Music

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.

Jennifer Lopez and Ben Affleck have FINALLY found their dream house ... TMZ has confirmed they're in escrow to buy an incredible property in the L.A. area.

The mansion is in the Pacific Palisades area of L.A. -- a super exclusive neighborhood only for the uber-rich.

It's listed for $34,500,000 ... we do not know the agreed-upon price, but it's a good bet it's not far off from the listing price.

The house was built just last year. The seller calls it a Hamptons-style traditional, with 7 bedrooms and 13 bathrooms.  It sits on an acre, which is HUGE for the area.

The house has all the bells and whistles ... a screening room, a gym, pool, wine cellar.  it's also got a health spa -- not sure how that differs from a gym, but apparently, it does.

As we reported, JLo just listed her Bel Air home for $42.5M. Their plan was to upgrade that home, but apparently plans changed and they're movin' west.

The Grammys wanted to honor Janet Jackson in a big way last weekend, but TMZ has learned those talks fizzled after discussions on how to address the way CBS treated Jackson after her infamous Super Bowl Halftime performance.

Sources connected to The Grammys tell us ... the Grammys wanted to bestow Janet with a Global Impact Award, but there was a snag. Recording Academy honchos wanted Janet to attend a pre-Grammy event with the Black Music Collective days before the main event to accept the award, but her schedule wouldn't allow it.

From there, we're told discussions pivoted to a way Janet could receive the honor during the actual broadcast, but that presented another problem ... CBS never made amends with Janet for making her persona non grata after the wardrobe malfunction.

It was Super Bowl XXXVIII, broadcast on CBS, when Justin Timberlake ripped Janet's top, revealing her breast. The network received a ton of flack over the incident, and CBS CEO  Les Moonves pulled Janet's invite to the Grammys that year.

Our sources say Janet's team and Grammy organizers began talking about ways CBS could either apologize or figure out a way to acknowledge how she was treated by the network, but things just got too complicated and talks ended.

Since Janet couldn't attend the Black Music Collective event, she didn't get the Global Impact Award. She also did not attend the Grammys ... fact is she hasn't been there in years.

Ryan Shepard, who acted as Eminem's stunt double in the early 2000s, has died ... tragically losing his life after getting hit while attempting to cross the street.

Ryan's brother Kyle tells TMZ ... Ryan died in Washington at the end of January after getting hit by an oncoming pickup truck. Emergency responders rushed him to a hospital, but it was too late.

Ryan worked not only as Eminem's stunt double but also as his photo double and stand-in ... appearing at the MTV Movie Awards as Eminem's superhero character, Rap Boy.

He took the stage again with the rapper for his 2002 Anger Management Tour, and on his Japan and Europe tour the following year -- he also appeared in D12's "Purple Hills" music video as Eminem's double.

Kyle tells us Ryan was incredibly intelligent ... going on to work at Disney as a ride mechanical engineer, and eventually moving to Elon Musk's SpaceX as a test automation engineer.

Ryan leaves behind his 2 children, a 7-year-old and an 11-year-old.

He was 40 years old.

Underneath this contoured figure is a guy who has mad moves, mad game and a wardrobe that will for sure put yours to shame. His music and beats tend to get you up on your feet, and if you're not groovin' along ... he will "Uptown Funk" you up!

This suave guy is no stranger to the big stage ... In 2014 he took his pipes to the Super Bowl with the Red Hot Chili Peppers ... and again in 2016 with Beyoncé and Coldplay.

Bill Bellamy thinks the Grammys have a diversity problem in their voting ranks, and that's why -- as he sees it -- their final ballots on the major categories rarely match up with public opinion.

The "Top Billin'" podcast host and comedian was out in West Hollywood when we polled him on the recent Grammy controversy over Song of the Year.

Bonnie Raitt's "Just Like That" beat out some pretty hefty competition such as Beyoncé’s  "Break My Soul," Harry Styles' "As It Was," Kendrick Lamar’s "The Heart Part 5" ... and surprised even the veteran blues-rock singer herself!!!

The song was indisputably the least-known song on the list, and Bill says it should be a no-brainer for one of the more well-known tracks to take home the award.

He brings up how a band like Journey can unite all people with their great song -- and we're assuming he's referring to their iconic track "Don't Stop Believin'" ... which, BTW, was not nominated for a Grammy back in 1981.

Bill was also displeased with the Grammys' 50th-anniversary hip hop tribute ... noting the lack of West Coast artists, in addition to missing many female rap greats such as MC Lyte, Da Brat, Foxy Brown and Lil Kim -- a sentiment Lola Brooke literally just shared with us.

Despite Questlove's best efforts, Bill says hip hop history cannot be condensed or covered in 2 minutes and they should've made room for a Snoop Dogg and Dr. Dre set, T.I., 8Ball & MJG ... or nixed the idea altogether!!!

Fat Joe feels similar to Bill, having gone on yet another rant earlier this week about losing his 2018 Grammy to Chance the Rapper.

Joe and Remy Ma's "All The Way Up" was the more popular record on the Billboard Charts, but still lost out to Chance's "No Problem" -- a song Joe maintains the world doesn't remember to this day.

Cops in Miami have descended upon an area near Bad Bunny's downtown restaurant -- leaving many wondering if he's okay ... but we've learned this has nothing to do with him.

The reggaeton artist's Japanese steakhouse, Gekko, is surrounded by dozens of police vehicles right now -- with SWAT units on the scene as well. The streets are getting blocked off ... and bystanders are filming the dramatic scene.

There are multiple units parked right in front of BB's establishment, with officers seen going in and out the front entrance -- so, naturally, there was panic that something may have happened to the beloved rapper ... that's not the case, though.

Sources directly familiar with the situation tell TMZ ... the owners of Gekko have been notified about a possible fugitive situation that's playing out at the SLS LUX Brickell Hotel -- which is adjacent to Gekko and shares the block. This explains this type of police response.

Our sources tell us Gekko is not directly involved in this matter. We're also told Bad Bunny isn't in FL at the moment, so he's no even in the vicinity of what's happening.

Gekko has become a huge hot spot in the city ... when Bad Bunny and Grutman opened this place back in August, it drew a big crowd and a lot of celebs. So, it's quite well-known.

It sounds like whatever the police are dealing with is fluid. We've reached out to the department for clarification on what exactly is going on, and if there's an active threat.

So far, no word back.

Rihanna has A LOT of songs to consider as she finalizes her 13-minute Super Bowl set -- but if she's curious what her peers think she should sing ... she might wanna watch this.

We got Christina Aguilera and Winnie Harlow heading into Drake's SB party Friday in Scottsdale -- and, of course, we asked them about RiRi's many options in terms of tracks she could perform Sunday ... and what exactly they'd like to hear during the Halftime Show.

Check it out ... each of them gives us a response, and they're quite different. CA says she wants to see Rihanna's take on an ODB classic -- while going on to tell us she thinks Ri's gonna kill it.

Winnie had her own pick for a Rihanna song she'd like to see performed -- a fan fave, no doubt -- but she also had a lot to say about the fact that Rihanna is one of the first Afro-Caribbean women to take the big stage. Winnie is of Jamaican descent, BTW.