Music

R. Kelly's back on the streets after finally covering his unpaid child support.

The singer forked over the $161,633 he owes to ex-wife, Drea Kelly, and was released Saturday morning from Cook County Jail. As he walked out, Kelly said, "I promise we're gonna straighten all this out. That's all I can say right now. I love my fans."

Interestingly, he did have fans screaming for him outside ... including one woman who yelled, "Please touch my hand!"

Sources connected to Kelly tell us he scraped together the money with help from a "benefactor."

As we reported ... R. Kelly was arrested Wednesday when he missed the deadline to settle up his back child support. During his CBS interview, he blamed his ex for his failure to pay her ... claiming her "lies" about abuse are the reason he can't make any money.

He also claims he's trying to reconnect with his 3 kids, but sources close to the situation say that's BS ... he hasn't even reached out to his family in nearly 2 years.

Kelly's legal woes are just getting started. As you know, he's still facing 10 counts of aggravated sexual abuse in Chicago, multiple federal investigations ... and new sexual misconduct allegations in Detroit.

As we've reported ... the feds are looking into whether R. Kelly violated the Mann Act, which prohibits transportation of minors across state lines for purpose of sex or debauchery. Attorney Michael Avenatti now says he has evidence to nail R. Kelly for that too.

DJ Mustard says R. Kelly is a "monster" and a "pig" ... but he's reserving judgment on Michael Jackson. YG says he's done with both of 'em ... but also has some condemning words for white people.

We got the hip-hop stars outside Poppy nightclub in L.A. Friday night, engaging in a lively discussion about the sordid allegations and controversy currently surrounding the disgraced musicians.

Mustard tells us he doesn't mess with Kelly because he believes the accusers -- and because he has daughters -- but isn't so certain about MJ. He admits he's been swayed by the "Surviving R. Kelly" docuseries ... but he's yet to see "Leaving Neverland."

YG adds some entertainment throughout by challenging Mustard for rebuking one but not the other, but then takes the convo in a different direction ... with claims that racism's behind everything -- including Bill Cosby going to prison.

Jussie Smollett's career is just like an awesome script ... complete with a major plot twist, then a climax and now the aftermath -- and it ain't pretty.

Sources familiar with Jussie's current situation tell TMZ ... he was living a pretty good Hollywood life before claiming he was viciously attacked in Chicago. He was getting entertainment biz offers every other week, if not weekly.

We're told Smollett's star actually skyrocketed right after the alleged attack was initially reported. Our sources say he was getting hit up nonstop for movies, TV gigs, commercials and, of course, interviews and appearances.

When his story went off the rails and he was arrested and charged with a felony for filing a false police report ... the well ran dry. We're told Smollett's getting zero calls for new work, and is being treated like a pariah.

Makes sense. Hollywood's waiting to see how his case plays out, but the 16-count indictment the grand jury handed up Friday can't help.

As we reported ... "Empire" also removed Jussie's character from the final 2 episodes of the season in order to keep peace on the set ... where some of his co-stars are butting heads over whether to support him.

On the bright side -- if there is one -- Chicago PD launched an internal investigation out of concerns the force was leaking information, and some of the claims by the Police Superintendent have been called into question.

That might help him in court, but it won't do jack to help him land any roles.

Kodak Black's been talking mad trash about Lil Wayne for about a week, and now that he's about to do a show in Weezy's hometown ... the venue's going full-bore to prep for violence.

Kodak's slated to perform at the Mahalia Jackson Theater for the Performing Arts in New Orleans next week, and we're told the venue honchos think the rapper's mouth will have some Wayne fans looking for revenge.

The backstory, for those not on black Twitter, is that Kodak was at Miami's LIV nightclub last weekend, and thought Wayne was coming to show some love. When he didn't, Kodak got pissed, grabbed a mic and called Wayne a "f***in' maggot" -- and added, "You should've died when you was a baby."

When Weezy's daughter, Reginae Carter, called out Kodak for disrespecting her pops -- he called her "bald head." Then Reginae's mom, Toya Wright, weighed in ... and Kodak unloaded, saying ... "@toyawright If I Ain't Have No Girlfriend I'll F**k Da S**t Out Yo Fine Ass."

And, that's why we're told security at the NOLA venue will be monitoring social media for any direct threats referencing Kodak's show. Additionally, New Orleans PD will assist with extra security to keep Kodak safe.

For the record, Weezy hasn't responded at all, but turf wars can get real.

Kid Cudi turned 35 a little over a month ago but dude's still turning up in style ... with this INSANE custom diamond chain.

We're told the rapper commissioned celebrity jeweler Ben Baller to get it done as a birthday gift to himself. It cost Cudi a whopping $275k!!! The BAPE camo diamond chain carries a sick colorful pendant ... including black diamonds to make out Cudi's hair and white diamonds for Cudi's t-shirt.

The pendant's also littered with Cognac diamonds for Cudi's face, canary diamonds for Cudi's rings and blue diamonds for the pants. The "stoner" eyeballs are made up of rubies. The piece was designed by Japanese fashion designer Nigo, who used to own the popular BAPE clothing line. Kid Cudi has been featured in some of their collections over the years.

Solid way to celebrate turning 35. Remember ... Cudi broke bread with Kanye West, Pete Davidson and Oscar-nominated actor Timothee Chalamet back in January in Malibu to ring in 35.

Now, he can keep celebrating in style.

R. Kelly says he's short on cash and running out of options, so he's going to try a new tactic -- beg the court to cut him a financial break.

According to new legal docs, obtained by TMZ ... the singer planned to file a motion Monday to reduce the amount of money he owes his ex-wife, Drea Kelly, in back child support. Once filed, the judge would review the case and issue a ruling, but that could take several days. There's also no guarantee the judge would grant a reduction.

That was Kelly's initial plan. Plan B, we're told, is trying to scrape together the $161k through the assistance of others -- not unlike the woman who paid the $100k to bail him out last month.

If he can make that happen, there's a chance he could get out of Cook County jail on Friday.

As we reported ... Kelly was arrested Wednesday for failing to come up with the child support money. He's stuck in a jail cell until he can pay the ordered amount -- $161,633.

Kelly publicly blamed his ex for his failure to pay child support during his CBS interview, claiming her "lies" about his abuse are the reason he can't make any dough.

He also claims he's trying to reconnect with his kids, but sources close to the situation say that's BS ... he hasn't even reached out to his family in well over a year.

21 Savage could be on the hook for $1 million after a promoter says he bailed on a gig back in 2016.

If the incident sounds familiar -- it should -- it's the same case that was recently rejected by the D.A.'s Office after the office claimed it was a civil matter ... so the promoter is doing just that.

According to new legal docs obtained by TMZ ... Sadaetirs Kent Smith, a club promoter, is now suing the rapper alleging he bailed on a performance back in September 2016 and never returned the amount he had been paid ... $16,500.

We broke the story ... the promoter went to cops in October 2016 and filed paperwork to get a felony warrant against 21 Savage for theft by deception, claiming he walked off with $17k for a show that never went down.

As for the $1 million figure ... Smith says the breach of contract caused severe emotional distress.

12:02 PM PT -- We've now learned Gloria Allred will represent the woman who made claims Kelly sexually abused her at just 13 years old in Detroit ... police are looking into the accusations.

The victim tells us, "Listening to R. Kelly's denials about what he did to underage girls like me was very hurtful. He needs to tell the truth and he needs to stop playing the victim. He was the adult and I was the child. He has no right to take advantage of me when I was only a 13-year-old child."

R. Kelly's ex-wife claims his abusive ways didn't end when they got divorced ... she says he tried to control her by cutting her off from child support.

A rep for Drea Kelly tells TMZ ... the embattled singer knew EXACTLY where to hit Drea where it hurt her most after she spoke out in June 2018 -- on a show called "Sister Circle Live" -- and alleged he'd been physically and mentally abusive during their marriage.

We're told the singer -- who has 3 kids with Drea -- had sporadically been paying child support, but lo and behold ... the payments completely stopped after her interview aired on TV.

Drea's team says her career took a hard hit after she had her first kid -- Kelly wanted her to be a stay-at-home mom, set strict rules for her and insisted she only work for him. When the marriage hit rock bottom ... she was a single mother without a job.

That control didn't stop after they split -- Drea says Kelly's unwillingness to take care of his kids was a form of control because he knew damn well she needed his financial support.

She says sometimes he would pay in full, sometimes late and sometimes nothing at all. Bottom line ... she never knew how much, if any, money they'd have to live on.

As for Kelly dumping all his problems on Drea -- she says that's a load of crap.

Although he ranted to CBS that he can't make money because of her abuse allegations, Drea points out the #MuteRKelly movement started well over a year before she spoke out.

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!!!

Tyga's got a pretty strange cure for the repo man blues -- he's simply buying even more luxury rides ... somehow, someway.

Sources familiar with the deal tell TMZ ... Tyga purchased a red, 2019 Rolls-Royce Cullinan -- the luxury line's new SUV. We're told he picked it up about 3 weeks ago, ironically, shortly before he got manhandled at Floyd Mayweather's party over a Maybach that got repo'd.

In fact, that's the whip he hopped into after the nightclub incident where he tried to pull his bodyguard's handgun. The Rolls goes for about $325k, but that's a base model.

If that's not shocking enough ... we're also told Tyga was shopping Wednesday in Bev Hills for a brand new Lamborghini and could pull the trigger on it any day now.

We'd love to just to be happy for the guy, but NONE of this adds up.

Besides the Maybach repo, he's also dealing with a $128k lawsuit for bailing on payments for a Ferrari and a Rolls-Royce.

BTW, while he had time to shop for a Lambo this week, he couldn't squeeze a court appearance into his schedule, so there's now a warrant for his arrest.

Point is ... Tyga loses the You-Owe-Us-Money-For-That-Car game -- time and time again -- yet he keeps on playing. Good luck, car dealers!!!

If the deals go south, we know a guy who can help 'em recoup their losses.

Tyron Woodley is keeping it real about why he fought so poorly against Kamaru Usman at UFC 235 -- and it's really interesting.

By all accounts, including his own, the UFC superstar looked flat in his welterweight title defense that night ... leaving many people wondering what went wrong.

So, we got into it during this week's 'Hollywood Beatdown' -- where Tyron fielded questions on why he didn't have it that night, and if other things like his rap and acting career were distractions going into the fight.

We also talked about that viral clip of Tyron's mom congratulating Usman after the fight -- and asked if Tyron had an issue with his mother telling Kamaru that it's now his time to be champion.

The good news ... Tyron says he's going back to the drawing board and training harder than ever to get his belt back.

He also has been getting support from some huge stars including Floyd Mayweather and Reggie Bush.

There's a new twist in one of the federal investigations into R. Kelly -- a new witness who's corroborating 2 women's allegations of sexual misconduct.

Gloria Allred tells TMZ ... a woman has come forward with details that support the claims Latresa Scaff and Rochelle Washington -- Allred's clients -- made about Kelly attacking them after a Baltimore concert in 1995.

As we reported, Latresa and Rochelle claim R. Kelly picked them out of the crowd, plied them with drugs and alcohol, invited them to his hotel room and had sex with Latresa without her consent. Both women were minors at the time.

We're told the witness -- who is going only by her first name, Sabrina -- says she saw Latresa and Rochelle in the hotel lobby the night of the alleged incident. She says she noticed Latresa bent over in pain getting out of the hotel elevator.

Sabrina says she offered help and when she asked what happened ... they said R. Kelly assaulted Latresa. We're told Sabrina came forward after seeing Latresa and Rochelle's recent news conference.

We're told all 3 women have spoken to the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of New York.

They came together Thursday for an interview with a Maryland reporter, and we're told Latresa was crying tears of joy due to Sabrina's support.

Forget the Grammys, R. Kelly should be up for an Oscar after his over-the-top performance during Gayle King's interview ... so says one of the first women to speak out about Kelly's alleged sexual abuse.

Sparkle, the singer who had a hit song with R. Kelly in 1998, was on "TMZ Live" Thursday and said the real reason Kelly's losing it on camera is because it's all getting too real.

Translation: he's staring down the possibility of hard time in prison and he's terrified.

As you know ... Kelly wore his emotions on his sleeve in his first interview since being arrested on 10 counts of aggravated sexual abuse, looking distraught and exploding in tears. All of that coming the day before he got locked up in Cook County jail, again, for failure to pay child support.

Kanye West's hit collab with Ty Dolla $ign and Kid Cudi left out another featured artist ... at least according to the guy suing all 3 rap stars for stealing his voice.

"Kids See Ghosts" dropped back in June 2018 ... big hit for Ye and co. -- but the song doesn't open with any of their voices. A guy named Ronald Oslin Bobb-Semple says the first voice you hear is his. It's a portion of a 45-minute presentation Ronald's been performing around the world for decades now ... according to the suit.

Ronald says his presentation is a tribute to Marcus Garvey, the historic pioneer for black rights in the Americas. In the suit, he points out Ye, Cudi and Ty have received accolades and "substantial profits" from "Kids See Ghosts" -- but he hasn't seen a dime.

He says it's time for all 3 men to pay the piper, and yeah ... Ronald's the piper.

Kanye West's attempts to get out of his contract with EMI are ridiculous, legally speaking, and he knows it -- especially because he's signed multiple extensions ... at least, according to the record label.

EMI is now suing Kanye in federal court over his publishing deal. According to the suit, Ye signed the contract in 2003, and received "tens of millions of dollars" from EMI as a result. The label says some of that money was paid to him after he signed 7 different modifications and/or extensions to the deal.

The twist here is that EMI says the contracts are clear that NY laws govern the deal. That's important because as we reported ... West sued EMI in California, claiming the contract amounts to "servitude" because it's a personal services contract lasting more than 7 years.

He's right ... in Cali, it would be. But, EMI points out in its lawsuit, NY State is a different story ... there's no such 7-year rule there. Plus, EMI is shooting down Kanye's claim the deal is a personal services contract.

EMI wants the court to declare the contracts are valid, and Kanye's gotta stick to it. The label also wants the court to block Kanye's lawsuit.

7:45 AM PT-- Kelly directly addressed his failure to pay child support during his CBS interview ... and is blaming his ex-wife, Drea. He claims her "lies" about his abuse are the very reason he can't make money to pay her.

R. Kelly's lying through his teeth when he says he's trying to have a relationship with his children, because he's had a chance to for years and ignored it.

Sources close to the situation are calling BS on some of Kelly's antics with CBS News ... particularly the part of about "trying to have a relationship with my kids." We're told the singer hasn't even tried to reach out to his 3 children with his ex-wife, Drea Kelly, since 2017.

As we reported ... the singer went ballistic during his interview with Gayle King, and at one point screamed he was only trying to repair ties with his kids and didn't care about his career.

Our sources say that's all for show -- after all, we're told he changed his number and never gave it to Drea.

Speaking of Drea ... she maintains she's open to Kelly reconnecting with their children, who are adults now -- which is somewhat surprising, considering how she ripped into him in the "Surviving R. Kelly" docuseries.

Kelly's daughter, Buku Abi, also says she and her siblings have been estranged from their father for years. Although, she called him a "monster" ... Kelly, ironically, chalks that up to brainwashing from Drea.

Either way, Kelly has definitely come up short with his kids when it comes to child support ... which is why he was arrested again Wednesday. As we reported, he'll need to fork over more than $161k to Drea to be released.