Music

A$AP Rocky is apologizing for his truncated Rolling Loud set -- but the reasons for the short performance are getting under some people's skin ... particularly, clock management.

The rapper was on duty Saturday night in NYC, where he hit the Fashion Nova stage pretty late into the evening ... around 9:45 PM, we're told. He was able to do just two songs, this in between what people are saying was a lot of chatter about moshing with the crowd.

In the end, his show came to an abrupt halt right around 10 PM ... something A$AP was visibly upset about in the moment, with his DJ issuing a mea culpa right on the spot.

Not only was Rocky mad, but some folks on the ground were pissed too ... saying he was quite late, and that he should've just stuck to pure performing instead of all the side speeches he was giving. A handful of people also feel like it wasn't Rocky's greatest outing.

Sources connected to the event tell TMZ ... yeah, AR was very tardy here. We're told he was supposed to be up there at 8:55 PM, but didn't go on until a good 45 minutes later. Our sources say the reason festival organizers hit the kill switch is because of a noise ordinance that was in place before things got underway ... and they were clearly aiming to respect it.

Rocky himself is owning up to it, taking to social media to say he's sorry for the way things unfolded ... and takes full responsibility. He didn't really acknowledge timing at all, but it seems he's absorbing most of the blame and promising to deliver next time.

Jamie Foxx is ready to perform on the drop of a dime -- proven in his impromptu singing of one of his most famous songs ... which had an assist from Diplo.

The comedian hit XS Nightclub in Vegas Friday, rolling in around 3 AM with a large crew and joining Diplo -- who was DJ'ing -- onstage. Seems he was in the mood for a classic ... diving into his and Kanye's smash hit, "Gold Digger," as if it was 2005 all over again.

It's pretty cool to see Jamie belting out his old ditty ... dude hasn't lost a step, and people definitely haven't forgotten it either. They were singing along word for word. We're told Jamie stuck around a bit longer to help sing "Rack City."

JF wasn't the only celeb to pop in either ... Imagine Dragons' Dan Reynolds also made a cameo at XS. He showed up almost at 4 AM, and he too waved to the crowd from Diplo's elevated position. Dan also got on the mic a bit, but didn't sing or anything.

Speaking of Diplo ... he's on a bit of a high right now. The guy recently won a lawsuit against a woman who was allegedly harassing him, scoring a massive judgment in arbitration.

The Portola Festival in San Francisco was out of control Saturday, and it was impossible not to look and recall the tragedy in Houston.

The event went down at Pier 80 in San Fran, and it was packed with people ... some of whom stormed the barricades to get inside for Fred Again and Charli XCX.

Whatever security was there ... they were completely overwhelmed. It didn't seem there was any serious attempt to control the crowd.

The Festival runs through Sunday and some of the biggest names in dance music are hitting the stage, including Flume, The Chemical Brothers, Gorgon City, Kaytranada, James Blake, M.I.A., Lane 8, Peggy Gou, Fatboy Slim, Caroline Polachek, Toro Y Moi, Caribou, Jamie xx, Four Tet+Floating Points and more.

The Festival is produced by Goldenvoice ... the same org that puts on Coachella.

As far as we know, there were no serious injuries ... at least so far.

Aaron Carter had cops at his door for a welfare check after going live on Instagram ... because worried fans believed he was possibly doing drugs off-camera.

Law enforcement sources tell TMZ ... police received a call Tuesday evening -- with many saying Aaron was "possibly overdosing on social media."

In case you missed it, Aaron went live Tuesday night to chat it up with his followers ... but at one point, the screen went black -- and some fans thought they could hear spraying and inhaling going on in the background.

Cops and the fire department responded to Aaron's home in Lancaster -- sources say they tried calling Aaron and knocking on his door to no avail at first, but eventually made contact with him. Aaron told officers he was sleeping.

We're told cops found no drugs ... and say there was no criminal activity or any type of suicide attempt, either.

Our sources tell us his IG followers would call the cops more often in the past ... and they think his recent behavior online caused alarm once again.

Aaron later claimed it was all a joke, calling himself "the troll hunter" while spraying what appears to be an air freshener. Some fans online weren't buying it -- with some even noting the two sprays sound different.

As we reported, the singer was talking in L.A. last Sunday about his struggles with his on-again, off-again GF ... and he added he's been clean for 5 years and is going to meetings for his past drug addiction.

Music may be the last vestige of civility in the U.S. -- with each half of the country hating the other half -- and the annual Global Citizen Festival Saturday proved the point.

Mariah Carey, Metallica and the Jonas Brothers hit the stage in NYC's Central Park for a concert that showed everyone can come together, at least for some good tunes.

It's become a tradition -- the 10th this time around -- to underscore how music can make our spirits brighter.

There's also a long play for the event ... to cajole corporate bigwigs to ante up in an effort to end extreme poverty.

The Jo bros went first with songs like "What a Man Gotta Do," "Sucker" and "Only Human." Nick performed "Jealous" and Joe did the honors for "Cake by the Ocean."

Mariah was awesome! The crowd went nuts as she sang "Obsessed," "Honey," "We Belong Together," and, of course, "Hero."

Metallica hit the stage with "Nothing Else Matters," "Creeping Death," "For Whom the Bell Tolls," "Enter Sandman" and "Sad but True."

Charlie Puth got in on the action with “New York State of Mind” and "Left and Right".

President Biden appeared on video to tout the new climate legislation that he signed.

Post Malone just canceled his Boston concert right before showtime ... and he's citing pain that seems to be carrying over from his fall a week ago.

The singer broke the news a few hours before he was scheduled to take the stage Saturday night at the TD Garden, taking to his socials to explain he was feeling a sharp pain in his side that required him to go to the hospital again.

PM writes, "On tour, I usually wake up around 4 o'clock PM, and today I woke up to a cracking sounds on the right side of my body. I felt so good last night, but today it felt so different than has it before."

He goes on to say he feels a "stabbing pain" every time he moves or breathes, apologizing to his Beantown fans and promising their tickets will be good for another date in the future ... so it sounds like it's been postponed. But at any rate, Post won't perform tonight.

Sounds like there's a lot of confusion (and frustration) on the ground there at the arena ... with different reporters saying that droves of people are now leaving after being told by security as they were waiting to get in that Post Malone had postponed the show.

He's been performing since his tumbling through a hole on stage last weekend and cracking a few of his ribs. PM told fans later that he'd be okay and back on tour soon, but it sounds like he's still not 100%, even now.

Roger Waters needs to know his audience better ... he had scheduled concerts in Poland after essentially blaming Ukraine for the Russian invasion, so now he's decided to pull the plug on the whole thing.

Waters was set to perform at the Tauron Arena in Krakow. Thing is ... it's possible the war could be over by then -- possible. He clearly knows, however, hard feelings would linger so he's 86'd those appearances.

His manager is the one who pulled the plug, although he didn't say why, but it's obvious.

Waters recently wrote a letter to Ukraine's First Lady, Olena Zelenska -- a letter he made public -- claiming "extreme nationalists ... set your country on the path to this disastrous war."

Officials in Krakow had a resolution on the table for the coming week, in which they were about to name Roger persona non grata over his view of the war.

Waters has been on a tear against Ukraine and any country that supported it, including the U.S. for supplying weapons. He also took aim at NATO, which he says provoked Russia.

Trippie Redd is currently spreading his sounds and touching his fans down under, and his Australian supporters are getting treated to new music before anyone else!!!

The "Love Scars" rapper/rocker packed out Melbourne streetwear boutique Culture Kings this week for a meet-and-greet -- finally getting a chance to connect with the people post-pandemic.

Fans in attendance got to see Trippie's multi-layered cool side ... he hosted a 3-point shooting contest, where the winner laid claim to precious store credit.

He even took time out to listen to aspiring rappers and treated the crowd to an unreleased track ... which we're told had everyone in attendance in a frenzy once they were getting exclusive stuff!!!

Trippie's in town for the Listen Out Festival ... with appearances in both Melbourne and Perth set for this weekend.

No one's gonna guarantee you can play guitar like Jimi Hendrix or Elvis Presley, but if nothing else ... ya might be able to decorate your home with the ones they strummed.

The Legends of Rock and Roll auction will go down next month, and some really unique and iconic axes will be up for grabs.

The auction features guitars personally owned or played by some of the biggest rock stars of all time.

Imagine getting your hands on Jimi's Japanese Sunburst electric guitar, which was a gift from his father. It's expected to fetch around $250K!

Kurt Cobain's acoustic guitar comes with an actual estate receipt, while Elvis' 1975 Martin D-28 guitar will also be on the auction block. Bonus for the King's instrument ... it comes with the case too!

The auction will offer some potentially more affordable options too -- guitars from Paul Stanley of KISS, Blink-182's Tom DeLonge and The Cure's Robert Smith.

And, if you're not interested in pretending you're a guitar hero, check out the random memorabilia.

Imagine rocking James Brown's monogrammed dressing room robe and slippers, Rick James' custom-made, and stage-worn, snake jumpsuit ... or Johnny Cash's 14K bracelet and matching ring.

Britney Spears says she may never perform again, but that doesn't mean she won't get in the booth anew -- proven with Elton John ... and maybe, soon, with Benny Blanco.

The award-winning record producer -- who's actually worked with Britney before -- spilled the beans about a possible collab while chatting with radio host Kannon of "Open House Party" -- a nationally-syndicated show famous for playing Top 40 pop songs/fan requests.

In this particular sit-down, Benny touches on the fact that he's recently reached out to BS -- about a month ago, he says -- to see if she might be interested in joining forces again.

Diehard Britney fans might recall ... BB actually helped write and produce her '08 hit record, "Circus" with Dr. Luke -- and it had a successful run at the time on the charts, and actually went on to become her second-highest selling digital single ever. So, yeah ... good results.

Anyway ... listen to what Benny has to say about linking up once more -- it sounds like he's holding his cards close to the vest here, but he makes it clear that both he and Britney have spoken about the possibility of doing something again. Whether she took him up on that, we'll just have to wait and see ... but we know she's not averse to crooning post-conservatorship.

Of course, she lent her vocals to a remix of "Tiny Dancer" recently ... and it did well, even though Britney could hardly be heard on it. So hopefully a Benny collab would just be all her ... assuming she's up for it, that is.

BS recently suggested she'd never hit the stage again ... out of spite, apparently. She says she's so traumatized by the conservatorship, that she wants to stick it to her dad and co.

Tekashi 6ix9ine knows he's on thin ice, legally, here in the States -- but it seems when he's overseas ... he lets it rip, just like he did on this poor guy here in the club.

Check out this video, obtained by TMZ, that shows the rapper in Soho Garden in Dubai ... where he approaches what appears to be the DJ for the night -- only to start swinging on the dude in what appears to be an unprovoked attack.

The DJ starts to scuffle with 69, that is ... before Tekashi's security swooped in and started separating the two, pulling their boss away -- but by then, even more people started flocking.

It actually looks like Tekashi gets wailed on by a few bystanders on the perimeter, and it also seems he was getting his chain yanked, his hair grabbed and his shirt pulled off toward the end as the fight evolved into an all-out mini brawl.

Now, as for what exactly might've caused this ... well, eyewitnesses tell us T69 was supposedly upset that the DJ wasn't playing any of his jams, and apparently felt the need to confront him about it. We've reached out to Tekashi ... so far, no word back.

Elton John's performing at the White House for a TV special ... and a packed house, including celebs, is on hand to see the Rocket Man.

The rock icon says playing the South Lawn at 1600 Pennsylvania Ave. is the coolest venue in his career, calling it the "icing on the cake" ... and he started his set with his hit, "Your Song."

Elton told the crowd it felt wonderful to be among so many folks who have supported his AIDS foundation over the years ... then went to work on the piano.

Billie Jean King was in the house ... and the political power players included President Biden, Jill Biden, Pete Buttigieg and Nancy Pelosi, among others.

The White House streamed opening remarks from Elton, plus his first song before cutting out ... the rest of his performance will air at a later date as a TV special on A&E Networks.

Waka Flocka Flame and DJ Whoo Kid are teaming up ... challenging AEW stars Swerve Strickland and Keith Lee to a match -- with a twist -- loser has to donate $100K to donate to a charity!!

TMZ Sports spoke with Whoo Kid, who attended AEW Dynamite at Arthur Ashe Stadium in NYC on Wednesday ... and he broke down the beef between him and Swerve.

The famous DJ said he was supposed to walk out with Strickland and his partner, Lee, but he switched places with NY-born rapper Fabolous at the last minute, leaving the tag team duo pissed off.

Whoo Kid told us he didn't want to be booed by the fans, so he decided to walk out with Strickland's opponents, "The Acclaimed," made up of Max Caster and Anthony Bowens.

During the interview, Wacka Flocka (who happened to be with WK at the time) crashed the party and threw down the gauntlet ... telling Strickland and Lee, if they're looking for a fight, he's down to make it happen, no matter the time or place.

"We'll have a match right in the parking lot," Flocka said. "Wherever I see 'em, it's a match. Get the refs. It's going down."

As for what entrance music Whoo Kid and Flocka will use if/when they fight Strickland and Lee .. you guessed it, the 2010 hit song "Hard in da Paint."

A$AP Rocky's swag just hit his waistline ... thanks to the purchase of a custom belt boasting some semi-precious gemstones.

Celeb jeweler Alex Moss tells TMZ Hip Hop, Rocky wanted to go all out with a special project that would be revered as more than just a simple, run-of-the-mill jewelry piece.

He commissioned Alex for a custom hand-crafted belt and blinged-out buckle that A$AP designed himself, which ran deep into Rocky's pockets ... $322k in total!!!

We're told the entire project took 4 months to complete, which isn't surprising considering it's loaded with VVS natural white diamonds, green diamonds, black diamonds and natural rubies.

The buckle itself is made of solid 18k white gold and Alex says it was no easy task to make but he handled the grueling process in his NYC shop.

Rocky's been teasing the GRIM tagline for a while ... even performing his "GRIM" freestyle earlier this year at Splash Festival to promote his new clothing capsule.

Here's Harry Styles and Olivia Wilde on a casual date night ... more proof the breakup rumors are total BS.

TMZ obtained this photo of Harry and Olivia dining out Friday at Truck, a Mexican restaurant in the small town of Bedford, New York.

Nothing fancy here ... Harry's wearing an Adidas tracksuit, plus some Adidas sneakers, while Olivia is keeping it plain in a white T-shirt.

Folks who were there say Harry and Olivia ate dinner alone as a couple ... and it looks like they washed their food down with a Coca-Cola.

While breakup rumors have been swirling for a minute now, ratcheting up after they hardly interacted with one another earlier this month at the Venice Film Festival, Harry and Olivia have been hanging out this week in New York.

Harry played a sold-out show at Madison Square Garden Wednesday night, and Olivia was front-and-center as she danced to his music and supported her man.

Taylor Swift was, in fact, asked to perform at Super Bowl LVII, TMZ has learned, but turned the offer down ... and we know why.

Sources with direct knowledge of the Super Bowl halftime show tell us ... Swift was approached months ago by SB honchos, asking if she'd headline. We're told Taylor was clear ... she didn't want to perform until she finished rerecording all of her first 6 albums.

As you probably know, back in 2019, Scooter Braun was part of a group that acquired the rights to her first 6 albums. Taylor was pissed, saying she was "sad and grossed out." Braun has since sold the master recordings ... and Taylor vowed to rerecord them to, in effect, regain ownership. She's already rerecorded and released "Red" and "Fearless."

We're told Taylor would like to headline a Super Bowl halftime show, but now it's an issue of timing. It's possible she could finish the remaining 4 albums -- "Taylor Swift," "Speak Now," "1989," and "Reputation" -- in the next year. That would open the possibility of a 2024 appearance, but it all depends on finishing the rerecords.