The people have spoken, and Ab-Soul’s These Days album will drop on June 24.

He made the announcement on Friday (May 30), at the end of a short music video for his recently released track “Stigmata.”

The visuals, directed by Dave Free and APLUS FILMZ, interpret the song’s lyrics literally. “I carried the cross/ If Virgin Mary had an abortion/ I’d still be carried in the chariot, by stampeding horses,” he raps on the chorus, borrowing lines from Nas’ 2002 track “The Cross.” In the video, Soulo carries a cross up a hill.

Earlier this month, it was announced that the album would be dropping in June — but TDE’s label head, Top Dawg, gave fans the chance to pick which date. The full version of the song, also dropped earlier this month, features Action Bronson, as well.

Check out what appears to be the artwork below.

Adam Fleischer

I'm serious about these snacks. Catch me @adamfleischer

Back in February, T-Pain and Justin Bieber posted pictures of themselves hanging out — both in the studio and playing video games — on social media. The results of those sessions? Some pretty incredible music, according to Pain.

“The Bieber record is really, really R&B, surprisingly,” the singer told MTV News this week. “He’s doing some great R&B music right now, and it’s like literally the best R&B music I’ve heard in years. I haven’t heard music like this since like early 2000s, ’90s. It’s insane. He’s doing really good right now.”

Bieber has been moving away from his pop past of late, instead creating music more based in hip-hop and R&B. His last commercial release, December’s Journals, included features from Lil Wayne, Big Sean, Future, R. Kelly and Chance the Rapper.

He continued the trend late Thursday night with the release of “Looking For You,” featuring Migos.

His work with the “Up, Down (Do This All Day)” singer sounds like it keeps that momentum going, too.

“We did four songs when he was at my house,” added Pain, who said the records are Bieber’s, not his. “So, I don’t know which one he’s gonna use, so, we kinda just went in, recorded. And my homeboy Pooh was there, he’s a fantastic writer; Justin’s a great writer himself.

“We made a variety of things,” Pain continued. “We kind of just went through some tracks, set it up, went right in the booth: I went in the booth, ran through a whole song, then Justin ...

Watching the new video for Ariana Grande’s “Problem” sent one main, overwhelming thought through our heads: We want candy. Lots of it. Like, Willy Wonka levels. Here’s every type of candy the video got us salivating for:

Old-Timey Peppermints:

Actually, Maybe Licorice Mints, Because The Video Is Mostly Black-and-white:

…Which Makes Us Think Of Ribbon Candy:

…And Allsorts (Which Got Their Name Because There’s All Sorts Of Them, Of Course):

Mmm, Ring Pops:

…And Chocolate Coins:

…And Checker Cookies:

…And The Two Guys Next To Ariana Make Us Think Of Sno-Caps Because Of The Hair, Natch:

What Do You Think, Ariana, Time For A Snack?

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If he were alive, Big L would have turned 40 years old today. But he was tragically shot and killed on February 15, 1999, in his native Harlem.

Despite the fact that his life and career were both cut far too short — he was just 24 when he passed, and only released one album while alive — his legacy has been carried on not just by the music that he left, but through the rappers he influenced.

His punchline-driven, multisyllabic rhyme style laid a blueprint for many that would come after L. To celebrate his birthday, we dug up quotes from seven rappers speaking his praises.

Jay Z on wanting to sign him
“We were about to sign him right before he passed away. We were about to sign him to Roc-a-Fella. It was a done deal…I think he was very talented…I think he had the ability to write big records, and big choruses.”
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Mac Miller on his influence musically
“He really inspired me to be clever and witty. My early stages of rapping, I was basically trying to be like Big L—trying to be a super raw MC. That’s what he really inspired in me: to always keep that MC factor about myself and about my music.”
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A$AP Rocky on Read More →

Lana Del Rey is getting ready to give us all a little of the old Ultraviolence come June 16 when her new album drops, and the International Anthony Burgess Foundation, for one, is pretty stoked.

“We’ve definitely heard about Lana’s choice to title her record Ultraviolence,” Clare Preston-Pollitt, events and marketing officer at the International Anthony Burgess Foundation, told MTV News. “We picked up on it some time ago and we were intrigued by it … It’s fantastic that ‘A Clockwork Orange’ is still providing inspiration to such a diverse range of artists around the world over 50 years since its original publication.”

Del Rey’s new disc cribs its name from Anthony Burgess’ most popular novel, for those who didn’t spend their lunch period in high school reading in the corner (or who haven’t stepped foot in a HS English class).

Although we’re not sure yet how much the book influenced the album’s lyrics (although we could easily see Alex cast as the dark-as-dark lover in “Shades Of Cool”), the title itself is a term coined by Burgess himself meaning … just what it sounds like. Serious violence leading to serious hurts.

“Burgess was a prolific writer and musician who described himself as belonging to the ‘fraternity of the renegades,’” Preston-Pollitt said. “He was a creative force, using his writing, especially ‘A Clockwork Orange,’ to examine the nature of good and evil and the importance of free will. It would be interesting to hear what impact the book (or the film) ...

It’s clear “Maleficent” is going to be a different from your average Disney movie right from the opening seconds. In the place of the regular CGI version of Cinderella’s castle, viewers get a shot of the logo revamped with Sleeping Beauty’s castle, quickly fading to the “real” thing in the film.

It’s a surprising way to start off, but not that surprising if you look back on all the times the studio has played around with their own opening animation in the past. Here are our 9 faves:

“Inspector Gadget” (1999)

One of the earliest uses of CGI in a Disney logo, the regular flat castle looked like it was made out of popping gears, before fading to the opening credits. It was later reused for the direct to DVD “Inspector Gadget 2.”

“Atlantis: The Lost Empire” (2001)

Rusted metal, shimmering waves and the lack of Disney’s familiar opening music set the moody tone for this animated experiment. Watch it here!

“Lilo & Stitch” (2002)

A beeping green light forms the usual Tinkerbell trail over the castle, activating a tractor beam that sucks the logo out of frame.

“The Shaggy Dog” (2006)

The logo turns into a doghouse, get it? Because Tim Allen turns into a dog.

“Enchanted” (2007)

Not only was the fairy-tale riff “Enchanted” one of the first Disney movies to use the vastly revamped, 3-D/CGI ...

What was the most exciting thing you did this week? Did you graduate, go to a barbecue or, I don’t know, skydive? Coincidentally, “Skydive” is also the title of O-Town‘s new single — their first in a decade! Sadly, they’re down one angel (Ashley Parker Angel, that is), but that’s al right because this is more than any O-Town-obsessed fan could have asked for!

Not an O-Town fan? Maybe you’re a sports enthusiast or 50 Cent fan. If so, then you probably saw the epic fail that was the rapper throwing the first pitch at a Mets game.

Also, Lady Gaga is “speechless.”

We have the footage to prove it and all of this week’s stories that you #NeedToKnow in the video below. Congratulations, if you’re graduating or graduated within the past couple of weeks! Whether you are or feel nostalgic for some graduation song classics, we have those tunes for you in our @Spotify playlist. We’re proud you finished school (and the week)!

Abby Devora

As weeks go, Iggy Azalea isn’t having the worst one. Now, I don’t want to jinx anything — as there are still roughly two days left until the week re-ups — but she could, in fact, be having the best collection of seven days yet.

Check out our very scientific reasoning below:

She Bested The Beatles

On this week’s Billboard Hot 100, not only did Iggy Azalea nab the top two spots — with “Fancy” and Ariana Grande collab “Problem” — she also joined the ranks of the Beatles.

Yup, Azalea’s first two Hot 100 hits have climbed to #1 and #2 simultaneously, a feat not achieved since 1964 when the Beatles charted with “I Want to Hold Your Hand” and “She Loves You.”

Fancy indeed.

She’s Part Of The ‘Problem’

Speaking of Grande’s chart-topping hit, the video for “Problem” drops today, featuring Iggy and Big Sean.

Despite the song’s title, we have no problem with that.

She Buckled Into This Outfit

And This One

Someone Drew Her This Awesome Fan Art

She Also Hung Out In A Car With RuPaul

Speaking Of Cars… This Happened

And Just… The Hair

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 ...

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If there’s one thing Disney has been associated with since “Snow White” first hit theaters in 1937, it’s that True Love’s Kiss is the only way of breaking a curse. And as we all know, True Love’s Kiss can only be between a prince and a princess… Right?

Except as both the mega-hit “Frozen,” and the now-in-theaters “Maleficent” prove, princes may now be superfluous to the whole equation.

Spoilers for both movies past this point.

In case you haven’t been forced to watch “Frozen” thirty times in a row like every other human being on planet Earth, at the end of the movie the heroine Anna is turned into solid ice because she doesn’t get True Love’s Kiss in time. The man she thought was her true love, Hans, turns out to be evil — and she sacrifices her life to save the life of her sister, Elsa.

Elsa, heartbroken, hugs her sister, cries — and unfreezes Anna’s frozen heart, breaking the curse with true love’s, er, hug.

At the time, way back in the olden days of November, the idea of two princesses saving each other in a Disney movie was pretty revolutionary. So revolutionary, that the studio went and changed things up again.

In “Maleficent,” the titular anti-hero has formed a bond with the young Aurora (better known as Sleeping Beauty), basically being her mother throughout the young princess’ growing up years in exile. In fact, they bond so much that Maleficent tries to take back the curse she placed ...

A snippet of what is purported to be a new Kanye West track, titled “Black Bruce Wayne,” made its way to the Web Friday (May 30), leading fans to wonder: Could this be a peek at Yeezus 2?

There are a lot of rumors floating around the Web with regard to the snippet — that it features 2 Chainz, that someone paid $500 for the leak — but as we seasoned Web denizens know, rumors are rumors.

While we wait for Kanye to react to the leak while on his honeymoon — it probably won’t be long now — can we all just appreciate the copious amount of French Ye drops in this track?

Oh la la!

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 Twitter @BrennaEhrlich for news on cats and punk bands.