In a recent interview with VIBE, the ever-eclectic Solange lifted the lid on the recording process for her 3rd studio album (set for an October release), describing its sound as “80s R&B meets new wave dance-rock”.

During the insightful piece (spotted over at Gossip On This), the youngest of the Knowles clan also talked about her critics, Beyonce, the handling of her last album ‘Sol-Angel & The Hadley Street Dreams’, being an independent artist now, Janelle Monae and so much more. An awesome read.

Excerpts after the jump…

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Jill Scott performed at the 3rd and final day of the Essence Music Festival in New Orleans yesterday. The vocal powerhouse was alongside Melanie Fiona, Estelle, Mary J. Blige, Earth Wind & Fire and someone named Trey Songz to help the crowd celebrate the US Independence Day.

Thoughts?

Mary J. Blige was seen alongside Carol’s Daughter founder Lisa Price in New Orleans this weekend. Blige was at an event scheduled to celebrate to launch her new fragrance, ‘My Life’. Shout out to Necole Bitchie for the image!

What do you think of the pic?

Janet Jackson sat down for a very serious interview with CNN recently. The always soft-spoken icon spoke about the importance of the Essence Music Festival to New Orleans, her thoughts on the BP oil spill and how she originally planned to be an actress and not a singer. Check out the very informative interview below:

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Teairra Mari has released yet another Drake remake video. This time she chose to rework the rapper’s hit ‘Find Your Love’ in the form of ‘My Lovin’ – a track featured on her upcoming mixtape, ‘Point Of No Return’. Check out the clip below:

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In a recent interview with The Mirror, Prince spoke about his upcoming album, ’20Ten’. The legendary musician revealed why he has decided to release the record in partnership with the publication and not via the Internet like other artists. In fact, Prince emphsasised that his detest for the web and compared it to the now “outdated” MTV. Peep an excerpt from the interview below:

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Janelle Monáe appeared on KCRW’s Live Sessions recently. The singer gave a rousing performances of material from her new album, ‘The ArchAndroid (Suites II and III of IV)’, as well as her ‘Metropolis Suite: The Chase’ EP. Moreover, Monáe took part an interview where she discussed some of her musical influences and her experience of meeting Grace Jones. Check out the hour-long footage below:

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T.I. fans are going to have to wait a lot longer than than expected to get their hands on his new album. The rapper’s highly anticipated ‘King Uncaged’ LP has been pushed back from it’s original release date of August 17th to September 28th. This news comes as a surprise to many as the album’s 1st promo single, ‘I’m Back’, has already climbed to #44 on the Billboard Hot 100 and #12 on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart with little promotion. {Source}

I sense that this decision is probably related to conflicts with T.I’s current promotional schedule for his new movie, ‘Takers’. Undoubtedly his label wants to ensure that his album gets sufficient attention and that he could capitalise on every avenue available such as the upcoming MTV VMA’s. Furthermore, as T.I. chose to use the 2010 BET Awards to promote ‘Yeah Ya Know (Takers)’ from the ‘Takers’ soundtrack instead of his own project, he missed out on a major opportunity for exposure. Indeed, this decision may prove to be wise in the long run.

Thoughts?

Vh1 aired it’s Behind The Music special featuring Jennifer Lopez last evening. The programme took a look back at Lopez’s days as a dancer, her tumultuous relationship with Diddy (then known as Puff Daddy), how she built her media empire and much more. Check out the entire episode below:

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Teen hearthrob Justin Bieber took to the stage at Macy’s annual 4th of July Fireworks event last night. The Canadian native, 16,  turned in a performance of his latest single ‘Somebody to Love’, which you can check out below…

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Cult hit ‘The Boondocks’ is back Adult Swim for its third and final season. Check out episode 10, which aired last night,  after the jump…

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During a performance of ‘Love Is Blind’ from her ‘Element of Freedom’ LP, a pregnant Alicia Keys had a minor mishap. The singer was performing at the Essence Music Festival when she slipped and fell. Peep the footage below:

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