R&B singer Brandy has signed with Epic Records, which will release her label debut later this year, a company official said, declining further comment.Brandy, born Brandy Norwood, was previously signed to Atlantic. Her final release for the label, 2004’s “Afrodisiac,” has sold 416,000 copies to date in the United States, according to Nielsen SoundScan.READ MORE

Terrence Howard held a lunchtime listening party for his debut album, “Terrence Howard – Me and the Band of Kings” at the Sony Club in New York.According to People, the Oscar-nominated actor was dressed in a gray three-piece suit and drummed his chopsticks along to the 11-song disc as it played for a room full of journalists. Due in September, the album is highly reminiscent of a live, big band, jazz feel and features songs with subjects ranging from broken relationships (”It’s All Game”) to self-reflection (”Plenty”) to the celebration of love on his single, “Love Makes You Beautiful.”Howard, who plays the guitar on the album, said he began writing songs at age 16 in his “rainbow colored notebook,” and told reporters about recording an “emotionally sobering” song that began as a letter to his ex-wife.SOURCE