Striking while the iron is hot, “Saturday Night Live” has tapped Jesse Eisenberg to host its last episode in January. The “The Social Network” star will do his first job as a host four days after the 83rd Annual Academy Awards nominees are announced on February 25 and few months before his next movie, “30 Minutes or Less” hits theaters.

Eisenberg would be accompanied by Nicki Minaj who is also making her debut appearance on the variety show. The rapper’s debut album “Pink Friday” is experiencing a success on the Billboard Hot 200 by debuting at number two. She is in the middle of promoting the third single “Moment 4 Life” in which she collaborates with Drake.

Snooki has a fan in Nicki Minaj. The “Jersey Shore” star recently revealed her most surprising admirer, noting that out of all of the celebs that have voiced support for the self-proclaimed “Guidette,” the Harajuku Barbie was the most unexpected of the bunch.

Fresh off releasing her first book A Shore Thing, Nicole “Snooki” Polizzi recalled meeting the raptress backstage at “VH1 Divas Salute the Troops” last year. “The most recent [celebrity fan encounter] would probably be Nicki Minaj,” she told CNN. “I met her at ‘Salute the Troops’ for VH1 and she was backstage and I was like, ‘I really want to meet her!’ And they went up to her and she was like, ‘Yeah I want to meet Snooki,’ so, you know, we kind of like hit it off. She’s a big fan of the show.”

Before the two even met, Nicki was sharing her love for the reality star. Picking girls to join her in a fantasy ladies-only supergroup, the platinum diva chose Hermione from Harry Potter, Angelina Jolie, Lauryn Hill, Cyndi Lauper, and Snooki. But Snooks wouldn’t get a singing role: “She would be like one of the backup dancers,” said Nicki.

Source: Rap-Up.com

Nicki Minaj has collaborated with everyone from Kanye West to Natasha Bedingfield, but she’s got a few artists on her wish list. The Harajuku Barbie recently revealed that she wouldn’t bat an eyelash at recording with her pop counterpart, Lady Gaga.

The rap diva told E! Online that she would love to collaborate with Gaga, to whom she often garners comparisons. “A lot of people say that to me! I’d definitely be open to it, yeah,” said Nicki, who also shared that she would do a song with Taylor Swift and loves Coldplay. “I mean, Gaga is badass. Being compared to greats can never bother me.”

The Young Money MC also spoke on her video with Rihanna for “Fly” off her platinum debut Pink Friday. “We’re shooting the video with Rihanna for ‘Fly’ this weekend. We’re going to save the world in more ways than one with the video and that’s all I can say about that,” she teased. “I love RiRi! I mean, when she’s not grabbing my ass, she’s a sweet girl.”

And while her busy schedule has kept her out of a romantic relationship, the single lady is ready to find the king to her queen. “I’m single and ready to mingle,” she laughed.

Rap-Up TV caught up with Keri Hilson last week in Los Angeles to discuss her sophomore album No Boys Allowed, starting with the first track. The blonde singer, wearing a No Boy sweatshirt, shared why she enlisted J. Cole for the Polow Da Don-produced “Buyou.” “What I hear is a very smart person when I listen to J. Cole,” said Keri. “He’s very intellectual and I knew that he would bring that side out of the record.”

A version of the song with Lil’ Kim in place of the Roc Nation MC previously leaked, but did not make the album. “[Kim] was basically just trying out a verse for Polow Da Don,” she explained. “I happened to love it, [but] having all boy features kinda took precedent over that whole thing happening.”

However, the door is still open for a remix. “In a perfect world, it would be Kim and Nicki Minaj on the same track,” revealed Miss Keri, who also weighed in on the Lil’ Kim vs. Nicki Minaj beef and Nicki’s rise to stardom. “I respect both of them,” she said of the rap rivals. “You can be inspired by so much in life and still carve out a lane for yourself, which I think Nicki has successfully done.”

Source: Rap-Up.com

Actress Gwyneth Paltrow may not be the first person that you think about when it comes to Hip-Hop, but in a recent interview the Golden Globe winning actress let fans know that she was very much in tune with the urban side of things.

According to published reports while discussing her upcoming film Country Strong, the actress revealed some artists that are getting some major play in her I-pod.

Topping the list was Kanye West and Nicki Minaj-who Paltrow dubbed a “genius.”

“I listen to everything, I probably have the most schizophranic iPod,” Paltrow said. “My biggest obsession right now is the Nicki Minaj album.She’s a genius. I’m also obsessed with Kanye’s album. I really like Dierks Bentley. He has a bluegrass record that I really love.”

In addition to giving kudos to Nicki and Ye, Platrow also decided to give it up to Beyonce, the wife of Paltrow’s BFF Jay-Z, who Paltrow states is one of the “best live performers ever”.

“I watched Beyonce a ton because I think she’s the best live performer happening right now,” Paltrow continued. “She has this amazing confidence and I thought to myself if I could just get a tiny bit of that self confidence then maybe I can pull off this scene at the end. You wouldn’t necessarily think that Beyonce would be the inspiration for a country star [laughs].”