Music

R. Kelly could soon come face-to-face with the family of one his alleged "sex slaves" at Chicago's Trump Tower -- but only if they can get a posse of law enforcement to watch their backs.

Gerald Griggs -- an attorney who reps Joycelyn Savage's family -- tells TMZ he and the family are actively working with prosecutors in Illinois to conduct a new welfare check on Joycelyn at Kelly's Trump Tower pad.

Griggs says the Savages believe Joycelyn is living there, too, along with Azriel Clary. Both women were at R. Kelly's court hearing over the weekend, supporting him.

Griggs says Chicago PD conducted a welfare check in January, but he doesn't trust they did a thorough job. He says the fam wants one done when they can be there to witness it.

The Savages ultimate goal hasn't changed -- they're hoping they can somehow get through to Joycelyn and convince her to leave Kelly.

However, they're also afraid for their own safety, because they say R. Kelly's associates have threatened them. For that reason, Griggs says they're requesting assistance from the Cook County State's Attorney's Office. Basically, they want backup as protection from Kelly's people.

It's unclear if Cook County will oblige. We've got a call in, but no word back yet.

Travis Scott and Cardi B are giving you another reason to visit Sin City ... because they're headlining the insane opening lineup for a new nightclub at the Palms Casino!!!

The first weekend in April is looking like a music festival in Vegas, to ring in the new KAOS dayclub and nightclub at the Palms ... with Alicia Keys, Skrillex, G-Eazy, Kaskade and J Balvin helping TS and CB get the party started.

It all kicks off Friday, April 5, with an intimate performance by Alicia Keys inside the Pearl Concert Theatre ... followed by Travis Scott and Skrillex in the first-ever concert at KAOS nightclub.

Cardi B, G-Eazy and J Balvin keep it moving Saturday night ... and you know it's gonna be a #SundayFunday with Kaskade and Vice rounding things out.

The only thing bigger than the music acts might be the dance floor ... because we're told KAOS features a 73,000 square foot dayclub and a 29,000 square foot nightclub.

Party people, assemble!!!

YNW Melly tried hatching an elaborate scheme to trick cops into thinking his buddies were killed by someone other than him and a pal -- at least, according to cops.

According to YNW's booking report out of Miramar, FL -- obtained by TMZ -- the rapper's friend, Cortlen Henry, drove to an ER in the wee hours of Oct. 26, asking for help for his two friends in his car, whom he claimed had been shot in a drive-by.

Cops say that the victims -- Anthony Williams and Christopher Thomas Jr. -- were pronounced dead at the hospital. They were both shot in the head, torso and back. Police say it was a grisly scene ... blood splattered about the car.

Cortlen told police he and his two pals had just wrapped a late night studio sesh, and as he was pulling off the freeway ... a car pulled up on his driver's side and opened fire. Cops confirm there were 8 bullet holes along the right side of the vehicle -- where Williams and Thomas sat. Cortlen escaped injury.

As police investigated Henry's account, they found forensic evidence leading them to believe he lied and was covering up a very different murder.

Cops say they found a shell casing inside the vehicle, along with 8 matching shell casings in a different location, where cops think YNW and Henry shot up the car to make it look like a drive-by.

Cops say the initial shot was fired from inside the vehicle -- not outside, as Henry claimed -- and originated from the left rear passenger side of the car, which is where they say they later discovered YNW had been sitting.

Police say surveillance footage from the recording studio shows YNW, Henry, Williams and Thomas getting in the car to leave. YNW got into the back left seat.

Cops say after Williams and Thomas were shot, YNW and Henry drove around with the dead bodies "for a period of time" before driving to the hospital. Henry later told police YNW was, in fact, in the same car with them ... but exited at some point and got in another car.

Something else that doesn't help YNW ... a documentary about his life and career, that cops say they watched ... which "glorifies his use and possession of firearms." Oh, and he's also got a song called "Murder On My Mind." It's dark stuff.

Aaron Carter's a grown man making responsible, grown-up choices, but he still scored a pretty baller bachelor pad ... with a nice yard for his puppy to boot.

The singer tells TMZ ... Aaron's party has officially moved to Lancaster, California -- he dropped $430k on his first home ... a wise investment for his future and proving he's got his s**t together.

Aaron says he chose a house away from Hollywood and the beaches because he wanted to get more bang for his buck, and his new pad's close to dirt biking and camping sites ... a couple of his favorite activities.

He also scored a spacious yard for his 11-month-old Doberman pinscher, Diamond, to run around.

Aaron's 3-bed, 3-bath pad comes with a backyard pool and a 3-car garage, and with 2,686 sq. ft. ... there's plenty of room to entertain. It was listed by agent Christie Limpus.

Ty Dolla $ign's scored a huge win in his Georgia drug possession case -- his record will be wiped clean, IF he keeps his nose clean for the next few months.

According to court docs obtained by TMZ, Atlanta prosecutors struck a deal last week with the rapper: he'll enter an online drug prevention program, and lay off weed and Rx drugs ... then all charges -- 2 felonies and a misdemeanor -- will vanish.

Georgia calls it the Second Chance program, and we're told it typically lasts 13 weeks. Ty will also be subject to random drug testing during the program.

You'll recall ... an Atlanta grand jury indicted Ty after cops busted him back in September, allegedly finding pot and cocaine in his bag.

Sources connected to the case tell us the deal was struck after Ty's attorney, Steve Sadow, met with prosecutors to point out weaknesses in the case.

TMZ has the audio of Pete Davidson skillfully handling a heckler who tried to jab at the comedian's personal life by yelling out Mac Miller's name at a highly inappropriate time.

The 'SNL' star was performing Monday night at the South Orange Performing Arts Center in New Jersey when he started the setup for a joke, saying ... "My friend died in my apartment."

That's when some tool in the audience yelled, "Mac Miller?"

Listen to the audio ... Pete immediately stopped everything and urged the crowd to point out the "f***face" so security could remove him. He refused to continue the show until the guy was tossed ... which he did once the audience dimed him out.

As you know ... Mac died of an accidental drug overdose in September, and he previously dated Ariana Grande. She later got engaged to Pete. Her grief over Mac was part of the reason she and Pete split.

Davidson made sure the heckler got his money back -- because he said he didn't want it -- and reeled the crowd back in ... with a Dane Cook joke.

Well played.

Kathie Lee Gifford isn't about to weigh in on R. Kelly -- she's leaving that to a much higher power, but she firmly believes it's not too late for the embattled singer.

We got the "Today" host Tuesday in NYC, and asked if she thought there was any way for Kelly to redeem himself after the lurid allegations involving the 2 new sex tapes Michael Avenatti turned over to prosecutors. KLG immediately got biblical on us by suggesting Kelly seek redemption in God's eyes.

As you know, he's facing 10 counts of aggravated sexual abuse.

Kathie Lee says the legal process will run its course but adds ... Kelly should only be thinking about ONE judge right now.

R. Kelly was bailed out by a woman who believes he's innocent -- at least for now -- and says she simply stepped up to the plate to help a friend in need.

Valencia P. Love is the Chicago businesswoman who reportedly covered the $100k bond Monday to secure Kelly's release, and she says, "There are three sides to every story, [Kelly's] side, there's (the alleged victims), and the truth."

That statement seems to acknowledge Kelly is being less than truthful, but Love also told Chicago's FOX32 ... "As a friend if he says he's innocent, I can only believe that he is innocent."

Love also insists Kelly is not a monster, and says there are much worse problems in Chicago -- like hundreds of Catholic priests being accused of sex abuse and a missing woman named Kierra Coles.

Valencia makes it clear she's not condoning any of the allegations, saying, "If he did it he is wrong" ... but believes Kelly should get the chance to clear his name.

YBN Almighty Jay is turning himself in to cops who are investigating him for allegedly stealing another rapper's chain, Rolex and cash ... but he tells us 5-0's got the wrong guy.

We got the rapper Tuesday as he was about to walk in to LAPD -- a little more than a week after cops named him a suspect for felony grand theft. Still, he strongly denies he's the culprit ... telling us, repeatedly, "I didn't do s**t!"

We broke the story ... YBN was filming videos in Chatsworth, CA with another rapper, Skinnyfromthe9 ... when he and his crew allegedly ran off with tons of loot -- a $40k chain, $20k Rolex and $20k cash.

In surveillance footage of the incident, you see a couple men approach Skinny's Range Rover which YBN was standing next to, and after a struggle ... the men run away.

YBN admits it's him in the video, but insists he had nothing to do with jacking the cash and jewelry.

Bebe Rexha's going after her fans who are going after her dad who didn't much like her super racy new music video ... she wants them to back the f up.

The "Last Hurrah" singer tells us her father hated the vid for her latest single -- which she admits is a little much -- but now she's upset because her fans are trashing him for expressing his disgust.

Her message to those fans when we got her at LAX Tuesday is pretty straight forward ... "Don't talk s**t about my dad!!!"

ICYMI -- Bebe shared a text screenshot from dear old Dad on her Instagram story Monday, in which he told her ... "You better stop posting stupid pornography because you make me sick. I can't take this anymore. Embarrassed to go in public everywhere I can go. I'm very upset with you, I can't believe it."

Rexha captioned it, "My dad hates me," but later deleted the texts because her fans started blasting him ... and now she's doing full damage control.

Bebe says she's taking a flight home to New York to patch things up with her father, who hasn't spoken to her in 2 weeks ... but she seems pretty confident all will be fine. As she puts it ... "My dad loves me."

As for "Last Hurrah" -- the video got flagged as "sensitive" on YouTube. It features a lot of sexed-up scenes, partying nuns and Bebe on a bed with crosses everywhere ... with "Daddy's Angel" written over her crotch. She claims this is a toned-down version.

Good luck with the chat with Dad!!!

One of the hottest rappers in the game named a song after Derek Fisher ... and you know who's stoked about that??

DEREK FISHER ... 's kids, 'cause the ex-Lakers star says Gunna's tribute gave him MAJOR cool points with the youngins in his house.

If you haven't heard about the Young Thug signee, Gunna is one of the biggest names in the industry right now ... and his collab mixtape with Lil Baby, "Drip Harder," is widely considered one of the top projects of 2018.

Gunna's follow-up, "Drip or Drown 2" just dropped last week ... and features 2 songs with tributes to NBAers Fisher and Yao Ming.

Fisher -- who says he's a Gunna fan -- says he hasn't heard the song yet, but his kids have made him well aware of the shoutout.

"It makes me feel old," Fisher tells us. "I was old and not cool, and now I'm a little cooler."

The song -- which is like an ode to guns -- has pretty much nothing to do with D-Fish except for the line in the hook, "shoot like Derek Fisher, ain't no n***a cross the line."

Fisher says he's down to be a part of the music video for the song if Gunna wants him... as long as it's appropriate.

Offset has a lot of marquee features on his newest album -- but there's a big fish he couldn't land ... one Kendrick Lamar.

The Migos MC was out in NYC Monday, where he told us he tried to get K. Dot to spit a verse on his latest record, "Father of 4." It would've been a nice addition to a sweet lineup of features -- J. Cole, CeeLo Green, Cardi B, Quavo, Travis Scott, 21 Savage, Gucci Mane and others.

He doesn't get into why Kendrick didn't make it in the booth, but ya gotta imagine that collab would've been great. It doesn't appear they've worked together yet on an official project.

We asked if the "Father of 4" is thinking about expanding the fam, and let's just say ... ya gotta see his reaction.

Lil' Kim and Mya are taking a cue from TLC, because they ain't chasing waterfalls ... they're chasing the sun down in the Caribbean -- and it's all for their TV show.

TLC's Chilli joined forces with Lil' Kim and Mya on Monday, hitting a beach in Barbados for an epic photo shoot ... and we're told the hip-hop stars are working on a new show for VH1!

We're told the show is called "Girls Crew" and Barbados is just one stop on their itinerary. The singers will be heading off to several other Caribbean islands while shooting.

R. Kelly still has the star power to bring things to a screeching halt, 'cause he did exactly that on at least a couple of occasions this weekend while behind bars.

Sources tell TMZ that Cook County Jail became temporarily paralyzed twice between Saturday and Monday, while Kelly was incarcerated there after turning himself in Friday.

We're told the jail's guards were told twice -- once on Saturday and again on Monday -- to cease the other inmates' movements entirely while Kelly was being transported through the facility to meet visitors. Our sources say the visits lasted 15 minutes.

Think about that for a minute. Cook County jail houses roughly 6,100 inmates ... and all of them had to sit tight whenever R. Kelly was on the move. We're told jail officials are ecstatic he's gone, 'cause it's a pain to do that for one inmate.

A Cook County Jail spokesperson made no bones about it ... telling us Kelly's celebrity status is absolutely the reason for the temporary jail freeze. Officials didn't want the other inmates causing a fuss as the singer was taken from one division of the jail to another.

Chris Cornell's widow is speaking out about the opioid crisis in America and sharing her firsthand knowledge about the impact addiction has on families.

Vicky Cornell was on Capitol Hill Monday to share her personal story of her husband's tragic death. She told the Bipartisan Heroin and Opioid Task Force ... "The part that hurts most is Chris’ death was not inevitable, there were no demons that took over. Chris had a brain disease and a doctor who unfortunately, like many, was not properly trained or educated on addiction."

She also emphasized the need to address overprescribing of addictive Rx meds.

Vicky added ... "We must integrate addiction treatment into our health care system -- no more false narratives about the need to hit rock bottom, no more secret societies, no more shame -- we must educate health care providers on how to treat addiction and best support recovery."

As you know, Chris died by suicide in May 2017 in a Detroit hotel room following a concert. The Medical Examiner said he had a variety of drugs in his system, including a sedative, barbiturates and Ativan.

Vicky blamed his doctor for prescribing a recovering addict a drug to relieve pain without close supervision ... which she believes led to a relapse.

Her mission is to stop similar situations for recovering addicts ... and she hopes Congress listened.

If "Empire" money was Jussie Smollett's motivation to allegedly stage an attack, he certainly never showed his cards to the people who could actually make it happen.

"Empire" production sources tell TMZ ... none of the brass -- producers or EPs -- heard even a whisper from Jussie grousing he was underpaid. Chicago Police Superintendent Eddie Johnson said Jussie staged the "attack" to raise his profile and get more per episode.

Our sources say, if Jussie was upset about his salary, he kept it to himself. He was in the middle of a long-term contract and the executives, who are in a position to bust the deal or sweeten the pot, say neither Jussie nor his reps ever asked.

Jussie was pulling in a reported $125,000 per episode. We're told that's on par with actor Bryshere Y. Gray, who plays his brother, Hakeem. Taraji P. Henson and Terrence Howard reportedly make $250,000 an episode.

We're told Jussie's main focus recently was the release of new music. He was upset his first album didn't do well and was stressed out over the debuts of his new songs and music videos.