NEW YORK - Jin may have earned his hip-hop stripes on the street, but the rapper spent a recent afternoon copping a brand new street cred. With a Barack Obama canvassing team, the buoyant emcee pounded Manhattan's pavement, registering voters and pushing the Democratic senator for president. Dressed in a red Lacoste polo and denim shorts, Jin st...

Hard rockers Avenged Sevenfold hit the Billboard Top 30 with their 2005 major-label debut, City of Evil, and theyre presently shacked up in a Burbank, Calif., studio trying to top it. The as-yet-untitled effort is expected in October. This time around, a greater concern was placed on creating a melody rather than ultra-heavy music that lashes o...