Cassie goes way up high on new slow jam “Balcony”, featuring Young Jeezy as her male amour who doesn’t mind getting caught doin’ the nasty on a balcony overlooking Times Square. No, seriously: “We made love on my balcony, right there in New York City / I saw the tourists staring back at me, at Times Square in New York City”, she sings in monotone, barely showing any enthusiasm while describing her kinky sexual experience. (Guess he wasn’t that good?) Listen to the (tagged) track below. Would you dare be so adventurous? 

cassie: keeping it classy

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Nicki Minaj will be absolutely unavoidable this summer, so just bow down now. In addition to her debut headlining tour and her top spot at LA’s Wango Tango, the “Starships” MC will headline the 2012 edition of Hot 97′s Summer Jam music festival. (They may as well say she’s co-headlining, as her alter-ego Roman Zolanski will no doubt outstay his welcome during her set.) Also on the lineup are hip-hop and R&B regulars Rick Ross, J. Cole, Trey Songz, Wale, Meek Mill, Waka Flocka Flame, Big Sean, 2 Chainz, Young Jeezy, DJ Khaled and more. The fest takes place at the MetLife Stadium in New Jersey on June 3, and it should certainly be hot enough for Nicki to don her now-iconic pink bikini.

nicki in neon

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Nicki Minaj hops off her “Starships” for the downbeat “Champion”, another cut off her forthcoming album Pink Friday: Roman Reloaded. The mellow tune, which features verses from Nas, Drake and Young Jeezy, has Harajuku Barbie keeping it simple and low-key. Almost too low-key for a song about triumph that openly declares, “This a celebration.” Check it out below.

Nicki Minaj feat. Nas, Drake & Young Jeezy – “Champion”

Despite the star power involved, “Champion” (produced by Da Internz) doesn’t stand much of a chance of being a single, being that it’s just too drab, especially compared to the more exciting (and schizophrenic) fair Nicki has released thus far. Then again, if her fans need a palate cleanser from her over-the-top hysterics, this is definitely it.

Pink Friday: Roman Reloaded is out April 3.

Now might be a good time to stop staring Nicki Minaj’s booty from her “Starships” shoot to check out the tracks that will be making it onto her long awaited sophomore effort, Pink Friday: Roman Reloaded. The pink hip hop diva doesn’t hold back on the amount of hip hop heavyweights on the album including a collaboration with NAS, Drake and Young Jeezy on “Champion” and another team up with Cam’ron and Rick Ross on “I Am Your Leader.”

Nicki Dons BIKINI FOR "STARSHIPS" VIDEO

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The whopping 22-track deluxe album also includes “Right By My Side,” which features Chris Brown, as well as two tracks that she worked with Weezy on — “Roman Holiday” and “Sex In The Lounge,” which also has Bobby V’s stylings on it. Between the number of collaborations and the crazy album cover, it’ll be interesting to find out what Minaj has come up with on this album.  Check out the list below.

1. Roman Holiday
2. Come On A Cone
3. I Am Your Leader Feat. Cam’ron & Rick Ross
4. Beez In The Trap Feat. 2 Chainz
5. HOV Lane
6. Roman Reloaded Feat. Lil Wayne
7. Champion Feat. Nas, Drake & Young Jeezy
8. Right By My Side Feat. Chris Brown
9. Sex In the Lounge Feat. Lil Wayne & Bobby V
10. Starships
11. Pound The Alarm
12. Whip It
13. Automatic
14. Beautiful Sinner
15. Marilyn Monroe
16. Young Forever
17. Fire Burns
18. Gun Shot Feat. Beenie Man
19. Stupid Hoe

Deluxe Edition
20. Turn Me On
21. Va Va Voom
22. Masquerade

Pink Friday: Roman Reloaded drops on April 3.

Are you looking forward to Pink Friday: Roman Reloaded ? Tell us on Facebook, Twitter or in the comments. 

Watch Nicki Minaj Wig out for 'allure'

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Did You Hear?

:: Much like Selena Gomez did with “Who Says”, Demi Lovato has recorded her new single “Skyscraper” in Spanish. We’re sure it’s just as moving en español! [MTV Buzzworthy]

:: Hitting the studio with Bruno Mars is high on Taylor Swift’s To Do list. The chimp-loving singer had better be a gentleman or else he’ll find himself on Tay’s next diss anthem. [Pop Crush]

:: Rihanna approves of Kathy Griffin’s karaoke cover of “S&M”. [Just Jared]

:: It seems everybody wants to be Kelly Rowland’s motivation. Cee-Lo Green hit on the ex-Destiny’s Child diva on TV and now Young Jeezy has expressed his admiration for Miss Kelly on radio.  [Rap-Up]

:: Watch upcoming rap chick Kreayshawn do her thing in New York. [Pop Dust]

After the jump, find out which music acts will be appearing on the tube today.

Music On TV:
:: Tonight Show with Jay Leno (NBC) — Gomez
:: Late Show with David Letterman (CBS) — Tim Robbins and the Rogues Gallery Band
:: Conan (TBS) — K.T. Tunstall
:: Late Night With Jimmy Fallon (NBC) — Ray Davies
:: Last Call With Carson Daly (NBC) — The Greenhornes (repeat)
:: Jimmy Kimmel Live (ABC) — Big Talk

While T.I. is unlikely to be available to promote his newly re-titled No Mercy album in person, he’s cut at least one final video before heading back behind bars. The blue-hued “Ya Hear Me” is a far simpler affair than usual for him: there’s no dapper wardrobe or fiery effects here — just Tip rocking a flannel, a white tee and ball cap as he performs with a live band and raps a triumphant verse that refers to surviving his previous prison stint. But the gospel-style organs and the driving beat (plus a cameo from Young Jeezy) make this one a can’t miss clip.

T.I. – “Ya Hear Me”

“They dont like to see me walkin’ out of prison / I ain’t trippin / I don’t owe em nothin but a ass whoppin’” might seem like a suitably boastful line (as are many other verses) if it wasn’t such a bummer.

In light of his upcoming return to prison, it’s just a bitter reminder of what might’ve been. But we’ll look forward to watching T.I. (and this smoking band!) take a stage just about 11 months from now.

Drake and Young Jeezy took the stage at the BET Awards last night to perform the remix to Jeezy’s “Lose My Mind”, and now as a wonderful Monday morning gift, the studio version of the track is now online. Give it a listen below!

Young Jeezy feat. Drake - Lose My Mind (Remix)

“Do I love these hoes? / Mmm, kinda, sorta / I got ‘em drinking Sangria like it’s fucking water,” raps Drake on his verse, taking over where Plies left off from the original. Insulting women and forcing them to get drunk? Class all the way!

There’s not much new here besides Drizzy on the track, but if winning Best Male Hip-Hop Artist and debuting to gargantuan sales is any indication, the man’s presence alone on this track is enough reason to pick it up.

Are you guys losing your collective minds over this remix? Throw your thoughts in the comments!

Another track from BET Awards and MuchMusic nominee Drake surfaced today, the mournful tune “Unforgettable,” which features both Young Jeezy and Aaliyah. (Yes, that Aaliyah.) Does the song live up to its name? Listen below.

Drake feat. Young Jeezy- “Unforgettable”

We’re not trying to be ironic here, but this Noah “40″ Shebib-produced track is pretty forgettable. Using a sample of Aaliyah’s vocals from her song “At Your Best (You Are Love)” is an inspired choice, but we’re just not feeling this downtempo, somewhat dreary number, despite Jeezy doing his hardest to liven up the place with his growl during his verses.

We’ve heard a handful of the songs on Thank Me Later (which now drops June 15), and although we have a feeling Drizzy fans will eat it up with no complaint, we think Drake will have a hard time getting a broader audience to enjoy his tunes.

What do you think? Will Thank Me Later be Drake’s shining debut, or will it arrive with a whimper instead of a bang?

[Prefix Mag]

Grammy-winner T-Pain offered a subtle but deep criticism of the music biz last weekend when Ryan Seacrest asked him about his nomination for the SNL song “I’m On A Boat.” The Auto-Tune aficionado remarked how strange it felt for his actual songs to be snubbed by Grammy organizers, and “then a mockery of the art is nominated. It’s weird.” It is. So by all means let’s get back to the art — T-Pain’s newly surfaced, subtly-titled ode to women on top (literally) “Reverse Cowgirl,” featuring Young Jeezy. (For those of you unfamiliar with the sexual position, here’s a slightly NSFW guideline.) Strap on your boots and give it a listen after the jump:

Just in case you were worried T-Pain was spending too much time focusing on respectable things like awards shows and charity singles, worry not—the man who penned the classic love ballad “Take Your Shirt Off” has still got his mind in the gutter. We never thought Ginuwine’s “Pony” would sound conservative, but “come ride it, my pony” almost seems understated compared to T-Pain’s “giddy-up, giddy-up, put your hands in the air, wave ‘em round!” Actually, although singing “Yee-haw!” in Auto-Tune is a bit bizarre to hear, the song itself is a smooth, slowed down R&B jam to groove to. If it weren’t for the lyrics, we could picture couples lovingly slow dancing to this song on Valentine’s Day.

The music video for the single will be shot this month, and we can only hope he gets Carrie Underwood to be the star. (Her fiance might take issue with that.)

In an interview with Rap Radar, Young Jeezy refutes rumors that he got stabbed the other night–and he’s quick to point out that he did get something that evening: “RR: So I take it you didn’t check into Grady Memorial Hospital. YJ: Me? I checked into a broad’s house. [laughs] If that’s the hospital, then we we’re playing doctor.” [RapRadar via David Cho]

A Young Jeezy show at the University of Delaware has been canceled in light of 10 suspected cases of swine flu being discovered on campus. Meanwhile, in Mexico, most public gatherings have been canceled for the foreseeable future, including a Four Tet show in Mexico City that was scheduled for tonight and a Camp Freddy show in Cancun on May 18–although in the case of the latter I wonder if there was also any sort of mercy rule that came into play. [Delaware News Journal via MTV / Pollstar]

Look, Ma! Someone signed to a major label still has… a budget! (Or at least the money to buy establishing shots that were left on the cutting-room floor at Bad Robot.) [Vimeo]

ARTIST: Kanye West ft. Young Jeezy
TITLE: “Amazin’”
WEB DEBUT: Nov. 11, 2008

ONE-LISTEN VERDICT: “Amazin’” is another downtempo, Autotuned-to-next-week song from Kanye West, although this time out West is lyrically defiant, talking about how he feels while in the afterglow of a show and how no one can take the joy of holding a crowd in the palm of his hand away from him. The endless loop–which is marked by a few guttural barks, choirs of angels, and some otherworldly screeches here and there–breaks just before Young Jeezy comes in to drop a verse that’s as much about boasting as it is about his blood pressure, and he sounds so fierce, one might think that Kanye brought him in specifically to channel his more aggro, less mediated-by-studio-trickery side.

WHERE TO HEAR IT: StreetCred.com has a stream:

While Miss Info is excited about Barack Obama’s victory yesterday, she does have a list of things that she feels need to go away now the election is over: Young Jeezy, a foodstuff that is seriously called “Baby Barack Ribs,” and–perhaps most crucially–”celebratory freestyles from rappers who we never wanted freestyles from in any other circumstance (Tyga, Mims, Diddy, Bow Wow, etc).” Change we all can believe in, etc. [Miss Info]

From time to time, we like to round up the all-important, all-summarizing last sentences of the biggest new-music reviews. After the jump, we look at the reactions to The Recession, the latest album by the seemingly unbannable Young Jeezy.

• “While Jeezy shows fear and loathing toward George W. throughout Recession, he’s got nothing but (heavy-handed) praise for Barack Obama on ‘My President.’ And even when club life rears its thuggish head (‘Put On’ with Kanye West), Jeezy is more pragmatic than dramatic. Finally, Jeezy’s having an outing that’s sexy and fun rather than discordant and deadly.” [Philadelphia Inquirer]

• “On ‘My President,’ which features Nas, Jeezy dreams of a black commander in chief and invokes higher powers, presumably to help with America’s dire economic situation: ‘I will e-mail Jesus and tell him to forward to Moses and cc Allah.’ But while the usual approach is still good for a certain seductive brawniness, there’s not much here that Jeezy hasn’t done before. If he doesn’t push things forward a bit, his market position may slip.” [RS]

• “One can argue the dubious merits of his philosophy–which can be distilled to two words: sell coke–but one can’t deny Jeezy’s popularity. His previous two efforts went platinum, with sales partially fueled by the rapper’s ‘Snowman’ T-shirt line. Jeezy’s sonic sins would be partially pardonable were The Recession to flash any hint of fun or humor. Instead, the street-cred-consumed caricature is more content to rip off Tupac Shakur (‘Hustlaz Ambition’) and write abominable hooks.” [LAT]

• “At his wackiest, though–see ‘My President Is Black,’ which features a couple of key deviations from the Obama platform–that blunt-sucking rasp can admittedly be endearing. And considering he has evidently convinced lots of folks that he’s somehow making drug dealing moral, Jeezy’s brightest future might be in politics instead.” [Hartford Courant]

Sadly, the tableau of babes and bottles in the video for Young Jeezy’s “Vacation” ends badly for the Snowman, with the final shot of the clip’s “conceptual” side showing him being strong-armed out of a club by FBI agents. But mostly I’m impressed by how this video brings together the time-honored concepts of “scantily clad ladies on a beach” and “scantily clad ladies in a club” in a way that actually makes sense when put together with the track’s lyrics–or, at least, the lyrics that weren’t bleeped out in favor of letting the crisp piano hook shine through. We don’t see unified vision like this often enough in pop music, and for that, I say, God bless. [YouTube]

I know what you’re thinking: “Why should I care who Young Jeezy endorses more than any other groaning once and former coke dealer with a poor actual-rhyme-to-verse ratio?” But unlike Rick Ross (I presume), Jeezy actually met one of the presumed presidential nominees during a shared Saturday Night Live appearance. “John McCain is cool, but he looks like a fraud to me… I told him the ‘hood was fucked up, and he was like, ‘How you doing?’ Real talk. They know entertainers, so they shake your hand [and say], ‘I’m your friend.’ But my mama is about to have surgery that I gotta pay for out of my pocket because she can’t get insurance. I don’t really feel McCain.” Aw, but I’m sure McCain feels you, Mr. Snowman!

Don’t think that Young Jeezy is going to vote for Barack Obama merely as an anti-Bush move. The main reason he supports the Democratic candidate is that he identifies with him.

“Barack, he has a lot of things going for him. He’s ahead of his time. Given the right chance, he’ll make some type of change. We’ll feel it. I really feel that.

… It ain’t just because Barack is black; he can make change. Just like Bush equals recession, Barack equals progression. I really feel that, all bullsh– aside. He’s gotta come in and keep it right.

I be in the ‘hood every day, and I motivate the thugs. [Barack] motivates me. To see somebody taking that extra mile … like, ‘OK, I can make some change.’ That’s how I felt when I got in the rap game. I felt I could make change. I did.”

If we continue hearing priceless comparisons like this, I wouldn’t be surprised if Trap Stars For Obama got a little Fox News screen time in the upcoming months.

Young Jeezy Gets Motivated By Obama [MTV]

Young Jeezy has been arrested in Atlanta for “speeding, driving with no proof of insurance or license plate, having an open container, reckless driving and driving impaired by alcohol or drugs.” Jeezy claims that his new Corvette’s temporary tags must have fallen off and that the open container was his passenger’s, and I’m inclined to believe him. Speeding? The Jeezy I know doesn’t do anything fast. [Houston Chronicle]

Young Jeezy has been arrested in Atlanta for “speeding, driving with no proof of insurance or license plate, having an open container, reckless driving and driving impaired by alcohol or drugs.” Jeezy claims that his new Corvette’s temporary tags must have fallen off and that the open container was his passenger’s, and I’m inclined to believe him. Speeding? The Jeezy I know doesn’t do anything fast. [Houston Chronicle]

A witness in the Feds’ trial against Fleming “Ill” Daniels, the alleged third-in-command of the Detroit-based criminal organization Black Mafia Family, has claimed that the self-proclaimed snowman Young Jeezy may have, in fact, received multiple kilos of cocaine from the BMF. Creative Loafing Atlanta reports that Ralph “Ralphie” Simms, who is testifying after receiving a plea bargain on another drug case, said under oath that part of his job involved unloading coke from secret compartments in limos; once, at an Atlanta-area mansion that was nicknamed “Space Mountain,” two people stopped by to pick up a multi-kilo shipment. And one of them looked kinda familiar!

When asked by assistant U.S. Attorney Robert McBurney who the customers were, Simms gave two names: William “Doc” Marshall, a high-level BMF co-conspirator who testified earlier in the trial, and “Jeezy.”

“Young Jeezy the rapper?” McBurney asked.

“Yes,” Simms answered.

Aside from his whole “snowman” motif, which filled many a shop with angry-Frosty-emblazoned T-shirts for a long time, Jeezy and the BMF have something of a history, and it was chronicled in part in a 2006 Vibe article by investigative hip-hop journalist Ethan Brown:

Just after 9 p.m. on a hot and muggy night in late July 2005, a pair of chartered tour buses pulled up to Vision Nightclub & Lounge on Atlanta’s Peachtree Street for a party celebrating the release of Young Jeezy’s major label solo debut, Let’s Get It: Thug Motivation 101. Yet when the bus doors opened, it was not Jeezy who emerged but members of the storied ATL street crew Black Mafia Family (BMF).

Dressed in head-to-toe black, the hundreds-strong posse strode toward the megaclub in almost choreographed unison. “They moved like one mass, one organism,” remembers one of the party promoters. “I had never seen anything like that.” The club had expected BMF in force–they were even comped on the guest list as “+100″–but it was not prepared for an army. Panicked promoters hustled BMF through a special side entrance, VIP treatment that even Jay-Z, Ludacris, Fabolous, and Slim Thug did not receive.

Once inside, BMF awed partiers by tossing fistfuls of cash as they awaited Jeezy, who, though not officially a crew member, was considered “family.” And by the time he arrived, just after 1:30 a.m., the crowd was stoked and ready to receive him as A-town royalty. Jeezy took the stage surrounded by BMF members and employees of his Corporate Thugz Entertainment label and tore through songs like “And Then What” and “Go Crazy” with such swagger that the success of Let’s Get It seemed all but assured. Indeed, the 25-year-old rapper would move an impressive 172,000 copies of the album in its first week.

Witness: Young Jeezy received kilos of BMF coke [Creative Loafing via Gawker]