Music

Lil Nas X and Zedd ignored a property owner's demand they not party in his swanky Hollywood Hills mansion, and then left the place trashed after the huge bash ... at least according to a new lawsuit.

According to legal docs, obtained by TMZ, the "Old Town Road" singer and the famed DJ are among the defendants being sued by landlord Daniel Fitzgerald, who owns a slew of fancy homes in the Hollywood Hills.

In his suit, Fitzgerald says when he leased the property he specifically told the tenants they couldn't have any big parties, but he says that didn't stop the tenants from allowing Lil Nas X to host a bash for 1,000 people where Zedd was paid to spin tunes for the partygoers.

Fitzgerald claims Lil Nas X, Zedd and the party promoters and sponsors knew they weren't supposed to be having a party on the property ... but he says that didn't dissuade them from throwing an epic bash in April 2022.

In addition to allegedly pissing off neighbors and getting him into hot water with local officials, Fitzgerald claims the massive rager resulted in over $25,000 in physical damages to his property ... mainly to chairs, sofas, walls and ceilings.

Fitzgerald claims the home needed extensive repairs after the bash, forcing him to lose out on a month of rent between tenants ... which he says cost him another $40,000.

The landlord claims Lil Nas X and Zedd were each paid at least $250,000 for the party ... while all he got was a huge bill for a messy cleanup.

Fitzgerald is going after LNX, Zedd and the party's sponsors and promoters for money ... and he wants compensatory and punitive damages totaling at least $1 million.

Ice Spice is more than flattered one of the most famous kiddos in the world decided to draw her portrait ... shouting out North West's fandom -- in both music and art.

We caught up with the "Munch" rapper in Brooklyn Monday, and she clearly perked up a bit when we asked about North's recently-debuted portrait of her.

North posted the freehand drawing on her joint TikTok account she shares with Kim Kardashian ... soundtracking the vid to the sounds of Ice and PinkPantheress' "Boy's a liar Pt. 2" duet.

Ice also tells us new music is on the way ... but her current tracks are doing just fine.

Her debut EP 'Like..?' dropped last month ... peaking at No. 37 on the Billboard 200, and the project also spawned her first Hot 100 hit — the Lil Tjay-featured "Gangsta Boo."

JT of the City Girls was so floored by Rihanna's Super Bowl halftime performance, she didn't seem to mind her beau Lil Uzi Vert was probably somewhere reeling over his Eagles losing such a nail-biter!!!

TMZ Hip Hop linked with JT as she was leaving SB LVII, where Rihanna's pregnancy reveal was almost as talked about as the sensational game ... depending on who ya ask.

JT admits she's never been pregnant so can't directly relate to what RiRi pulled off, but says the performance made her sure of one thing -- she proclaimed God to be of the fairer sex after witnessing Rihanna's comeback.

While JT might have left feeling like a winner ... the halftime show pales in comparison to the career leaps Uzi's hit record "Just Wanna Rock" would've seen had the Eagles won.

The song has been competing with Meek Mill's established "Dreams & Nightmares" for the official team anthem, and DJ Drama -- who first sparked the friction between the tracks -- agreed with Meek and relented, once in AZ, that both songs would deserve a spot during the Eagles' championship celebrations.

Both Tech N9ne and Gillie Da Kid repped for their Kansas City Chiefs and Philadelphia Eagles at the Super Bowl ... but only Tech left the arena smiling after his squad emerged as world champs!!!

The Strange Music rapper was full of energy when he stormed the State Farm Stadium field after the Chiefs took SBLVII 38-35 ... and later when we caught him exiting the venue with SM co-founder Travis O'Guin en route to dap up SB MVP Patrick Mahomes at the team's postgame celebration!!!

Tech tells us he cannot wait for both Gillie and Wallo to land in K.C. to film the "Red Kingdom" music video as they wear Chiefs' colors ... a deal the "Million Dollarz Worth of Game" host agreed to after Tech made the initial challenge on TMZ Hip Hop!!!

A dejected Gillie sang quite the opposite tune on Monday ... posting a good sport video from his Airbnb congratulating real Chiefs fans for the latest SB victory.

That said, Gillie had absolutely no love for supporters of notorious losers ... such as the Dallas Cowboys and Washington Commanders, who were calling his phone just to tease him!!!

Rick Ross threw a Super Bowl party fit for a king -- with enough room for both his close family members and tons of his famous pals!!!

There were no signs of Rod Wave ... who Rozay invited to his suite ahead of the Big Game but the Bawse managed to attract the likes of Jay-Z, DJ Khaled, Yo Gotti, GloRilla, Johnny Dang, Ryan Clark and an iced-out Floyd Mayweather ... who bragged about sipping on alkaline water ahead of his fight with Aaron Chalmers.

Jay's Roc Nation produced Rihanna's halftime show but he was just one of the guys cheering on the pregnant megastar.

Kodak Black and French Montana have an album dropping soon and they also checked in with Rozay ... and bragged to IG followers about the money they were putting up for the game.

Not every cameo appearance resulted in a bang, though. Chrisean Rock also flicked it up with Ross ... angering Blueface in the process all because he thought she was being a groupie for the MMG boss.

Kodak Black says he didn't have much luck betting on this year's Super Bowl, but he already has a plan to make up for it next year ... he's gonna need some help, though!!!

TMZ Hip Hop caught Big Yak in AZ getting swarmed by adoring fans after the game, and he humbly admitted his pockets were feeling anything BUT victorious following the game. He didn't give us details but sounds like he laid a lot on the Eagles.

That said, Kodak didn't seem to mind that much. He got so much love exiting State Farm Stadium, you'd think he was one of the players.

Of course, a year ago Kodak's Super Bowl weekend activities ended in violence -- he and Justin Bieber are currently facing a lawsuit related to the 2022 shooting that went down in L.A. just ahead of Super Sunday.

We asked Kodak about the case, but his mind was already on 2024. The "Super Gremlin" rapper said he plans to bet several million on Lamar Jackson and the Baltimore Ravens to appear in next year's big game.

Garth Brooks is joining a growing number of music superstars using their voices to sound off on the prices fans are forced to pay to see their favorite acts.

The country music legend is scheduled to speak on a panel in Los Angeles next week joined by Madison Square Garden Entertainment's James Dolan, former Assistant Attorney General for the DOJ, Makan Delrahim and moderated by music biz mogul, Irving Azoff.

The event will be the 34th annual Pollstar Live! conference discussion panel, which will go down February 22 at 9:45 AM PT at the Beverly Hilton in L.A.

As for what will be discussed, we're told Azoff, Brooks and team will talk ticket scalpers, how to score tickets to events without getting ripped off, the resale market and how outside hands have really soured the market for fans.

The Pollstar Live! conference won't just discuss ticketing though, there's also a convo between Mumford and Son's Ben Lovett, and Brian Teasley as well as a panel to celebrate 50 Years of Live Hip-Hop with Doug E. Fresh, DJ Quik & Big Daddy Kane.

It'll be held from February 21 until February 23.

As we reported, Taylor Swift fans sounded the alarms when tickets went on sale for her Eras Tour ... waiting for hours to score seats to the show and either getting shut out or hammered with crazy prices.

Rihanna shocked the world Sunday by announcing her pregnancy during her Super Bowl performance -- but it was a well-kept secret even among people who were part of the show.

Super Bowl sources tell TMZ ... most of her backup dancers -- upwards of 280, as we came to find out -- had no idea RiRi was preggo before she hit the stage this weekend, and that's due in part to the baggy clothing she'd been rocking during all the rehearsals.

Our sources tell us Rihanna was wearing very loose-fitting outfits both on Saturday and on Sunday as she was practicing her set. It wasn't until showtime that anyone involved saw her final costume, which seemed designed to show off her belly.

In other words ... Rihanna covered her bases here, not letting anyone involved with the halftime production get a whiff of her pregnancy before she could show it off to all.

Remember, Rihanna was also seen publicly a couple days before the Super Bowl, when she did an interview talking about the different setlists she'd created ... and there, too, RiRi seemed to be trying to hide her bump -- wearing a big furry jacket and other fluffy garb.

Of course, you could even trace this cover-up back to the Golden Globes in January ... where Rihanna and A$AP Rocky showed up in person, with RiRi again wearing a loose-fitting outfit and keeping her purse in front of her stomach throughout much of the broadcast.

Swae Lee isn't validating Billboard's Top 50 rapper list for obvious reasons -- it's missing his and Rae Sremmurd's names, and that makes him suspect of the whole damn thing!!!

We caught Swae out in Glendale, AZ during the Super Bowl party blitz and he was hot at Billboard's omission, although he agreed with Jay-Z's spot at No. 1.

He explains his success as a rap star should've qualified him for a spot ... and he makes a decent point.

Swae Lee has 2 Diamond (sales of 10 million) tracks to his name ... "Unforgettable" with French Montana and "Sunflower" with Post Malone, and seeing as Billboard's whole deal is compiling stats and numbers, that should've counted for something, eh?

While Swae and Slim Jxmmi rank high amongst Gen-Z legends, their opinions don't differ much from one of rap's true pioneers Ice Cube ... who also unloaded on the list to TMZ Hip Hop last week.

As Cube sees things, Billboard doesn't have enough credentials to speak on hip hop culture, and couldn't be reasoned with once he realized his Mt. Westmore co-star Too $hort was left off the list!!!

Rihanna got lots of compliments for her Super Bowl halftime performance, but there was one glaring, predictable exception ... the man who famously holds grudges -- Donald Trump.

The ex-Prez went on his social media platform, Truth Social, and had nothing but bad things to say ... "EPIC FAIL: Rihanna gave, without question, the single worst Halftime Show in Super Bowl history — This after insulting far more than half of our Nation, which is already in serious DECLINE, with her foul and insulting language. Also, so much for her 'Stylist!'”

As for why the grudge ... well, in August 2020, in the heat of the election Trump ultimately lost, Rihanna posted a photo on Instagram, featuring a car littered with graffiti, with the words "F*** Trump" spray-painted on it.

Rihanna is back, taking the Super Bowl by storm and reminding everybody what they've been missing for 6-plus years ... and, according to some, she might've even just made a BIG announcement.

The singer/fashion mogul hit the stage Sunday after the 2nd quarter of the game came to a close -- and right from the jump, you could tell this was going to be something else ... with RiRi making a grand entrance to kick off an epic 13-minute set chock-full of hits.

Rihanna's show featured her and her dancers on multiple elevated platforms, which she gradually came down from to continue the show. Of course, she touched on a ton of classics of hers ... singing everything from "Work" and "Bitch Better Have My Money" to "Rude Boy" and "Diamonds" -- and just about every other fan fave we all wanted to hear in between.

Of course, the one thing almost everyone noticed immediately ... Rihanna looked to possibly be pregnant -- and she even seemed to acknowledge she may be, rubbing her belly. No official word yet ... but all signs point to her potentially having another bun in the oven.

By the end of it all, Rihanna had just about everybody at State Farm Arena on their feet ... and the place was roaring when she took her final bow. Indeed, it was awesome.

This marks the first time Rihanna has performed live since 2018 -- when she hit the Grammys alongside DJ Khaled. She hasn't really picked up a mic since then though, and the anticipation to see her in her musical element again has been at an all-time high.

Of course, she also hasn't released a new album in like 7 years ... but, she has put out new music -- namely, a track for the new 'Black Panther' movie that proved she's still got it.

RiRi obviously put a lot of work into this ... she said she had gone through dozens of set list variations in the build-up to Sunday -- noting it was tough deciding which songs she wanted to include to do justice to her huge catalog. Safe to say, she chose wisely ... pulling it off.

Great show, and hopefully a sign of more to come for her. We know she's been hitting recording studios of late -- and with her going out on a such high like this, ya kinda gotta follow it up with even more stuff.

Granted, if she is indeed pregnant ... she may be on a hiatus yet again. Remember, she just gave birth this past May -- and while she was out and about a lot, she was also on mom duty.

A$AP Rocky must've been on cloud 9 after Rihanna's Super Bowl performance AND her pregnancy reveal ... because he took to the club to party it up after the big game.

The rapper hit up E11EVEN Miami's Big Game Weekend Pop-Up at Maya Nightclub in Scottsdale Sunday night, after the Chiefs took down the Eagles ... clearly in great spirits as the night went on.

Rihanna wasn't with A$AP ... but he was still in good company, spending time with French Montana, Kevin Gates and YG.

FYI -- it seemed like A.R. was on daddy duty during the game, because he left the State Farm Stadium with his baby in tow. And no, A$AP didn't pull up to the club with the kiddo ... sounds like that job was passed to someone else.

As you know, A$AP's boo RiRi stepped back into the music game in AZ ... bringin' some of her classics to the field -- and of course revealing she's pregnant once again.

Bam Margera and Priscilla Presley's friendship is paying off for him in a big way -- he's hooking up his dad with an iconic Elvis robe .. TMZ has learned.

Bam tells us he was first introduced to Priscilla's son Navarone Garcia -- through mutual friends in the music industry -- and since then he's formed his own relationship with Priscilla.

We're told Elvis' ex-wife -- and mother of the late Lisa Marie Presley -- heard about Bam's dad being a huge Elvis fan, so she gave Bam one of the King's personal robes ... and a ring!!!

You can tell in the video just how pumped Bam is to be able to gift the robe to his father.

As for the ring, we're told Bam gave that to rapper Yelawolf -- who you see hanging with Bam in the video -- because it fit him and Bam considers him the new king of Rock 'n' Roll.

As we reported, the former 'Jackass' star and Priscilla recently had lunch together for what seemed like a bizarre link-up... especially given the timing of everything.

As you know, Bam has been struggling with his sobriety, and friends like Steve-O have publicly voiced concern for his well-being.

Meanwhile, TMZ broke the story ... Priscilla is challenging a change to Lisa Marie's trust, which is creating a tug-of-war with her granddaughter Riley Keough.

Rihanna is set to hit the stage during the Superbowl halftime show very shortly -- and you'd think NFL officials would already have her backup dancers inside by now ... you would think.

Check out this clip that our photog got about 25 minutes ago -- you see SCORES of people dressed in elaborate white outfits trekking across the parking lot just outside of State Farm Arena in Arizona (where the game is being held). The question ... are y'all with RiRi???

That's exactly what we asked them -- especially seeing how they were trying to cover up with trash bags, attempting to head over on the DL, but sticking out like sore thumbs.

A few of them actually gave us answers ... including when we referred to them as "Rihanna's army." They seemed to confirm that, and one of them even told us how deep they were rolling ... there's about 280 of them, it seems.

We don't know for certain these are Rihanna's dancers, but the odds seem high based on what we're seeing/hearing right in front of us. If they are, it's a big old SMH to the people who planned this. There's gotta be some backdoor entrance/route they could've taken. 😅

David Jolicoeur -- also known as Dave and Trugoy the Dove, who was one of the three founding members of De La Soul -- has died.

Sources familiar with the situation tell TMZ the rapper passed away Sunday at a hospital in Maryland. No other details, including a potential cause, have been released ... but we're told his death appears to be from natural causes, and that he was battling an undisclosed illness.

De La Soul's official social accounts have yet to say anything about Dave -- ditto for the other two members and their own pages ... Kelvin Mercer (Posdnuos) and Vincent Mason (Maseo).

Dave was with DLS since the beginning, getting together in '87 and going on to crank out some of the most famous rap songs of all time. The group went on an incredible three-album run through the '90s -- with two of those being certified platinum and gold, respectively.

Some of their best-known tracks include ... "Me, Myself and I," "Eye Know," "The Magic Number," "Stakes Is High," "Ring Ring Ring," "Say No Go," "Breakadawn," "Oooh," "Buddy," "All Good," "Ghetto Thang," "I Am I Be," "Ego Trippin (Part 2)" and countless others.

De La Soul was unique in that they emerged in one decade, but seamlessly transitioned into another ... all while adapting their style and production to keep up with the times.

Three of their songs have been nominated for Grammys over the years, with one of those -- a smash hit collab with the Gorillaz in "Feel Good Inc." -- actually winning Best Pop Collaboration in 2006.

Their music has been hard to listen to in recent years ... for one reason or another, nobody has been able to stream their stuff on major platforms, but a deal was recently inked that'll finally allow their classic tunes to be played en masse starting next month.

Dave was 54.

Jason Derulo is ahead of the curve -- that, or trying to get on the good side of AI before the apocalypse ... ushering in a new type of backup dancer, the electronic kind.

The singer got a massive amount of double takes Sunday while he performed during the TikTok Tailgate -- a pre-Super Bowl show that was hosted just outside of the State Farm Stadium in Arizona, where the big game will be played in just a couple hours here.

The reason for the stares ... JD was up there dancing alongside literal robots, and not just any regular ones  -- they appeared to be similar in style to what Boston Dynamics makes.

Of course, we're talking about Spot ... the (normally) yellow robotic dog that BD created years ago, and which they've demonstrated time and again over time -- highlighting its high functionality and potential capabilities in the real world, including possible crime fighting.

The robo-dogs on stage with Jason didn't quite look exactly like Spot -- but they were close enough ... and, more importantly, they were up there in lockstep with him and the music.

There were human dancers as well, but Twitter couldn't take their eyes off the dogs ... and the questions/jokes started to fly, Like, for example -- WHY?!? Another one ... HOW?!? No one seemed to expect to see this ... and Derulo didn't make any mention of it either.

Some are wondering (in jest, we think) if this is how robots start to get integrated into our lives ... via entertainment/sports. Fact is, the technology is here ... and goes way beyond just this.

If this starts to be a thing, you better start cozying up to these little guys now. Feels like they're gonna be around for the long haul -- and no one wants to see 'em when they're angry.