Even though he was behind bars for the last few months, Chris Brown was still able to score a chart-topper with “Loyal,” which reached the top slot on Billboard’s Rhythmic charts and No. 9 on the Hot 100.

Breezy was released from prison early Monday morning, and one of his first acts as a free man was a call to Ty Dolla $ign, who wrote the smash.

“He just hit me up, too; last night he got out,” the California native told MTV News on Monday, just hours after his performance at Summer Jam. “We got some other songs that we already did, and some more stuff with Chris we gonna do.”

And how did that convo play out? It was a celebratory one, not surprisingly. “He was like, ‘We got that number one, n—a!’” Ty laughed.

Don’t be surprised if that’s not their last hit, either.

“After ['Loyal'], that’s when we linked up, and we just started doing a whole bunch of sh–,” he revealed, adding that they’ve got “a lot” on the way. “I’m featured on it; other sh– that’s for him — everything.”

Those collaborations could end up on any number of projects, from Chris’ album, X, to Ty’s Atlantic Records debut, Free TC, due later this year, to his upcoming mixtape, Sign Language, set to hit the Net this summer.

“I got this song called ‘N—as Don’t Know,’ and [Big Sean] killed it,” he added, delving further into what’s on deck for the mixtape. “Me and Rich Homie got a ...

Lana Del Rey is out with the title track from her upcoming record, Ultraviolence, and it’s the spookiest jam we’ve heard this year.

The jam, which references The Crystals’ “He Hit Me (And It Felt Like A Kiss)” — the song title is quoted in the chorus — tells the tale of a typical Lana Del Rey romantic relationship: broken, failed and painful.

Being a Lana Del Rey song, there also seems to be a literary reference tucked in the lyrics: “Ultraviolence/ I can hear sirens, sirens/ He hit me and it felt like a kiss/ I can hear violins, violins.”

According to Clare Preston-Pollitt, events and marketing officer at the International Anthony Burgess Foundation, the word “ultraviolence,” coined in Burgess’ “A Clockwork Orange,” could have been inspired by a passage in Vladimir Nabokov’s “Lolita” (a.k.a. one of Del Rey’s biggest inspirations).

“It could be that Burgess had been influenced by a passage in Nabokov’s ‘Lolita’ where the narrator examines the word ‘violence’ and notes that the word exists next to the word ‘violet’ and ‘violin’ etc. in the dictionary,” she said.

As you can, Lana mirrors that exploration in her track, showing the close — and sometimes very dangerous — distance between love and pain.

Brenna Ehrlich

Brenna Ehrlich is a reporter for MTV News as well as the senior writer/editor for the O Music Awards. In the past, she served as associate editor at Mashable, penned a netiquette column for CNN and co-authored the ...

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Ever since Common’s debut album, 1992′s Can I Borrow A Dollar?, the Chicago rapper has worked frequently with producer No I.D. (known during those early days as Immenslope). His last album, 2011′s The Dreamer/The Believer, was produced entirely by No I.D. And now, the two have officially linked, as Common has signed with Artium/Def Jam Recordings, where the producer is Executive Vice President.

Their first order of business will be releasing the 42-year-old’s upcoming album, Nobody’s Smiling. The project is reportedly inspired by the violence that is plaguing his native Chi-Town, and will hit stores July 22. The first single, “Kingdom,” featuring Vince Staples, dropped last week.

“I’m honored to team up with No I.D. and be a part of the Artium and Def Jam family,” Com said in a statement release by Def Jam. “Creating this album and signing to Def Jam feels like a new beginning for me. I feel like a new artist because I created this album with the purpose to give back to my city and to the culture of hip hop. Def Jam is part of the foundation of hip hop and being able to work with No I.D. was returning to my foundation now with new energy and new hunger.”

“Common and I have a long history of making great music together,” No I.D. added. “His rich legacy and robust talent are perfect additions to the Def Jam family. It’s particularly significant that he’s coming under our roof for his 10th album as a ...

Every week, MTV News is breaking down the big issues in DC Comics’ weekly series “Batman Eternal.” This week we talked over e-mail with writer John Layman, who explained the genesis of the Japanese influenced Batcave, the fate of Catwoman and just what’s up with that big character reveal on the last page:

MTV News: Batman of Japan’s “Batcave” is a fun riff on the original… How much talk was there about designing that, and should we expect that every Batcave around the world has a different giant coin and local lizard?

John Layman: Not much discussion. I threw it out there in the script and nobody objected. Simple as that. Seemed like a fun thing to do, and I think it would be awesome to visit various Batman Inc. “Batcaves” and see the cool ways each is similar– and different.

MTV: Shen Fang gives up pretty easily… Was it the punch, or the breaking of the sword that really got him?

Layman: Yeah, in retrospect, I probably should have changed the dialogue, because it does come off as a pretty abrupt about-face on Fang’s part. My intention was to give the scene a little more length, and it’s very likely it was cut down from something bigger.

Fact is, “Eternal” is a big book with a lot of stuff going on at any point, and it moves at a brisk pace. In this case, maybe a little too brisk, and I’ll take the bullet for it not being paced ...

“Feminism” has been a word perched on the lips of the entertainment set of late, with some, like Shailene Woodley, denying their involvement, and others — many others — grabbing the label and wearing it proudly. Lana Del Rey, on the other hand, prefers to talk about something — anything — else.

Del Rey’s music has evoked almost as much discussion among pundits with regard to feminism as the music itself has among critics, with some that saying the women she represents in her music are weak, powerless and totally reliant on men. She does model herself on Lolita, after all. Others, however, opine that Del Rey is just embracing another kind of sexuality

When asked about her feminist tendencies in a cover story in The Fader, the typically elusive musician was true to form.

“For me, the issue of feminism is just not an interesting concept,” she said. “I’m more interested in, you know, SpaceX and Tesla, what’s going to happen with our intergalactic possibilities. Whenever people bring up feminism, I’m like, god. I’m just not really that interested.”

“My idea of a true feminist is a woman who feels free enough to do whatever she wants,” she added.

She was also candid about the potentially objectionable fact that she’s often being choked in her videos — “I like a little hardcore love” — and the fact that she had an affair with a record executive.

“I had a seven-year relationship with the head of this label, and he was ...

BREAKING: We’ll update with more info, but for now here’s the release:

In addition to the episodes of a new Star Wars trilogy, Lucasfilm and Disney continue development of multiple stand-alone movies that will offer new stories beyond the core Saga. The newest director to come on board is Josh Trank.

“We’re thrilled to welcome Josh into the family,” says Lucasfilm president Kathleen Kennedy. “He is such an incredible talent and has a great imagination and sense of innovation. That makes him perfectly suited to Star Wars, and for this new slate of movies that reach beyond the core characters and storylines of Episodes I through IX.”

Trank states, “The magic of the Star Wars Universe defined my entire childhood. The opportunity to expand on that experience for future generations is the most incredible dream of all time.”

Trank captured imaginations worldwide with his critically lauded directorial debut Chronicle, a fresh and engaging take on the superhero genre. Trank is currently at work on The Fantastic Four for 20th Century Fox.

Alex Zalben

You can follow Alex on Twitter (@azalben), but not in person because that would be weird.

Jonny “Itch” Fox — a.k.a. iTCH — is going “Pleasantville” all over his new video for “Another Man,” off of his debut album, The Deep End.

As the former frontman of U.K. ukulele punk rock band The King Blues, iTCH knows a thing or two about melding and mixing genres. “Another Man” — directed by Frank Borin — is yet another of his musical/visual melting pots.

The video kicks off with iTCH falling asleep in front of the TV, on which a black and white late night show is playing. After dozing off, the musician is sucked into the TV, where a chorus of women are singing — ala The Supremes — about how they’ve found another man, “And he ain’t nothing like you.”

“You,” apparently, is iTCH, as he enters a musical battle with the singers, rapping and turning everything in the room to color with a touch of his hand. Finally, though, it seems the black and white women win out, as iTCH is rendered newspaper print-colored once again, waking up on the couch still devoid of color.

Brenna Ehrlich

Brenna Ehrlich is a reporter for MTV News as well as the senior writer/editor for the O Music Awards. In the past, she served as associate editor at Mashable, penned a netiquette column for CNN and co-authored the blog and book "Stuff Hipsters Hate." She likes trying not to die in moshpits and listening to songs on repeat. Follow her on ...

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We’re still reeling from the absolutely bonkers ending to the last episode of “Game of Thrones,” but if you can believe it, things are about to get even crazier. For seasons of the show, the threat of the Wildlings attacking The Wall has been omnipresent, and on Sunday (June 8), that threat becomes a reality.

Seriously, we cannot even deal with how epic this episode looks, and as fans of the show know, the team always saves the most draw-dropping, shocking moments for the ninth episode of the season. Guess which number episode “The Watchers On The Wall” is?

And if these new pics from the hour weren’t good enough, it’s directed by Neil Marshall, who previously did “Blackwater,” a.k.a. The Battle of King’s Landing, a.k.a. the biggest freakin’ episode the show has ever done.

So point being, our expectations for Jon Snow (Kit Harrington) and the Night’s Watch’s defense of Castle Black are very, very high.

Oh, and this pic? Of Rose Leslie as Ygritte attacking Castle Black? You’re breaking our hearts, guys:

“Game of Thrones” airs Sundays at 9 p.m. ET on HBO.

Alex Zalben

You can follow Alex on Twitter (@azalben), but not in person because that would be weird.