Source: WENN

God really does answer prayers. Ok, I’m being dramatic. I haven’t prayed for a new Andre 3000 album, but just the other day I was discussing the brilliance that is The Love Below. Would you believe that was an entire decade ago? And even though he’s been featured in many a song since then and collaborated with Beyoncé (again) for their cover of Amy Winehouse’s “Back to Black,” it’s more than time that he return to the studio. And fortunately for us, it appears that that is exactly what one half of the Outkast duo is doing.

Stephen G. Hill, President of Music Programming and Specials for BET spoke to Andre at Lil Wayne, T.I.’s and 2 Chainz’ “America’s Most Wanted Tour” and the conversation went something like this, according to Hill’s subsequent tweet:

Me: hey what’s up? You got the movie coming,right? Andre 3000: yeah…and I got a solo album coming top of the year. Me:*droptofloor*

— Stephen Hill (@StephenGHill) August 3, 2013

*Jigs* 

If this is indeed true and the album comes out at the top of 2014, as Andre 3000 claims, this is great news.

Source: Instagram

And in related news, 2 Chainz took a picture with 3000 and tweeted this picture with the caption: “My favorite artist.”  Definitely one of the greats.

Are you excited for a new Andre 3000 album?

Source: Marco Piraccini/WENN.com

From EurWeb 

Beyonce is believed to have auditioned more than 50 songs for her much-anticipated fifth studio album but has decided to scrap them all and start over, a source tells The Hollywood Reporter.

Among the writers potentially affected are Ryan Tedder, The-Dream, Sia, Diane Warren and Ne-Yo, who said in June that Beyonce was “still trying to figure out” a direction for the album.

The singer’s label, Sony-owned Columbia, had hoped to have new Beyonce music out by spring, which turned out to be a pipe dream. Now, it looks like a fall release may not be feasible.

Columbia had its sights set on a big fourth-quarter bow by Beyonce, both to compete with high-profile releases by Universal Music’s Lady Gaga and Katy Perry and to capitalize on her massive Mrs. Carter tour.

“Beyonce has had some of the biggest hits of our format, and we’re ready for the next,” says Tom Poleman, president of national programming platforms at Clear Channel.

Read more at EurWeb.com 

MadameNoire got the chance to talk with the legendary Ron Isley y’all! The day after the BET Awards, the man we’ve come to know and love as Mr. Big came into our office and dished on everything from the time he spent in jail for not paying his taxes to his thoughts on Charlie Wilson’s return to music and what his plans are for new albums in the future. And to top it all off, he sang us a line or two from one of our favorite songs. Take a listen!

WENN

From EurWeb

Contrary to previous speculations and reports, Chris Brown’s collaboration with ex-girlfriend Rihanna, said to be titled “Put It Up,” has been confirmed for his forthcoming album “X.”

The news was confirmed by Chris Brown himself who took to Twitter with a list of his album’s contributors.

New album features @NICKIMINAJ ,Kendrick , @rihanna, @KELLYROWLAND , @wizkhalifa ,@bobatl and more surprises to come. “X”

— Chris Brown (@chrisbrown) July 4, 2013

Due to the couple’s breakup earlier this year, rumor was the duet with Rihanna wouldn’t make the cut for the album. It was said that Chris Brown wanted no parts of Rihanna after the split but it seems he was able to separate business and personal and kept the Barbados singer on the roster.

Read more at EurWeb.com

The new music continues to drop and the great thing is that a lot of it has been really good.

Melanie Fiona is prepping release her third, still untitled album by dropping a new single, “Cold Piece.”

The uptempo track has Melanie talking about how her guy came into her life at a time when she didn’t expect it to happen.  But he quickly flipped the switch, broke her heart and left her by herself again.

Damn could’ve stood the test of time/I gave my best,  you know I tried/But the truth is, there was nothing to do to change your f***ed up mind/See the problem it was you, let’s not forget your ego too/You know you better think twice next time you decide to play with hearts, play nice

Once again, Fiona doesn’t really disappoint at all on this track. The vocals, as usual, are on point and the beat fits perfectly.  It’s a great summer song and even better, it is a good first single for her.

The thing about Melanie Fiona is that for as great as her voice is and as pretty as she is, that hasn’t been enough for her to fully “blow up” in the music industry as many have hoped.  She has a very core group of fans which is very helpful but many complain that she’s not “exciting” enough. Here’s to hoping that she’s bringing some new flavor with the next album.

She’s had a good start: On Friday, she opened for Beyoncé at her Los Angeles concert on Friday.

Check out Melanie Fiona’s new song and let us know what you think!

Source: Twitter

Look who the cat drug in. It’s “My Neck, My Back” rapper Khia. Chances are, you like the rest of us, haven’t seen or heard from Khia for some time now. So it’s interesting that she would pop back up with this low budget photo shoot. Here we see Khia draped in what looks like a velour towel holding a football…even though the season is over.

I’ve never been a fan of Khia’s antics or her music (I’m probably one of the few black women who doesn’t like “My Neck My Back) and this photo shoot, most likely promoting her latest album, doesn’t really change any of that. By the way the new album will include songs like “Lick Me Dry,” “Dickmatize,” and the guaranteed smash hit, “Pay Yo Pu$$y Bill.”

Homegirl is out here with all of her tattoos on display…looking…well you see it. And in case you were wondering, yes that is Pac Man headed to Khia’s cooch. Classy.

We can’t help but wonder if this little photo shoot was her attempt to tap into another artist’s shine. We’ll let you decide for yourself.

Source: Bossip

You can check out the rest of her pictures from this photo shoot on Twitter. You’ll want to check them out, they’re even more scandalous than what we can show you here.

Either way, caption what Khia is saying or thinking in the above photos…

AP Photo/Peter Kramer

Eve was the first lady of Ruff Ryders back in the late nineties, back when DMX’s bark was all over the radio and before Swizz Beatz wore skinny pants and fedoras (both former members of Ruff Ryders by the way). And she surprised us by being one of few women in the game whose content focused more on her lyrics. Eve released “Gotta Man” and “Love is Blind” and fought for her shine as a one of the top female artists in the game despite competition from Foxy Brown and Lauryn Hill.

So if you missed Eve, she’s on her way back! The Grammy-winning artist has not released an album since 2002′s “Eve-Olution.” But the best part about the comeback is it will be on her own terms. Her album will be released under her own independent label, the recently formed FTR Music, or From the Ribs Music. The album, “Lip Lock,” will be distributed through Sony/Red on May 14 and feature Snoop Dog and Chrisette Mitchele. In an interview with Billboard, she also talks about her troubles with her former label Interscope.

Eve recently gave a taste of what to expect when she dropped the single “She Bad Bad,” this past October. The video, posted on January 8, has over 1.2 million views on YouTube.

She revealed that we should expect a new single, “Make It Out This Town,” to drop in the new few weeks.

“It is a track about being in a dark place — or you could literally say being in the town that you’re in but you have bigger dreams or bigger hopes… just making it out of that situation and knowing that you can do whatever it is that you put your mind to. It’s a song that I’m dedicating and using with my partnership with the Big Brothers Big Sisters of America,” Eve told Billboard.

I, for one, am looking forward to another comeback from a familiar face. Eve is making a power move by starting her own label and calling the shots.

However, we are living in different times, and there is a high correlation between comebacks and your social media following or reality TV presence. So hopefully Eve’s got some tricks up her sleeve over these next couple of months to make her relevant again before her album is released in May.

After the jump, check out the “She Bad Bad” video, ICYMI.

Source: www.rap-up.com

“No gimmicks. Real R&B music,” is how Brandy describes her sixth studio album to Rap-Up.com.

Is it just me or does Brandy just SOUND so READY both in the press and in these last few singles she’s released? While I have to admit that the duet (“It All Belongs To Me”) with Monica was not my fave, the collab with Chris Brown “Put It Down” had me sitting in the car even after I had reached my destination just to hear the song in its entirety.

About a month ago she released “Wildest Dreams” a nod to the love she’s found with music exec, Ryan Press, and a few days ago she released two more singles off of her upcoming album, including, “No Such Thing As Too Late” and “Let Me Go.” And I must admit – I haven’t been disappointed yet.

Maybe it was watching her whole story told on VH1’s “Behind The Music.” Or maybe it’s simply because I always saw her as a vocal beast and role model from “Sittin’ Up In My Room” up to now. Maybe it’s just a solid mix of the two, but without a doubt I am completely ready for Brandy to take her place sittin’ on top of the charts again. She’s had a rough go of it with albums that just weren’t quite there sonically or were overshadowed by her serious bouts with depression, a publicly failed relationship and a tragedy of a car accident which left vicious bloggers and commenters calling her a “murderer” when in fact, she had not been completely at fault in the ordeal.

It seems the media and fans/haters alike got so caught up in her personal life that they forgot how ridiculously talented and perfectly human Brandy is. She was never a drug addict or a serial dater. She had no leaked sex tapes and never fought in public. But somehow the very human mistakes of her life were blown so enormously out of proportion that her voice and passion for her craft got lost in the melee. So yes, I’m ready for her to put it down on the charts with her new album, Two Eleven, which is set to drop today. To this day I have never heard a teenager riff with the maturity and ease that Brandy had on her debut album back in 1995. Her tone, range, honesty and humility have long been missed. She didn’t need sex to sell because she was just the beautiful girl next door who could SANG. That alone pushed her further than many of the other singers of her era.

Having called upon the talents of some of the most noted producers in the industry to work on Two Eleven, including Rico Love, Frank Ocean and Sean Garrett, Brandy is ready to put it down, not just for herself but for fans and the memory of her longtime mentor, the late Whitney Houston, whose passing on February 11, 2012 (also Brandy’s birthday) was also the inspirati0n behind the album’s title.

“It brings significance to my life… I wouldn’t say it was never there before, but now I feel like I have a bigger responsibility to not only dedicate my life to my family, but my music family as well,” Brandy shared in an interview with Hartford’s Hot 93.7.

There is a huge outpouring of support from fans worldwide as we anxiously await the full return of B-Rocka.

Are you a fan of Brandy? Are you excited for her new material?

Check out Brandy’s latest single “No Such Thing As Too Late” here and follow her on Twitter: @4everBrandy.

Source: femalerappers.net

Eve is starting to creep back up on our radars and the Philly rapper will likely be demanding our undivided attention when her new album drops, which she says won’t be long from now. In an interview with Essence.com, Eve opened up about her new music, where she’s at creatively, and more importantly whether we’ll be hearing wedding bells anytime soon. Here are a few bits from the interview:

When her new album, “Lip Lock” is coming out
The album is coming out this year, for sure. It took a long time just because I wanted to make sure that it was perfect and right. I’m really happy with it. In fact, I’m more than happy with it – I love it!

Who she wants to work with musically
My dream collaboration is with Lauryn Hill. Is that ever gonna happen? Who knows! But there’s still a lot I feel like musically I could do.

What artists she’s listening to now
I listen to every thing, all kinds of stuff. I’ve been obsessed with the Nas and Damian Marley record, Distant Relatives. I feel like a lot of people haven’t heard it, and it’s amazing.

Whether she’s still in love
I am, thankfully!

Will her boo, British entrepreneur and race car driver Maximillion Cooper, be putting a ring on it soon
He better! (Big laughs.) Seriously! Ha! But, right now, we’re really, really happy.

Where she finds inspiration
Well, I’ve relocated to London, so right now it’s London. I walk everywhere when I’m there. It’s so eclectic. It’s New York on steroids. There are so many cultures and sounds, and people and fashion. Chicks are so fly. I live in a neighborhood where there’s a lot of West Indian culture, so it’s nice. I have to always come back because my mother would kill me if I didn’t, but right now that’s where I’m at.

Could you imagine a Lauryn Hill-Eve collabo? Hotness. It’s good to know Eve is finding inspiration—and love—abroad. She just might come back to the states with a new last name. What do you think?

Brande Victorian is the news and operations editor for madamenoire.com. Follow her on twitter @Be_Vic.

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Source: BlackVoices.com

From BlackVoices.com

Stephanie Mills’ knack for hitting both the theater stage and the recording booth made her one of the most respected vocalists in R&B music. And while you may not be able to catch the pint-sized diva appearing on any of your favorite reality television shows in the near future, she has her eyes set on the coming months with a new album, various shows and a forthcoming children’s book, titled “Little Joseph.”

During an exclusive, candid interview with The Huffington Post, the Brooklyn-bred Grammy Award-winner opened up on an array of topics, including her thoughts on veteran artists starving for attention, recording a tribute album, and the idea of forming a super group with other sisters with voices.

Check out what Stephanie had to say about veteran artists appearing starved for attention on BlackVoices.com.

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