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9 items by Jayson Rodriguez

  • Kanye West, Mary J. Blige, Usher Jam at Essence Music Festival

    Kanye West, Mary J. Blige, Usher Jam at Essence Music Festival | ARTICLE

    After back-to-back stomach clutching renditions of "Not Gon’ Cry" and "I’m Going Down" at the Essence Music Festival in New Orleans Sunday night, Mary J. Blige pulled off an Oprah-worthy seminar on affirmation with "Just Fine"...

    July 5, 2011 2:30 PM ET
  • Diddy Becomes a Comedian for A Night

    Diddy Becomes a Comedian for A Night | ARTICLE

    Diddy has performed all over the world, but when he took the stage last night at New York's Upright Citizens Brigade Theatre, he was pretty far outside his usual comfort zone: Stand-up comedy is not exactly his...

    January 15, 2011 9:25 AM ET
  • Drake Tells Fans to Bring "Open Mind" to "Away From Home" Tour

    Drake Tells Fans to Bring "Open Mind" to "Away From Home" Tour | ARTICLE

    Last year, Drake got his big break opening for Lil Wayne after returning from his own So Far Gone tour, where he rocked the mike at universities and small colleges across the country. This year, though, he's...

    April 1, 2010 12:56 PM ET
  • Wyclef Jean Defends Yele Haiti at Emotional NYC Press Conference

    Wyclef Jean Defends Yele Haiti at Emotional NYC Press Conference | ARTICLE

    Wyclef Jean addressed accusations against his Yéle Haiti organization for the second time in as many days, delivering prepared remarks to a roomful of reporters at Manhattan's Sheraton Hotel this afternoon. The former Fugee has battled allegations...

    January 18, 2010 12:00 AM ET
  • Jay-Z's 9/11 Benefit Turns Into All-Star Marathon With Beyonce, Kanye, Rihanna, Mayer and More

    Jay-Z's 9/11 Benefit Turns Into All-Star Marathon With Beyonce, Kanye, Rihanna, Mayer and More | ARTICLE

    More than any rapper and more than most pop stars, Jay-Z knows the significance of a moment. The Brooklyn...

    September 12, 2009 12:46 PM ET
  • Drake's Big Break: Lil Wayne's Protégé Graduates From Degrassi to Hip-Hop

    Drake's Big Break: Lil Wayne's Protégé Graduates From Degrassi to Hip-Hop | ARTICLE

    This is what Drake-mania looks like up close: It's just after 10 p.m. on a balmy Tuesday night in May and downstairs inside the cramped confines of New York venue SOBs, Drake is receiving what feels like...

    June 5, 2009 12:00 PM ET
  • Busta Rhymes Gets "Back on My B.S." at Raucous Release Show

    Busta Rhymes Gets "Back on My B.S." at Raucous Release Show | ARTICLE

    Perched just above the crowd onstage at New York's Santo's Party House, Busta Rhymes loudly growled to the antsy audience, "We gonna make sure we start feeling a certain way about shit," as sweat dripped past his designer...

    May 19, 2009 12:22 PM ET
  • Lil Wayne: 10 Essential Tracks

    Lil Wayne: 10 Essential Tracks | ARTICLE

    From his DJ Drama-assisted mixtape, 2005's Dedication, until the release of Tha Carter III last year, Lil Wayne seemingly appeared to rap on just about every big hip-hop record. Since then, the number of songs he's graced...

    April 2, 2009 2:30 PM ET
  • Telling a B.I.G. Story: Inside the Biggie Smalls Biopic "Notorious"

    Telling a B.I.G. Story: Inside the Biggie Smalls Biopic "Notorious" | ARTICLE

    Stop us if you heard this one before: An unheralded, upstart artist joins an ensemble cast of proven actors and delivers a defining performance in biopic period piece. "I'm like the 2009 Jennifer Hudson," rapper Jamal "Gravy"...

    December 16, 2008 12:25 PM ET