Check out the vid above of the Queen of Hip Hop/Soul Mary J. Blige on the set of her new video ‘Just Fine’. Though a number of her fans appear to not be feeling the song, I’m really feeling it. Be sure to keep it locked on That Grape Juice for the vid (which, I must say, looks like it’s going to be good) which premieres this Friday (October 26th).

Any thoughts?

Hit-maker and Janet Jackson’s boyfriend Jermaine Dupri breaks his silence on Justin Timberlake in his autobiography ‘Young, Rich and Dangerous’. Check out what he had to say about the ‘SexyBack’ singer:

“I think Justin Timberlake is a talented performer. But he’s very ordinary-looking. He could be any skinny white kid from the suburbs of Orlando. You could go to the mall and find another Justin. He doesn’t make his style interesting even when he’s onstage. To me, he just doesn’t look like a star.”
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Though there’s a little uncertainty as to what context the comment was meant in, I’d have preferred if he addressed his opinion of Justin in regard to the Superbowl incident directly. It would be pretty interesting to hear his take on that. I, personally, find it hard to get over the fact that he basically left Janet out to dry.

Your thoughts?
As reported earlier this week, Whitney Houston made a triumphant return to the public eye at the Fashion Rocks 2007 event here in London. Check out the video of her appearance, as well the performance she introduced- Sugababes and Patti Labelle performing ‘Lady Marmalade’:

Sugababes & Patti Labelle – ‘Lady Marmalade’

Whitney really looks to have gotten herself together; she looked and sounded great. I enjoyed the ‘Lady Marmalade’ performance – until Patti came out. She’s a legend, no doubt about that, but vocally she was a mess – nearly killing the performance with random and annoying screaming.

What do you think of Whitney’s appearance / the performance?

Breakout star Leona Lewis performed her new single ‘Bleeding Love’ as part of her homecoming appearance on UK talent show the X Factor. Lewis, who won the show last year, gave a rousing performance of the song (which hits stores here in the UK next week). Though I’m not totally sold on the song, I definitely see her career soaring; the (early) Mariah comparisons are not far fetched at all; she nailed the performance vocally better than on the actual record IMO. Great stuff.

What do you think of the performance?

Just a quick reminder to let those who have yet to enter the Keyshia Cole ‘Just Like You’ album give-away competition, to enter now for your chance to win a copy of the CD. The competition ends tomorrow (October 20th).

Popular MTV reality show ‘Run’s House’ is back for it’s fourth season starting October 25th at 10pm. Though I feel the show to be overly-scripted at times, it is pretty entertaining and I will be tuning in whenever it starts over here in the UK.

Will you be tuning into the new season of ‘Run’s House’?

According to Mariah Daily, Mariah Carey is reportedly being lined up to perform at the 35th Annual American Music Awards. The event, which takes place in Los Angeles’ Nokia Theatre on November 18th, will also see performances from Alicia Keys, Jennifer Hudson, Chris Brown and Rihanna.
Here’s hoping she performs new material, although, in light of the album’s push back to February, that may not be likely.

Any thoughts?
Singing legend Whitney Houston made a surprise appearance at the Swarovski Fashion Rocks event here at London’s Royal Albert Hall yesterday (October 18th). Houston, whose appearance had not been announced prior to her walking on stage, dazzled in a white Valentino diamond-encrusted dress to introduce the final catwalk show of the night.
When arriving on the red-carpet, alongside daughter Bobbi-Kristina, Houston delivered the following message: “I know it’s been said before but I want to say it again – thank you for your support and, yes, I will always love you.”
As the pic shows, she looked stunning. Next year needs to roll around fast, as I can’t wait to hear if she’s still got ‘it’ in her to silence the naysayers.

What do you think of the pic?
Since announcing the ‘N*gga’ as the title of his forthcoming album, rapper Nas has been facing mounting criticism from leaders in the black community including as Rev. Jesse Jackson. In light of the controversy, the ‘Hip Hop Is Dead’ rapper has modified the album’s title to ‘N*gger’ (from ‘N*gga’). Still, Nas – real name Nasir Jones – had choice words for his critics:

“I’m a street disciple,” Nas told MTV News. “I’m talking to the streets. Stay out of our business. You ain’t got no business worrying about what the word ‘nigger’ is or acting like you know what my album is about without talking to me. Whether you in the NAACP or you Jesse Jackson. I respect all of them … I just want them to know: Never fall victim to Fox [News] . Never fall victim to the sh*t they do. What they do is try to hurry up and get you on the phone and try to get you to talk about something you might not know about yet.

“If Cornell West was making an album called Nigger, they would know he’s got something intellectual to say,” Nas continued. “To think I’m gonna say something that’s not intellectual is calling me a nigger, and to be called a nigger by Jesse Jackson and the NAACP is counterproductive, counter-revolutionary.”
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Though I can see more of where he’s coming from with his reason for naming the album as such, I still think it’s controversy not worth generating.

What’s your take on the CD’s title?
Pop icon Janet Jackson has finally spoken out on why she never toured with her last album ’20 Y.O’ despite saying otherwise at the start of the project. Speaking on the Tom Joyner radio show last Friday, she had the following to say:

“I was supposed to go on tour with the last album and what had happened, which most fans don’t know, is that I got with the new label and they asked me if I would be willing to consider not going on tour and going back in the studio and doing a new album and then revisiting going on tour. So I said, ‘OK,’ and stopped doing the rehearsals, which is what I was doing while I was filming ‘Why Did I Get Married?”

From this, I’m guessing a new Janet tour is likely in the works. As one of the (seemingly) few that enjoyed ’20 Y.O’, I’m anticipating Janet’s new release. Here’s hoping she delivers and reclaims her musical relevancy.

Your thoughts?
{Image Credit: Kevipod}

In somewhat of a surprising move, 50 Cent and Lil’ Kim have collaborated once again for this new track ‘Wanna Lick’ (Magic Stick – Part 2), the sequel to the 2003 original. This their collaboration for the forthcoming G-Unit LP ‘Shoot To Kill’ (due in December) is kinda unexpected, considering their much publicized ‘beef’ a few years back. Anyway, about the track, it’s pretty good. Not sure if it tops the original, but still decent all the same.
Hit Or Miss?

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In what seems like an on-going trend in the R&B world this year, yet another album has seen it’s release date pushed back. Ashanti appeared on the Doug Banks radio show today, announcing that her forthcoming album ‘The Declaration’ has been delayed until early next year. What’s more she confirmed that the video for the CD’s lead single ‘Hey Baby’ (After The Club) has NOT yet been shot (contrary to reports) and instead will be filmed shortly.
Unlike Mariah and some of the other heavy-hitters whose albums have been pushed back this year, Ashanti really isn’t in a position to be moving her release date all over the place. ‘The Declaration’ is seen by many in the industry and the public alike to be her ‘make or break’ album after somewhat of a career slump. Whether she’ll bring ‘it’ on this LP will be interesting to see.

Your thoughts?
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