Nicki Minaj nominated for fiddyleven BET Awards

Your favorite rapper without an album, Nicki Minaj has been nominated fiddyleven times for a BET Award recently. Minaj, who's done everything for BET, including hosted a fashion show, ramped up ratings for "106 & Park" and more, is finally getting the love in return.

In addition to three nominations with her rap supergroup Young Money, Minaj is up for Best New Artist and Best Female Hip-Hop Artist.
Also just when you thought things couldn't get any hotter for Nicki Minaj, there's rumors about a sex tape scandal. Whether it's rumor or not, Minaj has chosen not to confirm or deny the allegations which surfaced on a number of gossip sites.
The sex tape, if it exists, is said to be on sale for $100,000.
We doubt it.
Anyway, Minaj, whose debut album is yet to surface, is busy making hits, guesting on a slew of radio singles in play.


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Nicki Minaj: From Myspace to Femme Phenom

At LaGuardia High School in New York, Onika Maraj was as silly as silly puddy. You can tell from the daffy-duck faces she makes even now. But when did the femme fatale known as Nicki Minaj emerge on the hip-hop scene?
In 2002, a group of eUuniverse employees created Myspace. In two short years, the site graduated to a music reservoir for up-and-coming and unsigned acts to show their work. In 2004, hundreds of artists had built pages with free music for the masses. Like the teenage rap sensation Soulja Boy before her, Nicki Minaj is originally a Myspace rapper.
Some of her early songs pull from the grit and grind of her upbringing in New York City.
She was discovered by Dirty Money CEO Fendi. Lil Wayne personally contacted her, and the rest, as they say is Barbie history.
Flash forward to 2010: The little girl from a troubled home is one of the top rappers in hip-hop and poised to be the queen. And there's still no album, and no tentative title or release date. Yet, she's appeared in more than 14 songs for other people.
Her album promises to be one of the most anticipated rap events of the year. And that's a long way from the humble beginnings of LaGuardia.

Keri Hilson sings national anthem. Again

Atlanta recording artist Keri Hilson aka Ms. Keri Babay, or as she's recently become known, "Ms. Star-Splanglish Bumbled" got another turn to flub the lines to America's national anthem Sunday.
Turns out fate gave Hilson the honor of singing the national anthem at Fenway Park on Sunday. Just in case she ruined it, there were two F-16 fighter jets above to help drown out the noise. Thankfully they didn't need to perform dangerous zig-zags to divert the audience's horror, and Pedro didn't have to knuckle ball her, as Hilson nailed the anthem. Ms. Keri, you're #turningUsOn again.


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The Kanye Factor

The hottest rapper not in jail is Kanye West.
Sorry, Jay-Z. Apologies to T.I., Lupe, etc. Kanye musically has the Midas touch, and his peers know that more than anybody. Ask Common or John Legend, who's albums breathe Kanye's elastic soulfulness. Ask Maroon 5. Ask T-Pain. Ask Drake.
Kanye's time to take the throne is now, similar to when Jay-Z, by default, reached hip-hop's highest echelon. If it were not for the untimely deaths of the Notorious B.I.G. and 6 months before him, Tupac Shakur, it is arguable that rap fans would even know Jay-Z outside of New York.
Kanye is in a similar situation, with his mentor, Jay-Z, comtemplating time off to spend with Beyonce, and no elite rapper on the scene or for the forseeable future, now just may be time for Kanye to assume rap's top throne. All he has to do is stay out of jail, and stay alive (both are hard for a rapper these days). Of course, there have already been missteps, but nobody's perfect.
The measure of a good artist used to be in his/her crossover appeal. Kanye nailed that in one album and has since taken off into the other-worldly-realms of exploring rock and classical music.
The throne is his for the taking, but will he take it?



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Keri Hilson acoustic version of "Knock You Down"

Miss Keri "Babay" knocks it down with this acoustic version of "Knock You Down," from Billboard.





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Nicki Minaj: Hip-Hop Queen?

Young Money artist Nicki Minaj has nary an album out but is the hottest female in the rap game already?
How could this happen?
How could a lyrical novice with barely two mixtapes and a handful of features be a serious contender for hip-hop queen?
Call it good timing.
The female rap crown has been passed around like a spliff at a concert, with no artist with enough momentum and support to carry fans from one album to the next. Only in the pop and R&B markets have female artists been able to grow their fan base in a very slow and dliberate way.
Nicky's "Beam Me Up Scotty" has endeared her to fans, but it's her association with the hottest name in rap, a lil guy by the name of Dwayne that has mad her into a rap superstar.
Will she be able to turn the popularity she has into actual album sales? Time will tell, but one thing we do know, and that is that fickle fans' wallets are as light as a rock right about now.


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Young Money releases long-awaited album

Lil Wayne's first stab at moguldom has arrived in stores as of today. Young Money, the only supergroup in rap, has released its long-awaited album. While the members of Young Money read like a Parliament Funkadelic album, the essentials are that Wayne himself, Nicki Minaj and that mixtape king, Drake, are assembled here for a few verses interspersed with up-and-comers.
Can the public put up with another ensemble piece from a group of rappers who are still trying to find their audience? Record sales will tell.
But the outfit has something for everyone, or everygirl, that's for sure. If you like Barbies, or thugs or clever wordplay or singing, it seems to cover all bases, everything except an old English lady singing in the background.
But will it sell 1 million in the first week? Susan Boyle just did.

In the Club: So Mannie Distractions

There's always one: One chick in the club that is willing to go all out.

Would hip-hop sully Sade's image?

This month music fans were treated with new music from the sultry sound of the husky-yet-suave vocals of British-Nigerian singer Sade.
The "Smooth Operator" star is back after a decade hiatus that has seen the music industry almost tank. But unlike any other time before her, Sade is entering a music business pock-marked with hip-hop stars that sound like singers and singers that sound like rappers.
The question of features from hot rappers is a real one.
Word is that Drake even pushed his new music back so that he could make a plea to have Sade sing on it. Of course, Lil Wayne can't be far behind him, nor can Gucci Mane. But what would happen if Sade let the rappers gangbang the track?
Would it be magic or a mistake?
In essence, would hip-hop sully or dirty the image and soulfurl sound of the regal Sade?

Barbie-Q: Nicki Minaj puts on pounds as album awaits

When Nicki Minaj first hit the scene a couple of years ago, the hip-hop community was beside themselves at how this "model chick" who looked like she belonged on the cover of a magazine or a video vixen could have rap skills lethal as swords.
While the male-dominated music industry sneered at her she continued to hone her craft, and in August of this year was finally inducted into Young Money, the hottest rap outfit since the 1990s power trio of Bad Boy, Death Row and Suave House.
With the ascension of label mate Drake , Nicki Minaj has seen the pressure rise as her album approaches. What has also risen is her waistline.
Nicki is getting thicki.
Of course, we could say the New York-born rapper is not the size she was when she started, but who is? (Seen E-40 lately?) But it may explain why Nicki has calmed down the sex appeal talk recently in interviews and even, in her latest ryhmes. Don't get me wrong, she's still "Barbie" or whatever she calls herself. But it's just that we now know that she likes her Barbie-Q.

Nicki Minaj Can't Be Lil Kim, Doesn't Want to

After testing the waters this summer with her third mixtape chock full of sexual references and innuendo reminiscient of rapper Lil Kim, Young Money artist Nicki Minaj has noticeably pulled back on the sex talk.
Not only was there a small backlash from Lil Kim fans that felt she was biting hard, but evidently the vibe and character that she was portraying was not separate enough for Universal to ante up.
But they finally did, after Minaj did a round of interviews downplaying the sexual aspect of her persona and music.
She's set to drop her official LP in 2010.
Are you a customer?

Are You a 'Barbie'?

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Why Music Catering to Women Wins

A few years ago, rapper Nas released an album titled "Hip Hop is Dead." What it really should have been called is "Gangsta Rap is Dead".
While the chauvinism, and degradation may have died down just a bit, truthfully, it's just gotten a lot smoooover. It doesn't take a rocket scientist, or Don Cornelius for that matter, to realize that women prefer softer music with less harsh lyrics than their male counterparts.
Think about it: The hottest rapper in the game right now is a sing-songy dude from Canada that raps about relationships and the stressfulness of being a young icon.
The days of directly sexual lyrics - aside from Ying Yang Twins and Akon -- may be largely behind us.

Hip-Hop: Original Style vs. Now

The first thing you notice are the boots: Huge, shiny joints.
The better to boot-stomp emcees with a quickness, they say.
Hip-hop style has changed greatly since the music has been around since the late 1970s.
Back in the day the rappers --excuse me, emcees -- use to dress.
The hair was always funky; pants were unique in more than 10 ways; the shirt or coat was in itself a work of art.
About the only thing similar to the styles of today are the huge shades, which have changed little after enjoying a resurgence a few years ago.

The fad of today is to let your drawers show. It can 't be any old way either; your drawers must hang down no lower than 10.5 inches (see Soulja Boy Tell em). The female rappers actually have stepped their game up, the few that even bother to wear clothes these days.
About the most exciting thing happening now is the shaved-head-look circulating among female stars (of course you have to line it up properly.
The male rappers back in the day dressed dynamic, spectacular. They had their clothes made instead of simply wearing the latest collection from the hot designer of the day.
That's when hip-hop was real.
That's when hip-hop was fresh.

The Future for Nivea: Mo Hits or Mo Kids?

With the spawning of a child for Lil Wayne, Nivea, formerly Mrs. Dream, has some decisions to make about her future.
For starters, she's pretty much wealthy for life now. Sorry, it's just the truth.
Secondly, she has something she put on the backburner, called a singing career (remember that?), and she has to make a decision soon on what she'll be, a stay-at-the-mall-Mom or a singer.
If she chooses to marry Lil Wayne, the Dream is on record as saying that he and Wayne would need to "have a talk," and it doesn't sound like a real positive situation. But, grown people do grown things.

Why Isn't Christina Milian an Elite Artist?

Admit it, she's got the look, the face, the bod, and can at least pretend to hold a decent note (like Rihanna).
So why hasn't Christina Milian exploded in the music business?
She burst on the scene rocking the chorus in Ja Rule's "Everything We Do," single, even gracing the video.
The Cuban-born singer is well known in Hollywood, starring as the lead in "Love Don't Cost a Thing," "Be Cool," and "Pulse."
But why hasn't she blown up?
Well maybe that's all about to change: She's based in Los Angeles, and about to get married to superproducer, The Dream.
Her new album "Elope" is scheduled for release later this year.
Then, what will be her excuse?

Dissecting 'Tiny and Toya': About Dat Nose

Don't get it twisted, we love "Tiny and Toya," but in the short time the duo have graced my TV screen I have come to see the main feature of the reality show.
And it is Tiny's nose.
Now, Tiny has a beautiful nose, don't get me wrong. I love a good honker.
It's just that it has come to embody the whole show.
Not since the high-flying Chicago Bull days of Scottie Pippen has a nose so gloriously shined in a superstar tandem.
When Tiny is talking, and they do those confessional closeups (as they do err 5 minutes), well, Tiny's nose takes on a life of its own.
Toya on the other hand is tossed in the background, resorting to saving her Mama from the street life (a often redriven theme done by Keyshia Cole, and even Mario).
But Tiny's nose?
The star of the show.

R. Kelly Releases Mixtape: Do We Care?

Seems like the Pied Piper has done this summer what a major R&B artist has never done (No, not that, he was aquitted, remember?). Kelly has released a mixtape, called "The Demo."
"I been in the stands watching the music scene for a minute, just chillin'," Kelly recently told MTV.
We all know 'chillin' is not in Kells' vocab, but we understand a brother needs to lay low, especially with his reputation. "I said, 'If I'm gonna do a mixtape, I feel like I'm starting over in a way.' I said, 'I'm gonna act like this is my first time as an artist. I'mma do a demo and hope the world sign me.' "
Question: Who really wants a "demo" from R. Kelly though?
Isn't Trey Songz the new Kells? Just sayin.

Nicki Minaj: Hotter Than July

It is turning into a very good month for rapper Nicki Minaj, the female emcee in Lil Wayne's Young Money outfit. She's been burning up hot spots around the South with intimate performances that speak to her lyrical prowess as well as her sex appeal. Lil Kim comparisons not withstanding, this is Nicki's time.
But with the fall approaching, the hip-hop industry is churning toward a trifecta not seen in recent years as mega-weights Jay-Z, 50 Cent, and now, Lil Wayne all plan to drop albums in September.
Handicapping each contender is their eager-to-be released mixtapes that fans will gobble up on sight, which makes Nicki Minaj's profile even brighter -- and more crucial -- as she'll no doubt trade deliveries with the Codeine-sipping miser Weezy F. Baby herself.
If Nicki can deliver the momentum -- and even more fem fans to the movement -- look for Wayne to catapult her career next to his. But this summer is just as important for Nicki: She still doesn't have a label yet; her set "Beam Me Up Scotty," while good is understandably rough around the edges.
This is her summer: If she can't muster the pressure, she'll slide behind Drake and possibly whoever else is up and coming on the Young Money label.
Can she heat it up?

"Ms. Keri, Ba-Bay (Ms. Keri Ba-Bay)" a household name now

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