Remy Ma's not going to let her legal troubles keep her down. According to BET's celebrity news show 'The Black Carpet,' the rap diva is engaged to Brooklyn, New York rapper Papoose. The pair have been quietly dating for more than two years and plan to tie the knot in the summer.

In the meantime, jury selection for to the raptress' assault trial began yesterday. Remy, whose real name is Reminisce Smith, is accused of shooting her longtime friend Makeda Barnes-Joseph in the stomach for allegedly lifting $2,000 from her purse. The 26-year-old rapper has pleaded not guilty to assault and related charges. Smith could face up to 25 years in prison if convicted.

Artist: Janet Jackson
Song: 'Rock With U'
Why You Should Watch: According to the R&B/pop diva, "Strobe lights make everything sexier." So true! Jackson delivers another club-friendly dance hit with the second single off her No. 1 comeback album, 'Discipline.'

Superstars Kanye West, Mary J. Blige and Chris Brown have all signed on to headline the Essence Music Festival -- one of the most popular and longstanding urban music events -- which will take place July 4-6 in New Orleans. Jill Scott, Chris Rock, The Time, and Maze featuring Frankie Beverly are also set to perform.

"This past year has been amazing for these talented performers and our audience will be thrilled to welcome them home for the ultimate Fourth of July weekend party," Essence Communications' President Michelle Ebanks said in a statement.

Last year's headliners, which included Beyonce, Blige, Ne-Yo, Common and Ciara, drew approximately 200,000 people to the Big Easy for the event's return to New Orleans.

Former Destiny's Child singer Kelly Rowland is spilling the beans about her recent physical upgrade. The R&B diva admits to having breast enlargement surgery in October to transform her from an A-cup to a B-cup.

"I was sick of not fitting into my tops," she says in an upcoming issue of People magazine. "There was this one really hot House of Dereon top -- I just wanted to fill that out!"

Rowland has kept her surgery a secret up until now, and the singer admits she was reluctant to discuss her decision to go under the knife.

"It is a decision I made for myself. I like it, and that's all that counts. For young people: Think about it before you just jump off and do something (you may regret later)," Rowland explains. Read the full story.

In other Rowland news, rumors are swirling around the singer's possible forthcoming Playboy spread. According to YBF, the singer is in talks with the iconic men's monthly, known for splashing pics of women wearing nothing more than their birthday suits across its pages.

Reports claim Rowland is being offered $500,000-$1million to shed her clothes. A partially-nude or nude pictorial in Playboy could prove to be jaw-dropping to fans of DC's once semi-wholesome image.

R&B diva Beyonce Knowles has signed on to star in the Screen Gems upcoming thriller 'Obsessed,' which is scheduled to begin production in the summer.

The singer will star alongside actor Idris Elba ('American Gangster') and Ali Larter ('Heroes') in the film. Knowles will play Idris' bombshell wife -- no stretch there -- who has her almost perfect life interrupted when Larter begins stalking her husband.

The R&B beauty, along with her father Mathew Knowles, will also act at as executive producer. The 10-time Grammy winner is also producing and co-starring as Etta James in the 1950s period flick, 'Cadillac Records.'

Grammy-winning hip-hop trio the Beastie Boys drew a crowd of 3,000 die-hard fans and locals to the sold-out Music Has Power show, which benefited the Institute for Music and Neurologic Function, at New York City's Terminal 5 on Tuesday night.

"It just seems like amazing work that they're doing in up there in the Bronx, and it's also work that doesn't get that much attention," Adam "Ad-Rock" Horovitz told Spinner of why they wanted to participate in the show.

The rappers set the audience off with classics like 'Remote Control,' 'Root Down' and 'Sure Shot,' while inciting a mosh pit during their final song, 'Sabotage.'

The trio also used the night to discuss plans for their new forthcoming album of original material, while the vocal version of 'The Mix-Up' is still in the works. "We're kind of handing it off to other vocalists and letting them submit stuff, so the ball is in their court," Yauch said. "But we did get a spoken word thing back from Jarvis Cocker and a spoken word thing back from Snoop. M.I.A. recorded something at our studio and then took it with her, but hasn't given it to us."

Artist: Ashanti
Song: 'The Way That I love You'
Why You Should Watch: When will men learn? The songstress proves the adage: "Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned."

Newcomer Jamal "Gravy" Woolard has landed the role of the slain rapper Notorious B.I.G. in the upcoming biopic, dubbed 'Notorious.'

Woolard, a Brooklyn-based rapper, will join award-winning actress Angela Bassett, Derek Luke and Anthony Mackie in the film, which is set to begin production on March 24. Bassett will play B.I.G.'s mother, Voletta Wallace; Luke has signed on to portray Sean "Diddy" Combs and Mackie will appear as Tupac Shakur.

Wallace, who serves as one of the film's producers, stands by the decision to cast Woolard to play B.I.G. -- whose real name was Christopher Wallace -- and praised him for his "charming personality, warm spirit, wonderful sense of humor and beautiful smile." "He is a talented and charismatic actor, and I am excited that he will bring Christopher's character to life," Wallace said in a statement. 'Notorious' is due in theaters January 2009.

Common and the Game will hit the big screen together this spring in the Keanu Reeves police drama, 'Street Kings,' which was originally titled 'The Night Watchman,' due in theaters April 11.

Reeves plays a Los Angeles cop who goes on a quest to find the killers of his former partner. Common stars alongside Reeves as Officer Coates, while the Game plays a convict tied to Reeves' investigation.

The film also stars Forest Whitaker ('Vantage Point,' 'The Last King of Scotland'), Hugh Laurie ('House'), Chris Evans ('Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer'), John Corbett ('My Big Fat Greek Wedding') and Jay Mohr ('Are We There Yet?').

Common is also set to appear in this summer's action/adventure movie, 'Wanted,' alongside James McAvoy, Angelina Jolie and Morgan Freeman, and he's been tapped to play the Green Lantern in the upcoming 'Justice League of America' film.

Artist: Webbie
Song: 'I Miss You'
Why You Should Watch: "This song means a lot to me 'cause it's real feelings. When I heard the track it made me think about when I'm out here on [my] grind," Webbie told the BoomBox. The Baton Rouge-bred rapper gives us a taste of his softer side in his new video for the second single off 'Savage Life II.'

After checking out pPresidential candidate Barack Obama on the cover of Men's Vogue, rapper turned actor Mos Def had a feeling the senator from illinois could go all the way.

"On an intuitive level I could sense it," Mos said while speaking at New York's 92nd Street YMCA last week. "And when I saw him on the cover of Men's Vogue, even before he threw his hat in, I was like, 'This guy is going to run for president and he's going to win.' And he's going to win because he's an author, and he looks good."

The rapper's instincts would've been on point last week, but the Democratic race has intensified, as Sen. Hillary Clinton is back on course after surprising victories in the Ohio and Texas primaries last night.

Artist: Jay-Z
Song: 'I Know'
Why You Should Watch: The rap star gives Lenny Kravitz's daughter Zoe the spotlight as she strolls the streets of New York, relaxes in her apartment and hits up a club while experiencing what it feel like to be "high."

We all remember R. Kelly's "R&B Thug" days. Well, looks like Kels is returning to his tough-guy image with the new dis track 'I'm a Beast,' which has recently leaked onto the Internet. The singer resorts to yelling/rapping on the track while asking, "What's it going to take for you n----- to realize that I'm a R&B boss?"

It's not clear what sparked the singer's latest musical tirade, but it could be directed at a number of people. Kelly is being sued by R&B sensation Ne-Yo's camp for dropping the younger singer from Kelly's 'Double Up' tour. He's had prior public beef with Jay-Z and a rumored disagreement with Young Jeezy.

"I would call out some motherf-----' names, but it's so many of you motherf------ hatin.' Song ain't motherf----- long enough," Kelly proclaims at the end of the song. Sounds like Kelly means business.

Artist: Chingy feat. Ludacris, Bobby Valentino
Song: 'Gimme Dat'
Why You Should Watch: Disturbing tha Peace's finest join Chingy as he bounces off the pages of a glossy in his new video for the second single off 'Hate It Or Love It.'

Here's a little something for the real hip-hop heads. Legendary rapper Rakim's latest release, 'The Archive: Live, Lost & Found,' features a little bit of everything from one of rap's pioneers. The new album includes live performances, unreleased rare material and classics, such as 'Paid In Full,' 'Microphone Fiend,' 'Move the Crowd' and 'I Ain't No Joke.'

"We stuck in a time of drought/ Nothing to rhyme about/Ghetto or crime on the grind pulling iron out/Industry crying out/Major labels buying out/ Who put the fire out?/Real hip-hop is dying out," Rakim spits on the first single "It's Nothing."

Real hip-hop -- as we once knew it -- may be dying out, but we've always got the classics and Rakim's our Beethoven.