Music

For Tone Loc, the sight of someone rocking the Confederate flag reminds him prejudice is alive and well in this country ... which is why he went off on a teen who was wearing it.

The rapper was on "TMZ Live" Friday and told us why he got so heated last weekend at Midland International airport in Texas. ICYMI ... Loc took offense last weekend to a teenage boy wearing a hat with the stars and bars and the word, "Rebel."

Tone went off on Mom, first ... telling her, "F**k the Confederate flag." He also got in the dad's grill and put him on blast for allowing his son to wear that hat deep in the heart of Texas.

Tone Loc tells us he first told the teen, "Your hat is whack" as he was grabbing his luggage from baggage claim. As he walked out, Tone says the kid's mom started going off on him ... prompting the clash.

He ended up in handcuffs, but was NOT arrested.

Tone's message here is clear -- wear whatever you want, but realize there might be consequences.

Def Leppard frontman Joe Elliott ain't buying the theory rock is dead, as his band enters the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, and he's got an idea about how to give groups like Wu-Tang Clan their props.

We got an ecstatic Joe, Friday afternoon in NYC, hours before DL's induction. As you know ... Janet Jackson, The Zombies, The Cure, Stevie Nicks and Roxy Music are also going into the Hall. As for the Wu -- not even on the ballot, despite being eligible since 2017 and RZA saying they're overdue for the honor.

Joe has a different POV, and thinks it's weird when non-rock acts get into the Rock & Roll HOF. His fellow-inductee, Janet, might have something to say about that.

Still, he agrees Wu-Tang deserves an honor ... a slightly different one, though.

Mr. "Pour Some Sugar on Me" also names a UK-bred band he believes can take up the mantle as the next BIG arena rock band ... a la Def Leppard.

Lil Uzi Vert's return to music is now shrouded in controversy ... his new single is getting yanked from digital music services because he freestyled over someone else's beat.

Lil Uzi Vert's new song, "Free Uzi," is no longer available on Tidal and Apple Music -- for streaming or purchase -- because of licensing issues and copyright concerns. The single features a beat that was previously used in a G Herbo song.

Our music sources tell us Lil Uzi's single isn't an original production -- and he didn't clear the sample -- so he can't make money off of it.

The timing is interesting, considering Uzi is beefing with DJ Drama and Don Cannon's label, Generation Now. However, honchos at the label tell us they weren't the ones pushing for the song to come down, and there's no bad blood between the two sides.

In fact, we're told Uzi decided to drop the song after Drama and Cannon said they'd support him releasing music ... it just backfired due to the copyright.

"Free Uzi" hasn't been completely scrubbed from the internet ... you can still listen to it on YouTube and SoundCloud.

His label, Atlantic Records, had no comment on the song being pulled.

Tyga's co-signing RZA's full-court press to get Wu-Tang Clan into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame -- and he says it's all about the culture.

We got a happy and surprisingly chatty Tyga Thursday night outside Craig's in WeHo, where he was definitely down to talk to our guy with one condition ... slow your roll. Our guy eventually asked him if he agrees with RZA's take that Wu-Tang's is long overdue for HOF induction.

The Wu's been eligible since 2017, but hasn't even gotten on the ballot yet. RZA recently told Rolling Stone, "I think we should [get in], and I do care. It may take some time to get in there."

Check out the vid ... Tyga agrees 100%. He gave us -- and HOF voters -- specific reasons why it needs to happen. This year's HOF induction goes down Friday night in Brooklyn.

BTW, Tyga's still rolling in luxury ... behind the wheel of a Lambo.

Looks like the repo man drama's in his rearview. Looks.

Jay-Z and Beyonce added another award to their mantle, but this one was highly personal ... and incredibly emotional.

The power couple received the Vanguard Award at the 30th Annual GLAAD Media Awards at The Beverly Hilton Thursday night, and used their time onstage to praise the LGBTQ community ... and members of their family who are a part of it.

Jay went first and shouted out his mother -- who came out as a lesbian on his track, "Smile," and received a Special Recognition Award last year -- for allowing him to follow her shining example of love and acceptance.

Beyonce then praised her Uncle Johnny, who she calls "the most fabulous gay I ever knew" and says helped raise her and her sister, Solange. Bey says her uncle lived his truth and was brave and unapologetic when it wasn't easy to do so ... and witnessing his HIV battle was "one of the most painful experiences I’ve ever lived."

She says she hopes his struggles helped pave the way for young people to live freely, and stresses that LGBTQ rights are human rights.

Miley Cyrus partied like it's 2006 ... transforming into Hannah Montana and sending her fans into a tizzy.

Miley's mood Thursday night? Full Montana -- bringing back the blonde locks, the bangs and a ton of songs from her famed Disney Channel character, circa 2006 to 2011. Best of all ... she recorded herself putting a hilarious spin on the theme song, "Best of Both Worlds."

Let's hope Hannah's fans have grown up as much as Miley ... 'cause the new full-grown, party animal version went a little like this ... "The best of both worlds, like when you take an upper and a downer at the same time. Like if you take a little molly and smoke a joint."

Miley also declared herself the winner of the #10YearChallenge. She looks almost exactly the same as she did back in 2009. Anyway, what's got fans going crazy is they're now wondering whether this means a Hannah comeback is in the offing.

We're thinking Miley's aged out of the character, at the ripe old age of 26 ... but ya never know!

Lil Pump is joining his buddy Quavo in the grillz department ... because he just threw down a truckload of cash on some matching chompers.

We're told Lil Pump plunked down 6 figures on a new set of custom grillz ... spending a whopping $250,000 to fill his mouth up with ice!!!

The "Gucci Gang" rapper hit up celebrity jeweler Johnny Dang for the chilly new look, and Johnny tells us it's the first 18-carat, rose gold, baguette grill he's ever made.

Here's what ya get for a quarter million dollars ... a flawless baguette made of 165 hand-picked diamonds -- each 16-carats and cut to fit a specific tooth -- set in a rose gold, baguette grill.

If Lil Pump's frozen smile seems familiar ... it's because Johnny also designed a similar look for Quavo with the same price tag.

Johnny's getting super efficient ... it took him 6 months to finish Quavo's grill, but he tells us he only needed 1 month to hook up Pump.

Esskeetit!!!

R. Kelly was a sexual deviant who wouldn't take no for an answer ... so claims his former hairdresser who spoke publicly for the first time about the alleged sexual assault.

Lanita Carter -- a woman ID'd as "L.C." in the 10-count indictment against Kelly -- says he pounced on her after she denied his request for a head massage. Lanita described the alleged attack, from February 18, 2003, telling "CBS This Morning" the singer was undeterred when she told him she doesn't do massages.

She said, "He pulled my braid down by him. And he say, 'Suck it for daddy, suck it for daddy.' And I said, 'No.'" Lanita claims Kelly then began spitting, several times.

After the incident, she says she immediately went to police ... and claims officers found semen on her shirt. Although no charges were filed, she ultimately settled a lawsuit against him for $650k. She claims she got another $100k from Kelly when he released a 2009 track about having sex with a woman who braids his hair.

Lanita says she went to the Cook County State Attorney's Office when prosecutors put out the call earlier this year for victims to come forward.

Of course, Kelly vehemently denied the allegations in the indictment during his interview with Gayle King. You'll recall, he got up and started shouting, "I'm fighting for my f***ing life!"

We reached out to Kelly's attorney, Steven Greenberg, shortly after Carter's interview and he tells TMZ ... "Chicago police did an extensive investigation. The State's Attorney's office decided not to charge up. I think that speaks volumes about the strength of the case. And that decision was made not withstanding the scientific testing."

Jussie Smollett knows his career's on the line, and he's tasking his team with pulling off the highly improbable -- making him likable again.

Sources close to the "Empire" star tell TMZ ... even though his criminal record's scrubbed clean, he's in crisis management mode to repair his public image. We're told he's ordered his team to come up with a plan to fix that pronto, because if they don't ... he's screwed professionally.

Our sources say Jussie's open to anything that will give him an opportunity to tell his story and convey he's not the bad guy. Yes ... he will stick to the victim narrative.

We're told he's down for interviews, appearances and going outside of his comfort zone if it means getting a chance to connect with an audience ... because he knows if he does nothing, he'll never get work again.

We broke the story ... Jussie's showbiz job offers have completely dried up since he was arrested and charged for allegedly orchestrating a fake attack in Chicago in late January.

Despite the charges getting dropped this week, we're told Jussie has not been contacted about any potential work and knows he's more or less a Hollywood outcast for now ... so, it's time for a full-on PR blitz.

Journey's guitarist, Neal Schon, can't believe a security guard hired by Live Nation manhandled his wife at one of his concerts ... so he claims in a new lawsuit.

Schon and his wife, Michaele, are suing Live Nation claiming she was assaulted while taking pictures at his concert in Fort Wayne, Indiana back in March 2017. In docs, obtained by TMZ, the Schons claim she was taking pictures in front of the stage when, out of nowhere, a security guard who was hired by Live Nation violently assaulted her and threw her into the PA system.

It's unclear what triggered the attack, but according to docs ... Michaele says she suffered emotional distress and humiliation from the assault. Neal's suing, claiming he's suffered emotional distress because he's now worried about his wife's safety while he's performing.

DMX mistakenly rolling away with someone else's ride could cost him dearly if the feds find out he hopped in the driver's seat ... something X insists he did NOT do.

Sources close to DMX tell TMZ ... his lawyers think he's gonna get pulled in before a judge soon to explain what the hell happened last weekend in L.A. ... when his crew drove off with someone else's Corvette in a big ol' mixup. We're told the concern is he might have violated the probation in his tax evasion case.

As we reported ... X and his posse left a restaurant early Saturday morning, and the valet gave them someone else's car by mistake. They rode away, and the owner of the car reported it stolen. Cops got the car back pronto without arresting anyone.

Despite it being a clear gaffe on the valet's part, we're told X's camp thinks prosecutors are gonna squeeze him because there's confusion as to whether or not he was driving. DMX doesn't have a license right now, so driving would be a clear probation violation.

Our law enforcement sources tell us feds are just "looking into it" -- and it seems they're only basing their suspicions off our post. There are no images of DMX behind the wheel, as far as we've seen.

Charles Barkley says there are no winners in the Jussie Smollett saga -- only losers -- and he feels TURRIBLE for the "real" victims of hate crimes whose stories will now be called into question.

"It's a really bad situation for everybody involved," Barkley told us in NYC ... "There's no winners. We're all losers."

Barkley has been ripping Smollett's tale about being attacked by homophobic racists for weeks -- even clowning the "Empire" actor as a liar on "Inside the NBA."

So, now that the 16 felony charges Smollett was facing for allegedly lying to police have been dropped -- we wondered if Barkley would back off Jussie.

Spoiler Alert: NO.

We asked Chuck if he thinks Jussie skated -- he replied, "That's an understatement."

Should Jussie have gone to jail?

"I don't think he shoulda went to jail, but it's unfortunate."

And, that's when Barkley told us about the "real victims" in the Smollett saga.

"Anybody who's gay who gets beat up, they're the real losers ... or black [people] who get beat up, they're the real losers."

As for Jussie, he maintains his innocence.

Lil Wayne is demanding the return of a notebook filled with his old lyrics, but the guy trying to sell it for $250k says the rapper's just gonna have to buy it like anyone else off the street.

We broke the story ... Weezy's 1999 notebook is being sold by Moments in Time for a quarter-million dollars, and the dude claiming ownership says he found it lodged in a car that once belonged to Cash Money Records.

Now Wayne's trying like hell to get his work back ... his attorneys fired off a warning letter to Moments in Time, claiming Wayne's the rightful owner, and the broker doesn't have permission to sell or transfer the notebook to anyone.

In the letter, obtained by TMZ, Wayne's legal team says he never abandoned his notebook -- he simply misplaced it and is thrilled it's been found. Weezy's team claims the guy who found it "absconded with the notebook" and hid it for years ... waiting to cash in.

Gary Zimet, the owner of Moments in Time, is firing back ... he says if the Young Money honcho wants the notebook, he'll have to pony up, because the guy who found it "has crystal clear title."

Post Malone knows how to get things delivered -- whether it's through Postmates or not -- which he proved yet again by snagging some cool, and pricey, night vision goggles ... totally gratis.

Post tweeted a screenshot of a Postmates order he was trying to make happen Tuesday -- $11,500 for a pair of FLIR Night Vision White Phospher Goggles. His caption read, "hope this works," with a laughing emoji attached for good measure.

Well, it worked alright ... FLIR Systems took notice of his tweet and decided to send the rapper a pair of the goggles for the low, low price of FREE 99. We're told the company overnighted the delivery to Post, and he got 'em early Wednesday morning.

He seemed pretty stoked by the gesture -- Post captured the moment he opened the package ... and like he says, "It's party time."

Monica's officially calling it quits with her ex-NBA baller husband, Shannon Brown ... she's filed for divorce.

The singer filed the paperwork earlier this month in Atlanta. Monica and Shannon have a 5-year-old daughter named Laiyah together, and she has 2 sons from a previous relationship with rapper Rocko.

So far there are no details on whether she's seeking child or spousal support ... but we've learned Monica was unsuccessful in sealing the divorce docs.

The couple wed in 2010, but there was speculation they were separated in October 2018 ... until she shared a loving photo of the 2 together on Instagram. She hasn't been wearing her ring in Instagram photos for a few weeks though.

Monica famously claimed that Shannon -- best known for his time with the Lakers -- performed better on the court after he had sex with her ... especially when he played for the Phoenix Suns.