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Kanye West has been keeping his group of "Vultures" collaborators close, which especially includes Bump J ... because Ye is spearheading a big album release for him in 2024.

Sources close to Ye's camp tell TMZ Hip Hop ... he considers Bump J a fellow Chicagoan and hip hop legend and wants to help get his career back on track.

The bar is being set high ... we're told Swizz Beatz was the first producer to send Bump some beats, as did Metro Boomin, Wheezy and John "Juice" Harris ... all intending to help Bump create a second first impression in the industry.

Kanye produced Bump’s first single “Move Around” back in 2005, but an armed bank robbery charge forced him out of the picture while he served a 7-year prison sentence.

Bump and Kanye reconnected at the top of 2022 where he assisted Ye in co-writing on his unfinished "Donda 2" album, and later for The Game and Hit-Boy's "Drillmatic."

We're told the lead single, "Vultures" originally belonged to Bump as a solo record, and once Ye heard it, he immediately summoned Bump to join him and the rest of the gang in Tokyo to help finish his joint album with Ty Dolla $ign.

Unfortunately for Bump, Japan denied him access to the country -- due to his record -- so he returned home and later joined Ye in Italy, where they completed the project.

Bump was also part of the "Vultures" live premieres in Dubai and Miami where he rubbed shoulders with Lil Durk, Freddie Gibbs, Offset and others.

Deontay Wilder vs. Anthony Joshua is the biggest fight in boxing, period ... according to The Bronze Bomber, who says the two heavyweight stars are finally ready to deliver the fight fans have wanted for nearly a decade!

TMZ Sports talked to 38-year-old WIlder about the tentatively scheduled March 9 bout set to go down in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia ... assuming Deontay and AJ can successfully navigate their fights this weekend against Joseph Parker and Otto Wallin, respectively.

"I'm looking forward to all this," Wilder told us. "It's a beautiful time for me."

Deontay then put the magnitude of the fight into perspective.

"Me and the Joshua talk has been something, like you said for a decade," adding ... "and that is the biggest fight in the world."

Despite the talk about AJ, Wilder (43-2, 42 KOs) knows he has to first handle Parker (33-3, 23 KOs) ... who's no average Joe. In fact, Joseph told us earlier this week that he plans on putting Deontay to sleep on Saturday.

"The only thing with words, you have to believe what you say," Wilder said in response to Parker's statement. "Now, Joseph can say what he wants but do he believe what he says?!"

"We know that when Deontay says things, he speaks it, he believes it, he receives it."

Deontay said it was a beautiful time for him ... and he's not lying. He has a ton of big things going on, including talk of a major crossover MMA/boxing event with Francis Ngannou ... something Deontay seems interested in.

"This is something I'm very serious about getting into and I wanna do," Wilder said.

Flavor Flav no tiene más que palabras amables para su compañero de Public Enemy Chuck D, en el período previo a su nuevo single "Every Where Man", y aunque no hablaron por un tiempo, insiste en que no había mala onda.

Tenemos a Flav en "TMZ Live" el viernes, y nos dijo que ha estado plagado de preguntas sobre cuando se reunirían, pero dice que no podría haber una reunión porque nunca se separaron, simplemente se tomaron un largo descanso.

A pesar de algunos años de drama entre ellos, Flav dice que ama a Chuck, y dice que el sentimiento es mutuo.

Reconoce que a veces la gente no se pone de acuerdo, y en esos casos, dice que ambos dieron un paso atrás y se mantuvieron en movimiento.

En cuanto a la música, Flav está encantado con su nuevo single, en el que participa Chuck y que saldrá a la venta el 10 de enero. También viene con obras de arte de un diseñador gráfico llamado Aimee Johnson.

Como la mayoría de las cosas este año, hay una conexión con Taylor Swift, sí, incluso con Public Enemy. Flav dice que los Swifties en las redes sociales le recomendaron a Aimee cuando posteó que necesitaba algo de ayuda para el arte de su trabajo.

Échale un vistazo al video, Flav —que es un Swiftie importante— dejó caer una analogía deportiva en nosotros para transmitir su agradecimiento a los fans de Tay Tay.

Flavor Flav has nothing but kind words for his Public Enemy partner Chuck D in the run-up to their new single "Everywhere Man" -- and while they didn't talk for a while, he insists there was no real beef.

We've got Flav on "TMZ Live" Friday, and he told us he's been plagued by queries on when P.E. would reunite -- but he says there couldn't be a reunion because they never broke up -- they merely took a long break.

Despite a few years of headline-grabbing drama between them, Flav says he loves Chuck -- and the feeling is mutual.

He acknowledges sometimes people don't see eye to eye, and in those instances, he says they both pull it back together and keep things moving.

On the music front, Flav is ecstatic with his new single, which features Chuck and is set for wide release on Jan. 10. It also comes with cool artwork by a graphic designer named Aimee Johnson.

Like most things this year, there's a Taylor Swift connection -- yes, even to Public Enemy. Flav says Swifties on social media actually pointed him in Aimee's direction when he posted about needing artistic help.

Check out the video ... Flav, who is a major Swiftie himself, dropped a sports analogy on us to relay his thanks to Tay Tay's fans.

Neither Leon Edwards, nor his coach, believes Belal Muhammad deserves the next title shot. Belal has a message for the champ and his people.

"Leon's coach goes on the interviews today and says 'I think Gilbert Burns deserves it.' And I'm looking at these guys like, 'I really think their whole team is dumb blondes.' Like they're not smart," Belal told TMZ Sports.

He continued ... "I'm looking at these guys like ... Gilbert Burns, who I just beat, deserves it more than me? Even Leon Edwards after the fight, I don't think that Belal should skip the line. I'm number 2 in the world you moron, skip what line? There's nobody ahead of me. I'm the guy that's next. What are you talking about?"

If you're looking at the rankings, Belal's right ... he's the number 2 ranked contender, behind only Kamaru Usman. And right now, Usman isn't in play for a title shot. He recently fought Khamzat Chimaev on short notice across the world. He's also lost twice to Leon in the last 18 months.

After Belal, Shavkat Rakhmonov is the third-ranked contender ... after beating Stephen Thompson at UFC 296, where he jumped up two places. Burns is 4th ... but is coming back from an injury he sustained while fighting Muhammad. Colby Covington is fifth.

We asked Belal about Shavkat, and while he was very complimentary, calling him an "amazing fighter," he added, "he should not be skipping me."

Muhammad also addressed the idea that Islam Makhachev, the lightweight champ, could move up to face Leon.

"Islam, you have plenty of fights at 155. Oliveria rematch. Justin Gaethje. And if I'm the UFC, Leon didn't earn a double champ fight or a huge fight cause that fight was so lackluster, what are we gonna reward you with a Sean Strickland fight when you didn't even do nothing? [Performance vs. Colby] was terrible."

Dana White hasn't yet indicated what's next for Leon.

If they do fight ... it'll be a rematch of their March 2021 fight that ended in a no-contest after an accidental eye poke.

Tinashe's hoping she finally has some peace of mind in her years-long ordeal involving a man who's repeatedly shown up at her home -- the R&B star's been granted court-ordered protection for the next 3 years.

According to court documents, the judge just signed off on the restraining order against Ramon Oppikofer, and it will remain in effect until December 2026.

TMZ Hip Hop broke the story ... Tinashe claimed she'd been bombarded with messages from Oppikoffer on IG since 2022, but says things escalated this year at her brother's Halloween party, where Oppikofer showed up, uninvited, and was allegedly lurking later in her neighborhood.

Tinashe claimed he later broke into her home before some of her peeps chased him away. We're told he was later arrested for trespassing, but then released on his own recognizance because of L.A.'s no-cash bail system.

However, the L.A. City Attorney has since charged Oppikofer with one misdemeanor count of trespassing.

Sam Asghari dropped several dozen pounds following his split from Britney Spears ... and while lots of folks in Hollywood are using meds to shed weight, Sam's not hopping on that trend.

We got Britney's ex leaving Equinox gym, and our photog asked him about his dramatic weight loss and his secret to losing 35 to 40 pounds.

Sam says his body transformation is NOT the result of Ozempic ... a prescription diabetes medication that's becoming widely popular among celebs and average folks as a diet drug.

Even Oprah recently admitted she's using meds to lose and maintain weight, and she refuses to be shamed about it.

But, Sam says he's been putting in work at the gym and watching what he eats -- telling us fitness often comes down to diet.

Sam's always been fit, but now he looks more toned and cut than ever and he says being in shape's always been a priority for him ... which is evident to anyone with eyes.

He's also got some tips for anyone looking to lose a few pounds -- in his eyes you don't have to resort to meds as long as you keep your hands out of the cookie jar.

La lujosa mansión en Georgia de Kim Zolciak y Kroy Biermann está resultando difícil de vender de en medio de su divorcio, una pena dado que el estado del Sur parece ser el nuevo dueño del lugar.

Pudimos mirar al interior de la propiedad de 7 dormitorios y 11 baños que se extiende sobre 15.694 pies cuadrados de espacio habitable y se encuentra en un terreno de 1.78 acres. El toque final es una piscina y múltiples zonas de estar al aire libre.

El ladrillo frente al lago lujoso y propiedad de piedra, que se encuentra en el Fairway 18 en The Manor en Milton, ofrece muchos extras de entretenimiento al interior, como una sala de billar, una sala de juegos de arcade, un cine en casa y un gimnasio con sala de masajes privada.

Un lago y campos de golf se suman a la finca que también tiene un garaje para 6 carron con espacio para ascensores para almacenar hasta 8 vehículos.

Claramente, esto luce como el paraíso para muchas personas, pero dos meses después de haber sido listados no ha aparecido ningún comprador, obligando a la pareja a recortar el precio de $500K.

Recuerde, la casa fue listada después de Kroy le rogó a un juez que le permitiera poner la casa a la venta para ayudar con su creciente deuda.

Está claro que lo mejor para ellos es despedirse de la propiedad, la cual fue visitada por la policía en noviembre tras una explosiva discusión entre la pareja. Todo fue grabado en video.

Kim Zolciak and Kroy Biermann's Georgia mansion is proving tricky to get rid of amid their nasty divorce ... which is a shame given the Southern estate looks like a dream pad.

We got this inside look at the 7-bedroom, 11-bathroom home ... which sprawls over a colossal 15,694 square feet of living space, sits on 1.78 acres and comes complete with a vanishing-edge pool and multiple outdoor living areas.

The lavish lakefront brick and stone property sits on the 18th fairway at The Manor in Milton -- an exclusive gated golf community. The place is fully loaded with entertaining extras, like a 500-bottle walk-in wine cellar, a billiard room, an arcade, home theater and a gym with private massage room.

Scenic lake and golf views add to the estate, which also has a 6-car garage with room for lifts to store up to 8 cars.

It clearly looks like an ideal oasis, but 2 months after the estranged couple listed it, there haven't been any takers ... forcing Kim and Kroy to slash their asking price by $500k to attract prospective buyers.

Remember, the house was listed after Kroy begged a judge to let him put it on the market to assist with their mounting debt.

It's clearly in their best interest to bid farewell to the pad ... which cops have visited multiple times this year, most recently in November following an explosive argument between the pair.

Jason Oppenheim, president and founder of the famed Oppenheim Group, is now representing Kanye West in the sale of his Malibu beachfront estate, and there's been some criticism Oppenheim should not represent an antisemite, but we've contacted some high-end realtors who feel it's absurd to have a litmus test on which clients they will represent.

The L.A. realtors we've spoken with say there is no way in this divided social and political climate anyone can do business by excluding clients whose views they find offensive. The example that repeatedly comes up is the war in the Middle East. As one high-end realtor put it, "What are we supposed to do, ask a potential client if they side with Israel or Palestine?"

An extremely successful L.A. realtor begged to differ, saying, "Wait a minute. Kanye is one of the biggest antisemites in the world. I would never represent him, ever."

But another realtor said, "Are we supposed to see if a client is a registered Republican and say screw you, I'm not representing you?"

It goes beyond religion and politics ... one realtor said, "What if a client has an offensive post on Instagram? Or what if a client's in the middle of nasty divorce and I side with their spouse?"

Several realtors said it's ridiculous to think they would Google every prospective client to look for a reason not to represent that person.

And one realtor, who was at one time a practicing lawyer, said it's absurd to think an attorney would judge a client before taking a case, adding, "It's just not reality."

And a realtor we spoke with said what if a client had a different view on gay marriage? He said, "At some point it just becomes impossible to do business."

That same realtor asked, "What about the buyer who pays Kanye $53 million for the Malibu property?" before adding, "What if Kanye goes to a Mercedes dealership. Should they not sell him a car?"

Jason Oppenheim, presidente y fundador del famoso Grupo Oppenheim, representa ahora a Kanye West en la venta de su propiedad frente a la playa de Malibú, y ha habido algunas críticas a Oppenheim respecto a que no debe representar a un antisemita. Nos hemos puesto en contacto con algunos agentes inmobiliarios de alto perfil y sienten que es absurdo tener someter a pruebas a los clientes que van a representar.

Los agentes inmobiliarios de Los Ángeles con los que hemos hablado dicen que no hay forma de que, en este clima social y político dividido, nadie pueda hacer negocios excluyendo a clientes cuyas opiniones consideren ofensivas. El ejemplo que se repite es la guerra de Oriente Medio. Como dijo un agente inmobiliario de alto nivel: "¿Qué se supone que tenemos que hacer, preguntar a un cliente potencial si está de parte de Israel o de Palestina?".

Un exitoso agente inmobiliario de Los Ángeles discrepó diciendo: "Un momento. Kanye es uno de los mayores antisemitas del mundo. Nunca lo representaría, jamás".

Pero otro agente inmobiliario dijo: "¿Se supone que debemos ver si un cliente es un republicano registrado y decir jódete, no te represento?".

Va más allá de la religión y la política, un agente inmobiliario dijo: "¿Qué pasa si un cliente tiene un post ofensivo en Instagram? O ¿qué pasa si un cliente está en medio de un divorcio desagradable y me pongo del lado de su cónyuge?".

Varios agentes inmobiliarios dijeron que es ridículo pensar que buscarían en Google a cada posible cliente para buscar una razón para no representar a esa persona.

Y un agente inmobiliario, que un tiempo fue abogado en ejercicio, dijo que es absurdo pensar que un abogado juzgaría a un cliente antes de tomar un caso y agregó: "Simplemente no es la realidad".

Un agente inmobiliario con el que hablamos dijo: "¿qué pasaría si un cliente tuviera una opinión diferente sobre el matrimonio gay? Dijo: "En algún momento simplemente se hace imposible hacer negocios".

Ese mismo agente inmobiliario preguntó: "¿Qué pasa con el comprador que paga a Kanye 53 millones de dólares por la propiedad de Malibú?" antes de añadir: "¿Qué pasa si Kanye va a un concesionario de Mercedes. ¿No deberían venderle un carro?".

Britney Spears hasn't yet scheduled a flight heading east for the holidays, but her mom still believes a last-minute Christmas miracle might happen in the 11th hour ... TMZ has learned.

Sources with direct knowledge tell TMZ ... there are still talks about Britney returning home for Christmas in Louisiana, where her mother Lynne Spears still resides.

Now, we're told official travel arrangements haven't necessarily been made at this point -- but our sources tell us Lynne and people in Britney's world feel like there's time on the table to make something happen ... and we've been assured Lynne herself is certainly hopeful.

It's unclear what exactly the holdup might be on Britney's end -- especially considering she just recently hosted Lynne here in L.A. for her 42nd birthday and appeared to be on great terms with her mom.

Sounds like Lynne's leaving the ball in Britney's court ... and praying for some movement. BTW, she signaled this same feeling to us on camera not too long ago at LAX.

Whether Brit ends up jetting on over or not remains to be seen -- but our sources tell us ... everyone in this situation feels like Britney should realize she has one mother, and since they've already started patching things up ... they oughta be together for the holiday.

Britney Spears no ha reservado un boleto para las vacaciones todavía, pero su madre cree que un milagro de Navidad de última hora puede suceder... TMZ ha indagado.

Fuentes con conocimiento directo le dicen a TMZ que todavía hay conversaciones sobre Britney volviendo a casa en Louisiana para Navidad, donde reside su madre Lynne Spears y donde Brit creció.

Nos informan que no se han hecho arreglos de viaje, pero nuestras fuentes nos dicen Lynne y la gente en el mundo de Britney siente que hay tiempo para hacer que algo suceda y nos han asegurado que Lynne tiene esperanzas.

No está claro cuál es exactamente el retraso podría ser en el extremo de Britney - especialmente teniendo en cuenta que acaba de recibir Lynne aquí en Los Ángeles por su cumpleaños número 42 y parecía estar en grandes términos con su madre.

Suena como que Lynne está dejando la pelota en el campo de Britney y orando por algún movimiento. Ella nos dio a entender este mismo sentimiento en cámara no hace mucho tiempo en LAX.

Si Brit termina apareciendo o no está por verse, pero sería bueno que se diera cuenta que tiene una madre que quiere pasar la navidad con ella.

Warren Moon says Aaron Rodgers deserves a lot of credit for shutting down his comeback efforts this week ... explaining to TMZ Sports things could have turned dire for the QB if he had continued his push to get back on the field.

The Hall of Fame quarterback -- who knows a thing or two about playing into his 40s -- said on Wednesday he's glad Rodgers has decided to stop his pursuit of rejoining the Jets this season because he had a real fear the 4-time MVP could reinjure himself.

"Those Achilles injuries," Moon said, "even though the Achilles might be connected again, it still has to become much stronger."

Rodgers revealed on "The Pat McAfee" Show on Tuesday he would not get back under center for NY in 2023 despite busting his ass since he suffered the injury on Sept. 11 -- because he's just simply not 100 percent.

He told McAfee his leg is close -- but he needed another 3-to-4 weeks to really feel good about things. And, with the Jets officially eliminated from playoff contention on Sunday, it just seemed to make sense for the 40-year-old signal-caller to put his focus on getting ready for 2024.

Moon obviously thinks that's a great plan ... telling us that even if NY had been in the postseason hunt, he still would have rather sat Rodgers.

"I still don't think he should come back if he's not 100 percent," he said.

His advice to Aaron going forward was just to stay in shape -- while making sure his team makes it a priority to surround him with a good offensive line next season.

Beyoncé y Jay-Z están haciendo turismo en la Gran Manzan desde un autobús turístico alquilado para su familia.

Bey y Jay se subieron al autobús turístico Tea Around Town el miércoles con Blue Ivy y otros amigos y familiares a cuestas y pasearon por Times Square y visitaron lugares turísticos.

La famosa familia también se detuvo en el escaparate navideño de Saks 5th Avenue, pasó por el Rockefeller Center para ver el enorme árbol de Navidad desde todos los ángulos e incluso tuvo tiempo de hacer una parada en Bryant Park.

Es bastante increíble ver a Beyonce y Jay-Z en un autobús de vuelta en su ciudad natal.

Por supuesto, también había un montón de niños pequeños en el autobús, así que esto puede haber sido adaptado a algunos parientes fuera de la ciudad de visita para las vacaciones.

Beyonce y Jay-Z fueron con una empresa de autobuses turísticos que ofrecen tours de 90 minutos con té, bollos y productos dulces y salados.

Beyoncé and Jay-Z are going full tourist in the Big Apple ... sightseeing in the city from a tour bus rented out for their family.

Bey and Jay hopped on the Tea Around Town tour bus Wednesday with Blue Ivy and other friends and family in tow ... riding around Times Square and hitting tourist spots.

The famous family also stopped by the Saks 5th Avenue holiday window display, cruised by Rockefeller Center to see the massive Christmas tree from all angles and even had time to make a stop at Bryant Park.

It's pretty incredible to see Beyonce and Jay-Z on a freaking tour bus in his hometown ... but hey, this must be their idea of an "Empire State of Mind."

Of course, there were a lot of little kiddos on the bus too ... so this may have been tailored to some out-of-town relatives visiting for the holidays.

Beyonce and Jay-Z went with a tour bus company offering 90-minute tours featuring afternoon tea with scones, plus sweet and savory treats.