There are just some people whose talent seemingly know few bounds.  And, if his storied acting, modeling, dancing, and now singing career suffice as evidence, then Miami dance machine Alvester Martin is one of them.

Already building quite the buzz after seeing his talented feet dance alongside some of music’s biggest names from Mariah Carey and Jennifer Lopez to Rihanna and Beyonce, now Martin is making his own moves in the recording industry.

As fans lay in wait for his official debut release via Emagine/Universal Music Group, the multi-talented crooner lets That Grape Juice in to get a peek at his first official music video and find out more about the man known to many as the “industry’s best kept secret.”

It’s all below:

(more…)

U2‘s groundbreaking roll-out of their new album ‘Songs Of Innocence’ still has the industry abuzz.

Indeed, commentators are still split on whether the free, direct-to-device iTunes release of the project was envelope-pushing or a negative case of nepotism.

Naturally, the conversation evokes frequent mentions of Beyonce and comparisons too. After all, the diva’s surprise album release last year is still hailed by many as the definitive means of gorilla marketing in the music industry.

With some suggesting the rock group’s approach is an advancement of Bey’s ambitious campaign, the Financial Times sat down with Jim Sabey – head of Marketing at the singer’s Parkwood Entertainment – to discuss her career, the atmosphere prior to her shock release, and whether a similar roll out to U2 would be on the cards for the star in the future.

Peep the interesting soundbites below…

(more…)

When it was announced that Shonda Rhimes would “own” ABC’s Thursday night prime-time schedule with a whopping three shows (‘Scandal’, new series ‘How To Get Away With Murder’, and ‘Greys Anatomy’), many lauded praise on the TV writer.

And with the first back-to-back run of the shows having aired last night, the accolades looks set to keep rolling in.

Details below…

(more…)

Yesterday brought with it the unfortunate news that rapper Wiz Khalifa and wife of one-year Amber Rose are divorcing after just one year of marriage.

Naturally in the absence of specifics, speculation has been rife as to what caused the couple – who have one child together – to break-up.

Well, seemingly fed up with the muddying of her name, former model-turned-aspiring actress Rose took to Twitter today to provide clarity and drop a bombshell in the process.

Her words below…

(more…)

They already share an ex-husband in producer The Dream, and now- in a move that brings the pair even “closer”, R&B singers Nivea and Christina Milian also find themselves sharing an ex-lover in rapper Lil Wayne.

The end result? A whole lotta confusion that’s left Nivea anything but impressed by Ms. Milian, who she fears will only add more of that to the mix if she and Wayne’s relationship sees the ‘Dip it Low’ singer have his baby.

Find out why the ‘Complicated’ singer had to say on the matter below…

(more…)

The campaign for Jessie J‘s new album ‘Sweet Talker’ has fired out of the cannon with a literal ‘Bang Bang’ and with new single ‘Burnin’ Up’ doing exactly that on radio, the belter is poised to make major moves with the LP.

With the set now available for pre-order on iTunes, the masses now have access to previews of the set.

Will the rest of the project serve up the same degree of fire of its lead singles? Take a listen to snippets below and let us know…

(more…)

It may feature a line-up of Hip Hop and R&B’s more recognisable faces, but it would seem ‘Love & Hip Hop Hollywood’ has a long way to go before it can even think of competing with its Southern sister ‘Love & Hip Hop Atlanta’, after failing to match or better ratings scored by the series.

Who, what, where and why?

Facts and figures after the jump.

(more…)

Keyshia Cole has been making headlines for anything but her music of late. However, the R&B star is hoping to keep the focus on what really matters with the release of her new album ‘Point Of No Return’.

Due on October 7th, the set serves as the singer’s sixth studio effort and is preceded by a slew of singles including ‘She’, ‘Rick James’, and ‘Next Time’. It’s also set to be supported by Cole’s upcoming new BET reality show.

Find out which other tracks (and guests) feature on the LP below..

(more…)

Rita Ora continues her uncanny winning streak this week.

For, it has been announced today that the Roc Nation priori has landed a spot on one of the UK’s biggest shows.

Details below…

(more…)

‘Love & Hip Hop’ alum K. Michelle may be hard at work on a new album with the backing of former Lady GaGa manager Troy Carter, but it would seem she still has enough time in her day to clap back at any who choose to slam her online.

Tonight, Soulja Boy learned that lesson and is unlikely to ever forget it.

What went down?

Twitter beef below…

(more…)

Queen.

The hunt for the next “queen” of the many genre’s has become routine for Pop enthusiasts nowadays.

Yet, amidst all the heated conversations and strong disagreements that some acts’ fan bases get into, one diva has yet to find a suitable successor: the Queen of Hip-Hop/Soul herself, Ms. Mary J. Blige.

This week, From The Vault celebrates the artist’s eternal relevancy with one of her biggest hits, ’Be Without You’.

Released at the end of Summer of 2005 as the first offering from the artist’s seventh album ‘The Breakthrough’, ‘Without You’ is a beat-driven ballad produced by Bryan-Michael Cox and written by Johntà Austin (alongside Blige). Interestingly, the pair are particularly notable for their popularisation of the “beat ballad” that year – as evidenced by their work with a certain Mariah Carey – whose comeback with the ‘Emancipation’ was largely attributed to that sound.

But we digress…

The trio of titans came up with was a gem that helped put Mary back on top after the so-so performance of the underrated ‘Love & Life’ LP.

Peaking at #3 on the Billboard Hot 100, the record was the most successful song on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop spending 15 consecutive weeks at #1 up until 2013 (it has since been surpassed by Robin Thicke’s ‘Blurred Lines’ last year). In 2006 it was #11 on the US Year-End chart.

Matthew Rolston was brought on board to translate the emotional track in a visual capacity and we’re sure you’d concur that he did a stellar job. Featuring Academy Award-nominated actor Terrence Howard as Mary’s love interest, the clip mirrors the message relayed in the song’s lyrics. More specifically,  the notion that one should never give up on pure and real love (pun intended) despite all the hardships that come along the way.

*********

With this gem, Mary delivered yet another heartfelt song that is so emotive that it almost  makes one want to lived the lyrics, whether good, bad, or otherwise. Perhaps that’s the reason why she remains untouchable to this day; the passion she embeds in her music is somehow contagious and is the epitome of “feel” music. Case in point, THAT haunting climax on ”Without You’ – it’s both a vocal exclamation mark and, in one belted note, embodies all that the song is about. It’s a skill so many of today’s acts likely wish for and, no doubt, could benefit from.

With new album ‘The London Sessions’ due this Fall, Mary J. continues to amaze us 23 years in her career and quite frankly we can’t really see it stoping anytime soon.

All Hail The Queen!

Thoughts?

They may earn millions from lucrative publishing arrangements every quarter, but Drake, Beyonce and Nicki Minaj have seen their credentials as songwriters thrown into disrepute by Shi Wisdom, the writer behind Rita Ora‘s hit single ‘R.I.P.’

Faced with claims that she wasn’t paid for time she spent serving as Drake‘s “ghostwriter“, the wordsmith used ‘Noisey‘ to share her side of the story, lifting the veil on a machine more dependant on shadow writers than the acts they’re employed by would care to admit.

Why Minaj‘s alleged  jab at Iggy Azalea‘s lyrical skill may have been a tad hypocritical if Shi is right?

Her claims below…

(more…)