Lovebox organisers say they were forced to cancel Lil' Kim's appearance at the London-based festival this weekend after the singer arrived late.

The sweltering dustbowl of Victoria Park played host to a crowd of beery, sweaty twentysomethings in neon glasses forgetting the working week - soundtracked by house, hiphop, and a touch of politics.

Judges have ruled that the latest hit song from the controversial rap artist Bushido can be sold only to adults.

Fans say the results are 'embarrassing' and make the singers - famous for four-part harmonies - sound more like robots

Jay-Z has achieved his first number one album in the UK with his new record Magna Carta Holy Grail.

"It is hard not to recall a similar strategy adopted by the Ku Klux Klan to try to instigate a response among those it sought to oppress," says NAACP bureau president

Singer: 'I don’t feel vindicated. I didn’t personally kill her'

The battle was thankfully declared a 'friendly' as Tesco Mobile are a re-seller of O2's network

Rappers aren’t exactly known for their modesty, preferring to fill their lyrics with endless references to Cristal and ice (diamonds). And, boy, do they love to brag about how rich they are. But how many of them are all mouth and no savings account? On the track “Versus” from the recent, Magna Carta Holy Grail, Jay-Z’s taunts fellow rappers about just how much they have in the bank: “The truth in my verses, versus your metaphors about what your net worth is.”

“Welcome to the magnum opus,” he insists and his 12th album is certainly magnum: 59 often leaden, mostly hubristic minutes to make that 1215 Grand Charter seem like light relief.

In this age of the spectacle, music increasingly matters less than the event surrounding the music - this year has seen Daft Punk's album applauded as much for its marketing campaign as for any intrinsic musical value it may have, and now we have Jay-Z's new album, notable largely for the deal struck with Samsung to deliver a million free downloads to its customers, at a cost of $5 apiece to the company, three days prior to its official release.

Dressed in converse, hoodie and bridesmaid dress, Jennifer Gabrielli personalised lyrics for wedding

Rapper 50 Cent has cancelled an unlikely in-store appearance at a branch of Argos - after being charged with attacking his ex in the US.

Actor Jamie Foxx and singers Rihanna, Emeli Sande and Nicki Minaj were among the top winners at the annual BET Awards on Sunday