Singer-songwriter Kelly Price is currently in the studio working on the follow-up to her 1998 platinum debut, "Soul Of A Woman," which she hopes to have out on Def Jam/Def Soul Records by the middle of next year.

Price, who earned her rep as a supporting vocalist for Notorious B.I.G., Mase, and Puffy, has already recorded collaborations for the new album with Jermaine Dupri, R. Kelly, Montell Jordan, and Shep Crawford, as well as her producers, Carlos & Dada.

The new LP will be Price's first as part of a deal with Def Soul Records, as "Soul Of A Woman" was released by T-Neck/Island Records.

The singer is also at work on several related projects for her own Atlanta-based label, Big Mama Records. Big Mama is a subsidiary of the Elektra Entertainment Group, and already has signed two artists to its roster, a 17-year-old female R&B soloist out of New York named Sasha, and a Latino male R&B singer called Victor.

Both artists will enter the studio after the

holidays to begin work on their debut albums for possible release by mid-2000.

-- John Gill