As Kelly Rowland’s new single ‘Ghetto’ (ft. Snoop Dogg) continues to gain momentum on Urban radio, pics from the video shoot have surfaced. The Andrew Gura directed vid is set to premiere tomorrow (September 10th) on BET’s Access Granted. Be sure to keep it locked on That Grape Juice for the goods tomorrow.

Speaking to Blender, Houston rapper Slim Thug – who has been pretty successful in the real estate market – explains his concept of ‘Flippin Houses’. Here’s what he had to say:

Do Research
“I hire a researcher to find me property, but you can look on the Internet or go to auctions. Then have an appraiser inspect the house. Hopefully you can find somebody who’s about to be in foreclosure and be like, ‘Can you sell me your house rather than having these people just take everything from you?’”

Do More Research
“With auctions, research the list that they publish in advance. Once I said, ‘Fuck it,’ and spent $7,000 for a house without seeing it. Turns out, there wasn’t even a house on the land! Also, run comps (comparable sales) on the Internet — a house is worth what the last house that was sold nearby it is worth.”

Fix Things Up
“After buying the house, redo the restroom, the kitchen, the wood floors — simple shit that makes the house look better. If it’s worth $100,000 and you bought it for $60,000, spend no more than $20,000. Hire a manager; he’ll oversee a crew.In Texas there are Mexicans on the corner who are ready to work.”

Close the Sale
“To sell the house, you can get a realtor or, preferably, just put a FOR SALE BY OWNER sign on your front lawn to avoid fees. When you’ve got a buyer, run a credit check on him. Then, as long as the bank can make the loan go through, it’s good. When you have the money, then you go and flip another one!”

Some of you may remember Teyana Taylor from an episode of MTV’s ‘Sweet Sixteen’. The Harlem native is hit-maker Pharrell Williams’ new protégé and is signed to his label Star Trak. A triple threat in her own right (she can sing, rap and dance), Teyana seems destined for big things. Below are extracts of her feature in the current issue of Trace Magazine where she speaks on how she taught Beyonce to dance, her alternate look and how she hooked up with Pharrell. Check it out:

On Teaching Beyonce:
Beyoncé even enlisted Teyana to teach her the dance for a segment in her “Ring The Alarm” video.

“She was mad focused and really wanted to learn,” recalls Teyana.

On Her Look:
“I always stood out as far as dressing,” she says. “I like to look different and people know me for that. My look is a mix of old-school hip-hop and skater.”

On Pharrell:
“I sang for the Senior Vice President of A&R at Universal, and he asked me the top five people I would really want to work with and my first three were Pharrell. It was crazy to meet him. I mean I love that dude and we connected,” Teyana recalls.

Pharrell couldn’t agree more, “I heard about how talented she was, and I wanted to meet her. I was impressed she could, sing, dance and rap, so we gave her a shot.”

Although she came across real bratty on the the show (which is the point of it, I guess), I was definitely feeling her whole ‘alternate’ vibe and the fact she’s bringing something different to the table. For more info on Teyana check out her Myspce: www.myspace.com/rockstarteyana

It appears Foxy Brown’s reckless behaviour has caught up with her. Brown, real name Inga Marchand has been sentenced to one year in prison for violation of probation. Check out TMZ’s report below:

Foxy Brown will spend the next year in jail for violating her probation — and she’s going straight back to a cell on Rikers Island, where she’s spent the last two weeks. TMZ was in the courtroom when it all went down, and Judge Melissa Jackson slammed Foxy’s pleas for mercy, calling her a “great actress,” and saying that if this were the first time she’d apologized, she might be believable, but not now. We’re told that Foxy was visibly distraught by the verdict, and her mother refused to talk to reporters outside. Foxy originally was sentenced to the probation after an assault on two employees at a nail salon in Manhattan.

Outside the courtroom, cops from New Jersey — where she allegedly lied to cops about her birthdate and state of residence — told TMZ that she got what she deserved. Interesting note: if she serves the full term, Foxy will give birth in prison.

Source

I can’t say she doesn’t deserve it. It’s just messed up that her baby will be born in jail because it’s mother is a nut.

With all the hype surrounding the ‘Kanye vs 50 Cent’ showdown on September 11th, other releases on the date seem to have been overlooked – including the new CD from Bad Boy artists B5. The group, which consists of brothers Dustin, 19, Kelly, 18, Patrick, 16, Carnell, 15, and Bryan Breeding,13, are set to release their sophomore album ‘Don’t Talk, Just Listen’ on the much publicized date. Led by by single ‘Hydrolic’, the album features production from Bryan-Michael Cox, Adonis, The Underdogs, among others.

I’ve received quite a lot of emails about this, yet haven’t seen any promo ANYWHERE. I’m guessing Diddy is up to his usual antics of not promoting his artists. Here’s hoping the guys don’t fare too badly.

R&B star Alicia Keys has been added to the list of performers at the 2007 MTV Video Music Awards. The Grammy Award winning singer is slated to perform her new single ‘No One’ at the Las Vegas event. Keys joins previously announced performers 50 Cent, Kanye West, Chris Brown, Rihanna, Common, Nelly Furtado, Akon, Soulja Boy, T-Pain and Cee-Lo (of Gnarls Barkley). {Source}

Though Alicia always delivers with her performances, I can’t say I’m too hyped about this one. I like ‘No One’, but can’t help but feel she could have come a bit harder than she did with that track. Still, with the line-up kinda lacking any performers of real interest, Alicia is good addition.

With any news of Kelly Rowland’s project becoming scarcer by the day, it’s good to know things are moving ahead (albeit very slowly). It has been confirmed that Kelly’s video for ‘Ghetto’, due next week Monday (September 10th), will premiere on BET’s ‘making the video’ show, Access Granted – not 106 & Park as first reported. Be sure to keep it locked on That Grape Juice on Monday for the vid.

The song is a mess, but Kelly was getting it in the video. I doubt her album sales will pick up, so promo like this – and getting her name out there in general – is her best bet.

Your thoughts?

Many of you will probably remember Dawn Robinson as the lead singer from 90’s girl group EnVogue, as well as Lucy Pearl. It turns out she has fallen on hard times (both career wise and financially) since being ousted from both groups. Now married and hoping to make a comeback, Robinson has filmed a reality series with her singer husband, Dre, ‘Come Back & Come Up’. The show will document her attempts at relaunching her music career, as well as Dre’s experiences breaking into the industry. They have apparently approached BET and TV One about airing the show. Check out the trailer below:

This looks pretty interesting and makes a change to all the overplayed reality shows out at the moment. I’ve always had the impression that Dawn was the victim of her own ego, hence explaining why her career is in the pits. Still, I’m a fan of her undeniable talent and will definitely be tuning in whenever the show airs.