Eve is finally back

Rapper Eve has been pushing back her fourth studio album since it's originally intended release date of 2007. Lip Lock will follow up her third album 2002's Eve-Olution. Before that she released her first and second albums, 1999's Let There Be Eve...Ruff Ryders' First Lady and 2001's Scorpion. The latter featured Eve's best song and biggest hit "Let Me Blow Ya Mind" which featured Gwen Stefani and won the duo a Grammy Award.
In 2003 the rapper took some time off to star in her own television show and act in movies. She guested on songs by Keyshia Cole, Ludacris and Kelly Rowland and released her own singles "Tambourine" which featured Swizz Beatz and "Give it to You" which was a duet with Sean Paul both in 2007. Eve was later dropped from her label and Lip Lock was pushed back.
Then in 2012 Eve announced that she was working on a new version of her fourth record. The buzz single "She Bad Bad" was released in October and while it was a decent song, it was nothing compared to the greatness that was Eve. Things were looking bad until the rapper announced her single "Make it Out This Town" which features Gabe Saporta from Cobra Starship.
The song is an uplifting song about not letting anything hold you back and keeping your head up through the struggle. The song sounds a tad bit like a Cobra Starship song with more hip hop. While the song isn't a classic, it is a great song that is sure to rejuvenate the hope in Eve fan's hearts that her new album will be worth the almost 11 year wait. Lip Lock will be released on May 14.

Keyshia Cole redeems herself after last album

Heartbroken R&B diva Keyshia Cole released her new album last month and it makes up for her third and fourth albums weren't good.
On her fifth album Woman to Woman Cole keeps up the amazingly sad soul anthems of love gone wrong. While Cole herself is happily married and has a child, she can still channel past heartbreaks to make great R&B anthems.
While this album isn't as perfect as her first two were, it still is a step forward instead of going back. The two best songs on the album are the beautiful "Stubborn" and the iTunes bonus track, the dance anthem "Here We Go." These songs show Cole proving that she can still shine bright. Other highlights include "Enough of No Love" which was the first single and features Lil' Wayne. The album showcases Cole's signature lyrics about cheating. I'm not sure who Cole's exes are but they seem like the scum of the earth.
Other highlights are the funky "Who's Gonna Hold Me Down" and the soulful "Wonder." Both of these songs are not on the standard editon, but the Target exclusive deluxe edition. Another highlight is the beautiful "Signature." The piano heavy song is about love and how it stays with you forever. Another good song is a duet with Ashanti. Ashanti and Cole duet on the title track, a kind of 2012 version of "The Boy is Mine." The only problem with the duet is that Ashanti is nowhere near being as talented a vocalist as Cole is.
The album does contain some cheesy songs. "Hey Sexy" sounds like a terrible song from the 90s. "Forever" is an explicit mistake. The song is gorgeous and Cole dropping the f-bomb is out of place and unwarented.
This album is far from perfect but it's a welcome change from Cole's recent musical mistakes. Hopefully her next album will get her back to the greatness of her hits like "I Changed My Mind" and "Let It Go."