After nearly quitting the music business last year, the eclectic MC and songwriter from Atlanta shot to the top of the pop charts.
By Jayson Rodriguez

B.o.B

Photo: ABC

B.o.B. isn’t like most pop stars. He really isn’t like most rap stars, either. But the guitar-strumming MC’s mix of melodic rhymes and earnest songwriting has him up for a few Moonmen at the 2010 MTV Video Music Awards, which air live on September 12 at 9 p.m.

Here’s how he did it.

The lanky lyricist grew up on a diet of Michael Jackson and Tina Turner, but when he got older his tastes widened to include everything from the Beatles to Björk.

That range wasn’t necessarily evident on his early productions, but his woozy “Cloud 9″ proved to be an underground gem that garnered the attention of key music industry folks, including T.I. and Atlantic Records; the Atlanta upstart is signed to that label through Tip’s Grand Hustle imprint.

B.o.B. had been championed as an heir to OutKast’s Andre 3000 after he released a slew of mixtape material in the past few years that earned him a solid reputation within the hip-hop community.

“I’ll Be In The Sky,” “Haterz Everywhere,” and “Lonely People” were among the notable numbers from his street projects, which include the DJ Smallz-helmed Cloud 9, Who the F#*k is B.o.B. and B.o.B. vs Bobby Ray, which was backed by DJ Green Lantern and Don Cannon.

As he sat in an incubation stage, however, B.o.B. soon found himself at the center of swirling rumors last year that he was quitting the music biz before his first album could be released.

But that turned out to be a small speed bump on his road to pop stardom.

In 2010, the eclectic rapper — who late last year announced he would also go by his birth name, Bobby Ray — found everything finally coming together for him.

His Bruno Mars-assisted “Nothin’ on You,” with its saccharine-sweet vocals and flirtatious verses, shot to the top of the Billboard Hot 100. His debut album The Adventures of Bobby Ray took a similar path, debuting at #1 on Billboard’s album chart.

His single with Paramore’s Hayley Williams, “Airplanes,” was a top five hit and his collaboration with Rivers Cuomo, “Magic,” just entered the top 10.

After opening for Jay-Z and Emimen on Thursday (September 2) night, it seems like B.o.B. can do no wrong these days.

He earned a total of five VMA nominations: Best Male Video, Best Collaboration, Best Hip-Hop Video, Best Pop Video, and Video Of The Year.

We bet B.o.B. will tell you himself that it pays to play different.

Do you think B.o.B will take home some hardware on September 12? Let us know in the comments!

The 27th annual MTV Video Music Awards will be broadcast live from the Nokia Theatre in Los Angeles on Sunday, September 12, at 9 p.m. ET. Fans can go to VMA.MTV.com (or text VMA to 97979 if they are Verizon subscribers) to vote for the winners in general categories, including Best New Artist, from Tuesday (August 3) through September 12.

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D12, 50 Cent and G-Unit, Young Jeezy also hit Comerica Park stage as Em, Hov unleash flurry of hits on first stop of Home and Home Tour.
By Shaheem Reid

Eminem and Jay-Z (file)

Photo: Kristian Dowling/ Getty Images

Detroit hasn’t screamed this loud at a baseball park since Kirk Gibson was hitting home runs in the 1984 World Series. Hip-hop history was made as Jay-Z and Eminem co-headlined the Motor City’s Comerica Park (home of the D-Town Tigers for the past decade) on Thursday night (September 2), the first of two shows on consecutive nights.

While Jay’s high-grossing touring schedule helped him to top this year’s Forbes’ “Hip-Hop Cash King” list, Eminem took a much-needed sabbatical to deal with a myriad of personal issues. Now beyond his darkest hour, Em had one of his brightest moments ever onstage. Not only did he gift his hometown with a seemingly endless string of hits, he pulled off some major surprises. After D12, 50 Cent and the G-Unit — acts that fans likely expected — came out for performances with Em, Slim Shady pulled off a shocker. Dr. Dre came out, first stunning the people then delighting them with smashes.

After his name appeared on the Comerica big screen, the man heralded by many as the greatest producer of his time came out to the opening notes of his world-famous “Next Episode.” Then the familiar first keys of “Still Dre” were played.

“Haters say Dre fell off,” the Doc rapped. “How n—a? My last album was The Chronic.”

After that, the Shady/Aftermath duo took it back to Dre’s Chronic days with “Nuthin’ But a ‘G’ Thang.”

“One, two, three and to the fo,” Em rapped in Snoop’s cadence.

” ‘Cause you know we came to rip sh– up!” Dre spit later.

Dr. Dre appeared to be in the best shape of his life. Wearing a T-shirt with the late Proof’s face printed on it, Dre looked strong enough to end the Undertaker’s undefeated streak at Wrestlemania.

“Got dammit, Detroit. Do I love you or what?” Eminem asked his fans. “Look what I brought out for you.”

Em then told Dre he wanted him to feel the love; Detox chants followed.

“Deeee-tox. Deeee-tox,” they yelled from the bleachers to the bullpen. Dre just smiled and said, “I’m Comin’!”

One would-be guest who couldn’t attend for obvious reasons was Lil Wayne. But Shady made sure to salute Weezy after “No Love.” And the Young Money flag did wave proudly in Detroit as Drake came out for “Forever” and gave a special nod to the Motor City.

“In Detroit, faded off the brown,” Drake rapped.

“Nino!!!!” the crowd responded.

“I’m so honored to be here to tonight. This is history in the making. I want y’all to make some noise for the muthaf—in’ legend that is Emimem.”

Em’s legend was largely built off his mastery of music and a catalog made for the kind of environment he played on Thursday: stadiums. The Detroit rapper has been making sing-along anthems throughout his career. Not just tracks you rap in the shower or in the car, but big records like “Sing for the Moment,” “Stan” and “Cleaning Out My Closet” — tracks practically begging for an audience of tens of thousands holding lighters up. Em proved he still has that rare connection with his fanbase. Grown men took off their shirts and got rock-n-roll rowdy when he rapped.

“Got dammit, Detroit, I’m back,” Em said early on in the night. “Did you miss me?”

It was clear that Em missed his fans as well. He was engaging, lively and energetic on this night. After the “Real Slim Shady” and “Without Me,” Em thanked his fans again.

“I love you. This song is for you.” “Not Afraid” followed. After screams of “encore, encore,” Em brought out the Unit, D12 and Detroit legend Trick Trick who had earlier performed on “Lose Yourself.”

Thursday’s Home and Home show kicked off with B.o.B, who came back later for “Airplanes, Pt. 2,” and set the tone with a quick set that included “Nothin’ on You.”

The audience was eventually alerted that the Jiggaman was 10 minutes away from showtime. Two clocks filled two oversize screens on the enormous stage while the Beastie Boys’ “No Sleep Till Brooklyn” blared from the speakers. When the countdown hit “0,” Jay rose from beneath the stage, the lyrically intricate “Dynasty Intro” being played by his band, the Roc Boys. Then a brief snippet of “Lucifer” played before Jay went into his jaw-dropping verse from Rick Ross’ “Free Mason.”

During “D.O.A. (Death of Auto-Tune),” Jay rhymed “this might need a verse from Jeezy.” On cue, the Snowman came out for the “Dey Know” remix followed by “Soul Survivor.” His mini-set ended with “Put on for My City” and “Lose My Mind.”

After that though, it was the Jay hit parade — with assistance from Memphis Bleek. The Brooklyn duo rocked with a flurry of big records, including “You Don’t Know,” “99 Problems” and “(Originator 99).” During “Big Pimpin’,” Jay delivered Pimp C’s verse in the late UGK legend’s cadence.

“What y’all know about them Deetroit boys?” Hov asked.

A tribute to hip-hop’s fallen soldiers ensued, as the audience shouted in unison, “Prrrrrooooooooof!”

“I know y’all going through a lot, but Detroit has heart and Detroit will be back,” Jay said.

Hov and Slim Shady shared but a few minutes of stage time as Jay emerged for “Renegade” during Em’s set.

The Home and Home Tour continues Friday night (September 3) at Comerica Park and comes to the Bronx, New York, on September 13 and 14 at Yankee Stadium.

Were you at Jay and Em’s Detroit stop? Tell us what you thought of the show!

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Upstart VMA-nominee is joined by Weezer’s Rivers Cuomo at raging house party in new clip.
By Jayson Rodriguez

B.o.B in his ‘Magic’ video

Photo: Warner Music Group

You can’t blame B.o.B if he wanted to pinch himself.

The VMA-nominated newcomer is riding an enormous wave via his debut album, The Adventures of Bobby Ray, which has spawned three consecutive top 10 singles, “Nothin’ on You,” “Airplanes” and his latest, “Magic.” And for his “Magic” clip, the Atlanta rapper recruited director Sanaa Hamri (Jay-Z, Christina Aguilera) who put B.o.B in the middle of a raucous house party.

But in the video, which premiered Thursday (September 2) at midnight on MTV.com, Bobby Ray can’t seem to believe his good fortune. As he and his “Magic” collaborator, Weezer’s Rivers Cuomo, jam in the backyard, B.o.B mentally traces back to earlier in the day when the young rapper first wakes up. B.o.B tries to shake awake a sleeping version of himself but to no avail.

The girls, the party, all the happenings do seem to be going on — and all for him. Partygoers run through the house and Bobby Ray snaps pictures with the girl of his dreams. But in an instant — as quick as he’s been clicking Polaroid pictures — the party is over and B.o.B awakens.

Turns out he was dreaming.

The sleep-eyed MC, however, takes a look around his bedroom and notices two photos on the ground: two snapshots of him and his leading lady. He’s got the magic, indeed.

Last week, “Magic” landed on the Billboard Hot 100 at the #10 position. The track follows “Nothin’ on You,” which went to the top of the chart, and “Airplanes,” a top 5 hit. Also on Thursday, B.o.B opened for Eminem and Jay-Z during the superstar MCs’ Home and Home concert series in Detroit; he’s scheduled to open for the pair again on Friday (September 3), and later this month in New York.

What do you think of B.o.B’s “Magic” video? Tell us in the comments!

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‘I just feel like, this is my coming-out party,’ the Best New Artist nominee and pre-show performer says.
By Mawuse Ziegbe

Nicki Minaj

Photo: MTV

Very few newcomers have had as a grand of a debut as Nicki Minaj. She is still weeks away from dropping her hotly anticipated first LP, Pink Friday, but she’s already scored a #1 hit with “Your Love” and an MTV Video Music Award nomination for Best New Artist.

VMA night is shaping up to be a major event for the Young Money diva who will not only contend with chart-toppers like Justin Bieber and Ke$ha for a Moonman, but also hit the stage at the pre-show. In addition to making her first-ever televised solo performance, the Queens MC is hooking up some of her Barbz with the chance to witness the VMA action firsthand. Minaj will kick off a Twitter contest on September 7 that will give 10 fans the chance to check out her pre-show set. Fans who want to see Minaj rock the stage, should follow @NickiMinaj and @MTVTJ for more info.

Like the lucky winners of her Twitter contest, Minaj will get to experience the VMAs up close, and the star said that she’s pumped to be involved. “I’m so excited to be a part of this. This is major,” Minaj said on the set of the promo shoot for the big night. The femcee, who appears in the clip in the style of a hip-hop Bond girl, commands a motorcycle in an ultra-snug catsuit. She added that filming the VMA visual is a bit more involved than shooting the music videos to her hit collabos and solo smashes.

“This thing today has been like shooting a movie,” Minaj observed. “It’s very specific. When I shoot videos it’s just about performing and doing whatever you want. But with this it’s more like, ‘No, this is the shot we need so we have to … get that shot.’ ”

Ultimately, Minaj was down to be detail-oriented for the shoot and said that being involved in the VMAs is an honor for any up-and-comer.

“This is something that everybody dreams of being a part of … and I am no exception to that rule,” Minaj said. “I just feel like, this is my coming-out party. It’s like, really, the pinnacle of my career so far.”

What are you expecting from Nicki Minaj’s appearance at the VMAs? Let us know in the comments below!

The 27th annual MTV Video Music Awards will be broadcast live from the Nokia Theatre in Los Angeles on September 12. The party starts with MTV News’ VMA Pre-Show at 8 p.m., followed by the main event at 9 p.m. ET. Fans can go to VMA.MTV.com (or text VMA to 97979 if they are Verizon subscribers) to vote for Best New Artist from now through September 12.

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