Justin Bieber is back in the studio doing what he does best! And last night, the pop star received a special visit from his big bro Lil Wayne.

good time in the studio last night. back at it tonight. oh yeah…and big bro came thru… twitter.com/justinbieber/s…

— Justin Bieber (@justinbieber) February 1, 2012

and when i say big bro i mean @LilTunechi . #BELIEVE IT #family twitter.com/justinbieber/s…

— Justin Bieber (@justinbieber) February 1, 2012

We’re not sure if they recorded anything, but the two appeared to have done some skateboarding.

Just the day before, the Biebs revealed he was working with Timbaland on his new album “Believe.”

in the studio with @timbaland and the crew. #creating

— Justin Bieber (@justinbieber) February 1, 2012

We see JB is still getting much love from everyone in the industry. It’s gotta feel good to be that kid!

Bow Wow makes the girls “Sweat” in his new music video featuring Lil Wayne!

“Underrated” (Bow Wow’s next album) is due in stores March 13th.

Check out the official video for “Sweat” below:

Lil Wayne splatters paint all over himself and on the walls as he creates a self portrait in his new music video for “Mirror” featuring Bruno Mars.

Watch below:

Lil Wayne‘s name has been brought up in an altercation that went down over the weekend.

According to published reports, the Hip-Hop star and his entourage allegedly got into a fight with NFL star Dez Bryant at LIV nightclub in Miami.

The incident reportedly occurred after a member of Wayne’s crew made fun of Bryant and his legal woes.

“The Dallas Morning News writes that the fight started over someone mocking Bryant about a subpar season and a mounting personal debt crisis. (Bryant was threatened with a lawsuit in December by the Endurance Capital Fund, which claimed the former Oklahoma State star hadn’t paid off a $100,000 loan.” [AHH]

Bryant’s mentor David Wells says the NFL player wasn’t arrested after the incident and so far no police report has been filed.

Neither Lil Wayne or his camp have spoken out or confirmed being involved.

However, If you can recall in the past … Lil Wayne has never held back in going head-to-head with athletes … so this wouldn’t be the most surprising!

Lil Wayne was spotted showing off his unique sense of fashion (a grey Odd Future “Earl” hoodie, animal print shorts, tan Nike Air Yeezy sneakers and a black Kiss fitted cap) as he sat and laughed it up beside Young Money president Mack Maine and actor Adrian Brody at the Miami Heat vs. Atlanta Hawks basketball game in Florida.

Guess it’s safe to assume we’re going to be seeing Weezy wear lots of crazy outfits at more basketball games throughout the remainder of the season.

More photos below:

Tyga is starting the New Year off just right!

The Young Money rapper has teamed up with his boss Lil Wayne for his newest single “Faded.” Check it out:

[See post to listen to audio]
Not a bad song … especially if you like the whole jerking thing.

The Mall of America describes itself as the largest mall in the United States.

The world famous “Mall of America” — the largest mall in the United States — turned into a scene of mass hysteria when a huge fight broke out Monday afternoon (Dec 26) as shoppers were partaking in after-Christmas sales.

According to CNN, authorities say they arrested at least nine people following a “series of fights” at the nation’s biggest shopping mall that had chairs flying and caused after-Christmas shoppers to flee in fear of their safety.

The melee reportedly began in the food court before it quickly relocated to the other various parts of the mall. Shoppers were knocked to the ground, and a number of stores were forced to close early.

CNN reported that at one point, before arrests were made at around 4pm, more than 10 separate fights had broken out.

Several eye witnesses told police officials that the fights were sparked by rumors claiming that popular rappers Drake and Lil Wayne were going to make an appearance at the mall.

In one of the various videos recorded during the ruckus, you can clearly see a man picking up a chair and throwing it as crowds of shoppers, some screaming, fled the mall’s food court.

The video also shows what looks like a group of young people fighting before officers stepped in.

“There were drinks thrown on the floor and chairs being thrown everywhere,” witness Tess Dessalgne told television station KARE, adding that “everyone started running toward the fight,” while the video shows other people leaving the area.

Another woman told CNN affiliate WCCO that she “didn’t really know what was going on” when stores randomly began closing down, but soon saw police “pushing us all away from Nordstrom (department store).”

For the most part, the mall remained open, though some stores closed down temporarily. Fortunately, no one was seriously injured.

Regarding the Lil Wayne/Drake rumors, Bloomington police official Mark Stehlik said, “I’ve heard that and some other things as far as speculation. I don’t know that there’s anything to substantiate that,” adding that police are still investigating what started the fight.

“Frankly, at this time, we don’t really have any idea, and we might never. It’s hard to say what starts a fight,” he said.

The Mall of America said in an official statement, “Unfortunately, as we have witnessed at shopping sites across the country this week, large groups of individuals can come together and create bad situations. It is very unfortunate to see these incidents occurring, especially during the holiday shopping season when families are out spending time together.”

What the hell is wrong with people these days?

Rappers Lil Wayne and Kanye West were spotted kicking it courtside on Christmas Day (Sun. Dec 25) at the Staples Center in Los Angeles as the Lakers took on the Chicago Bulls in their first home game of the season.

Yeezy spent the Holiday courtside with his father Ray West, while Weezy, a known sports enthusiast, brought along his girlfriend Dhea to watch the game with him.

Other celebs spotted at the game were rocker Adam Levine and his supermodel girflriend Anne Vyalitsyana, as well as comedian George Lopez and rapper Snoop Dogg (not pictured).

Check out 10+ pics below:

“Now she want a photo, you already know tho, You Only Live Once that’s the motto n*gga YOLO!”

Drake links up with his YMCMB labelmates Lil Wayne and Tyga for his brand new video for “The Motto.”

Look out for Wayne’s lime green boots, as well as appearances from Bay Area rappers E-40 and Mistah F.A.B. in the video, which opens up with a few encouraging words from late rapper Mac Dre‘s mother.

Watch below:

Since announcing their newest signee … Birdman and Lil Wayne have teamed up with Mystikal for his first single “Original!”

Check it out below:

Do you think Mystikal has what it takes to make a solid comeback???

Ke$ha is getting sleazier than ever!

The pop star teams up with rappers Lil Wayne, T.I., Andre 3000 and Wiz Khalifa for the remix to her “Sleazy” single.

Check it out below:

[See post to listen to audio]

With a huge yellow ski hat, a yellow fanny pack, and leopard shorts…..Lil Wayne took to the stage with his father Birdman to perform their “Y.U. Mad” collaboration (sans “The Female Weezy” aka Nicki Minaj) at the MTV2 Sucker Free Awards in Miami. This marks the first time the YMCMB rappers have performed the song live.

Watch below:

B.o.B and Lil Wayne frolick in green fields as they rap about “Strange Clouds” in their brand video for the title track from Bobby Ray’s upcoming sophomore album.

The video, directed by Motion-Family, also features a guest appearance from rapper T.I.

B.o.B’s next album “Strange Clouds” is due in stores in 2012.

Watch the new video below:

Nicki Minaj transforms into female Weezy in Birdman‘s new music video “Y.U. Mad,” which also features Lil Wayne.

Check it out below:

Drake recently sat down with Google Music and spoke on a number of different topics, including the creation process of his new album “Take Care,” his most recent collaborations with Rihanna and Nicki Minaj, his legacy in music and much more.

On working with Rihanna:
“I really wanted to bring her into our world, but still allow her to be herself. I think she really shines bright. She comes from a place that’s so rich in culture, so rich in music, but being the most iconic female period right now—next to Nicki Minaj, of course… [Nicki is] just doing incredible, she’s my favorite person.”

On his legacy:
“I want people to really feel like I knew Drake while he was on this Earth. I know everything about him. There were no secrets, there was nothing that he hid, no feelings that he concealed. In five years, hopefully I have a couple more projects out that surpass Take Care, but I would like for them to say I remember that moment when I wasn’t sure what was gonna happen and Drake delivered an album that served a purpose in my life.”

On making good, quality music:
“I’m not the guy that would ever be able to make surface music with no substance. I think all my projects, hopefully, I’m working through some form of emotion because I think that’s what music is about. It’s about connecting and people being able to relate.”

Watch the interview below:

Lil Wayne and Toya threw their daughter Reginae a huge Cinderella-themed party to celebrate her 13th birthday over the weekend.

The lavish affair was hosted at the private Callenwolde Mansion in Atlanta Saturday night, and all of Reginae’s close friends and extended family all came out to help her celebrate her big day.

In addition to her famous parents and her step-dad Memphitz, the celebrity guest list for Reginae’s birthday party included Birdman, T.I. and Tiny, and Phaedra Parks and Kim Zolciak from the “Real Housewives of Atlanta.”

Check out 40+ pics below!

[Photos: FreddyO, YBF]

Despite the fact that Drake‘s Take Care is projected to sell over 700,000 copies, Lil Wayne isn’t stressing over album sales, whether they’re good or bad.

In a recent interview with MTV, the Young Money head honcho says that he doesn’t get caught up in having high expectations for his artists:

“As far as expectations, we don’t have those around here. Expectations are a weakness in the music business because if you expect anything, 10 times out of 10 it’s not gonna happen, so we don’t have expectations around here.”

Instead … Weezy and the rest of his label expects respect overall from the music they release.

“What we do expect is … to work very hard and we expect people to respect our hard work and our effort. Now as far going to buy the album, as far as going to get 750,000 copies, that’s never a problem with us; that’s never important to us. Pardon me for sounding however I sound with this statement, but we rich as sh–, so numbers and record sales that doesn’t matter to none of us.

“Their man goal is to get a point across and once that’s done…..the mission is accomplished. We just want to get a perfect point across, a swell opinion across. We want our opinion to be different from everybody else’s opinion, but so different and so great that everybody else joins that opinion. And if we get that done with the album, mission accomplished.”

We respect Lil Wayne putting more focus on his artists making a quality piece of work versus being solely concerned on selling out shelves. Kudos!

Drake and Lil Wayne have decided to give their collaboration album the axe …. at least for now.

Due to them catching a lot of flack from people who compare the project to Kanye West and Jay-Z‘s joint album “Watch The Throne,” the YMCMB rappers plan on postponing their album to a later date and time.

Drake told XXL:

“Me and Wayne scrapped the idea of a collaboration album. We just agreed that it would be looked upon as…It would be sort of this competition [with Watch The Throne]. I feel like it would get caught in this whirlwind of hype. [Wayne] agreed. We just said, ‘If we do it, we’ll do it down the line. But right now is not the time.’”

WOW! We thought they liked the idea of battling with Ye and Jigga, especially with Drake taking subliminal shots in songs like “I’m On One.”

Is it just us or does Weezy and Drizzy seem a little afraid of the competition???

Your thoughts?

Shanell teams up with her Young Money boss Lil Wayne and label-mate Drizzy Drake for a new track titled “So Good.”

Take a listen below:

[See post to listen to audio]

Robin Thicke joins forces with  Lil Wayne for his new single “Pretty Lil’ Heart.”

The track is from Thicke’s upcoming album Love After War, due in stores December 6th.

Check it out below:

[See post to listen to audio]

We have pictures of Beyonce, Kanye West, Kim Kardashian, Gwen Stefani, T.I., Usher, Ice T & Coco, Chris Brown, Lil Wayne, Amber Rose, Monica, Vinny and Snooki from “Jersey Shore,” Keri Hilson, and TONS of other celebs decked out in Halloween gear.

Check out over 50+ pics below!!

Drizzy and Weezy are back with another collaboration!

“The Motto” will be a bonus cut on Drake’s sophomore album “Take Care,” due in stores November 15th.

Check it out below:

[See post to listen to audio]

Is this track a banger?

On the left is actress Holly Robinson Peete dressed up as Lil Wayne (and we’re not sure whose little kid that is on the right, but they’re damn convincing!!)

Who do you think looks more like America’s favorite lean sipping, tight jean wearing rapper???

Holly or Baby Weezy? Take the poll below!

Take Our Poll

Lil Wayne says he isn’t all that impressed with Nicki Minaj.

The Young Money head honcho recently revealed in his Vibe Magazine November 2011 cover story that his female protege is nowhere near the end and has a lot of work left to do in order to impress him.

“I’m not satisfied with anything she’s done. I believe she can do a whole lot more, and I believe she will do a whole lot more. It’s not shocking, and it’s not surprising. It’s quite fitting. But other than that, it’s nowhere near the end.” (Source)

Sound a little harsh … but at least he has high hopes. Wonder if Nicki can make Wayne proud of her like Drake already is? (LOL)

Drake gets back to his R&B side on a newly released track titled “The Real Her” featuring Lil Wayne.

Take a listen to the song, a cut from Drizzy’s sophomore album “Take Care,” below:

Do you like???

As we previously reported … Lil Wayne graces the cover on the November 2011 edition of GQ Magazine along with Eminem and Keith Richards.

Inside GQ’s “Gods of Rock” issue, Weezy speaks on retiring at 35, wanting to be off probation, recently seeing his biological father, his new-found love of skateboarding and much more.

See what the Young Money CEO had to share with GQ Mag below:

GQ: Congratulations on selling a million records this week. Are you surprised at all?
Lil Wayne: Yeah. Hell yeah, I’m surprised.

GQ: I was sure you were going to be like, “Absolutely not.”
Lil Wayne: No. I was very surprised. I did not think I was gonna do that. I mean, I already did that—I sold a million copies the first week [of Tha Carter III]. I never imagined it would happen again. I think we’d be some greedy motherfuckers to expect it to happen again, and I’m still shocked that it did.

GQ: I hear you plan to retire when you turn 35?
Lil Wayne: Basically, I have been doing this for eighteen years. That’s reason number one. I have accomplished all that I have set out to accomplish and more. Also, I have a label, and I’ve only put out two artists [Drake and Nicki Minaj]. I have a lot more work to do, and it’d be selfish to not focus on being the boss and focus on their projects.

But the main reason is my kids, my children. Now, if I thought I’d be selfish to my artists, imagine what I think I would be doing to my kids. I have enough money that they don’t have to ever do anything—which, they will do everything, ’cause they ain’t getting shit. [cackles wildly] Six [more] years, I can do this Lil Wayne thing, and my boys will be about 7 and 8 years old. And man, it’s all about them then. You know, whatever they’re doing. Sports. Whatever they’re into. That’s where I am. I’m at every game. I’m the dad with the hat on. The jersey. That’s me.

GQ: You’ll still be you without music?
Lil Wayne: I feel like I’ll be a new me, and how good is that? To actually be opening a brand-new door of life at 35? That’d be awesome. Totally awesome. I’m looking forward to it.

GQ: Did your time in jail slow you down or mellow you out a bit?
Lil Wayne: I don’t think life is about a pace, living slow or fast. I think you just live, y’know what I mean? You’re either living or you’re dead. So it just helped me on my way, helped me with life. Cleared me up, cleaned me up, opened my eyes to things. I definitely thank God for that moment instead of looking at it as a problem or a bad situation. I needed it.

GQ: You’re sober now? No more syrup?
Lil Wayne: I’m good. I ain’t tripping. I’m used to it now. But I was never on heroin or cocaine or Ecstasy or nothing like that. I drank syrup and smoked a lotta weed. I wish I could be back on it. That’s how it fucking feels. [cracking himself up] “How does it feel to be sober?” I’ll be like, “It feels fucked-up.” What you want me to say? “It feels great”? No. I was on something that the doctor prescribed. I was ill, and that was helping me.

GQ: So you aren’t going back on it?
Lil Wayne: I cannot wait until I get off probation, sweetheart. Not for syrup. No, not for syrup. I stopped syrup May 9 of 2009. But nobody knew. Because I still rapped about it. Because I respect the culture of where it came from. I still rep that shit.

GQ: What’s up with all the skateboarding?
Lil Wayne: You know, I don’t know. Everybody asks me that question, like, “What made you start skating?” Yeah, well, um…I don’t know. I’m still like a kid, because unfortunately my childhood was raped away from me because I became a star, a rapper, or whatever you want to call it, and you can’t be a kid and a rapper at the same time. So I watch television and I get real amped. Like, people watch commercials, and they’re like, “Who’s gonna buy that?” I’m the person they make the commercials for. I watch them, and I’m like, “Oh God, that’s awesome.” So I was just watching TV, and I was like, “Yeah. I want to do that!” And I called a guy and I said, “I want a ramp on my roof.” I have a pretty big roof at home. So I put a ramp on the roof about five months ago, and man, I’ve been skating ever since.

GQ: It’s pretty hard, skating.
Lil Wayne: It’s pretty difficult. But when you’re having fun, and when you’re doing anything and having fun with it, it almost takes the complication out of it. It takes the difficult out of it. That’s what it is with my music. I have so much fun with it that I still do it every day, and people will be like, “What drives you? What makes him just…?” He’s not working. He’s having fun. So, why not have fun every day? I’m not tired of having fun yet, so that’s what it is. It is hard, but it is fun.

GQ: Your relationship with your biological father seems complicated.
Lil Wayne: He don’t give a shit about me. And I don’t give a shit about him. I know his friends be like, “Damn, nigga. That is not your son. Stop lying. Nigga, you could be living in a motherfucking ranch right now, nigga.” You know, whatever your father’s into, if you’re rich, you’re gonna get him that shit. I would’ve got that nigga all kinda harnesses, ranches—you know what I mean? I saw the nigga recently—I had a show in New Orleans. And I ain’t afraid to put this out there, ’cause this is just how much I don’t give a fuck about a nigga, and I want people to see how you’re not supposed to be. I was parked at the hotel, and I saw him walking outside the hotel. Just walking back and forth. I’m like, “Look at this nigga! You gotta be looking for me.” If Lil Wayne got a show in New Orleans, the whole of New Orleans knows. Basically, you’re not there for nothing else but me. So I call my man on the bus. I’m like, “Nigga, that’s my daddy.” He’s like, “Word? Oh shit. That nigga looks just like you!” So I tell my man, “Go see what’s up.” So my man goes to holla at him. He tells my man, “Oh. I didn’t know y’all was here. I’m here waiting for this little ho to get off. Get off work from the hotel.” For real? That’s when I was like, “Typical Dwayne Carter.” So that’s what’s up with me and my real father. I don’t want to look like his ass, but I do.

GQ: Are the tattoos a way of not looking like your dad?
Lil Wayne: Tattoos are just a way of expressing myself. Me being me. I just went crazy. I don’t know what happened. I think somebody slipped something in my drink, like a drug that’ll make you get, like, a bunch of tattoos.

GQ: How does life look right now through Lil Wayne’s glasses?
Lil Wayne: I can describe it like this: Today I was riding up to the venue. I had just woken up, and I looked out the window, and there was like a billion cars in the parking lot. I turned to my girl, and I said, “Isn’t it crazy how all those cars and all those people are there to see me?” And the craziest part was I still could get that feeling. All this time, after all those albums, videos, all those awards and money and groupies and homeys and gangbanging and friends and no-longer friends. That I can still get that feeling, like, “Wow. This is amazing.” That’s what it is to be me. Yeah.

SOURCE

Definitely a good read … Lil Wayne somehow never bores us with his interviews!

For more on Weezy, Eminem and Keith Richards, pick up the latest issue of GQ when it hits newsstands nationwide on October 25th!

Nicki Minaj has one hell of a sense of humor!

The rapstress recently mocked her Young Money boss Lil Wayne and his 30-minute “public service announcement” released earlier this month by doing her own rendition in a much shorter clip.

Decked out in camouflage pants, a white tank top, some bling and her now famous blonde dreadlocks, Nicki Minaj did her best Weezy impersonation, as the “Female Weezy,” keeping a straight face throughout the entire 7-minute video, which was shot on location in Miami during a break on the set of Birdman’s “Y.U. Mad” video (featuring an appearance from the Female Weezy and Lil Wayne himself).

Watch Nicki’s hilarious public service announcement video below:

Rap legends Eminem and Lil Wayne share the cover of GQ Magazine’s November 2011 “Gods of Rock” issue with Rock legend Keith Richards.

The tribute pays homage to artists who have survived through drug addictions, legal woes and other personal tribulations, something the three rock stars can relate to.

Also highlighted in GQ’s “Gods or Rock” issue are Erykah Badu, Outkast’s Andre 3000 and Big Boi, Metallica and more.

Inside the pages of the magazine, Eminem discusses his battle with drug addiction, which he started in 2000 when he released “The Marshall Mathers LP” and got even worse when he recorded “Encore” in 2004.

“Five or six songs leaked from the original version of Encore,” Slim Shady recalls. “So I had to go in and make new songs to replace them. In my head I was pissed off: ‘Oh well. Songs leaked. Fuck it. I’m just going to take a bunch of fucking pills and go in there and have a party with myself.’ I’m sure the more pills I took, the goofier I got.”

As a survivor of the battle rappers/rockers face with drugs, Eminem says, “The thing sobriety has taught me the most is the way I’m wired – why my thought process is so different.” He adds, “I’ve realized that the way I am helps with the music. Sporadic thoughts will pop into my head and I’ll have to go write something down, and the next thing you know I’ve written a whole song in an hour.”

“But sometimes it sucks, and I wish I was wired like a regular person and could go have a f**kin’ drink. But that’s the biggest thing about addiction: When you realize that you cannot – for f**k’s sake, you can not – f**k around with nothing ever again. I never understood when people would say it’s a disease. Like, ‘Stop it, d**khead. It’s not a disease!’ But I finally realized, F**k, man – it really is.”

For more on Em, Weezy, Keith Richards and the others, pick up the November 2011 issue of GQ Magazine when it hits newsstands nationwide on October 25th!

Lil Wayne labels Drake a martian kid!

While on the set for Birdman’s “Y.U. Mad” music video, the Young Money head honcho revealed that he has heard a few songs off his protege’s upcoming sophomore album.

“I actually haven’t got a chance to listen to all of it, but I heard a few songs.”

And so far … Weezy is very impressed and even admits that his own new material isn’t touching Drizzy’s.

“I can tell, you know, I don’t know nothing else out there that can touch it, including my stuff. That kid is on another planet.”

It’s like that Wayne???

Hopefully we all will feel the same way when “Take Care” drops November 15th!

Lil Wayne says he “rocks with” Odd Future…

On the set of Birdman’s “Y.U. Mad” video, Weezy revealed that he recently met the Wolfgang pack at the Flight Club in L.A. and it was love at first sight, or something like that.

“I just rock with ‘em. Shout out my man Taco, that’s my dude. I’m just real cool with the homies. Shout out my man Tyler and everybody else over there,” he explained.

Wayne says he even plans on a catching a few of their shows in the near future.

“I’ma catch a few of their shows, go check out a few of their shows and stuff,” he said.

Wonder if they will be doing a collaboration anytime soon??? (We sure do hope not! LOL)

Nicki Minaj seems to be everywhere these days. But one place you won’t be seeing her is in the upcoming video for “Y U Mad,” even though she sings on the hook and has her own verse.

But how is that even possible? …. Well, according to MTV News, she’s been replaced by “The Female Weezy,” and she even has the wardrobe and hairstyle to match!

Nicki Minaj, who is on the song but wasn’t on set was replaced by The Female Weezy. Dressed in camouflaged skater pants and exposed boxer shorts, while sporting blonde dreadlocks, Lady Wayne fully embodied the Young Money CEO. It was all in good fun.

“Honestly though, I don’t think no one is actually mad, it’s just a figure of speech,” Wayne explained to MTV News, analyzing Nicki Minaj’s hook on the song. “I think Nick just sounded good saying ‘mad’ at that point in the song. I don’t think it would’ve been cooler if she said, ‘That’s why you glad.’”

[MTV Rapfix]

So …. Nicki Minaj is the “Female Lil Wayne” is this video? That definitely explains the dreadlocks! But why?

This video already looks like it’s going to be very be interesting…

Bow Wow makes the ladies “Sweat” with his new single featuring Lil Wayne.

The track is the first offering from his upcoming Underrated album, due in stores December 6th.

Take a listen below:

[See post to listen to audio]

What are your thoughts???

Lil Wayne isn’t feeling Uncle Luke or any of the idle threats he’s been making lately.

As we previously reported … Luke gave Weezy, Diddy, and DJ Khaled until the beginning of the year to give back or their so called “Miami cards” will be revoked.

“I’m giving them a deadline,” he wrote in the Miami New Times. “They got until January 1. If I don’t see them giving back to the Magic City, I’m gonna have their Miami cards revoked. They won’t be getting into any more nightclubs. They won’t be able to go near our women. And Lil Wayne is gonna have to find floor seats for New Orleans Hornets? home games because he won’t be allowed inside the Triple A.”

Unfortunately for Luke … Weezy isn’t paying him no mind:

Khaled on the other hand … that’s a different story.

Miami rap legend Luther “Uncle Luke” Campbell has issued a stern warning to all of the rappers out there (like Lil Wayne, Diddy, DJ Khaled, etc.) who he believes are simply mooching off of his city, instead of giving back.

Campbell, who lost the election for mayor of Miami after placing fourth, says that instead of rapping about Miami, partying it up at nightclubs and making it rain at stripclubs, Hip-Hop as a whole should be investing in youth programs and non-profits, and doing other things to help the community.

Read his open letter to Hip-Hop (via the Miami News Times) below:

I’ve got a message for Lil Wayne, his Cash Money Brothers, DJ Khaled, Puff Daddy and all the rappers from other parts of the country who now live in Miami. I’m tired of seeing these cats using up our beaches, soaking up our sunshine, taking over the nightclubs, and sleeping with our women without investing anything into the community. I want to know when Lil Wayne is going to do more than show up courtside at the American Airlines Arena. Hell, it’s not like he paid for them anyway. You know he got comped.

This free loading and mooching of my city has got to stop. There used to be a day when out of town rappers were scared to throw their weight around Miami. It didn’t matter if they were coming from New York or Los Angeles, they knew better than to act like they owned this mother f–ker.
Artists knew better than to come to Miami and disrespect us. But now folks in Miami’s entertainment industry have gone soft, turning into a bunch of groupies just because they want to say they drank Rozay with the Cash Money crew.

Just cause Lil Wayne and DJ Khaled are from New Orleans doesn’t mean they don’t have to be a part of the community. They’re getting rich under fun and sun. They rap in their songs about King of Diamonds and LIV nightclub, where Lil Wayne was partying it up with Dirk Nowitzki and the Dallas Mavericks after they beat the Miami Heat for the NBA championship.

What kind of sell-out move is that? I want to see Lil Wayne, DJ Khaled, Puff Daddy and all their boys start doing more for Miami. I want to see them doing fundraisers to help youth sports and after school programs. I want to see them at FCAT rallies. I want to see them do like Pitbull who works closely with the Kiwanis Club in Little Havana and DJ Irie who puts on a charity weekend for the Make-A-Wish Foundation.

I’m giving them a deadline. They got until January 1. If I don’t see them giving back to the Magic City, I’m gonna have their Miami cards revoked. They won’t be getting into any more nightclubs. They won’t be able to go near our women. And Lil Wayne is gonna have to find floor seats for New Orleans Hornets home games because he won’t be allowed inside the Triple A.

Does Uncle Luke have a point … or does he just need to find a chair and take a seat? Let us know!!

Your thoughts?

Lil Wayne hops on the remix to Joe Jonas‘ new single “Just In Love.”

Take a listen below:

[See post to listen to audio]
Joe’s debut solo album Fast Life is due in stores October 11th! Will you be picking it up???

Jay-Z has finally spoken out on Lil Wayne‘s diss track “It’s Good.”

The rap mogul made it clear that there is no possible beef during an interview with MTV at his charity event last Thursday. He said:

“That’s sport, that’s rap music. Nothing is going to change but the participants. I don’t even see why that’s news.”

Typical Hov response! Short and really not saying too much. Gotta love it!

Rap superstar Lil Wayne is the latest Hip-hop figure to grace the cover of VIBE Magazine.

Dressed in a gold-trimmed, red velour jacket and a black fedora, Weezy looks like he’s channeling late rock legend Jimi Hendrix on the cover of the October/November 2011 issue of the magazine.

Inside, the Young Money CEO candidly dishes on a number of topics, including dissing Jay-Z and the repercussions behind it, whether or not he looks at his rap protege Drake as competition, how competition is for “the old guys,” and lots more.

Read a few excerpts from the interview below:

“There’s no competition [with any artists]. Music isn’t about competition no more. All the gangster rappers are happy, all the skateboard rappers are happy, all the white rappers are happy… Everybody just happy to do music these days. There are no problems. That shit died a long time ago with them old-ass rappers. We are just making music, making money and having fun feeding our families. Competition is for the old guys.”

VIBE: You say competition is for the “old guys,” but it sounds like you’re going at Jay-Z with that line, “I got your baby money/Kidnap your bitch, get that how-much-you-love-your-lady money.” Are we looking at it the wrong way?

LIL WAYNE: I know for a fact, music is about perception. You can’t do anything but perceive what you hear. If I know that for a fact, I can never be upset about someone’s reaction to it. I’m not gonna say I don’t know what will happen before I say it [on record]. I do know what will happen. I am aware of it. It is what it is.

VIBE: So you knew the repercussions of going after Jay before anything even happened?

LIL WAYNE: Well, I’m a man. I believe as a man you should know that. Every man should know the repercussions and consequences behind whatever they do before they do it. And of course, I know there won’t be any repercussions behind what I did.

VIBE: You mentioned how humbled you were at the success of “She Will.” Drake, who wrote and performs the song’s chorus, has now become a platinum star in his own right. Do you look at the guy and say, “Wow, I helped create a monster, I have to stay on my toes”?

LIL WAYNE: I don’t look at it like that. Drake is my artist. If he wasn’t my artist, then yeah maybe. But that’s my artist. He’s not [just] a friend. We’re more than friends. It’s business. It would be impossible for it to be a competition. I mean, I’m the guy’s boss.

VIBE: Given that Cash Money artist Jay Sean is a native of the U.K., you probably have some strong feelings about the London riots and how some talking heads blamed it on hip-hop culture.

LIL WAYNE: All you could do is pray for the people that were dealing with the situation and hope for the best. As far as them blaming hip-hop, you can blame Jesus for things, so you can’t really fault anybody for blaming someone or something. All you can do is hope for the best.

Lil Wayne turns 29 years old today but don’t expect him to be party too hard.

It’s all work and no play for this guy … unless it involves his new love of skateboarding!

Weezy and some of his YMCB fam (Mack Maine, Lil’ Twist, Lil’ Chuckee, and a few others) paid a visit to pro skateboarder Robert Dyrdek’s Fantasy Factory a while back and their videographer Derrick G was on hand to capture all of the fun.

Peep the footage below:

HAPPY BIRTHDAY LIL WAYNE!

B.o.B teams up with Lil Wayne in “Strange Clouds,” the first offering from the Grand Hustle rapper’s upcoming sophomore release, which is yet to be titled.

Speaking on his new album, B.o.B said: “[It has] a more mature sound but nothing too experimental. It’s a happy medium between the sound of ‘B.o.B Presents The Adventures of Bobby Ray’ and the mixtapes, so everyone should be able to enjoy it.”

Take a listen to “Strange Clouds” below:

[See post to listen to audio]

Demi Lovato performed an intimate concert at New York City’s Hammerstein Ballroom Saturday night (Sep 17) and treated fans to performances of brand new material from her new album “Unbroken,” as well as hits from her previous albums.

The Pop star (and former Disney sensation) also slowed things down in the middle of the show, and performed an acoustic cover of Lil Wayne‘s smash Carter IV hit “How to Love,” switching the lyrics around to make them more personal.

The performance was well-received from the crowd and shows just how universal music these days is. (A teen pop idol singing a Lil Wayne song? Imagine that!)

Demi’s new album “Unbroken” hits stores tomorrow (Tues. Sep 20)!

Birdman brings Nicki Minaj and Lil Wayne on board for his new single “Y.U. Mad.”

The track is from his upcoming album Bigger than Life, due in stores November 22nd. Check it out below:

[See post to listen to audio]

The official nominations for the 2011 BET Hip-Hop Awards are in … and guess who’s leading the pack of nominees?

We’ll give you a hint: The same guy who sold almost a million albums last week!

Lil Wayne landed a whopping 18 nominations in categories like “Best Live Performer,” “Lyricist of the Year,” “MVP of the Year,” “Track of the Year,” and more.

Following behind Weezy with 9 nods is Kanye West, who is also nominated in a few of the aforementioned categories Wayne is nominated in, as well as a few others, including “Video Director of the Year,” “Producer of the Year” and “CD of the Year.” Hip-Hop newcomer Wiz Khalifa was also nominated in 9 different categories.

Other rappers up for multiple trophies include Nicki Minaj, Big Sean, Jay-Z and Chris Brown, who technically isn’t considered a “rapper,” but definitely made a big splash on the Hip-Hop scene this year with his “Look at Me Now” single. R&B singer Frank Ocean (who has “rap connections” due to him being in shock rap group Odd Future) was also nominated for a few awards.

Hosted by actor/comedian Mike Epps for the third time in a row, the 2011 BET Hip-Hop Awards will air on BET on October 11th after the show is recorded at the Atlanta Civic Center in Atlanta on October 1st.

Look below for the full list of nominees:

Best Hip Hop Video
Big Sean f/ Chris Brown – My Last
Chris Brown f/ Lil Wayne & Busta Rhymes – Look At Me Now
DJ Khaled f/ Drake, Rick Ross & Lil Wayne – I’m On One
Eminem f/ Rihanna – Love The Way You Lie
Kanye West f/ Rihanna – All Of The Lights

Reese’s Perfect Combo Award (Best Collab):
Ace Hood f/ Rick Ross & Lil Wayne – Hustle Hard (Remix)
Big K.R.I.T. f/ Ludacris & Bun B – Country Sh*t (Remix)
Chris Brown f/ Lil Wayne & Busta Rhymes – Look At Me Now
DJ Khaled f/ Drake, Rick Ross & Lil Wayne – I’m On One
Lupe Fiasco f/ Trey Songz – Out Of My Head

Best Live Performer:
Busta Rhymes
Cee-Lo Green
Jay-Z
Lil Wayne
Kanye West

Lyricist of the Year:
Jay-Z
Lil Wayne
Nicki Minaj
Rick Ross
Kanye West

Video Director of the Year:
Gil Green
Anthony Mandler
Chris Robinson
Kanye West
Hype Williams

Producer of the Year:
J.U.S.T.I.C.E. League
Kane Beatz
Lex Luger
No I.D.
Kanye West, Emile, Jeff Bhasker & Mike Dean

MVP of the Year:
Lil Wayne
Nicki Minaj
Rick Ross
Kanye West
Wiz Khalifa

Track of the Year:
6 Foot 7 Foot – Produced by Bangladesh (Lil Wayne f/ Cory Gunz)
Black and Yellow – Produced by Stargate (Wiz Khalifa)
I’m On One – Produced by T-Minus (DJ Khaled f/ Drake, Rick Ross & Lil Wayne)
Look At Me Now – Produced by Diplo & Afrojack (Chris Brown f/ Lil Wayne &
Busta Rhymes)
My Last – Produced by Lex Luger (Big Sean f/ Chris Brown)

CD of the Year:
Big Sean – Finally Famous
Lupe Fiasco – LASERS
Nicki Minaj – Pink Friday
Kanye West – My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy
Wiz Khalifa – Rolling Papers

DJ of the Yer:
DJ Drama
DJ Enuff
DJ Envy
DJ Khaled
DJ Prostyle

Rookie of the Year:
Big K.R.I.T.
Big Sean
Frank Ocean
Diggy Simmons
Tyler the Creator
Wiz Khalifa

Made-You-Look Award (Best Hip Hop Style):
Jay-Z
Lil Wayne
Nicki Minaj
Kanye West
Wiz Khalifa

Best Hip Hop Online Site:
All Hip Hop.com
Bossip.com
Nah Right.com
Rap Radar.com
World Star Hip Hop.com

Best Club Banger:
Ace Hood – Hustle Hard (Produced by Lex Luger)
DJ Khaled f/ Drake, Rick Ross & Lil Wayne – I’m On One (Produced by T-Minus)
Lil Wayne f/ Cory Gunz – 6 foot 7 foot (Produced by Bangladesh)
Waka Flocka Flame – No Hands (Produced by Lex Luger)
Wiz Khalifa – Black And Yellow (Produced by Stargate)
YC Worldwide f/ Future – Racks (Produced by Sonny Digital)

Best Mixtape:
Big K.R.I.T. – Return Of 4Eva
B.o.B – No Genre
J. Cole – Friday Night Lights
Kendrick Lamar – Section .80
Frank Ocean – Nostalgia, Ultra

Sweet 16: Best Featured Verse:
Busta Rhymes – Look At Me Now (Chris Brown f/ Lil Wayne & Busta Rhymes)
Lil Wayne – Motivation (Kelly Rowland f/ Lil Wayne)
Nicki Minaj – Monster (Kanye West f/ Jay-Z, Rick Ross, Nicki Minaj and Bon Iver)
Wiz Khalifa – Bright Lights, Bigger City (Cee-Lo Green f/ Wiz Khalifa)
Wiz Khalifa – Till I’m Gone (Tinie Tempah f/ Wiz Khalifa)

Hustler of the Year:
Diddy
Jay-Z
Lil Wayne
Rick Ross
Kanye West

Verizon People’s Champ Award (Viewers’ Choice):
Chris Brown f/ Lil Wayne & Busta Rhymes – Look At Me Now
Lil Wayne f/ Cory Gunz – 6 Foot 7 Foot
Nicki Minaj f/ Drake – Moment 4 Life
Kanye West f/ Rihanna – All of The Lights
Wiz Khalifa – Black And Yellow

Birdman is denying rumors claiming he purchased a significant amount of his son’s “Tha Carter IV” album, which sold nearly 1 million copies in its first week of release.

On Shade 45′s “Sway in the Morning” radio show,  the Cash Money head honcho told Sway he considers that to be hustling backwards:

“Nah, man, that really don’t make no sense. Why would we do that? I press and distribute ‘em. Ain’t no need for me to buy ‘em. That’s hustling backwards; we ain’t in it for that. I ain’t ever been a part of that type of scheme to be buyin’ records. We don’t do that, homie. We be working too hard to be—that don’t go with what we do. We true about what we do, we real about what we do, we work hard every day at it.”

Despite Wayne coming up a little short at 964,000, Birdman still feels like Weezy sold a million copies.

“People doin’ different numbers. But this comes from Billboard. To me, that’s a million; 964, we right there, so it’s cool. We’ll just keep grinding, I guess.”

Must be nice to have a dad like Birdman…..

[MTV]

He didn’t quite sell 1 million albums … but Lil Wayne still has plenty reason to celebrate, as “Tha Carter IV” is the No.1 album on the Billboard 200 chart this week  with 964,000 copies sold!

His third No. 1 album following 2008′s “Tha Carter III” and 2010′s “I Am Not a Human Being,” Lil Wayne’s “Carter IV” earns the biggest sales week for a Hip-Hop album (or set by a male artist) since Tha Carter III debuted with 1.01 million units sold in June 2008.

And not only that, but Carter IV also marks the second-biggest selling album of the year, right behind Lady Gaga’s 1.11 million debut with “Born This Way.”

Out of the 964,000 units moved, Nielson SoundScan reports that 362,000 of those were digital copies (345K of which were sold via iTunes).

Just last week Lil Wayne told MTV News that he was “glad” that his album had leaked a few days before its release.

“We did real good this time, real good,” Wayne said after his show-closing performance at the VMAs. “It just means people want to hear it. I mean, ’cause there’re people’s albums that come out that can be leaked and don’t leak, so I’m glad mines leaked.”

Looks like that little leak didn’t affect sales too much, but we have a strong feeling that if it hadn’t leaked, he definitely would have hit 1 million with no problems. But still, over 900K is very commendable in this day and age. Hell, even 500K is a big deal these days!

Congrats Weezy!!!

Lil Wayne just broke Kanye West and Jay-Z‘s best single-week album sales on iTunes with the release of his new album “Tha Carter IV.”

As we reported last week, TC4 will sell around 1 million units and will take the top spot on Billboard’s 200 albums chart this week. But that isn’t the only thing Weezy F. Baby has to celebrate.

According to Billboard.com, Wayne’s newest album sold over 300K downloads via iTunes in its first four days of release, outpacing the 290K that Jay-Z and Kanye’s joint album “Watch the Throne” sold in its entire first week.

Weezy’s newest feat is pretty ironic too, considering that Jay-Z basically disses Cash Money on “H.A.M.” (a bonus track on WTT) and Wayne returns the favor on a bonus track on his new album titled “It’s Good” (featuring Drake and Jadakiss).

Lil Wayne released two albums last year (“Rebirth” and “I Am Not a Human Being”) … and the first week sales of both projects combined don’t even match this week’s sales predictions for the chart-topping rapper’s just-released album “Tha Carter IV.”

According to early sales predictions and industry sources, “Tha Carter IV” should sell anywhere from 700,000 to 900,000 (and possibly 1 million) copies by week’s end on September 4th.

The album, released at midnight immediately following Wayne’s close-out performance at the VMAs Sunday, will also undoubtedly be the No. 1 album next week on the Billboard 200 albums chart.

If “Tha Carter IV” ends up moving at least 850,000 units, it will mark the biggest sales week for a Hip-Hop album (and even for a male artist) since his own “Carter III” sold over 1 million copies in its first week of sales back in 2008. So Weezy could possibly break his own record!

Serving as Lil Wayne’s 9th studio album, “Tha Carter IV” features guest appearances from Drake, T-Pain, Rick Ross, Bruno Mars and more.

With appearances from Drake, Nicki Minaj, J. Cole, Keri Hilson, Ciara, Rick Ross and even Jessie J … Lil Wayne’s album release party at Boulevard 3 in L.A. immediately following this year’s VMAs was the place to be!

The event, held Sunday night (Aug 28) after the 2011 MTV Video Music Awards to celebrate the release of Wayne’s new album “Tha Carter IV,” also featured appearances from Shaunie O’Neal, Young Money artists DJ Khaled, Shanell and Lil Twist, rapper Flo Rida, TV personality Rob Kardashian, a couple of Jersey Shore cast members, R&B singer Mario and more.

Check out 20+ pics below:

The 2011 MTV VMAs went down last night in L.A. and boasted appearances and performances from several A-List celebrities/entertainers, including Beyonce, Jay-Z, Kanye West, Lady Gaga, Chris Brown, Lil Wayne and more.

As far as the winners were concerned, Katy Perry took home the evening’s top prize: “Video of the Year” for her “Firework” clip, while other stars also took home awards, like Lady Gaga, Justin Bieber, Nicki Minaj, Britney Spears and Adele (who won 3 moon men).

Check out the full list of winners from the VMAs (along with over 20+ pictures from the show) below:

WINNERS:

Video of the Year:
Katy Perry, “Firework”

Best Female Video:
Lady Gaga, “Born This Way”

Best New Artist:
Tyler, The Creator, “Yonkers”

Best Male Video:
Justin Bieber, “U Smile”

Best Collaboration:
Katy Perry featuring Kanye West, “E.T.”

Best Hip-Hop Video:
Nicki Minaj, “Super Bass”

Best Rock Video:
Foo Fighters, “Walk”

Best Pop Video:
Britney Spears, “Till the World Ends”

Best Video With A Message:
Lady Gaga, “Born This Way”

Best Choreography:
Beyoncé, “Run the World (Girls)”

Best Visual Effects:
Katy Perry featuring Kanye West, “E.T.”

Best Art Direction:
Adele, “Rolling in the Deep”

Best Editing:
Adele, “Rolling in the Deep”

Best Cinematography:
Adele, “Rolling in the Deep”

PHOTOS FROM THE SHOW:

Drake may be ride or die for his Young Money team…..but he can’t speak for Lil Wayne‘s jab at Jay-Z in “It’s Good”.

Just Like Jadakiss, Drizzy is remaining neutral and says all he did was write a verse for the beat.

“I just got a beat and did a verse over it. Whatever any other individual has to say, you have to ask the man himself. I just did what I know how to do. I just got on a record. I heard the beat, did a verse and heard the final product.”

We figured Drake wasn’t going to get involved … he’s a good kid.

Lil Wayne rocked the stage — literally — as he closed out this year’s MTV Video Music Awards.

But first, the rapper, whose new album “Tha Carter IV” is in stores as of today, showed off his sensitive side with his Hip-Hop ballad “How to Love.” He then ripped his shirt off and moved into a high-energy rock-and-roll inspired performance of “John,” which he ended by smashing an electric guitar on the stage.

Watch Lil Wayne rock out below,  and check out the pics!