Music

The life and times of Soulja Boy are considered must-see TV for many — so the “Crank Dat” rapper is back with Diddy’s Revolt TV for another round of his reality show!!!

An excited Soulja Boy checked in with TMZ Hip Hop and promised nothing but fireworks for “Life Of Draco” season 2 … which launches today!!!

In the trailer, SB captured the tense text exchange between him and Kanye West — a move he tells us was completely intentional!!

SB says there was still lingering controversy after Ye unceremoniously dropped his vocals from the “Donda 1” album ... and the world needed to see how it went down from his end.

He calls the clips nothing short of entertainment but didn’t like all the clowning and jokes on social media and the record will be set straight in the series.

It’s not all drama this time around … SB also says 2022 will go down as a super special year … he welcomed his first child in the world!!!

The baby boy was just born in September but SB says he can’t wait to splurge for his 1st Christmas and bought him a red Mercedes AMG toy car he’ll eventually grow into!!!!

Boosie Badazz isn’t letting slain Migos rapper Takeoff’s name fade from memory -- he just released a touching visual for his “Rocketman” memorial song.

The somber black-and-white video features Boosie overlooking a Takeoff portrait amid a candlelight vigil as he laments on past mistakes and ills within Black culture.

Boosie also gives shoutouts to incarcerated Lousiana rap legends B.G. and C-Murder as well as Mo3 ... his former collaborator who was killed in November 2020, which resulted in Boosie catching a bullet at his public memorial.

On Wednesday, Boosie also teased the tribute track’s remix on social media … exciting fans with appearances from Kodak Black and Jeezy coming up next!!!

Gucci Mane also mourned Takeoff with a similar lyrical tribute and justice in the late rapper’s case has been moving along according.

Kid Cudi crushed plenty of his fan’s dreams on Wednesday ... revealing his once-proposed joint album with Travis Scott is no longer a thing.

Cudi shut down the album on Twitter, flatly telling the inquiring fan the moment had passed them by ... despite being a chart-topping moment!!!

Cudi and Travis officially formed their short-lived duo back in April 2020 and dropped their theme song “The Scotts” ... which debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 that May.

The song became Cudi’s first No. 1 hit and was the sound of “Fortnite” for a time … but the two superstar artists haven’t hit the booth since.

Justin Bieber has his sights set on a music deal, one that would sell the rights to his entire catalog ... and it's reportedly got a price tag close to $200 million.

The big-ticket transaction would be with Hipgnosis Songs Capital, according to The Wall Street Journal ... whose sources claim the sale could go down as the largest music-rights acquisition in the company's history.

The possible deal could cover Justin's entire catalog of recorded music, which includes 6 albums over the span of a decade not to mention a ton of singles and collabs over the years.

Hipgnosis isn't a stranger in the world of acquisitions ... because the company reportedly bought catalog rights to Justin Timberlake's catalog earlier this year for $100M.

Experts and investors say putting money down on younger music comes with a higher risk, while jumping on older hits is safer -- especially as popularity in decades-old songs grows over time.

Joe Budden is walking back his comments on Megan Thee Stallion following the severe backlash he received online … ultimately calling his own words “careless.”

JB owned up to his mistake on a new episode of "The Joe Budden Podcast" Wednesday at the 20:17 mark and apologized to Meg and her team, citing phone calls he received from women he admires that set him straight.

JB had been insinuating Meg was lying in her testimony -- and got absolutely reamed for it … most notably by actresses Vivica A. Fox and Claudia Jordan, who dragged him for filth on their TV show.

Drumma Boy isn't vibing with fellow producer Hitmaka's recent comments about being bored with female rappers rapping about sex -- saying Hitmaka should just move on because some women are living their truth!!!

TMZ Hip Hop caught DB out in New York City promoting his new project Welcome to My City, Vol. 4. and he took issue with Hitmaka's words on the spot.

DB is a proud Memphis and used the city's latest breakout star GloRilla as an example of why Hitmaka is dead wrong. DB says GloRilla's music features a wide range of topics and he'd rather hear someone rapping their truth -- even if it happens to be sex, rather than a fake persona.

Britney Spears isn't missing, in trouble or dead as growing fan theories might suggest -- in fact, it's quite the opposite -- TMZ has learned.

Britney fans have been on high alert in the last several weeks, monitoring her social media posts and even the movement of her family members around the country. There's also concern someone took over Britney's Instagram as fans believe it's only posting old content.

Britney even told her fans she was traveling to NYC, which raised red flags when there were no paparazzi photos from her alleged visit to The Big Apple.

Sources close to the singer tell us ... she only said she was going to NYC to throw people off -- she and her hubby Sam Asghari were actually vacationing in Mexico. Not to mention, our sources say the shower video posted on Brit's IG last week was shot in Mexico, and wasn't old or recycled content.

Fans also became concerned when both of Britney's parents arrived in Los Angeles last week -- wondering if maybe something had happened to the singer. Our sources say Jamie and Lynne Spears were in town because Britney's niece (her brother Bryan's daughter) was in a Christmas production -- "The Nutcracker" -- and they just came to see her perform.

So things are OK on the Western Front.

Lil Wayne fired his personal chef at the drop of a hat, this after she ditched him in Vegas to deal with a pressing family emergency ... so claims the woman in a new lawsuit.

Morghan Medlock just filed suit against Weezy for what she claims is wrongful termination, retaliation and a number of unlawful practices that she says she was subjected to when he canned her earlier this year ... just because she went to go help her injured son.

According to the docs, obtained by TMZ, Medlock describes a trip to Vegas she tagged along for during Memorial Day weekend -- for which she says she was doing her job (AKA, cooking all LW's meals, etc). At this point, Medlock says she'd had the gig almost 2 years.

Things were going swimmingly, that is ... until Medlock says she was notified of a head injury her 10-year-old had sustained that left him hospitalized. Obviously, Medlock wanted to get back to L.A. ASAP -- but claims Wayne and co. were screwing up the flight back over shenanigans ... namely, that Weezy allegedly delayed things by toking up on the aircraft.

Instead of standing around and waiting for them to get their act together, Medlock says she hightailed it out of there on a separate flight -- notifying Wayne's assistant of the situation and assuming they'd understand. Instead, she claims she was terminated.

Medlock says after she left, Wayne's team kept asking her if she was quitting -- to which she says she clearly responded, "No." After her son was dealt with, Medlock says she tried getting back into the swing of things as head chef -- but claims she got the cold shoulder.

Eventually, Medlock claims somebody on Wayne's team texted her an ungraceful goodbye message, and she was later formally told she was being let go ... with a message from Wayne saying, "tell Chef Morghan this isn't going to work" -- or so she claims in the suit.

Joe Budden’s opinion of Megan Thee Stallion is highly unfavorable, and it’s rubbing the women of Fox Soul’s “Cocktails with Queens” the wrong way!!!

Both Vivica A. Fox and Claudia Jordan completely laid into JB during a recent episode … and despite it being a holiday-themed show, they dropped some choice words. And, we don't mean mistletoe.

Joe was dissecting the Tory Lanez trial last week on the "Joe Budden Podcast" ... and he claimed to have seen Megan do horrible things to people close to him -- a sharp counterpoint from Claudia and Vivica's view of the case.

Vivica advised Joe to sit his “bitch ass down” from speaking on Meg … implying he was just jealous to see female rappers’ presence and success in the industry at an all-time high.

Claudia wasn’t as brutal with her delivery, but she did bring up JB’s various domestic violence allegations over the years -- and accused him of 🐍 his ex-cohosts Rory and Mal outta his podcast deal!!!

She also questioned why Meg’s sexual history had become a central topic of discussion surrounding Tory's trial ... calling out a societal double standard where sex is concerned.

Red-hot Detroit rapper Babyface Ray is in some red-hot trouble after a traffic stop exposed a gang of warrants -- but the stop might not have happened if his new whip didn't fail him.

According to the police report, a patrolling officer noticed a broken-down BMW blocking the roadway and went to investigate. After getting BR's ID, the cop says he ran his name in the system only to discover several outstanding misdemeanor warrants.

We've learned the warrants were for driving with a suspended license, missing a child custody court appearance and improper possession of a weapon -- so, cops booked him into Oakland County Jail.

As for his brand new bimmer -- which we're told he'd just driven off the lot -- Babyface authorized his GF to tend to it, which meant her getting it towed.

Babyface Ray just released his new album, "MOB" and made his late-night television debut on 'The Tonight Show' earlier this month, so maybe the car was a celebratory gift to himself.

But now, he'll have to deal with some legal trouble!!! 😣

Lyfe Jennings isn’t flinching over social media slander following his viral “bad singing” moment earlier this week -- he’s embracing it, and telling youngins like Mario to stay in their place!!!

A weekend performance clip of Lyfe loudly whiffing the high notes made the rounds on social media blogs, igniting a little tension after Mario dropped a 🤦🏾‍♂️ emoji in the comments.

Lyfe tells TMZ Hip Hop ... he didn’t appreciate the way Mario piled on the negative vibes, but says it’s indicative of most R&B singers’ behavior, as he feels they have larger egos than most rappers!!!

As for the vocals, Lyfe says he’ll clear over 80 shows before the year is up and always aims to give his A-game, even if it doesn’t always rise to the top!!!

Lyfe thinks Black culture has been poisoned by too much immortality, and people need new trends to follow -- hence his graphic new music video “Till U Gone” … which was pretty quickly censored on Instagram.

The video opens with a slave master beating a slave as other slaves watch, while recording with cell phones -- a clear shot at today’s social media culture. The video also tackles other heavy topics, such as BBL surgery and street gangs.

Lyfe says now that he’s independent, he’s able to add provocative imagery to his visuals and wants to continue to release meaningful singles and speak his mind — regardless of who gets pissed at him.

That includes critics of the story he recently told about being jailed with Jeffrey Dahmer.

DaBaby and his legal team are celebrating a big 'W' that's years in the making ... he's come out on top of a battery lawsuit over a 2020 brawl.

You’ll recall … DaBaby and crew were initially hit with allegations of beating and robbing a concert promoter named Kenneth Carey and his buddy. They claimed they'd lost personal items -- including money and a cell phone -- during a fight recorded by bystanders.

As we reported .. the fight was over payment for a Miami event Carey put together, and hired DaBaby to host. When the sides disagreed over dollar figures, it turned into a street brawl.

Prosecutors had dropped a criminal battery charge against DaBaby, but he was still hit with a $6 million federal lawsuit over the incident. The trial wrapped up Monday, with the jury finding in favor of the “Bop” rapper.

His attorney Drew Findling tells TMZ Hip Hop, “Along with our client, Jonathan Kirk (DaBaby), we are thrilled that this federal jury, after a five-day trial, came to the same conclusion that we have maintained for almost 3 years - that these plaintiffs were attempting to use the legal system to shake down Mr. Kirk.”

Findling continued, “Mr. Kirk deserves all the credit in the world for not caving in to these plaintiffs' cash demands and having the confidence in the facts and his legal team to take this to a jury trial for a complete and total victory!”

Afroman is wading into the political fray for 2024 -- and not just for local office either ... the guy's going for the big enchilada to potentially become the next President of the United States!

The rapper made the big announcement this weekend at a concert of his in Poplar Bluff, MO ... where he told a packed house at the Black River Coliseum about his plan to run for POTUS, going up against the likes of Donald Trump and whoever else will be in the race.

When you see the video, it might seem like a joke, but we're told he's dead serious ... and the crowd loved it -- cheering Afroman on as he touted his first big policy -- the national legalization of weed. He reiterated this platform in yet another video, emphasizing this is no prank ... dude's got Oval Office aspirations.

Afroman's weed vision is cool and all, but not all that revolutionary these days. Frankly, the herb's already allowed recreationally in 21 states and medicinally in a lot of others.

It's still unclear where he lands on other domestic and international issues -- but we suppose we'll find out in due time. We're told he's running as an independent.

We don't see any record yet of Afroman filing paperwork with the Federal Elections Commission to make it official, but his camp says it's coming.

Of course, he wouldn't be the first MC to throw his hat in the ring -- Kanye West did in 2020, and seems primed to do it again in 2024 ... or as Afroman puts it, 20-20-FRO!!!

Daniel Seavey cannot seem to shake one obsessed fan who apparently insists on being in the dude's immediate presence -- she was just arrested for allegedly getting into his house, and trying to plant one on him.

The Why Don't We bandmember's manager, Randy Phillips, tells TMZ ... DS was once again confronted by the same young lady, Eissa Amira, who has continually pestered him in 2022.

Remember, he's had multiple issues with her dating back to July, and it looks like she persists.

This time, we're told, Amira slipped into his L.A. home Sunday night through an open sliding back door (without permission, mind you) ... and made her way into Seavey's bedroom, where he was hanging out on his bed. Randy says Daniel looked up and saw Amira hovering above, scaring the bejesus outta him.

We're told Amira then tried to bend down and kiss Daniel, which forced him to physically remove her from his home -- part of which he got on video.

You can see Seavey walking her down his driveway and telling her to get lost.

Rather than scram, we're told Amira plopped down on his doorstep until the cops arrived and threw on the handcuffs. Randy says Amira kept yelling, "I love you, Daniel!" ... as she was thrown into the patrol car.

Amira allegedly broke into the singer's house before. Daniel even got a restraining order against her back in August after claiming she broke into his home and slept in his bed.

Unfortunately, it seems like that piece of paper isn't prompting her to stay away.

Although we're told she was booked for misdemeanor violation of the restraining order, Daniel's team tells us he isn't going to pursue new charges on this latest incident ... as long as her parents, who live on the East Coast, can get her out of Cali.

Trey Songz has voluntarily turned himself in to NYC cops after allegedly punching 2 people a couple of months back ... TMZ has learned.

Law enforcement sources tell TMZ ... TS was busted at the end of November for the alleged incident. We're told he's accused of striking 2 people in the face while they were all at a bowling alley back in October, and one of the alleged victims was hospitalized.

Trey turned himself in at an NYPD station a few weeks later, and we're told he was booked, given a desk appearance ticket for assault and released.

As we'd previously reported, Trey allegedly punched a woman in the face while inside a bowling alley bathroom. The new info is there's a second alleged victim, a guy who claims Trey punched him in the eye. We're told he refused medical treatment.

Still no word on a motive for the alleged beatdown.

Sharon Osbourne looks like she's feeling a lot better after suffering a terrifying medical emergency while shooting a TV show ... because she went on a shopping trip.

Sharon was feeling well enough Monday to hit up the James Perse store in Beverly Hills.

As you can see, Sharon was walking around the store looking at different clothes ... carrying a purse and a bottle of Fiji water ... all good signs in her first public sighting following her health scare.

TMZ broke the story ... Sharon fell ill Friday while filming a show at the Glen Tavern Inn in Santa Paula, CA ... with EMS transporting Sharon to a hospital.

Jack Osbourne told us his mom got the all-clear Saturday and was released from the hospital and went home.

Sharon shared a picture of her Christmas tree and super cute pup Monday on her social media, thanking her fans for their well wishes ... and now it's good to see her out of the house.