Music

Tekashi69's Brooklyn home was swarmed and raided by federal agents Friday ... a search we're told turned up a gun.

Law enforcement sources tell TMZ Tekashi was not home during the time of the raid. It's currently unknown what prompted the search, or who the gun discovered in the home belonged to.

A source close to Tekashi tells us the rapper was already in the process of moving out of the Brooklyn home that was raided. We're told 6ix9ine had not been in the house for several weeks, and many people -- including movers and cleaners -- have been inside the property lately.

Tekashi hasn't been in NY much over the last several weeks. You'll remember ... he was in Colombia with Kanye West, and had a show in Russia where a fan got stomped out by his crew.

You can see from the pics, multiple agents showed up at the home for the search. We're told NYPD also assisted.

We reached out to a rep for Tekashi ... so far, no word back.

Kim Kardashian & Kanye West hit the town in NYC on the eve of Kanye's 'SNL' performance.

Kim and Kanye were leaving the Electric Lady Studios Friday night, where Ye has been recording music. His new album drops Saturday, and he's already conceded he'll be #2, behind "Tha Carter V."

Kanye Tweeted Thursday, "we're releasing Yandhi Saturday Night, We know it will come in number 2 to my brother Lil Wayne and that's lovely, the universe needs Ye and Wayne music at the same time."

Kim took Saint for a late night stroll while she rocked the hottest of hot pink. North is being carried behind. We don't know if the woman holding the kid is a friend or a nanny.

XXXTentacion had no idea his vocals would be used on one of the most powerful tracks of Lil Wayne's "Tha Carter V" when he was shot and killed outside a Florida motorcycle shop.

Wayne dropped 'TC5' Friday, and the second track "Don't Cry" features a powerful hook from X. However, we're told the vocals weren't originally recorded for the album.

X met with Z3n -- a 22-year-old producer from Florida -- back in February to record a few tracks. Z3n tells us the two hit it off and recorded some material, but the hook that was eventually used by Wayne stuck the most.

Z says he and X never finished the track, but Z kept what they did.

Fast forward to August -- two months after X's murder -- to a meeting with Z3n and music producer in Miami. Z tells us he randomly found the X track while showing him music and he loved it ... then passed it on to Lil Wayne and a Republic Records exec.

From there, it was passed off to Ben Billions for additional production touch ups. after that was completed it ended up in Wayne's hand and X's hook was added.

Z tells us he didn't hear anything more about the track until just a week before the release of 'TC5' when Wayne's people let him know X's vocals would be on the album.

Will.i.am is getting blasted for appearing so bored, he was checking his iPhone during a Black Eyed Peas concert.

Will and Co. were performing at the Melbourne Cricket Ground Saturday in Australia -- the main pre-game entertainment at the Australian Football League Grand Final.

Check out the video, as Will checks his phone at least twice as the group sings its hit, "Let's Get it Started."

He later had an explanation ... "Sharing on socials isn't checking phone mid-song ... that's me being a performer & cameraman showing the world how Awesome Australia is."

Tupac's estate is getting a treasure trove of unreleased music, although not as much cash as it wanted.

We've learned Tupac's estate has settled its lawsuit against Entertainment One, the company it sued because the estate claimed E.O. had screwed it over royalties to the tune of 7 figures.

Sources with direct knowledge tell TMZ, Entertainment One will pay the estate a substantial 6-figure amount. But, there's something way more significant.

Tupac's mom, Afeni Shakur, was the administrator of Tupac's estate back in 2013 and sued Entertainment One to get a bunch of unreleased master recordings her son had made.

Afeni died in 2016, but the lawsuit trudged on ... until this week. We've learned those unreleased masters will now go back to the estate. We're told the value of the recordings is huge.

Marty Balin -- one of the founding members of Jefferson Airplane -- died Thursday, according to his rep.

The legendary Bay Area musician's family confirmed his passing, but isn't releasing a cause of death.

Balin's best known for forming the pioneering psychedelic rock band with Paul Kantner in 1965, which popularized the "San Francisco Sound" of the era. Marty was one of the vocalists in the band's classic lineup in the late '60s, which headlined 3 of the most famous rock festivals at the time ... including Woodstock.

He co-wrote several of their hits, including "Comin' Back to Me" on their breakthrough album "Surrealistic Pillow." He also sang backup vocals on "Somebody to Love."

Balin left the band, but returned in 1974 when they gained even more commercial success as Jefferson Starship. He wrote the band's 1975 hit, "Miracles."

He bailed once again in 1978 because he was tired of touring -- or perhaps because of his issues with bandmate and rival singer, Grace Slick -- and went on to pursue a solo career. After a couple reunion tours with Airplane and Starship, he left the bands for good in 2008.

Balin underwent open-heart surgery in 2016 in NYC and later sued the hospital for malpractice. He was 76.

Lil Wayne doesn't have to look very far to find the biggest fan of "Tha Carter V" -- his own daughter tells us she's thrilled and relieved her dad's long fight for the album is over.

Reginae Carter was gushing with love and praise for the album on Friday. Not surprisingly, she told us she's been listening to it nonstop. After all, it's a big break for her budding music career too -- Reginae is the featured vocalist on "Famous," track 11 on the album.

As everyone knows ... the record's been 6 years in the making, and Weezy's endured tons of legal battles through all of it. Interestingly, Reginae says Wayne always shielded her from that nightmare.

She's not the only one happy as hell the fight to release it is over -- for the most part, its rave reviews all around.

Kanye West has been hard at work finishing his album, doing a massive shoe release and practicing for his gig on 'SNL' ... a performance that'll feature some serious star power.

Sources on set tell us Ye's been in NYC all week putting the finishing touches on Saturday's show. We're told the mood at 'SNL' has been relaxed, collaborative and Ye's been treated like a part of the family.

Our sources say Kanye's working with Spike Jonze to put the finishing touches on the performance's creative direction. Kanye's also bringing some heavy-hitters out to join him on stage. We're told Lil Pump, Kid Cudi, Teyana Taylor and 070 Shake -- all of whom have songs with Ye -- are all set to hop onstage.

Adam Driver is tapped to host the show -- Ye posted a pic with him and Kenan Thompson Thursday during rehearsals while sporting a MAGA hat.

Kanye's also had a meeting with an 'SNL' show honcho, who we're told has put his faith in Kanye to deliver an unforgettable performance for the season premiere.

Put Lil Wayne right up there with Louis Armstrong, Fats Domino and Aaron Neville, because "Tha Carter V" reaffirms him as one of NOLA's greatest musicians ever ... according to Rep. Cedric Richmond.

We got the U.S. Congressman Friday on Capitol Hill, and he said he can't wait to bump Tunechi's new album during his flight home to New Orleans. It seems everyone is praising Wayne for finally dropping 'TC5' ... the rapper's getting props from Hollywood to D.C.

While Cedric is an elected representative for the Big Easy ... he calls Weezy a musical ambassador for the city, and adds his contributions to the community go beyond rap.

XXXTentacion's murder happened in plain view of surveillance cameras, and the haunting video was played in public for the first time Thursday during a Broward County court hearing.

The video shows X walking into the motorcycle dealership in Pompano Beach, FL ... and you see two of the suspects follow him into the building. Later, his BMW is stopped on the street by the gun-wielding suspects.

Surveillance cameras recorded what we'd already known -- that X struggled with his assailants before they opened fire at point-blank range. One of them actually walked around to the passenger side and got into X's car before fleeing the scene.

As we reported, the suspects made off with a Louis Vuitton bag and $50k in cash.

WPLG was in court as prosecutors played the video during a discovery and bail hearing for Robert Allen -- one of 4 suspects charged with the June murder of the rapper.

Adam Levine is driving ladies wild north of the border ... 'cause one fan snuck onstage and tailed the Maroon 5 singer before getting arrested!

Law enforcement sources tell TMZ ... the 22-year-old woman was busted for public mischief and released without bail.

You gotta watch the vid ... it's an unreal scene inside Scotiabank Arena in Toronto Thursday night during Maroon 5's concert.

You see the woman (white jacket, black pants) dancing onstage in front of the band before sliding past a guitarist and hauling ass down a runway toward Adam ... showing everyone she's got moves like Jagger.

Flesh-n-Bone says Bill Cosby better sharpen up his checkers game, and his stand-up comedy ... if he wants to make it through the next 3 to 10 years.

We got the Bone Thugs-N-Harmony rapper Thursday at LAX and wanted to know, from a celebrity's perspective, if doing hard time is ... well, hard. Flesh scoffed at first, telling us it wasn't too tough for him -- he did 8 years for assault with a deadly weapon and a probation violation.

But, he admitted Cosby's rape conviction could make life on the inside harder for him. Flesh's survival tip for the disgraced comedian is be funny, as in ... lean on those pudding jokes early. You gotta watch Flesh's reaction when we tell him Cosby actually got Jell-O his first day behind bars.

Malia Obama made her onscreen debut in a music video ... which is very Harvard-centric.

Malia dances and plays the harmonica in the video, "Walking on Air." The band -- New Dakotas -- is comprised of 4 members, all of whom attend Harvard.

She appears at 1:41 and again at 2:01 in the video.

The dudes in the band are seniors ... in the class if '19. Malia's a sophomore and is set to graduate in 2021.

This isn't the former First Daughter's entre into showbiz. She was a P.A. on Halle Berry's sci-fi drama "Extant." She also interned for Harvey Weinstein's company in NYC.

Tiffany Haddish couldn't keep her eyes off Lil Wayne ... call it the 'Carter V' afterglow.

The comedian hit up Weezy's star-studded birthday shindig Thursday night at Hubble Studios in L.A. The rapper turned 36 but the bigger celebration was for the long-delayed release of 'Carter V' ... which FIIIIINALLY dropped after a musical eternity.

Check out the pics ... Wayne's birthday cake is INSANE. There was also a goat at the party 'cause ... Weezy's the GOAT. Wiz Khalifa, Trey Songz and Chris Brown made appearances. Ashanti was also at the bash and happily mugged for the cameras. Safe to say Ashanti's wide grin speaks for everyone -- happy as hell 'TC5' dropped.

As we reported ... Weezy enlisted the help of his celeb friends to drop hints on the release date for "Tha Carter V" but fans had trouble dissecting them.

Lil Wayne enlisted the help of Kobe Bryant, Floyd Mayweather, James Harden and others to drop hints on the release date for "Tha Carter V" ... and his fans didn't even have a clue.

It was exactly 21 days ago when Floyd Mayweather posted the album's artwork with the goat emoji and "#21." Fans thought Floyd's post meant the album would be dropped on September 21 ... but that clearly wasn't the case. In fact, Floyd actually started a countdown to the album's release date.

James Harden followed suit the next week, posting the album artwork and "#13" -- many didn't pay attention to the hashtag ... because it's also his jersey number. What they didn't realize ... it was the continuation of the countdown for the 'TC5' release.

Kobe dropped a hint 8 days ago with a post of the album artwork and "#8" ... considering Bryant's jersey number for a long time was 8, again, most people didn't pay attention to the number.

Odell Beckham Jr., Michael Vick and Wayne's daughter, Reginae, had similar posts with numbers in their captions that corresponded with the album's release.

So, we gotta ask ...

50 Cent's all bark and no bite -- at least that's what his first baby mama thinks of his threat to derail her reality TV show ... but we've learned he's ready to sic his lawyers on her.

Shaniqua Tompkins tells TMZ ... she's not at all concerned after the rapper said there's no way in hell she can do a reality TV show because he owns her life rights. She's planning to team up with Nas' baby mama to sell a reality show about urban women in business.

ICYMI ... 50 went off on IG about her TV plans, saying ... "I have to say this in a way she can understand me. Look bitch go get a f***ing job, I own your life rights reality Tv is a no go. I don't know what to tell you, oh go shake your new fake ass over at club Angels."

Shaniqua says the "Power" star is powerless and is just salty 'cause she has ZERO interest in his ass. We're not so sure ... because a rep for 50 says, "Mr. Jackson intends to fully enforce his contractual rights as he has done in the past regarding Ms. Tompkins."

A source close to Fiddy tells us those contractual rights include Shaniqua's life story -- but watch the vid ... she's definitely not convinced and threatens to fire off a lawsuit of her own.