Beyonce Says She's 'A Feminist, In A Way'

Singer also talks about retiring alter ego Sasha Fierce and starting a family, in You magazine.
By James Dinh

Beyoncé
Photo: Michael Caulfield/ Getty Images

Whether it's "Single Ladies (Put a Ring on It)" or the Destiny's Child classic "Independent Women," most of Beyoncé's catalog consists of strong female-empowerment anthems. So it's no surprise that the singer considers herself to be a feminist.

In an interview with the U.K.'s You magazine, the pop star opens up about the importance of female companionship, not needing to hide behind Sasha Fierce and her much-talked-about baby plans.

"I think I am a feminist, in a way. It's not something I consciously decided I was going to be; perhaps it's because I grew up in a singing group with other women, and that was so helpful to me," she told the magazine. "It kept me out of so much trouble and out of bad relationships. My friendships with my girls are just so much a part of me that there are things I am never going to do that would upset that bond. I never want to betray that friendship, because I love being a woman and I love being a friend to other women."

Most recently, Beyoncé has certainly made her share of female friends in the industry. In the past year, the singer has collaborated with Lady Gaga ("Video Phone" and "Telephone") and Alicia Keys ("Put It in a Love Song").

While the singer might always have female besties, there's one thing she's cut out of the picture: alter ego Sasha Fierce. Earlier this year, the pop star revealed that she "killed" Sasha, and now she said the alter-ego absence is due to her newfound self-awareness.

"I don't need Sasha so much anymore, because these days, I know who I am. It takes time to figure out who you are, and I am still discovering different things about myself. As I am exposed to different experiences, I think, 'Oh, I like this. I didn't know I liked this,' " she explained. "That's the journey of life that is so exciting. More and more, I know who I am, I know what I like, I know what I want, and that makes me feel so free."

In fact, B already has her eye on some personal life goals. "My ambition is to continue to learn about the world and to eventually have a family," she said. And while Beyoncé remained coy about when she and husband Jay-Z will expand the Carter family, she hinted that there's really "no dates, no times" to motherhood. "It will happen when I am ready."

What is your favorite Beyoncé female-empowerment anthem? Share your thoughts in the comments below!

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Nelly Talks Returning To Music After Family Deaths

'I lost my sister in '05 and almost didn't make it back,' rapper tells MTV News.
By Jayson Rodriguez

Nelly
Photo: MTV News

Nelly may have suffered through his most commercially disappointing project with 2008's Brass Knuckles (which still sold more than 500,000 copies), but the relatively low sales paled in comparison to the personal pain he endured during the making of the album.

In 2005 the rapper lost his older sister, Jacqueline Donahue, to a well-publicized battle with leukemia, and months later his grandfather also died of cancer.

The normally boisterous lyricist was still reeling from the losses when he went back to work; he said he almost didn't return to recording at all after his mourning.

"I lost my sister in '05 and almost didn't make it back," Nelly told MTV News. "That's a lot that people didn't know. Even when I was going into Brass Knuckles it was just, a'ight. I lost my sister and six months later I lost my grandfather. Both of them the same way — different diagnosis but both of them was due to cancer. And we had done so much to try to find a donor for my sister. I don't know if you ever had someone ailing from cancer in your family, but it's some of the most disheartening things to watch people go through so much pain and not be able to do anything about it."

Nelly compared his success to the powerlessness he felt during that period.

"To have so much," he explained. "So much money, so much things that you can basically buy your way out of it, but this thing here you can't get a grasp on it for nothing in the world. And I never lost anything in my life that close to me, never, ever, ever. And this is the person that took care of me."

Professionally, Nelly has finally rebounded with "Just a Dream," which earned him a top 10 solo hit for the first time since 2005.

On a personal level, he says he's dealt with his ordeals. He credits Diddy with helping him to rediscover his passion for work.

The rapper is set to release both a solo album, 5.0, and a St. Lunatics group album, City Free, in November.

"He was like, 'Let's go! What are you waiting on?' " Nelly recalled of Diddy's pep talk. "I was like, 'You know what? You're right.' And I left the party to go to the studio."

Share your well-wishes for Nelly and his family in the comments.

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Drake Reveals He's Working With Rihanna On Loud

'I just did this great song with Rihanna,' rapper tells MTV News.
By Jayson Rodriguez

Drake
Photo: MTV News

Before Drake's brief Twitter affair with Nicki Minaj, the Toronto lyricist had a celebrity romance with Rihanna, whose last project he did unreleased work on and whom he was spotted smooching in a New York bowling alley.

The rapper recalled the incident on his debut, Thank Me Later, spitting about their dalliance and later saying he was Rihanna's "pawn" in an interview.

Now the fire appears to be doused, as the two are reuniting for Rihanna's forthcoming project, Loud, according to Drake.

"I just did this great song," he told MTV News. "I don't know if I'm supposed to talk about it. I just did this great song with Rihanna; hopefully we can do a video for it. I'm really excited about that."

The two had a fling before Rihanna became involved with Los Angeles Dodgers player Matt Kemp. Drake denied his involvement with the singer many times, but he finally let loose on his song "Fireworks."

"I was a pawn," Drake told the New York Times earlier this year about his time with RiRi, which began with an invitation to pen a track for the singer. "You know what she was doing to me? She was doing exactly what I've done to so many women throughout my life, which is show them quality time, then disappear. I was like, 'Wow, this feels terrible.' "

Are you excited to hear Drake and Rihanna's collabo? Let us know in the comments!

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Michael Jackson Doctor Conrad Murray's Trial Set For January

Murray is charged with involuntary manslaughter in Jackson's death.
By Gil Kaufman

Dr. Conrad Murray
Photo: Toby Canham/ Getty Images

More than a year after Michael Jackson's death, the pop icon's former personal physician, Dr. Conrad Murray, was in court Monday (August 23) where a judge finally set a preliminary date of January 4, 2011, in the cardiologist's involuntary-manslaughter trial.

TMZ reported that Murray's legal team won a request to get a fluid sample from Jackson as part of their defense strategy questioning the accuracy of levels of the surgical anesthetic propofol found in Jackson's body. The Los Angeles County Coroner's office determined that Jackson, 50, died as a result of acute propofol intoxication.

Murray has pleaded not guilty to a felony charge of involuntary manslaughter and has admitted to giving Jackson propofol, a strong anesthetic usually used during surgery but allegedly employed by chronic insomniac Jackson as a sleep aid. Murray's lawyers have said the physician did not administer any drugs that "should have" caused Jackson's death. The investigation into his death was equally lengthy, lasting more than eight months, after which Los Angeles prosecutors charged that Murray gave the King of Pop a lethal combination of propofol and other painkillers and sedatives in the hours before the singer was found dead in his rented Los Angeles mansion on June 25, 2009. Murray faces up to four years in prison if convicted.

After hearing from both sides in the case at the January court date, the judge, Michael Pastor, will determine if there is enough evidence to mount a full trial.

Jackson's mother and father, Katherine and Joseph, were in court on Monday, according to Radar Online, sitting in the front row as Judge Pastor set the preliminary hearing date. Pastor granted a protective order covering all evidence in the criminal case, meaning it cannot be released to anyone other than the lawyers, paralegals and investigators in the case.

Murray's defense team reportedly asked for access to three fluids collected by the coroner's office, including ones taken from syringes and an IV tube to re-examine test results. Pastor ruled that the coroner's office must preserve the samples, and if defense attorneys and prosecutors cannot agree on the request, he will schedule a hearing on the matter.

After court let out, a group of Jackson supporters gathered and sang an impromptu verse that featured the lines, "Conrad Murray is a cold man," while holding up signs that read "Justice for Michael Jackson" and "Love Unites Us, Peace Drives Us, Judgment Day 4 All."

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