Def Jam Drops Several DTP Artists?There is mounting speculation that Def Jam have dropped several artists over at Ludacris’ Disturbing The Peace (DTP) imprint – a subsidiary of Island Def Jam. Check out the report via our friends over at SOHH Ya Heard:

The industry is all a buzz about Disturbing the Peace records. Apparently there is a major shakeup happening as we read.

According to SEVERAL of my close Def Jam sources all hell is breaking loose on Ludacris DTP imprint. Apparently when the label brought all their R&B artists to perform at Spotlight for LA Reid, along with a bunch of industry heads in NYC earlier this week, the feedback was less then thrilling. The performances were SOHH lackluster that a source told me that LA told Luda that he can take his acts and “hit the road”.

As of right now Bobby Valentino, Shareefa, and the extremely talented Stephan Jones, AKA Mr. Ordinaray has all been dropped. Sources close to Bobby claim that the artist plans on dropping his next untitled CD on iTunes. No word yet on where Shareefa, and Steph Jones will end up.

Word on the streetz is that DTP heads are planning on severing ties with Def Jam over all the drama.

According to other sources, the artist releases are set to be made official next week. I can’t say much of this surprises me; none of the dropped artists’ recent offerings have made any impact. Saying that, one has to question whether the fault lies with the artists or the label themselves. The moral of the story? Don’t ever sign with a rapper’s own label! LOL. For real, name me one artist signed to a rapper’s label that has actually blown up. Exactly. Chingy, be afraid, be very afraid….

Your thoughts?

Danity Kane's 'Welcome To The Dollhouse' As the release of Danity Kane’s sophomore effort, ‘Welcome To The Dollhouse’, draws nearer (due March 18th), the official album sampler for the set has surfaced. The seven-track preview includes:

 

01. Intro
02. Damaged
03. Pretty Boy
04. Bad Girl
05. Striptease
06. Poetry
07. Outro
The ladies seem to be on to a winner with this album; I’m feeling every track on the sampler. As D. Woods stated in That Grape Juice’s interview with her (click here to read it, you’ll like it lol), the record seems very contemporary Pop/Dance/R&B sounding with mainstream appeal.

Hit or Miss?

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Pop superstar Janet Jackson continues her promo blitz for ‘Discipline’ – her 10th studio album, this time making an appearance on the Ellen Degeneres Show this morning. Check out the interview and performance of ‘Feedback’ after it:

As usual, she nailed the performance. I wasn’t so keen on the interview, though; I don’t understand why some interviewers insist on asking the same things over and over. Anyway, in other Janet news, the BET Access Granted for her new video ‘Rock With U’ will be airing next week Wednesday (March 5th).

What do you think of the interview / performance?

Mariah Carey kicked off her promo campaign this week in support of her new video ‘Touch My Body’ by appearing on MTV’s TRL. The 37 year old also discussed her eagerly anticipated new LP ‘E=MC²’ and her fragrance ‘M By Mariah Carey’.

Your thoughts?

LeToya UpdateLeToya stopped by Atlanta’s V103 radio station earlier this week before her performance in the stage show ‘Rumors’ at The Atlanta Civic Center. During the interview, the singer spoke about her much-anticipated sophomore album, which she claims will now be released ‘sometime before the end of 08’ (SMH), as well as giving an impromptu acapella of her 2006 smash ‘Torn’. I was real surprised about her vocals…she stepped up!

Any thoughts?

R&B star Ashanti stopped by BET’s 106 & Park to premiere her new video ‘The Way That I Love You’ earlier this week. In her interview with hosts Terrance J and Rosci, the singer spoke about her rumored beef with INC label mate Ja Rule. You can also see the finalized version of the song’s video in Part 2 of the interview below:

Any thoughts?

It has been announced that viva Whitney Houston will hit London to play a special concert on May 8th. Check out the report via Contact Music:

WHITNEY HOUSTON is set to make her live comeback in London on 8 May (08). Organisers of the Caudwell Children’s Legend Ball in Battersea have revealed they’ve booked the diva for a charity show. Charity founder John Caudwell tells Britain’s Marie Claire magazine, “We are thrilled to have an artist of Whitney’s calibre to headline the event.” The comeback concert isn’t a big surprise – Tina Turner came out of retirement to perform at the charity’s 2007 gala, which helped Caudwell raise over $2 million (GBP1 million) for disabled children. Houston is currently recording a new album with her mentor, music mogul Clive Davis, who claims the comeback project will be released in November (08).

Great news about the concert; it’s been a long while since Whitney hit the UK. An album release in November, though? How long has she been working on it for? Anyway, here’s hoping she brings her ‘A Game’, as I’ve always felt Whitney’s ‘comeback’ would be the most likely. As, unlike others, her appeal is solely with her voice and not reliant on any kind of sexy image. Any of the singles from her last successful release ‘My Love Is Your Love’ could be a hit today IMO. I guess time will tell.

2008 is really is shaping up the year of the divas – Janet, Mariah, Madonna, Whitney; a certain Ms. Knowles is set to release her third album in November too.

Your thoughts?

Keri Hilson - 'Get It Girl'Check out this new track from Keri Hilson called ‘Get It Girl’. Not to be confused as a song from Keri’ forthcoming album ‘In A Perfect World’, the cut is lifted from Timbaland’s first mobile album for Verizon Wireless subscribers. Despite pretty solid production on the part of Timbo and Keri’s great flow over it, I was left kinda underwhelmed by this. Let’s just say it’s more befitting to what it’s being used for (mobile album aka ‘not worthy of being a legit LP track’).

Hit or Miss?


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R&B quartet Cherish are set to drop their sophomore album ‘The Truth’ on April 29th. The above is the official album art for the set. While the pic looks good, I’m not so optimistic about their album’s chance of success. Next to no buzz, no follow-up single to the under-performing ‘Killa’ (it was a terrible track IMO), leaves me wondering if they are being set up for a flop. I’m hoping not, as the girls are pretty talented.

What do you think of the cover?
Kelly Rowland - Revamped 'Ms. Kelly' Will Be A Digital Release Our friends over at Rap-Up.com are reporting that Kelly Rowland’s long-spoken of ‘Ms. Kelly’ re-release will be released in the US digitally in March. No physical release date, if there will be one at all, has been announced.
Before the stans deem this the end of the world, it’s worth considering a few things. At this point, so much time has passed since the original release of the LP; a full-blown physical release would be risque IMO. By releasing it digitally to iTunes etc, it can be billed as a ‘for the fans’ type of affair. Still, it’s a little disappointing, considering how long it’s been spoken about. After wrapping up this record, perhaps Kelly will head back to the studio for album no.3?
With Kelly’s recent success over here in the UK (‘Work’ is still in the Top 10), I’m assuming the physical re-release of ‘Ms. Kelly’ will still go ahead here. – where its chances of success are high.

Your thoughts?

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Having received a number of emails etc, it was brought to my attention that the site was taking a short while to load. It was an issue I had been aware of for a little while. I’m pleased to say – please, confirm if I’m right – that the problem has been fixed! It was a design niggle that prevented faster loading times. Drop me an email, someone/anyone, to let me know if all is well: sam@thatgrapejuice.net
* March is shaping up to be the biggest month yet on the Interview front. I can’t give away the names just yet; all I can say is that I know you’ll be just as excited as I am. In the meanwhile, head over to the revamped Interview section to read through some of our past features with the likes of Kelly Rowland, Mario, D. Woods (Danity Kane), Jagged Edge and more.

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Feel free to submit any site suggestions, queries, news submissions etc to me by emailing: sam@thatgrapejuice.net

During Janet’s set on Good Morning America yesterday, she performed her new single ‘Rock With U’. The perofrmance didn’t air on the telecast, but wascaptured in its entirety by an audience member uploaded to the official GMA site. The choreography was overly on-point; this performance really has me liking the song a little more.

What do you think of the performance?

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