In case those ubiquitous billboards featuring funny-faced yellow pills hadn't tipped you off, "Despicable Me 2" is coming to theaters this week, reuniting Gru with his wacky Minions for a whole new set of adventures. In this follow-up to the 2009 blockbuster, Gru (Steve Carell) trades in his supervillain costume in exchange for the life of a super-dad, only to find domestic bliss — and single-parenthood — challenged by the arrival of Lucy Wilde (Kristen Wiig), a government operative hoping to enlist him to hunt down another former baddie who's disappeared.

Whether or not Gru becomes a bona fide hero, the film certainly promises some hilarious hijinks. But do they live up to the ones in the original "Despicable Me?" MTV News took a look at some of the reviews that popped up as the film nears its July 3 release date and compiled some critics' thoughts about the film.

How Worthy — Or Necessary — Is This Follow-Up To 'Despicable Me?'
"This new picture feels like... a hastily thought-up opportunity to put our characters through some kind of adventure. Any kind of adventure. Whereas the original had Steve Carell's evil genius and his cache of spazzed-out weapons trying to hijack the moon, this film sends him to the mall." — Jordan Hoffman, Screencrush

Still, What Can Audiences Look Forward To In the Sequel?
"After reluctantly admitting that he made a second-rate baddie at best, Steve Carell's overcompensating character gets a chance to prove himself a first-class hero, providing ample opportunity for comic support from his Minions. While not quite as charming ...

Let's face it: Pharrell Williams is everywhere this summer.

It's not like the always in-demand producer/singer/arranger/Renaissance Man went away — working on songs and albums by everyone from Game to Adam Lambert, Usher and Kendrick Lamar over the past two years — but the past few months have seen him popping up all over the charts on a variety of high-profile projects, not to mention a stellar turn on Sunday night's BET Awards.

His first big move was back in March, when music fans first got a taste of his now-ubiquitous falsetto vocals on Daft Punk's summer smash 


"I thought it would do good, I didn't know it would be this; I didn't know it would be breaking records across the board, I had no idea," Williams told MTV News of the song that crashed the top 10 in nearly 30 countries and broke streaming records on Spotify. "I just thought it would do well, because it felt great and it felt different, and you guys know I live for those types of things, to do things that are different."

That alone would be enough to remind people of what a hook-monster Skateboard P is. But then he doubled down with the other beach banger of 2013: Robin Thicke's "Blurred Lines." That made Williams the first act since the Black Eyed Peas in 2009 to have the #1 and #2 singles on the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart.

"He's clearly having a moment and he's on complete fire right now," said Vibe editor in chief Jermaine Hall. "The way his ...

Although he had Johnny Depp at his side and the producing-directing team of Jerry Bruckheimer and Gore Verbinski at his back, Armie Hammer faced considerable pressure for "The Lone Ranger." Specifically, Hammer said that he was very aware of the legacy of the character whose mask he had to wear.

"If you'll pardon the expression, they're big boots to fill," Hammer told MTV News. "My dad was a big fan, and I know how special the Lone Ranger is to him. To his parents, even more so. My mom's parents, they grew up in Oklahoma. It was a big part of life then. So we wanted to be careful and respectful to those people, and at the same time, we wanted to introduce this movie in a fun way to a new generation as well."

Before Hammer was cast, Johnny Depp had already been announced in the role of Tonto, a character whom the "Pirates of the Caribbean" actor would be reinterpreting significantly for the film. Hammer said that his co-star completed much of his character work before he even joined the production. "It was funny — he did a lot of the work on Tonto before I ever became involved with the project," he said. "So for me, I saw the pictures, I saw what was going on, but I had no idea what to expect."

"To see him on set doing the thing and how different and amazing Tonto was compared to the TV show, it was great."

"The Lone Ranger" opens in theaters nationwide July 3.

Sky Blu didn't realize when he announced his Rebel Music release date he'd have to share it with the one and only Jay-Z.

But with Hova dropping Magna Carta Holy Grail the same day as Sky's first album since going on the , the Party Rocker isn't mad about sharing the joint Fourth of July release date.

"How crazy is that! It's pretty crazy that Jay-Z was coming out with an album on the same day. And out of nowhere too, you know? I only heard like a few weeks ago. I think everybody did," he told MTV News on Monday. He added, "It's a long time coming, but I can't wait for the world to hear [Rebel Music]. I've got a story."

As it turns out, Jay and Sky have something else in common. They are also taking the rapper's philosophy of "new rules" to heart. Sky is giving away Rebel Music for free, and Jay's Samsung deal allows 1 million fans to download his album for free, offering it early to Samsung subscribers who download a special app. Sky thinks unconventional releases from chart-topping artists is "very necessary," even for "extreme legends" like Jay.

"I'm really learning a lot about business and a lot about how the record industry and the business of how things work," he said. "And I'm the kind of person that believes that you can rewrite the rules, just like Jay-Z said. But, for me, it's a little different cause I'm giving my music for free. And I think that the real ...

LOS ANGELES — Mike Will Made It works hard crafting hit records for the likes of Future, Lil Wayne, 2 Chainz and Miley Cyrus. But when it came time to produce for Jay-Z's Magna Carta Holy Grail, he just took it easy.

"[Jay] was like, 'Man, let's do something so effortless,' and that just stuck with me when he said 'effortless,' " Mike Will told MTV News in Los Angeles. "When I went up there, I just cooked up a beat real fast and he just went in on it."

On the Saturday before BET Awards, the star producer walked into Chalice Recording studio where he was surprised to find Cash Money Records CEO Birdman on hand to present Future and Ace Hood with a gold-selling plaque for "Bugatti," a single that Mike Will produced. After opening up to us about how he came up with the beat for the infectious hit, MTV News took the opportunity to ask about "Beach Is Better," the Hov track Mike contributed to MCHG.

Jay has been promoting the album in a series of Samsung ads featuring Pharrell Williams, Swizz Beatz, Timbaland and Rick Rubin. Jay and the super producers appear in the studio theorizing about the "new rules" Hov hopes to establish with the release of his album. And because the four producers all appear in the commercials, many assumed that they all worked on the July 4 album. But while Rubin confirmed to XXL magazine that he did not in fact contribute to the LP, Mike WiLL told us that ...

Main Pick

Headliner: Jon Connor

Representing: Flint, Michigan

Mixtape: Unconscious State

Real Spit: When it comes to lyrics, Jon Connor is as skilled as any rapper in the game, but there is a stigma that comes it. The assumption is that many lyricists fall short at songwriting, but not the Flint Michigan, MC; he proves it on his latest project, Unconscious State.

"The sound on this tape is crazy because I don't think that you can compare it to any of the rest of my joints that I ever did," Connor told Mixtape Daily, referencing his underground discography which includes the Eminem-inspired The People's Rapper LP and the Jay-Z-influenced The Blue Album.

The 22-track album dropped on Tuesday (July 2) on iTunes and features contributions from Danny Brown ("Vodka & Weed"), Talib Kweli ("Rise Up") and Royce da 5'9 ("Michigan $#!*"). On "The Sarah Song," Connor tells a story of life on tour and the different women he meets along the way. On "Michigan $#!*," he and Shady Records veteran Royce da 5'9" create a prideful hometown ode. "When I Was Young" is a soulful and painful trip down memory lane alongside Chris Webby and Smoke DZA.

"I guess I built up a reputation for being a spitter, but what most people don't know about me is that I consider myself a music dude first. Spitting and being a spitter kind of came later," he said. "I think I laid a pretty decent foundation for myself in the game as far as what I can do lyrically, so what I focused on more sonically with this ...

Ask repeatedly for your favorite sketch comedy show to return to TV, and it just might happen. Nick Cannon's "Wild 'N Out" will be back by popular demand this month, premiering July 9 on MTV2 after a six-year hiatus. This season, the cast makes their way to New York City, where Cannon admits things will get a lot grimier than ever before.

Cannon told MTV News that the show was green lit for a new season after overwhelming demand from fans across social media platforms like Facebook and Twitter, thought he was initially a bit skeptical.

"I didn't want to mess up a good thing because we went out on top, but everybody just kept asking for it," he explained. "Plus a lot of people blew up off of this show, so now I'm giving everybody the opportunity to come back and have fun. It's really like the hip-hop version of the roast shows, so we're bringing the biggest names in hip-hop and comedy to come have a good time."

Cannon said returning for a new season is interesting because it gives him a chance to pair comedians and artists who grew up watching the show with emerging artists and comedians, making for a great dynamic. Artist cameos on this season include everyone from A$AP Rocky and Mac Miller to 2 Chainz and Joey BadA$$, while comedians include Lil Duval, Kevin Hart and Mike Epps.

Expect a similar setup — with the Black versus Platinum teams this season — but a more raw show. "The format is basically the same except that ...

Miley Cyrus celebrated her appreciation for a good party in her "We Can't Stop" video, and Snoop Dogg did the same when he touched on his "Ashtrays & Heartbreaks" partner's capacity to get loose in an epic follow-up to his December Reddit AMA (Ask Me Anything) Monday night.

Using the name "Here_Comes_The_King," Snoop Lion/Dogg took to Reddit to take questions from his legions of fans. Predictably, there were a lot of queries dealing with the old puff, puff, pass, but rolled into the sprawling Q&A were a few gems.

For example, after a fan asked: "Snoop, I NEED you to do a song with some Michael Jackson background vocals. Is there a chance?" Snoop responded: "did a song with Michael when he was alive! Its in tha vault." Yup, according to the , there's an unreleased Jackson/Dogg track kicking around in the ethers — which is no surprise, given that Snoop has always been an ardent Jackson supporter.

Snoop also revealed that he's a big fan of K-Pop and that if he could do one song with anyone living or dead it would be Bob Marley. No real surprise there.

After the AMA wrapped up, Snoop then sweetened the deal by releasing a special video in which he answered more queries, including "What song are you most proud of throughout your career?" ("No Guns Allowed), "Is it true that you're the reason Dre started smoking weed?" ("No") and "I can't get any girls. Got any advice for a young 20-year-old guy like me?" ("Yeah. Strip club. Or Craigslist")

Dylan O'Brien's vacation from Beacon Hills has been anything but restful. The star (who plays Stiles on the MTV series) has been hard at work filming the upcoming dystopian drama "The Maze Runner."

Based on the young-adult novel by James Dashner, "The Maze Runner" centers around teen Thomas (O'Brien), who awakens in a rusty elevator with no memory of who he is. What he does come to find out is that he's been delivered to the middle of an intricate maze, along with a slew of other boys, who have been trying to find their way out of the ever-changing labyrinth — all the while establishing a functioning society within the enclosure they've come to call "The Glade."

With production on "The Maze Runner" still in full swing, MTV News was lucky enough to get its hands on five exclusive first-look stills from the film, featuring O'Brien and his young co-stars, including Kaya Scodelario and Aml Ameen. From an image of a visibly injured Thomas, to a gang of boys running to the supposed safety of the sky-scraping structure, the tenor of these images is clear: danger lurks around every corner.

Check Out FIVE Exclusive New Photos From 'The Maze Runner.'

Eager for more scoop on "The Maze Runner"? The cast (including O'Brien and Scodelario), along with director Wes Ball and author Dashner, will be hosting a Twitter chat on Monday, July 8 to answer fan questions. Submit your queries using #MazeRunnerChat and be sure to follow @MazeRunnerMovie on Twitter.

"The Maze Runner," ...