Celebrity Death

Comedian Luenell is absolutely furious at Chris Darden and going nuclear on him ... saying he's worse than an "Uncle Tom" for defending Nipsey Hussle's alleged killer.

We got Luenell outside Katsuya Monday night in Hollywood, and took her temperature on Darden putting himself in the center of another high-profile case in the African-American community. She makes it crystal clear ... "most of the people in my community, we're appalled" Darden has signed on to rep Eric Holder in the murder case.

Check out the vid ... Luenell doesn't mince words, calling the former O.J. Simpson prosecutor everything from a Judas to a race traitor to a bitch -- to name just a few of the gems she dropped.

It's clear Luenell's still heated over Darden's role in O.J.'s murder trial. On top of that, Darden is NOT getting her vote for Daddy of the Year -- she's livid Darden's daughter is getting harassed as a result of his decision to take Holder's case.

Nipsey Hussle will take one last victory lap around L.A. before he's laid to rest, and the procession will touch much of the city ... especially the neighborhoods he fiercely supported.

Sources close to the slain rapper tell TMZ ... Nipsey's casket will travel to a few important landmarks, including his Marathon clothing store, where he was shot to death. All told, the procession will cover just over 25 miles as it winds through South L.A. following Thursday's memorial service at Staples Center.

Our sources say Nipsey's casket will be at Staples during the celebration of life, and the funeral procession will start as soon as the service ends. We're told Nipsey's family wanted to make sure the community got an opportunity to pay respects along the route because most people won't be able to attend the memorial. Staples only seats 21,000.

As you know, Nipsey's store -- at the intersection of Slauson and Crenshaw -- was central in his life and death. He intentionally opened it there to support his neighborhood, but, sadly, it's also where he was killed ... and where several vigils have been held since then.

We're told the procession is expected to take about an hour and a half, ending at a funeral home in the Crenshaw district.

Nipsey Hussle's memorial service will be a free event for the public -- but tickets are limited, so you'll have to be up early Tuesday to get yours ... you'll have to live in Cali too.

The logistics for Thursday's event -- which has been dubbed "Nipsey Hussle's Celebration of Life" -- are up on Staples Center's website, and it breaks down how to gain entry to the ceremony. Complimentary tickets will be available Tuesday at 10 AM PT via AXS.com. A big caveat ... tickets will be reserved for California residents only -- and each household gets 4 max.

There are more stipulations for the event itself, which starts at 10 AM sharp and runs 'til noon. According to SC ... all guests in a group must enter the premise together with their tickets in hand, and everyone will be subject to metal detector screenings and bag screenings.

No backpacks are allowed, nor are bags larger than 14" x 14" x 6". Out of respect for Nipsey's family, cameras and recording devices won't be allowed inside the venue either. Non-alcoholic beverages and light snacks will be available for purchase inside.

TMZ broke the story ... Nipsey's family and honchos at Staples Center got together Friday and discussed logistics on how to honor Nipsey there. LAPD officials were also present at the meeting to help plan for security and safety for this upcoming Thursday.

Nipsey was shot and killed a week ago Sunday in front of his Marathon Clothing store. His alleged shooter, Eric Holder, has been charged for murder ... for which he pled not guilty.

Cops are on the hunt to figure out who tried to kill someone during last week's Nipsey Hussle vigil.

According to a new search warrant, obtained by TMZ, the day after Nipsey was murdered in front of The Marathon Clothing store, 2 people were shot during the evening vigil -- one person in the elbow and another in the lower back/buttocks. The woman who was shot in the buttocks says she heard a "loud, rapid succession of gunshots from an unknown direction."

Cops believe the shooter or shooters were trying to kill someone, and they think it was all captured on the surveillance video from Marathon. The affidavit reads in part, there is a "surveillance system [that] captured the events leading up to, and after the attempted murder of unknown Victim."

The LAPD asked a judge to order the seizure of the video equipment located inside the strip mall stores, including Marathon.

The legal docs say employees at all the businesses refused to turn over their equipment.

And there's this ... the affidavit says, "The Marathon store has been involved in numerous investigation where surveillance video has been deleted by staff/management, prior to police arrival."

As you know, the shots triggered a stampede and 19 people were injured.

It's interesting ... although the warrant says someone was trying to commit murder, cops said shortly after the vigil there appeared to be no evidence of gunshots.

Kanye West is the latest huge star to pay tribute to Nipsey Hussle ... and he did it with his Sunday Service.

Ye was holding his weekly outdoor concert Sunday -- per usual -- but at one point during the show ... he played audio of Nipsey's voice delivering some inspirational words about encouragement over music that was beginning to build, courtesy of Kanye who was DJing.

The choir and live band take it from there, as they start to play out what sounds like a hymn for Nipsey. You can also see North West getting into the vibe too.

Kanye's shout-out to Nipsey follows J. Cole dedicating an entire song to the L.A. rapper during his inaugural Dreamville Fest Saturday. Big Sean held a special moment for Nipsey at the same event.

Chris Darden repping Nipsey Hussle's alleged murderer is having repercussions he might not have seen coming, so says the guy's daughter ... who's now getting harassed.

Jenee Darden -- one of Chris' adult children -- posted a statement on IG Sunday, saying she's been receiving "vile" comments and messages ever since the news broke last week that her dad was serving as Eric Holder's defense attorney.

Darden pled not guilty on behalf of Holder after he was charged with murder, but his mere presence in the courtroom took many people aback ... as he'd previously served as one of the prosecutors on the O.J. Simpson case, which he lost.

Jenee says there's been tons of backlash aimed at her because of Chris' recent decision to rep Holder, which she says is unwarranted ... because her father is a grown man and picks the cases he wants to take on. She says she has no say on any of that.

She also says she found about Chris' involvement in the case like everyone else ... scrolling through social media.

More interestingly, Jenee appears to be siding with Nipsey and his grieving family over her own father ... saying she grew up in a community similar to Nipsey's and understands why it's hit so hard for so many people to lose a mighty figure like him to a senseless murder.

Jenee goes on to say that the folks who are attacking her online should channel their energy toward continuing Nipsey's legacy by strengthening communities and continuing to uplift one another.

J. Cole took a moment during his sold-out Dreamville Festival to honor the late Nipsey Hussle -- and it was quite a special sight to behold.

The North Carolina grown MC was in Raleigh Saturday night, where he packed out Dix Park with no less than 40,000 people who flocked to his inaugural music festival. At one point during the show, Cole performed his hit, "Love Yourz," which he dedicated to Nip.

It was a touching tribute, with video footage of the slain L.A. rapper playing on a giant monitor behind JC the whole time.

Even before Cole got a single line of lyrics out, the crowd took over and sang the opening verses of the track. It seems like a live band was used for the performance too ... which sounded great.

Cole ended "Love Yourz" with an explicit shout out to Nipsey, telling the crowd to make some noise him and to not put their lit cellphones down. The crowd happily obliged.

Big Sean also paid a special tribute to Nipsey during his Dreamville Fest set, going in on what sounded like a fresh freestyle that he appeared to write specifically for the moment.

Sean sent a sweet message to Nipsey himself too, saying he could still feel his energy while going on to thank him for his talent and work in his community.

Nipsey Hussle's killer became further enraged when his first shots didn't finish off the rapper ... and Nipsey talked back to him.

Sources at the scene of Nipsey's murder tell us ... after Eric Holder allegedly shot Nipsey twice and the rapper fell to the ground, Nipsey raised his head and said something to the effect of, "You shot me, you got me, I'm good."

We're told Holder -- who had already started to walk away -- turned around and walked back in Nipsey's direction when he realized the rapper was still alive. That's when Holder fired additional shots at Nipsey ... those bullets, eyewitnesses believe, that killed him.

In the surveillance video, you clearly see Nipsey -- who was wearing a white bandana -- raise his head after the initial shots were fired. You can also see Holder approach Nipsey while he lay on the ground, fire more shots, back off, fire again and kick him before running into an alley.

Holder was arrested in Los Angeles Tuesday and has since been charged with 1 count of murder, 2 counts of attempted murder and 1 count of possession of a firearm by a felon. His bond is $5 million. An unidentified female who drove Holder away from the crime scene was questioned and released.

As for Nipsey's funeral ... our sources say it will be taking place on Thursday at the Staples Center -- in order to accommodate everyone who wants to attend. Those close to the rapper were scoping out some of L.A.'s biggest venues.

10:22 AM PT -- Big Boy from 92.3 the REAL just came down hard on Kodak Black, saying he won't tolerate disrespect like this toward royalty in Nipsey Hussle and Lauren London. BB says hip-hop culture has a tendency to look the other way on moments like this, but he argues that has to change ... and that people from the community have to hold one another accountable, including Kodak. It doesn't sound like Big Boy is committing to not playing Kodak's music on the airwaves like Justin Credible did, but he does say he hopes this helps change minds going forward about ya say about who.

Check out his full statement above.

Kodak Black apologized for something he clearly should not have done in the first place ... disrespected Lauren London, the grieving girlfriend of Nipsey Hussle.

Kodak went on IG Live Saturday with his mea culpa, though somewhat half-hearted. He said he was sorry for disrespecting her, "even though I didn't."

As you know ... on Saturday a video circulated of Kodak calling Lauren "that baby" and "whole widow out here." He went on to say he was willing to give her a year of "crying and s***" before making a move on her.

Justin Credible from Power 106 in L.A. tweeted the station was "appalled by the disrespectful and poor comments" and they would no longer play his music.

Former welterweight championship boxer Andre Berto told us Saturday in Bev Hills, what Kodak did was super disrespectful, because Nipsey Hussle's murder was so fresh, and Kodak would serve himself well by staying out of L.A.

In Kodak's "apology," he did say Nipsey inspired him to do more in his community.

As we reported, there will be a huge memorial service for Nipsey -- who was murdered a week ago Sunday -- at L.A.'s Staples Center.

4:29 PM PT -- Goldenvoice issued a statement about the worker who died Saturday, saying ... "Today, Goldenvoice lost a colleague, a friend, a family member. Our friend fell while working on a festival stage. It is with heavy hearts and tremendous difficulty that we confirm his passing. He has been with our team for 20 years in the desert and was doing what he loved. He was a hard-working and loving person that cared deeply about his team. As our lead rigger, he was responsible for the countless incredible shows that have been put on at the festival. We will miss him dearly."

There's already a death on Coachella's doorstep one week before the festival officially gets underway ... TMZ has learned.

A worker died Saturday morning at the Empire Polo Club in Indio, CA while he was helping set up one of the many stages at the venue. Eyewitnesses on the ground tell us the guy was climbing the stage scaffolding to do some rigging ahead of opening day next Friday.

It's unclear exactly how or why, but we're told the man fell about 60 feet to the ground -- as he wasn't clipped in, meaning he had no safety harness attached to a cable to prevent him from plummeting.

An Indio Police spokesperson confirms that a call was placed around 9:30 AM PT Saturday to report an industrial accident on the Coachella Concert grounds for somebody who'd fallen near the staging area. Police and fire units responded, but we're told the victim was pronounced dead on the scene.

The IPD rep says the exact circumstances surrounding the man's death is under investigation.

Coachella appears to have carried on without very many fatalities up until 2014, when a female festival goer died of a drug overdose ... which is believed to be one of the first -- if not, the only -- deaths to occur in Coachella's two-decade history.

We've reached out to Goldenvoice -- which puts on Coachella each year -- for comment ... so far, no word back.

Originally Published -- 1:12 PM PT

The family of slain rapper Nipsey Hussle will give him a spectacular memorial service at the gold standard for L.A. venues -- the Staples Center ... TMZ has learned.

Sources with direct knowledge tell us, the service will take place Thursday morning at the 21,000 seat venue. We're told tickets will be available for the event through a website. Only ticket holders will gain admission.

Our sources say there was a meeting Wednesday with Nipsey's family and honchos from Staples. LAPD officials were also present in the meeting to help plan logistics and security for the event.

It's a massive undertaking to plan such a major event in less than a week. Staging equipment must be rented, and the rental companies have already been contacted. We've learned ushers who work at Staples have already been asked to reserve the day so they can work.

The turnaround for the venue will also be quick -- the final Clippers game for the regular season is the night before.

Debra Tate is unmoved by the olive branch extended by the director who cast Hilary Duff to play her sister, Sharon Tate, in a horror movie ... because Debra says it's just an attempt to cover his ass.

Debra, who started blasting Daniel Farrand's independent film from the jump, tells TMZ ... the director only reached out to her AFTER the movie was complete, sending her a letter explaining what he was trying to express in "The Haunting of Sharon Tate."

Debra strongly feels the director's email was too little, too late ... and she's calling BS on his intentions, because she doesn't think it's the least bit earnest. What's more, Debra tells us she's convinced Daniel only reached out to make himself look better after she totally slammed his work.

It's a stark contrast to Debra's interactions with Quentin Tarantino, who cast Margot Robbie to play Sharon in his Charles Manson flick, "Once Upon a Time in Hollywood." Debra sat down for a 1-on-1 with Tarantino BEFORE production wrapped, reading the script and even being invited on set.

Hilary's movie just hit theaters, and Debra's warning moviegoers to spend their money elsewhere ... 'cause Debra says it's extremely exploitative and socially irresponsible, taking Sharon's life and spinning it for a new generation on the 50th anniversary of her violent death.

Debra, who was 16 when Manson's cult followers murdered her sis, also says the film is extremely hurtful and hateful ... and she thinks the director's just out to make a quick buck off her family's tragedy.

Nipsey Hussle's death is prompting something extraordinary in L.A. -- a full peace treaty between several gangs, and they're demonstrating together to show their love for the slain rapper.

A peace march went down Friday afternoon in Crenshaw, not far from where Nipsey was murdered. We're told the march was set in motion Thursday evening when gang leaders from Watts, Compton, L.A. and Inglewood all met up to discuss a cease-fire.

During the meeting, we're told leaders talked about putting the word out in their neighborhoods to put down their firearms and show more unity -- starting with the Friday afternoon march.

We're told members of all the gangs are gathering outside a grocery store in Nipsey's Crenshaw hood, and will walk together for a couple blocks ... ending up outside his Marathon clothing store.

There hasn't been this kind of peace between so many L.A. gangs since 1992. We spoke to community leader, Big U, about getting everyone on the same page.

Ice Cube agrees ... there's absolutely no reason to delay immortalizing Nipsey Hussle on the streets of his hometown, and he also has a message for people feeling the loss.

We got Cube Friday at LAX and asked him about a Change.org petition calling on city officials to rename the intersection of Crenshaw Blvd. and Slauson Ave. as "Nipsey Hussle Way." The petition has spread like wildfire ... and already has more than 420,000 signatures.

Check out the clip ... Cube's on board with anything that keeps Nipsey's legacy alive.

However, he also hinted at something that's been a concern in L.A. since Nipsey's murder: the fear of retaliation and more violence. Even as he offered positive thoughts, Cube's parting words seemed to refer to that simmering threat.

Even police are worried Nipsey's accused killer, Eric Holder, could be offed in jail -- and, as a result, he's being held in solitary confinement.

Nipsey Hussle is so beloved in L.A. and beyond, family members in charge of planning his memorial are searching for a venue that can accommodate what will almost certainly be an enormous crowd.

Sources close to the slain Crenshaw rapper tell TMZ ... planning is underway and the family is looking at venues, but their choices are extremely limited because most of what's available is just too small.

We're told the family has already passed on venues with 2,000 seats -- they need something MUCH bigger, and they're looking at venues that can accommodate upwards of 15,000 mourners.

The only 2 real venues in L.A. that could accommodate the crowd would likely be The Forum in Inglewood and Staples Center in Downtown L.A. The other interesting possibility is the Hollywood Bowl. BTW ... Michael Jackson's memorial service was held at Staples.

Nipsey was a man of the people, and we're told his family wants to ensure everyone who wants to will be able to celebrate his life. Nip had an enormous impact on the community and his murder resonated in L.A. and way beyond ... with memorials and candlelight vigils popping up across the globe.

We broke the story ... Nipsey was brutally murdered outside his store Sunday afternoon in the Hyde Park section of L.A.

Avicii's taking a posthumous farewell lap ... with a new album set to be released after the family decided it did NOT wanna keep his music locked away.

The late superstar DJ's team announced Friday it will be releasing a new album this summer titled "TIM." Avicii's government name is Tim Bergling. The album's set to drop on June 6, but fans won't have to wait that long to get a taste of Avicii's latest genius. The single "SOS" will be released on April 10.

Avicii's team says the DJ was close to completing the new album before his tragic passing back in April 2018. The team says Avicii left behind a collection of nearly finished songs ... along with notes, email conversations and text messages about the music.

The DJ's family then decided it wanted to share it with fans around the world. Proceeds from the album will benefit the Tim Bergling Foundation to help prevent mental illness and suicide.