Music

Kim Kardashian is applauding music producer and ex-inmate David Jassy on a groundbreaking achievement ... a mixtape written, recorded and produced in San Quentin State Prison.

The 17-track project, dubbed San Quentin Mixtape, Vol. 1., is dropping Friday, and Kim surprised David with this congratulatory message ... admiring his work, passion and dedication to his music-led prison initiative.

David, an award-winning producer who wrote and produced for Britney Spears, Sean Kingston, and Ashley Tisdale before being incarcerated, is the mixtape's brainchild ... he used a keyboard to makes beats in his San Quentin cell, and had other inmates rap about their stories.

Along the way, David's vision captured the hearts and minds of a host of celebs ... with Kim, J. Cole, MC Hammer and Common among the famous folks who visited San Quentin to see what Jassy was cooking up, and encourage the inmates to keep doing their thing.

David spent 11 years in San Quentin as part of his sentence for killing a man during an altercation, but while inside ... he worked with the prison to establish a music-focused initiative within the Youthful Offenders Program. He taught inmates how to write, produce and record their own music in a studio.

Jassy used his contacts in the music industry and other donors to support the program with enough donated audio equipment to build a full-scale production studio inside the prison's media lab.

The end result -- a project delving into the life experiences of 17 different inmates, exploring their struggles behind bars while encouraging the next generation to learn from their mistakes and forge a better path.

Kim says David and the 17 inmates featured on the mixtape should be very proud of themselves, and she can't wait for the world to hear their positive message -- the mixtape has no profanity.

Everyone wants to shake their booty when they hear Megan Thee Stallion ... especially in the animal kingdom!!!

Yes, even wild bears are classy, bougie and ratchet when they hear some MTS ... and this pole dancing bear is a straight up SAVAGE!!!

Check out this wild video straight outta the mean streets of Bear Country USA in South Dakota ... where the bears are sassy, moody, nasty, and acting stupid by grinding their bear-y big badunkadunks on any pole in sight.

This furry MTS fan got off all fours to grind all up and down this pole in the middle of the drive-thru wildlife park, deep in the heart of the Black Hills.

The bear is giving Megan a run for her money in the twerking department ... and the best part is the arms moving and grooving to MTS' "Savage" beat.

Archie Williams has a second chance at life after spending nearly 4 decades locked up for a crime he didn't commit ... and Elton John's here for it.

Archie's already the fan favorite for the new season of "America's Got Talent," not only because of his smooth and soulful singing voice, but because of his incredible backstory that has everyone pulling for him ... including Sir Elton.

'AGT' released Archie's segment -- including his performance of John's 1974 hit, "Don't Let the Sun Go Down on Me" -- to hype up the return of the talent competition Tuesday night ... and Elton said he was "moved to tears" by it.

He added ... "The courage and forgiveness shown by him is truly inspiring. The same spirit that the world found so inspiring with Nelson Mandela."

Here's Williams's story -- when he was 22, he was accused of raping and stabbing a white woman in Baton Rouge. Despite being home asleep at the time of the assault -- and having no connection to the crime scene -- the woman repeatedly ID'd him as her rapist.

Archie was convicted in 1983 for attempted murder, aggravated rape and aggravated burglary and sentenced to life in prison without parole.

Thankfully, the Innocence Project took up his case in the '90s, and after years of working on it ... Archie was finally exonerated by DNA evidence in early 2019. He spent nearly 37 years in a Louisiana prison before the charges were dropped and he was freed.

2 Chainz is having a little trouble at the office ... one of his ATL restaurants is closed again -- shut down by cops for violating COVID-19 guidelines.

The rapper's popular joint, Escobar Restaurant & Tapas, was ordered to close its doors just Monday night after Georgia State Police paid the restaurant a visit. According to a police report, obtained by TMZ, officers say they drove by and "noticed that the location was rather loud, busy, and occupied to be operating as a restaurant at that time of night."

As you can see from some of the videos posted to the Escobar Instagram account, the place was PACKED. You can see people dancing, ordering bottle service, smoking hookah with virtually no social distancing happening. As the night continued, you can even see a long line start forming outside the entrance.

Cops say police arrived and "spoke to the manager before shutting the location down as it was violating executive orders regarding protocol issued due to COVID-19."

As we reported ... 2 Chainz initially said his restaurants would open when Georgia allowed limited-service back in late April. But, the rapper changed his mind -- opting to feed the homeless instead -- and said they'll wait it out a little longer before bringing back his staff.

Several weeks later, Georgia updated its restaurant reopening guidelines ... limiting dine-in service to 10 patrons max per table and allowing 10 patrons inside per 300 square feet of public space. This is all in addition to social distancing too.

Jason Derulo is losing teeth and adding stacks of cash thanks to TikTok ... and he says you don't have to be a famous singer or mess up your grill to start raking in the dough.

The "Cats" star and "Swalla" singer tells TMZ ... anybody can make a killing off the video creation app, as long as you create your own space and find a niche.

Jason's certainly found his TikTok calling ... and we're not just talking viral music trends.

If you haven't discovered his page, it's full of funny videos of Jason in quarantine, which usually end with some missing chompers.

While JD says TikTok is running the music industry -- the most popular songs on the app are also the most popular songs in the world -- he's not ready to ditch his singing career and focus only on TikTok.

Queen's guitarist, Brian May, got a double shot of "Another One Bites the Dust" ... first with an agonizing crushed nerve, followed by a heart attack.

Luckily, Brian lived to tell the tale himself, but he says for a good week he was in absolute "agony" -- and that was before his heart nearly stopped pumping.

The rock icon says he thought he tore a muscle while gardening -- not very rock 'n' roll, we know, but he's 72. Brian says he tried to treat himself with ice for a week, but when he finally got an MRI it revealed he had a compressed sciatic nerve.

While struggling to recover from that he got the double whammy -- heart attack!!! Brian says he was at home when he felt the tightness in his chest and got his doctor to drive him to a hospital.

Brian calls it a "small" heart attack, but consider this ... doctors had to implant three stents to clear blocked arteries. So, it doesn't sound all that small.

As his buddy, the late great Freddie Mercury put it ... "Sends shivers down my spine ... body aching all the time."

Carl Crawford is ready to talk about the double drowning that occurred at his home -- and his first words are ones of regret and remorse for the victims.

The former Dodger star turned record label executive took to social media this weekend to reflect on the fatal accident that took place at his crib in Houston a week ago, saying ... "My Hearts Heavy. The tragic events that occurred at my home will be with me forever. I'm at a loss for words I've struggled all week to manage my emotions and I keep thinking of the families of those who've passed and their grief, I know they have it the hardest."

He continued, "They are the first and last thing I think of these days. Please keep them in your prayers, I know they will always be in mine." He captioned his post with prayer hands.

TMZ broke the story ... Crawford's home became the site of two drownings after a woman and child both fell into his pool and, ultimately, died. Carl tried resuscitating them himself, but was unsuccessful. Paramedics eventually arrived and transported the two victims, who were unresponsive.

The boy was no more than 5 years old, but the woman he was with was not his mother -- he was simply in her care for the day. Carl was hosting a small gathering that weekend.

Tyler the Creator looks more like Tyler the Cheese Grater these days -- 'cause the guy can seriously shred ... and he doesn't even have to be in the water to do it.

Here's the rapper/producer out in L.A. this week getting his bike ride on with some nifty circus-like tricks to spice it up a bit. The dude hopped up on his two-wheeler and balanced himself on the handlebars and crossbar ... and looked just like a land version of a surfer.

It appears he was up there for a solid few seconds or so while the bicycle was in motion -- so it definitely seems he's had some practice with this stunt. BTW, the whole thing was social distance-friendly ... no one else around him, just a guy and his bike. Well done.

In other TTC news ... the dude just hit his one-year anniversary for his Grammy-winning album, "IGOR," and even dropped a new song from the hard copy version to appease fans eagerly awaiting his next project. He's also got a new clothing line with Levi's.

Cardi B's body now plays host to a massive new art installation ... because the ink has just dried on her insanely colorful back tattoo.

Cardi showed off her latest handiwork, which she says took months to complete, with a special shoutout to the tattoo artist. The piece traverses Cardi's entire backside, from the top of her back down to the middle of her thigh. It's festooned with flowers, butterflies and even a hummingbird.

The new tattoo isn't Cardi's first -- she already had some serious ink on her other leg -- but her latest, thanks to the steady hand of Jamie Schene, is a spectacle if not spectacular.

Cardi isn't the first to engage in a rear-view coverup. Ben Affleck revealed an insane back piece a while ago. Fans thought he was clowning, but turns out it was the real deal.

Kandi Burruss hears and sees the shade being thrown her way after winning "The Masked Singer" ... but it's only making her victory taste even sweeter!!!

The champ was basking in her glory, although still in quarantine, when she told TMZ ... she's not about to let the haters grind her down. Especially because now she's finally able to enjoy the win after months of keeping it under wraps.

As you know ... Kandi won the third season of 'Masked Singer,' becoming the first woman to wear the crown, but the title's coming with an extra side of hate. Some folks thought Jesse McCartney got robbed, and some just don't plain like KB, no matter what she does.

But Kandi is going to let the hardware do the talking instead of taking a victory lap at the expense of others. She says she doesn't have to say anything to her detractors ... since, obviously, she's already embedded in their heads!!!

Kandi makes some pretty good points about blocking out the negative, and tells us why none of it is getting under her skin.

Dave East got a lot of support from some onlookers, but it wasn't enough to spring him free after a nasty back and forth with NYPD.

East and a group of friends were in Queens early Friday morning traveling in an SUV. Law enforcement sources say the driver of the SUV turned without signaling, so cops pulled the vehicle over. We're told officers smelled a strong odor of weed as they approached the driver's side.

East -- who was sitting in the backseat -- clearly thought the turn-signal justification for the stop was BS ... so he became agitated, questioning the stop.

That's when a crowd began to form around the SUV.  Cops asked for ID, which the driver forked over, but neither East nor the other passenger provided ID.

Cops tell us they found 7 bags of weed in the vehicle. Both East and the other passenger were taken in. East got a summons for disorderly conduct and unlawful possession of marijuana. It's unclear why the driver was not taken in as well.

Fetty Wap's estranged wife is blowing the lid off what led to their divorce ... alleging the rapper was an alcohol and drug abuser who cheated on and beat her, but Fetty's calling BS.

Leandra Gonzalez filed legal docs claiming Fetty -- government name Willie Maxwell -- beat her face to a pulp less than a month after getting married back on August 3, 2019 in Toronto. She also claims the marriage was severely impacted by his drug and alcohol abuse.

According to docs, obtained by TMZ, Leandra claims they got into an argument that turned physical. She claims Fetty struck her in the face with a closed fist causing her pain, bruising, and a black eye.

Leandra claims the substance abuse was a problem during their short marriage. As for the adultery claims ... Leandra claims Fetty engaged in extra-marital affairs with several women. What's more ... Leandra claims back on New Year's Eve, Fetty traveled to the Bahamas with a woman with whom he'd been having an on-going affair. Leandra also claims about a month before that trip, Fetty got the name of one of his mistresses tattooed on his wrist.

Drake's relationship with Kylie Jenner's been fueling the rumor mill for months, and now that he's referred to her as "a side piece" -- on wax, as we used to say -- expect it to heat up.

Here's the deal ... Drake went on Instagram Live Wednesday night to tease some unreleased music from a collab with Future.

On the track, the duo raps about all the hot women they're able to haul in, and Drake spits these lyrics -- "Yeah, I’m a hater to society / Real sh*t, Kylie Jenner that’s a side piece / Yeah, I got 20 motherf***in’ Kylies."

Future follows with similarly themed lyrics, but what's interesting is the 2 have been working on this song together for a couple years now, but in the past ... Future rapped the Kylie part.

It should be noted, the track shouts out Kendall Jenner and Gigi Hadid, as well -- "Yeah, I got 20 damn Kendalls / Young slim baddies and they in vogue / Yeah, I got 20 f***in’ Gigis."

Drake, of course, is no stranger to gossip related to Kylie and the Kardashian/Jenner crew. There were reports of romance with her in November, but we were told they were just hanging out as friends.

That friendship endured despite Drake's beef with Kylie's brother-in-law, Kanye West, over a variety of issues ... including a rumored affair he had with Kim.

No lyrics about that on any new music from Drake, though ... at least not yet.