Music

Travis Scott is still lugging around his "Utopia" album ... but as the project's release date approaches, the chain once bounding it to his security team has disappeared.

TMZ Hip Hop spotted La Flame walking into iHeartRadio in L.A. Thursday, and you can see his manager David holding the case without the patented handcuffs his security guards have been using to keep the project secure.

Team Cactus Jack's mission that day was clear ... drop off Travis' new collab "K-Pop" to iHeart ... a song of the summer candidate featuring the talents of Bad Bunny and The Weeknd.

The three megastars combine for billions of streams in their own right ... and are clearly looking to corner the "K-Pop" search term on DSPs -- a very smart move!!!

Travis directed the video and links with BB and Abel through plenty of snazzy backdrops ...  as well as SZA for a couple of steamy scenes.

The "Snooze" singer could be helping spice the promo run ... or there could be more than meets the eye, as time will surely reveal.

Lakers star Austin Reaves is shaking off rumors that he dated Taylor Swift ... saying straight up there's never been a love story between him and the pop singer.

The rumor initially cropped up a few weeks ago ... with some on the internet suggesting they had seen the basketball player with Swift while the two were at an Arkansas bar shortly after she had called things off with Matty Healy.

But, when Matt Barnes and Stephen Jackson inquired about it all on the latest episode of the "All The Smoke" podcast ... Reaves said it just ain't true.

"I have never met her, never talked to her," the 25-year-old told the guys on the show. It's "all bulls***. I don't know her."

"I ain’t never talked to her," he added.

As for if Reaves would be down to date her at some point in the future ... Jackson actually tried to pry that answer from the hooper, but the media-savvy Reaves didn't want to indulge.

Megan Fox might be bruised after a night out with Machine Gun Kelly at the Orange County Fair -- their bodyguard took down an alleged attacker, and she got caught in the middle.

The couple hit up the fair Thursday and as they were getting off a ride, witnesses say some guy tried to punch MGK. Bad idea when you see the mountain of a man who was protecting them.

The video starts with their bodyguard slamming the guy back into a barricade -- you can see him in white behind Megan ... who, unfortunately, caught some friendly fire. She also got shoved into the fencing during the brief altercation.

MGK was quick to pull his girl out of the mess before all 3 headed out ... but the whole thing certainly drew a lot of attention.

BTW, no better sign that Megan and MGK's relationship is back on solid ground like a trip to the O.C. Fair -- it's a big couples thing in SoCal.

A Boygenius track got some serious praise from former President Barack Obama ... but band member Lucy Dacus isn't thrilled about the shout-out.

"Not Strong Enough" by Lucy's group -- comprised of fellow female artists Phoebe Bridgers and Julien Baker -- snagged a spot on BO's summer playlist ... but Lucy replied to the news on Twitter Thursday, writing "war criminal :(."

It's unclear why Lucy called the former prez out -- he does annual lists like this with his favorite movies, books, and songs ... and creators are usually over the moon when their work ends with Obama's stamp of approval.

Other folks among the ranks of Boygenius -- according to Obama -- were Stevie Wonder, Marvin Gaye, Janelle Monae, Bob Dylan, SZA, Luke Combs, Ice Spice, and Nicki Minaj ... safe to say it's a HUGE compliment.

For what it's worth, Lucy's been pretty outspoken when it comes to politics over the years -- she's shown support for Bernie Sanders in the past, called Donald Trump an "evil, bigoted man," and Boygenius did a Nashville show in drag, protesting anti-drag bills.

The trio used this year's Coachella performance to fight for equality ... with Lucy supporting the safety of transgender children, Phoebe told the crowd, "F*** Ron DeSantis."

Tony Bennett, the legendary singer and songwriter of numerous classic American standards is dead ... according to his publicist

Sylvia Weiner confirmed to the Associated Press that Tony died Friday at his home in New York City. While no cause of death was revealed, Tony had battled Alzheimer's disease ... he first announced his diagnosis in 2016.

Tony set a standard for American crooners with timeless hits like his 1962 classic, “I Left My Heart In San Francisco," and, in the process, earned generations of fans and admirers within the music industry ... from Frank Sinatra to Lady Gaga.

He released more than 70 albums over a career that spanned 7 decades and earned him 19 Grammys. Most recently, he recorded, performed and toured with Lady Gaga ... who had a deep admiration for him, personally and professionally.

In fact, his last public appearance came with Gaga at Radio City Music Hall in August 2021, two months before his last release, the Bennett-Gaga set “Love For Sale,” the sequel to their chart-topping 2014 collaboration “Cheek to Cheek.”

That album enabled him to break his own record as the oldest living performer with a No. 1 album on the Billboard 200 chart. He was 88 at the time.

- Three years earlier, he topped the charts with “Duets II,” featuring such contemporary stars as Gaga, Carrie Underwood and Amy Winehouse, in her last studio recording

His rapport with Winehouse was captured in the Oscar-nominated documentary “Amy,” which showed Bennett patiently encouraging the insecure young singer through a performance of “Body and Soul.”

Despite his medical challenges, Tony continued performing and recording until 2021.

Tony was 96.

Gillie Da Kid's son YNG Cheese was shot and killed in Philly on Thursday evening, TMZ Hip Hop can confirm as heartfelt tributes flowing in for the "Million Dollarz Worth Of Game" podcaster.

Philadelphia police tell us they responded to a shooting around 8:24 PM on the block of 5800 Mascher Street and when officers arrived, they found three shooting victims, including YNG Cheese, real name Devin Spady, who had been shot in the back.

We're told YNG Cheese later succumbed to his injuries after being transported to a nearby hospital ... prompting his cousin and Gillie's 'MDWOG' cohost Wallo to take to IG for a heartfelt eulogy, where he promised to continue to speak out for good.

Cops are still investigating but tell us they are currently looking for a potential suspect with a light complexion male, either Black or Hispanic.

YNG Cheese was 25.

Drake is letting the dogs out ... as in, he's leaving his hotel in a dog mask -- which, let's be honest, beats him covering the Baha Men.

The rapper made a major fashion statement Thursday as he headed over to his performance at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn wearing a doberman mask over his head.

Champagne Papi also had a glass of wine with him ... and paid homage to his Big Apple surroundings with a New York Yankees baseball jersey.

Drake's currently on the road for his "It's All a Blur" U.S. tour with 21 Savage, and Thursday marks the third of 4 straight shows at Barclays ... with three more NYC shows on deck at Madison Square Garden.

G Herbo's letting out an "aht aht" for haters who think his world is crashing down following his recent string of legal drama.

TMZ Hip Hop caught up with Chiraq's finest Thursday outside LAX, and he assures us he ain't worried 'bout nothing ... just like French Montana used to sing.

When we asked about his mounting cases, he said his workload still dominates his time and he's simply focused on doing the right thing.

Chicago Police would beg to differ, after busting Herbo for illegal gun possession a couple of weeks ago. We'll say this, if he's sweating the case ... he's doing a great job of hiding it!!!

Herbo also took a plea deal Thursday in his 2020 wire fraud case -- confident in his decision, and the belief his team would never rat on him.

Switching gears, several videos of the late King Von -- from his time behind bars -- have inexplicably leaked on the internet, showing prison fights and other eyebrow-raising scenarios.

Herbo and KV were friends and Von's estate recently nabbed Herbo to kick off Von's posthumous album "Grandson" with the song, "Real Oppy."

Damon Dash is throwing major shade on his time running Roc-A-Fella Records with Jay-Z ... declaring Nas the winner of the historic rap battle against his camp, although his reasoning is mainly because he wasn't doing the coaching.

The veteran music mogul spilled his thoughts on the "That's F***ed Up" podcast and proclaimed Jay lost the battle when he dropped "Supa Ugly," the follow-up track to his classic diss "Takeover" and released after Nas released his blistering rebuttal "Ether."

Dame says he was away making millions for Roc-A-Fella when he heard "Supa Ugly" on the radio and couldn't believe his ears because he thought it was extremely wack.

The curse-filled counter opened up its own can of worms ... it inserted Nas' child's mother Carmen Bryant into the melee and forced Jay to apologize at the behest of his mother.

Dame blamed Irv Gotti for orchestrating the diss dud and didn't bite his tongue and pooh-poohed every collab the Murda Inc. founder did with Roc-A-Fella.

Irv helped produced several songs for the Roc ... including Jay and Ja Rule's 1998 breakout hit "Can I Get A..." but Dame maintains all his contributions were trash!!!

Swizz Beatz felt it best to channel Al Pacino's Scarface out in Miami for DJ Khaled's We The Best golf tournament ... judging from the new "Tony Montana" track he spun to get his fellow rap stars grooving!!!

TMZ Hip Hop obtained video from Timbaland giving Swizz a grand intro Wednesday as he deejayed Khaled's pre-party.

Swizz let the beat drop on the Scarface-inspired track ... and began rapping about waking up and putting on a suit like the infamous fictional gangsta.

Khaled and son Asahd, Diddy, and Jeezy all approved of the track, and sources at the party tell us the room was quite the royal hip-hop royal ballroom, mixed with pro-athlete elites.

We're told Quavo, Fat Joe, Bun B, Angie Martinez, Cedric The Entertainer, all convened under the tent with the likes of Matt Barnes, Bubba Wallace, Terrell Owens, Gary Sheffield ... and many more!!!

Diddy also got a sneak peek grab at the winner's trophy and hoisted it like it was throughout the function.

Forget the PGA, Larsa Pippen and Marcus Jordan were all about the PDA at a golf tournament Thursday ... touchin' and smoochin' each other all over the course.

The couple attended DJ Khaled's inaugural "We the Best Foundation Golf Classic" in Miami ... and the two -- as they've been for most of the past few months -- were inseparable.

They shared a golf cart for most of the day -- planting kisses on each other while riding from hole to hole. They could hardly keep their hands off each other on the greens as well ... getting in embraces in between putts.

Jordan, though, was able to separate himself from Larsa for at least a few minutes to get his ball up and down the fairways -- and his swing didn't look too bad!

His attire wasn't shabby either ... check out the sweet, pink Jordan 4 cleats he sported for the occasion!!

As we've previously reported ... Jordan and Pippen began their romance in late 2022 -- and despite Michael Jordan's apparent disapproval of it all, they've been going as strong as ever.

In fact, Pippen said on her and Marcus' "Separation Anxiety" podcast earlier this month she's "never been this happy with anyone."

G Herbo just cut a plea deal in his federal fraud case ... and could end up spending a good chunk of time behind bars.

According to his plea agreement, Herbo will plead guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and one count of making false statements. Prosecutors agreed to dismiss the remaining counts.

He faces up to 20 years on the wire fraud count and up to 5 years for the false statements.

As we told you at the time of the arrest, Herbo, music promoter Antonio Strong and several others were accused of running an identity fraud ring to obtain stolen payment card information in order to buy private jet flights, exotic car rentals, a luxury villa during a Jamaican vacation and high-priced "designer puppies."

Feds claim they intercepted several messages showing the men participating in the scheme.

Under the plea deal, Herbo will also have to pay around $140k in restitution to Planemasters, Epic Jet, Woof Woof Puppies and other companies.

TMZ Hip Hop just broke the story of Herbo being arrested in Chicago for gun possession, and he also had a hearing for that case.

Finesse2Tymes is being accused of living out his rap name ... as Houston cops say he stole a rental car, and he's been brazenly driving it around the city for months!!!

According to the court docs we obtained, a man named Ronald Bell rented an Infiniti QX80 SUV on Feb. 28, 2023 from a Houston-area Enterprise location ... marked with a return date of March 10, 2023.

Authorities say the return date came and went so Enterprise sent Bell a notice to bring it back.

Cops say when they finally got in touch with Bell, he fessed up to Finesse being the one actually driving the vehicle.

The report states Bell set up a three-way call with Enterprise and the Rap-A-Lot Records rapper on April 20, where Finesse told the rental car employee his money was tied up in a Zelle twist-up but would have the vehicle returned in a few days.

The docs say when Finesse failed to return the Infiniti by April 24, Enterprise reported the vehicle, valued at $72k, as stolen and HPD issued a warrant for his arrest.

To make matters worse, cops say the stolen rental car continued to be spotted floating around the Houston area ... including a well-known recording studio in the area.

On April 25, HPD questioned a woman outside the studio, who told them she had recently been hired by Finesse days prior to run errands.

Popular rapper Superstar Pride has been arrested and charged with first-degree murder, after police say he's the triggerman in a shooting death.

The Panola County Sheriff's Office in Mississippi says deputies were called to a residence Wednesday afternoon, where they found a 40-year-old man dead from gunshot wounds ... cops say the ensuing investigation led them to believe Superstar Pride was the suspect.

The "Painting Pictures" rapper surrendered to authorities a few hours later, and deputies say he was booked at the Panola County Detention Center. Prosecutors charged him with first-degree murder.

Ariana Grande is dating one of her "Wicked' costars ... TMZ has learned, following her split with hubby Dalton Gomez.

Sources with direct knowledge tell us she and Ethan Slater -- who plays Boq in the film adaption of the Broadway musical -- started dating several months ago during production of the flick.

It was back in March when a photo circulated, showing Ariana and Ethan next to each other as the cast of "Wicked" celebrated Michelle Yeoh’s Oscar win in London.

TMZ broke the story, Ariana and Dalton have yet to file divorce docs -- though our sources say those are coming -- but their relationship has been over since January. We're told Ariana and Dalton remain friendly, and he's been dating as well.

As for Ethan, he's been married to singer Lilly Jay since 2018, and they welcomed a son last year. Our sources say Ariana and Ethan did not start dating until after he separated from Lilly.

Ethan's a talented dude, working as an actor, singer, composer and writer. He got his big break recently as SpongeBob Squarepants in the Broadway musical -- for which he earned a Tony Award nomination.

We've now obtained the search warrant, listing the items taken from inside the home, which included lap tops, iPads, a USB and hard drive. There were also books taken -- including Keffe D's "Compton Street Legends" and a bunch of photographs.

The home Las Vegas cops raided in connection with the Tupac Shakur murder case was lit up with police lights in the dead of night, creating a chaotic scene ... seen in this new video.

TMZ obtained dramatic footage from Monday night's SWAT operation when Vegas Metro PD descended on the quiet Henderson, NV neighborhood around 10 PM ... honing in on one house and shouting for the people inside to come out with their hands up.

Watch for yourself ... you hear an officer talking through a megaphone, telling a woman to drop her cigarettes and comply with his demands.

Eventually, he starts to bark orders at a man as well ... telling him to turn around, put his hands in the air, and walk backward. It's unclear if these 2 people were the only ones inside, or if they were detained or arrested.

As we reported ... cops were executing a search warrant, but we still don't know what their probable cause was to obtain that warrant. Once inside, though, they seized hard drives and photos of possible suspects in Tupac's murder ... according to an ABC News report.

TMZ broke the story ... the house is owned by Paula Clemons, who's married to a former Crip named Keffe D. For years, he's claimed his nephew, Orlando Anderson, fired the fatal shots at Pac just off the Vegas Strip in 1996, and that he was in the car with him at the time.

We don't know for certain Paula or Keefe are currently living at Henderson home. Neighbors in the area tell TMZ the couple they've seen in the house moved there in 2016.

We're told they've always been nice, saying hi to folks ... with no suspicious behavior.

TMZ also knows cops were here at this address for about 2 hours conducting the search. The big unanswered question is whether they found anything that could close the Tupac murder case.