Music

Drake took a big bite out of the Big Apple this week, performing at Madison Square Garden to sold-out crowds and partying into the wee hours with some of his famous friends.

Drake, Travis Scott and French Montana popped into the rooftop lounge at the Dream Hotel in Manhattan after Drake's Wednesday night gig at The Garden. Not surprisingly, the trio was the center of attention, wowing all the guests.

Check out the video, obtained by TMZ, which shows Drake walking around and mingling with security shadowing him. Drake was also spotted chilling with a hot blonde -- and the two seemed to be having a good ol' time together.

Then there was Travis, who hit the DJ booth and grabbed the mic to say a few words before spinning some tunes. We're told Travis took a break at one point to go hang out with his buddy, French.

French arrived with a small posse and was seen texting, yapping on his phone and kicking it with his peeps.

Ariana Grande's boyfriend wants a totally clean slate going into his new relationship with the singer ... filing to divorce his estranged wife.

According to legal docs, obtained by TMZ, Ethan Slater decided to legally end things Wednesday with Lilly Jay ... filing divorce papers in New York. We don't yet know the specific reason Ethan's listed for the split.

Ethan and Lilly were high school sweethearts -- getting hitched back in 2018 -- and welcomed a son together last year.

The move isn't necessarily surprising, TMZ broke the story ... Ariana and Ethan have been together for several months now, sources told us both were single when they started dating after meeting on the set of "Wicked."

However, sources close to Lilly told us she was heartbroken to hear about Ethan's new relationship ... and feels he abandoned his brand-new family.

As for Ethan and Ariana's side of Lilly's claims, a source close to the two told us, "It's understandable that emotions are high and it's hard seeing your ex move on, especially in such a public way, and her friends are trying to protect her. But Ari and Ethan are just trying to lay low and be respectful of their exes as they pursue this new relationship."

Drake's joining forces with Snapchat to bring one of the social media platform's most popular filters with him on tour ... and the results are quite the sight to see.

Here's the deal, Drake's recently started using a new camera feature on crowd shots at his "It Was All a Blur" Tour ... an augmented reality filter powered by Snapchat technology.

As you can see, the AR lens makes it look like people are crying ... even when they aren't. Drake is using the filter when he performs his hit, "Laugh Now Cry Later," with the stage screens showing the crying lens on audience members.

Champagne Papi debuted the Snapchat tech during his July 17 show in Brooklyn, and we're told he will be using it at each concert for the remainder of his tour.

The crying lens has become one of Snap's most popular lenses and has been used over a billion times. Drake has a long-standing relationship with the company -- he even performed at one of its holiday parties.

Drizzy's busted out a whole bag o' tricks on this tour ... like an ugly Anna Wintour, giant sperm cells, massive Ghostface, and a hologram of the late Virgil Abloh.

Page Kennedy is feeling the burn of the ongoing SAG-AFTRA strike ... not only putting a damper on his upcoming summer blockbuster, but also reminding him how crappy royalty checks are!!!

TMZ Hip Hop caught up with Page, who says he's in shambles over the strike, which is affecting his upcoming film with Jason Statham "Meg 2: The Trench" ... a real bummer because he says he almost drowned filming the project.

Page reprised his role as "DJ" from the first 'Meg' thriller, but tells us he wasn't fully prepared to film scenes in the ocean -- at one point, he swallowed more water than his gills could handle. Luckily, the crew was able to usher him to safety.

The veteran actor/rapper has dozens of film credits under his belt, but echoed the sentiments of many actors who say their ever-shrinking residuals aren't cutting it -- and he even showed us some of his checks to drive home that point.

For example, his one-episode appearance on FX's popular Western drama "Justified" paid him $123 ... while his time on the short-lived FOX series "Backstrom" just netted him $59.

It might not be a get-rich-quick option, but Page says his love for acting is still there ... even if he feels execs like Disney CEO Bob Iger wear their greed on their sleeves!!!

He's also in the trenches with the picketers every day, and is back in his rapper bag with a new album, "A Book of Pages," slated for an August 4 wide release.

Travis Kelce básicamente vive en la zona de anotación, pero no pudo anotar con Taylor Swift, porque el campeón del Super Bowl dice que no pudo dar a la superestrella del pop su número de teléfono en su reciente concierto.

El ala cerrada de los Kansas City Chiefs detalló su plan maestro para conquistarla durante la parada de la gira Eras de Taylor en el estadio Arrowhead en su podcast "New Heights" esta semana, diciendo que hizo pulseras de la amistad con su número de teléfono en ellas con la esperanza de dar una a la cantante recientemente soltera.

Kelce explicó que estaba desanimado al enterarse de Swift no se reúne con nadie antes de subir al escenario en un esfuerzo por preservar su voz, así que mala suerte para Travis.

"Me decepcionó que no hablara antes o después de sus conciertos porque tiene que guardar su voz para las 44 canciones que canta, así que me dio un poco de rabia no poder darle una de las pulseras que hice para ella", le dijo Kelce a su hermano Jason.

"Ella no se ve con nadie, o al menos no quería verme a mí así que me lo tomé como algo personal".

Jason bromeó con que el rechazo tuvo que ser porque Swift es una gran fan de los Eagles y probablemente no se haya recuperado de la derrota en la Super Bowl ante los Chiefs, pero Travis —que rompió con Kayla Nicole en 2022— se lo toma todo con calma, diciendo que no obstante, fue un gran momento.

Rauw Alejandro is setting the record straight on his recent split from Rosalía ... debunking the theory that infidelity was to blame for the couple's end.

The Puerto Rican singer took to Instagram Wednesday to let fans know the facts, saying the 2 broke off their engagement a few months ago -- but makes it clear there were no third parties involved in the breakup, and says there was no cheating going down.

He says he never thought he'd have to speak publicly about something like this, but the folks claiming he's been less than faithful was enough to get him to come forward. He doesn't go into details on the split, but he's at least crossing a few theories off the list.

As we reported, Rosalía announced their engagement back in March, and the 2 have been practically joined at the hip ever since their romance began in 2021 ... so the split came as a shock to fans everywhere.

BTW, people online have been speculating Rauw was hooking up with IG model Valeria Duque ... and while Rauw's been taking a beating over the rumors, Valeria's been catching flack, too -- and she's since switched her account, which has 1.4M followers, to private.

Bow Wow's getting dragged for allegedly swindling a child rapper outta her hard-earned pennies when she requested a feature -- but he insists there was no deal with him, the kid just got catfished.

The case is currently pending in a Georgia court, but Bow Wow is claiming the plaintiff fell victim to an all too common online scam. However, on social media -- where no one waits for a verdict -- folks went on the warpath against Bow.

TMZ Hip Hop got ahold of the docs ... the suit was actually filed back in March by a man named Steven Roberson.

According to Steve, he wired Bow Wow $3K via Cash App, back in 2021, to guest star on a song for his daughter back in 2021 called, "Daddy's Girl." He says the deal required Bow Wow to record his feature within 2 weeks of getting the payment, but that never happened.

Bow Wow is now defending his reputation, insisting he never conducts business through Cash App and doesn't intend to in the future. He says this incident marks the 3rd time someone got duped by someone pretending to be him.

Sinéad O'Connor, the acclaimed singer behind "Nothing Compares 2 U" has died.

The Irish Times was first to report the news, without much detail, it's unclear where O'Connor died or the circumstances surrounding her death.

The last few years of Sinéad's life were marked with tragedy, including the death of her son, 17-year-old Shane, who died by suicide in January 2022. Prior to his death, Shane was on suicide watch inside an Irish hospital ... but he'd gone missing from the hospital just two days earlier.

After his death, Sinéad released a statement saying, "My beautiful son, Nevi’im Nesta Ali Shane O'Connor, the very light of my life, decided to end his earthly struggle today and is now with God. May he rest in peace and may no one follow his example. My baby. I love you so much. Please be at peace."

Sinéad has had her own personal struggles with mental health, she was reported missing and suicidal in Chicago back in 2016 ... but was later found safe. In an interview with Dr. Phil, Sinéad admitted she'd attempted suicide 8 times in one year.

Sinéad's music career kicked off in a big way with the release of "The Lion and the Cobra" -- her first album -- back in 1987. The album earned her a Grammy nom for Best Female Rock Vocal Performance and reached gold status.

However, Sinéad's 1990 album, "I Do Not Want What I Haven't Got" -- which contained her biggest hit, "Nothing Compares 2 U" -- propelled her to stardom. The single, written by Prince, scored her a win for Video of the Year at the MTV Video Awards.

Sinéad continued to record, release and tour music over the next several decades, but announced she was postponing all of her tour dates in 2020 until 2022 to enter a one-year trauma and addiction treatment program. At the time, she stated, "I had a very traumatic six years and this year was the end of it but now recovery starts."

Sinéad announced her retirement from music in June 2021.

She's survived by her three children, Jake, Roisin and Yeshua.

Sinéad was only 56.

RIP

If you or someone you know is struggling or in crisis, help is available. Call or text 988 or chat 988lifeline.org.

Tori Kelly's moving in the right direction after a scary incident that had her hospitalized for blood clots.

Tori's husband, retired basketball player André Murillo, just posted an update on Tori's condition, saying, "Tori is smiling again and feeling stronger. Not fully out of the woods but we see the sun. Just waiting on a few more answers. Your love and kindness has been overwhelming. Thank you so so much!"

While André didn't include a photo of Tori in his update, we know she's been at Cedars Sinai in Los Angeles since Sunday night.

TMZ broke the story -- Tori was at dinner with friends DTLA when she suddenly felt her heart rate speed up before collapsing. Tori's friends loaded her into a car and rushed her to Cedars -- one of the top medical facilities in the country -- rather than an ambulance ride to a downtown hospital.

Sources close to Tori tell us doctors determined she had blood clots in her legs and around her lungs, but they were working to determine if there were any clots near her heart.

Conor McGregor was devastated to learn of the passing of musical icon Sinéad O'Connor on Wednesday ... telling TMZ Sports he considered her "an international star and an Irish treasure."

The UFC fighter grew close to the singer throughout his career in the Octagon ... particularly after she sang during his walkout at UFC 189 in Las Vegas.

You'll recall ... during the July 2015 performance, she belted out "The Foggy Dew" -- and many have since considered it one of the best entrances to a UFC fight ever.

In fact, McGregor himself called it "an honor to go out to that" ... adding that it was "go-to-war music."

Following her death this week, McGregor told us in a statement he was absolutely heartbroken.

"The world has lost a beautiful voice and an even more beautiful person," he said. "I am honored to have known her, to have played her music both in and out of the Octagon. God rest Sinéad."

He later added in a tweet, "Ireland has lost an iconic voice and one of our absolute finest, by a long shot."

The Irish Times was first to report the news of O'Connor's passing ... though the circumstances surrounding her death are still unclear.

She was just 56 years old.

Sinéad O'Connor was a mother in agony in the days leading up to her death ... expressing her heartache over her 17-year-old son's suicide, and revealing she was living as an "undead night creature."

O'Connor was very open with her emotions on social media, opening up about Shane's 2022 suicide in a post on July 17. Sinéad wrote, "Been  living as undead  night creature since. . He was the  love of my life, the  lamp of my soul.  We were one soul in two halves. He was the only person  who ever loved me unconditionally. I am lost in the bardo without him."

Shane was clearly always on her mind, in a video posted July 8, the singer showed off her apartment, making note of her own appearance, saying, "I look like s*** either way, which is why I didn't want to make a video ... but you know, the way your kid unfortunately passing away it isn't good for ones body, or soul to be fair."

Shortly after his death in 2022, Sinéad released a statement, saying, "My beautiful son, Nevi’im Nesta Ali Shane O'Connor, the very light of my life, decided to end his earthly struggle today and is now with God. May he rest in peace and may no one follow his example. My baby. I love you so much. Please be at peace."

As we reported, Sinéad's family told The Irish Times of her death Wednesday in a statement that read, "It is with great sadness that we announce the passing of our beloved Sinéad. Her family and friends are devastated and have requested privacy at this very difficult time.”

The singer's had her own battles with mental health over the years, including an incident in 2016 where she went missing and was suicidal in Chicago. She was later located safe.

Sinéad's cause of death is currently unknown.

Bad news for Travis Scott fans that were hoping to see the rapper perform at one of the 7 wonders of the world ... because just two days before the big event, the show's been canceled.

Live Nation shared the news Wednesday, saying the Utopia show -- which was slated to go down this weekend at Egypt's Pyramids of Giza -- is no longer happening.

The company adds, "Despite highest efforts, complex production issues meant that the show could not be constructed in the desert." Live Nation says issues will be refunded to ticket holders, issuing an apology to those planning on attending.

The reasoning seems a little suspect considering just recently Egypt's Musicians Syndicate announced it wasn't pleased with Travis coming over to perform, saying the org canceled the show's permit ... claiming the type of concerts TS puts on "goes against the cultural identity of the Egyptian people."

We now know why Jason Aldean's "Try That in a Small Town" music video was edited ... because the production company skirted the rules and used FOX footage without permission.

Sources connected to the music video production tell TMZ ... back when they were producing the video, the company that produced it reached out to FOX on May 8 and asked for permission to use the 6 seconds of video shot by FOX 5 Atlanta ... showing violence at a BLM rally.

We're told the folks at FOX asked for more information ... specifically the lyrics of the song. We're told the production company sent FOX a link to the song -- which was released May 19 -- but the protocol was to send the lyrics in writing, which they never did.

The music video was released July 14 and the footage was in the vid, projecting on the courthouse behind Jason.

Our sources say a week ago, FOX reached out to the production company and asked them to remove the video to avoid any legal action -- which was described to us as a "polite ultimatum" -- and the production company complied.

So the new, edited video has actually been online for an entire week before anyone noticed.

Ice Cube has a serious bone to pick with the NBA and Adam Silver ... saying the league talks a good game about equality, but when it comes to supporting a black-owned company --like Cube's BIG3 -- they've completely dropped the ball.

The rap legend and 3-on-3 league founder teed off on the commish while he was on Tucker Carlson's Twitter show ... calling out Silver for making it seem like the league is at the forefront of change -- when, in his opinion, it's not doing much at all.

He said, "The NBA is full of great slogans and they write 'Black Lives Matter' on the court and they do all those things, but pretty full of s*** when the rubber meets the road."

Cube believes promoting the BIG3 would be a layup for the Association to show they're really about the cause ... but instead, their grand gestures have resulted in no real action.

"I'm just saying it's easy for them to put that on the court. It takes a little more effort to really care to work with a league like the BIG3. You really gotta want to make a difference."

Cube has been in an ongoing feud with Silver ... claiming there are several NBA team owners who want to get involved in the BIG3, but the league won't let them.

He's even openly said "I don’t give a f**k about working with the NBA" ... but wants the league to quit trying to keep his organization from growing.

It's not only politics that makes for strange bedfellows -- Ice Cube's unloading on Barack Obama, Black Lives Matter, COVID-19 vaccines and more ... with, of all people, Tucker Carlson.

The duo rolled through South L.A. together for an episode of Tucker's show on Twitter -- and they quickly found common ground on several topics ... starting with former President Obama. Cube said he was proud America had elected a Black man, and thought maybe "this guy is gonna be the guy."

But, ultimately Cube feels Obama -- like all of his White House predecessors -- did nothing to change his life.

Tucker and the rapper/actor also bro'd out on BLM ... Cube's criticism being the org didn't improve things for the Black people he knows and loves, while Tucker's voice-over and editing attacked BLM for allegedly misappropriating millions of dollars.

Interestingly, Tucker -- a staunch and vocal proponent of police -- never asked Cube about writing the song "F**k Tha Police." 🤔 Interesting.

Jason Aldean has quietly trimmed a portion of his controversial music video for "Try That in a Small Town" ... and one of the pieces he ditched is from a BLM protest.

The country singer's video is now missing 6 seconds of its original upload. What's missing -- footage of violence at a BLM rally, projected on a Tennessee courthouse where a Black teenager was lynched in 1927.

The scrubbed footage was shot by Fox 5 Atlanta. We reached out to Fox 5 to find out if they asked that the footage be removed ... so far, no response.

It's unclear why the footage was stripped from the project, but as we reported, Jason received major backlash over the song last week -- after folks accused him of going after the BLM movement.

Jason was adamant, the song is not an attack on BLM or in any way racist. It has soared up the charts since the controversy erupted after the music video was released.

Jason stood by his video again last week -- telling a concert crowd he's a proud American and is hoping to put the country back to "what it once was before all this bulls*** started happening to us."

We discussed the controversy surrounding the song on the latest episode of The TMZ Podcast, available on all podcast platforms.