Music

Rapper YBN Cordae is livin' the dream right now -- he's got a tennis superstar girlfriend, he made XXL's prestigious "Freshman Class" list, and he just dropped a debut album that's getting great reviews.

Yeah ... that's probably why the dude was so chipper when we saw him out in NYC!!!

As we previously reported ... the 21-year-old and Naomi Osaka -- #2-ranked tennis player in the world -- were getting close back in April and spending a lot of time together.

The young couple is officially official now (our source is pretty rock solid) ... but Cordae makes it clear he has to earn every dub ... at least on the tennis court.

Cordae says his tennis skills are improving ... but tells us Naomi doesn't take it easy on him.

FYI -- the YBN rapper just dropped his first project, "The Lost Boy." We gotta say, it's really dope ... and it's got features from huge names like Pusha T, Meek Mill, Anderson .Paak and Chance the Rapper.

Dude's winning on all levels.

Fabolous is going off on our report that he and his longtime girlfriend, Emily B, have broken up ... but our sources say he's just in denial.

The rapper claims he and Emily have not split, and insists they're a "couple working on our relationship." He adds that the mystery woman he was seen with at a Mexican restaurant last week was not a date ... rather a lunch meeting with a teacher.

Fabolous says he loves Emily B and our story is baseless. He's also threatening legal action for defamation.

Here's the thing -- sources close to Emily tell us the 2 haven't been together for nearly a year ... and it was her decision to call it off. Despite Fab's claims they're still trying to work it out -- we're told, for now, Emily says it's over -- and Fab is trying to save his family.

Emily's recent post on her Instagram Story seems to bear this out. She says this year's all about prioritizing mental health over relationships. According to the post, Em's mindset is ... "I'll lose anyone and anything before I lost my mind."

As you know ... they had major issues, especially after video surfaced of Fabolous' physical altercation with Emily in March 2018. He was indicted for domestic violence in October, but struck a plea deal early this year to avoid jail time.

Pete Buttigieg is happy Donald Trump is trying to free A$AP Rocky from a Swedish jail, but he couldn't be clearer -- that doesn't cancel out the damage the Prez has done to the African-American community.

Mayor Pete stopped by TMZ for an appearance on Friday's "TMZ Live" ... and he bore in on Trump, saying he's done enormous damage to African-Americans, but you still take what you get when you get it.

We asked Buttigieg about all sorts of stuff ... what his "Veep" would look like, whether we can be sanctimonious about Russian interference in the 2016 election when we invaded countries and installed brutal dictators around the world, whether celebs help or hurt candidates and ... his most cherished object.

Rapper Blueface says the LAPD is full of crap and they lied when they said they swarmed a bunch rappers out of concern for them ... he says it could be racial prejudice.

The man behind the "Bust Down" dance craze was arrested back in February after cops say he was illegally carrying loaded guns in downtown L.A. Cops claimed they had heard there were a bunch of rappers in the area who were carrying large amounts of cash and wearing lots of jewelry.

The LAPD said they went there to actually protect the rappers since there were a bunch of robberies in the area and they feared the rappers would be easy targets. When they arrived, they say Blueface and his crew scattered and tossed their guns.

In new legal docs, obtained by TMZ, Blueface calls BS, saying he and his legal team believe the officers who made the arrest may have complaints against them for racial or ethnic prejudice. They also claim the cops may have a history of writing false police reports.

Lawyers for Blueface say the rapper wasn't in possession of guns, and the reason he was singled out is because one of the cops thought he had a nervous look on his face after police heard the clang of guns hitting the concrete. They concede cops say they saw him make "furtive movement toward his waistband."

Woodstock 50 has taken another body blow ... Jay-Z and John Fogerty are pulling the plug on the festival.

The event's supposed to go down in just 3 weeks, and this kind of news could cause a stampede.

It's all kind of come full circle but not in the way Woodstock would have wanted -- it was Fogerty, along with Common and festival founder Michael Lang, who announced back in March that Jay-Z would perform at Woodstock 50.

Jay-Z was the big get for W50. He was slated to close the 3-day festival, which has faced a devastating series of setbacks.

As we reported ... the major blow came back in June when Watkins Glen International -- an upstate NY racetrack where the event was supposed to go down -- pulled the plug. There were major money issues as well that dogged the festival.

The event's now being held at the Merriweather Post Pavilion ... an outdoor amphitheater in Columbia, Maryland.

Chance the Rapper is here to make sure you don't feel bad about all the money you've spent on Postmates ... because you probably can't come close to the huge tab he's racked up.

The rapper is one of Postmates' most dedicated customers ... because the company tells us he started getting deliveries way back in 2015 and he's since dropped more than $30,000, including $4,000 in tips!!!

Chance is being featured on a Postmates series, The Receipt, which profiles celebs who are big spenders ... sharing their strangest requests and favorite orders.

Baked goods keep Chance going in the studio ... his new album just dropped, and while he was working on "The Big Day," Chance kept his team fueled with fresh croissants, cake and coffee.

Chance's first order was for chicken wings from Harold's Chicken Shack on March 4, 2015, and since then he's racked up 632 orders for 1,992 items across 26 cities.

Lots of those orders were for Portillo's Hot Dogs in Chicago, with Chance getting delivery once every two days from Dec. 2015 to Jan. 2016 ... chowing down on a burger, fries and a drink each time.

Grub isn't the only thing Chance orders on the go ... he purchased a ton of board games for a pre-Grammys party in 2017 -- Uno, Connect Four and Twister -- and just last summer he ordered a $440 Apple iPad Mini.

A big rapper says Coachella's to blame for an unprovoked attack by the music festival's security that left him with with some serious and lifelong injuries ... thus, a new lawsuit.

Belly just filed against the famous festival, claiming it caused the incident by hiring a security company that WAILED on him back in April 2018 while Belly's friend, The Weeknd, performed on the main stage. According to new legal docs obtained by TMZ ... Belly claims approximately 25 security guards pummeled him without cause.

Belly -- who performed at the festival earlier that night -- says he had all the necessary credentials to access all areas on the grounds ... including the most exclusive and restricted VIP sections.

Belly -- who enlisted the firebrand of attorney Ben Meiselas -- says he was headed to a backstage VIP area, when out of nowhere, security bum rushed him and repeatedly grabbed, punched, kicked and choked him. The brutal attack was all caught on video.

Belly says the attack left him bruised, battered, concussed and nearly unconscious. He claims he suffered permanent physical and mental pain and trauma. Belly -- who is also suing Coachella's organizers and the security firm it hired -- wants a ton of money, but he wasn't specific.

Diddy and Steve Harvey's 22-year-old daughter were out and about in NYC again Wednesday night ... this time in matching outfits, further fueling dating rumors.

Diddy and Lori Harvey were strolling in SoHo around midnight ... and while Lori was all smiles, Diddy, who is 49, couldn't look more shocked running into paps.

As we reported ... sources close to Diddy shot down rumors back in March that they're not a couple, saying Lori's just a family friend and that's it.

These family friends have traveled the country ... showing up at Nobu in Malibu just last week, and a reggae festival in Miami back in March.

Lori famously dated and broke up with soccer superstar Memphis Depay last year, and it was pretty nasty. BTW, she also dated 25-year-old Justin Combs, Diddy's son.

No word on how Steve feels about the situation ... what an awesome "Family Feud" that would be!!!

A$AP Rocky has just been charged with a crime after spending weeks in a Swedish jail ... prosecutors just hit him with Assault Causing Actual Bodily Harm stemming from a street brawl in the country's capital ... and if convicted he could spend 2 years behind bars.

The prosecutor said A$AP will continue to be held in jail pending a trial ... and the trial date has not been set, although it could be today. A rep for the prosecutor tells TMZ the trial will be held within the next 2 weeks. The prosecutor expects the trial will last 3 days.

Two members of Rocky's crew have also been charged with the same crime and they will also be held pending trial.

The Swedish prosecutor just boasted he had access to more information than people on the internet. He said he's reviewed video and also talked to witnesses, and determined the claims by Rocky and his 2 crew members of self defense and provocation didn't hold water, despite the fact the alleged victim is the one who unrelentingly harassed and attacked Rocky and his crew first.

The prosecutor says he also considered the alleged victim's statement, which he says was supported by witness statements. We're told the alleged victim admits striking A$AP's bodyguard with a set of headphones, but only after the bodyguard lifted him off the ground by his neck, so the prosecutor viewed the headphones attack as self defense. BTW, the lifting by the neck is not on video, and interestingly, if the prosecutor really felt the bodyguard was the aggressor he would have been presumably charged ... and the bodyguard has already been cleared.

The charge has been 3 weeks in the making ... A$AP has been in jail alongside two of his associates since turning himself in to Swedish authorities earlier this month. Prosecutors inadvertently played their hand last week, announcing they were going to charge the Harlem rapper ... and on Thursday the hammer finally dropped.

The only good news for Rocky ... he and his crew will not be charged with Aggravated Assault, a more serious crime which carries a 6-year prison sentence.

As we reported ... the man who attacked A$AP's crew in the streets of Stockholm will NOT be prosecuted for any crime, even though he incited the violence and kept harassing Rocky until he eventually snapped.

In the initial video ... you hear A$AP attempting to diffuse the situation, playing peacemaker and saying no one wants to go to jail.

In video from the street brawl ... A$AP finally loses his cool, throwing his attacker to the ground and absolutely pummeling the guy.

The Swedish justice system is not bowing to pressure from the U.S. government ... with the Prime Minister essentially telling President Trump and the State Dept. to butt out after their attempts to free A$AP.

A$AP's mom thinks Sweden is out to get her son, and she believes it's because he's black ... even though A$AP himself says he won't make race an issue in his assault case.

The man at the center of the A$AP Rocky assault case -- the man who provoked the rapper and even attacked him before A$AP reluctantly snapped back -- was convicted of criminal assault in Sweden 3 years ago.

Mustafa Jafari, Rocky's alleged victim, was convicted of striking a man in his forehead and beating the victim's face back in 2016, when Jafari was 16 years old. It happened on the streets of Stockholm, the very place Jafari harassed and assaulted A$AP and his crew earlier this month.

Jafari was prosecuted and convicted of assault, and his sentence ... 30 hours of community service. He was also ordered to pay his victim around $500 in cash.

Jafari was also convicted of 2 minor drug offenses ... one in November 2017 and the other in May 2018. He was ordered to pay a fine for both, but served no jail time.

As we reported, Jafari was the instigator in the A$AP Rocky incident -- he's the guy in the white shirt. Prosecutors have cleared him, claiming he was acting in self-defense.

Jennifer Lopez's 50th birthday party was insane -- with huge stars, a huge mansion, a huge cake ... and a 6-figure birthday present courtesy of her fiance, Alex Rodriguez!!!

It all went down Wednesday night at Gloria Estefan's waterfront mansion on Star Island in Miami ... where J Lo's famous friends like DJ Khaled, Fat Joe, Ryan Seacrest and Ashanti rolled to party with Jenny from the Block.

43-year-old A-Rod gifted Jennifer a sick red Porsche 911 GTS convertible, worth around $140,000!!!

He also gave a big speech in front of the crowd, telling Jennifer that he loves her deeply and is so happy to be a part of her 50th birthday. It was sweet.

And, speaking of sweet, the cake was lit too! It was 10 TIERS and it was taller than most of the guests and took 5 grown-ass dudes to carry it into the party!

We're also told it was covered with with 24-karat edible gold and featured her name and the number “50” in Swarovski crystals. And, it was delicious too -- a Divine Delicacies Custom vanilla rum cake with dulce de leche filling. The bakery had no comment.

We're told the total cake cost -- $10,000!!!

As for the party itself, everyone was turning up ... even her kids hopped onstage and serenaded J Lo with a birthday rap song. It was adorable!

Also, Fat Joe bumped his hit, "All the Way Up" ... and the place went NUTS!!!

Lopez was also gifted a huge portrait of herself that was also bigger than most of the guests!!

The big grand finale was an explosive fireworks display over the water -- it was like the 4th of July all over again!!!

By the way, Jennifer isn't taking too much time to recover ... she's got a concert in Miami on Thursday, Friday and Saturday night, which will close out her tour.

Props to A-Rod for setting the whole thing up and everyone seemed to have a blast -- and now, we're all thinking the same thing in the office ... how are they gonna one-up this party for the wedding bash?!!

Lil Nas X is using his popularity to jack old songs and rack up millions of views -- and dollars -- without rights to do so ... according to a new lawsuit.

The 20-year-old rapper -- who's been the hottest thing in hip-hop and possibly country this year -- is being sued, along with Sony, by a company called The Music Force for jacking the 1982 Bobby Caldwell song, "Carry On."

According to the suit ... X posted a track on YouTube, Spotify and Soundcloud that appropriated parts of "Carry On" without permission, and as of early July it had nearly 4 million YT views.

The Music Force alleges Lil Nas was "motivated by greed and malicious intent."

The company is also suing Sony because it recently signed the rapper to a record deal ... and it says it should made sure its artist got the song cleared.

The Music Force is asking for a whopping $25 million, claiming X has destroyed the value of its Bobby Caldwell song by jacking it.

We reached out to Lil Nas and Sony ... no word back so far.

If you blinked, you might've missed the fact Justin Bieber's got himself a new set of diamond whites in the form of a grill ... and it costs a fortune.

The Biebs showed off his new bling Tuesday on Instagram, but only barely. You gotta look close, but he's got the grill laid out over the lower half of his teeth -- he left his upper deck untouched, but that bottom row sure is shiny when you see it up and close.

JB was a bit modest in showing it off, but we got you covered!!!

The grill was commissioned by an L.A.-area jeweler who goes by Gold Teeth God -- with a name like that, he's gotta be pretty good, right?!? He is, 'cause Justin gave him a buzz.

We're told JB asked for the grill two weeks ago, and just got it delivered this week. It's called an "Invisible Set Princess Cut Diamond Grill" ... which means the teeth aren't individually outlined and appear flush. It ain't cheap -- it runs about $50,000.

It comes fully loaded too -- we're told the grill was designed to cover 8 teeth with white gold and white Vs1 diamonds at a clip of 7.65 carats total.

This is at least Bieber's second grill -- you'll recall ... he got an all-pink one made for him a couple years back that ran a clean $15k (top and bottom too at the time).

Jennifer Lopez is driving into her 50th year of life in style -- all thanks to her hubby-to-be, Alex Rodriguez, who bought her a brand spankin' new sports car.

J Lo was spotted Wednesday testing out her new whip -- which looks like a 2019 Porsche 911 GT3 -- with cameras rolling in Miami, and A-Rod standing nearby making sure everything went off without a hitch.

Gotta say, the fire red ride suits Jennifer well -- hot, sexy, classic ... just like its owner!!!

Meanwhile, it  looks like A-Rod was inspecting the gift upon delivery ... which showed up with a giant yellow ribbon on the hood. Nothing less than perfect for your honey, right?

J Lo is celebrating the big 5-0 at a shindig on Star Island -- just off the coast of Miami Beach. Seems like it's gonna be a giant birthday bash too, considering what was being brought in and all the prep work that was going into getting the place set up.

You can see giant golden orbs that are hanging all around a bunch of gazebos on the waterfront. Ya gotta assume J Lo's gonna go all out for her big day. And, rightfully so, of course ... it's a major milestone for her storied life.

One of R. Kelly's live-in girlfriend is looking a lot like her old self on social media -- which has her family incredibly encouraged they can get her back.

Azriel Clary -- one of the singer's girlfriends, who's stood by his side to this day -- has been popping up A LOT on social media after being a relative recluse prior to R. Kelly getting re-arrested on new federal charges. The 180 has her family hopeful.

Family sources tell TMZ ... Azriel's immediate brood has been seeing flashes of the daughter they once knew in recently-surfaced Snapchat videos and other clips that show Azriel dancing, trying on clothes, laughing ... and acting like a normal person again.

A lot of these videos appear to be filmed inside R. Kelly's Trump Tower apartment in Chicago -- where Azriel and Joycelyn Savage are presumably still staying -- but the fact that she's getting out there again (in a sense) is giving her fam hope R. Kelly's losing his grasp over her.

We're told Azriel has maintained this entire time that she's had a phone and has been on social media, but the fact is ... she seems to be getting on it a lot more now that R. Kelly's not around. She's been posting content about 4 to 5 times a day.

There's also this ... we're told some of Azriel's old friends have been reconnecting with her on social media, which is yet another sign she's coming back.

Meek Mill is getting a second shot at justice -- his 2008 gun conviction was just thrown out ... and he's being granted a new trial AND a new judge to re-fight the charge.

A panel of judges handed down their decision Wednesday in Pennsylvania Superior Court -- saying Meek does in fact deserve a new trial, with a new jury ... and most importantly a new judge who ISN'T Judge Genece Brinkley ... who many believe had it out for him the first time around.

Meek celebrated the decision on social media, writing ... "As of right now I’m not on probation and I am not a felon anymore," adding a bunch of praying hands. He went on to say, "today was mega!!!"

As we reported, the key witness in the case turned out to be a dirty cop. Even the prosecutor wanted a new trial -- especially after Meek was released from prison over a year ago -- but Judge Brinkley wouldn't budge. This time around, a panel of 3 judges who were not previously involved in the case unanimously made the decision to throw out the conviction.

You'll recall ... Meek has been through the ringer over the past two years in Philly. He was thrown back in prison back in the fall of 2017 after Judge Brinkley found that he'd violated his probation on at least two occasions from recent arrests ... one for allegedly getting into a fight at an airport, and another for reckless driving.

Despite both cases being dropped, Judge Brinkley found that the arrests alone were violations of his probation from his '08 case ... and harshly sentenced him to a 2-4 year prison sentence.

Meek was locked up for a little while -- with many people fighting for his freedom from the outside -- until finally in April of 2018 ... he was cut loose by the Supreme Court of PA, which overruled Judge Brinkley, who refused to let him out. He walked out of prison and straight to a Philadelphia 76ers game right afterward, with his entire journey documented from helicopter.

Meek just said, "I'd like to thank the Pennsylvania Superior Court judges for their wisdom and their transparency in reviewing my case, unanimously overturning my conviction and granting me a new trial. The past 11 years have been mentally and emotionally challenging, but I'm ecstatic that justice prevailed."

He goes on ... "This positive outcome wouldn't have been possible without the support of my family, my attorneys, Jay Z, Desiree Perez, Michael Rubin, the Philadelphia District Attorney's Office and my supporters who have stood with me through the ups and downs."

Meek makes it clear, not everyone is this lucky ... "Unfortunately, millions of people are dealing with similar issues in our country and don't have the resources to fight back like I did. We need to continue supporting them. I'm committed to working with my team at the REFORM Alliance to change these outdated laws and fix our broken criminal justice system."

Meek's lawyer, Joe Tacopina, who has been a stalwart in the fight to overturn the conviction, says, "In this case although justice was delayed it was not denied!"