Music

Diddy is speaking out on the death of his mentor, Andre Harrell, who discovered him decades ago and put him on a trajectory to fame -- and his farewell may well bring a tear to your eye.

The Bad Boy honcho posted a video Monday showing a speech he gave earlier this year after winning an Industry Icon Award at a Pre-Grammys Gala -- where he also called out the lack of diversity in the music biz -- but this time ... he highlighted his words for Andre.

The remarks are quite moving -- Puffy recounts how Andre took him under his wing, showed him the ins and outs of the game, and simply rolled the dice and took a chance on him. He said he owes a lot of his success to the man -- and made sure he knew it.

Diddy worked as an intern at Harrell's Uptown Records and moved up the ladder to eventually become a talent director, where he was overseeing the development of some big-time stars. Eventually, Diddy and Uptown parted ways ... and the rest is history.

In an accompanying caption, Diddy writes ... "I honestly still can’t believe it. I’ve got to give myself the reality of this in doses. Because I can’t even handle this. I hope to God that you are all blessed to have someone in your life that loves you and believes in you like this man believed in me.… I’m going to miss him so much. I can’t even imagine life without Dre. God bless @gianni, @onealmcknight and the rest of the family."

He finished by saying, "LOVE YOU FOREVER @andreharrell !!!!!!!!!!"

As we reported ... Andre -- who founded Uptown Records and signed several mega R&B artists to his label back in the late '80s and early '90s -- passed away over the weekend. His family told media outlets that his cause of death was heart failure. He was only 59.

He received countless tributes from all over Hollywood, but it was Diddy people wanted to hear from ... and now, they have.

Billie Eilish is scared for herself and her family because an obsessed fan keeps showing up at her home this week, and he never practiced social distancing and most of the time, never wore a mask.

Billie filed legal docs, with the help of the law firm McPherson LLP, claiming Prenell Rousseau began showing up over and over again at her home.

Billie says the 24-year-old trespasser started showing up last Monday, ringing the doorbell, and through the Ring camera, her father asked Rousseau if he could help him. Rousseau responded, "I think I might have the wrong house, but does Billie Eilish live here?"

Billie's dad told the guy he had the wrong house, but that didn't stop him.

Billie says he returned at 9 PM and exhibited "erratic behavior." She says, "While we waited for security, Mr. Rousseau remained on our porch, sat down and began to read a book, while also continuing to engage in a periodic monologue. My father repeatedly asked him to leave, but he refused ..."

Security shooed him away, but he returned a little while later and laid down behind a wall, ready to spend the night.

Rousseau reappeared on Tuesday and began trying the door handle to gain entrance.

He returned again and again and was not deterred by anyone. Billie says Rousseau showed up a total of 7 times, 5 of which he was not wearing a face mask ... and the 2 times he did wear a mask, he pulled it down while talking to security. He was also not wearing gloves as touched the doorbell and doorknob multiple times.

Rousseau was actually taken into custody twice this week, but cops told Billie there was really nothing they could do because trespassing is a non-violent offense and they're trying to keep non-violent offenders out of jail due to the spread of COVID-19.

Billie says Rousseau was put on a bus to go back to NY, where he lives, but she fears he will return.

She's asking for a restraining order for herself and her parents.

Rich the Kid can rap all he wants about how "Money Talks" but one celeb jeweler's wondering why the Kid's gone radio silent when it comes to unpaid jewelry bills ... according to a new lawsuit.

Peter Marco from Extraordinary Jewels of Beverly Hills is suing the "Plug Walk" rapper claiming he owes a whopping $234,800 in unpaid jewelry that includes bracelets and incredibly fancy watches.

According to docs, obtained by TMZ, Marco says he's been doing business with Rich since at least October 2017. RTK ordered diamond necklaces, crosses and even a couple of Patek Philippe watches worth several hundred thousand dollars. And, for a while, Rich did make payments.

In docs, Marco says Rich wired over several payments but they eventually stopped. Even still, RTK continued ordering jewelry and Marco kept delivering ... but the bills kept piling on and Marco claims he wasn't getting paid. So, he's now suing for what he says he's still owed.

Rich the Kid's no stranger to flossing his bling. In the past, he's ordered pricey jewelry when he dropped new albums and even collaborations.

Chaka Khan and Luenell have had it with mothers in their community continuing to lose their children -- so, in their honor, they held a peaceful protest on an important holiday.

The singer and comedian got together in L.A. Sunday with a bunch of other women of color -- who have lost their own kids or relatives to violence ... be it from the police or at the hands of someone else. The purpose of the rally was to speak out against the killing of these children -- minors or adults, alike -- and to offer support to their grieving mothers.

We talked to Luenell about it, and she tells us the time to voice concern about this issue is more pressing than ever ... and they want the public and people in power, especially, to know #EnoughIsEnough, which also happens to be the official name for their viral campaign.

Now, while Luenell insists the issue of black children being murdered goes beyond law enforcement -- hers and Chaka's movement comes at a moment where, once again, we're seeing excessive violence being exacted upon men of color -- specifically, black men -- by cops and/or rogue vigilantes -- encounters that often lead to their deaths as a result.

Of course, we're referring to two recent cases of this in Ahmaud Arbery -- who was gunned down after a man and his son claim he fit the profile of a burglary suspect -- and Sean Reed, who live streamed his own death after cops gunned him down during a chase.

We've seen it before ... the list of black/brown people being killed by the authorities is long and well-documented. But, for Luenell and co., they're truly pissed and demanding structural change. Watch ... she's incredibly passionate about the cause and for good reason.

Betty Wright, a supremely talented R&B singer who popularized the phrase, "No pain, no gain," has died.

Wright's cause of death was not announced when her niece confirmed the passing. Something was clearly wrong though because 2 days ago, Chaka Khan made a plea ... "Calling all my #PrayWarriors. My beloved sister, Betty Wright @MsBettyWright, is now in need of all your prayers."

Wright, whom some in the music industry called one of the most underrated singers of her time, was recently honored on TV One's, "Unsung."

Betty recorded so many songs, including her 1971 hit, "Clean Up Woman. She was only 18 when the song was released, and it turned out to be her biggest song ever. Other hits included "Let Me Be Your Lovermaker," "Shoorah Shoorah," "Tonight is the Night," and "Where is the Love."

Betty made a bold move in the '80s, launching her own independent label ... it had not been done before by a female artist. That's when she recorded "No Pain (No Gain)." Ever heard that phrase? Later she recorded "Mother Wit," and it went gold -- the first time an African-American female singer went gold on her own record label.

Wright became an inspiration to so many singers, including Mary J. Blige, The Roots and Joss Stone. Wright performed with Joss on her song, "The Art of Love and War."

In 2005, her 21-year-old son, Patrick, was shot and killed. She had 4 other children.

Betty was 66.

RIP

Jay-Z, Meek Mill and others over at Roc Nation are speaking out publicly to demand justice for the slaying of Ahmaud Arbery -- asking for a speedy trial and conviction of his killers.

Jigga, Meek and other Roc Nation artists -- including Alicia Keys and Yo Gotti -- have signed an open letter they're releasing this weekend, which is made out to Georgia Governor Brian Kemp, Georgia AG Christopher Darr and District Attorney Tom Durden.

It says in no uncertain terms ... try Gregory and Travis McMichael fairly, but swiftly, so that felony convictions can fall on them. Also, they want another man arrested and tried as an accomplice.

The team writes, "By now, we’ve all seen the crime’s disturbing video, so the facts here are not in doubt: He was unarmed and innocent and the victim of a hate crime. Which is why we call upon you today, as official leaders of the Great State of Georgia, and with the entire world watching, to ensure that a fair trial is conducted, as that can only lead to the appropriate felony convictions of both McMichaels. We also implore you to charge William Bryan as an armed accomplice to the crime." Bryan was the guy who filmed the video.

They go on to say that D.A. Durden must recuse himself from the case because of a conflict of interest -- namely, the elder McMichaels is a former cop and they know each other.

The Roc Nation squad also makes a point that the first necessary step for healing has taken place in the arrest of both McMichaels. They say, "We truly appreciate that you have arrested and charged these men with Ahmaud’s murder, and are hopeful that a trial and conviction will show that, in the state that gave us Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., and has been the site of the best and worst of the Civil Rights movement, Dr. King’s words do ring true: 'The arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends toward justice.'"

Taylor Swift's not going full Elon Musk -- as in, selling off all of her possessions -- but she IS a little lighter in the private jet department.

TMZ's learned the famous singer's sold one of her 2 jets -- a Dassault Falcon 50 she originally bought back in 2012 -- reducing her personal air force by half.

It's unclear how much she paid for the aircraft back then, but similar jets are priced anywhere from $1 to 6 million. Since Swift bought it, it's been registered to a company called SATA, LLC in Nashville ... which is believed to stand for family members' names -- father Scott, mother Andrea, Taylor and brother Austin.

According to FAA records ... the Falcon 50 was switched over to BoneDoc Aviation, LLC on March 16, which means she transferred ownership just as most of the nation went under stay-at-home orders. Pretty good timing.

It's unclear what BoneDoc paid for its new plane ... but it flexed by sharing a photo of it on its Facebook page a couple weeks ago.

As we said ... the sale still leaves Taylor with one private jet at her disposal -- the Falcon 900. Not to flex back at BoneDoc, but the 900 is a bit bigger than the 50. She reportedly paid $40 mil for it in 2011.

It's the private jet featuring her lucky #13 at the front -- so it's no wonder she decided to keep that one.

Harry Styles admirers have gone wicky, wicky wild for a Target candle that supposedly smells like the singer ... and now it's harder to get your hands on than toilet paper.

Here's the deal ... die-hard Harry fans know the One Direction star wears Tom Ford's Tobacco Vanille fragrance to enhance his natural aroma.

Well, somehow these fans also discovered the Cashmere Vanilla candle made by Target's Threshold brand smells almost exactly like the Tom Ford cologne ... and they want it more than a watermelon sugar high.

So, there's been a mad dash by Stylers to buy up the candle ... and now it's totally sold out online and is almost impossible to find on shelves in the physical stores too.

We're told Threshold is working to produce more of the candle with the Harry-esque scent, but there's no timetable for when they'll be back in stock.

Tough break for fans struggling financially right now, because the Target candle is much cheaper than the Tom Ford fragrance. A 6-oz candle goes for just $6.99 ... whereas a 1.7-oz bottle of Tobacco Vanille is $240.

Tekashi 6ix9ine isn't in the witness protection program, but he'd be smart if he started acting like he is -- which is exactly what he ISN'T doing by showing off his new digs.

The rainbow-haired rapper has a new pic up on IG, and there's a lot happening here ... including a potential road map to his whereabouts while he's under house arrest and (seemingly) trying to lay low from gang members ... who are almost certainly out to get him.

T69 isn't helping his own cause by posting this, showing himself posing on a balcony of some sort with a couple big stacks of cash. The money and goofy attire isn't even the problem here ... it's what's all around him that's concerning, and possibly even dangerous.

Basically, you can kinda see where Tekashi's hiding out right now -- and while he doesn't show off a full exterior ... there's more than enough here for digital snoops to get an idea of where he's at -- obviously not something he probably wants as a notorious snitch.

Now, we won't speculate as to where he is or what this setting looks like to us -- not trying to dime the guy out -- BUT we will say ... if we can take a wild guess, others can too.

Be smart, kid. For your sake ... and for the sake of others.

How talented is Jamie Foxx? Talented enough to smoothly slip in and out of his Jay-Z, Dave Chappelle and Mike Tyson impressions ... without skipping a beat.

The actor/singer/comedian/all-around-renaissance-man broke down the most famous, and hilarious, voices he's known for doing -- and it's masterful to watch. He was talking to WNBA star Candace Parker on IG Live about his method approach to getting in character, and explained he uses music to help achieve the perfect tone for each celeb.

Then came a rapid-fire series of impressions, which did not disappoint. Check it out ... he shows off Jigga, Kermit the Frog and Sammy Davis Jr. -- and they're all basically the same voice, with slightly different twists. We'll let Jamie explain.

After that, JF presents us with 2 takes of Chappelle -- young and current -- and he couldn't be more spot-on if he tried. Seriously, easy to see why this was always part of his stand up act.

Finally, Jamie does his best Tyson ... which we're sure came in handy while he was portraying the iconic boxer for a new movie that's due to come out soon. He makes a stark distinction between people's caricature impersonation of Tyson and the real McCoy.

Little Richard, a giant in the early stages of Rock 'n' Roll and beyond, has died.

Richard had enormous influence over the genre, with insanely popular hits like the fantastically frenetic, "Tutti-Frutti" and "Long Tall Sally." The Beatles have credited Richard as being inspirational to the Fab Four.

Richard's bass guitarist, Charles Glenn, tells TMZ ... Richard had been sick for 2 months. He died at his Tennessee home, surrounded by his brother, sister and son. Glenn says he spoke with Richard March 27 and the singer asked him to come over and visit, but he couldn't because of the pandemic. Glenn says Richard was like a father to him. Richard would sometimes tell him, "Not to take anything away from your dad, but you're my son."

Richard was born Richard Wayne Penniman in 1932. Ironically, he was born in a depression and died in what feels like a depression.

His dad had disdain for Richard's sexuality and threw him out of the family home when he was just 13.

Richard's music was heavily influenced by the church. He sang gospel and learned the piano at his house of worship.

His first break came in 1951, when he performed at an ATL radio station and it caught the ear of record execs. Richard was signed to RCA. He didn't become successful while at the label, but it was a start.

But then, in 1955, Richard signed with Specialty Records, where he recorded "Tutti-Frutti" which became an immediate hit.

So many hits followed -- "Long Tall Sally," "Good Golly Miss Molly" and "Send Me Some Lovin'".

And, Richard tried his hand at movies, appearing in rock films like "Don't Knock the Rock," "The Girl Can't Help It" and "Mister Rock 'n' Roll."

In 1957, Richard shocked the world by quitting the rock biz and became part of the ministry, recording gospel. He recorded an album, "God is Real," in 1959.

He couldn't stay away for long. Richard came back in '64, after The Beatles re-recorded his hit "Long Tall Sally" with great success.

In 1964, following the Beatles’ recording of “Long Tall Sally,” Little Richard plunged back into rock music. Over the ensuing decades, Little Richard would continue to perform and record, but the public response failed to match the enthusiasm that greeted his earlier success.

Although he didn't achieve great success after that, his influence is irrefutable. He was one of the original inductees into the Rock 'n' Roll Hall of Fame in 1986, received a Lifetime Achievement Award from the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences in '93, and got the Pioneer Award from the Rythm & Blues Foundation.

Richard suffered a heart attack in 2013. BTW, he took a baby aspirin and doctors told him that saved his life. He credited his survival to a higher power, saying, "Jesus had something for me. He brought me through."

Andre Harrell, a legendary music exec who gave Diddy his big break and, among many other accomplishments, ran Motown Records, is dead.

DJ D-Nice broke the news Friday night on Instagram Live. The cause of death is not yet known, but the day before his death Andre posted this ... "Whoever need a ride to 2021 ... we leave tomorrow morning," and ... "Skip the virus and Let's Pick it up again at the top of the year."

Andre's career began as half of the rap duo, Dr. Jeckyll and Mr. Hyde, back in 1981. Andre and Russell Simmons worked together and Andre ultimately became a veep for Def Jam Records.

But by 1986, Andre became restless and wanted a label of his own, and he did just that with Uptown Records. It was enormously successful, with artists like Teddy Riley, Al B. Sure, Heavy D and many others. He signed Mary J. Blige when she was a teenager. And, get this ... his former intern helped jump-start the label ... an intern named Sean "Puffy" Combs, who quickly became an exec for the label.

And, as they say, the rest is history. Combs discovered Notorious B.I.G., but it was short-lived. Combs was fired in '93 and created Bad Boy Records, bringing Biggie along for the ride. But, Andre and Diddy stayed close over the years. Andre was Vice-Chair of Revolt.

Andre made another move in '95, when he became the head of Motown.

But, there's more ... Andre went on to become E.P. of the series, "New York Undercover."

Tributes are pouring in ... Mariah Carey said, "Why Andre ... My heart is breaking and I can't stop crying. He was an amazing friend and I will miss him forever." DJ D-Nice said, "Truly heartbroken. Rest peacefully, Andre Harrell." Viola Davis ... " RIP Andre Harrell ... thank you for the gift of so many incredible artists. Gone too soon." And, Ava DuVernay tweeted, "Saluting Andre Harrell. The architect of so much music, so much culture."

Andre is survived by partner Wendy Credle and a son, Gianni Credle-Harrell.

Queens of the Stone Age front man Josh Homme is flipping the script on his estranged wife, whom he claims has been trying to get him busted for allegedly violating a restraining order.

Now the rock singer's filed for a restraining order against her. In the docs, obtained by TMZ, Josh claims Brody Dalle-Homme intentionally shows up to his events, trying to trigger a restraining order violation against him.

In one case, he says he took their teenage daughter to a horse riding lesson in February, but an hour before it ended ... he claims Brody parked next to his car and started recording video on her phone. Josh says he then got a threatening message from her attorney saying they were gonna call cops if he didn't leave immediately.

Josh says he's afraid those kinds of phony allegations are going to get him arrested. In the docs, he also alleges during their marriage she punched him in the face at least 7 times and threw an iron, and even bragged to friends and relatives about it.

Josh says he has not lived with Brody for nearly 6 months but claims she continues to monitor his phone and credit card usage to keep track of his movements.

The judge gave Josh the restraining order ... so now Brody has to stay at least 100 yards away from him -- at least until they have a court hearing later this month.

As we first reported ... Brody filed for legal separation back in November and a month later, divorce. She got the restraining order against him in December claiming he showed up to her house drunk and head-butted her.

Meek Mill believes there's only one thing Tekashi 6ix9ine should be doing on Instagram Live ... saying sorry for being a snitch and to all the people he harmed along the way.

The hip-hop star slammed his fellow rapper on Twitter Friday morning ... ahead of 69's first live social media appearance since he was released from prison and ordered to home confinement due to COVID-19 concerns.

Meek says ... "I hope that rat going live to apologize to the people he told on or the victim." He seems to be upset over Tekashi seemingly getting a pass on snitching from fans, and wants to remind people that another "rat" was allegedly responsible for the death of his friend, Nipsey Hussle, last year.

Mill's suggesting Nip's alleged killer, Eric Holder, had a history of being an informant just like 6ix9ine ... which is why he was on the streets in the first place.

The insinuation's pretty clear -- once a rat, always a rat ... and Meek's not buying into 6ix9ine's act.

Nevertheless, Tekashi's no longer behind bars for his crimes and is hyping up his Instagram Live show ... in typical boastful fashion.

He's also already fired back at Meek, replying ... "Imagine having a new born baby come into the world & be pressed about a Mexican with rainbow hair." As we reported, Meek's GF gave birth to a baby boy on his 33rd bday.

6ix9ine's hours away from going live, and a lot of people will be watching to see what he's gotta say. Ya gotta think Meek will be paying attention too.