the chal banz blog

Hey guys! Sorry for the lack of updates! I'm always keeping up with what's going on in popular culture but me coming here and discussing it(typing it) is a whole different story. I compiled the last week of news stories and speak briefly on some of those you have heard about and some you may of not heard about. So here goes... Remember the rumors going around suggesting that singer Brandy was pregnant with her rumored ex-boyfriend(who's alleged to be married) lovechild? Well her friend, actress; Jenifer Lewis(show: "black-ish") was asked during a red carpet event if Brandy was pregnant and she replied "No!". So there you have it! Brandy is not pregnant!  R&B group Xscape are heading out on tour this Fall with singer Monica and Tamar Braxton. The group also landed a reality show titled, "Still Kickin' It"(I believe) and it will air on the Bravo network directly after "The Real Housewives of Atlanta" starting on November 5....

Yesterday the news of Mobb Deep rapper, Prodigy's passing sent shockwaves through the music industry and on social media. Prodigy was 42 and had a lifelong battle with sickle cell anemia. Prodigy had been on tour before falling ill and took a few days off to recover. TV show host, Wendy Williams spoke on the late rapper today and revealed how he was supposed to perform at her Block Party next month. She also said that she ran into him two months prior on the street. R.I.P. Prodigy. One of Prodigy's former nemesis, Jay-Z has not only added the "hyphen" back to his name but has revealed that he will release his new album, "4:44" on June 30 via TIDAL and Sprint. The first song, "Adnis" is about his father and their estranged relationship. I haven't heard the song and as for the album I'm sure we can expect a collaboration with his wife, Beyoncé. Are you looking forward to Jay-Z's new album? In other music news..Keyshia Cole is joining ...

Beyoncé is releasing "How To Make Lemonade" a box set of her hit album which contains a 600 book with a vinyl album. The box set retails for $300. While the price tag is ridiculous I do commend Beyoncé for always creating memorabilia for her fans to cherish for years down the road unlike other artists. Iggy Azalea is gearing up to release her new single, "Switch". It comes on the heels of her single, "Mo Bounce" which came and went faster than a meteor. Good luck to her! An Xscape biopic is in the works for the Atlanta quartet and apparently Jermaine Dupri and the group are butting heads. I don't know the whole story but its funny because when Xscape mentioned they were reuniting I didn't hear a peep from JD. Now that all these offers are on the table from Mona Scott Young and others, JD must want a piece of the piece as well. Janet Jackson has announced that she will be heading back out on the road after cancelling her tour last year to have a b...

The feud between Nicki Minaj and Remy Ma has everyone talking and now several prominent female rappers have given their opinion on the hot topic. Da Brat says she's siding with Remy Ma being that she's from her era and she knows her personally. Foxy Brown has thrown some jabs at Remy on Instagram after Remy referenced Foxy on the "shEther" track as a "deaf bitch". Rah Digga says she's excited about the rap battle. Azealia Banks says she has nothing to do with it and speaking of Azealia, many feel Nicki's verse on "Make Love" was about Azealia and not Remy. Remy may feel otherwise. Lil' Kim says she wants to stay out of it and that her and Remy are "cool" and are talking a collaboration but not a dis.  Good news for fans of 90s R&B! The famed Atlanta quartet Xscape(Kandi Burruss, Tiny Cottle, Latocha and Tameka Scott) have announced that they are reuniting. The group broke the news this morning via a radio station in ...

 Being the wife of a famed rapper certainly has its benefits but its even more beneficial when you've had your own career prior to that. Being the wife of T.I. has not been easy for Tameka "Tiny" Cottle-Harris formerly of the group Xscape for which she is best known. She had a hand in writing the Grammy winning single No Scrubs performed by TLC. After that Tiny dimmed the light on her own career to become a housewife and business woman when she married T.I., who became more established after he was wed. We got to see their union play out on TV courtesy of VH1 and also most recently in the media. It's being the wife of T.I. that has made Tiny a target when others have had direct issues with T.I. himself. For some reason people think its great to throw digs at his wife in for good measure. He's even been the one to throw a few shots at her as well. So with that being said I came up with a list of artists that have had their issues with Tiny(and T.I.) in the past an...

Any news is good news.  Greetings on this Sunday night! There has been a few things rumbling in the blogosphere. First things first, Kandi recently celebrated her bachelorette party. The party including RHOA castmates Phaedra Parks-Nida and Porsha Williams. There were also her friends, former bandmate "Tiny" Harris, Rasheeda, and Toya Wright. Kandi isn't the only one celebrating as her husband to be, Todd will be celebrating a bachelor's party as well. Speaking of RHOA, former Danity Kane member D. Woods made a brief appearance on tonight's RHOA episode since she was casted in Kandi's play, A Mother's Love . Her appearance prompted her to be a Trending Topic on Twitter throughout the night. And while we're on the subject of Danity Kane, the remaining members have teamed up yet again for a tour(cha ching!). The tour, named #NoFilterTour will be coming to a city near you I suppose. You all will have to look up the tour dates yourself since I didn...

Many of us have been wanting an Xscape reunion for years. It looks like it may truly happen after all, well at least those are the latest rumors. The famed quartet will allegedly reunite via member Kandi's hit show The Real Housewives of Atlanta . There has been some bad blood between the Xscape members over the years. I feel like if Kandi can be on a show like RHOA where women are friends one day and enemies the next, she should be open to a reunion with Xscape. So we'll see! In other music news...Ashanti will release her new single I Got It featuring Rick Ross on iTunes November 26.

Gone are the days where R&B female girl groups ruled. SWV. Xscape. En Vogue. TLC. Recently some of these famed girl groups have reassembled and decided to pick up where they left off. SWV When SWV(Sisters With Voices) disbanded many years ago; lead singer; Coko embarked on a solo career which included a secular R&B album before dodging into full fledged gospel offerings. After a few years of soul searching on Coko's part; she along with Taj and LeLee have teamed back up to record a new album. While not much news is present; expect the group to make their coveted return in 2012(hopefully)! TLC With key member Left Eye having passed years ago; the group TLC which includes T-Boz and Chili is still going strong and then some. VH1 recently announced plans to do a biopic on the famed group. Chili and T-Boz have both done successful reality TV shows together and separately. T-Boz; unfortunately recently filed for bankruptcy for the second time. XScape No we won't see a full fl...

Xscape was one of the many female R&B groups that reigned in the 90s. There were a string of videos including this one that followed group member Tameka "Tiny" Cottle and her pursuit of happiness.

Do you remember rapper Sole'? Before she was married to Ginuwine, she managed to score a few rap hits. One of those hits in particular is the featured video, "4,5,6". The single was featured on her debut album, "Skin Deep". Not only was this song and video memorable so was the album cover. It featured Sole' adorned in silver paint in several erotic poses. It was definitely unlike anything I had seen at the time even though singer Sade did a similar thing with gold paint for her "Love Deluxe" album. Check out the vid! Throwback Video: Sole' feat JT Money & Kandi of Xscape I really miss Sole'! She was a hot rapstress and I think she had a lot of potential had she continued on. It seems as if Sole' has settled into married life while husband Ginuwine is embarking on a comeback this year. I remember my sister saying Sole' ought to make a comeback too. Why not? It's not like its many female rappers in existence anyway. As much as...