Music

Rihanna wasn't about to miss her grandfather's birthday -- be it in Barbados or elsewhere -- and he wasn't about to let her take the lead on the dance floor ... even at age 90.

RiRi flew down to her native homeland this weekend, where she and her fam celebrated Lionel 'Bravo' Braithwaite's 90th birthday at a restaurant called the Cliff in Durants. Clearly, Grandpa B's still got moves to spare despite his age, as Rihanna can attest.

He was spinning his granddaughter around and leading her steps like a spry 20-something --apparently, island living has treated him well.

While good times with fam was a top priority for Rihanna this weekend, she also found time to chime in on the upcoming midterm elections on Tuesday ... sharing a message on IG that encouraged Floridians to vote for gubernatorial candidate Andrew Gillum.

Pete Davidson made a decision ... when Ariana Grande goes high, he'll go high.

Pete addressed his breakup on 'SNL' Saturday night, and had nothing but good things to say about his ex-fiancee. He called her "a wonderful, strong person" and wished her the best.

Truth be told ... there was a small dose of hypocrisy. Pete schooled everyone that the breakup was nobody's business, yet he himself addressed it earlier in the week on stage, cracking jokes about it. And he shot a promo for 'SNL' where he obliquely referred to it.

Pete did crack a joke about moving back in with mom.

TMZ broke the story ... Ariana planned a preemptive strike in case Pete threw shade on her ... releasing her new song -- and making specific reference to him -- just 30 minutes before 'SNL' went live on TV.

UPDATE 8:05 PM PT -- Check out the post and hear the new song.

Ariana Grande isn't going to let Pete Davidson define their relationship and breakup on "Saturday Night Live" tonight, because TMZ has learned she's releasing a song 30 minutes before 'SNL,' and his name is right there in the lyrics.

Record label sources tell TMZ, the overarching theme of the song -- titled "Thank u, next" -- is empowerment ... what she's been through in her relationships and other experiences. We're told it is not a diss track.

Our sources say she specifically names Pete, Mac and others ... but she doesn't go after Pete the way she did earlier this week after he publicly joked about their breakup. She had accused him of being a hypocrite ... pretending he wasn't into being in the spotlight yet hanging on for dear life.

We're told Ariana felt betrayed by Pete and doesn't want to take the chance that he'll talk about their breakup tonight on 'SNL' as she just sits by. As we reported ... Pete was planning on addressing it, but 86'd the idea after she made it clear they had an agreement to keep their relationship private. Nonetheless, anything could happen.

Among the lyrics, which she posted, "Got so much love ..... got so much patience ..... I've learnt from the pain ..... and turnt out amazin ..... say I've loved and I've lost ..... but that's not what I see cause look what I got ..... look what you taught me."

It goes on ... "Cause look what I found ..... ain't no need for searching and for that I say ..... thank u, next."

The song will be released at 11 PM ET.

Originally Posted 11/3/2018 6:00 PM PDT

Tekashi69 says there's no East Coast-West Coast war unless he says there is, and then it's game on.

We got 69 Friday night in WeHo at the Pepperment Club, SURROUNDED by hired muscle. We asked about the so-called war between his New York crew and his west coast-based record label that seemed to escalate with last week's shooting at an NYC restaurant.

Watch the video ... Tekashi blows it off and makes it clear ... he'll be the one to declare war.

He also brags that he instills fear on all sides ... so he's not on either side -- he's more like the king.

As for his view of Alec Baldwin allegedly attacking a guy who stole his parking space ... well, his reaction is predictable.

Pete Davidson joked he was "0 for 3" in a new 'SNL' promo in which he proposed to a new chick -- and now we know who the third girl is ... Larry David's daughter.

Sources tell us that Pete had proposed to Cazzie David multiple times during their two-year relationship. The exact number of times isn't clear, but we're told it was definitely more than once. Our sources say Cazzie rejected his offer each time.

They split in May before Pete got with, and eventually proposed to, Ariana Grande. As you know, the rest is history.

As we reported ... Ariana took some shots at Pete in since-deleted tweets, saying, "for somebody who claims to hate relevancy u sure love clinging to it huh. thank u, next."

Sources close to the former couple tell us Ariana felt betrayed by Pete's remarks, because they'd both agreed to not talk about their split in public. We're told Pete's now scrapping any further references to their breakup for this weekend's show, and Lorne Michaels signed off.

There was speculation as to who Pete was referencing when he dropped the "0 for 3" line, because he's dated a handful of chicks over the years, including "Girl Code" star Carly Aquilino -- whom he dated before Cazzie.

But, we've been assured ... that third chick is absolutely Cazzie, who's since scrubbed her IG of any Pete references. Seems to be a pattern with his exes.

Emily Fernandez -- aka Right Cheek, half of the rap duo from "Little Women: Dallas" -- is a proud new mama to a baby boy and TMZ's got the first pics!!!

Emily gave birth to Zayne Odell Johnson last month in Dallas. He was a healthy 6 pound, 1 ounce newborn, despite being born at just over 35 weeks. And, because you're wondering ... Zayne is a little person. He's now home with mom surrounded by friends and family.

As we first reported ... Fernandez used IVF to conceive and choose the gender. There was no way to know before birth if the baby would be a little person, and now we know.

Kim Kardashian West is no queen of the jungle ... but certainly looks the part riding a giant elephant during her family trip to Bali.

Kim, Khloe, Kourtney, Scott and their kids all made the trip last week. The group was flown to an elephant sanctuary on a private helicopter where they spent several hours and got up close and personal with the gentle giants.

You can see from the pics, Kim didn't hesitate to get on for a quick ride around the park ... and Kourtney joined in too.

Kanye wasn't on the trip -- we're told he stayed back because of work commitments.

What do you do after inking a huge, $52 MILLION contract?? You rap about being rich A.F.!!

Boston Celtics star Marcus Smart got PAID this past offseason ... and capped off the life-changing deal by joining his good friend, Trey Davis, and rapper iAmCompton in the booth.

And, it goes in.

“52 mil, that’s a new deal, 13 a year, n***a, look how I live. Penthouse suite, n***a, that’s a new feel," the 24-year-old raps.

Our sources tell us Marcus and Compton have been close friends for years ... and randomly decided to hit the studio in L.A. back in August.

People connected to the track tell us the song and video (which was randomly shot at TAO) was never supposed to see the light of day ... but enough people got wind of it and they decided to drop it to the public.

The NFL is finally caving to pressure and booking an ATL-based musical act for Super Bowl LIII, but fans hoping to see local culture in the halftime show will still be disappointed ... TMZ has learned.

The R&B act is a group called Final Draft and, while the Super Bowl is a huge score for them ... they'll be more of a side act at Atlanta's Mercedes-Benz Stadium. As you know, Maroon 5 is holding court as the halftime headliner -- a decision many fans and even artists, like Waka Flocka, blasted the league for making.

The feeling is the NFL's missing out on showcasing Atlanta's hugely popular and successful hip-hop scene.

We're told Final Draft will perform at the Players Tailgate party, about 3 blocks away from the stadium. No tickets are needed, just show up and enjoy. The group will also perform later at the GameDay Fan Plaza ... which, at least, is inside the stadium.

Prior to this, Final Draft's big break came on season 12 of "America's Got Talent" where they reached the quarterfinals -- and they've also appeared on Wendy Williams' show.

As we first reported, Cardi B was in negotiations to join Maroon 5 for part of the halftime show. As far as we know, that's still in play.

DJ Paul's jumping on the Tekashi69 train -- calling him a genius -- and if the final destination is an East Coast-West Coast war ... DJP ain't sweating it.

We got the Three 6 Mafia rapper Thursday at LAX and had to ask about the tug-of-war between Tekashi's NY crew and his Cali record label. As we first reported, cops fear the worst is yet to come between the factions after last week's NYC shootout where one of 6ix9ine's guys was hit.

DJ Khaled just auditioned for the upcoming 'Bad Boys' trilogy, sort of ... because the music mogul helped save his buddy who fell off a Jet Ski.

The wild water rescue went down Thursday in Miami, when Khaled and co-producer Ayo Juan encountered some trouble on the high seas.

Juan fell off his Jet Ski, and Khaled assisted authorities in a scene perfect for Martin Lawrence and Will Smith's new flick -- which, oddly enough, Martin and Will announced earlier in the day in an IG post. Talk about crazy timing.

T.I. shouted it from the rooftops -- get in on the ground floor of the cryptocurrency he and a biz partner launched and get rich ... according to the lawsuit filed by investors, who say all they got was flat broke.

The crypto was called FLiK Token and it was created in August 2017 by T.I. and ATL businessman Ryan Felton. The pissed off investors say the opening price was 6 cents per token, but Felton said it would be worth $14.99 within 15 months. Little quick math for ya -- that would be a nearly 25,000% increase!!!

But, according to docs, obtained by TMZ, the get-rich-quick scheme backfired. About 2 dozen plaintiffs say the tokens initially jumped from 6 cents to 21 cents, but cut to August 2018 ... and they're worth LESS than a penny, each.

The investors say Felton was all over social media talking about big-time investors, and claim he even insinuated Mark Cuban was coming on board. Additionally, Kevin Hart tweeted a pic of himself with Tip, congratulating him on the FLiK launch.

The group says the coins are virtually useless now, and the failed venture collectively cost them more than $2 million. The investors' attorney tells us he filed the suit Thursday ... going after Felton and T.I. for at least $5 million.

Kawhi Leonard doesn't talk much, let alone sing -- but Tory Lanez doesn't seem to give a crap ... he wants the Raptors superstar on a track ASAP!!!!

Lanez is from Toronto -- and he's got so much love for what Kawhi's been able to do in his first few games in The 6 ... he's ready for a collab.

"That'd be great," Lanez tells TMZ Sports ... "We should do it. Just 'cause we both in Toronto and we both ballin', right?!?!"

Of course ... nobody knows if Leonard even has the capability to sing or rap (remember when he could barely laugh???) -- but Lanez appears to see that as a minor issue.

BTW ... for as much as Tory loves Kawhi these days -- he tells us the forward will NEVER be as good as Vince Carter ... and ya gotta hear why the rapper is convinced that's a fact.

And, if you want more from Tory, he was recently a guest on Van Lathan's 'The Red Pill' podcast where he talked about another hotly debated basketball topic ... his jump shot.

Kanye West and his team are scoffing at claims his latest Yeezy shoe release didn't sell out because of his politics ... because sales were actually super strong.

West dropped his Yeezy Mauve 700 shoe Saturday, and the product didn't sell out instantly like past releases. Some people jumped online and suggested sales were weak, and they blamed it on his politics.

Sources close to Kanye say the shade is ridiculous, because product volume was up nearly 10-fold compared to releases in the past. Short story -- more shoes moved this time than in previous releases.

As for the Yeezy brand, it's still at the top, and our sources say it was recently valued at several billion dollars, with that number expected to grow by year's end.

Ye announced Tuesday he's out of politics, after saying he was used by Candace Owens. A lot of people thought Kim pushed him to exit politics, but we're told it was really his decision to pull the plug.

Kanye's set for another shoe release Nov. 9 ... we're told that will be a big drop too, and another step in the direction of Kanye's goal -- Yeezys for everybody.

Chris Cornell was funneled dangerous drugs in enormous quantities by his doctor, without so much as a visit or even a phone call, and that's what caused him to commit suicide ... so claims his widow.

Vicky Cornell is suing Dr. Robert Koblin for malpractice, claiming the doctor prescribed 940 doses of the anti-anxiety drug Lorazepam (aka Ativan) as well as Oxycodone during the last 20 months of his life, without even examining the Soundgarden singer, performing lab studies ... anything to determine if Chris was in danger.

According to the lawsuit, obtained by TMZ, Chris was a known "addiction-prone individual," yet the doctor took no steps to protect him. The suit claims, in 2004, Chris' therapist for his substance abuse referred him to Dr. Koblin, so the doctor well knew Chris was an addict.

The lawsuit alleges Lorazepam increases the risk of suicide in addiction-prone individuals by impairing judgment and rational thinking. It also diminishes impulse control. TMZ broke the story, the suicide seemed to have come from out of the blue. Vicky spoke with Chris during sound check in Detroit the day he died and everything seemed fine ... yet hours later he took his life.

According to the lawsuit, Dr. Koblin never warned Chris about the dangers of suicide or other side effects of long-term Lorazepam use.

The suit claims Dr. Koblin permitted non-physician staff to write hundreds of Lorazepam prescriptions, without showing any medical necessity or providing any monitoring.

Vicky and her 2 children are suing for unspecified damages.

Mac Miller's gotta be feeling the love after his closest friends and thousands of his fans celebrated his life and his music with a concert in L.A.

The tribute show, "Mac Miller: A Celebration of Life," went off without a hitch, and was filled with some emotional moments courtesy of Chance the Rapper, Travis Scott, John Mayer, SZA, ScHoolboy Q and many more.

All the artists gathered at L.A.'s Greek Theatre either played Mac's songs or songs about him ... and the giant screen onstage was filled with photos and videos of Mac all night.

Mayer played Mac's "Small Worlds" and told the crowd he was "really nervous" doing it. Chance and several others choked up while thanking Mac for his music, friendship and opportunities in the biz. As SZA put it, "Without Mac, there would be no me. God bless you, we love you so much, Mac."