By Emilie Cruz
The population of “Jurassic World” increased by on Friday as James Dumont joined the cast of the highly anticipated sequel.

Dumont, most recently seen in “Dallas Buyers Club” (he played the father of Jared Leto’s Rayon) is the latest actor chosen to walk with dinosaurs, according to The Hollywood Reporter. He joins leading man Chris Pratt as well as Bryce Dallas Howard, Vincent D’Onofrio, and Irrfan Khan.

“Jurassic World,” directed by Colin Trevorrow, is set to hit theaters in June 2015 (or as we call it, NOT SOON ENOUGH), but Dumont’s acting chops will be on display in the James Brown biopic “Get on Up” before then.

MTV News Staff

By Maurice Bobb

Get ready to watch your heroes strap up the Jaegers again, Pacific Rimmers! Guillermo del Toro officially committed to making a sequel to “Pacific Rim” with Universal.

Zak Penn has been tapped to pen the script with del Toro, while Thomas Tull and Jon Jashni of Legendary Pictures will join Mary Parent, Callum Green and del Toro as producers.

The film, tentatively titled “Pacific Rim 2,” is set to be released in 3-D and IMAX on April 7, 2017.

The original film, which was centered around humankind’s use of gigantic humanoid robots to war with the colossal monsters known as Kaijus, grossed more than $400 million worldwide thanks to a hefty international box office led by China’s $114 million.

“The characters I love will return,” del Toro told BuzzFeed. “Raleigh, Mako, Newt, Gottlieb and who knows, maybe even Hannibal Chau – but we are taking them into a fresh territory that will display amazing sights and battles. The first film set the stage and now we’re ready to have a blast.”

Reportedly, del Toro has already begun working on the sequel on the heels of post-production on “Crimson Peak.”

MTV News Staff

By Maurice Bobb

Rapper Ra Diggs, born Ronald Herron, was found guilty of three counts of murder in Federal District Court in Brooklyn on Thursday (June 26).

Diggs, known as a “YouTube rapper,” was found guilty in all 21 counts he faced, which — in addition to the murders of three rival drug dealers — also included racketeering and drug trafficking, The New York Times is reporting. He will be sentenced by Judge Nicholas Garaufis on October 1.

Diggs’ case was an unusual one because prosecutors used his rap lyrics and YouTube videos as evidence against him during trial. The lyrics in question featured him boasting that he was a high-ranking member of the Bloods that beat a murder case. Additionally, he bragged about retaliating against his rivals.

But the defense not only insisted that those lyrics were constitutionally protected by free speech, but Uncle Murda testified saying that the “Live By The Gun” MC only boasted about guns and drugs in his music as instruments of fiction.

Diggs himself insisted that his rhymes were exaggerated accounts of violence, but the jury rejected his defense that they didn’t reflect his real life.

According to the NY Daily News, Herron remained stoic while the jury’s foreman pronounced him guilty.

MTV News Staff

By Maurice Bobb

Usher‘s got love on his new single, “I Don’t Mind.”

The Atlanta singer jumps on a hand clap-laced uptempo beat with reassuring words for a special lady who works the pole.

“Shawty, I don’t mind if you dance on a pole that don’t make you a hoe,” he sings before jumping into the all-about-the-money chorus.

His collaborator, Juicy J, is the perfect assist man for the track, as he draws on his penchant for stripper anthems with the line, “Lap dance for the first date, Bet I throw a few bands that’s third base/Is ok if you work late we can still party hard like it’s your birthday.”

The pair will be performing at the 2014 BET Awards Sunday, June 29. Usher is currently working on his eighth album, which will find him linking up with the likes of Pharrell, Jermaine Dupri and Diplo. “I Don’t Mind” follows his release of “Good Kisser” earlier this month.

MTV News Staff

MTV’s latest “True Life” told the stories of two young women facing a battle of the bulge — and dealing with their boyfriends’ frustrations over their excess weight. We had an opportunity to check in with Sara and Desiree to find out what they’ve been up to since filming wrapped. Take a look at the follow-up Q&As:

SARA
How’s it going with your weight loss, exercise and diet?
I’ve been working out three to five times a week. I’ve been practicing yoga and taking Zumba classes. On the weekend, [my boyfriend] Enrique and I walk or jog three miles at the beach together. We also go to the gym together a couple times a week. I’ve lost about 15 pounds since starting my exercise routine and eating healthier, and I plan to lose more. Finding something I actually enjoy doing has made it easier to stick to my exercise goals.

Has Enrique stuck to his promise and backed off about your weight, or is he still making comments?
Enrique still encourages me to work out and eat healthy, but he has stopped making negative and hurtful comments about my weight.

Has he lost the weight he gained after moving in with you?
Yes…and he continues to go the gym four to five times a week, for at least three hours each time.

What was it like sharing your story with us?
Sharing my story was kinda scary when thinking about the negative comments viewers may make about us, but it was also ...

By Maurice Bobb

Five years after his untimely death, Michael Jackson not only reigns as the King of Pop, but also as an artist that still continues to influence musicians everywhere.

That’s why Pop’s reigning queen, Beyoncé took time out to pen a heartfelt letter on her website to celebrate the man who served as her sonic blueprint.

Under the title “Inspiration Michael Jackson,” Bey posted a black and white photograph circa 1972 of the “Thriller” icon, with a four-paragraph edict dedicated to how the late singer shaped her as an artist.

When I was just starting out, my first producer used to make me listen to Michael Jackson’s live performance of “Who’s Loving You.” He would have me watch that for hours back to back to back.

What he wanted me to learn was his soul. You could hear his soul. And he was this little kid who hadn’t experienced love but he was a vessel. For whatever reason he could evoke more emotion than an adult. It was so raw and so pure. It was these little things that he did that were just swag. It’s something that’s God given.

Michael taught me that sometimes you have to forget technique, forget what you have on. If you feel silly, you have to go from the gut just let it go.

Michael Jackson changed me, and helped me to become the artist I am thank you Michael.

Love always,
B

Read More →

By Maurice Bobb

If there were no brawls or drinks thrown in someone’s face or security guards rushing in to separate two fighters, can “Three way, No way” really be considered an episode of “Love & Hip Hop Atlanta”?

LHHATL’s existential crisis notwithstanding, last week’s dramatic earthquakes produced enough aftershocks to fill up this week’s hour of ratchet television.

Joseline met Althea in the studio and the former was very suspicious of the latter’s involvement with Stevie J in light of all the gossip floating around about her “loving the crew.” The whole scene felt like an alley-oop for the show to hint at the Joseline-finds-out-“Hoe-thea”-slept-with-her-husband coming in a future episode.

Karlie Redd and Kalenna Harper went mattress shopping and viewers learned that the former Diddy Dirty Money singer goes both ways sexually, especially when it comes to her best friend Ashley.

“It’s always been my dream to have a wife and a husband,” she said. “But I know that that don’t work like that but damn, it feel good to have a best friend with a fat ass that’s beautiful and smile is pretty. Ooh!”

Looks like Kirk Frost’s creeper move to pop up on wife Rasheeda in New Orleans and save his marriage worked like a charm because the couple woke up in bed together after a night of makeup sex.

“I just decided, it’s time to stop fighting,” Rasheeda said. “It’s gonna take some time to get back to that place we once were, but I will say we ...

By Maurice Bobb

The full video for the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity is finally out and just like you’d guess, every Kanye West quote is awesome.

During last week’s “Technology, Culture, and Consumer Adoption: Learning to Read the Cultural Landscape” seminar, Yeezy took everyone from Annie Leibovitz to Samsung to Blackberry to task for their proliferation in culture at large and lack thereof.

On Twitter
The moderator of the panel, which also featured Steve Stoute and Ben Horowitz, pointed out that while ‘Ye has more than 10 million followers on Twitter, he only follows one person, his wife Kim Kardashian.

“I do think it’s really noisy,” Kanye said about the social networking site, while prefacing that he’s not trying to force his opinions on anyone. “People are just bracing to get the next product out, get the next song on the radio. Things don’t have the time to incubate and develop and become something that people will fully understand and grows within itself so I think it’s way too fast.”

On Fashion
“Why is fashion so important? Because it’s trained thinkers of taste,” he said. “The reason why I’ve been trying to build relationships in that world is to bring it over because people think celebrity, which is the highest form of communication like walking networks, TV shows and brands ourselves. I believe bad taste is vulgar. It’s like cursing. And I do think the world can be saved through design because what is the most distasteful thing a ...

By Maurice Bobb

Jhené Aiko is on a roll. After shutting down Coachella with her sultry performance back in April, the burgeoning songstress is back with a taste of things to come with her first single, “To Love and Die,” from her upcoming full-length debut, Souled Out.

Hours after the L.A. songbird released a snippet of the song, which features Cocaine 80s, the full track has surfaced online. DJ Pup Dawg leaked the rest of the song, which features James Fauntleroy’s vocals, Monday evening with the opening tagline, “How does he get ‘em?”

Aiko’s command of her emotions and her rhythmic swag is apparent on the No I.D.-produced track, as she raps the lyrics, “which side, this side, you should switch sides, I’m not acting like a bitch side/ By the way, you need to switch sides right away.”

Hopefully, fans will get the chance to hear the new song live when she performs at the 2014 BET Awards in Los Angeles on Sunday.

MTV News Staff

By Maurice Bobb

PARIS, France — Streetball and hip-hop were the perfect bedfellows Sunday (June 22) night at the Quai 54 in Paris.

One day before French Montana took center court at the famed world streetball tournament, Mobb Deep took Parisians down memory lane all the way to Queens with a set list full of vintage hits.

Hugues Lawson-Body

As the sun was just about to set on the Eiffel Tower, Havoc and Prodigy emerged near the baseline of the makeshift basketball court on the Trocadéro site of the Palais de Chaillot wearing t-shirts emblazoned with the tourney logo,”Bring Your Game, Not Your Name.”

To the delight of the crowd, the Queensbridge duo offered up “Survival of the Fittest,” “Quiet Storm,” and their all-time classic cut, “Shook Ones Pt. II.”

The next day, Tyga made a surprise appearance before the dunk contest, quickly establishing his presence in the unconventional performance space.

Full of kinetic energy, the YMCMB rapper wasted no time grabbing the throng of tourney fans — which included NBA Hall of Famer Scottie Pippen and current New York Knicks superstar Carmelo Anthony — into his hands like a rebound and slamming home a high percentage of clutch hits, including “Faded,” “The Motto,” “Rack City” and his portion of Chris Brown’s runaway hit, “Loyal.”

Hugues Lawson-Body

For the grand finale, the rapper born Karim Kharbouch made his way to the blacktop and dove headfirst into DJ Khaled’s “They Don’t ...