R'n'B beauty Blu Cantrell is returning to her racy roots - by posing on the August (03) cover of men's magazine Playboy.

The singer was reportedly paid close to $1 million (GBP660,000) to pose nude for the magazine, according to website PAGE SIX.

In October of 2001, a nude photospread Cantrell did for BLACK TAIL magazine in the mid '90s began surfacing on the internet.

At the time the singer told the ATLANTA-JOURNAL CONSTITUTION, "It's a closed book to me. I know people are talking about it. I'm not surprised, but I don't care. I'm not ashamed of nudity. I did it a long time ago when I needed to pay my bills.

"Actually, I'm proud of it. I'll sign one (of the pictures) if they want me to. I've even caught friends looking, business associates looking at me on the internet. And I'm fine with it.

"I did it so long ago. Now it's about singing and the album. I don't have any regrets."