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If you want to rise through the relentless ranks of hip-hop stardom, it’s a good plan to get a Jay-Z stamp of approval somewhere along the way. This happened a bit sooner than expected for budding Young Money star Nicki Minaj when Hov personally recommended her skills for Robin Thicke’s ‘Shakin’ It 4 Daddy’. Apparently, Jay was spot-on and Thicke was pretty blown away with her talents.

“It was Jay’s idea,” Thicke told MTV News. “We were in the studio and I played him the whole album. He was like, ‘You should get Nicki Minaj on that. She’s got that voice. She’s got that swag.’ So I leaned over and was like, ‘Somebody get Nicki Minaj on the phone! Jay-Z said so!’ Next thing you know, we called Nicki. She was excited. But once we told her it was Jay-Z’s idea to get her on the track, she started screaming on the phone. She was all excited. She’s a super, super talent … It’s not just that she’s sexy and that’s the only way she can get you to like her. She’s got charm — not just sex.”

Minaj’s excitement is understandable. For her, Hov is almost an untouchable figure. You’d love to confirm he knows about you, but that proposition remains a pipe dream until it actually happens. With Lil Wayne about to head into lockdown at Rikers in coming days, it’s increasingly important that Minaj maintains a high profile and keeps the Young Money name popular.

“Jay-Z is a person in hip-hop that you almost don’t think he exists until you meet him,” she reflects. “It’s almost like he’s bigger than a person. He’s a mystical figure. That’s a great way to describe it. I was like, ‘Jay-Z knows me’ I didn’t think he knew who I was, let alone recommend me for something. If he did know who I was, I didn’t know if he liked my style or approved. It was weird. It was like getting that stamp of approval from the most popular jock in high school and being a freshman in high school and thinking no one knows you exist.”

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Toronto Rapper / Actor  Drake was nominated for best rap song and best rap solo performance for the hit single Best I Ever Had . It’s a great achievement for the 23-year-old rapper, who became an affiliate under the Young Money label last year of rapping phenom Lil Wayne. Drake’s first full album is due out next year.

No album out, strictly mixtapes and features, now he is at the 2010 Grammy Awards.

After his nomination was announced at a Grammy concert in Los Angeles Wednesday night, host LL Cool J asked Drake, who was in the audience, how he felt.

“I have to say, you know, it’s definitely an honour. I haven’t even put out my first album,” he said. “Being a kid from Toronto, I’m just proud, man. I know my mom’s at home, buggin’ out. I’m just glad to be here.”

He’s in tough company, however, up against artists such as Jay-Z, Eminem, Mos Def, T.I., Justin Timberlake, Rihanna and Kanye West in the categories.

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After Lil Wayne and Drake caught heat for their controversial “Every Girl” performance at the BET Awards 2009 ceremony, a source close to the camp allegedly said the on-stage presence of children was spontaneous.

According to my source, what happened was Wayne’s daughter Reginae, 9, was upset that she didn’t get the chance to accompany her father,Lil Wayne  to the stage to accept his award because she was sitting too far back in the audience. Once backstage, the youngster began to cry. And Wayne, who they say is a great dad, hated to see his little girl cry. So he told Reginae she could come out onstage during his performance with Drake. Reginae, being the team player that she is, asked the other members of her group to go out on stage with her. (Sandra Rose)

Journalists covering the event expressed their reactions to the set earlier this week.

Overrall, the show was a big downer because…many things just seemed out of place. For example, Drake’s performance had Lil Wayne and his pre-teen daughter with other young girls on stage rapping along to “Every Girl in the World,” which is a song about having escapades with all the girls in the world. (Examiner)

Others thought Weezy’s song choice was inappropriate in light of Michael Jackson’s recent passing.

And then came Lil Wayne, in a five minute flurry of such bad taste and poor judgment one can only assume that he was high or simply confused. He performed his new single “Every Girl.” In light of the somber tone of the evening, the performance would have been gauche enough. But on-stage with him at the time were several pre-teen girls, who danced in loose choreography and flocked around Lil Wayne like a prepubescent harem. (City Pages)

Radio personality Miss Info also blogged about the performance.

The Drake, Lil Wayne, Young Money Ent performance after the jump, complete with pre-teen relatives on-stage during the performance of “Every Girl” in the World…ugh. (Miss Info TV)

Neither Wayne nor Drake have addressed their BET Awards set.

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Beyonce, Alicia Keys, Jennifer Hudson and more will compete for the upcoming 40th National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) Image Awards.

The singers are being honored for their music and for their roles in films.

Knowles, Keys and Hudson are competing for outstanding female music artist and for best music video. They are also nominated for supporting film actress, Keys and Hudson for “The Secret Life of Bees” and Knowles for “Cadillac Records.” (Billboard)

Hudson will headline the ceremony with the most nods.

Hudson took home nods in both recording and motion picture categories, as did her direct competition–and onetime costars–Beyonce Knowles, who bagged six nods, and Alicia Keys, who earned four. (E! Online)

She is also in talks to perform at President-elect Barack Obama’s inauguration later this month.

“Organizers want Jennifer to sing ‘The Star-Spangled Banner’ at the inauguration on January 20,” a source told the New York Post. “They are talking to Jennifer about it. It would be the first time she performed since the murders. She is from Chicago and a huge Obama supporter.” (New York Post)

This year’s showcase will also honor hip-hop mogul Russell Simmons.

Simmons, 51, the co-founder of Def Jam Recordings, was cited for using the power of hip-hop culture to inspire American youth. He joins past Vanguard recipients Aretha Franklin, Prince, Steven Spielberg and Stanley Kramer. (Reuters)

The upcoming awards show is scheduled to take place Thursday, February 12 in Los Angeles.