Our friend DJB over at BBC 1Xtra – one of the UK’s premier Urban radio stations – recently caught up with R&B star Kelly Rowland. The ‘Like This’ singer spoke in detail on a number of things including the ‘Ms. Kelly’ re-release, the initial lack of support her label gave her, working with Gym Class Heroes and her 2008 tour plans. It was a great interview and should kinda come as good news for Kelly fans; the label really seem to be behind the project this time around.

What better time to announce than now; DJB will be joining the That Grape Juice team early 2008 as a contributor. Keep it locked on That Grape Juice for that in the weeks ahead.

Your thoughts?

As of January 1st, Def Jam will longer be presided over by Jay-Z; the rapper confirmed that he will be stepping down from his President role at the label. Check out the rapper’s statement below:

“I’ve been incredibly fortunate to have served as President of such a culturally-defining label as Def Jam over the last three years,” Jay-Z said in a statement. “During that time, I’ve had the pleasure of working with many of the world’s most dynamic artists and many of the most dedicated and talented executives in the music business today, including Antonio “L.A.” Reid. But now it’s time for me to take on new challenges.”

Jay-Z, born Shawn Carter, took over as President of Def Jam in 2005. Under his guidance, the rapper signed his former rival Nas to Def Jam and oversaw the release of hit records by Kanye West, Rihanna and Ne-Yo.

Island Def Jam Music Group Chairman Antonio “L.A.” Reid said that Jay-Z felt it was time to take on “different challenges in his life.”

Jay-Z will continue running and recording for his Roc-A-Fella imprint, which is distributed by the Island Def Jam Music Group. The mogul is rumored to be making a transition to the urban division of Sony Records with Rick Rubin. {Read full article}

Ciara premiered the video for her new single ‘That’s Right’ today as a special Christmas gift to her fans. Can’t say I’m a fan of the song, but the video turned out pretty good. Monica makes a cameo in the vid too.

What do you think of the video?

Sorry for the lack of updates people. The time of year has been a busy one for me, as I’m sure you can identify with. Anyway, check out the video for Ne-Yo’s latest single ‘Go On Girl’, which premiered recently:

Irrespective of how good the song/video is (neither are all that great IMO), I can’t help but feel that the handling of Ne-Yo’s second album has been a mess. After the success of the single ‘Because of You’, none of the chosen singles have made much sense to me. ‘Make It Work’ has ‘single’ written all over it, yet it seems to have been shafted in favor of lesser songs – considering ‘Go On Girl’ is likely the last single to be released from the album. Saying this…

What do you think of the song / video?

The video for Chrisette Michelle’s latest single ‘Be OK’ premiered recently. I was kinda surprised to see this, as I was under the impression that Chrisette’s project had all but been abandoned. Considering ‘Be OK’ is one of the standout tracks from her ‘I Am’ album (IMO), I’m glad it got the single treatment. About the video, director Little X did a pretty good job; the vid is pretty simplistic, yet works all the same.

What do you think of the video?

It has been confirmed that R&B crooner Ruben Studdard, winner of season 2 of American Idol, has been dropped by his label J Records. Check out the report below via our friends over at SOHH:

After a promising start as winner of the second season of “American Idol,” Studdard seems to have fallen short of expectations and has been dropped from J. A rep from his label has confirmed the artist’s departure to SOHH.

Studdard’s first J Record release Soulful, released in 2003, is RIAA certified platinum. His 2004 gospel follow up, I Need An Angel also fared well – reaching gold status. However sales of his 2006 project The Return have been unable to match his previous success, moving barely 235,000 copies.

Can’t say I’ve been moved by Ruben’s music; that ‘Change Me’ track was my song for a minute though. Amid less than stellar sales from top artists, record labels all over are making cuts left, right and centre as the year closes out. Don’t be surprised if Ruben isn’t the only artist left looking for a new label in the weeks and months ahead.

Any thoughts?

The video for Fat Joe’s new single ‘I Won’t Tell’ made its debut yesterday on the rapper’s official MySpace page. Featuring 2007 breakout star J. Holiday, the song is the 2nd single to be lifted from Joe’s forthcoming album ‘The Elephant In The Room’ (due March 11th 2008). I’m feeling the song and the video is pretty good too. See if you can spot cameos by, among others, LeToya, Bow Wow, Christina Milian and Scott Storch. With his post-‘Lean Back’ efforts pretty much tanking, I’m sure Joe is hoping this puts him back on the map.

What do you think of the song / video?