Grammy nominated hip-hop/soul group known as Floetry has traded in previous "floacist" Natalie Stewart for rapper, MTV personality and Sirius Satellite hostess Amanda Diva.

The new Floetry lineup is already hitting the road to promote the new union. Diva will join Floetry songstress Marsha Ambrosius on The Floetry Remixed Tour, which kicks off today, July 26 at Club Paradise in Boston. Amanda Diva will perform her own lyrics in place of Stewart's and, backed by a live band, the duo will also show off new songs they've composed since the change in lineup.

The Floetry Remixed Tour will visit 20 US cities. Tickets can be purchased at ticketmaster.com.
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After championing the underground sound, indie favorites Little Brother found critical acclaim with the release of their 2005 major label debut, The Minstrel Show. Now after a series of setbacks; switching labels and losing their producer 9th Wonder, LB's third disc, Get Back, is ready to see the light. SOHH caught up with Phonte and Big Pooh to talk about the new album, new label, and life after 9th Wonder.

"It really wasn't a delay, it was just a label change," Phonte explained to SOHH. "During the time we started [Get Back] things went sour, so we decided to try to bounce from Atlantic Records. That's what kind of maybe slowed it up, but now we got everything straight so now we're looking at September 25 as the release date."

When comparing LB's major label effort with the new album, Phonte seemed less burdened by label politics.

"It's a lot different feel than The Minstrel Show," Phonte continued. "It's a lot lighter, it's not as dark as the last album. It's a bright record, very energetic. Minstrel Show was a dope record. But it's like, looking back now, Get Back is less about worrying about what's going on around you, bull@#!* in the industry with the labels and just getting back to what we feel in our hearts."

Rapper Big Pooh agreed with Phonte's sentiments.

"We just got back to making music and stopped thinking about it," he said. "We got as close as we could to that feeling when we first started doing this. When we went into The Minstrel Show, we just had so much going on and a new situation that I think we put too much into it."

Being released on ABB Records, the album will feature beats from producers including Justice League members Khrisis and Illmind among others. And while they have no problem running down the list of collaborators behind the boards, the duo is less than eager to reveal which MC's they will be sharing mic time with on the album.

"We got that dude, we got ya man, some of your favorites, some of our favorites, and then we got ya boy," kids Big Pooh. Phonte adds, "Yea, all of them are on there. We tried to get that @#*$% but he was over that dude house and, well, you know how that goes."

Get Back will also mark the group's first album without long time member and producer 9th Wonder. And while fans may have been shocked at the break-up, the group insists that it was less of a surprise than some may think.

"The thing about it that a lot of people didn't realize is that early on, pretty much after [our first CD] The Listening, from late 2003 on, we were pretty much doing our own thing as far as producing, revealed Phonte. "Not beat making, but producing. We were going to the studio, getting beats from 9th or whoever else and sitting down with our engineer and the three of us working on the track. So as far as working on this album without him, it really wasn't any difference. I mean, I haven't been in the studio with 9th as Little Brother since like '04."

With all of the changes the group has recently undergone, Phonte ensures that one thing that will undoubtedly be the same is the quality of the music.

"What you can expect to hear from this record is just two cats making music out of the love of their hearts and just having fun man," Phonte offers. "It's a lot of stuff out there that's trying to sell you a fantasy, trying to make you believe this and that, but this is music that's rooted in reality. So if you looking to escape, you looking to feel like a million dollars, and got your ice on, this ain't it. This ain't that record. This is a grown up hip-hop record."

Get Back hits stores on September 25 via ABB Records.