Earlier this year, M.I.A. said that her label, Interscope, refused to release her Matangi album because it was and had instructed the strident singer to "darken it up a bit."

Well, it appears she listened, because on Monday night (June17), she unveiled the first single from the record, "Bring the Noize," and, well, it most certainly is dark, a knotty mix of chopped vocals, booming beats, pounding percussion and ominous synths that just builds and builds, until it eventually topples over onto itself. It's a claustrophobic track, to be certain, and a defiant one, too: at one point, M.I.A. declares "truth is like a rotten tooth, you got to spit it out," and later, she vents "it's not me and you, it's the f--ing banks."

Of course, though "Noize" is certainly nocturnal — not to mention aptly named — turns out, it still might not be dark enough for the folks at Interscope (or whichever subsidiary of the Universal Music Group she's currently signed to). Because as M.I.A. told BBC Radio 1 DJ Zane Lowe on Monday, she still has no idea when Matangi will see the light of day ... which is why she took the song to radio herself.

"This is my last stab at it," she told Lowe. "I keep finishing the record, handing it in, finishing the record, handing it in. I've given up at this point ... If I didn't get ['Bring the Noize'] out now, I would have definitely exploded."

And based on her Vine account, it appears M.I.A. ...

Seven years after securing the rights to Max Brooks' best-selling novel "World War Z," Brad Pitt will finally face the zombie apocalypse when the film hits theaters Friday (June 21).

Pitt plays a retired United Nations employee who leaves his wife and two kids behind to travel the globe in the hopes of stanching the pandemic, which threatens to end the world as we know it. And as a real-life father of six, the instinct to protect what he loves is nothing new for Pitt. In fact, as the actor told MTV News at the film's New York premiere on Monday, it's a feeling that never truly goes away.

"Always, I mean, always. It's a papa bear — it's just instinctual," Pitt said. "It kicks in. It's kind of amazing how that happens, but comforting."

Of course, Pitt does tear himself away from his family long enough to work on films like "World War Z," which has been a passion project for the 49-year-old, who also serves as a producer. (To wit, the film's gone through a handful of re-writes and re-shoots on its seven-year journey to the big screen.) But seeing the finished product finally realized was all worth it for Pitt.

"It's just big and fun, and this is the most intense thing you're going to see all year," he promised. "It's the most intense thing I've done. We're really thrilled by it."

"World War Z," co-starring Mireille Enos and James Badge Dale, opens Friday.

Mariah Carey's "new era" now has a name. Carey's July 23 album release has been dubbed The Art of Letting Go.

That album title was confirmed by the former "American Idol" judge's longtime producer Jermaine Dupri on Twitter late Monday night. The Art of Letting Go is MC's 11th studio album and her first since 2009's Memoirs of an Imperfect Angel. In addition to teaming up with Dupri, she's also worked with Bryan-Michael Cox (who produced 2012's "Triumphant (Get 'Em)"), Hit-Boy and The-Dream on the studio release.

Carey kicked off her Letting Go era in May with the Miguel-assisted lead single, which currently sits at #15 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart.

When MTV News spoke to Miguel last month, he revealed why the twosome decided to include the social media-friendly hashtag in the song's title. "The hashtag in the title of this song is particularly fitting because the word that comes before 'beautiful' when I sing the chorus is an expletive that I can't say on air," he said, referring to the F-word he sings on song's hook. "But the hashtag is particularly fitting for that expletive, if you just kind of pay a little bit of attention."

Weeks after she released the song, Carey announced she would be leaving "American Idol" after one season to put the focus back on her music. In addition to the Miguel collaboration, Carey has also teased potential appearances from "Idol" contestants Candice Glover, Kree Harrison and Angie Miller, as well as her daughter, Monroe, on the release.

"It's ...

Lil Wayne caught a bit of heat on Monday when a video of him stepping on an American flag made the rounds on the Internet. But the clip, which outraged some, didn't tell the whole story.

"It was never my intention to desecrate the flag of the United States of America. I was shooting a video for a song off my album, entitled 'God Bless Amerika,' " Weezy said in a statement posted to his Facebook page on Tuesday (June 18).

In the clip, Wayne raps while standing in front of the American flag before it drops to the floor to reveal a number of residents from his native Hollygrove, New Orleans, neighborhood standing behind him. With the flag on the ground, Weezy continues his performance for the camera, in some instances walking over and on the stars and stripes — but that's not what fans were ever intended to see when the finished music video hit television and online. The wide shot caught in the clip allowed Internet viewers to see Wayne's feet, but the final cut would leave that angle out of the scene entirely.

"The clip that surfaced on the Internet was a camera trick clip that revealed behind the American Flag was the ['hoods] of America. In the final edit of the video you will see the flag fall to reveal what's behind it but will never see it on the ground," he explained.

The somber track, featured on I Am Not a Human Being II, finds Wayne reflecting on the troubles in his life, including his ...

A little more than two months ago, Kanye West put fans in a frenzy after tweeting just two words: "June Eighteen," and now, the date is finally here. Yeezy's sixth solo LP hit stores on Tuesday (June 18), but his faithful flock aren't the only ones excited for Yeezus; Kanye's fellow rappers are also pumped.

"It's just dope man, 10 songs, no cover, Yeezus," 2 Chainz exclaimed when MTV News caught up with him backstage at Hot 107.9's Birthday Bash concert in Atlanta.

The simplicity of West's 10-song, no cover disc is actually wrapped around a not-so-simple minimalist musical ideology that he stays true to for the 40-minute ride. Sure he had a little help from pioneering hip-hop producer Rick Rubin, among others, but the progressive nature of the record screams Yeezy. "He got one of the best musical minds, I personally feel, in my generation," Trinidad James told us of how he looks up to West.

Yeezus impressions are felt way beyond its musical structure. Kanye's unorthodox album rollout didn't include a radio plan, a no-no for any hip-hop artist hoping to make a dent in SoundScan. West even declined to release his to television or online, instead he just projected the clip onto blank walls at set times in a number of cities and gathered fans in the street to watch.

It's a risk that not ever rapper can take, and French Montana, for one fully recognizes the creative power that West wields. "For him to drop something the way he did, he's ...

Some people come home to tail-wagging dogs, others — well, maybe just Mac Miller — come home to scantily clad models posing on their staircase. With his new album, Watching Movies With the Sound Off, out Tuesday (June 18), we get further proof of why it's good to be Mac in this special unreleased clip from MTV2's "Mac Miller and the Most Dope Family."

"Don't stop on my account," Mac tells the model as he walks in on a photo shoot in the foyer of his mansion.

When the blond, tattooed model admits she's just "shy," Miller smirks as he maneuvers his way up the stairs around her, paying no mind to the fact that he's interrupting something: "Hey, this is my house!"

Beautiful women in bikinis are a mainstay for a lot of rappers, including Mac. Just take a look at his new video for "Watching Movies," where he's surrounded by girls twerking inches away from his face. But while casually getting some ink, he asks his tattoo artist (whose girlfriend is the shoot's photographer), why he walked in on a chick who was "bent over with her ass cheeks spread on the steps."

"I guess it's a good day at the Mac Miller compound," the tattoo artist replies — to which Miller laughs, "I mean, that's nothing new."

Mac Miller's sophomore album, Watching Movies, hits stores on the same day as two other major hip-hop releases: Kanye West's Yeezus and J. Cole's Born Sinner. When MTV News spoke to Miller on the June 12 episode of "RapFix Live," ...

John Mayer had previously said he was by Taylor Swift's 2010 kiss-off and now, it seems he's looking for a little revenge.

On Tuesday (June 18), Mayer premiered a brand-new single, "Paper Doll," and while it's nowhere as scathing as "Dear John" — i.e. the phrase "dark twisted games" is not used — well, it certainly appears to be a direct response to Swift's song.

"Here's a dress of gold and blue/Sure was fun being good to you," Mayer sings at the beginning of the track, one of several mentions of dresses (remember, of course, that on "Dear John," Swift referred to herself as "the girl in the dress [who] cried all the way home.") Later, there's a lyric that goes "Someone's gonna paint you another sky," which seems like a direct call-back to another "John" line: "You paint me a blue sky and go back and turn it to rain."

And then there's the chorus, where Mayer sings "You're like 22 girls in one/and none of them know what they're running from." It's a bit of a two-pronged attack: Not only did Swift release "22" as a single earlier this year, but on "John," she proclaimed she'd look back on her relationship with Mayer "and regret how I ignored when they said 'Run as fast as you can.' "

Of course, it's not like Mayer named the song "Dear Taylor" or anything like that, but based on lyrical analysis alone, well, it's difficult to think "Paper Doll" is about anyone other than Swift, whom he ...

Even when you finally get up off the Sideline, there's still "hell" to pay. J. Cole gets that agonizing truth off his chest over the course of 16 tracks, and more immediately when he introduces his sophomore album, Born Sinner, by telling listeners, point blank, "It's way darker this time."

The 28-year-old has been on a turbulent journey since he signed his Roc Nation deal in 2009, where at some points he's admitted to "going through depression, trying to make it to happiness." Those moments of pain and triumph — in the industry, in his relationship, against his own demons — weave throughout the deeply personal album in a struggle between sin and redemption, with Cole pleading, "Please give me my soul" on the album's opening track before reconciling, "I was born sinning but I live better than that," on the final song and title track "Born Sinner."

"Villuminati" opens the album on a high note, boosted by soaring strings, as Cole gives love to both Jay-Z and the Notorious B.I.G. on the hook rapping, "Sometimes I brag like Hov," while splicing in a skillfully placed "Juicy" sample that incorporates, "born sinner, the opposite of a winner." He doesn't say it outright until the end of the track but here, at the beginning of his album, Cole takes the chance to reintroduce himself, confident in his successes ("you n----s famous on the Internet, I'm real-life hot") yet acutely aware of where he's yet to go, with one of his most lighthearted and captivating lines, "Beyoncé told me she that she ...

The most important night of "The Voice" season 4 took place last night, and it's anyone's game. The final three competitors — Team Blake's Danielle Bradbery and the Swon Brothers and Team Usher's Michelle Chamuel — gave a final, stellar night of performances for America's votes before the show crowns its new champion.

The high-energy night kicked off "With A Little Help From My Friends." Not literally, but the Beatles song, performed by celebrity coaches Adam Levine, Blake Shelton, Usher and Shakira, whose connection was so electric they had the audience rocking out and waving hands.

But the show isn't about the coaches, as witnessed by the tremendous popularity of the season 4 finalists, and with the vote now left in the hands of the viewesr, the coaches merely cheered from the sidelines. The finalists, however, felt the pressure, performing three songs over the course of the night — one solo, one reprisal and one duet with their coach.

The Swon Brothers
Making "Voice" history as the only duo to make it to the finals, the "Oakies" opened the show with not just a new tune but a new look, swapping their casual country garb for a polished look with sleek black suits while tackling the Eagles' "I Can't Tell You Why." Coach Shelton praised them for "constantly evolving" and a hard-to-please Levine finally gave in, telling them they did a "great job." Originally the underdogs, the Swons gained serious momentum in the past few weeks, especially after "Danny's Song," a track they chose to reprise ...

Mumford & Sons' Ted Dwane is a little worse for the wear, minus his signature mane of brown hair, but in a picture he uploaded on Monday the band's bassist looks happy to be out of the hospital.

Dwane, who underwent brain surgery last week to remove a blood clot,
 posted a photo on the Mumford site on Monday in which fans can see his shorn head with a wicked scar across the top of his scalp. "Bear with a sore head!" Dwane wrote. "Thanks so much for all the well wishing, it seems to be working! I'm home."

After canceling a couple of Texas shows earlier in the week due to Dwane's surgery, Mumford had to bail on their appearances at last weekend's Bonnaroo
 and Telluride festivals in order to allow the bassist to heal. They were replaced on the 'Roo bill by Jack Johnson, who stepped into their headlining slot.


On Thursday, the group announced that Dwane had been discharged from the hospital and was on the mend. "The surgery went well, and the excellent medical team helping him are very pleased with his progress," they wrote. "He has been nothing short of heroic in how he has handled the whole ordeal, and now it has been medically proved that he does indeed have a brain."

With the cancelation of the two festival shows, as well as another gig at the Cricket Wireless Amphitheater in Bonner Springs, Kansas, the English group has completed it's North American Summer Stampede tour and do not have another ...