Music

We're almost 2 full days into free agency and Kawhi Leonard still hasn't picked a team ... so now singer Bazzi is resorting to using his pipes to recruit the NBA superstar to the Lakers.

... and it's freakin' beautiful.

Of course, the 21-year-old "Paradise" singer is a HUGE Purple & Gold fan ... and just like the rest of Laker Nation, he's pulling out all the stops to get the 2-time Finals MVP to join LeBron and Anthony Davis.

Bazzi took Michael Jackson's classic "Human Nature" and switched up the words with a Lakers twist, singing "Kawhi, Kawhi, tell me that you'll be a Laker ... I really want you in L.A."

Bazzi ain't the only one trying like hell to get the Klaw to the Lakers ... Steve Aoki is offering him free pizza for life ... and has a "Kawhi Not?" mural on the side of his Pizzaoki restaurant in Venice.

Even Clippers star Lou Williams made his pitch to get Kawhi to L.A as well, giving TMZ Sports a pitch to get Leonard to suit up for the other pro team in Tinseltown.

A$AP Rocky tried his best to calm things down moments before he and his crew got into a crazy brawl with a guy who ended up getting battered and bloodied.

New video shows the rapper wanted no trouble with a guy who kept following him over the weekend in Stockholm, Sweden. The video starts with A$AP's massive bodyguard telling the guy to take a hike, but the guy didn't listen. He kept harassing A$AP's group, and eventually used his headphones to swing on the bodyguard. You can hear them shatter on the bodyguard's head. 

Check out the vid ... you can see Rocky put his left hand over the guy's shoulder and tell him, "Listen, listen. We don't wanna fight y'all. We don't wanna go to jail." At one point, Rocky also looks into the camera and says "We don't want no problems with these boys. They keep following us. Look at them." 

As you know by now ... A$AP's patience ran out. TMZ posted the video of Rocky and co. pummeling the guy. When the dust settled, Rocky and his crew were long gone and the guy was knocked out on the ground.

Law enforcement sources told us they're looking into the incident and reviewing video. 

Slim 400 got shot at by gunmen in a passing vehicle, but then the masked attackers hopped out to try to finish the job ... TMZ has learned.

Sources close to the rapper tell us ... Slim was on the phone with his Ice Watar label business partner, Mud Dollaz, Friday night in Compton when the shooting occurred. 

We're told Mud called Slim to check in because he was waiting for him at the studio, and the last thing he heard the rapper say was "oh sh*t."

After that, our sources say Dollaz heard a series of gunshots for several seconds ... and then a female voice screaming for Slim to keep his head up, so he knew he'd been hit.

Eyewitnesses on the scene tell us the people who shot at the rapper drove by in a black vehicle spraying bullets, but then actually stopped and jumped out to shoot more at 400 before getting back in to drive away. We're told they were wearing masks.

Our sources say Slim frequently hangs out with friends on the particular block where he was shot.

We broke the story ... Slim 400 was shot around 8:30 PM Friday night and suffered multiple gunshot wounds. We later learned he took 9 bullets to his body ... to his upper and lower back, his jaw and the top of his head. He's in stable condition following surgery, and miraculously -- is expected to make a full recovery in coming weeks.

Lil Nas X is not going to be ostracized by the rap community simply for coming out ... at least according to record executive and producer Irv Gotti, who says times are a changin'.

We got the Murder Inc. Records honcho in New York City and ask him about the industry's reaction to the rapper announcing he's gay. Irv tells us it ain't that big of a deal ... not these days, anyway. 

As we first reported ... the 20-year-old "Old Town Road" sensation felt inspired to tell the world his truth Sunday night after performing in front of a MASSIVE crowd in England, going on social media on the last day of Pride month to announce he's gay. 

Irv, who's produced tons of hits for hip-hop titans over the past 25 years, says it would've been much harder for Lil Nas X to come out back in the day ... but now, it's not too shocking.

WNBA superstar Brittney Griner says it's "AWESOME" that Lil Nas X has come out as gay -- telling TMZ Sports, "I think it's real big!"

28-year-old Griner is openly gay -- she's engaged to longtime girlfriend Cherelle Watson -- and knows first hand how tough it can be to come out when you're a big star under the microscope. 

But, the 5-time WNBA All-Star says she's especially impressed with the "Old Town Road" artist for not letting homophobes and negative gay stereotypes (especially in the hip-hop world) stop him from going public about his sexuality. 

"I just think it's awesome he did that," Griner says ... "takes a lot of bravery."

Griner says it's 2019 and people should be able to love who they want to love and be who they want to be without fear of a backlash ... and she thinks Lil Nas X is helping to achieve that goal. 

"I think it's real big ... kudos to him."

Lil Nas X coming out is going to have a ripple effect that will save the lives of LGBT youth across the country ... so says Milan Christopher.

We got the ex-"Love & Hip Hop: Hollywood" star in Los Angeles and ask his thoughts on the rapper revealing he's gay. Milan says it's going to be an inspiration for kids and teens who are being bullied because of their sexuality. 

TMZ broke the story ... the 20-year-old "Old Town Road" rapper became inspired to share his truth with the world on Sunday after performing with Billy Ray Cyrus and Miley Cyrus in front of a HUGE crowd in England, hopping on Twitter on the final day of Pride Month to say he's gay. 

Milan -- who is gay -- tells us Nas' surprise announcement is going to be a life saver, because he says the suicide rates for LGBT teens are through the roof, and a successful celeb coming out as gay will send a strong message to kids. 

Taylor Swift's VERY public war with Scooter Braun over rights to her masters has backfired for the singer -- 'cause people are playing those old tracks ... which only helps her enemy.

We monitored Amazon's 'Movers and Shakers' music chart all day Monday -- following Taylor lashing out at Scooter Sunday for buying Big Machine Label Group, and the rights to all her old albums as a result -- and it looks like folks were craving some OG Taylor.

Four of her old albums -- which were produced under a Big Machine contract -- saw significant spikes in CD purchases ... with a couple of them even climbing to the top spots on the 'M&S' list. Taylor's debut album, "Taylor Swift" peaked at #3 Monday in digital sales -- up 471% --and her fourth studio album, "Red," peaked at #4 -- up 433%. 

Two of her other Big Machine albums -- "Fearless" and "1989" -- saw surges of 221% and 88%, respectively.

You'd think that'd be great news for Taylor -- but it really benefits one Scooter Braun the most, seeing how his company now owns the rights to all those songs. 

Long story short ... Scooter's guaranteed to see the most cash flow from the surges, which might not have even happened had Taylor kept her gripes to herself. As you know ... she didn't do that, and it's divided the music industry (and Hollywood, it seems) in the fallout.

In other music news, Lil Nas X saw some MAJOR surges as well since coming out as gay. His smash hit, "Old Town Road (Remix)," was up 600% on the 'Movers and Shakers' list!!!

A$AP Rocky and his crew pummeled a guy in Sweden, leaving him battered and bloodied in the street ... according to witnesses on the scene.

TMZ obtained video that starts with the rapper having an intense convo with a couple of guys at Max restaurant in Stockholm Sunday night ... allegedly over Rocky breaking a pair of their headphones earlier.

Our sources say the 2 young men kept following AR and threatened to call the cops over the headphones. We're told someone stepped in to translate the argument between the 2 parties, and Rocky delivered this message -- stop following us ... or else.

Apparently, that's when another woman interrupted the convo, and accused one of the 2 men of grabbing her ass earlier. Witnesses say that's when A$AP and his crew decided to throw down.

The video shows Rocky -- in a white hoodie and green shorts -- absolutely toss one of the guys like a ragdoll. You can also hear someone smash a bottle during the fight. Three other men, apparently on Rocky's side -- jumped in and joined the beatdown, punching and kicking the guy.

Our sources say Rocky and his crew then took off, leaving the guy knocked out on the ground. An ambulance and cops showed up shortly after and took statements from witnesses.

Law enforcement sources tell us officers are looking into various fights that went down Sunday night in the center of Stockholm, but they had no info about A$AP Rocky being involved.

Sources close to A$AP Rocky's team tell us he and his friends were only responding to "an assault."

Steve Aoki can't offer Kawhi Leonard a max NBA contract -- but he's got the next best thing -- free pizza for life and a record-breaking pizza party for the Finals MVP.

Steve's Pizzaoki shop in Venice unveiled a massive mural of Kawhi in a Lakers' jersey over the weekend outside the restaurant. The mural features Kawhi clutching a massive NBA Championship Trophy and has become a huge attraction in the area.  

Steve tells us, if Kawhi decides to sign with The Lakers -- and join LeBron James and Anthony Davis -- he will personally throw a massive pizza party outside The Staples Center.

However, this won't be just your average pizza party ... Steve says he'll invite the masses in an attempt to break some world records. 

Aoki's also promisiong Kawhi free pizza for life at any of his 12 Pizzaoki locations around Los Angeles. 

Rick Springfield is not taking any chances -- he's calling off his music festival in the Dominican Republic as the number of American tourists getting sick and dying in the country continues to grow.

The "Jessie's Girl" singer just made the announcement, saying ... "In an abundance of caution and for the peace of mind and well-being of my fans, band and crew, the ‘Rick Springfield & Friends’ event in Punta Cana is being rescheduled to take place at Hard Rock Hotel Cancun in 2020."

Rick says the new dates will be determined asap, but attempts to reschedule in 2019 were unsuccessful.

The musician has held these "Rick Springfield & Friends" fests for close to a decade, which started as concert cruises before moving them to land and resorts. This was going to be the first in the D.R.

Along with Springfield, the festival lineup was set to include Patty Smyth, host Mark Goodman, actor Doug Davidson and musical guest Guns & Mullets.

Springfield adds that the decision to postpone was not easy, but the "safety and well-being of our amazing fans, band and crew will always be the most important consideration in any situation."

Lil Nas X -- who has skyrocketed to fame this year -- just surprised a ton of fans by seemingly coming out as gay.

Nas made the not-so-subtle announcement Sunday ... saying, "some of y’all already know, some of y’all don’t care, some of y’all not gone fwm no more. but before this month ends i want y’all to listen closely to c7osure."

The rapper then spent the next few hours replying to and retweeting fans who responded to his post. At one point, he shared a photo of the cover of his EP, "7," which shows Nas on a horse and looking at a city skyline in the distance.

Nas posted the pic with the caption, "deadass thought I made it obvious" with a zoom-in on one of the buildings that features a rainbow pattern.

We know how Travis Scott is gonna be getting his goosebumps now -- aside from Kylie Jenner --  it's a baller vending machine built to satisfy all his cravings! Well, most of 'em.

The Astroworld commemorative machine will be installed in Travis' office, and besides kicking out some very cool snacks, it also projects a 3D spinning hologram image of Trav's "Astroworld" album cover. 

It was designed by Houston-based beverage company Exotic Pop, and owner Charleston Wilson says they were happy to deliver when the rapper reached out for a customized vending machine.

The 49-inch multi-function touchscreen makes it easy to navigate the machine's vast offerings. For instance, it serves up soda from all over the world and, if you find yourself looking for a literal breakfast of champions, there's a Wheaties box! Shout out to Kylie's dad.  

And, if Travis or his crew doesn't see something they like, they can use the display to place a custom order, and have it delivered.

The unique vending machine has 14 patented parts, and getting one built would run ya around $50k. Charleston tells us they'll hand over Travis' machine in mid-July when he wraps up his European tour.

Lil Durk is desperate to get out of Atlanta for a slew of performances ... he says he's gonna get sued by festival owners if his court-ordered restrictions keep him from taking the stage.

The rapper is out on bond in his attempted murder case, but he's not allowed to be in public from 11 PM to 7 AM ... and he says that's a huge problem for his scheduled summer gigs, arguing his curfew makes traveling outside ATL nearly impossible.

According to new legal docs obtained by TMZ ... Lil Durk is asking the judge to allow him to fly to Philadelphia next weekend so he can headline the Dope Shows Festival, claiming he's risking a lawsuit against him if he doesn't show up.

Durk wants the judge to change the terms of his release to allow him to travel to performances and scrap his curfew when he's on the road.

As we first reported ... Durk says his court-ordered bedtime is killing his wallet, because he's already been forced to cancel 6 shows, costing him a huge chunk of cash and making it difficult to provide for his 6 kids and other family members.

Durk's legal issues stem from a February shooting in Atlanta. Prosecutors say he was directly involved, a claim Durk vehemently denies.

Ray J's Father's Day gift is definitely a little late, but also definitely worth the wait -- a modern black stallion he can now add to his impressive car collection.

We're told Ray J's wife, Princess Love, hit up the crew over at Pazi Performance Auto Body Shop & Customization in Burbank and had them customize this drop-dead-gorgeous Ford Mustang.

The initial plan was to give it to Ray J on Father's Day but this kinda precision design takes time -- which is why Ray J had it delivered to him just days ago. Goes without saying, but we're told Ray J had that "giddy up" look on his face when he got his first glimpse at the $125k ride.

The whip has a bad ass matte black finish and it's fitted with airlift sports suspension, custom rims from BC Forged and low-pro tires. The rims alone are at least a grand apiece!

Check out the pics ... the windows might be tinted but everyone will know it's Ray J riding in style thanks to his company's logo on the doors. If he wants to stay incognito without sacrificing style ... he can always fall back on his Maybach or Navigator.

The Game went all out for his oldest kid's 16th birthday -- and he captured A LOT of it on film so it wouldn't soon be forgotten. No issues there ... we gotchu, man. 

The L.A.-bred MC put together a sweet 16 of sorts Saturday night for his son, Harlem Taylor, who was hitting the big 1-6. Papa pulled out all the stops for this one ... hiring multiple rappers to perform, and inviting what seemed like the whole damn school to slide through. 

Among those who took the stage -- Trippie Redd, Blueface and Tee Grizzley. No word if Game himself grabbed the mic at one point ... looks like he was busy working camera duty.

Harlem even got gifted a sweet ride by the end of the night -- a brand new Beamer, which he posed by as his guests looked on and admired it. Not bad for a 16-year-old. 

The Game wrote his son a sweet birthday tribute Sunday as well, describing how he navigated fatherhood by saying ... "I let love be my guide & dove in head first learning more & more about parenting along the way." 

Game went on to shout-out his son for being a guiding light in his life, writing ... "Catch every tear, trace every step, listen as well as learn, love whole heartedly & never stop loving you... not even for a split second is how I parent. You are everything to me boy & I hope that I’ve truly made you happy on your birthday son. God knows I gave it my all - Dad"