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The 2010 MTV Video Music Awards are getting a double-dose of Nicki Minaj. Earlier today, the network announced that the Young Money raptress would be performing during the pre-show broadcast, and now, the Best New Artist nominee is getting her swerve on in a new promo clip for the ceremony.
Set to the tune of her hit “Your Love,” a young Nicki poses in the mirror, dreaming of one day ruling rap. But as the clip progresses, Minaj is shown dolled up like a classic ’50s debutante and zooms into the present as she hops on a motorcycle and speeds through the California streets.
“Ever since she was little, she dreamed of dominating the world of rap,” says the announcer. “Now the world—and every man in it—is beneath her stilettos.”
Debuting tonight on MTV’s 10 spot, the promo clip is an early taste of what Minaj will bring during her performance at the pre-show event, airing on Sunday, Sept. 12, at 8 p.m. The award show, hosted by Chelsea Handler, will follow at 9 p.m.
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You demanded it for WEEKS — if not MONTHS on Twitter — and it’s finally happening. Nicki Minaj will perform a live mash-up of her single, “Your Love” at the 2010 MTV VMA Pre-Show on Sunday, Sept. 12 at 8pm ET. Nicki’s performance will be her first live solo performance, so DO NOT miss it! And if you’re really lucky, you could even be there!
On Tuesday, September 7th, MTV and Nicki Minaj will be holding a Twitter contest where 10 lucky fans will win a front-row spot to watch her VMA Pre-Show performance. For more information on the contest, follow both @NickiMinaj and @MTVTJ. Winners will be announced on Friday, September 10th.
Nicki’s also presenting a VMA, and she’s got her own VMA nomination for Best New Artist. And if that wasn’t proof enough that Nicki Minaj pretty much owned 2010, her track record for guesting on songs and remixes should help. From Usher’s “Lil Freak,” Ludacris’ “My Chick Bad,” Mariah Carey’s “Up Out My Face (Remix),” Christina Aguilera’s “Woohoo,” Trey Songz’s “Bottoms Up,” Kanye West’s “Monster,” to name just a few, the truth has become this: if it’s hot, Nicki Minaj was on that track. Not to mention Cash Money’s hits and her own, like “Massive Attack,” “Roger That,” “Bedrock” and “Your Love.”
Nicki Minaj’s VMA Pre-Show performance means she’s joining a massive list of VMA performers. Also scheduled to perform are Kanye West, Drake, Linkin Park, Usher, Paramore, Eminem, Justin Bieber, B.o.B, and Florence + the Machine.
Check out photos of Nicki Minaj at her VMA promo shoot. And don’t miss Nicki’s live performance at the 2010 MTV VMA Pre-Show at 8pm ET/PT.
+ Don’t miss the 2010 MTV VMAs live from Los Angeles on Sunday, Sept. 12, at 9/8c, hosted by Chelsea Handler. And don’t forget to cast your vote for Best New Artist by visiting http://vma.mtv.com. Or text “BNA” to 97979. Voting continues through the show, live on Sept. 12. Verizon Wireless subscribers, text “VMA” to 97979 (standard message rates apply.)
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Nicki Minaj is featured in Paper Magazine for the month of September. Check out the rest of the photos/scans as well as the article in the gallery here.
Source: NickiInfo
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With the recent deficit of femcees in the game, the future of females in hip-hop depends on the success of Nicki Minaj’s debut album Pink Friday. The Young Money starlet spoke with V103’s Greg Street about how important it is for her album to succeed, and hopes that it will encourage more ladies to pick up the mic
“They won’t look to sign other female rappers because they’ll say, ‘Her buzz was so crazy and if she couldn’t do it, then no one can do it.’ And I don’t want that to happen, so I’m doing this as well for all the girls,” explained the “Your Love” hitmaker. “I hope that with the success of the album—because I know it will be successful, I believe it will be successful—I hope that this opens doors for all of the girls everywhere.”
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Kanye West dropped his first G.O.O.D. Friday offering, “Monster,” last week, a plodding, six-minute epic featuring nothing but heavy-hitting MCs.
“Gossip, gossip, everybody stop it, everybody know I’m a mutha’ f****** monster,” Kanye spits on the track.
In addition to nailing Jay-Z and Rick Ross to the track, ‘Ye gave Nicki Minaj ample real estate to show of her multiple personalities.
Kanye, Jay and Rick aside, though, streets are talking about the pint-sized rapper.
“Nicki smashed ‘Monster’!” hip-hop fan John Lacarbier tweeted. “She’s growing on me!”
Fan Alex Alexander co-signed, “Not only did Nick kill it, she bodied Hov, Ye, and Ross!”
Even Milwaukee Bucks point guard Brandon Jennings expressed his love for the song, exclaiming, “OMG Nikki Minaj is a beast! She bodied that Kanye West ‘Monster.’”
A few folks weren’t believing the hype, though.
Bronx hip-hop head Scheme tweeted, “No hate but what’s the big deal?”
Photographer and graphic designer Ryan Herring still prefers old ‘Ye to the new G.O.O.D. Friday tracks.
“U can’t tell me Power or Monster is better than Pre-808s Kanye,” he challenged.
Either way, with three months ’til Christmas, there are plenty more G.O.O.D. Fridays to come.
What do you think? Does Nicki kill Kanye’s “Monster”? Let us know in the comments!
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Nicki Minaj’s peers always have something to say about her, and Jeremih & Lloyd are no different. They both sat down with Rap-Up.com recently for their own individual interviews, and the HB came up in conversation for each. Check out what they both had to say about her below:
Jeremih was his chipper self, shining in place of the absent sun as he let loose with Rap-Up.com to discuss his drink of choice, the song he thinks Nicki Minaj should sample, and the name of his pet turtle. Here’s what he had to say.
4. What do you think would be a hot track for you or another artist to sample?
I always thought, from a production standpoint, it would be dope if Nicki Minaj remixed a sample of “Barbie Girl” [performed by Aqua].
To see what Lloyd had to say about Nicki continue reading to check out the video below:
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Nicki Minaj is in love with a Monster. One of Hollywood’s leading ladies has captured the Young Money femcee’s heart.
Minaj revealed that she has a girl crush on Charlize Theron. “She’s a bad bitch,” the Harajuku Barbie told PEOPLE of the South African actress, who won an Oscar for her role in the 2003 film Monster. “I think she’s really, really perky.”
Theron is not the only one in Hollywood Minaj has expressed her fondness for. She previously disclosed that her teenage crush was Die Hard actor Bruce Willis, who she name-checks on “Your Love.” Although he didn’t quite understand the lyrics, Willis said he was flattered.
Jada Pinkett Smith was also named by Nicki as one of her favorites. The rap diva showed love to the actress during her acceptance speech at the BET Awards, previously tweeting, “If it were raining i’d give jada pinkett my umbrella n put my rain coat on the puddle in front of her.”
Source: Rap-Up.com
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The film covers everything from artistry, imaging and the thin ranks of female MCs (from more than 40 in the early ’90s to a handful on major labels now) to whether there’s still a place for women in hip-hop. Ava DuVernay, who directed and executive-produced “Mic” through her Forward Movement Films, says she was most surprised by the ladies’ vulnerability.
“Females in hip-hop made a big mistake by becoming Robin to Batman when they fought to be Batman,” says Roxanne Shante, another rap pioneer who appears in the film. “There’s absolutely still a place for female MCs. But now it seems like it’s being built on lipstick and eye shadow, which can be washed away. We have to go back to the talent and skills, how it was originally built.”
In addition to emerging solo rappers Diamond (ex-Crime Mob) and Tiye Phoenix, the film features comments from musician Ahmir “?uestlove” Thompson, producer Swizz Beatz and industry vets Kevin Liles and Russell Simmons.
Noticeably absent in the film are such faces as Queen Latifah and rising star Nicki Minaj. DuVernay says, “Everyone that you think should be in the film was asked.”
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Nicki Minaj has revealed that she might one day consider shaving her hair off.
The rap newcomer has admitted that she loves to change her appearance and also insisted that she dreams of working with Enya, Jay-Z and Phil Collins.
In an interview with Vibe, she said: “I’d like to be able to come out in jeans and slippers. The world has seen all my crazy antics, so now I’m ready to be a regular person… I like to experiment with hair and make-up, so maybe I’ll just shave my whole hair bald… I know right now she has no idea who I am, but I’d like to collab with Enya one day.”
She added: “Of course I’d love to work with Jay-Z, maybe even Phil Collins. I love his voice.”
Minaj recently admitted that she is not concerned whether she has featured artists on her debut album Pink Friday.
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Did Drake and Nicki Minaj get married, or are they just using Twitter to faux-fulfill their fans’ dreams of a royal hip-hop coupling?
Young Money’s prince and princess tweeted each other on Friday afternoon (Aug. 27) about supposedly getting hitched, and their followers went into a re-tweeting frenzy when Minaj wrote, “Yes, its true. Drake and I tied the knot.”
Shortly afterward, Drake tweeted, “Please refer to @nickiminaj as Mrs. Aubrey Drake Graham and dont stare at her too long. She’s finally mine.  ”
Asked whether Drake and Minaj really did get married, a source close to both artists would neither confirm or deny the tweets, but alluded to them being a joke.
This isn’t the first time Drake has expressed marital affection for Minaj. On the track “Miss Me” off his debut album “Thank Me Later,” the Toronto rapper rhymes, “I love Nicki Minaj, I told her, I’d admit it/I hope one day we get married just to say we f***ing did it/And girl, I’m f***ing serious with it if you with it/’Cause your verses turn me on, and your pants are mighty fitted.”
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Nicki Minaj f/ will.i.am – “Check It Out” / Left Click to Listen & Stream Live
Here is a brand new single from Nicki Minaj featuring will.i.am called, “Check It Out”. This is not the finished version as it’s been confirmed by Nicki herself via her Twitter page:
You guys saw it here first, so listen and let us know what you think of the new single! “Pink Friday” drops November 23rd!
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I’ve added photos of Nicki Minaj on the set of the music video for the Trey Songz smash, “Bottoms Up”. Thanks to Jen for sharing these photos with us! You can enjoy these photos untagged in our gallery by clicking the thumbnails or clicking here!
  
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Nearly a decade has passed since R&B icon Aaliyah’s death, and her impact is still being felt. On Wednesday (August 25), the ninth anniversary of the star’s tragic death at age 22, Missy Elliott and Drake sounded off about the later singer’s effect on music, and several of her celebrity fans took to Twitter to reflect on her enduring style and influence.
Funky songstress Janelle Monáe credits Aaliyah’s unique look and mesmerizing footwork with keeping her on the straight-and-narrow. “Aaliyah was an inspiration,” the Midwestern-born artist tweeted. “Always kept me & my friends in [Kansas City] out of trouble. Too busy in the mirror doing her ‘swoop’ bang & dance moves.:)”
Many stars co-signed each other’s thoughts about the late hitmaker, who died in a plane crash in the Bahamas after shooting her “Rock the Boat” video with Hype Williams. DJ Drama re-tweeted Trina’s “R.I.P Aaliyah ‘We Will Always Love You’ ” shout-out. Rick Ross re-tweeted T.I.’s “R.I.P. Aaliyah” message, while Mary J. Blige re-tweeted Ne-Yo’s missive about the fallen star.
“Today is the day that the R&B Angel Aaliyah passed on,” the singer-songwriter wrote. “RT if you loved her the way I did!!WE MISS YOU BABYGIRL!!!!”
“We’ll always love you Aaliyah,” Nicki Minaj tweeted. Minaj’s Dream Team associate Diddy revealed that an unheard Puffy/Aaliyah collabo cooked up in the Caribbean is somewhere in the vaults. “Unknown fact: Aaliyah + I recorded a track in Trinidad that was never released- I wish I could find those tapes now,” Diddy tweeted. “Damn. RIP AALIYAH.”
Timbaland protégé Keri Hilson said she felt a strong connection to the “One in a Million” singer. “#ripAaliyah I feel like you were a sister I’ve nvr had the pleasure of meeting,” Hilson tweeted. “No one will ever replace your shine, nor should one try.”
Ciara, whose agile moves, belly-bearing tops and sassy vocals are reminiscent of the late singer’s, agreed with Hilson that no one will be able to fill the void Aaliyah left behind. “RIP Aaliyah,” the ATL songstress typed. “U can NEVER be replaced!!”
Source: MTV
RIP Aaliyah Dana Haughton (January 16, 1979 – August 25, 2001)
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(CNN) — Three years ago, Nicki Minaj was getting fired from jobs more often than she was paying her rent on time.
The Trinidad-born, New York City-raised artist has written lyrics about having an alcoholic father who once tried to burn down the house with her mom inside.
Certainly, Onika “Nicki Minaj” Maraj seems to be an unlikely candidate to become one of the most intriguing hip-hop artists of today.
After spending the early part of her childhood at her grandmother’s house, Minaj eventually landed in Queens with her parents. By the third grade, she already had an affinity for singing and acting and would later attend the famed LaGuardia Arts High School to study drama.
“I was thinking in my head I was going to be a famous actress,” Minaj says. “When I got out of high school, I didn’t really want to take time and go and audition, I just wanted to get a job and work and get my own place.”
Minaj quickly became bored with the nine to five and decided to give rap music a shot.
A friend in her neighborhood asked Minaj to write a hook for his song, and the young 20-something delivered a chorus and verse that left her collaborator in awe. Figuring if she really put her mind to it that she could succeed in rap, Minaj decided to quit her last job. And then she told her mother.
“I will never forget the panic and fear in her eyes,” she says. “My heart just frickin’ collapsed for a second. My mother was always like, ‘Yeah, you can do anything,’ but her eyes couldn’t lie …”
That was then.
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Click the thumbnail of the photo above to view the full sized image!
Thanks to my friend Billy over at Kesha Daily for sharing with us!
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