Music

YSL rapper Yak Gotti's mother has a new worry, besides her son's alleged role in the label's RICO case -- cops say she tried to smuggle a pick-me-up to him in the Fulton County courthouse.

According to court docs obtained by TMZ Hip Hop, 51-year-old Latasha Kendrick was charged with one count of criminal attempts to commit a misdemeanor.

Prosecutors claim she and Nyesha Cox -- mother of Yak Gotti's child -- concealed tobacco in personal items to be delivered to the rapper. Kendrick was arrested on the spot.

WSB-TV reports authorities also issued a warrant to arrest Cox, but she has not been apprehended yet.

Yak Gotti is accused of multiple crimes -- including the alleged murder of Donavan "Nut" Thomas Jr. -- in the highly publicized, and controversial YSL RICO case.

CJ Harris, the former "American Idol" contestant whose sudden death left family members shocked died from a heart attack ... medical officials have confirmed.

The Walker County Coroner tells TMZ -- doctors at the hospital where Harris was rushed have listed his official cause of death as a heart attack -- and therefore, an autopsy is not necessary.

As we reported ... CJ was taken to a local hospital by ambulance in Jasper, Alabama Sunday night, after suffering what friends and family members believed was a heart attack at the time. Unfortunately, he didn't make it.

Fans will remember CJ as a contestant from season 13 of the hit singing competition series ... making it to the top 6 back in 2014.

His rendition of Allman Brothers Band's "Soulshine" got him a ton of buzz and attention from the show's judges.

After the show, he performed with Darius Rucker at The Grand Ole Opry in Nashville. CJ even played for audiences in 'American Idol's season 13 tour, which featured the top 10 finalists.

It was boy band heaven for Aaron Carter fans wanting to honor their favorite pop star while raising money for charity at the same time ... all thanks to an effort organized in part by Aaron's older siblings, Nick and Angel Carter.

Nick, alongside his Backstreet Boy bandmate AJ McLean, NSYNC's Lance Bass, 98 Degrees' Jeff Timmons, members from O-Town and LFO all gathered at HEART in West Hollywood.

Not only did the guys perform some fan favorites, the tribute show also raised $150k for On Our Sleeves -- a charity that works to help children facing mental and emotional health struggles -- with a goal to give every community in America access to free, evidence-informed educational resources, educating families and breaking stigmas.

We're told 100% of the proceeds raised at the show will benefit the charity.

TMZ broke the story, Nick penned a song for Aaron shortly after his death called "Hurts to Love You" ... and he performed it at Wednesday night's benefit show.

The NFL Pro Bowl captains have been announced ... but they're not superstar athletes like Aaron Rodgers and Patrick Mahomes -- it's Pete Davidson and Snoop Dogg!!

TMZ Sports has confirmed ... the "Saturday Night Live" alum and rap legend will be going head-to-head when the festivities go down next month near Las Vegas ... with Pete representing the NFC, and Snoop leading the AFC.

It's unclear what exactly their roles will be ... but we're assuming they'll be working alongside Peyton and Eli Manning, who were named the coaches for each conference.

Of course, Eli and Pete (a massive Giants fan) have built a tight friendship recently -- they even share a joint Instagram account -- so we take it their chemistry will certainly be a plus when the competition goes down.

As for Snoop, he's always had ties to the sport ... and he even has his own youth football league. On top of that, he gave a helluva performance at Super Bowl LVI last year.

Snoop spoke about his captaincy in a statement to People ... saying, "I'm comin' back to the NFL field, but this time, instead of performing, I'm going head-to-head with Pete and competing for the title of The Pro Bowl Games Champion."

"The competition is going to go off, but we all know that Peyton and our AFC squad are gonna do some big things. We'll end up on that podium."

Davidson kept it short and sweet ... adding, "I'm doing this to impress my Uncle Mike."

Yo Gotti and Angela Simmons hit the FedEx Forum last night for their first outing as an official couple, and got to witness a first for his hometown team ... the Memphis Grizzlies.

TMZ got pics of the duo snuggling courtside inside the arena, clearly enjoying each other's company and rocking matching diamond-encrusted watches.

We're told things are going extremely well for them as a couple, and she even got to meet some of his friends during their trip back to Gotti's home turf.

As for the historic part of their date ... Ja Morant and the Grizzlies earned a franchise record 11th straight win last night, reinforcing their dominance atop the Western Conference alongside the Denver Nuggets. Perfect way to introduce Angela to the 901!!!

Angela and Gotti have been rumored to be dating for months, but finally went IG official on New Year's Eve.

Rap fans are enthralled by their relationship ... seeing as how he famously manifested things on his 2016 classic track "Down in the DM," where he copped to shooting Angela a few messages on Instagram.

Sequels to beloved hip hop classics are typically frowned upon, but not the new "House Party" ... so says one of the OG film's stars Christopher 'Kid' Reid, and he's giving LeBron James props for keeping the brand strong.

We caught up with Chris out in Santa Monica, where he joked about his cameo in the reboot being a bit on the "Where's Waldo?" side.

That aside, Chris notes how LeBron -- whose SpringHill Company acquired the rights for "House Party" -- has always shown love to his iconic group Kid 'n Play.

Back in 2009, LeBron and Rich Paul starred in a State Farm commercial based around RP's car getting burglarized, with the crooks leaving only a Kid 'n Play CD ... setting the stage for LeBron and the State Farm agent to do the group's iconic dance from the original film.

And then in 2013, LBJ gave his sons Bronny and Bryce the trademarked Kid 'n Play haircuts shortly before they were basketball phenoms in their own right.

The first "House Party" dropped in March 1990 -- paving the way for loads of hip hop cinema. Chris tells us the new generation of actors is doing a bang-up job carrying the torch ... and gave us his best Whitney Houston impression to hammer home his point!!!

Chris also revealed his famous high-top fade only cost him $25 back in the day -- a far cry from $1k, $500, and $420 that Diddy, Kanye, and Lil Baby are reported to be paying their barbers.

Drake's making a point to have his life of rich flexin' become a thing of public record all year ... and he's starting by exposing the secret privileges when it comes to sitting on porcelain!!!

Drake dropped a bombshell revelation to his fans Wednesday ... disclosing that while they're somewhere waiting to take a #1 or #2, a star such as himself gets directed to the secret restrooms to conduct his business with ease!!!!

"I have seen more staff and private bathrooms than anybody ever ...whenever you are waiting in line to use the bathroom just know there's an amazing clean private room that they refuse to show you," Drake wrote in his IG stories.

There's likely no cap in his rap -- Drake just put a glimpse of his life on display through the "Jumbotron Sh*t Poppin" music video, where he stunted with over $3 million of Pharrell's jewelry, a bright red Lamborghini, and circles of famous pals such as Lil Baby, Mike Tyson, and French Montana.

Nelly's recent performance in Australia has the Internet thinking he was a drunken mess on stage ... and the "Country Grammar" rapper can't help but laugh at all the jokes getting thrown his way about the show.

Video from Sunday's performance at Melbourne's Juice Fest shows Nelly staring off into space and missing the cues for his song "Over and Over" -- causing fans to voice their concerns on social media -- and letting the jokes fly.

"Nahh Nelly caught 4k Perced up and on god knows what other drugs he on," one fan quipped while another wrote, "Nelly was HIGH AS EGGS at that festival in Australia lmao every video i see if him performing gets funnier and funnier."

Nelly didn't deny being under the influence of anything ... but comedian Spice Adams spoofed the performance on Instagram, prompting the rap superstar to react with a slew of laughing emojis ... because what else can you say at this point? 😅

Jennifer Lopez is very much a happily married woman to Ben Affleck, and now spilling the details on what prompted the two to have a surprise wedding in Vegas ... saying her failed-wedding anxiety played a part.

J Lo joined "Jimmy Kimmel Live!" Wednesday to talk the "the best night of our lives" -- sharing she suffered some PTSD from their failed wedding 20 years back when planning their 2003 wedding.

She said, "we were so happy, but I just felt the wedding was so stressful and one day Ben just said, 'f*** it, let's just go to Vegas and get married tonight.'" So that's exactly what they did.

TMZ broke the story ... Ben and Jen tied the knot in Vegas last July with a super intimate ceremony with just them and their kids.

However, that wasn't the end of their celebrations ... with another spectacular wedding ceremony including family and friends a month later at Ben's $8 million home in Georgia.

Funkmaster Flex thinks Gunna is full of oxymorons following his plea deal in the YSL RICO case, and recently spent a considerable amount of airtime shredding the embattled "Pushin P" rapper.

The Hot 97 vet lit up Gunna with jokes and slander Tuesday evening … noting how Gunna’s IG post calling for the law to "free" Young Thug contradicted statements Gunna made in court to secure his own freedom.

Despite taking shots, Flex also said he understood why Gunna confessed, and also shared advice from Jim Jones ... warning him to be leery of anyone willing to openly share incriminating information.

Earlier in the week, Flex tossed Tekashi 6ix9ine a radio life raft, and unbanned his music after shutting him out in 2021.

Beyoncé has everyone's ears open in Dubai ahead of her $24 million gig this weekend ... and that means some fans got a free show ... late at night.

A little past midnight over there, social media users within earshot of Atlantis The Royal resort started documenting Beyoncé's songs blaring out during her sound check. As you can see in the videos, you don't have to be all that close to the hotel to hear her.

So far, she's blitzed through renditions of her solo hits "Naughty Girl," "Halo," "Spirit" and "Freedom" ... in addition to "Crazy in Love" and "Drunk in Love," her platinum collabs with her hubs Jay-Z, so could be a good chance he'll pop out on stage alongside his queen.

Saturday's event will mark Beyoncé's 1st full-length concert in 5 years and is said to be the launching pad for her upcoming Renaissance Tour ... which has fans salivating and hunting down sold-out tickets.

Platinum-selling hitmaker Flo Rida undoubtedly has a good feeling about his recent lawsuit victory against energy drink giant Celsius ... a jury awarded him $82 million in damages!!! That's a lotta fizz.

Flo had originally claimed he was owed around $30K for the contract breach but over the years, its name grew bigger -- and so did the profits!!!

He argued he helped Celsius become the giant it is today, starting all the way back in 2014 ... and the dispute centered around whether his deal with the company expired after it hit certain sales goals.

The "My House" rapper claimed the deal didn't expire and insisted his music helped launch the brand to big profits -- as evidenced by the now-viral moment where he was grooving to his own music in court!!!

Obviously, the jury agreed with Flo and decided he deserved to share in the company's success ... to the tune of $82 million.

Snoop Dogg’s legendary rap career is about to reach a new level -- he'll be inducted into the Songwriter’s Hall of Fame ... along with several other iconic artists!!!

The Songwriters Hall of Fame announced its 2023 inductees Wednesday at the 52nd Annual Induction and Awards Gala. R&B/jazz great Sade Adu, new jack swing legend Teddy Riley,  Gloria Estefan, Electric Light Orchestra frontman Jeff Lynne and Taylor Swift co-writer Liz Rose all round out the class.

Snoop will be the 5th hip hop act or artist inducted -- Jay-Z, Jermaine Dupri, Missy Elliott, and The Neptunes’ Pharrell Williams and Chad Hugo were previously honored … and Tha Doggfather celebrated his distinction with a series of emojis on IG, speaking to his rapping skills!!!

Songwriter’s HOF Chairman Nile Rodgers saluted all the inductees in a statement, “The music industry does not exist without songwriters delivering great songs first. Without them there is no recorded music, no concert business, no merch . . . nothing, it all starts with the song and the songwriter."

Cardi B is opening up more about her plastic surgery journey ... revealing she actually took surgeon recommendations from Kim Kardashian before going under the knife.

The Bronx-bred rapper is the first guest on Revolt TV's The Jason Lee Show, and audio from the interview first dropped on the Jason Lee Podcast where she talked about her cosmetic procedures -- including a nose job and butt lift -- and she gives props to the SKIMS founder for pointing her in the right direction.

Jason asked Cardi how she was able to find good docs she could trust to work on her face and her body ... and she says she did, in fact, phone a couple of the names Kim gave her.

She doesn't say whether she ended up going with any of them in the end.

Kim has been very candid about how much she loves giving beauty advice.

During a chat about Madonna's skincare line in 2018, she told Fashionista ... "I love analyzing someone's face and going with them to a doctor, and being like, wait, a little Botox here."

As for Cardi, she's been open about her different procedures and she's even shared some advice of her own.

Ray J and his estranged wife, Princess Love, have had their share of ups and downs over the years -- but it appears they've smoothed things out ... at least for his birthday.

Ray turned 42 Tuesday and was live on Instagram most of the night ... broadcasting from a Vegas hotel he and Princess rented out to throw his children a party in his honor.

The music was blasting and performers in Mickey and Minnie Mouse, "Toy Story" Woody and Buzz Lightyear costumes kept the kids occupied as Ray preached to the camera.

Ray says his middle-age status has made him appreciate the finer things in life -- like seeing his kids happy and starting "fresh" with Princess -- despite they fact they're going through a divorce.

TMZ broke the story in October 2021 ... Ray filed for divorce from Princess, citing irreconcilable differences, the case is still ongoing.

Princess spoke to us back in March about the hurdles she and Ray have faced, but didn't seem to be all that concerned about the divorce ... so maybe she felt it would work itself out.

Ray's been alarming fans as of late ... posting cryptic messages that hinted at self-harm and picking a bone with Tyrese of all people.

Lisa Marie Presley will be laid to rest this weekend -- her exact burial spot is being excavated right now, and as expected ... it's in close proximity to her father, Elvis Presley.

Sources at Graceland tell TMZ ... preparations are currently underway at the Presley family compound in Memphis to accommodate the Celebration of Life ceremony scheduled to take place Sunday.

As you can see in the photos and videos we've obtained ... Lisa's gravesite will be positioned around the famous backyard fountain area where Elvis and his parents are buried.

Lisa's son, Benjamin Keough -- who died by suicide in 2020 -- is also buried there, and our sources say his mother's grave will be right next to his.

Work started Tuesday on the memorial site, but there are other things in the works for Sunday's gathering -- including what our sources say appears to be a stage with a backdrop on Graceland's front lawn.

No word on who might be addressing the gathered crowd, or performing music -- but considering this is going to be open to the public, and the fact 54-year-old Lisa was so beloved in showbiz ... we could see a big name rolling through to pay tribute.

Here's another interesting tidbit ... as of 3 days ago, Graceland's 24/7 camera feed which normally shows the grounds, has been shut down. We imagine that was done so the planning for this weekend's event could be completed.

It's unclear if they're going to turn on the live stream again for Sunday, or thereafter.

Of course, Graceland's front entrance is adorned with flowers that have been left by fans since Lisa's sudden passing last week. As we reported, she died after suffering a cardiac arrest at home, and later the same day, a second one while at the hospital.