Today’s been somewhat of a slow news day, but I stumbled upon this video and thought to post. It’s usually the Omarion’s, Timberlake’s and Co who solute (arguably copy) Michael Jackson, so it was kinda refreshing to see this group of 1500+ Filipino prisoners pay homage to the King of Pop. The inmates of the Cebu Provincial Detention and Rehabilitation Center in the Philippines were getting down; they nailed the now-classic choreography. LMAO at the ‘female’ love interest.

What do you think of their performance?

Rapper Lil’ Flip (real name Wesley Weston) was arrested and charged with credit card fraud this past Saturday (July 21st). The charges allege that the Houston native used a stolen credit card to purchase hundreds of dollars worth of ‘merchandise’. Sources close to the investigation claim the ‘merchandise’ ranged from items of clothing to internet pornography. Flip, 26, was released on $2000 bond and is scheduled to appear in court on Monday.
I know Flip was dropped by Sony in 2006, but I didn’t think times were that hard.

Any thoughts?
Def Jam’s Rihanna features in the latest issue of Vibe Vixen magazine. As well as the double-cover above, the ‘Umbrella’ singer did a full photoshoot and was interiewed too:

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She looks stunning. If the music thing doesn’t work out, she’d be a great model. On a side-note, check out a quote from the interview:

“I wouldn’t have wanted to date white guys before but they are killing it right now. Justin Timberlake, Orlando Bloom, Paul Weller. Every hot guy I see is white”

Interesting…

What do you think of the shoot/ quote?
Slated to be the 2nd single from Chris Brown’s new album ‘Exclusive’, ‘Take You Down’ sees the teen star take on a more mature approach. Prior to now, Brown had played it relatively safe in terms of song subject-matter; yet having turned 18 this year, it was inevitable that he would switch things up with his latest effort. Produced by the Underdogs ‘Take U Down’ is a slow jam with a kind of throwback vibe to it. This lengthy clip of the track is great and has me questioning why it wasn’t chosen as the first single. After hearing this, I’m kinda hopeful that Chris may deliver with this album – which, so far, has been marred by the terrible performance of the generic lead single ‘Wall to Wall’.

Hit or Miss?

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Further to reports earlier this week that Usher is attempting to shut down his top fansite for its negative stance on his relationship with Tameka Foster, the owner has vowed to fight it out in court. Erika Jackson, the webmaster of UsherForever.com, isn’t backing down to legal threats from Usher and his label LaFace -who want her to hand the site over to them. Jackson claims she wants to ‘make a point’ by going toe-to-toe with her favourite artist. Click here to read the full story via TMZ.

The more I hear about this, the more I lose what little respect I have for Usher. It’s unlikely that he’ll win; I’m sure his team didn’t even think this would get as much press as it has. Either way, Usher’s reputation is in a mess right now.

Any thoughts?

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Rihanna is churning out singles and albums so fast these days; didn’t her 2nd single ‘Shut Up & Drive’ just come out? Nonetheless, the Bajan star premiered her latest single ‘Don’t Stop The Music’ on BET’s 106 & Park yesterday. The track is undeniably a dance song and the video (which Rihanna co-directed) really reflects that. I’m not a fan of the song, but its a grower. Def Jam are really covering all ground with this project – each single has appealed to a different market. ‘Hate That I Love You’ (ft. Neyo) has also been confirmed as the 4th single from her ‘Good Girl Gone Bad’ CD.

What do you think of the video?

Whilst Danity Kane languish in the pits, Diddy continues to roll out the videos from his barely Gold album ‘Press Play’. This new video for ‘Through The Pain’ sees the Bad Boy label head team up with Mario Winans once again (their last effort being Winans 2003 hit ‘I Don’t Wanna Know’). I’m liking the song and the video – though not all that great – serves its purpose.

Word has it that Diddy has also shot a video for ‘Diddy Rock’ which features Timbaland, Twista and Shawnna – totalling five singles. I just don’t get how Diddy is supposed to be all about the business, yet he chooses to promote himself over a group that are selling more than he is. Too much ego…

What do you think of the video?

Continuing along the promo trail for her new CD ‘Ms. Kelly’, singer Kelly Rowland performed a set for AOL Sessions recently. Check out the performances:

Dilemma

Comeback

Work/Ghetto

Like This (ft. Eve)

I enjoyed all the performances, although it kinda baffles me as to why she’s still performing ‘Dilemma’. Nonetheless, Kelly was on-point through out, especially with the vocals. The live band did their thing also. It was great to finally see proper performances of some of the album cuts like ‘Comeback’ and ‘Work’. Speaking of those tracks, Kelly has been shooting videos for BOTH songs in LA yesterday and today. Be on the lookout for them in the weeks ahead.

What did you think of Kelly’s performances
This is apparently the cover art for Kanye West’s upcoming album ‘Graduation’. In line with most things ‘Kanye’, the cover is kinda quirky and left-field. Still, I think it looks pretty good. ‘Graduation’ – West’s third LP – was scheduled to hit stores in August, however it has been pushed back to September 11th – the same release date as 50 Cent’s ‘Curtis’ album. With the two Hip Hop heavyweights going head-to-head, it’ll be interesting to see who comes out on top. I’m thinking Kanye has this won.

What do you think of the cover / Who will come out on top: Kanye or 50?

{CREDIT: Ciara-Harris.net}

As some of you may already know, Ciara has been named as the new face of Rocawear’s female line. It seems the urban clothing label are going all out with this campaign – using both print and television advertisements. I found the interview to be pretty interesting, hearing some of the hurdles the ‘Promise’ singer had to overcome to be where she is now.

Click here to see Ciara’s promo pics for the campaign

What do you think of the interview/pics?

As Common preps the release of his latest album ‘Finding Forever’ (due July 31st), a new track from the CD has surfaced. Produced by Kanye West ‘Drivin’ Me Wild’ sees Common collaborate with British Pop sensation Lily Allen on what is a great track. The concept of the song focuses on those who try to fit in instead of embracing their individuality – a universal message. Outside of the Urban world, Lily is one of the artists I’ve been liking and her feature on the hook really works.

Hit or Miss?

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Destiny’s Child member Michelle Williams performed at the Bombay Sapphire drinking party in Chicago this past Tuesday (July 17th). Williams sang Al Green’s classic ‘Let’s Stay Together’ – which she also covered for a GAP campaign in 2005. Aside from a few vocal snags, I enjoyed the performance. Michelle evidently has very little natural rhythm, but I like her voice – it’s different. This kind of music definitely suits her voice more than some of the Destiny’s Child material.

What do you think of the performance?

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