the chal banz blog

I am continuing with my coverage of looking back at January 2008. This time I take a look back at the people that kept us talking all throughout the month of January. Britney Spears Britney Spears continued in her downward spiral with her love/hate relationship with the paparazzi (actually dating one of the photographers), pimping the media by faking a pregnancy, and her continued bout with custody of her two kids. This Just In : January 31 found the troubled star admitted to the UCLA hospital to undergo evaluation. Alicia Keys Alicia Keys continued to break records in the month of January as her "As I Am" album reclaimed the #1 spot as well as being certified 3x platinum. Her singles "No One" and "Like You'll Never See Me Again" continued their dominance on both the R&B/Pop charts. This Just In : Keys will be one of the many performers at the 50th Annual Grammy Awards and will be releasing "Wreckless Love" as her 3rd single. Amy Winehou...

To say January 2008 was an interesting month is an understatement. There was such an overwhelming amount of shocking stories and headlines. The list I have compiled (during the month of January) looks more like a 2008 year end list. While every story and headline is not featured here, the majority of the most talked about ones are. As far as urban news is concerned every base is pretty much covered from Lil' Wayne being arrested to Dionne Warwick being robbed in Rome. Take a look back at January 2008: Lawsuits/Arrests: R Kelly being sued by NeYo and concert promoter for not being able to "Double Up" Ludacris beat jacking from a demo Chris Brown's tour designer wants $1 million dollars Beyonce left off the hook after allegedly stealing a "Baby Boy" Beanie Sigel , O.J. Simpson violate probation Lil' Wayne arrested and has a meltdown on stage Remy Ma sued for $80 million dollars (knowing she doesn't have that kind of money) Marion Jones sentenced...

Missy Elliott joins NeYo , Stargate, Rodney Jerkins , Jermaine Durpi , Dream , Tricky Stewart and a host of others for the upcoming Janet Jackson album, Discipline in stores Feb 26. It has also been reported that Janet will take over Time Square on the album release day. Good news but I hope we get some promo before that. Janet has been laying relatively low for an artist who has album coming out this month. Janet promoted the hell out of 20 Y.O. but she didn't deliver with the music (though I liked it) which I think hurt the album's momentum. Anyway here is the tracklisting for Discipline: 01. I.D. (Interlude) 02. Feedback 03. LUV 04. Spinnin (Interlude) 05. Rollercoaster 06. Bathroom Break (Interlude) 07. Rock With U 08. 2nite 09. Can't B Good 10. 4 Words (Interlude) 11. Never Letchu Go 12. Truth Or Dare (Interlude) 13. Greatest X 14. Good Morning Janet (Interlude) 15. So Much Betta 16. Play Selection (Interlude) 17. The 1 feat. Missy Elliott 18. What's Ur Name 19...

Blame the countless mixtapes and guest appearances for Lil' Wayne pushing back his "The Carter 3" album. The last reported release date was March 18. Now the popular rapper claims to be taking his time with this upcoming album. Meanwhile first single, "Lollipop" featuring Static will be released shortly. Guests and production comes in the form of Jibbs, Lil' Mama , Hurricane Chris , and Cool & Dre . Yes! It is nice to be in demand but that comes with a price. Though his album is very anticipated he was becoming a bit overexposed to me. I remember when Lil' Kim was all over the place media and flesh wise before "The Notorious K.I.M." was released. When her album finally did come out, it was a total let down for fans. I'm not saying the same thing will happen to Wayne but it could. Since he is taking his time though that is a good thing and means he is trying to delivery quality over quantity. Troubled rapper Foxy Brown has pushed back...

En Vogue - Hold On From their debut album, "Born To Sing". Check out the crazy dance sequences from the guys...models featured.

Singer Janelle Monae (who?) has signed to Bad Boy Records. The artist was originally down with Big Boi's Purple Ribbon crew but has sinced parted ways (I'm assuming). Janelle's style is somewhat similar to that of Kelis . I am surprised that Diddy signed her being that she is not their traditional artist and her sound is so eclectic. I was reading that fellow labelmate Cheri Dennis was asked about Monae's signing and was a bit hesitant to speak on it. Could trouble be brewing between these two ladies? If I were Cheri I wouldn't be all that worried simply because they are so different (as artists). If your wondering who Janelle Monae is click here to check out her MySpace page. In addition to a hit album and hit reality series, Danity Kane have been making the rounds in support of their latest album, "Welcome To The Dollhouse" due March 18. While visiting infamous radio shock jock, Miss Jones the ladies of Danity Kane revealed their distaste for Keys...

Rumors have been running rampant about the state of Roc-a-fella and its impending status on the Def Jam label. I reported earlier that Philly rapper Peedi Peedi was dropped from Roc-a-fella and indeed he has been. Peedi spoke exclusively to SOHH about his falling out with the Roc and Jay Z . Now fresh on the heels of that interview, Billboard has unleashed an article claiming Peedi is still with the label. It also states that he will take part in an upcoming State Property album released under Def Jam. While Beanie Sigel and Freeway expressed their discontent with the label, they are still with Roc-a-fella. No other artists have been dropped despite various reports. Roc-a-fella/Def Jam is facing a major upheaval right now with Jay Z not catering to the artists and only being concerned with NeYo and Rihanna, two artists who are very successful (single wise) but can hardly go platinum might I add. If Jay Z put as much effort as he does promoting NeYo / Rihanna into Roc-a-fella, th...