Curtis along with actress Kimberly Elise announced the nominees of the 42nd annual NAACP Image Awards yesterday at the Paley Center for Media in Beverly Hills, CA. The ceremony airs March 4 on FOX at 8pm. Red carpet footage and list of nominees after the jump. thisis50

Voting: good. The rap game: stressful. But we’ll let Mr. Flame tell it himself. Here’s the latest offering off Waka’s forthcoming mixtape, Benjamin Flocka.

Maybe Gucci is mentally incompetent. Fresh out of the asylum, LaFlare made his way over to Atlanta’s Tenth Street Tattoo and got himself a new tat illustrated by Shane Willoughby. Two mo’ scoops after the jump. Take that Birdman. heads up: ybf

The Drama King’s mixtape, Redemption drops tomorrow, but tonight he lets loose the title track for the project featuring some familiar names.

Fasten your seatbelts and grab some popcorn. Here is the first promo ad for the new Aston Martin Rapide that the producer helped design. Man, I got to get me one of these. swizzworld

Two of the Keystone State’s finest MCs put on for their home state with their latest collab. Free and Statik’s StatikFree EP is now available on ShowOffHipHop and will be on iTunes at the stroke of midnight.

[vodpod id=Video.5320049&w=425&h=350&fv=] B.Dot continues his discussion on Women in Hip-Hop with Dee Vazquez, and weighs in on the ongoing feud between Nicki and Lil’ Kim while Rah Digga shares her thoughts on mainstream success.

photo: Asma Knowles Bey’s been on her music break for a minute now, but she’s slowly making her return.  S1, the producer responsible for Kanye’s “Power” was in the lab with the singer last week and their session went longer than expected. Below, he shares what went down via his Twitter page. Me, Beyonce, and Caleb was in the studio last night killing it! Excited about session part 2 today! 2011 Let’s Go!  Got session part 2 with Beyonce today! Excited to see […]

Yup, that’s Nicki behind the mask as she busts her way on the front of V Magazine’s Spring 2011 Discovery issue. Before it hits newsstands this week, peep the rest of the photos after the jump. ru

[vodpod id=Video.5315794&w=425&h=350&fv=%26rel%3D0%26border%3D0%26] Although Maino’s The Art Of War dropped last year, he’s still ready to throw the gloves on and put up a fight with his latest flick. Bob and weave or get knocked the fuck out. ifwt Previously: Maino “Make It Rain (Freestyle)”