The buzz around Kendrick Lamar is real and it’s established for a reason. Over the course of the past two years, he’s seen himself transform from a respected Compton MC to an artist people from coast to coast crave to hear new music from; I’m happy to call myself one of those people. This year alone has seen Lamar make waves in the industry which has been highlighted by gracing the stage with Dr. Dre at the Key Club in Los Angeles and as one of the 11 “Freshmen” to grace the cover of XXL.

Sooner or later, his debut album will be the hot topic in the Hip Hop world, but until then people will continue to learn about the story which defines his music, but more importantly his life behind the music. Lu Parker of the Huffington Post recently caught up with the man of the hour for an in-depth piece on the subject. The above video is a brief description about what the entire piece encompasses – life in Compton and how he was lucky enough to escape the negative forces which take over the lives of so many of the legendary California town.

Lamar tells me he began singing about his city, his struggles, and his survival at the age of 13. Now years later, he has nearly 300 songs, and must narrow it down to 12 for an album release. When asked which are his favorites, song titles like “The Hard Part 2,” “Cut You Off,” “Average Joe,” and “Faith” roll off his tongue. According to Lamar, all the songs have a message. Whether it’s about the ills of negativity, or the senseless loss of his uncle to prison, Lamar sings with a raw, honest, and sometimes angered voice. Many of his lyrics come from what he’s seen and experienced growing up in Compton.

His parents, who are still married, moved to Los Angeles from Chicago in the 1970′s. Lamar says his dad was always there for him, and admits the tight relationship likely saved his life, and gave him security to fall back on when he pushed the edges and lost focus.

While there has been a big drop in homicides in the city of Compton in the last couple of years, (some say due to better communication between police and residents), Lamar believes it is still not perfect; calling himself “a good kid in a mad city.”

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Nick Cannon is making his way back to the music scene as he is prepping for the release of his new mixtape entitled “Children Of The Corn“. Their is no specific date as to when the mixtape will drop, but here is the latest freestyle that will appear on the tape.

Fresh off the release of his album “Rolling Papers“, Wiz finds a way to keep himself talked about in the headlines. Yesterday he sat down with Sway for MTV’s Rapfix and somehow the picture above was taken and it revealed that Wiz had the words “Amb” tatted on the outside of his thumb. Now it doesn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out what those three letters stand for. I guess it’s true what people say, love makes people do crazy things.

Well, well, well. It looks like I’ve got the answer to my question, somewhat. Kind of. Not really. Do not let the title confuse you though. Pusha T and Kanye are not working on a joint album. Instead, the braided half of the Clipse and Donda West’s pride and joy have been at work in the studio working on his G.O.O.D. Music debut.

“When we attack a project, you know, there’s just a general idea that happens, and everybody just gives their own perspective,” Pusha T told AllHipHop.com.

As for his solo effort, the project has no title, or release date, although he and Kanye West have starting working on the album.

“Me and Kanye have been in [the studio] and we’ve done a good five or six records, and we’ve left them alone,” Pusha T told AllHipHop.com. “Then we’re gonna revisit it. We’re about to go to Chile, actually this week sometime, and we’ll probably do a show and just revisit some of the records.”

Sh*t, that must be nice. Karen asked Big Sean about this possibility the other day, but sooner or later, we’re going to have to see a G.O.O.D. Music compilation. It’s either that or we get these G.O.O.D. Fridays leaks back started. Excuse me for sounding greedy, but when you have firepower in the likes of ‘Ye, Sean, Common, John Legend, Pusha T, CuDi and more under one roof, it tends to happen.

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Word on the street is that this the second (and official) video version of this Katy Perry and Kanye West cut. Seeing as how I did not see the previous one, this is all new to me. From a cross genre promotion, I definitely understand the move and not mad at it one bit. Am I a fan of the record? Not really, but in honestly, what does my opinion is one fish in an ocean of sharks.

Speaking of ‘Ye, has anyone seriously heard anything about Watch The Throne? Release dates are about as reliable as a rumor on Twitter, but a project with Jay-Z and Kanye West would seem to have better footing than MC Basement and the Couches. I mean, let’s not get it confused though. Nothing is touching that new Big K.R.I.T. Return Of 4eva. Did I just go completely off topic? Yup, I sure did. Go ahead and click play whenever you’re ready though.

The fourteen-time Grammy award winner, actress, new mother and dedicated philanthropist is not only preparing to release her 2011 album – but taken on a new venture, film director. Alicia Keys will be collaborating with Jennifer Aniston, Demi Moore and Patty Jenkins to direct Five, a Sony Pictures production due to air on Lifetime TV next year. Five is an anthology film of five short films unveiling the influence of breast cancer on people’s lives.

A press release for the film stated Five (will use):

“…humor and drama to focus on the effect that breast cancer and its diagnosis have on relationships and the way women perceive themselves, while searching for strength, comfort, medical breakthroughs and, ultimately, a cure.”

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If you haven’t heard about Frank Ocean by now, chances are keeping up with trends in the music industry isn’t your thing. And that’s fine. But in the chance you do want to treat yourself to some new music you were previously unfamiliar with, head to Google and type in “Frank Ocean Nostalgia/Ultra mixtape” and go from there. Once you do and once you give the entire project a listen, you will find out that the song “Novacane” (yes, that is the way it’s spelled here) will likely rank as one of your standouts.

That same process I just described in the previous paragraph? Yep, Kris Kasanova did it and look what we have here. It was obviously a favorite of Kasanova’s as he took the liberty to add a few bars to the sultry and hypnotic cut.

Here are the official visuals for the newest single from Diddy & Dirty Money which features Rick Ross and Trey Songz. The video was directed by Colin Tilley. Last Train To Paris is in stores right now.