#TaniaOnTheScene I hit Bryant Park, NYC to talk to Vin Keatin about his music, where he’s headed, and where he’s been. If you haven’t heard his voice, you should definitely take a listen.

Just in time for the Season 5 premiere of MTV's monster hit the "Jersey Shore," a new viral music video is not only generating plenty of buzz, but a new dance craze.

"The Fist Pump Song" produced by New Jersey native Steve Stylez, calls on guidos and honorary guidos to "pound the ground, stomp that beat" and of course "fist pump."

The catchy dance tune - a clear byproduct of the "Jersey Shore" reality phenomena - demonstrates that you don't necessarily have to smush or be "DTF" to have a good time down at the shore. (Yea, we're talking to you Snooki.)

Check out the video and tell us what you think...

Dear Lupe Fiasco,

My name is Sebastian Force, and I was a huge fan. I don’t know whether or not I was your biggest, but there was a long time where only Lupe Fiasco played in my stereo. Look, you know how open letters go, you know this is a criticism. However, I feel I still have to explain and justify my words first.

Like most people, I heard Food & Liquor and became an instant fan. When you started, there was nobody like you, and especially nobody like you getting airtime. Anywhere. Where Kanye West rapped more eloquently, you took rap and brought it to a level that all the kids that felt under-appreciated by their own music, their own pastime, and brought it onto to their (our) level. Verses with Sonic the Hedgehog, Lupin the Third, and Dragonball Z references? This is what every semi-smart kid who listened to rap music was pining for back when the Cash Money Millionaires were talking about needing a “Project Chick.” That doesn’t even count the new fans you brought in. Tons of people said, “I don’t like rap, but I love Lupe.”

That’s why you were called “Hip-Hop’s next Vanguard.”

That’s why you were called “The Proust of Rap”

We had a long wait. We wondered where L.U.P.END, was, but we were just glad you weren’t quitting rap, even if we felt a bit guilty for it. Enemy of the State came, and was also fantastic. “Yoga Flame” one of those times where I like the mixtape version better than the original song.

Then…nothing. Nothing for a long time. You were in legal battles, things happen, its completely understandable and everyone was patiently waiting. Every once in a while you would release a song or it would leak, and they showed promise. There were people (a lot of my friends) who got up and left when you did a song for Twilight. I’ll admit it, the thought did cross my mind, but the song wasn’t that bad, and you had two fantastic albums and a series of great mixtapes behind you. You don’t back down on an artist you like for one song. Right?

Japanese Cartoon came out, and, I, I really don’t know what that was. Sure, sing, whatever, but, a fake British accent? Really Lupe? Things were starting to look bleak. It didn’t look like we were ever going to see the return of the man who gave us Food & Liquor and The Cool.

You know what, I take that back. Kanye West did an interview (with MTV, if memory serves correct) where he said, “I’ll never make another College Dropout, and I’ll never make another Late Registration.” The gist of the statement being that those records took place in a different time for him, and he cannot replicate that time and make another album like that. Which I wholeheartedly agree with, so no, you don’t owe me anything Lupe, and you don’t owe your fans anything. You can do what you want. But that doesn’t mean I’m not allowed to express my opinion as well. Your fans were the ones that bought your work, and supported you, so the least we’re allowed to do is talk about it.

So that brings me to L.A.S.E.R.S. Lasers turned “hip-hop’s next vanguard” into an unrecognizable bastardization of his former self. Stop me if any of these words sound familiar: “Generic, commercial, boiler-plate, run of the mill, average.” so many synonyms so little time. I thought about writing this when Lasers first dropped, and was actually encouraged to by one of my friends, but I just couldn’t bring myself to do it. I said to myself, ‘this guy made Dumb it Down for god’s sake!” But that’s when it hit me. This guy made Dumb it down:

Not this guy:

The former Lupe embodies strength, knowledge and power. Hell, he even looks like a teacher. A teacher wearing sweater jeans and a chain was the Lupe of the past. And somehow, over the years, has morphed into the latter Lupe. I cannot think of another artist who is vehemtely anti-establishment to the point of pretentiousness. And you know what? Being Anti-establishment is fine. I like anti-establishment. I support Occupy Wall St too, and I’m glad to see Lupe wearing the shirt at the B.E.T awards. For a classic example of what I mean, lets take a look at the opening to “Words I never said”

“I really think the war on terror is a bunch of bull****”

Again. Really Lupe? You think the war on terror is a bunch of bull****? What a radical opinion for 2005 (and I’m being generous.) No matter when you started Lasers, this is not only a godawful line, but a symptom of the change between the teacher Lupe and the preacher Lupe. The teacher was magnificent in his ways of referencing things and putting his opinion in a verse with subtlety, while the preacher just screams things you already know and expects you to blindly follow simply because you agree with his opinion.

There is nothing I could say, no words I could combine in any language that could accurately describe my feelings on “State Run Radio.”

Do I want the old Lupe back? Well of course, but that’s not realistic, and I stress: it doesn’t matter what I want. The teachers of rap are fading by the wayside, and there were few as good (and cool) as Lupe. At the same time however, more diverse rappers are coming from everywhere, and that leads me to believe that Lupe has simply been replaced. There is room in the game for a lame who rhymes. But that doesn’t explain Lasers. That doesn’t explain Friends of the People, Lupe’s latest mixtape that dropped on Thanksgiving, and the reason why I caved in and wrote this. Oh pardon me. The mixtape is called “Friends of the people I fight evil”

This may not be the end though. If Lupe decided to do a Food and Liquor two, then maybe there’s some chance that things will be okay. Maybe he’s made a ton of new fans with Lasers and just said screw you to the old ones. Maybe I was expecting too much out of Lupe. Well, I’ll remember Food & Liquor and The Cool fondly as some of my favorite records. Sometimes we just have to suck it up when our teachers fail us.

It’s that time of year again… when the elite committee known as The Recording Academy tells us who they think contributed pure awesomeness to the year in music with their announcement of the Grammy Award nominations. As every fan and artist knows, some years the academy hits it right on the head. But then, there are the other years – which some would say are most years – when the academy sounds a little more like their own prestigious award – a grammy… an old, out of touch, confused lady who scares off the neighborhood kids by throwing cats at them.

SEE COMPLETE LIST OF 2011 GRAMMY NOMINATIONS

When it was all said and done, the usual suspects came out on top. Kanye West received the most nominations for his critically-acclaimed “My Beautiful,Dark Twisted Fantasy” with seven, while the UK’s most beloved export Adele wasn’t far behind with 6 nods for her “21” set.

Other notable nominees included Bruno Mars (6), Foo Fighters (6), Lil’ Wayne (5), Rihanna (4), Radiohead (4) and Mumford & Sons (4). Queens resident Barbie, Nicki Minaj – who in my opinion is a shoe-in for Best New Artist considering she’s made the biggest impact on hip hop and music in general this past year – snagged four nods.

And because the universe needs balance, there were plenty of “WTFs” to go around. Enter the snubs.

She’s one of the biggest pop stars on the planet, yet the Recording Academy denied her access from every major category. Beyonce received just one nomination for her album “4.” Although the album received mixed reviews and was deemed a “risky” effort compared to her pop-friendly discography, it still managed to give rise to five hit singles including “Run The World (Girls),” “Countdown” and “Love On Top.” Star power apparently doesn’t always equate to Grammy props.

In all honestly, “4” was not Bey’s best album but at the very least they should’ve thrown her a bone in a number of the R&B categories, rewarding her nerve to push an apparent “risky” album.

Although the Foo Fighters' "Wasting Light" is billed as being their strongest album to date, in my opinion, a good portion of the track list stays within that "standard rock" box. Don't get me wrong, I like me some Foo, but safe and standard is boring and shouldn't be validated - especially with an Album of the Year nod.

The Grammy's should start tapping on artists who think outside the box, but that would require frequent trips outside the Recording Academy's senior recreation home.

Another notable snub was Kanye West protégé Big Sean. While many critics cried foul over West’s absence on the “Album of the Year” nominee list for ‘Beautiful Fantasy’ -- which in itself is ridiculous, many failed to mention how Big Sean’s debut album “Finally Famous” was completely shut out.

The 12-track “Famous” is not only a solid album that spawned off hits like “Last Chance” and “Marvin & Chardonnay” but it’s a brilliant and smart debut any up-and-coming artist would have given their right arm to have. [See: “Dance (A$$)”] At the very least, Big Sean should have been given a chance to compete in the Best New Artist category.

LMAFO, like a lot of its fans, were probably uttering WTF upon not seeing their name anywhere, on any list, at all. Apparently having the biggest summer song of 2011 “Party Rock Anthem” doesn’t amount to anything. WTF indeed.

Another thing… Where the hell was “Hell: The Sequel” – the mind-blowing product of Bad Meets Evil, the brainchild of Eminem and Royce 59? The #1 Billboard album was ignored by voters which begs the question, who are these voters? My grammy’s friends down at the senior home? (Last and final Grammy pun).

With tracks like "Lighters" featuring Bruno Mars, "Loud Noises," "Fast Lane," and my personal favorite "Echo" ... it doesn't make any sense at all that this genius collaboration would be completely shut out from competing. But when the Grammy's are calling the shots, when does anything make sense?

The Recording Academy is infamous for dropping the ball in recent years. (It was like yesterday I and a gaggle of 13-year-old girls started a mass demonstration outside the home of Esperanza Spalding. We later decided on a good ol' classic web attack... Ah, memories ... Good times indeed. #neverforget)

The Grammy's, like all award shows, have aged horribly and truly resemble those cat-throwing grammies I mentioned earlier -- set in their ways and out of touch. I can't even remember the last award show that left me fulfilled, thinking "wow, that was great! Well done!" Awarding staid, safe choices is what they do, so come Grammy night, place your bets and choose your drinking games wisely.

SIDE NOTE: Has anyone figured out who or what Arcade Fire is? I've had 10 months to research and I am still scratching my head. The investigation is ongoing.

FOLLOW ANDREW RAMOS ON TWITTER

Remember when T-Pain started? It was the first time we’d heard the auto-tune effect in a while, and “I’m Sprung” and “I’m N Luv (Wit A Stripper)” were playing on the radio everywhere. But, as it always happens whenever something is popular in rap music, everybody started using auto-tune, and way before Kanye West put out 808’s & Heartbreak, we were already exhausted of it.

I know personally, if I ever heard it, I would automatically skip the song or change the station. That’s how much my hatred of auto-tune grew.

Then came the bombshell. Freaknik: The Musical. It was written by Carl Jones of The Boondocks, produced by T-Pain, and involved every rapper from Kid ‘n Play to Rick Ross. Even Bootsy Collins from Parliament Funkadelics showed up, if only for five minutes. Based on the music festival that used to take place in Atlanta, Georgia, Freaknik was satire of the best kind. It made fun of rap and cultural stereotypes (with Freaknik being the embodiment of all things hip-hop) and literally had one of the best soundtracks of the year. And T-Pain was the lead in every song.

If this were an after school special, I’d be telling you that “the moral of this story is to never take yourself too seriously,” but since this isn’t I’m going to put that same phrase this way: If you take yourself too seriously, then nobody will be able to make fun of “Black America,” the news, random men on the street and the President of the United States. That is what is at stake, every time. Essentially what I’m saying is that taking yourself too seriously will mean the downfall of America. Can you handle that on your shoulders?

I know some people have been talking a lot about Childish Gambino, but you still barely hear him played on the radio and there are so many people that still haven’t heard about him. Childish Gambino is the rap name of Donald Glover, who pretty much does everything.

He is a comedian, writes for 30 Rock, plays Troy Barnes in Community, and does the Derrick Comedy project on Youtube. He’s pretty much everywhere now, and yet rapping has become his signature forte.

While CG has had a lot of music, Camp is his first full studio album. I will admit, his mixtapes started off pretty bad, but he got so much better so quickly. The difference between the two “I Am Just a Rapper” mixtapes of 2010 (which I thought were mostly pretty awful) to mid 2010’s Culdesac was phenomenal. Culdesac had flaws, but showed so much promise. From the fantastic “Hero”, to the awesome beat behind “Let Me Dope You”, the list of great songs far outweighs the bad ones. But there are bad ones.

His last project EP is just ridiculous. In what seems to be a recurring pattern, his latest release is twice as good as his last. While I may be partial to any song that has a Dragon Ball-Z reference, “My Shine” is one of the better songs on the EP. “Lights Turned On” however, is a explosion that nobody was really ready for. Why it wasn’t a single the world will never know. Though as he’s said several million times over, he definitely doesn’t need the money. Even though they aren’t on the EP, “The Longest Text Message” and “Break” are two songs that belong on an album pretty much anywhere. it seems criminal to not promote them more, even if break is just a take off of Kanye’s “All of the Lights.”

So far, I’ve heard only a couple of the tracks from his upcoming album “Camp,” but if they are any indication, he keeps to the tradition of making his album’s twice as good as the last. The recently released Bonfire is a true classic for him, and one of his best works. Camp comes out November 15th, so we’ll see if the whole album keeps to the impeccable standard CG has created for himself.

There’s so much more to say about him, like how his band actually plays the songs he’s rapping, or how he’s become rap’s symbol of “nerd culture” while still retaining great beats, lyrics and flow, but to be honest, I’m sure you’ll hear all of that in the accompanying reviews of Camp. For now, we’ll just say that he’s one of the most underrated rappers out right now, but lets hope that wont be the case for long.

Move over Suri, take a hike Maddox... there's a new celebrity baby in town - and he/she is not even born yet!

Beyonce and Jay-Z's baby-to-be is creating more buzz than any hurricane, celebrity break-up or fallen starlet has ever mustered up in recent memory.

Is anyone really surprised? When the world first came to grips with the baby bump bombshell revealed at Sunday's VMAs, the world's most famous fetus nearly crashed Twitter.

An FBI forensic artist, who clearly has a ton of time on her hands, went as far as publishing a digital composite of the young Hova. Take a look:

Popped collar and all. The swag level is offish ridic on this kid. Forrealies!

Meanwhile, the hilarity that is the Onion News Network (The only news network I turn to in ridiculous times) ... went as far as drafting a bogus press release, claiming it landed not only the first interview with the couple's unborn baby but what would be the first-ever one-on-one interaction with a fetus.

Onion News Network anchor Brooke Alvarez allegedly conducted the historic 2-hour interview by "using ultrasound equipment and a specially designed microphone" that was inserted into Beyonce's womb.

"The fetus really opened up to me," Alvarez said in the release. "It does not yet have the life experience or brain functionality to understand social norms, so it was very candid."

It sounds like a captivating interview. Totes will set the DVR for that. Legit.

Ah... there's nothing like investigative journalism, especially when dealing with a case so trivial yet so hilarious.

During Lil' Wayne's show-closing performance at Sunday's MTV Video Music Awards, viewers (namely fans on Twitter) were more focused on Weezy's leopard print bottoms rather than the actual show itself. I mean, to be honest, I personally was left unnerved by the bold ensemble.

While many tweeted countless wise cracks and jabs (MY FAVORITE HERE) ... the New York-based women's clothing company Tripp NYC wasted no time in claiming responsibility for the skin-tight monstrosity.

The evidence:

And to add more ridiculousness to this story... the jeggins boast a price of $72. SMH indeed.

Case closed!

Chris Brown danced his skinny jeans off, flew over the audience and did some impressive lip synching at Sunday night's MTV Video Music Awards ... but it apparently wasn't enough to impress Jay-Z.

MTV cameras caught a very subdued Jay as he remained still and visibly uninterested throughout Breezy's exhilarating performance where he danced to what appeared to be his own custom version of the evolution of dance.

A day later, many are speculating why...

Could it be sour grapes over the assault on Hov's little sister/discovered artist, Rihanna? Could it stem from Brown's almost 2-year-old tweet where he allegedly called Jay a "corn ball." OR could it be the fact that Jay isn't in to dudes who run around town getting corny tattoos, swear by skinny jeans, have an obsession with fallen Dru Hill star Sisqo, trash morning show greenrooms and make you feel very uncomfortable while doing the dougie? The world may never know.

To add on to the mystery. On Monday, Jay-Z, sent out a very cryptic tweet simply saying "Chris Brown."

What does it all mean???

***UPDATE: Jay-Z or whoever is manning his Twitter account just deleted the random "Chris Brown" tweet. The plot thickens! (CUE MUSIC)

Jay-Z and Kanye West are phenomenal artists. They’ve both made more money than nearly every other rapper in the industry. They both have made classics, and together they probably will make a great record. But it wont be anywhere near as good as Bad vs. Evil is, and here’s why ...

While Recovery was a great album, Post-Recovery Eminem has absolutely shattered all preconceived notions about his status as a great rapper. He’s effectively gone around killing people on their own tracks – everyone from Nicki Minaj on "Roman’s Revenge" to T.I. on "That’s All She Wrote", and lets not forget his verse on “Forever” - they put him on the end for a reason.

Considering each artists' respective catalog, I just don’t believe it’s possible for Kanye West, and especially not for Jay-Z, to keep up with Eminem. Think about it: When was the last time you heard something from Jay-Z and said that was really creative/funny or something like that. The last memorable thing I heard from Kanye West was on "Last Call", from his explosive debut album The College Dropout:

“Oh my god is that a black card? And I replied: Why yes but I prefer the term African-American Express.”

And while that was a classic, it wont hold up against Eminem or Royce, and especially not their recent stint together.

2. Remember Renegade?

Nearly 10 years ago, Eminem and Jay-Z joined forces for their first-ever collaboration, and what happened? Eminem took over. (It was more of a mid-day robbery, if anything.) What makes you think that now - a decade later - Eminem’s album (with his own old collaborator) wont be better than Mr. Carter's? Actually, I can make this point as simple as this ... Go back and listen to Renegade. Now think about it: Eminem’s at least ten times better than that now. People fondly remember the days of “The Blueprint” while those same people are now talking about how ridiculous Eminem’s last song was.

3. H.A.M.

Lets be honest here: If Kanye hadn’t repeated that same “I go H.A.M” line over and over again, you wouldn’t remember that song two minutes after you heard it. Everything from the weird opening to the music being louder than the rappers themselves, to the lackluster verses from both of them. Not to mention, this is the lead single! This is the song they chose as the best one to show to the public in order to attract people to buying the album. It’s not bad by any means, but it’s just not what you would expect from two greats.

Finally, pick any song on Bad vs Evil. All but one song have Royce and Eminem going back and forth with each other with increasing speed and better flow. There won’t be anything even remotely close to “Fast Lane” or other songs on the Bad vs Evil album. Jay-Z and Kanye West collaborating will hopefully be a great album, but as far as great rappers collaborating, there’s just no way it will be good enough.

Bonus #4: Two Words: Loud Noises.

With every artist that you know as a “great” you can pinpoint exactly why they are great and why you listen to them. But honestly, that’s not the case with J. Cole. You can say “skill” and “flow” but aren’t those really just buzzwords? They don’t seem to really describe him accurately. What's the real reason why Jay-Z took him under his wing and what was so great about three mixtapes that turned him into a massive success?

Even when I disagree with his politics or religion, the way he represents them and how opinionated he is makes it more of a pleasure to listen to. And here we come to the core of the argument: J. Cole has a college degree. He has the life experience that comes both with college, and from being poor. If you can survive college, you can survive anything. Being a smart rapper isn’t a new thing, but it is extremely rare in a world with such radical talents as the Cali Swag District and LMFAO. J.Cole is a smart, but not conscious rapper. This kind of Alpha-Beta hybrid feels completely new. Drake spends all his time talking about spending every millisecond of his life getting drunk in the club, and while J. Cole does talk about that as well, it’s usually in relation to how he’s changed as a person. This is why J. Cole is a great rapper.

It seems to me that while not every rapper needs a college degree, they do heavily influence lyrical quality and give people a different, but not elitist tone to their music. If we could at least get more rappers with college degrees than B.E.T employees with them, that would be fantastic. -SEBASTIAN FORCE

Drake's song Marvin's Room has a clear story. We all know that it's supposed to be about him wasted alone at the club trying to find a girl to go home with, even though the one he does eventually call won't accept his advances.

This is one of the few songs that has "worked" for Drake in my opinion and hinges on one key factor: This time, Drake is supposed to be wasted.

Remember Eamon? From the song "F*** It, I don't want you back"? This is a perfect example. His lyrics were direct, His voice was angry, everyone that listened to that song knew that it wasn't just a single, he was literally writing in anger about the girl who he was breaking up with.

Drake has written this song completely in the persona of being drunk (whether he did this separately or, as it seems, he just writes all his songs like that remains to be seen) so what ends up occurring is Drake seems to have found his calling, which just happens to be writing songs from the persona of being completely wasted. That absolutely works for him. And he should continue writing in that style, because he has obviously had a lot of practice. -SEBASTIAN FORCE

LISTEN TO DRAKE'S NEW SINGLE "MARVIN'S ROOM"

Let us know what you think.... I love it!!! If you do too, you can get it on iTunes Wednesday, December 8th.