Lil' Mo sings Happy Birthday to Jennifer Hudson

By Mr. Hollywood
JR Staff Writer

Long before Jennifer Hudson made it big, Lil' Mo was poised to be the future of R&B. Signed to Elektra Records, she worked closely with Missy Elliott. At the time, Missy was one of the biggest stars in the game.

After meeting Irv Gotti at an industry party, Lil' Mo was partnered with Murder Inc. The partnership led to Lil' Mo being featured on a number of Ja Rule's hits. But, within a year, Ashanti was signed and Lil' Mo moved on.

Since this time, Lil' Mo has struggled to release new music and to garner radio play. The faces and names have changed since she dominated. Following her starring role in the Dreamgirls film, Jennifer Hudson rose to fame.

Currently, one of the biggest female R&B stars out, Hudson recently celebrated her 30th birthday. In attendance at the party was Lil' Mo. The songstress sang to Hudson, wishing her a happy birthday.

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Jennifer Lopez releases Lil Wayne-assisted "I'm Into You" single

By The Music Scoop
JR Staff Writer

When she first made it big, Jennifer Lopez made music, which catered to the urban audience. But, when she began landing major Hollywood roles, her style in music changed. Many of her early fans said Jennifer Lopez only made black music when her career was on the line.

A little over ten years ago, Jennifer Lopez was posting chart-topping hit after chart-topping hit. She met Irv Gotti, then a powerful executive for Def Jam and head of Murder Inc. Gotti was behind many of the top hits from 1999 to 2004. Lopez linked with him at his peak.

Immediately, Jennifer Lopez was paired with Ja Rule and they charted multiple hits. But, after her album went platinum, Lopez returned to Hollywood. Ja Rule would soon pair with Ashanti and post more hits. In 2002, Jennifer Lopez returned to music and teamed up with LL Cool J for her "All I Have" hit and also released "Jenny From the Block."

Several years have passed since Jennifer Lopez last released an album. She recorded with Fabolous a few years ago for her "Get Right" single, but she has been focusing on her family in recent years. Now considered one of the older stars in the game, Jennifer Lopez has nearly been forgotten. Recently, Jennifer Lopez has been working on new music, while still paying close attention to hip hop. Like most hip hop fans, J. Lo has been taken by Lil Wayne, saying she is his biggest fan.

Quickly, Jennifer Lopez reached out to Lil Wayne and the result was their "I'm Into You" single. The song has been heavily discussed for days. However, no one has heard the song... until today. Earlier today, the first single from Lopez' Love? album was released and Lil Wayne has a cameo.

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Lloyd helps Patti LaBelle land a Small Comeback

By The Music Scoop
JR Staff Writer

Ever since he left Murder Inc. Records, Lloyd has had great experiences. Now he is with a traditional record label, Interscope Records, and free of hip hop beef. The early years of his career were limited due to the feud between Ja Rule and 50 Cent. Regardless of how they felt, no Murder Inc. artist was to associate with G-Unit.

For a brief period of time, Lloyd was label-mates with the G-Unit crew. Last year, Lloyd met Lloyd Banks for the first time and they got along well. Because of this, the two decided they would soon record music together. Lloyd appeared on his H.F.M. 2 album and he has worked with 50 Cent.

After lackluster results with his 2008 album, Lloyd had been pretty much forgotten. Murder Inc. Records' deal with Universal Records was not as solid as Irv Gotti had boasted. For unknown reasons, the label refused to release Ja Rule's album and refused to promote Murder Inc. artists. On top of everything else, Irv Gotti was more focused on his reality show than he was on Lloyd's album.

In 2009, Lloyd had a very public feud with Irv Gotti, which led to him finally leaving the label. He surfaced in the summer of 2010 on Interscope Records. During the fall of 2010, Lloyd returned with his single, "Lay it Down." Surprisingly, he made a hit when he recorded that song. "Lay it Down" has received heavy radio play and it is setting the stage for a major comeback from Lloyd. The song also has another surprise, the remix features the legendary diva, Patti LaBelle.

Patti LaBelle still has a strong following with the older crowd, but she has lost touch with the young people, so she stopped targeting them. But, she decided to collaborate with Lloyd for the remix of his song and it has become an even bigger hit. The song has the youth talking and everyone agrees Patti LaBelle's part in the song is the best. All of a sudden Patti LaBelle is among the most-popular talk within the media again and it is partially due to Lloyd inviting her on the "Lay it Down" track.

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Keyshia Cole in talks with Murder Inc.

For the first time in her career, Keyshia Cole is in control of her own destiny. Soon after being discovered, Cole was quickly signed to Interscope Records. She signed a three-album deal with the label. In 2008, following the release and promotion of her third album, Cole decided to take a break. During this break, she started a family.

Keyshia Cole has everything she could ever dream of within reach. Cole has a man she loves in her life with NBA player, Daniel Gibson and she has an adorable son. Aside from the family, money will never be an issue for Cole. She acquired this lifestyle from singing songs. Despite taking a break, she has plans of returning in a major way.

Now the power is in her hands because she is proven. Before, she had to pitch herself to labels. The labels now pitch themselves to her. Irv Gotti, of Murder Inc. Records has been close to her ever since the release of her sophomore album. Cole has a strong relationship with Ja Rule and many feel she would be a great asset for the label. If given the chance, she could do very well with the label because there is still a lot of talent surrounding the crew.

However, Keyshia Cole wants to have a much stronger voice and a bigger role than what Ashanti had during her time with the label. Each album Keyshia Cole has recorded, she has had full creative control on. Irv Gotti is known for filling any album, not recorded by Ja Rule, with appearances from the other artists. Cole still wants to work with other producers and artists not signed to Murder Inc. Still, Gotti would love to test her chemistry with Ja Rule. Rule is known for songs he has recorded with female vocalists. Early in his career, he had great chemistry with Lil' Mo and he hit his stride with Ashanti, then bombed with Ashley Joi.

Keyshia Cole may be the female sidekick to help Ja Rule regain his spot in the game.

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Irv Gotti hopes to Rebuild struggling Record Label

For five years, Irv Gotti was the head of the most successful record label in the game. With a distribution deal with Def Jam, Murder Inc. Records dominated the game. They built around the big man with a small frame in Ja Rule. Eventually, he would be paired with Ashanti and together they made beautiful music.

But, when a federal investigation in his company arose, Gotti lost everything. The label was already in the middle of a high-profile feud. While some fans had turned their backs, but the ones that did stay left after the trial. Despite winning the case, Murder Inc. was dropped from Def Jam.

It would take two years for Irv Gotti to land an exclusive distribution deal with Universal Motown. But, his time with the new label did not bring any hits. Last summer, the deal lapsed and Irv Gotti found himself without a deal for his label. For years, he has discussed reviving the label.

Gotti hopes that he can finally get something going with Murder Inc. this summer, before the legacy and the label is completely forgotten.

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Lloyd is in No Rush with New Album

Finally off of Murder Inc. Records, Lloyd is taking the time to relish the moment. In his last days with the label, he was forced to carry the entire label on his back. Despite being home to such stars as Ja Rule and Ashanti, Irv Gotti would only release albums from Lloyd. Usually, R&B artists release albums every three years, but Gotti had Lloyd releasing an album every year.

This, coupled with the fact that he was not given much creative freedom led to Lloyd declaring his independence. When he first left the label, Irv Gotti did all that he could to keep him in his contract. However, the singer was still able to get out of his deal with Murder Inc. For the next few months, Lloyd remained a free agent. Because of his relationship with Lil Wayne, it was assumed that he would replace Omarion and sign with Young Money.

Eventually, Lloyd landed with Interscope Records, but he did admit that he came close to signing to Young Money. What stopped him was fear that he would be in a similar situation to the one that he had just escaped. Now that he has a new label, Lloyd is not feeling any rush to create a new album. He is simply going to take his time when it comes to seriously recording. Lloyd will soon release a single and if it catches on, it will become a single off of his album. He has no release date set, but Lloyd wants to release his Interscope debut before the end of this year.

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