Eric Turner blasts off with Lupe Fiasco and Tinie Tempah in the video for his debut single “Angels & Stars.” The singer-songwriter, who guested on Tinie’s “Written in the Stars” and Lupe’s “Break the Chain,” recruits the rappers for the graphic-heavy visuals.

“I’ve been working a lot with Tinie and with Lupe, and [producer] iSHi and I decided we wanted to do a song with both Tinie and Lupe on it,” explained Turner. “It would be one of the first songs where you got one of the biggest rappers in America together with the biggest rapper in England. We thought that would be an interesting thing.”

Eric’s debut album is due on Capitol Records in mid-2012.

Eric Turner lent his voice to Tinie Tempah’s “Written in the Stars” and Lupe Fiasco’s “Break the Chain.” Now the singer-songwriter’s friends return the favor on “Angels & Stars,” the first single from his debut album. The rock-rap hybrid boasts verses from both rappers along with a rocketing chorus from Turner. Prepare for lift off.

The CRS album (Kanye West, Pharrell, and Lupe Fiasco) may be on indefinite hold, but two thirds of the group are moving forward with a new project. Lupe Fiasco revealed on his website that he and Pharrell are recording a joint album.

“LUPE AND PHARRELL ALBUM COMING SOON,” the Chicago MC wrote to his fans under the headline “Breaking News.”

In a previous interview with Rap-Up TV, he explained why the CRS album was derailed. “CRS is still tentatively unscheduled until me and Pharrell and Kanye can sit down and come up with a game plan and see if it’s something feasible within the near future or is it something that we should maybe think about putting the brakes to completely,” he said.

In addition to his collaboration with Pharrell, he’s also prepping Food & Liquor 2, the sequel to his 2006 album. “I’m not gonna make the same mistake that I did with Lasers,” he said of last year’s chart-topping set.

Photo credit: Terry Richardson

Lupe Fiasco wraps up 2011 by introducing SNDCLSH, his new DJ partnership with DJ Sky Gellatly. The Chicago MC remixes his Lasers cut “Letting Go” on the duo’s first offering featuring DJ Kue. The remix will appear on SNDCLSH’s debut EP Don’t Drop The Flag (#DDTF), coming next year.

“ALL OF THE ALBUM’S SALES WILL BE DONATED TO KIDS. Every single dollar,” said Lupe.

Lupe Fiasco stirs up more controversy on the politically-charged “American Terrorist III,” a new track released via Twitter. The rebellious rapper tells the story of a soldier who wages an insurrection and is now clearing his conscience. “Funny ’cause he really hated war, but why we went to war is what he really hated more,” rhymes Lupe over the haunting robotic hook.

Lupe Fiasco hits the stage in the video for “I Don’t Wanna Care Right Now” featuring MDMA, a cut off his Grammy-nominated album Lasers. In the clip, the controversial MC plays to a raucous crowd, tossing water into the audience while sporting a shirt emblazoned with “#Occupy Wall Street.” Crank up the volume with the visuals for the upbeat track.

Grammy season got underway with a star-studded concert held at the Nokia Theatre L.A. LIVE in Los Angeles on Wednesday night (Nov. 30). During the one-hour special, “The GRAMMY Nominations Concert Live!! — Countdown to Music’s Biggest Night,” Lady Gaga performed twice—once by herself and a second time with country duo Sugarland.

LL Cool J hosted, Nicki Minaj presented the Record of the Year nominees, Ludacris teamed up with Jason Aldean for a country-meets-rap collabo, and Usher joined Valerie Simpson and Mike Stoller in a moving tribute to songwriters Nick Ashford and Jerry Leiber.

Lupe Fiasco, Common, and LL Cool J paid homage to the hip-hop classic “The Message” by linking with Grandmaster Flash and Melle Mel. Backstage, a surprised Melanie Fiona gushed over her two nominations with Cee Lo Green for “Fool for You” and Bruno Mars celebrated with his production partners Phil Smeezington and Ari Levine.

“It means that we’re kinda the coolest kids on the block this year,” said Bruno of his six nods. “We worked extremely hard on ['Grenade'] and I can speak for all of us when I say we’re most proud of that song.”

Kanye West leads the nominations for the 54th Annual Grammy Awards, airing February 12. See a full list of nominees.

Nicki Minaj Presents Record of the Year

Usher Performs with Valerie Simpson and Mike Stoller

Melanie Fiona

Bruno Mars, Phil Smeezington, and Ari Levine

Lupe Fiasco, Common, and LL Cool J joined Grandmaster Flash, Melle Mel, and rapper Scorpio for a special performance of “The Message” at Wednesday’s Grammy nominations special. The seminal recording by Grandmaster Flash & The Furious Five was newly inducted into the GRAMMY Hall of Fame.

“It’s the quintessential classic hip-hop record—from the beat to the rhymes to the concept to the consciousness that’s in the record to the reality, it’s like a window into the world,” said Lupe. “That’s what it was back then and you can play the record now and it’s still relevant.”

Rick Ross, who was scheduled to perform, was noticeably absent. However, Nicki Minaj got in on the action when LL passed her the mic in the audience.

[MWP]

The Grammys are serving up a hip-hop history lesson. Some of today’s biggest rappers will come together to pay tribute to Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five at the “The GRAMMY Nominations Concert Live!! — Countdown to Music’s Biggest Night.”

Lupe Fiasco, Common, Rick Ross, and host LL Cool J will take the stage with Grandmaster Flash, Melle Mel, and rapper Scorpio for a special performance of “The Message,” the seminal recording by Grandmaster Flash & The Furious Five featuring Melle Mel and Duke Bootee, newly inducted into the GRAMMY Hall of Fame.

The show, which will also announce nominations in several categories, will be broadcast live from the Nokia Theatre in downtown Los Angeles on November 30 at 10 p.m. EST.

Other performers include Rihanna, Lady Gaga, Ludacris, and Usher, with appearances from Nicki Minaj, Katy Perry, and Taraji P. Henson.

Lupe Fiasco shows his fan appreciation on Thanksgiving by releasing his free mixtape Friend of the People. The Chi-town MC samples Justice, Kaskade, and Sebastian on the 12 electro-infused tracks, and calls on British singer Ellie Goulding for the single “Lightwork.” Feast on Lupe’s new music.

Download: Lupe Fiasco – Friend of the People