Cliff Huxtable, rap star? After years of criticizing the hip-hop industry, comedian Bill Cosby is reportedly set to release a rap album titled 'State of Emergency.'

The 70-year-old television icon is said to be writing songs for the album about social issues such as teen pregnancy, drug abuse and high school dropout rates. He is not, however, including any profane language or derogatory lyrics about women -- two things he has voiced anger over in his much-publicized beef with gangsta rap.

This will be Cosby's 35th album, but his first in the rap category. He has won nine Grammy awards for his comedy and children's albums.

Pop superstar Janet Jackson is gearing up to release her upcoming as-yet-untitled album in February. Jackson is currently working on the album in Atlanta, while longtime boyfriend, producer Jermaine Dupri, lends a hand to Mariah Carey's forthcoming project.

In addition to dropping a new album, Jackson also plans to pen a book about her personal weight struggles. "[I'm] really coming from the soul with it," Jackson said of the project, "and what I was going through at different times in my life, and what possibly brought it about for myself."

The 41-year-old has also been keeping busy with movie roles, including her recent role in Tyler Perry's film ' Why Did I Get Married?'

Artist: Mary J. Blige
Album: 'Growing Pains'
Why You Should Watch: Find out how the Queen of Hip-Hop Soul manages to keep it real, and why she decided to call her December 18-due album 'Growing Pains.'

After sour sales and lackluster reviews for his last major label release, 'True Magic,' Mos Def is preparing to release his independent label debut on Downtown Records.

There's no release date for the as-yet-untitled album, but label head Josh Deutsch is already touting the project and its production. According to Deutsch, Kanye West, who's mother passed away suddenly last weekend, is on tap to produce some tracks.

In addition to working on the album, Mighty Mos will appear a bevy of upcoming flicks, including 'Be Kind Rewind' (2008), 'Stringbean and Marcus' (2009), and 'Touissant' (2009).

T.I. is putting his time indoors to good use. The rapper -- currently under house arrest while awaiting trial for federal weapons charges -- is working on a new album entitled 'Paper Trail.' T.I., whose real name is Clifford Harris Jr., has already recorded six tracks for the new project in his home studio.

Harris was arrested on October 13, when he allegedly tried to purchase machine guns and silencers in an Atlanta parking lot. The ex-convict was released from federal custody on October 26 after posting $3 million bond.

Harris' last release, 'T.I. vs. T.I.P.,' sold almost 500,000 its first week on the shelves, but still fell short of the success of his Grammy-nominated fourth album, 'King.'

Despite her recent legal troubles, Remy Ma plans to release a sophomore album, titled 'PunisHer.' The Bronx-bred rapper released her debut album, 'There's Something About Remy,' in 2006, two years after contributing a verse to the Terror Squad summer hit, 'Lean Back.'

In July, the rapper -- born Remy Smith -- turned herself in and was charged with attempted murder, which was later reduced to first-degree assault, in connection with a shooting in New York's Meatpacking district.

The rapper is accused of shooting her longtime friend, Makeda Barnes-Joseph, in the stomach for allegedly lifting $2,000 from Smith's purse. Smith is facing 25 years in prison for the incident, but in a recent interview with the Village Voice, the rap diva stands strong. "There are a lot of things I'll never forget and never forgive. But I'm not dwelling on that s--- every day."

Smith appeared in court November 7 for a pretrial hearing, but the judge was unable to rule on motions presented to the court. "The prosecutor was hoping to get back DNA evidence from some blood found in Remy Smith's car, but it hasn't come back yet," Smith's attorney, Ivan Fisher told MTV. Smith is due back in court December 5. No release date has been determined for 'PunisHer.'

After an announcement, a denial and a spelling modification, Nas is finally speaking out about his N-word album title controversy that has angered African American community leaders, social activists and politicians, alike.

"It's like talking to your child about sex. It's hard, but it's important," the rapper told Rolling Stone. "It's probably going to make people uncomfortable. I don't expect a lot of people to sell a record called [N-word]. Hopefully, people can open their minds up and lose some of their fear and deal with it. It's just an album. It's one piece of the many things I do, and this will be one of my favorite pieces."

Brooklyn assemblyman Hakeem Jeffries is not willing to open his mind and accept Nas' latest "piece of art." The assemblyman has requested that New York Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli withdraw a $84 million investment in Universal Music Group and its parent company Vivendi. "[They are] profiting from a racial slur that has been used to dehumanize people of color for centuries," Jeffries said. "It is time for Nas and other hip-hop artists to clean up their act and stop flooding the airwaves with the N-word."

Universal has not responded to the politician's demand, but the comptroller's office has expressed some concern and says they "urge them not to release the album" with the contentious title.

The bootleggers can't stop Lil Wayne. The platinum-selling rapper will release 'The Carter III: The Leak,' including the previously leaked tracks 'I Feel Like Dying' and 'Prostitute Flange,' on December 18.

"I'm a perfectionist," the rapper explained to MTV. "I'mma change a couple verses, couple of lines. I ain't gonna change nothing up where it f---s up the song, I'll just make it more complete. There are songs out there that weren't finished; I'll add hooks, third verses. We're working for the fans."

The song 'Gossip,' previewed at the BET Hip-Hop Awards last week, will be the album's first single.

Meanwhile, the official 'Carter III' album, which will contain all new material, is now scheduled for a February release date.

Nas surprised fans with the announcement that his forthcoming album will be entitled 'Nigga' during a performance last week at New York's Roseland Ballroom. Unfortunately for Nas, his record label, Def Jam, not only denies the title of the project, but sources close to the label have stated that the rapper is not scheduled to release an album in December.

The emcee, who uses the N-word rather loosely, has already received criticism for his recent disclosure. The NAACP and Rev. Jesse Jackson have already weighed in on the news. "The title using the N-word is morally offensive and socially distasteful," Jackson said in a statement to Fox News. "Nas has the right to degrade and denigrate in the name of free spech, but there is no honor it."

Rappers drop the N-word frequently in hip-hop, but none have gone as far as Nas and used the perjorative term as the title of an album. Nas announced plans to name his upcoming album 'Nigga' on Friday night at New York's Roseland Ballroom.

The album's controversial title could pose a challenge to media outlets and retailers, but the Queens-based emcee has never strayed from scandal.

Nas' 2006 release, 'Hip-hop Is Dead,' criticized the entire genre and ruffled feathers. Critics and hip-hop elite alike assumed the rap star was directing his angst toward Southern hip-hop, which has been accused of lowering the standards of rap with the lack of solid lyrical content. This will be the emcee's ninth studio album and is slated for a December release.

Busta Rhymes is teaming up with Linkin Park on the track 'It Looks Like We Made It' on his upcoming album, 'Back on My BS,' due December 4.

Rhymes isn't the first rap star to collaborate with the rockers; Jay-Z and Linkin Park joined forces for 2004's mash-up album 'Collision Course.' Busta hopes to draw on the success of the rap-rock stage set by Jigga with the Cool and Dre-produced track.

"This song speaks volumes to the globe -- it ain't just about the 'hood, it ain't just about the suburbs, it's about everybody," Busta told Rolling Stone. "This is one of those songs that can't be described better than touching the souls of common people."

Dr. Dre will retire in 2008. But first, he'll release one final album, his first in eight years, called 'Detox.' And then there's that little matter of two more months work on Eminem's upcoming album. "I think it's time to move on," the 42-year-old rap icon told the Los Angeles Times, calling rhyming "a young man's game."

Dre isn't abandoning the rap game entirely. He's a self-professed studio addict. "Lots of producers have hits, but he does far more than that,
Interscope Records chief Jimmy Iovine said, "He's a creator who has moved popular culture three times ... with gangsta rap, G-funk and Eminem."

The multi-talented Queen Latifah is switching gears again. It's been three years since she has released an album, and in those years, she's acted in almost a dozen movies, including the box office smash, 'Hairspray.' Now, she's revisiting her first true love -- jazz -- with a new album that hits shelves Tuesday. 'Trav'lin' Light' is a collection of standards from some of the biggest names in jazz, soul, R&B and blues, from Billie Holiday to Smokey Robinson. Queen Latifah sat down with AOL Music to talk about this music venture, as well as to dish the dirt on tabloid turmoil and how Big Bird played a big part in the highlight of her illustrious career.

People may not realize that jazz was a big part of your life long before your hip-hop and acting careers. Tell us about your early musical influences.

My father was probably the person who encouraged jazz in my life the most. He played nothing but jazz music, and every time I'd get into the car with him, he'd have [radio station] Jazz 88 playing ... or Miles Davis, John Coltrane, Billie Holiday. It was mostly instrumental jazz -- Wayne Shorter, Weather Report -- that was Pop's forte. He also had a jazz club when I was a kid. And when I started to get a little older and started making my own choices in music -- jazz was there because it was becoming an influence on hip-hop. And I was hanging out with Q-Tip and DJ Mark the 45 King, and they had a lot of jazz records playing. Mark just loved the horn; Q-Tip loved the heavy bass. And I fell in love with Dinah Washington's voice. I loved Sarah Vaughan and, of course, Billie Holiday. I was always fascinated by the inflection in their voices and how they said certain words, like Nancy Wilson's 'Guess Who I Saw Today.' It's a song about how she goes into town and catches her husband having lunch with some other woman. The way it sounds is just so clever.

R&B sensation Chris Brown dazzled the crowd with his table-hopping VMA performance earlier this month, and while Brown will be taking his moves on the road, first fans will hear new music when his latest album, 'Exclusive,' drops on November 6.

"The new album is crazy," Brown tells PopEater. "I think definitely with the choice of songs and the growth that I've had, it's been great for me personally just changing it up -- musically, concept-wise and just me being 18 in the mix-up."

To help show that growth, Brown enlisted an all-star list of collaborators, including Will.I.Am, T-Pain, Pharrell and Timbaland, among others. "You get different vibes," he says of working with that slew of talent. "You see different personalities -- different creative minds -- and you get to combine your creative mind with theirs and then come up with a great project."

While MIMS didn't win the VMA for Monster Single of the Year with his smash 'This Is Why I'm Hot,' (for those keeping score, Rihanna's 'Umbrella' took the honor) the rapper truly believes a time-honored nominee cliche. "It's just an honor to be nominated," he tells Popeater. "I was nominated with a bunch of great artists -- Timbaland, T-Pain. I'm playing with the big boys. Next year I'll come back and get it."

To that end, the rapper is working on both his next album, which he says is due in March of 2008, and a remix collection of songs from the 'Music is My Savior' album. As to what fans can expect of the remix album, due in December, he says, "If anybody knows what I did with the 'This is Why I'm Hot' remix with Junior Reid and Cham, they know that I like to bring it to different areas, different islands, different cultures. I want to hear something different. I might do something with an international artist or a pop artist. You never know."