Music

Before this New York native with the slicked back hair turned into an actor and a Broadway star, he was just a city kid, hustling and bustling, scurrying through the crowded sidewalks and making his way to rehearsals.

This shining star took the stage at The Hollywood Bowl and played the role of Mark Cohen in the musical "Rent" back in 2010 ... with Vanessa Hudgens playing Mimi and Neil Patrick Harris directing. Most recently, he nearly hit a 'Perfect Pitch' at MLB's 2023 Celebrity All-Star Game. (His costar Adam DeVine was also in attendance).

YG is ready to get his show back on the road -- bringing his BFF, Tyga, and his GF, Saweetie, to get in on the action.

The trio of West Coasters popped the lid off their joint "Str8 To The Klub" Tour revealing dates across California, Arizona and Canada and additional support from their fellow Golden State MCs Kamiyah and Wallie The Sensei.

Rap show tour dates have been getting slashed left and right this summer and these guys know where to roam where they're most wanted.

Sources close to the tour also tell TMZ Hip Hop that YG and Saweetie are actively working on new music together, possibly even an EP, and will even be dropping a new video soon.

YG and Tyga also have a joint album that's been in the making for years and just birthed a new single called "Platinum" in June.

Saweetie and YG have also been dating for months ... having been spotted hand-in-hand at several Los Angeles restaurants and even a Mexican getaway vacation.

Kissin' collaborators can often make incredible music, you know.

Miranda Lambert's shaming of front-row photo-taking fans is getting mixed reactions on the internet, but Charlamagne Tha God isn't straddling the fence -- he says Miranda reacted like a lame ball when she should've embraced the attention!!!

"The Breakfast Club" cohost pinned the tail on Miranda with his Tuesday "Donkey of the Day" ... questioning how the country superstar could be so oblivious to fan behavior in 2023.

As we previously reported, Miranda paused her recent Vegas set to call out a group of fans attempting to snap the perfect pic of them with the stage in the background.

CTG thinks Miranda used the moment to adjust her singing, which he says was off-key ... but also pointed out that social media rules the world in 2023, which means you're guaranteed to see phones everywhere.

CTG says he'd expect such behavior from the much older Dolly Parton over Miranda ... which is about the depth of the Breakfast Club's knowledge of country music. They couldn't name one ML song, let alone tell her apart musically from Carrie Underwood!!! 😂

Lil Durk's health issues appear to run deeper than what his team has stated publicly ... as the rapper's now been forced to pull the plug on several tour dates as well as his appearance at Rolling Loud.

The Chicago rap star was scheduled to hit the stage Saturday right before Travis Scott's comeback performance ... but has to sit on the sidelines for now.

Durk's also set to hit the stage August 11-12 in Chicago for some homecoming dates ... but as it stands, the matter seems to be a day-by-day situation.

As we told you in the story we broke last week ... Durk claimed he fell victim to dehydration and checked himself into an Ohio hospital after becoming exhausted. Durk spent nearly a week getting treatment.

Durk's planned tour dates with Kodak Black, NLE Choppa, and DD Osama for his "Sorry For The Drought" Tour, have also been canceled.

Jason Aldean is speaking out after being accused of putting out a racially-charged music video ... and while the internet's outraged with his video, Jason is defending the lyrics.

The country singer took to social media Tuesday, opening by saying he's been "accused of releasing a pro-lynching song" -- referring to his track, "Try That in a Small Town," which was released in May but has been making the rounds since the music video dropped last week.

He says folks thinking it's about his distaste for the Black Lives Matter protests got it way wrong ... adding the "dangerous" accusations have no merit.

JA tells his fans the single's all about the community where he grew up, and how neighbors would take care of each other no matter what.

He does not address certain lines in the song ... such as telling people to take their anti-police mentality to a small town, adding "See how far ya make it down the road."

As for the MV, Jason only touches on it briefly -- simply saying the footage is from news clips. But, it's the location he chose to film his video, mixed with the context of the song, that had people up in arms.

The singer's video was shot in front of the Maury County Courthouse in Columbia, TN -- the place where 18-year-old African-American Henry Choate was lynched in 1927 after being dragged through the streets, accused of attacking a white girl.

CMT pulled the music video from its rotation Monday, so Jason's got some convincing to do.

There's apparently some new life in the investigation into who killed legendary rapper Tupac Shakur ... as Las Vegas cops descended on a home in connection to the murder.

Detectives from the Las Vegas Metro PD served a search warrant Tuesday at a home in Henderson, Nevada ... about 20 miles away from the LV city limits. Cops were brief in the details surrounding the search, only adding it was, "part of the ongoing Tupac Shakur homicide investigation."

Law enforcement sources confirm to us the home was in the area of Interstate 11 and Wagon Wheel Drive but, as of now, no arrests have been made.

Pac died on September 13, 1996, after being shot multiple times just off the Las Vegas Strip.

The "All Eyez On Me" rapper's afterlife spawned one of the biggest-selling music careers, not to mention one of the biggest fandoms ... but his family just wants closure.

The Miranda Lambert saga continues -- now, one of the fans she scolded mid-show is vowing to boycott Miranda's future performances, and also defending herself and her friends.

Adela Calin was one of the women taking photos this weekend during Miranda's Las Vegas residency, and says Miranda -- and probably some fans -- has the wrong idea about what she and her friends were doing. On Tuesday's "TMZ Live," she shot down the notion they were being rude or disruptive.

Check out her explanation ... Calin says the whole thing didn't last more than 30 seconds, and more importantly -- she insists their quick group pose wasn't blocking anybody.

She tells us their seats were actually somewhat lowered and below everybody else's seats, and that they weren't even right up against Miranda either -- so when they got called out, Calin says she and her crew were shocked ... as they felt they weren't doing anything wrong.

The way she describes it ... sounds like Calin was having flashbacks to her childhood, when a teacher would wag their finger at her. Basically, AC says she felt like she was being talked down to, and doesn't appreciate it.

There's also the question of whether Miranda might've been distracted by the group's camera flash -- but on that front, too, Calin pushes back ... saying it isn't very likely based on the angle that the photo was being taken from. In other words, she seems to be siding with a lot of other people ... who say Miranda overreacted in this sitch.

As far as how this experience will affect her going forward ... Calin tells us one thing she'll never do again, for sure, is buy another Miranda Lambert ticket. One less fan, it seems.

DJ Khaled had the best reaction to Michael Block's incredible shot on the golf course on Tuesday ... celebrating like a madman right after the PGA Championship star holed out from a distance!!

The two guys were getting in a warmup round to prep for the musician's inaugural "We the Best Foundation Golf Classic" later this week ... when on the first hole, Block found himself in the rough some 100-yards-or-so away from the green.

The 47-year-old club pro, though, calmly stepped to his ball with a wedge ... launched it high in the air -- before it hit the dance floor and then spun back into the hole.

Khaled couldn't believe his eyes ... and then he lost his mind celebrating with the golfer!!

The "I'm The One" producer jumped into Block's arms -- before screaming "Let's go" over and over again.

When Block wished he had saved the shot for the charity tourney later on Thursday ... Khaled guaranteed there'd be "another one" in his future!!

"It's gonna happen again!" he said.

As for Block -- the golf hero who finished tied for 15th in the PGA Championship back in May -- while he played it all cool on the course Tuesday ... he was pretty thrilled afterward.

"Blessed! by @DJKhaled," he wrote on a clip of the shot on his Instagram page. "Did this really just happen on the first hole?"

Snoop Dogg and E-40 are cooking up something together again ... but it won't be studio tracks this time around.

The legends of Mt. Westmore announced Tuesday they're going halfsies on a cookbook fashioned around 40's "Goon With the Spoon" brand.

Snoop and 40 say the book will come out November 14 ... featuring over 65 recipes with some inspiration taken from both their classic music.

According to People, Snoop penned the book's foreword which reads ... “E-40 is my big homie, my brother, my mentor ... Watching him expand his love for food and cooking over the years to his many successful businesses is some boss-level shit. Which is why Snoop Dogg Presents Goon with the Spoon had to be the next cookbook, ya dig?”

Both rap stars' cooking expertise has been established at this point ... Snoop is renowned for his long-running partnership with Martha Stewart and also published his own independent cookbook in 2018.

40's GWTS specializes in ice cream and sausage meats and has been notable on the festival circuit as of late.

Drake is severely neglecting his responsibilities to the hip hop community while also being the biggest rapper in the game ... at least, that's what several of the top gatekeepers in rap would have you believe.

Rap Radar's Elliott Wilson couldn't stomach seeing Drake interviewed on TikTok star Bobbi Althoff's "The Really Good Podcast" ... and ripped him for being too comfortable with talking to hip hop outsiders -- his beachside chat with Lil Yachty notwithstanding.

Drake interviewed with RR back in 2019 and Elliott thinks he should continue to talk to hip hop podcasters, even if his outlet isn't the one getting the exclusive.

Dishing the tea is one thing but Hot 97's Ebro Darden took Drake to task even further, on Apple Music's "Rap Life Review," for never addressing Black social issues.

Ebro discredited Drake's diss of Childish Gambino's "This Is America" ... noting how CG chose to speak out when the country was in turmoil while Drake played the background where it's safe!!!

The pile-up came to a head Tuesday when DJ Akademiks had plenty of "told-you-so's" for his Rumble audience ... after having a rant similar to Elliott and Ebro's go viral back in March.

Ak thinks Drake's silly interviews are just measures to expand his youth reach but says it's criminal he hasn't even been interviewed by rap media's leading platform ... "The Joe Budden Podcast!!!"

Ice Cube says the assumptions he and Kanye West had beef after their infamous back-and-forth over antisemitism were blown straight outta proportion.

The legendary rapper was on TalkTV for “Piers Morgan Uncensored” on Monday evening and addressed the aftermath that came after Ye invoked Cube's name during his antisemitic outbursts in late 2022.

Remember, Ye had claimed -- while on Drink Champs -- Ice Cube was the one who turned him on to hating Jewish people ... something Cube vehemently denied at the time.

He told Piers, "He spoke my name without really explaining what he meant, and I couldn’t leave that statement out there without … I had to rebut that."

As we reported, Ye went to Cube's house last month, and they both seemed happy after the meeting. Cube hinted Ye's learned a lot since spewing antisemitic tropes -- "We’ve talked. I think Ye understands that generalizing will always get you in more hot water than being very specific.”

Post Malone is about to become the first artist to play a show on a permanent stage that's just been installed in Times Square.

The rapper/singer is set to perform Tuesday in the heart of NYC, and he'll be doing it on none other than the new TSX stage -- which has been getting worked over the past several months ... and which will have its big debut with Posty leading the way.

There's actually a billboard covering up the stage right now there in Times Square, teasing Post's concert -- with a plug of his forthcoming album, "Austin."

It's coming out next Friday, and we're told Post is expected to perform songs from his new project -- and probably some old hits of his as well. As far as how people are gonna see Post -- well, this billboard is actually going to open up and unveil the hidden TSX stage.

TSX Entertainment has actually been posting behind-the-scenes footage of the stage being built -- and it's pretty cool ... like we mentioned, this stands to be a staple in Times Square live entertainment going forward -- and it's cool they're having Post handling the debut.

We'll be watching ... 👀

Steph Curry's hot streak rolled right into Monday night ... 'cause just one day after he scored a huge win at a prestigious celeb golf tournament, he got an epic shout-out from Drake!!

The Golden State Warriors star was at Barclays Center in Brooklyn for Drizzy's "It's All A Blur" tour some 24 hours after he nabbed the American Century Championship in Lake Tahoe ... and the rapper actually paused his show to give the hooper love.

Drake called Curry his "brother" and complimented his looks ... before he told the sold-out crowd to "make some noise" for the four-time NBA champ.

Drake also shouted out Ayesha Curry and Sonya Curry -- who had VIP seats right alongside Steph at the concert.

The Currys all seemed to love it -- arena cams caught them grinning ear-to-ear -- before Drake started spittin' on the microphone once again.

The moment was just one of many big ones for Steph in the last few weeks ... he's had a hell of a summer so far -- first appearing on The Match in late June, then hitting a hole-in-one on Saturday ... before earning the ACC crown on Sunday.

Things are only looking up from here too ... Steph revealed Monday his Gentleman's Cut Bourbon is launching worldwide later this month as well.

Ricky Martin's finding a way to have some fun while going through a divorce with the help of his twin sons -- his biggest fans joined him on stage during his latest show and the 3 of 'em had a blast.

The singer's 14-year-olds, Matteo and Valentino, joined their pops during his gig in Locarno, Switzerland Monday night ... something he called a "beautiful surprise!"

Ricky was clearly smilin' from ear to ear while his boys hyped up the crowd in the rare sighting ... no doubt a sign the bond between them is still strong as hell as RM re-enters the single life.

As we reported, the Puerto Rican pop star and his estranged hubby Jwan Yosef announced their divorce in a joint statement earlier this month ... saying they've made the tough call to "end our marriage with love, respect, and dignity for our children."

The couple tied the knot in 2018, with a prenup set in place. Along with the twins -- who Ricky had via surrogate prior to Jwan -- they also have 4-year-old Lucia and 3-year-old Renn.

Pras is doing A-OK in spite of his recent conviction for criminal conspiracy ... at least, that's the update Wyclef Jean is sharing about his fellow artist.

TMZ Hip Hop connected with Wyclef outside NBC Studios on Monday, looking spry and lively after surviving a burnout earlier this year after he denied all retirement rumors.

He also assured us Pras was still in good spirits since we last spoke to him in May after the guilty verdict.

Pras is currently awaiting sentencing for his role in a $20 million fraud political theater, the type of stuff that makes for a ripe movie script ... but Wyclef says don't expect to see a feature film of the legendary hip hop trio anytime soon.

Wyclef says Fugees' life story is still being written in real time and there's no way to put a cap on the saga just yet.

He, Pras and Lauryn Hill recently reunited at this year's Roots Picnic but haven't released an album together since 1996's Diamond-selling blockbuster album "The Score."

Wiz Khalifa is getting ready to throw that high cheese when he takes the mound at the Pirates game ... 'cause the rapper says he's planning on being "stoned af" for the ceremonial first pitch.

The Pittsburgh native -- who's in town for his "High School Reunion" tour -- will do the honors before his hometown team hosts the Cleveland Guardians on Monday ... and he's got a perfectly on-brand strategy in place ahead of his big moment at PNC Park.

"Finna get stoned af and throw this first pitch at the pirates game," Wiz tweeted to his 36 million followers.

It may not just be ganja powering Wiz through the toss, though ... 'cause he also added, "Shroomed out throwin a baseball is crazy."

To prove he wasn't kidding (not like he needed to), Wiz also posted a picture of his supply ... showing two big jars of weed, as well as some mushrooms.

You could say Wiz is sorta paying homage to former pitcher Dock Ellis, who famously claimed to have thrown a no-hitter while high on LSD back in 1970!!

High or not, Wiz will still probably throw a better pitch than 50 Cent.