Video Music Awards

Drake and Rihanna -- are they bangin' or is it just a figment of our imagination?

Drizzy and RiRi played followed the leader at Up & Down in NYC where they probably had lots to talk about after Drake straight-up said at the VMAs he's been in love with Rihanna since he was 22.

Just do it already.

Kanye West was given 4 minutes onstage during the VMAs to do anything he wanted, and he did ... he took 7.

Yeezy started with an homage to himself ... how good it was to be him, and then he quickly gave shout-outs to the man who made his wife famous in that sex tape and the woman who preceded her with him.

Yes, Ray J, Amber Rose, even Taylor Swift all made air, along with many others who were in the bed of celebrities ... which Kanye explained in great detail.

Kim was eating it up.

Britney Spears just slayed the stage at the MTV VMAs.

Britney performed live at the awards show for the first time since her 2007 debacle ... and nailed it.

So much for that whole 'done with men stuff' too ... because the chemistry between her and G-Eazy during their song, "Make Me," looks pretty genuine.

Britney Spears is deploying her super hot body in an all-out media blitz ... before the eve of a huge appearance at the VMAs and right after the rollout of her new album.

We got the cover of "Flaunt" magazine, which is about to come out, the day before she hits the stage for what we're told is a high-tech performance to push her new album. Our VMA sources say there are no big surprises -- like a Madonna kiss or 12-foot python -- it's all about music.

Britney is everywhere ... her James Corden Carpool Karaoke went viral, she and Kanye are the clear stars of Sunday's VMAs, and her album, "Glory," just dropped.

BTW ... Britney said on Corden's show she was done with men. She was serious, at least in terms of the VMAs, because we're told her backup dancers for the show are all women.

Rebel Wilson went off on the Kardashians Wednesday, calling them a no-talent family and making it clear ... she feels they do not deserve the fame they achieved.

Rebel appeared on "The Kyle and Jackie O Show" on KIISFM in Australia, and revealed she passed on a chance to present at the VMAs with Kendall and Kylie. She seems super resentful, saying, "What they stand for is totally against what I stand for."

MTV is saying a noise that sounded like Taylor Swift passing gas on live TV was just a faulty microphone ... but the impeccable timing of the toot makes that hard to believe.

The sound happened while Swift was introducing her new music video "Wildest Dreams" during the MTV VMAs pre-show.

So many things happened at the right time to make you believe Taylor squeezed it easy: her crouching at the same time as the toot, the open-mouth reaction and the wince on Karlie Kloss' face who was right behind Taylor.

MTV claims their mics are so directional there's "absolutely no possibility" of them picking up a fart that loudly.

Next year's VMAs could become a 10-hour ordeal, because we found out MTV is considering Kanye as its host.

VMA sources tell TMZ ... MTV was thrilled with Kanye's 12-minute diatribe, despite the fact he brutally trashed the network and awards shows in general. As it was put to us, Kanye hosting next year is "on the table." After all, who woulda thunk Miley?

Here's how much MTV loved it ... we're told they only allotted him 2 minutes, but people in the control room were told to stand down, because it was crazy entertaining.

Kanye West may have just made a young man a fortune by announcing his possible run for President.

Tramall Ferguson registered "KanyeForPresident.com" back in April on a whim ... thinking maybe one day Yeezy would make it in the oval office.

The 24-year-old recent graduate said he registered a few other domains, including "PeterGriffinForPresident.com."

After Kanye's announcement at the MTV VMAs ... Tramal's phone is blowing up with huge offers to own the domain ... upwards of $80k.

Tramal says he's holding out ... waiting for Kanye to call. He wouldn't say how much he'd charge, but he was clear ... Kanye's not getting it for free.

It'll take a lot more than a pair of those Yeezys.

Miley Cyrus shared her DNA with photographers backstage at the VMAs -- via the joint she passed around the room.

'Mary Jane' Cyrus kicked off her post-VMA meeting with the media by lighting up and passing it to reporters and photogs -- several of whom gladly indulged.

No doubt, the ganja gift was a great way to soften them up BEFORE they fired off questions about her hosting performance -- or Nicki Minaj.

Of course, that gift came doused in her saliva ... if you're into that.

Nicki Minaj just went nuts on Miley Cyrus at the VMA's, referring to her as a bitch for trashing her in the media.

Nicki had just won Best Hip-Hop Video for "Anaconda" and accepted the award serenely, thanking her pastor. She then launched her attack, angrily referring to Miley as a "bitch" for comments she made to the New York Times.

Miley was quoted as saying, "Nicki Minaj is not too kind and not very polite. I know you can make it seem like, oh I just don't understand because I'm a white pop star. I know the statistics. I know what's going on in the world. But to be honest, I don't think MTV did that on purpose."

Miley was referring to Nicki dismissing the Video of the Year nominees as a bunch of skinny girls ... people thought she was referring to Taylor Swift.

You gotta see the video. There's genuine anger.

Kanye West hit up Craig's after his VMA acceptance rant/presidential announcement, and he made a campaign promise so tempting it harkens back to a presidential promise made nearly 100 years ago.

The biggest stars in the music world -- and their tag alongs -- did what they did best ... lookin' hot and sayin' nothing at the VMA after-parties.

Cara Delevingne, Selena Gomez, Tyga, Kylie, Joe Jonas, Gigi Hadid, Diddy, Pete Wentz, The Weeknd and a bunch of others hit up various restaurants and clubs in L.A. and WeHo.

Jamie Foxx did speak and seemingly endorsed Kanye's 2020 run for the Presidency.

Justin Bieber totally lost it during the VMA's, sobbing as he explained his life's journey in progress.

Bieber was singing his new song, "What Do you Mean," when he began musing abut the twists and turns of life ... clearly referring to his own rocky road over the last few years.

More therapeutic than Dr. Phil.

Kanye West just announced he's running for President in 2020.

On almost every level, it would seem like a gag to end his endless speech at the VMA's, but the Filibuster was so self-aggrandizing he just may mean it.

Here's the thing ... CNN's Brian Stelter just tweeted "Kanye for President" was registered earlier this year.

The whole speech was bizarre ... he relived the Taylor Swift hijack in endless detail, choking up, then acting contrite and the next moment outraged.

Nicki Minaj went for Taylor Swift's neck when “Anaconda” and “Feeling Myself” got snubbed in the VMAs Video of the Year category, and just like that ... TWITTER WAR!

Minaj thinks her solo vid and her duet with Beyoncé got dissed because they don't fit the required body type -- “If your video celebrates women with very slim bodies, you will be nominated for vid of the year.”

Considering Bey (for "7/11") and Taylor (for "Bad Blood") are the only other female nominees ... Swift immediately took offense to Nicki's shot, and fired back, "It's unlike you to pit women against each other."

Minaj claims she wasn't trying to start beef, but the damage has been done.

Y'know it used to be mad love ...

Suge Knight is one step closer to getting justice -- cops now believe they know who shot him 6 times on the Sunset strip ... but they still face a major hurdle to closing the case.

Law enforcement sources tell us they've reviewed security cameras and spoken to multiple witnesses of the August shooting at 1Oak, and while they're confident they've identified the suspect responsible for shooting Suge and 2 others -- they still don't have enough evidence to arrest the suspect.

As we told you .... it's been hard for investigators to get witnesses to open up -- par for the course after a Suge-involved shooting -- and that includes Suge.

We're told L.A. County Sheriff's investigators are still looking for that golden witness to come forward so they can make the arrest.