Things seem to be taking an unexpected turn in the Brandy-car accident episode. According to TMZ, Brandy may actually be a victim and not the one in the wrong. Check out their report below:

TMZ has learned the hang-up in deciding whether to file vehicular manslaughter charges against Brandy is that Brandy may have been a victim, not a culprit.

A CHP source tells TMZ the woman who died in the car accident involving Brandy actually struck the vehicle in front of her before Brandy made any contact. The law enforcement source says Awatef Aboudihaj, the woman who died, struck the car in front of her — which was going 65 mph, and then slammed on her brakes. We’re told the sudden stop caused Brandy to hit the dead woman’s car.

What’s more, L.A. County Coroner spokesperson Captain Ed Winter tells TMZ that toxicology reports show Aboudihaj had “slight traces” of marijuana in her system at the time of the crash.

The L.A. City Attorney has until the end of the business day on Friday to decide whether to file criminal charges against Brandy — that’s when the one-year statute of limitations runs out. Sources tell TMZ there is significant division in the City Attorney’s office, and a decision still has not been made. The problem for the City Attorney: if they file manslaughter charges, they have to prove Brandy did something negligent — and we’re told that could be difficult if not impossible.

I’ve always felt the whole situation was an unfortunate one. Saying that, the way Brandy has been crucified was uncalled for. Here’s hoping the matter resolves itself soon; I been waiting on that new Brandy album for a minute already.

Any thoughts?

After a disappointing debut on the charts last week (#11 with 107,146 copies sold), ‘Face Off’ – the collaborative album by Bow Wow and Omarion – doesn’t look to be doing all that great. Still, a second single in the form of ‘Hey Baby (Jump Off) has been released – the video for which premiered today. Put simply, neither the song or the video are anything other than ‘ok’. If anything, this is a step-back from their decent-yet-forgettable ‘Girlfriend’ release IMO.

What do you think of the video?

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.

{Link Removed As Requested}


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?

That Grape Juice wishes you all a very Merry Christmas! I hope you’re enjoying the day with your nearest and dearest…I know I will be.
With the year having gone by so quickly, it’s only just now that I realized this is the first Christmas to come by since the site opened; and I’m real grateful to be able to celebrate it with the thousands of readers the site has accumulated since opening – you are ALL very much appreciated. Here’s to celebrating many many more Christmas together 🙂
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}

Oh well. I can’t say any of this comes as a surprise. The stories of conflict between Jay and the upper management over at Def Jam have more or less proven true; IMO they just allowed him to save face by saying he ‘resigned’. It’ll be interesting to see how things pan out from here on out; there have been whispers that Jermaine Dupri will take on the now vacant role.
Your thoughts?

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?

The voting polls for the 1st Annual That Grape Juice: End Of Year Awards are open NOW….

Click here to vote!
*Updated with Best Male & Female Awards*


Winners will be announced on December 31st

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?

In order to ensure the process for voting goes smoothly, voting for the 1st Annual That Grape Juice: End Of Year Awards will begin this coming Monday (December 24th). To clarify, voting will be done via polls.
Prior to then, you can express your view on the current nominees list by clicking here.
{Picture credit: PerezHilton.com}
Check out this pic of Janet Jackson on the set of the video for her brand new single ‘Feedback’. Interesting. I’m guessing they’re going for a dark futuristic theme. Be on the lookout for the video’s premiere on January 1st on BET.

What do you think of the pic?
With Mary J. Blige on course to sell over 600,000 copies of her new album ‘Growing Pains’ in it’s first week on sale, there’s no denying the ‘Queen of Hip-Hop/Soul is onto a smash with her eighth studio effort.
Saying that, what do you think of ‘Growing Pains’? Which tracks are you feeling / dislike? Do you think Mary rose to the task of topping her 2005 mega-successful ‘Breakthrough’? Drop your views in the comment section.

Your thoughts?

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?

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