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By James Dinh

Even though it has been 20 years since the release of Queen Latifah's All Hail the Queen, female rappers are still a relatively endangered species. Kanye West protégé Kid Sister hopes to change all that. On Wednesday evening (November 19), the rapper held an album release party in support of the release of her debut album Ultraviolet (which hits stores this Tuesday, November 17) to a group of friends, family and fans.

The event was hosted at the Griffin Lounge on Manhattan's Lower East Side, which was quite a grand setting for party, with its the enormous golden chandelier. The scene might have been perfect for a time of celebration, but for Kid Sister, things haven't always been so glamorous. Before launching a career in rap, she and her parents suffered through a financial disaster that took up most of her adolescence. It must have only motivated her more, as she went on to graduate from Columbia College in Chicago with a degree in film. In 2005, she decided to get involved in the rap game and caught the attention of Kanye. He signed the then 27-year-old to DJ A-Trak's label Fool's Gold, and she later landed another deal with Downtown Records. Ever since then, the Chicago-based rapper has been hard at work creating her debut album, which includes the track the buzzworthy track "Pro Nails" (featuring mentor West). The first single off Kid Sister's debut album is the house-infused track "Right Hand Hi" and is wrapping up a national tour with DJ Flosstradamus.

One thing the grandiose room was missing for most of the night? Kid Sister herself, who was delayed because of her visit to the 2009 mtvU Woodie Awards, which were taping uptown. Still, it was a great night that felt like an appropriate celebration for an artist who stuck to her guns and ended up on top.

Tags Kid-Sister

By Chad Bullock

Do you like it clean, dirty or chopped & screwed? Take your pick, because that's how the guys of Pretty Ricky are giving it to you with their new album. The Bluestars themselves stopped by MTV News and hung out on our multi(million) purpose red couch to talk everything from their new music to who they’d appreciate a lap dance from.

Diamond "Baby Blue" Smith, Spectacular Smith, Corey "Slick 'Em" Mathis and newest member Lingerie sat down with MTV News correspondent Jim Cantiello to let us in on what they have in store for us. The super down-to-earth guys talked about the album and how the "melodies are gonna wrap around your body." The guys are hoping to make this album the comeback album of 2009 and to solidify themselves as the top hip-hop and R&B group of the year (with the help of some body-wrapping melodies, of course).

The "Grind With Me" singers/rappers also schooled us on how to turn our red couch into a lovemaking device. In fact, they made the couch pregnant. And yes, Jim Cantiello got in on the action.

The group discussed other things, including current social issues and what things would be like if they ran the country. They talked about the awesomeness of Twitter and we all became Twitter friends.

Their self-titled new album was just released this week and their new single is "Say a Command." And in case you were still wondering: R&B singer Ciara is who they would appreciate a lap dance from.

Tags ciara, Pretty Ricky

When the 1980s came to a close, there were a handful of artists who had established themselves as definitive contributors to the decade's musical palette. Names like Bruce Springsteen, Prince and Michael Jackson became synonymous with changing the direction of popular music in the decade of decadence. A strong late bloomer (but still a powerful contender), U2 were also mentioned alongside those greats. Their '80s output (especially 1987's The Joshua Tree) cemented them as not only a group who could fill stadiums with their soaring anthems but who were also pushing the envelope musically and socially. Of all the great groups from the '80s, U2 managed to evolve both the fastest and the best, and they proved it on this day in 1991 when they released Achtung Baby. The 12 song collection was recorded at least partially in Berlin, Germany, in the wake of the fall of the Berlin Wall, and blew out U2's sound to include elements of dance music, industrial rock and the glowing, humming ambient tones of co-producers Daniel Lanois and Brian Eno. While it seemed like U2 were on top of the world, Achtung Baby elevated them to new heights, inspired the massive "Zoo TV" stadium tour and helped usher in the era of alternative rock. (U2 don't get enough credit for making arty experimentation seem like pop music.)

Though the rest of the '90s were not nearly as triumphant for U2 (they battled both fans and critics on the even-further-reaching albums Zooropa and Pop), they remain one of the great shape-shifting international rock bands, and despite having 30 years of experience under their collective belt, they still feel vital today. Break out your copy of Achtung Baby and marvel at how well it has aged. Start with "Even Better Than the Real Thing."

Tags U2, video

Here's a strange fact about at least a portion of the staff here at MTV News: Several of us — hip-hop editor Shaheem Reid, rock editor James Montgomery and myself — are big fans of professional wrestling. We all follow it with differing degrees of intensity and all have different taste when it comes to what we like, but give us a hot promo and a cage match and we'll probably walk away smiling. So yesterday was a big day in the Newsroom, as there were a pair of wrestling-related interviews going down (which happily coincided with the WWE's "Raw" show airing live from Madison Square Garden on Monday night).

First, we got a visit from Ted DiBiase, Jr., who sat on the Newsroom couch to talk to Reid about his role in the upcoming film The Marine 2, which will hit DVD and Blu-Ray on December 29. He also talked about the thrill of winning the Tag Team Championship with partner Cody Rhodes, the pressures of being a third-generation performer, how he uses Eminem to get himself worked up during workouts and who among the WWE stars has the best musical taste.

One of those stars he mentioned was Chris Jericho, who happens to front his own metal band called Fozzy and who also called in for an interview yesterday. Jericho has long been one of my favorite performers in all of pro wrestling, so it was a thrill to talk to him about the new Fozzy album Chasing the Grail (which hits stores on January 26, 2010), the response his band gets from metal fans in the U.K., the thrill of meeting some of his idols (including Lemmy, Ronnie James Dio and Ozzy Osbourne) and who among the WWE wrestlers has the worst taste in music ("[ECW Champion] Christian knows the lyrics to Backstreet Boys songs," he said).

There will be more from both of these guys in the coming weeks, but just know that between Reid, Montgomery and I, we would talk to a wrestler every day if we could — so you can be glad that we aren't constantly doing coverage of the ongoing feud between Randy Orton and Kofi Kingston.

Tags Chris Jericho, Fozzy, Ted DiBiase Jr., Wrestling, wwe

"I met [Lil Wayne] a few months ago, and he's honestly — I don't even know if he'll want people to know that he's incredibly polite and respectful. He's so talented and very funny. And really optimistic, and super supportive of me, which I've really, really appreciated so much. I sent him a couple of my songs. He's been diggin' on them for a while. Then he heard ['Make It Rain'], and he was like, 'All right, I'm gonna kill it!'"

-"Gossip Girl" star Leighton Meester, announcing that she recently collaborated with Young Money CEO Lil Wayne on a song called "Make It Rain." Before her performance at last night's event for the opening of the new American Eagle store in Times Square, Meester told MTV News that the legends about Wayne's unconventional work ethic have not been exaggerated. "It was like, literally, 4 o'clock in the morning," Meester said of one of their sessons. "He was so sick — he didn't even write anything down. He just, like, vibes to the music and dances. I don't even know how he does it; he's amazing." Meester's musical career has already gotten off to a strong start, as she has had notable, head-turning collaborations with Cobra Starship, Robin Thicke and now Weezy. Her full-length debut doesn't have a release date yet but is expected to hit the streets some time in January of 2010. In the meantime, she'll keep things feisty as Blair Waldorf on "Gossip Girl."

Tags Gossip Girl, Leighton Meester, Lil Wayne, Quote

There are still a handful of weeks left in 2009, but there is already buzz building around a handful of releases dropping in early 2010. Perhaps the biggest of the new year will be the second album from Vampire Weekend, who will look to continue surfing the wave created by their self-titled debut. The follow-up, Contra, will be hitting the streets on January 12, and will feature much of what made the band so undeniable the first time around: Prickly rhythms, blasts of surf guitar, jazzy inflections, nods to world music and hyper-literate lyrics.

The quartet recently shot a video for the album's first single "Cousins," a jittery track that blends together a sing-songy vocal line with a little bit more guitar savagery underneath (though that's all relative — despite the extra punch, they're still pretty casual). Buzzworthy snagged a 30 second preview of the finished product, and the result is delightfully trippy. It features masks, awkward dancing and some dual-action guitar heroics. Vampire Weekend have always had a knack for creating memorable images (just check out the clip for "Oxford Comma" or the album cover for Contra), and it appears as though "Cousins" will continue on that path. It makes sense, as the band's name comes from the title of a film created by frontman Ezra Koenig.

Check out the teaser below, and be sure to stay tuned for more from Vampire Weekend's extended conversation with MTV News' James Montgomery, rolling out in the coming weeks.

Tags Vampire-Weekend, video

Yesterday, Ellen DeGeneres presented one of her "Read Letter Day" segments, where she reads and responds to fan mail. One of the letters was from a girl from Connecticut who lamented the fact that she missed the episode featuring Justin Bieber's performance. "That's why I keep guests around just in case," she said. The host stood up from her chair and found Bieber lying on the ground behind her reading an issue of O magazine.

Bieber was greeted with rapturous cheers from the audience and gave a shout-out to the fan from Connecticut. After announcing the release of his album My World yesterday, Ellen mentioned that Bieber was on Usher's label and that it was only appropriate that Usher was there too.

The curtain on the "Ellen" stage parted and revealed Usher, who danced in and hugged DeGeneres. The R&B superstar told the story about how he found Bieber and revealed that what sold him was Justin's rendition of "U Got It Bad."

DeGeneres then raised the stakes. "You guys should dance a tiny, tiny bit," she said. "Yeah!" kicked in on the PA and the pair both started busting out moves, including Usher's strange sideways moonwalk that Bieber aped perfectly. They closed out the show by reminding everybody about Bieber's golden ticket promotion, which will give winners a chance for a private concert from Bieber and the opportunity to be in one of his videos.

Tags ellen-degeneres, Justin Bieber, Usher

The biggest names in indie and alternative music have converged on New York City today, as the 2009 Woodie Awards go down tonight at Roseland Ballroom in Manhattan. The show will feature performances from Death Cab for Cutie, the Dead Weather, Passion Pit, the Clipse and Matt and Kim. The awards will be handed out tonight, and the show will air on December 4 on MTV. The show promises to be colorful and manic, especially since Matt & Kim will be there. The low-fi Brooklyn duo (who won a Video Music Award for their nude-in-Times-Square clip for "Lessons Learned") have a knack for rolling out splashy, interactive performances fueled by the group's boundless energy.

"We're gonna have a party on stage," Kim told MTV. "We always want that."

"I'm probably going to work some muscles that I haven't done in a long time," added Matt. "Even though I haven't worked out since 2000."

Even though the pair make their home within city limits, the prospect of playing Roseland — a classic New York rock club if there ever was one — excites them profoundly. "I've been two Roseland twice, and once was a really long time ago for a rave," explained Kim. "I think they had a little bit less lights than they do here. So there will be more lights than a rave but less glowsticks."

That sounds like a winning combination. Be sure to check out the show when it airs and December, but if you want to follow along tonight, Buzzworthy will be live-blogging the event, and you can check back to MTV News for a full report from tonight's festivities.

Tags Death-Cab-For-Cutie, Matt and Kim, mtvU Woodie Awards, Passion Pit, The Dead Weather, Woodie Awards

Every day a multitude of stars wanders through the halls of MTV News to talk about their latest projects and goof around with our intrepid correspondents. But sometimes we catch stars elsewhere, and that's why we put together Spotted!, a daily compendium of stars in the wild.

American country music is obviously massive on American shores, but it very rarely makes the transition onto the international stage. Like most things in life in 2009, the rules are different for Taylor Swift. She is currently in England for two huge shows, one in London at Wembley Arena, the other in Manchester at the Manchester Evening News Arena. It makes sense, as now that she has conquered this country with album sales, awards and hosting gigs on "Saturday Night Live," she might as well cross the ocean. Though her first show isn't until Monday (November 23), she is already in London seeing the sights and doing some promotional work. She was spotted outside of her hotel in the English capital yesterday, and based on the fervor surrounding her presence, it looks like she will have conquered the U.K. by this time next week.

She didn't have Europe to herself, though, as Mariah Carey was in Paris promoting Memoirs of an Imperfect Angel. Meanwhile, a multitude of stars — including the Olsen sisters, Ashley Greene and People's Sexiest Man of the Year Johnny Depp — came out to the Museum of Modern Art in New York for the opening of the museum's tribute to Tim Burton. Click here for these photos as well as the entire "Spotted!" archive, which features over 350 candid shots of stars like Britney Spears, Madonna, the Jonas Brothers, Lady Gaga, Kanye West, Justin Timberlake, Katy Perry, Shakira, Adam Lambert and Rihanna!

Tags Mariah Carey, photo, Taylor Swift

By Sabrina Rojas Weiss

It's got to be a sign of the quality of dancers "So You Think You Can Dance" has amassed in recent seasons that they're no longer judged on how well they execute their steps. Instead, the judges struggle to explain these very intangible criteria: growth, humor, commitment, maturity. It's all so vague, I'm itching to see someone really screw up, fall on their face and drop their partner, just so we have some concrete reason to send them home. Sorry, I'm going to dance-fan hell for that, aren't I? Anyway, here are my own arbitrary categories for last night's episode.

Completely Agreeing With the Judges' Praise For:
Kathryn and Legacy: Once I was able to tear my eyes away from Legacy's bare torso, I noticed that Kathryn was indeed killing it (as Adam Shankman put it). She had fire in her eyes and drama in every movement. And Legacy didn't just pose in that paso doble stance — he threw his partner around like a champ. (And they can't be blamed for Tony Meredith's ridiculously contrived "admiral and concubine" story.)

Ellenore and Ryan and Travis: The judges spent most of their time praising Travis Wall for his choreography, which included excellent storytelling and some gorgeously complex lifts and jumps. I'm still not in love with Ryan, but he certainly was adept at throwing and catching Ellenore, who seems to have wings on her feet.
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Tags So You Think You Can Dance