After a brief hiatus, Trina is prepping the release of the follow-up to her 2005 album ‘Glamorest Life’. Set to hit stores in August, the rapper’s latest offering has been titled ‘Baddest B*tch II’. Speaking on the new album – the sequel to her 2000 debut ‘Da Baddest B*tch – Trina told Billboard ‘I put 150 percent into this album. I’m stepping my game up like 10 notches..I have a thousand different emotions and feelings and I show it all in this project. I didn’t want to be sad, just happy and high spirited, so people can see Trina really grew up’. Producers on the CD are set to include Scott Storch, Cool and Dre, and Red Spyder. ‘Baddest B*tch II’ will drop August 14th via Slip-N-Slide/EMI.

Considering the fact that I really enjoyed Trina’s last CD, I’ll be checking for this one. I’m hoping she doesn’t exploit her relationship with Lil’ Wayne, as I didn’t care much when they were together and still don’t now. It seems that’s the route she’s going down – the scheduled first single is called ‘I’m Single Again’….

Mariah & Bone Thugs Set To Film New Video

Fresh from the success of their single ‘I Tried’- which peaked at #6 on the Billboard Hot 100- Bone Thugs N’ Harmony are set to film the video for their next single ‘Lil L.O.V.E’ along with Mariah Carey. The shooting is to take place in New York City on June 4th & 5th.

I’m pleased they decided to go with ‘Lil L.O.V.E’ as the 2nd single from their ‘Stength & Loyalty’ album. The track is hot and real radio-friendly too. I’m anxious to see Mariah in the video, as it’s been some time since the multi-octave beauty has been in the limelight.

I liked this performance; it seems Kelly has improved on her live vocals. The Patti Labelle ‘Love, Need and Want You’tie-in (the song Dilemma samples) was a nice touch. Although, it didn’t help that the crowd was almost completely dead. {LOL at the mess dressed in white..’Watch It’}

Mya Performing ‘I Am’

Watching this performance made me realise how much I actually like the song – why isn’t this a single? Anyway, the performance was pretty good. Mya’s vocals were on-point and the song works well live. As was with Kelly, the lack of crowd response slightly took away from the overall performance. I don’t understand why people go to these shows to sit silent and unresponsive.

What did you think of Kelly & Mya’s performances?

Fresh from a recent promotional stint in Europe, Amerie performed in Korea this week. The ‘One Thing’ singer- who is half Korean herself – performed her current single ‘Take Control’ on the M Countdown show and did a great job. It’s only recently that I realised how good a live performer she actually is. For the most part, the choreography was really on-point.

What do you think of the performance?

This new Twista track is slated to be the first single from the Chicago rapper’s upcoming album ‘Adrenaline Rush’ (due this summer). ‘Give It Up’ was produced by the Neptunes and features Pharrell Williams from group. The song is HOT; the beat is on-point and Twista delivers with his trademark rapid-fire pace on his verses. I’m really feeling the hook as well, it’s catchy. I can see this one doing big things. The Hype Williams directed video should be debuting soon. Check out the track…

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American Idol winner Fantasia performed her current single ‘When I See U’ on BET 106 & Park yesterday. I’m really feeling the song and it’s great to see her finally promoting the single, especially since it’s been a few weeks since the video debuted. This performance was hot; Fantasia delivered vocally and the harmonizing with the backing singers at the end was a nice touch. In other, Fantasia news, it has been announced that the singer has won an award for Outstanding Broadway Debut Performance at the 63rd Annual Theatre World awards. This was for her performance in the leading role as Celie in the Broadway production of The Color Purple. More power to her.

What did you think of the performance?

Rihanna performed her UK #1 single ‘Umbrella’ over here this past weekend at BBC Radio 1’s ‘Big Weekend’. The Bajan beauty has really developed a stage presence and the performance was pretty good. Her live vocals still need some working on though, as there were a few obvious off-key moments during the performance.

What do you think of the performance?

This new Keyshia Cole track is slated to be featured on her anticipated sophomore album ‘Just Like You’ (due later this year). I’m really liking this one; it’s a smooth track, which samples a number of past hits – most notably Notorious BIG’s ‘Juicy’. Keyshia sounds great; Missy and Kim are welcome additions to the song too – with both delivering hot verses. I’m really looking forward to Keyshia’s upcoming CD, as the first was solid. Anyway, check out the track…

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This DJ Toomp produced track is scheduled to be the first single from Kanye’s upcoming third album ‘Graduation’. ‘Can’t Tell Me Nothing’ is a decent mid-tempo song, which sounds a lot like a typical Kanye track i.e. sample-laden. Having said this, I’m unsure why they would select this as the first single; it doesn’t strike me as first-single material. I feel that he needs to come harder than this. It’ll be interesting to hear what the other material from ‘Graduation’ sounds like.