TMZ.com Home

Wyclef Jean says there's something way more important than just producing or performing on a track, and that's publishing ... a moneymaking well he wants to help new artists tap.

The Fugees rapper talked to us Friday in NYC about his new industry venture -- a publishing and distribution company he started and just got major financial backing for called Carnival World Music Group -- which is meant to give a big leg up to up-and-coming creatives.

The idea behind it is that Wyclef and co. will offer royalty advances to artists, producers and songwriters who want to get their music out there, but without taking copyright ownership.

Check it out ... Wyclef says the focus of the company is for Africans, but that doesn't mean he's excluding anyone who wants to partner up. Come one, come all, pretty much.

As for why he's doing this ... the guy says he's learned a valuable lesson from his many years in the game, and it's basically this -- producing/rapping/singing only makes you so much cash. The real green comes from publishing rights, which are often awarded to the songwriters, composers and the publishing companies those people are affiliated with.

Take, for example, "Killing Me Softly." He says while he produced the iconic cover, he and the Fugees didn't make the millions they should have because they didn't write or compose the new version. Most of that money presumably went to Charles Fox and Norman Gimbel.

Blueface jumped into a brawl that involved his own crew beating on a guy who allegedly tried snatching the rapper's bling ... which is a shame because he was dressed to impress.

The rapper popped up Friday night with his entourage at the Blue Moon Hookah Lounge in Downtown L.A., where he even got on stage at one point and performed for a bit. Blueface was rocking what appears to be a Burberry puffer coat, which retails at $1,390.

Bottom line ... it doesn't look like Blueface was looking for trouble. Unfortunately, it seemed to find him nonetheless.

Eyewitnesses tell TMZ ... word around the lounge was that some dude tried stealing Blueface's chain right off of him -- something we know people attempt to do when rappers make public appearances like this. That said, it's unclear what exactly sparked this beatdown.

Either way, the guy certainly pissed someone off and got his ass handed to him as a result. We're told security eventually broke it up, and Blueface and co. left shortly thereafter. Similar to the time he jumped into the mix of another brawl up in Santa Cruz.

50 Cent just spoiled his son rotten for Christmas ... getting an entire Toys 'R' Us on lock and letting the kid have whatever his heart desired. Jealous much?

The rapper pulled the ultimate parenting move this weekend for his 7-year-old, Sire, by renting out an entire store in New Jersey -- only one of two locations open at the moment -- and closing it off to the public while his boy went around and picked out anything that caught his eye and letting him take it all home as his gift(s) for the holiday.

Basically, a personal shopping spree for a kid ... which became even more of a custom experience with Sire's name and mug incorporated into the presentation. A decal on the ground read 'Sire's Toys R Us' ... not even Charlie Bucket could've dreamt of this.

As for how much all of this cost ... we're told Fitty dropped a pretty penny to give his son the best Christmas ever -- about $100k to have this place to himself and Sire.

Hell, it looks the cash went so far as to pull Geoffrey the Giraffe out of retirement -- who posed with 50 and Sire in a sweet photo-op. You'll recall, Toys 'R' Us temporarily closed up shop last year -- but it's being brought back, slowly but surely, under new ownership.

Mark Consuelos is just like all those parents out there getting a little too involved in their kids' sporting events ... because he caused a scene at his son's wrestling match.

Check out this video of the "Riverdale" star getting heated at a wrestling tournament on Long Island ... you see Mark coming out of the crowd and onto the mat, seemingly incensed with his son's opponent.

Mark makes his move after his 16-year-old son, Joaquin, gets his headgear ripped off by his foe. You hear other concerned parents yelling for Consuelos to get off the mat, and another adult has to push him back towards the stands.

Folks who were there tell us  Mark's wife, Kelly Ripa, was also there and kept her cool while her husband rushed to their son's defense.

While the parents were getting riled up, the kids showed some serious sportsmanship ... shaking hands and resuming their match.

We're told Joaquin's opponent won the match and Mark was vocally and visibly upset, leaving the gym for a few hours to cool off before eventually returning to the all-day tournament.

Britney Spears and company mean business when anyone insinuates her conservatorship is secretly harming her ... because her people just nailed a hater with a big, fat injunction.

Britney's dad, Jamie, just got the order, prohibiting a guy named Anthony Elia from talking smack about the conservatorship. As we reported, Elia created the "Absolute Britney" blog suggesting Jamie and his team were manipulating Britney's Instagram account to make it look like she needs help when she did not ... in other words to make it look like she needs a conservatorship.

Elia went so far as to call the treatment of Britney "a human rights violation." What especially enraged Jamie ... that Elia says he came to the conclusion on a "gut feeling."

Jamie and his lawyer, Larry Stein, claimed this is defamation, pure and simple, and went to court to muzzle Elia.

The judge saw it Jamie's way and ordered Elia to immediately stop his claims ... especially those suggesting the conservatorship is harming Britney.

Marc Anthony's burned out yacht is posing a significant danger to Miami's coastal waters -- so the federal government's stepping in to assist ... but it ain't gonna be cheap.

As you know, Marc's $7 million yacht, the Andiamo, burst into flames Wednesday night in a Miami marina, and despite valiant efforts ... the vessel went under. It's still resting mostly submerged, and it will until divers tackle the issue of fuel leaks.

The U.S. Coast Guard tells TMZ ... the government is dipping into something called the Oil Spill Liability Trust Fund to pay for the divers. We're told they're inspecting the wreckage to figure out the best way to clear the engines and tanks.

After the fuel clean up, another company will tow Marc's baby to dry dock where investigators can determine what caused the fire. Officials estimate the job will cost about $300,000 -- that's how much they pulled from the fund.

Now, before ya fire off an angry email to Congress ... the feds only front that $300k.

We're told the government will seek reimbursement from Marc, or more likely, his insurance company, once the job is done. So, if you need to know ... taxpayers will NOT be paying to raise his yacht.

"You hunted my ass. F**k you!"

That's what racing legend Al Unser Jr. told a police officer during a DUI arrest in May -- right after he drunkenly fell down a hill in a wild arrest captured on video.

Unser -- who won the Indy 500 twice -- was pulled over in Avon, Indiana on May 20 when an officer saw him speeding and swerving all over the highway around 1:12 AM.

During the stop, the 57-year-old gets out of his car barefoot and smoking a cigarette -- and the officer immediately notices the smell of booze from both Unser and the car. Unser claims he reeks because he was "kissing on a girl" just 5 minutes before.

As the officer asks Unser to walk toward the sidewalk and out of the street, the racing legend stumbles over a curb and falls down an embankment.

The officer helps Unser up -- but Al is pissed off and accuses the cop of "hunting" for him that night ... just so he could pull over a famous person.

Once he gets cuffed and put in the cruiser, Al really gets mad -- dropping F-bomb after F-bomb after F-bomb ... while taunting the cop for the way he's driving.

At one point, a rambling, babbling Unser makes a comment about "shooting" cops -- to which the officer replies, "Are you saying you want to shoot cops?"

Unser sort of explains that he meant the cops were TREATING him like someone who wants to shoot cops.

When the officer informs Unser he's going to jail for DUI, the racing legend begins to LAUGH MANIACALLY ... and then says, "Thank you very much you motherf**ker!"

Unser was eventually charged with DUI, improper lane change and speeding and was facing up to a year behind bars. But, he cut a sweet deal with prosecutors in August where he pled guilty to DUI and the remaining charges were dropped.

He was sentenced to 363 days of probation, 480 hours of community service and he must complete a victim impact panel, where he discusses the perils of drunk driving.

Al's driver's license was also suspended for a year from the date of the arrest.

The craziest part about the whole incident ... the arresting officer told Unser at the start of the arrest that he was a RACING FAN and seemed like he wanted to help Unser, not drop the hammer on him.

This wasn't Al's first DUI -- he was arrested in 2007 and 2011 and has talked publicly about his battles with alcohol.

Tekashi's gotta be pleased ... he could get out of prison as early as next August. And, there are signs Kate and William might be on the rocks. So, we gotta ask ...

The perps who allegedly busted a window of Boosie Badazz's Bentley SUV and jacked $70k in jewelry were caught on camera ... and so was their escape as the rapper's buddy gave chase.

Surveillance video of the burglary -- obtained by TMZ -- shows 2 men in dark clothes approach the passenger side of Boosie's ride and hang out there for several moments ... presumably, this is when they broke his rear passenger window to get in.

Cops say an alarm scared them off temporarily, but as you can see ... they return in a black sedan and one jumps out to grab something. Then they make their getaway -- which doesn't go too smoothly -- but they still manage to outrun B-Will, a rapper who works with Boosie.

We broke the story ... the suspected thieves allegedly swiped 2 diamond and rose gold rings worth $10k and a $50k necklace. Boosie posted a video about one of those rings -- a diamond-encrusted "BOSSMAN" piece -- because he was pissed about it getting stolen.

Cops are still investigating, but so far no arrests. As for the guy driving the getaway car ... remind you of anyone?

Don't let these two almost identical images of Lili Reinhart walk all over you ... Stand your ground and see if you can uncover the sneaky switches that have been made to this tricky pic!

The "Riverdale" star was recently spotted in New York City on her way to an interview ... We made some changes to this snow day snap so now it's time for you to show off what you've got! Take a really good look at the photos above and see if you can figure out the differences!

Lindsie Chrisley is going over the river and through the woods for a special Christmas retreat ... shacking up in a majestic tree house and steering clear of her daddy drama.

Sources close to Lindsie tell TMZ ... she and her husband are renting a luxury tree house tucked away in a South Carolina forest, spending Christmas Eve unplugging from the world and her father, Todd.

As you know ... Lindsie and Todd's relationship is very turbulent, and she's publicly accused her father of trying to extort her with a sex tape.

We're told Lindsie isn't expecting to hear from her father on one of the most important days of the year for most families ... instead, she'll be snuggling up to her hubby, Will, in a tree house that rents for $395 a night.

The whimsical space comes with 2 connecting tree house decks, a fireplace, heated outdoor shower and 40 acres of private wilderness for uninterrupted seclusion. The bedroom is huge, with four rows of windows overlooking beautiful white oaks, red oaks, hickory and dogwood trees.

The place is filled with antiques, and there's a record player to set the mood and campfire perfect for making good ole fashioned s'mores. When they wake up Xmas morning, Lindsie's planning to make a homemade breakfast.

After Lindsie and Will get their fill of forest fun, we're told they'll mosey over to his relative's to open presents with their son, Jackson, and sit down for Christmas dinner.

Don "Wink" Martindale, listen up ... the OG Wink Martindale wants tickets to a Ravens game ASAP as payment for letting ya snag his nickname!!!

We got the legendary personality out at Craig's this month ... and when we asked him about Baltimore's defensive coordinator borrowing his famous moniker, Wink was HILARIOUS with our photog.

"I think I'm gonna sue him for using my name!" Wink said with a laugh, before adding, "I love it! I love it! I get mentioned on Ravens games, I love it!"

But, even though Wink is all kinds of down to hear his name at NFL games, he still would like to see some ROI ... and says tickets to watch Lamar Jackson up close would do the trick!

"Get the word to him," Wink says. "I want an invite!"

Bad news for the Ravens' Wink? There's only one home game left for Baltimore in the regular season ... which means the DC might have to pony up for playoff tix in January.

It's not officially the holidays until you've sat back with a tall glass of Ovaltine and a plate of smiling duck to take in the 1983 Xmas classic, "A Christmas Story."

You'll say "Oh, Fudge" after you see what your favorite cast of 9-year-old troublemakers including the day-dreaming, Red Ryder Air Rifle lover, Ralphie, his food hating little brother, Randy, the pole licking Flick, the triple-dog-daring Schwartz, the yellow-eyed Scut Farkus and even the C+ grading Miss Shields look like all grown up.

Harrison Ford, Mark Hamill and the cast of "Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker" gave a couple of kids an out-of-this-world experience ... granting them an AWESOME wish!!!

The Kids Wish Network flew out Addisyn, Ayden and their families to L.A. for the world premiere of one of the most highly-anticipated films in years. The kiddos walked the blue carpet earlier this week and soaked up the adoration of hardcore 'Star Wars' fans.

The best part ... Addisyn and Ayden got to meet the entire cast!!! From Harrison and Mark to Adam Driver, John Boyega, Oscar Isaac, Billy Dee Williams and director J.J. Abrams.

The little ones sported grins from ear to ear as they walked alongside the cast that also included droids C-3PO and R2-D2. When the meet and greet was over ... the kids headed inside the Dolby Theater where they were one of the few to watch the film before the rest of the world. When the film ended ... the kiddos ALSO hit up the afterparty!!!

Now that's one helluva experience ... and incredible work by the Kids Wish Network, which is an org dedicated to improving the quality of life for children with life-threatening conditions.

Robert Glenn "Junior" Johnson -- one of NASCAR's first superstars -- has died, the racing organization announced on Friday. He was 88.

Johnson won the Daytona 500 in 1960 ... and had 50 career wins and 148 top-10 finishes. He was named one of NASCAR's 50 greatest drivers in 1998.

"From his early days running moonshine through the end of his life, Junior wholly embodied the NASCAR spirit," Chairman and CEO Jim France said in a statement.

"He was an inaugural NASCAR Hall of Famer, a nod to an extraordinary career as both a driver and team owner."

"Between his on-track accomplishments and his introduction of Winston to the sport, few have contributed to the success of NASCAR as Junior has."

Johnson was a successful team owner ... and his drivers accounted for 6 Winston Cup Championships and 139 race wins.

"The entire NASCAR family is saddened by the loss of a true giant of our sport, and we offer our deepest condolences to Junior’s family and friends during this difficult time.”

The "Wilkes County Wildman" retired from the sport in 1966 ... and was the most successful driver to never win a championship.

Tekashi 6ix9ine has more strings attached to his prison sentence, and they're aimed at helping him out ... and helping the feds out.

The rapper's been ordered by the court to enroll in an outpatient mental health program once he's free ... according to new legal docs obtained by TMZ. As we reported, his release is potentially not too far off ... as early as next August.

In addition, 6ix9ine must continue to cooperate with the U.S. Attorney's Office once he's released from prison in any ongoing investigations where he might be useful.

As for his incarceration ... there's some good news for him. The court's recommended Tekashi be placed in a correctional facility as close to New York City as possible -- so his family can easily visit him.

As we reported ... the rapper was sentenced Wednesday to 24 months in his racketeering case. However, he's already served 13 months ... so he could be out by late 2020 if all goes well for him.