the chal banz blog

Sorry for the lack of updates as I didn't realize it had been a week since my last update. So getting right into things, former Spice Girls member, Mel B has divorced her husband of 10 years and has spoken out against the abuse she suffered. Her soon to be ex-husband has denied the claims. What's crazy to me in this whole story is that I didn't know that Mel B. had been married for 10 years. I swear it was just yesterday when she was dating Eddie Murphy and had a child with him. Man time sure flies! I was reading on my Twitter feed that Iggy Azeala said she's lost 15lbs while twerking for her new video, "Mo Bounce". Wow that's surprising! But what's more surprising is how quickly the song and video came and went. I will say she looks really good in the video but she's going to need another single that's going to be a catchier. She has a lot betting on her this time since she's supposed to release her second album, "Digital Distortion...

An old pic.  As I type this, I was sitting here watching the BET Hip Hop Awards and I'm wondering if I really wanna watch the whole telecast. I think I would rather much be watching the ID channel which I've become obsessed with lately. And just that quick, I just turned the channel. Maybe I'll check back in later. Have you all listened to Solange's album yet? You should if you haven't and read my semi-review on it and check out what else I have to say! :) People are still talking about Kim K. getting robbed and forced at gunpoint. Twitter is on fire and have been pretty insensitive to the incident and rightfully so people lack compassion as they did back in the day. Karl Lagerfield, world renown designer spoke out and said something along the lines of if you flash all your riches on social media, you can't be surprised that you get robbed. Do you agree? I agree because Kim K. is very flashy and stuff unfortunately like this does happen. That's not to...

So the Grammy nominations came out yesterday and no one was more upset than Omarion. The R&B star/reality TV star felt snubbed after his single, "Post To Be" featuring Chris Brown and Jhene Aiko failed to get a nomination. Omarion took to Twitter to express his disdan and in turn caught a lot of flack for his words. Do you think Omarion should of been nominated? I was listening to "The Breakfast Club" this morning and they had some valid points about Omarion's argument. First, the song was a hit, no doubt. But also they said that Omarion won a Soul Train award but didn't show up to accept the award. But artists want to be acknowledged by the Grammy awards and then when they are not, they cry wolf. Many artists want to be acknowledged by the Grammys because the Grammys are the most prestigious award a musician can receive. Think of it this way, a Grammy to a musician is what an Oscar is to an actor. Going back to what I was saying though, some musicians...

Remember when Diddy choked his son's coach out and got arrested? Well it turns out that he won't face charges for his assault. Who saw this one coming? Seriously I thought he was going to get in some trouble for that. But speaking of Diddy I'm not sure how true this is but I read that he is suing BET for $100 million dollars after he took that nasty fall while performing at Sunday's awards. But someone who is on the upswing is Meek Mill, fresh off his BET awards performance and releasing his new album, which is said to debut at #1 next week with 200K copies says he doesn't feel J. Cole and Kendrick Lamar lyrics speak to him. He went on to say that he feels they are very talented but identifies more with Future. Funny he says that because I'm not the biggest fan of J. Cole or Kendrick either and I actually like Future mostly because his mixtapes and beats be hot. Though it takes me awhile to understand what he is saying. J. Cole or Kendrick Lamar never really n...

So how is everyone? I'm doing okay for the most part. I apologize for not updating in a few days but never fear I'm back to get you all caught up. BABY MAMA DRAMA: I'll start with Ludacris who just won custody of his 1 year old daughter. There is video online of Luda and his baby mom in court and I must say baby mom was not attractive. Then again it could of been her horrendous haircut. Happy Birthday to J. Cole, the rap star turns 30! J. Cole recently got engaged to his longtime love and his new album was recently certified Gold. And Benzino's crazy self got arrested for attempting to carry a loaded gun onto an airplane. As dumb as this sounds I can't say I'm surprised. I wonder what Benzino was thinking though by doing that. What do you all think? While I'm on the subject of Love & Hip Hop Atlanta stars, Lil' Scrappy has dissed Wendy Williams saying that she puts down black people. And he doesn't care if he's ever on her show and he used t...

MUSIC NEWS: J. Cole's new album 2014 Forest Hills Drive debuts at #1 with 371K copies making it the highest selling rap album this year. K. Michelle's new album Anybody Wanna Buy A Heart debuts with 87K copies making it her second #1 R&B album this year. Next week Nicki Minaj is said to debut with 165K copies of her The Pink Print album and D'Angelo's surprise album is likely to top 100K copies. With all this new music out, what are you guys listening to? Personally I'm not interested in any of the albums mentioned above but congratulations to all the artists. SORRY FOLKS:  Speaking of new projects Lil' Wayne is said to release Sorry 4 The Wait 2 to coincide with the possible release of his withheld album The Carter V . As we all know Lil' Wayne has been embroiled in a feud with his label Cash Money. Nicki Minaj appeared on Watch What Happens Live tonight and she was asked about the fallout and she said she hopes it works itself out. MURDA IS THE CA...

FAN LOVE: J. Cole visited a fan's house who tweeted him to come over since she is one of his biggest fans. I remember when Trey Songz did that and it was recorded and the fan asked him how big he was? lol Anyway I can only imagine what happened when the cameras cut off. You know Trey Songz has the reputation to sleep with his adoring fans. I'm a fan of Trey Songz as well so I wonder does that mean he'll sleep with me too? I guess that's wishful thinking on my part but I do love his Trigga album. It was one of my favorite this year. Okay back to J. Cole his new album is expected to be #1 next week with 355K copies and I'm hearing nothing but good things about it. I figure I should check it out! Have you? GIRL ON FIRE: And while I'm on the subject of Trey Songz, you know how he likes to call himself "Mr. Steal Ya Girl"? Well I think Drake has come along and snatched that title. Why? Because it was reported on another blog that Drake started following ...

R.I.P.: Sad news. Kelly Rowland's mother has passed away as did Todd Tucker's mother Sharon Tucker of The Real Housewives of Atlanta fame. R.I.P. to both women and may their families be blessed at this trying time. LUMP OF COLE: J. Cole has taken part in the protest in NYC over the verdict that resulted in the killing of Eric Garner. Other celebrities have spoken out on Twitter including Azealia Banks, Little Brother, Charles Barkley, and more. Speaking of J. Cole, apparently a song titled Fire Squad  has been released that features the rapper throwing shots at Eminem, Iggy Azalea, and Macklemore. J. Cole's new album will be in stores on December 9. And speaking of Iggy Azalea, she just can't catch a break. It seems like someone is always throwing shots at her. It seems like she picks and chooses when she wants to respond but I think enough is enough. I think she needs to get back at some people. I'm just saying. RIDIN' HIGH: Xzibit, remember Pimp My Ride ?...

BLOG THIS: Tamar Braxton got into a heated exchange with blogger Sandra Rose on social media. The two traded jabs regarding Tamar's alleged abused past and "freedom of speech" among other things. If that's not enough Tamar Braxton news for you, the singer started following NBA star Matt Barnes on Instagram. Matt Barnes was once married to VH1 Basketball Wives star Gloria Govan. There is a story circulating around saying that Gloria was trying to put the moves on Vincent Herbert, Tamar's husband. I'm not too sure I believe that but then again you don't know what people are capable of nowadays. Even those who claim to be young and innocent. DRIVE THRU: J. Cole will release his new album 2014 Forest Hills Drive on December 9. The album just went on sale for pre-order on Amazon and iTunes. The rapper is holding a listening session on November 29 and 30 at the address. There will be no singles to support the album as of now. J. Cole's surprise release,...

TLC is back in the Top 10 of the R&B charts as their the featured artist on J. Cole's Crooked Smile which is number 9 this week. It's the first top 10 R&B hit since 1999. The group also receives their first top 40 hit in 11 years as Crooked Smile moves up to #37 on the Pop charts. Congrats to TLC and J. Cole. TLC will release a new album on October 15 through Epic Records and their new biopic will subsequently air on VH1 the same month. Check that out!

After bringing Drake out as a surprise guest on his concert J. Cole and Drake took to Best Buy to buy copies of his new album Born Sinner . Check it out!

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.

The following blog is a little lengthy just so you know so bare with me. I promise you though it is very well worth the read. So let's get straight into it...as we know the season of Summer is among us. Hell some of us are already feeling it depending on where we live. As expected there are plenty of high profile music releases this Summer. Count on these music releases to keep your speakers blaring and your cookouts going long into the night. I have your guide to some of the upcoming music releases you should look forward to in the next few weeks, months, and beyond. Check it out! June 11 Chrisette Michele - Better Better is Chrisette Michele's Motown Records debut after jumping ship from Def Jam Records. It features the new single A Couple Of Forevers and the internet favorite Charades . June 18 Kelly Rowland - Talk A Good Game Kelly Rowland has had quite the number of push backs for Talk A Good Game but the album is finally ready to go next month. We got the single...

J. Cole unveils the new single cover art for his new single Crooked Smile which will be released in June. J. Cole had a hand in the upcoming TLC biopic airing on VH1 in November. J. Cole's new album Born Sinner is due June 18.

K. Michelle set to release her debut album Rebellious Soul on July 30. The album contains the first single V.S.O.P. You can currently see K. Michelle turn up the drama on VH1's Love & Hip Hop Atlanta. Earlier this year she signed to Warner/Atlantic Records. Speaking of new albums...J. Cole has pushed up the release date of his new album Born Sinner . The album contains the single Power Trip featuring Miguel. Moving up the release date of an album is something we see very rarely but its always applauded.

Hello all! I have a few music tidbits for you to get your day started. Find out some of the big releases this June and who Monica is in the studio with now! I've been keeping you guys up with the progress of the new Monica album which seems to be moving at a rapid pace. I hope not too fast though. Monica was recently photographed in the studio with Ciara and I read that Future is behind the collaboration as well. Future is definitely the new T-Pain and he is all over radio. I actually prefer Future over T-Pain anyway. T-Pain was always very annoying to me and I hear is not too happy with Future...for taking his place! Ha! The month of June is Black Music Month so maybe that's why more and more releases are being scheduled for that month. The latest artist to schedule his album for a June release date is J. Cole. His new album Born Sinner will be released on June 25. The album will go head to head with Wale's The Gifted also released on the same day. Earlier in the month o...

J. Cole speaks on his Las Vegas New Year's Eve performance and his why his upcoming album; Born Sinner has been pushed back!

J Cole - Miss America BMF.mp3 Miss America is the first single lifted from J. Cole's upcoming album Born Sinner due January 28. 

We are less than two months away from 2013. As far as music goes the first few months of the new year are typically slow music wise. It looks like things are changing however as several key artists plan to release new albums at the top of 2013. I have the exclusive scoop on each album. Check it out! Chris Brown - Carpe Diem Not content on taking a break from music(much like his girlfriend Rihanna); Chris Brown just released his new single Nobody's Perfect . The song is the first single off the upcoming album Carpe Diem which will be released sometime early next year. Remember the singer Karyn White? She is known for the hit song Superwoman ? Well anyway she just released a new album independently so a lot of people likely don't know about it. Guess what though? Her album is titled Carpe Diem . Is Christopher stealing album titles? Then again he probably didn't even know nor would anyone else until now! Ciara - One Woman Army Like many other R&B releases Ciara's On...