Kid Sister: Success at Her Fingertips

British songstress up for 'Video of the Year,' 'Best Pop Video,' more

(NEWSER) - If you're shocked Adele is up for seven MTV Video Music Awards this year, you're probably less surprised than she is. "Flabbergasted about the VMA nominations," the British singer blogged today . Her hit "Rolling In The Deep" helped her tie Kanye West with the second-most nominations this year—behind only Katy Perry's nine, reports MTV . Adele added that she might find an unconventional way to revel in the honor, writing, "I'm thinking about releasing a range of chairs to celebrate!" Click to read about another reason for Adele to celebrate. More»

'My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy ' is also the rapper's best effort yet

(NEWSER) - Kanye West is officially back: "My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy is the best album of 2010 and the best album of West's career," asserts Jonah Weiner on Slate . The rapper, always unable to keep quiet about things he finds unjust, has "managed to channel his sense of injustice into his music more fully and thrillingly than ever before. It's a seething and sad album, full of tales of transgression, betrayal, repudiation, and bitter vindication. It's also wild fun to listen to." More»

Rapper rants on Twitter; feels 'alone,' 'used'

(NEWSER) - First Kanye West called George Bush a racist. Then Bush called the moment “disgusting.” Then Kanye accepted the blame. The latest in the Bush/Kanye mess, brought to you by Matt Lauer and Twitter:

• Kanye West told Lauer he understood Bush’s feelings.
• Then the rapper went on a 20-plus-post Twitter rant about his interview with Lauer, which he called “brutal," the New York Times notes.

He's back in studio, comparing himself to legends

(NEWSER) - Famously egotistical rapper Kanye West is back in the studio—and comparing himself to Kobe Bryant and Maya Angelou in a typical-for-him, all-caps blog post . Unlike many rappers, he promises he won’t get worse with age, because “true poets get better,” he writes. There’s just one problem: “First of all Kanye, you’re a rapper. You’re not a poet,” writes Joe Anello on College News . More»

Rap's up-and-coming name follows in the footsteps of Kanye West, Andre 3000

(NEWSER) - The premise of Kanye West protégé Kid Cudi’s Man on the Moon: The End of the Day is that he’s “not on the same planet as other rappers. The truth is that he’s not in the same genre,” writes Julian Benbow for the Boston Globe. The debut album “is a lot of things. It’s spacey, adventurous, and ridiculously intriguing if only because it’s so different. But it’s not rap”—more like “experimental and emotional hip-hop.” Elsewhere: More»