Music

Just off the dome, Kentucky rapper 2KBABY has one hell of a rollout strategy for his "Scared 2 Luv" album -- as in, the giant number "2" tatted smack in the middle of his head!!!

2KBABY debuted the new ink piece on Wednesday, captioning the pic "Scared 2 Luv (S2L) ❤️💔🖤" ... which, while undoubtedly cheaper than Lil Uzi Vert's infamous $24 million diamond implant, will certainly draw plenty of attention.

Despite amassing over 30,000 comments when he posted the new tattoo ... his fellow artists Tay Keith, Zaytoven and Lil Deezy didn't exactly approve, and they jokingly let him have it in the comment section.

Sources close to 2KBABY tell TMZ Hip Hop the 'S2L' album is being primed to cut deep as the tat ... with an onslaught of singles dropping soon and he has features with DDG, SleazyWorld Go, and Bronx drill rapper B-Lovee on deck as well.

Justin Bieber and his wife are checking out of the madness in America -- temporarily, at least -- with a trip down Mexico way, and it's a true family affair.

Hailey Bieber and her man soaked up the rays off Cabo San Lucas ... doing a little snorkeling and hanging out on the deck of a yacht.

They were both smiling ear-to-ear as they hugged and cuddled up Wednesday ... and their pup, Oscar, was there too. We're guessing he passed on the snorkeling, though! Lots o' sharks down there.

The quick trip is a super mini vacay for the couple, because Justin's actually in the middle of his world tour.

Shortly after these pics were taken, he jetted off to Mexico City ... where he performed last night, and has another show Thursday night.

Bruno Mars' first collaborator, "Nothin' On You" rapper B.o.B., owes several stacks -- to the tune of $3 million dollars -- to his former managers ... at least according to a new lawsuit.

In the legal docs, obtained by TMZ Hip Hop, Round Hill Music and Artists Rights Management claims B.o.B. violated a deal it struck in January 2017 which requires the rapper to hand over certain royalties associated with public performances of his tunes.

B.o.B's touring company is also named in the suit and he has 20 days to respond ... otherwise, it could become a very expensive legal default.

B.o.B tells TMZ Hip Hop, "I have not seen the lawsuit but am aware my former manager had entered into agreements without my knowledge. I take my business seriously and look forward to getting to the truth of what happened."

Sean Paul is all set to release his new album "Scorcha" tomorrow, but he's also waving the flag for Jamaica's reggae artists, and demanding they get their due.

The legendary dancehall reggae hitmaker was on "TMZ Live" Thursday talking about his genre's prevalence now in hip hop and pop music. As we've all heard for years now platinum artists such as Drake and Ed Sheeran have adopted it, and, of course, Rihanna's infused the sounds she grew up with in Barbados.

Sean da Paul (ya gotta say it that way, right?) says Drizzy's never reached out personally, but he does give him credit for recording with Jamaican artists like Popcaan. However, when it comes to the awards shows, he says they tend to bypass his homeland of Jamaica and it's native artists. Translation: Where's the respect?

He also spoke on "bridging the gaps" of reggae and reggaeton by recording with current superstars such as J Balvin and Anitta.

The latest single combines the best of both worlds with legends Damian Marley and Nicky Jam assisting for the track "No Fear."

Depeche Mode founding member and keyboard player, Andy Fletcher, has died at the age of 60.

The group announced Thursday, "We are shocked and filled with overwhelming sadness with the untimely passing of our dear friend, family member, and bandmate Andy "Fletch" Fletcher."

The statement continues, "Fletch had a true heart of gold and was always there when you needed support, a lively conversation, a good laugh, or a cold pint. Our hearts are with his family, and we ask that you keep them in your thoughts."

Fletcher, Vince Clarke, Martin Gore and Dave Gahan officially launched Depeche Mode in 1980 ... though Clarke left shortly after the group released its debut album.

Later on in his career, Fletcher worked as a DJ, and actually went on tour around Europe in 2015.

Fletcher and Depeche Mode were inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 2020.

Yung Miami's "twin" mother, Keenya Young AKA "Ms. Yung 305," has Instagram thinking she's trying to get with her daughter's Quality Control labelmate Lil Baby, but she insists it's a case of mistaken emoji motives.

The proud mama, who's known to strongly support her daughter's rap endeavors, swooped in on Baby's latest IG model shoot with a trio of heart emojis ... alerting several social media outlets in the process.

Once blog Onsite! attempted to make the emoji bombs a story, Ms. Yung 305 decided she needed to clear her name by pointing out an Instagram emoji doesn't mean anything but a button push!

Notwithstanding the irony of wearing a Cleveland Indians baseball hat with an anti-racism shirt  ... Lil Baby is one of the most fashionable rappers out, so it's hard to blame Mama Miami for calling it like she saw it!

We're inclined to believe mom on this one -- she is the CEO of a kid's clothing company and beauty line, after all. So, if she really wanted a date, she'd just do what bosses do and pull up!

Larry Gatlin is now among the list of performers who will no longer perform at this weekend's NRA convention in Houston ... also offering up possible solutions to help prevent tragedies like this from happening again.

The "Broken Lady" singer tells TMZ, "I cannot, in good conscience, perform at the NRA convention in Houston this weekend. While I agree with most of the positions held by the NRA, I have come to believe that, while background checks would not stop every madman with a gun, it is at the very least a step in the right direction toward trying to prevent the kind of tragedy we saw this week in Uvalde — in my beloved, weeping TEXAS."

He continues, "It is not a perfect world and the 'if only crowd's' policies will never make it one. I am a 'what if guy' and I can't help but ask the question, 'What if the teachers had been proficient in the use of firearms and had, in fact been armed this week? My answer is that there would not be 21 freshly dug graves for 21 of GOD's precious children."

He also has a message for the NRA, saying, "I pray that the NRA will rethink some of its outdated and ill-thought-out positions regarding firearms in AMERICA."

Gatlin concludes, "I'm a 2nd Amendment guy, but the 2nd amendment should not apply to everyone. It's that simple. God Help Us Please."

Eminem's celebrating a birthday Thursday for one of his most celebrated multi-platinum albums, "The Eminem Show" ... which, believe it or not, is now 20 years old!

To mark the anniversary, Slim Shady dropped an expanded edition of 'TES' while tweeting the lyrics to his Nate Dogg-featured hit "Till I Collapse" and vintage tour footage.

The new version also adds 18 extra tracks, including live performances from 1999, an unreleased "Marshall Mathers LP" song titled "Jimmy, Brian And Mike" ... and his Ja Rule mixtape-era diss, "Bump Heads," which features 50 Cent and his fellow G-Unit rappers Lloyd Banks and Tony Yayo.

The infamous G-Unit/Murder Inc. beef spiraled through most of the mid-00s and would eventually involve the likes of Fat Joe, Jadakiss and Busta Rhymes, but thankfully they kept the feud on wax, as old heads say.

Kanye West is apparently back on dad duty after some time away in Japan and NYC ... grabbing some grub at one of L.A.'s hottest spots with his oldest kid.

Kanye and North West were spotted leaving NOBU in Malibu Wednesday -- marking the first time we've seen Kanye with any of his kids in quite some time. NOBU is obviously a celeb hot spot, and one of Kanye's favorites, so it's not totally shocking they decided to go there.

As we reported, Kanye was recently in Japan with his girlfriend, Chaney Jones, before he hit New York City for the Balenciaga show.

No sign of Chaney at NOBU, though she and Kanye have been linked together for several months now, and it's possible she might now be in L.A. with him.

Of course, Kanye accused Kim of holding his kids from him through a series of social media posts months ago. Kim denied that, saying he's never been barred from seeing the kids, but has also tried to maintain a routine for the 4.

McDonald's may have found their latest spokesperson, or at the very least a new star to sing their jingle ... cause The Kid LAROI gave some excited fans the ultimate treat outside the fast-food restaurant.

The Australian rapper put on an impromptu show outside one of the franchise's locations in Sydney, Australia ... performing his song "Thousand Miles," asking folks, crowded around, to sing along.

Before singing, LAROI tells fans his record label has pushed him to post on TikTok more, but confesses he doesn't know what to do on the app ... so the sing-along seemed like a good idea.

As we reported ... he surprised fans last month with a secret concert at the Lodge Room in L.A.'s Highland Park neighborhood, just before 2 fans got a little too amped up and had to be taken down by security.

Kim Kardashian will no longer try and protect Kanye West when he bashes her family ... apologizing to them in a serious heart-to-heart for years of attacks.

On the latest episode of "The Kardashians" -- Kim's sitting with her family when she learns Kanye's got a new song coming out -- and assumes it'll do nothing but bash her.

Khloe, clearly agitated, let's Kim know it's pathetic any man would publicly diss the mother of his children the way Kanye has ... and it leads to a bigger chat about his conduct with her family.

In a sit-down at Kim's kitchen table with Kourtney, Kendall, Khloe, Kris, Travis Barker and Corey Gamble you can see Kim's change from a protector of Kanye to a defender of her family. She lets her sisters know she'll no longer put up with Kanye's public attacks ... and she feels stronger as a person than she's ever felt before.

Kris adds, "When people are saying disparaging things about any of us, it hurts all of us." She also mentions that one day Kim's 4 kids she has with Kanye are going to grow up and read everything he's said about the family.

It's not entirely clear which song Kim's referring to, but given the show's timing, you can assume it's called, "Eazy" -- which he released with The Game in January.

In that song, Kanye took a direct shot at Pete Davidson, rapping, "God saved me from the crash, just so I can beat Pete Davidson's ass."

Ellen DeGeneres is ending her show after 19 seasons ... and to celebrate her last episode ever, we've put together some of the standout celeb moments during her epic run.

Over nearly 2 decades, Ellen undoubtedly made a huge impact on daytime television ... sharing laughs, stunts and tears with her special guests, some of whom she's become close friends with over the years.

Of course, Ellen's greatest scares were a hilarious part of the show, where she'd startle the bejeezus out of guests with a huge surprise right in the middle of interviews.

We can't forget Ellen's most generous giveaway, when she helped an underprivileged school in Detroit ... and the countless other times she's given back to others in need.

As we've reported, Ellen announced she was ending her show, during a taping earlier this month. While she's not retiring from showbiz, she will be taking time off to decide what's next ... and she has some pretty big ventures in the can.

We do know, she recently signed a multi-year deal with Discovery ... on top of shows on NBC ("Family Game Fight!"), FOX ('Masked Singer') and HBO ("Ellen's Next Great Designer") and the upcoming Tig Notaro animated comedy special).

Brandon Thomas Lee and his brother Dylan just closed on a house in Encino, shelling out just under $4 million for their new digs ... TMZ has learned

Tommy Lee and Pamela Anderson's sons didn't just scoop up a 4-bedroom home, the place is more like a palatial estate!

The ranch-style property -- for which they paid $3,995,000 -- has a main house that's 3,700 square feet with 3 bedrooms, a fireplace in the living room, a modern kitchen adjacent to the dining room and a yoga retreat in the attic.

The home, tucked behind a wrought iron gate and towering oak trees, also includes a 400-sq.-ft. guest house and a massive swimming pool. There's even a bridge behind the gate with a paver-stone driveway leading to the motor court and 2-car garage.

TMZ broke the story ... Brandon and Dylan sold their crib in Malibu -- where they lived most of their lives -- getting their asking price of $3 million after 2 months on the market.

Now, 25-year-old Brandon and 24-year-old Dylan are all grown up, and putting down new roots.

The National Rifle Association will be without one of its performers this weekend ... singer Don McLean will no longer play at the event after the elementary school shooting in Uvalde.

McLean tells us, "In light of the recent events in Texas, I have decided it would be disrespectful and hurtful for me to perform for the NRA at their convention in Houston this week. I’m sure all the folks planning to attend this event are shocked and sickened by these events as well. After all, we are all Americans."

He continues, "I share the sorrow for this terrible, cruel loss with the rest of the nation."

McLean, the voice behind the 1971 hit, "American Pie," was one of several performers scheduled to take the stage in Houston this weekend -- some of the others include Lee Greenwood, Danielle Peck and Larry Gatlin.

As we reported, 19 children inside a 4th-grade classroom and two teachers were killed when an 18-year-old gunman opened fire with an AR-15.

Russ is showing his newly founded DIEMON Records can put up visible competition with the major labels.

The proud do-it-yourself rapper released the video for his "Handsomer Remix" single ... featuring some serious star power cameos from Snoop Dogg and Tiffany Haddish.

The superstar actress provides comedy relief inside a mansion party and Snoop, well, he plays himself ... convincingly, though!

Tiffany doesn't rap on the track but she's told TMZ Hip Hop she plans to collaborate with both Snoop and Beyonce down the line.

Edgar Esteves and Logan Fields both directed the visual and Russ' new artist Ktlyn is featured on the track. It's been doing well too -- peaking at No. 40 on the Billboard Hot 100.

Russ is rather proud of the visual, and for the $300,000 he says he paid for total production, he should be. No word how much he paid Uncle Snoop, who's known to charge $250,000 a pop when he's doing his feature thing, but it's likely they worked something out.

Britney Spears says her dad has been ducking for cover so he doesn't have to sit for a deposition, detailing his conduct in the conservatorship case, but now her lawyer says they're calling Jamie's bluff.

Jamie has said he would sit for a depo, but only in Kentwood, Louisiana. Britney's lawyer, Mathew Rosengart, says in legal docs, he'll gladly fly to Kentwood to put Jamie under oath.

Rosengart says in new legal docs, obtained by TMZ, that Jamie has been skirting the depo for more than 5 months, and he thinks for good reason. Rosengart claims he can prove Jamie was running "a corrupted and conflicted conservatorship that stripped his daughter of certain fundamental liberties," adding Jamie enriched himself to the tune of at least $6.3 million and paid various people involved in the conservatorship tens of millions of dollars more.

Rosengart goes on to claim Jamie "continues to harass and bully Britney Spears by, among other things, failing to cooperate with his discovery ... and actually noticing his daughter's deposition, even as he hides from answering essential deposition questions."

TMZ broke the story ... Jamie wants Britney under oath to challenge her allegations.