Jay-Z’s jarring video for 99 Problems, which depicts his own murder as a metaphor for his retirement from rapping, leads the MTV Video Music Awards with six nominations.

R&B and hip-hop dominated the 2003 Billboard Music Awards with sultry singer Beyonce and R. Kelly each earning four awards.

Soul singer Luther Vandross, who is recovering from a debilitating stroke that threatened to end not only his career but his life, has won a leading two American Music Awards.