"Run This Town," a bangin' song off Jay-Z's September 11 release Blueprint 3, may be a late contender for 2009's defining summer jam, but Hova has more on his mind that just another notch on his diamond-studded belt.

The 26th annual MTV Video Music Awards nominees have been announced, and pop divas Lady Gaga and Beyoncé lead the pack with nine nominations each.

Kanye West definitely got the message: Ixnay on the Autotune-yay when rapping with Ova-hay.

For "Run This Town," the first proper single from September's The Blueprint 3, Jay-Z is going the all-star route, showcasing Rihanna on the hook to this midtempo guitar sample-based track.

Though not a Christian rapper, Kid Cudi found Jesus in a Virgin Megastore. "I was looking at CDs, saw the gleam of a Jesus piece in the right side of my eye, looked up, and it was Kanye West," says the rapper, who decided this was divine intervention on behalf of his recording career. Mustering all his folksy Midwestern charm, he introduced himself and offered up his music.

Here's some of the strangest music news the Internet had to offer this week:

Justin Timberlake: Pop star, Saturday Night Live sidekick … author of a book about golf!?! [New York Observer]

It appears Lil Wayne protégé Drake thinks that classic basketball movies like Hoosiers were in need of a little more T&A and a little less athletics.