Nicki Minaj knows how female rappers electrify fans; after all she used to be a fan herself.  “I know I was always excited by whatever female was hot at the time,” Nicki says.

Today, millions of music fans are now saying the same thing about Nicki Minaj, part comic, part sex symbol and all-the-way lyrical assassin. She has everyone talking about her fiery verse on Kanye West’s “Monster,” which also features Jay-Z, as well as her infectious, standout appearances alongside Lil Wayne (“Knockout”), Usher (“Lil Freak”), Trey Songz (“Bottoms Up”), Robin Thicke (“Shakin’ It 4 Daddy,”), Sean Kingston (“Letting Go”), Christina Aguilera (“WooHoo”), and as a member of Young Money. All this has catapulted Minaj to the forefront of the music industry.

Her appeal is undeniably intoxicating, which is why her first single “Your Love,” from her debut album “Pink Friday,” hit number one on the Billboard rap charts, a feat last achieved by a female hip-hop artist in 2003. “Pink Friday” features production from the heavy-hitters Will.i.am and Swizz Beatz, among others.

Born in Trinidad and raised in Queens, New York, Nicki had to deal with life-threatening attacks during her childhood. Her father was in the borough’s drug scene. He would have violent outbursts and punch holes in walls. Her mother would leave him, only to return after relocating the family multiple times and putting Nicki in an almost untenable position. “It was just really, really volatile and it made me kind of have a lot of anger issues because I wanted to be able to stop it, to be able to protect my family, but unfortunately I was just a child and I couldn’t do anything,” she says. “That always bothered me.”

Nicki was able to draw strength from her chaotic home life. “It gave me this undying drive,” she explains. “Out of everyone that wanted success, I always felt like I wanted it more because my reason for wanting this was never about money or fame. Since I was five years old, I would pray and ask God to make me a successful entertainer, so I could help my mother. It made me just go above and beyond.”

Instead, Nicki found herself in a string of dead-end jobs. After becoming disenchanted with her employment opportunities, she decided to pursue her dreams. She began writing raps and was dared by her then-manager to write three freestyles over other people’s beats. He was floored. “From then on, I just always remember having a goal to accomplish, whether it was shooting my first DVD video, putting out my next mix-tape or getting an original song done,” Nicki recalls. (Her singles “Itty Bitty Piggy” and “Still I Rise” showcased, respectively, her braggadocio and introspective sides, endearing her to millions of fans around the world.)

Soon after Nicki made a DVD of her songs, Lil Wayne flew her to North Carolina for a meeting. “I just remember it being the best moment of my life because I never really even knew if I would get mainstream, or if I would ever be recognized by a mainstream person and I’d always been a Lil Wayne fan, so it was like a double whammy,” she says.

Lil Wayne was impressed. Though no paperwork was signed at this point, Wayne named-dropped Nicki on his freestyle over Beyonce’s “Upgrade” and appeared for the first time with Nicki on “Can’t Stop Won’t Stop,” the standout selection from her “Playtime Is Over” mix-tape. “Once I heard Nicki, I knew I had to meet her and once we talked I knew she had to be a part of Young Money, with her skills and her personality,” says Lil Wayne.

As Nicki’s notoriety began to rise, her vivid personalities began to catch on. Nicki Lewinsky, Nicki the Ninja, Nicki the Harajuku Barbie, and Nicki the Boss each hold their own place in Nicki Minaj’s creative, ever-expanding mind. She refuses to be pigeon-holed because she uses people’s preconceived notions about female entertainers to her advantage.

Another testament to her astounding cache: Nicki hosted BET’s Rip the Runway 2010 and pulled in the highest ratings ever for the show, setting the stage for a performance on the 2010 BET Awards, where she took home trophies for Best New Artist and Best Female Hip-Hop Artist, and for Best Group as a key member of the super-group Young Money. At the 2010 MTV Video Music Award, she stole the spotlight with a show-stealing performance of her duet “Check It Out” with will.i.am.

Image Courtesy of  Nicki Minaj

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“Who is this Gatsby?” This question strings together the narrative of the trailer for the up-coming F Scott Fitzgerald adaption,‘The Great Gatsby’, released earlier this week. Of course, this 2.4 minute splicing of cleverly timed scenes and artfully disjointed dialogue provides no definitive answer to the question that haunts its characters, however, it does give the audience an inkling of the sort of product that Warner Bros. will release come Christmas.

During his film career, Australian director Baz Luhrmann has varied his subject matter in both scope and substance– finding inspiration in the domestic, such as in the 1992 dark comedy ‘Strictly Ballroom’, and in the sweeping epic, typified by his 2001 musical romance ‘Moulin Rouge!’ Nonetheless, throughout his cinematic catalogue, Luhrmann has managed to maintain a strong and very idiosyncratic aesthetic. As a result, it is unsurprising that the director’s style permeates every second of his carefully crafted trailer.

In this movie, Luhrmann will retell the seminal story of Nick Carraway, a young man thrust into the whirl-wind social life of elite, disillusioned, post-war Americans who finds himself intertwined with an illicit, uncontainable romance between two extraordinary people.

The actors operate within a world which is purely Luhrmann in its incredible lushness. While the director, and Tobey Maguire’s Nick Carroway, firmly set the movie in a 1920s New York, there is such a great vivacity to Luhrmann’s touch that he elevates the action above the painstakingly reproduced costumes and architecture into a dramatic space that seems almost unreal.

This feeling of being out of time and space is exacerbated by the use of Jay Z ft. Kanye West’s ‘No Church in the Wild’ and U2′s ‘Love is Blindness’ to score the images that flicker on the screen. The pacing of the clips towards the end of the trailer, interspersed by luxurious, gold-plated credits, lead the final moments of the trailer into a fever-pitch of drama as the narrative approaches incoherency.

Baz Luhrmann has never been known for his cinematic restraint and whoever is responsible for this trailer reproduces the feel of Luhrmann’s movies to a tee.

This being said, it is important to note that Fitzgerald’s own elan comfortably shares the stage with Luhrmann’s artistic tendencies. While the presence of Bollywood Superstar Amitabh Bachchan as conspicuously Jewish lawyer Meyer Wolfsheim seems a bit of a misnomer, it is evident even in the trailer that the rest of the cast has a strong grasp on their roles.

Enormously talented indie darling Carey Mulligan fully encapsulates the essence of flighty Daisy and Leonardio DiCaprio’s Jay Gatsby oozes charm while, post-’Spiderman’ Tobey Maguire once again plays the perfect fly on the wall as Nick. Even ‘Animal Kingdom’s’ Joel Edgerton exudes a strong presence as Tom Buchanan despite his lack of screen time.

Quite apart from the on-point casting, it is clear that Luhrmann has maintained some of the most structurally important and viscerally memorable moments of the novel; the scene where Gatsby pulls out his shirts and the disquieting image of Dr T J Eckleberg are both conserved, as is Nick’s third-party narration.

Essentially, it looks like ‘The Great Gatsby’ will keep the shape of the classic novel littering bookshelves of high-school students everywhere, though this silhouette will be re-seen through the lens of one of the most vivid and stylized directors of this film epoch.

And, considering that the trailer’s YouTube viewcount had passed a million views within the first 24 hours of its release, it would seem that the world is eager to have the opportunity to gaze at the characters they’ve always known through these new, powerfully tinted glasses.

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Blue Ivy Carter was born among the lavish extravagance that could only be the product of the second richest celebrity couple in the world, parents Beyonce Knowles and Jay-Z (Shawn) Carter. Her arrival in Lennox Hill Hospital was enshrouded by partitions and restrictions in the neonatal unit.

There were covered maternity windows, and the security cameras were reportedly taped over. Some parents who were present on that same night are angry, because they were restricted access from their newborn babies as a result of the extra security measures. A man was separated from his wife and daughter for three hours, for reasons unknown to them.

Even the State Health Department was interested in the accounts of disruption to all of the other hospital patients. The spokeswoman for Lennox Hill, Ann Silverman, said the hospital received “no formal complaint” about security measures. She stated that, “The security plan was designed not to limit access to patient care areas.”

According to accounts, one guard went to far as to tell concerned parents that the extra security in the maternity ward was due to hazardous materials. The special treatment given to Blue Ivy was not singular to her parents, nor to Lennox Hill Hospital. Rather, executive suites are popping up all over the country, in cities such as New York, Los Angeles, and Baltimore, among others.

The services that accompany these accommodations can include gourmet food, butlers, and in the case of Blue and parents, four flat screens in the delivery room. According to the New York Times, health care specialists say this is part of an international competition for wealthy patients, who have no problem with shelling out the money for these services. The idea in part of the hospitals is that this money will trickle down through the system an benefit the ‘regular’ patients.

As we witness the amount of growing amenities for those who are able to pay for them, the government is scaling back hospital reimbursement, in an attempt to streamline the health care system, and make it more equal, as well as affordable.

The same hospitals with special accommodations have crowded emergency rooms filled with long wait times and uncertainty. According to the Times, many New York hospital rooms are still at double occupancy, even as single occupancy is becoming the national standard. The extra space is optimal for infection control, as well as for quicker recovery time. The higher standard, though, appears to be reserved for those who can afford to pay for it.

Wealth can also serve as a target for fund-raising within a hospital. In a presentation posted online, titled “Grateful Patient Basics,” by a company called Blackbaud, fundraisers are urged to send hospital admissions lists to the development center in order to determine a patient’s wealth.

They are urged to do so shortly within admission to the hospital, preferably within hours. Hospitals are encouraged to make haste with a potential donor in their midst, with more visits from hospital staff, as well as special efforts to make the patient as comfortable as possible.

This would indicate that for those who are uninterested in becoming donors, wealth can also be a crutch in the healthcare industry. Although they may be made to feel more welcome during the hospital stay, it is not out of a gesture of selfless kindness. They too are placed in a position of disadvantage, albeit a different one, as someone who has to wait for hours before they are even called to triage, uncertain when they too will feel some measure of relief.

There is an unquestionable gap in the way patients are treated in hospitals. Those who can, pay for hotel accommodations in an institution where space is limited and precious. Their money is welcome, as is the possibility of future donations.

All others must languish in the emergency room, until a space is made in a double-occupancy hospital room.

Dylan Armajani / Shutterstock.com

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In his most intimate performances in years, Shawn “Jay Z” Carter will headline the first ever hip-hop focused series at Carnegie Hall, in the Stern Auditorium, raising millions for the United Way of New York City and the Shawn Carter Scholarship Foundation on February 6, 2012 at 8:00pm and February 7, 2012 at 9:30pm.

Concert goers will get a once in a lifetime experience as Jay Z takes the stage at the New York landmark to raise dollars that will help boost on-time graduation rates in underserved New York City schools and put college within reach for low-income students across the five boroughs.

“It’s every artist’s dream to play a venue as legendary as Carnegie Hall,” commented Jay Z. “The fact that I can use the arts and my talent to benefit the education of the next generation of artists, entrepreneurs, and great thinkers makes for a legendary night. I’m proud to be a part of the continuing work of United Way of New York City and expanding the Shawn Carter Scholarship Foundation.”

Poverty has the strongest correlation to dropout rates. New York City has the largest income gap in the U.S., and thirty percent of children in New York City live in poverty. Because of statistics like these, coupled with the fact that thirty-nine percent of New York City students who enter high school will not graduate on time, United Way of New York City, The Shawn Carter Scholarship Foundation and Shawn Carter are engaging activists and philanthropists to provide resources and opportunities for students.

“United Way is dedicated to helping low-income New Yorkers build better lives, and we know that the greatest antidote to poverty is education,” said Gordon J. Campbell, CEO, United Way of New York City. “For more than 20 years, we have been active in early childhood centers and public schools, working with educators, families and students to address barriers to success inside and outside the classroom. We are so pleased to partner with Jay Z and the Shawn Carter Scholarship Foundation, who share our belief that every child deserves a great education.”

“It will be a thrill to welcome Jay Z to Carnegie Hall as he joins an illustrious list of top popular artists who have appeared at the Hall throughout its history,” said Clive Gillinson, Carnegie Hall’s Executive and Artistic Director.

“It’s wonderful that he and the United Way of New York City have come together with the Shawn Carter Scholarship Foundation for these performances, putting a spotlight on an important cause, creating greater access to higher education.” Private ticket packages will go on sale Monday, December 12th. For information on these private sales, please visit www.unitedwaynyc.org.

In addition, a limited number of single tickets will be offered to the public on Monday, January 30th, 2012 at 11:00 AM (EST). For more information on limited single tickets, please visit www.carnegiehall.org as of January 30.

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Like a roller coaster, music has its ups and downs, changing frequently over the years and swapping artists, styles and flows like a game of blackjack. At its peak, it has catchy hooks, memorable lines and underlying messages to back up the crafty wordplay. Yet at its worst, it’s nothing more than words and sounds placed together in somewhat of a harmony.

No underlying messages. No catchy hooks. Yet, in the midst of being bombarded by music by hip hop icons like Drake, Rick Ross, J. Cole and the countless other entities dominating today’s music world, one under-the-radar name stood out unlike any other.

Nineteen-year-old Nicholas “Nick” Carter Green from Chicago, Illinois has grabbed the hip-hop world by the horns, combining his creative wordplay with  clever punchlines, smooth beats and a flow that embodies the prototypical upper-echelon rapper. I had a chance to catch up with Green and pick his brain about his recent success as of late.

“As far as I can remember, I had a love for that spotlight and all the attention and power that came with,” Green said. “We’re WorldStar famous now! It can only get better from here!”

Green’s recent hit off of his mixtape “XIX” hauled in over 5 million views on WorldStarHipHop.com, one of, if not the biggest portals for prospective, amateur and professional hip hop artists out there. You can check out his Remix to Drake’s hit, “Headlines,” here.

Green has released over 15 mixtapes and has been writing music since the tender age of nine years old. “Rise To Power”, “The.Other.Carter”, “Showcase”, “Mr. Carter” and “The Sampler” are just a few mixtapes the young artist has under his belt.

“I released about a thousand copies of that mixtape ["No Sleeping CD"] and I still didn’t think it was going to blow up like it did,” Green laughed. “I mean, everything changed when it dropped. People I had never met in my life either knew my name or knew I was the kid on the cover of the No Sleeping CD.”

Nick Carter Green has adopted the mantra “Music. Money. Love & Life” to persevere throughout any obstacles and push him to achieve his lifetime goal of climbing atop the rap game, a goal that he’s on pace to crack at any moment. Being featured on WorldStarHipHop and having his music played on DJ Timbuck2′s Go ILL radio show, Green is on the fast track to hip hop super-stardom.

The ceiling for the young artist is nowhere in sight, and the future looks incredibly bright for years to come. Combining his overflowing talent with his dedication to his passion, Nick Carter Green will be a household name in the near future. “Four songs a day. No more, no less.” he told me.

“I just wanted to push myself… to see if I could still have quantity, without jeopardizing the quality of it all. It’s that type of work ethic that’ll help me achieve my goal.”

NCG recently signed a contract with Indie Label, Zuma Records, so keep your ears open when you’re listening to the radio. You never know who might pop up.

You can download his latest mixtape, “XIX,” here.

You can also follow him on twitter: @NickCarterGreen .

Image Courtesy of  http://www.facebook.com/NickCarterGreen

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The astonishing pop star gave an incredible performance last night at the 2011 VMAs.

After finishing the song ‘Love On Top’, The 29 year old singer dropped the microphone intentionally, looked at the audience and began to unbutton her jacket, and rub her belly. Revealing to the world her pregnancy.

The camera spotted Jay-Z and Kanye West in the audience, showing their euphoric reaction.

The couple expects their first child, after being married for three years, back then in 2008 when they exchanged vows, and celebrated with a private party at Jay Z’s apartment in New York.

Beyonce had already said a couple of times that she planned on having a baby by the age of 30. Turning 30’s next month, the star did manage to achieve what she said!

The lovely revelation was kind of expected.  In June, on an interview with Piers Morgan, the star revealed her desired to get pregnant.

“I feel like a woman. I feel like I’m very aware of who I am. I feel great and I feel like 30 is the ideal age [to start a family], because you’re mature enough to know who you are and to have your boundaries and your standards, and not be afraid, too polite — but you’re young enough to be a young woman,” she said. “I’m so looking forward to it.”

Beyonce added, “I always said I’d have a baby at 30. But I also said I’m going to retire at 30. … Only God knows.”

In the interview Beyonce also commented about Jay-Z.

“Jay and I have kind of made a decision that we want to be known for our music and not our relationships or scandals. But he is amazing,” she said. “I definitely had a very natural friendship and connection with him. We’ve been together for a very long time and I’m very happy. Love is the foundation of everything, everything I do. My music is inspired by love — from my family, my husband, my sister.”

The night ended with a fabulous closure with many awards. Lady Gaga provided one of the biggest talking points of the evening, with her performance ‘You And I’. On the other hand, Adele and Katy Perry won four and three Moonmen gongs correspondingly.

Watch Beyonce’s performance and pregnancy revelation!

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The night of June 25^th, an all too lucky audience was graced with the vocal expertise and beauty of Mrs. Alicia Keys. Carried out at the Pantages Theatre in Los Angeles, the performance by the R & B talent was coupled with, not only Alicia’s soothingly soaring singing voice, but her gift of piano playing.

She brought her skill to her own rendition of the Beatle’s song “Black Bird”, lyrics which express waiting patiently for those long-sought after moments in one’s lifetime.

The evening’s performance was named “Piano & I: A One- Night Only Event With Alicia Keys,” marked by the simplicity and power of the artist’s raw gifts. The night celebrated what the coming weeks would hold for Keys when the release of the expanded 10^th anniversary edition of 2001’s album Songs in A Minor, as well as a performance at Beacon Theatre in New York.

Keys poured out her songs for the Art Deco Pantages audience with her usual essence of authenticity coupled with her silky vocal ability. While the performance was focused in on her 2001 album, Keys didn’t neglect to include some of her more recent hits- among those “Unthinkable (I’m Ready)” which she co-wrote along with other artists including Drake.

The songstress filled the two hour show with a presentation of songs packed with a wide-ranging field of emotion. Keys opened the show with an assortment of songs originally from artists who motivated her music interest. Mary J, Blige, Brian McKnight and even rapper Biggie Smalls all had a place in Keys’ opening along with numerous others.

The artist emitted her passionate energy by sharing with the audience “I love this. It’s stripped back and super-raw”. Mrs. Alicia Keys has 4 albums under her belt, occasional acting roles and now a role as mother. Her past music experience has propelled her to present refined performances which was surely witnessed in her A Minor show.

She has a striking ability to exude a unique power in her songs like when she sang the moving “Goodbye”- her body language was a marriage of what is raw and what is real.

The songstress started out her career quite young at the age of 20 and since then her mark within the fast-paced industry has been undeniable.

Her sound dives into music territory of hip-hop and R and B with a passion that one can trace back to the sixties seventies.  Keys made a stunning achievement when she brought home five Grammys for her Songs in A Minor album in 2002.

The singer has worked to establish a name for herself all around the world but her core is clearly back in her hometown of Manhattan, New York.   During her performance she shared with her audience stories of her childhood and her songwriting days on trains.

Then, after performing a meaningful version of Billy Joel’s “New York State of Mind”, she transitioned into “Empire State of Mind” an inspirational piece she collaborated on with Jay-Z.

When Keys glided through to her performance’s end, she closed with a energizing arrangement of her song “Superwoman”.  It was a fitting ending to a brilliantly empowering performance by the songstress with a command over the piano and a striking voice to match.

Tom Begasse / Shutterstock.com

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First off, I think it’s extremely important to note that the most anticipated album we have seen in a while did not leak weeks in advance.  That is an unexpected miracle that could solve the problem of leaks in the future, but I may be looking too much into this.

The album was not released to major store outlets as it has been done in the past, the album was released through iTunes exclusively and physically became available on the 8^th.  In a recent interview, Jay Z said that the process of releasing an album lends itself to getting leaked very easily as albums are shipped weeks in advanced to various stores around the country.

Through that stage of the whole process anything can and usually does happen, the album is there for the taken.We see the plan put into action with an album that didn’t even receive the usual visual treatment most albums get.

Listening to the album after purchasing it, a lot of things became clear that were blurry before.  Mainly, who the better rapper was; at this point I wouldn’t expect Jay Z to rap circles around the man with the biggest ego outside of Jay Z.  Kanye seemed as if he were content in playing the background allowing the “God Emcee” to control the album.  After a song called “Who Gon Stop Me” the 8^th song on the album in which Jay decided to really take control, the album was dominated by Jay Z and Kanye played second fiddle.

This album also brought Frank Ocean to a wider group of fans who otherwise would have never listened or taken time out of their day to listen to his album.

Ocean is now being seen as the next in line to the R&B throne and Jay Z after hearing his popular album “Nostalgia” felt he would be perfect for the album.  Frank Ocean is featured on two songs, the intro which is called “No Church In The Wild,” and the triumphant “Made In America.”

The Album is receiving pretty good reviews at this point (77 grade on Metacritics website), not unexpected given the parties involved.  Jay Z proves he is still king in terms of rapping ability but Kanye shows his mark and brilliance in the overall production of the album.  The album is sort of a Jay Z release with production done by Kanye, which is not necessarily a bad thing.

This is an album with a bunch of songs made to be performed in a packed stadium accompanied by great lyrics from both artists, as good as the album is, it does not live up to the last solo efforts of either artists.

One last thing we learned is what Jay Z thinks of Beyonce: “if Picasso were alive, he would have made her and Mona Lisa can’t fade her,” one of the best and most humorous lines in the album all together.

Steven Cashmore / Shutterstock.com

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A lot of rappers and musicians talk of doing albums together but these albums never really materialize.  It’s understandable considering these artists are busy touring and taking care of their personal obligations to labels and other commitments that are not familiar to us all.

So you could understand why many were skeptical about Watch The Throne, an album being recorded by two rappers who have proclaimed themselves the greatest rappers alive.

After months of rumors, a song called H.A.M was released featuring both rappers; at that point I wasn’t sure whether to rejoice at the possibility of this actually happening or whether I should feel some disappointment about the song itself.  Now we are in late July and a track list has surfaced after a listening party in which Jay Z reportedly played several songs off the highly anticipated album.

Last week, a song titled “Otis” after the great Otis Redding was released, not sure if the song itself will be on the album or the bonus tracks added on, but both legends sounded hungry and in great lyrical form.

The album art also surfaced, a little later than most people expected given the fact that the album is scheduled to be released early august—august 8^th to be exact.  The cover is in line with an album being released by Kanye, in that it is very artistic, different, with a bit of royalty added on; it fits the title of the album, all that remains now is the music, the lyrics and the emotions behind them.

This album will be the first for both men together, Watch the Throne will be Jay Z’s return to recording since the classic Blue Print 3, his latest number 1 album; also Kanye’s return since his last effort, My Beautiful Dark Fantasy which was also a classic in the eyes of many.

Featuring on this album will be his wife Beyonce, who has just released her own number one album titled 4 and newcomer Frank Ocean who is being viewed as the heir apparent to the R&B Throne; it’s only fitting that he would be on this album with rap royalty.

This is definitely one of the most anticipated albums of the year without a traditional approach to being released; there is no video as of yet with us being only weeks away.  But then again, this is Jay Z and Kanye, how much promotion do they really need?

Music fans everywhere know about this album whether they are rap fans or not, name recognition will get them to the top of the music world alone, but only the music will keep them there.

We will find out in 2 weeks or so where this album will be ranked in comparison to their individual releases, after all, these two giants have no equals in the rap world or the music industry.

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