Ashanti Preps New Album!

I don't care what anyone says but I am a big fan of Ms. Shani Bani. I loved "The Declaration" and it was sadly overlooked. Now on the heels of her performance at VH1's Hip Hop Honors telecast, Ashanti speaks a little about her upcoming album!

Next up the songstress is readying a new album, her first since parting ways with Irv Gotti and Murder Inc. Records earlier this year. The untitled project is slated for release next year on her own Written Entertainment imprint, she said.

For her forthcoming album, her fifth overall, Ashanti said she's working with a mix of new and familiar faces, including the writer behind her last album's biggest hit, "The Way That I Love You."

"I've been working with a lot of people," she said. "These new producers, The American Dream, Warren Campbell, L.T. [Hutton] again, who did my last single. So it's been good."

Lil' Wayne Confirms Nivea's Pregnancy Rumors!

Lil Wayne recently confirmed in an interview with the BBC's Tim Westwood that he and R&B singer Nivea are expecting a son.

If all goes well, the baby will be Lil Wayne's third son to be born in just over a year. He and actress Lauren London welcomed a baby boy last month, and in October of last year, while accepting a BET Hip-Hop Award, Wayne announced to the crowd he was expecting his first son in a matter of days.

Wayne did not provide many details about the impending birth in the BBC interview.

"Two girls pregnant at the same time?" Westwood said. "Congratulations."

Wayne responded "Three," before clarifying his remark for Westwood, who thought the rapper meant he'd gotten three women pregnant at the same time.

"I mean [I'll have] three sons," he explained.

When Wayne was asked if Nivea was expecting, he responded, "Yessir."

Lil' Wayne is definitely a busy man cause when he's not making music or money, he's making babies!

Drake Talks Alleged 2Pac Diss!

Drake said, unequivocally, he isn't dissing Tupac Shakur on "Fear." He's just pointing out that he was too young to fully feel the impact of the music icon at the time of his passing.

"I never cried when 'Pac died," Drake raps on the song from his So Far Gone EP. "But I probably will when Hov does/ And if my tears hold value, then I would drop one for every single thing he showed us/ And I'll be standing in a puddle."

Recently calling in from Toronto, Drake explained his lines.

"A lot of people also sort of don't understand the meaning of that line," Drake said. "It's not necessarily that I don't love West Coast hip-hop or that I don't love 'Pac now that I'm 22, but that line was just said to show how new I am to hip-hop. And like I said, I was 9 when that happened, so it didn't really affect me. But that song in general was just one of those things that took awhile to finish because it was an opportunity to say a lot of the things on my mind. That always feels good as a rapper, when you can get your thoughts out."

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Now playing: Ashanti featuring Mario Winans - Hey Baby (After The Club
via FoxyTunes