Nicki Minaj sprung a surprise on her legion of Barbz moments ago, when she unwrapped a sneak peek preview of the video for latest single ‘Anaconda’.

Really, though; what are you waiting for? Check it out below…

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‘Wildest Dream’ singer Brandy has apologised to media mogul Oprah Winfrey for lying to her during an interview taped in 2002.

Shot after the singer announced she was expecting a child with then boyfriend Robert Smith, Norwood’s interview with Oprah brought with it claims that she had secretly wed Smith before she was pregnant, something Brandy now admits was a lie.

Now watch the performer reveal why she felt having a child out of wedlock would ruin her image, and scare away supporters who saw as the wholesome alternative to R&B’s more provocative stars, below…

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Alicia Keys has been making changes in her professional and personal life. For just weeks after announcing that she’s signed with new management, the 15-time Grammy winner has revealed that she and hitmaking husband Swizz Beatz are expecting another child.

Details after the jump…

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Is Keyshia Cole plotting the release of a visual LP?

Well, if remarks she made during her recent interview on ‘The Breakfast Club‘ are anything to go by, she is!

Her innovative plans below…

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R&B songbird Keyshia Cole is hot on the promo trail for new single ‘She’ and its parent album ‘Point Of No Return’.

The soon-to-be-divorced chanteuse stopped by The Breakfast Club on Power 105.1 today to discuss her new music, making a video for every song on the project, and the dramatic turns in her private life.

As ever, Ms. Cole served “real” in earnest.

Peep the interview below…

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Beyonce‘s blazing HBO mini-series ‘Beyonce x10’ continues, with ‘Blow’ serving as the latest performance aired.

As reported, the concept of the project sees one of ten new King B performances (from her ‘Mrs Carter Show World Tour’) screened in the minutes preceding each new episode of the network’s top show ‘True Blood’.

Watch Bey in action below…

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‘Here I Am’ rapper Nicki Minaj has been slammed by ‘All Hip Hop’ owner Chuck Creekmur in an open letter penned today, written in response to the singer’s controversial artwork for new single ‘Anaconda.’ 

Why he feels the performer is a bad influence on the fan base she’s used to become one of the fastest selling entertainers to debut within the last decade?

A scathing review below…

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She may be the fastest rising R&B starlet on the ‘Hot 100’, but it would seem Rihanna‘s fan base, the Navy, are anything but impressed by Tinashe‘s impressive rise to superstardom.

Why they’ve taken aim at the ‘2 On’ singer? Well, after one Rihanna uncovered a series of tweets published by the singer allegedly dissing the ‘Loud‘ singer, it wasn’t long before the fan base launched a digital assault on Tinashe, flooding her timeline with a river of insults.

Details below…

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At a time where male R&B is on the up, we’d like to pay tribute to a song that  helped popularize the genre in the first place. Shaï’s ‘If I Ever Fall In Love’ is today’s From The Vault pick.

Released in a Boyz II Men-dominated era, the A Cappella track is a harmonizing masterclass that took the R&B world by storm in 1992. Written by band member Carl Martin, it was blocked from the #1 spot by Whitney Houston’s gargantuan smash ‘I Will Always Love You’ and had to settle for a #2 placing – for 8 weeks – on the Billboard Hot 100. It did get to the top spot of the Billboard Hip-Hop/R&B chart. It was also a UK Top 40 hit and placed 4th in the Australian charts.

The Ian Fletcher-directed video uses the same “less is more” approach the song does with the guys standing in a circle while singing the  track and a scant beauty shots injected for good measure. For us, the simplicity  allows the lyrics to really shine through, but most importantly the gentlemen’s voices to take centre-stage.

******

We wish more artists today would be as vocally adventurous as Shaï and other acts from the 90’s with their vocal arrangements. Though autotune and studio trickery is a necessity for a slew of modern acts, we feel some might rely on it too much, resulting in robotic, soulless deliveries. Furthermore, the EDM era seems to have sacrificed melody in favor of anthemic hooks and repetitive riffs.

Hopefully, the reemergence of organic music will mean more melodically and vocally rich tunes that will go on to inspire the next generations the same way ‘If I Ever Fall In Love’ has inspired ours.

Shaï, we salute you, we thank you.

Your thoughts?

Was Beyonce wrong to hail ‘Rosie the Riveter’ as a feminist icon last month? Let ‘The Guardian‘s Rebecca Winson tell it, and the answer is simply…yes.

Uploading the image above to her personal Instagram page days ago, it would seem the ‘Single Ladies’ singer sought to celebrate the working women of the world with the iconic image.

Unfortunately, in an article published by Winson today, the philanthropic Pop star has been painted as a misinformed maestra, unaware of the story behind what so many believe to be an empowering image.

Winson’s words below…

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After ‘Ugly Betty’ star Vanessa Williams explored her ancestry on TLC’s ‘Who Do You Think You Are?‘, rapper Nas takes a similar journey on PBS‘ ‘Finding Your Roots.’

The first rapper to join the series which uses genealogical and genetic research to find the ancestors of American celebrities, Nas‘ journey on the show saw him brought face to face with an unsettling truth he was “enraged” to find.

His discovery below…

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The father of singer Janet Jackson, Joe Jackson, has penned on an open letter about the performer today, detailing his relationship with a star via his official website.

Released as part of a series which has seen him share stories on each and every one of his children, his take on Janet comes as fans anticipate the release of her first studio album since 2008, and five years after the death of her older brother Michael.

His words below…

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