WESTWOOD, California — When you have artists like Lil Wayne, Fall Out Boy and Gym Class Heroes backing you, life is pretty darn good. So it goes for Tyga, cousin of Travis McCoy from Gym Class Heroes and the newest MC to come straight outta Compton. Tyga's debut album, No Introduction, dropped last week and the first single "Coconut Juice" is already blowing up on the charts and the radio. Not bad for an 18 year old.

We caught up with Tyga at his album launch party at Whiskey Blue where he told us about all of his mixes, remixes and re-remixes, making him just about the busiest teenager I've ever met. You may already know Tyga from the original remix of Lil Wayne's "A Millie," although he'll be the first to admit that even though Chris Brown, Fabolous and Jay-Z all have good versions, nobody can kill it like Wayne did on the original. Tyga also spoke of a "Coconut Juice" remix, and we can only keep our fingers crossed that Wayne will return the favor ("Congratulations, big homie," he added about Lil Wayne earning the #1 spot this week).

The night was capped off by a performance by Tyga, complete with a special appearance from McCoy, because as the "Juice" lyrics go, "it runs in the family." Expect much more from Tyga, as he plans on releasing a second single in the fall.

To celebrate June as Black Music Month, iTunes and Apple will host performances by black artists at Apple Stores around the country. Wyclef Jean, Talib Kweli, David Banner, Michelle Williams, and a slew of others will be getting in on the action.

Now if only they would offer up a few of those mysterious new iPhones for free too, we'd be totally hooked.

A list of performances thus far -- with dates and venues tentative, and more artists to be added -- after the jump.

New York, New York (Soho)

1 3pm Tiffany Evans
TBD TBD Wyclef Jean
13 7pm Mike Phillps
20 7pm Vaughn Anthony
25 6pm Talib Kweli

San Francisco, CA

19 7pm Goapele
26 7pm Mr. Fab
30 7pm E-40

Atlanta, GA (Lenox Square)

15 3pm Mike Phillps
16 7pm B.O.B
23 7pm Pastor Troy/Killer mike
28 7pm David Banner

Atlanta, GA (Perimeter)

3 7pm Cherish
9 7pm Janelle Monae
17 7pm Anthony David

Miami Beach, FL (Lincoln Road)

25 9pm DJ IRIE

Chicago, IL (North Michigan Avenue)

12 7pm Marvin Sapp
15 TBD Yung Berg
28 7pm Michelle Williams

Santa Monica, CA (Third Street Promenade)

2 7pm Malcolm Jamal Warner
20 7pm MC Lyte
21 7pm David Banner

Troy, MI (Somerset)

6 7pm Dwele

Akshay Bhansali reports:

Last night I cut over to Porch (thanks to Sonia and Nick!) in New York's Alphabet City to cop my first live look at Rye Rye, an MC whose hit, "Shake It to the Ground," has made her a Baltimore-hipster darling.

She's already toured with M.I.A. and is being promoted by Hollertronix king Diplo and his label, Mad Decent. Yesterday she arrived by train to New York City at 10 p.m. with her mom at her side. She performed. And then, as quickly as she came, she got on a train at 3 a.m. so that she could arrive back home at 6 a.m. After all, she can't afford to be late for high school. She's only 17!

I have to say, it was interesting to see mom tenderly dote on daughter — combing her hair and making sure everything was in order, only to have Rye Rye erupt into a sweat-infused crump frenzy! She's pure energy, combining rhymes over gutter B'more house cuts and busting electric dance moves. She performed "Gangsta Girl," "Shake It to the Ground" and "Wassup Wassap," among others, and they're all available on the Internetz.

Last night, after their sold-out show at the 1,200-seat Wiltern Theatre in LA, the Kooks treated fans to an acoustic set inside the tiny Kibitz Room at the famed Canter's Deli. The performance was a culmination of a day full of street performances (or “busking,” for you hobo types) all around the city.

For those not lucky enough to make it to the special show, the band has sent MTV News this treat for you: an mp3 of a track that was only available on the first 20,000 copies of their new album, Konk.

"NO LONGER" - THE KOOKS

And to read more about last night’s show, head over to You R Here.

There’s a moment at the beginning of the NKOTB’s reunion single “Summertime” where Joe McIntyre utters the words “Jones Beach, 1988.” Weird. That is almost exactly the time and place that I first met New Kids on the Block. They were one of the earliest interviews I ever did for MTV News, and there were plenty of interviews, news pieces, and even a half-hour show after that. But now, 15 years after they went their separate ways -- branching off into acting (Donnie), solo careers (Jordan, Joe, Danny), real estate (Jon), and families with “new kids” of their own (several of them) -- I think the last thing I ever expected was to be talking to them again, as a group.

But never say never. Saturday evening, in a backstage dressing room at New Jersey’s Izod Center, there they were, the New 30-Something Men on the Block, getting ready to take the stage as part of radio station Z-100’s annual teen scream extravaganza, Zootopia. We were all a good bit older than the last time I sat down with them, and it was a surreal moment -- but good surreal.

The New Kids on their upcoming tour, the reason for reuniting now, and latest teen phenom the Jonas Brothers, after the jump.

Their abbreviated set at Zootopia was the same one they had done the day before on the “Today” show, and would repeat on Sunday at another radio station show in Boston: most of the old hits crammed into a medley, plus “Summertime” and their rather self-congratulatory 1990 hit “Tonight.” A truncated offering for those old Blockheads from back in the day. But the guys promise that when they do their full tour in the fall they’ll do the old songs in their entirety, though Jordan said some may be “changed up a bit.”

Among the things we discussed in a half-hour was the big question, Why do this now? After so many others had tried to get NKOTB to reunite over the years, including VH1 (to no avail), what was different this time? Donnie said that was the point: that they decided to do it themselves, and that it wasn’t some outside entity trying to make a quick buck on a fleeting “comeback.” He said this time it just felt “real.” Plus, there’s a nearly completed new album -- that was important too, he said, so as not to make this solely about reviving the oldies.

The music business has, of course, changed monumentally since the New Kids’ heyday, and we talked about that -- plus the fact that they still have fans who even at 30 or 35 will camp out overnight for days on end just to see them, and what the New Kids make of the current princes of teen scream, the Jonas Brothers.

“I wouldn’t give them any advice, Donnie said, “except have a good show.”

Check back with MTVNews.com in the coming days for all that and more.

And never say never.

In early April, Zach Condon announced that the entire Beirut European tour was cancelled, writing on their website, “I promise we’ll be back, in some form.”

Many fans were left wondering if the band, in its current form as a 9- to 12-person orchestra, might be kaput. Our own John Norris posted pics on Newsroom of a wandering Zach playing with mariachis in Mexico. And finally, just last week, Zach gave an interview to Seattle’s “The Stranger” in which he set the record straight: the boy just needed some time off to write new music. “It's funny,” Zach said. “I wanted to make this record, and I realized there was no way I could actually do it if I was still doing these tours.”

So there’s new Beirut material on the way! Maybe by year’s end! An EP’s worth of material already complete…

…some of which was unveiled just last night during a last-minute show at Brooklyn’s Music Hall of Williamsburg that we were at.

Brooklyn Vegan nabbed a snapshot of the written set list, which, though not followed precisely during the show, contains new song titles such as “My Wife,” “The Shrew” and “Benito Juarez.” We can tell you that all these new tunes embody the “funeral march” vibe that Condon said Beirut was heading towards. More than that, the songs display Condon’s quickly maturing songwriting and knack for swirling orchestration. (Somewhere Sufjan Stevens is quaking in his boots…)

At one point during the Music Hall set, Zach announced, “Beirut is forever!" Then added, for any naysayers left in the room, “We're not going anywhere -- we're just going on a sabbatical.”

So everyone can quit worrying.

If you haven’t yet, pick up last year’s terrific Beirut album Flying Club Cup. And you can learn more about Zach’s songwriting process from this MTV News interview:

There are some things that we don’t understand about our intern Rya. To wit: how is it possible that someone obsessed with “Gossip Girl” can also be a Blockhead? Yes, that’s right -- our "GG" expert is also a huge fan of New Kids on the Block, which explains why she woke up at the crack of dawn this morning:

This morning, Manhattan’s renowned Rockefeller Center became Block-efeller center -- a strip of city blocks packed with grown women who came from all ends of the Earth to witness an event a decade-and-a-half in the making: the triumphant return of the hottest pop group of yesteryear, New Kids on the Block. A month after an older, sleeker incarnation of the five men from Boston was unveiled, another curtain dropped – this time, a banner with the band’s new logo. The band performed a medley of their greatest hits and their newest cut as a part of the “Today” Summer Concert Series.

Naturally, yours truly was on the scene. I was there for the very same reason many other women were in the audience: to see a band that they were far too young to see in concert during their heyday. Quite frankly, I felt all too much like my four-year-old self as I scrambled for a better view (or for that matter, any view), got pushed around my much older fans wearing NKOTB shirts (some threadbare, presumably from being worn in heavy rotation two decades ago), yearned for face time with Joey, and sang along far too loudly to songs I didn’t realize I still knew by heart…

I got to Blockefeller Center at an ungodly 6:00 am. However, the show’s outdoor plaza had long been teeming with Blockheads, evident by all the folding chairs, New Kid blankies, and McDonald’s bags that lined 48th Street. A line of people trying to get into the pit in front of the stage snaked around the block, and the lucky first few were allowed in to watch rehearsal. Rehearsal! As space the pit reached half-capacity, it was only then that fans who began waiting at midnight were being allowed in. They were a full six hours ahead of me. I never had a chance.

At 8:40, the group was set to perform. Every once in a while, the band would start to play, causing grown women to shriek at dog-whistle decibels. I was finally settled into my barricaded section far, far from the stage and becoming acquainted with fellow fans who had traveled from as far away as Virginia and Florida for the historic event. Soon, rehearsals began during commercial breaks, and the excitement mounted as a collective realization dawned on the crowd that ohmygod! this is really happening!

The performance was in a word, majestic -- on par with a very surreal, delicious meal. For appetizers, the Kids served a medley of their greatest hits. The first verse of “Step By Step” turned into the “oooooh-ooohh-oohhh-ooooh-oh!” refrain from “Hangin’ Tough” -- but not before Donnie’s voice cracked as he called out to the audience. Adorable! We love you anyway!

After a quick dance break, the group shed their matching blazers, and they were down to untucked shirts and sneakers. The look was more “with-it real estate broker” than “pop icons with a vengeance.” To stand out as the group’s resident bad boy, Donnie donned a baseball cap. Joey then donned his signature top hat and serenaded with a section from “Please Don’t Go, Girl,” before the group launched into the obviously amazing crowd-pleaser “The Right Stuff.”

After another break, they returned for the main course, their latest single “Summertime.” Quite frankly, had this been an actual meal, I would’ve sent it back to the kitchen -- but I’m afraid of Blockheads, and therefore, that’s all I’ll say about that.

And at long last: dessert! Donnie dedicated this number to “all the fans who weathered the rain” (such cordial words from the man who taught me the importance of fire safety), and Jordan got on the keyboard for a rousing rendition of “Tonight.” On the “Today” show -- get it!? Concept number! Truth be told, I can’t objectively tell you how rousing it was, because I found myself plunged into some kind of estrogen-rich sing-along. Security guards were dancing; the woman standing in front of me announced to the crowd that she was going to leave her boyfriend for Joey; the man standing next to me continuously professed his love for Jordan; and the song became indelibly carved into my brain.

I am still humming “Tonight” as I write this. Thanks, New Kids!!

Chili Pepper Anthony Kiedis is set to curate a new summer fest in...Pittsburgh?

The two-day New American Music Union will give attention to 15 new college bands -- and other little-known acts such as the Raconteurs and Gnarls Barkley. The college acts taking part will also be judged (like "American Idol"!), with the winner given a full day of recording in a top LA studio for free. American Eagle, which is sponsoring the fest, will also promote the band's record in their stores.

Tickets go on sale tomorrow.

The lineup thus far -- including the college acts in competition -- after the jump.

Bob Dylan and His Band
The Raconteurs
Gnarls Barkley
The Roots
Spoon
The Black Keys
Black Mountain
The Duke Spirit
NASA
Tiny Masters of Today

College bands invited to compete:

Bears (Kent State University)
Flying Machines (The New School)
Gospel Gossip (Carleton College)
Magic Bullets (College of San Mateo)
Math the Band (University of Massachusetts Dartmouth)
My Dear Disco (University of Michigan)
Nothing Unexpected (Robert Morris University)
The Black Fortys (University of Southern Illinois)
The Company Kang (Whitman College)
The Delicious (Indiana University)
The Depreciation Guild (New York University)
The Elizabethan Report (Brigham Young University)
The French Horn Rebellion (Northwestern University)
The Royal Bangs (University of Tennessee)
The Steps (University of Texas Austin)

Undeniable, unbelievable. I'm trying not to get caught up in the moment and jump all the way out the window, but Kanye West's show last night at Madison Square Garden may have been the best one-man performance I've ever seen outside of Michael Jackson or Prince. Like he says, Graduation is not just an album name, it’s the trumpeting of his career evolution as the most innovative man in his genre.

The "Glow in the Dark" tour is about Kanye landing on a planet called Universe-City and what he encounters on extraterrestrial soil. You have never seen anything like it before.

Favorite songs of the night were (and it's tough to pick) "Champion" and "Hey Mama."

Scarlett Johansson kept a low profile at the concert among other marquee names such as Jay-Z, Beyonce, Diddy, John Legend, and Anthony Anderson. Backstage, many of Kanye's hometown friends joined him in celebration.

Kanye West also appears on the just-released remix to “Lollipop”! Weezy and Yeezy -- what a combination. A few weeks ago, Wayne had told MTV News this might be coming down the line...