Music

Organizers for Jay-Z's Made in America Festival are taking ZERO chances when Tekashi69 performs next month ... they've beefed up security to avoid the violence that seems to follow the rapper.

A rep for the Mayor's Office of Philadelphia tells TMZ ... event producers are taking extra precautions to ensure the festival remains safe for everyone. Tons of huge rappers are set to take the stage during Labor Day weekend ... including Hova, Kendrick Lamar, Nicki Minaj and Meek Mill.

But, get this ... while there's already a massive security plan in place for the entire weekend, the rep tells us organizers are pouring a significantly heavier detail specifically to cover Tekashi's performance.

As you know ... 6ix9ine and 50 Cent came under fire when someone fired at least 11 shots during their filming of a music video in Brooklyn last week. Tekashi had also been beefing with Chief Keef, who was targeted by shooters back in June. Tekashi denied any involvement.

Sources with knowledge of the situation tell us the extra security did not come at Tekashi's request. We're told he had planned to roll with his usual security detail, but organizers clearly thought more was better.

The man who shot and killed John Lennon isn't getting out of prison anytime soon ... he's just been denied parole once again.

Mark David Chapman went before a parole board in New York Thursday, and they came to the decision to keep him behind bars ... and he won't be up for parole again for 2 years.

The board explained its decision to Chapman saying ... "You admittedly carefully planned and executed the murder of a world-famous person for no reason other than to gain notoriety."

The board added ... "While no one person's life is any more valuable than another's life, the fact that you chose someone who was not only a world renown person and beloved by millions, regardless of the pain and suffering you would cause to his family, friends and so many others, you demonstrated a callous disregard for the sanctity of human life and the pain and suffering of others."

We broke the story ... Chapman got a new mug shot before his hearing. He's been serving 20 years to life after pleading guilty to 2nd degree murder of Lennon, who he shot in front of The Beatles' legend's Manhattan apartment in 1980.

Chapman later admitted to planning the killing because he wanted to be famous. He had been denied parole 9 times since December 2000 ... and now it's an even 10.

Nicki Minaj wants this on the record -- she F****** LOVES Kylie Jenner (but not Travis Scott) ... and will NOT be playing into a catfight narrative!!! GOT IT?! Got it, Nick.

The NY rapper cleared the air Thursday on her 'Queen Radio' show over a vid TMZ posted showing Kylie trying to avoid Nicki on the VMAs red carpet this week, saying Kylie's nothing more than an innocent bystander in this clear beef between Nicki, Travis and the music biz.

Nicki says Kylie is doing what anyone would do -- standing by their man. That's a bit of a flip from what Nicki tweeted over the weekend, blaming Kylie and Stormi for pumping up Travis' album sales. Now ... she insists they're all good.

8/24 -- The official document we received listed Gladys Knight as a performer at the memorial. A rep for Gladys tell us that there was a miscommunication ... she will not be performing, but she will be in attendance.

TMZ just got a list of the performers who will take the mic at Aretha Franklin's memorial next Thursday, and it's awesome!!!

Check this out:

The Four Tops
Gladys Knight
Johnny Gill
Ron Isley
Kiki Sheard
Kurt Carr
Jean Carne
Doug Carn
Ronnie McNeir
L.J. Reynolds
Tasha Page-Lockhart
Dee Dee Bridgewater
Dr. Bobby Jones
Jenifer Lewis
George Faison
Angie Stone
Raheem DeVaughn
Gracie Franklin
Eddie Franklin
Victorie Franklin
Santita Jackson
Ralphe Armstrong Band
Kern Brantley Band

Dr. Louis Farrakhan will be attending as a guest.

The event will go down at the Chene Park Amphitheatre in Detroit on August 30.

According to a doc obtained by TMZ, performances can be acoustic, track or with the Aretha Franklin combined band.

And, all artists will have to pay for their own air, ground and hotel accommodations.

As you know, Aretha died last week after a long battle with pancreatic cancer.

Drake and Odell Beckham Jr. watched as Kourtney's ex, Younes Bendjima, viciously beat a man outside a West Hollywood restaurant ... and TMZ has the video.

It went down March 24 at Delilah restaurant at 2:15 AM. Drake, Odell and at least a dozen other guys are leaving through the back door of the club when an employee throws open the door leading to the parking lot.

The employee mouths something to the group, which clearly pisses them off, and Younes delivers a flurry of punches to the employee's head. Another member of the crew jumps in and delivers his own series of punches as the victim appears to go down. Younes grabs the guy's hair and continues the assault.

A source who was there tells TMZ the victim "talked smack" as he opened the door for the group.

Law enforcement sources tell TMZ, the employee filed a police report, but changed his mind and decided not to pursue the matter.

Ed King -- a classic rocker best known as a guitarist for Lynyrd Skynyrd and co-writer of "Sweet Home Alabama" -- died Wednesday at his home in Nashville ... according to his family.

Ed played guitar and bass for the Southern rock band from 1972 to 1975 and again from 1987 to 1996. He co-wrote one of Skynyrd's most legendary hits with Ronnie Van Zant and Gary Rossington ... none of whom were actually from Alabama.

A rep for King's family tells us Ed was first diagnosed with lung cancer but it later spread through his body.

King was not with the band in 1977 when Van Zant and 2 other members were killed in a plane crash. He rejoined Lynyrd Skynyrd in 1987, but was reportedly forced to leave the band again in 1996 due to congestive heart failure.

Ed was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2006 along with all of the other former members of the band. He was featured in the recently released Lynyrd Skynyrd documentary, 'If I Leave Here Tomorrow' as well.

King was also one of the founding members of Strawberry Alarm Clock, formed in L.A. in the mid-1960s.

We're told the Hermitage Funeral Home & Memorial Gardens in Nashville will be handling the arrangements for Ed -- he'll be cremated and no ceremony is planned.

He was 68.

Justin Bieber is one step closer to being a pro jockey ... dude just bought a crazy huge $5 MILLION mansion in Ontario, Canada with it's own private horse racing track.

The property is 101 ACRES -- a skosh smaller than the size of Vatican City (for real, look it up) -- and this place has it all!!!

Private lake access? Check. Two story temperature controlled wine room? Check. Private gym? Check. Heated floors? YOU KNOW BIEB'S GOT HEATED FLOORS!!

Oh, and did we mention ... the place has its own private equestrian facility with stables and a 5/8 mile race track!!!!

The living space is 9,000 square feet -- with 4 bedrooms, 6 baths, 3 fireplaces, game room and movie theater (obvi). It's also got a 3 car garage.

We're told Bieber closed on the place on Monday -- no word on when he plans on moving in ... but the sooner, the better.

Unclear if Bieber plans to make the home his main residence with fiancee Hailey Baldwin -- or just a place to get away and hang by the lake.

Either way, it's another baller piece of real estate Bieber can add to his portfolio.

Kodak Black is free to keep building up his hip-hop empire now that he's out of jail, but the dude's turning down tons of cash to focus on something more important ... TMZ has learned.

Sources close to the "Roll in Peace" rapper tell us KB has become a hot touring commodity since getting sprung out of Broward County Jail early last week after serving 7 months. You'll recall ... he was doing time for 2 probation violations after being arrested in January.

Turns out, the 7 months did wonders for his going rate. We're told a number of promoters have reached out to his camp with offers. He was asked to perform at a D.C.-area college for $100k, not to mention an offer from a venue in South Dakota for $105k and a weed festival in Oregon for a little more than $100k. He even turned down a Labor Day gig in Tallahassee for $125k!

Do the math -- that adds up to well over $400k Kodak's leaving on the table. Sources say it's all because his priority is recording new music.

Kodak was in solitary for a majority of his jail stint, and had a lot to get off his chest in song.

In other words ... look out for new Kodak tunes soon.

How'd Andre Drummond feel when he saw LeBron James playing in an L.A. pickup game this week with Kevin Durant and Kawhi Leonard?

"I was mad I was not there!"

Drummond's also out in L.A. getting some offseason workouts in -- mostly at UCLA, where Bron and company got it in on Tuesday ... so he stopped by the TMZ office to hang out.

The Detroit Pistons superstar says he LOVES playing pickup hoop with other NBA stars -- especially those guys -- and he gave us the lowdown about what happens in those games.

Shocker ... Drummond says Kevin Durant dominates, telling us he's easily the #1 pickup player alive.

"He's very fun to watch and play with ... I think he's very unguardable."

Drummond also tells us why Kawhi Leonard is an absolute freak of nature -- just look at the size of his hands!

There's more ... Drummond also just dropped his new album, "Fyi" -- and says it solidifies his spot as the "best artist in basketball."

Tekashi69 was looking worse for wear Wednesday morning as he went into court -- and it's probably 'cause he was out partying all night ... rockin' the same outfit.

Here are photos of 6ix9ine at Harris County Courthouse in Houston, Texas Wednesday morning to face arraignment in his assault case from earlier this year -- in which he's been accused of choking a 16-year-old kid at a mall. If he looks tired and disheveled ... here's why.

Tekashi was literally a few states over just hours beforehand, partying it up at Mr Jones nightclub in Miami. Yep, those are the same clothes in both sets -- minus the chain and bling, of course. Ya gotta clean up a little bit before showing up in front of a judge, right?

We broke the story ... Tekashi's legal team filed docs asking the court to use his government ID, Daniel Hernandez, during his criminal trial. He's worried his stage name's gonna get dragged through the mud if it's allowed to be uttered on the stand. His arraignment was pushed to September.

Kylie Jenner did NOT want to come face-to-face with Nicki Minaj at the VMAs, 'cause she completely changed course on the red carpet to avoid her.

Nicki was making her entrance at Radio City Music Hall Monday night, and Kylie was walking in her direction from the other end ... when she stopped in her tracks upon seeing Nicki. It's pretty clear she didn't want a confrontation -- 'cause she doubled back fast.

Can't blame her. Nicki put Kylie and her baby, Stormi, on blast this weekend ... blaming them for unscrupulously boosting Travis Scott's album sales by promoting his merch. She later went on to call Travis a "hoe n**** of the week" on her Apple Music radio show.

VMA producers had already accommodated Travis and Kylie by seating them far away from Nicki after placing them right behind her at first in a seating arrangement.

Looks like you can't avoid running into your problems sometimes -- but you can always run away from them. Kylie definitely didn't want that smoke.

Cardi B and Offset just gave us a first glimpse of their newborn after keeping her under wraps for a little more than a month -- keep in mind though ... it's literally just a glimpse.

The new parents posted a sliver of a photo of baby Kulture Wednesday -- the first time we're seeing her in any capacity -- with Cardi captioning the pic "KultureK."

It's definitely more of Kulture than we saw Monday night when Cardi pretended to be holding the kid in her arms as she opened the VMAs ... only to reveal it was a Moonman statue. We already knew she wasn't bringing Kulture though ... so no big surprises there.

Gotta say -- Cardi and Offset are definitely keeping their cards close to the vest. If Cardi holds out long enough ... she might beat all the newest Kardashian kids' debuts. Khloe's baby, True, currently holds the title at 2 months and change.

10:26 AM PT -- We've obtained a video showing Wilson getting escorted through the airport in handcuffs. She's surrounded by several officers but appears to be calm.

Country singer Gretchen Wilson was ready to get rowdy on a commercial flight ... and she got BUSTED after fighting with a passenger over an airplane bathroom ... sources tell TMZ.

Wilson was met by State Police when her flight from D.C. landed at Bradley International Airport in Connecticut ... and we're told she threw her hands in the air and demanded to be arrested.

Cops were waiting for Wilson at the gate ... 'cause she continued the bathroom beef throughout the roughly 80-minute flight, sources tell TMZ.

Hey, when you gotta go, you gotta go. Right?!?

Gretchen was arrested for 2nd-degree breach of peace. Bond was set at $1,000 and she's scheduled to appear in court Wednesday ... ahead of her private performance at Mohegan Sun casino.

We're told Gretchen was flying first class and there was only one bathroom on the flight ... she got beat to the head, waited, knocked on the door, exchanged words with the person inside and eventually got into a shoving match.

For the rest of the flight, sources say Gretchen kept looking back down the aisle at the passenger and the two exchanged threatening hand gestures. Gretchen was warned by flight attendants to stop.

It's not the first time Wilson has been accused of disturbing a commercial flight.

TMZ broke the story ... in October 2007, Gretchen was issued an in-flight citation during an American Airlines flight from Nashville to Los Angeles. Sources said alcohol was a factor and Gretchen said "F**k you" when flight attendants asked her to put her dog back in its traveling case.

Ice Cube knows the chances of Kobe Bryant playing in the BIG3 next year are slim to none -- but ya can't score if you don't shoot!!

Cube's BIG3 co-founder Jeff Kwatinetz got everyone's hopes up on Tuesday when he told the media that a "credible source" informed him Mamba was joining the 3-on-3 league in 2019.

Kobe's people quickly shot that down -- so, when we saw Cube in NYC early Wednesday morning, we asked him to clear everything up.

Cube told TMZ Sports he hadn't spoken to Kobe yet, but says when it comes to a basketball comeback, "I think he's done."

Still, he left the door open a crack ... and even pitched Kobe about why he should add BIG3 to his resume.

Kobe hasn't played pro basketball since he retired from the NBA at the end of the 2015-16 season -- and his wife, Vanessa Bryant, was adamant he ain't EVER coming back.

Shaquille O'Neal doesn't seem convinced, however, recently telling TMZ Sports his former Lakers teammate was coming back for one last hurrah with LeBron James.

Don't hold your breath ...

7:40 AM PT -- Tekashi's arraignment was pushed to September.

Tekashi69 does not want to be court shamed in his trial for allegedly choking someone at a mall ... so he's asking the judge to bar prosecutors from using his stage name during the trial.

6ix9ine, whose government name is Daniel Hernandez, filed legal docs asking the judge to order prosecutors to refer to him either as "defendant," "accused" or by his legal name.

Tekashi says the use of any other name -- presumably the one for which he's famous -- could only be used for the purpose of attaching "derogatory and satirically unflattering labels" on him.

Tekashi is on trial in Houston for allegedly choking a 16-year-old at the Galleria Mall back in January. The victim claims he was taking cell phone video of the rapper when Tekashi turned around and ordered him to erase it. The kid says Tekashi then grabbed him by the neck.

Tekashi has had other legal problems ... notably a run-in with NYPD back in February when cops shut down his music video shoot.

Post Malone's on cloud nine and beyond appreciative of the people who kept him safe during a frightening flight ... and now he's ready to party.

We got the rapper shortly after his plane made an emergency landing at the Stewart International Airport in New Windsor, NY Tuesday ... he was obviously elated the ordeal ended well.

Posty -- who told us "I f***ing hate flying" -- gave us some more details about the scary flight ... telling us it actually had TWO unplanned landings, the first due to a sensor issue.

During the emergency, Post says he sent out a mass "I love you" text to his friends and family in case it ended badly ... but gave mad props to the pilot, co-pilot and flight attendant who kept that from happening.

Post says they get free passes to his shows -- and pretty much whatever they want -- for the rest of their lives. They must have calmed his nerves too ... because he had to get back on a plane for the next stop right after.

As we reported ... Post's jet blew 2 tires after takeoff from Teterboro Airport in New Jersey, and flew around burning fuel to prevent fire and explosion upon landing. Several fire trucks and ambulances were on site for the landing in case anything went awry, but fortunately the plane touched down safely.

Shortly after, Post told us he was shook but relieved ... and needed some booze stat.