Cleveland, Ohio bred rapper Scott Mescudi, known to the general public as Kid Cudi, is featured on the cover of the August/September 2009 issue of Complex Magazine. In the issue, which is also the mag’s annual Style & Design special, he talks about trying not to be a one-hit wonder, the hell of the music biz and his thoughts on groupie love. He also gets personal when he talks about his dad dying of cancer and having night terrors shortly after his passing.

Artwork: Augor

Are you worried about recapturing the success of “Day N Nite?”
Kid Cudi: I was briefly, and then I started to record and just make shit. That’s when I realized I’m going to be OK. Shit is going to come together as it should, don’t worry about it. I didn’t come in the game to just do that one joint, you know what I mean? I came in the game to have multiple hits.

What kind of fears do you have about releasing your album?
Kid Cudi: I don’t really have any fear about the business; my biggest fear is getting wrapped up in the illusion of fame and Hollywood and shit like that. Getting wrapped up in the worldly things like drugs and the excitement of being famous. I have a vulnerable enough past that it could propel me into that world. I don’t want to be caught up in it. I want to do something while I’m here. This is hell. All the shit that’s going on around us, this is hell.

What’s hell about it?
Kid Cudi: Just turn on the f—ing news.

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Actress/singer Adrienne Bailon hit up the grand opening of Sephora 5 Times Square Friday afternoon (Jul 31) in New York City.

In related news, the former Cheetah Girl and 3LW frontwoman will reportedly be ridding herself of that squeaky clean Disney image when she releases her debut solo album, which doesn’t have a release date yet. She formally signed a major recording contract with Def Jam earlier this year and has been hooking up with tons of big name producers like The Dream, Bryan-Michael Cox, Rodney “Darkchild” Jerkins, The Runners, and more.

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Rappers Method Man and Redman posed for the cameras at the All Points West Music & Arts Festival Pre-Event Kick-Off Party Thursday night (Jul 30) at New York City’s Nokia Theater. The rap duo also took the stage later in the evening.

And yes, we’re well aware of the both of them looking high as hell. Peep the blunt in Redman’s mouth. And they have money, so you know they’re smoking on that good ish… hopefully.

Continue reading for a couple more pics!
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Lady Gaga has done it again! Here the pop singer can be seen in another unusual (but usual for her) get-up: a nude colored leotard, a white blazer … and a purple beehive Amy Winehouse-esque hairdo. She was spotted by the paparazzi as signed autographs for fans while making her way out of her Denmark hotel Friday (Jul 31).

PHOTOS: GOSSIP GIRLS

Did you like Drake’s “Best I Ever Had” music video? The general consensus is that it was just a bunch of big bouncing boobies and held no real substance. So not many people liked it. And Kanye West, the director of the video, even offered to redo the video … but Drizzy apparently turned him down and took the whole situation as an early lesson to the music biz. Hey, you can’t please everyone!

“That career move was very important to me,” he explained at the America’s Most Wanted Music Festival kickoff in Scranton, Pennsylvania. “We’ve done such a great job of building it all up. It’s kind of like people were getting this impression of me that I’m never gonna make a mistake. I’m not made of Teflon. I’m gonna do things for myself sometimes, as opposed to what people want me to do.”

Drake said the abundance of big-breasted women in the video didn’t put up any red flags that the video would offend anyone. He enjoyed the final cut of the video and thought it was right on point.

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Looks like Chris Brown and Rihanna have a mutual friend! Last Tuesday night (Jul 28), Chris came up with a little tattoo sketch of his own and permanently etched it to Keith “Bang Bang” McCurdy, the guy responsible for Rihanna’s most recent tattoos.

After Bang Bang pimped Chris’s forearm earlier in the week, the “No Air” star agreed to return the favor by putting a cartoon face on Bang Bang’s leg with the word “Bang” above it. “He drew it,” Bang Bang told OK!,”“It’s pretty funny. I told him, ‘Do whatever you want,’ and he drew something and I liked it. He did a great job too. He’s a natural, which is funny because I said the same thing about Rihanna. She was really good the first time, but he was better. He wasn’t nervous at all. I asked him if he was, and he said, ‘Nope — not at all.’”

But didn’t Rihanna almost get into legal trouble for doing the same thing?
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It was confirmed over the weekend that Baatin (real name: Titus Baatin Glover) of the hip-hop group Slum Village was found dead early Saturday morning (Aug 1) in Detroit. A cause of death still has yet to be determined, but Wayne County spokeswoman Vanessa Denha said Monday there were no obvious signs of trauma or foul play.

Baatin was a founding member of Slum Village and left the group a few years ago due to an unknown health condition, and it is currently unknown whether or not that condition had anything to do with his death. He was 35 years old.

We here at Gossip On This would like to offer our condolences to his friends and family. And is it just us, or are these celebrity deaths becoming way too common this summer?

Actress/singer Christina Milian attended the premiere of her “Bring It On: Fight to the Finish” movie Friday (Jul 31) at at the 10th New York Latino Film Festival, rapper Young Jeezy celebrated his partnership with Belvedere Vodka in NYC later that night, and actress Vivica A. Fox celebrated her birthday in Toronto Saturday night (Aug 1).

Continue reading for brand new pics of Fabolous, Pharrell Williams, Chilli and more attending various events throughout the weekend!

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Rappers Young Jeezy and Soulja Boy are seen here performing on stage during the America’s Most Wanted Music Festival this past Friday night (Jul 31) in Camden, NJ. Jeezy is a headliner for the tour while Soulja Boy is a supporting act.

The tour also features Lil Wayne and his Young Money crew, along with Pleasure P and Jeremih. Hip-hop newcomer Drake was also a part of the tour, but will most likely not finish out the rest of the dates due to his injury.

Oh, by the way. If you’re keeping up with Young Jeezy’s beef with mixtape king DJ Drama, you should hit up Rap Radar for Drama’s response to Jeezy’s XXL cover story. According to Drama, the reason why Jeezy is amped with him stems back to an album release party he was deejaying for Jeezy (for free) and a Gucci Mane record was played. And you know how much Jeezy and Gucci hate each other (long story, different day … use Google).

PHOTOS: GETTY IMAGES

Rappers Jay-Z and Q-Tip both took the stage Friday night (Jul 31) at Liberty State Park in Jersey City, NJ and performed at the 2009 All Points West Music & Arts Festival.

According to reports, Jay-Z, who filled in for the Beastie Boys, opened his show with his very own rendition of the Beasties’ 1986 classic “No Sleep Till Brooklyn.” He later dedicated his entire 80-minute set to Adam “MCA” Yauch of the Beastie Boys, who recently announced that he was diagnosed with cancer.

PHOTOS: GETTY IMAGES