The handful of tracks we’ve heard so far from Linkin Park‘s The Hunting Party, out June 13, have found the band straying further afield from the electronically-charged rock anthems they’ve had so much success with in the past. “Guilty All The Same” is a frenetic hard core-style assault complete with rapped versus from Rakim, while “Rebellion” marries thrash-metal guitar-chugging with melancholy musicality.

Which brings us to their brand-new song, “Final Masquerade,” premiering today on MTV. It’s a sharp, edgy, lushly harmonic heavy-hitter that falls perfectly in line with Linkin Park’s lengthy string of hulking, hooky hits.

The song’s radio-ready single status might have been a combined act of Internet trolling and serendipity, as Mike Shinoda explained: “I made some ‘alternative pop’ demos that sounded like they would fit in with what radio is currently playing. But then I came across a blog piece entitled ‘Rock Sucks Right Now And It’s Really Depressing,‘” he said. “It got me thinking. I ended up writing a response to it, and realized that what I had been working on wasn’t really what I wanted to be making.”

While “Final Masquerade” lands loud and hard next to its feel-good brethren peppering the pop-rock landscape with cheery optimism, there’s no denying this is a massive potential hit — and the kind of deeper, darker dirge missing in popular music right now.

“I can’t see forgiveness, and you can’t see the crime,” Chester Bennington sings over guitars that escalate like an descent into ...

Today is June 8, which means that it’s Kanye West’s 37th birthday! Yes, Yeezus does age, and he does it so very gracefully.

Every year of ‘Ye’s life is probably more eventful than five years for the average human, but the last 12 months have been more wild than usual. In addition to dropping a new album, heading out on tour and finally releasing those Air Yeezy 2 sneakers — he also got married to Kim Kardashian. You’ve might’ve seen the headlines (there were thousands of them, if I’m estimating correctly).

Now that Kanye is a married man, we wanted to take a visual look back at his journey from The College Dropout, up until his recent wedding — with the evolution of his Dropout Bear.

Check it out in the video above.

Nadeska Alexis

A native of Grenada, a product of Brooklyn, a student of hip-hop. Hi, I'm @neweryork.

RANDALL’S ISLAND, New York — OK, so you’ve danced with yourself at the silent disco, ticked “see Outkast live” off your bucket list and partied your face off like it was 2001 with hometown heroes the Strokes on the Gov Ball stage. Now all you need is the physical, envy-inducing proof that you did all those things.

The three-day festival on Randall’s Island wraps up on Sunday (June 8), and their merch tent has you covered. We had a friendly chat with Bobby Love of the Charlottesville, Virginia-based Red Star Merchandise who told us on Saturday that some of the fast-selling items included the colorful tank tops — guys and girls grabbed these in equal numbers — as well as a grey Governors Ball souvenir tee stamped with the map of New York.

These Roomy Black Totes Say, ‘Oh, I Spent My Weekend Seeing My Favorite Bands On A Beautiful Island — How Was Yours?’

The Top-Selling Strokes Tees Just Scream It’s ‘Hard To Explain’ — You Had To Be There

You Can Have Coachella: We Came, We Saw And We Turned Up At #GovBallNYC

Just Think, In 20 Years, These Will Be Your eBay-Approved ‘Vintage’ Concert Tees

Rebecca Thomas

You think you know Ed Sheeran… but you have no idea. Actually, you probably have a good idea if you’re a devoted, devout Sheerio. But I guarantee you’re going to learn something you didn’t know about Ed when the Ginger Jesus reveals 100 things about himself on Sunday, May 8 on MTV, starting at 12p/11c.

Spoiler alert! You’ll learn:

• * Ed’s most embarrassing nickname: fire crotch (sorry — doesn’t make him any less adorable)!
• * That time he was mistaken for Rupert Grint but totally went with it!
• * His first tattoo: A really presh paw print (yes, cries my inner cat lady)!
• * His first album: Conspiracy Of One by The Offspring (classsssic)!
• * His frosted tips incident (been there!!)

• … And literally 95 other things — plus a bonus fact — you need to know about Ed Sheeran.

  Don’t miss “100 Things About Ed Sheeran” on Sunday, June 8 at 12p/11c ET on MTV. And don’t forget to tune into MTV’s exclusive documentary, “9 Days And Nights Of Ed Sheeran” Tuesday, June 10 at 11p/10c on MTV.

  Tamar Anitai
  

RANDALL’S ISLAND, New York — Childish Gambino gave new meaning to the line “Instagram my stack load” when none other than Three Stacks himself snuck into the photo pit at Governors Ball, giving us a ‘Gram-worthy shot that we just can’t “like” enough.

Taking in the show among a sea of ‘Bino fans on a sticky Saturday night (June 7), the overall-clad Outkast MC was joined by his adorable son, Seven Benjamin. No shade at all the amazing dads out there, but Erykah Badu’s teen son might have the COOLEST DAD EVER. Because how many 16-year-olds hit up Childish Gambino concerts with their pops? A day after said pops kicks off a raucous headlining set at the same festival? Exactly.

MTV News’ own hip-hop writer-turned-snap master Adam Fleischer caught the close-ups of the stylish father-son duo enjoying Gambino’s high-energy set. And it just seems fitting that the introverted ATLien with a taste for statement-making ensembles would be into the multi-hyphenate Camp rapper’s digitally flavored output.

Never mind that Dre’s not currently on any known form social media: He’s a martian, and so is Childish.

But Andre 3000 wasn’t the only must-see MC to make an appearance at ‘Bino’s show. Fresh off his own electrifying run under the Gotham tent earlier the same day, a still-shirtless Chance ...

RANDALL’S ISLAND, New York — There were no surprise cameos — not from fellow fest performer Childish Gambino nor hometown rapper Action Bronson — but Chance the Rapper didn’t need them anyway. Backed by a live band, the Save Money MC electrified the crowd at this year’s Governors Ball with a mid-afternoon set that elevated not only his year-old, critically acclaimed Acid Rap tape but also a throwback fave that had ’90s babies legit losing it.

Chano seemed to register how much he was connecting too: He paused toward the end of his set, under the expansive Gotham Tent, to tell fans that “real talk,” this festival was “the dopest sh–” he’d ever been a part of. Like a real-life rap superhero — dressed in a White Sox jersey he peeled off to reveal a Superman tee — the 21-year-old Chicago MC powered through 2013 mixtape standouts like “Juice” and “Cocoa Butter Kisses.”

I guess if Chance had a special power, it would be reminding us that hip-hop hasn’t merely been reduced to “the signal pop-music genre of its time,” it’s utterly essential. So he sang, spit and we wailed along. Especially when he trotted out a rendition of the feel-good theme to the animated series “Arthur,” childhood classic for millenials everywhere.

But what really seemed to leave a lasting impression among festival-goers is that the 2014 XXL Freshman is already putting on a show that could rival some ...

Yaya DaCosta has some pretty big shoes to fill.

The “America’s Next Top Model” alum — who since appeared in “Lee Daniels’ The Butler” and “The Kids Are All Right” as well as in several TV series including “House” and “Ugly Betty” — has been cast as Whitney Houston in Lifeftime’s upcoming biopic about the late singer, according to TVLine.com.

The film — which is tentatively titled “Whitney Houston” — will follow the singer’s early career and her turbulent relationship with Bobby Brown.

This will be the directorial debut for Angela Bassett, who costarred with Houston in 1995′s “Waiting to Exhale.”

In a statement earlier this month, Bassett wrote: “I have such regard for both Whitney’s and Bobby’s amazing talents and accomplishments; and I feel a responsibility in the telling of their story. Their humanity and bond fascinates us all. I’m beyond excited to have this opportunity to go behind the camera and into their world.”

The Lifetime biopic is expected to premiere next year.

Emily Blake

As MTV News reported earlier on Saturday (June 7), “30 Rock” actor/comedian and “Saturday Night Live” alum Tracy Morgan is in critical condition after being involved in a six-vehicle crash in New Jersey this morning.

The driver of the 18-wheeler that crashed into the limo bus carrying Morgan and his entourage has been charged, according to CNN. Georgia resident Kevin Roper, 35, has been charged with one count of death by auto and four counts of assault by auto.

Morgan was taken to Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital in New Brunswick, New Jersey. Fellow comedian, comedy writer and passenger James McNair (also known as Jimmy Mack) was killed in the crash. He was 63.

Three other passengers were injured, including Morgan’s assistant, Jeff Millea, who is listed in critical condition, and comedians Ardie Fuqua and Harris Stanton. The group was returning from Morgan’s “Turn It Funny” Tour in Dover, Delaware, on Friday night.

In the wake of the accident, friends and celebrities have taken to Twitter to send well wishes to Morgan and his fellow passengers, and to pay respects to McNair.

Althea Legaspi

How’s that “Orange is the New Black” marathon going? Are you hydrating properly? Have you slept? And, most importantly, have you seen this version of the show starring cats?

That’s right: the folks at Pet Collective have taken the hit Netflix series and put a furry spin on it. This time, Piper — who is, appropriately, an orange tabby — is sentenced to nine lives, has to eat dog food and finds herself sharing the litterbox again with a feline version of Alex.

Take a look at the parody here:

Now we’ll let you get back to the real “Orange is the New Black,” but remember: Stay hydrated, cats.

Emily Blake

Usher had kept quiet initially after two videos surfaced of his protégé, Justin Bieber, repeatedly using racist slurs and telling racist jokes. But on Saturday (June 7), he came to his defense.

In one leaked video, Bieber sings his 2010 song, “One Less Lonely Girl,” adding rampant use of the N-word and also makes an offensive Klu Klux Klan joke; in the other he tells a racist joke. Bieber has since apologized, and on Saturday (June 7) his mentor insisted that his mentee is “unequivocally not a racist.”

“At my core, I am a person that supports growth and understands without judgement, that growth often comes as a result of pain and continues effort,” Usher wrote. “As I have watched Justin Bieber navigate difficult waters as a young man, I can tell you that he hasn’t always chosen the path of his greatest potential, but he is unequivocally not a racist.”

Usher added that five years ago, Bieber was a “naive child” who didn’t understand “the negative power and degradation that comes from playing with racial slurs,” and contended that now that Bieber is older, he “has the opportunity to become his best self, an example to the millions of kids that follow him to not make the same mistakes.”

Althea Legaspi