Music blog regulars will know that the Pussycat Dolls have thoroughly redeemed themselves with the (deluxe) Doll Domination album. Jai Ho conveniently repackages the end song from Slumdog Millionaire, giving Miss Scherzinger lead vocals and a background role for the composer, A R Rahman.

Jai Ho alternates between dramatic ethnic verses and uplifting pop choruses. Sure, they go a little overboard with the autotune sometimes (autotune is the modern equivalent of helium, isn’t it?).

My inclination is to crown this the best single the Pussycat Dolls have ever released, actually. The music is amazing. There are overtones of Beyonce and Shakira on Beautiful Liar, but ten times better. The video features the girls looking stunning and doing a fun Bollywood style dance routine. Don’t they look like they’re all having great fun?

The brief appearance by Mr Rahman in his suit kind of reminds me of those two guys from the Macarena video (a zillion years ago)!

Verdict? Massive hit. The most sublime, uplifting song I’ve heard in the pop chart in a long time. I’ve found myself transfixed by the video (especially the Doll in the blue denim shorts – who is she?), and wondering why we can’t get more ethnic music mixed into modern pop. Surely the last time was Holly Valance with Kiss Kiss?

Potential mixes: Swap the Jai Ho out of the chorus and mix in Enrique Iglesias’ Bailamos. Alternatively, I can see a spot for Kung-Fu Fighting in these somewhere.

Slightly worrying? I notice that the single cover says “Pussycat Dolls feat Nicole Scherzinger” – does that mean she’s going to be off on her solo trip again? Surely the massive resurgence of the Pussycat Dolls after her rather limp solo career should have taught her something. They’re stronger when they’re together. Seriously Nicole – don’t do it!

I got an email about Das Racist earlier today, and just have to share this with you. If you like your songs really stoopid, in the tradition of Afroman and Soulja Boy, you will love this.

Das Racist is an art rap/freak folk/world music duo based in Brooklyn, New York, comprised of Queens-born Himanshu Kumar and San Francisco-born Victor Vazquez. The two met at Bard Art College in Massachusetts, where Victor was Himanshu’s resident advisor in a “students of color for social justice” themed freshman year dormitory until he was suspended for a “race-related altercation” in which he slapped another student and told him to “shut [his] cracker ass up.”

Sound like a really nice pair of guys, don’t they? But seriously, Pizza Hut Taco Bell is one of the funniest songs I’ve heard in ages. Check out the remix below, or hit their MySpace or here for the (superior) original version!

The other songs on the MySpace page are equally bizarre but brilliant. You’ve just gotta go and check them out.

Hip-hop kingpin, Timbaland, is suing his record company Blackground Records for allegedly trying to sabotage his career when he moved into producing records.

He moved from being solely a performer to being hugely successful producing records for other artists. However, he claims this isn’t thanks to Blackground. According to TMZ:

In his lawsuit, filed today in Federal District court, Timbaland claims he just got too damn successful as a producer — and the record label couldn’t contain its jealously and hostility for him.

Timbaland alleges Blackground went on a McCarthy-esque search-and-destroy campaign, contacting various record labels and giving them a million reasons why they shouldn’t hire Timbaland to produce songs.

I’m assuming that because Timbaland is selling records by the truckload all over the world that this isn’t about money. It possibly has more to do with reputation and a little payback for the alleged campaign that could have killed off his lucrative career.

Seems Justin Timberlake doesn’t release anything by himself these days, he’s just happy to meander onto any given rap track and sing a few lines. No real hard work to be done, the audience is happy, and everybody goes home satisfied.

Except T.I. – he’s headed for prison in a few weeks, isn’t he?

You’ve got to admire the guy’s spirit though – not going to be held back by the minor inconvenience of being incarcerated, he’s releasing the fourth official single from his Paper Trail album.

A tribute to T.I.’s assistant Philant Johnson, who was killed back in 2006, the song’s a lot more serious in subject matter, and Timberlake’s contribution is more than just a celeb cameo: he actually delivers a smooth vocal that doesn’t seem shoehorned in.

Difficult to find a good version of the video online to share with you. The single gets a UK release on 23 Feb 2009.

Chris Cornell partnering with Timbaland was the most unlikely musical collaboration ever. If your experience of Cornell is through Soundgarden or Audioslave, you are about to hear the boldest move of his career.

Now, if you’ve been wondering where Cornell’s been since Audioslave broke up, the video reveals all: he’s been brooding in clubs in Puerto Rico, Texas and New York. Observing women flirting on the dancefloor while their menfolk look on in frustration. Oh yes, and hanging out with hordes of line-dancing women.

On first listen, I was skeptical. Cornell’s voice is exceptionally well suited to rock. History tells us this. But initially, the combination of Cornell’s voice and Timbaland’s beats is reminiscent of Sexbomb-era Tom Jones. You know, when he tried to appeal to the young folks?

The thing with Timbaland though is that sometimes his influence isn’t immediately likeable. Or appreciated. I find the best thing is to just accept it. I’m talking to you crusty ol’ Soundgarden fans!

To listen to Part Of Me, you have to approach this as a new era for Cornell. It’s a brave move, but the song is brilliant. My only issue is that the edited version removes the crucial ‘bitch’ word from the chorus, which ruins it slightly.

And the collaboration works brilliantly in my opinion. There’s a grinding beat to it, and rather than go all-out R&B, we get some distorted guitars in the mix as a hat-tip to Cornell’s roots. It’s totally different, but it really works.

As an added bonus, Classic Rock have an interview with Chris, which should interest those of you with questions about his musical direction.

It’s not often that a celebrity bothers to respond directly to rumors in the media, but that’s what uber-producer Timbaland did when he heard a ‘leak’ about the follow-up to his hugely successful Shock Value album.

He got in touch with MTV and cleared up the situation – which claimed he had secured Justin Timberlake, Usher and Gwen Stefani to appear on the album.

"It’s funny," Timbo said about the surprisingly detailed report, which claimed it was based on an advance preview of five tracks from the album. "I’m surprised people are watching me like that. I am recording the album, but I don’t know none of them joints, none of them songs. That’s just bogus."

As for an official track listing, the production wizard was mum — and he didn’t confirm or deny whether any of the artists listed in the report will appear on the album. He did speak generally about the album’s direction, however.

Now, what I am shocked about is that there’s been no denial that he’s naming the album Shock Value 2. That really is a shockingly bad album title…

But in other interesting news, Timbaland reminds us that he’s going to be producing the next solo album from Soundgarden and Audioslave frontman, Chris Cornell. Considering Cornell’s metal pedigree, I’ll be lining up to hear what a hip-hop producer can do for him!

After my last post about 50 Cent, it looks like Dr. Dre and his associates are planning chart domination this year. Eminem’s the latest of Dre’s pals to resurface for 2009, and his supposed new single Crack A Bottle is already leaking all over the internet.

And Crack A Bottle features the unholy trinity of Eminem himself, with guest appearances by Dre and 50 Cent. (Remember when they used to invite Xibit along to this stuff? He’s too busy pimping rides these days :().

I’m trying to work out where this fits in Eminem’s catalogue. It’s not quite the novelty, funny Eminem, nor is it the rage-filled, scary Eminem either. Yeah, he’s paying lip service to getting wasted and the hip-hop lifestyle: “So crack a bottle, let your body waddle/Don’t act just like a sloppy model, you just hit the lotto” – but none of it’s really convincing me!

What I’m trying to say is that Crack A Bottle is nowhere near as hard-hitting as Eminem’s previous work. From someone who remembers how relevant Eminem’s first few albums were – angry, frustrated and frightening married to sexual deviance and comic-book violence. Back then, Eminem had something to say.

As his career progressed, I wondered what the effect of fame and fortune would be for him. I wondered if he’d still have anything relevant to say or if he’d stray into writing for the cash instead of the outlet. You can guess what I think of this single then, can’t you?

I just wonder if the whole Relapse album will suffer from the same lack of relevance and conviction.

The much-delayed fourth studio album from 50 Cent looks set to finally be released on 3 February 2009. It was originally due to be released back in 2007, but the rapper took the decision to release Curtis (the album) first.

Some people think I changed the title of my album from "Before I Self Destruct" to "Curtis", but what I did was, I changed albums. I had Before I Self Destruct, I recorded twelve songs under that actual topic, and then I created the material that is under Curtis, and I felt like this album should come out right now and Before I Self Destruct is gonna be my follow-up record, so I’m probably like three or four records away from completing my next album at this point.

Mike Burr of Prefix Magazine says that 50 needs this album to move his music to the next level:

[50 Cent] has promised that Before I Self Destruct, his fourth studio album, will revolutionize hip-hop, it will be the culminating statement of the first phase of his music career, and that it is a companion piece to his first feature directing effort. 50 Cent has described Before I Self Destruct as “darker and more aggressive,” with fewer guest appearances and a concept that will set the next phase of his musical career.

The album is going to feature collaborations with Dr. Dre and Eminem, which will make it essential listening for hip-hop and rap fans.

Track listing

1. Intro
2. Came To Win (produced by Red Spyda)
3. Get Up (produced by Scott Storch)
4. Need Your Hate (Produced by Dr. Dre)
5. Here For A Reason (ft. Nate Dogg) (produced by tha Bizness)
6. Good To Be A Gangsta (produced by Ty Fyffe & Sha Money XL)
7. Don’t Mess With 50 (produced by Don Cannon)
8. Trust In Me (produced by J.R. Rotem)
9. Norman Bates Motel (ft. Eminem) (produced by Dr. Dre)
10. Bitch I’m Sorry (produced by Needlz)
11. All For You (produced by Hi-Tek)
12. No Time To Lose (ft. Swizz Beatz) (produced by the Individuals)
13. Lonely At the Top (produced by Play-N-Skillz)
14. You Need Us (ft. Lloyd Banks & Tony Yayo) (produced by DJ Khalil)
15. Different Path (ft. Dave Young) (produced by Havoc)
16. I Get It In (produced by Dr. Dre)
17. Somebody Forgive Me (produced by Jake One)
18. My Reign (produced by Eminem)
19. Ready For War (ft. Dr. Dre) (produced by Dr. Dre)

Wow. After a phenomenal year in the American charts for rapper T.I., he’s due to go to prison in March after being convicted on federal weapons charges.

But before he takes a one-year break from da industry, T.I. is going to wrap up with a private concert at Chloe Sveigny’s New Years Eve party in Miami. I’d imagine the private gig will result in a decent payday for the 28 year old.

The weapons charges include the illegal possession of three machine guns. Which begs the question – what the hell is an aspiring rapper doing dealing in weapons? Regardless, he seems to be taking the matter seriously enough:

"While I’m not looking forward to being incarcerated, I have a long road of redemption to travel," T.I. told reporters outside the courtroom, according to The Associated Press. "I am dedicated and committed to that. I’m looking forward to turning this negative time in my life into a positive. I’d like to thank God for blessing me with a second chance in life and success. I realize I completely violated the law, and I take it very seriously."

For someone with two top 5 singles in the Billboard chart, the impending jail sentence obviously isn’t harming his popularity.

I’m hearing the latest N-Dubz single a lot on the music channels lately. Dedicated to their late manager, Byron Contostavlos, Papa has an epic feel to it, lifting this posse beyond the realms of your regular urban fare.

The music video is totally random and surreal, with the various members of the group falling out of doorways in the sky, and floating in the ether.

While the song has taken some lumps for clichéd lyrics, there’s nothing in the video to suggest this is a cynical exercise. Despite a rather over the top video concept, I have no reason to doubt the groups’ sincerity.

Not only that, but Papa has a great hook. So great, I’m not even going to poke fun at the early East 17 hat Dino is wearing throughout the video.