Video: "Check It Out" by will.i.am & Nicki Minaj

This has got to be one of the best new songs playing through the radio waves and at dance clubs. Nicki Minaj is headed to become another music superstar. "Check It Out" here:

Katy Perry, Sugarland & Nicki Minaj Announced for Special 'VH1 Divas' Tribute

Vh1′s long-running annual Divas event will take a new tack in its thirteenth year: honoring the military, rather than themselves, through spangled lady-song.

Featured performers Katy Perry, Nicki Minaj, Sugarland, and Keri Hilson are scheduled to tape the event before troops at San Diego’s Marine Corps Air Station Miramar while Paramore satellite in from a military base in the Middle East.

For two participants it’s a family cause: Hilson’s father served in the Army, and Sugarland’s Jennifer Nettles’ brother is currently in the Air Force.

Nettles had already made a joking threat to don a historic talisman of diva/military relations for the show: She told press that she’s “hoping to wear” Cher’s butt-floss body stocking in 1989′s battleship-set video for “If I Could Turn Back Time,” which the now-64-year-old Divas alum famously revisited last month at the VMAs.

Vh1 Divas Salute the Troops premieres December 5th and will also be broadcast internationally on the Armed Forces Network.

Nicki Minaj Wins Big at BET Hip-Hop Awards

The 2010 BET Hip-Hop Awards took place this weekend in Atlanta, and MTV News reports that Nicki Minaj continued her hot streak by picking up three trophies: Rookie of the Year, People's Champ and the Made You Look award, bestowed for her unforgettable fashions.

"I'm paving the way for girls," she said. "I wanna thank all the girls of hip-hop."

Although he was absent from the ceremony, Jay-Z also picked up three awards: Best Live Performer, Perfect Combo (for his Alicia Keys duet "Empire State of Mind"), CD of the Year (for 'The Blueprint 3').

The ladies of Salt-N-Pepa were recipients of the I Am Hip-Hop Award.

The show opened with Rick Ross (who won two trophies during the evening), along with Diddy and DJ Khaled, performing his hit "B.M.F. (Blowin' Money Fast)." As the stars segued into "MC Hammer," the rapping led up to an appearance from MC Hammer himself -- who performed his classic "2 Legit 2 Quit."

B.o.B., Cam'ron, Jim Jones, Juelz Santana, Freekey Zekey, Big Boi, Yelawolf, Soulja Boy Tell'em, J. Cole, Cali Swag District, Digital Underground, Gucci Mane and Waka Flocka Flame were among the other performers.

The awards, hosted by Mike Epps, will air October 12th at 8:00 pm (ET).

Nicki Minaj Wants to Bridge 'Gap' Between Gay Fans and Hip-Hop

Nicki Minaj just might be the one to bridge the gap.

The 25-year-old female MC hasn't even released her debut album, Pink Friday, yet, but already her quirky hooks and outrageous fashion have made her one to watch in the gay community. Minaj has a bevy of gay fans, and she's hoping that she'll be the one to spearhead a movement to eradicate homophobia in hip-hop. She talks up her gay fans, her bi-curious lyrics and her embrace of her female following in the latest issue of Out magazine, hitting shelves next week.

"I started making it my business to say things that would empower women, like, 'Where my bad bitches at?' to let them know, 'I'm here for you,' " Minaj says of her female followers. "Then, when I started going to the shows and it was nothing but girls, it was like, 'Did I go too far with embracing my girls?' Because now they want to kiss and hug me."

Minaj, whose many aliases include the Harajuku Barbie, said the haters really came out when she embraced that particular image, which surprised her.

At MTV Video Music Awards pre-show on Sunday, Minaj performed in a pink-and-purple spacesuit and a cotton-candy-colored wig. She appeared as a Barbie landing from outer space, popping and locking with robotic moves.

"It's interesting that people have more negative things to say about me saying, 'I'm Barbie,' than me saying, 'I'm a bad bitch,' " she told the magazine. "Once I figure something is irritating people, I'm going to do it more because I like to get on your nerves until you realize how f---ing stupid you are."

Instead, Minaj said, she'd rather focus on what a homophobia-free rap world might look like, hinting at a tour with her mentor, Lil Wayne.

"Normally, Wayne probably wouldn't have gay guys coming to see his shows much, but they're definitely a big part of my movement, and I hope they'd still come out and see me," she said. "I think that will be really, really interesting, just to start bridging that gap. We'll see."