Kanye gripes, reportedly vows MTV boycott

He got about as much face time as any star at the 2007 MTV Video Music Awards last night, but Kanye West did not win an award in any of the five categories in which he was nominated, and the notoriously sore loser took his gripes public once again.

The Associated Press reported today that West threw a tantrum in front of media and crew backstage as the show was ending. Waiting for an elevator in a crowded hallway, West reportedly griped about his winless evening, "That's two years in a row, man...give a black man a chance. I'm trying hard, man. I have the...number one record, man."

West also wasn't happy about his screen time, despite the fact that he performed several times throughout the night from his hotel suite. "Kanye was watching the closing performance [a medley featuring Justin Timberlake, Timbaland, and Nelly Furtado] on a closed-circuit monitor, and he started getting upset," a source told MTV.com. "He started asking anyone who'd listen why he wasn't allowed to perform on the main stage. 'Why did I perform in just a suite?' he was saying. 'Justin's my boy, but even he gets to perform in both a suite and on the main stage? Something's wrong here.'" He was also angry that Britney opened the show, instead of him. West is quoted as saying, "She hasn't had a hit record in years."

Kid faces assault charge

Kid Rock was cited for misdemeanor battery after a tussle with Tommy Lee in the audience at last night's MTV Video Music Awards, Las Vegas police told the Associated Press. The rockers, both ex-husbands of Pamela Anderson, who was at the event as a presenter and was seen on Lee's lap during the night, came to blows during Alicia Keys' performance.

One witness told the AP that Lee was hassling Kid Rock for a long period of time before the Detroit rocker got up and slapped him with the back of his hand. As Lee lunged forward to retaliate, Rock punched Lee in the face. Security personnel quickly broke up the scuffle, taking Lee from the Palms' Pearl Theatre forcefully. Kid Rock, meanwhile, walked out with security and was later charged with misdemeanor assault.

Kid Rock will have to appear in a Las Vegas courtroom to face the charge and could face up to six months in jail, although a fine is more likely.

Coldplay talks new album

Coldplay has unveiled some details of its forthcoming fourth studio album. In a post on its Web site, the band revealed that the as-yet-untitled album will contain nine tracks and will run approximately 42 minutes in length.

The songs being considered for final inclusion include the following titles: "Lost!," "Cemeteries of London," "Violet Hill," "Poppy Fields," "42," "Yes," "Leftrightleftrightleft," and "Rainy Day." Coldplay previously disclosed that the album will contain subtle influences from Spanish and Latin American music, as the band has recorded much of the album in Barcelona and visited Argentina, Chile, Brazil, and Mexico earlier this year.

"Expect a short, concise record with no fat and at least two top-division songs released independently," the band wrote. No release date has been announced.

The Roots' bassist Hub leaves group

Leonard Hubbard, the longtime bassist with Philadelphia-based hip-hop group The Roots, has decided to leave the band to pursue opportunities to compose music for film and television, the band said today on its Okayplayer.com Web site. Best known as Hub, the ginger root-chewing bassist has been with the band for 17 years but apparently had enough of the band's almost nonstop touring.

"There is nothing 'normal' about our lives," Roots drummer and cofounder Questlove wrote on the site. "Well, at least my life. [Hold the violins please.... there is cool s*** like 1 a.m. jams with Prince in his living room watching Joni Mitchell dance like a teenager...but there is also a downside like being in your mid 30s and your dating life is still on some high school s***.)

"Truth is Hub really didn't want to make a big deal about this," he continued. "Which is probably why we defied him anyway and had a 'moment' onstage which got quite emotional after his last solo" at his final set at the Moedown festival in New York on August 31. Questlove promised that the "show will go on."