Music

Deon Cole won't let fame and notoriety for his less humorous roles kill his comedy drive ... even though he's getting plenty of acclaim for his new dramatic project.

We caught the comedian ahead of the premiere of his new BET+ series "Average Joe" ... which has already been drawing comparisons to "Ozark" for its dark, suburban storyline.

Deon tells us turning over a new leaf in his career doesn't mean he's burning down the forest he built on stand-up comedy -- that's still his bread and butter, and he says don't expect him to bite his tongue in future comedy bits.

He says he learned from Tom Hanks secondhand and credits his cast -- which includes Tammy Townsend, Malcolm Barrett and Michael Trucco -- for elevating his drama chops.

But Deon also tells us the series' directors saw the depth of his acting ability, and gave him the shot of a lifetime!!!

There's "no doubt" that all eyes are on Gwen Stefani when she steps away from her work on her new single "True Babe" and starts struttin' down the streets! Put your best foot forward to see if you could highlight the differences in these two images that are B-A-N-A-N-A-S!

The singer and "The Voice" host may look like she's "just a girl" in England showing some love to her beauty brand ... but can you makeup your mind and find the minor changes in these tricky pics?

"What are you waiting for?!"

You've heard of King James' good book -- but what about one from The King himself??? Well, now you can say you have ... and not that just, you can actually swoop it up, too.

A Bible that was once gifted to Elvis Presley -- and which features his signature, no less -- is currently for sale through memorabilia company Moments in Time ... and it's hocking this thing for a whopping $95K! And, you thought the collection plate at church was steep.

Here's the deal on this Bible ... it was given to EP way back when by a fan, and it even has his name etched onto the cover. More importantly though -- and certainly more valuable -- is the fact that Elvis threw his John Hancock on the inside cover ... making it a collectible.

The artifact itself -- which was obviously once in Elvis' possession -- is also neat in that it contains a photograph of Elvis and his mother, Gladys. On its face, it seems this Bible was actually dedicated to her by her son ... however, it's been owned by other relatives.

Elvis' aunt, Delta, was actually the one who held onto this Bible after Elvis passed ... and she gave the Bible to a frequent guest at Graceland. MiT now has its hands on the Bible... which is looking for a new buyer with cash to burn.

If nothing else ... it's a great piece of Elvis' legacy, and something any super (rich) fan of his would love to get their hands on. Interested parties can contact Moments in Time now.

Boxer Albert Ochoa will be channeling his inner Michael Jackson when he steps into the ring this weekend ... 'cause he just copped some insane custom "Thriller" shoes to pay homage to the King of Pop!!

Ochoa -- who famously took Kylie Jenner to prom -- is set to fight TikTok star Xavier Long at Academy LA in Hollywood on Saturday ... and TMZ Sports has learned he plans to show out with his moves AND his shoes.

We're told the 23-year-old wanted personalized gear for the fifth fight of his career ... so he reached out to his close friend, artist Aztek Kustoms, with the idea of making kicks similar to the loafers on Jackson's feet in the iconic "Thriller" music video.

Aztek Kustoms -- who also made Rolly Romero's Frank Ocean boxing shoes -- says the kicks feature over 4,000 pearl-white rhinestones and black glitter paint ... and Ochoa is thrilled with the finished product.

Ochoa tells us "Thriller," which is his all-time favorite song, will be playing for his walkout to the ring.

"He's an icon, he's a legend," Ochoa told us. "For me to wear these shoes and to come out with that outfit and his music ... it's dope."

Boxing is something Ochoa is taking very seriously ... in fact, he says he's training with former boxing champ Joel Casamayor and former Olympian boxer Vicente Escobedo.

"It's a great team -- having a world champion and an Olympian and two people that were successful in their sport at the start of my career is a blessing," Ochoa said. "It's a dream come true."

Of course, many still doubt the reality star, like they did YouTuber-turned-boxer Jake Paul, but the 3-1 super welterweight tells us he's the real deal.

"I'm a real fighter," Ochoa said. "I put in the work and I've improved so much in this camp. I'm on my way to becoming a great star in this sport."

Beyoncé seems to be feelin' the power of the dark side ... cuz she's lookin' really 'Star Wars' villain-ish while traveling through Europe with her family.

Queen Bey -- or Darth Beyder, as she might prefer to be called -- touched down Friday in the south of France with her hubby Jay-Z, and their kiddo Blue Ivy in tow.

Her fam might be feeling Beyonce's force while cruising through the airport, though ... because she was completely bundled up with a pitch-black cloth covering everything but a sliver of her face.

Might remind ya of a certain big bad space villain called Darth Vader ... the younger version, anyway. Think hooded Anakin Skywalker from 'Episode 3' -- or maybe the all-powerful baddie, Emperor Palpatine from the same saga.

FYI, Bey's currently on the European leg of her Renaissance World Tour ... next stop is Saturday in Frankfurt, where she just might declare, "I am your mother."

Lots of folks' hearts are going out to the five people who died aboard the Titanic-bound submersible ... because they're playing Celine Dion's beloved "Titanic" theme song -- a lot.

Celine's track from the 1997 Oscar-winning movie, "My Heart Will Go On," is seeing a huge bump on streaming platforms in the wake of the sub tragedy ... with over 500,000 streams since the rescue of the missing sub came to an end.

The numbers are pretty incredible ... Spotify listeners have played the song 522,864 times since Thursday ... with Friday bringing even more streams.

As you know, the OceanGate sub set out for the Titanic shipwreck early Sunday morning but then it lost all communications, prompting a multinational, days-long search and rescue effort.

The search ended Thursday when a debris field was found on the ocean floor ... it appears the sub imploded Sunday morning during its dive down to the Titanic.

It's a sad and captivating story, and it seems folks are turning to music to cope with the tragic loss of more life in the Atlantic.

Cole Bennett's "Lyrical Lemonade" compilation is paying tribute to Juice Wrld while coming in hot with the creativity -- an AI reimaging of the late rapper and Eminem!!!

On Friday, the pioneering music video director dropped the Juice and Cordae collab "Doomsday" to kick off his album rollout.

Cole had a 100-foot-long structure built lined with a 360° green screen to simulate an office hallway to perfect the shot ... and there's plenty of wackiness to see here. The biggest, obviously, being the AI face swap between Juice and Cordae, and the digital Eminem at the start.

He says Juice had the idea for the treatment before he died. The song's backstory goes ... Juice and Cordae linked in the studio on September 8, 2019, just months before his untimely death from a drug overdose.

Cordae says he's kept the track under wraps to prevent any leaks, but he adds ... Juice was always excited about it, and wanted it out to prove he wasn't just the "sad boy rapper."

The song uses the Dr. Dre and Mel-Man beat that Eminem used to make his 1997 banger "Role Model," just in case you were confused about the CGI Slim Shady at the start of the vid.

Cole and Cordae debated amongst themselves if reimaging their friend Juice Wrld with AI was the best move ... after all the technology isn't exactly favored in the music industry.

Doja Cat is ready to paint multiple cities red on her Scarlet Tour which she officially announced on Friday.

The 24-date tour is produced by Live Nation, kicks off on Halloween 2023 and marks Doja's first-ever North American arena tour!!!

In the spirit of her blockbuster album, "Planet Her," the tour features red-hot female rappers Ice Spice and Doechii.

Ice's placement on the Scarlet Tour is just another example of her booming popularity.

TMZ Hip Hop broke the story ... the "Princess Diana" rapper had to turn down this year's XXL Freshman cover when her performance bookings piled up!!!

Doechii was a Freshman in 2022, and the TDE signee just topped Billboard's Rhythmic Airplay list with her new track, "What It Is (Block Boy)."

Some of the Louis Tomlinson fans pulverized in a hail storm are revealing the gnarly injuries they suffered ... and it ain't pretty!!!

Videos/photos of concertgoers' painful wounds were posted to social media after Tomlinson's Wednesday night performance came to a screeching halt due to the brutal weather conditions. One fan's back was covered with massive welts. 😱

Nearly 100 attendees suffered injuries as they were rushed out of the Red Rocks Amphitheater.

The footage shows one fan with golf-ball size red blotches on her back...another person with gashes to her fingers and a third individual whose leg looks like it was beaten with a club.

According to the fire department ... 7 people were taken to a hospital to be treated for cuts and broken bones while 80-to-90 others received medical attention at the venue.

As the balls of ice were falling, fans tried to seek refuge anywhere they could and many later wrote about their harrowing experiences on Twitter. One even called the ordeal the "scariest night of my life."

Louis says they're gonna give fans full refunds, or do a make-up show -- it hasn't been determined yet.

Hidden Hills isn't big enough for Nicki Minaj and her convicted felon husband ... at least that's what some of Nicki's neighbors think ... and they want the couple out pronto.

There's a petition circulating online from Hidden Hills residents worried about Nicki and her hubby, Kenneth Petty, moving into the fancy neighborhood ... and hundreds of folks have signed on.

The petition, which was started by Hidden Hills resident Beverly Bardan, takes issue with the fact Kenneth is a registered sex offender after being convicted in New York of attempted rape back in 1995 in a case that landed him in prison for more than 4 years.

As for why the new attention on Petty, he recently filed new legal docs changing his address on the Megan's Law website, so you gotta imagine the neighbors took note.

Nicki and Kenneth bought a mansion in Hidden Hills back in December, and as we first reported ... Kenneth is currently serving one year of home detention for failing to register as a sex offender in California.

The way Beverly seems to see it ... the mere presence of Nicki and Kenneth in Hidden Hills would hurt home values and create safety concerns.

Beverly is encouraging Nicki's neighbors to warn residents about Kenneth ... and she wants folks to sign the petition to "SHOW that you are against sex offenders in our Hidden Hills neighborhood!"

The petition, titled "SAY NO TO SEX OFFENDERS IN HIDDEN HILLS," was launched shortly after Nicki dropped $19.5 million on her estate ... but it's gained a lot of traction lately, with over 100 signatures in the last few days, bumping the number to 862 and counting.

Hidden Hills is becoming the new Beverly Hills ... other celebs with homes in the area include Kim Kardashian, Kylie Jenner, and Kris Jenner, plus Will and Jada.

Originally Published -- 12:20 AM PT

Young Thug surprised fans Friday by dropping an album from behind bars that's LOADED with A1 features -- and, clearly, released to rival Gunna's own surprise project!!!

Orchestrated by Metro Boomin, "Business Is Business" officially stands as Thugger's third album, but due to his ongoing YSL RICO case ... it leans heavily on Drake, 21 Savage, Future, Travis Scott, Lil Gotit and many more to complete the project.

The album proves Thugger's got real friends in his corner when he needs it most, and while he could've asked Gunna to add more star power ... it's conspicuous that he didn't!!!

Akademiks claims to have audio of Thug instructing Lil Durk to save his Gunna disses for his "BIB" album for a song that would've featured Durk and Lil Baby.

Interestingly, there's no such Durk and Baby track on Thug's album and his sister insists Ak's recording is AI, so it all could be a ploy to generate album streams.

Either way, the clear intention of Thug's album is to dwarf Gunna's that dropped last week.

Jack Harlow is learning the hard way that even a #1 single has an expiration date ... even for a track catchy as his "First Class" hit!!!

The superstar rapper got the deer-in-the-headlights treatment last night while doing his environmental duty as part of the star-studded lineup for Global Citizen's Power Our Planet concert in Paris.

Jack tried to hype up the crowd by rapping the "First Class" opening lyrics in hopes they finish the bars for him.

You know the part that goes, "I've been a 'G' throw up the 'L'..." before going on to spell "glamorous."

Or maybe you don't -- the French crowd sure didn't seem to know what Jack was trying to accomplish, and kind of left him high and dry.

Lucky for Jack, the beat drop of the Fergie sample jolted the crowd's memory.

Drake might be wearing Gradey Dick's jersey after all ... 'cause after the Toronto Raptors rookie gave Drizzy a shout-out at the NBA Draft, the rapper followed him on IG -- and Dick is hyped!

ICYMI, Toronto selected the former Kansas guard with the 13th overall pick in the draft on Thursday, which went down in Brooklyn, New York. Dick, while meeting with reporters, said his first mission as a Raptor was to become besties with Drake.

"Gotta get out there, see Drake. I haven't seen him a bunch, but I'm looking forward to that," the 19-year-old said at the press conference.

"[Becoming boys with Drake], that's the goal. I need him to wear my jersey. That's my priority."

Well, Drake got the message ... and since Dick's jersey won't be on sale yet, the Toronto rapper and Raptors super fan followed him on Instagram for the time being.

Dick was stoked and showed fans that the Champagne Papi verified account was officially one of his followers.

"Come on," Dick said. "Champagne Papi!!!"

It's safe to say Dick, who spent one season with the Kansas Jayhawks, had a GREAT Thursday ... Dream of being an NBA player fulfilled, and a follow from Drake.

Quavo's a one-man marketing MACHINE in Paris, where he's dropping a new clothing collection ... and appears ready to blow the lid off a new music project!!!

We got some pretty cool footage of Quavo Thursday completely shutting down the city's popular Rue Notre-Dame de Nazareth … and as you can see the superstar rapper drew hundreds of people out to see him in action.

With it being Paris Fashion Week and all, Quavo also introduced a new line of “Rocket Power” merch, so named in honor of his late nephew and collaborator Takeoff.

He’s been going hard with the hashtag “Rocket Power” on social … which furthers Takeoff’s legacy as well.

Quavo also occupied local boutique Le25Vintage and dropped a few new fiery tracks while joined by his brother YRN Lingo and crew.

You can hear the passion in his voice, and a full buffet of trap lyrics on the tracks.

Kesha and Dr. Luke are no longer beefing in court ... because they just announced a settlement in their defamation battle after years of nasty back and forth.

The singer says she and the famous music producer agreed to a resolution of the lengthy legal battle ... though the terms of the settlement are unclear.

It's the end of the road for a long legal war that's been winding through the courts for nearly a decade ... remember, Kesha accused Dr. Luke of an alleged 2005 rape back in 2014 and he denied her claims and sued her for defamation.

In a statement, Kesha says ... "Only God knows what happened that night. As I have always said, I cannot recount everything that happened."

She adds ... "I am looking forward to closing the door on this chapter of my life and beginning a new one. I wish nothing but peace to all parties involved."

Dr. Luke says he appreciates Kesha acknowledging she cannot recount what happened on the night she claimed he drugged and raped her, and he still denies it ever happened.

Luke says ... "I never drugged or assaulted her and would never do that to anyone. For the sake of my family, I have vigorously fought to clear my name for nearly 10 years. It is time for me to put this difficult matter behind me and move on with my life. I wish Kesha well."

Offset's blockbuster Paris Fashion Week is still going strong ... evidenced by his recent meetup with fashion designer Yohji Yamamoto!!!

TMZ Hip Hop obtained video of Offset catching a paparazzo photo-op with the Japanese visionary following the let out of his POUR HOMME 2024 Spring-Summer Collection⁠ fashion show where the superstar rapper was a special invited guest.

We're hearing Offset has been extremely productive in the City of Light ... taking in meetings for potential collaborations he can bring stateside.

The Migos legend is by far one of hip hop's more fashion-forward rappers ... having come off his 2nd season of the MAX series "The Hype," where he serves as a judge for up-and-coming streetwear designers.