Nicki Minaj Rips Through L.A. Club Set During NBA All-Star Weekend

Rapper thrills crowd with abbreviated version of controversial 'Roman's Revenge.'
By Rahman Dukes


Nicki Minaj performs at L.A. club Exchange during NBA All-Star weekend
Photo: MTV News

Hip-hop's Barbie took her multi-colored wigs to Hollywood last night just in time to kick off the 2011 NBA All-Star weekend.

Nicki Minaj, flanked by her sideman/homey SB, took the stage at club Exchange in downtown Los Angeles, just a few blocks from the Staples Center, where the All-Star festivities are taking place throughout the weekend.

Not long after entering the massive venue, which was filled with a sea of Barbie fans, the Queens native made a beeline for the DJ booth and swiftly grabbed the mic from DJ Biz Markie, following a set by fellow rapper Rick Ross. Ross had just finished tearing through his own hits including club anthems "B.M.F," "9 Piece," "Aston Martin Music" and "Hustlin'." But after Rozay, the Los Angeles audience got who they were waiting for.

"Where my New York people at?" Nicki asked her fans as she stepped to the stage. From there, Nicki went into her latest single, "Moment for Life," which features Young Money capo Drake. "I fly with the stars in the skies/ I am no longer trying to survive/ I believe that life is a prize/ But to live doesn't mean you're alive," Nicki rapped as the audience sang and bounced along.

But the best was yet to come.

After cutting her song short during the Drake verse, the "legendary Biz Markie," as Ross referred to the iconic MC, cued up Nicki's controversial record "Roman's Revenge" to the female MC's surprise, sending the crowd into a rage.

"I am not Jasmine, I am Aladdin/ So far ahead, these bums is laggin'/ See me in that new thing, bums is gaggin'/ I'm startin' to feel like a dungeon dragon/ Raah, raah, like a dungeon dragon," an amped Nicki rapped.

Midway through her first verse on "Roman," the MC stepped away from the stage and disappeared into the night for the final time.

There's been no word if Nicki's abrupt ending was planned or not, but regardless, fans went home happy, comfortable with every penny spent to catch a glimpse of rap's most-wanted girl.

For the remainder of the weekend, Nicki is slated to appear at a host of events including a grand finale at the same location on Sunday night featuring manager Diddy.

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Ashley Tisdale On The Set Of ?High Stakes?

Here's 'High School Musical' star Ashley Tisdale on the set of her new movie, 'High Stakes.' Here's a description of it:
Sharpay and her pet dog, Boi, travel to New York City for a role in a Broadway hit, only to discover the part wasn't what she expected.
From the wardrobe, I'm guessing this is a campy-type of comedy that's meant to appeal to the Disney crowd (and I don't mean that in a snarky way). I'm tempted to see it just for the dog: what a cutie :)Photos by INF Continue reading

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Lindsay Lohan: Ejected From Sunset Marquis Shindig

She has a habit of relying on her fame to afford her special privileges, but last night (February 18) Lindsay Lohan didn?t get the star treatment she was expecting.

The ?Mean Girls? actress tried to crash a private party at the Sunset Marquis hotel in Los Angeles only to be immediately turned away. In shame, she slinked off through the venue?s garage.

In related news, LiLo attempted to set the record straight about her Thursday night antics at Teddy?s nightclub- she claims she wasn?t ever in the club but rather just at the Roosevelt Hotel.

Lindsay tweeted, ?The reports i was at teddys are inaccurate?I was just at roosevelt to meet Samantha and say happy birthday to a friend. i take my sobriety seriously. please dont believe this accusations. i know the rules and i wouldnt risk probation. xoxo L.?

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Coldplay, Led Zeppelin Album Covers Featured On New British Stamps

Album art from Pink Floyd, Blur and David Bowie also included.
By James Montgomery


Coldplay's new British stamps
Photo: Royal Mail

On Thursday (January 7), the U.K.'s Royal Mail unveiled a series of 10 new stamps, honoring the most iconic album covers of the past 40 years.

The albums featured in the new series are the Rolling Stones' Let It Bleed, Led Zeppelin's IV, David Bowie's The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders From Mars, Mike Oldfield's Tubular Bells, The Clash's London Calling, New Order's Power, Corruption and Lies, Primal Scream's Screamadelica, Pink Floyd's The Division Bell, Blur's Parklife and — the most recent album on to make the cut — Coldplay's A Rush of Blood to the Head.

Meant to honor "the most potent graphic images of modern times, many of which have provided a visual soundtrack to people's lives," the series is the end result of a lengthy research process by the Royal Mail, who looked through thousands of album covers by British artists before deciding on the final list. And, during a Wednesday night BBC Radio broadcast, it was revealed that the queen herself actually approved each design.

Led Zeppelin guitarist Jimmy Page — who helped design the cover for IV — was on hand to celebrate the release of the stamps and recalled the mysterious nature of the album's iconic imagery.

"Almost 40 years after the album came out, nobody knows the old man who featured on the cover, nor the artist who painted him," he said. "That sort of sums up what we wanted to achieve with the album cover, which has remained both anonymous and enigmatic at the same time."

Of course, any great honor is befitting of an equally great contest, so, on the same day the stamps were made available to the general public, Coldplay decided to give one of their Rush of Blood stamps away. In a message on their official site, the band held a contest to send one lucky fan "a letter using a Coldplay stamp, postmarked with today's issue date."

"We visited our local post office earlier today and bought some of the Coldplay stamps," the message read. "Very nice they are too."

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The teen singing sensation, who was shut out at the Grammys, was chosen most valuable player despite playing for the losing team in the NBA All-Star celebrity game on Friday night. Bieber had eight points, four assists and two rebounds for the West team, which lost 54-49 to the East at the Los Angeles Convention [...]

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