Grammy Awards

5:52 PM PT -- A source tells TMZ, Travis Scott and DJ Paul spoke on Tuesday and the resolution is expected shortly ... a rep for Travis confirms the conversation happened, but would not elaborate on details.

Travis Scott straight-up jacked a portion of Three 6 Mafia's DJ Paul's track ... so claims DJ Paul in a new lawsuit.

Paul filed legal docs claiming Travis' "No Bystanders" has a hook that's almost identical to DJ Paul's track "Tear Da Club Up." According to docs, obtained by TMZ, Paul says the hook to his track says "Tear da club up, tear da club up" while Travis' track goes "F*** da club up. F*** da club up."

In docs, Paul claims the cadence and sound are virtually identical. What's more ... Paul says Travis used his exact hook from "Tear Da Club Up" for his Grammys performance earlier this year ... line by line.

"No Bystanders" is a part of Travis' massively successful "Astroworld" album ... which debuted No. 1 on The Billboard 200 chart. It was also a fan favorite during the rapper's 55-city tour.

In a previous interview with us in June DJ Paul claimed young artists were going to kill hip-hop ... but it doesn't appear like the lawsuit is in direct correlation to that statement.

Paul's now suing to get Travis' track pulled and wants the profits from "No Bystanders" ... which he thinks is around $20 million. We've reached out to Travis' rep, so far no word back.

Brian Littrell's reaction to Joey Fatone suggesting the Backstreet Boys and 'NSYNC come together in one super boy band is pretty simple -- Bye, Bye, Bye ... it ain't happening until you get Justin Timberlake.

We got the BSB singer Thursday at LAX, and he absolutely destroyed Joey's dreams of the pop pairing that, honestly, would be Larger Than Life. Brian's point is ... right now BSB is bringing a lot more to the table than 'NSYNC can.

He's got a point. Backstreet was Grammy-nominated this year, starred in a Super Bowl commercial with Chance the Rapper ... AND they have a Vegas residency. All of that equals relevance.

But watch, Brian does offer a small ray of hope.

If Joey really Wants it That Way, all he's gotta do is get JT on the horn ... and then wait another 10 years or so. LOL!!!

Cardi B takes ZERO days off ... even after reuniting with her husband, winning a Grammy and having a social media meltdown -- talk about loving what you do, huh?

The Grammy winner was back at it Wednesday night at Dan Bilzerian's Valentine's Day party in Bel-Air, which was dubbed "Angels & Devils." Considering Cardi deactivated her IG this week over criticism related to her big win (and Nikki Minaj comparisons) ... she sure looked fine here, on all fronts.

She might be grinding harder than anyone in the game and her hubby, Offset, will testify. Check out how Cardi put it on him -- more evidence they're back.

Tyga also took to the stage during the V-Day bash, which also featured Quavo, Swae Lee, DJ Carnage ... and a ton of hotties in lingerie -- very little lingerie -- to celebrate.

Maybe Hallmark-made "holidays" ain't so bad after all.

Cardi B did not get flowers from the great beyond -- as she insinuated by thanking Tom Petty for a Grammys bouquet she received -- but, TMZ has learned who REALLY did the honors.

Sources tell us ... celebrity florist Annie Wonderlich, owner of Art Fleur, sent the bouquet wishing Cardi luck at the award show. We're told Cardi is one of her clients, and Annie also delivered a Grammy arrangement to Lady Gaga.

After getting the flowers, Cardi looked at the back of the card -- which contained a Petty lyric -- and thought they were from him. She thanked Tom on social media ... prompting the internet to quickly point out that would be pretty freakin' amazing (as in, impossible) since TP sadly died nearly 2 years ago.

Although, we're sure Ghost Tom's probably a Bardi fan.

The sender's true identity was there the whole time ... because the other side of the card had a note from Annie reading, "Cardi B! Wishing you LOVE, LIGHT & LUCK tonight at the Grammys! All the best! XOXO, The Art Fleur Team."

We're told Annie's company has TONS of celeb clients, including Kim Kardashian and Taylor Swift, and every special delivery comes with a card quoting someone famous -- like Oscar Wilde, Claude Monet, David Bowie, and in this instance, Petty.

As for the flowers ... we're told the $600 arrangement is dubbed "Ms. B" and stands 3 and a half feet tall!!! There are 250 vendulas, orange crush and garden roses ... and monster leaves painted with 24-karat gold!!!

Smokey Robinson is outraged at all the people who are slamming Jennifer Lopez for representing Motown at the Grammys, and he thinks confining the Motown sound to African Americans is a "stupid philosophy."

Smokey thinks people who think there's something wrong with a Hispanic woman showcasing Motown completely misses the point ... that Motown is about breaking all color barriers. The man who was pivotal in turning the label's sound into a world force acknowledges it represents black culture, but he's quick to add it also represents other cultures ... Hispanic, Asian, everyone.

Smokey posted a tribute to J Lo Tuesday, saying she did an awesome job ... calling out critics, saying, "So now you're gonna try to diminish the scope of Motown and narrow it down to just music for Black people and you call yourself defending the image of Motown. Well you're trying to set us back a hundred years."

He has a big job ahead of him Tuesday night ... he's cohosting the big Motown 60th Anniversary show in downtown L.A.

Childish Gambino is being called a "house slave" by an artist who claims his own tune was ripped off for Gambino's latest Grammy-winning work. Warning ... VERY hot take ahead.

Jase Harley explained to us Monday in NYC why he was upset with CG walking away with 4 Grammys for his monster hit, "This Is America" -- which took home Record of the Year among other top accolades during Sunday night's award show.

It's a bit tough to follow Jase's logic, but he apparently feels Gambino set black culture back by not attending the show and speaking on behalf of the racial issues he raises in the song ... and, perhaps most importantly, not acknowledging Jase as an inspiration.

This was a thing a few months back when the song first dropped -- people accused Gambino of ripping Jase off, 'cause 'TIA' sounds a lot like Jase's track, "American Pharaoh."

At the time, Jase appeared to be chill with the whole situation ... and even said he was "extremely humbled" that 'Pharoah' might've served as an influence for Gambino.

Well, it looks like all that is out the window now -- 'cause Jase makes a very controversial analogy that invokes slavery.

A$AP Rocky just declared himself the best music video director of his generation ... humblebrag much?

We got the rapper out Monday at LAX, and Rocky kinda jokes -- we think -- about how he needs a Grammy for Best Music Video. In case you missed it ... Childish Gambino got the statue Sunday night for "This is America."

And, in case you didn't know ... Rocky does direct a bunch of his own videos, so he knows a thing or two about what goes into making them. Our photog jokingly tells Rocky he shoulda ran up onstage and snagged the award, and this image had Rocky laughing at the idea of busting a Kanye.

Future bailed on a performance at Clive Davis' pre-Grammys party at the last minute -- maybe not coincidentally, considering Ciara and Russell Wilson were front and center at the event.

Eyewitnesses at Clive's Beverly Hilton bash Saturday night -- which was a who's who of Hollywood event ahead of Sunday's award show -- confirm Future was booked to perform, but hightailed it when his team realized his ex-fiancee and her new hubby were in the front row.

Our sources -- who were present during the exchange -- say someone in Future's camp accused the event organizers of being "messy" by having Ciara and Russ there, and said their guy wouldn't perform. We're told Future was briefed about it outside, and then dipped.

HollywoodLife first reported Future's departure. Now, there's another side to this story -- sources close to Future tell us he didn't bail because of Ciara or RW.

Our Future sources say the show was behind schedule by nearly an hour, and he and his team were instructed to shorten his performance significantly, which, we're told, Future wasn't down with. We're told he had no idea Ciara or Russ was there.

Jennifer Lopez hit it outta the park with her Motown tribute at the Grammys ... and anyone who disagrees is missing the point about music and race ... so says Whitney Houston's sister-in-law.

We got Pat Houston out Monday morning at LAX and got her take on the criticism J Lo faced before, during and after she honored Motown ... in the middle of Black History Month.

J Lo, of course, is of Puerto Rican descent and the Internet's been teeing off on her and the Grammys -- but Pat has a different view, which is ... there is NO color when it comes to music.

Many, many Motown fans disagree, saying things like ... "Sorry everyone, but I agree. She's a great performer, but they should have chosen someone else. No doubt Latinos would be upset if they had a black soul singer doing a tribute to Latin music."

As you know ... J Lo hit the stage with Motown legend Smokey Robinson and Ne-Yo. Houston's not the only one supporting her -- Tyler Perry admits he was skeptical, but adds J Lo won him over.

J Lo has said Motown producer Berry Gordy was thrilled she was involved in the tribute. Count Pat in that category too ... based on her rating for the night's most talked about performance.

2:20 PM PT -- BET is making it clear the tweet targeting Nicki was unauthorized. The network says, “BET loves Nicki Minaj. We have supported her from the very beginning of her career and will continue to do so moving forward. Nicki has paved the way for so many performers and has solidified her place as one of the most powerful figures in the music industry."

The statement continues ... "Unfortunately the respect we have for Nicki was violated by this post that should never have been written. The post does not reflect how we feel about Nicki. And further does not reflect our company values. We deeply apologize for the hurt, disappointment and confusion that this post has caused. We are committed to doing everything we can to address the situation."

BET also says, "We are also conducting an internal audit to assure these types of posts are not published again. We have apologized to Nicki and her team. The post has been removed and we have taken additional appropriate action. We understand Nicki’s position and look forward to continuing our dialogue with her. Finally, we apologize to all of her fans. This should have never happened.

BET's social media team thought it was a good idea to make fun of Nicki Minaj on Twitter when Cardi B won at the Grammys... and now Nicki's getting a little payback against the network.

The "QUEEN" rapper announced Monday that she and her label, Young Money, would not be part of the BET Experience later this summer -- which is a concert series she and Cardi were booked to co-headline just days before the BET Awards in June.

Sources connected to Nicki tell us she did, in fact, cancel the gig in direct response to BET's crass joke -- and she made that quite clear with her follow-up tweets.

People were putting BET on blast, saying they owed Nicki an apology since the comment was a low blow. Nicki seemed to agree, saying ... "Meanwhile, BET is being dragged by their lacefront," adding a laughing emoji for good measure.

It's unclear who, if anyone, at the network green lit the controversial tweet, but Nicki clearly doesn't care. If she and Young Money stick to the boycott ... it's a big loss, because it means Lil Wayne's also pulling out of the BET Experience concert.

You'll recall, Nicki and Cardi have had a salty past, getting into it at a NYFW party last September -- but both women said they were squashing the beef. It sounds like Nicki's just pissed about the jab at her, not so much about the celebration of Cardi.

Originally Published -- 12:12 PM PST

9th Wonder says XXXTentacion absolutely deserved to be part of the Grammys' In Memoriam segment, because the guy left a musical legacy that's bigger than life.

The legendary hip-hop producer made no bones about it Monday at LAX, where he told us Grammy producers missed an opportunity to include someone who gave a lot to the industry and changed lives ... adding that every big artist deserves recognition in death.

9th -- who's worked with Jay-Z, Drake, Kendrick Lamar, Mary J. Blige and MANY other giants -- says X's impact on the culture is undeniable ... citing even his own son as proof the controversial MC was making waves before his tragic murder.

He suggests X's exclusion might have something to do with older Recording Academy members not knowing X -- but adds there were plenty of far less famous people honored on screen.

Our photog raised the issue that's reportedly the real reason X didn't make the cut -- his many legal issues and allegations of domestic violence.

After the 2019 Grammy Awards, all the biggest names in music dispersed to various after-parties -- the question ... whose party was the most poppin'???

At least five different get-togethers were going down at the same time late Sunday night all over L.A. Republic Records had a shindig, as did Universal and Sony. Even Mark Ronson threw something himself ... and don't forget the LiveXLive bash.

Each party had its fair share of big fish from the awards ceremony. Republic was able to lure a diverse crowd in Zedd, Paris Jackson, Joe Jonas and Sophie Turner as well as Scottie Pippen. UMG's rager featured Earth, Wind & Fire, Eve, Kacey Musgraves and Terry Crews ... and Sony was able to bring in folks like Usher, John Mayer, Maren Morris and Miguel.

Ronson's party was a who's who too -- artists like Lady Gaga and Katy Perry swung by. And, the LiveXLive function had Charli XCX, Rick Ross and Sheck Wes there.

Just two Super Bowl champs hangin' out in Hollywood ...

Julian Edelman and Russell Wilson found each other at a pre-Grammy bash at the Beverly Hilton on Saturday -- and seemed to get along really well!

So, what did they have to talk about? Both guys are Super Bowl champs -- Wilson led the Seahawks to a victory over Peyton Manning's Broncos in Super Bowl 48.

And, Edelman has rings from Super Bowl 49, 51 and 53 ... also, the Super Bowl MVP from 53.

Obviously, Edelman was at the Grammys to present an award and Wilson was there to support his R&B star wife, Ciara.

They weren't the only athletes on hand ... Chris Bosh was also at the party. He's got 2 NBA championship rings.

2/11 8:25 AM PT -- More visual -- graphically visual at that -- evidence of the reunion ... Offset posted a promo video for his upcoming album, and it includes what looks like actual footage of Cardi giving birth to Kulture.

The punchline is a shot of Offset looking shell-shocked in a corner of the delivery room.

8:26 PM PT -- Cardi just won Best Rap Album -- beating out Mac Miller and others -- and she brought her hubby, Offset, onstage with her to accept her award. She even referred to him as her husband, and thanked him in what amounted to a hilariously sweet speech. Yeah ... they're back together, no doubt about it now.

It was certainly an emotional moment ... so much so, apparently, that somebody actually collapsed on the stage right after Cardi delivered her remarks.

A source at the show tells us the person who fainted was a female member of the pit area.

Cardi B and Offset are officially a red carpet couple again -- 'cause they just publicly reunited for the first time since their split last year.

The rappers showed up Sunday at Staples Center dressed to the nines -- especially Cardi, who was clearly paying tribute to designer Thierry Mugler's Fall 1995 collection. She wore a pink dress that looked more like a flower blooming with Cardi in the middle.

And, just to make sure we knew they were definitely back together, Cardi and Offset did this. Nothin' says we're a couple again like some good old-fashioned tongue.

Cardi and Offset were seen hanging out together at a club in Atlanta last weekend after apparently patching things up over the holidays, following a rocky 2018.

Looks like they're a lot closer to being all the way back now. Good for them.

2/11 -- A rep for Drake now says the rapper's speech wasn't cut off and interpreted a pause as the speech's conclusion. The rep added, "Producers did speak with Drake following his speech and did offer him to come back onstage to finish whatever his thoughts were." Drake declined ... saying "he was happy with what he said and had nothing else to add to it."

Drake had a lot to say after winning his latest Grammy -- but, apparently, he went a little too long ... 'cause the show cut him short before he was done with his remarks.

Drizzy accepted his award for Best Rap Song Sunday night -- taking the prize for "God's Plan" -- and toward the tail end of his acceptance speech ... it appeared he was cut off by the showrunners, who sent the telecast to a commercial break.

The timing was slightly awkward. Drake was downplaying the importance of awards, telling his fellow artists that as long as people were shelling out for their shows ... they were already winning, 'cause that's all that matters at the end of the day.

He seemed to be done with that train of thought and took a long pause, but then suddenly ... he tried launching into a new subject with a "but."

Unfortunately, the cameras had already started to zoom out -- signaling that the show was going to cut a break. Drake didn't get to finish his thoughts ... at least not on the air.

Also interesting ... Drake reportedly declined to perform at this year's award show, but was willing to show face to collect his hardware.

Here's a guy who REALLY misses football already -- Kacey Musgraves' producer Shawn Everett who decided to grab some full WR shoulder pads and rock 'em to the Grammys.

Everett is a stud producer -- he's worked with huge stars like John Legend, Alabama Shakes, The Killers, Weezer and more. He's kind of a big deal (which is why he was onstage while Musgraves accepted Album of the Year).

He's also got an interesting sense of style ... and went full CTE chic to the award show -- dressing up his shoulder pads with a full-length skirt, corset, gloves and boots.

As for the pads -- we found 'em online (in case you're looking to recreate the look) -- Adams VS500 Varsity Football Shoulder Pads ... and you can get 'em for around $80.

Of course, Everett ain't the first star to fuse football pads with fashion -- the WWE's legendary tag team Legion of Doom was rockin' the look back in the '90s!