Music

50 Cent's TV family is in full dysfunction -- 2 'Power' stars are on the verge of coming to blows, and the infighting is keeping everyone on their toes when cameras aren't rolling.

Sources close to the unfolding drama tell TMZ Hip Hop the problems between "Power Book IV: Force" actor Joseph Sikora and "Power Book II: Ghost" actor Gianni Paolo have been brewing long before Joseph -- who plays Tommy -- dropped a very public diss on Gianni.

50 and singer Joe were on stage in Houston last weekend performing the 'Power' theme song as several cast members joined them onstage.

When Gianni went to give Joseph a pound, he was brutally ignored ... and cameras caught the burn in real time! 😬

Gianni recently fired back at Joseph's claims of reconciliation following the onstage diss so yeah, Houston … there's still a problem!!!

Sources involved with the series back up Gianni's claims, noting there's been an air of coldness when the 2 actors are around each other.

We're also told the rivalry between 'Power II' star Michael Rainey Jr. and "BMF" actor Lil Meech is getting out of hand … with both camps aggressively throwing money at one another during a Houston Tycoon Fest party.

Their respective security teams almost came to blows as a result of the ruckus but we hear cooler heads prevailed to party on.

Last year, Meech and Mike revved up the testosterone on IG … sending shots to one another ahead of the "BMF" premiere and things are still, well … testy.

The last time we spoke to Gianni and Mike, they told us Fiddy was an incredible peer mediator on set … just from his presence alone.

Olivia Rodrigo is not too cool for school ... because she was apparently in class today at USC.

Ya gotta see this photo making the rounds online, showing the "good 4 u" singer seated in class at USC's Thornton School of Music.

Olivia's peers seem surprised at taking in a lecture with a celeb ... and it looks like she's listening intently to whatever the professor had to say.

We reached out to USC and Olivia's camp to learn more about the classes she's apparently taking on campus ... so far no word back.

Olivia does have a documented relationship with USC and the Thornton School of Music ... alumni from the school's studio guitar and popular music programs were featured in a live performance of Olivia's song, "favorite crime."

The USC marching band also performed Olivia's smash hit "good 4 u" at football games last season.

Olivia's only 19 years old, so she would fit right in on a college campus.

Model Shannon Clermont of the Clermont twins is asking a judge to nullify her brief and secret marriage ... one she claims she was manipulated into.

In the legal docs, obtained by TMZ, Shannon says she married celebrity jeweler Alex Moss in New Jersey back in March after a few years of dating.

The docs say Alex told her he was a Canadian citizen, and in America on a student visa.

She claims he was told by his immigration attorney at the end of last year that he needed to tie the knot to avoid deportation but claims he promised he wanted to marry her regardless of his status.

She says he proposed on January 1, but didn't get down on one knee ... and she claims he said he didn't get her the ring he wanted to get her. Shannon claims Alex told her to keep their marriage a secret, even asking her to keep it from her twin, Shannade.

Shannon says he quickly decided to not move forward with building their life together, separating just 4 days after their courthouse marriage.

She's now looking for an annulment, claiming she was duped into the marriage under fraudulent pretenses.

Country music singer Luke Bell battled severe bipolar disorder for years before recently going missing and being found dead ... and his manager says he'd disappeared a few times before.

Luke's business manager, Brian Buchanan, tells TMZ ... the singer tried to cope with bipolar disorder, but could never find a solution that worked for him. When Luke disappeared in the past, Brian says they were always able to track him down.

We're told the singer-songwriter was prescribed medication, but his manager wasn't sure if Luke was taking his meds earlier this month when he went missing in Arizona.

Cops say Luke's body was discovered Friday in Tucson, and Brian tells us he'd vanished one night while getting food in the area with his musician friend Matt Kinman.

We're told Luke and Matt were in Tucson to visit Matt's family and play some gigs. Matt had searched for Luke for at least 10 days before the body was found.

Police say an investigation is ongoing ... and we're told an autopsy is underway to determine the cause of death.

Luke's manager tells us ... "Luke fought this as hard as he could, but the disease got the better of him. When he was beating the disease, he was the sweetest and most generous guy. He's found peace now and there's some comfort."

Luke was 32.

RIP

If you or someone you know is thinking of suicide, please call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 988.

Steph Curry is known for having a wicked shot on the court, but the Warriors star can apparently rap too -- 'cause he freestyled during a charity golf tourney this week ... and name-dropped Rory McIlroy in the rhymes!!

Curry was celebrating the 3rd annual Workday Charity Golf Classic with his wife, Ayesha, in Northern California -- when he got hold of a mic on one of the tee boxes and showed the crowd that he can get busy on a beat.

Steph dropped a 40-plus-second freestyle while musician Kelley James was teeing off ... and judging from the looks and sounds of it, Curry appeared to be a natural.

"I don't know why I have the mic," Curry rapped. "All I want to do is see Kelley's ball take flight."

"Is he really good at golf? Nobody knows," Curry continued flowing. "I don't know how this is gonna go?"

The best part of Steph's freestyle was the bars ... the Golden State point guard made sure to rap about what James was doing on the hole -- and he managed to stay on the beat!!

He also gave Kelley high praise ... saying in the rap that Rory, who just won the 2022 FedEx Cup, would approve of James' stroke.

Benefits from the golf tourney went to Steph and Ayesha's Eat.Learn.Play. Foundation -- and after the event, Curry reflected on how much fun he had there.

"Another amazing day at the 3rd Annual @workday Charity Classic w/ @ayeshacurry… all benefiting @eatlearnplay 🙌🏽⛳️ Special people, unbelievable vibes... for an amazing cause."

The relationship between Kanye West and GAP has clearly hit some rough waters ... with Ye taking shots at the retail giant for allegedly leaving him out of meetings and copying his designs.

Ye's now gone off on the company for two days in a row, first announcing Tuesday, "Gap held a meeting about me without me?" Then on Wednesday posting a text exchange with someone accusing GAP of copying Yeezy GAP Engineered by Balenciaga's designs on a standard GAP T-shirt.

According to Kanye, GAP also backed out of a shoot with his kids, writing, "But they canceled the photo shoot with my kids in Japan without me knowing."

Of course, Kanye's Yeezy GAP line has been extremely successful so far -- with impressive sales both online and in-store. However, it appears the relationship has become frayed, with Ye not having as much of a voice in the business operations as he may have intended.

One thing we know Kanye's had full control over, though, is the presentation of the clothing in GAP stores. He faced heavy criticism online for the "trash bag" displays of the products, but announced he wouldn't apologize for being an innovator.

Leave it to LeBron James to get Jay-Z to come outta social media hibernation!

LBJ -- fresh from getting crunk at Kendrick Lamar and Baby Keem's The Big Steppers Vancouver show -- soaked up MSNBC anchor Ari Melber's deep dive into Jay's highly touted verse from DJ Khaled's "God Did."

The news bit hacked into the failed drug policies of ex-Presidents Richard Nixon and Donald Trump ... while highlighting how Jay lyrically details several of America's hypocrisies.

The NBA living legend equally praised Hov and Ari's poetic delivery … prompting a response from the Roc Nation boss, who took it all in stride, stating his primary focus is to give the voiceless a voice.

On the track, Jay raps, "I left the dope game with my record clean, huh/I turned the cocaina into champagne/I cleaned up la madrina with the same soap/Me and Loro talk 'bout how we slang dope/Now the weed in stores, can you believe this, Ty?" … the last line is a nod to his cannabis company Monogram.

Jay's highly touted verse has helped DJ Khaled secure next week's Billboard 200 chart crown … but that doesn't mean the Roc Boy will be lighting up IG or TikTok anytime soon.

While speaking with Kevin Hart over the summer, Jay explained he's down with everyone using social media to their heart's content.

Diddy's "R&B is Dead" campaign has led the Bad Boy Records founder back into the studio ... with the legendary Dr. Dre marking their first-ever musical meetup!

Sources familiar with the session tell TMZ Hip Hop Dre was actually coaching Diddy on how to say certain words and made sure they had it right.

We're told the track will likely end up on Dre's upcoming album with Snoop Dogg (who was also in the building) which the West Coast rap legends have been teasing since February's Super Bowl performance.

Jimmy Iovine, Tank, Pheelz, LVRN's Justice Baiden and others were also in the mix to keep the energy high and ideas flowing.

Seeing as it was their first time recording together, the 2 super-producers were trying to get a feel for each other's chemistry. We’re told the song felt like it was coming together nicely, and Diddy and Dre definitely “clicked” and had fun.

Diddy celebrated the moment with a post calling it a “dream come true,” and labeling Dre a "superhero."

Drake, J. Cole, Kevin Durant and Popcaan certainly know how to have a good time, especially when on the water in a tropical destination.

The superstar friend group was recently in Turks & Caicos, whipping around on jet skis in the crystal clear water.

Popcaan appears to be a new addition to the crew, but the Jamaican artist’s next album #GIHE (Great Is He) is set to come out on Drake’s OVO Sound label and he got really acquainted with the bros ... feasting on giant lobsters in between spa pampering and nighttime partying.

Popcaan began bread-crumbing his latest adventures with Drake & Co. last week when he posted up next to Drake and his private jet on the runway.

The vacation looked fruitful ... Cole is preparing to put on his CEO hat to oversee Ari Lennox’s next album, and KD looked comfortable soaking up the sun as he heads back to Brooklyn next season after all trade talks fell through.

Twenty One Pilots frontman Tyler Joseph took a nasty fall in the middle of the band's show ... messing his leg up pretty bad thanks to a rogue drumstick.

The band took the stage in Cleveland, OH Tuesday night ... the crowd was as hyped as Tyler and co. were throughout the night, especially when the singer jumped off a high platform to run across the stage -- big mistake.

You can see Tyler slip and crash onto an elevated part of the stage ... while he seemed to recover quickly, things looked worse for wear after the show ended.

The band posted an explanation backstage, with drummer Josh Dun saying he dropped one of his sticks on stage -- something he rarely does.

He says it was unfortunately Tyler who found the stick with his foot, twisting his ankle in the process and slicing his knee open.

Josh felt pretty bad about leaving his stick out there, but don't fret, Tyler -- dinner's on him!!!

Madonna's boldly declaring what most of us already know -- the secret behind her incredible life and career is sex ... and she's not afraid to admit she's kind of obsessed with it.

The 64-year-old singer got really candid in this new YouTube clip where she answers 50 fan questions about her upcoming album and her nearly 40-year career.

Madonna says having sex is her "current favorite obsession" ... and she's been doing lots of it. In fact, she says that's what's keeping her going.

But, that's not all ... she also dropped some bombshells about her decision to get married. When asked what life choices she looks back on with regret, she quickly answered "Getting married. Both times!"

As you might know, she was married to Sean Penn from 1985 to 1989, and she later tied the knot with Guy Ritchie in 2000 ... before splitting up in 2008.

That won't come as a shock to most of Madge's fans -- back in 2015 she reportedly said this about her marriage to Guy ... "There were times I felt incarcerated. I wasn't really allowed to be myself. You've got to find someone who accepts who you are and is comfortable with that."

Now, she might have found just that in her current BF ... she's dating 23-year-old model Andrew Darnell.

DaBaby may not have sold enough tickets to put on a show in New Orleans, but he seems to be taking it in stride ... laughing it off with a social media GIF.

The rapper was supposed to perform at the Smoothie King Center Friday, but the show was canceled after he reportedly could only sell 500 tickets for the 14,000-seat venue. Of course, Twitter went into a frenzy, poking fun at the rapper ... and he surprisingly joined in.

DaBaby posted a GIF of himself, slyly looking around before smirking and taking a sip of a drink ... seemingly to acknowledge the social media buzz the story created.

Of course, DaBaby's slide in popularity has been pretty significant since his homophobic rant at Rolling Loud ... he's also faced legal issues as well.

7th Ward Shorty, one of the show's promoters and also on the lineup, told Nola.com he blames the low ticket sales on the fact they also booked EDM group Showtek to entice college kids attending this weekend's LSU vs. Florida State game.

He says once the event is rescheduled, it will be only hip hop and won't feature any EDM.

Usher is shutting down any thoughts of him getting in a Verzuz battle ... all because he says his discography is too massive to whittle it down to just 20 songs!!!

The superstar singer was a recent guest on the "PEOPLE Every Day" podcast, where he basically said the best Verzuz matchup would feature him standing on stage battling against himself!!!

Ironically, Usher already did something like that with his 2010 album "Raymond v. Raymond" ... but he's now doubling down on his grandeur, daring any artist to take on his greatest hits.

The air of confidence obviously carried over from Usher's interview last week where he owned the R&B crown, denying the genre was ever dead like Diddy claimed.

Any potential Usher challengers will have to wait. As we've reported, Verzuz creators Swizz Beatz and Timbaland, along with Sony Music, are suing Triller -- but Diddy and Jermaine Dupri are still planning to go head-to-head soon.

Michael Jackson's estate just scored a big legal win ... preventing a potential sale of MJ property the estate claims was stolen from the singer's home right after his death.

According to new legal docs, obtained by TMZ, a judge issued a preliminary injunction barring Jeffre Phillips from selling any items he allegedly removed from the residence back in 2009.

TMZ broke the story ... Michael's estate claims Phillips was engaged to one of MJ's siblings and used the chaos and sadness around Michael's death to take a bunch of personal and private property from MJ's Carolwood House.

Michael's estate claims Phillips used a 9-day stay at the Carolwood House to swipe the singer's iPhone, California driver's license, prescription pill bottles with pills inside, handwritten notes and some clothes, including the pajamas Michael was wearing in the final hours before his death inside the famous estate.

What's more, Michael's estate alleges Phillips also stole a resuscitator tube that may have been used on the King of Pop.

The legal development comes just before a new TMZ documentary, "TMZ Investigates: Who Really Killed Michael Jackson," airs Tuesday on FOX at 8/7c.

50 Cent's Tycoon Houston turned into the venue for a fight between hometown heroes and ex-friends Z-Ro and Trae Tha Truth, and yet Z-Ro says he's letting it slide. For now, at least.

We use the word "fight" loosely to describe what went down last weekend because, judging by the footage, Z-Ro was totally outnumbered.

TMZ Hip Hop caught up with the Mo City Don Tuesday, who gave us his view of what led up to him being surrounded by Trae's goons. Z-Ro says he was out Saturday enjoying the Tycoon Houston festivities, taking pics outside with supporters, when he was approached by Trae to have a conversation outside the crowd.

The two Texas-bred stars went their separate ways around 2012 and while Z-Ro admits they haven't been chummy, he didn't think they had any real issues ... until he was greeted by multiple fists and eventually feet to the face after being lured into Trae's trap.

Check out the footage ... a disoriented Z-Ro actually shrugs off the apparent beatdown to charge his attackers after police intervened, but officers ultimately held him back.

In terms of retaliation, Z-Ro says he's not as mad as some of the fans in the street … who have torn artists they grew up listening to have issues that escalated to violence.

Z-Ro says he’s been asking Trae for a charitable boxing challenge for years in order to settle their differences, but all he's gotten is radio silence.

Freddie Gibbs is apparently switching to album mode following his latest e-tussle with Benny The Butcher ... dropping clues on billboards that are popping up all over the country.

TMZ Hip Hop obtained images from Los Angeles, Chicago and New York ... promoting an “SSS Casino” ... which is also the name of Freddie’s upcoming album.

When dialed, the Las Vegas number plays an automated message from a female concierge who instructs callers their “soul is sold separately,” which is the acronym for “SSS.” The posts also subtly tout Freddie’s “Big Rabbit” nickname in blue lettering, tying the riddle together.

Freddie’s last release came in 2020, the Grammy-nominated “Alfredo” collaborative album with The Alchemist and sources close to the situation say the new project will be slated for a fall release.

The veteran rapper previously boasted collaborators to be Three 6 Mafia's DJ Paul, Jadakiss, Madlib and others ... so it'll be interesting to see who makes the final cut.