Ariantors, we have one less problem: we don’t have to wait for Ariana Grande’s music video anymore!

Ariana dropped her much anticipated and much-teased video for “Problem” on Friday (March 30), and it was well worth the wait.

The singer looks like she traveled back in time with Iggy Azalea and Big Sean to the 1960s.

Keeping with the mod black-and-white color scheme (with a touch of pink) and those thigh-high go-go boots she’s been rocking as of late, Ariana takes us on a psychedelic journey. In what reminds us of a ’60s variety show set, Ariana struts her stuff in a short black sequined dress with a head-topping ponytail as she belts out her hit song in front of her back-up dancers, who break down some pretty impressive moves.

After singing on a motorcycle surrounded by some shirtless studs, Ariana meets up with Iggy, sporting her best Brigitte Bardot hair, as she raps her verse against a multi-colored background.

Watch the video now and be prepared to be memorized!

Christina Garibaldi

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

MTV’s latest “True Life” explored the stories of two couples whose relationships were at risk because the ladies wanted to change their men. We had an opportunity to check in with Carmen and Kim to find out what they’ve been up to since filming wrapped — take a look at the follow-up Q&As below.

CARMEN
How has Justin been doing with his transition from dancing to mainstream modeling?
Justin has been diligently working toward being able to leave dancing for good. Although he has been working harder than ever to be able to fully transition from dancing, he hasn’t been able to quit just yet, but we’re both excited that a complete transition is in sight.

How has your relationship with Justin changed since the deadline? Do you see wedding bells in your future?
My relationship with Justin gets stronger every day. The show gave us a way to really confront some of our concerns within our relationship and within ourselves. Having been able to grow together through that experience has really been valuable to us as a couple. Justin has declared his intentions of marriage for our future, so we’ll see how it goes and when he decides to make that happen.

What was it like to share your story with us?
Sharing our story with MTV was such a unique experience. At times it was fun to take the show with us on our journey, but there were also times when it was difficult and uncomfortable. Having to be so ...

It has been the question that’s plagued ” Guardians of the Galaxy” director James Gunn for a year.

Who is playing Thanos?

The beleaguered Gunn has often told the unrelenting Facebook commenters that the villain teased at the end of “The Avengers” has been cast, but that he intends to keep that under wraps.

Well, according to Latino Review, and confirmed by Variety Academy Award nominee Josh Brolin is who’s hiding underneath the veil of secrecy.

Since this news isn’t coming straight from Disney, it’s worth taking it with a small grain of salt. Latino Review has been on-point with Marvel, especially recently, but it’s not a done deal until you’re hearing it on Marvel.com or from Gunn, who has been pretty transparent throughout production.

If Brolin does end up voicing Thanos — the character is CGI — this is fantastic news.

Since his comeback with “No Country for Old Men,” Brolin has consistently been better than the movies he’s in. He would have made a solid Batman, but if this is his entry into the superhero movie world, I’m not going to complain.

“Guardians of the Galaxy” opens in theaters on August 1.

Kevin P. Sullivan

In addition to his new AMC show, “Halt and Catch Fire,” Lee Pace has a little movie called “Guardians of the Galaxy” in his near future. It’s a film so strange, that Pace doesn’t even know what to expect.

“I’m really curious what the fans, in particular, will make of Ronan the Accuser…. I don’t know what to expect out of watching this movie,” Pace said on the latest episode of the “Happy Sad Confused” podcast.

“I know what I did when we were filming it. I know I had a good time with it. I have no idea. I don’t know what this movie is going to be.”

To listen to the rest of Lee Pace’s interview, including the story about how he landed the “Guardians” role, head over to Happy Sad Confused.

“Guardians of the Galaxy” opens in theaters on August 1.

Kevin P. Sullivan

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) ...

Wiz Khalifa kicks off the third leg of his Under the Influence of Music Tour in July, along with Jeezy and Tyga, and this week the Taylor Gang rapper filmed a trailer for the upcoming jaunt.

MTV News was on set in Los Angeles to capture Wiz and company partying it up poolside in a mansion, and everyone was having a grand ol’ time, including DJ Drama and Mack Wilds, who were both on set.

“The concept is sort of like ‘The Real World’ — a play on reality TV,” Wiz explained. “[It's about] the fact that we’re all friends and we’re gonna be sharing the same space together, just having fun with that idea.”

And that vibe will obviously transfer over to the actual tour. “The chemistry is definitely there because we share a lot of the same common interests,” Wiz said of his tour mates. “We’re young and we’re our own bosses, so we like to just cut up and have fun whenever we get the chance to.”

Nadeska Alexis

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

Rixton is officially going on tour (they announced The Broken Heart Tour on Wednesday – yipee!). But now that we know they’re coming to a town near us, we need to do a lot of preparing. What can we expect?

Luckily, we were able to ask the guys what their live shows are like. After all, we have been watching the Brit boys from afar for quite some time.

“Jake does a dance routine,” bandmate Charley Bagnall told MTV News, when they stopped by our studio this week.

“I haven’t choreographed it yet, but if you ask me in two weeks, I’ll be able to come along with my headless mic,” fellow bandmate Jake Roche said (with a completely straight face, I might add).

Along with the very-choreographed dance moves, Jake plans on getting “too involved” with fans.

“I make out with them,” Roche said bluntly.

We’re there.

Emilee Lindner

Member of MTV News' Cat Braintrust, has an unhealthy obsession with pork dumplings and tweeting Austin Mahone's mom. Follow @EmileeLindner

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 ...

While Spencer Pratt and Greer Grammer celebrate postgraduate life, Maci Bookout‘s son, Bentley, is taking his first steps toward formal grade school education. The standout baseball star officially graduated from pre-K this morning, his delighted mom tweeted, and her message couldn’t have been sweeter: “I’m so proud of the awesome boy he has become. He is the best thing that’s ever happened to me, and I’m the luckiest woman in the world to be his momma. GO BENTLEY!” Aww…

Bentley and his fellow graduates serenade the crowd on their last day as Pre-K’ers:

May 30, 2014 |

Elsewhere on Twitter this week, Devyn insisted that no one should sleep on fellow “Free Agent” Aneesa in spite of the vet’s elimination, but Bailey Buntain of “Faking It” was yearning for some shut-eye. And though Jillian Rose Reed wasn’t convinced fellow “Awkward” star Nikki Deloach could hang tough, Max Joseph put his money on Lucille, who was duped on Wednesday’s “Catfish” episode.

See what some of MTV’s best and brightest had to say on social media this week!

Matthew Scott Donnelly