the chal banz blog

STEPS DOWN: Angie Martinez has stepped down from her hosting gig on New York's Hot 97 radio station. The radio host/former rapper has been with the radio station for 25 years. She started as an intern before going on to host her own radio show and interviewing everyone from J-Lo to Jay Z. The radio host penned a letter detailing her resignation and how she plans to move on to bigger and better things in life. This is quite shocking to learn and I had no idea Angie has been with Hot 97 for 25 years. R&B DIVA: It's been revealed that R&B Divas Atlanta star Monifah Carter got married back in February. The cameras were rolling for the event which I'm guessing we will see before the current season is over. Monifah invited all the ladies to the wedding and according to reports they were all in attendance. Monifah married her longtime girlfriend Terez in Hawaii. Congrats to the couple! You can catch R&B Divas Atlanta on TV One on Wednesday 10 P.M. EST. 

Have you ever noticed that the majority of musicians are from New York? If they aren't from New York, they are from California. Makes sense though. The states of New York and California are huge and are populated by many citizens. Not only are singers bred from New York so are a bevy of rappers; namely female rappers. The female rappers listed below are all from New York City. Foxy Brown No female in rap is more explicit than Foxy Brown! Though it can be debated that Lil' Kim is just as nasty if not nastier, Foxy always got the heat when it came to explicit lyrics. Lil' Kim Alongside Foxy Brown, Lil' Kim repped the city of New York with a self assured delivery that many would come to emulate. Not only that; Kim's sometimes bizarre style and even more bizarre looks are now industry legend. Nicki Minaj She is slowly becoming the new 'it' girl of rap. Three successful and well-received mixtapes('Playtime Is Over', 'Sucka Free', and 'Beam Me ...

---------------- Now playing: Mariah Carey - Touch My Body via FoxyTunes

---------------- Now playing: Pussycat Dolls - Who's Gonna Love You via FoxyTunes Irv Gotti is riding high with the 2nd season of his hit reality show, "Gotti's Way". The show gives an inside look at The Inc's mogul's life, his career, and more. Check out this exclusive interview with Angie Martinez.

The movie that everyone is pretty much anticipating is the "Fatal Attraction" rip off "Obsessed" starring Beyonce and along with everyone else I do wanna see the movie even though its not exactly original. If I'm not mistaken this film has been in the works for quite a while. I remember LL Cool J being attached to this project long ago. Check out this exclusive clip of "Obsessed" which will be in theaters April 24. Music Biz: Either Mario or someone in his camp is deliberately leaking songs from the singer's upcoming album, "And Then There Was Me" in stores this June. Click here to hear his newest song, "Lonely Girl's Club" produced by Tricky Stewart[worked with Rihanna]. Trey Songz will release his new album, "Ready" sometime this summer. In the meantime click here to hear his newly leaked song, "Show Me Love". Christina Milian's original second single, "Zipper" featuring The-Dream finall...

This is the 1 of 3 interviews you can view conducted by Angie Martinez. First up is Jadakiss who recently released his new album, "The Last Kiss" and debuted at #3 with 135K units.

Bow Wow sits down and talks exclusively with Angie Martinez. Check out the video below!

Adrienne Bailon of 3LW and most recently The Cheetah Girls talks exclusively to Ms. Angie Martinez. Check it out! Music Biz: Jamie Foxx Lets Loose On Miley Cyrus! Last month, Miley Cyrus said that she was going to "ruin" Radiohead after the band wouldn't meet her at the Grammy Awards in February. A rep for the band later shot back, Now, a month after the incident, Jamie Foxx is commenting on what the 16-year-old said about the band. On his Sirius radio show, "The Foxxhole," on Sunday night, after a listener called in to talk about the incident, Foxx went on a curse-filled tirade after semi-sarcastically posing the question "Who is Miley Cyrus?" Perez Hilton reports. He then went on to describe her as the girl "with all the gums" and wondered if she was the one with the gum transplant. It always seems like Jamie Foxx is always in the middle of some type of scandal or something with another celeb. Cassie and The-Dream's collaboration of ...

The-Dream sits down with Angie Martinez to discuss his new album, beef, and of course....Christina Milian. Check it out! Video: The-Dream Interview With a new album, "A Man's Thoughts" on the horizon, Ginuwine talks to Sister2Sister's Jamie Foster-Brown about the industry, marriage, and those LisaRaye rumors. Video: Ginuwine Interview If you don't know the story rumors surfaced that Ginuwine was messing around with LisaRaye[of the movie "The Players Club"] since plays the love interest in his new video. Everybody has something to say about Rihanna and Chris Brown. I'm truly tired of hearing about it but I believe it won't go away soon. Check out what Lil' Kim has to say about it as well as her own personal situations. Video: Lil' Kim Speaks On Rihanna & Chris Brown

Due March 24, Keri Hilson's "In A Perfect World" album has had many of the tracks leak online months and even years before the album's initial release. Below you can hear a snippet of an upcoming track said to be featured on the new album! Check it out! Audio: Keri Hilson feat Keyshia Cole & Trina - Get Your Money Up[snippet] Her solo career didn't exactly set the world on fire but Nicole Scherzinger of the Pussycat Dolls is still alive and kicking. Below you can check out a new song from the fiery siren! Audio: Nicole Scherzinger - Punchin' I read that this song which is also titled, "Punch You In Your Sleep" will appear on Christina Milian's new album , "Elope" in stores very soon. Music Biz: 50 Cent Caught In A Def Jam! 50 Cent still owes Interscope Records two more albums before he becomes a free agent. Yet, contractual agreements and recently delayed album aside, the Queens rapper is already looking forward to joining Def Jam R...

Not long ago I posted a poll asking 'what new album were you looking forward to' and now I have a release schedule of some upcoming albums. Remember release dates are subject to (always) change. March 3 - The-Dream "Love vs. Money" (Def Jam) March 10 - J. Holiday "Round 2" (Capitol) April 7 - Ciara "Fantasy Ride" (LaFace/Zomba) April 7 - LeToya "Lady Love" (Capitol) April 14 - Janelle Monae TBA (Bad Boy) May 5 - Cassie TBA (Bad Boy/Atlantic) May 5 - Pleasure P TBA (Atlantic) May 19 - Ginuwine "A Man's Thoughts" (Kedar) May 2009 - Melanie Fiona TBA (SRC) June 2 - Chico Debarge "Addiction" (Kedar) June 30 - Joe "Signature" (Kedar) September 2009 - Sade TBA (Epic) Fall 2009 - D'Angelo "James River" (J) TBA - Michael Baisden "B-Sides Compilation" (Kedar) TBA - Prince "MPLSOUND"/"Lotus Flower" (TBA) TBA - R. Kelly TBA (Jive) TBA - Robert Randolph TBA (Warner Bros.) T...

In My Own Words: Hello all! Do you notice anything different? Well...do you?!? I did change the blog and I hope you all like the change. I was opting for something a little more brighter. I was searching for a new layout but I also dug the artist background. It was between this J. Holiday one and another one. I ended up with this one. You will also notice how some of the YouTube videos expand farther than the margin. It is only because of how things were with the previous setup. From here on out the videos will be placed at a smaller width and height to fit in the margin that accompanies this template. As far as the picture goes, that is an old picture of me. It's from 5th grade I believe. Video: Angie Martinez Interviews Keyshia Cole New album, TV show, Young Jeezy, and more are discussed. Check it out! Music Biz: Soulja Boy Apologizes! Soulja Boy Tell’em is cranking a new tune. After rapping about “supersoak[ing] that ho,” the “Crank That” hitmaker wants to apologize to parents a...

Audio: India.Arie feat Musiq - Chocolate High New single from UniversalRepublic recording artist. Features Musiq! From her new album, "Testimony: Vol 2, Love & Politics" in stores this February. I remember when India.Arie was all the rage when she first debuted. It seems like the machine behind her in the beginning has cooled down significantly. She is still around though and that's all that counts. Audio: Keri Hilson - Promise In The Dark Newly leaked track from singer/songwriter. This might be possibly included on her serially delayed album, "In A Perfect World". I think Keri's label should of just released her album behind, "Energy". It was a moderately successful single. I was expecting more from Keri musically since she had Timbaland and Polow Da Don on board. I think she needs some harder tracks. Audio: Soulja Boy feat Sammie - Kiss Me Thru The Phone 2nd single from his upcoming album, "iSouljaBoyTellEm" in stores December 16, 2...

Video: Aubrey O'Day Interview Former Danity Kane member talks exclusively about life after Diddy and more. You gotta give it to Aubrey. She really keeps herself busy and out there. I know she caught a lot of shade for it while she was in DK. I understand now why she was branching out so she could see some money since DK probably wasn't seeing much as a group. Video: Angie Martinez Show Promo Spot BET will premier "The Angie Martinez Show" on November 24 11: 30 PM ET/PT. I didn't see this coming. I like Angie Martinez so I might give the show a watch! Audio: Kid Sister - Get Fresh New song from the Chicago rapstress. Her new album, "Dream Date" is due in stores November 25(not sure if the release date has been changed or not). I will have to check it out! Where's the promo? This song is pretty cool. Kid Sister really reminds me of 80s rapstresses like Monie Love. Her style is very witty and playful and recalls the days of Hip-Hop when it was fun and n...

What is it with rappers getting arrested all the time? I'm really tired of reading and hearing about rappers getting arrested. What led me to this discussion was Kanye West being arrested in again. It is the second time he got arrested in the last few months. I don't like seeing our top rappers getting arrested then its glorified as a good thing. It sends a bad message out to aspiring rappers and fans(particularly young children) that its ok to get in trouble with the law. I know no one is perfect and people slip up every now and then but this is getting ridiculous. Sometimes I feel like its purposely done to prove something. It's like trying to prove that everything that say in their lyrics are true(when half the time its just lies and excessive bragging). 2009 will be here before you know it. While the first few months are primarily slow for music,2009 may just bring about change. New albums from 50 Cent, Usher, Ciara, Jay-Z, Monica, and Trina are all set to drop in the 1...

I warned you all about the Beyonce overkill that was abound to overtake the world. It is here. With the release of her new album, "I Am..Sasha Fierce" Beyonce is poised to become an even bigger star than what she already is. Is that even possible at this point? Check out Beyonce on the cover of Billboard magazine. You know Billboard magazine right? Billboard is the publication the tracks the sales of digital singles, record sales, etc. I actually thought about subscribing to the magazine cause I'm chart obsessed. I'm still on the fence though. Their subscription is pretty pricey though. Video: John Legend Interview Angie Martinez interviews John Legend. The singer talks about his new album, "Evolver" and more. Check it out! I never been a big fan of John Legend. I remember the huge buzz he had when his debut album dropped. I just never been one to buy into hyped up artists. They are always the artists who everybody eventually turns against sooner or later. I...

Pussycats! Pussycats! Check them out as they appear on the latest issue(October) of Blender Magazine. The Pussycat Dolls newest album, "Doll Domination" was released last week and Amazon was selling it for only $2.99. Talk about "Doll Domination". Now only if they sold all CDs for $2.99 imagine how record sales would go up. See the RIAA(Recording Industry of America) just doesn't think like that unfortunately. Meanwhile if you have listened to the album a lot of lead singer's Nicole Scherzinger's solo songs(which leaked earlier in the years) from her shelved album, "Her Name Is Nicole" made the PCD album. Video: Angie Martinez Interviews Brandy Part 1 of 2 Brandy talks about her upcoming album, accident, and more. Part 2 Brandy talks about Ray J, Kim Kardashian, future albums, and more. Music Biz: Janet's Illness Revealed! MichaelJacksonInsider.com has had the privilege of spending a few minutes with Randy Jackson regarding his sister Jane...

Video: Gucci Mane - Bricks Video: Angie Martinez Interviews Solange Find out what rapper has a huge crush on Solange. Video: Trina In Concert Trina performs some of her most well-known songs. Trina has gained some weight lately and it has people speculating that she is pregnant. Everytime a woman gains weight, she's pregnant! Trina's weight goes up and down and besides the woman is naturally thick. By the way Trina rocked it out. I enjoyed the vid! Music News: Ludacris' House Destroyed! A fire destroyed a pool house at Ludacris’ Atlanta home on Wednesday night. The rapper was out of town at the time of the incident.According to Fulton County Fire Department spokesman Gregory Chambers, a relative was in the basement of the main compound when the fire started and was not hurt.The fire was extinguished within 30 minutes but destroyed the pool house, which is reportedly larger than most homes. Another one bites the dust. Brandy's new album, "Human" has been pu...