Music

Rapper Blanco Brown is taking his musical abilities to a whole new level ... joining a band on stage and playing everyone's favorite instrument -- the spoon!

Blanco's performance at The Barbershop Cuts And Cocktails in Las Vegas wasn't planned - he and his crew were there Wednesday night enjoying the band, The Commonwealth, and he decided to jump on stage with nothing but a pair of spoons.

The hip hop star joined Commonwealth to perform a cover of Chris Stapleton's "Tennessee Whiskey," and the crowd was loving it! Toward the end of the song, Blanco busted out his pair of rhythmic spoons for a very ... unique solo.

If you didn't know ... Blanco's known for playing spoons as part of the signature sound he calls 'Trailer Trap.' The guy even taught a spoons class for CMA's Summer Music Camp.

Blanco's hit, "The Git Up," blew up in both rap and country music, and led to the viral TikTok challenge.

Cash Out, the Atlanta rapper who scored a pair of Billboard and Platinum and Gold hits in the early 2010s, plus shared screen time with Adam Sandler in "Uncut Gems" is facing some hefty prison time.

Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis charged Cash Out and five other individuals in a 41-count indictment that includes allegations of rape, aggravated sodomy, human trafficking and even holding victims at gunpoint.

The deputy district attorney Earnelle Winfrey says the rapper, known for the songs "Cashin' Out" and "She Twerkin" is facing 25-to-life in prison.

Cash Out stands accused of using his celebrity status and social media as means to "lure" women.

According to the prosecutors, he and others used a hotel room near Fulton Industrial Boulevard and a residence in the city's Carroll Heights neighborhood to carry out the crimes.

Cash Out soon after took to his Instagram Story to clear his name with an ominous message that called for his name to be cleared.

After signing a short-lived deal with Epic Records that funneled the "Cashin' Out" record, CO would go on to collaborate with Future, Migos, and Lil Durk -- but saw his musical career stall and sputter in the past few years.

It took 8 months, but Cardi B and Offset are finally revealing their baby boy's name and showing him off to the world -- so get ready to meet Wave Set Cephus!!!

The proud parents both posted pics Thursday of their little bundle of joy, already iced out in Cuban link chains ... with Offset revealing the unique name in the caption.

Cardi posted a different shot of her son ... wearing a baby blue puffy jacket, and you can see Wave Set has a huge iced-out pendant hanging off those Cuban links.

Don't worry ... he'll grow into it.

For the big reveal, the proud parents gathered the whole fam for an Essence photoshoot.

Remember, Cardi gave birth to WS back on Sept. 4, but she and Offset kept the kid's name as secret as the White House nuclear codes.

Back in October, we got Cardi at LAX ... and while talking to us about Offset's upcoming birthday she almost slipped and dropped Wave Set's name. Almost!!!

This is the second child for Cardi and Offset, and his big sister Kulture is now 3-years-old.

Offset also has 3 other children from previous relationships ... 11-year-old son Jordan, 6-year-old son Kody and 6-year-old daughter Kalea.

Quavo's hopes to ball up with Jack Harlow again -- after their NBA All-Star Weekend victory -- are officially dashed.

20th Century Studios says it's picked a costar for Jack in its reboot of "White Men Can't Jump" ... and it won't be Quavo filling the role of hustler Sidney Deane, which Wesley Snipes played in the OG. Hip Hop film lure, it's not the Migos rapper.

Hip hop fans were hoping for a Huncho and Harlow pairing -- especially after TMZ Sports got the Migos rapper last month, sounding focused on landing the gig.

Even though Quavo has real life hoop skills, the studio went another direction -- as they say in La La Land -- and cast veteran actor Sinqua Walls ... who also stars in the upcoming horror film, "Nanny."

Even minus Quavo, 'White Men' appears to be in great hands. Director Calmatic has racked up plenty of high-profile video credits with the likes of Pharrell, Kendrick Lamar and Lil Nas X, among others. Plus, "Black-ish" creator Kenya Barris is co-writing the flick.

Don't cry too much for Quavo's acting career -- he's already set to star opposite Robert De Niro in "Wash Me in the River" later this year.

Rapper Archie Eversole, best known for his hit song "We Ready," has died.

Archie's family tells TMZ he passed away Sunday, April 3. His cause of death has not been revealed.

Archie was only 17 when he recorded his first album, "Ride Wit Me Dirty South Style." The album went gold, with the help of the track "We Ready" with Bubba Sparxxx.

"We Ready" became one of the most popular anthems at football games and other sporting events.

Archie was handpicked by the soccer team Atlanta United in 2018 to write its theme song, "United We Conquer."

Fans have been paying respect to Archie after his passing, including NFL pro Robert Griffin III, who calls his hit song "the greatest Game Day anthem ever." There's locker room video of high school football players singing "We Ready" as inspiration.

The song was so popular, the NFL even used it in an ad.

Archie clearly touched a nerve, because social media is filling up with tributes.

Archie was 37.

RIP

Say this for T.I. ... he's got the comedy world buzzing about his venture into stand-up, but after a couple of viral boo-fests, Luenell's offering some perspective -- which he may or may not appreciate.

The resilient rapper got a heavy dose of Brooklyn jeers at Barclays Center last week, and all clashed with another comedian, Lauren Knight, during a smaller gig in Atlanta -- but he told us he's good with learning lessons the hard way.

That's good, because comedy vet Luenell told us he should expect more of that. She hopped on the TMZ Celebrity Tour bus Tuesday in WeHo, and said Tip's just gotta crawl before he can walk onto stages in huge arenas.

You gotta watch how Luenell says it, but she clearly feels T.I.'s music legacy shouldn't get him a pass from playing coffee shops, and other small venues, like most comics do to sharpen their skills.

The crew on "TMZ Hip Hop" (our new TV show) includes some stand-up comedians, and they had a similar take ... saying he needs more stage time, and to learn some mic etiquette.

Luenell, of course, has over 4 decades of comedy under her belt -- on stage and in feature films -- so her advice should carry some weight.

NBA pro Iman Shumpert and his singer-songwriter wife Teyana Taylor have put their house on the market, and they're angling for a $4 million buyer.

The 5-bed, 6-bath home in Studio City, CA is loaded with cool stuff, including the obligatory pool, movie theater, and even a waterfall. And the big bonus for dog-lovin' buyers ... a custom dog house!

The master bedroom has a massive walk-in closet and a meditation balcony that overlooks the Zen-themed yard.

This isn't the first time Iman and Teyana tried to unload the house -- the couple bought the property in 2018 for just under $3M, listed it for rent and tried to sell it 2 years later for $3.695M. They took it off the market and just relisted it.

We're told they're selling because they spend most of their time on the East Coast so no need for a big place in La La Land.

Sean 'Eitan' Constine of Nourmand and Associates Beverly Hills has the listing.

Before this young chick behind the mic turned into an actress and a Grammy award-winning singer and songwriter, she was just a girl with big goals and even bigger dreams from Murrieta, California.

This cute kid got her start being in an Old Navy commercial, which eventually landed her prominent roles on Disney Channel ... a full circle moment considering her idols growing up were fellow Disney stars Miley Cyrus and Demi Lovato.

Still not sure who this pop princess is? She recently celebrated her birthday with DJ Paris Hilton. If you know who she is ... well then, Good 4 U!

Ben Affleck may be a Leo, but his sign on Wednesday was Starbucks ... a sign preventing him and his fiancee from their daily fix.

Ben and Jen were driving to Starbucks in West L.A. Wednesday when he got a sign stuck in his back rim while navigating a tricky turn. A couple paparazzi sprung into action, pulling the sign out from under the car as the actor maneuvered around the curb.

Ben actually asked the paps to help traverse the area so he could roll up to the drive-thru.

As for why they used the drive-thru rather than walking in ... probably the last thing they wanted to hear inside was, "J Lo, grande skinny Frappuccino!!!"

And, this is interesting ... Ben's smokin' a cig inside the car, with J Lo by his side. She must be in love with him, 'cause that's kinda gnarly.

Ben might want to check the mirror before leaving home, because the t-shirt partially displayed underneath his flannel shirt makes him seem like a ..... well ...

Iggy Azalea stopped short of a Twitter meltdown in reaction to Playboi Carti's claims in a new interview.

The New Zealand-born rapper, who shares a 2-year-old son with Playboi Carti, reacted to his claims that he paid her bills and took care of her.

Carti -- who's gearing up for the follow-up to his 2020 Billboard-topping album, Whole Lotta Red -- rarely does interviews but is on the cover of the new XXL magazine and gave Iggy Iggz plenty of props as a mother.

But, what really set her off was when Playboi Carti insinuated he paid her bills ... and the bombshell revelation their verbal communication ended because she claims Carti speaks so extremely badly to her.

The unfortunate twist is fans have seen this before. When Carti was poised to get the Billboard crown with WLR circa Christmas 2020, Iggy Azalea played the role of the Grinch in Vampville by outing him for spending more time with a mistress than his then newborn son.

50 Cent is revealing some pretty intense homophobia by attacking Young Buck after the rapper claimed 50 forced him into bankruptcy ... suggesting YB is gay.

Young Buck was on the "It's Tricky with Raquel Harper" podcast when he talked about his fallout with 50, blaming the G-Unit honcho for some legal and recording issues.

Clearly, 50 saw the interview, because Wednesday he posted on Instagram with the caption, "Young Buck, Benzino just embrace who you are but don't pat nobody butt when they score a basket 🏀fool. LOL😆Hahaha, Nah 🤔FOR REAL! PUNK."

The caption was accompanied by an old video which allegedly is a recording of "Love & Hip Hop" star Benzino talking about his sexual preferences. Buck isn't in the video, but 50 obviously made the attempt to tie him in.

Turns out Young Buck also addressed his sexuality during his 'It's Tricky' interview ... saying he's a heterosexual man who "loves women" and "loves p****."

Kanye West is either having second thoughts on moving or he's taking a long time to decide exactly what he wants to do with the property he bought next to Kim Kardashian's Hidden Hills estate.

You'll remember, Ye bought the modest crib back in December because he wanted to be closer to his kids as he and Kim navigated their divorce and their future as co-parents. Truth be told, at the time he bought the house, he was trying to reconcile with Kim.

We scoured the building records for Hidden Hills and Kanye has taken out no construction permits. He was planning on gutting the house, which needed tons of work. But there's no evidence he or his construction team are pulling permits to do work on the property.

Of course, Kanye's already deep into renovations on a beach home in Malibu he paid nearly $60 million for ... so it's not like Kanye isn't into home renovation. Now it's possible Kanye is working with an architect on plans and they haven't submitted them to the city, but neighbors tell us they haven't seen any activity at the home.

Kanye wanted the fixer-upper because it's a stone's throw from the family house Kanye built after purchasing it together in 2014. As we reported, Kim bought the house from him for $23 mil, and Ye wanted the other home so he could be near the kids. Fact is ... Malibu isn't that far, so it wouldn't be a hassle to shuttle the kids back and forth from Malibu to Hidden Hills.

A rep for the Ronald Reagan Presidential Foundation and Institute tells TMZ they're "both saddened and concerned" about Hinckley's conditional release and music career. They said they "strongly oppose his release into society where he apparently seeks to make a profit from his infamy."

John Hinckley -- the man who tried killing Ronald Reagan once upon a time -- has turned a new leaf in the world of music ... and it sounds like he can get asses in the seats.

The one-time, would-be presidential assassin -- who shot Reagan in 1981 but was subsequently acquitted by reason of insanity -- has an upcoming performance in Brooklyn this summer that has apparently sold out in tickets ... this according to the venue itself.

The place is called the Market Hotel, and per their website ... there are no more seats available for Hinckley's show on July 8, where he's booked to play the guitar and sing some songs.

The ticket prices were going for $20 a pop before they all got snapped up -- and BTW, this place has somewhat of a decent-sized capacity ... 450 people can fill the joint, so ya gotta imagine at least a few hundred heads are gonna be watching come showtime.

Hinckley has been all-in on this sing-songy occupation since he cashed in on his unconditional release earlier this year ... this following being sprung from a Virginia psych ward in 2016 and fighting for less and less supervision throughout the years.

The guy has about 26k subscribers on his YouTube channel ... and he's also penned/performed a handful of original songs while strumming his instrument.

Here's another wild aspect to this ... Hinckley says he's started a record label in the past few months, which he calls Emporia Records. The first release, he explains, will be a 14-track CD of his own original songs as well as covers.

T.I. isn't backing down from comedy after a crowd booed him during his latest set ... and instead is taking it as serious motivation!!!

We talked to T.I. at LAX Tuesday, and he says it was eye-opening for him to hear the reaction at Saturday's show, but thinks the boos were an intended insult -- calling it personal.

The rapper-turned-comedian is glad it happened ... he's now able to make adjustments to his material to turn the boos into laughter.

He wants it known he received a standing O at his set in Atlanta the following day, so he thinks it wasn't the material that flopped, but it was the energy in the crowd that brought it down.

As we reported, T.I. got into it with fellow comedian Lauren Knight at an open mic in Atlanta last week ... after he began to heckle her from the crowd. She had referenced the sexual assault allegations against him and his wife, which is when he grabbed the mic and confronted her.

American singer and songwriter Jewel grabbed the ears and hearts of the world when she released her debut album "Pieces of You" which landed in the number four spot on the U.S. Billboard 200 list and featured hit songs "Who Will Save Your Soul" "Foolish Games" and "You Were Meant For Me."

Jewel continued her success as the guitar-strumming songstress and has 4 grammy nominations to show for it! She came out with her fifth studio album, "0304" in 2003, which spotlighted the popular song "Intuition" ... and is currently preparing for a big U.S. tour this summer.

The stars were big and bright at the CMT Awards ... but these behind-the-scenes shots show some of the best in the biz in country music -- and beyond -- coming together for some good ol' times!

The ceremony went down Monday at the Nashville Municipal Auditorium in Tennessee ... Jimmie Allen, Dennis Quaid, Kane Brown, Nelly, Maddie Marlow of Maddie & Tae and Johan Font were just some of the A-listers present during the show.

Jason Aldean and Mark Wystrach made sure to snap some pics after chatting it up ... Jason went on to win with Carrie Underwood for Collaborative Video of the Year and Video of the Year!

Miranda Lambert stole a kiss from her husband Brendan McLoughlin before taking the stage ... her song, "If I Was a Cowboy," was the Female video of the year.

Hannah Dasher and Jessie James Decker were rocking all-black backstage ... drinks in hand as the cameras flashed!