Music

Taylor Swift certainly had love on her mind at Jack Antonoff's wedding, but while that was going down, her ex-boyfriend Matty Healy was on the other coast ... laser-focused on music.

We've learned The 1975 frontman was browsing around a music shop, Norman's Rare Guitars, in Tarzana, CA on Saturday ... the same day Taylor was watching Jack and actress Margaret Qualley tie the knot.

The musician swung by the store with his tour manager, ultimately buying a guitar -- unclear how much dough he put down for it, but it looks like a pretty sweet Fender 6-string.

While Matty was shopping on the west coast, Taylor was at the big ceremony on the Jersey Shore ... where, as we reported, droves of Swifties flooded the main street on Long Beach Island to get a glimpse of the singer.

You'll recall, Matty and Taylor were briefly an item, spotted hanging out quite a bit in May, and he even snuck into her NYC pad ... but sources told us Taylor was "single" again in June, although it's unclear why they called things off.

One of the mothers of Ne-Yo's children is speaking out after he slammed parents who let their kids transition genders ... making it clear, his thoughts aren't aligned with hers.

Monyetta Shaw-Carter, mom to Madilyn and Mason, tells TMZ ... she's fully aware of the things the singer said recently about the transgender community, and while she respects his opinion, she adds, "Those views are HIS."

She tells us she stands with the LGBTQ+ community -- but, to be clear, she's not bashing Ne-Yo for what he said, noting they still have a positive co-parenting relationship.

As we reported, Ne-Yo condemned parents who affirm their kids' gender identity, saying he grew up with only 2 genders ... and claimed he's got no problem with people identifying as they wish, but added, "It becomes my business when you try to make me play the game."

He later offered up his "deepest apologies" to anyone he hurt with his comment -- only to clarify his apology hours later, saying he's not sorry for having an opinion, just for the hurt feelings.

BTW, Ne-Yo also claimed the way he keeps a healthy relationship with Monyetta -- as well as his ex-wife, Crystal, and ex-GF, Sadé -- is by keeping the bickering away from the kiddos.

Sam Asghari is moving forward as a newly single man ... walking his dog without his wedding ring.

Britney Spears' estranged husband was spotted in public Monday for the first time since their divorce, and he was sporting a naked ring finger.

Sam was walking around Pasadena with the Doberman Porsha, he gifted Britney back in 2021 when they were engaged.

The actor was also showing off his muscles in a sleeveless black tank top ... the day after Britney had a divorce party with a bunch of shirtless men.

Sam joked over the weekend about needing help picking a disguise to hide from the paparazzi ... but here, he's only wearing a hat and sunglasses and not shying away from the cameras.

Remember ... Sam filed for divorce from Britney last Wednesday, and as we first reported, he moved out of their mansion after he believed Britney was cheating on him with a staffer at their home.

We also saw Britney without her wedding ring on the same day Sam filed for divorce, taking it off before tooling around in her Mercedes.

Jermaine Dupri feels the city of Atlanta got a raw deal when it comes to commercialized celebrations of hip hop's 50th anniversary -- but Charlamagne tha God is asking why JD didn't step up and put one together???

Last week, JD stirred up controversy by calling out brands for their lack of hip hop soirees on ATL soil ... forcing the music mogul to clarify himself Monday after fans kept giving him crap about his comments.

The "Money Ain't a Thang" rapper explained he was only attacking companies with big bucks for not getting ATL in the mix, and didn't have any animosity toward any other celebrations of hip hop's culture. Parties, are the priority here, people!!!

Charlamagne also questioned JD's response on Monday ... noting how the So So Def founder easily has the influence to pull off the kind of function he was demanding from corporate powers that be.

Several other fans were perplexed by JD's rationale.

Sprite, one of hip hop's longstanding corporate partners, got several rap legends "together" last week ... T.I., Young Dro, Crime Mob, and even JD himself, who was honored with an award in front of the audience!!!

Atlanta Mayor Andre Dickens also partnered with Amazon, Mercedes-Benz, and even the homegrown concert series, One MusicFest, just to name a few, to help spearhead the city's Hip Hop 50 celebrations.

Rihanna and A$AP Rocky are now officially parents twice over ... as we've learned she secretly gave birth to another baby boy earlier this month.

Sources with direct knowledge tell us the baby arrived August 3rd in Los Angeles. We don't yet know the kiddo's name, but we do know it starts with "R" and it's a boy.

The last time we saw Rihanna was back in June, when she and Rocky were globetrotting, she looked far along in her pregnancy at that time.

Remember ... Rihanna announced her second pregnancy back in February, during her Super Bowl halftime show. RiRi was rocking an obvious baby bump for the huge surprise, shocking viewers all around the globe.

Rihanna and Rocky welcomed their first child together back on May 13, 2022 ... naming their little boy RZA Athelston Mayers in a nod to the famous leader of the Wu-Tang Clan.

So the latest development officially makes RZA a big brother.

As we reported ... RiRi went topless during a maternity photo shoot for her first pregnancy, though she didn't share the photos until a few days after RZA's first birthday.

When she posted the pics, Rihanna hinted at a second topless maternity shoot because she included a #tobecontinued hashtag on her post ... so it will be interesting to see if she follows through.

Congrats to the whole family!!!

Eminem's dissed a ton of people throughout his career but Benzino is taking his past snipes from Slim Shady in stride ... while also coming clean he used his Source magazine publication to get a bit of revenge!!!

While speaking on Math Hoffa's "My Expert Opinion," Benzino recalled being impressed with Eminem's 2002 diss track "Nail In the Coffin" ... despite the song labeling Benzino an "83-year-old fake [Al] Pacino."

Benzino and Eminem infamously waged a rap war in the mid-00s that eventually roped in 50 Cent and G-Unit, Ja Rule, Murda Inc., and infamously, The Source mag.

As time went on, Benzino says the beef began to get disrespectful, and he put his foot down and prevented Em from getting a perfect "5-mic" rating for any of his albums.

The rating was a pretty big deal in hip hop at the time, and the snubs clearly affected Em ... hence the lyrics on his 2nd Benzino diss track titled "The Sauce," where he rapped, "'The Source' was like our only source of light, when the mics used to mean somethin', a four was like, 'You were the shit,' now it's like the least you get, 3 1/2 now just means you're a piece of shit, 4 1/2 or 5 means you're Biggie, Jigga, Nas, or Benzino -- shit, I don't even think you realize you're playin' with motherfuckers' lives ... I done watched Dre get f****d on 'The Chronic' ... Probably ‘cause I was on it/Now you f****d me out of my mics twice..."

MMG rapper Gunplay landed in jail after his wife told cops he pressed a rifle against her chest and threatened her.

According to docs, obtained by TMZ Hip Hop, cops in Miami arrested the longtime Rick Ross associate on charges of aggravated battery with a deadly weapon, false imprisonment, and child abuse. His wife, Vonshae Taylor-Morales, claims he pointed an AK-47 at her while she was carrying their 6-month-old daughter.

Vonshae told officers she and Gunplay went out to dinner and when they came home, he was "highly intoxicated and playing a game on his Xbox" extremely loudly.

She told officers when she asked him to keep the noise down, Gunplay became violent and began throwing glass liquor bottles and cups in her direction ... forcing her to cover the baby with a blanket to prevent glass from injuring her.

Afterward, she claims Gunplay then picked up an AK-47 rifle and pressed it against her chest while she held the baby, allegedly threatening ... "I will blow your shit back." Vonshae says she tried to escape, but Gunplay blocked her exit and attempted to grab the baby by her head and neck.

Vonshae stated she began screaming for help, which she says prompted Gunplay to exit the apartment and also yell for help. She says she picked up the rifle, and stashed it in her luggage for everyone's safety and then fled.

She call out Gunplay Sunday on IG, and announced she was filing for divorce after one year of marriage.

When officers arrived on the scene, they say Gunplay denied all the allegations, but was still arrested and booked on the charges.

The Florida rapper recently celebrated his 44th birthday last month ... where he displayed extreme fits of rage after the club DJ spun a couple of 50 Cent songs, causing him to flip out and throw trash cans.

Travis Scott’s "Utopia" is the biggest rap album of the year by miles, earning its 3rd consecutive week on top of the Billboard 200 ... and a deep discount for the project's vinyl definitely helped keep it on top.

Trav raked in 185k equivalent album units in the U.S. alone last week, bringing his total to over 800k units ... nearly platinum status in just a month!!!

Out of the 185k Travis sold last week, 93k of them came from "Utopia's" vinyl record sales, which were discounted from $50 to $5 for a limited time.

Despite the low payout, "Utopia" now holds the record for biggest vinyl sales week for an R&B/hip-hop or rap album ... and it ranks in the top 10 of vinyl sales for any album -- at No. 7 -- since 1991.

Dodger fans had at least one thing to cheer about before falling to the Marlins on Friday ... 'cause "American Idol" star Nutsa Buzaladze had the whole stadium going wild after a killer rendition of the national anthem!!

The Georgian singer was a special guest at Dodger Stadium for the home team's contest against Miami ... getting the honor of singing the "Star-Spangled Banner" in front of 46,000 spectators.

Nutsa -- who's repped by agent/manager Darren Prince -- got to hang out with some high-profile peeps at the game ... including Magic and Cookie Johnson, Guggenheim Partners CEO Mark Walter and Dodgers pitcher Brusdar Graterol!! Small world, 'cause Prince also has repped the Lakers legend for nearly 30 years.

Of course, Nutsa made the top 12 of the famous singing show ... but after hearing her perform at the game, it's hard to figure out how she didn't go all the way!!

Taylor Swift is no stranger to the fact she draws a crowd ... making sure her team met with local cops before Jack Antonoff's wedding to prep for the crush of fans showing up to catch a glimpse of their favorite singer.

Beach Haven Police Chief James Markoski tells TMZ ... security for the singer and her producer pal met with the department 2 weeks before the weekend wedding, and Jack's wedding planner paid for 3 additional officers to be on duty during the event.

We're told 2 viewing areas were set up for fans outside the Long Beach Island bash in New Jersey -- cops also shut down 3 intersections to prevent cars from getting near the folks in the designated areas, hoping to get a peek of the celebs.

For those unaware, a fishing competition and a block party were going down in the area at the same time ... but we're told there were no arrests, tickets, or major injuries that went down during all the ruckus.

As for the swarm of fans, Markoski tells us they stuck around for nearly 12 hours, showing up around 2 PM and getting out of there after Taylor finally left the wedding around 1:30 AM.

Britney Spears is working fast to put Sam Asghari behind her … surrounding herself with a ton of shirtless men, all vying for Brit's attention.

The pop star posted the racy video on Instagram, showing one guy trying to lick Brit’s leg all the way up to her thigh. You can hear the cameraman order him to, “Start at the boot, bro..”

The video then jumps to Brit being hoisted up by 5 bare-chested men around a pool. Brit seems more than satisfied, punctuating the moment with “Okay cool!"

Brit wrote in her caption, 'When you go to meet up with a so called "friend" and drive an hour for chicken! Then you have to wait in the car and need to use the bathroom.”

She continued. “So what does a b**** like me do?! I put my green dress on and show up at my friends! I invited my [favorite] boys over and played all night!”

On Sunday, Britney also posted a topless video on Instagram. Of course, this all followed last week’s drama when Sam Asghari filed for divorce from Britney, citing irreconcilable differences.

Since then, it’s been all downhill for the exes, who are no longer talking to one another.

We covered the story on the latest episode of The TMZ Podcast, available on all podcast platforms.

Bill Belichick might be telling his locker room to be more like Taylor Swift ... 'cause the legendary Patriots coach can't get enough of the pop superstar's toughness after seeing her perform!!

Belichick raved about T-Swift during his appearance on WEEI's "Greg Hill Show" on Monday ... admitting while he's usually a Bruce Springsteen kinda guy, he had to hit up Gillette Stadium when the "Eras" tour rolled through earlier this year.

"I saw a little bit of Taylor," BB said ... stopping short of calling himself a full-blown "Swiftie," but praising the 12-time Grammy winner for putting on a helluva show, despite the heavy rainfall that night.

"That was pretty impressive. She's tough, man. She just stood out there and played right through it."

In fact, Bill even mentions how he can relate to one song in particular ... and who knows, he may need to use the mantra during games this upcoming season.

"I'm definitely on the 'You gotta calm down,' that's pretty good. 'You gotta calm down.' There's a lot of times when that's very appropriate. 'You just gotta calm down.'"

Chrisean Rock is setting the internet ablaze, because she blazed up while pregnant ... and while many fans are up in arms about the baby's safety, others are actually supporting her right to light up.

On Sunday, social media users debated a recent clip from Chrisean and Blueface's reality show "Crazy In Love" ... where the two are having a mild disagreement as Chrisean blows billows of smoke in the kitchen.

Blueface seemed more concerned about money, informing Chrisean she did not accumulate $10 million in her last round of paydays -- but plenty of viewers expressed concern for the unborn child, and launched into anti-Chrisean tirades.

The CDC strongly advises against smoking while pregnant, but her actions aren't illegal and Chrisean still had some folks supporting her.

As fans argued amongst themselves, Blueface and Chrisean were able to squash their immediate differences to attend Jason Lee's birthday party Sunday night in Los Angeles.

Jennifer Lopez and Ben Affleck are officially one year into marriage -- the honeymoon's over -- and she's marking the milestone with a sneak peek of a new song all about him.

On Sunday night, the singer posted a couple shots from their wedding day -- both of them rocking massive smiles, of course.

In her caption she dropped some lyrics from her upcoming track, "Dear Ben Part II" ... saying, "Dear Ben, Sitting here alone / Looking at my ring ring / Feeling overwhelmed / It makes me wanna sing sing / How did we end up here / Without a rewind / Oh my, This is my life."

She threw in a couple of hashtags, too -- one being the song's title, and the other reading, "This Is Me Now," the name of her upcoming album where the track will live.

You'll recall, the OG track, "Dear Ben," came out over 2 decades ago ... on the album, "This Is Me ... Then."

As we reported, Ben and Jen tied the knot in Las Vegas in July 2022, but threw the big party at Ben's beautiful 87-acre property in Georgia the following month -- it seems she's counting the anniversary based on the GA bash, not their legal marriage day.

BTW, J Lo's upcoming album -- which doesn't have an official release date -- will be her first since "A.K.A." in 2014.

Britney Spears fans eager to get their hands on her memoir won't get a glimpse into the downfall of her marriage with Sam Asghari ... TMZ has learned.

It was back in July when Britney announced her book, "The Woman in Me" had finally gotten a release date of October 24. Obviously, fans were thrilled ... but there's been a huge development in Britney's life since that announcement.

Sources with direct knowledge tell TMZ there won't be any changes made to the memoir to reflect Britney's divorce ... we're told the book will be released as is.

In fact, our sources say 2 weeks ago, Britney gave her final sign-off on the book, meaning she had no right to demand any further changes.

What's more, our sources say since the news of Britney's divorce broke, presales for "The Woman in Me" have only increased ... though it's likely those fans don't realize the divorce drama won't be included.

We've spoken with someone directly involved with the book who tells us Sam is featured in it, but their relationship is not the main crux of her story -- it's more about Britney's early life, career and journey out of her conservatorship.

It's been a couple days since Kid Rock was spotted sipping a Bud Light -- and the reactions across Twitter have been just as unhinged as you'd expect ... with people weighing in on both sides.

For starters, accounts that usually push conservative views seem to feel betrayed in a sense ... some writing, "TREASON" another wrote, "I am STRONGLY against CANCEL CULTURE but I am calling for a boycott of all Kid Rock products until further notice."

Others simply seem to be in disbelief, "C'mon Kid Rock, what are we doing?"

However, some on the right are still sticking with their guy, announcing, "I will ALWAYS stand with Kid Rock! If you’ve already had many non-woke beers, it is easy to be tricked into drinking a woke Bud Light by accident. Give Kid a break. He’s fighting hard for our freedom!"

Of course, the images have also been met with plenty of humor and memes as well, one account writing, "Damn, never thought I’d have to give Kid Rock the Bud Light treatment but here we are. Just shot up all my Kid Rock vinyl and CDs. I loved Kid Rock, but I hope Kid Woke goes broke."

TMZ broke the story, the Trump fanatic was spotted drinking a Bud Light at a concert in Nashville last week.

The scenario seemed almost impossible a few months back when KR uploaded himself shooting up a bunch of cases of the beer, exclaiming, "F*** Bud Light and f*** Anheuser Busch" after trans influencer Dylan Mulvaney published an ad-spot with the company.