of late, the singer is set to release the revamped version of her ‘Ms. Kelly’ album in physical form (as opposed to the digital-only treatment the US received) in May. Check out the official tracklisting for the set below:

1. Work – Freemasons Remix
2. Daylight
3. Like This
4. Love
5. This Is Love
6. Broken
7. Better Without You
8. Every Thought Is You
9. Love Again
10. Unity
11. No Man No Cry
12. Daylight – Joey Negro Club Mix
13. Comeback – Karmatronic Remix

I’m sure many will be shocked, as am I, at the removal of the popular ‘Still In Love With My Ex’ from the tracklist. I really don’t understand the logic behind that one. Still, for the most part the album seems to have a consistent chill, mid-tempo feel to it. With her new single ‘Daylight’ already gathering momentum here in the UK, I feel the release has a great chance of success here. Random tidbit: I’m really hoping ‘Love Again’ gets the single treatment at some point – can’t get enough of that song.

‘Ms. Kelly: Diva Deluxe’ hits stores in the UK on May 12th.

Your thoughts?

As some of you may know, rapper 50 Cent has been embroiled in a court case with the mother of his son, Shaniqua Tomkin. According to Tomkin, the G-Unit leader was trying to evict her and their 10 year old son Marquise from his multi-million dollar residence in Long Island, New York. Today, however, a judge ruled that 50 can indeed evict the pair from the house (click here to read more) . Check out the video below, which features words from 50 and Shaniqua, prior to the judgement and afterwards:

Irrespective of 50’s stance that Tompkin is, quote, “taking advantage of the fact he pays all the bills”, their son’s welfare really should be his top priority. Seeing 50 so pleased with himself after the judgement says a lot about him…a whole lot. SMH…

Any thoughts?

New Solange Promo PicWith Solange Knowles readying the release of her sophomore effort ‘Soul Angel & The Hadley Street Dreams’, a new promotional shot for the LP has surfaced. She looks stunning! Within the last year or so, especially since she began rocking a darker ‘do, I’ve been feeling her look. The separating of herself both visually and musically from what her famous sister is doing really seems to be working for Solange. ‘Soul Angel & The Hadley Street Dreams’ is set to hit stores in August via Geffen/Music World.

What do you think of the pic?
Check out Mario’s performance on week 3 of Dancing With The Stars below. The ‘Crying Out For Me’ singer was criticized by the judges and scored lower than his previous high scores in past weeks:

I’m guessing the promoting of his criminally underrated ‘Go!’ LP kinda affected his performance. Still, it’s great to see him on his grind, both musically and with the show. Arguably one of the premier R&B acts out there, he definitely deserves the shine the show is likely to bring.

Your thoughts?

New Cherish Promo PicSister R&B quartet Cherish are prepping the release of their sophomore effort ‘The Truth’ for May 3rd. The shot above is a promotional pic for the set. It’s a definitely a case of hit and miss with some of the girls; I would say who, but I couldn’t tell you their individual names if I tried lol. Farah and Fallon (the twins, I presume) are all I can come up with at the minute. A prize for the first commenter who can name the girls in order (…no, really).

What do you think of the pic?
Top 40 Hip-Hop Blogs
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I’ve received numerous emails about this Top 40 Hip-Hop Blogs chart which was released recently. Over 3000 Urban blogs were compared using the Blog Performance Indicator (BPI) system, which measures a percentage of Alexa traffic, RSS feeds, social bookmarking reader usage, site growth in the past month, among other criteria. That Grape Juice came in at an impressive #13 – all of which is attributable to you guys! (Click here to read more on the Top 40 list i.e. how it was compiled etc)
Particularly since the start of this year, I’ve noticed the continued and, quite rapid, growth of That Grape Juice’s daily visits (which have more than doubled since January). Thank you for all of the support; do be sure to spread word of the site to as many as possible and above all: remember to keep it locked on That Grape Juice! {Special thanks to Nathan and Briana}

Any thoughts?
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