Quick Updates: Jay-Z, Orianthi

Jay-Z will be the musical guest for the special Mother’s Day episode of Saturday Night Live on May 8, according to multiple sources.

Orianthi will be hitting the road with John Mayer in Australia in May!!

Quick Updates: Bonnaroo

Dave Matthews Band, Kings of Leon, Stevie Wonder, Weezer and Jay-Z are among headliners at this year’s Bonnaroo Music & Arts Festival in Manchester, Tennessee. The festival starts June 10 and ends the 13th. To see the full lineup go to Bonnaroo festival website HERE

Rihanna, Jay-Z & Bono Sing For Haiti

Rihanna performed with Jay-Z and Bono as part of the Hope For Haiti Now telethon on Friday night (January 21) at The Hospital Club in London.

The song performed “Stranded,” is a charity single to benefit Haiti relief efforts. You can get it on iTunes now. The rest of the songs from the telethon will be available to download on iTunes NOW.

Entertainment Weekly's 10 Best Albums of '00s

Entertainment Weekly’s List of ‘Top Ten Albums of The Decade’ is below:

1. The College Dropout, Kanye West (2004)

2. The Blueprint, Jay-Z (2001)

3. Kid A, Radiohead (2000)

4. Stankonia, OutKast (2000)

5. Love And Theft, Bob Dylan (2001)

6. Home, The Dixie Chicks (2002)

7. Funeral, The Arcade Fire (2004)

8. I Am… Sasha Fierce, Beyoncé (2008)

9. FutureSex/LoveSounds, Justin Timberlake, (2006)

10. You Are Free, Cat Power (2003)

Photo:Amazon

2009 American Music Awards Performances

Janet Jackson - Medley


Black Eyed Peas - "Meet Me Halfway" & "Boom Boom Pow"


Jay-Z & Alicia Keys - "Empire State of Mind"


Rihanna - "Wait Is Ova" & "Hard" (Mad House is a song on Rated R that you hear in the intro)


Shakira - "Give It Up To Me"


Lady Gaga - "Bad Romance" & "Speechless"


Whitney Houston - "Didn't Know My Own Strength"

Timbaland Ft. So Shy and Nelly Furtado - "Morning After Dark"


Mary J. Blige - "I Am"

Guess Where Some Of The Stars Went After The AMAs

After Sunday’s American Music Awards, Jay-Z, Fergie, and will.i.am went to watch the L.A. Lakers play the Oklahoma City Thunder. They sat courtside with Alex Rodriguez (who introduced Alicia & Hov's performance) and Polow Da Don.

Photo:Rap-Up

RiRi Surprises Fans At Jay-Z Concert

Rihanna made a surprise appearance at Jay-Z’s concert at UCLA in Los Angeles on Sunday night (November 8). The "Umbrella" singer also performed her new song "Hard" for the first time. Look out for her upcoming album Rated R, available November 20. You can catch her today on It's On With Alexa Chung at 3:30pm on MTV

Alicia Keys & Jay-Z Perform At World Series Game 2

Jay-Z and Alicia Keys performed “Empire State of Mind” during Game 2 of the World Series at Yankee Stadium on Thursday.

Behind The Scenes: Making of Jay-Z Album Cover

Check out this Behind The Scenes video of the making of Jay-Z's album cover

Beyonce & Jay-Z Leave A $500 Tip!

Beyonce and hubby Jay-Z were spotted at Nello's restaurant on the Upper East Side of NYC on Monday. The money making music artists dropped $,1200 on their lunch alone while leaving a $500 tip. What did the couple eat for such a large bill? The couple ate with an older couple and ordered white truffles, lobster salad and a bottle of Dom Perignion champagne.

Photo:bauergriffinonline.com via JustJared

2009 Video Music Awards Performances

Jay-Z Ft. Alicia Keys - Empire State of Mind


Beyonce - Sweet Dreams/Single Ladies


MJ Tribute


Lady Gaga - Paparazzi


Pink - Sober

More Exciting News About The 2009 VMAs

I don't know about you but I'm excited to see Janet perform a tribute to her late brother, Michael Jackson! More news is pouring in each day of new celebs added to the line up of performances. Now Alicia Keys is added to the line-up! Here are two snippets from the press release I received today about Michael Jackson's This Is It trailer and the presenters.

New York, NY (September 10, 2009) –– MTV has announced that Alicia Keys will join JAY-Z onstage to perform “Empire State of Mind” from his latest album The Blueprint 3. Eminem will also be making a special appearance during the “2009 MTV Video Music Awards” on Sunday, September 13, 2009 at 9PM (Live ET/Tape delayed PT). In addition the biggest names in music, TV and movies are confirmed to present including Megan Fox, Jimmy Fallon, Jennifer Lopez, Shakira, 50 Cent, Jack Black, Andy Samberg, Kristin Cavallari, Pete Wentz, Gerard Butler, Tracy Morgan, Adam Brody, Jamie-Lynn Sigler, Alexa Chung, Gabe Saporta of Cobra Starship and Justin Bieber who have joined Ne-Yo, Nelly Furtado, Robert Pattinson, Kristen Stewart, Taylor Lautner, Chace Crawford, Leighton Meester and Miranda Cosgrove.

Viewers will also be treated to an exclusive first looks at Michael Jackson's THIS IS IT and The Twilight Saga: New Moon trailers during the show.

Will you be watching the MTV Video Music Awards? If so, who are you excited to see?
Photo:MyEmail

Jay-Z's Rhapsody Commercial

Quick Updates: New Moon Soundtrack, VMA's, Jay-Z

Death Cab for Cutie's single "Meet Me on the Equinox" that is featured on the 'New Moon' Soundtrack will premiere on MTV.com on September 13, the day of the Video Music Awards.

Beyonce was added to the list of 2009 Video Music Award performances.

Rihanna took her two younger brothers Rorrey and Rajad Fenty to see the Broadway musical The Lion King on Friday night (August 28) at New York City’s Minskoff Theatre.

Jay-Z will play at a 9/11 benefit at Madison Square Garden.

Madonna was booed by thousands who attended her Bucharest, Romania show after she paused the concert to speak out against the discrimination of Gypsies in Eastern Europe.

Guess Who Was Added To The VMA Performance Line Up?

Jay-Z and Lady Gaga (nominated 9 times) will perform at the 2009 VMA's along with Pink, Taylor Swift, Green Day, and Muse. Jay-Z is set in the running for a moon man in the Best Hip-Hop Video and Best Male video categories.

See who takes home a moon man live from NYC's Radio City Music Hall on September 13 at 9 p.m.

Celebrity Spotting: Pharrell, Jay-Z

Pharrell was spotted at the Beverly Wilshire Hotel on Saturday for the Brooklyn element: Bike & Clothing Collection launch.


Rain or shine Jay-Z will bring the party. The rapper headlined All Points West Music & Arts Festival at Liberty State Park in Jersey on Friday. Hov stepped in since the Beastie Boys had to drop out after Adam was diagnosed with cancer.

Did anyone go to the fest? Share your thoughts on the performances.
Photos:rap-up

New Music: Run This Town - Jay-Z Ft. Kanye & Rihanna

Jay-Z's new track "Run This Town" features Kanye West and Rihanna. The song will be featured on the rapper's upcoming album, The Blueprint 3. The reason behind the song? “We basically run this town,” Jay said.

Jay-Z Ft Kanye West _ Rihanna-Run This Town.mp3 -

Sneak Peak: Jay-Z - D.O.A. Music Video

Here is a clip of Jay-Z's music video for "D.O.A. (Death of Autotune)" which will premiere after the BET Awards tonight. Catch to see the tribute to MJ and who will take home an award at 8pm. I will be on twitter, so be sure to follow me if your on Twitter at the time.

2009 BET Awards Quickly Planning Tribute To Michael

The 9th Annual BET Music Awards will air on Sunday night. BET is quickly putting together a tribute to the King of Pop with the biggest stars that he influenced so much his inspiration shines bright in their performances.

"The BET Awards are undergoing "a total overhaul" the network said Friday. The telecast is being lengthened, performers are being added to the lineup and additional guests are expected to attend, said Debra L. Lee, Chairman and Chief Executive of Black Entertainment Television.

You can expect Beyonce and Ne-Yo to perform as planned.

"To change it up in three days is something that's not easy but they're all willing and looking forward to it," Hill said. "There's a direct line from Ne-Yo to Michael Jackson. There's a direct line from Beyonce to Michael Jackson. There's a direct line from Jay-Z to Michael Jackson. I think they'll want to pay tribute in their own way."

Usher and Justin Timberlake didn't plan on attending the show but are heading to Los Angeles to participate.

That's Enough With The Auto-Tune Says Jay-Z Plus New Track

Jay-Z called into Hot 97's Funkmaster Flex show on Friday after he premiered his new song, “D.O.A. (Death of Auto-Tune).”
The rapper spoke of the trend saying, “Let’s move it forward. The guys who did it, did it great. If you listen to T-Pain, he does great melodies. If you listen to Kanye… If you listen to ‘Say You Will’ or ‘[Welcome to] Heartbreak,” they’re great melodies. ‘Lollipop’ was a fantastic melody. Now everybody can’t do it. Let them guys do it. They got their little niche. Now let’s move on.”

Jay is just as tired of auto-tune as I am. What was his reason for recording "D.O.A."? “My intention was just to draw a line in the sand. This is what I do.” He also said that its been overdone, “Those are things that can stand up without it. At this point, it’s like a crutch. Other people may not feel the same way.”

The Blueprint 3 will be released on Atlantic Records on September 11.

Take a listen to D.O.A. and share your thoughts.

Photo:JayZOnline