Music

Miranda Lambert's playing fairy godmother to a bunch of dogs and cats desperately seeking homes ... and they're finding 'em thanks to ML's surprise donation.

The country star gifted a few thousand dollars to Scituate Animal Shelter in Plymouth County, Massachusetts. It might not sound like a lot, but executive director Maryann Regan tells us Miranda's donation is allowing them to waive adoption fees, and that's getting a lot more people in the door to find pets.  

The unexpected boost to biz was set in motion when Maryann was sifting through her mail back in March when she happened upon a letter and certificate personally signed by Miranda.

The letter was from Miranda's MuttNation Foundation ... a nonprofit the Grammy winner co-founded with her mom 10 years ago to promote the adoption of shelter animals. It also donates money and other resources to well-run shelters.

Scituate is a first-time recipient of Miranda's generosity, and Maryann says they earmarked the donation to help increase adoptions during the summer, which is typically when shelters are most packed.

Maryann says during summer time the shelter's lucky if it can get 2 animals into forever homes a day -- however they're tripling that rate, thanks in large part to Miranda's donation which eliminates fees ranging from $100 to $250. The special kicked off last week and runs through next week. 

Madonna's infamous love letter from Tupac Shakur has been in limbo for years -- an auction wants to sell it and she wants to block it -- but it's finally hitting the block, and all the conflict and legal threats that made headlines have inflated the value, because it's expected to fetch a fortune.

Tupac penned the breakup letter when he was in prison, and the handwritten and signed note is going up for auction through the memorabilia company, Gotta Have Rock & Roll ... and the opening bid is $100,000 ... and when the gavel drops the expectation is someone's gonna snag the letter for around $300k!!!

In his three-page breakup note, Pac confesses he broke off his sexual relationship with Madonna because she's white.

As we've reported ... Madonna previously filed a lawsuit against Darlene Lutz, her old pal and art consultant, to stop the sale ... but a judge tossed out her suit out said a release she signed back in 2004 meant she couldn't sue. Darlene consigned the letter to the online auction house.

The legal battle didn't end there, because Madonna filed an appeal ... but just last month she whiffed on her chance to slam the brakes on the sale of the letter.

A portion of the proceeds will be donated to breastcancer.org. Darlene is a breast cancer survivor. 

Ja Rule remains on the hook for allegedly defrauding thousands of Fyre Fest ticket buyers after shooting his shot with the judge ... and coming up short.

Ja had filed a motion to dismiss the class action lawsuit filed by Fyre ticketholders and attendees in which they claim he lied through his teeth with social media posts promoting the legendarily doomed music fest.

The good news for Ja is the judge agreed with him that several of the allegedly fraudulent social media posts either could not be attributed to him, or don't constitute fraud. 

However, the judge did rule the case can go forward based on one of Ja's tweets. On April 27, 2017 -- the day before Fyre was supposed to begin -- he tweeted, "The stage is set!!! In less than 24 hours, the first annual Fyre Festival begins. #festivallife."

Of course, that is not what happened. Not even close. Unless you're a lover of cheese sandwiches.

In docs, the judge notes the plaintiffs claim several performers had been told by Ja and other Fyre organizers not to attend by the time of Ja's tweet. The plaintiffs also claim Ja knew by then Frye did not have promised amenities in place. 

Kodak Black's legal team says there's something fishy about the warrant that led to his arrest on firearms charges -- they claim the reason he got busted is purely because he's black.

As we reported ... Kodak was arrested on a federal warrant at the Rolling Loud music festival in Miami back in May, with the feds claiming he falsified gun applications on 2 separate occasions to buy firearms. 

Now, with Kodak still behind bars nearly 2 months later, the rapper's attorney, Bradford Cohen, tells us he reviewed a warrant from Miami-Dade Police, and he claims all signs point to cops digging into his client's records WITHOUT a search warrant.

Kodak's attorney claims the warrant states a police detective was present in the store the day KB allegedly attempted to purchase a firearm, and the detective later asked the store to review Kodak's application and interviewed a store employee.  

Cohen tells us he believes the officer in the store targeted Kodak because he was black, young and wearing expensive clothing and jewelry. He says, based purely on those visuals, the cop decided to investigate his background. 

Kodak's attorney also tells us he finds it highly suspicious an undercover officer just happened to be there the same day Kodak strolled into the store. 

Cohen also claims Miami-Dade Police illegally snapped pictures of Kodak after he was arrested and transported to a police station, and illegally sent the pics to the media. 

Kodak's attorney says these factors raise questions on how information on Kodak was obtained in the first place, and how officers conducted themselves during the case.

Our law enforcement sources tell us the state's case is still under investigation. 

A$AP Rocky's canceling his European festival performance and several other upcoming tour dates ... because being locked up in a Swedish jail cell makes it hard to get onstage in Spain.

The rapper's management tells TMZ he'll be detained "for an unknown period of time for acting in self-defense during an altercation that took place," so, therefore ... he's been forced to cancel all his upcoming shows in July.

He was scheduled to perform at Sonar -- a music fest in Barcelona, Spain -- on Friday, July 19 ... but Sonar says it's now looking for a replacement.

A$AP's scheduled to headline Wednesday night at the Green Theatre in Moscow, but that's clearly not happening. His other upcoming shows getting axed due to him being locked up include the Splash! Fest in Germany on the 12, concerts in Ukraine and Belgium on the 13 and 14, a sold-out gig in Milan on the 17 ... and 2 others on the 20 and 21.

We broke the story ... the rapper's team says he's being held in inhumane conditions in his Swedish cell, and one official for the U.S. Embassy there commented, "Walking into that place was like walking into a toilet."

Rocky can be held for at least 2 weeks while prosecutors decide whether to charge him for aggravated assault stemming from a street brawl. That's despite video showing the alleged victim being the initial aggressor ... physically attacking Rocky and his crew prior to the incident.

Slim 400 owes his life to the hospital staff who are treating him after getting shot 9 times -- and while he's got a delicious way to pay them back ... he's also poking fun at whoever fired on him.

The rapper just posted the first shot of himself since he was gunned down in Compton a couple weeks ago. The hospital bed shot shows he's still in bad shape after the attack, but his sense of humor's clearly intact.

As Slim put it, "I wanna thank the staff at the hospital for helpin me shake back" and says he owes them grub from Roscoe's House of Chicken and Waffles or Taco Mell Catering for life.

Slim also has a message for his shooters ... "God I thank whoeva was poppin 4 buyn them shells at walmart I’m here 4 a reason Hol’Upppp." Translation -- your cheap ass bullets couldn't kill me.

We broke the story ... 400 got out of ICU earlier this week and he's now in stable condition, but he has a long road of recuperation ahead of him. Our sources say he's expected to remain in the hospital for quite some time.

Considering Slim's undergone 4 surgeries since being rushed to the hospital with 9 gunshot wounds to multiple areas of his body, it's amazing he's in as good of shape as he is ... and seemingly in good spirits.

So far, no suspects have been identified in the ambush shooting. As we first told you, the gunmen hopped out of their drive-by vehicle in an attempt to kill Slim ... but fortunately he survived.

Taylor Swift is the highest-paid celebrity of the past year, raking in a whopping $185 MILLION ... which just might help her get over her "grossed out" feelings about losing her early catalog.  

Forbes dropped its Celebrity 100 list Wednesday, and Taylor tops the charts with the biggest earnings total of her career. The mag says her estimated pay increased an insane 131% from the year before, when she made a paltry $80 mil.

This marks the second time the singer has been top dog on The Celebrity 100 ... she was also the top earner back in 2016, capturing the No. 1 spot with $170 million -- thanks to The 1989 World Tour. 

Touring is filling Taylor's coffers again this time around ... the Reputation Stadium Tour broke her own record as the highest-grossing tour in the United States with an eye-popping $266.1 million. She also toured overseas, and those shows bring the tour's overall income to $345 mil.

Beyonce and Blue Ivy were a spitting image of each other at the premiere of the new 'Lion King' movie -- and they couldn't have looked more like royalty if they tried.

Queen Bey and her cub rocked half suit jackets and half gowns on the red carpet Tuesday at the Dolby Theater in Hollywood, where the live-action Disney reboot was getting its West Coast debut. Mama bear lion was adorned in glittering chains that covered her upper half, while she led a flowing mesh train down low ... with BI wearing a similar outfit.

Beyonce's hairdo was something to behold as well -- it looks like she went with an intricate braided look, with her hair parted on the left side and slightly curled toward the front.

Blue Ivy had her locks up in pigtails, which were wrapped in what looked a lot like diamond hair ties. It's like they were reflecting Bey's character in the flick -- young and adult Nala.

A bunch of the cast was there too, including a dapper Donald Glover (Simba), Seth Rogen (Pumba), Billy Eichner (Timon) Keegan-Michael Key (Kamari) and other celebs who showed up just 'cause ... Tiffany Haddish, Chrissy Metz, Jimmy Kimmel and Chance the Rapper.

As for what folks are saying about the movie ... it's apparently really, REALLY good (graphics-wise, anyway). Critics are calling it a spectacular visual feat like nothing Disney's done. 

DMX is the spitting image of a wanted man in South Carolina -- even though he isn't one -- but he says there's a simple explanation ... the sketch artist must've traced an old photo.

We talked to The Dog himself after a police sketch of an attempted murder suspect in Columbia, SC -- who, apparently, looks EXACTLY like X -- went viral. The similarity is SO eerie, he thinks the sketch artist straight-up drew him.

He has some theories as to how it got commissioned, but says he has no idea why.

For the record, Columbia PD's deputy chief, Melron Kelly, has come out publicly and said DMX is absolutely NOT a suspect in their investigation -- he lives in NYC for God's sake -- and has suggested the resemblance to the rapper is merely a coincidence.

Not to go down a rabbit hole of conspiracies here, but a side-by-side comparison of any number of DMX pics from the 2000s shows he's a dead ringer for the guy's profile ... minus the hair and whatnot. X might not be too far off in thinking this is a bit ... well, sketch.

Luckily for him, he's not getting hauled down to the South anytime soon to answer for any crimes. As he notes, he's already got his plate full up north, and ain't lookin' for trouble.

Gavin Rossdale had a rude awakening that quickly turned from creepy to downright scary in a matter of hours.

Law enforcement sources tell TMZ ... a Caucasian woman believed to be in her 40s showed up to Gavin's L.A.-area crib late last week just after midnight, rang the doorbell and started talking gibberish about the Illuminati.

Our sources say Gavin was home at the time but didn't say anything to the woman, who apparently thought nobody was home and left. But, later that afternoon ... she came back and spotted the Bush frontman in his car about to pull out of his driveway, so she pulled up right next to him.

We're told Gavin came face-to-face with her ... thinking the woman was a delivery person -- but when she tried talking to him he immediately recognized her as the Illuminati woman.

Our sources say Gavin bolted, leaving the woman in his driveway, and immediately called cops. LAPD is now investigating.

A$AP Rocky is being held in a Swedish jail with shockingly inhumane conditions -- feces hurled about and not cleaned up, wretched food and facilities that are not fit for human beings ... this according to sources with direct knowledge of Rocky's situation.

Our sources tell TMZ ... the rapper is sleeping on a yoga mat with no blankets. There is a prisoner in the next cell with severe mental issues who slams his head against the concrete wall and hurls feces every which way ... feces that are not cleaned up.

The water, we're told, is not clean and the food is not edible ... for the first 5 days A$AP Rocky ate an apple a day, and that's it.

We're told the facility is filthy and "disease ridden."

As we reported, A$AP Rocky is being held for 2 weeks while prosecutors decide whether to charge him for aggravated assault stemming from a street brawl ... despite a video showing the alleged victim harassing and even physically attacking Rocky and his crew prior to the incident.

There is a treaty -- the Vienna Convention for Consular Relations -- which both Sweden and the United States signed. Under the treaty, when a foreigner like A$AP Rocky is detained, he has a right to immediately see an official from the U.S. Consulate. Our sources say Rocky asked for the meeting, but when an official from the American Consulate arrived at the detention center to meet him, he was squarely denied access -- a clear violation of the treaty.

Our sources say the U.S. official believes he was denied access because Swedish officials did not want him to see the conditions inside the facility.

Rocky's team persisted and eventually the consulate official was allowed to see him 2 days later, but only in the presence and earshot of 2 Swedish guards. Rocky and the official could not have a private conversation and they believe it was "a clear intimidation tactic."

Our sources say Rocky's team is trying to get the State Dept. involved to help get him out. So far, the Swedish courts have shut him down. By the way ... court proceedings in Sweden are closed to the public and the media.

Offset will NOT be prosecuted by Georgia for gun possession -- the charges have been dropped, but they were only dropped so the feds could continue an even bigger investigation.

The Clayton County D.A.'s office tells TMZ ... prosecutors dismissed all charges on July 1 against the Migos rapper. However, according to docs, the D.A. decided to stand down at the request of the U.S. Attorney's Office. Turns out the feds are in the middle of an investigation ... and that's the only reason Offset was pulled over in the first place.

In docs, county prosecutors say the feds were concerned if they took Offset to trial for gun possession they'd have to tip their hand about information related to a larger investigation. Prosecutors aren't disclosing what that investigation is about, but say pursuing Offset's case "would alert other potential future parties to the investigation and evidence that may support federal charges against said parties."

TMZ broke the story ... Offset was slapped with a felony gun possession charge back in April. It had been the latest fallout stemming from his arrest last summer in Atlanta. He was also facing 2 separate charges -- possession of weed and making an illegal lane change, both misdemeanors.

In the docs, obtained by TMZ, prosecutors say ATF agents contacted officers in Clayton County, asking them to pull over Offset's vehicle, if there was probable cause, and identify all passengers.

Prosecutors say the probable cause was failing to maintain his lane and tinted windows. ATF merely wanted to know who was in the vehicle -- but when Clayton Co. officers smelled weed, they decided to search the car ... leading to Offset's arrest for gun possession.  

As we told you first ... Offset's lawyer said he believes the rapper was targeted because he's rich, successful and black. Based on these new docs, though, Offset might have an even bigger problem ... with the federal government.

Craig David's walking away ... from his baller penthouse cause he's ready to sell it, and he wants a pretty penny for it.

The "7 Days" and "Fill Me In" singer is unloading his Miami crib -- Tower Suite 5 at the iconic Mondrian South Beach. The 2 bedroom, 2 bathroom pad sits on 1,895 square feet and is listed at $5.75 million. It features a terrace with sweeping views of downtown Miami ... but it's the epic parties Craig hosted there that truly gave the penthouse its legendary reputation in the 305.

What started out as a 10-person bash with his friends at Craig's penthouse quickly became the premiere destination for Miami's It crowd to pre-party. Craig has previously said he's easily hosted as many a 150 people in the penthouse before bouncing for the club scene around 1 AM.

The pad has 2 master suites, lounge areas and day beds in the terrace, a professional recording studio and special light effects throughout the place to give it a true party vibe.

Cardi's rep tells TMZ, "Tasha K's counterclaims are completely frivolous and have no merit. Tasha K clearly seems to think that this lawsuit and the courts are her social media channel where she thinks that she can say anything she wants, without regard for the truth, harassing Cardi and her friends to try to gain reader to her blog at the expense of Cardi. 

This is failing -- Tasha's own words in interviews and documents show that her claims are completely false. Cardi fully expects that Tasha K's claims will be dismissed, and that at the end of this case, Cardi will be victorious and Tasha K will be held accountable for the blatantly false things she has said, written and posted about Cardi, that Tasha K knew were false."

Cardi B's sworn legal enemy is turning up the pressure by claiming the rapper assaulted her -- even though they were never in the same room -- and by dragging the FBI into their battle.

Latasha K is the blogger Cardi sued earlier this year for accusing Cardi of being a drug abusing prostitute with an STD. Tasha countersued Cardi for slander, but now she just amended that lawsuit to claim Cardi caused harm to her unborn child.

Tasha's new claim of assault centers on alleged threats made by Cardi and Skeemo ... Cardi's former roommate and BFF. In the suit, Tasha says Skeemo posted "violent messages" about her on social media. 

As for Cardi ... Tasha claims the MC encouraged gang members to "handle" her ... which Tasha took as a violent threat. If that wasn't enough, in the suit, Tasha says Cardi referred to her as a "dumb ass b*tch" and a "hoe" multiple times on IG.

According to docs, obtained by TMZ, Tasha was in the first trimester of a "high-risk pregnancy" at the time of the alleged threats, and she says doctors put her on mandatory bed rest.

Although she's not suing Skeemo, Tasha says his alleged violent threats scared her enough to call in the FBI ... but according to her, the agency simply told her to move if she was so concerned.

Tasha says she took their advice and moved -- which is why she's suing Cardi for moving expenses as part of her $3 million lawsuit.

We've reached out to Cardi's camp for their response to the new allegations ... no word back yet.

Shawn Mendes and Camila Cabello are looking like they're more than just friends, cuddling together in a booth during some late-night eats ... images that will add more fuel to the dating rumor fire.

We're told Shawn and Camila hit up Kitchen24 in West Hollywood around 5 AM Sunday morning, and as you can see, they sat on the same side of the table ... ya know, the type of thing clingy couples do. 

Check it out ... Shawn's got his arm around Camila, caressing her and planting a little kiss on her forehead. Super cute. 

As you know ... dating rumors have surrounded the two pop stars for weeks, ever since they put out their new duet, "Senorita," but they've been pretty tight-lipped about what's brewing between them.

As we reported ... Shawn and Camila were spotted leaving Sunday brunch together in WeHo holding hands, smiling and at the very least LOOKING like boyfriend and girlfriend.

Sources close to Shawn tell TMZ ... he's not putting on a show for the cameras, and his relationship with Camila is genuine and not a publicity stunt. 

Shameik Moore's studying hard for his role in the upcoming TV series about Wu-Tang Clan ... but he's not yet prepared to win a trivia contest about the iconic hip-hop group.

The actor -- best known so far as the voice of Spider-Man in 'Into the Spider-Verse' -- admits he had a lot to learn when he landed the role of Raekwon in Hulu's "Wu-Tang: An American Saga" ... but it seems he's still got a way to go.

We quizzed Shameik at LAX to see if he can name all the members, and he comes up a few short of the full 10. Check out the video to see who he missed, and before ya laugh ... could you do better?

To be fair, Moore says he's yet to meet the members he forgot, and it's clear he's totally immersed in playing Raekwon ... working closely with the rapper to emulate him as closely as possible.

Shameik also tells us he's become like family to RZA, who's one of the executive producers of the new series.