New Joint: R. Kelly "When a Woman Loves"

R. Kelly "When a Woman Loves"

Admittedly, I've found it hard to get interested in any of Kelly's work over the past five years or so, and as a result I don't always give his songs shine on this site. Personal issues aside, I just really wasn't a fan of the direction he was going in with his music career. However, when he actually tries to be a singer on songs like this, I'm still a fan.

New Joint: Montell Jordan "Sexy Clothes"

Montell Jordan "Sexy Clothes"

Now at age 41, and coming off of an album, "Let It Rain," that was a major flop by all accounts (didn't chart on the Billboard 200), I was thinking his career in music might be over. Well, now we have evidence otherwise. Apparently, he is a born-again christian and performs in Atlanta with a church band.

Upcoming Album: Dru Hill "InDRUpendence Day"

After many delays, Dru Hill's fourth studio album "InDRUpendence Day" is finally set for a release date of July 27th. Above, the artwork for the album was premiered earlier today by Rap-Up.com. We've already heard the lead single for the album, "Love MD," and now it's confirmed that the second single is "Back to the Future." You can listen to those below. Does the group still have what it takes?

Dru Hill "Back to the Future"

Dru Hill "Love MD"

New Joint: Kelly Rowland "On & On"

Kelly Rowland "On & On"

Last week we heard "Commander" which is the first single from her yet to be titled upcoming album, and here is another new song that might appear on that album. This one has the same type of uptempo vibe as "Commander," so I have to wonder if she's going for that type of sound on this album.

New Joints: Usher "She Seen Me" & "Stranger"

Usher "She Seen Me"

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Usher "Stranger"

Damn, Usher recorded a TON of songs for his latest "Raymond vs. Raymond" album. Prior to the release and even after, we've had a steady flow of material from him. The songs have ranged in my opinion from very bad, to good; I didn't really hear anything from him that blew me away. I kind of credit him for moving more towards pop music and giving us less traditional r&b.

New Joint: Ne-Yo "Turn It Into Love"

Ne-Yo "Turn It Into Love"

Yesterday we finally received the news we've been waiting for from Ne-Yo. We knew he was in the studio working on the new album, but he has now confirmed a tentative release date will be September. I'm highly anticipating this fourth album from one of the most, if not THE most, hard working men in the industry. As for this song, there is a pretty good chance it won't appear on the new album.

New Joints: R.L. of Next "Forget Him" featuring Jigg & "One in a Million"

R.L. "Forget Him" featuring Jigg

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R.L. of Next "One in a Million"

I'd like to be able to say these are hints of what you can expect on his "LoveMusic" album and we are approaching a release of it, but we still have no confirmation of that. Additionally, Next is in fact still together, but it is just two members now as Tweety is no longer with the group.

Classic Vibe: TQ "Daily" (2000)

"Daily" was a single released by TQ from his second album "The Second Coming" but to date has only released in the United Kingdom after plans to release it in the U.S. were canceled. Ironically, this might have been a look into where he would find his future success. As he mentioned to me in our interview, he has a major fan base over in Europe that might even dwarf his fan base in the states.

Classic Vibe: Product G&B & Khadejia "Here We Go" featuring Wyclef Jean & FunkMaster Flex (1998)

This little gem was tucked away surprisingly on FunkMaster Flex's "The Mixtape Volume III" album which featured mostly only hip hop music.

Rare Gem: Marques Houston "Excited"

Marques Houston "Excited"

This was a Target Exclusive Bonus Track from his 2007 album "Veteran." I'm not a big fan of artists releasing bonus tracks just if you buy the album at a certain store. That being said, had this been a part of the album, it would have easily been one of my favorites on there. And that is coming from someone who really enjoyed the "Veteran" album.

Lost Soul: Mary J. Blige "Changes I've Been Going Through"

Mary J. Blige "Changes I've Been Going Through"

I can easily consider Mary's debut album to be one of those classic records you can listen straight through and not have to think twice about skipping a song. In fact, six singles were released from this album which is a rarity in itself in this day and age. In any case, this is a personal favorite album of mine and is reminiscent of that early 90's r&b sound when hip hop started to influence it.

Classic Vibe: SWV "Can We" featuring Missy Elliott (1997)

In retrospect, this is probably my favorite r&b female group. Even though En Vogue won the tournament I put on a few months back, SWV got my vote. Timbaland really did his thing with the beat on this song too, his production USED to be classic. It seemed like none of his beats were a miss. Ah, how I long for the good old days!

New Joint: Justin Timberlake "Touch You If I Could"

Justin Timberlake "Touch You If I Could"

If I had to take a guess about this song, and I may be way off base on this, this is an older song from closer to when he was part of the group N Sync. In my opinion, his vocals sound younger and the style of music is similar to the style he was putting out with the group. Not that I've ever listened to an N Sync album or anything, but what do you think?

Classic Vibe: Phil Collins "In The Air Tonight" (1981)

While it may be a stretch to classify Phil Collins as r&b or soul music, you can't discount the impact he's had on hip hop and r&b. In fact, a bunch of artists even made an album called "Urban Renewal" which was a tribute to Collins where a bunch of his songs where given an urban spin.

New Joint: Usher "Private Dancer"

Usher "Private Dancer"

Unreleased track that is possibly a left over from his last album "Raymond vs. Raymond." This song is pretty good, but not even adding this to that track list could have saved that mess. The album has already been certified gold, but I'm sure that has more to do with the heavy promotion, constant radio airplay, his reputation as a superstar, and multiple appearances rather than the quality of the music.