Kanye West in the news again? If you’ve noticed an increase in buzz it’s because the outspoken rapper has announced a forthcoming album reportedly set for release this November. No official word on a title yet, through rumors have gone from Good Ass Job to Dark Twisted Fantasy.

West debuted the video “painting” for the new song “Power” last week on MTV, directed by artist Marco Brambilla. The Chicago rapper also took to Ustream for a chat with fans, where he dropped names like Thom Yorke, Q-Tip, Trent Reznor and the RZA as either collaborators or influences.

And to prove the man occasionally shares the spotlight, Mayer Hawthorne tells the tale of donating his song “When I Said Goodbye” to the Kanye West/Spike Jonze film “We Were Once a Fairytale.”

Jay-Z’s Blueprint 3 is out today, the final in his Blueprint trilogy. The album was originally supposed to drop September 11, eight years after the release of the first Blueprint, but was pushed up to today in light of the album’s leak early last week. Kanye West and No I.D. handle most of the production, with Timbaland, The Neptunes and Swizz Beats adding their mark to the collection.

In addition to his performance at Madison Square Garden this Friday for Answer the Call, a benefit the New York Police and Fire Widows’ and Children’s Benefit Fund, Jay is launching a tour in support of the new album. Hov kicks things off October 9th in University Park, PA, then makes his way across the U.S. and Canada into November.

No telling who he’ll bring out to the rock the stage, but Dizzee wouldn’t mind joining him again.

Jay-Z released the 15-song track list for his highly anticipated Blueprint 3 today, and it features a who’s who of the music world. The Marcy son collabs with Kanye West, Rihanna, Alicia Keys, Swizz Beats, Young Jeezy, Kid Cudi and–because it wouldn’t be Jay without a curveball–Luke Steele of Empire of the Sun.

Due out September 11, Blueprint 3 will be released via Jay’s own new label, Roc Nation, and distributed by Atlantic. Expect a performance of one of the songs at the MTV Video Music Awards on September 13, and tune in to see Kanye and Rihanna join him for “Run This Town” on the premiere of Jay Leno’s new late night show.

In light of his much-discussed rant against Auto-Tune, “D.O.A,” one musician Jigga should have considered for a guest appearance still does it the good old fashioned way.

Our friends Chairlift and Matt & Kim have been nominated for Breakthrough Video at the 2009 MTV Video Music Awards. Chairlift is up for their trippy, morphing field adventures in “Evident Utensil,” while fellow Brooklynites Matt & Kim strip down to their birthday suits in the middle of Times Square in “Lesson Learned.” Tune in through the end of that one.

Serving up some competition in the same category are the Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Bat For Lashes, Passion Pit and Death Cab for Cutie. There are all the familiar categories like Video of the Year, Best Hip-Hop, Best Rock and Best Direction Videos, but those are repeatedly filled with the usual poppy suspects we know just by first name now: Kanye, Beyoncé and Britney.

The MTV VMAs air September 13. If you’re going to tune in, no need to geel guilty about it. Matt & Kim will be spending their night routing for Beyoncé.

Snap on those hot pink slap bracelets–we’re Flashion Forwarding to a magical aesthetic land through which we coquettishly zip about the closets of our fave new UI-ers. Each week we pluck a recently added interview from our warehouse of current clips and try to read between the artist’s sartorial lines. Today, in honor of a set release date for her album, we’re rifling Kid Sisters’ belongings to see what kind of gear she’s gonna set it off in.

Kid Sister, a.k.a. Melisa Young, is a street-savvy rap artist from Chicago. She grew up in the burbs, but her parents’ economic troubles made for rocky times–she smartly channeled all of her frustration and nascent creativity into music projects, officially launching her rap career in 2005. The same year, she was featured on MTV’s “My Block” and signed to Fool’s Gold, the label co-founded by DJ A-Trak, a close friend of Kanye West (he even featured on her first single “Pro Nails“).

Kid Sister’s music embodies all of the light-hearted optimism, feistiness and quirky go-your-own-wayness necessary to survive a tough childhood. (And of course, the party-friendly beats and sophisticated construction of her poppy hip-hop confections are necessary–let’s face it–for a woman to have any long-term impact in the industry).

She has the necessary tough chops too–and so does her style. It’s unpretentious and earnestly folksy/funky without looking like the evil spawn of a gypsy and Victorian-era pirate (a la the wonderful but woefully misguided Stevie Nicks and her ilk). Ms. Young exudes an innocent but sultry sensuality in a manner that’s 100 percent mom-approved while rapping on the pleasures, joys and trials of growing up multi-culti in America.

Speaking of, does it really matter, baby, if you’re black or white? Check out Kid Sister’s perspective, below.

The much-delayed Kid Sister debut full-length finally has a permanent release date. Ultraviolet will be released October 6 via Downtown Records, and we’ve got the first single for you to preview. The album includes joints we’re already familiar with, like “Pro Nails” featuring Kanye West and “Switch Board” featuring juke and house producer DJ Gant-Man, but it also features lesser known collaborations with Estelle and plenty of songs where Kid Sister holds it down on her own.

Download track: Kid Sister – “Right Hand Hi”

Welcome back to Almost Famous, where we select one lucky Uncensored Interviewee who we deem to be on the verge of spreading beyond our illustrious tastemaking boundaries and taking over the cultural zeitgeist at large in the coming months.

Chicago’s Kid Sister (aka Melisa Young) is an artist we’ve kept an eye on for a long while now. Big sister to one half of DJ duo Flosstradamus, Kid Sister started jumping on the mic just a couple years ago and has quickly gained the attention of those who like their rap mixed with a little lighthearted fun.

Her high-energy songs get the crowd going with their big beats, danceable grooves and positive, sassy attitude. Although her full-length debut, Dream Date, has been postponed a few times, there are plenty of tracks to hold you over. There’s the sunny, happy-go-lucky “Family Reunion” featuring David Banner, not to mention her guest appearance on The Count & Sinden’s “Beeper.”

Ms. Young appeared on the cover of URB magazine’s Next 1000 in April 2007 and was nominated for Best Female Artist at the following year’s BET Awards. Kanye West bestowed his seal of approval by lacing “Pro Nails,” an ode to the fiercest ladies to walk out of the nail salon. She’s also dating the talented DJ A-Trak, the youngest winner of the DMCs.

Off stage, it doesn’t take much to inspire her mischievous side. Here she gets her Tarzan on while attempting to hurry a friend along.