Music

The jokes about Drake's jump shot might no longer be allowable -- the rapper just showed off his 3-point stroke repeatedly in a skills contest against Carmelo Anthony ... and it's seriously improving!!!

The "Honestly Nevermind" rapper visited Nike's headquarters in Beaverton, Oregon this week ... and participated in a 3-point competition. And, according to footage obtained XXL Magazine, he drained (most of) his shots!

In the short clip, Drake nailed his first basket. The camera then panned away for a bunch of his other attempts, but it did ultimately come back around to catch a few more of his makes.

The makes weren't enough to beat Melo, though ... with the All-Star heating up and crushing him as Jayson Tatum and Russell Westbrook watched nearby.

Of course, Drake didn't always use to look like this on the court ... in fact, he famously used to be the owner of a busted jump shot.

You'll recall, while warming up with the Kentucky Wildcats men's basketball team back in 2014, he actually air-balled one of his jumpers.

But the diehard Toronto Raptors fan has clearly worked on his game since then ... and the hard work seems to be paying off.

YSL rapper Lil Keed is NOT resting in peace after his death in May ... thanks to vandals, but his brother Lil Gotit is threatening to do something about it.

Gotit vented his frustration and anger on social media, where he made a stern PSA, warning the low-down individuals who keep tampering with his brother's tomb to stop ... or else.

The Atlanta rapper said, "Whoever going to keed grave tryna unscrew him out the wall and stuff when I catch u it ain't gone be nan nice so I hope u see this message !!!!"

Keed passed away on May 13 … mere days after Young Thug, Gunna and several others were rounded up on RICO charges in Georgia. No cause of death has been revealed.

Unfortunately, this sorta creepy behavior lingers in hip-hop culture these days.

In September 2021, Pop Smoke's crypt in Brooklyn was severely damaged and vandalized … as if the robbers were trying to remove his remains from the mausoleum.

Like Gotit, Pop's mother lashed out at the vandals during the unnerving time ... as they should.

Kanye West is having an apparent change of heart in the wake of Queen Elizabeth II's death, apparently deciding to stop his aggressions toward his most recent enemies.

Ye made the announcement late Thursday, hours after the announcement of the British monarch's death ... extending an olive branch to Kid Cudi, Adidas Senior Vice President/General Manager Daniel Cherry and Kim Kardashian's ex Pete Davidson.

In a since-deleted IG post, Ye put the Queen in a pair of photoshopped Yeezy shades and wrote, “LIFE IS PRECIOUS … RELEASING ALL GRUDGES TODAY … LEANING INTO THE LIGHT … BEST WISHES AND BLESSINGS TO PETE CUDI DANIEL [CHERRY].”

Ye has repeatedly blasted DC for his alleged role in watering down Yeezy designs (and his lack of fashion sense) and Kid Cudi for refusing to drop his friendship with Pete while he was dating Kim.

Some of Britain's biggest rock stars tipped their hats to the late Queen Elizabeth -- including a few fellas who've had her sword tapped on their shoulders.

First off, Harry Styles took a moment to acknowledge QE2's passing Thursday night during his concert at Madison Square Garden -- asking the crowd to give her a round of applause for 70 years of service.

The MSG crowd gave it up big time for the Queen ... and Harry then promised a mood shift to nothing but fun for the rest of the evening.

He wasn't the only Brit who shouted out Her Majesty Thursday during a live performance -- Sir Elton John also paid his respects during his gig in Toronto ... speaking a bit more at length and from the heart.

EJ said he knew the Queen personally and had spent some time with her -- including during his knighting in 1998 -- and noted she'd led the country through some turbulent times in the 20th century, always with aplomb. Elton sent his thoughts and prayers to her whole family.

He also said he was happy she was finally at rest. Elton also released a statement with even more condolences.

More tributes poured in from other music greats, who'd also been knighted ... including Sirs Mick Jagger and Paul McCartney.

MJ wrote, "For my whole life Her Majesty, Queen Elizabeth II has always been there. In my childhood I can recall watching her wedding highlights on TV. I remember her as a beautiful young lady, to the much beloved grandmother of the nation. My deepest sympathies are with the Royal family."

For his part, Paul took to Twitter to say succinctly... "God bless Queen Elizabeth II. May she rest in peace. Long live The King." Both he and Mick attached photos of QE2 in her youth.

Pusha T's 2013 Kanye West-produced track "Numbers on the Board" is a war anthem, of sorts, for the government of Ukraine ... and Pusha is here for it.

The war-torn country's Ministry of Defense fired off a tweet Wednesday listing various Russian casualties, and it used the lyric -- "I put numbers on the board" -- as the setup for the boastful post.

Pusha caught wind of this and posted a retweet, saying ... "Great taste in music for the win."

While someone on Ukraine's social media team is clearly a big Pusha fan ... we're guessing all this Twitter activity won't do much for the VA rapper's standing in Russia. He's in pretty good company, though.

Actors Ben Stiller, Sean Penn and several American senators were issued lifetime bans this week from entering Russia, because the Foreign Ministry says they've made "Russophobic" attacks.

Pusha's no stranger to international bans, though -- he claims Canada doesn't want him either due to his beef with Drake.

Earlier this year on "Drink Champs," he said he was performing in Toronto back in 2018 -- the height of the Drizzy fued -- and after a particularly rowdy show Canada showed him the door ... permanently, he claims.

Interestingly enough, Drake's OVO homie Baka Not Nice dropped a new song titled "Body & A Face" on Wednesday ... which appears to take shots at Pusha while also referencing the "Drink Champs" comments.

"When you go on tour, you gon' have to leave the states/And then it's face to face/Noreaga interviews will get you n****s laced/I don't wanna hear you try to tell me 'bout mistakes/Almost lit your show up but we couldn't find the place/But Drizzy put me in my place/Told me just to wait (What?) ... YOLO Estates" ... Baka raps on the track.

Harry Styles is leaning into the whole "I hawked a loogie on Chris Pine" story by leaning in on it ... which is exactly what he did Wednesday night in concert.

Harry performed to a sold-out crowd at Madison Square Garden, where he told his fans he had just popped over to Venice to spit on his fellow costar of "Don't Worry Darling." No doubt he was trying to telegraph the story was BS, and the fans ate it up.

As you know, a video's been circulating that shows Harry taking his seat next to Chris Pine at the Venice Film Festival and as he sits it looks like he spits on Chris's lap, and Chris reacts in a way that aligns with what lots of folks think.

Chris's rep called the story ridiculous, saying it never happened. However, a source very close to Chris tells TMZ the actor had said privately that it did indeed happen.

Eminem is opening up about nearly losing his life after suffering a drug overdose years ago.

On the new episode of Paul Rosenberg's "Paul Pod" podcast, Eminem and his manager discuss his 2007 methadone overdose ... and the effects it had on his thinking cap.

Paul recalls asking the doctors about any potential brain damage when things were looking grim in the hospital. Naturally, the two managed to revert the scary moment back to Em's 1999 track "Brain Damage."

Eminem had to eventually be stabilized on several medications to return to health, which became an artistic branding moment for him.

In the song "Deja Vu" from his 2009 album "Relapse," Eminem rapped in detail about the incident and how he tried to hide his addiction from his loved ones.

"Okay, so now ya see the reason how come he, Has taken four years to just put out an album, B/See, me and you, we almost had the same outcome, Heath," Slim Shady spit, referencing Heath Ledger's 2008 overdose death ... before continuing, "Cause that Christmas, you know the whole pneumonia thing?/It was bologna, was it the methadone, ya think?"

Interestingly enough, Dr. Dre recently opened up about his own brush with death, revealing his 2021 brain aneurysm was nearly fatal all the same ... but the Shady/Aftermath tandem appear to be in good enough health to work on new music.

Both Em and Dre have been spotted in and out of studios with Snoop Dogg this year following their Emmy-winning Super Bowl performance from February.

Susan Sarandon's progressive activism isn't preventing her from bonding with folks on the other side of the aisle on her new TV show, "Monarch" -- which she sees as a sign of hope for the country.

The Oscar winner's going full country and western for the new FOX drama, and she told us on "TMZ Live" the music's helped bring the all-star cast together.

Susan admits she knew little about the genre before taking the role as Dottie Cantrell Roman ... the queen of country and matriarch of the show's main family.

The role has her rubbing elbows with real life country music stars, and she told us her politics never got in the way of folks welcoming her with open arms.

For the record, Susan says she no longer considers herself a Democrat. Instead, she's an independent who simply stands up for what she feels is right.

That approach, combined with a healthy dose of respect, is why Susan says she's really hit it off with her new TV husband, co-star Trace Adkins. Yes, he's a Republican, but as she explained it ... "There's hope if we just talk to each other in calm ways."

Hey, it's working for them, America!

Susan tells us, she has more in common with Trace than not, and she believes this is the case for most people in the nation.

Politics aside, she says "Monarch" is really just a great family drama with lots of real country hits -- 'cause the plan is to release many of the songs as radio singles.

Blueface will not be stepping into the ring with Nick Young on Saturday -- the rapper has not yet been approved for a boxing license ... and now event promoter Austin McBroom is scrambling to find a replacement with only 3 days until fight night.

TMZ Sports is told the 25-year-old Thotiana rapper received a letter from the California State Athletic Commission on Tuesday informing him his application for a pro boxing license in the state would not be granted until he appeared before the organization in October.

Obviously, that means Blueface can't fight Swaggy P on Saturday's Social Gloves 2 card at Banc of California Stadium in L.A.

McBroom is headlining the event with rival and fellow YouTuber, AnEsonGib. Adrian Peterson and Le'Veon Bell are also fighting.

Of course, Blueface has made headlines lately for several violent altercations with his girlfriend Chrisean. It's unclear if those incidents played a role in the denial of a license.

It's not the first bout Blueface has been pulled from ... he was taken off the recent KSI card at the O2 Arena in London, where he was supposed to fight FaZe Temperrr.

Now, McBroom and his partners are working tirelessly to find a suitable opponent for the 6'7" former NBA star.

Story developing ...

Ricky Martin says he's been "persecuted, besieged, harassed, stalked and extorted by a maladjusted person" -- AKA his nephew -- and he's now suing the guy who made wild accusations against him.

Martin filed a lawsuit Wednesday in San Juan against Dennis Yadiel Sanchez, who the singer claims is trying to "assassinate" his reputation.

Dennis had claimed back in July that he had a 7-month long romantic relationship with Ricky, and when it ended Ricky began stalking and harassing him -- something Ricky said was patently false. The nephew had filed a restraining order but when the heat was on him he withdrew the whole thing.

According to the new lawsuit, obtained by TMZ, the nephew hasn't stopped. Ricky claims a month after Dennis withdrew his restraining order, he began sending messages to Ricky through Instagram ... threatening to "assassinate his reputation and integrity" unless he anted up cash.

Ricky says in the lawsuit before Dennis filed for a restraining order, he was publicly boasting about being Ricky's nephew. Ricky says the nephew bombarded him with messages -- sometimes more than 10 in a single day -- for 4 months.

Ricky says the messages were clearly written by a "maladjusted individual."

Ricky says the nephew then went rogue, posting the singer's cell phone number on his Instagram. Ricky says the nephew also made an IG account for one of his children, which made him uncomfortable.

Ricky says he's lost numerous, multi-million dollar deals because of his nephew's false allegations, and now wants no less than $20 million to compensate the singer for his losses.

Paul Anka just got a huge tribute over in France ... where President Emmanuel Macron presented him with one of the nation's highest honors.

The "Put Your Head On My Shoulder Singer" tells TMZ ... he's humbled and proud to become an officer in the French order of merit, with Macron bestowing the honor this week in Paris.

As you see, Paul and Macron shared a toast and sipped Champagne during the celebration ... and Anka's got a pretty spiffy badge -- a blue sash with the star of a Grand Cross, signifying the award.

France's "Ordre national du Mérite" was first bestowed way back in 1963 under then-president Charles de Gaulle ... and while it's generally reserved for French citizens, Paul joins a select list of foreign recipients and he's easily the biggest name.

Paul tells us it was a "very special moment for him" ... and you can tell from the pics ... he's wearing a huge grin.

Remember ... Paul is still playing sold-out venues across the world at age 81, including packed houses in France on his recent European tour.

It's been a few weeks since Offset and the other two Migos released competing singles ... and it appears things continue to grow apart for the group.

On Tuesday night, Offset took center stage on 'The Tonight Show' ... giving an interview about his son Wave's 1st birthday party and performing a melody of his new solo songs "Code" and "5 4 3 2 1."

Offset looked comfortable on stage and even filled the space typically reserved for Quavo and Takeoff with backup dancers.

In a clear act of raining on his parade, Quavo and Takeoff, the newly minted duo "Unc and Phew" announced their album Wednesday titled "Only Built 4 Infinity Links."

The album name is a play on Wu-Tang Clan legend Raekwon's debut album "Only Built 4 Cuban Linx" and the tagline "it only runs in the blood."

The album announcement makes the second drop Quavo and Takeoff released on top of Offset's ... their last single "Big Stunna" was released at the same time as "Code."

Of course, Offset is on an island himself ... thanks to the legal injunctions he's sent to the Quality Control label in order to get them to back away from his solo career.

He's still a part of the label under the Migos umbrella, but that could also change down the line. A rep for Quality Control recently told TMZ Hip Hop ... Offset's gripes were detached from reality ... but everything about these rollouts feels very real.

Reclusive rap legend MF DOOM passed away in October 2020 but his handwritten book of lyrics and rhymes remains with record label exec Eothen “Egon” Alapatt ... at least according to DOOM's widow.

TMZ Hip Hop obtained a statement from DOOM’s widow claiming Alapatt still has her late husband's rhyme book. Jasmine Dumile tells us there have been many unsuccessful attempts to get back the documents, even before DOOM passed.

She adds, "We had hoped after DOOM transitioned Egon would do the right thing and return the books to the family but he has continued to ignore these requests. Unfortunately, Egon is not the only former associate abusing the likeness, art and life's work of DOOM."

Egon owns Now-Again Records, and is a business partner of producer Madlib, DOOM’s renowned collaborator from their 2004 effort "Madvillainy."

However, Jasmine would not specify which "former associate" referring to in her statement -- she said she'll say more when it's "appropriate."

Blackstar rapper Talib Kweli prompted stirred this up last week when he slammed Egon for refusing to return the book in good faith … even after DOOM officiated his wedding in 2012.

Egon has done interviews in the past detailing his friendship with DOOM but Kweli calls it all a farce.

Shoreline Mafia rapper OhGeesy would love to put last weekend in his rearview, for good, but prosecutors won't let him now -- cops say he was riding dirty after leaving a friend's funeral.

Burbank PD pulled over OhGeesy and 3 other people last Saturday afternoon, claiming their car had expired tags and excessive window tint. Officers say they spotted a bottle of codeine in OhGeesy's pocket as he sat in the backseat ... plus, the car's driver allegedly didn't have a license.

That prompted a search of the vehicle, and according to cops, OhGeesy didn't have a prescription for the codeine. Even worse, officers found a loaded gun in the ride.

TMZ Hip Hop has learned OhGeesy and all 3 of his pals were arrested for possession of a loaded firearm. They were all charged for the gun, because no single person claimed it.

Cops also booked OhGeesy for the un-prescribed codeine. His bail was set at $35K, and he eventually bonded out.

The 28-year-old rapper had attended the funeral of his best friend Dennis "Dile" Mitchell the same day as the traffic stop.

Madonna was trapping out the bando earlier this year with her "Frozen (Fireboy DML Remix)" ... and turns out the collab only happened because of what went down in the DMs between the Nigerian Afrobeats star and her.

TMZ Hip Hop linked with Fireboy DML Tuesday in midtown Manhattan, and he says his track with Madonna was actually several years in the making.

Fireboy says Madonna slid in his DMs around 2019 asking him to be a part of the remix. The kicker is the original version was released in 1998 -- when Fireboy was just 2 years old!!!

The comeback trail for Madonna’s 24-year-old hit began in December 2021 when Canadian producer Sickick dropped a remix on TikTok, spiking a Billboard Dance chart before they added Fireboy to the mix.

The music video appropriately took advantage of the "fire and ice" theme and has since racked up 12 million views -- which Fireboy says is a huge win for Afrobeats' mainstream awareness worldwide.

Redman is super proud to announce he's now a licensed skydiver -- revealing he crammed hard to pass his written exam and now has 27 jumps under his belt.

The veteran rap star was out in Houston at an undisclosed film location when he earned his sky stripes ... thanking New Jersey-based Skydive Sussex and Skydive Spaceland Houston for the education and experiences.

Several of Red's hip hop peers -- Cam'ron, Busta Rhymes, The LOX's Sheek Louch, saluted his airtight accomplishment and Ja Rule made a grand revelation that he was working to become a licensed skydiver as well.

Maybe the two former Def Jam Records collaborators could do a face-off in a daredevil Verzuz?!

Apparently, Red's been at this for a while, too. Someone managed to dig up a magazine shoot from 1997 where he was higher than the birds he was flipping off.

In a separate video, Red spoke on cherishing the little treasures ahead of the bigger rewards and seems to be in good spirits.

His long-awaited "Muddy Waters 2" album is said to be finished and he's set to headline a "Goats of Cannabis" concert later this month.