Music

If you're wondering if people will flock to see Aerosmith in Vegas, look no further than exhibit A on the "Today" show ... where fans literally couldn't keep their hands off the band.

Steven Tyler, Joe Perry and co. were making their way onto the NBC morning show set Wednesday to talk about the residency with a sea of people around them begging for high fives and cheering them on. One daring spectator actually crossed the barricade to bum-rush Steven for a selfie.

Gotta say, he handled it like a pro ... sloughing him off with ease and keeping it moving without incident. If this dude thought he could get away with that ... Steven pretty much told him to dream on. He basically said as much on Twitter, anyway.

It's going to take more than some nasty words on social media for Nicki Minaj to stop living her best life.

Nicki looked totally unfazed by her Twitter beef with ex-BF Safaree as she stepped out Tuesday night in NYC. She took her time rolling up to a live Tidal interview in SoHo ... must've been working on that sexy outfit.

As we reported, Nicki's ex, Safaree, claimed Nicki stabbed him with a knife in a fit of anger toward the end of their relationship.

3:40 PM PT -- Casanova's management team posted his bail, which was set at $10k, and he's been released ... according to bail bondsman Ira Judelson.

The rapper's attorney, Scott E. Leemon, claims the alleged victim has no credibility and lied to the local media to try to make money. Leemon points out Casanova has not been charged with assault, and says any labeling of his client as a person who beats women "is slanderous and will not be tolerated."

9:16 AM PT -- Law enforcement sources tell us Casanova has been charged with felony second-degree robbery.

Casanova just turned himself in to police after catching wind that he was a wanted man -- this after he allegedly attacked a woman in brutal fashion for using her phone.

Law enforcement sources tell TMZ that the "Set Trippin" rapper surrendered to the NYPD in Manhattan Wednesday morning and criminal charges against him are pending.

We broke the story ... a warrant was issued over the weekend for Casanova's arrest in connection to an alleged assault he was involved in from last week. A woman says he and an accomplice beat the crap out of her after they thought she was filming them in a restaurant.

She told PIX11 she was doing nothing more than recording her meal for Instagram Live -- and that her alleged assailants left her with a broken jaw, stitches and a loose tooth.

YG was sober as a judge when a flight attendant claimed he was drunk and kicked him off a plane Monday night ... according to rapper Slim 400, who was also on the flight.

Slim, one of YG's artists, says the trouble started when YG asked the American Airlines flight attendant if he could change his seat. He says there was no yelling or cussing ... just a calm request, but still things went south.

He says it only escalated because of the flight attendant's reaction to YG's request. You gotta see his description of what went down. Slim suggests the attendant's attitude was racially motivated because he's positive YG wasn't drunk and shows us why.

As we reported, YG posted a video as he was leaving the plane, claiming the airline was a bunch of "Racist ass muthaf***as." American tells us he was kicked off "due to being intoxicated."

Nick Jonas' rumored fiancee, Priyanka Chopra, seems to have just put the speculation to bed -- 'cause she's got a big rock on THAT finger ... which may or may not have been meant to be seen publicly.

Actress Raveena Tandon posted a shot of her with Priyanka Tuesday with Priyanka's left arm wrapped around her neck -- placing her ring finger on full display.

Yep, that's an engagement ring alright ... and it looks like the youngest Jo Bro shelled out big time based on how big it is. Now, we're not jewelers or anything -- but this bling doesn't appear to be as elaborate as the one Joe got for Sophie late last year.

Whatevs though. Dude put a ring on it -- and that means Priyanka's officially off the market. Sorry, fellas.

Cardi B's a tough act to follow ... according to Bruno Mars, who just announced he's replacing her spot on his tour with a slew of artists ... including Ciara.

Bruno played the role of hype man -- in a BIG way -- when he finally revealed who's stepping into Cardi's role on the 24K Magic Tour. In addition to Ciara, he's bringing Boyz II Men, Ella Mai ... as well as R&B legend Charlie Wilson (aka Uncle Charlie).

As you know, Cardi pulled out of her opening spot last month on Bruno's upcoming tour, saying it would be too much of a physical and emotional strain so soon after giving birth to Kulture.

The tour kicks off next month in Denver.

And Bruno ... maybe one less cup of coffee??

Dru Hill's new member ain't even tryin' to lie ... Smoke E. Digglera knows he and the group got busted -- hilariously -- for photoshopping his sneakers, but there's a funny story behind the flub.

Smoke, formerly lead singer for Playa, tells TMZ the mix-up started when he showed up for the photo shoot with Sisqo and the rest of DH, including fellow new member, Black. As the Internet immediately figured out ... those white Jordan 1 shoes on his feet were dropped in to cover up his, uhh ... wardrobe malfunction.

He says a miscommunication on what the shoot was supposed to frame (or not frame, more like) led to a last-minute change in editing ... and the rest is history.

As you probably know, fans roasted the poor Photoshop job with a bunch of "WHAT ARE THOSE?!" memes.

Joe Jonas is celebrating his birthday a little early ... and Sophie Turner's white and wet crop top is certainly making it a much happier occasion.

The middle Jo bro and his fiancee were spotted double fisting fruity drinks Monday in the pool before putting on a steamy PDA display at South Beach's Delano Hotel. Wednesday will be his 29th birthday.

The "Game of Thrones" star's high-cut, 2-piece swimsuit showed off her curves and her tats. Officially, we're told that's a Greer top she's rocking, but we think crop-T-ini (™) is a much more fun name.

The couple got engaged in October and have been going strong since ... even double dating last month with Priyanka Chopra and Joe's brother, Nick. No word when they're tying the knot, but the world could use another happy 'GoT' wedding.

Safaree claims Nicki Minaj went after him with a knife, stabbing him so severely he went to the hospital by ambulance ... but she says he's a liar.

Safaree, who broke up with Nicki in 2014, just tweeted, "Remember the night you cut me and i almost died the police and ambulance had to take me out the crib on a stretcher and I had to lie and tell them I was trying to kill myself so they wouldn't take you to jail."

Nicki fired back, "U stole my card & told me you thought it was an account with 'free money' that I didn't know about. On God. God will strike you down & more for lying."

We've actually seen a video back in 2014 that shows Nicki chasing Safaree with a knife.

Demi Lovato's near-death OD began at 4 AM July 24, when she texted a drug dealer to come to her house ... sources tell TMZ.

Sources with direct knowledge tell us, Demi had been at a party in WeHo following a birthday celebration at Saddle Ranch on the Sunset Strip. After the drug dealer got the text, he came to her house and we're told the 2 of them freebased Oxycodone on tin foil.

Our sources say unbeknownst to Demi, the drug dealer had a bad habit of buying dirty drugs from Mexico ... and the batch in question appeared to be laced with fentanyl -- that's the same drug that killed Prince and Lil Peep.

We're told the dealer fled her home when he noticed she was in bed, breathing very heavily.

Our sources say Demi had been using the dealer since April.

TMZ broke the story ... someone on Demi's staff found her around 11:30 AM on the 24th. She had to be revived with Narcan.

Demi was hospitalized for 2 weeks and then went to an out-of-state rehab facility. Last Friday, she and her mom flew to Chicago for a few days where she received treatment from a renowned addiction specialist.

YG was flying high even before his flight left the gate ... at least according to American Airlines, which promptly kicked his allegedly drunken ass off the plane.

YG boarded the LAX to JFK flight Monday night, but wasn't there long. The rapper was pissed off as he made that long, lonely and embarrassing walk back down the jetway. He said, "F**k American Airlines! They said I'm drunk. I'm sober than a muthaf***a!"

American tells TMZ ... YG was indeed kicked off "due to being intoxicated." After seeing his video, though, AA tried to slide into his DMs.

As he made his exit, YG made it clear he thinks this was less about booze, and more about FWB. He blurted, "Racist ass muthaf***as. I'm sober!!"

Nick Cannon promises his new show about the Bay Area will be dripping in authenticity 'cause he's got Oakland legends, E-40 and Too Short, on board as producers.

Nick tells TMZ he's psyched about his drama crime series, "The Yay Area," because it's going to chronicle Northern California's drug culture, and its connection to Silicon Valley, biker gangs and even the Black Panthers.

Nick's thinking "The Wire" meets "The Sopranos" -- and now that he has Short and 40 involved, he thinks things will move quickly. We're told several networks are interested, and Nick's sinking tons of his own dough into it.

Bella Thorne's damn proud of her pussy rap, and says her family is too -- and yes, we're referring to Bella's musical homage to the female anatomy.

We got the former-Disney-actress-turned-rap-artist Monday at LAX ... and she tells us she's heard nothing but great things about her new song, "Pussy Mine."

Bella says she was a little worried about the lyrical content, but imagines her mom is somewhere bumping the song in her car. Pretty funny image, especially when you see and hear Bella performing the track in her risque music vid.

Bella and her bf, Mod Sun, were getting ready to board a flight to New York, where she's performing this weekend at Billboard's Hot 100 Festival. She gave him props for his rap flow.

Aretha Franklin has just about everyone praying for her -- and that includes Steven Tyler, who's got a sweet message for the Queen of Soul.

We got Aerosmith's frontman and his girlfriend, Aimee, on the streets of NYC Monday and it seems our camera guy broke the news that Aretha was gravely ill from cancer and not expected to last the day. Although shocked ... he was eloquent and heartfelt.

3:15 PM PT -- Famed attorney Marty Singer is representing Jane Doe and he tells us, "We consider [Bari's] cross complaint to be specious."

It's also worth noting ... prosecutors in the UK are still proceeding with a criminal case against Bari for allegedly raping the woman.

A$AP Bari, one of the co-founders of the A$AP Mob, is going after the woman accusing him of sexual assault ... claiming she wove a web of lies to get him to pay up big-time.

According to legal docs obtained by TMZ ... Bari says his accuser only started alleging sexual assault AFTER she lawyered up. A$AP claims on the night of the incident in July 2017, two police officers showed up to the London hotel and interviewed her ... asking if she had been sexually assaulted.

In docs, Bari says the woman -- who's suing as Jane Doe -- told cops she hadn't been sexually assaulted but was worried about a naked video of her leaking onto the Internet. Bari claims Doe was relieved when she saw one of the cops delete the 10-second video Bari recorded. He claims Doe told police, "seeing the video being deleted was like having a weight lifted" off her shoulders.

As for the video that eventually went viral exposing Doe ... Bari claims that video was taken without his knowledge by a third person in the room when Doe hooked up with Bari's assistant. Bari's suing for defamation and civil extortion for allegedly pressuring him into settling.

9:58 AM PT -- Our sources say doctors have informed Aretha's family today (Monday) is the day "Aretha will pass."

Aretha Franklin is gravely ill and friends and family are gathering for their final goodbye ... TMZ has confirmed.

A source very close to Aretha and a longtime dear friend tells TMZ he was told a week ago, "Prepare yourself, she's dying." The source adds Aretha was down to 86 pounds and her health was failing. The source says 2 weeks ago everyone in Aretha's circle was told "she could go any time."

Another source -- someone who has been close to Aretha for decades -- tells TMZ she has been battling cancer.

Franklin, who is 76, has been in poor health over the last few years. She has performed, but only on a limited basis ... most recently last November at an Elton John AIDS Foundation event.

The news that her health is failing first came from Roger Friedman over at Showbiz411, and WDIV TV in Detroit says Aretha's family confirmed she is gravely ill.

Story developing ...