Music

Sir Paul McCartney just topped his Beatles drummer ... and joined 'Harry Potter' author J.K. Rowling.

Queen Elizabeth made Sir Paul a Companion of Honour Friday morning when she placed the medal around his neck during a ceremony at Buckingham Palace. As for what the honour means -- it's given to people who've made outstanding achievements. J.K., Dame Judi Dench and Sir Ian McKellen are among the other honourees.

The timing kinda sucks for Ringo Starr though. He juuuust caught up to Paul less than 2 months ago when HE got knighted.

G-Eazy got busted because he threw a punch at the wrong guy after getting totally pissed off at a pesky fan who wanted a pic.

Sources at Stockholm's Solidaritet nightclub tell us ... G-Eazy and his crew were partying in the VIP room after his show when a fan approached and asked for a photo. We're told the rapper said no, but the guy persisted before finally giving up and beating it.

Our sources say about 5 minutes later, the fan returned and started taking photos anyway, so G-Eazy's crew confronted him ... and a member of G-Eazy's crew grabbed the guy's phone and smashed it.

We're told the fan flipped out, shoved the crew member and it snowballed into a full melee.

During the brawl, G-Eazy allegedly punched one of the club's hired muscle, and that was enough for cops to swoop in, cuff G-Eazy and haul him off to jail.

G-Eazy famously talks about his heavy cocaine use, so cops probably knew when they checked his pockets they would score some of the white stuff. So he was arrested for that, too.

5/4 4:20 PM PT -- A rep for TUNES tells us Tekashi is full of it ... they reached a deal, and anything he's denying is a flat-out lie.

Tekashi69 isn't sweating losing a $5 million headphones deal ... because he says it never existed in the first place. Oh, and he thinks Kanye West is learning from him.

We got the "Gotti" rapper leaving a Chipotle in L.A. Thursday and asked him about the headphones company bailing on him ... but he tells us we got it all wrong. 6ix9ine claims he never spoke with anyone at TUNES Audio -- his name was just used for publicity. But ... he ain't mad.

The rapper also refutes being barred from the Barclays Center, but we double checked ... we're told he definitely won't be performing there June 8 due to an investigation of a shooting connected to his manager.

Finally, Tekashi69 gives us his thoughts on Kanye. He says he and Ye are on the same page -- when it comes to trolling ... and Kanye even learned a thing or 2 from him.

The NBA has warned Drake about using bad language at NBA games after the rapper reportedly called Cleveland Cavs star Kendrick Perkins a "f***ing p*ssy."

Drake had gotten into it with Perkins on the floor of the Cavs vs. Toronto Raptors game at the Air Canada Centre ... with one reporter claiming Drake essentially challenged the guy to a fight.

Now, the NBA has issued an official warning to Drake about "the use of bad language" ... this according to ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski.

In fact, Woj says the NBA's exec V.P. of basketball operations, Kiki VanDeWeghe, spoke with Raptors president Masai Ujiri to help get the point across.

Comedian Michael Blackson says he's seen firsthand how slavery wasn't a choice after visiting the Slave Castles in his native Ghana, but he's still willing to give Kanye a pass for his controversial comment.

We got Michael at LAX Thursday and he gave us -- but mostly Kanye -- a lesson about how African slaves were captured at gunpoint. He says Kanye couldn't possibly have meant what he said about slavery being a choice. MB says that would be the equivalent of saying Kim Kardashian chose to get robbed at gunpoint in Paris.

Michael, like many people, thinks Kanye's speaking without fully forming his ideas -- but he has a suggestion for him to snap out of it. Hint: think sunken place.

Kanye West says it's damn easy to see, his Yeezy camouflage gear is not a ripoff of another company's merchandise.

Yeezy Apparel just responded to the lawsuit Jordan Outdoor Enterprises filed a couple months ago -- claiming Kanye's company jacked its distinct camo designs. In the docs, obtained by TMZ, Yeezy says there's nothing original or protectable about the Jordan Outdoor gear in question.

As we've reported ... Kanye's co. hawks camo designs for hoodies, cargo pants, thigh-high boots, shirts, bomber jackets and a lot more -- in fact, Kim Kardashian has even modeled some of the stuff. Based on this legal response ... 'Ye clearly plans to continue selling all those ware.

9:13 AM PT -- We've obtained video of G-Eazy getting loaded into a police car. In another clip, Halsey can be heard yelling about getting hit in the face -- we're told she may have been struck by a security guard during the scuffle inside the club.

G-Eazy was arrested in Sweden after allegedly attacking security guards and getting caught with cocaine.

Sources familiar with the situation tell us the rapper was partying in a club after his show Wednesday in Stockholm and was acting belligerent. We're told several security guards approached him, asking him to calm down, but G-Eazy started to throw punches ... striking one guard in the face several times.

We're told he was detained by police, who allegedly discovered cocaine in the rapper's pocket.

Our sources say he was taken into custody on suspicion of assault, possession of narcotics and use of narcotics. We're told he's still in custody.

Several videos taken inside the club show G-Eazy partying with friends -- including girlfriend Halsey and rapper Sean Kingston -- and handing out shots.

Can Flavor Flav dive like Greg Louganis??

YEAAAAHHHHH BOYYYEEEEE!!!

Well, not quite ... but the Public Enemy rapper made a splash when he visited the University of Nevada Las Vegas diving team on Wednesday at the Lied Athletic Complex ... and we gotta admit, he's not terrible.

The 59-year-old rap icon got a crash course in a bunch of different dives ... from the inward dive to going off the high boards.

He even attempted a tandem dive next to a hot chick in a cheeky bathing suit -- and it's great for all sorts of reasons!

Flav even thanked the dive squad by posing for a pic after their splash sesh.

And we should note ... he wasn't rockin' the slick diving Speedos. Flav knocked out his dives in giant, bright green swim trunks!

By the way, we were doing some research on old high divers and found this video of a 91-year-old guy hitting the board ... and, let's be honest, Flav WRECKS this old dude!!!

Jamie Foxx tore into TMZ for giving Kanye West a platform to express himself, because he says something's not right with Yeezy.

Jamie was at Employees Only -- a WeHo bar -- and railed on the "TMZ Live" show featuring Kanye. Foxx says he's not about to judge his friend for the slavery and other comments he made and suggests he needs help.

Jay-Z's company forgot to pay a hefty bill related to his purchase of the Tidal streaming service ... according to a new lawsuit.

Jay's co., S. Carter Enterprises, hired attorneys in Sweden to close the Tidal deal in 2014, according to the suit. Jay was purchasing Aspiro AB, the Swedish company that then owned Tidal.

In the docs, obtained by TMZ, the firm -- Roschier Advokatbyrå AB (gotta love Scandinavian names) -- says its attorneys put in more than 1,400 hours on the deal, and sent S. Carter Enterprises a bill for $629,000. The firm says Jay's team made a partial payment, but is still on the hook for more than $294k.

According to the suit, a financial adviser -- with another really long Scandinavian name -- was also hired for the deal, and got stiffed to the tune of $304k.

Meek Mill says his history with opioid addiction, while he was on probation, is the perfect example of why Pennsylvania needs criminal justice reform.

Meek stood shoulder to shoulder Thursday in Philly with PA Governor Tom Wolf and other state leaders to address the need to revamp the justice system. He said when he was coping with addiction he was afraid to tell his probation officer, because he thought it would be grounds for the judge to throw him in jail.

He says his probation officer at the time helped get him into rehab. But, Meek's point was that people caught up in the system tend to be hesitant to get help with their drug problems. He went on to address other issues with the system -- namely, being able to get locked up for merely coming into contact with cops.

He says if he was with the 2 black men who were recently arrested at a Philadelphia Starbucks, he could've been sentenced to 2-4 years in prison simply for the police run-in.

10:14 AM PT -- It appears Kim made the trip with Kanye too ... she posted a photo Thursday morning of the game Guess Who? from inside the Wyoming property Kanye's staying at.

Kanye West has left L.A. for the Cowboy State ... to put the finishing touches on his 5 upcoming albums.

Sources tell TMZ, Kanye flew out of L.A. Wednesday for the secluded home he's rented in Wyoming ... literally on a mountaintop. Kanye's spent a lot of time there over the last few months, flying in various rappers and producers to help with his music.

We're told this is an extended stay ... at least several weeks.

And our sources say Kanye is not bothered by the fallout from his "TMZ Live" interview. To the contrary, he has told people the episode was "fire" and got people thinking ... which he says was his goal.

Our sources say Kanye will get a stream of visitors who will help him with the final touches.

The first album is due out May 25 ... and 4 more will follow.

Kanye West's friend, G.O.O.D. Music artist Malik Yusef, says the rapper's comments about slavery were hurtful, but he insists Kanye was on point and could have won people over if he had more time.

Malik tells TMZ ... Kanye's take on slavery -- that it was "a choice" -- could have been developed into a compelling argument, but an hour show isn't the place to make the case.

Yusef agrees with Kanye -- slaves had a choice -- just not the black and white version Kanye suggested. He points out if a slave chose to revolt, he'd be making that decision based on options -- bleak options like not being able to read, having no food ... and putting himself and his family in danger.

Big shocker for '80s music fans ... The Cars frontman Ric Ocasek and supermodel Paulina Porizkova are pulling the plug on their marriage ... after 28 years!

Paulina announced the split on Wednesday, but says they've actually been "peacefully separated" for the last year. Sounds totally amicable though. Paulina says they still do family outings together with their 2 adult sons, but "we are just no longer a couple."

In fact, the whole family was with Ric just 2 weeks ago in Cleveland when The Cars were inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame.

The '80s super couple met on the set of The Cars music video for their 1984 hit, "Drive."

David Banner says Kanye West needs a brain filter -- 'cause he oughta know that not everything he thinks needs to be said.

We got the Mississippi MC Wednesday at 96.7 The Beat's radio station headquarters in Atlanta, where he weighed in on Ye's slavery comment. Dave's got more than just a few thoughts -- it's like a societal lesson he's imparting here. But he's got words for Kanye.

Taylor Swift needs to move quickly to get from one side of the stage to another for her upcoming Reputation Stadium tour and she's doing it with the help of a super cool contraption called a rocket sled.

Taylor shared a video of her rehearsing for the tour, which kicks off Tuesday in the Phoenix area, and says her stage is so big she needs the sled, which is essentially a mat on a dolly that slides beneath the stage, to get from one side to another after a costume change.