With six nods, rap duo OutKast [ tickets ] leads the field of nominees for this year's NAACP image awards. Beyonce Knowles is vying for five awards.

Ailing R&B star Luther Vandross, who suffered a stroke last year, received four nominations.

A complete list of nominees is available at the NAACP's website. The awards--which "honor projects and individuals of all races who have helped promote images of people of color"--will be handed out on March 6, and Fox-TV will broadcast the ceremony on March 11.

OutKast's two-CD set "Speakerboxxx/The Love Below" is spending its second straight week--and fifth overall--atop The Billboard 200 album chart.

The set sold more than 150,000 copies during its latest week in stores, a 60 percent drop in sales from the previous week, according to industry sources. Holding steady at No. 2, with about 115,000 copies sold, is "The Diary of Alicia Keys [ tickets ]."

The hits compilation "NOW That's What I Call Music! Vol. 14" moves up one place to No. 3, while "The Very Best of Sheryl Crow" climbs from No. 5 to No. 4. Rounding out the Top 5 is No Doubt's "The Singles 1992-2003," up three slots from the previous week.

Former Black Crowes frontman Chris Robinson [ tickets ] and his wife, actress Kate Hudson, have announced the birth of their first son, Ryder Russell.

Jerome Barra, 25, has been charged with armed robbery and aggravated battery in connection with the Jan. 4 mugging of Kinks frontman Ray Davies [ tickets ]. Davies was shot in the leg during the incident.

"Live in Aught-Three," the first live album from James McMurtry [ tickets ] and his band The Heartless Bastards, is slated for release by Compadre Records on March 23. The group recorded the set during recent club appearances in Salt Lake City, Nashville and Asheville, NC.