Barack Obama makes a surprise appearance at the end of the night.
By Gil Kaufman

Democratic vice-presidential nominee Senator Joe Biden
Photo: Paul J. Richards/ Getty Images

DENVER — If there was a theme to the two major addresses on the third night of the Democratic National Convention, it was the difference between making the right choices for America and the wrong ones.

On the eve of a history-making day, during which Democratic Senator Barack Obama became the first black major-party candidate for president, those choices were not just the decisions that vice-presidential nominee Senator Joseph Biden said were flawed ones made by rival presidential aspirant Republican Senator John McCain. In an attempt to heal raw wounds within the party, they were also the right ones made by the last Democrat to hold the White House: President Bill Clinton. The former commander in chief put aside the bitterness of the primary season and gave a positive, though not glowingly adoring, tribute to Obama and Biden in a speech that many party leaders were hoping would provide Obama a boost in the polls going into his pivotal convention-closing speech Thursday night at nearby Invesco Field (for which MTV News has enlisted guest live-bloggers, including Fall Out Boy's Pete Wentz, Bun B, Solange Knowles and other artists).

"Barack Obama is ready to lead America and restore American leadership in the world," Clinton said in a speech during which, like the one given by Senator Hillary Clinton the night before, he also spent a not-inconsiderate amount of time talking about his own accomplishments alongside those of Obama's. "Ready to preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States. Barack Obama is ready to be president of the United States."

Hustling through the Pepsi Center to get to his spot for Biden's address while balancing a plate of desserts in one hand, Senate page Marcus Noel Daughtry Edghill, 19, said he thought Clinton's speech was "wonderful" and displayed the unity within the Democratic Party. Wearing a dark-blue suit with a bright-pink sweater underneath and a white polka-dotted bowtie, the dapper New York-bred sophomore at North Carolina's Guilford College said, "It really showed a connection within the party and that no matter who is the nominee, we are still a united party and we act as one base for the betterment of us all."

Like many Democrats who worried that the still reportedly bitter and disaffected former president might not give a full-throated endorsement to Obama, Edghill was pleased that Clinton's "beautifully stated" speech was nothing short of positive.

The response was not as positive from comedian Mo Rocca, who has been roaming the halls of the Pepsi Center all week with a camera crew. "I don't think President Clinton looked all that excited when he talked about Barack Obama," he said, wincing. "He sounded like a thesis adviser writing a letter of recommendation for a student to get a job as a first-year at some firm. It was a little bit tepid. But towards the end, he deftly managed to recommend Obama because of his own accomplishments. I didn't think either of the Clintons were full-throated in their endorsements of Obama. They were kind of like Mad Lib endorsements: You could have filled in anyone's name."

Figuring that the speeches didn't do enough to stop McCain from using the past digs by the Clintons against Obama in the future, Rocca was sure of one thing: "Chelsea Clinton ... America's next top Clinton!"

Biden's speech both tugged at heartstrings and threw some roundhouses, as he spoke of his hardscrabble childhood as a stuttering boy who was picked on but was taught to always get back up when pushed down and later hammered his longtime friend and Senate colleague McCain as "more of the same." The refrain, also printed on signs inside the convention center, echoed throughout the hall, as Biden ticked off a list of policies — from Iraq to Afghanistan, tax cuts for corporations and relations with Iran — on which he said McCain was in the wrong.

After famously saying during the primary that he thought Obama was not ready to lead, Biden unequivocally laid out the reasons why he thinks his former rival for the office is the right person for the job, often by contrasting the progressive efforts Obama has achieved in his short time in the Senate with McCain's long tenure that he said included numerous failed policies and erroneous choices.

"You can learn an awful lot about a man campaigning with him, debating him and seeing how he reacts under pressure," Biden said of Obama. "You learn about the strength of his mind, but even more importantly, you learn about the quality of his heart. I watched how he touched people, how he inspired them, and I realized he has tapped into the oldest American belief of all: We don't have to accept a situation we cannot bear. We have the power to change it. That's Barack Obama, and that's what he will do for this country. He'll change it."

Even on the concourse outside the main floor of the Pepsi Center, Biden's attacks on McCain and praise for Obama drew whoops and claps and, in some cases, as when he spoke of his mother's all-American creed that "No one is better than you. You are everyone's equal, and everyone is equal to you," a few tears among a group of women clutching small American flags to their chests.

In the end, on a host of issues, Biden said simply, "John McCain was wrong. Barack Obama was right. ... Millions of Americans have been knocked down. And this is the time as Americans, together, we get back up. Our people are too good, our debt to our parents and grandparents too great, our obligation to our children is too sacred. These are extraordinary times. This is an extraordinary election. The American people are ready. I'm ready. Barack Obama is ready. This is his time. This is our time. This is America's time."

Soon after Biden ended his address, thousands of conventioneers loaded up the three escalators down to the exit of the Pepsi Center, then, suddenly, a gasp went up and nearly everyone stopped in their tracks as Obama walked out onto the stage and put his arm around Biden. A collective roar went up throughout the building, and as convention volunteer Claire Johnston, 21, made her way home, she said Biden accomplished exactly what the party needed with his address.

"He's incredibly charismatic. He has a really compelling story," she said. "I think he's going to be a great vice president." Holding her hand was boyfriend Cody Gray, 22, also a first-time convention attendee, who agreed, saying Biden personalized himself and hit at McCain on all the right notes. "He pounded away at linking McCain to some of the failed Bush policies and tried to delineate Obama and things he's done well from the past eight years."

Don't miss out on the action: MTV News and our Street Team '08 will be on the ground at both conventions to sort through all the speeches, streamers and ceremony to find the information you need to choose our next president. And head to Choose or Lose for nonstop coverage of the 2008 presidential election. And after history is made in Denver, MTV News will help you make sense of it all in "Obama Decoded," premiering Friday, August 29 at 7:30.

• The 2008 Democratic National Convention

Fat Joe, Ghostface Killah, Jim Jones also make cameos at Game's concert.
By Shaheem Reid

The Game (file)
Photo: Ben Rose/ WireImage

Tuesday night was a busy night for hip-hop fans in NYC, with Young Jeezy and the Game going head to head with separate concerts. Fabolous, Lil' Kim and Maino joined Jeezy's Blender Theater show, but Game paraded a few of his own lyrically inclined friends down the way at Irving Plaza. Some were former enemies, and some were friends who turned into enemies but came back to friendship.

Game's first guest was a doozy: Joe Budden. Shortly after Game joined G-Unit, the two squared off lyrically for several months, and their disses toward each other were scathing. Their disses toward each other were scathing. Jump-Off Budden performed "Pump It Up" and his new underground classic "Who."

Next were Wu-Tang Clan's Raekwon and Ghostface Killah. Game at one point bowed in homage as Rae kicked a freestyle: "When my ni--as come down, they burning that crib down/ And you gettin' hit."

"Love you, ni--a," Rae told Game, and Ghost yelled out, "They set the stage on fire!"

Kool Herc stood on the sidelines among Game's Black Wall Street clan, who flooded the stage. The Compton MC called Herc out to the spotlight and bowed to him. The legendary DJ told Game that his favorite record was "Hate It or Love It."

"Always love, man," Herc said.

Fat Joe was the next to enter the big kids' playground with "Lean Back." They even let parts of jailed former Terror Squad member Remy Ma's verse play.

Game's putting on for the city didn't stop there. After Maino (busy night, huh?) held down the show with "Hi Hater," it was a reunion of booted G-Unit members who hadn't shared the stage in four years.

Young Buck arrived and immediately gave the star of the show an iced-out watch.

"I read on the Internet that you were broke," Game said to his pal.

"I'm a street n---a, we gets money for real," Buck responded.

Of course, the two had words for 50 Cent, Lloyd Banks and Tony Yayo. (Who couldn't see that coming?) "Without me, they just a Unit," Buck rapped a cappella, implying that the clique was no longer gangsta.

Game took liberties with his own song "How We Do" soon after, bashing his former rap collective: "Took three years, kicked me and Buck out/ New York was like, ['Huh']?"

Later, Young Buck said he had no beef with Fat Joe.

Game gave the fans another taste of his L.A.X. LP with current single "My Life" and probable second single "Money," but he didn't perform his controversial track, "Letter to the King."

Jim Jones was the last surprise of the night. He and Game did a piece of "Certified Gangsta." Jim took control for portions of "Love Me No More" and "Byrdgang Money." The Harlem Dipset Capo then handed the mic back to his Cali friend. The night's main attraction sent the fans home with "Game's Pain."

For more sights and stories from concerts around the country, check out MTV News Tour Reports. And send your own concert pics, videos and reviews to MTV News You R Here!

• The Game
• Young Buck
• Ghostface Killah
• Jim Jones
• Fat Joe

Band headlines protest show just down the road from Democratic National Convention.
By Gil Kaufman

Rage Against The Machine's Zach de la Rocha at the Tent State Music Festival to End The War Concert on Wednesday
Photo: Doug Pensinger /Getty Images

DENVER — A month after whipping the crowd at Lollapalooza into a near-riotous frenzy, a strange thing happened during the Rage Against the Machine protest show on Wednesday (August 27) in support of Iraq Veterans Against the War: Things were downright ... peaceful. And, as of 7 p.m. Mountain Time, they stayed that way as several thousand protesters gathered in the shadow of the Pepsi Center, where President Bill Clinton was about to address the Democratic National Convention.

After a more than two-mile march across Denver that at one point included a police-estimated 4,500-6,000 people, a crowd of several thousand anxiously awaited word from the campaign of presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Senator Barack Obama, Barack Obama, to whom they had submitted a list of demands that included an immediate withdrawal from Iraq and reparations for the Iraqi people.

With more than 700 police in full riot gear looking on, the protesters defiantly refused to enter the designated 50,000-square-foot protest zone, dubbed the "Freedom Cage," saying that as veterans, they deserved more from their country.

With chants of "Whose streets? Our streets!" and "We believe in freedom and will not rest, will not rest until it comes," the marchers, led by a phalanx of soldiers from Iraq Veterans Against the War and a front line that included Rage's Zack de la Rocha and Tom Morello, as well as the Coup's Boots Riley, amassed outside the Freedom Cage and let out a whoop as word came down around 6:30 p.m. Mountain Time that the Obama camp had agreed to enter into negotiations with the group.

Hours earlier, Tent State University leader Adam Jung vowed from the stage of the Coliseum that the marchers would make the Democrats "sh-- their pants" as the mile-long protest snaked through town.

Before taking off, Rage played an hour's worth of incendiary, bomb-throwing anthems from their catalog, and lead singer De la Rocha egged on the near-capacity crowd at the Denver Coliseum into a froth, but several hours' worth of warnings from the concert's organizers to keep the post-show protest nonconfrontational appeared to soak in as fans mostly danced in place with their fists in the air, spinning out the occasional mosh pit.

Among those helping to spread the message of peaceful resistance at the show — which also included sets from the Coup and Denver natives the Flobots — was Vietnam War veteran Ron Kovic, whose story was the basis for the Tom Cruise movie "Born on the Fourth of July." His fist raised in the air, the wheelchair—bound Kovic told the crowd that "the whole world is watching."

Rage said little during their set, playing hits such as "Testify," "Bulls on Parade" and "Killing in the Name" and, with assistance from former MC5 guitarist and 1968 Democratic National Convention protest veteran Wayne Kramer — decked out in all white and sporting a guitar painted with an American flag — ripping through a punk-edged take on the MC5's scorched-earth manifesto "Kick Out the Jams."

De la Rocha kept the polemics to a minimum during the show but gave a stern warning that "revolutionary change begins with a crime of betrayal," saying that any politician who continues to support the United States' current policies "is in harm's way."

A short time later, voluntary parade marshal Wesley Flowers, 31, put on his helmet and brightly colored vest and began the long march to the Pepsi Center, keeping the marchers in line while warily eyeing the hundreds of police on bicycle and on foot shadowing the march from across the street. "I'm wearing a flak jacket because I'm allergic to tasers," he said, showing off his body armor and explaining that with his heart murmur, a blast of the taser could cause him to go into cardiac arrest. Flowers, a homeless advocate, said he hitchhiked eight days from Portland, Oregon, to take part in the protest and hoped that the Obama campaign — which he had written a letter to three weeks prior — would listen to the veterans' demands when they made their way to the Pepsi Center.

An hour before the marchers arrived, hundreds of police began massing and forming long, foreboding lines, in order to funnel the march toward the protest zone and away from the delegate entrance to the Pepsi Center. Checking their mace canisters, dropping their face shields, standing at attention with their five-foot batons at the ready and strapping on leg armor, the squadrons of storm trooper-like officers marched into the fray with orders to be prepared for potential violent action.

Marching peacefully with soldiers leading the way, the mass of people snaked its way past the gathering delegates and into a long concrete and barbed-wire corridor, stopping several times to coordinate actions with police, remaining orderly and respectful along the way. In another bit of Big Brother irony, the procession was led by a police officer in a heavily armored golf cart with a digital message board on it that flashed the instructions, "Welcome to Denver ... Follow us."

Nearly three hours into the protest, frustration began to ripple through the crowd as it stalled out just outside the desolate Freedom Cage, with some marchers sitting down to play dice, start impromptu dance circles, smoke marijuana and, eventually, wander away until police estimated that just a few thousand remained.

Then, a buzz rippled through the mass as the word was passed on from the front that something was happening. "We are entering negotiations with Senator Obama," one of the march's Iraq-vet leaders announced. "The Democratic Party is scared sh--less of us right now!"

A spokesperson for IVAW could not be reached for comment on the negotiations at press time, but judging by the roar of approval from inside the convention center for President Clinton's speech a short time later — which likely could not be heard by the far-flung protesters — fear was likely not the on the minds of party supporters as they finally got the healing message between the Clinton and Obama camps they'd been looking for all week.

Don't miss out on the action: MTV News and our Street Team '08 will be on the ground at both conventions to sort through all the speeches, streamers and ceremony to find the information you need to choose our next president. And head to Choose or Lose for nonstop coverage of the 2008 presidential election. And after history is made in Denver, MTV News will help you make sense of it all in "Obama Decoded," premiering Friday, August 29 at 7:30.

• The 2008 Democratic National Convention

• Rage Against the Machine

'People like me with voices gotta step in,' rapper says of L.A.X. track.
By Shaheem Reid

The Game
Photo: MTV News

It's January 15, and Game is pursuing the American Dream with a vengeance. He's in the studio with DJ Toomp and a gang of homies and women, and he's working on his third album, L.A.X. The kid from Compton has filled his résumé with potent, poignant raps, shaking up the mixtape circuit and parlaying his skills into multiplatinum sales.

Because it's Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Day, tributes to the civil-rights leader, who was assassinated four decades ago, are showing constantly on the television screen. Amid the celebrations comes a disgrace: a news report about a shooting on Los Angeles' Crenshaw Boulevard during a MLK Day parade. The Game looks around and sees that almost everything he's doing is contradictory to King's legendary "dream." There's blunt smoke in the air and all types of liquor, and the scenario has the Game a little unsettled. At the same time, he's inspired. After kicking everyone out, he places a call to Hi-Tek and gives him instructions for making a beat.

" 'Take me back to '65,' " he recalled instructing Tek. " 'Martin Luther King is getting dressed in the morning. Coretta Scott King is dusting his shoulders off. He's about to go out. The dude waiting in the car, I'm him. I don't know if I'm his homie; I'm just gonna drive him to where he's going, and I'm gonna talk to him.' Then he came with [the track]. When we heard that beat, we went nuts. I immediately wrote three verses."

The instrumental that Tek provided, for a song that would be called "Letter to the King," turned out to be as soulful as lunch after Sunday church service. He wanted to add to the record with a guest spot and thought of Common and Nas. Since Common was already on an L.A.X. track called "Angel," his good friend Nas was an easy choice. As it happened, Nas was right around the corner from the studio.

"I called Nas, he came through, knocked it out," Game said. "So many people tried to take that record off the album. This record is a hip-hop must. That record, 'Never Can Say Goodbye' and 'Angel,' those are the meat and potatoes of what hip-hop is about."

Indeed, "Letter to the King" is one of the most provocative album cuts you'll hear this year. It is definitely a song you'll have to rewind a few times, especially Game's last verse.

"The word 'n---er'/ Is nothin' like 'n---a,' " Game rapped on Tuesday during a visit to MTV's New York offices. "Don't sound sh-- alike/ Like Game, like Jigga/ ... One is slang for 'my brotha'/ One is 'hang and take his picture/ The rope ain't tight enough/ He's still alive, go fix it/ Pour some gasoline on him/ Call his daughters black bitches/ Make him pick cotton/ While they mama cleanin' up the kitchen.' "

"When I first wrote it, man, that was ill," Game said. "I don't even believe I be writing sh-- like that sometimes. When I'm in the zone, man, I'm in the zone."

The record ends with Game weaving in references to Rihanna with civil-rights history and taking a jab at the Reverend Jesse Jackson.

"I need Rihanna's umbrella/ For Coretta Scott's teardrops/ When she got the phone call that/ The future just took a f---in' head shot/ I wonder why Jesse Jackson didn't catch him/ Before his body drop/ Would he give me the answer?/ Probably not."

Game explained his fiery words to us.

"Jesse Jackson, all the things he's done great for our people, you commend him for it. But the way he spoke about Obama, Jesse Jackson was wrong for what he did," the rapper said, referring to Jackson's videotaped comment that he wanted to "cut [Obama's] n--s off." "I wanted to expose a little of his dark side. Don't forget he had a baby out of wedlock awhile back. Everybody is imperfect. But when you do something like that, disrespect a situation that's affecting us all on an everyday basis, people like me with voices gotta step in.

"Jesse Jackson is always in pictures with Martin Luther King, and he's always talking about Martin Luther King in his speeches," Game continued. "On the day King got shot, he wasn't there. [Editor's note: Jackson was present at the Lorraine Motel in Memphis, Tennessee, when King was assassinated in April 1968, but he was not on the balcony with King when he was shot.] When I say, 'How come you couldn't catch your man's body when it dropped?,' it's because you couldn't if you wanted to. You was somewhere else. You claimed to be his man. Where were you that day?"

Game has some advice for Jackson on how to respond to his provocations. "I wasn't even born then, but I'm real knowledgeable," he said. "You can't get it over on me. I don't mind letting you slide until you do some crazy ish. Then I have to give you a bar or two. [Jackson] got one on 'My Life.' That was a little brash, Hurricane Game. Then he got one that was real Game, real conscious, real hip-hop, on 'Letter to the King.' But it was well-deserved. If I was him, I would take it on the chin and walk away."

• The Game

Joey Jump-Off also discusses 'Who,' the 16-minute track that investigates hip-hop's death.
By Shaheem Reid

Joe Budden
Photo: Ray Tamarra/Getty Images

Joe Budden and the Game finally made peace, and all it took was a phone call and a few text messages.

"I was asleep the other day, and I woke up to a text message saying, 'Big Joe, what up? This is Game,' " Budden said Wednesday (August 27). "I was like, 'Oh, somebody is playing on my phone again.' I hit him back with a bunch of question marks, and he hit me back with 'This is Game.' Still, I wasn't convinced yet. Then I started checking my messages, and apparently he was on [a New York radio] morning show and asking if anybody had my phone number and [said] he was trying to reach out to me. So I eventually called him. We had a great conversation, talked about a lot of things. He invited me to come to his show, come kick it. I took him up on it."

Joey Jump-Off jumped onstage with Game on Tuesday night during the Compton slugger's concert at New York's Irving Plaza.

Budden and Game were embroiled in a back-and-forth on the mixtape circuit in the mid-2000s, but that was never quite settled — at least, not in the public's eyes.

"Me and Game never really had an issue," Budden said. "It was more so a Joe Budden vs. G-Unit thing — which, at the time, [Game] happened to be a part of. So, I mean, it wasn't anything personal between myself and him. And it was so many years ago, and I think we both grown and gotten past all of that verbal bashing. I thought [Tuesday night's show] was great for hip-hop."

Budden and Game even appeared in a photo together during the height of the lyrical tension, but continued to dis each other.

"The picture was more so to say, 'We'll dead the beef, but we don't necessarily need to care for one another.' The situation last night was totally different. He showed me a whole lot of love. Him and his people. It was altogether a great experience. I was standing there [during the show] like a fan. Dude brought out Dana Dane, Kool Herc, Maino, who is like family to me. Rae and Ghost. I think all these people, who I am all cool with, were shocked to see me. But the energy in the building was great."

Joe performed "Pump It Up" and part of a record that had the whole Internet talking: "Who." In the song, he gives the fans evidence and suspects in search of the people responsible for the death of hip-hop. The record — close to 16 minutes in total — was broken down in three parts upon its initial release. Some have called it the hip-hop record of the year.

"I think so," Budden said, unabashed. "I think it's great."

Despite the track's length, the Jersey native said the song didn't take particularly long to write.

"Not too long," he divulged. "When you're writing something you're passionate about it, it doesn't take long," he said. "Three hours total. That was just the writing process. No, I'm lying. It might have been just four to five hours. The recording process was a whole separate issue."

"Who" was inspired by people asking Joe his opinion on the state of hip-hop, and he takes us through several eras in rap, name-dropping events like Game and Young Buck getting kicked out of the G-Unit, Lupe Fiasco forgetting lyrics during his A Tribe Called Quest tribute at the 2007 Hip-Hop Honors, Jay-Z becoming Def Jam president and KRS-One and Nelly's old beef.

"The funny thing is, my memory is normally horrible," he laughed. "I have a hard time remembering anything. But I wanted to make a timeline where certain events in hip-hop would act as photographs. Even when I said, 'Master P and them ugly-ass album covers,' it wasn't to say anything negative about that. But I think everybody in hip-hop remembers when, every other week, Master P was putting out an album with those funny-looking covers. I wanted to bring people back to a certain place and jog my memory as much as I could without going overboard. Remaining unbiased."

Budden's next album, Padded Room, comes out on Amalgam Digital on October 28. He'll be releasing at least one mixtape prior and says that collaborating with Game on a song or freestyle is a strong possibility.

"It's likely," he said. "You can never say."

• Joe Budden
• The Game

Blogger allegedly admitted to posting the songs online when questioned by agents.
By Chris Harris

Guns N' Roses' Axl Rose
Photo: Jason Kempin/Getty Images

The man accused of leaking nine previously unreleased Guns N' Roses songs — believed to be tracks taken from the band's oft-delayed LP Chinese Democracy — was arrested by FBI agents Wednesday (August 27) at his Culver City, California, home, according to the Los Angeles Times.

Kevin Cogill, 27, was charged on suspicion of violating federal copyright laws and has been accused of posting the unreleased material online via the Antiquiet blog. The tracks were posted on the site back in June, and the leak generated so much traffic that the site crashed. The song files have since been removed.

The Times reports that according to his arrest affidavit, Cogill allegedly admitted to posting the tracks online when he was questioned by FBI agents just days after the tracks hit the Web. He was due to appear in U.S. District Court in Los Angeles later Wednesday afternoon.

Kathy Leodler, director of investigations for the Recording Industry Association of America's Western region office in Los Angeles, told the Times that Cogill is the first person to be arrested under a new federal copyright law

"The arrest of Kevin Cogill is great for the recording industry related to our online investigations," she said. "We are very pleased with the FBI's interest and the U.S. attorney's office's aggressiveness in pursuing this investigation. We think we'll see more and more of these pre-release cases."

Peter Jaszi, an American University law professor, questioned the FBI's tactics and told the Times that, "In Los Angeles, the music industry is, in fact, a significant local industry. But why pursue this person out of all the other alleged copyright violations out there?"

For complete digital music coverage, check out the Digital Music Reports.

• Guns N' Roses

'Professional categories' include Best Choreography, Best Direction and Best Cinematography.
By Chris Harris

Kanye West in "Good Life"
Photo: Roc-A-Fella

We're less than two weeks away from the 2008 MTV Video Music Awards, but there's still some business to take care of before the big show is beamed live from Los Angeles' Paramount Pictures Studios on September 7. On Wednesday (August 27), MTV announced the nominees in this year's "professional categories," including Best Special Effects and Best Editing.

Two of Chris Brown's videos ("Kiss Kiss" and "Forever") netted nods in the Best Choreography category, which means Brown could end up walking away from the VMAs with five Moonmen under his arms; he's also in the running for Video of the Year, Best Dancing in a Video and Best Male Video. Chris will face off against the Pussycat Dolls (who earned another nomination for their video "When I Grow Up"), Gnarls Barkley's "Run" and Adele, who picks up her first VMA nomination for "Chasing Pavements."

Rihanna's "Take a Bow" is among the nominees in the Best Direction category, as are Panic at the Disco's "Nine in the Afternoon," the Pussycat Dolls' "When I Grow Up," Linkin Park's "Shadow of the Day" and Erykah Badu's "Honey." Badu's video was also recognized in the Best Editing field, with Death Cab for Cutie's "I Will Possess Your Heart," Weezer's "Pork and Beans," Katy Perry's "I Kissed a Girl" and Ne-Yo's "Closer" also getting nominations.

Kanye West picked up his second nomination this week, as "Good Life" could take the Best Special Effects Moonman. But 'Ye faces stiff competition from the likes of Missy Elliott's "Ching-a-Ling/Shake Your Pom Pom"), Coldplay's "Violet Hill," Linkin Park's "Bleed It Out" and, again, Badu's "Honey." Badu will be up for a total of four trophies next month, as that video also nabbed a nomination for Best Cinematography, along with Death Cab for Cutie's "I Will Possess Your Heart," the Pussycat Dolls' "When I Grow Up," Katy Perry's "I Kissed a Girl" and the White Stripes' "Conquest."

The Stripes' also scored a nod for "Conquest" in the Best Art Direction category. They'll contend with Gnarls Barkley's "Run," the Pussycat Dolls' "When I Grow Up," MGMT's "Electric Feel" and Perry's "I Kissed a Girl."

This year's VMAs, hosted by British comic and "Forgetting Sarah Marshall" co-star Russell Brand, will feature just-announced live performances by Rihanna, T.I., Pink and Paramore, as well as the Jonas Brothers, Lil Wayne and Kid Rock.

BEST CHOREOGRAPHY
Chris Brown (featuring T-Pain)
"Kiss Kiss"
Choreographer: Flii Stylz

Gnarls Barkley
"Run"
Choreographer: Mikey Rooney

Chris Brown
"Forever"
Choreographers: Tone & Rich

Adele
"Chasing Pavements"
Choreographer: Marguerite Derricks

Pussycat Dolls
"When I Grow Up"
Choreographer: Robin Antin/ Mikey Minden

BEST DIRECTION
Panic at the Disco
"Nine in the Afternoon"
Director: Shane Drake

Linkin Park
"Shadow of the Day"
Director: Joe Hahn

Rihanna
"Take a Bow"
Director: Anthony Mandler

Erykah Badu
"Honey"
Director: Erykah Badu/ Mr. Roboto

Pussycat Dolls
"When I Grow Up"
Director: Joseph Kahn

BEST EDITING
Death Cab for Cutie
"I Will Possess Your Heart"
Editor: Aaron Stewart-Ahn / Jeff Buchanan

Katy Perry
"I Kissed A Girl"
Editor: Tom Lindsay

Weezer
"Pork and Beans"
Editor: Jeff Consiglio/ Colin Woods

Ne-Yo
"Closer"
Editor: Clark Eddy

Erykah Badu
"Honey"
Editor: T. David Binns

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY
Death Cab for Cutie
"I Will Possess Your Heart"
Cinematographer: Aaron Stewart Ahn/ Shawn Kim

White Stripes
"Conquest"
Cinematographer: Wyatt Troll

Pussycat Dolls
"When I Grow Up"
Cinematographer: Christopher Probst

Erykah Badu
"Honey"
Cinematography: Crash/ Karsten Gopinath

Katy Perry
"I Kissed a Girl"
Cinematographer: Simon Thirlaway

BEST SPECIAL EFFECTS
Missy Elliott
"Ching-a-Ling/Shake Your Pom Pom"
Special Effects: Les Umberger of Elicit Effects

Linkin Park
"Bleed It Out"
Special Effects: David Lebensfeld/ Adam Catino of Ingenuity Engine

Coldplay
"Violet Hill"
Special Effects: Gregory de Maria

Erykah Badu
"Honey"
Special Effects: X1FX

Kanye West (featuring T-Pain)
"Good Life"
Special Effects: SoMe/ Jonas & François

BEST ART DIRECTION
Gnarls Barkley
"Run"
Art Director: Happy/ Kells Jesse

MGMT
"Electric Feel"
Art Director: Sophie Kosofsky

Pussycat Dolls
"When I Grow Up"
Art Director: Marcelle Gravel

Katy Perry
"I Kissed a Girl"
Art Director: Benji Bamps

White Stripes
"Conquest"
Art Director: David Fitzpatrick

Your job's not over yet! Now that you've helped us pick the nominees for this year's Video Music Awards, head to VMA.MTV.com to vote for your favorite in the Best New Artist category. While you're there, check out the latest additions to the performer and presenter lineups, see the best (and worst) of VMA fashion and much more before the show airs live September 7 at 9 p.m. ET.

• Kanye West
• Rihanna
• Chris Brown
• Katy Perry

Fall Out Boy bassist's parents met while campaigning for the senator in the '70s.

Pete Wentz
Photo: MTV News

• Fall Out Boy

No Age exceed James Montgomery's expectations, while All Time Low lower the bar.
By James Montgomery

James Montgomery, Sean "Diddy" Combs and Jordin Sparks on "FNMTV"
Photo: Frank Micelotta/ Getty Images

On The Record: 'FN' Memories

So, the first season of "FNMTV" is in the books. My American Airlines frequent-flyer account is bummed. My wife isn't. Me? Well, I'm somewhere in between.

See, for more than three months, I spent every week flying from New York to Los Angeles to tape the show, an experience that was decidedly soul-crushing in just about every way imaginable. I had no summer to speak of, I am jet-lagged to a degree where I now exist in an alternate dimension, and I'm so out of the loop on pretty much everything that it's going to take me a solid month to get up to speed (seriously, Lindsay Lohan is a lesbian now?!?). I have a mile-high pile of unopened mail on my desk, an hour of unheard voicemail messages on my phone and so many unread e-mails in my inbox that MTV's tech department is threatening to go on strike if I don't make with the deleting.

But aside from all that, doing "FN" was a blast. I met a bunch of really cool people. I flirted with the likes of Katy Perry, Pink and Keri Hilson (wonder why my wife is happy the show's over?). I got free haircuts every week. And most importantly — and, dare I say, improbably — I never accidentally dropped an F-bomb on air. Do I think we managed to "save the music video" as I hyperventilated in a column back in June? No. But I do think that we made some strides toward that goal in a decidedly "un-MTV" way (you know, aside from the throngs of screaming teens in the audience and the gigantic "BOOM! WOOSH! CRASH!" lighting effect that accompanied each video's premiere).

Because, at its very heart, "FNMTV" was a really good show, one based on celebrating the art of the music video. And in doing that, it also managed to be a gigantic, gleaming carrot dangled in front of artists' noses — a way of saying, "Hey, if you're willing to put a little time and effort into making these things, we'll give 'em the glossy treatment." (Note: This does not apply to Diddy — we're contractually obligated to premiere everything he does, regardless of actual quality.)

And if you managed to get past a lot of the ephemera, (the audience, those lights) and actually watch the thing, well, then you probably agree with me. I am proud of what we did on "FNMTV." There were moments I was certainly happy with and some I was generally mortified by (and not all of them involved me screwing up on air). And now that the final episode has aired, I figured I'd use my column this week to collect all of them here. (There are, of course, two "Best Of" eps scheduled for this week and next, and no, I have no idea if/when we're going to do a second season — Pete's rather busy these days.)

So what follows is a sort of "FN Postmortem" on season one (hey, it was either that or a blow-by-blow account of me emptying my inbox), some of the highs and lows of three months spent in — and in between — Los Angeles, making TV magic alongside Pete Wentz, Tim Kash and a host of others. Actually, mostly just Pete and I. Screw that Kash dude.

Best Video/Moment That Restored My Faith In Humanity

No Age's "Eraser." Look, I like No Age. I like them as people, and I like their music (I named their album the second best of 2008 — so far — back in July). I think there is genuine power and beauty in what they do. I believe in Dean and Randy, you could say. But when producers told me we were going to debut the L.A. duo's new video on our third episode, I was a tad bit worried. I had nightmares of them unspooling a 10-minute private psychedelic reel while our audience of tube-topped teens looked on with a mixture of horror and bewilderment. I could hear the deafening silence that would most certainly follow, the sucking sound of minds being blown (and not in the good way) and the clicky-clack of vicious texts being sent to friends. Needless to say, I did not have high hopes. But on show night — somehow, someway — none of this happened. The video was great. The kids in the audience actually dug it. And Dean and Randy seemed genuinely pumped with the whole thing. It was probably my favorite moment of the entire season — to see a bunch of kids embracing a weird-looking, weirder-sounding band because they wanted to — and it gave me hope for the future. Of course, that hope would be sufficiently dashed against the rocks time and time again over the coming weeks, but, hey ... for a minute, I could dare to dream.

Worst/ Most Patently Offensive Video

All Time Low's "Poppin'." The white-boy posturing. The "ain't we clever" mocking of hip-hop clichés (Grills! Bling! Doo-rags! Pimp suits! Misogyny!). The dancing little person dressed up like a leprechaun. The shameless aping of basically every Blink-182 video every made — minus, you know, all the clever bits. I hated this video with a burning passion, so much so that it made me believe that the guys in All Time Low (who seem like genuinely sweet young dudes) could actually be really terrible human beings. Seriously, the only way this clip could've been more offensive is if they would've performed it in blackface. I was fully ready to say all of that on-air, but the panel segment for this video was cut in favor of a second Miley Cyrus performance.

Greatest Discovery

That, yes, Tim Kash does in fact have a Wikipedia page. And that, yes, said page is just as hilarious the 50th time you've read it as it is the first. Perhaps even more so.

Second-Greatest Discovery

No matter how beefy the hip-hop star may be, he is in no way beefier than the 14 bodyguards he rolls with. Bonus points to Flo Rida and LL Cool J, who despite being two of the, uh, huger dudes in the game, seem to hire guards based solely on their weight in metric tons and their ability to blot out the sun.

Third-Greatest Discovery

Lil Wayne's hair smells like a mixture of stubbed-out Phillies Blunts and a gallon of cough syrup. I wish I were making this up.

Special Bonus 'FN' Lil Wayne Story

During some very chaotic rehearsals for episode one, Pete approached Wayne backstage and — despite the fact that Weezy had his back turned, was taking directions from a pair of floor producers and was wearing ginormous headphones — he somehow managed to sense Pete's presence, stopping mid-sentence and wheeling around ninja-style to embrace him. Sometime later, several of Wayne's posse members would tell me that this is not at all an uncommon occurrence, because, as they put it, Wayne has "extrasensory perception ... like the 'hood Yoda."

Best 'FN' Guest Panelist

Probably Kid Sister, because she was super nice and funny and she yelled a lot. Oh, and because she apparently thought Tim Kash was kind of a jerk.

Worst 'FN' Guest Panelist

Probably Travis McCoy, because he was loose and hilarious during rehearsals, but then before we taped the show, he disappeared to his dressing room, and he emerged looking all tired-like or like he had been swimming in a super-chlorinated pool for about 100 hours. He really liked Snoop and Willie Nelson's "My Medicine" video, though.

Best 'Thanks For Not Even Trying' Moment (Tie)

Vampire Weekend and She & Him. Look, I know that being an "indie" artist means that you must always appear aloof and totally, completely bored with everything that is happening around you. This is especially true if you're appearing on a show produced by MTV (a.k.a. "the Man"). When Stephen Malkmus did this on "120 Minutes," I thought it was the coolest thing ever. Of course, I was also 14 and stupid at the time. When it's happening on a live TV show, and said indie artists are surrounded by flummoxed teens and a bunch of flashing lights, it's just awkward and terrible. So thanks for the complete lack of effort, guys (and girl)! Great TV was most certainly not made.

Best Performance You Never Saw (Because Her Label Decreed It So)

Duffy's "Mercy." If you are ever hosting a television show, and Welsh-born soul chanteuse Duffy is the musical guest, please refrain from mentioning Amy Winehouse in any and all capacity when introducing her, because doing so will cause Duffy to fumble her way though her entire performance, so much so that you'll be forced to retape said performance (which is the version that aired) at show's end, while an entire audience of bored teens look on half-heartedly and union guys smoke cigarettes and mutter about "time and a half." That's just what I've heard, though.

Two Pieces Of Information I Learned About Katy Perry During Season One Of 'FNMTV'

1) Katy Perry does not like having balloons drop during her performances, because rowdy audience members might pop them, which would "scare" her. 2) If you are shooting an interview with Katy Perry, and a member of her entourage/ makeup team tells you not to shoot her from a certain angle, you should probably listen to him, because otherwise you will receive a totally fierce rebuke from said entourage member/ makeup monkey.

Best 'Holy God, I Thought I Was Going To Crap My Pants' Moment

Diddy surprises me onstage with flowers. I'm not going to lie, after our run-in during episode eight (you know, where he bum-rushed the sky box, shouted at me and then kissed me on the cheek, "Godfather"-style) and the subsequent, smarmy-ass column I wrote about the entire incident, I was super worried that on last week's finale, Diddy was going to show up, beat me over the head with something, then dump my body in the Hudson. And when he popped up onstage while I was talking about the new Cassie video, I think my entire life flashed before my eyes. Only, he just wanted to apologize and give me a bouquet of flowers. Which was seriously one of the 10 greatest moments of my entire life. Honestly.

Second-Best 'Holy God, I Thought I Was Going To Crap My Pants' Moment

This one never aired, and by revealing it, I am basically guaranteeing that I will not be brought back for "FN" season two, but hey, what the heck. During episode nine, we premiered the new video by Solange, who — in case you didn't know — just so happens to be Beyoncé's sister. Now, I said a whole bunch of good things about the song and the video, though I did say that I thought one of the dresses Sol wears in the clip looked "like a piñata." Of course, I thought this was a relatively harmless joke, but apparently, Solange's father, Mathew Knowles, didn't. After the show, he approached me, shook my hand with a vice-like grip and basically told me he was none too happy about the piñata dig. (Actual line: "You had to go there with the piñata thing, didn't you?") He wanted me to go back on air and apologize, and when I told him I wouldn't, he said he'd "see me at the VMAs" before ominously stomping off. I am still roughly 45 percent sure I will be killed during the show ... which means that season one was a total success. Seriously.

Questions? Concerns? FN? Hit me at BTTS@MTVStaff.com.

• Lil Wayne
• Diddy

Arizona authorities have 15 days to extradite the rapper to face other drug charges.
By James Montgomery and Chris Harris

DMX (file)
Photo: Ethan Miller/Getty Images

Despite dropping the F-bomb during his bond hearing on Tuesday, DMX may soon be allowed to leave the Florida jail where he's been held since his August 14 arrest and fly back to Arizona for his next trial.

On Wednesday (August 27), X (real name: Earl Simmons) pleaded guilty to his Florida charges of attempted purchase of cocaine and marijuana and was sentenced to time served and a $483 court fine, lawyer Bradford Cohen told MTV News. Had the case gone to trial, he could have faced six years in prison.

But because X's most recent arrest was for missing a pretrial hearing for an Arizona drug case, he will remain behind bars while Arizona authorities have 15 days to extradite DMX to their state, where he'll post bond and be released. If Arizona officials fail to pick him up within that time, he will be released, Cohen explained.

Prior to the plea deal, Judge Lawrence Schwartz denied the rapper's request for bond on Tuesday. When Schwartz set an October 3 court date for the now-closed case, the rapper curtly replied, "I ain't coming back on f---ing October 3."

While X was being led away, Schwartz scolded him. "Oh, that just ingratiated you to me — I've never heard the F-word before," he said, before turning to Cohen and saying, "You need to tell your client that I've heard the F-word before. ... He can send it to me anytime he wants to come in, if that's what makes him happy, but he certainly didn't help his stature any with what he mumbled as he left the podium."

It was just the latest bizarre court-related outburst from DMX. In June, he freestyled to reporters outside a Phoenix courtroom, after pleading not guilty to two felony theft charges. The rapper is currently facing a string of charges in both Florida and Arizona, including drug possession, animal cruelty, driving without a license and failure to appear in court.

• DMX