By Ezra Marcus

Yesterday, Chief Keef posted an Instagram video in which he drives down the freeway withs car speakers blasting what appears to be a new collaboration with Kanye.

Their warped voices float over a sample that XXL identifies as “Brothas Gonna Work It Out”, a Willie Hutch song from the 1973 soundtrack for the Blaxploitation film The Mack. Keef’s caption listed the song title as “Nobody” Almigh x Yee.”

Chief Keef and Kanye’s working relationship started off on an awkward note when Kanye remixed “I Don’t Like” back in 2011. ‘Ye’s mildly paternalistic guest verse irritated Keef and the song’s producer Young Chop, who stated: “I ain’t know the song was changed over like that.” And Keef explained in another interview [that] “We didn’t hear the song… it don’t even sound like the real beat. It sounded like a rock star beat.”

But the two patched things up in time for Keef to make an appearance on Yeezus, and thank god because “Hold My Liquor” is a transcendent piece of pop. Keef’s half-mumbled chorus—“I can’t control my n***as, and my n***as can’t control me”—elegizes the chaotic environment in Chicago that Keef comes from.

And Kanye and Keef are actually pretty similar at heart—both are idiosyncratic hard-heads who’ve pushed rap forward through an uncompromising approach to their own vision. For example, Kanye’s initially misunderstood 808s and Heartbreak has proved itself one of the decade’s most influential albums, and ...

After two weeks in the theaters, everyone on earth has already seen “Guardians Of The Galaxy” and spotted the immortal Stan Lee. Mr. Lee is well-known for his cameos in all of the Marvel Studios movies, but what you didn’t know is how difficult it can be for directors to capture those brief moments of genius on screen.

MTV News Staff

By Cristina Gonzalez

Listen up Lil Wayne fans, Tunechi’s got a challenge for you! In this week’s installment of his vlog series “Weezy Wednesdays,” the Young Money leader has challenged his fans to the “Strike out ALS Ice Bucket Challenge” for Lou Gehrig’s disease.

After lifting a bucket filled with ice water (that is later dumped on his head), Weezy takes a serious moment to ask all of us at home to complete the challenge and dump ice water on themselves or donate to the cause!

Related: Lil Wayne Unveils Tha Carter V Album Cover

A number of celebrities, like Justin Timberlake, have participated in the ALS challenge, and Weezy is the latest.

Wayne is no stranger to charitable work. His work, mostly under the radar, ranges from “Tha Carter Fund,” building skate parks in NOLA for the “DeWeezy” campaign, to an Indigogo fundraiser for after-school programs.

However, we think his latest stunt takes the cake. After watching Wayne’s krazy hilarious celebration dance, I am ready to donate! Let’s see if any other Young Money members will step up to the plate and participate in Weezy’s challenge.

MTV News Staff

By Britt Julious

Looks like Selena Gomez is about to receive the biggest honor that the Teen Choice Awards can bestow!

Following in the footsteps of mega-talented performers like Reese Witherspoon, Justin Timberlake and Britney Spears, E! News exclusively reports that Gomez will receive the Ultimate Choice Award during this Sunday’s 2014 Teen Choice Awards.

The award will be given in recognition of her “contributions to the entertainment world.” At this point, her long list of accomplishments includes the hit TV show “The Wizards of Waverly Place,” critically-acclaimed and experimental art films like Harmony Korine’s Spring Breakers and of course, her 2013 debut solo album Stars Dance.

Related: Selena Gomez Slams Fan For Bullying In Instagram Comment

It’s been a bit of a tumultuous year for the 22-year-old singer and actress, which included a voluntary two-week stay in a treatment center for undisclosed issues. However, that clearly hasn’t affected the opinions of the TCA’s organizers or dampened Gomez’ spirits and drive. She’s busy at work on her second solo record.

Other faces scheduled to make an appearance include “The Fault in Our Stars” cutie Ansel Elgort, Ariana Grande and big-time Selena fan, Taylor Swift.

The 2014 Teen Choice Awards air this Sunday at 8 p.m. on FOX.

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By Sasha Geffen

Michael Johns, the Australian singer who was a finalist on season 7 of American Idol, died yesterday (August 1). The Hollywood Reporter confirms that he passed away, reportedly after suffering a blood clot in his ankle.

Johns auditioned for the show at age 29 during the summer of 2007. After competing with other singers from around the country, he finished in eighth place when the season wrapped up in 2008. Throughout the season, he performed classic rock songs like “Light My Fire” by the Doors and “A Day in the Life” by the Beatles.

Originally from Perth, Johns moved to the United States on a tennis scholarship, hoping to pursue his dream of becoming a professional musician. He released several albums with his bands Film and another band called the Rising before competing on the Fox show.

Before auditioning for Idol, Johns had previously been signed to the label Maverick records—it was during this period that he worked with the Rising. Unfortunately, that label folded and Warner Bros. released his album straight to iTunes. After Maverick, he was signed to Columbia Records, but the west coast branch of Sony/BMG folded and along with several other developing artists, Johns was dropped. Despite being eliminated from the show, Johns released Hold Back My Heart in 2009, and his last recording was an EP titled Love & Sex that came out in 2012.

He was also friendly with Grammy-award winning producer David Foster who invited him to appear on the ...

By Sasha Geffen

MAGIC!‘s hit song “Rude” just got a makeover courtesy of German producer Zedd, who remixed the song live for the crowds at Lollapalooza yesterday.

The 24-year-old producer worked the single into his headlining set at Perry’s Stage last night, swapping out MAGIC!’s reggae guitar riffs for hard-hitting EDM beats. “Rude” is currently occupying the number one spot on the Billboard Hot 100, and it became the first reggae tune by a Canadian band to hit the top of the Billboard charts since Snow’s 1992 single “Informer”.

Related: Here’s The Story Behind MAGIC!, That Band That Sings That Random Reggae Song, ‘Rude’

Festival-goers cheered and sang along to the infectious track as Zedd spun MAGIC! frontman Nasri Atweh’s vocals over big, catchy techno synths.

MAGIC! are the latest act in a long line of famous Zedd remixes—he’s taken on everyone from Black Eyed Peas to Lady Gaga to Skrillex. You can also hear his electronics on the newest single from Ariana Grande, “Break Free.”

Listen to Zedd’s live remix of “Rude” below.

MTV News Staff

By Jamie Peck

The key change is one of the most surefire tools in a musician’s arsenal. Just when you think the feels your favorite singer is putting out can’t get any more intense, everything shifts up half a step and BOOM, it’s a whole new ballgame. Who knew such an itty bitty musical change could make something sound so totally different? (Think Vanilla Ice’s much-maligned, Queen-sampling “Ice Ice Baby”)

Sometimes referred to as “modulations” (not exactly the same thing, but close enough for our purposes), key changes have been prized for centuries for their ability to add spice to a piece of music. Said French composer and music theorist Charles-Henri de Blainville in 1767: “Modulation is the essential part of the art.” Translation? key changes are everything.

So not to get all technical, but you’ve got to be wondering how they work. Well, most songs are written in a particular key. Each key has its own character; for instance, the key of C major sounds happier than A minor. Depending how a song shifts from one key to another, it could be barely detectable to the untrained ear, or a totally cheesy 10-gun salute straight into your brain. Guess which is more popular with chart-topping songwriters?

Certain curmudgeons have accused artists of using abrupt key changes as a cheap ploy to simulate drama when they’ve run out of ideas for a song. But I say, All’s fair in love and pop. In that spirit, I give ...

By Kristy Puchko

This weekend sees the release of “The Purge: Anarchy,” a horror-thriller set in an America where once a year all crime is legal for 12 menacing hours.

It might be darkly fun to imagine what you might do if the law would allow. Perhaps you’d loot your favorite store? Or at long last punch out that bully from grade school? But in reality how many of us could actually get through a night when murder was not only allowed, but encouraged? To answer this query, we’ve created this handy flowchart that spells out exactly how likely you are to survive the annual Purge.

MTV News Staff

By Lauren Mann of the National Campaign to Prevent Teen and Unplanned Pregnancy

For the past few weeks, the teens from this season of “16 and Pregnant” have been using their experiences and educating others on what they’ve learned — and doing their part to help prevent unplanned pregnancies.

And now it’s time for one final pop quiz! Why are young women more at risk for unintended pregnancies? Can jumping up and down after sex help prevent pregnancy? Can certain sex positions prevent pregnancy? Can Dustin say “vagina” without his girlfriend giggling? During the test, powered by Bedsider.org, the girls and their boyfriends (or, in one case, aunt!) face off and test their knowledge about contraception.

+ Did you do better than the “16 and Pregnant” cast members? Watch the video and visit Bedsider.org to learn more about all the different methods available.

MTV News Staff

Reporting by Josh Horowitz

Spoiler alert!

If you’ve seen “Dawn of the Planet of the Apes,” you were likely blown away by the intensity of the climactic fight between Caesar (Andy Serkis) and Koba (Toby Kebbell).

When Serkis stopped by the MTV offices, he shared the story behind filming that fight and revealed just how brutal it got on set.

“Dawn of the Planet of the Apes” is in theaters now.

MTV News Staff