Music

The news of Taylor Swift's split from longtime boyfriend Joe Alwyn breaking during a pause in her tour might not be sheer coincidence ... according to marketing guru Brittany Hodak.

Brittany, who's an admitted Swiftee, joined us Monday on "TMZ Live" for a closer look at the timing of Taylor's breakup going public -- and, as an expert on Taylor's marketing brilliance, she suspects the singer is, in a way, manipulating the media.

For starters, Brittany says Taylor has always been meticulous about managing news cycles ... so it's quite interesting for the split to "leak" to the public smack in the middle of a 13-day break in her Eras Tour.

Brittany says the timing of it all suggests Taylor wanted the story to break so she would be back in the news during that break in the action ... shifting attention and momentum back to her tour when she would, otherwise, be off the radar.

As we reported ... Taylor's last-minute song change in her setlist is also getting picked apart. She removed "Invisible String," a song about soulmates, and inserted "The 1," a track reminiscing on a former relationship.

The timing of Taylor and Joe's breakup is unclear, and Brittany speculates the split might have happened weeks or even months ago ... and the song swap could have been intended as a hint to fans.

Don't get it twisted, Brittany isn't suggesting Taylor would time a breakup for a marketing opportunity ... but she thinks there's at least a decent chance she was waiting to see if news of the split came out during the tour.

Gucci Mane's former artist Ralo had a Happy Easter despite his ongoing prison bid for weed trafficking ... the Georgia rapper got to hug his daughter for the first time in 5 years!!!

Ralo posted pics of the father and child reunion -- showing himself and his daughter embracing. On IG, he compared their prison meeting to an out-of-body experience that lasts a lifetime.

He admitted current hip hop culture made him want to cut the "rapper" tag from his résumé, but says proceeds from his music are providing for his daughter and much more.

So, he's not bowing out of the game just yet.

Ralo was sentenced to 97 months last year after pleading guilty to conspiracy to distribute, but has released several projects while behind bars.

He's been teasing his upcoming "97 Months" album ... titled after the length of his prison sentence and dropped off its first single, "Street Honors" with Jadakiss, ahead of the project's April 21 date.

Young M.A says she's "very much sober" at this point in time --  and, as a result, she's ready to flood the summer with new music.

On Sunday, Young M.A admitted to making plenty of "wrong decisions in her life" ... and she said, for a while, those decisions affected her ability to continue her career.

She didn't specify what bad habit she'd cut out in her sobriety, but assured fans the summer would be lit with new Young M.A music and she would be dropping a documentary that would disclose more details in due time.

The Brooklyn rapper alarmed fans in March by posting a video of herself in a barber chair ... babbling incoherently while her eyes appeared to be a dark yellow complexion.

She celebrated her 31st birthday last week, providing evidence she was in high spirits -- and this update feels like a double down on that notion.

Taylor Swift fans are dissecting her recent public appearances to see if there were clues about her breakup with Joe Alwyn -- and now ... everything's under the microscope.

Swifties are analyzing a TikTok clip from one of her 'Eras' concerts in Arizona -- where some folks think she got emotional during a performance of her track "Champagne Problems." In light of this weekend's news ... a handful believe this must have meant something.

While the song is about an unrequited marriage proposal, it's hard to say if there's anything to this. TS doesn't look any more animated than she does for any other song. There are also those who claim she tears up, but you can't see any active waterworks on her face.

Eye of the beholder, we suppose ... people see what they wanna see.

That's not the only thing being studied in the aftermath of her split. A last-minute song change in her setlist is also getting picked apart as suggesting something bigger -- the swap being between "Invisible String," a track about 2 soulmates, to another song called "The 1" ... which focuses on love lost and reminiscing on a former relationship.

Seeing how "The 1" made the cut, some Swifties think she was telegraphing trouble with Joe. Again, it's possible, but on the flip side ... it could just as easily mean nothing at all.

The big breakup news came over the weekend ... Taylor and JA are reported to have gone their separate ways in recent weeks. The exact timeline isn't clear, nor do we know who broke up with whom. He's said to have been absent from her tour, which makes sense now.

Blueface will be back in a boxing ring in less than two weeks ... the rapper just agreed to fight TikToker Ed Matthews, who called Blueface out in an antagonizing video last month.

The fight will go down on April 22 at OVO Arena in England ... and the trash talk between the guys has already begun.

Just two weeks ago, Matthews appeared to poke fun at Blueface for his up-and-down relationship with Chrisean Rock in a TikTok that garnered nearly two million views.

The "Thotiana" rapper, meanwhile, posted a video of his own jabbing at Matthews over the weekend ... claiming he has no idea who the British social media star is.

The fight -- which will be on the same Kingpyn card that features the highly anticipated rematch between Anesongib and Austin McBroom -- will be the first for Blueface since July 2021, when he dominated a TikToker and then beat up a fan afterward.

The 26-year-old had been slated to fight former L.A. Laker Nick Young last year, but the tilt was canceled jays days before it was set to go down after he failed to secure a boxing license in time.

As for Matthews, he's no stranger to celeb fights -- he made quick work of social media star Simple Simon in a boxing match last year.

Students at Kanye West's Donda Academy are being deprived of the education they deserve, but the parents should be concerned if they try to go somewhere else -- so says one of the teachers suing the rapper over the school.

Former Donda teacher Cecilia Hailey's now giving a word of warning to parents, telling TMZ they're severely behind educationally -- but that doesn't mean moving somewhere else will instantly correct the problem.

She says the kids aren't getting graded at the unaccredited school, so transferring could be problematic.

Cecilia's worried about the students' futures ... angry the kids are way behind on the learning curve.

As we reported, Cecilia and her daughter claimed they were fired from their teaching gigs at Donda after calling out the school's flaws ... also saying race was a factor.

Cecilia tells us Kanye might not be involved with the school's issues, although she's named him in the suit. She listed numerous problems with Donda, BTW -- including a lack of chairs, locked front doors, and no lesson plans. She also complains the only item on the lunch menu was sushi.

Some KISS memorabilia is hitting the auction block and expected to fetch a pretty penny -- upwards of hundreds of thousands, in fact -- and this stuff isn't even musical, per se.

Instead of music, it's letters ... handwritten by each OG band member, for their fourth album "Alive!" ... and featured in the gatefold of the groundbreaking live album. They're up for grabs through GottaHaveRockandRoll.com, which is expecting these personal notes to reach bids between $50k to $150k.

Like we said, the KISS rockers put pen to paper ahead of the release of "Alive!" ... writing separate pieces of correspondence to their fan base in pretty descriptive and unique terms.

There are notes from Gene Simmons, Paul Stanley, Ace Frehley and Peter Criss, respectively.

The content is quite different in each letter -- Gene's talking about punishing/pleasuring listeners, Ace is on another planet, Pete's feelin' feline-ish and Paul's getting into voyeurism. The letters match each rocker's stage persona ... The Demon, The Spaceman, The Catman and The Starchild.

The soon-to-be owner will get the 4 pieces of paper -- inheriting them from a lucky then-15-year-old, who initially copped them in 1976 -- complete with the glue an art department applied way back then as well.

They're all certified legitimate through multiple authentication agencies ... so we're talking one of a kind.

The current highest bid is $20k and the auction ends April 14 ... so there's still plenty of time to rock and roll all nite, if you're into it.

Unlike her pregnancy announcement, Spice is doubling down on the seriousness of her recent health scare ... telling us it took nearly a year of recovery just to get walking again.

TMZ Hip Hop spoke to Spice this week and the dancehall reggae queen relived her worst nightmare ... a ruptured hernia that resulted in sepsis, and a 30 lb. weight loss!!!

The "Go Down Deh" crooner fooled fans with a "pregnancy" announcement back in March ... later explaining the photo only signified her return to life, not that she was actually expecting. She dropped a new track, "God a Bless Me" as the cherry on top.

Spice says things got so bad during her hospitalization, she actually prepared a will ... as she legitimately feared she was on her deathbed.

She describes the pain as if her organs were under attack and her skin was being eaten away.

It took a team of 14 doctors and 3 chest-busting operations to save Spice's life ... which caused her to spend 2 months in the hospital, and another 6 months relearning basic life functions like eating and talking.

Doja Cat says she's ready to prove she's a good rapper, and to do that ... she's shelving her pop style, maybe forever.

The artist -- who's been labeled a lot of things, but never quite fits into any given box -- took to Twitter on Saturday to reveal she's heard the people loud and clear ... namely, that her bars aren't quite up to snuff and that her rap prowess has been, thus far, pretty weak.

It's a consistent criticism Doja's faced since she splashed onto the scene ... especially since most of her biggest hits are straight up bubble-gum pop ones -- where she's singing.

Now, DC says she's gonna show everyone what's what on her next album ... writing, "i also agree with everyone who said the majority of my rap verses are mid and corny. I know they are. I wasnt trying to prove anything I just enjoy making music but I'm getting tired of hearing yall say that i can't so I will." In other words, Doja's gonna flex her stuff in due time.

There's more she addressed in responses to other Twitter users who reacted to this news -- including the fact that she does, in fact, consider herself a rapper ... up there with the likes of Nicki Minaj, Megan Thee Stallion, Latto, Cardi B and other major femcees, it seems.

Doja also says pop music simply doesn't excite her anymore ... and wants to pivot toward a different sound and vibe. Lastly, she says she talk her s*** on this new project, "Hellmouth."

It's interesting that she wants to delve into straight up rap considering how much success she's had in her current lane. Doja has trotted out a number of singles that all charted well, including 'Say So,' 'Kiss Me More,' 'You Right,' 'Woman' and 'Best Friend,' among others.

That last one leans more rap, but her pop indulgences have proved to be money-makers ... and award contenders too. She's already won a Grammy, and has racked up tons of other accolades for her pop-centric records. The fact she wants to get away from that is ... risky.

Regardless, she sounds confident she can get it done ... and with her track record, there's no reason to believe she can't. Doja Cat is one of the biggest names in music right now, so we're sure she can whip up a damn good album with stellar production and features.

There've been reports she plans to do this new album solo, without any collabs, but there's no evidence backing that. What she has teased, however, are some title names ... like 'Balut,' 'Wet Vagina' and 'Agora Hills.' Gotta say ... those sound like straight bangers.

Tom Sandoval is moving on from the Scandoval -- and he's doing it by getting back onstage and singing his heart out.

The 'Vanderpump' reality star got under the spotlight this weekend with his band, The Most Extras, for 2 live gigs where the guys apparently played to packed houses. On Friday, Tom performed at a venue called the Canyon in Montclair, CA ... way out near Pomona.

On Saturday, he did it again ... only this time, him and the band went in the other direction -- again playing at a Canyon establishment, but in Agoura Hills ... which is near Calabasas.

In both instances, TS lost his shirt ... and handled microphone duties bare-chested. He wasn't shy either ... Tom was up there belting out songs like there was no tomorrow, and it sounds like the crowds were rockin' with him for the most part. All in all, pretty good vibes.

Of course, the question some might ask is ... too soon? Clearly not -- the guy was booked, so he has every right to perform ... and it doesn't sound like the cheating hurt sales either.

He's already gone to the reunion and gotten chewed out by everyone under the sun -- both on and off set -- and he's apologized for betraying Ariana Madix. At this point, though ... this saga's been going on a month-plus and there's nothing more to really say. It's over.

AM's reportedly already lined up her next act -- apparently, she's set to appear on 'DWTS' -- and Tom seems set to do the same ... playing his music and running his businesses.

Taylor Swift and her longtime boyfriend, Joe Alwyn, have reportedly broken up ... but it sounds like there's no drama she'll have to sing about in the aftermath.

ET broke the news Saturday, reporting that the couple split a few weeks ago ... but that the uncoupling was "amicable" and "not dramatic," which isn't always how Taylor Swift breakups go. The outlet goes on to say, citing sources, the relationship had simply run its course.

A sign there was trouble on the horizon, per ET, was the fact Joe hadn't been seen at any of TS's concerts of late. The reason, apparently, is because they'd gone their separate ways. As you know, TayTay is on tour right now -- and Joe has had a habit of coming out to support.

This news is quite the shocker ... Taylor and Joe seemed to be good as recently as this past fall, when they were spotted out in NYC -- not to mention their vacay to the Bahamas last summer where they were packing on the PDA. By most accounts, they were doing great.

JA is usually out of the spotlight, as was their relationship in general. The dynamic between them was, by and large, kept private ... but Taylor seemed head over heels for the guy.

Taylor and Joe first got together back in 2017, so they've been going strong for 6 years now. Up to this point, Joe's been Taylor's most steady and consistent boyfriend since she splashed onto the Hollywood scene ... with a lot of her exes being way more famous.

Remember, she's dated the likes of Jake Gyllenhaal, Harry Styles, Joe Jonas, Tom Hiddleston, Taylor Lautner, Calvin Harris and John Mayer -- to name a few. None went the distance with her the way Joe did ... and many thought they could even get married.

Of course, the other weird thing about this is that Taylor recently put out a new track that was meant to be a love letter to Joe -- although it's unclear when they may have been recorded. In any case, it appears to be sayonara for now for these two ... for now.

Brad Fischetti, the last living member of LFO, says he's not scared by the fact death seems to come early to those involved with the band ... he's alive and well, and touring in their honor.

Brad tells TMZ ... he was shocked and dumbfounded at the end of March, when original LFO member Brian "Brizz" Gillis suddenly died, leaving Brad as the last surviving member.

Lots of folks didn't even know Brian was in LFO ... and some thought it was really Brad who passed. Brian was LFO's third member when the band started, but he left before Devin Lima joined the group in 1999, the same year "Summer Girls" became a huge hit.

Remember ... Devin was only 41 when he died back in November 2018, and Rich Cronin was just 36 when he died in September 2010 ... with cancer taking both their lives. Brian's cause of death is still unclear.

Brad says it's not just LFO band members who have died young ... he says their OG record label head, keyboard player, choreographer and a producer they worked with are all dead too.

Still, Brad says he hopes there's not a death curse on LFO. He hopes he lives a long life and tells us he's got no plans to stop touring, viewing it as a way to carry on LFO's legacy.

Bu Thiam's role as EVP at Columbia Records has him scoping for new artists from all walks of life ... and he's looking to add NCAA champ Flau'jae Johnson to his roster!!!

We caught up with Bu at LAX and he had nothing but praise for Flau'jae, who recently helped the LSU Tigers win their first women's basketball national championship ... in controversial fashion at that.

Bu says he looked into Flau'jae's credentials and everything checked out, as it should have. The 19-year-old's been rapping long before it became trendy on the Internet ... going viral through appearances on "The Rap Game," "America's Got Talent," and her 2020 "Sway In The Morning" freestyle.

She inked a deal with Roc Nation management last year ... so, at least Bu knows who he needs to convince for a joint venture.

As a music exec, Bu also has to be mindful of the industry's changing landscape ... and he's surprisingly open to the idea of artificial intelligence artists, unlike some of his counterparts, like Swizz Beatz, who's expressed concern.

AI recordings mimicking the likes of Drake, Kendrick Lamar, J. Cole and Kanye West are littered all over YouTube ... but Bu thinks the industry needs to be more open-minded and embrace the technology.

Tony Yayo -- the rapper who inspired John Cena's famous "You Can't See Me" gesture -- is speaking out against those criticizing LSU hoops star Angel Reese for waving her hand toward Iowa star Caitlin Clark ... saying, "When a Black girl do it, it's a problem, but when a white girl do it, it's not a problem."

TMZ Sports spoke with the G-Unit MC -- who was trending this past week after Reese's celebration during last Sunday's NCAA championship game -- and he told us the criticism she's been receiving is "kind of crazy."

Yayo said trash-talking in sports is part of the game ... adding he understands the emotions athletes experience when competing, especially for a national championship.

Yayo -- who recently wrapped up a tour with 50 Cent and is gearing up to release new music this summer -- said Reese is popularizing women's basketball ... and she's elevating the sport to newer heights.

"You got Lil Wayne calling her phone," Yayo said. "You got Boosie excited over LSU. This championship was big. Everybody knows who Angel Reese is now, as well as Caitlin Clark."

Tony said he's proud of how Reese has handled herself during the controversy ... and doesn't want it to diminish what the LSU Tigers accomplished, winning the program's first NCAA women's basketball national championship.

"I just don't want all this stuff to overshadow the win," Yayo said. "There are other people on the team. There's a great coach [Kim Mulkey] over there. I'm definitely looking up to anybody that's a role model to Black women in this world."

Beyonce's mom, Tina Knowles, had an unwelcome visitor at her Los Angeles home -- cops say they took a man into custody for causing a disturbance and damaging her property.

Law enforcement tells TMZ ... LAPD rushed to Tina's pad last Saturday after getting a call that a man was at the front of the house throwing rocks at her mailbox.

We're told units arrived, including a helicopter, but the suspect immediately booked it -- thing is, the chopper kept an eagle eye on him. Cops zeroed in on him and, after a short foot pursuit, he was taken into custody.

Law enforcement says the suspect was behaving erratically and was placed on a 5150 psych hold. We're told there was minor damage to Tina's mailbox, but she declined to press charges or even file a report.

Who knew Hollywood could breed such cute and fluffy bunnies?! Well, the proof lies here in these precious pics, and since tomorrow is Easter, go on with your bunny-self and scavenge through our celebratory bunny ear photos!

Singing sensations Mariah Carey and Celine Dion dressed to impress in their ear accessories ... Brooklyn Beckham and Nicola Anne Peltz Beckham are eggstremely cute in matching ears, and Reese Witherspoon served up a "who wore them better" ... between herself and her pup!

These stars are always "ear" for your entertainment! Check out our gallery and get down and festive with these Celebunnies!