Ed Sheeran has already broken records overseas with his full-length debut +, and now he has his sights set on America. During a recent trip to Los Angeles, Rap-Up TV caught up with the U.K. sensation to discuss his genre-bending album (due June 12 via Elektra Records), the British invasion, and linking up with Yelawolf.

“I’m happy to be in America and start off at the bottom,” said the red-haired singer-songwriter. “To be given the opportunity to do it is the hardest part.”

With the success of Adele and Jessie J, it may seem like U.K. stars are conquering the U.S., but Sheeran reminds us that it’s nothing new. “We’ve been swapping acts for years. You gave us Hendrix and Dylan, we gave you the Beatles and the Stones,” he said. “Now we’re swapping again. We give you Tinie [Tempah], you give us Lil Wayne. We give you Adele, you give us Rihanna.”

Earlier this year, he collaborated with Yelawolf on The Slumdon Bridge EP. “He will write a verse in 15 minutes and then go and do it in one take,” he said of the Alabama MC. “Musically he was teaching me stuff that I didn’t know and I was the one with the guitar.”

Plus, find out some of his favorite American rappers, which legendary singer he would like to work with, and the five songs currently on his iPod.

Rye Rye makes her long-awaited debut with her album Go! Pop! Bang!, which lands in stores today. “There’s a lot of mainstream producers, but it’s my flavor,” said the Baltimore MC, who worked with Pharrell, Bangladesh, and Egyptian Lover. “Everything sounds refreshing.”

After nearly two years of delays, she is relieved to finally deliver the project to her fans. “I never was frustrated about it not coming out,” she told Rap-Up TV. “I thought it was a good thing that it got pushed back. I’m not gonna deliver something unless it’s ready.”

Now that her album is out, she is working on a new mixtape, the follow-up to last year’s RYEotpowRR. “My first mixtape was all party,” said the 21-year-old, who sampled Jay-Z and Kanye West’s “Ni**as in Paris” on one of the new cuts. “But this one I’m going into a vibe where it’s just straight hard. It’s just me killin’ straight hard hip-hop beats.”

M.I.A.’s protégée has no beef with her fellow femcees and called for unity in female rap. “I support every female artist in the industry. I feel like if the guys can get along, why can’t the girls? Girls tend to look at everything as a competition,” she said, adding, “I like Azealia [Banks'] movement, I support it 100 percent, and I think everybody’s doing their thing.”

“The Meek shall inherit the Earth,” raps Meek Mill on “Ready or Not” off his new mixtape Dreamchasers 2. And he plans to do just that. As a member of Rick Ross’ Untouchable Maybach Music Empire, the 25-year-old phenom has the streets and the Internet on lock (his mixtape has reportedly been downloaded 2.5 million times).

Fresh off the first two dates of the “Club Paradise” tour with Drake, the Philly rapper sat down with Rap-Up TV to discuss his upcoming MMG debut Dreams & Nightmares. Due August 28, the album is set to feature production from Jahlil Beats, Cardiak, and Boi-1da, among others.

“I’ma give you the nightmare side, coming up in the streets and actually being in jail…to the dream side of being on tour with Drake and 2 Chainz and Waka Flocka and traveling the world,” said Meek, who views Rozay as a father figure.

“I look at Ross like my old head. My dad died when I was young. I never really had an older person in my life that really looked out for me. [Ross] helped change my life—took my music to another level, so it took my money and my family to another level.”

Just last week, Maybach Music welcomed Omarion into the family. “That’s the decision Ross made and we gon’ rock with it 100 percent,” said Meek, who has recorded a song with the former B2K member.

And with the fame comes the rumors. He and Rihanna were recently spotted at the same strip club, prompting speculation that they are dating. But Meek, who has a girl back home, set the record straight.

“I ain’t really be tryna go there with my girlfriend over blogs. That shit fu**ing up my life a little bit,” he said. “[Rihanna] might have been at the same place as me, but that don’t mean we was together. She a cool person, I met her before, she like my music, and that’s that.”

You’ve seen the sexy video. Now Leah LaBelle takes Rap-Up TV behind the scenes of her debut single “Sexify,” with cameos from JoJo and her mentors Pharrell and Jermaine Dupri.

The Seattle songstress was discovered by The Neptunes producer through the Internet. “I connected with Pharrell and J.D. off of the strength of my YouTube videos,” said the former “American Idol” contestant. “Pharrell actually came across my videos two years ago and he felt at one point it was the right time. He reached out to me and showed my video to J.D. and they collectively decided to do the project.”

In addition to the hip-hop hitmakers, she is working closely with L.A. Reid on her I-Am-Other/So So Def/Epic Records debut, due out late summer/early fall. “He’s been an amazing person in my corner and somebody that I’ve learned from,” said Leah.

In addition to Brandy, Sean Garrett has been in the studio working on new music for megastars including Dr. Dre, Kelly Rowland, and Justin Bieber. During his interview with Rap-Up TV, he shared his respect for Dre and his contributions to Detox.

“He got a lot of stuff. You just be hoping and praying that you make the album,” said Garrett. “We did a lot of great work, so I’m pretty sure that hopefully I’ll at least have one on there.”

The hitmaker behind Beyoncé’s “Diva” and Chris Brown’s “Run It!” is currently in the studio with Kelly Rowland working on her next album. “Her swag is dope and I’m just so happy to see her get her shot,” he said. “I’ma do what I can to make sure Kelly right.”

He is also cooking up some material for Justin Bieber’s upcoming album Believe. “I love what Justin’s doing. He’s taking control of his career,” explained Sean. “I was blown away by just how talented he is.”

Missy Elliott has kept her fans waiting seven years for a new album, but it promises to be worth the wait. The trailblazing rapper has been in the studio with her partner-in-rhyme Timbaland working on the long-awaited follow-up to 2005’s The Cookbook. Rap-Up TV spoke with one of Missy’s best friends, Monica, who shared her excitement over her long-awaited return.

“Missy is missing from music and hip-hop because there’s no one as creative, as dedicated,” said the R&B songstress, who collaborated with Missy on her latest album New Life. “She thinks outside the box, but at the same time, draws you in the box that she’s in. She’s able to make visuals of things that I’ve never even dreamed of. I think hip-hop really needs her right now.”

She’s been lucky enough to hear some of Missy’s latest material. “I’ve heard some new music and all I can tell you is that Missy is at her absolute best when she’s at peace with herself and there’s no pressure,” she shared. “She’s been able to work on her record with a host of real talented people and reinvent herself all over again.”

Is another collaboration on the horizon? “She told me she wanted me to do something on the new record and we never did it,” said Mo, who has a house nearby Missy in Atlanta. “What I do is I just go to the house and we just make music. No time restraints, nobody watching us, nobody coming in between us, we just do it, so I think it will happen.”

It’s hard not to love Karmin. The swag-pop duo, comprised of Amy Heidemann and Nick Noonan, became a viral sensation with their rap-sung covers of popular hip-hop hits including “Look at Me Now” and “6 Foot 7 Foot” before grabbing the attention of L.A. Reid, who signed them to Epic Records.

On the eve of their major label debut Hello, the quirky twosome sat down with Rap-Up TV (on a piano, no less) to discuss how they got into hip-hop, meeting Kanye West, taking inspiration from Nicki Minaj, and their embrace by the hip-hop community.

The engaged couple, who met at Boston’s Berklee College of Music, recalled their encounter with Kanye, who was interested in signing them to G.O.O.D. Music. “Meeting our idol Kanye was surreal,” said Amy, who calls My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy her favorite rap album. “We kinda talked about our songwriting and recording process and it turns out they’re very similar creatively.”

Another superstar they’ve met is Nicki Minaj, whose song “Super Bass” they covered on YouTube with The Roots’ ?uestlove. “I have a huge girl crush on her,” admitted Amy. “She’s one of the people who inspired me to jump into it and start rapping.”

One of the highlights of their career so far has been performing at the 2011 BET Awards. “Amy secretively wants to be a black person,” joked Nick, while his other half added, “Being embraced by the hip-hop community is just priceless.”

Brandy embarked on the next chapter of her career last week with her hot new single “Put It Down” featuring Chris Brown. One of the hitmakers responsible for her new sound is Sean Garrett, who produced the track with Bangladesh. Rap-Up TV caught up with Sean to discuss Brandy’s comeback and her upcoming album Two Eleven, for which he helmed nine tracks.

“When I got the call to work with her, I felt like, ‘Wow, this would be an opportunity for me to sort of work with one of my dream artists,’” said Sean, who explained how the Chris collaboration came about.

“People probably thought there would be a rapper on there and we wanted to surprise people,” he said. “[Chris] tweeted and said that Brandy’s the most phenomenal vocalist of all time, so what more can you say? He gave it up to her and he’s not easily impressed.”

Brandy’s RCA/Chameleon Records debut is due this summer. “‘Put It Down’ is a good segway to what the album is about,” he explained. “The album’s definitely not predictable. At the same time, it’s progressive. It’s made to excite people. It’s about keeping people intrigued. It’s about entertainment.

“Brandy always made people feel a certain type of way with her music. And so we wanted to keep that integrity, but we wanted to also make the new fans respect who she is because she’s an icon, she’s a living legend.”

Plus, he revealed a drum-heavy track he did with Bangladesh called “Sick.” “I feel like a lot of women are gonna love that record,” he teased.