Girls Token Female Showdown! B.E.P.’s Fergie vs. N.E.R.D.’s Rhea

A teaspoon of sugar helps the medicine go down and a sexy singer/dancer/pantominer helps stale pop groups sell records. It’s pretty simple. Take a middling, directionally challenged musical group that can’t seem to get their albums to chart, add a sexy female and BAM! Success strikes and the group will start selling out the Garden, performing for the President and their lead singer will appear as a hologram on CNN to give his take on the current political climate. Or so it went for the Black Eyed Peas when will.i.am smartened up and recruited Fergie to join the group back in ‘03.

Now it seems Pharrell wants to do the same with N.E.R.D. Recently, a PYT has been seen accompanying P, Chad and Shay on stage at various tour stops, leaving people wondering who she was. Then Star Trak rapper Fam-Lay was kind enough to clear up the confusion via Twitter, letting the world know that the girl in question was named Rhea and that she was the newest member of N.E.R.D. Oh yeah, and that she’s dope! But just how dope is she? Is she good enough to make N.E.R.D. sell a milli and get Pharrell on MSNBC as a talking head? In other words, is she as good as Fergie? Keep reading for our comparison, then vote for your favorite token female…

Music YouTubin’ With The Stars: Sean Kingston

Wat A Gwaan! Love him or hate him, you can’t deny that Sean Kingston knows how to crank out radio-friendly bangers. His latest single, “Fire Burning,” is steadily climbing up the music charts; more importantly, it’s a mainstay in those type of clubs where the white girls get silly. As the song stays in rotation, Kingston is prepping his forthcoming album, Tomorrow, which drops on September 22 and reportedly features a Lil Wayne guest appearance. While the hit-maker was in town recently, he stopped by the Complex office to give us some commentary on some videos relating to Spencer Pratt, groupie video chicks, and his now-infamous “Blackberry Bold” WSHH video. Check what SK had to say in this latest installment of YouTubin’ With The Stars…

Music Twitter Fight! Perez Hilton vs. will.i.am

Oh, Twitter fuckery, will you know no end? It used to be we just made it up, people, but now it’s really happening. Last night, at a Much Music Awards after-party in Toronto, blogger and famewhore Perez Hilton was allegedly “assaulted” by will.i.am…or his manager…or something. Perez tweeted about it numerous times, then will.i.am came on Twitter to deny it, then they each made horrible and grating videos about their side of the story.

No, we’re not linking to any of this, because it’s fucking stupid. And then this morning, will.i.am’s manager Polo Molina apparently turned himself in to police. All of which is to say, since we have the only legitimate take on this story, we’re gonna do you the solid of relaying the entire post-brawl imbroglio as it went down**. Technology: at first you think it’s awesome, then it goes and gives us something like this….

Music Rap Sheet: Stop the Violence 2.0

• The jump off: Check out this “Self Construction” preview featuring host KRS-One, Nelly, The Game, Chamillionare, Busta Rhymes, Dougie Fresh, Fat Joe, and other notables.

• Payback: 50 Cent was ordered to pay an “undisclosed amount” of money to a NY Post photographer who got ruffed up by the rapper’s security guards back in 2003.

• Acting up: Rapper/producer, will.i.am, of Black Eyed Peas fame will play mutant John Wraith in the next installment of the X-Men movie. His character has the power to teleport and like Wolverine, was a test subject of the Weapon X program. “X-Men Origins: Wolverine,” is set for release in May, 2009.

• Smart music: ?uestlove not only likes to entertain fans, but also educate them too. Especially when he’s behind the turntables, “Usually in my set, I cover about 80 to 90 years’ worth of music, you know. I think it’s important to be all-inclusive. I think it’s important to educate people and give them a sense of history. I don’t want to be [one of] those DJs that just give you what you already know, you know.”