Janet Jackson never been the type to shy away from a good ol’ chat about sex (heck, she even told us her favorite songs to hypothetically make babies to), so when E! asked her who her girl crush was, Janet seemed eager to answer. Can you guess who the “Feedback” singer would want as her sapphic duet partner? Hint: she’s one of the singers pictured below.

Take the jump to find out.

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The controversy over Nas‘ forthcoming ablum, Nigger, is growing more intense with news that one of its songs subverts the old Dr. Pepper jingle by replacing the word “Pepper” with the N-word:

“I’m a nigger, he’s a nigger,
she’s a nigger, we’re a nigger
Wouldn’t you like to be a nigger too?”
- From Nas’ “Be A Nigger Too” (Listen here)

Before this latest shocker, a lot had been written about who is in support of Nas’ album title (Jay-Z, Common, Alicia Keys, Don Imus) and who isn’t (NAACP, Jesse Jackson, 50 Cent). 50 Cent, among others, say Nas is going for “shock value.” The fact that rappers have embraced the word and rendered it less hurtful and more banal through overuse for at least two decades may lend some credence to his claim. Maybe this is why Nas’ earlier statement seemed kind of weak:

“I wanna make the word easy on muthaf***ers’ ears. You see how white boys ain’t mad at ‘cracker’ ’cause it don’t have the same [sting] as ‘nigger’? I want ‘nigger’ to have less meaning [than] ‘cracker.’”

Nas’ new song could pull more people into his corner. Jay-Z’s earlier remark and Nas’ employment of the word now seem to be on point: “I know he’s very intelligent and there’s a reason behind what he’s doing.” Sure, Nas is “lessening the sting.” But he also seems to be up to something else. Pairing a once-omnipresent commercial song that is childlike in its simplicity with one of the most incendiary words in the English language raises so many questions that it could make heads explode. Could Nas be commenting on how big business packages and sells just about anything to kids — from soft drinks to gangsta rap? Could Nas be attempting to hit back at the very commercialization that has damaged hip-hop as an art form? Could he be doing all of the above and stirring up controversy to sell albums, too? Nas’ intentions may not yet be totally clear, but we’re all waiting to hear more. [Source: MTV News; Image of Nas and Kelis: Getty]

Nas’ track has leaked. Listen after the jump. Read the rest of this entry »

A little while ago, Alicia Keys told Blender magazine that she thought gangsta rap was a tool used by the government: “Gangsta rap was a ploy to convince black people to kill each other,” the singer said. After those remarks enraged many, Keys back-pedaled, saying she was misrepresented in the article, but that’s not stopping 50 Cent from taking aim at Keys.

“That statement changes my perception of Alicia Keys totally,” the rapper is now saying. “But the magazine is standing behind it, which means they probably have a tape of her in conversation saying it. It’s just not really a bright comment anyway.” And in a tactic not employed since 50 left the playground, he added: “If she don’t like that, (then) I don’t like that classical music sh*t she be doing.” So there.

Piano-playing siren Alicia Keys recently opened up to Blender magazine on everything from her conspiracy theories to her sexual side on her latest album, As I Am. Here are a few of the things we learned from Blender’s cover story.

1. Alicia Keys almost lost her mind to make this record. “I’m the best wall builder that ever lived. These people were coming at me, asking me things, and they really didn’t care about me, but I had to give them everything. What did I have left for myself?” The result was that both Keys and her music got dark and weird. “I was hanging off the edge of a cliff. Something had to give, or I was gonna lose my mind.”

2. Gangsta Rap is a government tool. “Gangsta rap was a ploy to convince black people to kill each other,” says Keys.

3. Alicia’s discovered her sexual side. “I’m discovering my sexual side. I recorded this song - it’s supersimple: just piano, Rhodes keyboard and a kick drum. It’s so sensual. It moves you,” she says. Jeff Robinson, her manager, wasn’t exactly a fan: “he popped out of his seat halfway through. He said: ‘we do not record songs like this!’”

- Alicia Keys says, “I’m not the chick that breaks down, I’m not the one who loses it and wilds out, that’s not my thing.” Way to go – you just talked yourself out of ever having a reality show. Hope you’re happy, Leesh! [CONCRETELOOP]

- Britney Spears leaks a song that comments on the media’s fascination with her. We can only hope that the next chapter in Brit’s self-conscious realm of music-making will be a remake of “Baby Come Back.” [CityRag]

- Ray J reportedly is prepping a memoir called Sex Machine that will chronicle his bedding of over 1,100 women. Let’s pray the Kardashian chapter is titled, “Butt Seriously…” [Crunk + Disorderly]

- Angelina Jolie is the current target of Bai Ling’s affection. Try to resist adopting her, Angelina. Just try! [Dlisted]

- Demi Moore is going gray! A crack in the facade! Break out the champagne! [Seriously? OMG! WTF?]

[Image: Getty]

It all started with some ratty extensions…

…and it only got worse from there. Is this the VMAs or a Rob Zombie movie?

Still too hard to tell.

Britney’s trainwreck more or less set the tone for the rest of last night’s show, which was supposed to be a new-and-improved version of the Video Music Awards. Mostly, it just felt schizophrenic, with its performers scattered through a series of “parties” at the Palms Hotel in Las Vegas. Though less ceremonious in general (gone away, for the most part, were performer introductions, thankfully) and about as short as you could possibly expect an awards show to be (just over two hours, double thankfully), this year’s VMAs was a series of quick cuts and excerpted performances. It felt like a parody of MTV and the short-attention-span generation the network supposedly spawned. The awards show is what would happen if ADHD got ADHD. (And what’s worse — they gypped us out of what was undoubtedly the best part of the night: the Kid Rock-Tommy Lee tussle.)

After the jump, we recount some highlights. And by “highlights,” more times than not, we mean “lowlights.”

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