Music

Dave Grohl did Taylor Hawkins proud during the latter's tribute show in the UK -- with the Foo Fighters frontman taking on the station that his late bandmate once helmed.

The show is currently underway in London, where Dave and a slew of other artists are doing a huge concert at Wembley Stadium in honor of Hawkins -- who died earlier this year. The lineup is stacked ... with members of several iconic bands scheduled to hit the stage.

Some of those acts include ... Nirvana, Metallica, Queen, Led Zeppelin, RUSH, AC/DC and The Police. Liam Gallagher of Oasis also performed, with Dave backing him on percussion.

There were a number of emotional moments throughout the concert, which is now winding down. At one point ... Dave's voice started to crack a bit when he was talking about Taylor, but he pulled it together and carried on. Safe to say, the vibe was very bittersweet.

As you can imagine, the place was absolutely packed ... which makes total sense. The sheer number of artists on the bill for this is staggering -- which just speaks to how much TH meant to the music community. But yeah, this is a show folks definitely didn't want to miss.

It's actually the first of two tribute concerts that are going to be done on behalf of Taylor -- there's another that's scheduled in Los Angeles later this month ... and that one, too, is likely to be star-studded. Anyone who isn't there now will probably show up in L.A.

As we reported ... Taylor was found dead at his hotel in Colombia, where he was touring with his band. An official cause of death has yet to be released, but an overdose of some sort seems to be what might've killed him -- upwards of 10 different substances were found to be in his system when an autopsy was done.

Jack Harlow might be a big deal in hip-hop circles, but it doesn't seem he's nearly as impactful among the football crowd -- as seen in his now-viral appearance on ESPN.

The rapper was the special guest Saturday for "College GameDay" -- where analysts and pundits sit around talking shop about all the games going down for the day ... and who they got to win, etc. Jack was on the panel too ... but first, let's start with his performance.

JH was at Ohio State here -- who are playing Notre Dame today -- and as he was introduced on a tiny little stage while surrounded by students ... things fell flat fast.

He was doing his song, "First Class," for the kids ... but it became pretty clear that they just weren't into it. Take a look at the reaction from the crowd -- yes, some toward the front are a little hyped ... but most everyone else is just looking on, like deer staring into headlights.

Jack seemed to notice the lack of energy too -- at one point, he appeared to throw his hands up, as if to say ... WHAT THE HELL, GUYS?!? It was very Ja-Rule-At-The-Bucks-Game.

Still, ever the professional ... Jack powered through, and word is he did damn near the whole song -- which is also getting mocked right now. Namely, the fact that nobody at ESPN thought to just pull the plug and move on. The jokes are flying in every direction over this.

That wasn't the only thing that left an impression, though ... Jack's actual football IQ was on display during his sit-down portion of the broadcast, and there too he's leaving 'CGD' viewers less than impressed ... but certainly entertained.

Kevin Federline says his sons haven't seen their mom, Britney Spears, in nearly 6 months, and we've learned the relationship continues to sour -- especially since Britney went after her boys online.

Sources with direct knowledge tell TMZ ... Britney's two boys, 16-year-old Sean Preston and 15-year-old Jayden James, aren't ready to go see their mom after she blasted their conduct as "hateful" in an Instagram post last month.

We're told Britney's post made an already frayed relationship even more strained, and there's a lot of anger built up against her.

Kevin's attorney, Mark Vincent Kaplan tells TMZ ... "While I will not comment on whether there were or were not regular custodial exchanges, one must consider that the comments about the boys such as those that were recently published hardly create a pro custodial environment. This is something that the parties involved will have to work out over time."

As we reported, Thursday Britney turned to Instagram to once again post about her boys after 15-year-old Jayden did an interview claiming he felt Britney gave him more attention than Preston. Britney wrote, ""Finally at 40 without the restraints of what my family did to me ... I say to my son Jayden that I send all the love in the world to you every day for the rest of my life!!! My love for my children has no boundaries."

As we told you last month, Kaplan claims the boys feel uncomfortable around their mom, and Kevin posted a series of videos the boys recorded under Britney's care where she disciplined them.

Remember, Britney's been beefing with Kevin recently over his tell-all interview that he shot a few months ago with a UK tabloid about their private lives, and the kids are caught up in the drama.

New clips from that interview are set to air Sunday on "60 Minutes: Australia."

A$AP Rocky has a lot of things on his mind these days … but tending to the car he was riding around in with Kanye West and Antonio Brown apparently isn't one of them.

TMZ spotted the '70s classic station wagon getting towed out of an L.A. neighborhood ... at the request of police.

The tow truck guy tells us the car was parked illegally and as you can see on the windshield, it had racked up months worth of citations.

No telling who actually owns the vehicle ... Rocky, Ye and AB shot something -- most likely a music video -- in the wood-paneled Jeep wagon early in 2022.

From the looks of it, that might have been the last time it was washed too!

Let's face it, Rock’s got bigger issues to deal with than parking tickets -- L.A. prosecutors are saying the Harlem-bred rapper was the triggerman in the November 2021 shooting where his former friend A$AP Relli was hit.

He's since been charged with 2 counts of assault with a semiautomatic firearm, and he's also facing an assault and battery lawsuit.

The woman who cops say broke into Why Don't We band member Daniel Seavey's home and slept in his bed might have a jail bunk in her future ... she's facing criminal charges.

According to new legal docs, obtained by TMZ, the L.A. City Attorney charged a 23-year-old woman named Eissa Amira with two counts of trespassing.

TMZ broke the story ... police say the woman broke into Daniel's L.A. home back in July. Surveillance footage shows the woman pacing outside his front door holding flowers and then climbing through a window.

Daniel's camp claims the woman rummaged through his closet once she was inside, putting on some of his clothes before climbing into his bed and falling asleep.

Surveillance footage from inside the home shows the woman -- in one of Daniel's hoodies -- digging through his cabinets the following morning, listening to "Can I Get It" by Adele.

The woman ended up leaving Daniel's place in handcuffs ... and she was placed on a temporary psych hold.

She's since been released, and Daniel ended up getting court-ordered protection from her, claiming she repeatedly showed up at his gym.

Joey Badass is looking get his acting career up to the level of his rap game -- especially after his first movie role was in an Oscar-winner -- so now he's got his eye on a biopic.

In a new interview with Revolt, the Pro Era rapper boldly expressed his wish to play late MC Big L, who died in 1999.

Joey says aside from various people telling him how much he favors the Harlem rapper, he hopes to bring more visibility to Big L’s story.

We spoke with Brian Shafton, a partner at RBC Records, which owns several masters to Big L’s music, and he thinks Joey would literally crush it.

Brian also agrees the film would be huge for Big L’s legacy, especially in these streaming times.

Joey’s 2020 film “Two Distant Strangers” -- a big Netflix hit -- took home the Oscar for Best Short Live Action, so the audience potential is definitely there. Brian says the only potential problem is that Big L’s songs are riddled with so many samples ... it would be near impossible to license all the tracks for a film.

In the meantime, Joey's busy honing his acting craft with a steady role on 50 Cent's "Power Book III: Raising Kanan" -- and on the music side, he just wrapped his "2000" tour.

Just a hunch, but a Big L biopic without his music probably wouldn’t fly with fans.

Britney Spears is clearly thankful to Elton John for launching her name to the top of the charts once again ... gifting him personalized rocket-inspired salt and pepper shakers!

Elton thanked Britney on Twitter, Friday, for the special gift. He wrote, "Thank you @britneyspears for the fabulous rocket salt and pepper shakers!! 🚀🚀David and I love them ❤️❤️ #HoldMeCloser🚀".

The rocket shakers seem to be symbolic in more ways than one. Their hit song "Hold Me Closer" is a reimagining of the Rocket Man's classic “Tiny Dancer” ... and the song has really taken off. It appears they're from Asprey London, and retail around $6,450.

As we told you, Britney and Elton teamed up to release Britney's first project since the termination of her conservatorship in 2021.

It skyrocketed on the streaming charts and hit #1 in more than 40 countries shortly after it dropped.

Elton John previously said, "I'm thrilled with the response to Hold Me Closer. I wanted to do a fun, happy summer track so was ecstatic when Britney Spears agreed to be a part of it! She truly is an icon, one of the all-time great pop stars & I love her dearly. I hope you all love it!"

And, the fans definitely do! Lots of folks on social media are already begging for more music and BS was invited to the MTV VMAs -- although she couldn't make it.

Kanye West is back to taking shots at his family on Instagram, targeting Kim and the rest of the Kardashians in a flurry of posts that touch on everything from where his kids go to school to labeling himself, Scott Disick, Tristan Thompson and Travis Scott "c** donors."

Ye put up a bunch of now deleted posts Thursday night, including a text exchange with Kim where Kim begged Kanye to stop, writing, "From my mom- PLEASE ... Tell him to please stop mentioning my name. I'm almost 67 years old and I don't always feel great and this stresses me to no end."

That didn't phase Ye, who replied, "Y'all don't have so so over my black children and where they go to school. They will not do playboy and sex tapes. Tell your Clinton friends to come get me. I'm here."

Kanye recently opened up his Donda Academy, and apparently believes his kids should attend the academy for school. He's clearly also taking shots at Kim's sex tape and her and Kylie's posing for Playboy years ago. At one point, he even revealed his porn addiction ruined his family.

However, Ye wasn't done there ... he also posted the names of Travis, Tristan and Scott -- who all have kids with Kardashians -- and the caption, "Calling my fellow c** doners. We in this 2gthr."

He also took shots at Pete Davidson, who got Kim and Kanye's kid's initials tattooed on his neck, and who Kim recently split from, saying, "Ask Pete how those tattoos of my kids doing in the trauma unit."

The series of Instagram posts is just another attack Ye has laid out this week on social media. He also called out GAP and Adidas for allegedly leaving him out of business meetings and copying his designs.

Britney Spears reacted with sadness and anger late Thursday night, saying she's disappointed Jayden is now talking publicly about his mom's challenges as a mother.

Britney posted, "It saddens me to know [Jayden's] outcry of saying I wasn't up to his expectations as a mother."

15-year-old Jayden did a sit down interview with Daphne Barak for DailyMail in which he said, "I think mom has struggled giving us both attention and showing us equal love and I don't think she showed enough to Preston and I feel really bad for that."

Sources directly connected to Kevin Federline's family have told TMZ about Jayden's grievance, saying it has deeply disturbed K-Fed as well. They say when Jayden and Sean Preston would come over to Britney's house, all of the attention went to Jayden. They went on to say it hurt not only Sean Preston but really hurt and angered Jayden as well.

Jayden, who along with Preston hasn't seen their mom in nearly 6 months, added, "We've both been through so much pressure in the past that this is our safe place now, to process all the emotional trauma we've been through to heal, heal our mental state."

Jayden then went on to talk about Britney's mental state, saying, "It's just going to take a lot of time and effort. I just want her to get better mentally. When she gets better I really want to see her again."

Britney responded to Jayden referencing her own struggle, saying, "Finally at 40 without the restraints of what my family did to me ... I say to my son Jayden that I send all the love in the world to you every day for the rest of my life!!! My love for my children has no boundaries."

She then took a shot at Jayden, "As for my mental health ...my dear child understand you must learn to pick up a book and read one before you resort to even thinking about my intellect sweetheart!!! For the record, intellect and mental health are 2 different things.

And, that opens the door to a sore subject -- Jamie Spears. Jayden defended his gramps, saying he didn't deserve all the venom from the FreeBritney folks, adding, "He was just trying to be a father."

Britney wasn't having it ..."Psss if you can honestly sit back and say with your sensible brilliant mind what memaw and paw paw did to me was fine and call them not bad people ... then yes I have failed as a mother and hopefully that's a chat for you and your father to sit face to face and try to learn WHAT'S GOOD."

It appears one of the big reasons Britney's kids didn't attend her wedding was because most other family members -- including Jamie -- weren't invited.

Jay-Z's "Made In America Festival" hits Philly this Labor Day weekend for its 10th year with Bad Bunny, Tyler, The Creator, Snoh Aalegra, Pusha T and many more -- but Flo Milli will be there pulling double duty.

The fast-rap rookie recently joined the MIA lineup and we're told she also got recruited to host a cocktail-making session of Jay-Z's D'USSÉ cognac.

On Saturday evening, the Alabama rapper will be joined by Global Ambassador Sullivan Doh inside a VIP space where she'll dish on her recent grand debut at the MTV VMAs ... and help fans learn how to whip up some adult beverages.

The festival won't only showcase Jay's liquor line -- the Roc Nation CEO's philanthropic arm will also be busy at work during the festival.

Team Roc's Cause Village will be the hub for charitable organizations at Made in America. Clothing apparel SHEIN is joining forces with Team Roc to conduct workshops targeting various issues including social justice reform, education and animal welfare.

Fat Joe had a Latino appreciation post blow up in his face because fans thought he was insinuating hip hop was just as much Hispanic culture as it was Black.

The post highlighted several Latino artists involved in hip hop’s earliest days, and though he never named them creators ... the backlash was fierce and swift.

Joe would go on to lash out at the haters, and DJ Tony Touch is aligned with his defense.

The proud Brooklyn-born, Puerto Rican-bred DJ also helped pioneer hip hop, and he’s telling TMZ Hip Hop ... Joey Crack’s comments weren’t anywhere close to being out of pocket.

Like Joe, Tony points out hip hop’s birthplace, the Bronx, had a healthy mix of Black and Latino people -- and the culture’s 2 chief creators, DJ Kool Herc and Grandmaster Flash, migrated to the U.S. from Caribbean islands.

Kool Herc originally hailed from Jamaica, and Flash from Barbados -- after emigrating to the Bronx, they eventually hosted the very first hip hop parties. The rest is billion-dollar history.

Tony attributes the fierce Joe backlash to the Black Lives Matter movement ... noting how exclusion -- or even the perception of it -- often rubs people the wrong way.

He also points out that hip hop’s first film, 1983’s “Wild Style” is loaded with Latino talent such as members of The Rock Steady Crew and Cold Crush Brothers, Lee Quiñones and graffiti artist Lady Pink.

Dionne Warwick's got no hard feelings towards the broadcaster that was accused of mistaking her for Gladys Knight on live TV ... callin' it an honest mistake!!!

Dionne tells TMZ ... she doesn't think Chanda Rubin, who caught some serious flack for the flub, would've intentionally mixed the two up.

The singer's buying the broadcaster's explanation for what went down, too.

In case you missed it, Dionne was front and center on TV during the U.S. Open, but was instead referred to by Chanda and Mary Carillo as Gladys -- obviously, the Internet had a field day.

Chanda took to Twitter to put out the flames -- saying she saw Gladys while looking at the court and announced the celeb, instead of looking at her monitor that showed Dionne ... and the singer finds that to be a reasonable excuse for the mix-up.

Of course, not everyone's sticking to Chanda's story ... with many thinking the time between Dionne popping up on screen and Gladys getting name-dropped is telling.

R&B isn't dead, but it does need to be revived ... at least that's how Tank sees things in the wake of Diddy's commentary on the culture, and he's got definite ideas about how to bring it back.

We caught up with Tank at LAX, and while he's been getting tons of fan support for his new and final album "R&B Money," he says he, and other R&B artists, just aren't getting love from the mainstream ... and that's gotta change.

The response to his project is proof the genre isn't dead, but he says what would really rejuvenate R&B is huge names -- like Chris Brown and Usher -- getting more coverage in the media. As he puts it, "Give us our space back."

Tank cites classics like Boyz II Men's "End of the Road" and Jodeci's "Forever My Lady" as benchmarks for the type of success newer artists should be experiencing.

All hope may not be lost -- Tank says he's been ribbing Jamie Foxx to return back to music ... a sentiment shared by many following the "R&B Money" release party.

The event was a hit ... Jamie, Jon B., Pleasure P, -- and even honorary singer O.T. Genasis were in the building, and Tank says bringing the Foxx from hibernation is his next life's mission.

Young Thug's prison Wi-Fi seems to be up and running without issue, and the incarcerated rap star is going outta his way to help Kanye West's dream of launching worldwide Yeezy stores.

Ye has been livid on Instagram all week ... waging war with GAP and adidas for swiping his Yeezy designs.

The frustration led Ye to begin plotting to launch a Yeezy brick-and-mortar shop in every state -- starting in Atlanta -- and he furiously began sending sketch ideas to architects Claudio Silvestrin and John Pawson.

Thugger hopped on Instagram on Thursday, from prison, to offer Ye 100 acres Georgia land to use ... free of charge!!!

Clearly excited, Ye began to revel in the news with good friend A$AP Bari ... before hitting up ex-wife Kim Kardashian, in hopes she could work her clemency magic to free the YSL Records leader.

Hopefully Kim can operate at Houdini levels ... Thugga's already been denied bond three times after being named the head of his ongoing Georgia RICO case.

Singer and actress Cassie Ventura celebrated her 36th birthday big ... as in Texas big inside a new Houston nightclub with some super famous pals.

The vibes and drinks seemed to be flowing Wednesday at "Finish Your Champagne" and Cassie was spotted having a ball with a bubble gun, the perfect party weapon of choice.

Plenty of Cassie's famous friends turned out to help her pop the cork off the bottle ... which included NBA stars James Harden and Ja Morant, as well as industry pals Terrence J, Pleasure P, J Mulan, Alaric J. Klaos and Serayah.

A newly-single Ne-Yo was also spotted in the building ... weeks after his estranged wife revealed their marriage was done for good following cheating claims.

The R&B superstar did look unbothered though, especially as the DJ dropped plenty of Ne-Yo songs onto the party ... allowing for the birthday girl to bask in the moment.

Speaking of marriages, Cassie got married back in 2019 to Alex Fine ... who wasn't in the mix for his wife's birthday bash.

He did, however, wish her both a happy birthday and 3rd anniversary on Instagram, so all appears to be good.

Russell Wilson's wife, Ciara, showered her man with love, calling him her "greatest inspiration," after the QB received a massive 9-figure contract extension from the Denver Broncos!!

Ci tweeted, "Baby @DangeRussWilson, I am so proud of you! You’re the most dedicated and hardworking person I know! It’s been so beautiful to see you become a Bronco!"

"So excited for the journey ahead!" she added

Wilson -- who was a part of a blockbuster trade that sent him from the Seahawks to the Broncos -- agreed to a five-year, $245 million extension on Thursday ... which includes $165 million guaranteed, according to ESPN's Adam Schefter.

Russ tweeted Thursday morning before his extension was announced, "ALL THE GLORY TO JESUS!!! #HEisKING."

The couple has fully leaned into being a Bronco. In fact, Ciara teased that Russ got her an adorable puppy as a Mother's Day gift, and fittingly, they named it "Bronco."

The pup joined Russ, Ci, and their three children in a new $25 million home in Englewood, Colorado in April ... which sits on 5.34 acres..

The Wilson's new 20,060 square foot crib has four bedrooms, 12 bathrooms, a nine-car garage, and a large fireplace.

Even before they became local homeowners, the power couple made an immediate impact in the Denver community, visiting patients at the Children's Hospital in Colorado.

It's nothing new for Russ ... who has been one of the most charitable athletes in the world since joining the NFL in 2012 -- whether it be in Seattle or the Mile High city.