“Congratulations, you made it,” Boots says as we speed through the gauntlet of Times Square neon, rain slashing the Uber windows as Beyoncé‘s “Partition” blares from the speakers. The car erupts into seat-dancing — dancing that becomes even more fervent when “Drunk In Love” comes on.

No one tells the driver that he has unwittingly sound-tracked tonight’s car ride with jams dear to the man currently sitting in the backseat — the man who produced about 80% of Beyoncé’s self-titled surprise record and co-wrote a good portion of the songs therein.

I am hyper-aware, however, of the oddness of the situation. I had started out that night at a listening party for Boots’ debut mixtape, WinterSpringSummerFall, and continued it dancing to music penned by the man himself and sharing whiskey at Brooklyn’s Baby’s All Right. I had “made it,” I guess.

Despite “making it,” however — a state of affairs that I’m certain I achieved because I kept my phone sheathed during the party — that doesn’t mean I get all the answers. In fact, I came out of my very first meeting with Boots with more questions than I went in with. And guess what? I kind of like it that way…

Boots, a Miami native who previously played in a bevy of bands, including Blonds, first found his place in the music world in the form of a question mark when Beyoncé sprung her self-titled record unto the world at the end of 2013. His name was all over the ...

Because history is boring, movies are awesome, and your time is precious, motion designer Pier Paolo has done us all a favor and squeezed 100 years of cinematic milestones into 60 seconds of animation. And he’s done it in simply adorable fashion.

From silent-era slaptick to the heyday of the Hollywood blockbuster, the highlights are here. Watch Charlie Chaplin twirl his cane, Luke Skywalker face off against Darth Vader, and the old dude from “Up” float serenely away.

Paolo has also posted a look at some of the other characters he created but which didn’t make it into the video. You can follow him on Twitter here.

Eric Ditzian

Looks like Cody Simpson is going to have to find someone else to go surfing with since his romance with model Gigi Hadid is over.

The two, who were dating for nearly a year, have decided to part ways, citing distance and their schedules.

“Their busy schedules and living on opposite coasts have made it nearly impossible for the two of them to give the relationship the attention that it needs,” Simpson’s rep told E! News in a statement. “They decided that rather than let things sour that they split up in hopes that their lives might someday bring them back together. They remain close friends and will continue to show their support for one another.”

The split must have been pretty recent, since just last week Gigi, who was featured in the 2014 Sports Illustrated swimsuit issue, had posted a photo of the two of them looking quite happy together.

Fans got an intimate look at their relationship when Gigi starred in Simpson’s latest music video for the catchy track “Surfboard,” the first single off his upcoming album.

“Working with my girl makes it so much more comfortable. I’ve never had a girlfriend in a music video before…” Simpson said. “I thought, might as well have the girl in that inspired the song, and it just made the chemistry so natural. Some scenes where they didn’t end up putting in the video was us kissing or whatever, but we ended up shooting those scenes as options, and they ended up yelling ...

For 2 Chainz, the road to rap stardom has been a long and winding one. The charismatic swag champ has plenty of life experience under his belt, some of which is hard for him to put into words.

On “Freebase,” the title track from Chainz’s new EP, which will drop on Monday (May 5) at 7 p.m. ET on LiveMixtapes.com, the ATL rap king dives deep into his storied street life and makes some pretty startling revelations.

“Sold drugs to my loved ones and it’s hard for me to admit it/ The first time I saw a crack pipe was in my parent’s kitchen,” he raps.

“That’s probably gonna always be hard for me to talk about,” Chainz told MTV News on Wednesday in an hour-long interview.

Chainz wouldn’t say which “loved ones” he sold drugs to, instead he measured his words carefully, trying to explain how he has come to terms with the self-inflicted horror.

“Is it a sin,” he asked rhetorically, before his voice trailed off. “I just be praying to God.”

“Would you want your loved one to go out in the streets and just deal with what’s going on out there, Deal with people that don’t have the real thing? Deal with robberies,” Chainz continued, setting off another set of questions with no answer. “Or would you just rather do it? Or are you being selfish by you supplying it? It’ll drive you crazy.”

Chainz knows that for the most part his fans have come to expect a distinct brand of ...

By Kat Rosenfield

With “The Fault in Our Stars” coming out next month, fans everywhere are abuzz over the big debut of Hazel and Augustus and their beautiful, beautiful love story. And that’s great, except for just one note that may be passing fans by:

“The Fault in Our Stars” is obviously a thinly-veiled homage to “Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory.”

Yes, it is. Think about it: the intrepid band of youngsters; the reclusive, enigmatic man whose secrets they hope to learn. Plus, how many other characters named “Augustus” can you think of?

Clearly, author John Green is a fan of fellow author Roald Dahl*, and secretly encoded “Fault” to be a love letter to “Wonka.”

Here’s every eerie parallel between “The Fault in Our Stars” and “Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory”:

We start with a group of kids: kids with unique characteristics, some might even say afflictions, that changed the course of their lives. Charlie Bucket, the hero of the Wonka universe, is a sensitive, thoughtful soul with an unruly pageboy haircut. Gee, sound like anyone we know?

And then there’s Augustus. Pretentious, grandiose, hungry for life chocolate.

“It’s a metaphor! You put the thing that does the killing right between your teeth… and then you snarf it down like a wild beast.”

And when Charlie/Hazel and Augustus/Augustus meet? It’s magic.

Also, let’s not forget the supporting cast. Isaac, best friend to Augustus, is obviously a reincarnation of Mike Teavee, the TV-obssessed twit from the Wonka-verse ...

Marc Webb is having a pretty amazing few years.

The director took the helm of the rebooted “Spider-Man” franchise back in 2012, and just saw the latest incarnation of the webslinger, “The Amazing Spider-Man 2,” light up the box office with $92 million.

CLICK: ‘Amazing Spider-Man 2′ Easter Eggs You May Have Missed

Webb sat down with Josh Horowitz for his latest “Happy, Sad, Confused” podcast, and dropped some pretty awesome tidbits about his MTV past, his early comic book loves, and how “Game Of Thrones” might have influenced a pivotal scene in “The Amazing Spider-Man 2.” We picked the seven best ones. You can listen to the full audio below.

7) He went on the road with No Doubt

“I went on the road with No Doubt for like six months and that was really great because I would shoot all their shows. And that really was informative because I couldn’t conduct them, I couldn’t direct them. I had to sit and observe and watch them and just be aware all the time. That trained me into thinking about how to do the coolest shots and how to get the right angles. And then with the music videos, I started to conduct and orchestrate things a little be more.”

6) He used to hang around MTV

“God, I spent so much time in this building at MTV before. I don’t know if I told you but I was here in 2000. I was on the road with ...

Having flown down to Fort Lauderdale, Florida, from New York, my look for Lady Gaga‘s artRave: The ARTPOP Ball Tour wasn’t so much a look, as an excuse to shed about 34 percent of my clothing.

That’s why I was so impressed with the elaborate costumes that so many of the Little Monsters in attendance wore. Leather? Orbital headpieces? All that makeup? The fans featured below didn’t just pick up some tour merch and call it a day.

If I tried to recreate ANY of these lewks, I’d be drowning in my own sweat, which, according to all fashion magazines ever probably, is not a good look. So, here, gold stars for all!

1.) Emily, 2.) Holden Rubber, 3.) Zack/Lisa Limbaugh, 4.) Bradley & 5.) Wesley

Also known as the Haus of Piss. See those strands of raver bracelets and necklaces they’re wearing? There are so many amazingly filthy words hidden in them, spelled out in letter beads.

6.) Matthew

Like some of these other fans, I literally had to fight my way through a swarm of people asking to take Matthew’s picture. “You know I’m not her,” he quipped to another would-be photographer.

7.) Jeremy & 8.) Kali

When I asked ...

You know that feeling. You see a boy in your Chemistry class. Your eyes get all glazed over. You have a hard time putting words together. Your heart does that thing where it drops to your stomach. And then, after careful, calculated planning, you kiss and the earth crumbles beneath you. Usher knows that feeling too.

In fact, if Usher’s latest video for “Good Kisser” is one thing, it’s proof that the 35-year-old father of two actually is a giddy schoolgirl on the inside.

He’s So Happy He Twirls

So Happy He SCREAMS

Sometimes He Just Needs To Close His Eyes And Have A Moment

He’s So Happy It Literally Pains Him

Like, It HURTS

Too Happy For His Shirt

Emily Blake

Rita Ora and Iggy Azalea go way back. Rita appears on Iggy’s debut album, The New Classic, with a feature on “Black Widow,” but their bond runs deeper than that. Iggy also supported the U.K. singer by opening up for her on tour, and today (May 5), the two blonde divas will reunite for “Live From MTV” at 6 p.m. ET on MTV.com and MTV Hits. They’ll chat about their new music, play some games and answer questions live from fans. In the meantime, take a look at some of their best moments spent together.

Awards Show Buddies
Iggy and Rita cozied up next to each other at the 2013 MTV Video Music Awards in Brooklyn, and puckered up for the cameras.

Party Animals
They ate cake together and laughed it up at DKNY’s 25th Birthday Bash in New York last fall, along with models Joan Smalls and Karlie Kloss.

Hanging With The Family
The two blondes struck a pose with Iggy’s Grand Hustle boss, T.I., during a VIP Grammys dinner this year.

Ducking The Paparazzi
They even stick together when it’s time to hide from the paparazzi during nights out in London.

Based on the song’s title, it may come as a surprise, but Rick Ross’ “Thug Cry” video isn’t about tears at all. Rather, it’s about having the chance to rejoice.

The latest visual from Mastermind, which dropped in March, is directed by Dre Films and stars Wood Harris ‒ he of “The Wire” fame. We see Wood play an inmate just a day away from release. Before he steps back into the free world, his character has flashbacks of what led to his lock up, as Rozay and featured guest Lil Wayne rap their verses.

The video wraps when Harris’ character is released from prison and goes to see Rozay, who gifts him a new car. Welcome home.

Adam Fleischer