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'I want to shoot it in Harlem, because that's just the young, fly place to be,' Tyga tells MTV News.
By James Montgomery, with reporting by Nadeska Alexis

Tyga
Photo: MTV News

Tyga is still putting the finishing touches on his Young Money debut, Careless World, but now, he's less focused on finalizing the track list than getting his timing right. Because, from the sound of things, there's no shortage of material for him to choose from.

"I have productions from Cool & Dre, Pharrell; I actually produced a lot with my in-house producer, Jess Jackson," Tyga told MTV News backstage at Philadelphia's Powerhouse 2011 on Friday. "As an artist, you just know what you want to hear; it's just better to make your own sound rather than try to find a sound and add a story to it."

And despite all that, Tyga knows what's up next: shooting a video for "Still Got It," his collaboration with Drake that appeared earlier this month. But as is the case with most things these days, he's already thinking about his next move too. It's sort of an embarrassment of riches, actually.

"We're about to shoot that ['Still Got It'] video next week with Drake, and I've got another single I'm going to drop after that, with Nicki [Minaj]," he laughed. "I have a lot of good singles right now, it's just about timing."

So while he's very much looking toward the future, we had to ask Tyga about the present too — namely, that video with Drake. So what can fans expect from the clip? Well, he wasn't about to reveal all the secrets, but Tyga did say it will reflect his Young Money status by being "young and fly."

"I want to shoot it in New York ... in Harlem, because that's just the young, fly place to be in New York," he said. "I don't want to give [the plot] away, but you know, it's going to be young and fly, you feel me?"

What are you expecting from Tyga and Drake's video? Let us know in the comments!

• Drake
• Tyga

Songs on sophomore album 'all came out quite big,' Florence Welch admits.
By James Montgomery, with reporting by Rya Backer

Florence Welch
Photo: MTV News

Florence Welch circled the globe in support of Lungs, the breakout debut that transformed her from an unknown Brit into an internationally famous performer, a fashion icon and a rather unwilling superstar.

Of course, along the way, she also managed to pick up a few souvenirs.

"I have some chainmail at home; it's a good look," she laughed. "We got a sword as well, when we were in Glasgow once. There was a sign in a store that said 'Sword Sale, 30 Percent Off.' How could you resist? It was a sale."

We mention all that not because the image of Welch clutching a broadsword is sort of amazing, but to point out the whirlwind two years that followed Lungs' release — and the fact that they were actually tame in comparison to the four years that preceded it. Welch recorded her debut whenever — and wherever — she could, working with a handful of different producers in fits and starts. The reason was largely economic, of course, a problem she didn't face with the follow-up, Ceremonials, out in the U.S. on Tuesday. So when she finally wrapped up promotion behind her first album, she knew exactly where she wanted to record her new one — and who she wanted to do it with.

"The first album, what I learned, for better or for worse, it was done over from the ages of 17-22, with a couple of different producers. Some of it was recorded in an old swimming pool, some of it was recorded in a synagogue — it kind of was all over the place," Welch told MTV News. "And that made it the record it is, but for this one, I was very clear in the idea that I had of wanting to make something that sounded like a whole; so it had to be one producer, one place, one period of time to make it a body of work."

Produced entirely by Paul Epworth (whose work on Adele's 21 is probably playing on a radio near you right now), Welch and the Machine crafted an album that, though all over the place lyrically, is unified by one common theme: an all-encompassing, soul-engorging enormity — one that's large enough to give even Welch pause.

"They're all pretty big," she laughed. "They all came out quite big. I was slightly worried, because I was like, 'All the sounds are enormous on this record.' "

Will you check out Florence's sophomore album? Let us know in the comments!

• Florence + the Machine

Maybach Music rapper will join Sway on Wednesday at 4 p.m. ET on MTV.com to talk about his sophomore album.
By Nadeska Alexis

Wale
Photo: Getty Images

In February, Wale joined Rick Ross' Maybach Music roster. Since then, the D.C. rapper has been counting down until the release of his sophomore album, Ambition, which drops Tuesday. This Wednesday at 4 p.m. on MTV.com, Wale will sit down with Sway on "RapFix Live" to give fans some insight into his state of mind, 24 hours after the project's official release.

In anticipation of the album's debut, Wale has already rolled out the singles "Slight Work" featuring Big Sean and the title track "Ambition," which features his MMG cohorts Rick Ross and Meek Mill. One of the most buzzed-about collaborations, however, is the Kid Cudi-featured "Focused," which caused a splash thanks to a very public falling-out between the two rappers last year and an equally public reconciliation earlier this year.

"When they kept talking about me and Cudi in every magazine, this is the record I felt like they needed to hear," Wale told MTV News. "The one that everybody was going to get behind, and it was going to go top 40 and not be corny."

During his recent "Road to Release" series on MTV2's "Sucker Free," Wale revealed that he was much more selective about features this time around, including about half the amount of guests who appeared on his debut, Attention: Deficit. "We kept the features to a minimum because I wanted to give you more of me than I did on the previous project," Wale explained.

Attention: Deficit debuted in November 2009 — with features from artists such as Lady Gaga, Bun B and Gucci Mane — to a lukewarm reception. Some of the album's lackluster performance on the charts was attributed to under shipment from Wale's former label Interscope Records.

Not one to be deterred, Wale followed up with the August 2010 mixtape More About Nothing, which became a trending topic on Twitter. This year, he scored a major hit with the single "600 Benz" from Maybach Music's Self-Made Vol. 1 album, and he dropped another popular mixtape The Eleven One Eleven Theory in August.

Tune into "RapFix Live" this week to hear what Wale has to say about his journey to Ambition. Tweet your questions for Wale @MTVNews with the hashtag #RapFixLive.

• Wale

Batman makes an appearance in the cockpit of the Batwing in new pics.
By Kevin P. Sullivan

Joseph Gordon-Levitt films a scene of "Dark Knight Rises" in Manhattan in front of the Stock Exchange on Sunday
Photo: Getty Images

Batman has returned to Gotham — New York City, that is — to film scenes from "The Dark Knight Rises" and he arrived in style. More set photos hit the Web on Monday (October 31), mostly depicting the same scenes featured in online images from last week, but with one big change. (Fans should be forewarned: there are spoilers ahead.)

For photos from the set, click here.

In one of the pictures published last week, Joseph Gordon-Levitt's character, a beat cop named John Blake, escorts Christian Bale's Batman, who's dressed in business attire; in another, the beat cop fires a gun at some fleeing bikers. Gordon-Levitt's character has been the center of much discussion about the "Rises" plot and who the character may end up being. One rumor that continues to circulate is that John Blake may end up being Robin, the Boy Wonder, something Gordon-Levitt has remained quiet about.

The latest crop of pictures follows what is presumably the same scene but further along in the action. The riders on the motocross bikes are still driving away and jumping over cop cars, but this time the Batwing is visible. Although the Batwing has been featured in dozens of leaked set photos, the pictures posted by a user to the Superhero Hype forum are particularly interesting because they clearly show Batman in the cockpit. If that wasn't enough, he seems to be hovering above a large explosive device in the middle of the street.

It's unclear who ends up on the back of the motorcycles or what they're doing on them. Matthew Modine was on set, but there are conflicting reports on what role his character, Nixon, is playing and whether it was actually Modine's stunt double on the back of the bike.

Check out everything we've got on "The Dark Knight Rises."

For breaking news and previews of the latest comic book movies — updated around the clock — visit SplashPage.MTV.com.

• On The Set Of 'The Dark Knight Rises'

'Midway through, I started thinking I might polish one of them off,' J.K. Rowling says in DVD special feature.
By Eric Ditzian

Rupert Grint as Ron Weasley
Photo: Murray Close/ Warner Bros.

It's no secret that a great many fans in the "Harry Potter" community — a whopping 89 percent, according to a wildly popular poll over at MTV Movies Blog — would have preferred that Hermione Granger end up with the boy wizard rather than with good ol' Ron Weasley. Perhaps the same sentiment occurred to author J.K. Rowling, who recently admitted that she almost sent Ron to an early grave.

"Funnily enough, I planned from the start that none of them would die," Rowling told Daniel Radcliffe in a special feature on the "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part 2" Blu-ray and DVD, according to the U.K.'s Guardian. "Then midway through, which I think is a reflection of the fact that I wasn't in a very happy place, I started thinking I might polish one of them off. Out of sheer spite. 'There, now you definitely can't have him anymore.' But I think in my absolute heart of heart of hearts, although I did seriously consider killing Ron, [I wouldn't have done it]."

Rowling kept this franchise-altering potential story line a secret not only through completion of her "Potter" novels in 2007 but the end of the film series this summer. Now the author says she feels a sense of creative liberation that she can share news of the discarded plot point. "It's a real relief to be able to talk about it all," she said.

The full Rowling-Radcliffe chat will be available on November 11, when the Blu-ray and DVD releases hit shelves. In September, MTV News debuted an exclusive clip from the chat in which Radcliffe compared "Harry Potter" to "Star Wars" and touted the way in which Rowling's characters "exist in the collective consciousness of a generation." That's hardly an exaggeration, and it's difficult to imagine Weasley, played by Rupert Grint in the films, not living on in the imaginations of fans. After all, Weasley finished in second place in our Harry Potter World Cup this summer, a fan-driven effort that attracted over seven million votes and was ultimately won by Alan Rickman's Severus Snape.

For Rowling, Weasley and "Potter" fans, then, any other fate for Ron would be unimaginable. "I'm going to miss the screaming. You don't get that everywhere, and I'm going to miss that definitely," Grint told MTV News at the final film's red-carpet premiere. "I'm really going to miss playing [Ron] in these films."

Check out everything we've got on "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part 2."

For young Hollywood news, fashion and "Twilight" updates around the clock, visit HollywoodCrush.MTV.com.

• Celebrate 'Harry Potter And The Deathly Hallows - Part 2' On Blu-Ray

• 'Harry Potter And The Deathly Hallows, Part 2'