Music

Some of the biggest names in music were out in force Friday for a second night of pre-Grammy partying, hitting several major shindigs around L.A.

Just like Thursday night, there were were a slew of celebrations in town ahead of the iconic awards show and the parties were flooded with bold-faced names, including Jay-Z and Beyonce.

Jay and Bey, DJ Khaled, Wiz Khalifa, Future and Rich Paul all showed up at the United Master Celebration of Independence in Hollywood. Khaled gave a big thumbs up and even bigger smile on his way out of the soiree. Seems like he had a rockin' good time.

In Beverly Hills, Cher and her much younger fiancé, Alexander Edwards, were spotted hand-in-hand entering and leaving Steven Victor and Tod's party at Matsuhisa restaurant. Cher was smartly dressed in a white jacket and grey slacks while Alex cut a more casual look.

Pusha T, Usher, Pharrell Williams, Tyga and Jermaine Dupri also dipped in and out of the bash -- which served as a celebration for Push and The Dream's Grammy nominations.

Adam Lambert, Casey Affleck and Alessandra Ambrosio were also in a celebratory mood, but they chose a more intimate setting for their get-together at a private home.

Beyoncé fans are begging to score tickets for her upcoming tour ... making public pleas for $$$!!!

The BeyHive is buzzing around the crowdfunding website, GoFundMe, to ask family, friends and other Bey diehards to throw them some bread to secure a ticket for her "Renaissance" tour.

Problem is, even if they raise the money, that doesn't mean they're guaranteed a ticket ... just ask Swifties about the presale of Taylor Swift's "Eras" tour!

That's not stopping fans from trying, and some of their pleas are pretty funny. One fan writes, "This is the only life experience I care about living before I die. I will get those front row tickets either way but this way is safer than selling my kidney on the black market."

Another fan says, "Listen…I would love your financial support in sending me to Beyoncé World Tour 2023. I haven’t missed a Beyoncé concert yet, but I got 'bills, bills, bills.'"

Some fans have managed to raise a few hundred bucks ... while others have raised next to nothing.

Pre-sale in the UK has begun and fans say the supply nowhere meets the demand.

Vic Mensa's somewhat of a daredevil ... which explains why fans saw him skydiving in the name of love and strawberries in his latest video.

TMZ Hip Hop caught Vic out in NYC earlier this week and he tells us he used no stunt doubles for the "Strawberry Louis Vuitton" visual he released this week.

Vic says he went through about 13 takes of jumps for the Danielle DeGrasse-Alston-directed video and has been skydiving since 2016 ... so he's something of a pro.

The song is written for a real-life romance and he wanted to capture the feeling of free-falling into love ... which he literally did in the vid.

The Chicago rapper also tells us he's a motorcycle enthusiast and can successfully have 1-Up on Soulja Boy as the first rapper to skydive by himself in a music video!!! 😆

Vic's gearing up for a big year -- he's costarring in a movie titled "African American," based on the life of a world-famous South African rapper where he'll play his American-born manager.

Jumping out of planes at 10,000 feet is one thing, but Vic knows how to stay grounded too.

If you thought his recent slump in music was gonna make Lil Pump stop smiling, think again, because the guy just got a new set of chompers he's gonna be showing off for a long time.

5 Star Smiles CEO Danielle Noguera tells TMZ Hip Hop Pump came in earlier this year to get a new pair of porcelain veneers.

The set Pump opted for has tons of longevity -- 30 years in fact -- and we're told the procedure cost Pump a cool $25k, done in Pump's hometown of Miami.

Dentists had been reaching out to Pump for years offering to do his teeth, but Pump opted for 5 Star Smiles, a company with plenty of experience with celebs including Lil Meech, Erica Mena, and the Clermont Twins, to name a few, in the past.

As expected, Pump won't just stop with the veneers, we're told he's upping his game even more -- with a pair of custom grills currently in production.

Louisiana rapper Rob49 is back on his feet after being shot last month … and is doubling down on his murder rap career with his new single.

The up-and-coming Louisiana rapper thanked fans for their well wishes before dropping off the video to “4God II” on Friday … and stepped into The Shade Room to assure fans he wasn’t hiding any injuries and urged them to check out the track.

Directed by music video vet Gerard Victor, the “4God II” video features the 24-year-old rapper spitting lyrics about being the #1 target for opps and riding around in bulletproof vehicles.

He also flashes his ice inside a Rolls-Royce … but also an arm sling, as a result of his injuries sustained on the night of January 5.

Rob49 and French Montana were filming a music video when gunmen arrived on the scene and opened fire, striking Rob49 and several others including French’s bodyguard.

No fatalities occurred but Miami police blamed French for the shooting ... citing his lack of permits to film the clip.

French barked back at the cops' accusations, claiming to have been celebrating a mixtape release as opposed to filming a music video but at any rate, Rob49 is back on the prowl.

Lil Baby's 4PF artist Rylo Rodriguez is bound to his double cup by his own admission ... admitting to shelling out nearly $4K a week to feed his lean habit.

The Atlanta rapper left Awaiz Dawave speechless when he made the shocking revelation during their chat inside Lenox Square last year, and the footage has slowly been shocking fans across the internet.

Rylo says it takes him about 3 days to finish a pint of lean ... hence the swift re-up that runs his bank account over $200K annually!!!

Rappers getting it out of the mud has become a common practice, but maybe Rylo should take a page out of Sada Baby's book of sobriety and reroute the course to save his finances ... and his liver.

TMZ Hip Hop recently spoke to the Detroit rapper who once had an even bigger budget for his lean excursions ... dropping $20K per week just to go codeine crazy.

Jay-Z is set to deliver his internet-breaking "God Did" verse live at the 65th Annual Grammy Awards ... as part of DJ Khaled's big stage blowout on Sunday night, TMZ Hip Hop can confirm.

"God Did" is up for Song of the Year, Best Rap Song and Best Rap Performance ... potentially extending Jay-Z's rapper-leading tally, which currently sits at 24.

The live performance of the viral hit will also feature the song's guests Lil Wayne, Rick Ross, John Legend and Fridayy, and will also mark a return to the Grammy spotlight for Hov ... after he was infamously shut out in 2018 on his 8 nominations — immediately after receiving their Industry Icon Award.

Details are mum on the performance theatrics but we're told to expect big things from Khaled and Co.

E-40 was doing it “too big” like his Mount Westmore anthem at his alma mater Grambling State University on Friday … donating a massive $100K check to the HBCU’s music department for invaluable upgrades for generations of students to come.

The legendary rapper was flanked by his wife, GSU President Rick Gallot and Dr. Nikole Roebuck … Grambling’s Music Department Chair and Director of Bands and graciously addressed the crowd during his coronation.

The GSU Tigers flipped the script and surprised E-40 with the unveiling of The Earl “E-40” Stevens Sound Recording studio … a commemorative installation to inspire students’ music hustle just like the Bay Area OG!!!

40 attended GSU all the way back in 1986 which paved the road he walked to become a hip hop icon — and told onlookers it was an honor to stand at the university for the full-circle moment.

He explained growing up in his impoverished Vallejo, CA neighborhood led him to look for an escape and hopped on the first train smokin’ when the Grambling opportunity came — and never looked back but jumped forward into a career of platinum plaques, millions of streams and mounds of classic songs!!!

Priscilla Presley nearly lost two children in two weeks ... at least according to her son, Navarone Garcia, who says a camel almost killed him days before Lisa Marie Presley died.

Navarone, Lisa's half-brother, claims he had a brush with death during a visit last month to an animal sanctuary outside Los Angeles ... where he says a hungry camel tried to eat him.

Priscilla's son says his mom was with him when he was feeding a 2,000-pound camel out of the palm of his hand ... telling People the camel started biting him when he ran out of food.

Navarone says the animal first bit his hand and lifted him up, then dropped him to the ground and pounced on him. With the camel on top of him, Navarone claims the animal wrapped its mouth around Navarone's head and bit him as sanctuary workers struggled to get the camel to release.

Priscilla, Navarone says, was freaking out as she watched the horrific scene unfold right in front of her, but fortunately, he claims a dog was Johnny on the spot and scared the camel off.

Navarone says the animal sanctuary called 911 but he preferred to make the hour trek back to Los Angeles to go to an emergency room closer to home. He says he walked into the ER with blood all over him and needed 34 staples in his head.

Lil Keed's family has released a new song from the YSL rapper ... nearly one year after his tragic passing from a rare blood cell disorder.

Keed's mother, Tonnie "HoodMama" Woods-Reed, lead the charge for the rollout with a heartfelt message of bereavement, but still wanted his fans to have music to attach to their own sorrow.

"On May 13, 2022, I lost my son Raqhid Render—who many of you knew as the artist Lil Keed. While this journey through the different phases of grief has been indescribably hard, a way that I have found to cope is through his music."

She continued, "Right before his passing, Keed was hard at work on what would’ve been his highly anticipated next album, Keed Talk to ’Em 2. As much as he was a great father, son, and friend—he was also an artist who (thanks to many of you) lived and continues to live through his music. With that being said, the time has come to share some of our last pieces of Keed with you all starting with the release of his first single, “Long Way to Go.” This song holds a special place in my heart and as you guys will see it will reflect on many aspects of Keed’s journey here on Earth."

His mother concluded, "I hope you all appreciate it as we take the first step in cementing Keed’s legacy. Long Live Keed!"

Panic! At The Disco singer Brendon Urie said goodbye to his band last month, but hello to a much more significant addition to his life ... a new baby.

Sources with direct knowledge tell TMZ Brendon and his wife, Sarah, welcomed a new baby earlier this week. We don't yet know the kiddo's name or sex ... but we're told everyone is happy and healthy.

The news is significant for a whole variety of reasons, but the timing is interesting given Urie's announcement on January 24.

As we reported, Brendon's Panic! At The Disco band is no more, and in the announcement about the group's end, he mentioned, "Sarah and I are expecting a baby very soon! The prospect of being a father and getting to watch my wife become a mother is both humbling and exciting. I look forward to this next adventure."

Turns out, that arrival might've been sooner than fans expected ... cuz Brendon and Sarah are now mom and dad.

Latto seemingly wasn't phased by the fact she can't sell her panties ... she got back into her MC bag performing for Spotify's Best New Artist on Thursday!!!

The "Big Energy" rapper was among several performers at the event inside Pacific Design Center in West Hollywood ... and blitzed through a melody of hits dropped by her own DJ Von.

She and her backup dancers also put on a twerking display right before wooing the crowd with her signature "Big Energy" banger, which is up for Best Melodic Rap Performance at this year's Grammys!!!

Latto is also up for Best New Artist at the upcoming awards ... and we can safely say she's capping off a crazy week after nearly becoming $100K richer after attempting to pawn her used underwear on eBay.

As we told you, eBay removed the sale of the cheetah-print panties just as it was hitting the six-figure mark, -- potentially giving her manager Cortez Bryant a goldmine idea to begin selling them to the highest bidder at tour stops.

Anderson .Paak wasn't about to let a whole group of people stand still while he DJ'd some of his best music ... jokingly issuing a threat to play some R. Kelly if they didn't start moving.

AP played a barrage of new wave and funk records during Spotify's Best New Artist party Thursday in L.A. The playlist didn't appear to get the reaction .Paak had hoped for, and he repeatedly instructed the crowd to get their groove on ... even after his trusty trumpet player Maurice "Mobetta" Brown arrived on the scene to spruce things up.

At one point, AP singled out a particular stick in the mud who was killing his vibe on the turntables, but eventually powered through and even rocked out on the drums to close his set.

Finally, he threatens the crowd he'd turn on some R. Kelly if they didn't get their act right.

Of course, R. Kelly's music is a point of controversy over the last few years ... he's got decades of prison time ahead of him after his federal sex crimes case. Apparently, AP knew the right buttons to push to get the people going ... cuz they started dancing!

There's plenty of perks to being Madonna's daughter -- but apparently, even those perks have their limits -- like automatic entry into fashion shows.

Lourdes Leon and a friend thought they'd be able to stroll right into the Marc Jacobs Runway show Thursday night without issue ... but that wasn't the case. Check out the video, paps swarm Lourdes on her way into the Park Avenue Armory.

The two try to walk past security, but the guards aren't havin' it ... blocking the entry and refusing to let them inside.

At one point, even the paparazzi chant "Let her in!" as Lourdes and her friend crack up, but the security guards don't crack.

It's Grammy weekend once again in Los Angeles, and some of the industry's biggest stars aren't wasting any time in celebrating music's biggest honor.

Tons of parties popped up across the city Thursday ... events dedicated to the rookies of the biz and even some dedicated to the veterans.

For starters -- there was the Warner Music Party at The Hollywood Athletic Club -- which brought out Anderson .Paak, Nile Rodgers, Missy Elliott, Wiz Khalifa, Saweetie and Bebe Rexha ... just to name a few.

Some of the biggest names turned out at the Black Music Collective Party at The Hollywood Palladium. While there was plenty of celebrating, Lil Wayne was honored with the Global Impact Award at the event. Drake presented him with the awards, cracking jokes about The Grammys in the process.

Lil Kim, DJ Khaled, Dr. Dre, Ciara and Swizz Beatz were also all in the house to watch Wayne get his props.

The Spotify party kicked off at The Pacific Design Center in West Hollywood -- Ice Spice, Latto and Yung Gravy were some of the newcomers there -- but vets like Jared Leto, Machine Gun Kelly, Drew Taggart from The Chainsmokers and Diplo also went.

There was also Dj Drama's Grammy Weekend Release Party for his new project “I’m Really Like That” at Classic Cat which brought out names like Tyler, the Creator, Blac Chyna, G Herbo and Don Cannon.

Liam Hemsworth is clearly over Miley Cyrus, and the evidence is compelling -- locked in a passionate kiss with Laura Dern -- EXCEPT, it's just a movie!

The 32-year-old stud and the 55-year-old ageless beauty were filming "Lonely Planet" in downtown LA. Imagine driving down a street and seeing these 2 making out ... kind of awesome, until you realize it's all for Netflix.

Liam's been taking heat lately from ex-wife Miley, who recently dropped "Flowers" on his birthday, seemingly shading him.

Liam's been mum over the song ... probably because his mouth is otherwise engaged.