Music

Future, 21 Savage and fellow Atlanta rapper Big Bank Black gave back to their community in the funnest way possible ... AND helped everyone stay cool in the process.

The rappers rented out the entire water park at Six Flags White Water in the ATL Wednesday, and seemingly invited everyone from their Zone 6 neighborhood to get some relief from the summer heat at an epic "hood day."

We're told the 3 hip-hop stars dropped around $300k on this year's celebration for Zone 6, which included free food and drinks for everyone. Savage and Big Bank joined in on the good times on the lazy river too.

Other celebs who got wet and wild at the park included Tommie Lee from 'L&HH' and reality star Shekinah Anderson. There was also no shortage of chicken fights and surprise dunking ... 21 Savage even fell victim!!!

Drake and Big Freedia have a New Orleans musician in his feelings ... according to a new lawsuit, he says the rappers straight-up jacked his beats and passed them off as their own.

Samuel Nicholas III -- who goes by Sam Skully -- is suing the rappers claiming they used his beat for their hit collab, "In My Feelings." He also claims Drake stole another one of his beats for his wildly successful track, "Nice For What"

According to the docs, obtained by TMZ, Sam Skully claims Drake and Big Freedia sampled a portion of his 2000 track, "Roll Call," but they never asked for permission and never forked over any dough.

In the docs, Sam Skully claims he published the beat on a CD he released in New Orleans way back in 2000, but says he didn't know his work had been stolen until years later ... when Drake and Big Freedia released songs that started climbing the charts.

Sam Skully is also going after a ton of huge record companies -- Asylum Records, Cash Money Records and Republic Records -- and he's suing for damages.

Tee Grizzley is mourning the loss of his manager after his car was riddled with bullets Tuesday night as he rode around Detroit.

Law enforcement sources tell TMZ ... the deadly shooting went down Tuesday night, when a gunman opened fire on Tee Grizzley's Cadillac Escalade. We're told the rapper's manager, Jobina Brown, was sitting in the back seat.

Our sources say the SUV had stopped and Tee Grizzley was getting out of the front passenger seat as the shooter approached on foot and pulled the trigger ... hitting Jobina in her left side. The driver of the SUV told cops he heard Jobina scream right before 3 to 4 shots were fired.

We're told it's unclear if Tee Grizzley was targeted in the attack -- but neither he nor the driver were hit.

Aaliyah lives on in many forms, and now there's a new wax figure to celebrate her incredible life.

Madame Tussauds in Las Vegas just unveiled its very first wax sculpture of the late R&B singer, immortalizing Aaliyah in one of her iconic looks.

The spot-on wax statue is being rolled out Wednesday night in the heart of the Vegas strip, with a special unveiling for Aaliyah's family and a bunch of celebs.

Honchos at Madame Tussauds tell TMZ ... Aaliyah's wax figure was inspired by the music video for her smash hit, "Try Again," and the details are down to a T ... with the exact same outfit, hair style, makeup and lower-back tattoo.

We're told the designer worked closely with Aaliyah's fam, especially her brother Rashad Haughton, to ensure the sculpture brought her character back to life.

As you know ... Aaliyah died in a plane crash way back in 2001, but she's still got a huge following ... and fans will be able to check out her wax statue this summer in the same exhibit as other stars from the 1990s.

Taylor Swift's cooked up a plan to get back at Scooter Braun for buying the rights to her early music -- so SHE will own the new masters -- but she's got some legal hurdles to overcome first.

The singer told "CBS News Sunday Morning" -- in an interview airing this weekend -- she will rerecord her past songs she'd originally done while signed to Big Machine ... the label Scooter bought a few months back.

As you know ... Taylor was PISSED and went on a rant against Scooter for snapping up her early catalog -- but her plan to cover her own songs won't exactly hurt Scooter the way she thinks it will. Industry experts tell TMZ ... every label, including Big Machine, has a rerecord clause in its contracts with artists. The clause prevents the artist from rerecording on another label, or on their own, and marketing those rerecordings.

Now, we're told that clause usually has an expiration date. We don't know when Big Machine's clause expires, but even when it does ... there's another roadblock. Experts tell us it's called an original production clause -- and it prevents the artist from copying the OG version. So, when and if Taylor remakes her Big Machine tunes ... she will have to deviate from the first versions.

Taylor's revenge scheme has been pulled off before ... most notably by Prince during his battles with Warner Bros. Records. However, in his case, the rerecordings ended up making the originals more valuable. In other words ... Taylor could unwittingly end up putting more cash in Scooter's pockets.

From what music industry experts are telling us, though, Scooter can't be too concerned with Taylor's plan because his $300 million investment in Big Machine has already been a boon. We're told the company's full catalog -- not only Taylor's songs -- is now valued at close to $1 BILLION!!

So, Taylor WILL get something -- she'll own her new master recordings -- but if she's just doing it for revenge ... it might not be a great play.

Cardi B is FUMING over the NYPD allegedly shutting down her pal's back-to-school event -- and speaking of fumes, she wants New York's finest to choke on hers.

The Bronx-born rapper went on a tear Tuesday night, calling out the NYPD for what she says were bullying tactics that effectively torpedoed her friend Star's school giveaway for kids coming back to school. Safe to say, CB's nuclear.

She claims the NYPD got ahead of this charitable event that was scheduled for later this month after they caught wind of it, called up the school principal and scared them into backing down. Cardi says she finds that "f***** up," seeing how Star paid out of pocket.

Not to mention the fact she was genuinely out to help the kids of this neighborhood.

Then, Cardi goes IN on the NYPD, saying ... "F*** you and motherf***ing suck a fart and suffocate on it. F*** you!!!" ending with a middle finger to the camera for good measure.

If there's one thing we know about Cardi, it's that she loves the kids -- she went out and surprised some from her old neighborhood last year -- and doesn't dig cops. As you know, she's currently in the middle of fighting charges in her strip club beatdown case.

Our law enforcement sources in the area tell TMZ that the department is aware of Cardi's gripe, and they're trying to clear up what's been dubbed internally as a "miscommunication."

In the meantime ... suck it, NYPD!!! Farts, that is ... if that's even possible.

It's just about time for Tekashi 6ix9ine to pay the piper, testifying in open court against his alleged kidnappers ... while knowing full well it could make his family members targets of gang retaliation.

The rapper -- who's currently incarcerated on federal racketeering charges -- is expected to testify next month about the kidnapping and assault he claims he fell victim to in 2018. Cops arrested a suspect in the case, who pled not guilty, and also claims Tekashi made up the whole thing.

FYI, the guy calling BS -- Anthony Ellison -- was formerly part of Tekashi's management team and cops believe he's affiliated with the Nine Trey Bloods, the same gang Tekashi was with prior to his bust. Bottom line ... they know each other well.

That's what makes this situation messy for Tekashi -- he's currently preparing to point the finger at this guy, and the potential ramifications are very serious. Sources connected to the case tell TMZ, 6ix9ine's crapping his pants over testifying -- worried about how his mother and brother could be harmed, and also for his own safety behind bars. We're told he knows this could make him a marked man for life.

Case in point ... look what happened to notorious mobster Whitey Bulger last year in prison.

We already know 6ix9ine has shelled out thousands for security to protect his mom, but even with that ... we're told he feels there's nowhere for his loved ones to hide if the Nine Trey Bloods want to get even with him for snitching.

There's really no way out of this jam for Tekashi ... he's required to cooperate with the feds, so if they want him to testify, he's gotta sing. His last hope would be for Ellison and prosecutors to strike an 11th-hour deal.

Barring that ... we're told Tekashi will look kinda different on the stand -- same face tats, but hardly any rainbow hair these days. Not a ton of salon time in prison ...

Lil Nas X just topped his Billy Ray Cyrus collab by pairing with Jeff Bezos for a huge Amazon office party ... in a freakin' football stadium!! So, yeah ... you could say it was a Prime pairing.

Proving how awesome it is to be the richest man in the world ... Bezos hired Lil Nas AND Katy Perry to perform Tuesday night at Amazon's post-Prime Day concert. No biggie, just a a small get together for more than 45,000 employees at Seattle's CenturyLink Stadium -- and you can tell the boss man was turning up.

Bezos ended up rocking X's graffiti-tagged leather coat, and he posed with Katy and her little dog, Nugget. Lil Nas posted a pic with the caption, "I am now the new owner of amazon and i stole katy perry's dog."

Katy also treated the crowd with her first-ever live performance of "Never Really Over."

Throwing extravagant parties is now Bezos' MO -- just last month he had Taylor Swift headline an Amazon Prime Day concert in NYC. Some critics have bashed him for the lavish events ... saying he should pay employees better instead of staging concerts for them.

Young Thug's got a fascinating obsession with slithery creatures ... especially if they're shiny, 2-headed and cost more than your average house in the heartland.

The 'Slime' rapper is flossin' some new bling worth a whopping $250,000!!! It's a 2-headed snake chain made of 18k rose gold and features over 90cts of diamonds. The whole piece weighs more than 2 pounds!!!

Thugger better hit the weights.

Celebrity jeweler Eliantte is the artist who created the masterpiece and the detail is pretty incredible. It's got lifelike scales and both heads look ready to strike any haters.

We're told YT had the chain delivered to him last week while he celebrated 2 huge milestones ... his 28th birthday and the release of his new album, "So Much Fun."

BTW ... Thug's snake fascination goes back a minute.

In 2017, the rapper used a snake crawling out of a skull for his and Future's "Super Slimey" mixtape cover art. The following year, he sent live snakes in glass tanks to media outlets as a promotion for his "Slime Language" record -- and don't forget he has a snake eating a live mouse in the opening scene of his "Scoliosis" music vid.

Offset got pulled over by a cop who had trouble spelling his name, and it was all downhill from there ... except for a very small bone thrown his way at the end.

The traffic stop went down in late March in Sandy Springs, GA outside Atlanta, and according to the cop's body cam footage -- obtained by TMZ -- the rapper very much sounds like a guy who knows he's about to rack up a few tickets.

Things start off on the wrong foot when Offset asks the cop to turn his flashlight off and gets a stern "no" ... and Offset responds in kind when he's asked for his name.

It gets a bit more contentious when Offset asks why he got pulled over and isn't satisfied with the answer. Both parties then make it known they're recording each other -- pretty standard 2019 stuff.

When the cop finally reveals he's writing Offset THREE citations, Cardi B's hubby accuses him of being mad he's in a nice car ... and suggests the officers kids would be disappointed in him.

Offset also vows to beat the tickets in court, but turns out he wasn't up for the challenge. According to legal docs ... he paid the $470 in fines for speeding and failure to maintain his lane, along with $100 for missing a hearing in the case.

The good news -- Offset's citation for not having a license was dismissed, and of course ... he only got a warning from the cop to avoid a 4th ticket.

Kanye West's dome-like housing prototypes have drawn the ire of his neighbors for a while, and they just called the cops on him.

Some of Ye's Calabasas neighbors tell TMZ ... there's been a crazy amount of construction work going on at the site. They say construction crews were working for more than 12 hours Saturday -- the city allows construction from 8 AM - 5 PM -- and Sunday as well. The city does not allow Sunday construction.

We're told at least one neighbor called the cops Sunday complaining of noise, and L.A. County Sheriff's deputies responded at 7:30 PM and found a construction crew hard at work on one of the domes.

We're told the deputies told the crew to stop ... and they did.

Kanye's neighbors have been complaining for a while about the prototypes, which he constructed as models for his vision of an egalitarian community.

Turns out Kanye's crew didn't get permits and he was cited for violating the building code. He was given the option to either get the proper permits or tear the 4 structures down by Sept. 15. He's chosen the latter ... thus the continued noise.

It's unclear if Kanye's going back to the drawing board or jettisoning the project.

Shawn Mendes and Camila Cabello have taken their PDA world tour on the road ... which begs the question -- do these two ever come up for air?!?

The "Senorita" singers headed North to Montreal for more QT. When they weren't holding hands on a nighttime stroll, they were gettin' it at a small cafe.

It's been nonstop spit swapping ... sucking face in SFO, cuddling in WeHo and taking it East to South Beach.

So, will summer love blossom in the fall, or fade into the sunset? The doubters say this is all a PR move to hype their song, "Senorita," but it's looking more and more like this is the real deal.

BTW ... "Senorita" is killing it on the charts ... it's number 2 on Billboard Top 100 ... it even beat out Lil Nas X.

Chris Brown doesn't have to worry about a criminal case against him in Florida anymore -- the charge for allegedly sucker punching a photographer has been dropped.

It's a huge win for the singer, who got arrested last year after the altercation with a photog in a Tampa nightclub called AJA Channelside. We got some video of the alleged incident, but the State's Attorney's Office tells us, "After a thorough review of the facts and information from the alleged victim, our office determined there was insufficient evidence to prosecute."

More specifically, sources with knowledge of the case tell TMZ ... the photog "lacked credibility."

In case you need a refresher, Chris was booked to appear at the club, and according to club management ... Chis and co. were pissed the photog was snapping pics of them when they'd already tried shutting him down and refused any photos. Apparently, the guy kept at it while Chris was in a DJ booth, and CB allegedly lost it.

The photog says Chris socked him in the mouth, and caused some gnarly injuries. Chris was able to leave that night uncuffed, but about a year later ... he was nabbed by cops on an open warrant for his arrest when he returned to the Sunshine State.

As we reported, officers were waiting in the wings at Chris' concert in West Palm Beach last year, and after he was done performing ... they took him in to the station, where he posed for this mug shot. He was released shortly afterward on $2,000 bond.

Chris has gotta be happy about this -- considering he's still got an open rape investigation going on in France. He has not been charged there.

The BIG3 was ON FIRE over the weekend -- with a ton of huge stars hitting the American Airlines Center in Dallas for the BIG3 Ballout ... capped off with a live performance from T.I.

The place was rockin' ... with Ice Cube, LL Cool J, Gary Payton and more showing support for the league's intense 6-game showcase just 1 week before the playoffs begin. The championship game is on Sept. 1 at Staples Center.

The basketball action was solid -- with stars like Tri-State's Amar'e Stoudemire and Aliens' Greg Oden battling it out on the court ... where things got pretty chippy between the 2 big men.

And, with so many players in the league looking to make the jump back to the NBA, it's a pretty big deal to have Dallas Mavericks honcho Mark Cuban sitting in the front row.

By the way, Lisa Leslie's Triplets squad is currently in 1st place -- with stars like Jannero Pargo and Joe Johnson, who just set a BIG3 record for points scored in a season (175).

The Triplets are 7-1 through 8 weeks  -- with Stephen Jackson's Killer 3s squad in 2nd place with a 5-3 record.

Wendy Williams wasn't fazed at all by 50 Cent's attempt to deny her entry at his big pool party ... she still got what she came for.

Sources close to the talk show host tell TMZ ... video of Wendy appearing to have trouble getting into Fiddy's Tycoon party at BarCode in New Jersey Sunday doesn't tell the full story. We're told she got in with no trouble, along with her son, Kevin Jr., and they kicked it with Snoop Dogg.

Our Wendy sources say she took her son to the party for his 19th birthday because he's a huge Snoop fan, so she wanted to get him a photo with the rapper. Snoop was part of the lineup headlined by 50 along with guys like Jacquees, Fabolous and Trey Songz.

We're told her plan went down without a hitch -- security with the Elizabeth, NJ police department escorted her and her son inside directly to Snoop's section ... no run-ins with 50. As for Snoop ... he was his usual awesome self and showed them nothing but love.

However, our sources say Wendy did find out afterward that 50 Cent had put her on the blacklist for the party, but because of her connection with "her family town" of Elizabeth ... she didn't have any issues.

Of course, 50 paints a different picture of what went down. He shared the video of Wendy outside the club Sunday and wrote, "you can’t just show up to my PARTY if you been talking about me."

Fiddy added, "B*TCH wait out side" ... but to be fair, he never claimed she got turned away and never got in.

Our Wendy sources say only stayed at the party for about 20 minutes -- she bailed after she successfully introduced her son to Snoop and went to get food.

As for the beef between 50 and Wendy ... it's been a war of words for a couple years now, and it doesn't look like it's any closer to being squashed. We're told it's not going to stop Williams from doing whatever the hell she wants to do, though.

Elton John wants the media to back the hell off of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle -- and warns if the harassment continues they'll end up like Princess Diana.

Sir Elton is livid about various reports and criticisms of the Royal couple going on gas-guzzling private jet trips -- most recently to Elton's home in France -- while advocating for environmental issues.

The famous singer says he's "deeply distressed" over the "distorted and malicious" accounts of the Duke and Duchess of Sussex visiting him last week, and feels the need to protect Harry and his family "from the unnecessary press intrusion that contributed to Diana’s untimely death."

Elton says the couple's recent private vacay at his home was his way of providing them a peaceful break after a hectic year and their dedication to charity ... but it required a private jet ride for security reasons.

Because of Harry's commitment to the environment, Elton says he ensured the flight was carbon neutral -- by contributing to Carbon Footprint (a company supporting renewable energy) -- so the haters can shut it.

Elton insists it's time for the attacks to stop, saying, "cease these relentless and untrue assassinations on their character that are spuriously crafted on an almost daily basis."

As you know, Elton and Diana were very close friends, and clearly ... he's looking after her son like a protective papa bear.