Rapper Sean Combs’ first release since dropping his Puff Daddy [ tickets ] nickname in favor of his new P. Diddy alias is this week’s “P. Diddy & the Bad Boy Family: The Saga Continues … ,” a collaborative album that features Combs and a variety of artists from his Bad Boy Entertainment record label.

Two tracks from the forthcoming album are currently seated side by side on Billboard’s latest Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Airplay Chart. “Let’s Get It”--featuring G. Depp, P. Diddy and Black Rob (a.k.a. Three the Hard Way)--is at No. 30, while “Bad Boy for Life”--featuring P. Diddy, Black Rob and Mark Curry--is at No. 31. The latter track is up from No. 73 the previous week.

Combs is scheduled to appear as a guest co-host on the nationally syndicated “Doug Banks Morning Show” radio program from Monday through Friday (7/9-7/13), according to a press release. Additional Bad Boy artists featured on “The Saga Continues” are scheduled to appear on the program throughout the week as well, including Faith Evans, Carl Thomas, 112, G. Depp, Loon and Kane.

Melissa Etheridge [ tickets ] returns this week with “Skin,” the follow-up to her 1999 release, “Breakdown.” Etheridge’s latest features her new single “I Want to Be in Love,” which debuted on Billboard’s latest Adult Top 40 chart at No. 35.

The video for “I Want to Be in Love” is scheduled to debut on VH1 on Monday (7/9) during the 7 a.m., 8 a.m. and 9 a.m. hours, according to Etheridge’s official website. VH1 also debuted an Etheridge concert special titled “Live & Alone” on Friday (7/6), and will air the show again on Monday night (7/9).

Etheridge is also scheduled to appear on “The Tonight Show with Jay Leno” on July 18.

To promote her new release, Etheridge will set out on a solo acoustic tour next month. That outing will be preceded by a July book-signing tour in support of her new autobiography, “The Truth Is … .” The book-signing jaunt kicks off on Tuesday (7/10) in New York City, the same day that “Skin” (Island) arrives in stores.

More details on Etheridge’s upcoming promotional and touring schedule can be found here.

Tha Liks--formerly known as the Alkaholiks--unleash “X.O. Experience” (Loud) this week, the hip-hop trio’s fourth album overall, and first to bear its new, shortened name.

“Best U Can,” the first single from “X.O. Experience,” is currently at No. 33 on Billboard’s Hot Rap Singles chart. A streaming-audio sample of the song is available at the group’s official website, as is a 13-plus minute, downloadable mp3 file featuring a mix of material from “X.O. Experience.”

Tha Liks will back their new album with an opening slot on Snoop Dogg’s forthcoming tour, which gets underway later this month.

Swedish-bred rock act Prime STH delivers its debut album this week, “Underneath the Surface” (Giant/Reprise). The group’s current single, “I’m Stupid (Don’t Worry ‘Bout Me),” is spending its second week at No. 28 on Billboard’s Mainstream Rock Tracks chart.

Sound clips for all of the album’s tracks can be found at the band’s official website.

Built to Spill offers up “Ancient Melodies of the Future” (Warner Bros.) this week, the Boise, Idaho-based trio’s sixth album. Streaming audio samples of all of the album’s tracks can be found at the group’s official website.

Canadian singer-songwriter Jann Arden delivers the follow up to 1998’s “Happy?” with this week’s “Blood Red Cherry” (Zoe). Lyrics to all of the album’s tracks--as well as audio samples of four tracks and music videos for two--are currently posted in the discography section of Arden’s official website

RCA treats Elvis Presley fans this week to two substantial box sets from the late “King.” “Live in Las Vegas” is a four-disc set, while “The Blue Suede Shoes Collection” is a mammoth 30-disc collection cased in a blue suede box that will also contain a 1993, day-of-issue Elvis Presley stamp affixed to an RCA envelope, according to a fact sheet. The latter box set has a list price of $469.98.