Music

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.

Britney Spears has clear regrets ... about a tattoo, and about her ex, Justin Timberlake -- she's even posting throwback pics of him -- which can't feel great for her husband, Sam Asghari.

She posted a video of herself getting inked up while in Maui, but never revealed the finished product. As Brit put it, "Can’t show it because it sucks 😂😂😂 !!! Like really really sucks !!! S–t 🙈🙈🙈 !!!”

That's probably exactly what Sam is saying about the Justin pics Brit posted right before her tattoo video. They were throwbacks to JT and Brit in 2001 wearing matching basketball jerseys, and the caption said, "When we used to shoot hoops TOGETHER … that’s when miracles happened."

It wasn't all gushing, though ... she also said, "I came out of my mom’s stomach just like we all did !!! Psss … why always cast me out ??? I’m equal as all !!!"

Brit didn't leave up the cryptic, yet definitely critical, Justin post for too long. That one's been deleted, but she left up the tattoo vid.

As you'll recall, Britney accused Justin last year of using her name to gain serious popularity ... referring to his hit, "Cry Me A River," as a way to blast her publicly for their split.

All the public reminiscing about her ex, can't sit well with Sam ... who was just publicly defending her.

As we reported, eyewitnesses told TMZ Brit was acting "manic" while out to dinner last week -- and video showed her sitting alone at the table and speaking incoherently.

Sam later said his wife was just freaked out by fans taking photos of her, and he denied leaving her in the restaurant. Chivalry at its best.

The Navy isn't gonna be happy with this.

Stephen A. Smith had a BOLD take this week, but it wasn't about whether Dak Prescott is elite ... it was his reaction to Rihanna performing the Super Bowl halftime show -- simply saying, "she ain't Beyoncé."

The ESPN personality made the comment during his appearance on "The Sherri Show" Wednesday ... claiming it's no shade to RiRi, but will most certainly come across that way with the singer's diehard fanbase.

"Rihanna's music is fantastic," SAS said during the interview. "She's great. She's a sister. I love her dearly, I listen to her music, I'm gonna support her 'til the cows come home."

"I'm just telling you, for me, there's Beyoncé and there's everybody else. Just like there's Michael Jackson and there's everybody else."

Smith says he isn't NOT excited to see Rihanna do her thing ... but makes it clear there's only room for one at the top.

"Ladies and gentlemen, [Rihanna is] a lot of things. She's spectacular actually and congratulations on new mamahood. There's one thing she's not -- she ain't Beyoncé."

SAS says he mentioned Beyoncé because the icon did the SB XLVII show in 2013 without the likes of Coldplay and Bruno Mars ... although she did have support from her former Destiny's Child groupmates, Kelly Rowland and Michelle Williams.

Here's the thing, though -- Rihanna could certainly do her gig alone as well ... as her show has been completely under wraps since it was announced.

Smith goes on to explain his stance ... comparing the situation to the show's host.

"I like television," he added. "I like a lot of talent out there. There's some spectacular females in television, I just want to say that. Everybody ain't Sherri. That's not throwing shading on them. That's appreciating their greatness but understanding, there's levels!"

Bottom line, both Rihanna and Beyoncé are incredibly successful and talented ... so there's really no need to pit them against each other. But, Stephen A. is entitled to his opinion.

The whole interview airs Wednesday ... check your local listings.

G-Unit rapper Tony Yayo is sharing his own experience in a similar situation to the one that ended deadly for Takeoff, and the clear pattern is ... dice games tend to go awry.

Coming up in Jamaica, Queens, Yayo says he's seen a ton of dice games go sour and recalled a brush with death he had while shooting dice inside an NYC barbershop years ago.

Yayo says he and his friends were celebrating as they were cleaning the guy outta his rent money, but afterward the loser asked for “a walk.”

Yayo explained to DJ Vlad “a walk” is when someone asks for a portion of their money back, so they won’t go home totally broke and disgusted.

Yayo says he was cordial with the guy, but when he refused to give up some of the winnings ... an argument resulted in gunfire, which Tony oddly described as a “friendly shootout.”

Dice games have been a touchy subject within the hip hop community since Takeoff’s Nov. 1 death in Houston following a not-so-friendly encounter.

Mel B's ex-husband is being dragged to court by an up-and-coming singer who claims he cost her a fortune after allegedly grifting her into a bogus management contract.

Malu Trevejo just filed suit against Stephen Belafonte -- whom she alleges swindled her into signing a binding deal to have him represent her exclusively as her manager ... this after she says he discovered her in 2020 and suggested they meet one-on-one to talk business.

In her court docs, obtained by TMZ, Trevejo claims Belafonte completely misrepresented himself as a licensed talent agent ... and not just that, but also says the agreement he had her sign was completely one-sided in his favor -- which she says she naively signed.

The contract, however, isn't her biggest gripe ... it's the alleged misappropriation of funds -- not to mention what she claims were predatory financial practices Belafonte undertook.

For example, Trevejo alleges Belafonte rented a luxury Beverly Hills home in 2021 with her cash ... but, according to her, lied and insisted the lease was only for a few months ... when, in fact, she says it was actually for a year -- unbeknownst to her. For the majority of the time, Trevejo claims Belafonte was using the pad for himself and having her pay for it.

Another instance of alleged fraud that Trevejo hurls is a $400k loan she claims Belafonte lent her through a friend ... only to charge her a massive amount of interest, upwards of $150k.

These are just a couple manifestations of what she claims was a lot of self-dealing on his part ... all at her expense, and under shady circumstances. For this, Trevejo says she's entitled to major damages from Belafonte ... because he's cost her a lot of dough in 2 years.

Kelsea Ballerini might be playing coy about whether she's dating Chase Stokes -- but he's a bit more definitive ... explaining to TMZ what it is, exactly, he likes about her.

The "Outer Banks" star confirmed to our photog Tuesday he and the country singer are, in fact, an item ... but whether he meant for it to slip out the way it did is another story. Check out our chat with him in L.A. ... where we congratulated him on his new boo.

Rather than correct us or clarify anything ... he simply said thanks, and even gave us an answer when we asked what Kelsea brings to the table in their relationship.

Another tell they're definitely dating -- CS scoffing at the idea that Kelsea might need to brush him up on Southern culture. She's a Nashville girl, but Chase made sure to set the record straight ... noting he was raised in the South himself, and knows all about cowboy hats and such.

The speculation over whether they're a thing all started last week when they were seen attending the National Championship game in the same group -- but it looked more official when Chase posted a photo of just the 2 of 'em cuddled in the stands.

That seems to be the IG official pic, but Chase is letting people come to that conclusion on their own -- he didn't comment on the game shot, but happily talked about Kelsea.

For her part, Kelsea reacted to the gossip with a non-answer answer -- rolling her eyes at some DeuxMoi chatter about them and a lot of "Really?".

More marital issues for Marvin Gaye III, son of Motown icon Marvin Gaye ... his wife is seeking court-ordered protection after he got arrested for allegedly pointing a gun at her.

Marvin's wife, Wendy Gaye, beelined it to court Tuesday and filed for a domestic violence restraining order against her husband ... according to online records.

Wendy's filing comes on the heels of her husband's arrest.

TMZ broke the story ... Marvin III allegedly physically assaulted his wife and cousin during an argument inside his Calabasas home Thursday, and allegedly pointed a gun at both women.

Police surrounded Gaye's home and called for him to come out, but he had already left in his Corvette.

The next day, MG3 turned himself in to sheriffs and was booked on two charges ... misdemeanor domestic violence and felony assault with a deadly weapon. Gaye posted $50,000 bond and was released.

The Golden State Warriors returned to The White House to celebrate their 2021-2022 NBA Season championship -- but it wasn't just members of the team who went -- Oakland hip hop legends joined in too!!!

TMZ Hip Hop obtained photos and videos of E-40, Too $hort, Sway Calloway and Mistah F.A.B. at the White House during the reception, posting up with V.P. Kamala Harris and former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi.

We’re told V.P. Harris was excited to meet 40 and $hort ... being a proud Oakland native herself, and the guys got to swap stories with Pelosi and her husband, Paul.

The hip hop stars are regulars at The Chase Center, supporting the Warriors through thick and thin -- so it's not totally shocking they were able to tag along. The group also got a pic in with players Andre Iguodala and Moses Moody.

Outside on the White House grounds, 40, $hort and F.A.B. discussed Oakland streetwear legacy and later connected with former Atlanta mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms for a photo-op.

We spoke with $hort earlier this season about the potential for this year's squad, and he’s adamant the Warriors will win another chip with ease.

Last year marked the Warriors’ 4th championship in recent years, but it was their first trip back to the White House since 2015, after refusing to celebrate with Donald Trump.

Billie Eilish is asking a judge for some protection, asking for a temporary restraining order against a man she claims allegedly broke into her family home earlier this month.

According to legal docs, obtained by TMZ, Billie's asking for protection against 39-year-old Christopher Anderson ... as well as protection for her parents and her brother, Finneas.

Billie's father says Anderson's visited their family house numerous times since late December, allegedly professing his love for the singer and hoping to meet her. She says cops were called 5 times, and they've made multiple reports.

Billie says these incidents caused her "substantial anxiety, fear, and emotional distress" over the safety of herself, her parents, and Finneas -- adding she doesn't feel safe visiting her parents anymore.

As we reported, cops responded to the Highland Park home earlier this month after receiving a report of someone scaling a fence to gain access to the property.

Iggy Azalea might've lied about never joining OnlyFans, but she says she's keeping it all the way real when it comes to the numbers her surprise subscription is putting up.

The "Fancy" rapper debunked some widespread reports her new OF account earned $307,000 Tuesday, after its first 24 hours in existence.

Iggy says the staggering figures were pulled from "thin air" ... but she's still hyping the new account, which she calls the start of her "slut era," promising "hotter than hell" content ... leaving the door open for her music career.

Iggy previously stood tall on the notion she would never join OF ... writing in April 2021, "I think onlyfans can be really empowering for people, But I WILL NEVER, EVVVER join.
I don’t want to make that type of content & it only f***s up the bag for ppl on there who really bout that life. Shoutout to the baddies tho!!!!"

The change of heart towards OF appears to be a backup -- now that her would-be album executive producer Tory Lanez is behind bars!!!

We spoke to Tory shortly before his trial for shooting Megan Thee Stallion, which, as you know, he eventually lost, but he was genuinely excited about working with Iggy ... claiming to have been working on a "new classic" like her famed IG handle.