There was quite a buzz in the air on the rooftop of Icon in Downtown Los Angeles, as media outlets from all over gathered for the announcement of the nominees at this year’s BET Awards ’13. Chris Brown, Kendrick Lamar, host Chris Tucker, Cadillac Lifetime Achievement Award recipient Charlie Wilson, Tamar Braxton and BET’s President of Music Programming and Specials, Stephen G. Hill, were all on hand to talk about this year’s awards, and the expansion of the BET Awards into the BET Experience at L.A. Live.

Super-producer Dr. Dre (born Andre Young) and influential music executive Jimmy Iovine are using parts of their substantial fortunes to help cultivate the next generation of music business moguls. It was announced that the pair is giving the University of Southern California $70 million to create a new music academy. “The vision and generosity of Jimmy Iovine and Andre Young will profoundly influence the way all of us perceive and experience artistic media,” said USC President C.L. Max Nikias

Future’s “Karate Chop” has been a topic of interest in Hip-Hop for the last several months due to the controversial lyrics by the song’s featured artist. Lil Wayne’s reference to Emmett Till, the African-American teenager who was brutally murdered by two white men in 1955, upset the Till family and eventually cost the Young Money rapper his endorsement deal with Mountain Dew.

Jay-Z's protégé J. Cole has bumped up the release of his sophomore album, Born Sinner, to June 18 -- one week earlier than previously announced, a source close to the rapper tells The Hollywood Reporter.

"I wanted to come out earlier, but I kept hitting these creative zones where I couldn't finish," Cole said to THR in November. "’Cause I kept making more and more and more. It … was effortless, how I made this album.

Over the past few weeks, rapper Kanye West and girlfriend Kim Kardashian have found themselves constantly followed by paparazzi, and earlier today Kanye appeared to reach a boiling point as he verbally assaulted members of the paparazzi outside of a Beverly Hills restaurant.

While walking head down alongside his girlfriend, the G.O.O.D. Music rapper appeared to have walked directly into a street sign. Although actual footage of Kanye’s minor accident was not caught on videotape, a small thud can be heard.