In the song and video for "Hardest Song Ever," released this week, Locksmith recounts the sexual abuse he suffered as a child. Though he's able to tell the story with clarity and candor now, that wasn't the case until recently.

"You almost erase it from your mind, but it doesn't totally go away, of course," the Richmond, California, native told MTV News. "I didn't even know that it shaped my consciousness, because I had put it in my subconscious, and it was so early on in my life."

After years of burying the painful memories, Lock began confronting this part of his past two years ago, and wrote the song shortly after that. It's set to appear on his new album, A Thousand Cuts, which will be released April 15.

"My music has grown to be very personal, [and] everything just lined up with where I'm at as a human being to be able to make this kind of song and have the strength," he continued. "And to be like, 'Yo, what happened to me is not my fault.' So I can be able to express it and talk about it, and have a positive effect on people if I can."

The video, which was directed by Young Gunz and also features Leah Tysse, who sings the hook, handles the heavy subject with the necessary delicacy. In addition to Lock rapping, a number of people face the camera and hold signs with phrases like, "Forty years later, I'm alive, thriving, and well."

"It took months to come up with the idea of what we ...

He may be the subject of roughly 99.5% of the world's most fevered fantasies, but when it came to impressing Mary Carter, a 25-year-old computer animation student, '90s Jon Hamm struck out. Don Draper would not be proud.

If you're wondering how I caught wind of Hamm's past romantic foibles, it's because a very interesting video has just surfaced on the Web — an episode of a short-lived dating show titled "The Big Date."

In the show, a floppy-haired Hamm — then a 25-year-old waiter — competes against a bunch of men in khakis for Carter's affection, explaining his ideal first date thusly: "I'd start off with some fabulous food, little fabulous conversation, end it with a fabulous foot massage for an evening of total fabulosity."

Carter's ensuing surprised face hovers just on the border between "scared" and "delighted." Fabulous.

Despite Hamm's charms — and abundant locks — silly old Mary Carter goes for a dude named Marc, a 28-year-old stuntman who, according to his IMDB, went on to stunt it up in the "Pirates of the Caribbean" movies.

Don't cry for Jon, though — he has someone else to heap all of his fabulousness on: actress and screenwriter Jennifer Westfeldt.

It's a good day to be a Sheerio. Earlier on Friday (March 4), Ed Sheeran announced that his single, "

X, as in "multiply," will drop June 23, nearly three years after his first album, +. The symbolic title fits right in with his equation. At first, fans thought the album would be called = when the singer tweeted the symbol earlier in the year.

Ed has been working with Rick Rubin and Pharrell for this effort, and put out a mysterious snippet of it back in February. And in 2013, he started playing new songs live, including which are expected to be on this album.

Sheeran and Tori Kelly also have a song locked and ready to go, but no word on where that will appear.

Even though I'm sure we're going to love it, at least we have Taylor Swift to vouch for it already.

"Whenever I finished a song, I'd send it to her to get her opinion," he told MTV News about his songwriting process for X. "She's heard all the songs and she's a good judge of what's good or not good."

"Sing" will debut at 7:30 p.m. (BST) on Monday (2:30 p.m. ET) on British DJ Zane Lowe's BBC Radio show.

Looks like another denizen of Westeros is about to head to Panem, as "Game of Thrones" star Gwendoline Christie has been cast as Commander Lyme in "The Hunger Games: Mockingjay — Part 2."

According to Variety, she replaces Lily Rabe due to a scheduling conflict. Rabe will instead appear in Shakespeare in the Park this Summer.

Lyme is a denizen of District 13 who previously competed in the Hunger Games. She's described in the books as over six feet tall, muscular, and with an unforgettable face — a description that nails Christie to a "T."

On "Game of Thrones" Christie plays Brienne of Tarth, a woman knight persecuted both for her manly appearance, and for always falling in love with the wrong man. As the fourth season of HBO's hit fantasy series begins, she's in the relative safe haven of King's Landing... Though nowhere is truly that safe in Westeros.

Christie also isn't the first "Game of Thrones" vet to graduate to a role in "Hunger Games": Natalie Dormer, who plays Margaery Tyrell on "Thrones" will portray Cressida, a revolutionary documentarian in both Parts 1 and 2.

"Mockingjay — Part 1" will be in theaters on November 21, while filming for the second part is ongoing: actor Robert Knepper (who plays new character Antonius in the films) told us that he wouldn't start filming his role until April.

Dads across America are still reeling from yesterday's surprise announcement that David Letterman would retire in a year, give or take. The wider world, however, is recovering from the shock and moving on the the next stage of grief: Acceptance.

Though the big changeover won't happen until 2015, the hunt for a replacement has already begun. The Hollywood Reporter reported that CBS had previously tried to sign John Oliver to a hosting contract, before he made the jump to HBO, perhaps signalling an intent to go in a younger direction with the newest of late-night royalty.

I argue that the network needs to add another adjective to its wish list of host qualities, alongside "younger": "Female."

Take a look at your DVR backlog of late night shows (you're too old to stay up that late every night, you have things to do) — it's a real sausagefest. Love you to pieces, Jimmy and Seth, but it's time to throw a lady into the network TV mix. Like, really. Is it really accepted that aging white dudes are the only ones with the chops and likeability to draw in audiences? Think about how much of a jerk you'll sound like if you agree with that sentence, then choose one of our 11 fantastic female suggestions to root for as the next hostess with the most-ess of "Late Night."

Tina Fey

Duh. Duh. Everyone has a nice crush on Fey, and it doesn't hurt at all that she's proven herself as a funny-but-fair host not only behind the Weekend Update desk on ...

It took the Atlanta-based producer Dun Deal just 15 minutes to craft one of 2014's defining rap songs, Young Thug's woozy and warped weed tribute "Stoner."

But while Young Thug is reaping the benefits of his breakthrough anthem — there are rumors he's being courted by Kanye West — 27-year-old Dun Deal tells MTV News that he's plotting his own expansion plans that should ensure his name is stamped on some of the year's biggest releases — and not only in the hip-hop world.

Dun Deal's musical path began a decade ago when he was part of a local Atlanta group called the OBoys (the Outrageous Boys). Signed to Ruff Ryders Entertainment (the same label that made DMX famous), the troupe's brand of rambunctious rap never quite took off. Looking back, Dun Deal says, "They gave us some money and we ended up spending all of it of course. For me though, I kept some of the money and bought studio equipment."

During the OBoys era, Dun Deal was rapping as well as producing. But having invested his cash in the makings of a home studio, Dun Deal became smitten by the way technology empowered him with "the freedom to make what I heard in my head."

How Young Thug Found Himself In Label Limbo

"Those early productions were pretty crappy," he admitted, but a combination of persistence and an ability to play a number of instruments paid off when he scored an instrumental on a Tyler Perry project. "At that point I knew I was developing a sound that wasn't sh---y," he ...

What does Lady Gaga eat backstage? Piles of steak? Paper? Unicorn blood? Barbie doll heads? Peach cobbler?

Nope, everything she snacks on before a concert comes from a veggie platter and a tray full of cold cuts. And most of the time, you'll find her dad there too, mowing down on a sandwich. In fact, Gaga herself was munching on a turkey roll as MTV toured her dressing room at Roseland Ballroom in New York City.

"A lot of people I think have really nice riders," she told MTV correspondent Sway Calloway, down-to-earth in an oversized tee, fishnets and knee-high boots. "I don't know. I don't like to waste stuff. So we have cold cuts and water and there's whiskey there and champagne. We're good."

The interview is part of Lady Gaga's MTV Takeover on Friday (April 4). Earlier in the day, the pop star showed off her extravagant apartment and then she escorted us to Roseland Ballroom, the NYC landmark that's closing after Gaga's run of shows there.

So how does the "G.U.Y." singer prep for a gig like that?

"Well, my voice teacher Don Lawrence, who I've been with since I was like, I don't know, 13 years old, we still are together, and he's been my mentor for so long," Gaga said. "So he warms me up before every show — either on the phone or in person — and I do the show. An hour before the show I start my vocal warm-ups."

See this and more in the video above. And make sure to tune into ...

For the newest addition to "Game of Thrones'" massive ensemble cast, getting a part on TV's hottest fantasy drama was beyond exciting — most particularly for his butt.

"I sat on the throne! Of course I did," Pedro Pascal confessed gleefully when he sat down for a chat with MTV News.

The actor, who plays fan favorite character Oberyn Martell on the upcoming season of the HBO drama, was a serious fan himself before snagging the role of the man also known as the Red Viper of Dorne.

"It was surreal," Pascal said, of working on the set of the show he'd been watching for years. "There was a little bit of a battle going in, because I had a job to do — and hopefully do it well — while sort of geeking out in my brain about the size of the throne. And like, seeing Cersei in the flesh, that kind of stuff."

Not to mention that as a "Game of Thrones" fan, he had to know that the role would be challenging in certain, well, you know, ways.

"[Like] how bloody and naked I would be?" Pascal asked, when we broached the subject of taboo breaking on set. "I knew the territory was going to be pretty intense. I can't say that I was prepared. I was in denial. And when certain situations presented themselves that were really challenging physically, or in terms of acting, or in terms of how much clothes I had on, I just jumped right in."

It also helped that the Viper had a very lovely paramour ...

On Drake's latest release, Days in the East, we learned that he and Erykah Badu had a heart-to-heart over a cup of tea, and in addition to wondering what brew she served — green tea, peppermint, lemon-acai? — we're also curious about what the entire conversation sounded like.

"Remember one night I went to Erykah Badu house, she made tea for me. We talked about love and what life could really be for me," Drake spits on the track. "She said, when that sh-- is real, you just know."

So, they chatted about love and maybe his longing for Rihanna, but there must've been more to it. Here's what we're thinking:

"We Made It" Freestyle

Badu's ex, Jay Electronica, showed up out of the blue to drop a freestyle over Soulja Boys' "We Made it" beat (which Drake owned in December) and he was accompanied by Jay Z, who had a few choice words for Drizzy.

Hov flexed a bit, responding to Drake's art rap criticisms and noting that he owns the masters of all his recordings, which Drake definitely does not. Erykah's been in the business long enough to know that getting gently prodded by Hov on a song is good news. Not to mention that it was accompanied by a very rare verse from Jay Elect. She probably told Drake that it was a good idea to strike back subtly, but not push Jay too far.

Andre 3000

Remember that time Drake admitted to having an Andre 3000 shrine in his apartment? It wasn't that easy ...