Third Time's a Charm for Jay-Z, Rap's Cash King

Rap Genius breaks down Jay-Z, Ghostface Killah, and more

(NEWSER) - Jay-Z and Alicia Keys’ song “Empire State of Mind” is everywhere, even at the World Series. But do you know what the lyrics mean? If not, Rap Genius (formerly Rap Exegesis) can clue you in the way it educated Nick Antosca of the Huffington Post. Some of the explanations the site offers:

• Jay-Z and Alicia Keys, “Empire State of Mind”: “Catch me in the kitchen like a Simmons whipping pastry” refers first to cooking up crack, second to fellow rapper Rev. Run’s daughters and their clothing line.

Rapper will keep his language PG while performing for Yanks

(AP) - The lyrics to Jay-Z's "Empire State of Mind" are sometimes as raw as New York, but it looks like the rapper will clean things up when he performs his city anthem at the World Series. A source close to the rapper says Jay-Z won't utter curses or other raunchy stuff in his hit when he and fellow New Yorker Alicia Keys sing at Yankee Stadium tomorrow night. More»

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»

From condoms and KFC to Cuban cigars and Hennessy

(NEWSER) - Drawing on the Smoking Gun ’s collection of concert riders, Sam Greenspan of 11points.com offers a list of the 11 craziest demands made by rappers:

• DMX: Three boxes of condoms and a gallon of Hennessy—that’s anywhere from $300 to $800 worth of cognac.
• Public Enemy: Kosher food—odd, because “Public Enemy is famously associated with anti-Semitism”—and a bucket of KFC.

Actor worked with Australian singer, a childhood friend

(NEWSER) - A music video, one of a few directed by Heath Ledger for little-known artists he liked, made its online debut yesterday. Australian rapper N'fa Forster-Jones, a childhood friend of the late actor's, posted the video along with a behind-the-scenes look at the project, the AP reports. "Every day I count my blessings that I got to have him direct this piece of art," says Forster-Jones, who showed the video at the Rome Film Festival. More»