Music

Chaos at Lollapalooza in Chicago where more than 50 people charged the gates "Game of Thrones"-style to get free entry ... but cops only managed to stop one dude -- a guy who only has 1 leg.

BRUH, REALLY?!?!?

It all went down around 2 PM -- where fans who obviously were stoked to see huge acts like Childish Gambino and Tame Impala.

There was clearly a "They Can't Stop All Of Us" mentality ... and they were mostly right. Mostly.

In the footage, a cop storms into the fracas with heroic intentions ... only to step in front of the only guy in the group with a prosthetic leg.

Officials say NONE of the fence-stormers actually made it inside the festival -- claiming the gate that went down was only a perimeter fence.

In other words, there was a gate behind the gate.

No word what happened to the one guy who got stopped.

Look, cops don't always take the easy way out ... there was that one time they ran down a world-class athlete who ended up being the #1 overall pick in the NFL Draft.

A$AP Rocky got a HUGE assist Friday from 2 eyewitnesses to the beating that landed him in jail and Swedish criminal court ... because both said they were clear -- they did NOT see Rocky strike the alleged victim with a bottle.

The bottle is the centerpiece of the prosecution's case. They claim Rocky severely injured the alleged victim by hurling a bottle at him ... which they say was excessive force and unjustified. Rocky admitted Thursday he picked up a bottle but denied he ever threw it.

R. Kelly's racketeering and sex trafficking case is underway in NY ... he's set to appear and officially hear the charges and enter a plea.

Kelly's lawyer, Steve Greenberg, tells us the singer will plead not guilty at the arraignment. No major surprise ... Kelly has continued to battle the mounting charges and cases against him, denying all the allegations. Kelly flew to New York Thursday for the hearing.

Just like in his federal case in Illinois, Kelly's 2 girlfriends -- Azriel Clary and Joycelyn Savage -- are there for moral support. As we told you, they flew from Chicago to attend the arraignment ... and stuck to their phones as they walked in.

Azriel's phone itself is a symbol of her support. Take a close look -- the case is a collage of various photos of Kelly.

There's also a group of Kelly supporters that have gathered outside the courthouse ... one wearing a "Free R. Kelly" t-shirt.

As we reported ... the feds slapped Kelly with a 5-count federal indictment ... which includes racketeering and kidnapping. This is separate from the 13-count indictment in Illinois federal court. The indictment out of the Eastern District of NY also includes several violations of the Mann Act and allegations of forced labor.

Kelly denied the allegations ... blasting his alleged victims as "disgruntled groupies," this according to docs in which he asks the judge to release him pending trial. He's been behind bars since he was denied bond.

According to the federal indictment ... Kelly and others engaged in a scheme to coerce minors to participate in sexually explicit acts on camera. The feds say the purpose of the scheme was to "promote R. Kelly's music and the R. Kelly brand and to recruit women and girls to engage in illegal sexual activity with Kelly."

The feds also allege "Kelly and his crew traveled throughout the United States and abroad to recruit these women and girls." Further allegations include Kelly made "threats of force and physically restrained the women" to obtain their labor and services.

BTW ... the Mann Act prohibits the transportation of anyone across state lines for illicit sexual purposes. Four of the 5 counts against Kelly are violations of the Mann Act.

Cardi B's worldwide stardom will put her in a precarious position when she sits for a deposition next week -- and that's why she wants the judge to keep the whole matter confidential.

Cardi is in a legal dogfight with her former manger -- he sued her, then she sued him -- and in new legal docs, obtained by TMZ, her attorneys say her monumental achievement as a world-renowned rapper makes her vulnerable to a feeding frenzy from both the public and the media.

Her team says if the video of her deposition, as well as the transcripts, get out to the public, it could harm her case ... and expose private details about her life and finances.

Additionally, they've got serious Internet meme concerns. As they put it in docs, if the material gets out "it is highly likely that any such video will be reproduced and edited (and possibly manipulated) into out-of-context video clips and GIFs of her testimony."

As we first reported ... Cardi's ex-manager, Shaft, claims he transformed her from an Instagram wannabe to a global celebrity. Shaft sued Cardi for $10 million in April 2018 ... and then she countersued him for $15 million.

One of Shaft's more significant claims -- he says his contacts and personal team of writers and producers are responsible for her first massive hit, "Bodak Yellow."

Instead of dancing in the dark, Bruce Springsteen's son has chosen a career of battling blazes ... among lots of other heroic stuff.

Sam Springsteen just became a firefighter in Jersey City, New Jersey ... according to his mom, Patti Scialfa. She shared the cool news on Instagram, saying ... "You followed your dreams…JC firefighter… Stay safe .. love your brave heart."

Of course, Patti peppered in some heart and flexed biceps emojis ... along with a "CONGRATULATIONS" and a fire emoji.

Sam is the youngest of Bruce and Patti's 3 kids at 25 years old. He has an older brother named Evan and an older sister named Jessica. None of them have followed in their dad's footsteps and become Jersey rock icons ... but they're all doing very well for themselves.

Sam was reportedly ranked 42 out of 961 on the Jersey City FD civil service in March, which qualified him to join the new class of firefighters.

Katy Perry's "Dark Horse" is going to cost her a lot of green, but her record label is paying twice as much for ripping off the tune.

The federal jury in L.A. just dished out the damages, and the pop singer will have to pay $550k to Christian rapper Flame. He sued Katy, Dr. Luke and 7 other songwriters on "Dark Horse" for jacking his tune, "Joyful Noise." Capitol Records was also a defendant, and the jury ordered it to pay the lion's share ... $1.2 million.

In all, Flame will get a total of $2.7 million from all the defendants. The jury said his song was responsible for 22.5 percent of the "Dark Horse" profits.

His Grammy-nominated gospel track came out in 2008 ... 6 years before KP dropped "Dark Horse."

The jury's decision on hefty damages came after hearing 2 full days of testimony about how much Perry's megahit and the album it was on, "Prism," have earned since release. Katy's cut, to date, has been $3.2 mil ... while Capitol Records earned $31 million.

Of course, the same jury returned a unanimous verdict that Perry and her co-defendants improperly copied the Christian rap track -- specifically by jacking its continually repeated musical rhythm.

“Our clients filed this lawsuit five years ago seeking justice and fair compensation for the unauthorized copying of their music. It has been a long and arduous path, but they are quite pleased to have received the justice they sought,” Flame's lawyer, Lauren R. Cohen, said.

As we reported ... Flame's music label uploaded a "Joyful Noise" vid on YouTube in 2008, and it's racked up millions of views over the years.

In his lawsuit, first filed way back in 2014, Flame claimed Perry stole the underlying beat and riff in the middle of "Joyful Noise" for "Dark Horse." He also said it destroyed his reputation in Christian music because he became associated with the anti-Christian imagery present in her music vid.

Perry called BS on the 2 tracks having any meaningful similarities, and during her jury testimony earlier this month she claimed she'd never even heard Flame's song before he filed the lawsuit.

Katy told the jury she first heard the beats from Dr. Luke while they were hanging out in Santa Barbara and claimed she wrote "Dark Horse" in only 4 hours.

However, Flame's legal team was able to convince the jury that his song was popular and prevalent enough to have been heard and ripped off ... and that's exactly what Perry and her team did.

By the way ... the "Dark Horse" music video currently has 2.6 BILLION YouTube views. Gotta wonder if it was worth it.

Lil Uzi Vert says people who think he shaded Lil Nas X -- including X himself -- are tripping and just don't understand etiquette on Twitter ... where sending a heart is all that's required.

Allow us to explain -- Lil Nas was trending, again, this week when he shared a screenshot of his DM asking Uzi to collab with him on a "Panini" remix ... but getting no reply. Fans accused Vert of leaving X on read ... a clear sign of disrespect, or at least indifference.

But, Lil Uzi tells us he did reply by sending a heart, which suggests he's interested ... and if Lil Nas X wants to collab, Uzi says he's all for it.

Uzi's kinda got a point for not hitting X back with a longer reply ... Uzi says they've never met. Sounds like that's about to change though.

We also had to ask Uzi about the flashy new (but used) $1.7 million Bugatti he debuted at his blowout birthday bash. He's still flaunting it, but not down to talk price. Umm, spoiler alert? Sorry, Uzi.

Lil Uzi Vert broke the bank celebrating 25 years of life ... throwing a lavish birthday party in NYC and dropping over a million bucks for a luxury car that used to belong to Floyd Mayweather!!!

The Philly rapper pulled out all the stops Wednesday night for his bday bash ... partying the night away with celeb friends and tons of smokin' hot babes at Magic Hour Rooftop Bar & Lounge.

Jordyn Woods, Wale, Gunna, Casanova, Bernice Burgos, Pop Smoke, Shiggy, DJ Clue and a bunch of others turned up ... and Uzi was literally looking like a kid in a candy store, because guests chowed down on candy sushi, cotton candy, popcorn and pretzels.

Uzi rolled up to his party in style ... hopping out of Floyd's former Bugatti. We're told Uzi dropped $1.7 million on Mayweather's whip, and he threw down another $20,000 to get the car rush-delivered from Los Angeles.

Lil Uzi bought the 2012 Bugatti Grand Sport from celebrity car broker RD Whittington ... and we're told it's the same car Floyd got before his 2017 superfight against Conor McGregor.

The Bugatti looks a little different now ... thanks to some sweet custom work by CarEffex, which tricked it out with a $10k custom wrap.

BTW ... when Floyd first copped the Bugatti, he threw down $3.3 MILLION. So, Uzi got a steal.

Back to the party ... Lil Uzi Vert guzzled champagne and there were Uzi-themed cocktails, courtesy of D'usse. He cut into a birthday cake decorated in diamonds and dollar bills -- the party theme was "Dripping Green & Diamonds."

Speaking of diamonds ... as you can see in the pics, Uzi was rocking tons of new ice from celeb jeweler Eliantte. Gotta have that bday bling!

Smokey Robinson would like the real, good Republicans to please stand up ... because he says it's up to them to rid the country of its "canker sore" President.

We got the Motown icon at LAX Wednesday night and asked him about John Legend's profanity-laced tirade about Donald Trump ... Smokey seems to second that emotion, though way more low-key.

Robinson tells us he doesn't feel compelled to get too political himself, though ... because at this point anyone who's logical knows what needs to be done. The problem -- he says Republicans aren't listening to logic and speaking up.

Smokey goes on to slam the GOP for putting its party first and the good of the U.S. second ... and suggests its members are either afraid of something or obsessed with power.

Master P says he's thrilled his pal, Michael Thomas, signed a $100 MIL contract with the Saints -- but he's warning the WR to be SMART with his cash so he doesn't end up like Adrian Peterson.

Of course, Master P is like the King of New Orleans -- he knows everyone down there including Michael and his dad, "Big Mike."

The No Limit boss says Michael's dad played a huge role in helping the 26-year-old land that fat 5-year, $100 million deal ... telling TMZ Sports, "Fathers and sons are winning!"

Master P famously made a FORTUNE during his days as a hip-hop mogul -- so he's offering up some tips for Thomas so he can STAY RICH after his NFL career is over.

"Invest in stuff that you believe in. Don't let these financial advisers steal your money like it's been happening [to guys like] Kevin Garnett, Adrian Peterson."

"Watch your money, write your own checks," P said ... adding, "Invest time into economics, into banking."

In other words, don't bury your head in the sand when it comes to your money -- the best person you can trust when it comes to your finances is YOURSELF!!!

As for Peterson, he's made more than $100 mil during his storied NFL career -- but he's reportedly fallen into debt and can't pay his way out of it.

Woodstock 50 is officially a no-go, kaput, donzo, dead -- pick your favorite adjective -- cause it's been canceled.

The troubled festival was just over 2 weeks away from kicking off, but organizers just couldn't recover from setback after setback that ultimately led to Wednesday's announcement that its been officially called off.

Greg Peck, a principal of Woodstock 50, tells TMZ, "The unfortunate dispute with our financial partner and the resulting legal proceedings set us off course at a critical juncture, throwing a wrench in our plans and forcing us to find an alternate venue to Watkins Glen."

He goes on to say, "The timing meant we had few choices where our artists would be able to perform. We worked hard to find a way to produce a proper tribute—and some great artists came aboard over the last week to support Woodstock 50—but time simply ran short."

The news comes on the heels of artist after artist announcing they were pulling out ... from Miley Cyrus, Carlos Santana and Jay-Z to the Dead & Co. and John Fogerty. The good news for the artists who originally signed on ... Woodstock 50 organizers say artists get to keep their fees, asking they donate 10% of it to charity.

As you'll recall ... the festival was originally supposed to go down at Watkins Glen International in upstate NY but the venue pulled the plug, this after serious money issues.

The 3-day festival then got moved to Columbia, Maryland at the Merriweather Post Pavilion ... a much smaller venue. As we reported ... Woodstock 50 was reduced to become a free show for those lucky enough to get their hands on tickets. So much for that.

#RIPWoodstock50 ... we hardly knew thee.

The guy who knocked out Future's bodyguard with a flying blindside punch claims there's more to the story than the video shows ... and he was just protecting his friends.

As you'll recall ... the bodyguard was attacked last week at the Ibiza Airport after an altercation between the rapper and a group of guys carried over onto the street.

The man who threw the punch, Marcus, tells TMZ ... he and his buddies had just landed and noticed Future, so one of his pals asked for a picture. He claims Future responded with, "Suck my d**k."

Marcus admits his crew fired back at Future with some rudeness of their own, but says they were ready to leave and let it go ... but the bodyguard wasn't.

He claims the rapper's hired muscle followed them outside to the taxi line, and kept insulting and harassing them -- and even said he'd die for Future -- before inviting them to come around the corner to fight. Marcus' point is the guy was practically begging for it.

Marcus says the bodyguard continued to follow them in a threatening manner, and because he's a big guy and they didn't know what he was capable of ... he launched a preemptive strike.

The Brit also denies there was anything racially charged about the incident, and says his friends at the airport were predominantly black ... including the guy who shot the video. He's insistent he personally didn't drop any racial slurs.

As we told you ... Future's bodyguard isn't pressing charges for the assault and the Civil Guard of Spain will not investigate unless somebody does. Marcus claims he and his friends were detained by airport police shortly after the incident ... but were cut loose once cops reviewed security footage.

R. Kelly just filed legal docs blasting his alleged victims, referring to them as "disgruntled groupies."

The singer's docs ask a federal judge to release him before his pending trial. His lawyers say he does not represent a threat, because they claim the allegations against him are bogus. In explaining their position, they say the "groupies sought out Robert's attention, even fought each other for it, voluntarily contacted him, came to his shows, pined to be with him ..."

R. Kelly's lawyer, Douglas Anton, doesn't stop there. He claims in the doc the government is trying to paint a picture of a nefarious pattern, but it all amounts to "five disgruntled groupies, not all of which are alleged to be underage, who now show groupie remorse so many years later and only after a TV Show and an aggressive, vocal Cook County prosecutor makes a public cry for 'victims come forth,' tell your story and be famous."

And, there's more ... R. Kelly's team zeroes in on one of the alleged victims who was not a minor when she first had contact with him. They say she came to his door and "wanted him so much that she alleges that she did not require or even request that a condom be used." As for her allegation Kelly gave her herpes ... Kelly's lawyers say she was "admittedly promiscuous," and the feds never looked into how many other sexual partners she had.

A$AP Rocky's bodyguard absolutely choked the hell out of the alleged victim in Sweden -- it's clear as day in this surveillance video -- but the video also presents a flaw in the prosecution's case.

This video was captured before the street brawl broke out, AND before the alleged victim, Mustafa Jafari, threw a punch at the bodyguard. It's pretty brutal ... the massive hired muscle grabs Jafari by his throat, lifts him off the ground and tosses him down the street.

What's puzzling is ... why clear the bodyguard? When prosecutors announced Jafari would not be charged for punching the bodyguard, they said he was acting in self-defense. Sooo, if he's defending himself, why not charge the guy attacking him? Especially when there's such clear video evidence like this.

Moments after the choking, Jafari swung a punch at the bodyguard and then hit him with his headphones.

Kanye West is bringing an incredible architectural concept to the hills of Calabasas -- doing studies and developments to change the industry -- and the prototypes are now springing up with an eye toward making them new age homes.

Sources familiar with the project tell TMZ ... Kanye is building dome-like structures that are prototypes for a new type of home ... homes he believes will break the barriers that separate classes ... namely, the rich, the middle class and the poor.

We got the first images of Kanye's plan to revolutionize housing. The project sits on a portion of land Kanye bought a few years back ... 300 acres in all. His plan is to create a housing community, but until now the butcher paper covered the canvas -- it was a well-guarded secret.

Construction crews have been hard at work at the Calabasas site for weeks ... with trucks, cranes and dozens of workers coming in and out. The dome-like structures each stand around 50 feet high.

Our Kanye sources say the project is in an "early state" but the vibe is there ... to make new housing communities the world can enjoy. We're told Ye and his team are studying dwellings "from every period of man's existence on earth." Those who have visited the property say the proportions feel otherworldly.

Kanye has been an innovator in music, touring and is the founder of the billion-dollar Yeezy brand ... and has now ventured into land development.

We're told the domes and living spaces will be "dynamic" ... something that has become Kanye's stock-in-trade. The Calabasas home he shares with Kim is considered an architectural masterpiece with what some have called a revolutionary use of space.