Pharrell continued the nationwide rollout of his Qream liqueur with a sexy soirée in Miami on Thursday night (July 28). The music impresario flew down south to launch the vodka-based, lactose-friendly cream with some help from his pals including Trina, Fat Joe, hitmakers Jim Jonsin and Rico Love, and Q-Tip, who DJ’d the event.

In an interview with Rap-Up TV, Skateboard P explained how he came up with the concept. “I looked at the market, I looked at the holes out there and it felt like indulgence and women were the two things that were being neglected,” he said. “So what I decided to do was design a drink that made sense for women that everybody could enjoy, but women knew it was for them.”

Pour over more pics from the sweet celebration below.

All of the lights were on Kanye West as legendary headliner Q-Tip brought out the Chi-town rapper toward the end of the Brooklyn Hip-Hop Festival held under the picturesque Brooklyn Bridge on Saturday afternoon. The boisterous and diverse spectators—made up of skinny jeans-clad hipsters, waddling toddlers, and B-boys/girls—were caught off guard but roared with anticipation when Yeezy hit the stage.

Q-Tip performed a few classics before fading into the intro to Kanye’s “Dark Fantasy,” when he emerged in a black tank top and snapback, keeping the crowd hyped during “All of the Lights” and joining Q-Tip on “Award Tour.”

“This dude right here, I only felt like this when I met Dilla,” the Tribe Called Quest frontman said of Mr. West, who he collaborated with on Watch the Throne. “He’s just a respectable dude. I love this dude. He keeps me going.”

Busta Rhymes was also among the special guests, performing Tribe’s classic “Scenario.” “When ya’ll put me on ‘Scenario,’ it definitely changed a ni**a’s tax bracket,” joked Bussa Bus.

Travie McCoy let his hair down last night on “The Tonight Show with Jay Leno,” performing “Need You” off his solo debut Lazarus. Backed by Fall Out Boy’s Patrick Stump on guitar, the Gym Class Heroes frontman sang his heart out on the pop-rock jam, rocking a flannel shirt over shorts and neon yellow kicks.

A platinum-blond Mark Ronson and his Business Intl. crew were joined by Q-Tip and singer MNDR to perform his single “Bang Bang Bang” on Monday’s “Late Show with David Letterman.” With Ronson on the keys, the vocalists sang to one another while taking turns serenading the audience during the synth-driven tune from the British producer’s new album Record Collection.

Nasty Nas surprised the audience during Q-Tip’s performance at New York City’s Ace Hotel, where the Tribe Called Quest member has a residency. Nas, who’s been busy traveling around the world with Damian “Jr. Gong” Marley to promote their joint release Distant Relatives, linked up with the Abstract to perform “One Love,” their classic collabo off Nas’ seminal debut Illmatic, for VEVO’s Go Show.

“I have not performed for a small crowd like this since the beginning,” said Nas. “But it’s love, it’s what we do. If it’s 200 or whatever amount, it’s on. I have a good time.”

Taking the stage to the tune of his classic “NY State of Mind,” Nasir Jones ripped through the cut before Tip joined him for “One Love” and played hype man on “Made You Look.”

“It’s something that’s sort of common with artists,” said Q-Tip. “When they feel something that feels a certain inspiration in a certain city, something unexpected is in the air and you like to take advantage of those opportunities when they’re there.”

Q-Tip and Norah Jones are a match made in heaven. The rapper and jazz singer prove music has no boundaries in the video for “Life Is Better” off Tip’s album The Renaissance. The graphic-heavy clip was directed by Goodtimes.

Ludacris serves Mötley Crüe member Tommy Lee at his Singaporean eatery Straits in Atlanta on Saturday (Aug. 29). The fundraising event benefitted the Ludacris Foundation.

Q-Tip and Solange celebrate MJ’s birthday, WTF is Fergie wearing, Wale performs a free show, and Slaughterhouse kills it at B.B. King below.

The Backstreet Boys may be mostly known for their Top 40 hits, but the boy band also gets down with hip-hop.

Nick Carter, one quarter of the group, is professing his admiration for Q-Tip. “I love Q-Tip. He’s my favorite rapper, so I’d love to do a song with him one day,” Carter tells Rap-Up.com. “I know he did that song back in the day with Janet, ‘Got ’Til It’s Gone,’ and I loved his last album [The Renaissance]. I’m a big Q-Tip fan.”

The pop star has never met the Tribe Called Quest frontman, but would love to work with him one day. “When we released Millennium, we were over in Japan and all I would do was listen to Tribe’s album Beats, Rhymes, & Life. I would listen to that album all the time and I would talk to [Senior VP, A&R at Zomba Label Group] Jeff Fenster like, ‘C’mon man, lemme meet him. C’mon, let’s do something with him.’”

Nick, Howie, Brian, and A.J. also had another rapper on their wish list of collaborators. “We wanted to do some stuff with Lil Wayne as well, but I know he’s been on a lot of stuff lately.”

The Backstreet Boys will release their seventh studio album This Is Us on October 6 featuring contributions from T-Pain, RedOne, Jim Jonsin, Ryan Tedder, and Claude Kelly.

The King of Pop may have passed on, but that doesn’t mean his fans, celebrities included, aren’t celebrating his legacy.

Rapper-turned-DJ Q-Tip will throw a soiree to honor what would have been Michael Jackson’s 51st birthday. The hip-hop icon chose New York City’s NOKIA Theater to house the evening’s festivities, which will be held on August 29, the day Jackson was born. Producer-DJ Mark Ronson and DJ Spinna will join Q-Tip in playing never-before-heard remixes of Michael Jackson’s hits. Rare video footage of the late legend from the Motown and Sony vaults will also be shown.

“Michael Jackson was a huge influence on my music and was an inspiration to me and so many others,” Q-Tip reveals. “I want to bring people together to celebrate the man, his music, and his legacy that will undoubtedly live on forever!”

Tickets for “Q-Tip Presents: Long Live the King! A Birthday Celebration for Michael Jackson” are available for purchase beginning Friday, July 31, at Ticketmaster.com.

–Georgette Cline

Jennifer Hudson kicked off her co-headlining tour with Robin Thicke at WaMu Theater at Madison Square Garden in New York City on Friday night. The Grammy winner received praise from critics with her first tour since the passing of her mother, brother, and nephew last fall.

Q-Tip joined the O.G. Martha Stewart on her daytime program on Friday. The Tribe Called Quest rapper brought along his Boston terrier Monk and crafted Q-tip holders with the Domestic Diva.

Q-Tip is in good company. Snoop, Diddy, Ludacris, and LL Cool J have all appeared on “The Martha Stewart Show.”