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It is one of the biggest nights in the music business and it seems that the American Music Awards was a night to celebrate the achievements of the fairer sex.

Nicki Minaj, Katy Perry and Taylor Swift were among the female stars scooping up the gongs leaving their male counterparts curiously empty handed.

Nicki who had put on a stellar performance with David Guetta to open the ceremony held at the Nokia Theatre scooped the Favorite Album Awards for Pink Friday as well as landing the coveted Favorite Artist Award. 

Beaming the rapper and singer told the crowd: "There's so much love in this room."

Taylor Swift who was highly celebrated at the Country Music Awards recently scored the award for Female Country Artist and was congratulated with a warm embrace from Selena Gomez.

Jennifer Lopez, who had put on an extremely provocative performance with rapper Pitbull, before he went on to sing with her estranged husband Marc Anthony, was awarded the gong for Favorite Latin Artist.

Katy Perry who had showed off her curves in a stunning Vivienne Westwood dress on the red carpet was given a special honor to signify five of her songs from her album hitting the number one spot.

The "California Girls" singer took to the stage in her pink performance ensemble and was handed the gong by Heidi Klum.

The pair shared a kiss before Katy gave her thank you speech.

After her seriously raunchy performance which saw her strip off on stage Jennifer Lopez donned a sheer embellished gown to collect her award for Favorite Latin Artist.

Reflecting on the past year JLo told the crowd: "It's been up and down and just exciting and overwhelming and so many things."

Not all the winners were able to attend the ceremony and Rihanna gave her thank you speech via video link as she was in London.

The "We Found Love" singer was honored with the award for Favorite Soul and R&B album for Loud.

List of winners at Sunday’s 39th annual American Music Awards, presented at the Nokia Theatre:

— Contemporary Inspirational Artist: Casting Crowns

— Country Female Artist: Taylor Swift

— Country Male Artist: Blake Shelton

— Country Band, Duo or Group: Lady Antebellum

— Country Album: Taylor Swift, “Speak Now”

— Latin Artist: Jennifer Lopez

— Pop/Rock Female Artist: Adele

— Pop/Rock Male Artist: Bruno Mars

— Pop/Rock Band, Duo or Group: Maroon 5

— Pop/Rock Album: Adele, “21”

— Rap/Hip-Hop Artist: Nicki Minaj

— Rap/Hip-Hop Album: Nicki Minaj, “Pink Friday”

— Soul/R&B Female Artist: Beyonce

— Soul/R&B Male Artist: Usher

— Soul/R&B Album: Rihanna, “Loud.”

— Artist of the Year: Taylor Swift

— Sprint New Artist of the Year: Hot Chelle Rae

Sources: Daily Mail, Associated Press, MrWorldPremiere, Rap-Up, CBS News

Drake "Headlines"

Nicki Minaj and David Guetta "Turn Me On/Super Bass"

Chris Brown "All Back/Say It With Me"

Mary J. Blige "Mr. Wrong"

Jennifer Lopez "Medley" ft Pitbull

Justin Bieber "Mistletoe"

Enrique Iglesias "I Like How It Feels/Tonight (I'm F*cking You) Ft. Ludacris

Pitbull "Give Me Everything/Rain Over Me" ft. Lil Jon and Marc Anthony

Katy Perry "The One That Got Away"

Maroon 5 and Gym Class Heroes "Moves Like Jagger" ft Christina Aguilera and "Stereo Hearts"

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B.G. is sticking by the street code of "no snitching."

The former Hot Boys rapper, real name Christopher Dorsey, pleaded guilty Wednesday (December 7) to charges of being a three time convicted felon in possession of a firearm and witness tampering.

According to Nola.com, B.G. didn't cut a deal with prosecutors to testify against his co-defendants.

B.G., 31, was arrested in November 2009 along with Demounde Pollard, 17, and Jerod Fedison, 28, following a traffic stop in New Orleans. During a search of the car police found three guns, along with loaded magazines and two extended magazine clips.

In court yesterday B.G. admitted to owning some of the weapons. He also plead guilty to trying to coerce Pollard into signing an affidavit falsely claiming ownership of them.

In the 2011 music video "I Aint Tellin" B.G. speaks on not talking to the police and taking your own charge if arrested.

"Man, this f*cking ratting sh*t is getting out of hand," B.G. says in the video. "It's called t.y.c. man, take your charge."

B.G. will be held in jail until his March 14, 2012 sentencing, where he could get up to 40 years in jail.

News coverage of B.G. pleading guilty

B.G. "I Aint Tellin" music video

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A Drake fan has guaranteed her spot in the history books by committing one of the dumbest acts ever to show her love for the Young Money rapper. The woman walked into a Los Angeles tattoo shop and demanded Drake's name be tattooed in bold letters across her forehead.

Tattoo artist Kevin Campbell of Will Rise gave the young woman exactly what she asked for. Now she has the rest of her life to think about it.

Vice.com caught up with Campbell to find out how the idea of the tat came about and why he did the artwork.

VICE: Hi Kevin, so who took the picture?
Kevin: Norm, my boss. It sucks because the photo makes the tattoo look all crooked and janky, but it's actually pretty well-applied and straight as an arrow. The other before, during, and after photos taken by my co-worker are better. But when Norm took the now famous picture, one of her shaved eyebrows was tensed up a bit, making the "A" in "DRAKE" look like dogsh*t. Her eyebrows were shaved when she came into the shop, by the way. Her head was shaved too.

How did you react when she told you what she wanted done?
The funny thing is, I didn't know who Drake was. I figured it was her hood or some sh*t, not some goofnugget R&B dude.

Did she talk about what it meant to her? Had she been planning it for a long time or was she kind of just like, "put it on my forehead" and that’s it?
Yeah, she was really psyched about it. She had the sh*tty font all picked out on her iPhone ready to go and was pretty adamant about putting it on her forehead. She didn't say a word about what it meant to her. Some of the guys at the shop asked her, and she just kinda giggled at them. When I printed up the first image of the lettering, she wanted me to go bigger, so that it went pretty much from each side of her hairline to the other. I thought she shaved her eyebrows for the procedure, so when I put the stencil on the first time, it was right over her (missing) eyebrows, but she had me enlarge it a bit and push it up towards the hairline. But yeah, she acted as if she had planned it out for a while, but I'm not really sure how much extended coherent thought could actually go into getting such a stupid tattoo on your forehead.

Wow. Do you feel sort of bad about it after the fact?
My whole deal with people wanting completely outrageous and potentially life-ruining tattoos is this: I'll ask them three times if they really think it's a good idea, I tell them what the potential consequences of getting a tattoo on their face might be, and after that, the bad decision is on them. I believe that people get the tattoos that they deserve. The shop where I worked prior to Will Rise was in the center of the Harbor City Crip neighborhood, so I'm not really a stranger to tattooing gang sh*t on faces, which is what I originally thought that this was. I guess I feel bad that this dumb*ss got the name of the softest motherf*cker in hip-hop tattooed on her forehead. But what makes that any less valid of a tattoo to her? I lost a little sleep over it that first night, wondering if I wanted to be known as the a**hole who tattooed "DRAKE" on some crackhead's forehead. None of the face tattoos I had done prior to this got any publicity, so I was a little surprised that this one took off like it did. I'm still kinda debating whether or not I should send you guys the whole set of pictures, I don't really want to paint the shop in a bad light, but it is what it is. In the end, she paid me to do this to her, which really means she did this to herself.

So you see it as your job to give people what they ask for?
There is a way of steering the customer in a direction that would make their whole tattoo idea something that would look better on their skin when the concept they have in their mind sounds good to them but wouldn't translate well into a tattoo. This usually comes up when they come in asking for something like a tattoo of a rose but with 20 names and dates hidden in the petals or something. When it's something as simple as lettering, I could have tried to steer her into a prettier font maybe, or a different location (obviously), but she was already set on this letterman jacket-style font.

But as far as having a choice, yeah, sure, I could have turned her away, and I'm already getting a ton of flack from other tattooers for this, but the way I see it, if she's got her little heart set on getting her forehead tattooed then she'll just keep on trying until somebody finally goes through with it. I think that getting a color portrait of the Joker from Batman is a dumb idea, but who the f*ck am I to judge? If some cat from MS 13 comes in and wants me to "blast" that sh*t on his chin or forehead or whatever, who am I to judge the validity of them getting what they get and where they get it?  If I tattoo a huge "BK" on a Crip or tattoo "DRAKE" on some R&B-crazed girl's face, what's the difference? Who am I to say which one is wrong and which is right?

Are you surprised at how quickly the photo spread?
Honestly, I didn't think this thing would get so much exposure. I'm still kinda debating whether or not it's a great idea to have my name attached to this sh*t more than it already is. Seeing as how I haven't really established too much of a name for myself, I don't particularly want this one tattoo to represent my whole body of work. It’s not something I’d want to write home to mom about, if you know what I mean. I've actually done some way crazier facial tattoos recently, but was really careful not to blast the sh*t all over the internet. There are so many kids walking up and down Fairfax with ridiculous facial tattoos that I didn't think too much about it before I did it. Plus, the whole shaved eyebrow thing usually means you just got put on to your neighborhood or whatever, so I figured she was just some crazy shermed-out cholla who was "down for her calle" or whatever.

In my opinion this whole world's going to sh*t, and sh*t rolls downhill, so I might as well just jump in, hold my breath, and pray to God that there's a nice big soft puddle of diarrhea for me to land in once everything hits the fan.

I wonder what was going through her mind when she decided to do it.
Man, I wish I could get you in touch with her. I'm sure the story's pretty intense. Sadly, she didn't leave a number on her consent form, just her name. But she is supposed to be coming back to finish the tattoo once it heals (she only had enough money for the outline) and I could probably talk to her then. She was on a pretty good one when she came in, but I think by the time I finished she was coming down, because her attitude changed pretty drastically once the tattoo was finished.

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Drake is always nominated in the category of hip hop at award shows, but is he still a rapper? On his latest album he seems to be doing a lot more singing than rapping. Singersroom recently published an article making a compelling argument that the Toronto native should be classified as a singer. Read what they had to say below.

Toronto native Drake doesn't belong in an American Hip-Hop/Rap genre. Although his debut album and mixtapes are categorized as hip-hop, he shouldn't be placed there. Not anymore at least.

Drake can flow and rip a track with hip-hop's biggest contenders but his albums are void of the brash rhyme scheme and delivery of rap artists. He settles for honest and expressive bars for majority of his new album Take Care, which shifts more towards contemporary R&B than Hip-Hop.

Drake's right-hand man and producer, Noah "40" Shebib said R&B was their first musical connection. He's produced the "soft" tracks such as "Successful," "Shut It Down," and "Marvin's Room" which is featured on Take Care.   

Heartbreak Drake is only two studio albums in but his mixtapes, Room for Improvement, Comeback Season and So Far Gone created a wild buzz for him. Many laughed because he was the kid in the wheelchair on the teen television series, Degrassi: The Next Generation turned rapper. 

Drake, the rapper sung too much and Drake, the singer was corny. Then he signed with Lil Wayne's label Young Money. This move cued hip hop lovers to give him a chance while pop listeners were already nodding. 

So Far Gone was well received and his debut album, Thank Me Later was thought to follow behind its footsteps.

 
While selling the most of any artist at the time of Thank Me Later release, Drake still received negative reviews. Hip-hop critics called the album sensitive. But Drake's delivery is not what critics are accustomed to. 

He put his experiences in each verse. He croons over tracks in masculine, wronged voice. It's not that he's being soft; he's bringing a gentle Canadian touch to meet an abrasive American hip-hop scene. 

It's not that Drake doesn't stand up to the hip-hop credentials; he just doesn't belong in their brackets.

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Bow Wow has issued a statement denying a news report that he owes the IRS a grip of money.

According to TMZ, the Cash Money rapper owes $91,105.61 in unpaid taxas for the year 2006, but Bow Wow insists the report is bogus.

"TMZ saying they are about to runa story on me thats once again “Not True” as im sitting in my beautiful condo as of RIGHT NOW that they said i dont have anymore. (Bow Wow with no home thats like a whore that doesn’t like d**k) We all know not to believe anything the media writes or blogs its their job to entertain the minds of the simple minded," he wrote on his blog.

He then goes on to explain why his new album Underrated isn't coming out this year as originally planned.

"I hear yall jokes 'His sh*t aint never droppin' it is dropping. When I Feel like its right tho. My album sounds nothing like what you've heard come out of the camp PERIOD so far."

With so many artists on the YMCMB team it's inevitable that some album release dates may get shifted around. Bow Wow insists that isn't the case for him.

"I know yall want this album just as much as i want to deliver it. The thing is tour just ended like 3 n half weeks ago. I left studio to tour which of course set me back. I have to mix all the records which i have just now kinda started. "Sweat" video will be out in a week or 2," Bow Wow writes. "Took a minute to finalize all the graphics and detail because of the CGI effects. Also dont forget im stil working on my tv sitcom with Ice Cube as well. I think people forget i got 2 jobs (Rapper/Ator) hahaha.. Record just went to radio as well. Not only that but im trying to get India Irie to sing on "Boy Or Girl" being that that sample you are hearing on that record is her. I figured it would be so meaningful and better with her apart of it live. Its taking so long because im putting my all into it. This is not just an album its my pain my life my story me in the now how im feeling."

To read the rest of Bow Wow's open letter head over to his blog.

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Drake made his way to the Chelsea Lately show yesterday (November 22). The two talked about his ethnic background, how an older woman got him hooked on white whine spritzers, why his songs tend to have a lot of sexual content and whether or not he's ever "tapped" Nicki Minaj.

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French Montana and Coke Boy, Chinx Drugz hijack Tyga's "Rack City" instrumental and flip it into "New Jack City."

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It's obvious Lil Wayne could care less what people think about his choice of wardrobe, but that doesn't mean he won't continue to be criticized.

Weezy and his YMCMB crew were performing at the MTV2's “Sucker Free Awards” at LIV Fontainebleau Miami Beach on Friday when a fan started to get on him about his giraffe-print pants.

The fan started screaming at Wayne, who was also wearing a yellow ski hat and matching fanny pack to "take off Lil Kim's jeans" and "f*ck Nicki Minaj."

Weezy was nominated for “Artist Of The Year” and “Album Of The Year” for Tha Carter IV. The show will air December 4th on MTV2 at 11P/10C.

Peep the hilarious clip below as well as YMCMB's full set which included performances by Lil Twist (“Turnt Up”), Tyga (“Rack City”) and Birdman featuring Lil Wayne ("Y U Mad).

Fan tells Wayne To Take Off Lil Kim's Pants

Full YMCMB Performance

Pics and info from Rap-Up, Lil Wayne HQ and Young Money HQ

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Bow Wow releases a new video dedicated to his love of the sticky icky.

The song is off his new mixtape, I'm Better Than You.

Here's the tracklisting for Drake's album, Take Care.

Album is due in stores on November 15.


Take Care Tracklisting:

1. “Over My Dead Body”

2. “Shot for Me”

 
3. “Headlines”

 
4. “Crew Love” feat. The Weeknd

 
5. “Take Care” feat. Rihanna

 
6. “Marvin’s Room” / “Buried Alive Interlude”

 
7. “Under Ground Kings”

8. “We’ll Be Fine”

9. “Make Me Proud” feat. Nicki Minaj

10. “Lord Knows” feat. Officer Ricky

11. “Cameras” / “Good Ones Go Interlude”

12. “Doing It Wrong”

13. “The Real Her” feat. Lil Wayne & André 3000

14. “HYFR (Hell Ya Fu**in’ Right)” feat. Lil Wayne

15. “Look What You’ve Done”

16. “Practice”

17. “The Ride”

Bonus
18. “Hate Sleeping Alone”

19. “Untitled” feat. Lil Wayne

This is a bonus track off Drake's forthcoming cd Take Care, available November 15. Check out the album's inside art below.

More Pics After The Jump

Shooting has wrapped up for Birdman's "Y U Mad" video. Here we get some great pictures from the set courtesy of Derick G.

Young Money artist Lil Twist drops a new Busta Rhymes assisted single from his upcoming album, Don’t Get It Twisted.

Video And Pictures After The Jump


Drake celebrated his 25th birthday in style at TAO Nightclub at the Venetian Resort Hotel Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada on Saturday (October 23).


The rapper/actor grabbed the mic to let the crowd know he was in a great mood and down for whatever.

"I’m here for ya’ll tonight," he said. "If you want to drink, if you want to dance, if you want to party—ladies, if you want to f*ck, I’m ’bout whatever. I turned 25 and I just want to thank each and every one of you for coming out tonight. I appreciate it. Let’s have some fun."


Check out pictures and video from the event below.

Pics from Rap-Up and Necole Bitchie

Drake's plan to have his sophomore cd come out October 24, on his 25th birthday have hit a snag.

The rapper announced via his blog yesterday that a couple of songs scheduled to appear on the disc need additional time to have samples cleared causing a delay in the album's release.

The new date for Take Care is November 15th, 2011. I managed to create this album in my hometown of Toronto and the thoughts and stories I wanted to get across just became so clear. It truly felt like when I was here 3 years ago making So Far Gone. So I have completed 19 songs (17 on physical and 2 on bonus), and have run into a roadblock of clearing 3 samples in time to make the October 24th date. My options were to take the songs off and make the birthday release happen, or to take an extra couple weeks to get the paper work right and give you the album they way I NEED you to hear it. The choice was clear as day for me. November 15th you will get Take Care the exact way I created it with no trimmings. This music means too much to me to get attached to dates and I do apologize for the delay but I promise that it is only for the benefit of our experience together. Club Paradise Tour will also be moved to when students are back from the Christmas/New Year break so that I can get to more schools. New dates will be released in the next week...see you all soon.

Drake

TAKE CARE NOVEMBER 15

Drake unveils the cover art for his sophomore album Take Care.

The disc is due out on Drizzy's 25th birthday, October 24 and according to Young Money President Mack Maine, it's shaping up to be a classic.

“As an artist, he’s polished up,” Mack told XXL. “The singing has definitely gotten better. He took lessons and kept working on his craft. He’s gotten better. He traveled the world. When you travel the world, you have that much more to talk about. His song making ability is crazy. Before, it might have been a hit, now it’s a super hit. Like ‘Marvin’s Room,’ that’s a song that people are gonna relate to when we’re dead and gone. [That type of situation has] happened before we came, it happens while we’re here. It’s gonna happen while we’re gone. He’s actually making timeless music.”

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Check out the behind the scenes footage of the video for Headlines, the lead single from Drizzy's upcoming sophomore album 'Take Care.'

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Drake is back on the scene with the first single from his upcoming sophomore album 'Take Care.' In stores October 24.