Even though his recent stuff didn’t seem to sound that amazing, it looks like somebody up there sure like’s Eminmen’s music as he is currently at the top of the nominations list for this year’s Grammy with no less than ten nominations. Among the categories in which Eminem is nominated for Grammys are Album of the Year, Song of the Year, Record of the Year and Best Rap Album. He does owe two of those to Rihanna, though. Of course, in which of these categories he is actually going to get an award still remains to be seen, but it is a pretty impressive thing for Eminem. Maybe he hasn’t lost his touch after all.
Bruno Mars follows with seven, Jay-Z, Lady Gaga, and Lady Antebellum got six nods, John Legend and B.o.B got five, Drake, Rihanna, Cee Lo Green, Katy Perry, and Alex Da Kid get four nods each.
53rd Annual Grammy Awards (2011) Full List
Album of the Year
Recovery – Eminem
Need You Now – Lady Antebellum
The Fame Monster – Lady Gaga
Teenage Dream – Katy Perry
The Suburbs – Arcade Fire
Record of the Year
“Love the Way You Lie” – Eminem & Rihanna
“Nothin’ on You” – B.o.B & Bruno Mars
“Empire State of Mind” – Jay-Z & Alicia Keys
“Need You Now” – Lady Antebellum
“F**k You” – Cee Lo Green
Song of the Year
“Love the Way You Lie” – Eminem & Rihanna
“F**k You”- Cee Lo Green
“The House That Built Me” – Miranda Lambert
“Beg, Steal, or Borrow” – Ray LaMontagne
“Need You Now” – Lady Antebellum
Best New Artist
Drake
Esperanza Spalding
Justin Bieber
Florence + the Machine
Mumford & Sons
Best Pop Vocal Album
My World 2.0 – Justin Bieber
I Dreamed a Dream – Susan Boyle
The Fame Monster – Lady Gaga
Battle Studies – John Mayer
Teenage Dream – Katy Perry
Best Pop Performance by a Duo or Group With Vocals
“Don’t Stop Believin’ (Regionals Version)” – “Glee” Cast
“Misery” – Maroon 5
“The Only Exception” – Paramore
“Babyfather” – Sade
“Hey, Soul Sister (Live)” – Train
Best Female Pop Vocal Performance
Sara Bareilles – “King of Anything”
Beyoncé – “Halo (Live)”
Norah Jones – “Chasing Pirates”
Lady Gaga – “Bad Romance”
Katy Perry – “Teenage Dream”
Best Male Pop Vocal Performance
Michael Bublé – “Haven’t Met You Yet”
Michael Jackson – “This Is It”
Adam Lambert – “Whataya Want From Me”
Bruno Mars – “Just the Way You Are”
John Mayer – “Half of My Heart”
Best Pop Collaboration With Vocals
“Airplanes II” — B.o.B, Eminem & Hayley Williams
“Imagine” — Herbie Hancock, Pink, India.Arie, Seal, Konono No. 1, Jeff Beck & Oumou Sangare
“If It Wasn’t For Bad” — Elton John & Leon Russell
“Telephone” — Lady Gaga & Beyoncé
“California Gurls” — Katy Perry & Snoop Dogg
Best Dance Recording
“Rocket” – Goldfrapp
“In For The Kill” – La Roux
“Dance in the Dark” – Lady Gaga
“Only Girl (In The World)” – Rihanna
“Dancing on My Own” – Robyn
Best Female R&B Vocal Performance
“Gone Already” – Faith Evans
“Bittersweet” – Fantasia
“Everything to Me” – Monica
“Tired” – Kelly Price
“Holding You Down (Goin’ in Circles)” – Jazmine Sullivan
Best Male R&B Vocal Performance
“Second Chance” – El DeBarge
“Finding My Way Back” – Jaheim
“Why Would You Stay” – Kem
“We’re Still Friends” – Musiq Soulchild
“There Goes My Baby” – Usher
Best R&B Performance by a Duo or Group With Vocals
“Love” – Chuck Brown, Jill Scott, and Marcus Miller
“Take My Time” – Chris Brown & Tank
“You’ve Got a Friend” – Ronald Isley & Aretha Franklin
“Shine” – John Legend & The Roots
“Soldier of Love” – Sade
Best Traditional R&B Vocal Performance
“When a Woman Loves” – R. Kelly
“Hang On in There” – John Legend & The Roots
“You’re So Amazing” – Calvin Richardson
“In Between” – Ryan Shaw
“Go (Live)” – Betty Wright
Best Urban/Alternative Performance
“Little One” – Bilal
“F**k You” – Cee Lo Green
“Orion” – Carolyn Malachi
“Tightrope” – Janelle Monáe & Big Boi
“Still” – Eric Roberson
Best R&B Song
“Bittersweet” – Fantasia
“Find My Way Back” – Jaheim
“Second Chance” – El DeBarge
“Shine” – John Legend & The Roots
“Why Would You Stay” – Kem
Best R&B Album
The Love & War Masterpeace – Raheem DeVaughn
Back to Me – Fantasia
Another Round – Jaheim
Wake Up! – John Legend & The Roots
Still Standing – Monica
Best Contemporary R&B Album
Graffiti – Chris Brown
Untitled – R. Kelly
Transition – Ryan Leslie
The ArchAndroid – Janelle Monáe
Raymond v. Raymond – Usher
Best Rap Solo Performance
“Over” – Drake
“Not Afraid” – Eminem
“How Low” – Ludacris
“I’m Back” – T.I.
“POWER” – Kanye West
Best Rap Performance by a Duo or Group
“Shutterbugg” – Big Boi & Cutty
“Fancy” – Drake, T.I. & Swizz Beatz
“On to the Next One” – Jay-Z & Swizz Beatz
“My Chick Bad” – Ludacris & Nicki Minaj
“Lose My Mind” – Young Jeezy & Plies
Best Rap/Sung Collaboration
“Nothin’ on You” – B.o.B Featuring Bruno Mars
“Deuces” – Chris Brown, Tyga & Kevin McCall
“Love the Way You Lie” – Eminem & Rihanna
“Empire State of Mind” – Jay-Z & Alicia Keys
“Wake Up! Everybody” – John Legend, The Roots, Melanie Fiona & Common
Best Rap Song
“Empire State Of Mind” – Jay-Z & Alicia Keys
“Love the Way You Lie” – Eminem & Rihanna
“Not Afraid” – Eminem
“Nothin’ on You” – B.o.B & Bruno Mars
“On to the Next One” — Jay-Z & Swizz Beatz
Best Rap Album
The Adventures of Bobby Ray – B.o.B
Thank Me Later – Drake
Recovery – Eminem
The Blueprint 3 – Jay-Z
How I Got Over – The Roots
Best Short Form Music Video
“Ain’t No Grave/The Johnny Cash Project” – Johnny Cash
“Love the Way You Lie” – Eminem & Rihanna
“Stylo” – Gorillaz, Mos Def, and Bobby Womack
“Cee Lo Green” – “F**k You”
Lady Gaga – “Bad Romance”
Check the last night Grammy performances
Bruno Mars – “Just The Way You Are” Grammy Nominations Show
B.O.B feat. Bruno Mars – Nothin On You – 2011 Grammy Awards Nominations Concert
Katy Perry Grammy Nomination show 2010
B.O.B – Don’t Let Me Fall- 2011 Grammy Awards Nominations Concert
Kanye West is featured on the cover of the latest issue of Complex magazine. Instead of having an intensive interview with the rapper, the magazine had some of Kanye’s friends talk about him. One such comment was from friend and collaborator Nicki Minaj. She said “He’s a legend in hip-hop and in pop culture and to be on his album is a blessing. I don’t even remember him ever working with a female rapper, so to be on an album and on a record this monstrous? I couldn’t have planned it better in a perfect world.” At least Kanye knows that there are some people in this world that still like him.
Sources are reporting that The Black Eyed Peas are set to headline the Super Bowl Half Time Show at the 2011 championship game on February 6th. The hip hop band will be the first urban music performers to play the Super Bowl since the infamous Janet Jackson wardrobe malfunction in 2004. Over the past couple of years, rock stars like Paul McCartney, Bruce Springsteen, the Rolling Stones and Prince have been given the coveted spot. But BEP seems to have planned this perfectly as the Super Bowl performance will lead up to the release of their upcoming album “The Beginning”.
Check Black Eyed Peas latest official video for a song titled The Time (Dirty Bit)
Black Eyed Peas – The Time (Dirty Bit) – Official Video
Nicki Minaj is featured on the cover of the upcoming issue of Billboard magazine which names the 25-year old rapper ‘The First Lady of Hip Hop’. In the accompanying interview, Nicki talks about her rapping style, saying “When I started rapping, people were trying to make me like the typical New York rapper, but I’m not that. No disrespect to New York rappers, but I don’t want people to hear me and know exactly where I’m from. I wanted the album to be universal and versatile. It really feels like it speaks for every one of my personalities.” It’s great that she wants to set herself apart from everyone else. I think that’s why she has a lot of people supporting her.
Nicki Minaj has released a new song called “Fly” it features Rihanna
Nicki Minaj feat. Rihanna – Fly – New Song
While talking to 96.1 Kiss FM, former President Bill Clinton offered support from Lil Wayne, who recently got released from prison. The politician said “My daughter introduced me to rap and hip-hop music, after I said some things she thought were not very smart. She said, ‘Dad you need to listen, a lot of these people are smart.’ This guy’s (Lil Wayne) smart and he’s got ability and he’s got a new chance now… A lot of these people (rappers) they don’t get successful… by being really dumb, they’re really smart. But a lot of them have had really tough lives and they almost think its cool to get in trouble every now and then or they don’t know how to stay out. What I hope will happen is that he has a good life now.”
It seems that the singer who managed to ruin his entire reputation with a bit of domestic violence against the wrong person now has a much better opinion of himself. This is what Chris Brown said recently: “Everything is good, I’m definitely – me personally and mentally – I’m a great guy now. I’m more of a person who is definitely more positive. I have new music coming real soon; I’m in the studio, back and forth, continuously, just having fun. I’m going to continue to make great dance videos and just be me.” Maybe he caught wind of that little story of Rihanna’s and realized that she’s still not over him. That would probably be enough to make Chris Brown feel warm and cuddly inside.
The singer who never really knew his father since he walked out on him and his mother when Eminem was still very young doesn’t understand how he could’ve done something like that. This is what Eminem said on the matter: “I never knew him, never met him, never knew him. I don’t know if I want to see him. Some people ask me that, and I don’t think I do. I can’t understand how he could leave us. If my kids moved to the edge of the earth, I’d find them. No doubt in my mind. No money, no nothing – if I had nothing I’d find my kids. So there’s no excuse.” Well, maybe the circumstances were different for Eminem’s dad, maybe something totally unusual happened. Who knows, the man might even have been abducted by aliens.
Just because Wyclef Jean can’t be President of Haiti doesn’t mean that he’s giving up on being such a preachy person. Sources are confirming that the hip hop singer has accepted a position as a visiting fellow at Rhode Island’s Brown University. For the upcoming school year, Wyclef will be enlightening minds in the African Studies department in a position he says will give him a chance to have “a period of learning and reflection”. Wyclef’s primary objective is to talk about his work with the Haiti Initiative charity organization. Maybe he could enroll in some political science classes while he’s at it so he can have some background for when he wants to run for the presidency again.
It seems that the rapper is a real thrill seeker. As if being in prison because he broke some rules wasn’t enough, Lil’ Wayne decided that he would like to break the prison rules too. So he hid a charger and headphones for a digital player somewhere in his cell. The items were found and Lil’ Wayne got solitary confinement for the remainder of his sentence which means that he will be all on his own with regards to socializing except for one phone call per week and time spent with his lawyer. It seems that Lil’ Wayne is going to have to become very, very good friends with his lawyer if he doesn’t want to go insane.
While some would think that the people of Haiti would be in love with the idea of having a high-profile president, Wyclef Jean has been receiving countless death threats from people insisting that he retract his bid for the presidency. The hip hop singer is dealing with it though, saying “In the past couple of days we have received a few death threats. Just for our safety we came to an area we feel is secured – that is my town. We’re in an area where we’re comfortable, the area where we were at before, we weren’t comfortable. We know this situation we’ve embarked on, death threats come with the territory. But beyond that it’s not about all those negative information.” It’s a bust anyway as Wyclef was deemed ineligible to run by the electoral committee.
Drake is the latest celebrity to have a plane named after him on Virgin Airlines thanks to Sir Richard Branson. The singer/rapper is also the first hip hop artist to have a commercial plane named after him. Air Drake is in the Virgin America fleet and will fly between Drake’s native Toronto and California destinations. Branson said “We’re honored to name our plane Air Drake. He’s Canadian through and through; he’s one of the most successful Canadians. He bridges the gap between Canada and America very successfully.” I wonder if Drake will get any perks if he flies in his own plane.
It would appear that the rapper is getting a bit bored with being a celebrity prisoner in Arizona and he’s still got a long time to stay there. So it’s time for Lil’ Wayne to suck up to the judge a bit in order to get himself an advance on his ticket out of prison. Not to be too hasty of course, but the man still has a musical career, albums coming out, tours and whatnot. He can’t be handling all that shit from the office they provide him in prison. Lil’ Wayne needs to be free to frolic and do what all good rappers do… without getting back into jail, that is.
Since Lady GaGa is the new and hip princess of pop, everybody seems to want a piece of her… and if not, simply just to throw a rock at her. M.I.A. recently shared her opinion of Lady GaGa, in relation to herself of course. This is what she said: “Lady Gaga is someone who lives completely within the industry. That’s what you can get if you say ‘yes.’ I would have those outfits on and my hair would look like that and those are the songs I would sing. Everybody else on my label’s budget would get cut in order for my Grammy performance with Elton John to be banging.” Is there a small hint of jealousy in M.I.A.’s words? But why should there be? After all, M.I.A.’s been there and done that… this applying to just about anything.
The rapper who had a bit of a problem with prescription drugs a while back has shared the secret to his ability of staying sober. Eminem related this on the matter: “How do you stay sober? My kids, and also I see a rehab counselor once a week. I’ve been clean for two years.” Strange… for a minute there you’d think that both Eminem and his kids see the rehab counselor. But that’s a misappropriate interpretation of what are actually some very heartfelt words on Eminem’s part… after all, not all junkies can rely on getting inspired to giving up their addiction on their kids.
Some men might dream of playing soccer and becoming huge, rich stars because of it. Well, Diddy doesn’t need to dream of something like that… he’s already a star and he’s rich enough as it is. Still, the rapper does seem to have his own yearnings in the realm of soccer: he would like to own a successful team. This is what Diddy said on the matter: “I’m always looking into different business ventures and it’s definitely one of my dreams one day to be a part of a sports franchise, especially a soccer team. If the right situation comes my way and it’s appealing and we can make the right splash and most importantly build the right team and win… I’m into winning and if it’s the right situation then I’m open to it.” Well, there is no better time for a good look at the teams than this: all Diddy needs to do is wait to see how teams do in the current world cup and then buy, buy, buy.
Lady Gaga has sold over 4 million digital copies of her music in the UK! That makes the princess of pop the number 1 digital selling artist across the pond. The singer broke Rihanna’s record which was at 2.5 million digital downloads last year. The Black Eyed Peas came in at second place to Lady Gaga as the hip hop band raked in 3.3 million digital downloads. Congratulations to Lady Gaga for once again making history and breaking another record! She is unstoppable! I can’t see an end to the craze surrounding her. It just goes to show that she’s not just some passing fad.
Well, there’s nothing too new or shocking in that, but the way Nick Cannon expresses it and the idea he’s trying to get across don’t really match up. This is what he said about Mariah Carey: ”Imagine if you’ve got the diva of all divas. If we’ve got to be somewhere at five or six o’clock, I tell her it’s time to go at noon so she gets those five hours to do what she needs to do.” How Nick Cannon can actually consider that to be a good thing is purely beyond understanding, but hey, if he likes waiting around for more than a sixth of his day, why try to stop him?
Justin Bieber has been nominated for a Black Entertainment Television award, earning a nomination in the Best New Artist category alongside Nicki Minaj, B.o.B., Young Money and Melanie Fiona. Stephen Hill, BET’s President of Music Programming and Specials, says “Bieber has crossed the color boundaries the same way that hip-hop has crossed the boundaries the other way for a number of years. He’s had rhythm in his music. He makes the type of music our audience likes.” I’m not entirely sure about all those things fitting the young pop singer but to each his own I guess. The fact that he’s been mentored by Usher must have helped. Congratulations Justin!
Akon has revealed that Lady Gaga is travelling with a mini recording studio during the princess of pop?s ?Monster?s Ball? tour and she?s already come up with some new music for her album. The hip hop singer said ?She records while she’s on the road. I’m flying out to Europe to work on some new records with her. GaGa’s just like me. She has a tour bus with a studio in it. Some of the songs I’ve heard are going to be crazy. She’s getting bigger and better. All I’m doing at the end of the day is listening to the tracks GaGa has written and approving them for her album. She has producers that she works with outside of myself and they are coming up with some incredible records. But the beauty of it is she knows exactly what she wants. So it just makes it easier for me.?
It seems the rapper who recently stars with Russell Brand in ?Get him to the Greek? was also asked to appear on an episode of ?Inside the Actor?s Studio? and he is amazed by this since he doesn?t consider himself that good an actor. This is what Diddy said on the matter: “They have been calling me for the last three years to do it, and I was kind of nervous and said, ‘I’m not at that level.’ I’m looking at Meryl Streep up there, and Martin Scorsese, Al Pacino and Denzel Washington and Chris Rock. They were saying they wanted to take it from a different perspective of somebody on the rise. I appreciated that. After doing Broadway and now with ‘Get Him to the Greek’ coming out… the time is right. I still have fears though, I still have insecurities.” Well here?s a singer that is well aware of his limitations? not like some others who might think they?re super actors. A few names may come to mind.
This is probably part of not taking herself too seriously and just loosening up a bit and going with the entertainment. It seems that Nicki Minaj has recently fired her manager, Debbie Antney, who has been with her for three years a short time after dropping out of the tour with Rihanna and Kesha. This is what Debbie Antney said on the matter: “I received a letter, which was a suspension. The next letter that came in was a cease and desist in doing all business with Nicki Minaj from Nicki’s attorney. I love Nicki. I wish her the most success. It’s not about the music, she’s like one of my children? I wish her no harm, only much success.” Oh well, Nicki Minaj is probably going to manage all by her lonesome? after all, it?s just entertainment, isn?t it?
Kid Rock has to pay three guys who sued him over an alleged fight last year. The singer has to fork over $35,000 ? that isn?t at all bad considering that they originally demanded $15 million. The three men who filed the lawsuit last year claimed that the country rock star and three members of the Boo-Yaa Tribe hip hop group assaulted them outside of an LA hotel in 2006. The jury in the case reached the verdict and ordered Kid Rock to fork over the money for the three guys to split. It doesn?t sound so bad until you figure out that they weren?t awarded any attorneys fees which means that a nice chunk of that money, if not all, will be handed over to their lawyers.
After being banned from the UK for an incident at Heathrow airport in 2006, it looks like Snoop Dogg?s lawyers have managed to regain him the privilege of drinking tea in London and all of the other fun stuff he would?ve liked to do in the UK. Snoop Dogg has been banned from the country by the government for three years now, but his legal representatives managed to overturn that with the help of his coaching record and the appearances he has had on family shows. Who would?ve thought Snoop Dogg had such a good track record? maybe the old dog has changed his ways, even though that would be a blatant violation of the age-old expression ?You can?t teach an old dog new tricks.?
After so many wasted opportunities and declined invitations, it seems Jay-Z finally found the time in his busy schedule to go and have a chat with president Barrack Obama. It probably wasn?t the lunch the president was hoping for, but Jay-Z was probably pretty strapped for time since he was just in the neighborhood so to speak as he had a concert in Washington DC. Of course the fact that the meeting was brief didn?t stop Jay-Z from telling his concert audience that he finally got to have a chat with one of his biggest fans, President Barrack Obama. There?s a real ham for you!
After being convicted for gun possession and even though he is still serving time in Georgia, T.I. has decided to make a public appearance with his fianc?e Tameka Cottle at her Alzheimer?s research fundraiser. A good way for T.I. to score some extra good behavior points, no doubt. Also, his manager seems to be very excited about T.I.?s upcoming projects which include a new album and a movie: “He’s sounding beautiful. His spirit is really good. He’s got the eye of the tiger. There’s no theme as of yet. The sound is definitely not a bunch of samples.” Interesting how busy T.I. has been since being convicted. He probably has too much free time on his hands and thought it best to at least use it for another record.
It seems that some older reports about Kanye West demanding to be seated in first class on a plane were not true and moreover, they?ve really bummed him out. This is what Kanye West wrote on the matter on his personal blog: I feel bad that people believe this kind of stuff or any random rumor that is taken as fact because ‘it’s on the internet.’ This rumor is particularly ironic because I was actually happy with a business class seat and was offered a seat in first class. A friend of mine was sitting in coach so asked if they could bump him up to business instead of putting me in first. There was absolutely no altercation in any way. There’s been many a time where I’ve given someone in coach my business or first class seat in order to sit next to a friend I bumped into. I really could care less about where I sit on the plane. It’s hard to deal with the rumors sometimes. As a good person with a warm heart, it does bother me. I’m not bigger than feeling pain, embarrassment, stress and worry.? He should really try to make-up his mind: what will it be: not caring, or not being bigger than pain, embarrassment and so forth. Still, it?s good to see that Kanye West is still the same warm-hearted individual we all know and love.
There seems to be a real shortage of originality in rap music these days? so much so that artists have started borrowing music from each other, without first asking permission. That?s all fine and dandy until somebody gets caught. Hence T.I.?s presently delicate situation. One of his fellow rappers, Motoe Blizzid, is suing T.I. because he believes that ?What you know? contains way too many similarities to his ?Reverence? track. He?s not asking for much? just the profits from T.I.?s single? plus damages. Probably not the best thing for T.I. Didn?t they teach him to cover his tracks better at music school?
Floyd Mayweather was ready to rumble with a famous nemesis in Las Vegas recently but just before a fight broke out, Diddy saved the day. It all happened at the grand opening of Vanity nightclub at the Hard Rock Hotel, which was hosted by the hip hop mogul. It?s being said that the boxer went to the party to see Diddy when he ran into rapper Rick Ross. Sources say that one of the men bumped into the other and their entourages immediately became confrontational. Diddy swooped in between the guys and calmbed everyone down before things hit the fan though. Apparently, there?s legit beef between the boxer and rapper for a while now.
This is probably just some marketing scheme to get more people to pre-order stuff, but it will be interesting to see if it works. It seems that Lil? Wayne?s new album which was scheduled to be released in February when he was going to go to happy camp has been delayed for late June. Why, you might ask. Lil? Wayne remains silent? he probably thought it would be a good idea to keep pumping up the release date, maybe he?ll manage to do his time and be back for a few release concerts, that is, if anyone is ever going to show up seeing the stunts he?s pulling. But hey, Lil? Wayne has loads of time to make new friends and fans at the happy camp.
It seems that Eminem?s work was not all in vain. The artist has recently been declared the top-selling artist of the decade with 33.2 million copies of his albums sold worldwide. The best-sold album however went to The Beatles? hits compilation. Well, well? looks like Eminem might as well retire now. And he should?ve done himself a favor and taken that decision because his latest stuff really won?t make it on the top ten list? but hey, Eminem can dream, can?t he? But since he?ll get the job on American Idol, he will probably have less time to focus on his already dying musical career.
