Music

Michelle Branch was arrested for allegedly slapping her estranged husband, Patrick Carney, in the face ... this in the wake of her claim he cheated on her.

According to docs out of Nashville, obtained by TMZ, on Thursday at around 2 AM police were called to their home for a possible domestic disturbance. Michelle admitted she had slapped Patrick in the face "one to two times," according to court docs.

Patrick did not have any visible injuries and Michelle was taken into custody. Her bail was set at $1,000 ... and it appears she was released from custody early because she's breastfeeding the couple's 6-month-old.

TMZ broke the story, Branch and Carney are splitting after 3 years of marriage. She told us Thursday, "To say that I am totally devastated doesn't even come close to describing how I feel for myself and for my family. The rug has been completely pulled from underneath me and now I must figure out how to move forward. With such small children, I ask for privacy and kindness.”

The split announcement came just hours after Michelle tweeted accusing Carney of cheating.

Michelle was previously married to Teddy Landau from 2004 to 2015, but married Carney in 2019.

Drake is saluting Rod Wave's skills as a nonverbal artist ... after the Florida rapper admitted his verses weren't good enough to make the cut of their proposed collaboration.

Back in 2021 when Drake was releasing his 3-song "Scary Hours" EP, he originally asked Rod to hop on a song for the mini project.

In a new interview with Complex, Rod admits he sat with the instrumental for weeks ... hoping for a creative spark to fuel an iconic moment but nada, nothing, zip -- came to mind.

Rod says he basically idolized Drake as a youth and felt bad about eventually declining the collaboration ... but felt confident in his decision to say no.

Drake respected the move so much, that he told Rod publicly in a comment for the interview!!!

The song would eventually still become a hit in the form of the "Lemon Pepper Freestyle" with Drake eventually swapping out Rod's spot for another Florida rapper ... by the name of Rick Ross.

If A$AP Rocky and Rihanna were at all concerned about his current legal battle, they certainly didn't show it during date night in NYC.

The new parents hit Emilio's Ballato Thursday, looking cool and casual. A$AP had what appeared to be a joint in his mouth, clutching a bottle of his Mercer & Prince booze.

RiRi showed off her legs with a black dress, white shirt, heels and sunglasses.

The outing comes on the heels of legal troubles for A$AP. As we reported, the "Fashion Killa" rapper is being sued for assault and battery by Terell Ephron AKA A$AP Relli ... over the alleged shooting that led to his arrest back in April.

Relli claims Rocky set up a meeting in Hollywood and pulled out a gun during the November confrontation ... firing multiple shots. Relli says he was hit by bullet fragments.

Jason Alexander seemed ready to fight the day of Britney Spears' wedding, but he threw in the towel Thursday in his felony trespass case, pleading no contest to some of the charges.

Jason, who was married to Brit for a grand total of 55 hours in 2004, was charged with 4 crimes, including felony stalking after he gained entry to Britney's home -- the site of the wedding last June -- and got within feet of the bride, who was inside her bedroom. Jason was armed with a knife. He fought 2 security guards before being subdued and arrested.

He plead no contest to two charges -- aggravated trespass and battery, both misdemeanors.

Two charges were dismissed -- felony stalking and misdemeanor vandalism.

Alexander was sentenced to 128 days in the Ventura County Jail. He's already served 64 days since being arrested and he will not serve the entire balance, which is protocol.

There's a protective order that requires Jason to stay clear of Britney until August 11, 2023.

The Game's failed to get Eminem on a Verzuz battle ... so now he's trying to bait Slim Shady into responding with a diss track.

Game released his long-delayed "DRILLMATIC: Heart vs. Mind" album with 31 tracks ... but the song everyone is talking about on social media is the 10-minute Eminem diss song "The Black Slim Shady."

The Hit-Boy-produced track mostly comes off slapstick with the West Coast rapper using silly voices ... akin to Eminem's classic "Stan" track but Game does pepper the song with several personal attacks.

Disrespectful topics range Em's past pill-popping addictions, his songs only get played within white America and how Game believes Big Sean and 6ix9ine are better rappers.

50 Cent -- who also has been ignoring Game's Verzuz challenges -- also catches a few strays on the track ... mainly for his lack of rapping output these days.

Of course, Em is one of the biggest artists of all time -- actually the 2nd highest-selling -- behind Garth Brooks, but Game says his beef is for the spirit of hip hop culture ... which just celebrated its 49th birthday yesterday!

Chuck should be careful what he wishes for, though. In 2019, Eminem happily railroaded Fat Joe's "Lord Above" song with Mary J. Blige -- just to fire back at Nick Cannon.

A$AP Relli claims he's been receiving death threats after allegedly being shot by A$AP Rocky ... and his legal team says it's gotten so bad they had to contact law enforcement.

A$AP Relli's attorneys, Jamal Tooson and Brian Hurwitz, tell TMZ Hip Hop ... their client has been subjected to constant harassment online and being labeled "a snitch" following Rocky's arrest in April.

Although Relli did not initially come out publicly as the person on the other side of the altercation, A$AP Bari proverbially pointed the finger at Relli — labeling him a "rat" online, causing the harassment to really pick up from there.

We're told things have gotten so bad, Relli's been in intensive therapy to cope with the situation, claiming the ordeal has disrupted his sleep and impaired his mental state.

Relli's attorneys also rejected the notion Relli "snitched" on Rocky or the Mob ... insisting a "snitch" is someone who initially agrees to do illegal activity with another individual, but then rats out that person to law enforcement when things go south. They say that's simply not what happened here.

TMZ broke the story back in April ... Rocky was arrested for assault with a deadly weapon shortly after returning from Barbados before the birth of his child.

As we reported, Relli sued Rocky in civil court, claiming Rocky shot him after the two got into an argument and said he suffered physical harm and emotional distress as a result.

Chicago rap friends Polo G and G Herbo are being sued by a concert promoter for allegedly double booking concert dates in Tampa and Atlanta ... and now, the promoter is looking for $300K in damages.

According to legal docs, obtained by TMZ Hip Hop, Polo and Herbo signed contracts with concert promoter Charles Potter of NoNaNi Entertainment to perform at a festival in Tampa.

NoNaNi claims Polo got $105K and Herbo got around $43K in deposits.

NoNaNi claims to have dropped nearly $200K to pay for the venue, soundstage, lighting, advertising, promotion, and hosts such as Million Dollarz Worth Of Game hosts Gillie Da Kid & Wallo, Tonio Skits and Glo Jenna.

According to the lawsuit -- Polo G then booked and promoted an entirely different event in Tampa around the same time as the NoNaNi gig ... and G Herbo booked a different event in Atlanta that directly conflicted with the date of the NoNaNi show in Tampa.

NoNaNi claims both Chicago rappers also failed to promote the NoNaNi event on their social media, even though they agreed to do so in their contracts.

Michelle Branch is calling it quits with her husband, Patrick Carney, 3 years after the couple tied the knot.

The singer tells TMZ, "To say that I am totally devastated doesn’t even come close to describing how I feel for myself and for my family. The rug has been completely pulled from underneath me and now I must figure out how to move forward. With such small children, I ask for privacy and kindness.”

The news comes on the heels of an ominous tweet Branch posted last night, accusing Patrick -- the drummer for The Black Keys -- of cheating.

Patrick was Michelle's second husband, the two married in April 2019 in a ceremony in New Orleans. They have two small children together, including a 6-month-old daughter. Branch was previously married to Teddy Landau from 2004 to 2015.

It doesn't appear she's filed divorce docs at this time ... but if her statement is any indication, you can assume the papers will be coming soon.

Meek Mill has landed a sweet new Hollywood deal with William Morris Endeavor -- this after bouncing from Jay-Z's Roc Nation management after 12 years.

Meek praised WME President Ari Greenburg Thursday for "opening the door" for his upcoming dives in the film, digital and books sectors ... as well as expanding business for his planned Culture Currency takeover.

Thursday became an unofficial Meek holiday and longtime friend/supporter Michael Rubin also hit "CBS Mornings" ... promoting their REFORM Alliance in efforts to fix inequalities within the criminal justice system.

Meek revealed he was dropping new "war-ready Dreamchasers music" in September ... but has been giving NBA stars Trae Young, Marcus and Markieff Morris (Meek's fellow Philly natives) exclusive practice music for the fastly approaching 2022-2023 season.

Things appear to be different for the veteran rapper following last year's disappointing "Expensive Pain" album where he railed against his label for lack of promotion.

He just dropped $200K on a Dreamchasers chain and the new deal should boost his rep with new talent.

Former NBA and college basketball standout Chris Webber is entering the cannabis biz via his new Player’s Only strain -- collaborating with several other rapper brands in the process!

On Thursday, C. Webb rolled out his Players Only strains C4, Time Out and G.O.A.T.’s Milk strains in addition to collaborations with Quavo’s BIRKINZ strain, Royce 5’9’s “Heaven” and Raekwon’s “Compliments Of The Chef” brand.

The Wu-Tang Clan legend’s company actually pays people to grow weed in their home state while Royce’s strain will double as an NFT.

And, the last time we checked with Quavo, his Birkin business was booming without any fear of copyright claims!

Naturally, C. Webb’s “Players Only” also lobs to athletes with cannabis companies and today’s launch reunites the Hall of Famer with his ex-Sacramento Kings teammate Jason Williams who has his “White Chocolate” strain, former Fab 5 teammate Ray Jackson and his Black Sox strain and former NBA champ and “All The Smoke” podcast co-host Matt Barnes, who launched “The Smoke” strain with Stephen Jackson.

Barnes was recently appointed Chief Collaborations Officer of PO and C. Webb calls it a big move for minorities and entrepreneurs alike.

For those who don’t know, C. Webb is quite the rap head … having produced for Nas' "Hip Hop Is Dead" album and even dropped a rap album towards the peak of his NBA career!

Britney Spears' lawyer is going scorched earth on Kevin Federline ... ripping him for yapping about her relationship with their boys and posting videos of family matters.

Attorney Mathew Rosengart says ... K-Fed's decision to post old footage of Britney arguing with boys Sean Preston and Jayden James was cruel, bottom-the-barrel behavior.

Britney's lawyer says in doing so, K-Fed violated the singer's privacy and dignity, undermined the children, demeaned himself as a father, and violated societal norms ... and now Rosengart is threatening legal action, suggesting a criminal cyber-bullying statute may have been violated.

Remember ... Britney and K-Fed are going back and forth in public over her relationship with the kids, with Kevin posting the videos and giving an interview to DailyMail, while Britney fights back with social media posts.

Rosengart says he's not about to let Britney be bullied like she was during her conservatorship ... and tells us he's working with Instagram to turn up the heat on K-Fed.

Britney's attorney says Kevin should keep their family matters private. In fairness, Britney also went public about her children Wednesday in her own IG post, calling the kids "hateful," and suggesting K-Fed's house is a marijuana den.

Britney Spears has not seen her 2 kids in 5 months, because they feel uncomfortable around her and have received some very upsetting texts from her ... this according to Kevin Federline's lawyer, Mark Vincent Kaplan.

Kaplan spoke with Kevin after Britney posted her lengthy account of her relationship with Sean Preston and Jayden James ... and says his client has never trash-talked her to their kids ... he says the boys have made their decision to stay away from her on their own. Kaplan says they have not had a single overnight with Britney in years.

Kaplan says based on Kevin's discussions with his children and other evidence, Kevin was not comfortable having the boys go to Britney's house unsupervised. As Britney said in her post, a person acting as a monitor was present when the boys were there.

Kaplan adds Kevin believes the boys love their mom, but they're angry at her. Kevin doesn't believe he has any power or influence over 15-year-old Jayden or 16-year-old Sean Preston. They ultimately make their own decisions, and they have elected not to see their mom, at least for now.

Kaplan also says this ... Kevin is annoyed Britney said, referring to Kevin's house, "I can guarantee you, that house has more weed than Ludacris, 50 Cent, Jay-Z and Puff Daddy combined!!!!" Kevin's response, Kaplan says, was that neither Britney nor any outsider would have any basis in fact to make such ungrounded statements.

And there's this ... we're told Kevin believes Britney's recent posts about their kids, especially Wednesday's -- where she called them hard to deal with and "there's being rude then there's being HATEFUL" -- Kevin says the children are in fear they could be put in danger from overzealous Britney fans.

We're told Kevin believes Sam is a "stabilizing influence" on Britney and has no ill feelings toward him.

Tommy Lee went FULL frontal on Instagram ... leaving some fans who never saw "that tape" aghast!

The 59-year-old doesn't have a shy bone in his body ... uploading the snap Thursday while chillin' in a tub.

It's unique ... most people who see pics of Tommy first notice all the tats, but the eye can drift in situations like this, right?

Pam Anderson's ex captioned the pic, "Ooooopppsss." Yeah, we're not buying that either.

There were lots of comments ... his wife, Brittany Furlan, responded, "OH MY GOD," while comedian Ryan Sickler replied, "Does the camera add 5 lbs?"

Dating app Grindr jumped on the train ... "Wrong app, babe."

There was, of course, criticism ... some fans were disgusted, asking him to take it down. It's been 86'd from IG ... unclear whether he did it or the platform took action. The pic is still on Facebook.

Tommy had a follow-up ... with a pic of an elephant looking at a male model, with the caption, "How do you breathe through that little thing??"

Kevin Federline has had enough of Britney Spears' public attacks on their two sons, Sean Preston and Jayden James, and now he wants to show the world just how contentious he says Britney's relationship has been with the boys for years.

Federline posted a series of videos Wednesday night, saying, "I can not sit back and let my sons be accused in this way after what they’ve been through. As much as it hurts us, we decided as a family to post these videos the boys took when they were 11 & 12. This isn’t even the worst of it. The lies have to stop. I hope our kids grow up to be better than this."

In the first video, Britney's engaged in a bedtime argument with the boys, exclaiming, "This is my house, if I wanna come in here and give you lotion for your face cuz it is coarse, and all you tell me is "it's fine, it's fine" NO it's not fine." She continues, "You better all start respecting me, are we clear? And when Robin calls ... even Robin is a f*****g kid."

It's not clear which Robin Britney is referring to, but Robin Greenhill was the Tri Star exec who was heavily involved in Britney's life ... so it's possible it's her.

The video ends with a pissed-off Britney saying, "You all need to start treating me like a woman with worth. I am a woman, ok? Be nice to me. Do you understand?"

A second video, filmed during a car ride, is seemingly an argument stemming from Sean Preston not wearing his shoes, or exposing his feet in public. You can hear the boys, clearly on the same team, argue with Britney over the fact she took Sean's phone.

The convo then takes a turn to discuss possibly going ice skating.

Federline's posting comes on the heels of an attack Britney posted to Instagram earlier in the day Wednesday where she called her 15 and 16-year-old boy's conduct "hateful" ... saying they never wanted to spend time with her when they'd visit.

J. Cole's Dreamville artist JID is countering the current conversation sparked by Tory Lanez that 2022 hip hop music is in the dumps ... claiming it's a great year for the genre.

We caught up with the Atlanta-bred lyricist in Hollywood at DASH Radio as he readies his upcoming album "The Forever Story" ... and he's fully confident the new project won't have a problem penetrating the alleged "mid" landscape.

ICYMI, Tory basically called out the entire hip hop and R&B game for not bringing the excitement this year ... a take not only brushed off by JID but singer Tank all the same.

Tony Yayo recently did an interview with VladTV and disclosed J. Cole could've been in G-G-G-G-Unit before he ultimately signed with Jay-Z's Roc Nation imprint ... which would've altered JID's career indefinitely.

It's not uncommon for rappers to shop for deals nowadays and JID reveals he was actually being courted by Quality Control's Coach K ahead of his Dreamville contract!

JID says it's still all love with QC, Migos and them, as there's plenty of rap money for everyone in ATL. And, he actually has plenty of reasons to be pumped about his odds to beat the "mid-year."

Just yesterday, he released his "Dance Now" video which garnered nearly one million views in a day and the album is slated to feature the likes of 21 Savage, Russ, Lil Yachty, Ari Lennox and more!

Madonna roller skated back to the '70s during a disco-themed celebration ... and while she needed some assistance to keep on her feet, she still had a blast.

The legendary pop star strapped on her roller skates and took a few spins around the Wollman Rink Wednesday in Manhattan's Central Park ... with a ton of strobe lights and disco balls to boot.

The pop legend had a little help from her friends ... one woman was seen taking the Material Girl's hand and guiding her around the rink. Other pals crowded around her on the couch, primping her face and helping her put on the skates.

And, get this ... two of Madonna's kids, Stella and Estere, were right there to shadow their mom the whole time.

Nile Rodgers, who produced Madonna's iconic "Like a Virgin" album, also got in on the action, taking a whirl around the rink himself. At one point, Nile and Madge hit the stage to hype up the crowd. Nile's DiscOasis has had disco and skating fans celebrating throughout the country.

Madge took us back to her '80s heyday, showing off her dance moves with Nile and shaking her booty under a massive disco globe.