Music mogul and ”X-Factor” judge L.A. Reid sat down with reporters this week to reveal some of his thoughts on guiding the show’s young talent and to discuss plans for the show going forward. By now, contestants Chris Rene, Phillip Lomax, Marcus Canty and Brian Bradley (better known as “Astro”) have been identified as Reid’s crew for the season, and while Reid is happy with the group he settled on, he’s clear that it wasn’t an easy decision. 

 

It's pretty impossible to get Andre 3000 on a track. Chris Brown was considered unworthy of the rapper's coveted presence on 2010's "Deuces" and we completely ignored his appearance on Ke$ha's "Sleazy" earlier this year for fear we'd have to address his (apparent) temporary insanity. In fact, we simply pretended that when he sneakily emerged as the only guest on Beyonce's "4" album, as part of "Party," it was his sole stanza of the year. 

Who: 2Chainz

From: College Park, Georgia

Why You Should Get To Know Him: Because he worked with Lil Wayne before working with Lil Wayne was a thing.  

In between sessions for his official sophomore album, Asher Roth has been preparing to release the "Pabst & Jazz" mixtape and is starting with this new single, "In the Kitchen." As you might expect, the video features Asher—accompanied by Chuck Inglish of The Cool Kids—rhyming in various kitchens, sometimes with food around. Fellow kitchen-lover-slash-​ginger-rapper Action Bronson also pops up, brazenly disregarding the health department's guidelines on beard nets while preparing food. I hope they washed their hands. 

Stop the presses. Beyonce is wearing sneakers. The woman who will likely teeter-totter in stilettos past the point of her growing belly covering her toes, has switched to kicks. And while it’d be nice to believe she’s staying safe for the sake of her baby (because, let’s be honest, the Wonder Woman isn’t immune to falling), she’s actually just staying true to the inspiration behind her new “Love On Top” video.

 

Who: Yo Gotti and Zed Zilla

From: Memphis, TN

Why You Should Get To Know Them: Because one already gets 5-Star Chicks and the other has his rent due.  

By now everyone's seen 8-year old Sophia Grace Brownlee and her 5-year old cousin Rosie Grace McClelland on YouTube nailing Nicki Minaj's hit single "Super Bass". Brownlee and McClelland, both donning pink tutus and matching tiaras, innocently jump and gyrate as Sophia Grace goes bar for bar on Nicki's track (Rosie mouths some lines in a muted hypegirl manner). The vid has exceeded eight million YouTube views, a modest feat that caught the eyes and ears of Ellen DeGeneres. The talk show host and entrepreneur is always sniffing out new talent (remember Greyson Chance?) and discovered Sophia Grace around the same time we all did.  

Kind of a rapper and kind of a group, those looking for a convenient tag for Baltimore's Spank Rock might call him/them a new-era 2 Live Crew, blending the Miami crew's hypersexual lyrics and heavy drums beats with Baltimore’s trademark penchant for the same. Some would debate whether the "adult language" on display here is a legitimate expression or deliberate provocation, but Everything is Boring and Everyone is a Fucking Liar isn't for them anyway—everyone else will be too busy having a good time.