Music

Kendrick Lamar sat in the front row of Louis Vuitton's Men’s Spring-Summer '23 Show in Paris this morning ... a point worth noting because he was performing at the same time!!!

The French fashion house rolled out all the stops for Men’s Fashion Week as K-Dot publicly debuted a couple of tracks from "Mr. Morale & the Big Steppers" -- "N95" and "Savior."

Speaking of being a savior, Kendrick rocked a crown of thorns -- similar to Jesus Christ's -- as he sat next to his manager Dave Free and belted out the tracks.

He could be still reveling in the fact he has the biggest rap release of the year.

K-Dot also improvised lyrics to dedicate portions of the show to the late Virgil Abloh ... who the hip hop community has been mourning since his passing last November.

As the first Black man to spearhead LVHM as artistic director, Virgil's creative vision directly inspired a wide range of rappers like Kanye, Migos, Tyler, the Creator and, obviously, Kendrick.

Sam's the man in Iran ... according to one Iranian magazine.

Britney Spears' freshly-minted husband, Sam Asghari, is being celebrated by his home country ... touting Iranian men as the gold standard!

Sam was born in Tehran, so his pic was plastered on the cover of the Tehran International Weekly Magazine with the headline -- "Once You Go Persian There's No Other Version."

The Persian-language SoCal mag is super popular both in the U.S. and internationally as well, so Sam has some pretty impressive bragging rights with his pals.

Sam and Brit tied the knot earlier this month ... he did sign a prenup beforehand, essentially keeping all Britney's assets separate. Nonetheless, they are now a happily married couple.

Calabasas moonwalkers Blueface and DDG are running pretty tight these days, making music and even cutting their teeth in the world of boxing.

We ran into the 2 rappers Wednesday in Los Angeles during what appears to be a music video shoot. They were pretty tight-lipped on the subject ... but told us to check back later.

What they did want to talk about -- or rather, vent about -- was DDG’s lack of a boxing opponent in the upcoming Social Gloves event at the Crypto.com Arena.

While the “Thotiana” rapper is scheduled to fight former Lakers champ Nick Young ... DDG has been left ass out after PnB Rock just bailed on their fight.

We can definitely see why DDG wants in on the action. During a Social Gloves event last year, he put in work on TikToker Nate Wyatt’s face — fresh off from splurging at the strip club the night earlier.

Beyoncé haters can take several seats as far as Robin S. is concerned ... because Bey's "Break My Soul" is opening all kinds of doors for the 90s hitmaker.

Beyonce's first single from a studio album in 6 years samples Robin's smash 1993 hit, "Show Me Love" -- and if your ear didn't pick that up, you're in the minority.

Robin tells us ever since 'Break' dropped Tuesday, she's been flooded by record labels, corporations and artists ... all looking to work with her.

Get ready to hear more of that 90s dance vibe -- Robin says her team's phones are ringing nonstop with inquiries about licensing her "Show Me Love" master recordings for various purposes.

She says the calls are coming from ad agencies, record labels and top DJs ... and her team is frantically trying to vet the offers as quickly as possible. So, If you've ever doubted the Beyonce effect is a real thing, Robin can testify.

Most importantly, though, she's elated and grateful Bey is giving her her flowers while she's still here ... an honor many artists don't get.

She says "Show Me Love" is her legacy, and to have an artist of Queen B's stature acknowledge and appreciate her music is one of the highest compliments ever.

Robin's already plenty popular -- currently traveling through North America and Europe on a sold-out tour through August -- but Bey's adding new revenue stream opportunities.

Britney Spears is back from where she came -- Instagram!!!

Britney re-activated her account Wednesday, with a post about marriage, swimming and steak. In other words ... authentic Brit.

For starters she shared a pic of her, wearing a bikini in her new swimming pool ... the pool attached to the new house she's sharing with hubby Sam.

Here's what she wrote for starters ... "Haven't been on my honeymoon yet ...  got married and moved into a new house around the same time ... not the smartest thing to do ... 🤧🤧🤧 🤔🤔🤔 ... oh well it's coming together ... it's so weird I wake up and everything is new ... new pool ... new kitchen ... new bed ... I think I am in shock !!!"

TMZ broke the news ... Britney scooped up an $11.8 million mansion in Calabasas shortly after tying the knot ... not a stone's throw but still near where Kevin Federline lives with their 2 sons, Sean and Jayden.

Brit seems to be settling into life as a newlywed. She told her fans she's still figuring stuff out, but one thing's for certain -- she likes the inside and outside of her new palace.

She left IG unexpectedly earlier this month, shortly after her wedding ... and another time back in March. Now she's active again and here to let folks know, as she puts it, "life is good 💋💋💋🌹🌹🌹 !!!"

French Montana's good mood dampened Wednesday morning when news broke that Lil Tjay was shot and rushed to surgery ... a moment he tweeted about with passion.

We caught up with French in NYC, and Tjay was still on his mind. After all, the two earned a gold plaque (along with Blueface) in 2019 for French's song "Slide."

While French wished Tjay a speedy recovery, he also reinforced the message that rappers have the most "dangerous" job and all the love can often be thinly veiled hate.

On a positive note, we're told Tjay is out of surgery and beginning down the road to recovery ... a fact that'll help French sleep easier.

He's on the verge of dropping his new album "Montega" with Harry Fraud, a new wave of outside music that's approved by NYC Mayor Adams himself ... who just launched a crackdown on illegal dirt biking in the city.

French has no issues with the mayor's tactics on dirt biking -- but, politically, he draws the line on prosecutors using rap lyrics in court cases.

Taylor Swift and BF Joe Alwyn are clearly having some fun in the sun, getting into the water and sharing some serious smooches on vacation.

The two have been down in the Bahamas, and were spotted Sunday on their getaway -- packing on some PDA during a dip.

After their love-fest, TS and JA got back on dry land and into their Airstream trailer -- one they're reportedly borrowing from Lenny Kravitz ... talk about a nice perk!

Taylor and Joe aren't spotted together often, even though they've been an item since 2016 -- so it's rare to see them out on vacation.

Johnny Depp is getting the band back together -- prepping for an overseas tour with The Hollywood Vampires -- all in the name of rock and roll.

Depp and the Vampires -- consisting of Joe Perry, Alice Cooper and Tommy Henriksen -- had previously canceled their tour back in March because of COVID restrictions, saying, "We kept trying to make it happen, but unfortunately due to the uncertainty of COVID-19 travel restrictions, it is just not possible."

But now, fans in Germany and Luxembourg will get the chance to see Depp and co. back in action ... though there's still a delay -- as the first show isn't until June 2023.

Of course, JD's been getting some practice in with Jeff Beck, and got a ton of praise for those shows in the U.K.

The Vampires tour announcement comes just a few weeks after Johnny defeated his ex-wife Amber Heard in court ... and was awarded a net judgment of $8.35 million.

Rapper Lil Tjay is undergoing emergency surgery after being shot ... TMZ has learned.

Law enforcement sources tell TMZ ... Tjay was shot just after midnight in Edgewater, NJ. We're told at the time of this post the rapper is in surgery. The extent of his wounds and his condition have not been revealed.

We're told there were 2 shooting sites -- one at a Chipotle Restaurant and another at a nearby Exxon Gas station.

The victim at the Chipotle restaurant was shot several times and the victim at the Exxon was shot once.

We do not know the identity of the second victim.

The suspect or suspects are still at large and police are on the hunt. So far, the motive is unknown.

The incident went down in the middle of the night Wednesday in Edgewater, New Jersey.

Flavor Flav is 63 years old and living a very busy life, courtesy of a very large crew of kids and grandkids -- which is why his energy in this clip is pretty shocking!

We caught up with the Public Enemy legend when he touched down at LAX ... fresh off his fantastic Father's Day and he had plenty of jewels to share about being in the lives of his 8 children.

According to Flav, being a present parent is the best gift any child could have, and he enjoys being an active dad for his brood. He really perked up when asked about his youngest, Jordan, who was confirmed to be his son last month.

Although he didn't catch up with him this last Father's Day, Flav has been spending invaluable time with the 3-year-old and he gave us some updates about the little guy's musical skills. Start 'em early!

We're told Flav and Jordan's mother already hammered out a child support agreement, and they're successfully co-parenting.

Drake’s new album, "Honestly, Nevermind" is getting doused with mixed reviews, and Irv Gotti is definitely seeing it as a glass-half-empty ... one that makes him think hip hop needs a new kinda icon.

We chopped it up Tuesday at LAX with the visionary behind Ja Rule and Ashanti's wave of hits, and while Irv emphasized Drake is a "great human being" ... he also took him to task for his dance record.

Irv's beef is basically that famous Spider-Man quote about great power and great responsibility -- he says Drizzy's too influential to sway so far from hip hop, and his dance vibes could be a killer blow to the culture.

He even pondered about going back to his A&R days to counter the dance boom by finding the next DMX … or some other hardcore rap equivalent.

With most of the rappers singing these days, those days are likely long gone so Irv's work may be cut out for him.

There's absolutely no question -- Travis Scott is getting on with his life -- selling out his Nike collab, hitting massive stages again ... and now whipping around in a $5.5 million ride.

We got photos of the rappers brand new Bugatti Veyron Chiron Super Sport Tuesday in Brentwood -- a vehicle with a starting price of around $3.5 million. We're told the one Travis received cost even more ... and considering there are only 30 made, calling it "rare" would be an understatement.

Travis also shared a photo from inside the whip while he sat in the driver's seat -- highlighting the blue interior.

Of course, Scott's still locked in litigation stemming from the 10 lives lost at Astroworld in November. While he's allowed to move on with his life, you gotta imagine the families behind the lawsuits will feel a certain kinda way about Travis' latest flashy purchase.

As we've told you ... Travis has maintained from the beginning he had no idea of how serious things were in the crowd while he performed and people were dying.

Maxim just dropped its annual Hottest Women's list ... and this year's mix of beauty and boldness within the entertainment industry includes several of hip hop's superstars.

Starring in the “Icons and Megastars” category is Nicki Minaj ... while Cardi B, Doja Cat and Megan Thee Stallion were featured in the "Sultry Songbirds" section. Saweetie pops up in the "Maxim Cover Girls" portion.

The categories seem kinda random, but you get the point -- the magazine's telling us some stuff we already knew ... these women are quite successful and attractive.

Other celebs included in the issue ... Rihanna, Olivia Rodrigo, Dua Lipa, Kylie Jenner, Zoë Kravitz and Zendaya.

The news should hopefully brighten Doja's day as she recovers from throat surgery ... a process that apparently requires rapping Nicki Minaj songs. Probably not on doctor's orders.

Black folks are pissed off and deeply traumatized by Nipsey Hussle's murder, with a new wave of emotions coming back up during his alleged murderer's trial ... so says Luenell.

The comedy vet chatted with Raquel Harper Tuesday on the 'It's Tricky' podcast. Luenell says she lives near the area where Nipsey was shot, and to drive by the spot almost daily feels like some sort of post-traumatic stress.

She also addressed Nip's alleged killer, Eric Holder, who is currently on trial, saying, "The Black community don't hate nobody as much as they hate Eric Holder's bitch ass."

She also says there are a lot of people praying, if convicted, Holder's placed in general population. Luenell doesn't spell it out, but her insinuation's clear ... inmates are ready to get revenge.

Holder's trial kicked off in L.A. last week, 3 years after Nipsey was killed, and we've already heard the grisly details from the day Holder allegedly pulled the trigger -- including his final words to Nipsey before the rapper died.

Luenell says she's at the point where she feels she needs to move away from Crenshaw, as the reminders throughout the neighborhood of what happened to Nip have become too much to handle.

She also sends her love to Lauren London, who has a son with Nipsey and was dating the rapper when he died. Luenell believes a part of Lauren died with Nipsey.

Priscilla Presley, the ex-wife of Elvis Presley, thinks Austin Butler did a stunning job playing the late performer ... and says the internet should pipe down on the scathing critiques.

We got Priscilla outside the Chinese Theater in Hollywood Tuesday -- she was amongst other members of the Presley family as they left their handprints in cement in front of the theater ahead of the new film's release.

She says AB is just fantastic in his depiction ... and thinks the people talkin' smack don't know Elvis the way she did. Priscilla says she felt just like she was watching her ex-husband up on the big screen ... even though Butler's gotten some harsh criticism online for the portrayal.

Users on TikTok tore the actor apart after the studios posted a scene, trying to get a viral challenge going --  but social media trolls said an impersonator from Vegas could've done a better job.

Wiz Khalifa's currently living large in a new spot not too far from his old one, which means he has an extra mansion on his hands ... but he's trying to change that.

We've just learned the Taylor Gang general is putting his former pad in Encino up for $4,495,000 -- which is $1 million more than he originally paid for the crib back in January 2019.

Seems like a steal of a deal for the next buyer ... the super-smart home features 6 bedrooms and 6 bathrooms, floor-to-ceiling glass doors and custom fireplaces. On the more exotic end of amenities, it's got a home movie theater, a waterfall, pool and a spa.

Alan Taylor of Compass and Brian Capossela with Cap Equity hold the listing.

Wiz is currently resting his head just a few miles up the street in a newly built $7.6 mansion.

The upgraded spot has a lot of the same features as his old place ... but he's added an extra guesthouse and a gym. We know how much Wiz loves his workouts.