Rihanna Releases her First Public Statement after the Assault 

After the release of the exposed photo that somehow leaked onto the net, it has caused some type of controversy amongst the media as her family is enraged with the Los Angeles Authorities for the leak. TMZ posted the photo sometime Thursday night, since then it has been posted on every media outlet across the net. Because of the severity of that photo and the frenzy that has ensued Rihanna was forced to release her first public statement to her fans:

“At the request of the authorities, Rihanna is not commenting about the incident involving Chris Brown, she wants to assure her fans that she remains strong, is doing well, and deeply appreciates the outpouring of support she has received during this difficult time.”

At press time, the Los Angeles Police Department has started an internal investigation into the apparent unauthorized release of the photo. Rihanna’s father is upset and angered by their sloppy work in the LAPD’s part by allowing the photo to fall into the media’s hands.

Flo Rida Discusses Breaking Digital Sales Record with ‘Right Round’

The recent record breaking ‘Right Round’ has become huge media coverage amongst outlets across the industry, Flo Rida has another mega hit on his hands after the success of ‘Low’ a year before. The debut single to his sophomore album entitled ‘R.O.O.T.S.’ has sold over 630,000 units in the first week literally breaking all digital sales records, surpassing that of Eminem, Dr. Dre, and 50 Cent in ‘Crack that Bottle,’ Em’s first single off of ‘Relapse’ This is a massive accomplishment for the Miami-based MC who has officially crossed over into Pop.

Flo recently spoke to MTV News about his recent success keeping a humble, yet enthusiastic tone about the important matter. These were his comments:

It’s crazy, because people feel like you get lucky the first time you do something like that. But the second time? You know you’re blessed. I’m humbled enough to say I’m a fan of [50 Cent, Eminem, and Dr. Dre]. I’m inspired by those guys. But at the same time, at some point in time you have to do better in some categories, if not every category.

‘Right Round’ is about a young lady, she might be in the strip club and she’s got my head spinning round,” Rida explained. “Or any young lady that I might see walking past me that’s getting my attention. She got it going on! I’m going crazy over her. I might go to the club and make it rain … in the club on her because she got it going on.”

At press time, Flo Rida’s sophomore album, ‘R.O.O.T.S,’ is an acronym for ‘Route of Overcoming the Struggle,’ which is quite an interesting title the way it is laid out. That album has been set for a March 31st release.

Diddy Discusses New Album ‘Last Train to Paris’

New York, NY – The last time we saw and heard Diddy back on his music grind was when he released his then highly anticipated album ‘Press Play’ during the fourth quarter of 2006. At that point in time, he expressed the conceptual direction that he chose to incorporate into the sound and production. Every heavyweight producer across the industry foreign or domestic sought out to make the production cut of this thought to be conceptual studio album. Three years and more ‘Making the Bands’ later, Diddy has a new project on the horizon that he considers another high concept album. His new project is interestingly entitled ‘Last Train to Paris,’ your first thought would be, ‘It sounds like a movie title,’ well your initial thought would be correct, Diddy will also be releasing a film with the release of the album. The founder of the Bad Boy Empire recently spoke with MTV News via phone about his upcoming album and film; he described it as his rendition of a love story.

This was his discussion with MTV News one on one concerning his new film and studio album project in the works:

“It’s a profound love story, man. It’s about this tumultuous love roller-coaster relationship that occurs. It’s everything from love, pain, sex, God, celebration. It’s a lot of things rolled into one. It’s a conceptual album.

One of the things I wanna give you that’s not out there yet is that it’s not me as a solo artist, it’s a group I put together; myself and two girls. Two young ladies, you may know them or you may not. It’s almost like some back-in-the-day Loose Ends-type shit. We’re going to be telling the story of Last Train to Paris.”

Diddy continues to narrate the storyline. His character and the two female artists within the teleplay travel overseas on tour where he re-encounters the woman of his dreams after she disappears months before:

I’m infatuated with her, really blown away. We wind up spending the night together. I never get her name. When I wake up, she’s gone. A couple of months go by, and I bump into her again on tour overseas. We get together, and she’s attached to my hip. For three months! She’s on my hip for three months. I tell her to come to New York, Miami, all the places where I get it poppin’, where I really do shit. You know how men pop shit, like men do sometimes when they’re trying to make a woman fall in love.

She just breaks out on a nigga, but an absence makes the heart grow fonder. She’s singing to me; I’m performing to her. We’re in two different parts of the world. She’s remembering all the good times, and I’m thinking about if I had another chance, I wouldn’t fuck it up. So, I go on tour and I’m in London. I get a tip that she’s in Paris, and it’s 9:45 p.m. or something. It’s one of the foggiest days in London, so I can’t take my plane. I can’t drive, the road is shut down. The only way I can get there is the last train to Paris, and it leaves in 20 minutes and I’m 15 minutes away. It’s that whole intensity of what happens on the train ride, and will she be there when I get there — is something else you’ll hear.”

It is understandable that the music can sometimes take you into a visual world that the artist tries to paint for you through lyrics and sound, Diddy incorporates more than just sound, he has included a short film along with the CD as a visual aid to the music:

“A movie is going to be shot to it too. It’s definitely going to be an album you can seamlessly see. Not after the fact. When you get the album on that day, September 22, you will be able to see the whole album on your computer. I go into production of the movie in May.

The movie is more of a visual presentation. It’s not like I’m playing Prince and shit, you know how, when you on your computer and you’re listening to an album, you have your screen saver on, instead of screen save, you’ll be able to see the album in motion. And the presentation of the album will be different from the videos. I’m out here in L.A. right now, meeting with directors. I’m looking for somebody who can do it within the budget and do it guerrilla style.”

At press time, Diddy is looking for a September 22 release of his next highly anticipated concept album. He is in the process of trade marking the group name within the musical teleplay. Many artists as well as heavyweight producers are submitting their application to guest feature on the album.

Lil Wayne to Push Back Release of ‘Rebirth’ & Announces Tour Dates

Lil Wayne’s career is continuing its rise as the days pass, making his way to the top of the music scene beyond Hip-Hop. It is evident that he has conquered that genre, selling three million plus units of ‘Tha Carter III,’ is proof of his conquest. It has already been reported that he wanted to venture into the Rock world and release his own rendition of a Rock album entitled ‘Rebirth.’ His first single off of that album entitled ‘Prom Queen’ has already created a huge buzz in certain circuits and continues to rise. The video for that track has been shot and completed and should be released soon. Wayne also confirmed that the set release date for that album was to be April 7, now because of politics beyond his control the album has been pushed back until May 19.

As for now, he has put together a new set of release dates for his continued ‘I Am Music’ tour. Here is a list of cities Wayne and company will be gracing:

· 3/17 – Providence, RI: Dunkin Donuts Center
· 3/18 – Wallingford: Chevrolet Theatre
· 3/19 – Newark, NJ: Prudential Center
· 3/20 – Baltimore, MD: 1st Mariner Arena
· 3/21 – Indianapolis, IN: Concesco Fieldhouse
· 3/23 – San Antonio, TX: AT&T Center
· 3/25 – Oklahoma City, OK: Ford Center
· 3/29 – Los Angeles, CA: Gibson Amphitheatre
· 3/31 – Salt Lake City, UT: Energy Solution Arena

At press time, Wayne is still in the process of completing the ‘Rebirth’ album along with ‘Tha Carter IV’ and the Hot Boys reunion album; can we say he has a lot of work in store for him in the next upcoming months?