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David Jolicoeur -- also known as Dave and Trugoy the Dove, who was one of the three founding members of De La Soul -- has died.

Sources familiar with the situation tell TMZ the rapper passed away Sunday at a hospital in Maryland. No other details, including a potential cause, have been released ... but we're told his death appears to be from natural causes, and that he was battling an undisclosed illness.

De La Soul's official social accounts have yet to say anything about Dave -- ditto for the other two members and their own pages ... Kelvin Mercer (Posdnuos) and Vincent Mason (Maseo).

Dave was with DLS since the beginning, getting together in '87 and going on to crank out some of the most famous rap songs of all time. The group went on an incredible three-album run through the '90s -- with two of those being certified platinum and gold, respectively.

Some of their best-known tracks include ... "Me, Myself and I," "Eye Know," "The Magic Number," "Stakes Is High," "Ring Ring Ring," "Say No Go," "Breakadawn," "Oooh," "Buddy," "All Good," "Ghetto Thang," "I Am I Be," "Ego Trippin (Part 2)" and countless others.

De La Soul was unique in that they emerged in one decade, but seamlessly transitioned into another ... all while adapting their style and production to keep up with the times.

Three of their songs have been nominated for Grammys over the years, with one of those -- a smash hit collab with the Gorillaz in "Feel Good Inc." -- actually winning Best Pop Collaboration in 2006.

Their music has been hard to listen to in recent years ... for one reason or another, nobody has been able to stream their stuff on major platforms, but a deal was recently inked that'll finally allow their classic tunes to be played en masse starting next month.

Dave was 54.

Jason Derulo is ahead of the curve -- that, or trying to get on the good side of AI before the apocalypse ... ushering in a new type of backup dancer, the electronic kind.

The singer got a massive amount of double takes Sunday while he performed during the TikTok Tailgate -- a pre-Super Bowl show that was hosted just outside of the State Farm Stadium in Arizona, where the big game will be played in just a couple hours here.

The reason for the stares ... JD was up there dancing alongside literal robots, and not just any regular ones  -- they appeared to be similar in style to what Boston Dynamics makes.

Of course, we're talking about Spot ... the (normally) yellow robotic dog that BD created years ago, and which they've demonstrated time and again over time -- highlighting its high functionality and potential capabilities in the real world, including possible crime fighting.

The robo-dogs on stage with Jason didn't quite look exactly like Spot -- but they were close enough ... and, more importantly, they were up there in lockstep with him and the music.

There were human dancers as well, but Twitter couldn't take their eyes off the dogs ... and the questions/jokes started to fly, Like, for example -- WHY?!? Another one ... HOW?!? No one seemed to expect to see this ... and Derulo didn't make any mention of it either.

Some are wondering (in jest, we think) if this is how robots start to get integrated into our lives ... via entertainment/sports. Fact is, the technology is here ... and goes way beyond just this.

If this starts to be a thing, you better start cozying up to these little guys now. Feels like they're gonna be around for the long haul -- and no one wants to see 'em when they're angry.

The FAA temporarily closed down airspace over parts of Lake Michigan — just the latest aviation closure amid reports of UFOs being shot down.

The order was given Sunday, with the FAA shutting down access to the skies … saying it is now being used for national defense purposes. The specific area that was locked down roughly encompassed the water between Green Bay and Traverse City, give or take.

The government isn’t saying why they closed that airspace -- other than to vaguely cite NORAD operations -- but in any case … they’ve now lifted restrictions — essentially saying everything can go back to normal again, without a proper explanation.

It’s alarming … just yesterday, parts of Montana’s airspace was also briefly closed for national defense purposes — only for it to be reopened again mere hours later — but we’re all still in the dark about what exactly has the feds so spooked.

Granted, this all follows TWO unidentified flying objects being shot down in the last few days … one over Alaska and another over Canada. And, of course, this all comes on the heels on the Chinese spy balloon drama about a week ago.

People are demanding answers and transparency, while also asking … is this the new normal in the U.S. now? And more importantly … WHAT THE HECK IS GOING ON?!?

No word from the mother ship at this point … but don’t take that big exhale just yet. Something tells us more weird stuff is afoot.

Jennifer Lopez and Ben Affleck have FINALLY found their dream house ... TMZ has confirmed they're in escrow to buy an incredible property in the L.A. area.

The mansion is in the Pacific Palisades area of L.A. -- a super exclusive neighborhood only for the uber-rich.

It's listed for $34,500,000 ... we do not know the agreed-upon price, but it's a good bet it's not far off from the listing price.

The house was built just last year. The seller calls it a Hamptons-style traditional, with 7 bedrooms and 13 bathrooms.  It sits on an acre, which is HUGE for the area.

The house has all the bells and whistles ... a screening room, a gym, pool, wine cellar.  it's also got a health spa -- not sure how that differs from a gym, but apparently, it does.

As we reported, JLo just listed her Bel Air home for $42.5M. Their plan was to upgrade that home, but apparently plans changed and they're movin' west.

Bob Iger is on a mission to make Disney profitable again -- so, for the Mouse House's centennial ... he made the entire company fall into formation to telegraph his vision.

As you might've heard by now, this year marks a big milestone for the mega-corporation... they're 100 years old, and BI -- who's the newly reinstated CEO once again -- whipped up a nifty little Super Bowl spot that's set to air during the game, which he also released early.

In an accompanying caption to the minute-and-a-half clip, Bob writes ... "Today I want to share this video, which celebrates the @WaltDisneyCo's 100-year milestone. We are enormously grateful to our storytellers, our cast members and our fans. Thank you and enjoy. #Disney100."

As for what's in the spot itself ... a highlight compilation reel full of snippets and stills from their massive vault of content over the years, which is mixed with footage of fans (especially little kids) dressed up as their favorite Disney characters and enjoying the parks.

It's a cool tribute to what Disney's offered/accomplished -- but what's even more striking (at least for the Twitter users of the world) is seeing just how big the Disney umbrella actually is ... as just about every single Disney-owned subsidiary tweeted this same video out.

They all also feature the exact same caption ... "You made this dream come true." All official Disney accounts -- touching everything from Marvel to Star Wars and Disney Animation to Pixar, as well as the different parks around the world -- have posted this, all in unison.

If you scroll through the #Disney100 trend, you'll see just how many properties Disney owns ... it's upwards of at least a couple dozen, which puts Disney's reach into perspective. It also makes ya realize how big a load Iger's got on his plate when it comes to righting the ship.

ICYMI ... Iger was tapped once more late last year after Bob Chapek was pushed out -- this after the Board of Directors apparently felt he wasn't serving the company's best interests.

Since then, Iger has made some big business decisions to get the stock price back up ... including laying off thousands of employees and shifting the structure of the company to focus on creative storytelling from the ground up, while looking for more savings.

Iger has also hinted at the possibility of Hulu potentially getting the boot in a would-be sale -- so it sounds like he's considering any and everything to shore up cash ... this after a few years of Disney struggling to reap significant profits.

And don't get us started on all the culture war stuff Disney's been mired in of late -- that's another headache they've been dealing with ... and will probably continue to battle. Not to mention a proxy war he's in with overzealous board members -- a whole other problem.

At any rate, it's pretty clear where Iger's focus is with this SB spot here ... he wants to get back in touch with the creators, fans and workers, who kinda make this thing go 'round.

James Cameron is facing off against James Cameron for the third spot on the list of highest-grossing movies of all time -- with two of his offerings within inches of one another for the honor.

Here's the deal ... we already know JC's newest flick, "Avatar: The Way of Water," has been steadily climbing these past few months -- blowing past film after film on the all-time box office record chart ... that is, until it hit a snag with "Titanic," which was securely at #3.

That briefly changed this weekend, with 'Avatar 2' replacing Cameron's crown jewel for the third spot ... if only for a day or so. As of Sunday, however, "Titanic" reclaimed its position.

In other words, the 2 movies (obviously, both Cameron's) were flip-flopping in ranking -- but for now, it looks like "Titanic" is holding firm at #3, and 'Avatar 2' is still #4 ... with the latest projections through the weekend for both movies being about $2.217B and $2.214B, respectively.

Although "Avatar" made more money than "Titanic" this weekend ... "Titanic" has still made more money long-term, but it's expected 'Avatar 2' will overtake it again in the coming days.

BTW, if you're wondering why we're saying "Titanic" was in theaters this weekend (as if it's 1997 all over again) ... that's because it was. The film is celebrating its 25th anniversary and got re-released, which means more ticket sales ... even in 2023. 😅

Three of Cameron's films are now all-timers. The first "Avatar" is still king with $2.92 billion, "Avengers: Endgame" is 2nd at $2.79 bil ... and you know the rest, for the time being.

Hollywood took flight Saturday in Arizona -- partying their faces off in none other than a loading dock for airplanes ... seriously, think "Top Gun."

We're talking about Tao X Maxim Big Game Party: an unKommon events production, which hosted tons of celebs in none other than an airplane hangar -- as in, the giant warehouses where jetliners and other aircraft are stored. Seems someone felt this would be a good setting for a get-together. 😅

Anyhoo, the night kicked off with performances by Migos rapper, Offset, and world-renowned DJ, Zedd. Just about anyone who's anyone who was in town probably swung by.

The aviation-inspired bash brought out celebs like Tyga, Gordon Ramsey, and Wanda Sykes. Cher and Alexander Edwards even made an appearance!

This wasn't the only pre-Super Bowl celebration popping off last night, though. Not too far away, another one was going down ... and on the verge of Valentine's Day, it was appropriately selected.

Travis Scott headlined yet another star-studded Super Bowl bash Saturday night, at Scottsdale's 40 Love -- which is a sports bar there, but it looked more like a club Saturday.

Partygoers included Odell Beckham Jr, Devin Booker, G Herbo and his pregnant fiancé Taina Williams.

BTW, We caught P. Diddy's son, King Combs leaving the 40-Love bash ... and he hinted at some upcoming releases ... but also made sure to shout out Rihanna too.

Meanwhile, TMZ Sports's Mojo Muhtadi also partied hard on Saturday ... with the legendary tight end, Rob Gronkowski in Phoenix at Gronk Beach, which was put on by Wynn Nightlife and Medium Rare. They were joined on stage by some enthusiastic sweaty guys in mascot costumes - including an absolutely ripped unicorn, an eagle, and a panther ... doing flips into... and onto the crowd!

Megan Fox is hinting she broke up with Machine Gun Kelly ... because it's hard to think of another scenario based on the song she referenced.

In a since-deleted post/account Sunday, Megan wrote, "You can taste the dishonesty it’s all over your breath" ... and it appears she's burning something.

As you know, Megan's quote is from Beyonce's song, "Pray You Catch Me," which is featured on her Lemonade album. As you know, the 2016 album is all about Jay-Z cheating on her.

Megan unfollowed everyone except 3 folks ... Timothee Chalamet, Harry Styles, and Eminem. Em is significant because he's heavy into beef with MGK.

Megan Fox and Machine Gun Kelly got engaged in January 2022. She's also appeared in his music video for "My Bloody Valentine."

The two have been inseparable for a while now, but based on the post, that may all be history.

The Grammys wanted to honor Janet Jackson in a big way last weekend, but TMZ has learned those talks fizzled after discussions on how to address the way CBS treated Jackson after her infamous Super Bowl Halftime performance.

Sources connected to The Grammys tell us ... the Grammys wanted to bestow Janet with a Global Impact Award, but there was a snag. Recording Academy honchos wanted Janet to attend a pre-Grammy event with the Black Music Collective days before the main event to accept the award, but her schedule wouldn't allow it.

From there, we're told discussions pivoted to a way Janet could receive the honor during the actual broadcast, but that presented another problem ... CBS never made amends with Janet for making her persona non grata after the wardrobe malfunction.

It was Super Bowl XXXVIII, broadcast on CBS, when Justin Timberlake ripped Janet's top, revealing her breast. The network received a ton of flack over the incident, and CBS CEO  Les Moonves pulled Janet's invite to the Grammys that year.

Our sources say Janet's team and Grammy organizers began talking about ways CBS could either apologize or figure out a way to acknowledge how she was treated by the network, but things just got too complicated and talks ended.

Since Janet couldn't attend the Black Music Collective event, she didn't get the Global Impact Award. She also did not attend the Grammys ... fact is she hasn't been there in years.

Michael Rubin never disappoints, and his party the day before Super Bowl Sunday was no exception.

The CEO of Fanatics threw a bash that drew the likes of Travis Scott, Lil Baby, J Balvin and The Chainsmokers ... and the performances were amazing!

It went down at Phoenix's Arizona Biltmore, a Waldorf Astoria resort.

Travis Scott performed for a pretty famous crowd, the likes of which included Paul Rudd, Jay-Z, Quavo and Shaq. Travis cautioned the audience, "Put your phones away! This is a rager."

But wait, there's more! Kevin Durant showed up, along with Devin Booker, Chris Paul, Deandre Avton, and Phoenix Suns owner, Mat Ishbia.

Here's what a hot ticket this was ... more than 2,000 folks without an invite were turned away.

Still not done! Meek Mill got on stage and, get this ... even Robert Kraft hopped on the stage for some fun.

Hollywood publicist and television personality Howard Bragman has died after a brave battle with leukemia.

Howard was set to attend a wedding in Mexico with his partner, Mike Maimone, this month -- but wanted to get checked out by his doctor before his travels for what he thought was a gum infection and mild fever.

Unfortunately, after testing, Bragman was diagnosed with the most aggressive form of leukemia a person can have -- and it progressed "explosively."

Howard was hospitalized on February 2 and died less than 2 weeks after.

Howard wasn't just a publicist for celebrities, but in a sense, he was a celebrity in his own right -- making regular television appearances on major networks. He was also an author, and his 'Where's My Fifteen Minutes?' offered real-life advice to those trying to get their company, cause or self-recognition in the world of publicity.

Howard's Rolodex of celeb clients was just as impressive, including the likes of Sharon Osbourne, Anthony Scaramucci, Steven Slater, Stevie Wonder, Chaz Bono, Don Lemon, Monica Lewinsky, Joe Manganiello, Anna Kendrick, Terrence Howard and Ricki Lake ... just to name a few.

Ryan Shepard, who acted as Eminem's stunt double in the early 2000s, has died ... tragically losing his life after getting hit while attempting to cross the street.

Ryan's brother Kyle tells TMZ ... Ryan died in Washington at the end of January after getting hit by an oncoming pickup truck. Emergency responders rushed him to a hospital, but it was too late.

Ryan worked not only as Eminem's stunt double but also as his photo double and stand-in ... appearing at the MTV Movie Awards as Eminem's superhero character, Rap Boy.

He took the stage again with the rapper for his 2002 Anger Management Tour, and on his Japan and Europe tour the following year -- he also appeared in D12's "Purple Hills" music video as Eminem's double.

Kyle tells us Ryan was incredibly intelligent ... going on to work at Disney as a ride mechanical engineer, and eventually moving to Elon Musk's SpaceX as a test automation engineer.

Ryan leaves behind his 2 children, a 7-year-old and an 11-year-old.

He was 40 years old.

Move over Tony Gonzalez, Gronk and Shannon Sharpe -- Travis Kelce will go down as the greatest tight end EVER ... so says Raiders star Darren Waller, who tells TMZ Sports the Kansas City Chiefs TE is on his way to G.O.A.T. status.

Of course, the debate has become a hot topic recently ... with 33-year-old Kelce skyrocketing to the top of some lists with his incredible play over the course of his 10-year career.

Waller is definitely Team Kelce -- 'cause he says when it's all said and done, #87 will be the best to ever do it.

"He's that good," Waller told us this week. "I feel like he'll finish as the greatest tight end of all time. I don't think that's farfetched. It's awesome to see what he does."

We also asked Waller about Patrick Mahomes, who lost Tyreek Hill in the offseason to the Dolphins ... and he praised the SB champ for Kansas City's offense remaining at the top of the league.

"It's incredible," the 30-year-old said. "I heard a lot of people saying his job was going to get a lot harder this year with no Tyreek Hill and he wouldn't have the same level of success."

Of course, Mahomes and Hill created magic over the course of the five years they played together in Kansas City, routinely torching opposing defenses in the regular season.

Some thought Mahomes and the Chiefs offense would regress without Hill, but that wasn't the case for #15, who put up MVP-caliber numbers all season en route to the Super Bowl.

Speaking of the SB ... Waller says the game is a toss-up, but he predicts the Eagles will get a lot of pressure on Mahomes when they need it most and believes Philadelphia will win.

Waller got into some non-football talk ... telling us he has some new music on the way.

Underneath this contoured figure is a guy who has mad moves, mad game and a wardrobe that will for sure put yours to shame. His music and beats tend to get you up on your feet, and if you're not groovin' along ... he will "Uptown Funk" you up!

This suave guy is no stranger to the big stage ... In 2014 he took his pipes to the Super Bowl with the Red Hot Chili Peppers ... and again in 2016 with Beyoncé and Coldplay.

Super Bowl Sunday is finally here ... but before we get to the big game and Rihanna's must-see halftime show, let's meet the wives and girlfriends of the athletes taking the field!!

Kansas City Chiefs superstar Patrick Mahomes' wife, Brittany, is making her third trip to the Super Bowl ... but this time, their 1-year-old daughter and newborn son will be tagging along to check out the action.

Even though Shane Buechele won't be starting over Mahomes, the backup quarterback's wife, Paige Lorenn, still deserves a big shout-out.

We're sure Orlando Brown Jr.'s fashion influencer GF Holly Luyah, will be dressin' fancy for the big game ... as well as Juan Thornhill's new fiancée, Reagan Elizabeth.

"Fly, Eagles Fly" is something we expect Philadelphia quarterback Jalen Hurts' girlfriend, Bry Burrows, to be yelling when her bae takes the field ... alongside Kelsey Holmer, who hopes her man Lane Johnson protects the QB from the Chiefs defense.

Speaking of defense, Ndamukong Suh's wife, Katya, is gonna be stoked that her man is in his second Super Bowl ... just like Fletcher Cox, whose lady, Kaycee Marchetti, will get her usual pregame smooches.

Bill Bellamy thinks the Grammys have a diversity problem in their voting ranks, and that's why -- as he sees it -- their final ballots on the major categories rarely match up with public opinion.

The "Top Billin'" podcast host and comedian was out in West Hollywood when we polled him on the recent Grammy controversy over Song of the Year.

Bonnie Raitt's "Just Like That" beat out some pretty hefty competition such as Beyoncé’s  "Break My Soul," Harry Styles' "As It Was," Kendrick Lamar’s "The Heart Part 5" ... and surprised even the veteran blues-rock singer herself!!!

The song was indisputably the least-known song on the list, and Bill says it should be a no-brainer for one of the more well-known tracks to take home the award.

He brings up how a band like Journey can unite all people with their great song -- and we're assuming he's referring to their iconic track "Don't Stop Believin'" ... which, BTW, was not nominated for a Grammy back in 1981.

Bill was also displeased with the Grammys' 50th-anniversary hip hop tribute ... noting the lack of West Coast artists, in addition to missing many female rap greats such as MC Lyte, Da Brat, Foxy Brown and Lil Kim -- a sentiment Lola Brooke literally just shared with us.

Despite Questlove's best efforts, Bill says hip hop history cannot be condensed or covered in 2 minutes and they should've made room for a Snoop Dogg and Dr. Dre set, T.I., 8Ball & MJG ... or nixed the idea altogether!!!

Fat Joe feels similar to Bill, having gone on yet another rant earlier this week about losing his 2018 Grammy to Chance the Rapper.

Joe and Remy Ma's "All The Way Up" was the more popular record on the Billboard Charts, but still lost out to Chance's "No Problem" -- a song Joe maintains the world doesn't remember to this day.