Music

Megan Thee Stallion will NOT be releasing new music this week, after all ... not if her label gets its way, and 1501 Certified Entertainment wants an emergency court hearing on the matter.

Label honcho Carl Crawford just filed a motion to dissolve the temporary restraining order Megan got earlier this week ... which allowed her to drop new music on Friday. However, the label says she had no right even taking them to court in the first place.

According to the docs, obtained by TMZ, Crawford says Megan's contract stipulates all disputes between her and the label must be handled in arbitration. Coincidentally, this is the very contract Megan complained was one-sided and unfair when she signed it as a naive 20-year-old.

He also claims Megan's guilty of booking several gigs without its approval -- but what really chaps Crawford's britches (it's a Texas case, after all) is her plan to release music on March 6.

In docs, 1501 Certified says she can't drop that music without its approval ... it's part of her contract. Even if she wants out of it, it remains in place for now, and Crawford says he's exercising his contractual right to control distribution of her music.

Crawford's also not buying Meg's claim that "disappointment of her fans" is a basis for getting a restraining order to release the music.

He's demanding a hearing today in Harris County, Texas ... so a judge can hear the label's side of the story before the music comes out on Friday. No word yet if that hearing will be granted.

G-Eazy and Three 6 Mafia's Juicy J shoulda known better when they ripped off the work of some Southern hip-hop legends ... so claim those artists in a new lawsuit.

According to new legal docs, obtained by TMZ, Memphis-based DJ Squeeky and Gaylon Love say they own the rights to "Looking 4 Da Chewin" and claim G-Eazy's "No Limit" straight-up sampled their 1993 Southern hip-hop classic.

Squeeky and Love claim G-Eazy never got permission to sample the track and are suing for copyright infringement. They also want a slice of the profits from G-Eazy's "No Limit" track, which enjoyed mega-success when it dropped in 2017 as the lead single in G-Eazy's fourth studio album, "The Beautiful & Damned."

It's interesting ... "No Limit" features Cardi B and A$AP Rocky, and the remix also includes French Montana, Belly and Juicy J. But, Squeeky and Love are only going after G-Eazy and Juicy J.

The Memphis artists' lawyer Alcide Honore tells us, for starters, G-Eazy's getting sued because it's his track. As for Juicy J ... he hails from Memphis, so he should have known he was rapping over a popular Southern hip-hop track that first hit the scene in the early '90s. We're told other parties could be added to the lawsuit down the road, but for now, the legal team says G-Eazy and Juicy J bear responsibility.

It's been a rough week for Juicy J and counterpart DJ Paul ... both of whom were slapped with separate lawsuits earlier this week.

Nicki Minaj's husband's past is coming back to bite him in the ass -- he's been arrested by U.S. Marshals on an indictment for failing to register as a sex offender ... TMZ has learned.

Kenneth Petty was in federal custody Wednesday -- we're told he turned himself into the Marshals. According to court docs, he'll face a judge later today. Petty moved to California in July 2019, but according to law enforcement he got pulled over in Beverly Hills in November and that's when his legal troubles started.

We're told Bev Hills PD made a traffic stop on November 15 and determined Petty was a registered sex offender in New York state but had not registered in California ... as required.

He was arrested and released on a $20,000 bond. The L.A. County D.A. charged him for failing to register as a sex offender.

It appears he still didn't check in after that because now the feds are in on the case. He was indicted in federal court for the same thing ... failing to register.

As we've reported, Kenneth's rap sheet includes a 1995 conviction for first-degree attempted rape. He served almost 4 years in NY state prison for the crime and was required to register as a sex offender. If convicted on the federal charge for failure to register, Kenneth faces up to 10 years in prison.

TMZ broke the story ... Nicki and Kenneth hit up the Bev Hills Courthouse to get a marriage license in July ... around the time the couple moved to Cali.

We've reached out to Nicki's camp for comment, so far no word back.

Journey's leader, Neal Schon, is sending his bassist and drummer on their "Separate Ways" ... for allegedly trying to hijack the group name in a scheme that's landed them all in court.

Lead guitarist Neal, a founding member, and keyboard player Jonathan Cain are suing their long-time bassist Russ Valory and drummer Steve Smith, claiming they tried to take control of the band's corporation called Nightmare Productions, Inc.

According to the lawsuit, Russ and Steve allegedly thought the move would give them access to the "Journey" name, thereby allowing them to make millions for themselves after retiring. Neal and Jonathan say their rhythm section recently decided to hang it up.

Ill-conceived plan though, according to docs, obtained by TMZ. Neal and Jonathan say the band name is already licensed to another corporation called "Elmo" ... which was set up by former lead singer Steve Perry, Neal and Jonathan back in 1985.

Bottom line ... Russ and Steve are out in the cold, as far as making money off the band's name -- and now they've got this lawsuit on their hands too, for breach of fiduciary duty. Neal and Johnathan -- who co-wrote most of the band's huge hits with Perry -- also want damages of at least $10 million.

Journey's scheduled to tour this summer with The Pretenders -- so expect to see a new drummer and bass player on stage if you're going.

The Beach Boys singer Mike Love is unloading his breathtaking mansion in Southern California ... and it can be yours for just south of $9 million ... oh, wouldn't that be nice?!?

TMZ has learned Mike just listed his Rancho Santa Fe estate for a cool $8,650,000 ... and the place is absolutely spectacular.

The custom compound just north of San Diego is 17,515 square feet of pure luxury ... it's got a huge swimming pool with an island in the middle and a swim-up bar, plus a saltwater aquarium in the living room and 270-degree panoramic views of the ocean, mountains and surrounding golf course.

Mike's place sits on a tropical landscape perched above the rest of the neighborhood ... and the master suite has a custom-built dressing room, sitting area, fireplace, wet bar, luxurious spa bath and private terrace with more insane views.

The guesthouse is pretty sweet too ... it's got its own direct ocean views from the balcony and outdoor spa. Don't forget the 8 bedroom ensuites with multiple walk-out terraces and balconies.

Oh and that island in the middle of the pool?!? It's decked out with a fire pit and fireside seating opposite a custom spa with foot jets. There's also an outdoor summer kitchen with awnings and courts for tennis and basketball with their own dressing room.

Mike's estate also has a chilled wine cellar and tasting room, meditation room, theater, game room, elevator and a multi-level waterfall styled after the famed fountains of Villa d'Este at Lake Como, Italy.

Linda Sansone of Willis Allen Real Estate holds the listing.

DaBaby's no longer sweating a battery case in Miami ... TMZ's learned prosecutors are dropping the charge but the rapper's not exactly out of the woods just yet.

The Miami State Attorney's Office says it dropped the battery charge against DB claiming one of the alleged victims would NOT cooperate. That alleged victim is a friend of concert promoter, Kenneth Carey. You'll recall Carey was the guy who got beat up and allegedly robbed on video. The other alleged victim is not seen in the video.

Even though the battery charge has been tossed, cops are still investigating the alleged robbery of Carey ... so DaBaby could potentially be charged.

TMZ broke the story ... Carey sued DaBaby claiming DB and his crew beat him to a pulp and in the process jacked his phone, money and credit card over a business deal gone wrong. That lawsuit -- Carey's suing for more than $6 mil -- is still active.

Britney Spears' son, Jayden Federline, went on a rant, calling his grandpa, Jamie Spears, horrible names and also saying his mom may never sing again.

Jayden went on Instagram Live Tuesday and made it pretty clear ... he's spending way more time with his dad, Kevin Federline, than Britney. He said at one point, "I'm gonna visit her in like a couple weeks cause I'm with my dad right now. I'm doing pretty good."

The 13-year-old went on to lambaste Jamie Spears, Britney's conservator for more than 12 years, saying, "He's a pretty big d***. He's pretty f***ing g**. He can go die."

Remember ... Jamie and Jayden's older brother, Sean, got into a physical altercation last August. Jamie temporarily stepped down as Britney's personal conservator but remained the conservator of her estate.

Jayden said he likes Britney's boyfriend, Sam, and loves his dad, saying, "My dad's literally Jesus."

And, he says if he gets 5,000 Instagram followers he'll tell his entire story ... "That stuff will come out in the future when I get pretty popular."

Three 6 Mafia's DJ Paul just got hit with his second lawsuit in as many days ... and this time Trippie Redd's caught up in the legal mess over a 'Hit' song.

Reginald Boyland, the man behind On The Strength Records, is suing DJ Paul over Trippie Redd's track "Death" ... which dropped last November. Confused? Let us explain.

Boyland says, in legal docs obtained by TMZ, "Death" sampled DJ Paul's famous 1997 "Hit a Mutha****a." Big mistake, according to Boyland, because he claims Paul no longer owns the rights to 'Hit.'

In the suit, Boyland says he got rights to the song in a 2015 settlement with Paul. He had sued DJP claiming 'Hit' sampled his track, "Pimps In The House."

Fast-forward to Trippie Redd's "Death" -- and Boyland's now calling out Trippie for never getting permission from him to sample 'Hit.'

Boyland says he'd already informed Paul and Trippie they owe him some "Death" dough but got no response. He's suing for copyright infringement and wants a slice of the profits from Trippie's track.

As we first reported ... a group of Memphis-based artists are also suing DJ Paul and Juicy J in a separate lawsuit for allegedly stiffing them on various songs.

ZaZa, a 5-year-old child rapper, is playing nice with North West ... she wants to collab on new music, even though she says Kim and Kanye's daughter jacked her famous beat!!!

ZaZa tells TMZ ... she wants to get in the studio with 6-year-old North ASAP, and she's already got a song she wants them to do together.

Ya gotta hear ZaZa give us a sneak peek of the potential remix ... it's pretty damn catchy and sounds like a real moneymaker.

Remember ... ZaZa's parents called out Kim and Kanye this week for not giving credit when North performed a nearly identical version of a ZaZa original tune at the Yeezy Season 8 show in Paris.

ZaZa's parents said they weren't mad, and just wanted a shoutout for their daughter's track that dropped from last summer. As ZaZa says, her daddy's a gangster!!!

Kim claimed North's remix was a last-minute addition and total surprise ... and said the famous fam never meant to not give credit where credit was due.

It's Super Tuesday, when much of America chooses who they want to go up against President Trump, and Hollywood's making sure to get in its 2 cents.

Celebs also made sure to lock in their selfies -- along with their ballots -- as Americans across 14 states hit voting booths. On the national stage it's all about the Democratic Party primaries with former VP Joe Biden, Sen. Bernie Sanders, Sen. Elizabeth Warren and Michael Bloomberg still in the running. There are a few others technically in the running, but with little chance to nab the nomination.

In any case, check out the famous faces who exercised their right to vote. We got stars like Tyra Banks, Melissa McCarthy, Eric Andre, Ali Wong, Camila Cabello, Tracee Ellis Ross, Wilmer Valderrama, Kerry Washington, Ronda Rousey, Topher Grace, Laura Dern and many more.

Some of 'em wore their candidates right on their sleeves -- like Marissa Ross with her Bernie "Rage Against the Machine" tee -- but most kept their votes private.

Megan Thee Stallion shoulda known what she was getting into when she signed her first contract with a record label, because she put pen to paper herself ... so says Yung Berg.

We got the "Sexy Can I" rapper at LAX Monday and asked about Meg's beef with her record label -- she claims 1501 won't allow her to drop any new tunes, because she wants to tweak her deal -- and Yung Berg says Meg shouldn't have signed the contract if she didn't like what was in it.

Yung Berg's seeing things from the other side now -- he's rebranded himself as a producer called Hitmaka and is the VP of A&R at Atlantic Records -- and explains why it's super important for young artists to pour over the paperwork before signing the dotted line.

As we reported ... MTS says she was about 20 years old when she signed a contract with 1501 and wasn't aware of a lot of clauses in it until she started getting managed by Jay-Z's Roc Nation.

Megan shouldn't be using youth as an excuse, Yung Berg says, because the music industry is big business, and there's no love lost for anyone.

Of course, Taylor Swift would likely argue differently ... you'll remember, she's in a nasty battle with Scooter Braun after he purchased the rights to her first 6 albums thanks to a deal she signed when she was young.

The good news for MTS and her fans ... YB tells us why she won't stay on ice forever.

Megan Thee Stallion says certain execs at her record label have a rep for "bullying and strong-armed tactics," but she's taking a stand by taking them to court ... and she's already won a major battle.

Meg went on the offensive by filing suit Monday against 1501 Certified Entertainment and its honcho, Carl Crawford. As you know, she's pissed about the contract she signed with the label back when she was 20, and claims it's now blocking her from releasing new music because she wants to renegotiate.

A district judge in Harris County Texas granted Megan a temporary restraining order which prevents her label from blocking the music she plans to drop on Friday.

In the suit, Megan lays out the most outrageous terms of her contract, at least in her eyes. For instance, she claims the deal calls for 1501 Certified to get 60% of her recording income. The remaining 40% goes to her, but she has to use that to pay engineers, mixers and featured artists who work on the songs.

Point is ... MTS claims there's a very small slice of pie left for her when it's all said and done. She also says her live gigs currently benefit the label more than her.

According to the suit, the contract calls for all money from Megan's touring and live performances to be paid directly to 1501 Certified. She says the label is supposed to give her a proper accounting of what she's owed -- but claims what they've provided is incomplete, and "purposefully and deceptively vague."

Megan also claims Crawford has been using his relationship with Rap-a-Lot Records founder J. Prince to intimidate people in the industry. In the suit, she claims Crawford pressured a producer to hand over beats by saying Prince would be pissed. Megan claims, "Prince is notorious in the industry for strong-armed intimidation tactics, and the comment was taken as a physical threat of harm."

Megan thinks Prince has had a hand in an online smear campaign against her ... including the recent story about her getting arrested 5 years ago.

All of these headaches simply aren't worth it to Megan, who says in exchange for signing the contract she got a measly $10,000 advance. Hence, her desire to renegotiate.

She's suing Carl and 1501 Certified Entertainment for at least $1 million in damages. Megan is not suing J. Prince.

BTW, the temporary restraining order she got also prevents the label from attacking or abusing her on social media. Megan's attorney, Richard Busch, tells TMZ, "We are very happy the Court granted our TRO and thrilled that the world should be able to now hear Megan's new music on March 6. We will now proceed with the other claims set forth in the [lawsuit]."

North West is going worldwide ... performing in Paris at her dad's Paris fashion show, and while she's still honing her rapping skills, ya can't say the kid ain't cute ... and loud!!!

Kanye managed to score 6-year-old prodigy North for his Yeezy Season 8 show ... part of Paris Fashion Week. While his models stood silently behind him, per usual, he gave North a mic and she did her thing ... busting out a rap that seemed to double as a review of Ye's new line.

Check it out ... sure, ya might not be able to understand every word outta the kid's mouth, but c'mon ... that's true of most rappers. We definitely made out "cool," "cute" and a whole lot of "YEAH!!!!"

Her Paris debut comes about a week after she showed off her skills at school -- where she was a bit more articulate and audible. Just like then, Ye was by his kid's side in full support.

He's definitely been encouraging her creativity ... which we've also seen on display at Sunday Service.

At this rate, we'll likely see North open for Kanye at his next concert. Might be time to remix one of his and Jay-Z's "Watch the Throne" hits!!!

Three 6 Mafia's DJ Paul and Juicy J have been staying fly -- musically speaking -- on the backs of other people's work ... so claim a group of artists now suing the MCs.

A bunch of Memphis-based artists are going after the legendary hip-hop group, alleging they committed "over 150 independent acts of copyright infringement from more than 100 individual sound recordings."

One of the many offending tracks listed is "MEMPHIS." The plaintiffs claim Three 6 Mafia didn't give them credit for some of the lyrics. Ditto for "Tear Da Club Up."

In docs, obtained by TMZ, the group of artists say they came up in the Memphis music scene in the 90s when Three 6 Mafia was also trying to make a name for itself. The group claims shortly after they all met they started collaborating -- producing, recording, writing lyrics for Three 6 Mafia -- but never got a penny for their work.

The artists claim Three 6 Mafia was just one of several musical groups DJ Paul and Juicy J created to profit off the group's work. The artists claim this led to DJ Paul and Juicy J making millions from their work.

Pharrell Williams is unloading his breathtaking mansion in Beverly Hills, and the happy place comes with a massive price tag... that looks like it's worth every penny!!!

TMZ has learned the "Happy" singer just listed his Bev Hills estate for a cool $16,950,000 ... and it's 4 acres of pure luxury.

The mansion is amazing ... 17,000-square-feet decked out with indoor and outdoor koi ponds and waterfalls, plus a 200-foot long private driveway leading up a motor court capable of housing over 30 cars!!!

Pharrell's sprawling compound also has a tennis court and a grotto -- think the Playboy Mansion with a modern feel -- and there's a whopping 10 bedrooms and 11 bathrooms.

Ya gotta check out the gallery ... Pharrell's place is fit for a king ... no wonder he's so damn happy!!!

BTW ... Pharrell bought it from Tyler Perry in 2018 for $15.6 million.

Celebrity realtors Kurt Rappaport and Drew Meyers have the listing.

Doctors tried to save Pop Smoke's life by opening his chest after he was rushed to the hospital with multiple gunshot wounds.

Pop Smoke's death certificate, obtained by TMZ, says doctors performed a thoracotomy on the left side of his chest -- meaning they opened his chest, most likely attempting to remove bullets. As we first reported, he was hit multiple times when masked assailants broke into the Hollywood Hills home where he was staying.

Pop Smoke's cause of death was a gunshot wound to the torso, according to the document. It says the time between the shooting and his death was "rapid."

The rapper -- born Bashar Barakah Jackson -- died at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center at 5:12 AM.

The document also reveals his body was transported back to his native Brooklyn. Pop Smoke's family held a private ceremony last weekend for close friends and family.