Music

The Thousand Oaks bar where 12 people were killed in a shooting rampage nearly a month ago is making a valiant effort to return to normalcy. First order of business -- hosting country night again.

The Borderline Bar & Grill's management is bringing their popular Country Line Dancing Night to a new venue, because they're not yet ready to open their doors. The event will be held at The Canyon Club in Agoura Hills -- just a 9 minute drive away from Borderline.

The owners say The Canyon Club "graciously allowed us to set up shop and take over Thursday." The first country night is slated for December 20 with doors opening at 6 PM, dance lessons at 6:30 PM ... then line dancing, drinks and food until closing.

As we first reported ... Borderline plans to open again, but the owners don't have a timetable yet.

It's been closed since an ex-Marine stormed the bar last month and opened fire on tons of college students attending Country Night. Tamera Mowry's niece and a Ventura County Sheriff's sergeant were among the victims.

Ice Cube is jacked up for Lamar Odom's dreams of a pro basketball comeback ... but he says there is a catch if the ex-Laker wants to make it in the BIG3 ...

"He's still gotta try out like everybody else."

Yup ... Ice Cube ain't doing the 2-time NBA champ any favors -- telling TMZ Sports, L.O.'s gotta work out just like the rest of the ballers who want in on his 3-on-3 league.

But ... Cube tells us video he saw recently of Odom on the court and in the gym was promising -- and he's hopeful Lamar can make a squad.

That said, Cube notes that Odom was training in a gym without elite players trying to shut him down -- and the game is A LOT different when there's a defense on the court.

Cube's advice on the next steps Odom needs to take to make it? "Get healthy, get in shape and get to the combine!"

Seems Lamar's already on it ...

Cardi B just threw up the first clear, full-faced photo of her and Offset's daughter, Kulture -- and the timing is interesting.

CB posted the close-up shot of baby Kulture Wednesday and captioned it ... "My heart." The kid is super cute, just as we suspected.

It's kinda crazy that Cardi decided to put this out now without much pomp and circumstance ... considering she made such a big fuss about hiding the baby's face for so long.

Of course, she dropped the pic less than 24 hours after announcing she and Offset are done in a video posted Tuesday night.

Best way to change the conversation -- if that's what she's trying to do -- is show off your gorgeous kid.

All together now ... AWWWWW!!!

The woman with whom Offset allegedly cheated -- not long before Cardi B gave birth -- says she's remorseful, and tells TMZ ... she never wanted to be a homewrecker.

Summer Bunni cried openly while telling us how guilty she feels after word got out her hooking up with Cardi's husband might have been a catalyst in the couple's split. SB is the woman Offset allegedly asked to arrange a threesome that would include rapper Cuban Doll.

Summer tells us she hasn't messed with Offset since Cardi had their baby, Kulture, but still feels ashamed for playing any role in breaking up their marriage. She insists she didn't know how serious Offset and Cardi were -- which seems absurd. They were married!

Bunni hasn't spoken directly to Cardi, but she tried to deliver an apology through us, and says she hopes the estranged couple will reconcile.

Lil Pump's out of the pokey after spending a day locked up in Denmark, and officials there are making it clear ... they don't want him coming 'round there no more.

Sources familiar with the situation tell us he was released from police custody Wednesday morning. We broke the story ... cops in Copenhagen busted his crew Tuesday for holding something illegal, and decided to detain them longer after Pump live streamed the incident and flipped the bird at an officer.

Turns out, the "illegal" thing was weed ... so Pump and his pals had to pay a fine between $700-800 before they got sprung.

We're told they've been asked to leave the country. They obliged and are now on their way to Oslo for Lil Pump's next show.

Tekashi69 just had his child sex case in New York closed by a judge, but it's not exactly as big a break as it appears.

We're told a judge revoked the 4-year probation, and gave 6ix9ine credit for time served. Tekashi no longer has to perform 1,000 hours of community service. The judge cited Tekashi's federal racketeering case as a reason for the decision.

Tekashi's lawyer, Lance Lazzaro, tells TMZ ...because 6ix9ine is incarcerated on the federal case, they can't enforce the terms of probation nor can they enforce community service.

As we reported ... Tekashi got 4 years probation in his child sex case, which was a HUGE break at the time and exactly what his legal team had requested. At the time, the deal was he would have to keep his nose clean and refrain from associating with any gang members and avoid all gang activity.

Thing is ... trouble seemed to follow Tekashi just about everywhere he went. You'll recall gunfire erupted during the rapper's celebration after his court hearing. His bodyguard got hit. Less than 2 weeks later, he nearly went to blows with Slim 400 during a trip to SoCal.

Shortly after that, gunmen opened fire at the Beverly Hills mansion Tekashi rented for the filming of his music video. But, the huge hammer dropped just days later -- Tekashi was busted in a federal racketeering case alleging Tekashi and his crew conspired to commit a slew of crimes ... including drug deals, armed robberies and shootings.

The Manhattan D.A.'s office had no comment.

12:55 PM PT -- 2 Milly tells us he didn't know what Fortnite was until people started contacting him over social media, telling him the game was stealing his dance. The rapper says even his daughter noticed the similarities to his moves.

2 Milly says the dance started showing up in season 5 of Fortnite, and he wasn't alerted to it until a few months after the release. He says Epic took his craft and sold it as their own, and he wants fair compensation.

2 Milly says he's not trying to ruin the game for anyone, but he's calling out Epic for unethical business practices and wants the "Swipe It" dance removed entirely.

The rapper filed legal docs this week against Epic Games -- the company that makes Fortnite Battle Royale -- for allegedly using his popular Milly Rock moves in the game without his permission to capitalize on the popular dance craze ... and make a ton of cash.

According to the docs ... Fortnite players can purchase the dance -- which is called "Swipe It" in the game -- for their characters. Problem is ... 2 Milly claims "Swipe It" is an exact replica of his Milly Rock, but they never asked him to use it or offered to pay him for it.

2 Milly also alleges dance-stealing is a common trend in Fortnite. According to the suit ... the game copied Snoop Dogg's "Drop It Like It's Hot" dance and the famous Carlton dance from 'Fresh Prince of Bel-Air' -- among many others -- without consent or compensation "to exploit African-American talent" for profit.

The rapper is suing Epic for damages and legal fees ... and wants his dance moves removed from the game.

His attorney David L. Hecht of Pierce Bainbridge Beck Price & Hecht LLP tells us his firm is, "proud to stand up for African-American creatives whose expression and likenesses have misappropriated. Epic is enjoying record profits off of downloadable content in Fortnite, yet has failed to pay or even ask permission to use artists’ intellectual property and likenesses over many of its popular emote dances."

We reached out to the Fortnite makers ... no word back so far.

2:15 PM PT -- Natalie's responded to Jessica directly, saying ... "I completely agree with you that a woman should be allowed to dress however she likes and behave however she likes and not be judged. I only meant to say I was confused - as a girl coming of age in the public eye around the same time - by the media's mixed messages about how girls and women are supposed to behave."

She adds ... "I didn't mean to shame you and I'm sorry for any hurt my words may have caused. I have nothing but respect for your talent and your voice that you use to encourage and empower women all over the globe."

Jessica Simpson is firing back at Natalie Portman for saying she got mixed messages from one of Jessica's famous magazine covers way back in the day.

Jessica called out Natalie Wednesday, saying she's "disappointed" Natalie is slut shaming her for posing in a bikini, while also boasting about being a virgin.

In a recent interview, Natalie told USA Today, "I remember being a teenager, and there was Jessica Simpson on the cover of a magazine saying ‘I’m a virgin’ while wearing a bikini, and I was confused. Like, I don’t know what this is trying to tell me as a woman, as a girl."

Natalie, who plays a pop star in her new movie, "Vox Lux," was talking about real-life pop stars and the virgin/vixen paradigms pushed by the music industry in the late 1990s.

Jessica thinks Natalie should know better ... telling her, "As public figures, we both know our image is not totally in our control at all times, and that the industry we work in often tries to define us and box us in."

Jessica further scolds Natalie by writing, "being sexy in a bikini and being proud of my body are not synonymous with having sex.”

The pop star's social media rant included some shade for Natalie -- “I have made it my practice to not shame other women for their choices. I encourage you to do the same."

Travis Scott isn't taking any chances with "wifey" and daughter on the road -- he's deploying extreme security measures that would make President Trump feel safe.

Sources close to Travis tell TMZ ... anytime Kylie Jenner and Stormi come to one of his "Astroworld" concerts, Travis brings in 5 or 6 additional security guards to run a battery of Secret Service-style maneuvers.

We're told the "Sicko Mode" rapper has them conduct thorough sweeps of the dressing room and backstage areas for more than an hour. The guards also confer on best exit routes for Trav and the fam in the worst case scenario.

Our sources say it's a night and day difference from when Travis is alone on the road. Even Kylie and Stormi's itinerary is kept under lock and key -- known ONLY to their bodyguards and management.

It's a ton more work and effort, but we're told the team looks forward to the tour visits because Travis is in a much better mood when Stormi and Kylie join him.

Trina Braxton has an interesting thought about radio stations banning the Christmas song "Baby It's Cold Outside" in the #MeToo era -- and it's basically this ... Too. Damn. Far.

The singer was at LAX Tuesday where our photog gave her props for her and her sisters' new holiday album, "Braxton Family Christmas," which spurred a convo about the latest holiday controversy -- certain stations yanking 'Baby It's Cold' because critics think it promotes date rape.

If you've never paid attention to the lyrics, the song's about a woman trying to leave a date, while the guy insists she stay. One of the more problematic verses ... "Well maybe just a half a drink more // I'll put some records on while I pour // The neighbors might think // Baby it's bad out there // Say what's in this drink?"

Much as Trina defended the song, even she told us that verse is pretty shaky. Still, she says it's a classic that shouldn't be touched, and besides ... she reminds us the woman decides to stay in the end.

Phaedra Parks wants Cardi B to handle her business -- in court, that is, before it starts affecting her money biz.

We got the 'RHOA' star Tuesday night heading into NYC's Intrepid Sea, Air & Space Museum for the TPG Awards and wanted to kill 2 birds with one stone -- getting a celeb lawyer to weigh in on Cardi skipping her Monday court date to shoot a music video.

As we first reported, Cardi pissed off the judge in her strip club beatdown case when she was a no-show to Monday's court hearing in NYC. Turns out she was twerking her ass off in Miami ... for work, of course.

Miley Cyrus is still recovering after the Malibu wildfires, and now she's gotta deal with a major theft at her storage unit ... TMZ has learned.

Law enforcement sources tell us someone got into Miley's storage unit in the San Fernando Valley and made off with some valuable guitars. We're told the total value of the missing axes is more than $10,000.

It's unclear how the thieves got into the unit, but the heist nearly went unnoticed. We're told Miley initially thought someone in the family had borrowed them. She didn't realize they were actually stolen until today.

She's had a rough go of it, lately. Miley and Liam Hemsworth's Malibu home was devastated in last month's Woolsey fire.

Our sources say the storage unit caper most likely went down sometime in October. By the way, the unit was NOT cleared out ... we're told only the guitars were boosted.

MC Hammer had a special treat for the 50th birthday of Oakland's one-time "crack king" -- a performance that pumped up the party, and proved Hammer's moves are still fire.

The legendary rapper dropped in for the Bay Area gig to help convicted drug dealer Darryl Reed celebrate the big 5-0 last weekend. MCH danced and rapped his hit, "Pumps and a Bump" with the same tireless effort as he had back in '94.

Still 2 legit, for sure.

Folks inside the bash at Yoshi's jazz club in Oak Town tell us Hammer surprised everyone right after they finished singing 'Happy Birthday' to Darryl.

He did a couple songs -- not 'Can't Touch This' -- took some photos and bounced.

Hailey Bieber is ringing in that wifey life by riding her hubby, Justin, bareback. Okay, get your mind out of the gutter ... 'cause we're talking shirtless piggyback here.

The Biebers were doing a photo shoot Tuesday in the Hollywood Hills, where JB was giving the missus back-to-back (to back) piggyback rides ... most of which were done without a shirt on his back.

We know. You're wondering how many times can we say back?

Anyway, back to the shoot ... there were other poses the recently hitched couple got into ... like that classic model move ... the let's-spoon-each-other-while-standing-up-with-hands-at our-sides.

Love that one ... it's a staple for newlyweds.

Troy Gentry died as a result of his helicopter pilot's error ... according to investigators.

The National Transportation Safety Board concluded the pilot cut the engine too soon as he attempted to make an emergency landing back in September 2017.

As we reported, Troy -- one half of the country music group Montgomery Gentry -- and the pilot were killed when they crashed in a field in Medford, NJ.

According to the NTSB's report, the pilot's mistake led to an uncontrolled descent and instead of landing at nearby Flying W Airport, the chopper crashed in the woods. The report included dialogue between the pilot and experts on the ground assisting him with the landing.

The pilot had intended to pull off a maneuver he said he had done before -- cutting the engine and attempting to glide to the ground. However, experts had advised a shallow, run-on landing.

Troy was 50.