Music

If there was any doubt Kanye West is sowing seeds of hate with his bigoted and antisemitic remarks ... a Los Angeles rally should erase all of it.

These banners were draped on an overpass of the infamous 405 freeway, and the organizers implored drivers to "Honk if you know Kanye is right about the Jews." The fiercely hateful words and rally appear to be the work of a group called the Goyim Defense League.

The Anti-Defamation League describes the group as a loose network of virulently antisemitic conspiracy theorists -- and that very well may be, but Saturday's impromptu rally suggests the group is suddenly emboldened ... clearly by Kanye's words.

Members of the group were also throwing up the Nazi salute at passing drivers.

The menacing sight -- imagine being a Jewish person seeing that on your drive home -- comes, not coincidentally, on the heels of Kanye repeatedly spewing tropes about Jewish people controlling everyone in Hollywood and in banking.

Two weeks ago, he tweeted he was "going death con 3 On JEWISH PEOPLE" after Instagram restricted his account.

During his Piers Morgan interview, Ye said he only had one regret about his antisemitic comments ... but he stood by his most dangerously bigoted remarks.

As we reported, Kanye told photogs Friday night the backlash against him only proves his point about Jewish people controlling the narrative -- however, Saturday's rally shows Ye is also driving his own narrative ... a pretty hate-filled one.

Jennifer Lopez and Ben Affleck's newlywed bliss is showing again -- this time on a family shopping trip that's gonna leave the city slickers looking real country and western.

The couple hit the Sunset Strip Saturday, laser-focused on one item ... cowboy boots.

Jen's kiddo Emme was with Bennifer when they strolled into Boot Star -- pretty obvious what they sell -- and she was first in the group to get fitted for a red pair o' s**t kickers and matching shirt.

Ben was trying on a few different cowboy hats, which has us thinking a group costume might be in the works for the Afflecks' new blended family.

It is their first Halloween as Mr. and Mrs., so we wouldn't be surprised.

J Lo and Ben are a little more than 3 months into their marriage, and it shows -- the shopping spree included plenty of smiles and PDA.

Stacey Abrams is leaning into her celeb connections to rally support ahead of election day -- which landed her on stage with Latto to deliver a message about abortion rights in Georgia.

The candidate for Governor came out during Latto's Saturday night gig in ATL, and not coincidentally, she came out as the rapper performed "Pussy" ... the anthem she wrote after the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade.

Abrams was kicking it with backup dancers as Latto did her thing -- and carried a "my body, my choice" sign over her head the whole time.

When the song was over she got on a mic and told the crowd ... "I just want to remind you that if you believe in my body, my choice, I need your vote," Abrams said.

Playing to the crowd, Abrams referenced Latto's mega-hit as she yelled, "I need your big energy. Let’s get it!"

Last week Abrams debated her opponent, Georgia's current Governor Brian Kemp, and early voting has already opened in that state.

Trap music pioneer Drumma Boy is basking in his hometown's newfound hip hop dominance ... especially because he's been waving the Memphis flag for years in his music!!!

DB was in his studio putting the finishing touches on his new album "Welcome to My City Vol. 4" when he told TMZ Hip Hop ... the project includes GloRilla, Project Pat, Big Boogie, Jucee Froot, Big Moochie Grape -- all Memphis artists who bleed 901 culture.

In addition to the booming talent of NLE Choppa, Duke Deuce, Key Glock and Big30 ... adjacent to legacy acts such as Three 6 Mafia, Yo Gotti and 8Ball & MJG -- Drumma is confident saying Memphis has ended Atlanta's nearly 3-decade reign as hip hop's top hub!!!

DB recalls having to migrate to Atlanta to shop his beats ... citing infighting within Memphis as the primary reason.

He credits Three 6's Gangsta Boo for spreading his name around town ... eventually getting on the radar of Big Boi and André 3000 of Outkast, Pastor Troy and Jeezy.

Gavin DeGraw was forced to pull the plug at the last minute on a show for the Boys & Girls Club -- his team says he was sick as a dog, but he's already planning to make good.

Sources connected to the fundraiser tell TMZ ... Gavin was booked to perform last weekend at the 2022 "Enchanted Masquerade" Chrysalis Ball for the Boys & Girls Clubs in Collin County, TX.

The club serves upwards of 5,000 kids, and Gavin's performance was the first big in-person event they'd planned since COVID shutdowns. So, that's why organizers were so bummed when Gavin had to cancel on the very day of the event.

Our sources tell us the singer's team notified the Boys & Girls Club that Gavin had fallen so ill, he had to be hospitalized ... and wouldn't be able to make it to the event.

We're told event organizers had already spent $20k in production costs, and they ended up using the band originally booked for their after-party to replace Gavin.

It is unclear what Gavin's illness was -- our sources say his appearance fee will be returned, but the Club won't get the production and rider costs back.

Understandably, there were some disappointed folks at the fundraiser.

DeGraw's team says he's since made a full recovery, and while he regrets having to cancel ... he hopes to come back and support the organization soon.

Beyoncé fans are mad at Kelis for not getting as upset at 2 women playing with her hair as when she flipped her lid over Bey allegedly using her music without permission.

The latest Twitter fracas is underway now ... the Beyhive is seriously voicing their displeasure over a video the "Milkshake" singer posted that shows her having her braids felt up by a couple ladies in Singapore, where Kelis is apparently visiting at the moment.

The clip shows Kelis seated at an outdoor table with a friend, who's filming, when these two gals start to caress and feel on her braids ... without notice or permission.

Kelis is taken aback but rolls with it, playing with their hair in return, and kinda letting them have their way -- they seem pretty fascinated with her 'do. While she looks confused, it doesn't seem Kelis is all that fired up about the awkward encounter ... more so amused.

That's where Beyoncé stans are jumping in ... chiding her for not showing the same amount of gusto for these women as she did for Bey's sample in "Energy" from her new album ... which used a part of Kelis's hit song, supposedly without being properly cleared.

You'll recall, Kelis was very public with her resentment over that. She called it disrespectful/ignorant ... and suggested Bey was somebody in the biz who had no soul or integrity. It was harsh, but it worked -- because Beyoncé yanked the sample and reworked the song in the end ... just one of many problems she had with the roll-out at the time.

Now, in light of this latest Kelis news ... some are saying Kelis is "all bark, no bite" -- among other mean comments -- suggesting this is objectively more objectionable, and that she picks and chooses when to get angry ... and may have a problem with Beyoncé, specifically.

Some fans who were hoping to see their favorite 2000s emo bands in Sin City this weekend are out of luck -- the date's been canceled ... all thanks to Mother Nature.

Organizers behind the "When We Were Young" festival announced Saturday that their same-day kickoff in Vegas was being nixed because of strong winds being cited by the National Weather Service -- this despite the gang saying they've been actively preparing for this.

It sounds like the gust speeds were simply going to be too high and dangerous -- upwards of 60 MPH, they say -- which has forced them to shut it down until tomorrow, Sunday the 23rd.

The show, for now, is supposed to carry on as scheduled for those ticketholders, as well as ones for next Saturday -- the 29th ... but the folks who had tickets for today will have to seek a refund, which festival honchos apologetically say will be issued within 30 days.

This year's lineup is jam-packed with bands that were all going to perform the same set times for both days -- including headliners Paramore and My Chemical Romance ... not to mention Avril Lavigne, Bring Me The Horizon, All-American Rejects, Jimmy Eat World, Dance Gavin Dance, Taking Back Sunday, AFI, We The Kings, Bright Eyes, A Day To Remember and more.

Kanye West is shrugging off brands cutting ties with him, and insists he can't be canceled -- but if he is, he says that only proves the dangerous antisemitic tropes he's been spewing.

The embattled billionaire held an oddly-timed news conference of sorts -- as he left his daughter North West's basketball game Friday night, he stopped to take questions from the crowd of paparazzi.

Right off the bat, Ye addressed Balenciaga dropping him ... saying it was no big deal to him because they weren't paying him anything. In fact, he dismissed the fashion giant's move as purely PR, saying ... "I think people just try to score points" -- and he thinks Balenciaga, LeBron James, Maverick Carter and "Drink Champs" host N.O.R.E. are all guilty of it.

He bemoaned the fact LeBron's producing partner Maverick had yanked "The Shop" episode he shot with them. Remember, Maverick said they pulled it because they didn't want to give Ye a platform to spew "hate speech."

N.O.R.E. did the same with the most recent 'Champs' episode where Kanye went on his antisemitic rant, including his claim the Jews who run Hollywood had screwed him over.

While the rapper and designer has already been widely called out for repeating many of the same theories Hitler did ... Kanye said something Friday night that was classic Nazism.

Ye claimed any backlash against him was only happening because of Jewish people. He said, "I want to talk about the Jewish comment. It's actually proving the exact point that I made. So many actors been bullied behind the scenes."

He then referenced the CEO of Endeavour talent agency's call for Hollywood to cut ties with Ye. He said, "So you got Ari Emanuel asking people to not do business with me. That's how this town been running for so so long. They'll mute you at all costs."

This new claim -- that anyone who denounces him is only doing so at the behest of Jewish people -- is EXACTLY, almost word for word, what Hitler and the Nazis said anytime there was international opposition to their tactics.

Let that soak in, and take note that Ye also strongly hinted he will indeed run for office -- he was wearing his 2024 cap. The whole interaction kinda looked and felt like a campaign stop.

French Montana continues to trailblaze in the name of humanity, and his peers are recognizing him for a mission that's literally changing and saving lives.

The diamond-selling rapper was honored Thursday night at the 2022 Pencils of Promise Gala ... for helping raise more than $226 million towards healthcare in Africa. Specifically, he's funded the Budondo Suubi “Hope” Health Center, which is the primary source of healthcare for new mothers and their babies in an otherwise desolate region of Uganda.

For his efforts, the gala bestowed French with this year's Innovator Award.

Model Meadow Walker -- yes, Paul Walker's daughter -- is also a Global Ambassador for Pencils of Promise, and received the Activist Award for her role within the WASH program ... helping to uplift young girls out of impoverished situations.

Gary Vaynerchuk, Climate Club CEO Adam Braun, and PoP CEO Kailee Scales were also in attendance.

French tells TMZ Hip Hop he was honored to receive the award, and thanked his partners Global Citizen and Mama Hope as well.

He added, "PoP is doing groundbreaking work globally to keep kids in school and make sure they have a safe environment to learn. This reminds me of my humble beginnings growing up in Morocco when I didn't know how to speak English."

French says, "Education was fundamental to my journey immigrating to the U.S. and starting my career as an artist, which is why this work is so important to our youth."

Turns out the answer to the $64,000 question is ... how much a Beatles fan or memorabilia collector will pay for the last letter John Lennon ever typed.

Lennon penned the missive to his accountant on December 8, 1980 -- just hours before the rock legend was gunned down in NYC -- and it just fetched $63,750 at auction, far exceeding expectations.

The letter was expected to go for somewhere between $30K and $50K -- but there was a flurry of bidders at the end of the 17-day online auction, pushing the final price up early Saturday morning for auction house, Gotta Have Rock and Roll.

As for the purchaser's identity ... they're opting to remain anonymous for now.

As we reported ... Lennon signed the letter -- which is the last known legal doc with his autograph -- before sending it to his accountant, Barry Nichols. It listed the names of 3 proxies Lennon chose to vote at an annual meeting for the Beatles corporation, which was to be held 9 days later in London.

Doja Cat knows how to make an exclusive Hollywood event feel even more elite -- her 27th birthday brought out a huge list of big names, who were reminded this is as inside as inside gets.

The bash went down Friday night in WeHo at the Raspoutine on Melrose -- and the guest of honor arrived rocking an elaborate gold mask adorned with more feathers than your average peacock.

In fact, almost all her guests showed up in masks -- thankfully, not the kind we had to wear during the pandemic -- adhering to what seems to have been a masquerade ball theme.

Adding to the elite air of the event was Doja's birthday cake -- a massive black and gold covered 3-tiered dessert -- which had several Illuminati logos on it.

Inside, guests partied to a lot of hip hop hits, of course, but we're told there was also a lot of 1950's jazz played too, seemingly a nod to the evening's theme -- and DC joked she wasn't letting her age get her down.

'Cause, as we all know, it's all downhill from 27. 😭

Justin and Hailey Bieber, Kendall Jenner and Shawn Mendes all showed up ready to party -- although it doesn't look like Shawn got the memo on the theme.

Kanye West's Yeezy shoes have always been just as popular on the resale market as they've been in stores -- but there's a clear shift happening, with many resellers hesitant to make any moves until Adidas announces its position on Ye.

We spoke with several experts involved in the resale market who tell us there are three major factors that will impact how the shoes will move in the immediate future.

1. Will Adidas continue its relationship with Kanye?
2. Will the public forgive Kanye for his comments?
3. If Kanye releases music/merch, how will it be received?

Sneaker expert Remo of Walk Like Us tells us if Adidas ends the partnership, the market will explode, because the shoes will not be produced in mass quantities anymore. This waiting period for Adidas has caused many resellers to hold onto stock in hopes of cashing in if Adidas cuts ties.

Worst case scenario for resellers, we're told, is if Adidas stays on with Ye -- but the public refuses to forgive him -- because then shoe values will plummet.

Kanye West's high fashion connections are dissolving around him -- Vogue's big boss wants nothing to do with him now after his erratic behavior and antisemitic rants.

Anna Wintour, the fashion bible's famed editor-in-chief, has no intentions of working with Ye again ... ending a more than decade-long relationship between them that was both business and personal.

A Vogue spokesperson told Page Six. Ye's unveiling of his 'White Lives Matter' T-shirts in Paris and his subsequent railing against Jewish people were too much for Wintour.

West and Wintour have been tight ever since she invited him to the Met Gala in 2009 -- and Anna would eventually feature Kanye and Kim Kardashian's 2014 wedding on a Vogue cover.

Just last month, the Vogue honcho even modeled Ye's new sunglasses ... a move that came just weeks before Ye's now infamous Paris Fashion Week show -- the one where he debuted the 'WLM' tees.

Even after that, Anna tried to foster reconciliation between one of her editors, Gabriella Karefa-Johnson, and Ye.

Gabriella and the Yeezy founder got into it on social media when she was critical of his 'WLM' stunt ... and he ripped her fashion sense, claiming Anna would hate a pair of boots Gabriella was photographed wearing.

Anna has reportedly told everyone at Vogue ... Kanye's been cut out of the mag's inner circle. This would seemingly mean no more Met Gala invites, cover shoots or Fashion Week coverage for Ye.

Vogue's move comes on the day after Balenciaga ended its relationship with Ye.

Don’t try to define Babyface by his catalog of certified R&B classics -- at least he doesn't, because the legend says he’s too much of a perfectionist to truly enjoy his old bangers.

TMZ Hip Hop chatted with Babyface at his “Girls Night Out” album release party, and asked about his own appreciation for his monster collection of hits … but turns out he takes all that success with a grain of salt.

Babyface tells us he never listens to his old stuff, because he knows he’ll find something wrong with the track, and he wouldn't be able to handle that -- no matter how successful it was on the charts!

In the case of his new album, though, he admits giving these tracks just enough of his time before sending them out for the world to enjoy.

Now, that doesn't mean fans agree with him … the icon counts hits like “Every Time I Close My Eyes” and “Whip Appeal” as his own and has written even more jams for the likes of Whitney Houston, Madonna, Toni Braxton and Boyz II Men among others ... selling millions of records off the strength of his pen.

Babyface also brushed off the year-long conversation started by Diddy about R&B's death … telling us he doesn't buy that, and his “Girls Night Out” project would keep the party going.

Cardi B just got some good news to kick off her weekend ... she says she's won a 5-year-long legal battle over the cover art for one of her mixtapes.

A federal jury in Santa Ana, CA found in favor of Cardi B Friday on all counts, and she walked out of court smiling about the victory, although she admits she was not super confident.

She gave props to her attorneys, but also those for the plaintiff ... saying both legal teams were amazing.

As we reported ... Cardi was sued back in 2017 over the cover art for her "Gangsta Bitch Music Vol. 1" mixtape ... which shows a guy with a ton of back tattoos performing oral sex on her. Kevin Brophy claimed the art used his image and his back tattoos without permission.

After a 4-day trial, the jury ruled Cardi's album cover did not cast Brophy in a false light or constitute a misappropriation of his likeness.

He had been seeking $5 million from Cardi, but with the verdict he's come up empty-handed.

Cardi sounds like she feels a weight lifted from her shoulders, tweeting about her emotional victory -- she says she is beyond grateful and wants to kiss God's feet.

CB says she was planning to cuss out Brophy if she won, but now that she has ... she says she doesn't have the heart to do it, and instead she's wishing him the best.

R&B mainstay Tank recently said he was retiring his recording career, but after soaking up Babyface’s star-studded album release party ... he’s beginning to rethink that decision!!!

TMZ Hip Hop pressed Tank about throwing in the towel during 'Face’s “Girls Night Out” shindig, and he sheepishly admitted seeing the legend pull off a new album didn’t make him feel legit.

In fact, Tank credits BF’s ‘89 album “Tender Lover” for giving him his formal introduction to the world of song … especially since being a church kid made it impossible for him to consume secular music at the time.

Tank says he was in awe of the room -- highlighted by the presence of Chris Tucker, Jordin Sparks and Kim Kardashian -- and gained a newfound inspiration from the night alone.

His 10th album “R&B Money” dropped back in August, and while he claimed it would be his last ... Tank's fans will likely lean into what he told us.