I grew up loving Ninja Turtles. So I loved 1991 flick “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II: The Secret of the Ooze” — and that meant I also loved the catchy “Ninja Rap,” performed by Vanilla Ice. It’s wasn’t particularly artistically groundbreaking, but a song catered so specifically to a movie is gonna have some constraints.

But that fact didn’t stop Vanilla Ice from critiquing “Shell Shocked,” by Wiz Khalifa, Juicy J and Ty Dolla $ign — more or less the 2014 equivalent of “Ninja Rap,” set to be included on the soundtrack for the upcoming “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles” movie.

“With respect to all of the artists, the song doesn’t really do it for me,” the 46-year-old told GQ. “It feels a little artificial — what I mean by that is that it sounds like a bunch of executives in the corporate world put it together. It really does not fit the theme of the Ninja Turtles legend. I think you have to understand, and be a true Ninja, to possess the Magic to really pull off the secret sound.”

Judge for yourself by listening to both below.

Adam Fleischer

The rollout leading up to the release of Blacc Hollywood continues.

Just a day after dropping the audio for “Promises,” Wiz Khalifa returned on Tuesday (August 5) with a video for the low-key love jam from his upcoming third major label release.

The visuals for the Jim Jonsin-produced track are directed by Gerard Victor, and find the Taylor Gang MC kickin’ it in the park with some friends, but mostly focused on courting a special lady — and getting “caught in the moment.”

In addition to “Promises,” Mister Cap has dropped singles like “We Dem Boyz” and “Stayin Out All Night,” plus, he’s got a Nicki Minaj feature that we can look forward to hearing when the album comes out on August 19.

“We actually didn’t get to get in the studio together, but the song is crazy,” Wiz told MTV News last month, during the Team Epiphany-hosted Oh Ship Summer Fridays boat cruise in New York City. “The idea behind it is just real inspirational, reaching out, just trying to tell people — give ‘em a little bit of message. Use our celebrity to motivate. It’s a good song.”

Adam Fleischer

Time to cowabunga your way into a music video about the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles! Yup, given that there’s a new Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles movie, and that it opens this Friday (August 8), there’s never been a better time to set these ninja moves to harmonies.

Get amped for the Michael Bay-directed movie by watching Pentatonix’s musical ode to the film in the form of the song and video for “We Are Ninjas.” The video premiered tonight on MTV and you can watch it below for sweet harmonies about pizza, saving the day and some seriously choreographed dance scenes.

The whole thing was filmed at Paramount Studios, so how did they achieve the street-like feel? Plenty of fog, streetlights and filming at night.

“The ideas is we’re kind of riffing of the turtles,” said director Melissa Bolton-Klinger in a behind the scenes clip. Dark alleyway scenes, kind of West Side Story meets ninjas.” Sounds about right!

BRB, ordering a pizza and loading up old episodes of TMNT on Youtube to prepare. Maybe the mutants will head to Broadway next? If so, Pentatonix should definitely be involved so we can have more odes to pepperoni.

Caitlin White

MTV Weekend Editor. Acts like Madonna but listens to Merle.

@harmonicait

Things for 5 Seconds Of Summer are really picking up speed this summer… see what I did there?

Anyway, the Australian pop punk quartet are nominated for a VMA in the Artist To Watch category, and though they’ve got some stiff competition in Charli XCX, Fifth Harmony, Sam Smith and Schoolboy Q, they seem very intent on taking home the award.

Just take a look at them focusing all their intellectual powers on how much they want to win a VMA!

Can you read their minds? Did you hear that explosive desire: “I just want to blow the roof off!” Sure, they laugh it off after all that psychic tension, they’re total goofballs.

But that doesn’t mean these guys aren’t deadly serious about their musical future. They’re currently on tour with One Direction, which means things are only going to keep getting bigger for them.

Watch their performance live at the VMAs on Sunday, August 24. The show begins at 9 PM, 8 PM Central.

Caitlin White

MTV Weekend Editor. Acts like Madonna but listens to Merle.

@harmonicait

Hey Justin Bieber? What’s up? How was Ibiza? Oh you met Kanye? Wow, that’s awesome! Oh yeah, I heard about the fight with Orlando too. Kind of a bummer. Too bad you had to leave today. That must’ve been sad.

So what’s up with all these random stills you’ve been posting on your Insta? They kinda look like, yeah, almost like they’re screenshots? From like a video or something.

Do you have new music or a new video dropping soon? Is that what you’re cryptically trying to tell us?

Whose legs are those?

What kind of cereal is that?

I know this is a reach, but that girl’s hair kinda makes her look like Lorde. Is it Lorde, or is she just a girl with really enviable curls? Are you guys going to work together? What do you think about “Royals” anyway? Pretty good jam huh?

Well anyway, thanks for talking. Sorry you couldn’t tell me more. I’ll just keep an eye on your Instagram like I always do. Oh and next time you’re headed to Ibiza, LMK, I’d love to come with! Talk soon.

Caitlin White

MTV Weekend Editor. Acts like Madonna but listens to Merle.

@harmonicait

When you’re Keke Palmer, impressive actress and doer-of-all-of-the-things, most days are good days to be you. But Monday was a particularly exciting one as it was announced that the actress and youngest talk show host, ever, would be tapped to play the titular “Cinderella” on Broadway. She makes her debut on September 9th (so soon)!

This will be the first time a black actress will play the role on the Great White Way and we, personally, couldn’t be more pleased with their selection. Though we imagine some of you out there may have some questions and/or misgivings because, well, this IS the Internet we’re talking about. But let’s just put those all to rest tout de suite.

Can the singer/dancer/actor/multi-hyphenate 20-year-old handle the role and gravity that comes with shouldering an entire theater production on one’s shoulders? Um, that comes with a resounding “duh!” Because Palmer is a veritable force. And not that you should really need any more convincing, but just in case, we’ve compiled a few of the reasons for you.

1. She Can Sing …And Dance!
Sure, she may be well known as an actress first but Palmer can seriously sing. And we’re not just talking about her time in “Joyful Noise,” though that works, too. Palmer put out her first album, the light and R&Breezy “So Uncool” in 2007, following it up with three mixtapes in 2011 and 2012.

Here’s one of her most popular tunes, “Love You, Hate You.” Surely with the ability to dance ...

Lady Gaga helped make collaborator Tony Bennett‘s 88th birthday a high-flying one Sunday, painting the skies with a banner reading, “Happy Birthday Tony [heart] Gaga.”

“For the best … Singing together has changed my life,” Gaga tweeted yesterday, along with a photo of the banner. “Let’s trend it worldwide so I can tell him! #HappyBirthdayTonyBennett I love you baby you’re the best!,” she said as well, sharing a photo of her kitted out like Jo Calderone posing with the legendary singer.

Bennett also shared a snap of the plane, writing, “Dear Lady, you said there will always be flowers but this is ridiculous! Best birthday ever.”

Gaga recently announced that she and Bennett are teaming up for a jazz album titled Cheek to Cheek, due out September 23.

Judging by Gaga’s Twitter account — which is plastered with snaps of her and Bennett together — and yesterday’s birthday wishes, it’s safe to say that Mother Monster is more than a little excited about her pair-up with silvered-haired crooner.

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.

With additional reporting by Janelle Myers

Robyn Gets Covered By Kings Of Leon
Kings of Leon headlined Lollapallooza on Sunday night and treated the Chicago crowd to a stripped down cover of Robyn’s “Dancing On My Own.” Frontman Caleb Followill revealed it was the first time they played that song in concert.

Iggy Azalea, Prince And Now A Black Eyed Pea?
Rita Ora let us in on a little secret: she’s recording music with Black Eyed Peas’ will.i.am.

Vin Diesel Still Copes With Paul Walker’s Passing
On “Live with Kelly and Michael,” Vin Diesel admitted that Paul Walker’s death took a huge emotional toll on him and was one of the darkest times of his life. He said, “I’ve been acting all my life and they don’t teach you in acting, how to mourn someone and simultaneously pretend they’re in a scene with you.”

Oh, Aubrey
“Parks and Recreation” star Aubrey Plaza explained that she found it too tempting not to photobomb Katy Perry and Hilary Clinton at a recent book signing of the former First Lady. She saw a window of opportunity — or, rather, a “sliver of space” — and hoped that she would be in the picture. Thank goodness it worked!

Must-See Video Of The Day
Even though “Parks And Recreation” has been put on hiatus, you can still treat yourself to this supercut of Tom Haverford’s over-the-top entrepreneur ideas from all 6 seasons. Can we make Rent-A-Swag happen, though?

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I think we can all agree time travel would be pretty cool. And in the new short film “No Regrets,” premiered by Complex, Joey Bada$$ gets to experience just that.

The Rik Cordero-directed clip introduces us to a grown Joey — from 2062, with a bald head, goatee, and fancy suit. That man then heads back in time to 2012 to watch his younger self come of age: sweeping floors, playing empty shows, meeting a girl he falls in love with.

After that meeting, we get glimpses of the next few decades of the Brooklyn native’s life, from the birth of his child to that child’s graduation to the death of his wife. Nowhere do we see his musical pursuits, and the piece seems to suggest he chose love over a rap career.

But that’s not the path that he chose in this world, as his debut album, B4DA$$, is due later this year. No regrets? Only time will tell.

Adam Fleischer

Not only is Lorde contributing a new single (penned with eternal partner Joel Little) to “The Hunger Games: MockingJay – Part 1,” she’s also curating the entire soundtrack.

We imagine that this experience will be like being given an amazing mixtape by your much cooler friend — a mixtape that also includes Jennifer Lawrence.

Because the thing is, in addition to writing tunes that give Dave Grohl hope for the future of music, the 17-year-old also has pretty stellar taste. She wore a Cramps T-shirt on the cover of Rolling Stone, guys. That had me, for one, doing the crusher.

As we wait for the denizens of Lorde’s tracklist to be revealed, we made a few guesses ourselves as to who she will include. Check out our list — informed by a mix of hunches and compelling evidence — below:

1.) Lo-Fang

Early this year, Lorde took multi-instrumentalist Lo-Fang (a.k.a. Matthew Hemerlein) on tour with her after choosing his track “#88″ as one of her top songs of 2013. Lo-Fang’s moody, classically tinged jams would make perfect mood music for the “Hunger Games” film.

2.) Majical Cloudz

The next band to hit the road with Lorde will be Canada’s Majical Cloudz, of which Lorde said, “If you haven’t seen this man perform you are in for an intensely emotional and raw treat,” referring to lead singer Devon Welsh. The band’s “Childhood’s End” sounds like it was written for the “Hunger Games” trilogy.

3.) BROODS

Fellow ...