Music

Method Man is perfectly comfortable hanging up his microphone in exchange for acting these days, and loves the newfound attention he's getting from the ladies for his work on-screen.

What the Wu-Tang Clan legend doesn't love, however, is being referred to as a sex symbol ... as the inner MC in him says the words just don't make a bit of sense!!!

The 52-year-old railed against the term in his "Men's Health" cover story, where he declared, "I’m not a sex symbol. That’s the whole f**king point, man. Put the words together. Sex and symbol. What’s the symbol? I’m not doing anything. So what’s the symbol?"

Meth has been going viral on social media for his role as Davis MacLean on 50 Cent's "Power II" TV series.

M-E-T-H-O-D Man joined 50 Cent, Wiz Khalifa, Common, Ludacris, and Busta Rhymes on the health mag's special edition cover to celebrate Hip Hop's 50th anniversary ... a vital turning point as Meth says he's no longer in the business of selling records.

Drake and 21 Savage will no longer be hitting Memphis as part of their "It's All a Blur" Tour ... the date has been officially canceled after being postponed.

Ticketmaster delivered the unfortunate news for Memphis residents who had been patiently waiting to see Drake on Tuesday ... incensing several on social media as word spread around town.

A statement posted by the venue reads ... "Due to the magnitude of the production of the Drake concert, it is logistically impossible to bring the show as designed to the FedExForum on August 6th."

The tour has featured a dazzling array of gigantic stage props including huge sperm cells and a giant-sized Virgil Abloh while the FedExForum can seat around 19k people ... but the marriage wasn't meant to be this time around.

To add insult to fans' injuries, Drake received the key to the city of Memphis back in June amid the first concert's delay -- and many feel he should return the thing if he's not gonna perform.

Taylor Swift is sharing the wealth from her wildly successful Eras Tour ... in the form of six-figure bonuses for the truckers hauling her equipment all around the country!

Our Taylor sources tell us she gifted each trucker working her tour $100,000 ... handing out the bonus checks before her Saturday show in Santa Clara, CA.

We're told the folks getting the money are production truck drivers who have been hauling Taylor's equipment for The Eras Tour ... there are around 50 truckers for her U.S. tour, which means Taylor just shelled out about $5 million.

Our sources say the checks were an "end of the tour" bonus ... remember, the United States leg is coming to a close next week when Taylor plays a series of gigs at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood before moving down to Mexico.

Taylor's nationwide tour has raked in $1 billion in sales ... and when the dust settles, she could end up having the highest-grossing tour of all time!!!

Truck drivers aren't the only ones getting a slice of the pie in the form of bonuses.

Our production sources tell us Taylor also bonused band members, dancers, lighting and sound technicians, caterers, and others. It's unclear how much the non-truckers received, but we're told it was a "very generous amount."

Bottom line ... it pays to work for Taylor.

Lizzo is a nightmare to work for behind the scenes -- at least according to 3 of her former backup dancers, who are suing for what they claim were awful conditions on the job.

The singer is named as a defendant in a new lawsuit that was filed by the 3 women who say they danced for Lizzo and her touring company between 2021 and spring 2023 -- when they claim they were either unjustly fired or forced to resign due to unbearable circumstances.

In the docs, obtained by TMZ ... Arianna Davis, Crystal Williams and Noelle Rodriguez say they made it into Lizzo's orbit through her Amazon reality show 'Watch Out for the Big Grrrls' -- and, after making the cut, they allege they were subjected to a number of CA workplace violations ... several of which amounted to sexual harassment, false imprisonment and interference with prospective economic advantage ... among other claims.

The accusations are being hurled in a few different directions -- including some aimed at members of Lizzo's management team, but as it pertains to her specifically ... she's being accused by these women of basically holding them hostage in a number of situations.

Specifically, the women cite 2 different instances while on the road with her in Europe earlier this year. They claim she subjected them to attend nude shows in Amsterdam and Paris, to the clear discomfort of her employees.

During the Amsterdam outing, they claim Lizzo goaded her dancers to touch the nude performers onstage and interact with them in very vulgar and explicit ways. The dancers claim they felt they had to do this in order to maintain their jobs.

Another claim against Lizzo ... her alleged badgering of these women over alleged poor performance and accusations of drinking on the job, which they say led to her constantly threatening them and their positions on her squad. The dancers even claim Lizzo made them reaudition for their spots in a multi-hour rehearsal that sounds brutal -- one dancer claims she was forced to pee her pants right there onstage out of fear of taking a break.

One dancer also claims Lizzo was privy to an eating disorder she had, and exploited that when she felt this dancer wasn't up to snuff ... allegedly forcing her to talk about it.

On top of all that, these dancers claim they were constantly being stiffed on the money front -- as well as having to constantly turn down other dancing gigs during pauses on tour. They're suing for major damages.

Blueface's competence as a parent is being questioned once again ... the "Thotiana" rapper went on IG Live with his son Javaughn, and befuddled the poor kid by quizzing him about his sexuality.

While holding his daughter in his lap, Blueface was fielding questions from fans and decided to rehash the subject and, without warning, asked Javaughn if he was gay.

The kid quickly replied no, but also admitted he had no idea what his dad was yapping about.

When Javaughn tried to move on to a discussion that interested him more, Blueface refused to let it go ... in spite of his GF Jaidyn Alexis yelling for him to stop off-screen.

Blueface bluntly told his son if he ended up being gay he'd be disappointed but would still love him.

Blueface just grilled his son on this topic a few weeks ago ... while his house was full of strippers, at that.

Jennifer Lopez isn't gonna shy away from flashing her moves, not even at 54 -- 'cause she hopped up on a table and did exactly that as a group of her closest peeps celebrated her big day.

J Lo rang in another year with a bash that went down last week at her new $60 million Bev Hills pad, which she and hubby Ben Affleck scooped up in May. Jen says Ben hosted the shindig, inviting their closest family and friends over.

Clearly, she was feelin' fantastic -- getting low on top of the table to Lizzo's "About Damn Time" ... all while her pals cheered her on.

Ya don't see Ben in the clip, but he was definitely there ... maybe cheering his boo on from somewhere off-camera. Dancing isn't his role in this relationship. Or hey, maybe the host was keeping busy behind the scenes!

ICYMI, Jennifer shared a bunch of looks -- she did a few fit changes -- from her party, and added, it's "always a good day when Lola comes to play" ... a shout-out to her self-proclaimed alter ego. According to her, Lola's a lot more playful and carefree than regular ol' J Lo.

It looks like Jennifer and "Lola" are enjoying their time in the new home.

TMZ broke the story, the happy couple sealed the deal on the massive mansion after 2 years of house hunting, and it comes with sweet stuff like a spa, whiskey lounge, massage room, and even a boxing ring.

The front door to the infamous house where Charles Manson's maniacal followers murdered Sharon Tate is up on an auction block ... and Nine Inch Nails' Trent Reznor played a key role in the artifact making it there.

The door once stood at 10050 Cielo Drive, but had quite the journey following the grisly Manson murders in 1969, according to Christopher Moore ... the door's current owner, who's selling it through Julien's Auctions.

Trent recorded his group's "Downward Spiral" album in the house while renting it in 1992 ... but Christopher tells us the singer took the door with him when he moved out the next year before the place was razed.

And, as we reported, "Full House" creator Jeff Franklin's mansion sits on the land today -- and that's been re-listed multiple times, first going on the market for $85 mil but now it's just under $55M.

Christopher says Trent went on to use the door as the entry to his New Orleans recording space -- but he relocated the studio to L.A. in 2004, and put the NOLA building up for sale.

We're told a doctor scooped up the property in 2012, but took the front door out of the trash when he found out its historical significance.

From there, Chris says he bought it off the doc in 2017 and was planning on installing it into an old church he owned, but the historical district said no dice ... so, instead, he put it up on the auction block.

The piece was expected to fetch anywhere from $2,000 to $4,000, but it's skyrocketed past $22k with just 7 bids! FYI, the auction doesn't close until September ... so we're guessing it's gonna keep climbing.

Cardi B ain't sweatin' the Vegas cops ... 'cause she was dancing her butt off poolside the same day she was named a suspect in her microphone-tossing case.

Cardi posted a video Monday, which shows her and hubby, Offset, havin' a grand ol' time on the rooftop of what appears to be a Vegas hotel.

Both rappers are in bathing suits going absolutely bonkers -- Cardi is twerking like crazy in the pool as Offset wildly dances around her.

The two could not seem happier ... her police troubles seem to be the last thing on their minds.

Cardi was named as the suspect in a battery case after she hurled a mic into the crowd at her Vegas concert Saturday, hitting two people.

Video captured the moment someone splashed Cardi with a drink while she was onstage at Drai's Nightclub ... after she encouraged the audience to cool her off with water in the extreme heat.

Cardi clearly didn't approve of the way the liquid drenched her body, prompting her to throw the mic, which first struck the drink thrower and then ricocheted and hit a woman standing nearby.

The house Aretha Franklin grew up in now belongs to a new family, and it looks like they're gonna have as much luck there as she did -- 'cause they got a great deal on the place.

According to property records the Detroit property officially transferred hands last Wednesday when the sale closed. We're told the buyers are not celebs, just normal folks who ended up snagging the home for quite a bit less than what it was listed for a couple months ago.

Remember, it hit the market in May for $379,900 -- that was after it was originally listed in January, and then taken off the market. Welp, the new owners negotiated their way down to a final offer of $355k.

Like we said, it's a helluva bargain ... 'cause the property itself actually has a lot to offer.

It's a 6-bed, 5-bath residence with 6,000 square feet of living space, and it's got a solid brick foundation with a lovely interior. There are fireplaces throughout the pad, and you can even fit in an extra 1-bedroom unit upstairs.

As far as Aretha's ties to this address ... she lived here in her formative years, age 5 to 18. She famously came back to visit the home in 2011, reminiscing on fond memories.

The crib could use a little bit of work, no doubt -- you'll recall, it was actually abandoned for a little while, but all in all, a great investment ... especially considering it's connection to the Queen of Soul.

The lawyer for the family of the 10-year-old boy who died at Travis Scott's Astroworld concert is blasting the rapper's team for accusing cops of trying to sabotage his new album with the release of their investigation.

Bob Hilliard, the lawyer representing the family of the late Ezra Blount, tells TMZ ... "For an artist making his living with music, these are stunningly tone-deaf comments about this preventable tragedy that took so many lives and injured so many."

Ezra was trampled to death at the concert and his family's lawyer is not taking kindly to the spin coming from Travis' camp.

As we first reported, one of Travis' attorneys said the release of the Houston Police Department's 1,266-page investigation was intentionally timed to hurt "Utopia" ... a stance one of Travis' reps later doubled down on.

The Blount family's attorney feels quite the opposite, telling us ... "Of course they would only focus on how the report's release date hurts their album sales instead of the facts contained inside of the report."

One of the notes tucked inside the report catching the attention of the Blounts' attorney are text messages from a contract worker, warning an event organizer that, "Someone's going to end up dead," after seeing people get crushed in the crowd.

While Travis was not charged with a crime, Ezra's family is among those who are suing the Houston rapper ... and their attorney says the police investigation is "damning" and shows Travis is among those at fault for their child's death.

Hilliard adds ... "For Mr. Scott to allow his lawyers and spokespeople to make the reckless and untrue statement that just because he was not indicted means he's blame-free is arrogant and insulting to the memory of 10-year-old Ezra as well as the other victims of this terrible night."

Offset is fessing up that his part in the recent public spat with Cardi B might have been the result of too much booze ... and he wants fans to know he's a member of the "happy wife, happy life" club.

If you remember, Offset insinuated Cardi cheated on him -- with someone famous at that -- but walked back those comments Monday as he discussed the public blow-up with Angela Yee.

Offset blamed Cardi's NYC upbringing for sparking his anger with her "pitbull mouth," but admits he was inebriated on tequila, and alluded to lying in the heat of the moment.

He claims deleting the social media post signified he wasn't telling the truth.

Cardi also denied Offset's claims in a fiery response, and the two eventually reconciled, most recently, dropping their latest duet ... a track aptly titled "Jealously."

Offset explained he and Cardi are still husband and wife even when the cameras aren't rolling, and social media trolls do have an effect on their marriage whether he likes it or not.

He says had Cardi actually cheated, not only would he be unable to overcome the betrayal ... he'd go after her side dude!!!

As for his own cheating, Offset blamed immaturity, and lean, for that bad decision in the past.

Singer Tori Kelly is on the road to recovery after being hospitalized with serious blood clots around her vital organs ... TMZ has learned she's now back at home.

Sources close to the Grammy-winning singer tell us, Tori was discharged Monday from Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in L.A. and she's going home to rest.

We're told doctors still don't know what caused the blood clots in Tori's legs and lungs ... but, for now, she's feeling better.

Our sources say Tori will continue to be monitored with regular checkups, but leaving the hospital and the intensive care unit is a big step.

TMZ broke the story ... Tori was rushed to Cedars -- one of the country's premier hospitals -- last Sunday night after passing out while at dinner with friends in downtown L.A., and she was in and out of consciousness while in the hospital.

Tori previously wrote a letter to her fans while she was hospitalized, saying she was initially scared and heartbroken, but was getting better and feeling a lot stronger and hopeful.

Ludacris believes the children are our future, and he's doing his part to help them lead the way ... by making a huge donation toward the renovation of a children's theater.

Back in July, Luda performed at the Hard Rock Casino in Cincinnati and pledged $50,000 to the Children’s Theatre of Cincinnati to help support its $48 million restoration campaign for the Emery Theater building.

Luda's lawyer, Darrell D. Miller, has ties to both the Children’s Theatre of Cincinnati and Emery Theater as a board member -- so, the "Fast & The Furious" star showed excellent southern hospitality by joining his cause.

Ludacris told Cincy's Local 12, "I'm drawn to the Children's Theatre's project in Cincinnati because of the plans to develop new works that hit on the topics that matter to kids today.”

He added, “The Emery project signals an incredible opportunity for more children to access the arts and see themselves in what happens on stage. As a father of four daughters and a philanthropist who's constantly investing in the next generation, I'm honored to be a part of this."

The theater is currently sitting at $30M of its $48M goal.

Music philanthropy definitely pulls at Luda's heartstrings.

Selena Gomez is posting thirst traps by sea, and her organ donor, and former BFF, is doing the same by land ... with some super sexy bikini action on a beach volleyball court!!!

Francia Raisa continued her birthday celebrations Sunday in Malibu, showing off her curves -- and her scars from the kidney she donated to Selena -- as she played volleyball with friends.

It was another scorching hot summer weekend in the 'Bu, and Francia made it hotter ... leaving little to the imagination in a skimpy swimsuit that matched her sunglasses and hair.

Francia showed off her athleticism ... serving some aces and bouncing around in the sand.

The beach day capped off Francia's birthday week, which included an olive branch of sorts from Selena, who wished her well with a social media post after their recent falling out.

As we reported ... in the wake of Selena's birthday message, Francia followed her back on social media and told paparazzi there's no more beef between them.

Now that Francia's following Selena on Instagram, she's probably seen Selena's weekend thirst traps she posted from a boat ride.

The woman who reported the incident to cops was standing next to the drink thrower -- but she claims the mic hit her too. Some video angles seem to show the mic hitting her after it ricocheted off the other fan.

Cardi B might not get away scot-free with that microphone toss in Las Vegas -- she's now listed as the suspect in a battery ... TMZ has learned.

The woman who was struck by Cardi's mic when she hurled it into the crowd at Drai's Nightclub on Saturday ... went to Las Vegas Metro PD the next day to report the incident.

She told police she'd been struck by an item -- the microphone -- thrown from the stage. Of course, the whole incident was captured on cameras during Cardi's show.

As we reported, a woman in the crowd threw some kinda liquid at Cardi while she was performing ... and the rapper snapped, immediately throwing the mic in retaliation.

The mic struck the drink thrower, but ricocheted and also hit another woman standing next to her ... as seen in the footage.

Prior to the altercation, Cardi and her DJ had implored the crowd to splash water on her to cool her off in the triple-digit weather -- but obviously, she didn't take kindly to whatever the woman threw later in the show.

We've reached out to Cardi's camp, but no word back yet.

Story developing ...

There's evidence Cardi B should've anticipated a fan tossing liquid on her in Las Vegas ... because she actually asked the crowd to douse her with water and cool her off!!!

Additional scenes from inside Cardi's Drai's Beachclub performance from her Saturday show demanding the crowd to throw water on her in between songs because she was "dying" from the triple-digit desert temps -- it got up to 105° that day, so hydration was a must.

Cardi's DJ also encouraged the crowd to hose her down and she didn't care where they soaked her -- she even bent over, and directed fans toward her, umm ... WAP!!!

Now, Cardi was very clearly asking for H2O only to be thrown at her. It's hard to tell what was in the cup that was thrown when she went completely ballistic, but the operating theory is it was booze, and not just water. BTW, the fan has been extremely apologetic since the whole thing went down.

That said, one fan is claiming Cardi clocked her with the mic, despite not being the one who threw the drink ... which could prove to be a slippery situation down the line.