Justin Timberlake Not Rushing New Album!

It has been four years since Justin's last album and as the singer states he is in no rush to record his next release.

Timberlake is waiting for some inspiration to hit him before he decides on his next solo direction. "So, until it kind of slaps me in the face, I'm going to tinker around with everything," he said. "I'm obviously not the type of artist who rushes anything. I've done, like, two records in the last eight years."

Timberlake enjoys the process of making music too much to rush it. "You know, I just believe that the process is what it's really all about. And if you make the process [like] what I was able to have the luck of tapping into for the first two [albums], the end comes out the way it comes out," he explained. "For me it is about the process — the discovery of whatever it is it's going to be. That's the most fun part."

Rihanna Preps New Album!

After much speculation, Def Jam Records announced today (Oct. 20) that Rihanna will be releasing her fourth studio album, "Rated R," on Nov. 23. "Russian Roulette," the first single, will premiere today at 11:23 a.m. EST on Rihanna's official website, rihannannow.com, while an accompanying video, directed by Anthony Mandler, will debut on ABC.

"Russian Roulette" was written and produced by labelmate Ne-Yo ("Take A Bow," "Hate That I Love You"). The-Dream, Christopher "Tricky" Stewart, Chase & Status and Justin Timberlake are among the other collaborators and producers who appear on "Rated R."

"Rated R" is the follow-up to 2007's "Good Girl Gone Bad," which spawned the hit single "Umbrella," among others, and the first official release from Rihanna since the February altercation with ex-boyfriend Chris Brown. The album has sold more than 2.5 million copies in the United States, according to Nielsen SoundScan.

Now that "Russian Roulette" has been released, the reaction to it has been mostly mixed(as far as I've read). I actually think the song is pretty good and a different set of pace for first single. I can see this song actually reaching classic or even cult status down the road. When I hear it I just get that vibe that 20 years from now when Rihanna performs this song, it will evoke a type of emotion that many will relate to in life.

Mariah Preps New Remix Album!

It's hard to please everyone, but Mariah Carey is setting out to do just that with a retooled version of her latest album, and she's brought along some famous friends. After Rap-Up broke the news of the songbird's plans to remix Memoirs of an Imperfect Angel, Tricky Stewart filled in on a few more details.

The "Obsessed" producer wouldn't quite categorize the work in progress as a remix album. "They've said that it's a remix album, but really what it is is a features album. [The songs] won't necessarily be remixed. It's just an album of features, really cool features on the exact same album."

According to Tricky, 90 percent of the record will contain a featured guest, while there's a small possibility of one or two all-new tracks. The as-yet-untitled project will go by the Memoirs title. "It will be the same name, but it will probably have something to it. I'm not sure what they're going to call it, but it's the same album."

The goal is to appeal to all of Carey's fans. "We wanted to do an album that was really personal, and if you love Mariah Carey, you can put it on and listen to it all day," began Tricky, "but at the same time, if you like the hot Mariah when she's doing the features, we want to give people that option too, so that they can put on whichever one they choose."

So far the lineup looks promising with T-Pain Auto-Tuning on "Candy Bling," the Southern hip-hop trio of Big Boi, Gucci Mane, and OJ Da Juiceman rapping on "H.A.T.E.U.," and Trey Songz crooning on "Inseparable." Tricky also revealed that R. Kelly appears on the opening cut "Betcha Gon' Know."

No release date has been set for the project.