21 Savage skipped out on a paid gig at a club after voicing complaints about the opening act and demanding he be allowed to carry his gun ... this according to the promoter who booked him. 

The promoter, Karen Smith, tells TMZ ... she booked 21 Savage for a fee of $17,000 to play a Sept. 2016 show at Bo'Maz Club in Hinesville, GA, but 21 and his crew bounced without saying a word.

The promoter tells us she caved and allowed him to carry his weapon. We're also told by someone who was at the show ... 21 groused about the opening act -- a local rapper -- and asked the DJ to cut him off but the DJ refused. 21 got angry, and he and his crew beat it.

In video from the club, obtained by TMZ, you see the local rapper performing on stage when 21 and his crew get up and leave ... before he performed a single song.   

We broke the story ... the promoter went to cops in October 2016 and filed paperwork to get a felony warrant against 21 Savage for theft by deception, claiming he walked off with $17k for a show that never went down.

The warrant was issued but sat for more than 2 years. After 21 was arrested by ICE on Super Bowl Sunday, the club owner went to the Sheriff and decided to pursue the criminal case. 

21 Savage turned himself in Friday morning and was booked for felony theft by deception. He was released within a half hour. 

We reached out to 21's lawyer, Abbi Taylor, and she doubled down on her claim that 21 has committed no criminal offense. We believe he'll end up paying the woman and if that's what she's after she'll probably drop the case. 

Soulja Boy's visit from Johnny Law did not end well -- for the cops -- which is why there's now a second investigation involving the rapper. 

Law enforcement sources tell us the Ventura County Sheriff's deputies who executed a search warrant at Soulja's crib last week returned to their vehicles to find their tires slashed. The deputies were there investigating the allegation from of the rapper's exes that he had kidnapped her.

We're told while detectives were inside Soulja's home, someone slashed the tires of 3 unmarked police cars ... causing damage in excess of $1,000. Our sources say the Sheriff's Dept. has opened a felony vandalism investigation. The cars were parked on the street, not on Soulja's driveway.

We're told the Sheriff's Dept doesn't know if the tire slashing is connected to anyone in Soulja's house.

As for the "kidnapping" investigation -- we're told Soulja is cooperating and cops seized some items during their search.

We broke the story ... Soulja's ex, Kayla, claims he tied her up in his garage for 6 hours. Soulja says she's full of it.

Hidden within this chiseled chin is a sexy reality television star ... use your detective skills to see if you can figure out which famous face is hiding in this warped photo.

Huge week as the Jussie Smollett plot thickens, and 21 Savage is fighting to stay in the U.S. So, we gotta ask ... 

8:15 PM PT  Jussie's lawyer just responded with this ... "As a victim of a hate crime who has cooperated with the police investigation, Jussie Smollett is angered and devastated by recent reports that the perpetrators are individuals he is familiar with.  He has now been further victimized by claims attributed to these alleged perpetrators that Jussie played a role in his own attack.  Nothing is further from the truth and anyone claiming otherwise is lying."

6:15 PM PT -- Chicago PD's Chief Communications Officer confirms the case has taken a turn based on details provided by the brothers, saying ... "The information received from the individuals questioned by police earlier in the Empire case has in fact shifted the trajectory of the investigation."

He adds that police have reached out to Jussie's attorney to request a follow-up interview.Jussie Smollett has turned from a presumed victim to suspect in the criminal investigation into the alleged racist, homophobic attack, and sources say there is mounting evidence the 2 brothers who were arrested and subsequently released were acting at Jussie's behest and reportedly paid.

Our sources say the brothers -- both of whom worked on the "Empire" set -- "completely cooperated" with Chicago cops during their interrogation over the last few days.    

One law enforcement source tells TMZ at least one of the brothers turned over his phone and there is a call between him and Jussie in the vicinity of the "attack," but before it happened. 

CNN is reporting the brothers purchased what looks like the rope Jussie had around his neck at a Chicago Ace Hardware store. CNN is also citing law enforcement sources saying Jussie paid the brothers to orchestrate the phony assault.

Various sources in the Chicago PD have told TMZ almost from the beginning there was wide sentiment Jussie's version of events were false, despite the party line that he was the victim of a crime.

As we told you ... the Nigerian brothers never fit the profile of Jussie's alleged attackers, even when they were arrested for battery. Not only are they not white -- which contradicts Smollett's claims from the beginning -- but "Empire" cast and crew sources tell us they're very close to Jussie ... and they're pro-LGBTQ and anti-Trump too.

Chicago PD released Abel and Ola late Friday night due to "new evidence" gathered from their interrogation ... and said they're no longer suspects.

The brothers' lawyer, Gloria Schmidt, says her clients were released based on the key info they gave the cops ... and they have a story to tell "when the time is right."

5:40 PM PT -- Miranda's husband, Brendan, is an NYPD officer who's assigned to the Midtown South precinct in Manhattan. We're told he has several years on the force and walks a foot post in Times Square. And, according to this 2015 photo, he's a dog lover.

Officer McLoughlin with Kybo at today's doggy diving event #JoinTheBLUEFamily @NYPDPaws @bluebuffalo @ASPCA #NYPD pic.twitter.com/2ItyvK8x2s

— NYPD Midtown South (@NYPDMTS) July 23, 2015

Miranda Lambert is full of surprises -- in the same week she dumped salad on a woman's lap during a restaurant argument ... she's now announced she's got a brand new husband.

Congrats!

View this post on Instagram

In honor of Valentine’s Day I wanted to share some news. I met the love of my life. And we got hitched! My heart is full. Thank you Brendan Mcloughlin for loving me for.... me. ❤️ #theone

A post shared by Miranda Lambert (@mirandalambert) on Feb 16, 2019 at 2:41pm PST

The country singer made the marriage reveal out of nowhere Saturday, saying ... "In honor of Valentine's Day I wanted to share some news. I met the love of my life. And we got hitched! My heart is full."

She adds ... "Thank you Brendan Mcloughlin for loving me for.... me."

The wedding pics show Miranda wearing a gorgeous dress with her husband in the middle of a big open field ... but it's unclear when it happened or where they're at.

We do know Lambert was in Nashville last weekend, though ... because we broke the story that she was out to dinner with her mom and a male friend at Stoney River steakhouse when she got into a heated argument with another table of patrons.

It's possible, but hard to tell, that the male friend is her new husband, Brendan.

As we told you, the restaurant fight culminated with Miranda dumping salad on a woman who was allegedly provoking her. There were many 911 calls about the ordeal.

As you know, Miranda was married to fellow country star Blake Shelton from 2011 to 2015, and was linked to another singer, Anderson East, as recently as April 2018 ... when they announced their breakup after 2 years of dating.

We're not sure where Mcloughlin came from, but it looks like he's a keeper.

A terrifying pile-up of vehicles on a Missouri interstate highway due to dangerous wintry roads was captured on video, and tragically resulted in the death of at least one person.

Unbelievable footage from the pileup on I-70 today. My jaw dropped to the floor first time I saw this video. pic.twitter.com/kKeauYDlfG

— Dante' Jones (@Dantej21) February 15, 2019

The chaos went down on I-70 outside of Kansas City Friday. The massive pile-up was reportedly a chain-reaction effect caused by a single crash around 11:30 AM ... but grew out of control as cars and trucks approached but couldn't stop because of the icy conditions.

A man in the video can be heard frantically yelling, "There's nothing we can do!" and telling another passenger it's best to stay in the truck.

One person was reportedly killed in the wreck and several others were injured.

The lawyer for the 2 men who were arrested and then released in connection with the alleged attack on Jussie Smollett says the new evidence that has changed this case is something her clients told cops.

Attorney Gloria Schmidt was at the Chicago police station Friday night, after her clients, Ola and Abel Osundairo, were released from custody. Schmidt said the "new evidence" that triggered the release of her clients was something they knew and presumably told cops.

Our photog asked Schmidt flat out if the "attack" was staged, and she answered obliquely, saying there were moving parts and she didn't want to speculate.

As we reported, Ola and Abel both worked on "Empire," and Abel was especially friendly with Jussie.

And, something else interesting ... she wouldn't answer why her clients went to Nigeria the day of the alleged attack, but added it was a "great question."

She said she didn't want to speak for her clients because they had a story to tell "when the time is right." That clearly sounds like they have inside information about what went down at Jussie's apartment building.