It appears Rihanna’s label are pulling out all the stops for the release of her ‘Good Girl Gone Bad’ re-issue – she’s everywhere right now. This morning the singer performed on the Today Show’s Concert Series in New York City’s Rockefeller Plaza. Her set featured current single ‘Take A Bow’ (above), ‘Don’t Stop The Music’ and ‘Umbrella’ (below).

As I’m sure most of you know by now her live performances do little for me, these included. Though I’m sure the inevitable ‘hater’ tag will be levelled, it’s hard to ignore the fact (IMO) that she sounded as if she were singing through her nose for the whole set. Not a good look. Still,her label she must be convincing people she’s worth their hard earned cash, as ‘Good Girl Gone Bad’ is on course to shift between 45,000 – 50,000 units first week; which is definitely an achievement for an album that is over a year old and wasn’t very good to begin with.

What do you think of the performance?

Soulja Boy has responded to rapper Ice T’s comments that he ‘killed Hip-Hop’. The 17 year old evidently didn’t hold back lol…

Your thoughts?

It has been confirmed that following his departure from Sony earlier this year, R&B singer Omarion has signed with hit-maker Timbaland’s record label – Mosley Music Group – an off-shoot of Interscope Records.

“I’m really excited about this project. Timbaland is like family to me, so it’s always great to work with family and I think this is going to be my best album yet. I’m happy to call Mosley Music Group my new home.” {Source}

Here’s hoping things work out for the better this go round. I’ve never doubted Omarion’s talent; I do, however, wonder if he has what it takes to stand out among the Chris Brown’s and Usher’s that dominate his field.

Your thoughts?

Great vocals, great choreography, great performance.

What do you think of the performance?

I’ve said it several times already, yet it’s worth mentioning again as the masses are now seeing it for themselves. Michelle’s personality is real easy to gravitate to; hence allowing her to sell both herself as well as her project to full effect, which is what she done really well here IMO.

In other Michelle news, she will be appearing on BET this week also.

Your thoughts?

Adulthood catches up with Sam (Noel Clarke) upon his release from jail, having served 6 years for the manslaughter of rival Trife. The film follows his journey over 24 hours as he is forced to confront the people he has hurt, and see first-hand the effects of his actions all those years ago. Some have moved on, others are stuck with the repercussions of that night, but one thing’s for certain – everyone has been forced to grow up.

As Sam struggles to deal with his guilt and adjust to the outside world, he also has to deal with those seeking revenge for Trife’s death. As he is pursued through the streets of West London, he wonders if a new cycle of violence has started and if there is any way to bring an end to it as things start to escalate beyond his control.

That Grape Juice were fortunate enough to be invited to an early press screening of the film last week. As one who has always been rather scepitcal about the UK film industry – most especially the Urban branch – I was highly impressed with ‘Adulthood’. From the plot, to the acting, to the capturing of London life, the film really shines.

‘Adulthood’ Hits Cinema’s June 20th

The video for ‘Cuddle Up’, the first single to be lifted from Pretty Ricky’s forthcoming album ’80’s Babies’, premiered on BET just a few short hours ago. Put simply, the video is decent. I’m liking visual references to popular videos from the 80’s such as Salt N Peppa’s ‘Can’t Touch This’ etc. They were all kinds of wrong for the dance break with their new member 4-Play though – all kinds of wrong.

What do you think of the video?