Music

Daniel Ricciardo took his horse to that old town Grand Prix on Thursday ... showing up to Austin in the most Texas way possible!!

Of course, the Australian McLaren driver is OBSESSED with the Lone Star state ... and has become a fan of all things Texas since the event made its way to Austin in 2012.

In fact, DR has even tried to do his own Texas accent in interviews in the past ... and it's not half bad!!

Riccardo decided to show off just how much he loves his second home as he showed up to the Circuit of the Americas on Thursday ... by throwing on a Stars and Stripes shirt and cowboy hat and hopping on a horse to make a truly American entrance.

To make it even better, Daniel had country musicians accompany him as a crowd formed around him.

The best part?! Ricciardo's horse, apparently named "Horsey McHorse," had its very own VIP access badge -- complete with photo identification!!

Cardi B's back in court for a new legal battle ... a development a bunch of local teenagers is fully aware of because one of 'em showed up at court to offer her a night of dancing!!!

Cardi was leaving court in Santa Ana, CA Wednesday when a swarm of young fans met her outside the courthouse, clearly thrilled to get a glimpse of the rapper.

One in the crowd decided to shoot his shot ... walking up to Cardi and asking if she'd hit up the homecoming dance with him -- no answer, but we're guessing she's got her hands full at the moment. Bold move, though, kid!

As we reported, CB is in a legal battle over the cover art for her "Gangsta Bitch Music Vol. 1" mixtape ... which shows a guy with a bunch of back tattoos goin' down on her.

The guy in question -- Kevin Brophy -- filed docs back in 2017, claiming he's the guy in the pic, but claimed he didn't authorize her to use his image. He added he's never met or even spoken to Cardi or her people.

Billboard's hot take -- forecasting the downfall of Hip-Hop/R&B smash hits -- angered many fans in both communities because it lumps the 2 genres together, and you can count Eric Bellinger in that pissed-off set.

The Grammy-nominated singer thinks Billboard's classification is wrong, but says rappers and singers are blurring the lines … making it easy for the charts to do the same.

TMZ Hip Hop caught up with Eric at Babyface’s “Girl's Night Out” party, where he told us the solution is simple: R&B singers and songwriters need to slow down their tempo to break away from being confused with rap tracks.

In Eric’s humble opinion, rappers can’t sing worth a lick and are going crazy with Auto-Tune on their vocals to mask the fact.

He says it’s up to today’s singers to lead the charge, and says his new single “Obsession” is a prime example of the wave his fellow R&B artists need to ride going forward.

Eric has the stats to back up his big talk … having racked up major collaborations with Chris Brown, Justin Bieber, Usher, Brandy and dozens of others stars in the biz.

Kelly Clarkson, Kelsea Ballerini and Carly Pearce all have one very significant life experience in common, and it's not just being super talented and famous ... they're all recent divorcees and will be hitting the stage together for the first time to sing about lousy men.

Production sources from the upcoming Country Music Association Awards tell TMZ the trio are planning a very big and powerful performance of Kelsea's song "You're Drunk, Go Home" next month.

The song's all about female empowerment, about guys who hit on women at bars after they've had too much to drink. Both Kelly and Carly were on the song's original release -- and Kelly actually got drunk herself when they got together to record it -- so they clearly all have a good time together.

Both Kelly and Carly filed for divorce in June 2020 ... Kelly from Brandon Blackstock after 7 years of marriage and Carly from Michael Ray after less than a year.

TMZ broke the story ... it was in March when Kelly and Brandon reached a settlement -- she got primary custody and he gets $115,000 a month in spousal support until 2024.

As for Kelsea, she pulled the plug on her 5-year marriage with Morgan Evans in August, and she's been very open about how tough divorce can be ... recently posting an emotional confessional from the bathtub.

So, given the shared lifetime experiences, the whole girl gang collab at country music's biggest night makes a whole lotta sense.

Post Malone's concert stages have it out for him, because he got a fresh injury -- a banged-up ankle -- at his show in Atlanta, just one month after busting a rib onstage.

PM was in Atlanta for his Twelve Carat Tour when he took a wrong step up during his performance of "Psycho" and twisted his ankle so badly, he had to go down on his knees.

Check out the clip -- Post tried to keep it going Tuesday night, but the pain was too much ... and stagehands eventually rushed to his side to see what happened.

He hobbled back up to the mic to fill in the fans ... saying he twisted his ankle because of a gap in the stage meant for pyrotechnics.

The show went on, although Posty admitted the dance moves were gonna have to suffer because of the injury.

Those stage gaps are no joke for Post -- as we reported, he stepped into a hole in the floor at last month's St. Louis show. That one was way worse than his ATL ankle.

He eventually went to the hospital for the rib injury, and had to postpone a show in Boston ... which he made up a few weeks later.

R&B virtuoso Babyface is back with his first solo album in nearly 6 years, and he celebrated like he was backstage at one of his concerts … with Kim Kardashian, Chris Tucker, Tank and plenty of other famous faces in tow!!!

Babyface and Capitol Records took over Hollywood’s Beauty & Essex to celebrate his "Girls Night Out" album in partnership with Instagram and was cool as a fan in his stunna shades all evening … thanking everyone for their support over the years.

Kim was in obvious need of a break from the Kanye storm and took full advantage … playfully photobombing Babyface as he posed with Chris Tucker and co. and she also chatted with Jordin Sparks in the VIP.

Album co-stars Coco Jones, Muni Long, Baby Tate also came through to show love for the project … as did DJ D-Nice, Eric Bellinger, Jesse Collins, Laura Govan, Doc Wynter and Diddy’s new artist Jozzy.

The album already has a No. 1 hit with the Ella Mai-featured "Keeps On Fallin'" and Babyface -- reminding everyone he's an elder statesman in the game -- instructed the crowd to run up the streaming thingamajigs, or "whatever that is" when it drops this Friday.

Kanye West is ripping President Biden for not picking Elon Musk's brain, and using some offensive language -- claiming the Prez is "f**king ret***ed."

Ye went off on POTUS in his interview with Piers Morgan, claiming he could use the r-word, and anything other words, due to the fact he's been diagnosed with "mental health issues."

Interestingly, those issues didn't prevent Kanye from being fully aware the ableist epithet would offend. He told Piers, "The President of the United States does not have meetings with Elon Musk. That is f***ing ... Hey, here, come, come get me ... That's f***ing ret***ed. I know I'm not supposed to say that Biden, but that's f***ing ret***ed, Biden."

As we reported ... in the same interview, Ye dug himself an even deeper hole over his recent antisemitic comments, trying to clear things up by telling Piers he only wishes death on Jews who he thinks screwed him over.

Howard Stern is ripping Kanye West apart ... comparing him to Adolf Hitler while calling the rapper and his fans out for using mental health as an excuse for his racist outbursts.

Howard didn't hold back on the latest episode of his SiriusXM radio show ... referring to Kanye's recent interview with Chris Cuomo -- saying "you gotta hear the s*** this guy's into".

The host was hesitant about giving any more energy to the rapper ... but draws a shocking -- and ironic -- comparison, saying "Kanye used to be fun crazy. Now he’s like Hitler."

He then poses this idea to Kanye -- "If a newspaper article doesn’t point out the fact that you’re some sort of designer or genius, maybe that’s not because they’re Jewish, but maybe because they just don’t put that much thought into who the f*** you are and what your business is."

As we reported, Kanye's been digging a DEEP hole over his antisemitic comments ... telling Piers Morgan his "death con 3" comments towards Jewish people were racist, and meant for it to be taken that way.

Stern also goes after Kanye's defenders who are pointing towards his mental health struggles as an excuse  ... "If he’s so mentally ill, why don’t they appoint a conservator over his money like they did with the poor Britney Spears?”

Waka Flocka Flame is jumping to Russell Wilson's defense after the latest round of public Russ bashing, courtesy of Charlamagne Tha God and "The Pivot" podcast.

"The Breakfast Club" co-host was discussing his daughters' dating future with Channing Crowder when Russ' name came up in a backhanded compliment.

The whole group felt Russ was square, but they also agreed he'd be the perfect guy to bring home to the family. Former NFL star Channing added that Russ wouldn't be his ideal homie to hang with, though.

All the snickering at Russ' expense rubbed Waka the wrong way, and he called out the group on IG, posting ... "that s**t lame grown men talking bout grown men for views especially when y’all see Russ and his family happy smfh we gotta do better frfr."

This isn't the first time 'Pivot' has gone viral for making Russ the butt of a joke.

Back in April, Channing claimed Ciara wouldn't be married to Russ if he didn't have his $242 million dollar NFL contract, labeling him a "square" ... again.

Russ may have his hands full with critics this year ... his Denver Broncos are off to an awful 2-4 start, and fans think Future's guest spot on Boston Richey's "Bullseye 2," is the bad juju to blame.

Tee Grizzley just released his new album, "Chapters of the Trenches," and the Detroit-born rapper's fans better soak it up, 'cause it's also his last -- he's closing the book on his music career!!!

The video game industry has been kind to Tee (and his pockets) amid the COVID-19 quarantine. During a new interview with Bootleg Kev, he claimed to bring in six-figures monthly from his growing "GTA" role-playing empire alone.

According to Tee, he hasn't been to a club in a minute and would rather sit at home making bank online than risk an altercation for an appearance fee ... even if leaving five figures on the table makes his manager Melissa Tuan upset.

TG's denouncing rap altogether -- he says it all sounds the same now -- so, he's rebranding himself as a professional gamer and part-time movie director who's tired of the BS within the music industry.

With "GTA6" currently in development, the digital sky's the limit for TG's Grizzley World.

Part of the reason he could be backing away from hip hop is the recent loss of his close friend PnB Rock, who TG saw in September, the day before he was murdered.

Kanye West may have dug an even deeper hole over his antisemitic comments, saying when he said he wanted to go "death con 3" on Jews, he only meant the ones who screwed him over.

The rapper went on Piers Morgan's show, and it seems he thought he was going to get a more friendly reception from the host than what actually went down.

Ye was pressed on whether his antisemitic remarks were racist, and he says they were indeed.

Morgan pushed Kanye, and Ye said he was targeting Jews who did him wrong, and those are the people with whom he wanted to go "death con 3." His only "apology" was to the other Jews who did not deserve his ire. Again, still antisemitic.

You'll recall, Kanye made comments earlier when he seemed to blame Jewish execs in Hollywood for mistreating black entertainers. And he also railed on JP Morgan, invoking the old trope of Jews controlling the banks.

The internet's going WILD with engagement speculation after seeing pics of Megan Thee Stallion at an elegant event with her boyfriend and wearing a giant diamond!!!

Chill. That's not the full story ... according to folks in her camp, and Megan herself.

Sources connected to Megan tell TMZ ... Meg and her BF Pardi celebrated their 2nd anniversary Tuesday night at Brooklyn Chop House Times Square -- we're told Pardi picked the place because he's really tight with the owner, Don Pooh, and it's a go-to for the rapper.

They were in New York following Meg's SNL performance, and decided to stay in town to celebrate their milestone.

As for the event, we're told Pardi set the whole thing up himself as a surprise -- spending hours on the phone with the venue to make sure everything was just right.

She was given a great night ... dining privately on the roof, which was decorated with a bunch of candles and over 1,000 balloons. She was given a HUGE bunch of roses when she walked in, too.

Meg was seen leaving the dinner with a bunch of diamonds on her left ring finger -- y'know ... the engagement one. We're told it's actually FIVE diamond rings, but the bummer part for fans is that they were a gift ... from her stylist ... not Pardi.

Meg even responded to the rumors ... saying, "Lol as nice as last night was we are not engaged."

Billie Eilish and Jesse Rutherford aren't hiding it anymore, locking lips in public and letting the world know they're together.

The two were showed off some PDA Tuesday night in Studio City -- where they were on the streets and making out in front of cameras, no longer blurring lines -- they're a couple and definitely happy.

Check out the photos for yourself ... you can see BE and JR embracing, kissing, holding hands and smiling from ear to ear as they stroll down the street without a care in the world.

It's the third outing we've seen in less than a week where they seemed to be getting cozy. Remember, it all started with a video that surfaced showing them at Halloween Horror Nights looking like a couple. Ditto for a dinner date night the day before.

There's been evidence they've been hanging out since at least August of this year -- when they were photographed at the same movie premiere.

Of course, there's been controversy with this relationship ... mostly among her fans. We're talking about their age difference -- 11 years, more or less -- and the fact that Jesse appears to have known/befriended her when she was underage ... at around 15 or 16 years old.

Candace Owens just responded to what Gianna's legal team told us, saying, "What I love so much about George Floyd family's lawyers is how they keep talking to TMZ about "lies" in my documentary but keep neglecting to specify what the lies were! My documentary told NO LIES. They are simply angry that we exposed theirs and are running PR for BLM."

She continues, "The George Floyd story was the greatest lie ever spun by our media. My documentary successfully exposed their lies and people are understandably shocked at how twisted and sick our media is in their commitment to control the masses."

There may be more people who have to answer for what Kanye West said about George Floyd ... Candace Owens, N.O.R.E. and Diddy's Revolt TV could soon be in the legal hot seat, too.

The legal team repping Floyd's young daughter, Gianna, tells TMZ any and all possible defendants are on the table as they continue to explore their options in what will be a mega lawsuit regarding comments made on "Drink Champs."

One of the attorneys, Kay Williams, says Candace is an obvious would-be codefendant -- as the remarks Ye made were a direct reflection of stuff she put out in her new documentary, 'The Greatest Lie Ever Sold.' Williams says there are blatant lies mentioned in the film.

Nuru Witherspoon, another lawyer on the case says Ye's comments have retraumatized Gianna all over again, as she's being exposed to the new content.

Witherspoon notes that while they mentioned suing for defamation in their press release -- the actual suit would be rooted in intentional infliction of emotional distress and misappropriation ... because you can't legally defame a dead person, and Ye didn't mention George's family.

Still, both Williams and Witherspoon make it clear ... it's open season on anyone who perpetuated lies about George Floyd -- Candace and Kanye are the clear targets.

However, you have to imagine the folks behind "Drink Champs," REVOLT TV included, could be in their crosshairs as well.

One final member of the team -- attorney Pat Dixon III -- gets into even more detail about what exactly Gianna is going through emotionally, not to mention her mother. He tells us they're going down this road to preserve George's legacy for both him and his family.

Like we said, the suit hasn't been filed yet -- but Gianna's lawyers have already signaled an amount of money they want ... at least $250 million. FWIW, REVOLT TV has removed the controversial episode in question entirely -- and N.O.R.E. has attempted to apologize.

Bow Wow is putting himself squarely in the middle of celebrity breakups ... but like a hip hop love doc, he's doing his best to rekindle broken hearts.

TMZ Hip Hop talked to Bow Wow about about his wacky new dating show “After Happily Ever After” ... which features divorced couples attempting to find new love for their exes.

Bow Wow says despite the cast consisting of "Love & Hip Hop" and reality TV vets such as Peter Gunz, Tara Wallace, and Amina Buddafly (and that's just one grouping), the series was 100% real and the cast made honest attempts at finding love for the second -- or in some cases -- third time.

Shar Jackson, model Jeremy Meeks, and social media influencer Jayla Koriyan also round out the cast.

For his own tastes, Bow Wow says he doesn't entertain dating but understands why some people would -- they just don't want to be alone!!!

The "Shortie Like Mine" rapper admits he has no problem being in relationships, but says when the interrogating and nagging begins ... he starts inching toward the door.

Bow Wow has been basking in the land of TV and film for years -- in addition to several Millenium Tour iterations, and says it's time to dip his legacy in bronze with a docuseries he's dropping next year.

Speaking of the Millenium Tour, Bow Wow recently wrapped up an emotional show in his birthplace of Columbus, OH ... where he apologized on stage for not being the same rap ambassador as he was to his eventual home of Atlanta.

Bow Wow says he was just a kid when he blew up (he dropped his first album when he was 13), and didn't understand what being a city's celebrity face entails.

Now an older and wiser pup, Bow Wow says he plans on building the city up to the same prominence as neighboring areas Cleveland and Cincinnati through marquee events and functions.

50 Cent is responding to his son Marquise's TMZ Hip Hop interview ... and it doesn't sound like father and child will be enjoying the upcoming holidays together.

The G-Unit rapper was the latest guest on "The Breakfast Club," and when asked about the chance of a reunion, 50 dismissed the notion -- claiming if Marquise really wanted to mend fences, he wouldn't have sat down with us to tell his side of the story.

Fiddy's chalking up everything his son told us to Marquise's mother brainwashing him -- and he still claims she attempted to take advantage of him while raising their son.

In an unlikely twist, 50 says he voluntarily went to court to settle their child support dispute ... intending to reduce her $500k-a-year demands, and it worked.

The courts lowered the amount to the now infamous $6,700 per month that started this whole mess.

50 claims the mom also mismanaged the money she got -- leaving her Atlanta residence in foreclosure because she refused to work. 50 also clowned Marquise for allegedly working as a hookah server at Vanity strip club in Queens.

Marquise didn't quite see things the same way, telling us he had run out of reconciliation options and going to the media was his last resort.

He made the passionate plea that he was willing to put up the $6,700 just to break new ground with his father.

50 did speak fondly of his second child, Sire, however ... noting how he set him up various companies to run when he got older.