Singer Ashanti was spotted Saturday (Feb. 23) celebrating the release of her new video at DJ Jazzy Jeff’s new gig at Prime in NYC. The pop R&B singer told SOHH.com that she’s extra excited this round after putting an album without the direction of The Inc. head Irv Gotti. “I’m very excited about the album,” she said. “This is my first time kinda handling everything on my own.” Her new album, titled The Declaration, features Jermaine Dupri, Babyface, Pharrell, Robin Thicke and Bryan Michael Cox. Her first single and video is “The Way That I Love You” produced by L.T. Hutton.

Mogul-rapper Jay-Z is being sued along with developer Bruce Ratner and Barclays bank for $5 billion in slave reparations. Brooklyn activist Clive Campbell (not to be confused with DJ Kool Herc) filed a claim in October with the DA Black Defense League stating that the three parties “profited from the African Slave Trade and continue to profit from these gains, through a conspiracy dating back hundreds of years and continue to date to oppress Black people, enslave them, unlawfully deport them to all corners of the Earth.” The “claim of lien” is based on an accusation – which Barclays denies – that the bank is linked to the slave trade. Jay, Ratner and Barclays are working together to build a basketball arena for the Nets and more than 6,000 apartments in Brooklyn; Jay is partial owner of the Nets and, according to the New York Observer, has been publicly supportive of the construction project.

This year’s NAACP Best World Music Album nominee, Shiko Mawatu (nominated for his Kimbanda Nzila) is seeking American support for the people of his native Congo. The legendary African performer is donating portions of the album’s sales to the construction of water wells and NBA player Dikembe Mutumbo’s charitable foundation, DMF. “We are tired of standing by and watching others talk about us as if we do not exist or do not know how to express ourselves,” said a representative from Mawatu’s production team. “Shiko Mawatu's Kimbanda Nzila although it's not in English language, it is however a testimony of a humanitarian effort from an African trying to help Africa the best way he can. Americans can help by buying Kimbanda Nzila, which is a small step toward reconstructing people's lives.”

Singer Erykah Badu was at a listening session recently for her “magnum opus” and attributed the production of the funky cuts to technology. “…It would’ve taken a lot longer for this album to come out if it hadn’t been for technology. I was given a laptop for my birthday in 2005 and got intro to the buddy list of – what do you call it? – iChat. All the people on the album are buddies on my iChat [9th Wonder, Madlib, Jay Electronica, Sa-Ra]. My son, actually, who is now 10-years-old, taught me how to drag into Garage Band. He said, ‘Ma, all got have to do is drag the track… you don’t have to hum it and sing it all into your answering machine...’ I said, ‘Oh snap.’” In a matter of months she had over 50 tracks. New Amerykah: Part One (4th World War) drops today.