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.

Katy Perry logs the fastest No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 by an artist signed to Capitol Records in nearly 43 years, as “California Gurls,” featuring Snoop Dogg, rises 2-1 in its fourth week on the chart.

Usher continues his Billboard Hot 100 dominance as “OMG” rolls to a third non-consecutive week atop the chart.

As a public service, we thought you’d bring you these exclusive live clips of Cobra Starship rocking Kent State University, home of the Golden Eagles

Cobra Starship’s been on the road for the last few weeks, along with their like-minded amigos 3Oh!3 and Travie McCoy, performing on the Too Fast For Love Tour. And in these performance videos fresh off the tour, we get to see Gabe Saporta and his squad run through two crowd faves: “Good Girls Go Bad” and “Hot Mess.”

Two immediate reads on these Cobra clips: 1.) Live, Cobra spit some kind of rocking venom; as they develop as a band they might be getting shinier and more pop, but they can still throw down live. 2) These songs are obviously anthems for those in attendance, as the sea of Kent Staters really seem to lose themselves in the moment.

Check out “Hot Mess” and “Good Girls Go Bad” from the Too Fast For Love Tour.

After being bumped from the top for a week by Eminem’s “Not Afraid,” Usher bounds back to No. 1 for a second frame with “OMG.”

Credit to Official Hot Mess; upon viewing the reality TV-crazed pop culture landscape, the new-ish band fronted by just-outta-high-school gals Kristy and Lindsey Landers decided to say, “If you can’t beat ‘em, invite ‘em to join you in a music video.”

Here we have “Welcome 2 LA,” a new single off the band’s self-titled album from last Fall. It’s a song about the boulevards of broken dreams that line the city of angels, and the folks who pour into that town, looking to make it as a star.

The action is set at a Hollywood Hills mansion full of wannabe-stars, hanging out with reality icons such as Public Enemy (and “Flavor of Love” star) Flavor Flav and “America’s Next Top Model” winner (and “The Surreal Life” veteran Adrianne Curry.

It’s a spunky pop-rock number that doesn’t take itself too seriously. Check out the video below.

British dance star Paul Oakenfold has recruited a host of big name artists for his next solo album “Pop Killer,” including the Red Hot Chili Peppers, Gnarls Barkley vocalist Cee-Lo and One Republic’s Ryan Tedder.

B.o.B moves into the No. 1 slot on the Billboard Hot 100 with his debut single “Nothin’ On You,” featuring Bruno Mars.

Rihanna’s “Rude Boy” rolls to a seventh week as the Airplay Gainer on the Billboard Hot 100 — the longest streak in almost three years — as it holds at No. 1 for a fourth frame.

Rihanna maintains her No. 1 standing on the Billboard Hot 100 as “Rude Boy” holds at No. 1 for a second week.

Rihanna replaces labelmate Taio Cruz atop the Billboard Hot 100, set to be released tomorrow (Thursday, March 18), as her latest single “Rude Boy” jumps 4-1.

Photo: Brown/Getty

Black Eyed Peas reveal the second North American leg of their The E.N.D. jaunt, Hot Chip add some April dates to their One Life Stand tour and Melvins plan to hit the road this June in support of their upcoming album, The Bride Screamed Murder. Full details for all three treks, below.

Black Eyed Peas
July 27, 28 – Toronto, ON @ Air Canada Centre
July 31 – Montreal, QB @ Bell Centre
Aug. 1 – Ottawa, ON @ Scotiabank Place
Aug. 3 – Boston, MA @ TD Garden
Aug. 4 – Newark, NJ @ Prudential Center
Aug. 6 – Hartford, CT @ XL Center
Aug. 7 – Atlantic City, NJ @ Boardwalk Hall
Aug. 10 – Baltimore, MD @ 1st Mariner Arena
Aug. 11 – Buffalo, NY @ HSBC Arena
Aug. 13 – Chicago, IL @ Allstate Arena
Aug. 14 – St. Louis @ Scottrade Center
Aug. 18 – Winnipeg, MB @ MTS Centre
Aug. 20 – Saskatoon, SK @ Credit Union Centre
Aug. 22 – Calgary, AB @ Pengrowth Saddledome
Aug. 23 – Edmonton, AB @ Rexall Place

Hot Chip
Apr. 16 – Oakland, CA @ Fox Theater
Apr. 19 – Chicago, IL @ Riviera Theatre
Apr. 20 – Toronto, ON @ Koolhaus
Apr. 22, 23 – New York, NY @ Terminal 5
Apr. 24 – Washington, DC @ 9:30 Club
Apr. 25 – Philadelphia, PA @ Theater of the Living Arts

Melvins
June 1 – San Diego, CA @ Casbah
June 2 – Tempe, AZ @ The Clubhouse
June 3 – Albuquerque, NM @ The Launchpad
June 5 – Austin, TX @ Emo’s
June 7 – Houston, TX @ Warehouse Live
June 8 – Baton Rouge, LA @ Spanish Moon
June 9 – New Orleans, LA @ One Eyed Jacks
June 10 – Birmingham, AL @ Bottle Tree
June 12 – Manchester, TN @ Bonnaroo Festival
June 14 – Athens, GA @ 40 Watt Club
June 16 – Washington, DC @ 9:30 Club
June 17 – Philadelphia, PA @ TLA
June 18 – New York, NY @ Webster Hall
June 19 – Brooklyn, NY @ Music Hall of Williamsburg
June 20, 21 – Boston, MA @ Paradise
June 23 – Cleveland, OH @ Grog Shop
June 24 – Detroit, MI @ Small’s
June 25 – Chicago, IL @ Double Door
June 26 – Madison, WI @ High Noon Saloon
June 27 – Des Moines, IA @ House of Bricks
June 29 – Denver, CO @ Ogden Theatre
July 2, 3 – Calgary, AB @ Sled Island Festival
July 5 – Vancouver, BC @ Rickshaw Theatre
July 6 – Seattle, WA @ Showbox at The Market
July 7 – Eugene, OR @ John Henry’s
July 9 – San Jose, CA @ Blank Club

Nearly 25 years after hitting No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100, charity single “We Are the World” makes its way back to chart, debuting at No. 2, thanks to the all-star collective Artists for Haiti.

When we first met one-woman show Just Kait, we were blown away by her musicianship and raucous pop-rock jams, and charmed by the matter of fact way it was presented in videos like “Sick” and “U Suck.”

So her new video for her cover of Donna Summer’s disco classic, “Hot Stuff,” comes as something of surprise. Cutting between footage from the MTV film Turn The Beat Around, which airs February 26, the clip begins with some dancers getting all limbered up (a la Paula Abdul’s “Cold Hearted Snake” vid). Things proceed; the Turn The Beat Around dancers dance, fall for one another, and party it up, encouraging me to want to watch the movie.

While all this is going down, we also get some flashy footage of Just Kait rocking out in front of some name-in-lights action. Just Kait’s verison of the song is far more rock than the original, as would be expected; the whole thing has a very Pat Benatar vibe to it. Watch the video, and watch the Turn The Beat Around trailer too.

Kevin O’Donnell breaks down the latest disc from British electro-pop gurus Hot Chip in this week’s New Music Report. Since 2000, the group has delivered four albums packed with danceable tracks with brains and a heart. One Life Stand boasts 10 songs that thump with house beats and feature intricate melodies performed with the precision of a classical orchestra. “Take It In” starts with ominous synths and gloomy basslines before gliding into a pretty, angelic chorus where Alexis Taylor sings about how his heart can fly like a dove. “Thieves in the Night” pairs a strutting beat and Flock of Seagulls-style synths with a dark narrative that sounds like a modern take on a Brothers Grimm tale.

Catch up on all of Rolling Stone’s album reviews.

>>Watch every episode of our weekly New Music Report video podcast by subscribing via iTunes (when prompted, click “Launch application”). Every Tuesday, a new episode will be delivered to your iTunes. [If you don't have iTunes, download it here.]

The mysterious Sade returns after a 10-year hiatus with Soldier of Love, Sade Adu and her band’s first album since 2000’s Lovers Rock and only their second album in 18 years. Despite the lengthy break, Sade pick up where they left off on their latest album, delivering another set of sultry and beautiful R&B songs. On the amazing title track, “Sade’s voice, as slinky and smoky as ever, has that instantly recognizable ache,” Rob Sheffield writes in his three-and-a-half star review. “Beloved by all, yet known to nobody, Sade just lets her mystique grow. Now that’s a smooth operator.”

British electro-pop band Hot Chip release their fourth album One Life Stand this week. As we’ve come to expect, the band delivers another pack of infectious synthed-out melodies counterweighted by the clever lyricism of frontman Alexis Taylor. “They’re old-school suckers for love, and they always give their heart-hopeful anthems just the right undercurrent of ache,” Jon Dolan writes in his three-and-a-half star review of One Life Stand.

Sticking with synths, Breaking band Yeasayer’s second album Odd Blood earned a four-star rating from Rolling Stone, with Will Hermes saying of the Brooklyn band’s second disc, “On their follow-up, they dive deeper into electronics and big Eighties beats (literally: They hired Peter Gabriel’s old drummer). The result is simultaneously stranger and poppier, more celebratory and more serious.”

For more new reviews, including RS‘ take on Gil Scott-Heron’s I’m New Here, the Soft Pack and Nneka’s Concrete Jungle, check out our Album Reviews section.

After several of music’s biggest stars showed their support for Haiti relief efforts, consumers are doing the same.

It’s almost that February day that thousands of men and boys have marked on their calendar. A day of love, adoration and fawning. That’s right, lovers: February 10th, the day the Sports Illustrated swimsuit issue drops.

Why? What day were you all thinking of? Anyway, yeah, SI‘’s annual photographic account of scantily clad, perfectly bronzed, Amazonian swimwear models gallivanting on sandy beaches is about to hit stands. And in preparation of this momentous annual event, SoBe Lifewater has launched a new campaign featuring Twilight‘s psychic sister, Ashley Greene, getting limbered up by the sea, rocking nothin’ but a painted-on swimsuit.

I was personally confused by the fact that she wasn’t sparkling, but then I was alerted to the difference between fiction and reality. Whoops.

The ad will be featured in the Sports Illustrated swimsuit issue which, again, drops February 10th. Buy it for someone you love. And while you’re here, why don’t you watch blink-182’s “All The Small Things” video, for some hearty, beach-set laughs.

Billboard Bits serves up the best bite-sized nuggets of music news and gossip every afternoon.

Cobra Starship was obviously all partied out from the original “Hot Mess” video, which was basically a rolling soiree that ended at a late-night taco joint and Gabe Saporta getting drawn on with lipstick. Which is why Cobra’s “Hot Mess Remix” video, off of the I’m A Hot Mess, Help Me – The Remix EP, features backstage footage, B-roll, and joke shots, including one not-so-funny clip of Pete Wentz and his mysterious busted face. As you probably already know, the “Hot Mess Remix” (the Suave Suarez On Pleasure Ryland version, specifically) features some tongue-in-cheek verse from Travis McCoy. Think of the video as the afterparty to the original “Hot Mess.”

Watch the “Hot Mess Remix” video here.