Sister 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).

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}

Following the reports earlier this week that Beyonce and Jay-Z had secured a marriage licence, there is increasing speculation that the much-talked about couple are set to wed today in New York:

Jay-Z has performances with Mary J. Blige in Massachusetts last night and North Carolina tomorrow – but nothing today.

And New York news organisations are reporting Knowles is currently in the Big Apple, together with her mother Tina and former Destiny’s Child bandmate Michelle Williams.

Jay-Z and Knowles successfully applied for a wedding licence in Scarsdale, New York on Tuesday, and they have 60 days from that date to exchange vows – before the paperwork deadline expires.

The latest rumours come just a day after Jay-Z staged an alleged bachelor party in Toronto, Canada.

Representatives for both stars are refusing to confirm or deny marriage reports.{Source}

What’s more, Beyonce’s former Destiny’s Child bandmates Kelly and Michelle, uploaded this joint video blog on Youtube yesterday. Though there is no mention of a wedding, something does seem kinda fishy. Check it out:

Hmm. I guess if the marriage stories are legit, then congratulations to them. With industry relationships lasting all of five minutes these days, I have to commend Bey and Jay on being able to sustain for so long. {Random tidbit: Kelly and Michelle had me rolling…too funny}

That Grape Juice was fortunate enough to catch up with the Diamond Princess herself, Trina, at the tail end of last year. During the course of our lengthy conversation, the Miami native discussed her latest effort ‘Still Da Baddest’ (out now), as well as a host of other issues including her much-publicised relationship with Lil’ Wayne, her raunchy image, the (female) rap industry, Khia and much much more. A long, yet very revealing interview. Enjoy.

You can now preview Mariah Carey’s hotly anticpated new album ‘E=MC²’ in its entierity over at Amazon. Judging by the clips, the record seems to have a few sure-fire hits. Of the tracks we’ve yet to hear, I’m really feeling ‘Cruise Control’, ‘I’ll Be Loving You Longtime’ and ‘For The Record’.

That Grape Juice, once again, wants to see what you guys are listening to. Which 5 tracks have you got on constant rotation at the moment? Remember, it doesn’t have to be limited to R&B or Hip-Hop; could be something new, throwback, even something you made yourself lol. Drop a comment in the comments section. Mine are – in no particular order:

Troubled singer Bobby Brown is set to release his autobiography next month. Expectedly, his controversial marriage to ex-wife Whitney Houston is a topic the former New Edition star doesn’t shy away from. Check out extracts via The New York Post below:

“I never used cocaine until after I met Whitney. Before then, I had experimented with other drugs, but marijuana was my drug of choice,” Brown writes in “Bobby Brown: The Truth, the Whole Truth and Nothing But,” out next month. “At one point in my life, I used drugs uncontrollably. I was using everything I could get my hands on, from cocaine to heroin, weed and cooked cocaine.”

As far as his 15-year marriage to Houston is concerned, it “was doomed from the very beginning. Within the first year we separated, with several more to follow,” Brown writes. “I think we got married for all the wrong reasons. Now, I realize Whitney had a different agenda than I did when we got married . . . I believe her agenda was to clean up her image, while mine was to be loved and have children.”

Whitney, he alleges, had been under “a lot of pressure. The media was accusing her of having a bisexual relationship with her assistant, Robin Crawford. Since she was the American Sweetheart and all, that didn’t go too well with her image . . . In Whitney’s situation, the only solution was to get married and have kids. That would kill all speculation, whether it was true or not. In the short, I think I got caught up in the politics and ended up marrying one of the biggest stars in the world.”

But Brown notes that he was no saint in their relationship, confessing in his book, “I am guilty of sleeping with other women . . . Women are always throwing themselves at you. I’m only human, so I would make the mistake and bite the hook sometimes . . . I let the testosterone take over.”

One of his most public indiscretions was an affair with former exotic dancer Karrine “Superhead” Steffans. “Yes, I’ve slept with her,” he confesses. “Yes, I’ve spent several nights at her house. But she was only good for what her nickname stood for.”

Reps for Houston, who divorced Brown a year ago, did not return our call for comment.

SMH at him attempting portray himself as the innocent party – for the most part. The way I see it, they were a mismatched pair to begin with. It really says a lot about his current predicament, if he has to resort to pimping details of his former marriage for money, instead of…(shock horror)…actually working. Random tidbit: LMAO at the Superhead comment!

Check out this preview of Madonna’s chart smash ‘A Minutes To Save The World’ (ft. Justin Timberlake):

I can’t even deny it, Madonna is bringing ‘IT’! The vid, which should be premiering in full any day now, looks great. I’m just here cracking up at the fact a 49 year Madonna is up there whining and whatnot – looking good doing it too! LOL..

Check out this preview of Madonna’s chart smash ‘A Minutes To Save The World’ (ft. Justin Timberlake):

I can’t even deny it, Madonna is bringing ‘IT’! The vid, which should be premiering in full any day now, looks great. I’m just here cracking up at the fact a 49 year Madonna is up there whining and whatnot – looking good doing it too! LOL..

According to The New York Times, Jay-Z is set to leave current label Def Jam to sign a deal with concert promoter Live Nation for a whopping $150 Million. The package deal would see Live Nation finance the mogul’s own entertainment venture, as well as future recording and tours for the next 10 years.

The venture, which will reportedly be called Roc Nation, will split profits with Live Nation. Jay will release a minimum of three albums during the deal’s decade long duration – receiving a $10 million advance per album.

Jay’s deal, which is expected to be finalized sometime this week, would be the most expensive (and expansive) agreement the concert promoter have secured thus far. Within the last 6 months, Live Nation have signed both Madonna and rockers U2 to similar ‘360’ deals for $120 Million a piece.

This news comes on the heels of Jay’s standing down as President of Def Jam last December, following the breakdown of negotiations for a more lucrative deal. Jay’s final Def Jam release is slated to drop before the end of the year.

I’m not sure about this. Not hating or anything, but I keep asking myself: is 2008 Jay-Z really worth that much? The moderate sales of his last couple of releases (in comparison to his past LP’s) kinda suggest he’s not. What’s more, these increasingly popular ‘360 deals’ seem kinda risque to me. One only has to look at the amount of artists, who at some point in their careers, have been unhappy with their label; so I can only imagine the drama that would ensue should one of these type of deals turn sour – as the artist would have signed over literally everything – music, tours, merchandising…the lot. Saying that, I can’t knock Jay’s hustle.