Our friends over at Rap-Up.com have posted what is supposedly the official cover for Eve’s upcoming album ‘Here I Am’. Can’t say I’m liking it too much; she’s stepped up her look overall, but that wig is just not cutting it. ‘Here I Am’, which features her current single ‘Tambourine’, will hit stores on August 7th.

It appears that even after the massive success of ‘Umbrella’ and a huge promotional campaign, Rihanna’s latest LP ‘Good Girl Gone Bad’ won’t be debuting at #1 on the Billboard 200.

According to Hits Daily Double’s analysis of first day sales, Rihanna will vie for the #2 or #3 position with T-Pain – whose ‘Epiphany’ album was also released yesterday. Both artists are expected to sell in the region of 160-170k in their opening week. Ex-Beatle Paul McCartney is tipped to take the top spot with his latest effort.

I’m kinda surprised by this. Def Jam haven’t been behind an artist this much since Mariah’s comeback and to think that after all that she won’t debut in the top spot. Then again, the opening numbers will be Rihanna’s highest yet. Surely that’s an achievement?

This new Kanye West track is taken from his upcoming album ‘Graduation’ (due August 21st). It’s refreshing to see Kanye switch up his approach; the Hip-Hop/Electro fusion samples House group Daft Punk’s ‘Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger’. Though, ‘Stronger’ doesn’t ‘wow’ me, it’s still a solid track – much better than the album’s first/buzz single ‘Can’t Tell me Nothing’.

R&B songstress Teedra Moses is readying her sophomore album ‘The Young Lioness’ for an August release. The long-awaited LP sees the critically-acclaimed Moses return to the music scene after what appeared to be a three year hiatus. Speaking to VIBE late last month, Moses said she spent her time out of the limelight writing for other artists including Mary J. Blige and Macy Gray. ‘I’m not the kind of person who’s just gonna put together an album in two months or two weeks. I like to present myself over a period of time’ she added. Though no definite lead single has been chosen, Moses is rooting for a track called ‘Love’s Gonna Be’ – which samples Marvin Gaye & Tammi Terrel’s ‘Ain’t No Mountain High Enough’.

I’m really anticipating Teedra’s new CD. Her first, ‘Complex Simplicity’, was superb – with great tracks such as ‘Backstroke’, ‘You Better Tell Her’ and ‘Be Your Girl’. Hopefully, this time around, she’ll get the recognition she deserves.

The above pics are taken from the set of R. Kelly and Usher’s collabo ‘Same Girl’. The track, which is quickly climbing the charts, is the 2nd single from R. Kelly’s latest LP ‘Double Up’ (out now). ‘Same Girl’ is one of the better tracks from the album and is a smart single choice. Expect the Little X directed video to premier in the coming weeks.

You can now preview every track from Kelly Rowland’s upcoming album ‘Ms Kelly’ (due July 3rd). After listening to the lengthy clips, I feel Kelly has a genuine shot at solo success. Highlights from the CD at this point include ‘Love’, ‘The Show (ft. Tank)’, ‘Ghetto’ and current single ‘Like This’.

New music videos by R&B singer John Legend and UGK & Outkast debuted yesterday. Check them out:

It’s been a while since Outkast have been in the limelight, so their appearance on this UGK track is welcomed. I’m really liking the song and video; the vid follows the concept of track closely and the resulting video is hilarious. Definitely one the better videos released this year. Stars including T-Pain, Chamillionaire and Big Gipp make cameo appearances.

What do you think of the videos?

Kelly Rowland is back in Europe for another promotional blitz to support her upcoming ‘Ms Kelly’ album. The singer stopped by morning show GMTV today to make her first televised performance of current single ‘Like This’. The performance was good; the choreography was decent and the vocals were on-point. It’s great to see her finally performing the song on TV now. ‘Ms Kelly’ drops July 3rd.

During Akon’s performance at KFEST 2007 in New York yesterday, an audience member hurled a bottle of water at the ‘Locked Up’ singer. As expected, the Senegalese star wasn’t pleased, yet his actions thereafter shocked many. Check out the video:

Rihanna is currently dominating the charts and breaking records with her hit ‘Umbrella’, however it’s being reported that Mary J. Blige wanted to record the song first. 19 yr old Rihanna managed to secure the track by convincing the songwriters to give it to her instead. Speaking to UK newspaper Daily Telegraph, the Bajan star said:

Can’t hate on the girl for getting hers; she’s reaping the benefits now. Though, it would be interesting to hear Mary’s take on the track. Thinking about it, I can imagine her doing a pretty good job. In other Mary J. Blige news, the Grammy Award-winning singer will be performing her own MTV Unplugged special this summer.