COVERS:: Janet on the August Issue of Essence

"It took me a good minute to get here, it really did. But I love my life. I only wish I had this confidence when I was younger..."--Janet Jackson

COVERS:: Ludacris on the JuneIssue of The Source

"What contributes to my longevity is that I stay a fan of music, period" says the Atlanta native. "I get motivavted by beats more than anything else, even if i'm not a fan of a certain song, I might be a fan of a certain beat, and that might spark that interst and remind myself of why I'm here."

Source

COVERS:: Nicki Minaj on the June/July Issue of Vibe

“People don’t get when you’re off, or you’re having a bad day,” she says, obliquely referring to the photograph that bounced around the blogs of her hand- in-hand with Diddy, looking especially miserable. The speculation was inevitable: Had she been crying? Was she just tired? Are they doing it?

“When I grew up I saw females doing certain things, and I thought I had to do that exactly,” she says. “The female rappers of my day spoke about sex a lot . . . and I thought that to have the success they got, I would have to represent the same thing. When in fact I didn’t have to represent the same thing.”

“I’m not abandoning the funny voices. I just did a crazy tribute to ODB’s ‘Shimmy Shimmy Ya,’” she says, perfectly impersonating the late Wu-Clansman. “But it’s coming up more with the album. I had a teacher in elementary who would stand on her table and whisper. We’d all turn around like, ‘What is this lunatic doing?’ But she would achieve what she wanted. She wanted us to stop talking and listen. I feel like I need to mellow it down so people can hear what I have to say.” SOURCE

COVERS:: Travis McCoy on the May Issue of Honey

Gym Class Heroes front man, Travis McCoy, chats with the folks over at honeymag.com about love, life, and branching out on his own.

On His New Album:
“A lot of the songs were really sad and somber, but that was a year ago. I had just got out of a hightly-publicized relationship. When I wrote ‘Billionaire’ with Bruno I was like, Okay, this is the lane I want to be in. I am a whole completely different person now - a lot happier. ‘Billionaire’ captures where I am now. Before the album comes out I have a mix tape dropping called Forgetting Katy Perry. That doesn’t mean I’m airing out my dirty laundy. It’s just stuff that didn’t fit on this album. Bruno produced another song called ‘Dr. Feel Good’ and we got Cee-lo to sing on it, which might be the second single. Lazarius is just an overall really great summertime record.”

On Katy Perry:
“There is no bad blood or hard feelings [with Katy Perry]. It happens and you move on. You live and you learn - it makes you a better person. It’s the moving on that builds character. People that dwell on old relationships tend to stay bitter. I’m not that type of person.”

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Jeezy and Trey Go Hard While Redefining Hip-Hop & R&B

As promised, here are the official covers for Vibe's May issue(s) featuring Jeezy and Trigga! We also added some BONUS behind the scene footage of both photo shoots.

Nicki Minaj and Drake Is Hip Hop On A Higher Level

For the month of May at least. Check out the cover of XXL's May 2010 issue, due in stores in April.