Lil Wayne Pupil Drake Thrills in NYC

He says US foreign policy helps foster terror

(NEWSER) - Conservatives slammed President Obama for hosting Chicago rapper Common at the White House. Now Obama is taking criticism from a different Chicago rapper. "To me, the biggest terrorist is Obama, and the United States of America,” Lupe Fiasco told CBS in an interview noted by the Huffington Post . “I'm trying to fight the terrorism that's actually causing the other forms of terrorism.” He said “the root cause of terrorism” includes “the foreign policies that we have in place in different countries that inspire people to become terrorists.” More»

Eminem enjoys a comeback, too

(NEWSER) - Kanye West's comeback must be complete: Rolling Stone awarded him the top slot in its list of 2010's 30 best albums. The top 10:

1. Kanye West, My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy: "Music as sprawlingly messy as his life," these songs are "hip-hop epics ... full of the kind of grandiose gestures that only the foolish attempt and only the wildly talented pull off."
2. The Black Keys, Brothers: "Their best record yet: vivid tunes stripped bare and rubbed raw ... it's rock minimalism pushed to the max."
3. Elton John and Leon Russell, The Union: "Two rock giants ... rekindle a friendship and make music that ranks with their best."
4. Arcade Fire, The Suburbs: "An album of vast, orchestral rock that locates the battle for the human soul amid big houses and manicured lawns."

'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 leaves prison Thursday

(NEWSER) - Lil Wayne is not wasting any time: As soon as he leaves prison Thursday, he’s going to start recording … on the plane flying him home. “We're gonna deal with that microphone, no trip,” says a member of his team, which is currently trying to locate a plane with studio equipment. “You can't keep him out of the studio.” The rapper has been writing lyrics during his entire eight-month prison stint, Rolling Stone reports, and he had even more time to write when he got placed in solitary confinement last month. More»

Rapper slams claims he was trying to look good ahead of court date

(NEWSER) - After T.I. talked a man threatening suicide out of jumping from a downtown Atlanta building, some are calling the move a publicity stunt—but that couldn’t be further from the truth, the rapper tells CNN . The video he made, which police played to the man and is credited with helping to save the man’s life, was not an effort to improve his image ahead of a hearing today that could send the musician back to jail, he says, calling such claims “preposterous.” More»