Hot off the kudos she’s earning for...

Hot off the kudos she’s earning for her performance with brother Michael in his “Scream” video and single, Janet Jackson is heading for the studio with producers Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis. The team will be recording several new tracks for Janet’s greatest-hits collection, due from A&M; in October. . . . With sneak radio play of the single “First of Tha Month” whetting rap fans’ appetites, Ruthless Records is planning to ship a million copies of Bone Thugs-N-Harmony’s second album, “E. 1999 Eternal,” when it’s released July 25. This is Ruthless’ first release since the March 26 AIDS death of label founder Eazy-E, to whom the album is dedicated. . . .

Tim McGraw (of “Indian Outlaw” fame) has just completed his follow-up to his 4-million-selling 1994 debut album “Not a Moment Too Soon.” The as-yet-untitled set is due in September. . . . The long-discussed Velvet Underground box set, “Peel Slowly and See,” is due Sept. 26, featuring all the original lineup’s four albums, plus 25 unreleased tracks. Among the latter are demos from 1965 featuring Lou Reed and John Cale sounding more like Greenwich Village folkies than proto-punks on versions of “Venus in Furs” and “Heroin.”