Music

Kanye West has taken his first official step on his road to The White House -- he's filed with the Federal Election Commission ... seeking the office of President.

Kanye filed the first form required by the FEC Wednesday -- Form 1, Statement of Organization -- declaring that the Kanye 2020 committee will serve as the "Principal Campaign Committee" with West as its candidate. The party is listed as BDY ... which Ye's said stands for the Birthday Party.

However, he's yet to file the more important Form 2 -- Statement of Candidacy -- which shows he's raised or spent more than $5,000 in campaign activity and triggers candidacy status under federal campaign finance law.

Regardless, the move comes on the heels of reports that Kanye was dropping out just 10 days after making his surprise July 4 Twitter announcement ... and after news broke that he was polling at just 2 percent.

Looks like he's trying to keep hope alive ... at least for now.

Kanye, who's had Elon Musk's support from the jump, has managed to stir up plenty of publicity -- and controversy -- in his less than 2 weeks on the campaign trail so far.

As we reported ... he turned on his former buddy and incumbent, Donald Trump, compared Planned Parenthood to a Satanic baby-killing cult and got blasted by the org, and picked a running mate with some odd takes on mental health.

Ye's still facing an uphill battle to even get on the ballot in several states, and as we already mentioned ... his first poll numbers really sucked.

Our sources have also told us Kanye's in the throes of a very serious bipolar episode through all of this, which has worried his family and loved ones.

Megan Thee Stallion was shot in the foot early Sunday morning ... when she and Tory Lanez were pulled over, and he got arrested for gun charges.

Megan says, “The narrative that is being reported about Sunday’s morning events are inaccurate and I’d like to set the record straight. On Sunday morning, I suffered gunshot wounds, as a result of a crime that was committed against me and done with the intention to physically harm me."

Megan does not say who pulled the trigger, but she wants to make it clear ... she did nothing wrong. She adds, "I was never arrested, the police officers drove me to the hospital where I underwent surgery to remove the bullets. I’m incredibly grateful to be alive and that I’m expected to make a full recovery, but it was important for me to clarify the details about this traumatic night. I’m currently focused on my recovery, so I can return back to my life and back to making music as soon as possible.”

As we reported, police were responding to reports of multiple gunshots outside a Hollywood Hills party were Meg and Tory had been.

LAPD found a handgun in the SUV that was driving Tory, Meg and another woman -- and Tory was booked for possession of a concealed weapon. As for Megan's injuries ... our law enforcement sources say she told the cops that night she had cut her foot on glass -- that's why officers took her to the hospital for treatment.

To this point ... police have NOT connected Tory to the shots that were fired outside the party.

Drake's been ballin' -- and now beachin' -- down in the Caribbean ... and the shirtless rapper's giving everyone a look at how he was doing in quarantine ... and it's pretty good.

As we told you ... Drizzy zipped to Barbados in his private jumbo jet this week with his entourage, and after hitting up the basketball court and snapping pics with local fans, it looks like he's enjoying more low-key vibes on the sand.

Drake was spotted dipping his toes in the water with some pals, and it looks like a cameraman was also on hand ... but it's unclear what he's filming.

The rapper's ever-increasing collection of tattoos is on full display, which includes several portraits of family members, Lil Wayne, Aaliyah, Denzel Washington, his father's old mug shot ... and so many more.

Drake's not quite as chiseled as he's looked in past, but he still looks damn good.

Multiple cops descended upon Megan Thee Stallion and Tory Lanez during his gun bust, in what proved to be quite the dramatic scene in the Hollywood Hills.

TMZ got video of Tory's arrest from early Sunday morning, and it's pretty clear ... law enforcement was treating the situation very seriously, as if there might've been an active threat. Remember, they were responding to a call about 5 shots fired with the description of the SUV that was Tory's ride.

What's interesting here from the footage is that they detained everyone in the vehicle. You see a woman being told to exit the vehicle from an officer using a bullhorn off-camera -- while a helicopter is hovering above the whole time -- and you even hear her say, "My hands are up" as they direct her to walk back and get on the ground.

As that's happening, you can see another woman on the sidewalk who appears to be injured. It's unclear which one is MTS. Later, you see the same woman seated on a ledge, and at one point you can hear her turn her head and ask, "Megan are you OK?" ... making it seem like the injured woman is MTS. Tory was also nearby when the woman asked if Megan's OK. Remember, they'd all been hopping between pool parties on Saturday evening.

Steve Aoki isn't letting a little thing like social distancing stop him from being a great human who helps out kids in need -- 'cause he's still doing exactly that ... just ask Juliana.

The world-famous DJ and producer once again teamed up with the Kids Wish Network to make a sick child's dream come true -- this time, it was 12-year-old Juliana Goode ... who's an aspiring DJ herself.

Juliana suffers from Cushing Syndrome -- an adrenal gland disease that produces an abnormal level of cortisol in the body -- and when KWN heard she saw Steve as an inspiration for her own career goals, they got in touch with him and, of course, he was on board to meet her.

More importantly, he helped secure a sweet DJ setup for Juliana with the help of some of the top players in the game -- Denon DJ (which sells digital audio equipment) donated a DJ Prime Go portable console to Juliana, and Ion Audio provided her with some new speakers.

Check out how the kid reacted when Steve revealed what he and the team had in store for her to help her go from computer DJ to a real-life one with her own mixer and soundboard ... pure joy.

Why does Post Malone have tattoos of Patrick Mahomes and Travis Kelce on his body?!

Because the NFL stars kicked his ass in an epic backstage beer pong match -- and the loser had to get tats!!

It all went down after the Chiefs beat the Niners in the Super Bowl -- Mahomes and teammate Kelce were able to score some VIP tickets to Post's February concert in Kansas City.

But, Mahomes told GQ before the show went on ... he and Kelce were invited backstage for a little beer pong action with Post.

What happened next is pretty legendary ... Mahomes said he and Kelce WENT OFF -- and Post Malone was PISSED!!!

Mahomes said after about 14 or 15 straight victories ... Post decided to up the ante on the games -- and brought out a piece of paper for Mahomes and Kelce to sign.

The deal? If Post couldn't win, he'd get the Chiefs stars' autographs inked on his body.

Of course, Kelce and Mahomes didn't lose -- with Mahomes saying his tight end was "unconscious" good on the table! So, when Post got the "L," he agreed to get the ink done after the show!!

Mahomes says he tried to talk Post out of the tats ... saying, "Dude, you do not actually have to get a tattoo of our autographs."

Didn't work.

And, if you're wondering ... no, Post hasn't revealed WHERE the new tats went on his body.

Tekashi 6ix9ine will be absent from social media in the last couple weeks before he regains his freedom -- but he says he's coming back with a vengeance.

6ix9ine tells TMZ ... he just temporarily deactivated his Instagram account ahead of his home confinement ending around August 1. The reason? He says his lawyer, Lance Lazzaro, recommended it for the rapper's safety, so he's following through.

Tekashi says as freedom nears, his legal team thinks he might mistakenly leak some crucial info about his whereabouts, meaning where he is now or where he'll be next ... once he's cut loose. We're told Tekashi's team hasn't quite decided on that yet, but out of an abundance of caution they're advising he go dark for a while as they figure out that next move.

Not shockingly, Tekashi says he'll be back to trolling his haters soon enough, and insists he will NOT leaving his hometown of NYC. We're told one of his lawyers feels he should reconsider ... so the matter is still up in the air.

At any rate, 6ix9ine tells us he plans to keep roaming the streets of the Big Apple -- but adds he'll be rolling "like Trump" in that he'll have a ton of armed guards around. Specifically, he says he plans to hire 22 of them, all former law enforcement officers.

Tekashi also says he's gonna have 5 bulletproof SUV-like whips to escort him around town. Despite all those heavy duty precautions ... he insists he has "no fear" and is actually excited to get out and about again.

As for how these final days of home confinement will go ... Lazzaro says the feds will continue to drug test him, advise him and monitor his activity.

Drake is drawing more fans to a basketball court these days than his beloved Toronto Raptors, and he's just playing a pickup game ... in Barbados!!!

Drizzy got his entourage together and flew his private jumbo jet down to his ex, Rihanna's home turf -- and decided to get in a little outdoor hoops. No small feat on a July day in the tropics!

Champagne Papi slipped on some Nike gear -- sneakers, socks, shorts, jersey, headband -- and showed off his sweet jump shot ... but as the crowd continued growing, Drake paused the game and donned a face mask while snapping pics with locals.

He's easily the biggest draw on Barbados -- far as we know Rihanna's not down there -- and unlike the NBA's restart in its Disney bubble in Florida, Drake put some butts in the seats!!!

Dude's got game too ... looks like Drake's been practicing on his insane home indoor basketball court.

Check ball!!!

Lisa Marie Presley's son and Elvis Presley's grandson, Benjamin Keough, has died of an apparent suicide ... TMZ has learned.

Law enforcement sources tell us Ben appears to have died Sunday in Calabasas from a self-inflicted gunshot wound.

Not much is known about him other than the fact that he's got a super-famous family. He's the son of Lisa and musician Danny Keough -- and his sister is actress Riley Keough, who's been in a number of indie and horror films over the years, including 2019's "The Lodge."

Of course ... his grandparents are Elvis and Priscilla Presley.

Ben has kept a low profile throughout the years, but the one thing he's well-known for is looking almost identical to his famous grandfather, The King himself.

Lisa addressed the similarity, saying ... "Ben does look so much like Elvis. He was at the Opry and was the quiet storm behind the stage." She added, "Everybody turned around and looked when he was over there. Everybody was grabbing him for a photo because it is just uncanny." She even wrote a song about Ben called "Storm and Grace." Storm's his middle name.

He was also a musician ... he even struck a record deal back in 2009 worth $5 million. He's got a couple acting credits under his name, but aside from that, not much else is known about him publicly. He has few social media accounts.

One of the last times he was seen out with the family was during Elvis' 40-year death anniversary during a vigil at Graceland.

Benjamin was just 27.

RIP

Kanye West has a snowball's chance in hell to win the presidency, because his first poll numbers suck ... but he could definitely play spoiler -- question is, for whom?

Redfield & Wilton Strategies -- a consulting firm that does polling and market research -- released results from a poll it did last week ... and when Ye's included as one of the candidates, he only clocked in at 2%. That's out of 2,000 people polled.

Granted, the other third-party candidates from the Libertarian and Green Parties aren't polling much higher than he was either -- both also hit the 2% and 1% each, respectively.

Now, here's the really interesting thing -- while you'd think the rapper and producer getting in the race might hurt Joe Biden (that's how Chance the Rapper and others see it) ... it didn't. In fact, it actually hurt Trump!

According to R&WS, the sitting Prez got dinged, going from 40% to 39% when Kanye is factored into the race. Biden stays firmly in the lead in either scenario, sitting pretty at 48%.

The prevailing thought is Kanye would splinter the Democratic vote -- especially young and black voters -- and possibly sabotage Biden in the process.

Still, let's all chill when it comes to polls ... especially this early in the campaign. Just ask Hillary Clinton about those 2016 numbers.

Tory Lanez got busted after an alleged argument outside a house party led to cops finding a gun in his car, and Megan Thee Stallion was there too ... this according to law enforcement.

We've learned police got a call of a disturbance outside a Hollywood Hills residence around 4:30 AM Sunday. When officers arrived, we're told witnesses reported people were arguing in an SUV before someone fired shots in the air ... and the vehicle took off.

Our law enforcement sources say cops got a description of the SUV and located it shortly afterward, and found the rappers inside along with another woman.

We're told Meg had a cut on her foot believed to be from broken glass on the floor of the vehicle, and when cops searched it ... they found a gun.

Our sources say Lanez was taken to jail and booked for carrying a concealed weapon in a vehicle ... a felony.

It's interesting ... earlier on Saturday night, Megan and Tory appeared together on her Instagram Live with Kylie Jenner -- at what appears to be a pool party at Kylie's Holmby Hills pad.

The reported gunshots were allegedly fired several miles away in the Hollywood Hills neighborhood.

The 2 men and 2 teens who allegedly killed Pop Smoke have been slapped with murder charges, and while the death penalty is in play ... prosecutors haven't decided yet to seek it.

The L.A. County District Attorney's Office announced criminal charges against 19-year-old Corey Walker and 18-year-old Keandre Rodgers, who were each charged with murder with special circumstance allegations that the killing went down during the commission of a robbery and burglary.

With the special circumstances, the death penalty is on the table. The D.A.'s Office adds that gang and gun allegations were made in their complaint as well.

On top of those two, a separate pair of teenagers -- the youngest being 15 and the oldest 17 -- were also charged with one count of murder and robbery in juvenile court. Their names weren't released, as they're still minors.

We broke the story ... Pop Smoke was shot and killed back in February by 4 masked gunmen after what appeared to be a home invasion robbery at his home Hollywood Hills home.

Even though the D.A.'s Office says they haven't decided on whether to pursue capital punishment yet, both adult men face still face life in prison if convicted.

Here's the incredible house Lizzo rented after the landlord at another rental kicked her out early, and it's easy to see why she boasted, "This house is better anyways" ... 'cause it's true!!!

TMZ's obtained pics of the private 2-acre hillside compound in Palm Springs the rapper and her crew headed to after the landlord at their first rental kicked her out of a 7-day rental, 3 days early.

As we reported ... Lizzo clapped back last week at the property owner and essentially told him to bite her where the sun don't shine. She posted this video at her new digs and captioned it, "This is for mocking the way that I dance and for using Instagram footage of me and my 6 black homegirls to say that we could ‘hurt him’ and threaten to call the police."

As for the villa where she landed -- it rents out for $5,000 a night and it features the only legal residential helicopter pad in Coachella Valley. Clearly, it caters to the rich and famous, i.e. Lizzo.

The compound is secured by steel gates at the foot of a 600-ft-long sweeping driveway. It also features mesmerizing panorama views of twinkling city lights, and the surrounding desert and mountains. In fact, the views are so sick ... Lizzo called them inspiring in the pics and vids she posted.

The house itself is 4 bedrooms, five bathrooms and 4,300-square-feet of living space. There's also a sprawling patio that features a 60-foot infinity-edge pool.

Easy to see why Lizzo loved it here.

The popularity of "Hamilton" on Disney+ can't be denied, and now ... neither can the theater-loving audience's lust for more plays and musicals.

TMZ's learned that the release of Lin-Manuel Miranda's masterpiece has resulted in renewed interest and traffic for several leading theater-streaming services ... and people are wanting to get more than just their "Hamilton" fix.

A spokesperson for Filmed on Stage, the largest online database for filmed Broadway musicals and plays, tells us ... its website saw a spike of nearly +250% in the 2 weeks leading up to the July 3 premiere of "Hamilton."

We're told traffic peaked on that Friday -- with an increase of nearly 400% compared to an average Friday -- and interest in the site's filmed Broadway Musicals section has been steadily increasing ever since ... from users all across the U.S.

Filmed on Stage says its most popular titles this past week include "Newsies," "Rent" and "Kinky Boots," but it's also been receiving hundreds of emails from users asking why their favorite Broadway show isn't available to stream.

The rep tells us ... "While we are used to receiving such emails, I can safely say we received an unusual amount in the past week with visitors mostly asking for other hit Broadway musicals -- 'Wicked' leading the list."

Thespie is another streaming platform that allows visitors to discover more than 1,000 theater performances. A rep for the company tells us total traffic has increased by 86% compared to last week ... largely based on people searching for where they can watch "Hamilton."

We're told views of all the "Hamilton" and Lin-Manuel resources available on Thespie have increased by a whopping 277% since July 3 ... while non-"Hamilton" titles are also up 62%.

Of course, with Broadway shut down for the rest of the year amid the pandemic, these streaming services are more important than ever to keep theater fans satisfied ... but the "Hamilton" hype has certainly given them a shot of adrenaline.

West Coast vocalist Bobby McFerrin shot to stardom in 1988 after his feel-good acapella tune, "Don't Worry, Be Happy," shot to the top of the Billboard Hot 100 charts and even landed him 2 Grammy Awards for Song Of The Year and Album Of The Year.

Bobby McFerrin -- who's known for his incredible vocal techniques and creative singing style -- has gone on to perform around the world and collaborate with some of the biggest names in the industry ... but won't be heard without performing his trademark tune.

The music video for "Don't Worry, Be Happy" featuring Robin Williams and Bill Irwin.

Rapper Lil Marlo was shot to death over the weekend in Atlanta ... law enforcement confirms with TMZ.

Cops tell us, they responded to a call late Saturday night. The call came in as a car accident on Interstate 285 in downtown Atlanta, but when police arrived they found the rapper had been shot. He was pronounced dead at the scene.

An police official tells TMZ, the investigation so far points to Lil Marlo being shot while he was driving.  The official adds, "At this time, investigators believe the victim was the intended target of the gunfire and they are working to determine the circumstances surrounding the shooting."

The Medical Examiner confirmed with us they have the body of Rudolph Johnson ... that's Lil Marlo's government name.

Someone shot video of the aftermath.

Lil Yachty broke the news Sunday morning, saying, "We just did a song a 4 this morning smh rip brother."

Lil Marlo was signed to the Quality Control label and scored big with several songs, including "1st N 3rd," "F****em" and "9 + Z6ne = 1'5."

Marlo was in good company at QC ... other artists include Migos, Lil Yachty, Lil Baby and City Girls.

Marlo joined Quality Control in 2017 ... you hear him on "The Load" with Lil Baby and Gucci Mane.

Lil Marlo leaves behind a daughter and a son. On Father's Day he posted a video of himself and the little girl ... you see her trying to put a shoe on her father's foot. He captioned the post, "Thanks For Making Me Y'all Father I Wouldn't Trade Y'all For Da World."

Lil Marlo was 30.