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(AllHipHop News) DJ Premier will assist Heather B in ending an 8-year album drought by executive-producing her new LP, Open Bar.

Heather B’s last project was 2002’s Eternal Affairs. With production from Pete Rock and DJ Premier, the album met with positive reviews despite not charting on Billboard.

Since then, Heather diversified her portfolio with appearances in commercials, and running a successful business out of the New York metropolitan area.

Although Open Bar is just her third studio album, Heather B has been in the entertainment industry well over 10 years, receiving her first national exposure as a cast member of the original MTV Real World season in 1992. In 1996, she partnered with Boogie Down Productions for her debut Takin’ Mine, which delivered two regional hits in “All Glocks Down” and “If Headz Only Knew.”

She cites these experiences as the reason her current music is more confident, and immune to the pressures of confirming to today’s image-driven expectations of female rappers.

“When I first came out, I felt like I had to do it and now I want to do it because I’m grown and my music is coming from a sincere and confident place,” Heather explained to AllHipHop.com. “I’m not concerned with any trends or industry misconceptions; I want to put out some good music.”

While Premier is handling the new project’s direction, two other confirmed producers are Pete Rock and Kenny Parker. The latter is behind on the boards on Open Bar’s lead single “The Game Don’t Stop,” which Heather uses to make a statement on the importance of creative, well-executed Hip-Hop.

“’The Game Don’t Stop’ answers all those questions that people have asked me and what I’ve questioned myself. What the end result of it all is, it doesn’t matter, Quality matters,” she declared.

Open Bar is tentatively scheduled for a May release. The new single is available now on iTunes.