Music

DJ Akademiks recently stirred up a hornet's nest with his "old and dusty" comments targeting some hip hop pioneers, but Quavo and Takeoff are dodging that drama -- they have the blessings of the Wu-Tang Killer Bees in their corner!!!

We caught up with Quavo Tuesday at LAX ahead of the release of their new album "Only Built 4 Infinity Links" ... the same one that effectively drops Offset from Migos after the year-long feud.

The title is a direct reference to Raekwon and Ghostface Killah's classic album, 1995's "Only Built 4 Cuban Links" -- and Quavo tells us he got direct permission from Rae himself to pay homage with the new record.

The platinum-selling album 'Cuban Links' is one of the most decorated in hip hop history ... practically birthing the 90s rap mafioso era, and furthering the legacy of RZA and Wu-Tang Clan for generations to come.

Quavo says he reached out and told Rae it wouldn't be anything short of an honor to carry on the legacy, especially given everything he says Wu-Tang Clan did for the culture.

He and Takeoff have been putting in overtime pumping out the music ... spearheaded by the hit "Hotel Lobby" single which dropped in May.

EMT's frantically tried to revive Coolio after his body was found in a downtown LA. home, but after 45 minutes of CPR he was pronounced dead.

TMZ broke the story ... Coolio was at a friend's home late Wednesday afternoon when he went to the bathroom. We're told he was in there for quite a while, and the friend became concerned and began calling for him. When Coolio didn't respond, the friend went inside the bathroom and found the rapper laying on the floor.

He called EMT's who quickly responded and saw no signs of life. They administered CPR for 3/4 of an hour before concluding it was futile.

Coolio's manager told us the 59-year-old rapper came down from Vegas, where he lives, to L.A. so he could either get or renew his passport.

The manager said there was some problem with getting the passport in L.A. and the 2 had talked on the phone about going down to San Diego to get the job done.

As for why he needed to go to the passport office ... he had shows scheduled in Germany this weekend.

The manager says he was getting ready to join Coolio when he got the call that he had collapsed in the bathroom.

As we reported, police did not find drugs or paraphernalia in the bathroom.

R. Kelly's not just going to prison for his sex crimes in New York, but it also looks like he'll be ordered to pay a fortune to some of his victims ... including picking up the tabs to deal with their STDs and their psychological trauma in the aftermath.

There was a restitution hearing in Brooklyn Wednesday, where a judge weighed in on what Kelly will have to cough up, money-wise, to a couple of his victims in that case ... in which he's already been convicted and sentenced to prison.

For a victim named "Jane," the judge indicated Kelly will be ordered to fork over around $300K to cover treatment related to herpes, as well as psychological care that she apparently requires. Ditto for another victim in that case named "Stephanie," although a firm number hasn't been decided in her situation just yet ... the judge put a pin in it and will circle back later.

A 3rd victim, "Sonja," was denied restitution. So, at this point, it looks like Kelly will be on the hook for hundreds of thousands ... and possibly more.

Remember, Kelly's already been handed down a sentence of 30 years behind bars in this case -- where he was alleged to have committed federal sex crimes.

He was also recently convicted in his federal case out of Chicago -- in which he was accused of similar crimes -- and there could be restitution in that case, as well.

Kanye West has hired yet another divorce lawyer, this time tapping into the same attorney who represented Melinda Gates in her multi-billion dollar divorce case with Bill Gates.

Sources with direct knowledge tell us Ye's retained Robert Stephan Cohen of Cohen Clair Lans Greifer Thorpe & Rottenstreich LLP as his sixth divorce attorney in the back and forth with Kim Kardashian. Interestingly enough, Cohen is based in New York, and the Kim divorce is in Los Angeles, so Ye's also bringing on Nicholas A. Salick of Salick Family Law Group, APLC as his counsel in California.

Not only has Cohen represented Melinda, but he's also had clients like Rupert Murdoch, Chris Rock, Athina Onassis and more.

TMZ broke the story, Kim filed for divorce in November, and a judge declared her legally single back in March, after she filed docs stating, "I very much desire to be divorced." The couple still has to iron out custody and property details.

We know Kim and Kanye already had a prenup in place, so property shouldn't be an issue. As far as custody, that seems to be settled too, as Kanye recently said Kim's got the kids about 80% of the time and mostly raises them.

LAPD is naming a suspect in the murder of PnB Rock ... he's still on the loose, and should be considered "armed and dangerous."

Cops announced Wednesday morning, Freddie Lee Trone, is the guy detectives have fingered as "a person involved" in the Sept. 12 slaying of the rapper as he sat in a Roscoe's Chicken & Waffles.

They've released this photo of Trone, but haven't yet said if he's the only person they're seeking in the case. You'll recall, police said there was a getaway car waiting outside the L.A. restaurant after PnB was shot and killed.

The killer fled with several gold and diamond chains the Philly MC was wearing as he ate lunch with his girlfriend.

Police are urging the public to contact 911 if you see Trone or have any info on his whereabouts.

Hailey Bieber is clearing the air about the fan-fueled notion she stole Justin Bieber from Selena Gomez -- saying that couldn't be further from the truth.

Her appearance on the "Call Her Daddy" podcast dropped Wednesday, and they got right into the subject -- with host Alex Cooper directly asking if there was ever any overlap between Justin and Selena's relationship and Hailey's with Justin ... especially right before they got married.

Hailey flatly denies it ... essentially saying she's not a homewrecker and was never romantically involved with JB while he was with another person -- Selena or otherwise.

She goes on to say she's aware the timing of things -- especially from the outside looking in -- might appear like there was a quick succession of romances, from Selena to Hailey, but she insists she waited.

And, this part will interest Selena fans ... Hailey suggests Selena and Justin 2.0 wasn't as serious as the rest of us thought at the time!

Just to clear up the timeline here ... Justin and Selena were hanging out A LOT in late 2017 and seemed to rekindle their relationship through early 2018, until they abruptly split. Soon thereafter, Hailey entered the picture, and before long they tied the knot.

Based on what Hailey's saying here, it sounds like there's more to the dynamic (Justin and Selena's, that is) than the public knows, but again ... she's firm on never having double dipped with Justin while he was with other women.

One more interesting tidbit from her -- she says Justin and her getting together might've actually been the best thing to help him move on from Selena ... even if it looked somewhat quick to the outside world. She also addressed the toxic fandom.

Selena stans have long gone for Hailey's neck over the idea she swooped JB, but Hailey says those fans simply have it wrong, and hopes they understand that the person they're hating on from behind a screen is a regular human with emotions.

When asked if Justin or anyone in their circle now has ever asked Selena to try to put an end to the hatred her fans are dishing ... Hailey says no -- adding Selena doesn't have to, as she doesn't owe her anything and that there's no personal beef between them whatsoever.

She ends by saying she's spoken with Selena since marrying Justin, and that she respects Selena. HB also finishes by noting, she and Justin know the truth ... and they're at peace.

Kodak Black is doing good in his hood -- well before the holidays hit -- paying off the remaining rent balance for dozens of South Florida households facing eviction.

Kodak's attorney, Bradford Cohen, tells TMZ Hip Hop ... many South Florida rental home prices have skyrocketed by as much as 31.5 percent -- way higher than the typical 3 to 5 percent!

And, that's where the "Super Gremlin" rapper steps in -- he joined forces with community leader Francky Pierre-Paul and the Zachariah McQueen Foundation to assist a total of 28 families within West Palm Beach's Merry Place Housing Projects.

We're told Kodak will also cover any back fees ... making his grand total of charity $88,902.80 this time around.

Kodak tells TMZ ... "I'm happy about making other people happy. It makes my heart happy to know those 28 families are being taken care of through the end of the year. I don't always post the good I do, I just try to do right by people."

In a separate post, Kodak put his rapping skills on display ... brandishing an acronym for his beloved projects: People Relying On Just Enough Cash To Survive.

Kodak loves his native South Florida and is no stranger to giving back.

During a July 2021 heat wave, he hand-delivered 100 air conditioning units to folks living in the projects of Pompano Beach. He also famously donated $10,000 to the Jack and Jill education center and created a memorial fund for Florida police officers killed in the line of duty.

Lizzo's making musical history with a damn near ancient instrument -- she's now the first person to play a crystal flute that once belonged to one of America's founding fathers!!!

The singer unveiled the big surprise during her show Tuesday night in D.C. -- the ultra-rare flute was made in 1813 and used to belong to James Madison ... AKA U.S. President #4.

She was pretty nervous about even holding the flute, much less playing it, and told the crowd ... as only Lizzo could, "Bitch I'm scared."

Lizzo played her first note and the crowd went WILD -- she followed it up by twerking while playing some more. Take that, Madison!!!

She shared her excitement online after the show, too ... telling her followers she's the "first and only person" to play this flute. She adds, "I WILL NEVER BE OVER IT."

Lizzo got an invite from Librarian of Congress Carla Hayden earlier this week to visit "the largest flute collection in the world" while in town ... and the singer took her up on it, adding "I'M PLAYIN THAT CRYSTAL FLUTE!!!"

Post Malone made his grand return to the stage after being hospitalized for his hard fall ... and while he might not have performed at 100%, the crowd was lovin' every minute.

The singer took the stage at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse in Cleveland Tuesday night ... thanking the packed crowd early on for coming out -- and repeated his explanation as to why he pulled the plug on Saturday's gig.

Folks in the crowd tell TMZ ... Post didn't seem to be fully healed -- his singing seemed labored throughout his set. They could hear him taking deep breaths.

He was clearly in pain ... grabbing on his ribs, walking and dancing almost in slow motion around the stage. At one point, Post took his shirt off and the crowd saw that his ribs were wrapped in what looked like ACE bandages.

Regardless of his performance, the audience was giving him TONS of props ... especially after taking such a nasty fall last weekend.

As we reported, Post suffered a fracture in his rib cage as a result of the fall.

The late Foo Fighters drummer Taylor Hawkins was honored in a massive way in Los Angeles -- with stars including Miley Cyrus, Joan Jett, Brian May -- and more taking the stage ... but it was a unique cover from Dave Chappelle that had fans talking.

The concert marathon, which didn't end until 1 AM, went down at the Kia Forum in L.A. Tuesday night -- it was the second show to honor Hawkins, with the first happening in London earlier this month.

Check out the video of Dave, he took the stage with Dave Grohl and the rest of The Foo Fighters for the cover.

However, fans were treated to some other truly special performances. Grohl played 'Bad Reputation' with Joan Jett and Travis Barker, Miley hit the stage with Def Leppard, Motley Crue performed, Pink did 'Barracuda' with Nancy Wilson, Alanis Morissette performed with RHCP drummer Chad Smith ... and then at 11:45, The Foo Fighters took the stage to play some of their hits.

As we reported, Hawkins' son Shane got on the drums during the London show ... he did the same during the L.A. tribute to play "Hero."

Tekashi 6ix9ine's recent brawl in Dubai won't be his last one ... not if the DJ he punched that night has anything to say about it!!!

TMZ Hip Hop caught up with the DJ, Lucasdirty ... who wants to resolve the whole thing mano a mano in a real boxing ring.

Lucasdirty's looking to finish what started last weekend ... he tells us he was alerted by the club's management that 6ix9ine was indeed in the building, so he was asked to spin his tunes.

He refused, though, because he says 6ix9ine's music goes against his core beliefs and morals -- and that's what sparked the nightclub melee captured on video.

You can see how things blew up ... 6ix9ine approached the DJ booth 10 minutes after getting rejected, some words were exchanged and then the club was flipped upside down.

Now, Lucasdirty is looking ahead to the recently announced exhibition fight between Floyd Mayweather and YouTuber Deji this November in Dubai, and sees it as the perfect opportunity to settle his differences with Tekashi.

Lucasdirty doesn't even fancy himself a boxer, but he's willing to put on the gloves if it means punching the rainbow.

Adam Levine and his pregnant wife Behati Prinsloo are still going strong after his cheating scandal ... in fact, things appear to be so good between the two, they hopped on a jet to take a trip together.

Adam and Behati took a private jet from Santa Barbara for an apparent couples getaway ... it's possible the two went to Las Vegas, because Maroon 5 just announced a residency in Sin City.

The couple doesn't look to be in turmoil over Adam's recent cheating scandal. Remember, five women came forward this month claiming to have engaged in various stages of DM conversations with Adam, with the first woman alleging a physical relationship with the singer, which Adam's denied.

Hopping out of an SUV before climbing aboard a private plane, Adam wore a vintage Sublime tee with ripped jeans and some neon Nike Air Force 1s ... while Behati paired a leopard-print dress with leather boots, covering up her baby bump with a jacket.

Maroon 5 is starting a Las Vegas residency in March at Dolby Live in Park MGM ... and in the interim, Adam's got a charity performance Saturday in Sin City to benefit Shaquille O'Neal's foundation.

We saw Adam and Behati put on a united front the day after he admitted he "crossed the line" by communicating online with multiple women ...  and they haven't shown any signs of a fractured relationship since.

Post Malone is stepping back into the spotlight after needing to be hospitalized in Boston last weekend -- powering through the pain for his fans.

Sources connected to the singer tell TMZ ... Post will perform Tuesday in Cleveland, where he's scheduled to hit the Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse.

This is pretty major news, considering fans (especially those in CLE) have been wondering if he'd be able to take the stage after abruptly pulling the plug on Saturday's gig. Now, we know he'll see his fans -- but we're told he's still nursing a rib injury from that nasty fall.

Our sources tell us PM got a CAT scan and X-Rays done over the weekend, and doctors found he's suffering from a small fracture in his rib cage. We're told Post was given pain meds to manage things -- and after a few days of rest, our sources say he's given his team the green light that he plans to rock the house.

He's got another gig Wednesday in Pittsburgh, and more shows next week. Obviously, he'll feel things out after Cleveland, but it's a good sign he's making his way back so soon.

Victoria Beckham has people worried her marriage with David Beckham might be on the rocks -- and it all has to do with what appears to be a fading tattoo.

Fans took notice of VB's wrist this week when she did a lipstick tutorial on IG, pointing out that some signature ink she normally rocks on her wrist seemed to be almost totally gone. It's a cursive "DB" ... obviously her husband's initials, and one she's had since their 10th anniversary.

From the video, it looks like the tattoo is in the process of being removed. You can still see traces of it -- but the tat is certainly faded, and there's no explanation thus far.

Of course, this is still a cause of concern for some -- mostly because of Sylvester Stallone's recent tattoo drama -- but the public might be overreacting here.

Fact is, it appears Victoria is still wearing a wedding band on her left ring finger -- plus, her and David were photographed last week holding hands in public. On the flip side, however, he did attend the Queen's wake by himself a couple weeks ago.

It could all be much ado about nothing, but just to make sure ... we've reached out to reps for both David and Victoria about the missing ink. So far, no word back.

Sean "Diddy" Combs is being sued by Kim Porter's niece ... who claims she was wrongfully terminated after she told him she got pregnant and needed to take maternity leave.

In legal docs, obtained by TMZ, a woman referred to as Jane Roe -- who identifies herself as Kim's niece -- is suing Diddy, Tri Star Sports, and others, claiming she became a full-time nanny to Diddy's twins after Kim passed away in November 2018. Jane says she was then fired 2 years later when she requested maternity leave.

She claims the day after Kim passed away, Diddy asked her to live at his estate and become a full-time nanny to his twins, Jessie James and D'Lila -- adding she "was responsible for the twins' 24/7 care."

Jane says she got pregnant in August 2020 and told Diddy she needed to take maternity leave ... but says Diddy was "infuriated" and terminated her employment around the time she was set to begin her time off.

Roe claims she was told through Diddy's reps she was canned because she was pregnant and unmarried -- which "purportedly set a bad example" for his daughters.

She's seeking unspecified damages.

TMZ broke the story ... Kim was found dead at her Toluca Lake home in 2018, it was later revealed she died from a form of pneumonia.

Dub Nation has a new K-Pop megastar in its fanbase -- it's Suga from BTS ... and he's already got Steph Curry's attention!!

1/7 of the most popular music act on the planet posted a snap with a customized "SUGA" Warriors jersey to his nearly 39 million Instagram followers on Monday ... seemingly confirming his allegiance to the Bay Area team.

Of course, the NBA champs have had some major support from K-Pop idols in the past ... from NCT's Chenle and Mark to GOT7 rapper, BamBam, who actually became the team's official global ambassador last season.

Suga's post was quickly noticed by the Warriors' biggest superstar ... who said, "Love the jersey SUGA!! See you soon ✈️"

There's speculation Suga is following in BamBam's footsteps as the team's newest ambassador ... but TMZ Sports is told that's not the case. However, there's rumblings Suga could attend the Warriors' preseason game in Japan later this week.

As we previously pointed out, BamBam's role with the team helped get Andrew Wiggins a starting spot in the All-Star Game ... with all the Ahgases (AKA GOT7 fans) voting on social media to secure the honor for the 27-year-old Canadian hooper.

On top of that, fans lined up for hours just to get a special BamBam x Warriors merch collab as well ... so yeah, the power of K-Pop is real.