Bark + Bite

Trina follows in Nicki Minaj's footsteps with "Outer Space"

Were you looking for a cheap imitation version of Nicki Minaj's "Starships"? No? Well, Trina is gonna give it to you anyway.

After a makeover from celebrity stylist June Ambrose, Trina is feeling herself and stepping out with a brand new swag. While hip-hop heads were busy trying to rake Nicki Minaj over the coals for her turn at dance-pop on tracks like "Where Dem Girls At," "Turn Me On" and "Starships," Trina was busy taking copious notes.

In this case, the student has definitely not surpassed the master. Guess this is what Nicki means by her song "I Am Your Leader," on her upcoming album Pink Friday: Roman Reloaded. These rap chicks are all up in her shadow.

Listen to Trina's new single below

Drake breaks out the Wheelchair Jimmy dance for the masses

While Fat Joe and DMX are both proud to say that as rappers, they don't dance, the same doesn't hold true for Drake.

During a recent stop on his Club Paradise tour, Drake busted out with the Wheelchair Jimmy dance to his adoring crowd. The dance, which is an homage to his handicapped Degrassi character, takes a bit of coordination and leg strength. It also requires the dancer to have plenty of room, because you've gotta take a few hops as you "roll" in your imaginary wheelchair. Dougie who? Dougie what?

Check out Drake's brand new dance below

Lil' Kim takes a stab at a comeback on BET's Rip the Runway

The Queen Bee wants her hive back. Hitting the stage for BET's Rip the Runway show, Kim rolled out a medley of material, starting with her Valentine's Day single, "If You Loved Me" and abbreviated performances of her old hit, "Crush On You" and her verse from Bad Boy Family's "All About the Benjamins."

Looking a little more curvy in the hips and booty area than she used to, the best thing you can say about the performance is that Kim looked like she was having fun. The audience, however, not so much. She kind of got lost in the crowd and appeared to be wandering aimlessly on stage at times.

The new material stunk, but the crowd lit up when "Crush On You" kicked in. That should signal to Kim the standard that she has to maintain. It won't be easy, but if she wants a comeback, Kim's gonna have to bring it.

Watch Kim's Rip the Runway performance below

Odd Future releases OF Tape Vol. 2 and Earl returns in "Oldie"

If you thought the raucous kids of Odd Future Wolf Gang were losing their buzz, think again. Capitalizing on the buzz from their released singles, including "Rella," Odd Future embarked on a tour leading up to the release of The OF Tape, Vol 2.

At each stop of the tour, the collective have been opening up pop-up shops to sell OFWGKTA merchandise and have a "meet and greet" of sorts where fans can attempt to catch a glimpse or kick it with the wolf gang. Wild antics aside, Odd Future undeniably has a strong business brand. 

In the midst of the preparation for the release Odd Future's young MC Earl Sweatshirt appears to have returned from his hiatus. With no formal news to hang on to and most Odd Future members stating that Earl would not be a part of the upcoming project, many wondered if things would ever go back to normal. But surprise! Earl recently returned to Twitter and even exchanged tweets with group members and west coast rapper Casey Veggies.

On the Verge: Schoolboy Q

In this new music landscape, it’s not unusual for rappers to release independent albums that are better than most mainstream releases. One of the artists to catch this wave has been Schoolboy Q. 

Hailing from the left coast, he’s given fans two stellar releases: last year’s Setbacks and 2012’s prequel Habits & Contradictions. Along with Kendrick Lamar, he and his Black Hippy collective are giving a more serious offering than what other youthful rap groups like Odd Future are bringing from L.A.

It would be easy to throw Schoolboy Q in the stoner rap category given the many declarations of love toward Mary Jane in his songs and interviews, but that would be a bit hasty and dismissive. His catalog thus far is more complex.

J. Cole and Missy Elliott deliver soul in "Nobody's Perfect" video

With nearly every female rapper falling by the wayside or hanging to relevancy through beef or catfighting at best, many were left wondering where the upbeat Virginia natvie Missy Elliott dissappeared to. Even Nicki Minaj's antics could not substitute for Missy's awesome dance videos and cooky visuals. Well, listeners had their prayers answered when Timbaland's co-hort decided to make an appearance on J. Cole's debut album on the track "Nobody's Perfect."

The video has been released and features J. Cole and Missy grooving in an uplifting visual. The video follows the song by showcasing J. Cole reflecting in a bedroom during the first verse and uses keyboard lettering to emphasize the lyrics in the song. Missy can be found in the room next door vibing on the couch as the chorus drops in. There isn't much plotwise here but thanks to some great editing and mixing of black and white cinematography, the video is visually pleasing.

Check out the "Nobody's Perfect" video below 

On The Verge: Fortunate Ones

This New Jersey hip-hop duo has been putting in the groundwork for quite a while now and first caught some listeners attention with the release of their When You Least Expect It EP on iTunes. The project featured dense lyrical poetry over industrial extraterrestrial production and established the duo's unique sound.

Fortunate Ones, as they call themselves, followed this up with two mixtapes Auditory Consensusand Sleepless Nights & Numb Hearts which you may have come across if you peruse popular hip-hop blogs like 2 Dope Boyz and You Heard That New.

NBA star Lebron James even showed the rising stars some love when he posted the duo's single "Space Jam" on his website as game day music.

If you're behind on their buzz, and don't know where to start, it's not a bad idea to dive into some of the interesting visuals the group has produced.

Kendrick Lamar, west coast hip-hop's young savior, goes major

Young rappers are often buried by the shadows of the greats before them. Legacies and hype force new artists to grow up under the harsh glare of the spotlight and unfair expectations. And nowhere did this seem to be more prevalent than in L.A., where there has been a drought of hip-hop talent for some time.

Fresh acts like Odd Future and Tyga have helped to breathe new life into west coast hip-hop, along with a slew of underground artists who have yet to blow up on a major scale like Dom Kennedy, Casey Veggies, YG and Nipsey Hussle to name a few. While all of these young cats are great in their own right, do they adequately stack up to west coast legends like Tupac Shakur, Snoop Dogg, Dr. Dre, Ice Cube and Eazy-E?

Compton's own Kendrick Lamar, however, is unafraid to walk among the greats. Lamar quietly made his presence felt with a killer flow and one of the illest bodies of work (mixtape or album) Section 80 in 2011. The project, and Lamar, quickly gained critical acclaim. But instead of being judged harshly in comparison to the west coast's legends, there were few arguments about this young man's claim to the throne. He even received recognition as the heir to the west coast royal family from Snoop Dogg and Game at his concert in L.A.