Music

Monica says Kanye West is misguided if he thinks teaming up with Donald Trump is helping the world ... and it's time for Ye to put the kibosh on their relationship.

We got the R&B singer at LAX Tuesday and asked about Kanye and Trump's Thursday lunch date to discuss prison reform, jobs and reducing Chicago gang violence. Sounds great, but Monica still thinks Kanye should pull out because he's doing more harm than good for the black community.

She acknowledges Kanye has noble intentions, but says he's become too divisive for anyone to take him seriously.

Watch the clip ... Monica strongly insinuates Kanye needs to get on the same page with other black leaders before sitting down with Trump.

From what we've seen Kanye say about "free thought" ... that's highly unlikely.

One more thing ... she says Kim Kardashian's track record with the Prez doesn't automatically mean Kanye will have the same success.

Monica's disapproval aside ... POTUS is clearly gung-ho about the Kanye meeting.

Phora's plans to meet his fans and hand out some swag went haywire when the massive Hollywood Boulevard crowd got out of hand ... and he ended up running a makeshift ambulance.

The SoCal rapper held a promo event at Shoe Palace in Hollywood Monday night to promote his new album, which included a giveaway of shoes and clothes to fans who turned out to give him love.

Problem is ... A LOT of Phora fans came, and the crowd of hundreds inside the store eventually spilled onto the street. Police were called in for crowd control, but things still got too crazy and a small stampede landed several people in the hospital.

Phora -- who signed with Warner Bros. Records last year -- is looking on the bright side. He says not only did he make people happy before the chaos erupted, but afterward he was able to get a fan to the hospital.

More good news -- the injuries suffered by his fans were reportedly all minor.

As for the massive turnout, he says it's not a first for him. He's just getting more pub this time ... because location is everything.

8:40 PM PT -- The AMA's have come and ended without the face-to-face many fans were hoping for ... and it's because Nicki wasn't there. A source close to Minaj had told us the rapper flew in to L.A. Monday for Tuesday's show and was getting ready just hours before it started. However, a production source tells us Minaj was never, at any point, scheduled to appear. Guess the showdown will have to wait.

Cardi B and Nicki Minaj will be on the same turf tonight for the first time since Cardi chucked her shoe at Nicki and ended up with a huge lump on her head ... TMZ has learned.

Both ladies will be attending the AMAs Tuesday night in L.A. -- Cardi's a scheduled performer ... but we've learned Nicki will be there too. It's unclear if she'll take the stage though.

As you'll recall ... the last time the rappers were in the same room together, Cardi beelined it for Nicki and hurled a shoe at her, calling her a "p***y." Now, more than a month later, the 2 will be seated in the Microsoft Theater in L.A. Interesting to note, Cardi is up for 8 awards, Nicki was not nominated for any.

It's unclear how close they'll be seated to each other, but we know neither Cardi's team nor Nicki's made any special request to avoid each other.

This is the most respectful way we've ever seen anyone call for a QB to hit the pine ...

The guy calling for Eli Manning to bench himself is Treach -- the leader of Naughty By Nature -- who happens to be a HUGE fan of the NY Giants.

Treach respects Eli. He likes Eli. He appreciates Eli.

But, he makes it crystal clear the future Hall of Famer's time is up -- dude needs to hand over the reins to a new quarterback.

"He loves the game so much, but he might need to fall back and show the team how to do it and let new legs come in," Treach said ... "But, he did great things for us. We gonna love him forever."

Treach is the latest rapper to weigh in on the NY Giants saga -- Lil Wayne took a shot at Eli on Tuesday after the QB told reporters he doesn't watch Weezy very often.

Eli was responding to an interview Odell Beckham did with Lil Wayne and Josina Anderson in which Odell said he "wasn't being given an opportunity to be the very best that I can."

He also said the Giants lacked heart.

Eli was asked about the interview on Monday and said, "I don't watch Lil Wayne much."

Wayne responded on Tuesday morning, saying, "You don't have to watch much of me, but you can listen if you could. You probably need to the way you've been playing."

Meanwhile, the Giants are 1-4 and in last place ... and they're playing the Eagles on Thursday.

Meek Mill's cementing his role in Philadelphia as "Man of the People" ... with yet another contribution that will serve kids well for years to come.

The rapper is set to announce plans to renovate a basketball court at East Fairmount Park in North Philly. Meek specifically chose that park because it's the neighborhood where he grew up. He tells TMZ, "North Philly will always be home. When kids go to East Fairmount Park, they deserve to ball in the best conditions possible, so I'm glad they'll have that opportunity now."

Meek partnered up with Roc Nation and PUMA -- which is celebrating its reentry to the basketball market -- to refurbish and repaint the court. Plans for the refurbished court are expected to be unveiled within a few days.

President Trump and Kanye West are officially teaming up to ... make America great again, and their plan will kick off with lunch at the White House.

Kanye and 45 are set to meet on Thursday, and their agenda will include discussing boosting American manufacturing and preventing gang violence, especially in Ye's hometown of Chicago ... according to the White House.

They'll also continue the convo on prison reform ... which Trump started with Kanye's wife, Kim Kardashian West, during a September meeting.

When he was here at TMZ last week, Ye said he'd been trying to encourage Colin Kaepernick to sit down with POTUS ... now he gets to work the other side.

This will be their first face-to-face meeting since late 2016 when the rapper, shoe and fashion mogul met with then President-elect in NYC.

You better come correct if you challenge Jimmy Fallon to a rap battle ... 'cause Jimmy just put one of Post Malone's artists in a body bag.

The 'Tonight Show' host wasn't playing around when he went rhyme-for-rhyme with Post's upcoming artist, Tyla Yaweh ... hitting him where it hurts with no regard for human life.

It all went down at Paddy Reilly's Music Bar in NYC after Post's appearance on the 'Tonight Show', and ya gotta watch the video ... Jimmy GOES IN, Tyla flops hard and Post bows down.

It's official ... President Trump's got "Bad Blood" with Taylor Swift ... 'cause he just took a shot at her, responding to her diss of a Republican Congresswoman.

Trump was on the South Lawn Monday afternoon when he was asked about Taylor's foray into politics. Check it out ... about a minute-and-a-half into the vid, he turns to the camera, with a sly grin, and proceeds to rip Taylor ... saying she's clueless about the Congressional race in Tennessee. Then he drops a parting shot at her music and her poll numbers ... at least in the White House.

ICYMI ... Taylor announced she's voting for 2 Democrats in the Volunteer State, and blasted the voting record of Rep. Marsha Blackburn ... who's running for Senate.

One of Trump's most vocal supporters, Judge Jeanine Pirro, also offered Taylor some advice ... which sounded like it was taken straight outta Laura Ingraham's playbook.

On the other hand, comedian D.L. Hughley gave Taylor props for taking a stand. And, if you're wondering, he says hell yeah a singer can make a difference in a red state like Tennessee. As he put it, anything's possible when a game show host can become Prez.

Lil Wayne was NOT about to wait around to figure out whether shots had really been fired at his concert this weekend -- he assumed it happened, and got the hell OUT of Dodge.

TMZ got this video of Wayne being whisked away backstage, toward the end of Sunday night's severely shortened A3C Fest set. Someone allegedly yelled out "shots fired!" and caused a panic. As you can see ... Weezy was no different from fans at the show, rushing downstairs off the stage and straight into his waiting SUV, not taking any chances.

Can't blame Weezy for hauling ass. Remember, his tour bus was shot up in the Atlanta area back in 2015, so it makes sense his team was ready to bolt. The scene out on the festival grounds was just as chaotic with everyone in GTFO mode.

As we reported ... several concertgoers were trampled in the stampede. All in all, about a dozen people were injured with minor injuries, some of which required medical attention.

John Mayer wants to can the idea that men must be alpha males and take what they want -- including women -- and replace it with a new doctrine focused on respect and sensitivity.

The guitar-slinging crooner was doing a cancer benefit show Sunday night at the Modell Performing Arts Center in Baltimore when he went off on a tangent about toxic masculinity, which he called a "bulls**t" alpha male contract that's nailed into boys' heads from a young age.

He says the sentiment that a man should get an erection at the sight of every woman he wants is crap. John added the so-called "trauma" men might feel when a woman turns them down ... is something men just have to get over.

His new idea on how to raise boys ... teach 'em that the world isn't theirs, and they're not definitely not entitled to every woman. It's worth noting this rant came right after John performed "Daughters."

He never calls him by name, but it's pretty clear John's referring to newly sworn-in Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh.

Slow clap for Cardi B and Offset -- they're back making it rain on strippers, and this time no drinks or fists were thrown.

The couple headed back to a strip club, Crazy Girls, Sunday night in L.A. ... smacking butts instead of bartenders. It was their first time in a gentlemen's establishment, that we've seen anyway, since Cardi's last visit. Ya know, the one that got her arrested and charged with assault for allegedly ordering a beatdown on strip club bartenders.

Offset was armed with a seemingly endless stack of Washingtons in their VIP section ... and Cardi even got on a pole and started twerking for her man. What's that thing about old habits?

Smart move on Offset's part -- everyone knows the dancers give you way more attention when you have a female companion. Just take a note from Offset, and get ya girl some roses while you're at it.

A Lil Wayne concert in Atlanta erupted into pandemonium Sunday night after someone in the crowd screamed, "shots fired!"

Wayne was onstage performing at the Georgia Freight Depot during the second day of the A3C Festival when someone claimed to have heard the shots. There was immediate panic as people ran to exit the area.

Several people were trampled during the stampede. In all, about a dozen people suffered minor injuries.

Cops say there was no evidence of shots fired.

Justin Bieber has commitment issues ... when it comes to buying a crib in L.A. 'cause we've learned he's chosen the renter's life, at least for now.

Sources tell TMZ ... Justin just signed a lease to rent a nearly 6,000 square foot crib in the San Fernando Valley, and it wasn't cheap -- he'll shell out nearly $100k per month.

We're told Justin's sorta kinda stuck between a rock and a hard place -- he doesn't wanna live in a ritzy hotel anymore, but he's not exactly ready to plunk down a ton of cash to buy a place in L.A.

We're told Justin wanted to have a steady place to live when he's in Tinseltown with his new wife (sorry, God) Hailey Baldwin. As far as the crib goes ... the 4 bedroom, 7 bathroom Mediterranean-style house is newly renovated and it features lake-front views.

If the crystal shoe fits, Cardi B's baby is gonna wear it, along with her own blinged-out mini throne ... TMZ has learned.

Baby Kulture recently got a baby rocking chair as well as a super fancy pair of baby shoes as gift from Sony, Cardi's record label. Sources tell us the chair is covered with nearly 26,000 rhinestones and is valued at $1,500.

Of course, Kulture will be rocking bloody shoes -- expensive and red-bottomed, featuring 1,450 Swarovski crystals. They run about $200.

We're told Sony reached out to Angela's Fantasy Creations about a month ago to commission the pieces, which they wanted to give to Cardi as a gift after she gave birth. The chair took the full month to create, but the shoes were made within a day.

The chair has Kulture Kiari Cephus' initials inscribed in rhinestones. Our sources say the baby shoes were a bonus gift, suggested by AFC.

Method Man and Redman are passing the blunt and leaving the rotation ... 'cause we're told the rappers won't be appearing in the "How High" sequel.

Sources close to "How High 2" tell TMZ ... the hip-hop duo wasn't cast in the made-for-TV movie after starring in the original stoner comedy.

We're told the sequel is going to be fundamentally different from the OG version -- think sativa vs. indica -- because it's for a television PG-13 audience, and weed legalization has made strides since 2001, when Meth and Red blazed their way through Harvard.

Filming began last week in Atlanta and, as we reported ... Lil Yachty and DC Young Fly are the franchise's new stars.

Meth and Red are MIA -- probably ripping a bong somewhere -- but one of the original producers, Shauna Garr, is returning.

Don't write off Meth and Red just yet ... we're told there's always a chance the duo changes course and makes a cameo in the sequel, or in a potential trilogy.

Bruce Springsteen looked the way a lot of NY Giants fans felt Sunday after a gut-wrenching loss against the Carolina Panthers ... with the game slipping away in the final seconds.

The Boss was spotted at Wonder Bar in Asbury Park, New Jersey watching the Giants game with friends. The team was up by a point after a clutch touchdown by rookie Saquon Barkley in the last minute of the game -- but Cam and co. came charging back up the field.

As great of a play as Saquon made, it was trumped by Panthers kicker Graham Gano in the last 6 seconds of the game ... when he kicked a 63-yard field goal to win it 33-31.

Now, we don't know if Bruce was watching these last few plays -- but based on how down and out he looks here ... we're just gonna say it's very possible. Eyewitnesses tell us he rode to the bar on his motorcycle earlier in the day, and had some beer and a burger while there.