Music

10:00 AM PT -- Vinnie's family tells TMZ ... he died in his sleep at his home in Las Vegas. His body's been turned over to the medical examiner to determine a cause of death, and after that he'll be flown back to his home state of Texas to be buried between his mom and brother.

Vinnie Paul, a drummer and one of the original members of Pantera, is dead.

Paul was a founding member of the metal band, which formed in the '80s. His brother, "Dimebag" Darrell Abbott, was also a founding member. The band was huge in its day ... nominated for Grammys in 1995 and 2001. Their album, "Far Beyond Driven," hit #1 in 1994.

The group fell apart in 2003 ... by all accounts band members were feuding.

Vinnie's brother, Dimebag, was shot and killed a year later during a concert, after a man ran up on stage and began shooting ... killing a total of 4 people.

Megadeth's Dave Mustaine said, "I just woke up in Belgium to the news that my friend Vinnie Paul has passed away. Another metal hero taken too soon. Say hello to Daryl for me. Rest in Peace, my dear friend."

The cause of death is unknown.

Vinnie was 54.

The damages to the G-Wagon Mac Miller crashed will be someone else's problem ... once a winning bid's accepted at auction.

The whip's being auctioned off by the fine folks at Copart. The insurance company totaled the vehicle, because the repair cost exceeded its value.

The estimated retail value of the car is around $100k ... the top bid so far is just north of $12k. Buyer beware ... the car's got a few scratches, to say the least.

The auction runs through Wednesday.

Madonna was crushing hard on the model she famously kissed in her 1990 "Justify My Love" video, and professed it in a love letter ... which could be yours, but not for cheap.

The Material Girl sent the handwritten letter to Amanda Cazalet in 1991, not long after the 2 worked together on the sexy music vid. She starts with a joke about not being able to get in touch with Amanda, saying it's like "trying to seduce the pope."

It gets much steamier from there, with Madonna calling her the most beautiful woman in the world and admitting she fantasizes about kissing her again. She adds ... "I cannot explain my attraction -- nevertheless it's there."

According to the online auction house, GottaHaveRockandRoll.com ... Amanda says this letter is just one of several between Madge and her during the years following the music vid.

We're told it will hit the auction block July 11, with a starting bid of $15,000, and close July 20.

You may recall ... Madonna's personal items being auctioned off have been a sour subject for her. She sued to keep a prison letter from Tupac from being auctioned off and lost.

The person or persons who gunned down XXXTentacion likely knew who he was, and XXX struggled for his life.

According to police documents, there were 2 men who jumped out of the passenger side of an SUV armed with guns and demanded property from XXX. The documents say there was a "brief struggle." He was then shot multiple times ... the killers removed a small bag from XXX's car and then fled the scene.

TMZ broke the story ... X was gunned down leaving a motorcycle shop in Pompano Beach, Florida Monday. The document says, as XXX was leaving to get into his car, the SUV pulled in front of him to block him from leaving, and that's when the gunmen jumped out.

According to the documents, there's surveillance video in the motorcycle store showing the 2 gunmen enter and walk past XXX. The rapper was extremely famous, especially in that area where he lived, so it's highly likely the gunmen either knew who he was beforehand or knew when they saw him. They left the store and waited for 10 minutes for XXX to leave.

Dedrick Williams has been arrested for the murder. TMZ broke the story ... cops have arrest warrants for 2 others. It's interesting ... according to the document, it appears Dedrick may not have been the actual shooter. It says he "had an active part in the murder of [2 words redacted] by blocking in the victim's vehicle so that the two gunman (sic) could rob the victim at gun point."

The Medical Examiner ruled the cause of death as multiple gunshot wounds.

There is surveillance video and, according to the warrant, Dedrick was wearing a white tank top and bright orange-colored sandals. Dedrick's Instagram and Facebook accounts show a photo of him wearing orange sandals. The other gunman was wearing dark clothing and a red mask.

Clyde Drexler says the BIG3 league is packed with at least 12 dudes who have a real shot at NBA glory in 2018 ... telling TMZ Sports he expects his league to launch those guys back to The Association.

Drexler just took over as the commish of Ice Cube's 3-on-3 league and says he's been blown away by guys like Amare Stoudemire, DeShawn Stevenson and Andre Owens.

Ice Cube has previously said he hopes the BIG3 will be a pipeline for players to get back in the NBA -- and so far, the plan has worked ... with Xavier Silas signing a contract with the Boston Celtics after an impressive stint in the BIG3.

Justin Bieber and Hailey Baldwin must really have a thing for PDA ... cuz the two were caught sucking face again out in the open.

The newly crowned lovebirds were spotted in an NYC park Thursday in a full embrace and oblivious to everyone walking by. It's unclear just how long the two had been standing there, but they seem pretty comfortable macking in the open.

TMZ broke the story ... Justin and Hailey -- Jailey? ... meh, maybe not -- have been on a PDA parade around NYC over the last week. The couple was first spotted making out in a Brooklyn park near the water, then later sharing some smooches on an NYC park bench.

Joe Jackson is in a hospital with terminal cancer, TMZ has learned, and his family has been flocking to his bedside.

Family sources tell us, Joe has been battling the illness for some time, but it is at the end stages. We're told his wife, Katherine, has been at his bedside recently. We're also told some of Joe's children and grandchildren have also made the trip to the hospital.

We don't know how much time Joe has left -- doctors have talked to the family -- but our sources say the cancer cannot be treated.

Donald Trump Jr. clearly has his marriage in the rearview, because he and GF Kimberly Guilfoyle were all about it Thursday night at a Poison concert.

The President's son and the FOX News host hit up the concert at the Jones Beach Theater in Long Island, New York. They were front row and clearly having a good time.

XXXTentacion's legion of fans might be shocked by the baby news his mom dropped, but it wouldn't have been a surprise to him -- he knew weeks ago.

Sources close to the rapper tell TMZ ... X's girlfriend -- whom he'd been dating for months -- is the mystery baby mama. We're told the ultrasound photo shared by X's mother, Cleopatra Bernard, is definitely the girlfriend's.

As we reported ... Cleopatra posted the sonogram with the caption, "He left us a final gift."

Based on the womb snapshot, taken April 23, X's gf was just over 8 weeks along back then -- so, she's about 4 months pregnant now. That also means the due date is somewhere around mid-November.

Kim Kardashian West and Kanye just wrapped up a couple days in Paris -- full of high fashion, luxury hotels and fancy food -- but nothing hits the spot like some Popeyes fried chicken.

The couple touched down in L.A. Thursday night to attend Teyana Taylor's album listening party ... a project Kanye produced. Kim whipped out her phone at the pre-party to reveal a table of treats that was completed by a box of Popeyes.

As we reported, Kim and Kanye hit up the Louis Vuitton fashion show in Paris Thursday. They were joined by Kylie, Travis Scott and tons of other celebs.

Moby would like to give Melania Trump the benefit of the doubt after she wore a tone-deaf coat on her way to visit immigrant children held at detention centers ... but the legendary producer just can't bring himself to do that based on this White House's indifference to decency.

We got Moby at LAX on Thursday and asked him if he'd seen what Melania wore as she boarded a plane and headed for McAllen, Texas. The coat had bold lettering on the back that read, "I REALLY DON'T CARE, DO U?"

Tom Brady is TRASH when it comes to singing U2 songs -- and the video proof is pretty great!

TB12 and his wife, Gisele, hit up the U2 concert at TD Garden in Boston on Thursday -- apparently they're big fans -- and shouted along with the songs at the top of their lungs.

It's so bad, it's good.

You can hear Brady screech along with hits like "Vertigo" and "Pride (In The Name of Love)" -- and, when it comes to his singing voice, he's more Trevor Siemian than Tom Brady.

Gisele didn't seem to mind -- you can see her rocking out in the background, having a blast.

Ben Simmons is pulling a Khloe Kardashian -- getting back together with his significant other after she sucked face with another person!

Just weeks after Kendall Jenner was spotted making out with Anwar Hadid, she seems to be fully back with the 6'10" Simmons ... because the 2 partied in Hollywood on Thursday until 2 in the morning!!

Check out this video of the couple (?) leaving Hyde nightclub on the Sunset Strip right around closing time and driving off in the same SUV.

One thing we also noticed ... 21-year-old Ben gave a stiff-arm to the rose lady who was hoping the NBA star would reach into his pockets to impress Kendall after the club.

Tekashi69 believes UK customs agents refused him entry into the country because of his recent rap beefs ... and concocted lies about his criminal past just to keep him out.

6ix9ine was set to play 2 sold-out shows this week -- one in London, and another in Manchester. We're told the rapper was held at immigration Thursday for 12 hours after arriving from Belgium.

Sources close to 6ix9ine tell us customs agents repeatedly told the rapper they flagged him because he spent more than 12 months behind bars ... a buzz kill for foreigners who want to enter the country. Our sources say, not only has Tekashi never spent anywhere near 12 months behind bars, his team worked months in advance to insure he had all the proper paperwork and sponsors for entry.

Not only were the UK shows sold out, we're told they were also big time business opportunities for Tekashi as he planned on livestreaming them for fans on Xstreampass.

Our sources say Tekashi and crew feel the real reason they were refused entry is because of Tekashi's recent antics, including his feud with Chief Keef, and they've made stuff up to illegally bar him.

Freshly sworn-in U.S. Citizen French Montana is getting rid of his New Jersey mansion, and it's proof that you can get a lot more house in the suburbs of New York than in Los Angeles.

The crib in Pequannock Township, about 25 miles outside NYC, is on the market. The place is huge ... 6,134 square feet with 6 bedrooms and 5.5 bathrooms. There's also a recording studio adjacent to a theater and bar on the third floor. The estate has a manicured yard with a pool and half-basketball court.

The property is listed by Maxwell Ullman and Danielle Fiorina.

5:45 PM PT -- A rep for The Monkees tells TMZ ... Michael did not collapse during the band's soundcheck -- he had a minor health issue before he even made it to the venue. We're told the issue's not serious, but he was advised to rest for the next week.

The rep adds, the remaining 4 dates on The Monkees Present: The Mike & Mickey Show tour have been postponed until a later date ... and Michael's in good spirits and heading back home.

Michael Nesmith, guitarist for The Monkees, fell ill while preparing to hit the stage for a concert in Pennsylvania ... TMZ has learned.

We're told 75-year-old Nesmith collapsed to the ground during the band's soundcheck Thursday afternoon at the Keswick Theatre in Glenside, PA. Michael was not unconscious, but he was rushed to a hospital.

His rep says Michael's already been discharged, but it's unclear what the medical emergency was that prompted his hospitalization.

The Monkees -- famous for their hits, "Daydream Believer," "I'm a Believer" and "Last Train to Clarksville" -- were in the middle of a national tour, and were set to perform at 8 PM ET. The venue has announced the show's been postponed "due to illness."

However, reps for the band tell us the rest of the tour -- 3 more dates in NY and NJ -- has been canceled.