Music

T-Pain is not here for folks celebrating Black History Month -- instead, he says Black people should always be recognized in history, and the rash of HBCU bomb threats prove the nation's still too divided.

When we caught up with rapper/producer at LAX he shared his thoughts about the bomb threats this week at more than a dozen Historically Black Colleges and Universities ... just as BHM was beginning.

To T-Pain, this sorta harassment is, unfortunately, normal -- as he points out, Black students have been blocked from getting educations, in different ways, for hundreds of years.

He says the only way these things will stop is if "we [Black people] make our own s**t" ... adding the fact that just 'cause it's an HBCU, doesn’t mean it’s owned by Black folks.

As far as the kids at these schools, Pain says stay strong... and for everybody else, the rapper says we should all stop celebrating BHM completely.

He says he doesn't think we should just have one month of Black History. Instead, he says "we want to be a part of history, not just one month of it."

Rudy Giuliani's just as polarizing in reality TV, as he is in politics -- 2 'Masked Singer' judges revolted during a taping where Rudy was revealed as the mystery singer!!!

The taping went down last week, the first episode of the show's upcoming season, and -- not shockingly, we think -- Rudy was the first contestant eliminated. TMZ has confirmed ... as soon as the mask came off Rudy's head, Robin Thicke and Ken Jeong blew their tops.

As Deadline first reported, the judges were pissed and walked off the stage in protest.

Donald Trump's former attorney and advisor made jaws drop in the studio -- which is not uncommon during 'Masked' reveals, but we're told Robin and Ken's response went beyond the common reaction.

Young Buck got busted in Nashville after allegedly kicking the crap out of his ex-girlfriend's car ... TMZ has learned.

According to the arrest affidavit, obtained by TMZ, Nashville police officers responded to a domestic disturbance Wednesday involving Young Buck and his ex.

Cops say when they got to the woman's home, she told them Young Buck texted her early in the morning that he was coming over. Police say the woman told them Young Buck began kicking the front door when she did not answer.

Buck's ex also told cops she went outside after he bounced and noticed damage to both the passenger and driver side of her car, which was parked in the driveway.

Police say they confirmed there was damage to the woman's car, and there was security footage of the alleged incident.

Not long after, cops say they found Young Buck driving the car he took to the woman's home and he was arrested during a traffic stop.

Young Buck was booked into jail on a vandalism charge ... but he's already out on a $1,000 bond.

Michael Jackson has moonwalked on down to Broadway -- and on opening night ... his kids saw him take the stage anew, but not without some hand-wringing.

All three of MJ's children attended the world premiere of "MJ: The Musical" Tuesday night in the Big Apple, with Paris and her older brother, Prince, stepping out in front of cameras before curtains were raised ... posing proudly side by side.

Michael's daughter wore a chic red patterned dress, and Prince kept it classic with a black suit and tie. Their younger brother, Prince Michael (aka Blanket), was later seen exiting the Neil Simon Theatre with his siblings, also suited and booted.

While adoring MJ fans were thrilled to see the late performer's brood show up for him in force ... critics could not be appeased, because they're pissed about the contents of the play itself -- specifically, what it covers ... or rather, what it doesn't cover.

Word is, the show follows Michael's life in the early '90s when he embarked on his now-famous "Dangerous" world tour, during which he traversed the globe for an astonishing number of concerts and banked millions upon millions of dollars for charitable efforts.

Sounds great ... but the problem is, there's no mention of a huge scandal he faced at the time -- namely, accusations of child abuse and a subsequent lawsuit from Jordan Chandler and his family, whom Michael eventually settled with for a rumored $23 million.

Because the Broadway production skips over that topic entirely, some are calling it a sanitized version of MJ's legacy ... particularly this chapter of it.

Maluma celebrated another trip around the sun in style ... because he got surprised with a birthday party at a massive mansion, and a five-figure dessert was the icing on the cake!!!

A rep for Maluma tells TMZ ... Hennessy V.S.O.P surprised Maluma Sunday with a birthday bash at a $25 million mansion outside Vegas.

Maluma's collabing with the alcohol brand on designing a new bottle ... and we're told his surprise party included a chocolate cake designed as an exact replica of his Hennessey bottle, and it cost $10,000.

We're told the cake's designer, Flora Aghababyan, has also made cakes for celebs like Beyonce, Jennifer Lopez, Will Smith and Celine Dion, just to name a few.

Maluma didn't spend the night at the mansion, but the place is incredible ... the 4-bedroom estate is decked out with 2 infinity saltwater pools and a spa!!!

The 28th birthday celebration also included a boozy brunch with Maluma's closest family and friends, with a DJ and mariachi band performing some of his favorite classic Spanish songs.

Simon Cowell did it again ... he crashed his e-bike and landed in the hospital with broken bones.

Sources tell TMZ ... Simon was tooling around on the bike in London last Thursday when he turned a sharp corner ... or at least he tried to turn. The road was wet and the tires went out from under him and he crashed to the ground.

We're told Simon broke his left arm and badly bruised his cheek. He may have also have suffered a concussion.

Simon went to the hospital where he was treated and released the same day, sporting a bright yellow cast.

As we reported, this was not Simon's first crash ... in August, 2020, he got a brand-spankin' new e-bike and literally got on it in his driveway and it lunged forward, crashing and as a result, Simon broke his back in 3 places.

Now, if Simon happens to read this ... wear a helmet, dude!!! He wasn't wearing one in either crash, and but for the grace of God, he could have suffered way more severe injuries.

As ecstatic as the Internet's been about Rihanna revealing she's expecting her first baby ... her Dad is even more excited, and sharing his hopes for the new grandchild.

Granddad-to-be Ronald Fenty opened up about Rihanna's bun in the oven, saying she gave him the heads up the day before the pics of her and A$AP Rocky went public. He says he's met A$AP a few times, and is totally confident he and RiRi will be great parents.

As for the baby... Ronald says he's hoping his daughter has a girl, since he already has 2 grandsons. If it doesn't happen this time around, he could possibly get more chances ... cause he tells us that Rihanna's told him she wants to have 3 children.

Ronald also says he's looking forward to a wedding in the near future, because he wants them to make things really official.

It's nice to see Ronald singing Rih's praises -- as you might remember, they haven't had the best father-daughter relationship in the past.

Back in 2019, Rihanna sued her dad for allegedly using her Fenty brand and his relationship with her to launch his own entertainment company. They eventually squashed the dispute and she dropped the case a few weeks before it was scheduled to go to court.

Kanye West has lots of drama with Kim Kardashian at the moment ... but he looks like a man without a care in the world, at least while he's surrounded by hot chicks at the beach.

Ye was all laughs and smiles as he chatted up some sexy women Sunday, soaking up golden hour on an oceanfront balcony at Soho's Little Beach House Malibu.

Kanye looks happy as a clam here ... just check out the gallery and the videos ... and it's worth noting the ladies he's talking to are NOT girlfriend Julia Fox, but they are strikingly similar. Guess Ye's got a type.

There are lots of reasons for Kanye to be stressing about Kim ... the kids, the divorce, Pete Davidson -- but those all seem, at least temporarily, forgotten in the right seaside setting ... with the right company.

Outside the restaurant, Kanye was dressed in his traditional all-black Balenciaga look ... complete with a mask covering his entire head -- but his personality on the balcony was pretty damn bright and cheery.

If you're looking for a blast from the past – and have $500,000 lying around – this sweet ride would've been perfect.

Burt Reynolds' 1977 Pontiac Firebird Trans Am went up at Barrett-Jackson's Scottsdale 2022 auction, and the lucky buyer paid one pretty penny for it.

With the final bid at $495,000, this 8-cylinder beast is going home to a hardcore car enthusiast – and hopefully a film buff! Reynolds drove the same type of car in his hit film, "Smokey and the Bandit."

While it isn’t the car that appeared on screen, it was a congratulatory gift for his work on the flick … fitting as it was the second-highest-grossing film of that year. To make it even more special, this is the only '77 Trans Am that Reynolds ever owned and he signed the glovebox!

Burt’s car wasn’t the only whip up for auction … Pitbull had his custom 2022 Karma GS-6 EV up for sale, nicknamed "305 EDITION." It went for $700k with all the proceeds going to benefit the Selfless Love Foundation and Pitbull's SLAM foundation.

David Spade’s 1968 Chevy Chevelle Custom Coupe went on the auction block as well and fetched $374k.

Rihanna and A$AP Rocky are expecting, and they are showing off that baby bump with style!

The two were absolutely glowing out in Harlem (his hometown). Her outfit seems to compliment the reveal super well … with a gold cross and some jewels resting on the bump! They weren’t out long, as it seemed pretty chilly out there, before heading back to their apartment.

The couple has been friends for years, but started dating back at the end of 2020, and have been inseparable ever since … TMZ reported at the beginning of that year, they were seen hanging out quite a bit after her breakup with Hassan Jameel, and speculation started flying around about the now-lovebirds.

Since they’ve gone public, they’ve been spotted out in NYC nonstop.

It's been an incredible 24 hours for Joe Burrow -- after defeating the Chiefs to advance to the Super Bowl, the Bengals star QB says his childhood idol, Kid Cudi, hit him up to congratulate him on the victory.

"One of my idols growing up, Kid Cudi, reached out to me yesterday," Burrow told reporters after the huge win.

"You’ve got LeBron [James] tweeting at me or whatever you said it was ... That part is surreal. The football part, not so much. That stuff is crazy."

Cudi -- who was celebrating his 38th birthday on Sunday -- tweeted at Burrow saying, "Man this has to be the illest s*** ✌🏽❤️😭 beautiful f***in' game today brother!!"

BTW -- Joe says he listens to "New York City Rage Fest" -- one of Cudi's Songs -- to get himself ready mentally every game day. But, Burrow likes too many of Cudi's songs to pick a favorite.

Of course, Cudi is a native of Ohio (shoutout Shaker Heights) ... so it's not hard to see why he's so fond of the former LSU standout and #1 overall draft pick in 2020.

Speaking of the NFL draft ... the seeds for the bromance between Burrow and Cudi were planted when the Bengals selected Joe with their first-round pick.

"Congratulations on being the number 1 draft pick," Cudi said at the time. "That's wild. That's crazy. You on your way. You just gettin started brother."

Joe Cool even said Lakers star LeBron James tweeted about him, calling him a "generational talent" and saying we all knew and saw that he'd be special.

High praises coming from one of the greatest players in NBA history ... and a figure familiar with the sports landscape in Ohio. After all, Joe did just beat Patrick Mahomes when he erased an 18-pt deficit on the road.

Joe Rogan vowed to do better in the wake of criticism his podcast is spreading COVID misinformation ... and he says he knows how to make things better and more responsible.

Rogan broke his silence Sunday ... this after Neil Young and others yanked their music off Spotify in protest.

Rogan said he's down with Spotify's disclaimer when guests go against prevailing science ... a disclaimer urging folks to talk to their physician. The disclaimer will also note the views discussed are contrary to those of experts.

But, Rogan went further, acknowledging he should have done more ... like immediately after saying goodbye to a guest who goes against the grain, he'll bring on someone with mainstream views. He says he will do that from now on.

Rogan was contrite, telling Spotify he was sorry the platform has taken heat over his podcast. Joe also said he's a huge Neil Young fan and has no hard feelings toward him.

That said, Rogan began by saying the term "misinformation" is relative ... he says some of what was considered irresponsible to say early on in the pandemic has become a conventional point of view.

Blake Shelton made a dream come true for a 6-year-old fan who is waiting on a new heart, bringing him up on stage to sing a song together ... and the video is awesome.

The wholesome moment went down Saturday night during Blake's concert at Choctaw Casino & Resort in Durant, OK ... with little Wyatt McKee getting the experience of a lifetime.

As you can see, Wyatt's sitting next to the stage with some signs about his condition, and Blake notices and starts reading ... and when he learns Wyatt is waiting on a heart transplant, he gives the kid a guitar pick and invites him up on stage.

The cherry on top ... Blake and Wyatt sing the kid's favorite song, "God's Country," and the crowd goes wild.

Wyatt's mom, Harley, tells TMZ ... her son was born with hypoplastic left heart syndrome, a condition where the left side of the heart does not grow, and Wyatt's already had 2 open-heart surgeries.

She says Wyatt's a huge Shelton fan and they brought the signs hoping Blake would see them and come say "hello."

Car sales go down every day, but how often can you say you bought a tank from Kanye West???

Kanye struck a deal with the Diesel Brothers to sell them his Ripsaw EV2, and this thing's insane!

Dave 'Heavy D' Sparks tells TMZ ... the partnership between Ye and the two friends (not real brothers, BTW) started a few years back. West's team reached out to them to get some work done on his trucks, but unfortunately, the timing never lined up.

Fast forward to last October, when someone from Kanye’s team reached out once again, looking to see if they’d want to buy the Ripsaw he was trying to unload. It was a no-brainer because the waiting list to get one is around 3 years, so they rushed down to his ranch in Wyoming to pick it up.

It was reported that Kanye bought it for $500,000. 'Heavy D' wouldn’t say how much change they handed over to seal the deal … but he did say Ye gave them a sweet deal. Kanye posed with the vehicle for a GQ photoshoot back in 2020, and featured it in his “Closed on Sunday” music video.

One odd thing -- the DVD player's built into the dash. Heavy D says for whatever reason, it only plays a K-Pop music video on a loop. We don’t know if Ye is a BTS fan, but they can’t figure out how to turn it off without ripping the player out entirely.

The Diesel Brothers made it big when their YouTube videos caught the attention of Jay Leno, who brought them on his show. Since then, they’ve started their own TV show on Discovery and even kicked it with the Paul brothers recently.

The Rams' huge win didn't go off seamlessly on Sunday ... 'cause the Jumbotron operator at their stadium mistook Big Sean and Jhene Aiko for Sarah Michelle Gellar and Freddie Prinze Jr. -- and the scene was hilarious.

Just before L.A. beat the San Francisco 49ers to advance to the Super Bowl at SoFi Stadium ... someone really screwed up as the camera was panning around to celebs in the crowd.

When it got to Big Sean and Aiko ... the graphics below them read "Sarah Michelle Gellar" and "Freddie Prinze Jr."

Fans noticed the gaffe quickly -- pointing out the blunder all over social media ... and even Michelle Gellar had to poke fun at it all on her Instagram page.

"@bigsean do you get mistaken for me as often as I get mistaken for you?" she said.

"somebody about to get fired," she added.

Of course, Big Sean and Aiko didn't seem bothered by it ... they were spotted livin' it up in their on-field suite throughout the game, and the two appeared to even celebrate the Rams' win afterward.

As for Prinze Jr., he didn't even attend the game -- and he's yet to respond to it all, but we're sure something witty is coming shortly.

Kanye West needs a shot in the arm ... if he wants a shot at performing down under.

Kanye reportedly has his eyes set on performing a couple of stadium concerts in Australia in March ... but he said recently on the "Drink Champs" podcast he's only one jab in. Australia requires 2 shots for entry into the country.

If anyone is wondering whether Aussie officials are serious, take a look at how they booted Novak Djokovic from the country on the heels of the Australian Open. And the government fought hard to boot him ... there were court hearings that went back and forth for nearly 2 weeks.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison made it clear Saturday ... celebs are not exempt from the rules of COVID, saying, "Those are the rules. They apply to everybody, as people have seen most recently. It doesn’t matter who you are, they are the rules. Follow the rules. You can come. You don’t follow the rules, you can’t."

It's unclear if Kanye has received the second dose or plans to ... Ye said, "I traveled to Paris a couple of weeks ago, and I had to go through Lisbon because you can go through Lisbon without being vaccinated."

Kanye has had issues with the vaccine in the past ... in 2020 he called it "the mark of the beast" and claimed it was an attempt to microchip people.

It's interesting ... it seems Australia kicked Djokovic out because he's an anti-vaxer and his views are damaging to a country promoting vaccines. Kanye's past comments may not serve him well if there's an issue with the Australian government.