the chal banz blog

Janelle Monae teases us with a clip of her new video with Miguel, Primetime . Check it out!

She has a new album in stores, The Electric Lady ! Janelle Monae is doing pretty well for herself at this point in her career. Now here comes those pesky gay rumors which she was recently asked in an interview. The singer didn't exactly confirm or deny her sexuality but chooses to keep her personal life PRIVATE! We all know what that means. I mean to be honest I never even wondered about Janelle's sexuality until people started talking about it this go round. If your a fan of VH1's Love & Hip Hop I just read that the franchise is expanding in the following cities of L.A., New Orleans, and Houston. Really? It's been rumored that Ray J and girlfriend Teairra Mari will star in the L.A. spinoff of Love & Hip Hop . No other cast announcements have been made as of yet. If you know Ray J you know he is controversial but he is also a hustler. I'm sure he will work his way onto our TV screens even if it kills him. In regards to Love & Hip Hop expanding their fr...

Hot on the heels off the recent success of R&B albums by Tamar Braxton, John Legend, and Jaheim, here comes another flock of R&B albums debuting next week. First up is The Weeknd whose second album Kiss Land is said to debut with sales of 90-100K next week. Janelle Monae will also debut with her new album The Electric Lady with sales of 45-50K. Speaking of Tamar Braxton, the singer is releasing a new Christmas album on October 22. The album will feature Christmas classics and some originals. This news comes on the heels of Tamar's new album Love & War topping the R&B and Pop charts. Speaking of Christmas, K. Michelle will release a Christmas Deluxe Edition of her album Rebellious Soul which was released this past August. The song will feature six new songs. No other details of the album have been released thus far.

September 10 is the release date for the new Janelle Monae album which features appearances from Erykah Badu, Miguel, and Prince. This is the Standard album cover and the Deluxe features one image of Monae, which was revealed awhile back.

Disc 1: 1. Suite IV Electric Overture 2. Givin Em What They Love feat. Prince 3. Q.U.E.E.N. feat. Erykah Badu 4. Electric Lady with Solange 5. Good Morning Midnight (interlude) 6. PrimeTime feat. Miguel 7. We Were Rock & Roll 8. The Chrome Shoppe (interlude) 9. Dance Apocalyptic 10. Look Into My Eyes Disc 2: 12. Suite V Electric Overture 13. It’s Code 14. Ghetto Woman 15. Our Favorite Fugitive (interlude) 16. Victory 17. Can’t Live Without Your Love 18. Sally Ride 19. Dorothy Dandridge Eyes feat. Esperanza Spalding 20. What An Experience Janelle Monae will release her new album The Electric Lady on September 3 on Atlantic/Bad Boy Records.

Dance Apocalyptic is the new single and video from Janelle Monae. It is the second single and video from her upcoming album The Electric Lady due September 10.

Janelle Monae has revealed her new album The Electric Lady will be released on September 10. The album features the Erykah Badu assisted-single Q.U.E.E.N. and collaborations from R&B luminaries such as Miguel and Prince. Speaking of new albums...Mary J. Blige is back in the studio working on a new album. Originally the singer was working on a Christmas album(which I read was scrapped) in favor of a full length studio album. One duet we can all possibly look forward to is one with Rapture -singer Anita Baker. If you recall it was Anita Baker's Rapture song that got Mary her big break. I'm glad because while I wouldn't mind a Christmas album from Mary I'm actually more excited about a new album from her. Someone who was heavily influenced by both Mary and Anita is Fantasia. The singer who has released her new album a few months ago is finally set to release her new video the Kelly Rowland assisted-single Without Me . The video is set to premiere on July 1. 

Babyface and Toni Braxton have reunited! The pair is recording a duet album for Motown Records. The untitled album is due this September. Toni Braxton recently revealed that she was planning to retire from music but many of her musical buddies including Babyface has coerced her to reconsider the decision. Toni Braxton is currently doing some spot dates this Summer around the US. Speaking of new albums due in September...Janelle Monae will release The Electric Lady. The album features the single Q.U.E.E.N. featuring Erykah Badu. Elsewhere on the album look for collaborations from Prince and Miguel(song: Primetime ). While you await those album releases you can stream the new J. Cole album Born Sinner by clicking here. Born Sinner will be available on June 18.

Q.U.E.E.N. appears on Janelle Monae's upcoming album The Electric Lady due in stores this Summer.

Hello all! I hope all is well on your side of things. I have a bit of music news for you all as always. Read below for news on the new album from J-LO and the return of Janelle Monae. It's all here! There was a bit of news I acquired in the last few days but I hadn't actually reported so I'm taking the time to update you all today. Over the weekend Ashanti shot the album packaging for her long awaited album Braveheart in the ATL. Her album Braveheart is still slated to be released on June 11. Ashanti hasn't herself confirmed the release date but many published reports say June 11 is the release date. Her new single Never Should Have is going for radio adds next week. Many have been awaiting the return of new music from Beyonce but according to published reports we all will have to wait longer. As I guessed Beyonce is taking her time with this album and she is making sure everything is right by the time her new album drops...whenever it does. Being that her last firs...

Music Biz: Ciara's Basic Instinct Album On Its Way! After Ciara's 2009 album "Fantasy Ride" failed to meet expectations -- selling a meager 195,000 copies in the United States, according to Nielsen SoundScan -- following the success of 2006's "Ciara: The Evolution," which sold 1.3 million copies, and her "Goodies" debut, which sold 2.7 million -- many counted her out. But with the help of lead single "Ride" from "Basic Instincts," her fourth studio album due Oct. 5 on Jive Records, the R&B singer/dancer/actress is back with a vengeance . The accompanying video, directed by Diane Martel, is just as explicit as the lyrics. The clip features Ciara provocatively gliding and bouncing atop a mechanical bull while wearing a wet T-shirt, among other highly sexualized visuals -- so much so that BET Networks banned the video from its channel. "Ride" isn't the only promising track gleaned from "Basic I...

Music Biz: Kelly Rowland Admits To Being Dropped From Record Label! Despite constant rumors pitting them against one another, the “Grown Woman” says she and Beyoncé have remained friends. “We were always civilized,” she tells Entertainment Weekly. “That’s what I’m most proud of. From the rumors to the lawsuits to false accusations, it was really tough.” Even when legal issues arose with former members LeToya and LaTavia, the two stayed close. “We were strong because we had each other,” she tells the magazine. “There were times when I couldn’t even be strong enough, so I had B. She was the only thing I knew. She was my only friend.” As for the Destiny’s Child reunion that her former manager Mathew Knowles shut down, Kelly says she would be open to it “if the fans wanted it to happen.” Rowland also admits in the article that her former label Columbia Records dropped her and it was not a mutual split as the press release stated. “In all honesty, they let me go. The records th...

Janelle Monae gets kudos for her album cover for her new album; "The ArchAndroid". I'm not sure when the album will be out in stores but it is executive produced by Big Boi of Outkast and Janelle is signed to Bad Boy. 1. Overture II 2. Dance or Die 3. Faster 4. Locked Inside 5. Sir Greendown 6. Neon Gumbo 7. Oh, Maker 8. Come Alive [War Of The Roses] 9. Mushrooms & Roses 10. Overture III 11. Neon Valley Street 12. Make The Bus 13. Wondaland 14. 57821 15. Say You'll Go 16. Ba Bop Bye Ya Music Biz: Erykah Badu Waiting On Nudity Citation! Erykah Badu says she has yet to see the fine that was supposedly issued to her after someone complained about her nude stroll down a Dallas street. The artist, who stripped off all of her clothing during a video shoot for her current single “Window Seat,” was reportedly fined $500 by authorities after a woman complained that she and her two children were distressed at the spectacle. But Badu told Vibe: “To tell you the truth, ...

Audio: Ne-Yo - Think About It This is another new track from the hit singer/songwriter. I am assuming a lot of these recently leaked songs from Ne-Yo are leftovers from his "Year Of The Gentleman" album. I will say that I do like this song. Video: Nicki Minaj Interview The Queens rapstress talks about her upcoming album, mixtapes, and why she is all the rage in the streets! I do love Nicki's swagger cause it reminds me a lot of Foxy(who Nicki is a huge fan of). I also will be glad once Nicki releases an album. Music Biz: Damon Dash Broke? Damon Dash the former co-founder of Rocafella Records and Recawear is reportedly broke. Reports say his $7.3 million condos and cars were seized by Eastern Savings Bank after failing topay $78,504. Dash also owes the government money. He owes $2.1 million to the NY State Department of Taxation and Finance. Atlantic Records Partners With GAP! Atlantic Record stars Flo Rida, Trey Songz, and Janelle Monae will be partnering with Gap this...

Hello all! A new month is upon us so you know what that means right? Well if you don't I usually do my monthly retrospective of the past month's music news and headlines. Well this is not what this post is about but be on the lookout for that. Anyway I have some new audio for your listening enjoyment. Check it out! Video: Alicia Keys & Jack White - Another Way To Die First single from the upcoming James Bond movie, "Quantum of Solace". Video: Mary J. Blige's Chevy Commercial Take a look back at some of Mary's most memorable looks! Audio: The-Dream - Should've Been You New music from his upcoming album, "Love vs Money" in stores December 9. Music News: Faith Evans' Album News! After creating shockwaves with "Keep The Faith: A Memoir," Faith Evans fans may be in store for a new Faith Evans album !In a surprise announcement last week at Slim of 112's listening party, the former Bad Boy singer revealed plans to make Faith Evans ...