Kanye West hailed hip-hop's saviour

Nas says Kanye West has kept hip hop alive.

The 'Who Killed It?' rapper - who released an album called 'Hip Hop Is Dead' in 2006 - said he believes the genre has been revitalised in the US by the current forward-thinking crop of young talent, and that Kanye in particular has brought the music to the mainstream.

He told MTV: "Nicki Minaj, Drake, Ross and Kanye just came to just kill it off. You know, they did their thing. They kept this thing alive.

"People like Kanye is brilliant, so when Kanye is out there doing his thing, he's entertaining all audiences and he's keeping it hip-hop at the same time. Nobody does that but him."

Meanwhile, hip hop producer Timbaland - who has made tracks with Missy Elliot, Jay-Z, Aaliyah, Nas and Snoop Dogg, among others - announced today (12.01.11) he wants to work with 18-year-old Disney actress and singer Demi Lovato, and has already written a song for her.

He said in a Youtube video message: "Demi, man, I'm just like, 'Wow.' You are amazing, girl.

"I'm going to play a song that we did just for you. It ain't finished. It don't have my stamp of knockness to it yet. I'm playing a song just for you, only for you. Are you ready? It goes something like this. I wrote this for you (sic)."