Music

Drake's got the music world buzzing again -- this time announcing a surprise album is on the way -- and it drops in just a few hours!!!

Drake took to Instagram Thursday, banning comments from his latest post -- which serves as an announcement for his new album titled. "HONESTLY, NEVERMIND." Not only that, Drizzy says his 7th album drops at midnight ... an hour after his new SiriusXM show "Table For One" hits the airwaves.

We've heard the album is mostly on the melodic side -- not much of a departure from his last album "Certified Lover Boy" -- which is still doing very well on the Billboard Charts at No. 13 nearly 9 months after its release.

Manny Halley, Young Thug's former manager, has no bad blood with his ex-client -- he wants to see him free again, and firmly believes the system is using "our culture" against hip hop superstars.

We chopped it up with Manny Thursday at LAX, where he told us about his time at YSL ... stressing there was never any notion about the company being a gang. He says it feels like law enforcement's using "made-up charges" to take down a successful revenue stream for Black artists.

Manny and YSL unceremoniously parted ways back in 2018 after he was awarded a 7-figure settlement from Thug's former business managers ... but he says it's still all love and wants to see Thug and Gunna free as the air outside.

Some of what he told us echoes attorney Drew Findling's sentiments about Georgia prosecutors and the RICO charges.

The YSL guys have been getting loads of support from the likes of Chris Brown, Lil Baby, and DJ Khaled. Thug even recorded a message played last week at Summer Jam to thank fans for their support.

As we've reported, Thug, Gunna and co. aren't slated to go to trial until early 2023.

Oops, she did it again ... Britney Spears' Instagram account has disappeared for a 2nd time.

Fans of the newlywed aren't going to find any dancing or twirling videos when heading to her page ... instead, they'll be met with the classic "Sorry, this page isn't available" message.

The singer's been really active on the platform lately -- expressing her opinions about her family, her recent marriage, and the conservatorship -- but that's all coming to a screeching halt. It's still unclear if she pulled the plug, or if the platform shut her page down.

As you'll recall, the same thing happened back in March, again, without warning ... in the heat of her brutally honest posts about her time in the conservatorship. While fans speculated Instagram was the one that pulled her from the platform, our IG sources said it was all Britney's decision.

She eventually returned to the app, getting back into her old habits of posting pics, eyes locked on the camera -- she never explained her reason for departing last time, but still got tons of fans welcoming her back.

Murda Beatz and reggaeton megastar Anitta are officially a pair, TMZ Hip Hop can confirm.

We're told the hip hop super-producer and Latina trap star have been dating for a few months, hung out together during Coachella and Murda recently made the trip to her home country of Brazil to meet her family ... where he made a good impression.

They went IG official this past Sunday ... which was Brazilian Valentine's Day and have been packing on the PDA ever since.

It's not all pleasure, though ... they're also making music together. On Thursday, MB announced his star-studded "NO MÁS" single featuring Pharrell, Quavo, J Balvin and Anitta -- dropping July 8.

Murda, having built his platinum empire making beats for Drake, Migos, Cardi B, Travis Scott and many more ... now has a girlfriend with whom he can drop hits.

Drake is a basketball champion and J. Cole is a pro hooper -- but none of that matters to Lil Durk because he "knows" he's the best hip hop baller out there.

We checked in with Durkio as he was checking outta LAX to get his thoughts on Drake's recent trophy win ... in his own basketball league, mind you.

Seems like an obvious conflict of interest, but Durk says he'd do the same thing if he had his own court and b-ball league.

He also perked up with J. Cole's recent stint in the Canadian Elite Basketball League ... especially while claiming he'd put Cole on a poster with a dunk!!!

He's got backup for that smack talk, though -- remember, LeBron James recently went on record putting Durk's b-ball skills over every rapper out there and Durk is clearly, and proudly, wearing that title on his sleeve.

Russell Wilson and Ciara have only been in Denver for a couple months, but they've already clearly adopted the city's hockey team ... going crazy for the Avs after their overtime win Wednesday night!

The couple hit up Ball Arena with their kids for a family date night ... and they immersed themselves in the Stanley Cup Finals action quickly.

Russ, Ciara, Future Zahir, Sienna and baby Win were all spotted cheering their faces off as the Avalanche took on the Lightning in Game 1 of the series.

After every goal, the Wilsons -- all decked out in Avalanche jerseys -- waved towels and screamed ... and during breaks, Mom and Dad enjoyed the adorableness of their kids taking in the sights and sounds (and popcorn!) at the arena.

Russ and Ciara then lost their minds for a bit after Andre Burakovsky buried a goal in the first few minutes of OT to give the Avs a 1-0 series lead ... cheering with the packed house wildly.

It's all a good sign for Broncos fans ... because it's clear the Wilsons have made the move from Seattle seamlessly.

Country singer Kata Hay, a former contestant on "The Voice," has been arrested for allegedly having sexual contact with her friend's son ... TMZ has learned.

Hay was taken into custody Tuesday in Sumner County, TN ... and according to legal docs obtained by TMZ, the alleged incident started with the 35-year-old singer making sexual comments about a 16-year-old boy in front of his parents. Cops say Hay had been staying at the family's home for a short period.

Those comments allegedly led to physical contact ... with the teen claiming Kata made out with him and forced him to touch her inappropriately multiple times against his wishes.

The 16-year-old's mother told authorities she confronted Kata, and recorded their convo before ordering her to leave the home. According to the docs, the mother's recording includes Hay acknowledging the incident had occurred.

It's noted Hay seemed to be under the influence during the confrontation, at least according to the mother.

The singer -- who made the 'Voice' top 20 back in 2016 -- was arrested, and also processed for a probation violation related to a separate DUI case.

Ryan Adams is ready to get back to performing for his fans -- after some of the most difficult years of his life -- telling us his prep has him 9 months sober and super sore!

We got the singer-songwriter out on a run at The Hollywood Reservoir Wednesday, a place that's become familiar to Ryan as of late. He tells us he's been working through his mental health struggles with 5-6 miles of running per day, and it's also helped him stay clean.

He's also mounting a comeback after a 2019 New York Times report accusing him of sending sexual messages to an underage fan as well as being "manipulative, obsessive and controlling" with 7 other women -- including his ex-wife Mandy Moore and singer Phoebe Bridgers.

Eventually, the FBI cleared Adams in the underage messages case -- but he hadn't really gotten on stage since then.

Now, he's just announced an 8-gig string of shows -- including Chicago and Milwaukee -- to start in October ... this after he quietly took the stage for 5 comeback shows in May. Sources close tell us ticket sales have already been strong ... proving fans still wanna see him in action.

While Ryan wouldn't exactly tell us his thoughts on cancel culture -- avoiding the topic by reminding us just how sore he was -- you gotta imagine he's excited about the chance of a legit comeback.

BTS is NOT going on a hiatus, despite the way band members made it seem ... the group's management team says the "hiatus" description was a simple mistranslation.

While the K-Pop singers are still going to pursue some solo projects, the band's Korean representation says the super popular group is not breaking up.

BTS caused an uproar Tuesday when band members put out a video in Korean talking about the group's future, with the English subtitle translation stating they were taking a "hiatus."

HYBE, the music company that reps BTS, reportedly lost $1.7 BILLION in market value during stock trading early Wednesday morning ... and now they are in a full-on backpedal over the "hiatus" comment.

The band's reps put out a statement, saying ... "To be clear, they are not on hiatus but will take time to explore some solo projects at this time and remain active in various different formats."

BTS singer Jungkook also promised the band would continue shooting their 'Run BTS' web series and would get back together to make music in the future after working on their solo careers.

Nipsey Hussle's alleged murderer, Eric Holder Jr., is standing trial in Los Angeles and prosecutors just laid out the details of Nip's shooting death in court ... and it's horrifying.

Deputy District Attorney John McKinney told the jury Wednesday ... after Holder gunned down Nipsey in a Crenshaw parking lot, Holder walked over to Nispey's bullet-riddled body and kicked him in the head.

The prosecutor also told the courtroom, Holder said to Nipsey, "You're through" ... with Hussle replying, "You got me," before Holder took off from the scene.

McKinney told the jury, Holder's kick to Nipsey's head shows it was a personal attack ... while Holder's public defender is trying to frame the case as something that happened in the heat of the moment.

You'll recall ... Holder was arrested a few days after Nipsey's shooting death, and he's charged with 1 count of murder, 2 counts of attempted murder (two other people were injured by gunshots during the incident) and 1 count of possession of a firearm by a felon.

XXL just released its hotly debated Freshman List for the 15th year — and there are no noticeable snubs ... as far as Yung Bleu can see.

The budding star's the perfect guy to weigh in with his hot take, because just last year he was the center of attention when XXL left him off the 2021 Freshman List.

We caught up with Bleu Davinci outside LAX and he had no smoke for the '22 XXL Freshman List, which consists of Babyface Ray, BabyTron, Big30, Big Scarr, Cochise, Doechii, Kali, KayCyy, KenTheMan, Nardo Wick, Saucy Santana and SoFaygo.

While Bleu feels like the list doesn't have power over artists' careers anymore -- rendering it kind of irrelevant -- he was happy to see the new class members get their shine.

We also got his take on the social media debate of Michael Jackson vs. Chris Brown's talent supremacy -- and Bleu didn't go the route of his homie Tank and side with CB ... he simply stated each generation will crown their hero and both their talents are uncanny.

Bleu’s career has been thriving since the 2021 “snub” … he went on to win Best New Artist at both the BET Hip Hop and Soul Train Awards that year and his double platinum-selling Drake collab “You’re Mines Still” has over 200 million YouTube views.

And, on top of that, he'll be on CB's new album, which is dropping this summer.

Drake brought his IG moniker "Champagne Papi" to life on Tuesday -- winning a title in the Sanctuary Basketball League -- and he celebrated by sprayin' bubbly everywhere!!

The victorious moment was all caught on video -- when his NTIG teammate hit the game-winning shot in the SBL title game right on Drake's basketball court in his Toronto mansion.

Drizzy and his squad went nuts after securing the dub ... cueing up the champagne showers.

And, Drake paid homage to the late Kobe Bryant for his game strategy ... saying he channeled his inner Mamba Mentality.

"I did what Kobe did in Game 7 against the Celtics," Drake said, "Shots not falling, you play f*****g defense!"

BTW, Drake launched the SBL league last year ... and now is a 2-time champ, after his team again won the 'ship.

Megan Thee Stallion is hopeful that Tory Lanez is not only found guilty for allegedly shooting her, but that he's thrown behind bars as well.

Meg -- who's in the middle of a criminal case involving Lanez in which he's alleged to have shot her in the foot in 2020 -- did an interview with Rolling Stone, in which she touched on the legal matter ... and says she wants him to serve time.

She says, "I want him to go to jail," adding ... "I want him to go under the jail." MTS said this after reflecting/questioning why the case is dragging out so long.

As you know, Tory has denied Megan's accusations and pled not guilty to the charges against him. While there've been bumps throughout -- including him being temporarily remanded to custody for violating a protective order -- it seems the case is going to trial in September.

Megan claims her foot was injured during the shooting -- saying she had to undergo surgery, and couldn't walk for days. She says, "Both of my legs wrapped up. I could not walk. I still have bullet fragments in my feet right now. I was very scared that I was not able to be Megan Thee Stallion no more. And, I was f***ed up."

Megan also addressed the other witness in the matter -- her ex-best friend, Kelsey Harris -- saying she feels like she's sided with Tory in the aftermath. An even more triggering result, she says, is the social media backlash she's received from people who don't believe her.

Hailey Bieber says Justin is on the path to recovery from Ramsay Hunt Syndrome, and believes the support from fans has played a big role in him getting better.

Hailey updated JB's condition Wednesday on 'GMA' ... where she said her husband's looking to make a full recovery from the condition that paralyzed half of his face. She says he's feeling better with each passing day.

She also thanked fans for being so understanding throughout his ordeal -- Justin had to pause his world tour -- and Hailey added they've been getting lots of advice from people who've dealt with RHS before.

As we reported, Justin revealed a virus in his ear left the right side of his face paralyzed ... he posted a video Friday showing the effects and telling fans the condition was the reason he'd postponed several shows.

JB's battle with RHS comes on the heels of Hailey's own medical scare back in March when she suffered a mini-stroke ... and needed a medical procedure to close a hole in her heart. She says she's been giving her body the time it needs to recover.

TMZ broke the story ... Hailey was rushed to the hospital after suffering stroke-like symptoms. Doctors found a small blood clot in her brain, and also diagnosed something called PFO, a small opening in the heart.

Even huge hitmakers like Boyz II Men get rejected -- that's showbiz, as they say -- and Shawn Stockman says one of his group's denials came from none other than Amy Winehouse.

We spotted the B2M singer in Bev Hills Tuesday during the TMZ Celebrity Tour, and he was cool enough to hop on our bus to chat with fans about his R&B group's peaks and valleys.

Shawn says, back in the day, their team had reached out to Amy suggesting she do a song with Boyz II Men. You gotta see him explain how that went over with British singer -- but, let's just say at least they made her laugh.

That being said, lots of other artists -- including contemporary rappers -- are down with the group's hits, and Shawn told us why they're open to working with everyone in the industry.

As you know, the R&B group, now consisting of Shawn, Nathan Morris and Wanya Morris gained international success in the 1990s.

They've won 4 Grammys, and Billboard recognized them as the biggest boy band from 1987 to 2012 -- and, btw, they're on tour this summer.

The upcoming celebrity boxing match between Blueface and former NBA star Nick Young isn't too chummy, and won't be very long -- the "Thotiana" rapper is vowing to put Nick to sleep early!

Make no mistake about it, Blueface has already won the July 30 bout in his mind, because he tells TMZ Hip Hop ... "The Famous Cryp is about to be even more famous ... Nick's going down in the 3rd!"

Earlier this week, TMZ Sports hashed out the details: the proud L.A. natives will both have home ring advantage inside Crypto.com Arena where they will be on the undercard for the Social Gloves event where YouTubers Austin McBroom and AnEsonGib are the main event.

Speaking of YouTubers, Blueface has a history of sizing up social media stars for a fight.

Remember, he bashed TikToker Kane Trujillo's face in (as well as a random ring-crasher) during a July 2021 bare-knuckle fight.

Ex-NFL star, and part-time rapper, Le'Veon Bell is also on the card for July 30, but he's still waiting for a challenger.

As for the fight for L.A.'s unofficial celeb belt (which isn't a thing, yet) ... the physical stats are in Swaggy's favor, but Blueface has him beat in-ring experience.