Remember the name Rita Ora. The 21-year-old Albanian singer, who Rap-Up.com named one of 10 Artists to Watch, scored a deal with Roc Nation and is prepping her debut for release this summer with heavy-hitters including Drake, The-Dream, and Stargate.

During her recent trip to Los Angeles, Rap-Up TV caught up with the blonde bombshell for one of her first stateside interviews. She chatted about pursuing her dream at the age of six, growing up in the small town of Prishtina, Kosovo, signing to Roc Nation, and getting guidance from her label boss Jay-Z.

“He’s very honest and he’s very genuine and helpful,” said Rita of Mr. Carter. “It’s a great voice to listen to. I couldn’t ask for anything better.”

The London resident, who co-starred in the video for Drake’s “Over,” also shared her dreams of collaborating with Gwen Stefani (“Do you know how much I love that woman?”) and getting feedback from another one of her superstar idols, Beyoncé.

“She’s helped me out a lot. I try to play things and get her opinion,” said Rita, who appears on DJ Fresh’s single “Hot Right Now.” “To have one of the inspirations in your face while you’re doing your first album is just like what.”

Tank caught up with Rap-Up TV on set of the Mike Ho-directed video for his first single “Next Breath.” “It’s a record that digs deep into the male ego,” explained the singer-songwriter. “It goes beyond apologizing. It shows women the things that we go through that they never get to see.”

The R&B heartthrob’s fifth album Savior, due in May, features contributions from Danja, Jerry Wonda, Mario Winans, Troy Taylor, Kevin McCall, Eric Hudson, and more. “Savior reintroduces that man,” he said. “That man may not be perfect, but is going to try with all his heart to be whatever that woman needs. We’ve lost sight of that. It’s become the player and pimp age, and now we want to reintroduce the grown man age.”

Standing on set of the downtown L.A. shoot, Tank broke down the concept for the visuals. “It’s after the breakup, maybe two months down the line when I’m feeling like I really need this woman,” he said. “We go behind the scenes into the bedroom, into the house, where this man is basically going through it. He won’t eat, he won’t sleep. He comes up with this idea to honor her he’s going to build a shrine for her. A little bit psychotic, but sometimes we get that way.”

When it comes to R&B these days, Tank believes the genre is headed in the right direction. “I think R&B is in a good place right now,” he shared. “I’m always a fan of Chris [Brown], I’m always a fan of Trey [Songz]. Loving Jazmine Sullivan. She’s kicking butt and taking names right now.”

Nicki Minaj’s friends and frequent producing partners Pop & Oak—comprised of Andrew “Pop” Wansel and Warren “Oak” Felder—helped her score a No. 1 hit with her debut single “Your Love.” Now the hitmakers, who have worked with Big Sean (“Marvin & Chardonnay”) and Trey Songz (“Unusual”), are reuniting with rap’s reigning diva for her sophomore album Pink Friday: Roman Reloaded. While careful not to reveal too much, the dynamic duo did offer Rap-Up TV a hint of what to expect come April 3.

“There’s more surprises this time,” said Pop. “I think she’s proven, like, ‘Yo, I can rap. I’m probably the best girl to really do this shit ever.’ Now she’s more comfortable and she’s having a little more fun.”

Whether you prefer the more grimy Nicki who rhymes on “Stupid Hoe” or the vulnerable Nicki who sings on “Save Me,” the album will have something for everyone. “She’s smart enough and she’s gonna figure out how to give a balance,” added Pop. “She’s so diverse and that’s a gift and a curse for her. This time she focused more on giving every side.”

Pop also assured her Barbz that they wouldn’t be disappointed. “There’s a lot of surprises for them on this album. They’ll be really happy.”

In addition to Pop & Oak, Nicki has been in the studio with Hit-Boy, Dr. Luke, and Ester Dean (“Super Bass”), crafting the follow-up to her 2010 debut Pink Friday.

In the final part of his interview with Rap-Up TV, T-Pain opens up about his friendship with Chris Brown and Ke$ha.

“I think my relationship with Chris is better than anybody else,” shares the “5 O’Clock” singer. “I don’t think I chill or bond with any other artist like that.”

T-Pain collaborated twice with Chris on his new album rEVOLVEr. “He’s winning more than anybody right now,” says a supportive Pain. “I don’t bother him, I don’t even call him, I just wait till he calls me.”

While they may seem like an odd pair, he and Ke$ha bonded because they’re both “rock stars.” But the “TiK ToK” singer is holding out on a collaboration. “She’s disappeared off the face of the Earth,” jokes Pain. “She has a song for me, but she don’t want to give it to me ’cause she think I’ma put it out.”

Which artists were getting lots of play on JoJo’s iPod this year? The pop star shares her five favorite albums of 2011 including a dynamic duo, an “odd” newcomer, pop queen, Drake (“I love it when he sings. He really creates an atmosphere”), and Beyoncé.

“I think it was the best vocal performance of this year, especially by a female,” JoJo told Rap-Up TV of B’s 4 while on set of her Clearasil PerfectaWash commercial. “I don’t think anyone’s topping Beyoncé.”

Find out who landed a spot on JoJo’s list.

Rap-Up TV was on the scene as JoJo unveiled her new role as spokeswoman for Clearasil PerfectaWash. The pop star, who celebrated her 21st birthday on set of the TV commercial, shared her excitement about teaming up with the skin care company for the national campaign, which features her sassy song “Sexy to Me,” produced by Danja.

“I was excited that Clearasil is allowing me to be myself and to really put my personality into this campaign,” said JoJo. “They’re really kinda stepping out on a limb and doing something that I think is pretty cool.”

During her downtime, she gave us an update on her album Jumping Trains, due next spring. “We’re just really being nitpicky about it and just securing some features and mixing, and going back in and fine-tuning. It has to be what we envisioned.”

Now that she’s 21, JoJo is looking forward to going out to clubs with her friends. She also shared her touring plans for 2012. “My intention is to do something that’s really intimate,” she explained. “I want to create an atmosphere and let people in on what I want Jumping Trains to represent.”

T-Pain takes his haters to task in the second part of his interview with Rap-Up TV. The Auto-Tune master, whose fourth album rEVOLVEr was released earlier this month, explained why he has no many haters. “People feel like what I’m doing is easy,” he said. “They feel like you don’t have to write a good song to have a smash.”

Pain even compared himself to “Jersey Shore” star Snooki. “How many people hate Snooki? Snooki’s rich. [They] ain’t saying nothing about that. She got rich for being Snooki, but she rich and you can’t do nothing about it ’cause you sitting at home blogging about how much you hate somebody that’s rich.”

After Jay-Z released his anti-Auto-Tune anthem “D.O.A. (Death of Auto-Tune),” T-Pain’s craft came under fire, but he acknowledged the positive impact it had on his career. “The crazy thing is, and a lot of people don’t see it like this, but if you really look at it, he made me famous,” he explained. “A lot of people see this as a bad thing, but it only made me more famous because no one knew who he was talking about. If I can be in Jay-Z’s category at the end of the day, I am fantastic. I love it.”

When he ran into Jay after the song’s release, there was no beef. “That whole thing was stupid,” he said. “He’s Jay-Z, he’s got probably more power than anybody in the industry right now and I’m me, so nothing’s gonna change. I make smashes, he make money, nothing’s gonna change.”

As the year comes to a close, Diggy Simmons weighs in on his top 5 favorite albums of 2011. During a backstage interview on the “Scream” tour, the hip-hop prodigy acknowledged his peers including the singer with 2011’s biggest-selling album, a West Coast newcomer, pregnant pop icon, one of Young Money’s shining stars, and Jay-Z and Kanye West’s collaborative effort.

“I was excited about that since they announced it,” Diggy told Rap-Up TV of Watch the Throne. “Those are my two favorite hip-hop artists and they’ve been innovative to our culture and hip-hop in general.”

Find out who else Diggy was digging this year.

With his new album rEVOLVEr in stores today, an overjoyed T-Pain sat down with Rap-Up TV in Beverly Hills. The Auto-Tune master was all laughs as he discussed how the project stacks up to his previous works. “I really took my time on this album,” he explained. “Usually it takes me four or five months to make an album. This one took two-and-a-half years. I think I’m this close to perfecting my craft. I haven’t reached my peak yet at all.”

The “5 O’Clock” hitmaker also shed light on what happened to his highly-publicized collaborative album with Lil Wayne. “When [Wayne] got into his litte trouble, that was right at the peak of when we was like, ‘OK, let’s go. Let’s do this now.’ He finally had time, then he went to jail,” said Pain, who recorded eight or nine songs for the project before it was scrapped.

While he’s still up for it, he doesn’t think Weezy is interested. “Things happen and I’m pretty sure he’s over the whole idea now. I don’t even be bringing it up to him no more. I’m pretty sure he’s way past that right now. He’s doing big things.”

However, the two did collaborate for rEVOLVEr on the in-your-face anthem “Bang Bang Pow Pow,” produced by T-Minus. Find out how the collaboration came about.

Taio Cruz set the international charts on fire with his dance floor-ready hits “Break Your Heart” and “Dynamite.” Now he’s returned to claim his top spot with his third album TY.O, due early next year. During a recent visit to Los Angeles, the Englishman shared how the “mass mispronunciation” of his name inspired the title of his latest album, the daunting experience of working with Jennifer Lopez, and why he’s jealous of Lady Gaga.

The 28-year-old singer has enlisted today’s top hitmakers for TY.O including Pitbull (“There She Goes”), Ludacris and David Guetta (“Little Bad Girl”), and Flo Rida on the Dr. Luke-produced lead single “Hangover.” “I’d say this album is very much electro-dance music-inspired,” he told Rap-Up TV. “It’s very much a continuation of the Rokstarr album.”

Taio, who co-wrote David Guetta and Usher’s smash “Without You,” is back in the lab writing for Usher’s next album. “There’s definitely some dance records on there, but it’s more diverse,” he revealed. “We have midtempos and ballads going on too.”

The minimalist, who is set to launch his own line of watches, explained the inspiration behind his classic style. “I don’t know when it happened, but I just became a massive fan of monochrome. Chanel is one of my favorite brands and I guess Karl Lagerfeld is one of my favorite designers. I guess I’m the Karl Lagerfeld of pop music ’cause I really only ever wear black all the time.”