With most stories about Drake leaning towards the chronic postponement of his hotly-anticipated album, 'Thank Me Later,' some news has surfaced catapulting things into a more positive direction towards an actual June 15 release date for his debut.

Officials at New York City's Rikers Island facility confiscated "music contraband" from Lil Wayne's jail cell on Tuesday, May 11, which included a pair of headphones, a charger and a MP3 watch. Wayne was charged with infraction for contraband when the items -- stuffed in a bag of potato chips -- were dug out of his trash can.

While Drake's R&B mixtape, It's Never Enough, might not drop in October, he does plan to put it out before the end of the year.



"I don't know if it'll be next month," he told MTV News on Saturday during his VMA rehearsal. "I'm hoping for Christmastime. I'd really love to get it out for Christmastime. Next month, I'll be on tour. I'm gonna really get to put the finishing touches on it in November and December. Because it's a mixtape, I don't have to wait for the production of it."

Dr Dre's 'Detox' might become hip-hop's perfect stocking stuffer as the producer hopes to finish the album by Christmas. The latest release date comes straight from Dre himself who revealed his feverish attempts to have the project completed in the next few months.

Kanye West took over New York City's Bowery Ballroom for a surprise show to commemorate the release of his fifth album "My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy," dazzling audience members including Lyor Cohen and Questlove with reconfigured renditions of his tracks.



But the highlight of the gig wasn't just guest appearances from Nicki Minaj, Rick Ross, Ryan Leslie, Pusha T and more. 'Ye finished up with a heated nine-minute speech, doting on everything from Taylor Swift and President Bush to his first-week album sales.

Ja Rule pleaded guilty to attempted criminal possession of a weapon, but the New York rapper will not be going behind bars anytime soon. XXLMag.com just got off the phone with his lawyer, Stacey Richman, who says she managed to work out a deal with the district attorney to keep him free until he finishes some prior business agreements.

West Coast based producer Hit-Boy may not be the most recognizable name on the shelf but his music has already backed the vocals for a number of hip-hop’s elite.



Crafting Eminem and Lil Wayne’s first collaboration (“Drop The World”) and Mary J. Blige’s ’09 hit single (“Stronger”), the 23-year-old beatsmith also lent his hand to the making of Kanye West’s first Christmas-inspired record, a collaboration between Dipset and G.O.O.D. Music.

Following the release of his post-prison single '6 Foot 7 Foot,' Lil Wayne is ready to unleash the beast. The eccentric rapper is reportedly nearing the finish line for his highly anticipated 'Tha Carter IV,' with Young Money president Mack Maine revealing the album is almost a complete wrap.

If you want to know what’s delaying T-Pain’s album rEVOLVEr, ask Drake. The Auto-Tune King is still waiting on Drizzy to submit a verse before his project can be released.



“I know yall waitin on the album but the last thing I need is a verse from drake and the album is complete,” T-Pain told his anxious Twitter followers. “So find drake and tell him to hurry the hell up and finish theverse Hahahahaaaa.”

Rappers Game and Kanye West voiced their opinions about Drake and Justin Bieber being snubbed in the "Best New Artist" category during last night's Grammy Awards.



Via Twitter, Game vouched support for Drake.



    "Drake aint win BEST NEW ARTIST ? Exactly why I'm kool on awards. (finishes rolling weed up as I turn the tv off).," Game tweeted Sunday (February 13) night.

"The album is totally finished," he told MTV News last week on the set of his "Roll Up" video in Los Angeles. "We're putting, like, the last little bit of touches on it, and we're turning it in next week."

"Roll Up" is the follow-up to "Black and Yellow," and despite a number of tracks that have leaked online in recent weeks, Wiz said there won't be any more singles before the album — though the green-friendly lyricist has some tricks up his sleeves.

Wiz Khalifa's major label debut has rolled into a pretty good spot on the Billboard charts this week.



The Pittsburgh native's latest, 'Rolling Papers,' made a second place finish on the Billboard 200 chart selling just over 190,000 copies. Although final figures have yet to be released, Khalifa's album met industry expectations with its sales. He lost the top spot to Britney Spears whose seventh release, 'Femme Fatale' beat the 23-year-old by close to 80,000 copies. Khalifa however topped the Hip-Hop/R&B charts and took to his Twitter page to thank his fans.

Soulja Boy is opening up about his new relationship with former Crime Mob member Diamond. The twosome have already made headlines after photos of them getting extra close hit the 'Net.



In an interview with Atlanta radio station 107.9, the 20-year-old made it official. "You already know how that go," he explained. "What's another man's trash is another man's treasure. Me and shorty rocking, straight like that."



Diamond also chimed in on the call, "Yeah it's official," she added, but refused to divulge any other details.

Two years after he joined Jay-Z's Roc Nation imprint, J. Cole has finally put the finishing touches on his debut album. The North Carolina-born rapper revealed the news to fans -- who he acknowledged had been very patient in waiting for the release -- via his Twitter page yesterday. "All singles done. Album ridiculous. Title Perfect. Music incredible," he wrote. "Thank you for your patience. Let's change the game."

T.I. will be coming home sooner than expected. The Atlanta rapper has received a prison release date that comes one month earlier than originally planned; he'll be shedding his orange jumpsuit and leaving the Federal Correctional Institution (FCI) - Low in Forrest City, Ark. on Sept. 29, 2011.

Chuck Taylor says that his kids and international tours kept him from putting in quality studio time.



Game has spent nearly three years working on his oft-delayed project The R.E.D. Album, which he finally finished just last week. Before the LP drops on August 23rd, the Compton, California native spoke with MTV News’ Sway Calloway on RapFix Live to discuss details surrounding the album, most notably revealing that Dr. Dre narrates the entire offering.

Tha Doggfather gives an update on the oft-delayed third solo album from Dre.

The West Coast veteran says that he'll be working with the two artists shortly.



Dr. Dre is reportedly close to being finished with Detox, with plans to focus on other artists once he’s finished. Speaking with Global Grind (via HHNM) at the launch of Diddy and Jimmy Iovine’s Culo by Mazzucco, he discussed focusing on Kendrick Lamar and Slim The Mobster, who will be the “final two artists” he will work with over the next few years.

Machine Gun Kelly has been gearing up for his debut album, which is most likely slated for release in 2012. During an interview with FLuD, the Bad Boy rapper said that he finished recording the LP and explained how he likes to divvy up time between the studio and performing.

The OFWGKTA rapper, Tyler, The Creator, was arrested in Los Angeles, California yesterday for vandilisim, according to a rep from the County Sherriff's department.

On Thursday night, December 22nd, Tyler had a performance with the Odd Future crew at the Roxy Theater. According to TMZ, Tyler trashed the sound equipement at the Roxy and the staff there contacted the police about it.

Big Sean spoke to MTV on the sets of his ‘Slight Work’ video shoot and gave an update on the upcoming G.O.O.D. Music compilation album. Sean says the crew is flying to London to finish the album which is almost done and should be out in Spring, 2012. His sophomore album is coming later in the Summer. And before everything else, he will be releasing his F.F.O.E.

Tina Davis, Chris Brown's manager, recently spoke to Billboard on the r'n'b singer/rapper, and according to her he may not do any interviews in 2012. Read some excerpts below.

On His Comeback After The 2009 Incident With Rihanna:

In a video that has been circulating the internet recently Kid Cudi is captured trashing a stage at a venue in Australia. Cudder took to his Tumblr page to speak on the incident, saying that if his set ever gets cut short, shit's going down...

10:38 AM PST -- Storch tried to hide a baggy of cocaine in a trash can at the Cosmopolitan Hotel in Vegas before cops arrived ... this according to the police report, obtained by TMZ.



In the report, the arresting officer says cops fished out the baggy after receiving a tip from hotel security ... and discovered it contained 2.7 grams of blow.



--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------