The discourse surrounding beverages has always been a constant in hip-hop and R&B. 20 years ago, Snoop and Dre turned the 40-ounce bottle of malt liquor into a rap accessory.

But as the years have gone on and on, hip-hop and R&B have turned their backs on the bargain basement beverages and moved into more refined tastes, espousing the joys of Pino Grigio and rose wine. Which brings us to two of hip-hop and R&B’s biggest names blowing up the cocktail of choice for aristocrats suffering from chest colds. Yup, it’s Usher, Jay-Z and Ester Dean’s “Hot Toddy,” from Usher’s forthcoming EP, Versus. New Usher EP? Yup, after the success of “OMG” and “Hey Daddy,” he’s striking while the proverbial iron is still proverbially hot. And with “Hot Toddy,” he comes out of the gate strong.

Despite being named after a cocktail of whiskey, hot water and lemon, this track is pretty slick. With a slithering beat courtesy of Polow da Don, Usher spits game at a girl, while Jay-Z spits game to the mirror, mirror on the wall, all while Ester Dean wails in the background.

Check the song out below, along with Usher’s “Hey Daddy” video. Drink it up, folks.

+ Listen to Usher, Jay-Z And Ester Dean’s “Hot Toddy,” here.

When Annie Lennox made “No More I Love You’s” many, many moons ago, she couldn’t have possibly imagined a gigantic, bearded rapper who tweets under the name @RickyRozay, spitting sweaty rhymes over a sample of the song some 15 years later. Frankly, Lennox couldn’t have possibly imagined a lot of things, such as Twitter, so there you go.

But here we have Ricky Rozay, aka Rick Ross, dropping his typical sophisticated pillow talk over the sample in this, the remix of Nicki Minaj’s jam of the summer contender “Your Love.”

Nicki and Rick make an interesting pair. Minaj is typically a very animated rapper while switching accents and doing impersonations. Ross, on the other hand, is always Ross. That will probably be on his tombstone: that he was always Ross (also, that he really liked Rose wine).

Other than the addition of Ross’ verse, the song remains the same, with Nicki shouting out Bruce Willis and harmonizing with herself on the chorus.

+ Listen to Nicki Minaj, featuring Rick Ross, “Your Love (Remix),” here.

Latest in the long line of hip-hop/R&B songs extolling the virtues of romantic loyalty and steadfast support — going back to LL Cool J’s “Around The Way Girl,” through Method Man and Mary J. Blige’s “You’re All I Need” — is T.I. and Keri Hilson’s “Got Your Back.” And we’ve got a sneak peek of the video right here.

Produced by DJ Toomp, the track is a buoyant, jumpy little love song about holding it down for the one you love. It’s taken from T.I.’s upcoming album, King Uncaged, which is reportedly due out in September.

In this short clip, we see a lot of Keri Hilson and a little of T.I., as the king and Keri trade lines about sticking to each other like glue. There’s a suggestion of a storyline going on, involving a guy in jail and a girl waiting for his release, but we’ll have to wait for the full-length version to get to the bottom of it.

Check out the sneak peek below, and stay tuned for the full “Got Your Back” video, premiering tomorrow, July 22.

If you’re expecting another “Boyz,” or “Paper Planes” or “Galang” from M.I.A. you might have to wait a bit longer. The controversial, post-pop singer is on the verge of releasing a new album, /\/\/\Y/\,  that’s occasionally as hard to listen to as its album title — the typographical equivalent of M.I.A.’s name — is to pronounce.

Take, for example, “Teqkilla,” co-produced by Major Lazer’s DJ Switch. It’s a cut-and-paste epic that builds, slowly and steadily, with layer upon layer of samples and digital squelches, with M.I.A. rap-singing while drowning in a digital bath.

Thrown into this mix is everyone’s favorite Barbie, Nicki Minaj. The Young Money princess tells M.I.A. that the beat is on fire as she doles out a flow somewhere between drunk valley girl, dancehall queen and math nerd.

Pretty strange stuff for a song that seems to be about doing shots and going crazy. Of course with M.I.A., nothing is what it seems. Check out the song, as well as M.I.A.’s “Boyz” and Nicki Minaj’s “Massive Attack” videos, all below.

+ Listen to M.I.A., featuring Nicki Minaj, “Teqkilla (Remix)” here.

There are two kinds of DJ Khaled videos. Actually there’s only one kind; the awesome kind. But under that awesome umbrella there are two settings: Michael Bay-style action movie, complete with helicopters and car chases and kidnappings (think “Out Here Grindin’” or “We Takin’ Over“), or green screen flossing demonstrations, where rappers unleash copious amounts of swag upon us, the willing and loving viewers.

Khaled’s “All I Do Is Win (Remix)” video falls under the latter category.

First things first: DJ Khaled has done so much winning that he’s become a traded commodity on the New York Stock Exchange. Either that or he spent a pretty penny on a LED screen that flashes his name and its stock price, but has no baring whatsoever on the world’s economy.

Second of all, we’re really feeling the sheer variety of jackets being rocked in this clip; from Khaled’s varsity style to Rick Ross‘ satin “West Side Story” windbreaker, to Diddy’s rose-colored fitted thing with the white ribbing. If variety is the spice of life, these guys are Sriracha sauce.

Third of all, and just to wrap up because I have to go start my thesis paper on this video to be published next Nevuary, WHAT IS THE DEAL WITH BUSTA RHYMES‘ STOICISM.

Every one else is totally living it up and throwing money and being animated. But Busta is acting like he’s watching “The Hurt Locker” for the first time! Check him out at 1:17! It’s true!

This video contains multitudes. I implore you to discover all of them.

Here we have the video for One Night Only’s “Say You Don’t Want It” — a nice enough, jaunty slice of Brit pop that wouldn’t sound out of place next to Blur or The Smiths; it’s debonair, breezy and instantly catchy.

But there’s an elephant in the room (or the video) in the form of “Harry Potter” star Emma Watson. Now, as metaphorical elephants go, you could do worse than Watson, but her presence automatically gives One Night Only a little bit more exposure than an indie-leaning band might normally get. How did One Night Only pull off the feat of snagging Hermione for their video? She just happens to be dating One Night Only singer/guitarist George Craig. Mystery solved!

The video is actually really charming — full of low-key footage of New York’s Lower East Side. Watson appears about midway through the video, looking lost. Craig approaches her and kicks some game, no doubt revolving around he is also British and what a small world it is, etc.

Check out the video below. One Night Only’s self-titled sophomore album is due out in August. Oh yeah, Emma Watson is in some wizard movie that’s coming out soon, too.

Dog days, people. That’s where we’re headed; that point of the summer where the “OMG! I <3 SUMMER!” feeling kind of dissipates and your days are basically composed of sweating, staying hydrated, cursing global warming and generally losing your sense of swag.

What you need is a nice, breezy, chill-out feel-good jam to cool you down. And that’s what we have here with “Lay Me Down,” courtesy of the L.A. band, The Dirty Heads, with a little help from Rome, the lead singer of Sublime With Rome (a group that features ex-members of the classic summertime band Sublime).

In this Thomas Mignone-directed clip, we get that easy summer feeling, watching the band perform on the beach while interspersed with some footage of lovers on the run in Mexico.

“Lay Me Down” is taken from The Dirty Heads’ Any Port In A Storm, out now. Check out the video below.

Hayley Williams and B.o.B.’s “Airplanes” video finally premiered, and like the song itself, the Hiro Murai-directed video is dark, if not a harbinger of doom. While there’s no clear star or storyline to the “Airplanes” video, B.o.B. is featured more prominently, while Hayley Williams, shown mainly in profile, takes a back seat on the rather bleak record.

A beautiful yet ominous and haunting song, “Airplanes” is a reflection upon fame — reminiscent of Lupe Fiasco’s “Superstar” and Drake’s “Over” — and the video, perhaps much like fame itself, is a cheerless collection of lights, fast-moving imagery, and solitude.

+ Watch B.o.B’s “Airplanes” video, featuring Hayley Williams, here.

The title of Eminem’s new album, Recovery, might suggest a kinder, gentler, more clear-eyed Slim Shady; the work of a man who has seen the error of his ways and has vowed to walk a different path, as suggested by his new single, “Not Afraid.”

“Love The Way You Lie,” which features Rihanna on the hook, at least suggests that he still has some work to do. While not as homicidal as some of Em’s earlier “love” songs (see his “‘97 Bonnie & Clyde” from The Slim Shady LP), “Love The Way You Lie,” is still a dark affair.

Rapping about a relationship that resembles what happens when “a tornado meets a volcano,” Eminem paints a compelling, emotionally detailed portrait of an abusive relationship.

If you’re looking for Rihanna to add a bit of sunshine, think again; the “Disturbia” singer has the blues on this one, singing, “Just gonna stand there and watch me burn/ Well, that’s all right because I like the way it hurts.”

Check out Eminem’s “Love The Way You Lie,” featuring Rihanna, as well as Em’s “Beautiful” and Rihanna’s “Russian Roulette” videos, all below.

+ Listen to Eminem, featuring Rihanna, “Love The Way You Lie,” here.

Another Friday, another leak from one of hip-hop’s biggest names. Last week, Kanye West sent us into the weekend with his pounding, prog-rock-sampling “Power.” Today, Eminem checks in with a new song off of his upcoming Recovery album, “Won’t Back Down.”

After Pink (yes, Pink) hypes things up from the start, singing about sounding the alarm and fencing in your yard, Eminem jumps right in, fully unhinged. Over DJ Khalil’s thumping rock beat, Em is in classic form, rhyming about drinking gasoline and eating a lit match (warning: do not do that), and generally sounding furious at the world.

If anything, “Won’t Back Down,” just confirms that Recovery, will definitely not feature a kinder, gentler Slim Shady. Thank God for that.

Check out the song below. And as a bonus grab-bag of videos, and watch Em’s “Lose Yourself” and Pink’s “So What.”

+ Listen to Eminem, featuring Pink, “Won’t Back Down.” Warning: NSFW lyrics.

When 3OH!3 and Ke$ha meet in the video for “My First Kiss” (the lead single off of 3OH!3’s upcoming album, Streets of Gold) you get a lot of what you’d expect from this meeting of the minds: a grab bag of imagery on top of a wave of innuendo.

Directed by Isaac Ravishankara, the clip features taxidermy, makeout sessions, 3OH!3 in all their ’80s fashion glory (satin jackets with the sleeves rolled up) and Ke$ha rocking gold lipstick. Bottom line? It’s exuberant as all get out.

Let’s face it: The video had to be mind-boggling to match the energy of the song. Produced by pop wizard Benny Blanco, “My First Kiss” features “We Will Rock You” drums, power chords and gang vocals. If this was playing during my first kiss I’d be way too distracted by the jam in the background to seal the deal.

Check out the premiere of 3OH!3’s “My First Kiss,” featuring Ke$ha, below. Streets of Gold is out June 29.

Leaks from Drake’s highly and hotly anticipated Thank Me Later keep dripping out, and none has made a bigger splash than the meeting of generational figureheads Drizzy and Jay-Z on “Light Up.”

I won’t call this a passing of a torch because Jay-Z probably wouldn’t like the idea of anybody taking his torch anytime soon (and we all know Jay-Z has Buzzworthy on his RSS). But there’s something close to that going on here.

Over a stumbling, somber beat, Drake offers a bunch of lessons he’s learned over the last two dizzying years of his ascendancy. And he sounds a little worn out! “I keep thinking how young can you die from old age.” Take a nap, Drizzy!

Jay-Z, on the other hand, seems totally happy at his station in life: “I don’t do too much blogging/I just run the town, I don’t do too much jogging.” (Yo Hov, leave the blogging to professionals. You don’t need to run this interweb as well.)

Drake’s Thank Me Later is out June 15. Check out the song, as well as vids fro Drizzy and Jay, all below.

+ Listen to Drake, featuring Jay-Z, “Light Up.” WARNING: NSFW LANGUAGE!

As one of the video vixens in Ludacris‘ new video “Sex Room,” coos … “Dios mio.” I agree, boo. It’s gotten hot in here.

Taken from his album Battle of the Sexes, which takes a decidedly “pro” stance on sex, “Sex Room” is about the special love between a man and a woman as well as a couple of other women. And you know, wherever there is sex, you will find its inventor: Trey Songz.

This sinful video is set in Sin City, where Ludacris and Trey enjoy an evening of playing poker. There’s even a cameo from poker legend Phil Hellmuth, though I seriously wonder if he was aware that he was appearing in a video for a song called “Sex Room.”

Things get all red light district when Luda and Trey meet four nice ladies at the bar. Next thing you know it’s all hot tubs, revolving beds, shower scenes and Trey Songz singing in girls’ faces (it would be awesome if he were singing, “Do you know that thing we are about to do? I invented it!” But I doubt that was the case).

Without further ado, visit the “Sex Room,” in the video below. This video could feasibly be deemed NSFW.

Boy am I getting tired of Diddy videos and their shabby, low-rent production values, broken Camcorder cinematography and busted Salvation Army-decorated sets…

Just kidding; this thing looks like Transformers! It’s Diddy, Dawn and Kalenna, better known as Diddy-Dirty Money, along with some besties like Rick Ross, T.I. and a gaggle of other big-time rap personalities (hello, Swizz Beatz), all gathered for the “Hello, Good Morning” video, yet another single from the yet-to-be-released Last Train To Paris album.

The video is set in Los Angeles. How do I know that? BECAUSE IT OPENS WITH HELICOPTERS FLYING OVER THE STAPLES CENTER. Why am I writing in caps? BECAUSE IT’S A DIDDY VIDEO! LET’S GO! LOCK IN! CIROQ BOYS!

Over a typically stupendous beat (most of the Diddy-Dirty Money tracks — especially “Love Come Down“– have been bangers), Rick Ross rhymes about money in his air mattress. T.I. nearly makes love in a loveseat,  Dawn and Kalenna show off their matching haircuts at the club, all while Diddy cruises around Los Angeles in a really nice car, no doubt adhering to the speed limit and traffic laws.

Check the “Hello, Good Morning” video below. (And because why not, watch Kanye’s “Good Morning.”) Last Train To Paris is due out this summer.

HOLY CHAD MICHAEL MURRAY WITH A MULLET. Seriously. Pause it right around 2:53.

Back to why we’re here. Alicia Keys has a new video out for her breathtaking single “Un-thinkable (I’m Ready),” which features Drake, but Drake isn’t in the video. Chad Michael Murray (Lucas!!) is, and he plays Alicia’s forbidden love interest in the Jake Nava-directed clip. Both Alicia and CMM have several different hairdos. Some better than others. There’s also quick slight-of-hand time shifting action and black-and-white olde-timey-ness. And a WHOLE lot of product placement. Hey, videos cost money.

All hair jokes aside, “Un-thinkable,” which present-day Alicia Keys narrates, is very much a social comment on the permanency and pervasiveness of racism, as the couple’s tensions follow them through the decades.

+ What do you think of Alicia Keys’ “Un-Thinkable (I’m Ready)” video?

Hey, it’s like my grandfather always used to say: It’s never too early in the week to hear some sexually explicit, funky club pop featuring working mother of the year Christina Aguilera and hottest femme in the game Nicki Minaj. I’m paraphrasing, of course, but you get what I’m saying.

“Woohoo” is the second track we’ve heard from Xtina’s Bionic, after the sultry disco orgy of “Not Myself Tonight.” It’s like the dirtier cousin of Rihanna’s “Rude Boy” or Gwen Stefani’s “Hollaback Girl.” “Woohoo” doesn’t suggest, it doesn’t hint; it outright demanding what it wants.

In Nicki Minaj, Aguilera has found the perfect partner for her erotic-pop adventures. Behind Christina’s shouty sing-along chorus, Nicki drops the nasty, and together, both girls teach us what a “woohoo” is (ahem … yeah … it’s … that) and what one can do with it, if one is so inspired. To find out for yourself, give it a listen.

+ Listen to Christina Aguilera, featuring Nicki Minaj, “Woohoo.” (Caution: it’s kinda-sorta NSFW.)

She promised us fun, ’80s-style rollerskating rink jams, and based on Katy Perry’s first single from her second album, she’s delivering. This is “California Gurls,” a delirious electro-pop confection with a rubber-band funk bassline and an ecstatic chorus about “sunkissed skin.”

In the first verse, Katy sends a shout out to the famous West Coast cocktail of gin and juice and, wouldn’t you know it, Long Beach’s most wanted, Snoop Dogg, pops up midway through the jam, referring to, “Katy, my lady.

“California Gurls” calls to mind 1980s hits from Cyndi Lauper, Janet Jackson and Bananarama. But in the end, it’s unmistakably Katy Perry. This one is dialed in to be a song of the summer; it’s effervescent and bright and tons of fun. Roll down the windows and enjoy it.

+ Listen to Katy Perry, featuring Snoop Dogg, “California Gurls.”

Bobby Ray is playing with some pretty volatile chemicals on this one, kids. In the hands of a lesser musican the combination of heart-string-pulling piano, Paramore’s Hayley Williams doing a weathered (but still emo) hook and some too-jaded-too-young rhymes might come off as just too much.

But in the hands of B.o.B., “Airplanes” works. It’s the little things that work on this, the new single from B.o.B’s debut album B.o.B. Presents The Adventures Of Bobby Ray; the soft, twinkling guitar, the shuffling live-drum-sounding beat, the way Hayley’s voice strains when she makes a, “wish right now.”

We’re pretty sure you’re up on Hayley Williams and Paramore, but on the off chance that you haven’t gotten familiar with the wonder and charm of B.o.B., who happens to be our P.U.S.H. Artist of the Week, then may I recommend checking out this post to find out everything you need to know about him.

Check out “Airplanes” below, and be sure to also watch the two below videos where B.o.B. introduces himself to all you fine people.

+ Listen to B.o.B, featuring Hayley Williams of Paramore, “Airplanes,” here

They’re larger than life, blonder than ever, bigger than their Hollywood Hills namesake, and they’re coming back for the sixth and final season of “The Hills.”

Watch the brand-new trailer for MTV’s “The Hills,” Season 6, featuring Heidi, Audrina, Kristen, Lo, Stephanie and the unstoppable Little Boots song “New In Town.” Then watch Little Boots take a very different approach to ruling her city in her “New In Town” video.

And watch the premiere of the final season of “The Hills” on Tuesday, April 27, at 10/9c.

Travie McCoy has gone from going by the name Travis and making backpacker/punk jams with Gym Class Heroes to going by “Travie” and making tongue-in-cheek pop on his own. “Want U Bad” is the second single from McCoy’s upcoming album Lazarus, his solo debut.

With a stomping, glam rock beat, Travis brings Ke$ha into the fold for an auto-tuned, sing-along chorus (“I love the crazy things you do/Because tonight’s the night for me to play the fool”).

The track (spotted at Idolator) is a raw, lusty anthem. Given the flirtation and boy-girl interplay of the track, we can’t wait to see how Ke$ha and Travie interact in a video. Lord knows he owes his ex, Katy Perry, a case of jealousy after that 3Oh!3 video she did (“Starstrukk“).

+ Listen to Travie McCoy, featuring Ke$ha, “Want U Bad.”