HMalureTest

I don't really care for Tamar Braxton but her new single 'Love & War' sounds like it is going to slay. The singer previewed a snippet of the song while performing it on her WETV reality show. Is this the same Tamar Braxton that wanted to sling her hair around like Beyonce a few months ago?

Tamar is the definition of a female hustler. While she is already very rich, she is still out there making a name for herself instead of living off of her husband's coins. Tamar has two reality shows, a new hosting gig on Centric, a new record deal, and she will also be a co-host on Tiny's new late night talk show.

Alicia Keys redeemed herself with me during her performance of her current single 'Girl On Fire' on X-Factor. The singer ditched the straining in the performance which was definitely hot for more controlled vocals. Is it too late for Keys to redeem herself after repeat offenses of failed performances?

After listening to the album a few more times I will admit that I like it a little better.

Awright Marsha. The singer has released a new single from her upcoming album Friends and Lover. The singer served me every bit of those vocals that I fell in love with on the new track titled 'Cold War.' I'm glad that Marsha released another track because 'F*ck and Get It Over With' was doing nothing for me.

The track is produced by Diplo.
 

Thoughts?

Singer JoJo has returned with another track lifted from her new mix tape 'Agape' which drops next month. JoJo says that she was inspired to write the album due to Andre 3000's Love Below album. The song is a bit more upbeat compared to her other tracks that have surfaced this year.

It is sad that she is forced to release a mix tape since her record label continues to play around with her album. What happened to the 'Demonstrate' video which was suppose to be released this past Summer?



Are you feeling this tune?

Actress Tichina Arnold is the latest celebrity to grace the cover of BEMagazine. Tichina has had an outstanding acting career and is now a happy newlywed. Tichina is also a big supporter in the fight for Lupus being that she has a sister that suffers from the disease. "Something as small as tying your own show can affect those with lupus. That really had an effect on me.", she says.

Can someone give her and Tisha Campbell Martin another sitcom? The two were pure gold on the Martin show during the 90s.


Isn't she lovely?

- Greg Cheating on Nene Leakes [Read here]
Damn. I was excited about Nene Leakes rekindled romance with her ex-husband Gregory Leakes but according to Michelle over at SFTA Greg has him a sideline hoe.

- Frank Ocean Says Gay Heartbreak Helped Him [Read here]
Can someone introduce me to Frank Ocean. The singer/songwriter didn't hold back in his recent interview with GQ Magazine. Find out what he had to say about his gay heartbreak.

- Teyana Taylor Does Adidas [Read here]
Can someone tell me how Teyana Taylor manages to get all of these deals and still not have a career? Find out her latest move over at Mixnority.

- Dawn Richard Pays Homage to Danity Kane [Read here]
I guess Dawn Richard isn't so cold hearted when it comes to her Danity Kane fam. Find out how this chick paid homage to her former group members in her new video.

I finally got a chance to check out singer Vina Mills new material. Vina took the stage a week ago at BEMagazine's No Wire Hangers fashion show to perform her current single 'Love Em Good.' Vina always serves us an ole nasty club banger and this one is no exception. I'm sure it is only a matter of time before this chick is signed.

The thing that I adore about Vina is that not only is she a singer but she is also a performer.
 

Vina also performed at the Black Party in Atlanta. Check out both performances below.

I'm so happy for former XSCAPE singer Latocha Scott. The singer has been on a comeback all year and she shows no signs of slowing down. The singer released a new Christmas track to hold us over until her new album next year. Latocha adds a little soul to the holidays in the new track titled 'Missing You This Christmas.'

On another note, the New Year will definitely be a good one for the singer. Latocha is set to start filming a VH1 reality series which will focus on her return to the music industry. Do you think Latocha can pull a show on her own?

Ch, no ma'am. Future tagged Kelly Rowland last night for the duo's first live performance of his current single 'Neva End' from his new album Pluto 3D on Jimmy Kimmel Live. The background track was absolutely horrendous and Future sounded a mess. Kelly looked good and sounded okay for the most part.

This is honestly one of those songs that you rock out to in the club and car.

It appears that Future is the 'go to' male for artist these days. Singer Ciara tapped the artist for the remix to her track 'Sorry' which she released yesterday. I'm not too crazy about the track however it does sound a tad bit better than the original.


Are you feeling the track?

I guarantee Helen Keller would have a had a field day reading braille from Kenya Moore's face had she known she was going to be on VH1's Big Morning Buzz. The former Miss America Miss USA pageant winner stopped the talk show to talk about the new season of Bravo's Real Housewives of Atlanta. When did VH1 start promoting reality shows from rival networks?

Nonetheless, the interview turned into a shade fest towards castmate Porsha. It is obvious that Kenya is jealous that Porsha gets to sit at home and not have to pick up her own laundry. Kenya said that Porsha would be the one not invited back for a new season during a game segment in the interview.

Singer Beyonce is obviously preparing to release a new album at the beginning of the New Year. Just a month after announcing that she will be headlining the halftime show at the next Superbowl, the singer revealed moments ago that she is also releasing a new revealing documentary next year too.

Not many details were released about the documentary other than the fact that it will be very revealing. Will she discuss her parents divorce? Will she discuss the Destiny's Child split? I'm sure I will tune in regardless of what she decides to open up about.

Will you be watching? The documentary will premiere on February 16th on HBO.

Happy Cyber Monday! Thank you to everyone that has supported my online shopping boutique Vintage Malure which launched last week. I am really appreciative for every tweet, Facebook post, email, etc.

In celebration of Cyber Monday, I am offering free shipping on your entire purchase on VintageMalure.com until Friday! Use promo code: HLDY2012 during checkout to redeem.

I received a lot of criticism last week for my review of singer Alicia Keys new album Girl On Fire [read Alicia Keys Disappoints w/ New Album]. Alicia gave us an inside glimpse of the studio that she shares in her home with her hubby Swizz Beats. Alicia stated that she is making the best music of her life however it must be on another album because I definitely don't hear it on Girl On Fire.

There was so much on television last night that I had to flip between channels constantly to make sure that I could catch it all. The 2012 Soul Train Awards aired last on Centric and I must say that I was impressed. The production of the show which was taped in Las Vegas was very good - take notes BET Awards.

Singers Keyshia Cole and Fantasia were amongst the many performers that graced the stage last night. Why are we still letting Stevie Wonder perform those tired songs still? Also, why does it look and sound like Bobbi Brown swallowed the Lil Debbie delivery truck? Ch.

It is no secret that none of the ladies from Bravo's Real Housewives of Atlanta really care for Kim Zolciak this season. Kim has done nothing but complain the entire season so far and has always been known to pull out of trips. I'm actually surprised that her good friend Kandi finally caught the clue that Kim is full of BS.

The ladies prepare for their annual group trip on the next episode of the hit series and Kim decides that she wants to pull out of the trip due to her pregnancy. I have no problem with Kim pulling out of the trip due to her pregnancy but the fact that she stated that she would be going on a trip with her hubby during the exact same week bothers me. Messy.

Nonetheless, next Sunday's episode will mark Kim's last episode on the show which I believe stems from her assaulting the filming crew after she abruptly exited the table while having [read Kim Zolciak Quits Housewives].

Anyone that keeps up with my blog posts would know that I was very upset with Solange after hearing the snippets from her new EP True one week ago. You can't judge a book by its cover nor can you judge an album from its snippets. Solange embodied everything I wanted from her vocally and lyrically into this 7-track EP which is due out this week.

R&B singer R.Kelly jump started his new Single Ladies Tour in NYC at Madison Square Garden this week. The legend performed a 90-minute set before the sold out crowd. I must give the 45-year old his props for sounding as good as he did.

The tour also features singer Tamia who released her new album Beautiful Surprise a few months ago. [Source]

Lawd hammercy Jesus, what's going on? The ladies of gospel duo Mary Mary return for season two of their hit WETv reality show. The drama continues as the two clash about the direction of the group and Tina's pregnancy. I am definitely not feeling the hair that these ladies are rocking in the confessionals. They two stepped their coinage up and tried to go all Beyonce with the lacefronts and that absolutely don't fit them.

Nonetheless, I am highly anticipating the new season of their show. The new season premieres on December 6th at 10 PM est.

The conversation of Erica becoming a solo artist is a hot topic on the show again. I have always thought that Erica could pull a crowd on her own without the help of her sister.

I thought it wasn't anyone's business except for her and her baby? Singer Rihanna tweeted a picture of her ex-lover Chris Brown asleep after his tour stop. These two are such a tease but we all can agree that we enjoy it. When did Chris cakes get so plump too?

It seems that the duo are both keeping busy being that Rihanna is busy in on the road promoting her new album Unapologetic which is set to debut at number one on the Billboard Hot 100 chart this week. Rihanna's new album is definitely in my top three favorites of the year.
 

Will you be attending Rihanna's worldwide tour next year?

See. Brooke Bailey and K.Michelle have proven why they will always be the Kenya Moore's of the group. The two posed nearly nude on dual cover of King Magazine's latest issue. This isn't the type of image that K.Michelle should be selling being that she just signed a new record deal with Warner Brothers [read here] this week.

Anyways, when will Brooke stop sharing magazine covers and get her own? If you recall, Miss Draya wasn't up for sharing a magazine cover with Brooke on an episode of Basketball Wives LA.

Nene Leakes was not having it last night after reading that Kim blamed her departure from the Real Housewives of Atlanta on all of the drama from the other ladies. Kim chatted with InTouch Weekly this week announcing that she was departing the show after next Sunday's episode (read here) and stated that all of the drama from her castmates made her decide to quit the show. Nene was doing so good being positive but slipped last night when she got on Twitter and began bashing Kim and stating that she was 'fired' and did not quit. 

I'm not understanding why either of them are reading each others tweets or cares about their bank accounts. It didn't take long before Kim snatched back her wig and hopped on Twitter to respond to the allegations. 

Torn. I was amongst the many that were excited a few months ago when singer Alicia Keys announced that she was releasing her fifth studio album Girl On Fire. I have always been a lowkey fan of Alicia's and I was just sure that this new album would be perfection being that she is in a good state in her personal life. I was definitely wrong and this is by far my least favorite album from the songstress.

Let's start with the positive side of the album. I do prefer Alicia's ballads versus her more uptempo tracks which is why it shouldn't be surprising that the songs I actually like from the compilation are more on the slower side. The piano lead in the track 'Brand New Me' instantly had me hooked and the drum that kicks in towards the end was pure icing on the cake. Alicia sings about being in a better spot in her life, one that I can definitely relate to on a personal level. It is evident that Keys is singing about her personal life in some of the tracks including 'When It's All Over' where we find her young son Egypt making his musical debut and definitely steals your heart. The track is smooth in every aspect and the musical arrangement serves me an ole nasty Motown vibe. I will admit that I shed a tear on the track 'That's When I Knew' as Alicia sings to her hubby about the time she knew that he was the one for her. The track is co-written by Babyface and will definitely be a staple for first dances at many weddings to come.

Can someone tell Alicia to retire with the tired reggae tracks that she tries to slide on every album? The singer tries to jack Rihanna's swag in 'Limitedless' and sounds a complete mess with the harmonizing. The song is all over the place however the musical arrangement is very cute. Everyone seems to be falling out over the track she has with Maxwell titled 'Fire We Make' but it is a snoozer like most of the tracks on the album. The track sounds like Thanksgiving leftovers from Maxwell's last album Black Summer Nights.


Let's move on to the WTF tracks of the new album. Ch. Why does 'Tears Always Win' sound like it belonged on Solange's last album? The song has a very vintage vibe and honestly doesn't fit with the album. I'm so tired of her screaming and the repetition of 'hallelujah' in the track '101' would make even Helen Keller scream. The song is definitely all over the place and by the time she tries to pick it up towards the end you will have turned the album off.

I'm very disappointed in this album. I guess it's true that people release their best albums when they are going through rough times in their life because it seems that since Alicia is all happy now her music sucks. We aren't going to discuss the horrendous live performances that she has been serving lately in support of the album release. Ugh.  [Rating: 6 out of 10].

Rapper Future took to the hills of Los Angeles to film his latest video for his single 'Neva End (Remix)' which features singer Kelly Rowland. The two play love interests of one another in the clip which was directed by Eric White.

Evelyn Lozada's daughter Shaniece is beautiful but I don't understand her existence in the video. She is too timid and shy to walk around in a bathing suit pretending to be sexy. Ch.

Ch. In white people news, reality star Kim Zolciak has officially quit the series that made her famous. Rumors began swirling that the mother of four would no longer be on the Real Housewives of Atlanta series when she wasn't included on a majority of the promotional pictures. Kim officially confirmed to InTouch Weekly this past week that the rumors are indeed true.

"I was eight months pregnant and there was so much drama, I just had to walk." said Kim. "I was so tense and stressed. I can handle my own stuff. But an unborn child?", she continues.

Apparently the ish hit the fan during a taping when Kim announced that she couldn't go on a cast trip to Anguilla so that Cynthia could renew her wedding vows. First off, why are Cynthia and Peter already renewing their vows? We will touch on that in another post however all of the women were not having it and got fed up of Kim pulling out of every event. It is said that all of the women banned together and refused to tape with Kim after that final straw.

Kim's last episode will air on December 2nd. Kim took to Twitter to say that she will be back eventually.

Thoughts?

Thoughts?

Damn. I am very disappointed in singer Solange with the material that she has released in this new era. I am such a huge fan of Solange which is why many of you will probably be shocked that I am not anticipating this new album anymore. Solange & the Hadley Street Dreams was such an epic album which is why I don't understand why she jumped from the 70s inspired vibe to this 80s-90s barbecue trash.

Most of the gays are living for Solange's new material but that is only because they think they are unique and creative. The music sounds forced and the production sounds cheap. I am really upset but I will still be purchasing True when it hits stores next week.
   

Thoughts?

Singer Michelle Williams graced the stage last night in DC at the Macy's Metro Center Christmas window unveiling. Michelle locked fab in tri-color BCBG dress as she performed a few Christmas jingles.

Michelle is currently in the studio working on her fourth solo studio album.

Another day, another hot track featuring Kelly Rowland. Rapper Future takes us behind-the-scenes of his video for his current single 'Neva End' which features Kelly Rowland. The two shot the video a few weeks ago in Los Angeles. Evelyn Lozada's daughter Shaniece plays the lead female in the clip.

Kelly is definitely going into the New Year strong. Will you be purchasing her new album Year of the Woman?