Young Jeezy, Waka Flocka Flame, Wale, Meek Mill, Diggy Simmons, Jeremih, Tyga and others were among the acts who performed for BET’s “106 & Party” New Year’s Eve TV special, which aired on TV Saturday night (Dec 31).

Check out the photos and watch the performances below:

Young Jeezy

Diggy Simmons (f/ Jeremih)

B.o.B

Wale (f/ Jeremih)

Waka Flocka Flame

Yelawolf

Machine Gun Kelly

Meek Mill

Tyga

Maino

Future

2 Chainz

Ace Hood

French Montana

Wale and his boss Rick Ross have dropped the visuals for their “Tats On My Arm” collaboration.

Take a peep below:

]]> http://gossiponthis.com/2011/11/16/music-video-wale-rick-ross-tats-on-my-arm/feed/ 1 http://gossiponthis.com/2011/11/15/music-video-wale-miguel-lotus-flower-bomb/ http://gossiponthis.com/2011/11/15/music-video-wale-miguel-lotus-flower-bomb/#comments Tue, 15 Nov 2011 20:36:02 +0000 GOT STAFF http://gossiponthis.com/?p=129307

Rapper Wale fantasizes about his dream girl (played by America’s Next Top Model winner Bre Scullark) in the music video for his latest single “Lotus Flower Bomb,” from his sophomore album “Ambition.”

The track, which features R&B singer Miguel singing on the hook, is from Wale’s sophomore album “Ambition,” in stores now. More »

Rapper Wale fantasizes about his dream girl (played by America’s Next Top Model winner Bre Scullark) in the music video for his latest single “Lotus Flower Bomb,” from his sophomore album “Ambition.”

The track, which features R&B singer Miguel singing on the hook, is from Wale’s sophomore album “Ambition,” in stores now.

Watch Wale’s new “Lotus Flower Bomb” video below:

]]>

With a queen chess piece in his hand, rapper Wale, who is celebrating the release of his sophomore album “Ambition” this week, covers the latest issue of Rolling Out Magazine.

Inside the issue, the Maybach Music Group rapper talks about a number of topics, including why he signed with Rick Ross‘ new label and how that deal came about, what he wants his legacy in Hip-Hop to be, wanting to be an advocate for women and more.

Before the release of your first album, you built an impressive buzz for yourself. So what caused the album to fail to meet the high expectations?
I put that on myself to get back to where I need to be. We’re working. I do music for my fans and family. My fans appreciated my first album. But my label didn’t ship it for whatever reason. I re-evaluated my life and my situation and now I’m in a different place. I found out a lot of artists can’t go to a city and do a show with 2,000 people. I’m blessed to have people who appreciate what I do.

When did Rick Ross reach out to you?
The Maybach Music Group deal came about when I was a free agent. I look at Rick Ross as more than an artist. I didn’t sign to be a side kick, I want to be an artist and do what I’m capable of doing musically. Ross let’s me do that. He’s the boss at the label, but he’s not bossing me around.

So what is the biggest difference in being at MMG vs. being at Interscope?
The difference is freedom. I’m very in tune with urban culture. I felt my last situation wasn’t allowing me to grow with the urban culture. They saw a Lady Gaga opportunity and I went with it. I was a new artist and I didn’t get it. I thought I was being ignored by black America. It’s not as much money, but to connect with the people I grew up with is more important than connecting with pop fans. Even the white people who are familiar with my music deserve to hear what I’m really saying. I shouldn’t be marketed toward top 40. When I listen to my first album, you can hear who I am talking to. But I now have an opportunity to change that.

You have a lot of female fans. How important is it for you to balance the risque songs such as “No Hands” with inspirational tracks such as “Diary”?
I want to be an advocate for the women. I may say some wild things, but that’s our time to have fun. But I stand for fixing the world our way. Let’s add spice to this and change the world. I believe women should go to school to network with others who will change the world. I’m encouraging. I’m a part of the problem, but I want to be a part of the clean up. “No Hands” is the party and “Ambitious Girls” is the clean up. We can have fun, but I hope you’re getting up and going to class. I don’t want to get in the way of that. That [is] something you have to do. For two years, I had to walk around with about $15 in my account. That was my time. I left school and had to get on my grind. I was about 21. Now show me you can work the system for four or five years and continue to do your thing.

You caught flack from black women for not having dark-skinned females in your “Pretty Girls” video. How did that make you feel?
It wasn’t about that, but it showed me what I meant to the black culture. That made me realize that people hold me at a higher regard. That was when I knew I had to make a change. For “Pretty Girls,” I didn’t go on set until there were dark-skinned girls at the video shoot. I was waiting. The most horrible feeling in the world, was that my women think that I don’t care about them. I’d rather go broke than for my black women to think that I don’t care about them. I would rather lose everything than to have my queens think I’m turning my back on them. I was the only kid in my neighborhood with a father. And that’s because I’m African and they don’t divorce. It messed me up. When I was in Mississippi, a girl told me she had her first child at 16. So I made a song called “Illest B—- Alive.” There’s a special place in my heart for black girls. If you’re black and have a black mother, you know how special they are.

Beyond the physical, what is the most attractive thing about a woman?
I like girls who can get the intellect popping. Instead of liking me just because I rap, I like girls who can ask about where I was mentally when I thought of making a certain record. I can find a nice amount of girls who think I’m attractive or whatever, but intellect is very important. “Lotus Flower Bomb” was a record that I wanted to create a long time ago. I’m not sure if radio was ready for that at the time. That’s kind of an adult vibe. I was 23 when I was writing my first project. I was doing what I was told to do instead of doing what my heart told me to do.

What do you think people say about you as it relates to hip-hop?
I want my legacy to be that I was humble. I want people to know my heart more and more into every album. Know that I really stand for this culture and the people. Most of us know each other. Whenever people say there are only a few real dudes in this joint, I know that I’m one of them.

[Rolling Out]

Rick Ross stopped by BET’s “106 & Park” yesterday and made his first major TV appearance since his health scare earlier this month when he suffered two seizures back-to-back.

The Maybach Music CEO explained to hosts Rocsi and Terrence J that his long work hours and the fact that he hasn’t had a good night’s sleep in over 5 years put his health at risk.

He said, “Being the fastest growing label in the game, wanting to be the number one label in the game, it comes with a lot of sacrifices and in my case it was sleep. I would get two hours of sleep and keep moving. Me being a hustler.”

Ross says his doctors tested him for cancer, diabetes, HIV and more, and the tests came back showing that the rapper is “totally healthy.”

“It was a case of me not getting enough rest, enough sleep,” he said, adding that these days he’s making sure to leave room for naps.

The rapper also revealed that he recently worked on a collaboration with Jay-Z.

“Me and Jay-Z finished the biggest collaboration that we’ve ever done together, for my album,” he said.

Rick Ross was also joined by rapper and MMG artist Wale, and R&B singer Jeremih for the interview at BET Studios in New York City.

Watch the interview (and check out the pics) below:

Rap newcomers Wale and J. Cole party it up and live the good life in the video for their collaboration single “Bad Girls Club.”

Wale’s sophomore album “Ambition” is in stores now!

Check out Wale and J. Cole’s brand new “Bad Girls Club” music video below! (And look out for a preview of Wale’s next video for “Tats on My Arm” featuring Wale’s Maybach Music Group boss Rick Ross at the end of the clip.)

Maybach Music Group‘s biggest artists — Rick Ross, Wale and Meek Mill — graced the stage of the 2011 BET Hip-Hop Awards, which were held earlier this month (Sat. Oct 1st) in Atlanta at the Civic Center, and aired last night (Tue. Oct 11th) on BET.

90′s R&B crooner El DeBarge, who has recently been making a comeback and popping up at almost every BET awards show, opened up the performance by singing the intro the “That Way,” which lead into Wale’s appearance, followed by fellow MMG newcomer Meek Mill, who performed his single “I’ma Boss”

With flames in the background and to much fanfare, MMG’s head honcho Rick Ross joined his artists on stage, asserting his status as a “Bawse” as he rapped along to his verse on Meek Mill’s song.

Watch MMG’s BET Hip-Hop Awards takeover below:

The 2011 BET Hip-Hop Awards just went down over the weekend (Sat. Oct 1) in Atlanta, and the black carpet posted up outside the Civic Center was littered with rappers and other celebrities.

Hip-Hop figures like Big Sean, Rick Ross, Tyrese, Nelly, Wiz Khalifa, Wale, Da Brat, DJ Khaled, Busta Rhymes, LL Cool J and tons more all posed for pictures as they arrived at the show, hosted by comedian Mike Epps.

Take a look at 25+ pics from the BET Hip-Hop Awards Black Carpet below:

Wale has dropped his new music video “That Way” featuring Jeremih and Rick Ross.

Check it out!

Rapper Wale performs on-stage with R&B singer Melanie Fiona during the Heineken Red Star Access Roc Nation Event (with music by DJ D-Nice) in Chicago. Actress/singer Adrienne Bailon was also spotted at the concert.

Check out 10+ pics below:

R&B singers Usher and Miguel linked up backstage during the first day of the 2011 Coachella Valley Music & Arts Festival Friday evening (Apr 15) at the Empire Polo Club in Indio, California.

Janet Jackson was fresh-faced as she hosted a book signing for her new book “True You: A Guide to Finding and Loving Yourself” Friday at Book Soup in West Hollywood, CA.

NBA star Dwight Howard and Emmy Award winning entertainment journalist Nancy O’Dell took the all-new Blackberry Playbook for a test drive at the Blackberry Playbook Launch Party, hosted at Center 548 Thursday (Apr 14) in New York City.

Actress Vivica A. Fox was spotted at the Vault VIP Preview event, held at Vault in Miami Beach Thursday.

Actor Josh Duhamel posed with a pair of Reebook’s new RealFlex sneaker Thursday (Apr 14) with actress Ali Larter on the red carpet of the shoe’s launch event at SIR Stage 37 in NYC.

Then Josh demonstrated how the shoe works with some movie stunts.

Star Jones showed up at the 2011 Arthur Institute for Urban Health’s Sports Ball Thursday evening at Chelsea Piers in New York City

Troubled actor Charlie Sheen and two of his goddesses, Bree Olsen and Natalie Kenly, posed on the red carpet of the official after-party for Charlie’s “Torpedo of Truth” Tour stop Thursday at Muzik in Toronto, Canada.

Jamie Foxx paid a visit to BET’s 106 & Park Wednesday (Apr 13) to promote his appearance in the upcoming movie “Rio.”

Jamie, Jamie, Jamie …. (LOL!)

Rapper Waka Flocka Flame also made a guest appearance on BET’s 106 & Park Wednesday to promote some new projects of his own and to celebrate the success of his debut album Flockaveli.

Rick Ross and Wale made appearances on 106 & Park just one day prior on Tuesday (Apr 12) to talk about Maybach Music Group.

BET reality star Toya was also on 106 & Park Tuesday to discuss her new show “Toya: A Family Affair,” which debuted to over 1 million viewers last week.

And UK crossover artist Jessie J, whose debut album Who You Are officially dropped in the U.S. last week, performed on 106 & Park to promote her album’s stateside release.

Rappers Kid Cudi and Wale kissed and made up on Twitter earlier this week.

And it went a little something like this…

According to Rap Radar, the emcees later talked things over on the phone. Reunited and it feels so good!

Your thoughts?

Rapper Wale has found himself a new home….

The DC rapper recently inked a deal with Rick Ross’ Maybach Music. He confirmed the news via Twitter over the weekend.

“The music wont change..the energy will. Can’t wait till y’all hear the new music. and ROCNATION still handles the business! …shoutout to @richkleiman,” Wale tweeted Friday night (Feb 4).

According to All Hip Hop, Wale was originally signed to Mark Ronson’s Allido Records imprint, which distributed the rapper’s debut album Attention Deficit through a deal with Interscope Records.

Since his signing, Wale was given a $44,000 black diamond Cartier watch from the “Boss” himself. Peep the footage below:

Congrats on the new move, big homie!

Your thoughts?

Rapper Kid Cudi covers the October/November 2010 issue of Complex Magazine and talks about a vast range of topics, including his cocaine use, his thoughts on fellow rapper Wale (he calls dude a simple ass rapper LOL!), his new daughter and more. Peep the excerpts below:

On using cocaine:
I started doing cocaine to get through interviews, ’cause people wanted to know a lot about my personal life and I wasn’t prepared for a 60 Minutes interview every time. Doing bumps I was able to get through the day, but then I would smoke weed to calm me down—it was the only way I could get through the day without people noticing I was doing it.

I never thought it was a problem, but I was definitely high-fiving death a couple of times. It took a lot for me to talk about shit like this on the album. I don’t feel like I need to explain myself to anyone besides the fans. My fans don’t believe shit until they hear me say it. And those are true Kid Cudi fans. I want them to know the story.

[But] no more blow. People do drugs to camouflage emotions and run away from their problems. Now I’m going to deal with certain things as they come, prioritize shit—man up, so to speak. Just for the record, it bugged me out that people said it was liquid cocaine. No, I’m just fucking rich, and my blow comes in a jar. There was no liquid in it—that shit makes no sense.

On Wale firing shots in a freestyle “Throwin’ ’round wallets like the dude that Kid Cudi hit”:
It wasn’t a shot, it’s just a simple-ass rhyme by a simple-ass rapper. You can’t let that shit faze you. That’s one of those raps that just shows the world that you wack. Why would you even use that as a metaphor? Everybody think they Hov. Niggas ain’t got the magic like they think they do; there’s only a couple of wizards in this game. I’m a wizard and I know it.

On his new daughter (just born this year):
There’s another thing people don’t know. I have a daughter, born March 26th of this year. Her name is Vada, and she’s fucking awesome. That was eating me up, and it was stressing me out that nobody knew about her. I was trying to escape from that, too. Just trying to figure it out and make everyone happy, it’s a lot for somebody my age to handle. I was manning up and dealing with it in what I thought was the right way, but it was the wrong way. I want to be around for her. I can honestly say she was the wake-up call. The reality that it’s bigger than just you now—you have a responsibility and there’s no more time for mistakes. It’s time to stop fucking around.

I was scared as fuck. I need to be a dad now, and I’m not with the girl—how does that work? Because having money isn’t it. I just wanted to be a great dad, and I didn’t think I was capable. Then I thought: When she gets here it’s either nut up or shut up. She’s my best friend and she doesn’t even know it. That’s why I always told myself I’m going to make these songs for my kids, so they can follow along and know my story, if something was ever to happen to me. No matter what motherfuckers are saying or haters are putting in their ear. She can put on my records and be like, “Fuck all that other shit, my dad was like this.” But I might make sure she doesn’t listen to this album until she’s 40. [Laughs.] I’m excited about watching her grow, I’m excited to be a papa.

READ MORE @ COMPLEX.COM

You may recall that rapper Wale came under a lot of flack a couple of weeks ago for supposedly backing out of a performance at a Black Pride event in his hometown of Washington, D.C. after finding out that that “Black Pride” was actually a gay pride festival. After learning of this, he allegedly backed out of the event citing work conflicts and was criticized and called homophobic. Well, it turns out that Wale did perform at the event this past weekend, and during his performance, he apologized for initially canceling his appearance and also blamed his team for the confusion:

“One thing I stand for is Hip-Hop music,” Wale said on the stage.  “Hip-Hop music knows no race, no color, no age, no, gender, no sexual orientation or none of that. The most important thing about it is the music and if it makes people happy that’s why we are here. I will say that sometimes in this business, you get a lot of people who don’t understand that or have the same beliefs as you do. And I apologize for not having my best foot forward. And I am going to do better.”

ALL HIP HOP

He also stated that he spent over $50,000 of his own money to assure his branding and image was right and that he’d never abandon his hometown.

Rapper Gucci Mane celebrated his status as a newly free man (for the umpteenth time) with a private dinner in Atlanta Wednesday night (May 12) amongst his close industry friends, including his artist Waka Flocka Flame, Shawty Lo, Monica, Kandi, Sean Garrett and more. Check out the pictures from the get-together below…

MORE PICS @ FREDDYO.COM

Rapper Wale shows just how much of a gentlemen he is in his new video for “Diary,” the latest offering from the D.C. native’s debut album Attention Deficit, in stores now. Director Rik Cordero explained the concept of the clip to MTV News:

“What he wanted to do was kind of show that we, as men, when we approach a girl, we don’t always know exactly what her past was,” Rik Cordero, who helmed the shoot, told MTV News. “Whether she was angry or felt a sort of way because another dude made a mistake that we have to pay for, that was the message Wale wanted to get across in this video.”

Check Wale’s new video below:

A ton of beautiful women join Wale in his brand new Chris Robinson directed music video for “Pretty Girls,” the latest single from his debut album Attention: Deficit, in stores now. Of course the track’s co-star Gucci Mane couldn’t be in the video due to his current “situation” but who cares? It’s all about the pretty girls! Continue reading to peep the new video.

GQ Men of the Year Wale and Drake attended the party celebrating their honor at the Chateau Marmont Wednesday evening (Nov 18) in Hollywood. According to the popular men’s magazine, Wale, Drake and Kid Cudi have “killed” gangsta Hip-Hop, earning each of them the “Man of the Year” title.

GQ says: Have you been listening to hip-hop this year? If not, we’ve got good news: The gangster persona is finally dead, and these are the kids who killed it. One song at a time, they build a new era in which duct-taped kilos, exotic firearms, and freaky girls are out and real life is the focus. … Wale is as famous for his live shows as for the slick-witted lyricism of his debut Attention Deficit. Kid Cudi is the cut up who scored with the stoner anthem “Day N Nite” and his album Man on the Moon. And then there’s Drake, who found himself turning down multimillion-dollar offers after his single “Best I Ever Had” exploded. (It helps that the girls like Drake. A lot.) Drake’s debut, Thank Me Later, is easily the most anticipated album of 2010.

So what do these underdogs think about being cast as gangster slayers? “The dope boy is going to be a fixture of black culture as long as ‘thug’ is a legitimate option alongside ‘job,’” Drake says. “But I’m not going to rap about how much crack I’ve sold.” Cudi also laughs at the idea of talking tough. “Anybody from Cleveland will tell you I wasn’t in the streets,” he says. “Ask them, They’ll say. ‘Scott was the goofy class clown.’”

The celebrity guest list for the 14th annual GQ Men of the Year Party also included Kobe Bryant, Gabrielle Union, Nicki Minaj, Kim Kardashian and more. Continue reading for the rest of the pics!

]]> http://gossiponthis.com/2009/11/20/wale-drake-kobe-bryant-kim-kardashian-and-more-attend-14th-annual-gq-men-of-the-year-party-in-hollywood/feed/ 1 http://gossiponthis.com/2009/11/16/wale-talks-to-honey-mag-about-solange-i-do-love-her/ http://gossiponthis.com/2009/11/16/wale-talks-to-honey-mag-about-solange-i-do-love-her/#comments Mon, 16 Nov 2009 15:34:02 +0000 GOT STAFF http://gossiponthis.com/?p=42727

Up and coming rapper Wale recently sat down with Honey Mag and touched on a few things, including relationships, his female fans, his new album and a hot topic we all would like to know more about … his “relationship” with singer Solange:

“I do love her,” he admits of Solange, flashing a Cheshire. More »

Up and coming rapper Wale recently sat down with Honey Mag and touched on a few things, including relationships, his female fans, his new album and a hot topic we all would like to know more about … his “relationship” with singer Solange:

“I do love her,” he admits of Solange, flashing a Cheshire. “We’re friends. She’s amazing. She’s a good person. Any single mother contributing to society the way she does — I got a lot of love for them. She’s got to do a lot on her own and raise a young black man in this day and age, so my hat goes off to her. She’s definitely an anomaly. And the way she can do that and manage to do the same things that I complain about having to do.”

His affection is as obvious as a set of flushed cheeks. And impossibly adorable. Wale, the former mixtape rapper from inner city DC, is borderline giddy.

“Did you interview Solange about me?” Wale asks. He’s sprawled across his bed; head practically buried in the pillow. “Did she smile when you mentioned my name?”

Wale is dead ass. But not in a corny, love sick pit-bull way. His honesty is endearing. Wale insists that he and Solange are just friends but it didn’t take a crowbar to pry his desires out of him. He stops singing MGMT’s “Electric Feel” long enough to address his future.

“It would be nice to settle down,” Wale says. “I wish that was coming soon. I’ve done a lot, man. I have no interest in accidentally getting a groupie pregnant, I’ll tell you that much. I don’t want to be the 50-year-old pops. I wanna be like, Yo, I’m bout to take off tour, go fly to see the wife, the girl, the kids or whatever I got, then come back to this bullshit-ass lifestyle with all these fair-weather friends. It’s about real love.”

Visit Honey Mag for more!

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Sorry about the big gap in updates today, we had some biz to handle … just like these celebrities we caught on the scene handling their business this past Tuesday! Rapper Wale visited Fuse Studios in New York City Tuesday (Nov 10) to appear on Fuse TV’s “Hip Hop Shop” to promote his new album Attention Deficit, which dropped that day. In a series of tweets following his debut album’s launch, the D.C. born emcee said that each song on his album tells a story:

“On the train, bumpin’ my album,” he wrote. “I feel like telling y’all facts about Attention Deficit. Why not? There’s a story behind every song. On ‘Mama Told Me,’ I had something stuck in my teeth. At the beginning you can hear me making this weird noise tryin’ to get it out.” (Warning: Once you know that fact, that’s the only think you can hear.)

A few minutes later, he added that producer Mark Ronson actually encouraged Wale to tone down the lyrics of “90210,” where he skewers Paris Hilton (among others). “I admit i was too mean on that,” he wrote. Finally, he said that the album’s best track almost fell by the wayside. “‘Contemplate’ almost didn’t make the album. Jay-Z was a writer on the song sampled and we couldn’t reach him until the last minute.”

SOURCE

We also grabbed some new pictures of Kimora Lee, Taylor Swift, Russell Simmons, Ashton Kutcher, Demi Moore, Adam Lambert and more out and about handling their business too! Kimora attended the 2009 Emery Awards, which also doubled as the 30th anniversary of the Hetrick-Martin Institute, at Cipriani Wall Street Tuesday (Nov 10) in New York City. She also spoke at the event. // And young country music singer Taylor Swift attended the 57th annual BMI Country Awards in Nashville the same day.

Continue reading to check out the rest of the pictures and click on each thumbnail for more info!

Here’s Chrisette Michele‘s new “Fragile (Remix)” music video. Directed by the R&B songstress herself, the video features rapper Wale and was put out by her label Def Jam earlier this week. Continue reading to check it out!

Rapper Jay-Z, pictured above signing autographs for fans outside MuchMusic Headquarters in Toronto, Canada, hit up MuchOnDemand this past Saturday (Oct 31) to discuss his new album, The Bluepring 3, among other things including his current Blueprint 3 album promo tour, which went down at the Air Canada Centre later that night.

Wale, Pharrell Williams and Rhea were also in the building. Continue reading for the rest of the pics!

The 2009 BET Hip Hop Awards went down in Atlanta, GA Saturday (Oct 10). We hear Jay-Z and Young Jeezy opened the show in a big way with a surprise performance! Other tidbits from the show include the late DJ AM being the recipient of the “DJ of the Year” award, Kid & Play popping up during New Boyz‘ performance and Gucci Mane performing like 3 or 4 times. The show also featured performances from Soulja Boy, Ludacris, Jim Jones, Snoop Dogg and more.

The show, hosted by comedian Mike Epps, airs on BET on Tuesday, October 27th at 8/7c and we hear it was actually the best out of the few that have gone on over the past few years.

In the meantime, check out all of the photos/happenings from the events surrounding the show by hitting up our BET Hip-Hop Awards ’09 section and continue reading below for more pics from inside the show!

The biggest names in hip-hop entertainment hit up the 2009 BET Hip-Hop awards, held in Atlanta, GA this past weekend. Folks like Soulja Boy, Gucci Mane, Monica, Tiny & Toya, Pretty Ricky, Shawty Lo, Plies, Rick Ross and more all walked the red carpet before making their way into the building to enjoy the show, which will air on BET Tuesday, October 27th at 8/7c.

PHOTOS: NIGEL D / WIRE IMAGE / GETTY IMAGES

Flavor Flav‘s big grown, 50 year old azz showed up at the VH1 Hip Hop Honors looking like this. It’s not outside of his usual character, but got dayum. And is that a tag on his jacket?

Flav, Kid Rock, Warren G, Wale and more attended the 2009 VH1 Hip Hop Honors after party to benefit to the VH1 Save The Music Foundation at One Hanson Place Wednesday night (Sep 23) in New York City. Continue reading for the rest of the pics!

Ashanti sure is looking good these days! It’s hard to believe Nelly let all of that go. She and Ja Rule reunited on stage at the 2009 VH1 Hip Hop Honors Wednesday night (Sep 23), which saw performances from Wale, Kid Rock, Method Man & Redman, Eminem and more. The ceremony honored the pioneers of Def Jam along with the people, past and present, who helped create the label and build it into what it is today. Hosted by comedian Tracy Morgan, the show is set to make its television debut only on VH1 on Tuesday, October 13th at 9 pm.

It’s only right that the first Def Jam artist to be honored was the label’s foundation and face for so many years, LL Cool J. The Roots started it off with “Rock the Bells.” Black Thought ripped the first verse of the record, then gave way for a special guest: Eminem. Last year, Slim Shady publicly expressed his love for LL during a phone prank on DJ Tony Touch’s Shade 45 radio show. Spitting the second verse of “Rock the Bells” on Wednesday night, Em sounded almost exactly like the legend who inspired him. “Now I’m worldwide known/ Whether you like it or not/ My one-man band is Cut Creator…/ When he’s on the fader/ What’s my DJ’s name?” “Cut Creator!” The crowd yelled. Later, Kid Rock paid tribute to LL with “I’m Bad.” The Kid also DJed during the show, as did Ed Lover.

The second performance was from one of Def Jam’s signature groups, Public Enemy. Chuck D was immediately electrifying with the opening words for “Rebel Without a Pause”: “Yes, the rhythm, the rebel.” Chuck still has one of the most recognizable and commanding voices in all of music, not just rap. Flavor Flav came out wearing a white tuxedo jacket, matching top hat and a black bow tie. PE arguably had the performance of the night with help from the Roots, S1W and Boots Riley. The Long Island-bred rap chiefs were just born for the stage. The entire crowd was on their feet cheering. After their performance, Flav was seen talking to Nation of Islam leader Louis Farrakhan in the audience.

Another bricklaying squad for the house that Russell and Rick built was, undoubtedly, the Beastie Boys. KRS-One, Wale and the Gym Class Heroes did a rocking rendition of “No Sleep Till Brooklyn.” Travis McCoy, who wore a black T-shirt with the names “DJ AM” and “Roc Raida” in the shape of the Run-DMC logo, took on the first verse. The Blastmaster, who is a former HHH honoree himself, took verse two and ended by saying, “Adam, get well soon,” referring to Adam Yauch, who is currently battling cancer. Wale finished off the song and later paid tribute to Kanye West, wearing a backpack and rapping “Touch the Sky.”

When Onyx performed “Slam” it felt like the group had stepped out of a time capsule: They looked almost exactly the same and still had that insane energy that made them famous. During his verse, Sticky Fingaz climbed on top of a large speaker. Rather than climb down when he finished, Stick climbed into the balcony. Other performers included Rick Ross, Fabolous, Foxy Brown, Redman, Method Man, Mary J. Blige, EPMD, Ghostface Killah, Chrissette Michele, Warren G, Trey Songz, the reunion of Ashanti and Ja Rule, Ludacris and DMX — many of whom teamed up with the Roots for a show-closing medley of Def Jam hits.

Offstage, Ja Rule and DMX had their own reunion. The two came up together as close friends and later turned to bitter enemies, even dissing each other on records. As X was walking out, Ja was returning to his seat, and the pair saw each other, hugged and talked for a few moments.

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Rapper DMX walked the Red Carpet of the 2009 VH1 Hip Hop Honors Wednesday night (Sep 23) at the Brooklyn Academy of Music in New York City. His appearance at this year’s show marked his first public appearance/performance in at least three years. And we all know all of the drama he’s been getting himself into in the meantime.

Also on the red carpet were Wale, Ashanti, Fabolous, Ludacris, Eve, Trey Songz and more. The show, hosted by Tracy Morgan, airs October 13th at 9 pm on VH1. Continue reading for the rest of the pics from the Red Carpet.

Rapper Kanye West offered Joe Jackson a sip from his bottle of Henny before last night’s VMAs. The bottle apparently made its way around the audience because Pete Wentz was also spotted drinking straight from the community bottle. Looks like Kanye and Amber were trying to get everybody a little loose!

Kid Cudi and Wale performed as a part of the official house band during commercial breaks/intermissions.

Lady Gaga accepted her award for “Best New Artist” from a shocked Eminem. We would love to know what he was thinking when he saw her in that outfit!

Continue reading for more…

Lots more from the show to come shortly!

Here are some photos from the red carpet of the 2009 MTV Video Music Awards, held Sunday night (Sep 13) at Radio City Music Hall in New York City. Big names like Beyonce, Alicia Keys, Ne-Yo, Lady Gaga, Jennifer Lopez, Kanye West and more all showed up and posed for pictures. Continue reading for the rest of them!

According to BET, R&B songwriters turned singers The Dream and Keri Hilson, along with rapper Wale, are considered to be “Rising Icons” and the three of them performed at the Grey Goose sponsored concert series Tuesday (Jul 28) at BET Studios in New York City.

BET Networks and Grey Goose Entertainment partnered up to present Rising Icons, an original 30-minute weekly series that will highlight some of the rising stars in the world of R&B. The show premiered Monday (Jul 27) with Chrisette Michele and future episodes will feature Keri Hilson, The Dream, Wale, Ryan Leslie and more.

Hit up the official BET site for more info and continue reading for more pics!

PHOTOS: GETTY IMAGES / WIRE IMAGE

Rapper Fabolous, singer Kristinia DeBarge, Def Jam head honcho Antonio “LA” Reid and actress/singer Adrienne Bailon hit up a special screening of Fabolous’ new album/DVD combo Loso’s Way (in stores today!) at the Tribeca Grand Hotel Monday night (Jul 27) in New York.

Continue reading for more pics from the screening and for pics from the screening’s after party, which was held at NYC’s The Griffin nightclub, and saw appearances from Keri Hilson, Tank, Ryan Leslie and more!

PHOTOS: WIRE IMAGE / GETTY IMAGES

all posed for a group shot Monday night (Jul 27) at the BET Rising Icons event, sponsored by Grey Goose, at 1OAK in New York City. Continue reading for more photos from the event!

PHOTOS: GETTY IMAGES / FILM MAGIC

NYC nightlife moguls Eugene Remm and Mark Birnhaum celebrated their birthdays together Tuesday night at Tenjune in New York City. Celebrities like Lil Kim, Kid Cudi, Fat Joe, Wale and Jeremih came through to party with the club owners. Continue reading for all of the pics!

PHOTOS: WIRE IMAGE