Pop legend Mariah Carey has been hard at work these past few months to ensure her upcoming era is, as she likes to say, a stone grove smash hit wonder!

Her first step was to team up with R&B’s golden boy Miguel for their co-written and co-produced “#Beautiful” which has unsurprisingly become a knock out hit.

And as far as the video is concerned, Mariah Carey has never looked sexier! Showing some genuine chemistry with her co-star Miguel, Carey managed to come off sexual and in love without going becoming too campy.

Check out the Joseph Kahn directed visual below:

Pop music isn’t known for being the most grammatically correct field of entertainment, but glaring errors like the ones spotted in the lyric video for Jennifer Lopez’s latest single “Live It Up” are simply too egregious to be ignored.

So here’s a fun fact: The English language can be pretty tricky when it comes to mastering its grammar. Apostrophes usually indicate possession by a subject. For example, Tommy’s room, Katy’s car and Emily’s dinner.

But when it comes to non-specific subjects like “who,” the rules flip a bit. “Who’s” is the contracted form of “who is” or “who has.” For example, “Who’s usually the first person at the bus stop in mornings?”

The correct way to indicate possession for “who” is “whose.” For example, “If this jacket doesn’t belong to you, whose is it?”

Unfortunately, the poor intern tasked with transcribing the lyrics to Pitbull’s verse on J.Lo’s new single didn’t get the memo and ended up using “who’s” when Pitbull really meant “whose.” Again, grammatically incorrect lyrics or slang used intentionally is one thing, but this is on par with using “you’re” when you really meant “your.”

It’s unfortunate too, because the error is repeated back to back as Pitbull runs through his various accomplishments rhetorically asking whose name is behind it all.

These are the kinds of mistakes that spellcheck won’t catch. That’s why education is so important, kids.

For what it’s worth, the song “Live It Up,” which is produced by RedOne, is actually hot. Although it is unnecessarily vulgar for a woman who’s a mother of two and in her forties. When will J.Lo stop making dance music from the perspective of a horny undergrad? When she’s 60?

Check out the new song, along with those annoying grammatical errors, in the lyric video below.

Ray J may have claimed that his new single “I Hit it First” is not about his famous ex Kim Kardashian, but with the release of the official video for the song, he can no longer deny it.

In the video, which is pretty awful, Ray J uses a Kardashian look-alike and even re-enacts parts of the sex tape. He also makes references to Kardashian’s reality show and her relationships with famous men after him, including Kris Humphries and Kanye West.

But in previous interviews, Ray tried to deflect attention from the Kim Kardashian angle.

“It’s not about that,” Ray J said after the release of the song and immediate controversy that followed. “It’s about the concept, you know what I’m saying…I think people are digging into it way too deep.”

Whatever dude… If you’re gonna pimp the girl’s name out, at least be honest about it.

CHECK OUT THE VIDEO FOR RAY J’S NEW SINGLE BELOW:

The last time Ciara had a video catapult her career into comeback mode was back in 2006 for her Aaliyah-inspired hit “Promise.” And she’s done it again in 2013 with her new video for “Body Party.” Baby, I swear it’s deja vu.

It’s no secret that CiCi’s career has been on the struggle tip in recent years. Her albums have flopped harder than Aretha Franklin’s pancake breasts do when she unzips herself out of her Body Magic for the night.

Many singles have come and gone and the album title for her latest and potentially last great hope changed at the last minute. The project was dubbed ‘One Woman Army’ for nearly a year but now Ciara has rebranded it as ‘Ciara.’ The switch seems to have worked though, based on the response to her new video “Body Party.” The video has racked up over 1 million just a couple of days.

Like “Promise,” “Body Party” thrives on Aaliyah-isms and bump-and-grind R&B. Ciara plays up her tom boy and sex appeal simultaneously.

In the house party portion, she’s dressed like a butch lesbian from the ’90s with baggy pants and a masculine sleeveless shirt. But the other set-up has CiCi rocking a sexy blonde bob and nothing but lingerie.

She’s giving you a little beauty and the butch, I suppose.

The video, in a throwback to the ’90s, has a couple of noteworthy celebrity cameos. Peep the brief shot of Love & Hip Hop Atlanta”s dysfunctional couple, Stevie J and Joseline Hernandez.

Guess they left Molly the Maid at home again. Damn.

Additionally, Ciara’s real-life boyfriend Future plays her love interest in the video.

Other ATLiens are in the building too, as her old pal Ludacris drops by, ratchet prince Trinidad James makes a cameo, and she reunites with her one-time producer Jazze Pha. The two weren’t on speaking terms for some time so it’s beautiful to see Ciara mending fences. Maybe that’s why her blessings are finally starting to blossom.

The scene that Nicki Minaj liked best was that seductive headstand Ciara did for Future.

BIIIIIIIITTTTTTCCCCCHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!! U DID DOT!!!!!!!! @ciara im finna practice that handstand backflip shit fo my secret man! LMFAOOOOOOOO

— Nicki Minaj (@NICKIMINAJ) April 22, 2013

Rihanna might not be feeling Ciara these days, but ol’ might just have her mojo back any damn way.

WATCH THE VIDEO FOR CIARA’S NEW SINGLE BELOW:

Following their video for “Rich as Fuck,” 2 Chainz and Lil Wayne link up once again — this time for “Yuck,” the latest single from 2 Chainz’ Grammy-nominated debut album ‘Based on a T.R.U. Story.’

2 Chainz is said to be finishing up his sophomore album, due out later this year. For now, check out the video for “Yuck” below.

Fabolous teams up with Chris Brown in the video for “Ready,” the first single from Fab’s upcoming sixth studio album ‘Loso’s Way 2: Rise to Power’ — due out June 18th.

In the clip, directed by Taj Stansberry, Fabolous becomes smitten by a sexy maid at a hotel in the Dominican Republic, and he does everything he can to show her how much he likes her — like inviting her to dinner with him on the beach, and getting her a passport to be come be with him back home in the United States. But only if she’s “ready.”

The video also features appearances from a shirtless, singing Chris Brown, who guests on the track.

WATCH FABOLOUS’ “READY” VIDEO FEATURING CHRIS BROWN HERE:

You’ll probably see more shooting stars in your lifetime than you’ll see music videos from Frank Ocean. That being said, Ocean recently unveiled the a new video for “Lost,” the third single from his debut album ‘Channel Orange’ — which was released almost a year ago. The three-minute clip is simply a montage of concert footage and behind the scenes snapshots from Frank’s 2012 “Channel Orange” tour. Nothing too fancy.

CHECK IT OUT HERE:

Justin Bieber shows off a bunch of concert performances from his “Believe” world tour, as well as spectacular shots of the countries he’s visited, in the newly released music video for his latest single “All Around the World,” which features rapper Ludacris.

WATCH HERE:

J. Cole has released the visuals for his new single “Power Trip,” featuring R&B singer Miguel, from the North Carolina rapper’s highly anticipated upcoming sophomore album ‘Born Sinner.’ — due out June 25th.

Cole compares the single, which, like most of his music, he produced himself, to Justin Timberlake’s 2002 hit “Cry Me A River.”

“I get excited about that; it’s an opportunity to change things,” the 28-year-old said about producing the track. “It’s almost like the first time I heard ‘Cry Me a River,’ Justin Timberlake. The minute that came on … It hit you a certain kinda way. That was the exciting part.”

I don’t know about you, but I am ready for a new J. Cole album! He’s one of the few lyrically talented rappers out today that can tell a real story through his raps … and I just love that about him. Hurry up June 25th!

WATCH J. COLE’S (SLIGHTLY NSFW) “POWER TRIP” VIDEO (FT. MIGUEL) HERE:

Chris Brown tells a love story akin to Romeo and Juliet in the cinematic music video for his new song “Fine China” — the first single from Brown’s forthcoming sixth studio album ‘X,’ which is due in stores sometime this summer.

In the video, which he co-directed with Sylvain White (“Stomp the Yard”), Chris shows off his romantic side, and of course a Chris Brown video is not a Chris Brown video without some sick dance moves.

Brown previously told Billboard: “I wanted to go with a film director to set the mood and bring that artistic side to it. I’m not one who always loves to stand in front of the camera with flashy cars and big booty girls all the time … In this video, you’ll see me taking care of the girl, doing gentlemanly things—showing another side of me. I know my female audience sees it. But the naysayers might say, ‘No, that’s not him.’”

WATCH CHRIS BROWN’S “FINE CHINA” VIDEO HERE:

Robin Thicke teams up with T.I., Pharrell Williams and a slew of topless women for the uncut version of his “Blurred Lines” music video.

The clip was originally posted on YouTube last week, but has since been removed, since YouTube doesn’t allow nudity, no matter how tasteful, on its website. Thankfully, the video is also hosted on Vevo, which does allow nudity!

“Blurred Lines” comes from the R&B crooner’s next as-yet-untitled album, due out later this year. Thicke said in a recent interview that he asked his wife Paula Patton’s permission to shoot with nude models in the video, and obviously she approved.

CHECK IT OUT HERE:

Riding high on the waves of success from his debut single “All Gold Everything,” Trinidad James returns to his home country of Trinidad for carnival in the video for his next ‘Don’t Be S.A.F.E.’ single — “Female$ Welcomed.”

CHECK IT OUT HERE:

Lil Wayne and 2 Chainz are “Rich as Fuck” in their new music video … but if that’s the case, why are they stranded in the dessert? I guess when you’re rich as fuck, you can do whatever the hell you want.

Oh, and yo nigga a hoe. Just in case you didn’t already know.

Lil Wayne’s ‘I Am Not A Human Being 2′ is in stores now!

If looks could kill, Nicki Minaj wouldn’t be an uzi. She’d be an atom bomb.

Nicki Minaj brings sexy back in the scintillating video for “High School,” the latest single from Pink Friday: Roman Reloaded The Re-Up. In the video, Nicki gets her Swimsuit Illustrated on with eye-popping bathing suits that reveal boulders of cleavage and mountainous hills of ass. Is it hot in here or is it just me?

If I die, please Gawd, let me come back as the swallowed-up g-string in Nicki Minaj’s phat ass. Thank you, baby Jesus, and Amen.

The plot for the video, if you’re actually interested, is some nonsense cross between The Thomas Crown Affair and Bonnie & Clyde.

Nicki is a trophy wife of some big jefe. Wayne and Baby walk in to cut a deal with el señor, but Nicki catches Wayne’s eye and the two eye-fuck for a few scenes. Next thing you know, Nicki is in a white lingerie piece and rolling in the bed with Weezy F. Baby.

Honestly, the whole rolling around in the hay with Wayne is a bit nauseating. Weezy looks like a sewer rat and, frankly, his filthy paws shouldn’t be defiling Nicki’s pristine temple.

Watch the video for Nicki’s “High School” below:

50 Cent and Kendrick Lamar kick it in a luxury penthouse as they toast to the good life in the video for 50′s latest single “We Up” — from his next album ‘Street King’ available later this spring.

WATCH HERE:

Is Justin Timberlake Mr. Perfect? Because his comeback couldn’t have been pulled off more flawlessly. His new album, The 20/20 Experience is set to sell more than 500,000 copies in its first week, according to a report from Billboard. Damn, those are ADELE numbers.

After smashing the charts and expectations with his lead single “Suit & Tie,” which features Jay-Z, Justin is on to the next one with a cinematic interpretation of his ballad with a beat, “Mirrors.”

The video is dedicated to William and Sadie, Justin’s grandparents, and the first half of the video follows Justin’s grandparents in youth and in old age. They fall in love at the fair, fight, make up and dance together throughout the epic romance.

When the video transitions, it becomes the Justin show as he battle dances with his reflection and female dancers in white wigs. In the end though, he’s faced with a reflection a young version of his grandmother.

Hate it or love it, you can’t help but wonder: Is Justin Timberlake the new King of Pop?

Watch the video for Justin’s new single below:

Mack Maine teams up with his Young Money boss Lil Wayne and Talib Kweli in the video for his uplifting song “Celebrate.”

“Pop a bottle and celebrate, we made it to a new day,” Weezy raps in the song, which was recorded way before his recent health scare that landed him in the hospital for nearly a week, and the video was shot before it too, but I’m sure those lyrics have a totally new meaning now.

Celebrate with Mack Maine, Lil Wayne and Talib Kweli below:

Taylor Swift released the music video for her latest single “22″ last week and it’s basically something you would expect from Tay-Tay: a playful tribute to sisterhood parties, trendy/hipster clothes and oooohhhh, look at all the pretty Instagram filters!

WATCH HERE:

“Started from the trap, now I rap. No matter where I’m at, I got crack!” 2 Chainz has released another video from his Grammy-nominated debut album ‘Based on a T.R.U. Story.’

Watch the (NOW UNCENSORED … YAY!) video for “Crack” below:

Besides working on her own music, Missy Elliott has a new artist under her wing, and she goes by the name of Sharaya J.

A native Hawaiian raised in New Jersey, Sharaya has always been an artist at heart.

She was exposed to music early by her father, who was a member of 90′s Hip Hop group Double XX Posse, and has always been a natural performer.

According to Sharaya J she looks up to superstars like TLC, Aaliyah, Biggie, Wu-Tang Clan, Mary J. Blige, Janet Jackson and more.

She’s gotten a lot of recognition in the dance industry, working with the likes of Diddy, Rihanna, Alicia Keys as well as great choreographers like Laurianne Gibson, Fatima Robinson and Jamaica Craft, so Sharaya is no stranger to the spotlight.

Now as Missy “Misdemeanor” Elliott’s new recording artist, she has a fresh new sound and a style inspired by true Hip Hop and underground dance music.

Her “Banji Movement” encourages people, and artists like herself, to embrace uniqueness and originality. The acronym BANJI stands for Be Authentic Never Jeopardize Individuality

Considering her background and love for dance, Sharaya says, “I just wanna make fun music! Dance is my root, so my goal is to get the people dancin’ again!!!”

Are you down with the Banji Movement? With this chick’s bright blue haircut, and brightly colored lipstick, as she likes to trademark herself, she might be a new face with fashion sense the game will have to get use to.

We all know Missy is one of the most eccentric people in the business, and this chick Sharaya J fits right in with that.

WATCH SHARAYA J’S “BANJI” VIDEO HERE:

[H/T: Concrete Loop]

The video for Kelly Rowland‘s latest single “Kisses Down Low” has arrived, and in it, Kelly adheres to a fun and flirty theme as she models several different looks, wearing just about every color on the rainbow, and looking sexy as hell while doing it.

While the song is pretty racy — with lyrics like “I like my kisses down low, makes me arch my back, when you gave it to me slow, baby just like that” — Kelly purposely did the opposite with her video.

“I’m so excited about this video. The theme is fun and flirty and pinup,” she said in a behind the scenes clip last month. “The makeup is poppin’, the hair is poppin’, the styling is so cool, but it feels just really flirty. I wanted to bring that out of the song instead of making it as racy.”

Produced by Mike Will Made It, “Kisses Down Low” follows the previously released “Ice” as the second single from Kelly’s upcoming fourth studio album ‘Talk A Good Game’ — due for release sometime this year.

WATCH KELLY ROWLAND’S “KISSES DOWN LOW” MUSIC VIDEO HERE:

You can think a lot of things about Kenya Moore but know this: She’s one calculating bitch who knows how to make lemonade out of lemons.

The breakout star from “Real Housewives of Atlanta” is not letting a single moment in the spotlight go to waste. After a ‘spectacular’ performance of her single “Gone With the Wind Fabulous” on Bravo’s “Watch What Happens Live” show, Kenya has returned with an official video for her drag queen-inspired dance anthem.

But this video, which clocks in over 5 minutes (Bitch, this ain’t “Thriller” now…), gives Kenya an opportunity to take her detractors from RHOA down a peg or two.

She starts off with Porsha, as she has drag queen Shangela reprise their fight in Anguilla. As “Porsha” runs her mouth, Kenya’s twirl powers pump up and before you know it, Kenya spins the messy drag queen’s ass into the pool. Boom, boom, pow!

After that, Kenya sits in church listening to Sunday Service when a large woman with sagging breasts and an inappropriate fishnet bathing suit marches through the doors. This large woman is supposed to be Phaedra. Now, while the Porsha mock was spot-on, this one is off because the light-skinned woman Kenya got to play Phaedra looks nothing like her. So the connection isn’t as clear.

But the final set-up for the video brutally depicts Kenya’s ex-boyfriend as a down-low, flaming homosexual man. She mocks his penis size (the name of his tow truck company has been changed to “Lil’ Dicks Towing”) and infers that he’s a homosexual by having him dressed in a half-shirt and reading “douche bag” magazine with articles about enemas and “America’s Next Top Bottom.” Ouch.

But it’s not as if Kenya only takes shots at her enemies. She makes fun of herself too, imagining herself as “Keyonce,” awkwardly performing Beyonce’s “Single Ladies” routine.

Watch the video for Kenya’s “Gone With the Wind Fabulous” below:

French Montana teams up with a topless, pasty-wearing Nicki Minaj in the video for his new single “Freaks,” set in an underground dancehall club to match the dancehall-infused track, which samples the hit reggae song “Murder She Wrote” and Doug E. Fresh and Lil Vicious’ “Freaks.”

French Montana’s “Freaks” appears on the Bad Boy rapper’s debut album ‘Excuse My French’ — due out May 21st.

WATCH THE VIDEO FOR “FREAKS” BELOW:

Mindless Behavior dropped the music video for their latest single “All Around the World” this week, and here it is!

Continuing the theme from their “Keep Her on the Low” video, the boys — Prodigy, Princeton, Roc Royal and Ray Ray — are dressed up in all-black suits as they dance up a storm in a mansion in their latest video, directed by Colin Tilley.

The single appears as the title track for the group’s next album ‘All Around the World’ — due in stores on March 12th, just three days before the release of the teen sensations’ documentary of the same name, which opens exclusively at AMC Theaters on March 15th.

WATCH MINDLESS BEHAVIOR’S “ALL AROUND THE WORLD” VIDEO BELOW:

Fantasia gives us the visuals for her new single “Lose To Win,” from her upcoming album ‘Side Effects Of You.’ The song talks about heartbreak, and having to lose everything you’ve got in order to win.

“What I want people to take from Fantasia now is, as an artist I’m just gonna do me, and whatever comes, comes,” she said on the set of the video shoot. “I almost lost myself and my life over [industry pressure], but I won’t do that anymore, I live life to the fullest, and as long as I can see [my kids] happy in te morning, I’m good to go.”

WATCH FANTASIA’S “LOSE TO WIN” VIDEO BELOW:

Kendrick Lamar puts his life on the line in the name of love in the cinematic video for his latest single “Poetic Justice,” featuring Drake. The song samples Janet Jackson‘s 90′s hit “Any Time, Any Place” and shows up on K.Dot’s critically acclaimed debut album ‘good kid, m.A.D4.D. city’ — which was released four months ago. The video for “Poetic Justice” is said to play off the classic 1991 “Boyz In The Hood” movie, but with iPhones.

Kendrick told MTV News he really wanted Janet to be in the video — “This is a young boy that looked up to you for years. Please, yeah, video, Janet Jackson ‘Poetic Justice.’ It’ll only be right,” he said — and even though she didn’t do the cameo, which honestly would have been pretty epic, the Hip Hop newcomer still has something decent on his hands.

Check it out below:

Kevin Hart is a damn fool for this! After attempting a career as the rapper “Chocolate Drop,” Hart has now switched gears and is now trying to be an R&B singer named HartFelt, armed with his debut single “Frost Without You.”

The hilarious song and its accompanying music video premiered Tuesday night (Feb 19) on BET’s “Real Husbands of Hollywood.” Ever since the first episode of the show, Kevin has been trying to get at Robin Thicke’s wife Paula Patton to no avail, and the pint-sized comedian has this one-sided beef with Thicke because of it.

Using the hypnotizing power of auto-tune, HartFelt’s “Frost Without You” — a parody of Thicke’s “Lost With Out You” — is basically a tribute to Paula and one of Hart’s many attempts to get her to leave Robin for him.

Check it out below:

After scoring his first Grammy earlier this month, Miguel has released the thought-provoking video for “Candles in the Sun” — a song from the R&B crooner’s sophomore album ‘Kaleidoscope Dream.’

The black-and-white clip focuses on social, political and religious themes, and also makes references to recent tragedies like Hurricane Sandy and the Sandy Hook elementary school shooting.

Miguel said of the video: “It’s so easy to ignore what’s right in front of us sometimes. I wanted to create a song and visual that addressed my everyday concerns of life as I know it in the world that we live in.”

Watch below:

French Montana links up with his Bad Boy family for his new single “Ocho Cinco,” featuring Diddy, Red Cafe, Machine Gun Kelly and Los.

For the uninitiated, the song is basically an ode to women who are good at giving head — hence the title “Ocho Cinco.” Get it? Ocho. Cinco. Because he “head”-butted Evelyn Lozada! Hip Hop can be so witty at times. LOLz

Check out the video below, and keep scrolling for the behind the scenes video footage, courtesy of our friends over at The Rundown!

BEHIND THE SCENES:

Lil Wayne released the music video for his new single “Love Me,” featuring Drake and Future, on Valentine’s Day and it’s pretty ironic, considering the video has nothing to do with romance or “love” at all.

In fact, Lil Wayne’s “Love Me” video comes off as a creepy horror movie, with scenes showing Weezy in a dark bedroom with women swimming in a pool of water around him, and another showing Future in a dungeon surrounded by scary-looking women with lizard tongues and scaly skin. Definitely something to keep those Illuminati theorists talking.

Check it out below:

Mindless Behavior is back with new music, and the boys are on a mission in the video for their next album’s first single “Keep Her On The Low,” featuring producer/songwriter Sean Garrett.

With wardrobe inspired by the movie “Men in Black,” the teen sensations — Prodigy, Princeton, Roc Royal and Ray Ray — act as special agents while showing off their fancy footwork in the Erik White-directed clip.

“We come into this abandoned warehouse and we find this briefcase and our manager, aka Agent Walter Millsap, is giving us directions on how to get on top of the roof in five minutes to throw a house party,” Princeton explained.

Mindless Behavior’s sophomore album ‘All Around the World’ will be available on March 12, followed by the release of their documentary “Mindless Behavior: All Around the World” — opening exclusively at AMC Theaters on March 15.

Watch Mindless Behavior’s video for “Keep Her On The Low” below:

Fresh off his Grammy win for “Best Rap Album,” Drake announced the title of his third album — ‘Nothing Was the Same’  — and also dropped the video for the project’s first single “Started From The Bottom.”

While Drake isn’t known for having quality videos to go along with his singles, he’s actually done pretty good with the last couple, like “HYFR“ and this one, which finds the Toronto native returning to his hometown and features appearances from his friends, OVO crew members and even his mother.

Directed by Director X (formerly “Little X”), who also directed “HYFR,” the video for “Started From The Bottom” shows Drizzy in different elements representing different forms of “coming up” in the game — from him dressed in all white and riding in a Bentley in the middle of a blizzard, to being promoted to night manager at a drug store and goofing around with his boys, to him flying around with a beautiful woman on a private jet.

But how did all of this come about? Who came up with the concept and the skits for the video? And what’s up with that “Bentley Blizzard” scene, and that shot of him standing on a “Started from the Top” billboard?

Director X answered all of those questions and more in a recent interview with Complex magazine. Read on for basically everything you need to know about Drake’s “Started from the Bottom” music video.

1. It was Drake’s idea to make the video a big budget production with a theme:

“Drake really came to me with this treatment,” Director X explained to Complex. “[He] really wanted to make a video that people would talk about. He basically wants to make the videos that I made when he was growing up.”

He added, “I just think people should know that Drake was the driving force pushing for that. He’s the one saying he wants to spend the money; he’s the one saying I want to make these big ideas happen. When people watch the video they need to understand that he’s putting in some work to entertain.”

2. The kid playing soccer at the beginning of the video (who is supposed to be a young Drake) is actually Drake’s friend’s son:

Director X told Complex: “It’s just executing; Where are we going to shoot, getting the right kids, casting them. The kid who plays Drake is his homie’s son—one of the real friends. We just wanted to show that nothing could make a statement about being together, teamwork, and winning more than team sports for kids.”

3. The “Bentley Blizzard” scene was all a lie. The snow was fake. It wasn’t even snowing that day!

Director X explained to Complex: “That shot of him in the car, we shot that once. The shot we used was one take. We did a bunch of other stuff like getting the snow right—this whole video ended up being that whole kind of thing. We’d shoot a couple shots, but it ended up being one take for everything. It was almost like making a movie.

“It wasn’t a snowy day that day. All of that snow is fake. Every bit is fake—the snow on the ground, the snow in the air, everything is artificial. The shot with his mother. In the back—that’s Movie Magic. It’s foam.

“It’s just the right calls to the right effects people. On my side of things, it’s not as difficult as it may seem because there are people who do this all the time for different productions. A million movies you’ve seen and the snow is not real. Can’t tell, but there are tons of them and this was one of those situations.”

4. The private jet scene was a semi-lie:

Director X to Complex: “No, we’re not flying it, but we were definitely in a jet. It’s a lot, especially for the amount of time that you see it. It’s a big production.”

5. That “Started from the Bottom” billboard shot was all real though:

Director X told Complex: “That’s Drake. He’s up there. If you were to ever come to Toronto on the Gardiner Expressway on your way downtown, that’s where it is. There’s not a double or anything. It was a cold fucking day—on the ground it was cold so imagine 200 feet in the air. Forget about it.”

6. The vacation/party scenes were real too:

Director X: “That’s the Dominican Republic. That’s where he was vacationing. We just showed up where they were, me and four other guys who shot it. It was great. A lot of the fun you see was actually happening. Everyone had a good time. If you’ve got good eyes, I’m dancing in there. I’m in the background grooving.”

7. So was that the bad chick at the beginning of the video. Her name is Maria Angelica Charuppi:

Director X explained, “I’ve known her forever. For a really long time. Everyone in this video is from Toronto. It’s a city, but its a town at the same time. So that’s my homie. The way God planned it, she was the closest to set. She’s the hottest girl, but she actually lives closest to Hamilton.

Hamilton is where we shot the airport for the flying scene, so just for scheduling we had to shoot the drug mart close to there because of production rules. The day of when we didn’t have anybody, we were just like, ‘Call Maria [Angelica Charuppi], she lives in Hamilton.’ We were like, ‘Don’t go to school today and come do this thing.’ So it just happened to be that the hottest girl on the planet lived 10 minutes from set when we were shooting in the middle of nowhere.

She wants to do all that stuff in front of the camera. She’s a performer, so it’s possible. She’s gorgeous and she’s incredible. She’s not in the mix on the other side of the border so people are like, ‘What the fuck just happened?’”

8. The Hookah Bar and Bowling Alley scenes were familiar territory for Drake:

Director X on the Hookah Bar: “That’s [Drake's] place Paradise. That shit is pretty easy. With all those people and everyone knowing each other, it’s a little bit different than the usual video set where people are strangers for the most part. Everyone knew everyone on that set, from the crew on down. Even that crew of guys shooting the video, they shoot all of their videos. Everyone knows everyone so it was very familiar. It was pretty normal. Nothing too crazy.”

On the Bowling Alley: “That’s the Lucky Strike he likes to go to. So it’s all kind of personal beyond it just being a bowling alley. That’s the one he goes to.”

9. And Drake and his friends OB O’Brien and Ryan Silverstein came up with that hilarious drug store skit:

Director X: “OB’s a real natural. Ryan is fun, but he’s not an actor or jokester like that in front of the camera, so he needed a little more finessing, just to get him comfortable. OB didn’t need nothing. He was off to the races. You can tell even in the ‘HYFR’ video just by the way the video starts and his attitude that he’s a real character. We just wanted to take it to a ridiculous place and have fun with it.

“It was generally planned out by Drake and them. They came up with that, but on set is where we finessed the lines and made them come together.”

[Complex]

Justin Timberlake has released the music video for his sophisticated R&B single “Suit & Tie,” featuring Jay Z. The track serves as Timberlake’s lead single from his upcoming album and also marks the former NSYNC frontman’s return to music after a seven year hiatus.

The video for “Suit & Tie” will probably leave many underwhelmed as its not the exciting, heavily-choreographed big budget affair we’re used to seeing from Timberlake, however, it does a very successful job of bringing the song to life.

Watch below:

Rihanna showed off a more subdued side to her when she performed her newest single “Stay” at the Grammys the other night.

Today, Rihanna debuted the video exclusively on E! and simplicity is the word to describe it. Rihanna is filmed in a bathtub for the whole video and doesn’t even start singing along to the song until almost the end. She sports a half-shaven do and practically no makeup.

It’s a change for Rihanna, who usually looks utterly glamorous and is usually dancing up a storm in her videos. However, this video shows off Rihanna’s more mature and emotional side and helps her step out of her comfort zone.

Check out the video below:

UPDATE: Apparently, there are two versions of Rihanna’s “Stay” video. The OFFICIAL version is below, while the original version we posted (a director’s cut, maybe?) follows right after:

Joe Budden is and will always be respected by hip hop heads for his lyricism. His antics with video vixens and social media have even landed him more exposure in the form of VH1′s Love & Hip Hop. And with the resurgence of his buzz, it seems as though Joey is taking a step away from Slaughterhouse to release some material of his own.

“She Don’t Put It Down” finds Budden calling in a few favors with guest appearances from Tank, Fabolous and Lil Wayne. The track itself is upbeat, though the subject matter is somewhat emotional, as all the emcee’s maintain a braggadocio tone in their verses. Tank delivers with a smooth hook.

The visual itself features the artists in several scenes delivering their verses and Fab comes out on top with a smooth verse full of the punchlines he is known for. Fab even tosses in a few different cadences showing some influence from the newer generation of rappers like Drake.

The premise of the video is where it gets let down outside of Fabolous’ boss scene featuring him smoking cigars in a dim lit room — pretty much your typical rap video. There are some models thrown in, and it seems Lil Wayne was too busy to make the video shoot, so he shot his verse in front of a red filtered background.

If you’re a fan of top 40 Hip Hop with a splash of lyricism, and a beat sounding similar to “I’m On One,” then you can thoroughly enjoy the track.

However, If you are bored with the current sound in Hip Hop, it may be wise to look elsewhere to get your fix. Hopefully, Joe Budden continues to build buzz and continues to work on the formula of balancing his lyricism with catchy music. We all know “Pump It Up” was his masterpiece, but can he do it again?

Wath the video for Joe Budden’s “She Don’t Put It Down” (feat. Lil Wayne, Tank & Fabolous) below:

Following the release of his latest album’s HUGELY SUCCESSFUL debut single “Locked Out of Heaven,” Bruno Mars returns with a new music video, this time for his second single “When I Was Your Man.”

The somber, retro-themed video, co-directed by Mars and Cameron Duddy, features the singer/songwriter — dressed in a sharp tux — sitting behind a grand piano, with a nearly empty glass of Scotch perched on top, as he sings about heartbreak and all the things he could have done to keep his woman from leaving him for another man.

I hope he buys you flowers, I hope he holds your hand
Give you all his hours, when he has the chance
Take you to every party,
Cause I remember how much you loved to dance
Do all the things I should of done, when I was your man

The song is lifted from Bruno Mars’ latest album ‘Unorthodox Jukebox’ — in stores now.

Catch Bruno next Sunday when he performs at the Grammy Awards, alongside Rihanna and Sting. He blew the roof off with “Runaway Baby” at last year’s show, so we’re anxious to see how he does this year!

In the meantime, check out his new video for “When I Was Your Man” below:

Rapping about making and selling drugs is nothing new, but Atlanta rapper Young Scooter has a whole entire song where all he talks about is how quickly he can make and sell cocaine in mass quantities, thanks to the teachings of his plug (slang word for someone who hooks you up with good drugs) in the Colombian drug cartel. And the clubs love it!

If you’ve paid a visit to ANY urban club in the Dirty South — especially ATL — within the past few months, you’ve probably DEFINITELY heard these two lines repeated over and over:

I can make co-caine

I just fell in love with a Cuban

I just left Colombia

Now we get them in by the metric ton

The beat is infectious, the hook (above) is catchy, and overall, the song is pretty popular among the underground Hip Hop scene. So popular, in fact, that Young Scooter scored a record deal last year through Gucci Mane‘s BrickSquad 1017 label.

But not everyone is a fan of the less than 3 minute song and its accompanying music video, which premiered on MTV Thursday (Jan 31).

As a matter of fact, a quick trip to the comments section on popular Hip Hop sites like WorldStarHipHop, Rap Radar, etc. will show an array of comments like these (sic where needed, and smh at some of those user handles):

epinz (Rap Radar): The cartels dnt fuck with black dudes. And if they do, u gotta come stringer bell frank lucas correct. No stars tatted om your head or ice cream cones

Willie Hozay (RR): Does anyone actually believe this nigga dude lives in fantasy land talking about selling metric tons and I was on the floor when he was like “done made a whole 2.5 off cocaine in 12 months, i have whole year runs, freeband meetings in puerto rico with hector, me and isabella. lol wtf

Truth (RR): I’m being dead serious right now…Is this nikkuhhh serious??? HOLY FUCK MANNNNNN! Stop with this retarded shit man. Jesus this is played out…FACKKKK!

FACT: Drug dealers don’t shoot videos…Stop it….stop.

Deerawz (RR): Besides the song being boring and lyrically wack its also a form of snitching on yourself not only are you saying you flying metric tons you showing all the people your with and there faces, rappers wonder why they get pulled over, your song just explained your whole “Drug dealings”

pentopaper (RR): It’s guys like this that mess things up for real hustlers that have to hustle cause it’s not a fad, it’s all they got! this is embarrassing….and let’s me know that these rappers are more entertainers than real dudes. even if you stopped hustling you know not to f it up for dudes that are…and that’s what he’s doing ! embarrassing…

He Hate Me (WorldStarHipHop): LMAO they would kidnap and hold this cocolo hostage if he goes to colombia with all that jewlry.

Jesus Reds (WSHH): man im colombian n im out here rite now. this nigga cant be bout tha life here, bet he aint even know what colombia is or look like. respect for gucci n shit cuz they hood. but this scooter nigga shouldnt gott’n this out

ImaFoolBoy (WSHH): Colombia my ass…they shot this video in Miami lol

The video basically shows Scooter as he hops on a private jet and flies to Colombia (pronounced ColUmbia — like the capital of South Carolina — throughout the song), where he falls in love with a bad bitch, and handles his business.

But no one really gives two wet farts about Young Scooter or his ability sell several metric tons (1,000 kilos) of cocaine. All anyone really cares about is the thick, beautiful Cuban(?) woman in the video!

DatBoiRoy (WSHH): This my 3rd time watchin cuz of that bitch… fuck it I just fell on love with a Cuban too

TheNeighborHoodC00NWatch (WSHH): DAAAAAAMMMMMNNNNNNNN BITCH BAD!!!!!!!

I_Roast_Niggas (WSHH): My god that chic is fine as fuck! Ass look like two tanned midgets playing patty cake.

BizzyLi (WSHH): I just put the song on mute and watch the video broads :D

Jesus Shuttlesworth (WSHH): i came to see ol girl in the video i didnt give a fuck about what scooter was talking about

3_PAYPA_0_CUTZ_5 (WSHH): dammmmm she badd.. but i always thought this song ws wackk

FYI: The video chick’s name is Dayami Padron. You’re welcome, fellas!

Check out Young Scooter’s heavily bleeped “Colombia” video below (and make sure you watch it on mute for the best experience):

Dawn Richard, former member of Danity Kane and Dirty Money, is stepping out on her own this time with her debut album ‘GoldenHeart.’

In support of the effort, the singer/songwriter has just released a brand new music video for her latest single titled “86.”

Of the track Dawn gushed: “I’m really excited because I think [the single] is really powerful. It tells you to let go of all your boundaries and to fight for what you believe in.” A powerful message, indeed.

Check out the studding video for ’86′ below!

A$AP Rocky sits on the throne and invites us into his dark, spooky mansion, as he takes us on a visual journey through his twisted mind in the video for his debut album’s title track “Long Live A$AP.” Rocky’s first album drops January 15th!

Peep the video below:

2 Chainz is different, he knows it, and he isn’t afraid to show it. “I’m Different” is the fourth single lifted from the rapper’s highly celebrated debut album “Based On A Tru Story.”

Watch the video below:

Jonn Hart — a new artist signed to L.A. Reid’s Epic Records — teams up with French Montana in the music video for the remix to his debut single “Who Booty.” The 23-year-old Bay Area native plans on releasing his “Hart to Hart” mixtape to showcase more of his material soon.

Check out Jonn Hart’s video for “Who Booty (Remix)” ft. French Montana below:

Taylor Swift falls for a bad boy and lets go of her squeaky-clean, good girl image, opting instead for a much edgier look (pink highlights in her hair, dark makeup, ripped clothes, etc.) in the music video for “I Knew You Were Trouble” — the third single single from her album “Red.”

Check out the video below:

T.I. gets the “Trap Back Jumpin” in the cinematic music video for the latest single from his upcoming album “Trouble Man: Heavy is The Head” — due out on December 18th. Look out for an appearance from Curtis Snow (from “Snow on tha Bluff“) in this one!

Watch below:

A$AP Rocky links up with his rap buddies 2 Chainz, Drake and Kendrick Lamar in the music video for “Fuckin Problems” — the latest single from Rocky’s upcoming debut album “Long.Live.A$AP,” which is due out on January 15th.

Watch the video below:

Future, T.I., Lil Wayne and Ace Hood all join DJ Khaled in a vacant warehouse filled with “Bitches & Bottles” in the music video for the latest single off Khaled’s Cash Money debut “Kiss the Ring.”

Check it out below:

For a song that’s all about releasing pent up energy, Britney Spears and will.i.am‘s “Scream & Shout” sure is a watered down, safe experience.

Looking more like an advertisement than a music video (yes, we know most music videos do product placement to secure funding but this one seems to have nothing more to offer BUT product placement), Britney slaps on a Mufasa-like wig and pretty much stands around and poses. Robotney is on the set, y’all.

Will.i.am is a bit more lively, and yes, it’s been ages since Britney was able to pull off moves like this in a music video:

But still, couldn’t the girl have given us a two-step or at least a basic 8 count? This is, after, all a pulse-pounding DANCE ANTHEM.

Watch the video for will.i.am and Britney’s collaboration below:

50 Cent and Eminem look like fugitives on the run from the law in the video for Fiddy’s new single “My Life,” which also features Maroon 5 frontman Adam Levine. The track comes from 50 Cent’s fifth studio album “Street King Immortal” — due out on February 26th.

Watch the video below:

Young Jeezy shows a lot of love to the hood in the music video for his new single “Get Right” — the lead single from the Atlanta rapper’s upcoming yet-to-be-titled fifth studio album, which will be released sometime in 2013.

Check it out below:

Rapper Future teams up with R&B singer Kelly Rowland in the music video for the remix to “Neva End,” a single from the re-release of his “Pluto 3D” album — available in stores and online today (Tues, Nov 27).

Watch the Erik White-directed video below:

Big Boi and Kelly Rowland invite us into their weird, fun fantasy land in the colorful music video for “Mama Told Me” — the lead single from Big Boi’s upcoming sophomore album “Vicious Lies and Dangerous Rumors,” which is due out on December 11th and will also feature collaborations from A$AP Rocky, T.I., Ludacris, B.o.B, Kid Cudi and more.

Watch the video (directed by Syndrome) below: