Firestarter: Cap 1

2 Chainz had a heck of a come-up. The rap veteran may have dropped his solo debut just last year, but it was his experience in the game that ensured its success. Cap 1 has a similar experience — maybe that's why he gets along so well with 2 Chainz.

"I did a lot of writing and behind-the-scenes work with different artists out of Chicago, and came up with Shawnna," Cap explained to Mixtape Daily of his early days, which also included a solo deal with Motown records around 2000. "Throughout that whole movement of Shawnna being with [Disturbing tha Peace] is how I came to meet with Chainz and this is going back like 2001 [or] 2002."

As two underdogs in the rap game, Chainz and Cap made a pact: if one of them caught steam, they would include the other in their plans. Deuce, of course, featured Cap 1 on the Mike Will Made It-produced "Wut We Doin" from 2 Chainz's Grammy-nominated Based on a T.R.U. Story. "Me and Tit just had our bond. We were kinda like two of the same — had the same walks of life, going through the same things just trying to get somewhere better," Cap said. "That's my brother and he kept his word and that's where we are today."

In March, Cap released his long-anticipated T.R.U. 2 It mixtape. Not only does the tape feature contributions from the likes of Wiz Khalifa, Juicy J, Young Jeezy and Game, but more importantly, it showcases the lyrical grit that has kept Cap ...

Even though we are still a few weeks away from the official start of the season, it's not too early to predict which song will be deemed the song of the summer.

One duo that have a legitimate shot at that title are Caroline Hjelt and Aino Jawo, known as Icona Pop. The Swedish pop DJs' bonafide hit is inescapable, and the girl-power anthem will no doubt carry its way through the summer months.

But what is so surprising about "I Love It" is that the pop-dance track was actually released in Sweden a year ago. It first gained attention in the United States as the theme song for and was featured on an episode of "Glee." The song is now sitting comfortably at #9 on the Billboard Hot 100 charts after peaking at #7.

MTV News recently caught up with the stylish pair at 102.7 KIIS-FM's Wango Tango in Los Angeles, where they admitted they are still getting used to their newfound fame.

"It's very surreal that we met on my couch in Sweden and now we are here [at Wango Tango]..."Hjelt said. "We couldn't be happier. We have really tried to take it in; we are super excited. This is such a good start for us."

It certainly is only the beginning for these two, who have a busy few months ahead of them. In addition to kicking off their first-ever headlining tour in North America on August 12, Icona Pop are hard at work on their debut album, which they hope to release by the end ...

French Montana has some pretty awesome friends. Not only does his debut album, Excuse My French, feature a who's who of rap and R&B stars, none of his vocal contributors ever bothered to send the Bronx, New York, MC a bill for their services.

"The only person I paid was Max B. That's about it," French told on Wednesday of his longtime friend, who is featured on the album's opening track and is currently serving 75 years in prison.

That means that Birdman, Rick Ross, Diddy, Drake, Lil Wayne, Nicki Minaj, 2 Chainz, Snoop Dogg, Fabolous, Trey Songz, the Weeknd, DJ Khaled, Raekwon, Ne-Yo, Mavado, Ace Hood, Jerimih, Scarface, Machine Gun Kelly, Red Café, Los, Chinx Drugz and Young Cash all showed up for free on the 13-track (19, if you count all the various bonus songs) LP. Certain artists like Diddy, Ross and Wayne appear more than once.

French Montana Kept His Tigers Despite PETA's Objections?

There was one feature that French couldn't clear, however, from his Interscope labelmate Lana Del Rey, so instead, he just called Ne-Yo and Raekwon and added "We Go Where Ever We Want" to the LP with no hard feelings.

Montana said it's his relentless work ethic that leads his musical peers to want to help him out. "Honestly, Sway, I just feel like I've been blessed for everybody watching my grind," he said. "They see that I grind for everything that I want, I make it happen, so I just feel like people love to help people who help they self, ...

NEW YORK — It wasn't the Sex Museum, but the mood was decidedly sensual at the aptly named Art of IV Play Gallery on Wednesday night. The-Dream turned up to celebrate and stream his May 28 release and yeah, the girls were fanning themselves, but it wasn't just the tepid air conditioning: The superstar producer/singer's album packs that much heat.

An organizer for the album "listening experience" revealed to MTV News that they briefly considered hosting the event at New York's Museum of Sex, where visitors can take classes on, um, fellatio at an "oral fix bar" or catch an exhibit on fantasy in the Internet age. Fitting for an artist who's spent the better part of five albums plumbing the depths men and women go to in the name of love, sex and desire. And in fact IV Play tracks like "Pu--y" and the pounding "Slow it Down" (featuring Fabolous) underscore that point.

Ultimately, though, the Helen Mills space in Manhattan's Chelsea neighborhood was cleverly transformed into a gallery; oversize reproductions of Dream's erotic album art were mounted on the walls. And large projections of his "Roc" video (kind of like video installations) played behind a bartender who grew panicked as the Ciroc supply began to run dangerously low by hour two. But this was The-Dream's night, and the North Carolina native, dressed in a black, was in good spirits, turning on his Southern charm as he graciously posed for a stream of Instagram uploads with fans and industry folk.

With lines snaked around Seventh Avenue, a surly bouncer ...

If Kendrick Lamar had his druthers, rap's current fascination with Molly would fall by the wayside. It's a message he addressed in his latest video, flashing the words "Death to Molly" on the screen at the end of the clip.

Molly is the pure powder or crystallized form of MDMA, a drug commonly used in ecstasy pills. It is known to induce a state of euphoria and has found its way into the lyrics of rappers like Trinidad James, French Montana, Mac Miller, Kanye West and Rick Ross, who found himself in hot water after rapping about slipping the drug in an unsuspecting woman's drink on Rocko's "U.O.E.N.O."

"Sometimes you have the trends that's not that cool," Kendrick explained to MTV News correspondent Sway Calloway when they sat down for a one-on-one after he came off stage at this weekend's Hangout Festival in Gulf Shores, Alabama. "You may have certain artists portraying these trends and don't really have that lifestyle and then it gives off the wrong thing. And it becomes kinda corny after a while," he continued without pointing the finger at any artist in particular.

As a high-school student in Compton, California, Lamar remembers being a switching from basketball jerseys to button-ups when Jay-Z pushed a hip-hop fashion shift with his 2003 single "Change Clothes." Sometimes, Kendrick argues, there are trends that aren't so cool, like the constant promotion of the popular party drug in their music.

"When everybody consciously now uses this term or this phrase and putting it in lyrics, it waters the culture down," ...