SXSW

With the music portion SXSW vastly approaching, we asked artists performing at this year's Austin festivities to share five must-see acts.

Green Day are ready to hit the road again following frontman Billie Joe Armstrong's extended absence in rehab. That, and the fact that they have two new documentaries to promote, has led to the punk-pop trio joining the lineup for South by Southwest for the first time.

Rapper 50 Cent walked down memory lane and performed all 16 banging tracks from his debut album 'Get Rich or Die Tryin' at the Shady 2.0 Showcase at SXSW Friday night (March 16). Not only that, Eminem hopped on stage to help the New York rapper celebrate the 10th anniversary of the album's 2003 release.

It seems as if all the heavyweight rappers invaded the SXSW festival this year. First, it was Jay-Z, then it was Kanye West, and yesterday (March 15) it was Lil Wayne's turn to rock the music festival in Austin, Texas. The Young Money superstar celebrated the launch of the #DEWeezy campaign with a promotional concert at Austin Music Hall.

After conquering the SXSW stage last year, Kanye West made a surprise appearance at the Austin festival Wednesday (March 14) during 2 Chainz's set at the SOB's 30th Anniversary event. Yeezy along with fellow G.O.O.D. Music artist Big Sean jumped onstage to spit a few rhymes for the lively crowd.

Rapper Jay-Z brought Brooklyn to Austin, Texas with a thrilling concert at the SXSW festival. The hip-hop king headlined the American Express Sync Show on Monday (March 12) at the Austin City Limits Live venue, which was streamed online for millions of fans via YouTube.

Jay-Z is set to return to Austin, Texas next week for a special concert performance at the annual SXSW Music, Film and Interactive Festival. The hip-hop king will headline the 'Amex Sync Show Presenting Jay-Z' on March 12 at 8PM ET.

Hip-hop collaborators Kanye West and Jay-Z and dubstep-influenced electronic artist Skrillex are among the nominees for the 2012 mtvU Woodie Awards, which recognize cutting-edge music that appeals to the network's college student demographic.

More touring – make that not touring -- news has emerged from the Lana Del Rey camp. Turns out Del Rey axed her SXSW gig altogether and has postponed Australian dates. This comes fresh off reports that she had cancelled a spring tour, which were later refuted by her publicist who said a spring tour was never confirmed and that Del Rey would indeed tour this fall.

Lana Del Rey will have another opportunity to silence the naysayers who swear she can't sing live. Idolator reports that the 'Video Games' chanteuse has been added to the 2012 South By Southwest (SXSW) lineup.