Some of the more interesting R&B-related news and rumors from the past week:
- R. Kelly has announced that he's going on a North American tour this fall. His "Single Ladies Tour" kicks off Oct. 13 in Columbia, South Carolina and continues through early December. The opening act for at least some of the shows will be pop-R&B singer Tamia, who just released her latest album, Beautiful Surprise, in late August.
- The first official single from Alicia Keys' upcoming album's just been released, and it's the title track. And she didn't just make one version of the song, there's three. The third rendition, the "Inferno" version, is an uptempo hip-hop track featuring Nicki Minaj.
- The bitter custody battle between R&B singer Usher and his ex-wife Tameka Foster Raymond continues to rage despite a recent court ruling in Georgia that gave him primary custody of their two children.
- Patti LaBelle has reportedly agreed to pay $100,000 to settle a complaint that she verbally and physically assaulted a mother and her 18-month-old daughter in an apartment lobby two years ago.
- Former teen heartthrob Sammie has done what so many R&B artists are doing these days: he's just dropped a free mixtape. The 16 tracks on Insomnia are tied to the theme of his inability to sleep.
- Ashanti is gearing up to host and executive produce "Fuse News," a daily half-hour music info show to be aired weekdays on the Fuse cable network.
- Soul singer Angie Stone recently talked about her upcoming album, Rich Girl, in an exclusive interview with About R&B/Soul.
- Raheem DeVaughn says he has parted ways with Jive Records and will release some new music independently in the near future.
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