Veteran rapper LL Cool J [ tickets ] has tapped fellow rap heavyweight 50 Cent [ tickets ] to produce his next album, and has announced that the as-yet-untitled set will be his last for longtime label Def Jam.

"It's my last Def Jam record, so I wanted to make it something special and something really unique and kinda get back to my roots a little bit," LL recently told MTV. "50 reminds me a lot of the things that I used to do and the places I used to be in my life, and I think we can have a good time together. He's talented and I fell like I have something I want to say. I think he can help me get it off my chest."

Brooklyn/Queens-natives LL and 50 appeared on stage together as presenters during last night's (8/31) MTV Video Music Awards ceremony in New York City.

Hip-hop artist Mos Def was arrested and charged with disorderly conduct after giving an unauthorized performance outside of New York City's Radio City Music Hall during last night's MTV Video Music Awards, according to published reports. The rapper reportedly arrived in front of the venue aboard a flatbed truck around 10 p.m., and was shut down by the NYPD shortly after he began performing due to police concerns about crowd control.

Joan Osborne [ tickets ] will release a new album titled "Pretty Little Stranger" on Nov. 14, according to Vanguard Records. In addition to six Osborne originals, the disc will include covers of songs by Kris Kristofferson, Patty Griffin, Jerry Garcia & Robert Hunter, Harlan Howard, Rodney Crowell & Roy Orbison, and more.

Guests on the set include Alison Krauss, Crowell, Sonny Landreth, Vince Gill, Dan Tyminski and Bryan Sutton.

Aerosmith [ tickets ] frontman Stephen Tyler will play himself during an appearance on the Sept. 25 episode of the CBS-TV sitcom "Two and a Half Men," according to a press release.