Music

Aaron Carter's death touched off a chaotic situation inside his L.A. home ... as his housekeeper was heard screaming over the police scanner after discovering his body.

TMZ has obtained a police audio clip of the moment the housekeeper found Aaron unresponsive inside his bathtub Saturday morning and frantically called 911.

The 911 operator stated on the audio clip FIRE/EMS units were needed at Aaron's home for a "female yelling" and made a cryptic reference to "in the tub."

By the time paramedics arrived on scene, Aaron was already dead. Authorities have not released an official cause of death, but law enforcement sources tell TMZ police will be doing a deep dive into his past drug use.

Investigators were seen wheeling Aaron's corpse in a body bag out of his home and loading him into the back of a truck labeled "Coroner."

TMZ broke the story of Aaron's passing ... police responded to his Lancaster home after receiving a 911 call at 11 AM Saturday that a male had drowned in the tub.

Aaron's fiancé, Melanie Martin, later told TMZ ... "My fiancé Aaron Carter has passed away. I love Aaron with all my heart and it’s going to be a journey to raise a son without a father. Please respect the privacy of my family as we come to terms with the loss of someone we love greatly. We are still in the process of accepting this unfortunate reality. Your thoughts and prayers are greatly appreciated."

Aaron shot to fame back in the late 1990s as a pop singer, releasing four studio albums, starting with his self-titled debut album in 1997 when he was only 9 years old.

Kanye West is going to need to shell out 10 figures if he wants any chance at owning the rights to 'White Lives Matter' ... so says one of the owners of the phrase.

Ramses Ja, who got the rights to 'WLM' last month along with his radio show co-host Quinton Ward, tells TMZ ... they're not looking to sell the trademark, but any potential buyer would have to come up with a $1 billion offer to even make them consider selling.

For Ramses, the most important thing is helping organizations fighting for Black people's rights ... so a $1 billion dollar offer would make them reconsider their desire not to sell, because they could do so much good with that kind of money.

Kanye's been stirring the pot with his "White Lives Matter" shirts for a month, but he hasn't been able to sell them in America because he doesn't own the rights.

As we reported ... the trademark was acquired by an anonymous listener of Ramses and Quinton's racial justice radio show, "Civic Cipher" ... filing it the same day Ye wore the controversial look at Paris Fashion Week.

The listener transferred ownership over to Ramses and Quinton a few weeks back ... and it covers the right to sell clothing with those words displayed.

Ramses says their lawyer would take legal action against Kanye, or anyone else if the shirts are sold ... and the $1 billion price tag would appear to be an even bigger deterrent.

Kanye's no longer a billionaire after losing tons of business partners over his antisemitic rhetoric ... and Ramses says Ye has not reached out to him about the trademark rights.

Kim Kardashian and Kanye West are back on speaking terms ... they just had a sideline chat during their son's flag football game.

Ye and Kim K both showed up for Saint's game Saturday at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, and they looked pretty chatty with one another.

It was a big game for Saint .... his Sierra Canyon School was playing in the season finale of the NFL Flag Football season, where all the leagues come together and play games in the home of the NFL's Rams and Chargers.

When Saint was on the field, North was chatting with her parents on the sidelines.

It seems the ice is beginning to thaw a bit between Kim and Kanye ... as we previously told you, they weren't talking to each other before this and were basically ignoring each other when they were at other recent events for the kiddos.

As you know ... there were numerous reasons Kim was exasperated with Kanye.

On this occasion, Kim seemed happy talking with Ye ... the photos don't reveal tension between the former husband and wife.

Kanye wasn't wearing his "White Lives Matter" shirt ... like the one he wore at one of North's basketball games last month, when Kim wouldn't even look in his direction.

Here's how bad the flu season has gotten ... Harry Styles had to cancel his first concert EVER because of an inability to perform -- that's how hard he was hit.

HS was set to hit the stage in L.A. Saturday night, performing at the Kia Forum in Inglewood to a sold-out crowd of about 17,000. He not only pulled the plug on that concert, but he also won't perform at Kia Sunday or Monday either. All 3 shows have been postponed to January.

Harry somberly said ... "Towards the end of the show on Wednesday I started feeling ill and I've been in bed with the flu ever since. I've been doing everything I can to be able to sing tonight, but I'm leaving the doctor now and I'm devastated that it's just not possible."

Harry just broke his own record, but it's not something he's happy about ... "Until very recently I haven't had to postpone a show due to illness in the 12 years I've been touring. I'm so sorry to do it, and if there was anyway I could do the show I would."

Now, this isn't the first show Harry's canceled -- he pulled the plug on a concert in Chicago last month -- but that was due to members of the band and crew getting sick. In the current case, it's because Harry's on the ropes.

As you probably know, this is the worst flu season in at least a decade. It's gnarly, and lots of folks have landed in the hospital.

Huge night in L.A. Saturday, when musical legends were inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame.

How's this for an impressive list ... Dolly Parton, Eminem, Pat Benatar & Neil Giraldo, Duran Duran, Eurythmics, Lionel Richie and Carly Simon.

It was almost overload taking it all in ... Sheryl Crow inducted Pat Benatar and hubby/collaborator Neil Giraldo. Sheryl said Pat "rocked as hard as any man but still maintained her identity as a woman."

But wait, there's more. Janet Jackson bestowed the Musical Excellence Award to Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis.

Bruce Springsteen presented Jimmy Iovine with the Rock Hall's Ahmet Ertegun Award. Bruce also paid tribute to Jerry Lee Lewis, singing "Great Balls of Fire" and "High School Hop" with John Mellencamp.

And Lenny Kravitz did the honors for the enduringly awesome Lionel Richie! LK said Lionel's music was "the soundtrack of my life, your life and everyone's life." Then he threw in some cornball humor ... naming all the folks who followed Lionel "would take, well, all night long."

Dr. Dre inducted his longtime pal and musical partner, Eminem. Dre said he was thunderstruck when he found out Em was a white guy ... "That completely f***ed me up!"

Eminem sang "My Name Is," "Forever," "Not Afraid" ... with assists from Steven Tyler and Ed Sheeran.

Eminem was humble, saying, "I’m not supposed to be here tonight," following his set. "One, I’m a rapper; two, I almost died from an overdose; and three, I really had to fight my way through ... I’m a high school dropout with a hip hop education."

As for Dolly, Pink did the honors, after which Dolly proclaimed ... "I'm a rock star now!" She added, "I still got rock and roll down in my country soul."

Parton closed the show with her most iconic song, "Jolene," as others joined in ... others, as in Pat Benatar, Neil Giraldo, Simon Le Bon, Rob Halford and the Eurythmics.

TikTok star Bella Poarch's entire life seems to be on display to her 92 million followers, yet the fact she's married is her best kept secret -- until now, anyway, because she's filing for divorce.

According to legal docs obtained by TMZ ... Denarie Poarch, aka Bella, filed docs in Los Angeles County to end her nearly 4-year marriage to Tyler Poarch.

The TikTok star notes the standard "irreconcilable differences" as the reason she's calling it quits.

What's interesting is there are no photos or videos of the couple on Bella's TikTok or IG pages ... and there don't seem to be any pics of her wearing a wedding ring.

The divorce docs say she and Tyler tied the knot back in January 2019. And, if social media is any indicator, she seemed to be in good spirits 2 days before getting hitched ... posing for a mirror flick on IG.

It is possible she had posted Tyler shots, and has since scrubbed him off her page. If that's the case, she did a great job ... there's no trace of her soon-to-be ex.

The couple didn't have any children together, and she doesn't want either of them to pay spousal support.

Duran Duran was inducted into the 2022 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Saturday night ... but the good news quickly turned bad as the band accepted the honor.

Legendary frontman Simon Le Bon and the group's other members -- except for one -- gave an acceptance speech during the 37th Annual induction ceremony at the Microsoft Theater in Los Angeles. Noticeably absent was guitarist Andy Taylor.

Le Bon revealed Taylor was MIA because he suffered a setback in his treatment of Stage 4 metastatic prostate cancer. The singer then read a portion of a letter written by Taylor, explaining his health issues.

Taylor wrote, "Just over four years ago I was diagnosed with stage 4 metastatic prostate cancer. Many families have experienced the slow burn of this disease and of course we are no different; so I speak from the perspective of a family man but with profound humility to the band, the greatest fans a group could have and this exceptional accolade."

After the ceremony, Taylor's entire letter was posted on the band's website, providing more detail about his grim diagnosis. "Although my current condition is not immediately life-threatening there is no cure," Taylor said.

Backstage at the Microsoft Theater, Le Bon told the press he was "absolutely devastated" to learn that "one of our family — is not gonna be around for very long." He ended with ... "We love Andy dearly. I’m not gonna stand here and cry or anything, that would be inappropriate, but that’s what I feel like."

Diddy rang in his 53rd year on the planet in true Diddy fashion Friday night ... Big party!! BIGGER names!! Lotsa liquor!! And dancing galore!!

The legendary rap mogul threw his fancy Bday bash at his L.A. mansion ... and the stars came out mostly dressed to the nines to lap up all the fun.

Travis Scott, in a sleek black suit, showed Diddy some love, hugging him as they chatted with excitement. The icons also pounded their fists against a table before everyone sang happy birthday to Diddy.

Jay-Z was also there, but he decided to go a little more casual in blue sweats with a matching blue hat. Jay toasted Diddy with Mary J. Blige, raising their shot glasses and downing the booze.

Other celebs in attendance ... Chris Brown, French Montana, MGK, Teyana Taylor, Kehlani, Tinashe and Jermaine Dupri.

Of course, Diddy was on the receiving end of gifts and several cakes that spelled out the word, "Love." To top things off, partygoers climbed onto a huge mattress in the backyard and danced their butts off ... with Diddy!!

Absent from the festivities was Diddy's new biz partner Elon Musk. As we reported, Diddy invested more than $10 million to help Musk buy Twitter.

Fans of R&B and soul music could be livin' it up in a pretty monumental home ... if, of course, you can cough up a ton of cash for Whitney Houston and Bobby Brown's former pad.

The 8,022-square-foot property is out in Alpharetta, GA ... hitting the market last Thursday for $1.9M -- a big chunk of change for this piece of music history.

The entrance is pretty dramatic ... fit with huge iron doors and a sweeping staircase. There's also a library, a terrace upstairs, a mahogany bar and a spa outside.

It's got the obligatory resort-style swimming pool, too ... and those views around the property are fit for legends like Whitney and Bobby.

Whitney bought the place back in 2003, ponying up $1.38M ... she sold the spot 5 years later at a loss for $1.349M. It sold just days after Whitney and Bobby finalized their divorce.

Bravo also shot Bobby's 2005 reality show, "Being Bobby Brown," at the GA property ... so the home's got some screen time under its belt, too.

Big Baby DRAM is one of several celebs Drake's lyrically dragging on his new "Her Loss" collaborative album with 21 Savage -- but he sees the sniping as a well-timed blessing in disguise.

The track "BackOutsideBoyz" features Drake rapping "Tried to bring the drama to me, he ain't know how we cha-cha slide..." -- picking the scab on the "Cha Cha" vs. "Hotline Bling" swagger jacking controversy from many years ago.

DRAM tells TMZ Hip Hop ... their issues turned physical in 2017, when he confronted Drake at a Coachella party -- this was a couple years after Drake had used the template from his "Cha Cha" hit to create "Hotline Bling."

After getting escorted outside, DRAM says "15 of Drake's bodyguards" were ready to pummel him, and did just that!!! While he ended up seeing pink hearts, yellow moons and green clovers ... DRAM considers himself lucky that an artist of Drake's stature is clearly threatened by him.

Which brings us to the "Her Loss" shots ... which DRAM's not losing any sleep over because it comes just as he's making a musical comeback.

DRAM says he's excited about the release of his upcoming album, "What Had Happened Was..." -- his first project since re-adopting his stage name after changing it to his gov't name, Shelley, for a stint.

The switch-up could be credited to DRAM wanting to distance himself from his 2nd breakout hit, the Lil Yachty-featured "Brocolli" ... but he's confident his new tracks will help him get over all his industry drama ... Drake included.

DRAM says he's in love mode, and doesn't pretend to be a fighter ... but he's still gonna need that 1-on-1 fight with Drake to fully bury the hatchet.

DDG is one of the most visible rappers on social media with nearly 4 million followers on TikTok alone -- so, he thinks any ban of the Chinese-backed app would be a huge setback for artists worldwide.

TMZ Hip Hop caught up with the "Moonwalking in Calabasas" rapper amid the FCC commissioner's call to silence TikTok over security breach concerns.

DDG tells us the proposal is pretty hypocritical ... since he believes American-based Instagram fills his feed with ads for objects he mentions out loud.

As a YouTuber-turned-rap star, DDG feels TikTok is the most important app for an artist's career growth ... praising various features that allow users to easily make content with their songs -- not to mention the sheer silliness of the community, in general.

He compares his social media origins to Ariana Grande's beginnings. The pop superstar had to create a new audience after initially starring on Disney Channel's "Sam & Cat" series.

DDG also says TikTok works wonders for viral moments ... recalling his 2021 Coi Leray collab "Impatient" skyrocketing once fans got ahold of it on the app.

DDG is fresh off the release of his latest album, "It's Not Me It's You" ... which boasts plenty of firepower like the cinematic "Remember Me" video and "If I Want You," his first pairing with girlfriend Halle Bailey.

Xscape fans started freakin' out after noticing a promo for an upcoming tour featured 3 ladies, not 4 ... but we're told it's not a sign the group is splitting up -- even if LaTocha has chosen to take a step back from the gals.

A source close to the group tells TMZ ... LaTocha is still part of Xscape, despite what fans are noticing online. She made the call herself to put some space between her and the group.

We're told Xscape shot a new Bravo show, which is set to come out in March ... and the issues began once they decided to do a small tour.

Sources say LaTocha was originally part of the tour ... until her husband got into it with the promoter. She asked the rest of the group to not use the guy, but they said no way ... choosing to keep moving forward, which is when she backed out.

LaTocha even asked her bandmates not to use the group name since she'd be MIA -- like when they went by Xscape 3 after group member Kandi took a break ... but no dice.

It's Friday ... which means Buffalo Bills player Dion Dawkins and his teammates are back to singing and dancing their faces off in the locker room -- this time, they're jammin' out to some Justin Bieber and "Baby Shark!!!"

It's become a tradition for the first place Bills to blow off some steam after a hard week of practice ... and this go-round, it was no different -- with the guys raging to some Biebs.

The guys were channeling their inner teenage heartthrobs as "Baby" played over the speaker ... and the fans seemed to be loving it.

The dancing continued when the song shifted to the children's song ... and the guys even got help from a mother and her kids!!

Even new guy Nyheim Hines got in on the fun at one point ... as well as star LB Von Miller.

They covered everything ... from Panic! At The Disco to Adele, thanks to a cameo from Tre'Davious White!!

The karaoke sesh started off on a somber note, though ... with the players holding a moment of silence for Takeoff.

It's great to see the guys continue the movement as they continue to dominate ... but we'll see if they keep it up if they start to lose.

Megan Thee Stallion's lawyer says hip hop artists -- like Drake, apparently -- who side with Tory Lanez in the shooting case are gonna look like fools, and he adds there's already plenty of evidence backing her up.

Meg's lawyer, Alex Spiro, joined us Friday on "TMZ Live" to remind everyone ... she's the victim here, but instead of fellow artists having her back, he says too many are calling BS.

Alex strongly believes prosecutors have built a case that proves Meg is telling the truth about Tory shooting her in the foot back in 2020 ... and, for that reason, he says Meg's doubters are gonna be eating crow.

As we reported, Drake is apparently the latest to say the H-Town Hottie is lying about getting shot in the foot while in an SUV with Tory.

There is another view of Drake's verse on "Circo Loco," which is that he was really rapping about thick women (stallions), in general, lying about getting "shots" for BBLs ... AKA Brazilian butt lifts.

Meg definitely didn't take it that way, and clapped back on Twitter shortly after his album dropped Friday -- calling out Drake and other rappers for ganging up on her simply because she said "one of y'all homeboys abused her."

Russell Wilson ditched the cold temps in Denver for a much warmer spot during the Broncos' bye week -- the QB hit up Cabo with his wife, Ciara, for some unliiiimited fun in the sun.

Russ and CiCi posted up poolside for at least part of their special getaway ... lounging in the rays while they got some R&R.

Ciara appeared to be enjoying the moment ... as the 33-year-old signal-caller was checking something out on a laptop.

Knowing the competitor Russ is, it wouldn't be surprising if he was checking out some Tennessee Titans game footage as the Broncos look to improve on their 3-5 record next week.

The vacay comes at the perfect time for Russ -- Denver hasn't gotten off to the hottest of starts, but the team was at least able to defeat the Jaguars in London last week ... allowing the couple to go into their Mexico trip on a high note.

Of course, Russ has been getting some hate from diehard fans for the slow start to the season -- they even left rude comments on his romantic Instagram post for Ciara's birthday.

But traveling isn't new to the Wilsons -- in July, Russ and the "Body Party" singer hit up Lake Como in Italy, where Ciara popped a pimple on her hubby's face. Truly romantic stuff.

Boxing star Shakur Stevenson is back in the public eye for the first time since Takeoff's tragic murder ... but he did not speak about the events that went down that night.

TMZ Sports broke the story ... Shakur was standing inches away from the Migos rapper just moments before he was fatally shot twice in Houston.

Stevenson went silent on social media in the days following the shooting -- aside from a tweet honoring his friend, saying, "R.I.P Takeoff 🙏🏾"

On Thursday, Shakur returned to his usual routine by joining the "Spit Bucket Podcast" to talk boxing ... and he seemed pretty composed throughout the interview.

The topic of Takeoff was not brought up ... probably for a couple reasons.

One, there is an active investigation into what went down that night ... and there may not be much Shakur can get really discuss at this time.

The other -- the incident literally happened just days ago ... and it's understandable to consider Shakur isn't mentally ready to talk about it.