Music

One lucky, and very rich, Elvis Presley fan has the memorabilia world all shook up -- after snapping up one of The King's rare guitars for a record-setting 7-FIGURE price!!!

That's right ... Elvis' 1942 Martin D-18 guitar -- which he owned from 1954 to 1956 -- sold at auction for a whopping $1,320,000. It's a WORLD RECORD for the most expensive Elvis Presley memorabilia ever sold ... via the folks over at Gotta Have Rock and Roll.

As we first reported ... the guitar's got tons of history. Elvis bought it at O.K. Houck's Piano Store in Memphis, trading in his Martin 000-18 model. He then went on to decorate the body of the guitar with adhesive metal letters spelling out "ELVIS." Today, the guitar's missing the "S."

While he owned the guitar, Elvis recorded a slew of his early classics, including "That's Alright (Mama)," "Blue Moon of Kentucky" and "Good Rockin' Tonight." The new owner is remaining anonymous ... for now.

Some other cool items that sold at the auction include Michael Jordan's game-worn modified Jordan 1 sneakers from the 1985-86 season. The pair sold for $474,696, also a record.

Eddie Van Halen's 2000 custom racing Ferrari sold for $156,250 and The Beatles' 1966 Toronto Maple Leaf Gardens concert poster sold for $68,750. That's also a world record ... for non-U.S. concert posters.

Tekashi 6ix9ine is fully free, having just completed house arrest, and he's already out shooting a music video.

We got this vid of Tekashi out in Brooklyn Sunday, bright and early (7:30 AM) .... alongside some super wild rides.

It's no surprise ... a few security guards were patrolling the area, along with a massive entourage. Security was blocking several streets, stopping drivers from coming through. It's pretty clear they had permits to shoot the video ... otherwise, cops would have shut it down.

The cars are crazy -- 2 colorful Lambos, an orange McLaren, a yellow Dodge Charger and a Benz.

Tekashi, who was released from house arrest Saturday, is on 5 years supervised probation. Most people thought he'd go into witness protection, but he's shunned that, and the music video is evidence ... he's not hiding from anyone.

Kanye West's presidential campaign just got serious, because he's gunning to get on the Ohio ballot, and that state could be a determining factor in who occupies the White House.

Kanye hired a company, Let the Voters Decide, to amass voter signatures in 3 states ... Ohio, West Virginia and Arkansas.

Ye needs 5,000 signatures in Ohio by Wednesday to qualify. We're told more than roughly 90 people are canvassing Ohio, gathering the required number of John Hancocks.

Ohio is one of the 4 swing states that could be a major factor in November. In 2016, Trump won the state by fewer than 500,000 votes. Kanye's not gonna win, but he could be a spoiler. It's unclear who gets hurt more if Ye siphons off votes -- Trump or Biden.

We're told Let the Voters Decide is confident it'll get the necessary 5,000 votes in time to qualify for the ballot.

So, you're confused on how 'rona spreads ... well, we're here to help, take a look at his video from -- you guessed it -- Lake of the Ozarks.

The EDM concert was packed to the gills with partiers stacked like sardines, and like sardines, almost no one was wearing masks.

It's not like Missouri isn't having problems with coronavirus. Oh, wait ... 51,632 people have COVID, and 1,276 have died.

Again, this is not about them risking their own lives. It's about risking the lives of others they come in contact with ... especially since testing is virtually useless in some states because the lag in getting results is sometimes upwards of a week.

This isn't the first time crowds have packed into Lake of the Ozarks. The same thing happened on the 4th of July.

Adele is heaping on the ultimate praise to Beyonce, wearing the same outfit featured in her new smash hit project, 'Black is King' ... and the internet can't deal.

The singer shouted out Bey's new visual album Saturday on Instagram, posting a photo of herself posing in front of her TV with the flick on in the background ... but, more revealing, wearing a very similar-looking bodysuit (if not an exact replica) that Beyonce rocks in 'BIK.'

Adele captioned the post, "Thank you Queen for always making us all feel so loved through your art." Of course, Adele looks great in the photo too -- further showing off her new look.

As for Beyonce's new film ... it's the talk of the town right now. They say it's a companion piece to the rebooted 'Lion King' -- and it features tons of striking images, performances, costumes and songs. It's like the new 'Lemonade' -- but carries way more weight in light of what's been going on lately around the country.

Tekashi 6ix9ine is enjoying his first taste of freedom in about 21 months -- his home confinement and GPS-monitored days are officially ending.

The rapper's attorney, Lance Lazzaro, tells TMZ ... Tekashi's federal probation officer is going to the rapper's home Saturday to remove his ankle monitor. We're told 6ix9ine will also be provided a schedule for when he needs to check in with his PO during his 5 years of supervised release.

It's a momentous occasion for Tekashi ... remember, the rapper-turned-state's witness (aka snitch) proudly showed off his ankle monitor when he dropped his first music video following his prison stint.

While T69 can now leave his house, he's not exactly free to move about the country, as they say.

Lazzaro says Tekashi will need to get permission from his PO whenever he wants to leave the state or the country, including when he travels for a performance or recording session. No business trip exceptions!

The good news for 69 is as long as he's within NY state borders, we're told he doesn't have to check in with the PO for every little thing he does. So, considering he's been locked up since November 2018 ... this is pretty damn close to his life before prison.

Wisely, we're told he's not going hog wild ... he's got nothing special on the calendar, other than hitting the studio and making music.

J. Cole is currently training his ass off in hopes of getting a shot to make an NBA roster ... so says Master P, who offered the rap star some pretty sound advice.

First, let's talk J. Cole -- the "No Role Models" rapper was a solid hooper back in high school and famously tried out for St. Johns during his stint in college, but ultimately decided to focus on music.

Cole is a regular on the celebrity basketball circuit and is widely known as one of the best non-pro celebrity ballers in the country.

The 35-year-old recently hooked up with Master P for a Puma commercial where it's strongly insinuated that Cole is training for a shot with an NBA team ... which makes sense since P basically did the same thing back in the day.

Master P says he earned an NBA contract with 2 different teams in the '90s -- after he was already a famous rap mogul -- and he knows what it takes to get to the top level.

P -- whose music and hoops careers are documented in BET's "No Limit Chronicles" -- tells TMZ Sports he had a lengthy conversation with J. Cole about his hoop dreams ... and says he's convinced the rapper is dead serious.

"When I talked to J. Cole, he was like 'You know, big dog you did it. What do you think I would have to do to make it happen?'"

"I said to get one of these NBA jerseys, it's not gonna be easy. It's gonna be a lot of hate, it's gonna be a lot of people not believing in you but you know J. Cole -- he got the right size, he in the gym!"

"But, what I told him ... this a different time we're in. They're going to pick you apart! You're gonna have to be able to hit every shot and if you don't hit every shot, they -- you know in the NBA, they don't hit every shot but they believe in them. So, you're gonna have to go somewhere where the team really believe in you and the players believe in you."

P says Cole won't get a pass just because he's famous -- in fact, he'll have to work even harder than everyone else to prove he's for real.

"They've been putting their whole life into this. So, you're gonna have to prove you're worthy of being on that court."

P adds, "I believe in him and I believe that he's a youngster that has a lot of desire."

Bottom line -- P says if Cole does get an opportunity, he's gonna have to show out.

"Either you're gonna be good enough to play or you're gonna get exposed."

Nicki Minaj's husband really wants to be there for the birth of the couple's first child ... a once-in-a-lifetime moment he might have to miss due to his pending criminal case.

Kenneth Petty just submitted legal docs, obtained by TMZ, begging the judge to modify the terms of his pretrial release conditions so he can travel with Nicki periodically on business as her manager and attend the upcoming birth of their baby.

As you know ... Kenneth recently registered as a sex offender in Cali after getting arrested for allegedly failing to do so when he moved to the state with Nicki. Some of the terms of his pretrial release -- he has a curfew and his travel is restricted to California.

According to the docs, Kenneth wants the judge to tweak his release conditions so he can be by Nicki's side if she gives birth outside his curfew hours.

Kenneth says the U.S. Attorney's Office and pretrial services office don't oppose his request, so now it's up to the judge to sign off.

As we reported ... Nicki announced her pregnancy earlier this month, and it looks like she's at least 6 months along. So the baby could be coming soon.

BTW ... Kenneth's status as a sex offender stems from a 1995 New York conviction for first-degree attempted rape. Petty pled not guilty to failing to register as a sex offender, and a judge recently gave him permission to surf the web.

Now, Kenneth's hoping to go 2-for-2 with the judge.

Tamar Braxton is opening up about her attempt to end her own life, claiming her years in the reality TV business and the "toxic, systemic bondage" that dwells there almost killed her ... but now she's healing and speaking up.

Tamar says the July 16 incident was "my attempt to end my pain and my life," and only by God's grace and mercy did she make it out alive.

As you know ... Tamar was rushed to a hospital July 16 after her boyfriend, David Adefeso, called 911 from their hotel room in downtown L.A. EMTs found her unconscious inside her room when they arrived.

Tamar says her pain has been building for 11 years, and had eaten away her spirit and caused her to suffer mental illness. She says over the past 5 years, in particular, she has been overworked, underpaid, taken advantage of and betrayed by reality TV producers. She flat out accuses them ... claiming they "filmed the damage made, for monetary gain."

She says over 2 months ago, she wrote a letter to WE tv -- the network producing her new series, "Get Ya Life!" -- asking to be freed from her contract and explained the "demise" she was experiencing. She claims her cry for help was ignored.

Instead, she says the network pushed forward with the new series, which she says tainted her spirit and her soul. She adds ... "It was witnessing the death of the woman I knew, that discouraged my will to fight. I felt like I was no longer living, I was existing for the purpose of corporations gain, and that killed me."

Sources close to the situation tell TMZ ... the final straw for Tamar was when she viewed the first episode of "Get Ya Life!" and felt the network and producers did everything they promised they wouldn't ... including portraying her as the "angry black woman" who was choosing a man over her family.

We're also told she was very upset about how her BF, David, was used by the network and came off in the show.

Now, as we first reported, sources connected to the Braxton family told us the family believes it was David who got angry about his portrayal in that first episode, and that's what fueled Tamar's emotions.

First episode aside, Tamar clearly has a bigger issue with reality TV and its treatment of minorities. As she put it, "They promise us opportunity but produce exploitation."

How's this for an amazing tribute!?!?

L.A. Angels outfielder Brian Goodwin threw on custom cleats to honor Kobe Bryant and Nipsey Hussle for his game Wednesday ... and then he balled out of his mind at the plate!!!

29-year-old Goodwin -- who's often publicly spoken about his love for the Mamba and Nipsey -- pulled out the fresh Under Armour kicks for the Halos' home matchup against the Mariners.

The spikes were pretty amazing ... one was all yellow and featured depictions of Kobe, his old jersey #8, and the L.A. Lakers logo.

The other, meanwhile, was baby blue with a black and white checkerboard ... and also featured a picture of Nipsey and a cursive "Crenshaw."

But, when Goodwin took the diamond in the cleats ... he took the tribute a step further, going 2-for-4 at the dish with a double, a home run and 3 RBIs!

The dinger was particularly impressive ... it traveled well over 400 feet -- and Goodwin made sure he showed off the cleats as he emphatically stepped on home plate.

All eyez will be on Drake with his new twin Tupac Jesus pendants.

Mr. OVO is the new owner of what soon will become 2 of America's most wanted ... these Tupac pendants dripping with diamonds and gold. The rapper commissioned the celeb jeweler, Jason of Beverly Hills, to pull off the twin pendants depicting Pac with white and yellow diamond crowns of thorns.

Each pendant comes with a diamond chain with a total of approximately 70 carats of flawless white and yellow diamonds, plus ... over a HALF KILO of gold in total. Total price for each piece was $300k!!!

We're told Jason and his crew spent about 5 weeks completing the Pac-Jesus pieces. Drake initially came to Jason with an idea about what he wanted ... and they worked together to come up with the final tribute.

Tekashi 6ix9ine sees the light at the end of the tunnel, but before he can be truly free, he's gotta give back to the community ... and he wants to make sure he survives it.

T69's attorney, Lance Lazzaro, tells us his client will be released from home confinement by Saturday -- which will allow him to move into the next phase of his sentence ... community service. We're told 6ix9ine hasn't done a single hour since he's been stuck at home.

Now that he'll be able to get out again ... Lance says there's a new problem his legal team is circling -- namely, where the hell to put the guy so he can complete 300 hours of community service.

It's gonna take him a while to complete that, and his team's concern is Tekashi could be a sitting duck for anyone seeking revenge ... while he's doing good to make good on his sentence.

Luckily for him ... Lance and co. are already making arrangements to keep their client safe. One of the ways they plan to do that is by asking Tekashi's probation officer to let him do his time at a highly secured facility, like a VA hospital or even a learning institution of some kind.

Anywhere where there's lots of people and maybe even armed guards and/or cops around would be the ticket in their eyes.

We're told Lance feels the probation officer assigned will take these pleas into consideration and act appropriately -- otherwise, it could spell trouble for Tekashi.

Malik B., one of the founding rappers of The Roots, has died.

The hip-hop group announced Malik's passing Wednesday with a tribute post that read, in part, "It is with heavy hearts and tearful eyes that we regretfully inform you of the passing of our beloved brother and long time Roots member Malik Abdul Basit."

They added, "May he be remembered for his devotion to Islam, His loving brotherhood and his innovation as one of the most gifted MCs of all time. We ask that you please respect his family and extended family in our time of mourning such a great loss."

It's unclear what caused his death ... neither the band nor Malik's family have released details.

Malik helped start The Roots with Questlove and Black Thought back in the late '80s, and appeared on four of the group's albums through the '90s before distancing himself in the 2000s. He was featured prominently on "Organix," "Do You Want More?!!!??!," "Illadelph Halflife" and "Things Fall Apart."

He reportedly departed from the Philly band during the recording of their 2002 album, "Phrenology," although he'd previously said he never quit and was never fired. Malik went on to be featured in a number of their songs afterward.

Black Thought -- the lead MC of The Roots -- posted a lengthy tribute to his partner in rhyme, saying ... "We made a name and carved a lane together where there was none. We ressurected a city from the ashes, put it on our backs and called it Illadelph."

He added, "In friendly competition with you from day one, I always felt as if I possessed only a mere fraction of your true gift and potential. Your steel sharpened my steel as I watched you create cadences from the ether and set them free into the universe to become poetic law, making the English language your bitch."

Malik was 47.

Talk about perfect timing -- an L.A. musician who happened to be in New Mexico saw a meteor light up the sky, and caught the stunning footage on video.

Amber Coffman posted this awesome video Tuesday night showing the moment a meteor streaked across the sky over Taos, creating a spectacular fireball. She captioned it perfectly saying, "A meteor for the ages!"

The footage was a hit on social media, where it was quickly shared by Amber's followers. She replied to one person's excited tweet, saying ... "Absolutely stunned amazement! Elation! I feel high."

Another user suggested Amber could jump from music to astronomy -- "How did you start getting video so quickly? Really amazing and something I would think would be of great value to science."

Apparently, there was a meteor shower visible over much of New Mexico last night ... there were similar tweets from Albuquerque.

The Chainsmokers' drive-in concert in the Hamptons sure looked dangerous, COVID-wise, but sources connected to the charity event say don't believe your eyes ... and insist coronavirus guidelines were in place.

These sources tell TMZ ... videos circulating of the Saturday night concert are misleading, and don't show how the area in front of the stage was fenced off and only allowed 10 people per section.

Mind you, NY Gov. Andrew Cuomo saw the videos from the weekend show, and was livid. He called out the concert for "egregious social distancing violations," and the New York State Department of Health has launched an investigation.

However, the sources connected to the concert say the section right in front of the stage was for family and friends and people who worked the event -- and didn't have car spaces to watch the show.

Obviously, they should still maintain social distancing, but we're told the general public was NOT allowed to rush the stage and pack that area.

On top of that, our sources say organizers of the Southampton even obtained all the proper permits from the city for a public gathering and adhered to all the COVID-19 regulations ... including temperature checks at the door, providing masks, and having security monitor physical distancing among the various parties in the drive-in crowd.

We're also told reports of the concert being shut down for not following the public health rules are untrue. Our sources say the permit only allowed the event to go until 10:30 PM ... so it ended at 10:25 PM.

Kanye West is getting super serious in his bid for the White House ... his campaign is beefing up its staff and bringing in tons of folks with political know-how.

Sources close to Kanye tell TMZ ... Yeezy's hired a crack team of political advisors and people with experience to help him navigate how to get on the ballot in more states.

We're told Kanye's advisors are hiring people to work on the campaign. They're also recruiting volunteers, and they've contracted third-party organizations to assist with spreading campaign awareness and getting boots on the ground across the United States.

Our sources say the campaign's main objective right now is gathering enough signatures to get Kanye on the ballot in each of the remaining states.

We're told volunteers are canvassing for signatures in West Virginia -- hitting popular spots like restaurants and shopping malls -- and campaign staffers are working in New York ahead of Thursday's deadline to qualify for the ballot.

In West Virginia, the Secretary of State's office tells us Kanye needs 7,144 signatures by Monday to get on the ballot. If Yeezy gets enough signatures, it will trigger a review to verify every person is indeed a registered voter.

TMZ broke the story ... Kanye's facing a huge hurdle back in his home state, Illinois, where there are several objections over the validity of signatures gathered to get Ye on that state's ballot.

As we reported ... Yeezy's already submitted paperwork to get on the ballot in New Jersey, Oklahoma, Illinois and Missouri.