Music

Call Zay Flowers Kodak Purple and Black ... 'cause the young Ravens receiver had the whole team going wild during Baltimore's rookie talent show this week -- crushing his performance of Kodak Black's biggest song!!

Superstar quarterback Lamar Jackson documented the whole act ... with footage showing the former Boston College standout getting in front of his teammates and doing a rendition of the Florida M.C.'s "No Flockin'."

Flowers certainly pandered to the audience -- Kodak has a ton of fans in the Ravens locker room ... and he's even hit up games and hung out with Jackson in the past, as the two are close friends.

While Jackson initially clowned Flowers -- who also hails from the Sunshine State -- for having to pull up the lyrics on his phone, it's safe to say the signal-caller gave his stamp of approval ... as he cheered on his teammate throughout the song.

The receiver also got a ton of help from the room ... with all the guys joining in on rapping along to the 2015 track.

The rookie initiations this season have been pretty impressive -- as we previously reported, Jets rookie Jerome Kapp also showed off his mic skills as he recited Eminem's famous diss from "8 Mile."

Taylor Swift fans in North America are getting the chance to relive her "Eras" tour -- or witness it for the first time -- because the show will soon be coming to the big screen!

The singer announced the big news Thursday morning, saying her insanely popular tour has been "the most meaningful, electric experience of my life so far and I’m overjoyed to tell you that it'll be coming to the big screen soon."

TS says her concert will hit AMC theaters across North America Friday, October 13 -- Taylor's lucky number. It'll be a long one ... every minute of her 3+ hour show will be projected on the big screen. She's asking fans to dress up and bring those friendship bracelets along.

The flick will play at least 4 times a day on Thursdays through Sundays at EVERY AMC location in America, as well as big theaters in Canada and Mexico.

And you can even enjoy the show with some Swift-themed popcorn buckets and cups, too.

Ricky Martin and Jwan Yosef have reached a divorce settlement.

According to court documents, obtained by TMZ, the former couple entered into an uncontested written agreement. Details have not yet been disclosed, but at the very least, we know they'll both be declared single once the judge signs off on their agreement.

Last month, Martin and Yosef jointly announced they were calling it quits after 6 years of marriage.

In a statement, they wrote, "We have decided to end our marriage with love, respect and dignity for our children and honoring what we have experienced as a couple all these wonderful years."

They went on ... "Our greatest desire now is to continue having a healthy family dynamic and a relationship centered on peace and friendship to continue the joint upbringing of our children, preserving the respect and love we have for each other."

Jay-Z and his legal eagles are jumping to the defense of a Wisconsin man wrongfully, and violently, arrested -- and although cops know they nabbed the wrong guy ... he's still facing charges.

TMZ Hip Hop has learned Jay-Z's Team ROC org has enlisted powerhouse lawyer Alex Spiro to rep Jermelle English Jr. and his family ... in hopes of getting all charges dropped, and possibly to sue the Kenosha PD.

English was charged with disorderly conduct and resisting arrest back in July, after Kenosha cops investigating a hit-and-run burst into the Applebee's, slammed him onto the ground and deployed pepper spray in the presence of his 1-year-old child.

Applebee's employees recorded video of the whole violent encounter.

The video shows officers repeatedly pummeling English as he lay on the ground ... prompting several protests in the local area, especially once the full details -- that cops grabbed a completely innocent man -- were uncovered.

The true hit-and-run suspects were actually found later hiding inside the restaurant’s bathroom.

Team ROC Managing Director Dania Diaz tells TMZ Hip Hop, “The reckless arrest of Jermelle English Jr. and the careless endangerment of his infant child by the Kenosha Police Department is an absolute travesty ... the Team ROC team is here to support Jermelle and his family through this traumatic experience, demand justice and hold the Kenosha police officers accountable."

Kenosha PD's Leo Viola tells us the department is still undergoing an internal investigation, and plans to be extremely transparent with the public once it's completed. He adds, the Dept. initiated its probe without any outside pressure.

Ne-Yo's ex, Monyetta Shaw-Carter, is opening up about what led to their breakup -- at least from her POV, it was about overcrowding in the bedroom ... as in, too many threesomes!!!

Monyetta was a recent guest on the "Haus of Aaron" podcast, where she poured some alleged tea, claiming Ne-Yo reneged on his promise for them to star on "The Real Housewives of Atlanta" as a couple ... out of fear his music career would be tarnished.

As for the threesomes ... Monyetta says she was open to allowing others to participate in the bedroom, but saw red flags when Ne-Yo attempted to make it a regular thing.

Monyetta says she was totally down for it a couple times a year, but any more than that made her feel inferior in the relationship ... so, she cut her losses.

We just spoke to Jidenna about having multiple sex partners -- as he's been using his own experiences with polygamy to drive his music. His expertise is pretty much aligned with Monyetta's POV ... if the woman's unhappy, things likely won't last.

Popular TikToker Pinkydoll is brushing off accusations she's lightening her skin online, but Vic Mensa thinks the issue is much bigger than just a simple camera filter.

TMZ Hip Hop got the Chicago rapper Tuesday outside Dash Radio, and he shared his insight on the subject -- as it turns out, his new song tackles the very same topic!!!

On "Blue Eyes," Vic lyrically details the internal struggle he had as a kid yearning to be a lighter complexion ... even admitting he yearned to be white, at one point.

Vic doesn't know Pinkydoll, but says he knows her scenario all too well, telling us the dark vs. light skin debate precedes everyone's lifetime ... and Pinkydoll was programmed to follow European beauty standards since birth, whether she's aware of it or not.

Pinkydoll's explanations for her skin color looking so different on TikToK vs. real life have been an all over the place. She blamed it on being in and out of the sun when we spoke to her at LAX -- but on Wednesday's "TMZ Live," she said it was lighting and a filter to make her "look more Japanese."

Vic says he won't cast judgment on Pinkydoll or anyone like her, but thinks it's best for everyone's mental health to learn to love themselves as they are.

Nick Carter can celebrate winning a legal battle over Melissa Schuman -- the singer who's suing him for allegedly raping her back in 2002 -- but the war is still to come.

The Backstreet Boy singer had filed a countersuit against Schuman for defamation, but in response, she and her father filed a motion to block his legal action. Carter was in a Las Vegas courtroom Wednesday to hear a ruling on the matter.

The judge sided with Carter, denying Melissa's attempt to get the countersuit dismissed. The judge decided Carter presented sufficient evidence to warrant his defamation case moving forward.

As we reported, Schuman -- who sang in the girl group Dream -- claims Carter raped her back in 2002 at a friend's apartment in Santa Monica. She filed a lawsuit against him back in April, and shortly thereafter, Nick filed his countersuit.

Carter's attorney Liane K. Wakayama reacted to Wednesday's ruling, telling us ... “For years, Melissa and Jerome Schuman have been conspiring with anyone they could manipulate to drum up false claims against Nick Carter in a brazen attempt to get rich off of him. Today’s ruling confirms that Nick will be able to pursue that truth to its inevitable conclusion and expose the Schumans’ and their co-conspirators’ deceit and deplorable conduct.”

Jack Harlow dropped the visuals for his song, "Denver," on Wednesday ... and fittingly, he enlisted one of the city's biggest stars to appear in the music video -- Jamal Murray!!

The Kentucky-based M.C. released the project minutes ago ... which shows the Nuggets champion smiling from ear-to-ear alongside him at about the halfway point.

It's a brief appearance, but it's a cool move by Harlow to show love for the young baller fresh off bringing a title to the Mile High City earlier this year.

Jack is no stranger to rubbing elbows with NBAers -- remember, the guy named a song after Tyler Herro back in 2021, and featured the Miami Heat hooper in the video for that track as well.

Harlow also had his infamous controversy with Lou Williams during the COVID-19 pandemic ... when he posted a selfie of them together at Magic City in Atlanta when the then-Clippers guard left the NBA bubble for a funeral.

No issues this time around ... as Murray thanked Harlow for the special shoutout.

Coi Leray is clearly still irked over her size being used as a punchline on Latto's hit song, and she's doing some punching of her own via her new track!!

On Wednesday, Coi dropped her new 5-track "Blue Moon" EP to celebrate tonight's "supermoon" phenomenon ... and used the first single, "Isabel Marant," to light up Latto in the chorus, "Hop up on that couch and roll up Latto out the bag.”

Coi was directly responding to Latto's lyrics, "Smokin' on that gas, blunt big as Coi Leray" ... from her song, "Put It On Da Floor" earlier this year.

Latto replaced the verse on her now platinum remix with Cardi B and even showed Coi love during her Coachella set -- which Coi appeared to accept at the time.

Now that Coi's flipped the script, let's see how long Latto let's the blunt metaphor go before responding.

Coi also took a swipe at her ex Trippie Redd on the track, rapping how the industry “tried to count me out, and now I'm big as Trippie Redd!!!"

Coi and Trippie dated back in 2019, and their relationship ended with Trippie making a diss song named after her on his album.

Drake's "It's All a Blur" tour stop in Vancouver got a healthy dose of "Utopia" last night ... as Travis Scott joined him as the night’s special performer!!!

The 2 megastar rappers performed their latest collab "Meltdown" live for the first time ever -- Timothée Chalamet diss and all -- and followed up by performing their Diamond-selling duet "Sicko Mode" for the Canadian crowd.

The show was originally set for Monday, but was postponed over issues with the new video board installed inside Rogers Arena.

Travis made a grand entrance into the stadium using WWE legend The Undertaker's theme music as his walk-up soundtrack ... fitting since the performance seemed to have the crowd in a chokehold.

Amy Sedaris celebrated Michael Jackson on his birthday this week -- but some aren't happy about her giving him a shout-out ... proving he's still divisive, even today.

The actress threw up a major bday tribute to the late entertainer Tuesday, which marked what would've been his 65th birthday if he was still alive. She attached a bunch of MJ clips, showing off his talent and iconic cultural moments in showbiz ... including music videos.

She wrote, "On what would've been his 65th birthday, let's all groove to some of the timeless music that @michaeljackson made." Amy also added the hashtag #heavenlybirthday.

Clearly, she's a fan of the guy -- at least on the professional front -- and felt it was appropriate to honor him 14 years after his death ... but many of her followers were pissed.

There's a handful of naysayers who don't approve of Amy giving Mike the spotlight ... and, yes, it all has to do with his controversial history of being accused of sexually abusing minors -- something MJ denied throughout his life, and for which he was famously acquitted.

Still, that doesn't mean people are over it ... and they let Amy know in her comments. One person wrote, "Let's not glorify him anymore." Another chimed in, saying ... "We still out here celebrating pedophiles, smh." Even Bravo's Andy Cohen commented, writing ... "Oops!"

Now, Amy doesn't appear to have responded to any of these folks ... but the fact a good amount of people are responding this way is a testament to an unspoken rule among A-listers in Hollywood -- don't talk about Michael, and just leave it to the normies. FWIW, Mike has many, many defenders online ... but not very many who are notable public figures.

Fact is, high-visibility stars tend not to address the topic one way, or another these days -- and it seems obvious why ... there are still countless individuals who believe all his accusers.

Seeing how Amy is bucking that trend and giving him love regardless is interesting ... she seems able to separate the art from the artist -- that, or she believes he's innocent, period.

The abuse allegations persist in 2023 ... namely, through the claims of Wade Robson and James Safechuck, who are pushing lawsuits through the CA court system.

Paris Jackson is defending herself after not wishing her dad, Michael Jackson, a happy birthday on social media -- a choice that has some fans telling her to kill herself.

The singer did post Tuesday -- which would've been MJ's 65th birthday -- about the extreme reaction of fans, saying some had been coming after her all day for not paying tribute to her pops online, which she thinks is ridiculous.

She says her dad was never into birthday celebrations, and he'd go to great lengths to keep his big day a secret ... but despite her honoring MJ's past wishes over the years, Paris points out the drastic things she's been hit with when she doesn't post about him on his birthday.

FYI, Paris goes on to share a clip from her concert on Tuesday, where she actually paid tribute to Michael with the crowd ... before reminding her followers big celebrations are something he was totally against.

As we reported, actress Amy Sedaris caught flack for honoring Michael online for his birthday -- with many commenters taking anger in the fact that she's paying tribute to a singer who had a controversial past of allegedly sexually abusing minors.

Jidenna and Team Wondaland have become quite the hedonists -- a lifestyle the Classic Man wants everyone to know is not for the pushy or immature.

TMZ Hip Hop caught up with Jidenna Tuesday at LAX, where he told us he's excited about hitting the road with Janelle Monáe and his labelmates Flyana Boss, Nate Wonder and Nana Kwabena for The Age of Pleasure Tour ... a concert that's sure to expose a ton of skin!!!

Jidenna will be performing cuts from his latest album "Me You & God" onstage ... a project that's making headlines for its openness to polyamory, and disclosure that he's enjoyed some group sex on the beach!!!

While Jidenna acknowledges his activities might dazzle most cis-hetero males, the rapper makes it clear he always lets women set the boundaries and create their own safe spaces.

He says that's the key, and everyone in his crew operates under that principle.

It's a delicate situation that some of Jidenna's homies outside of the Wondaland fold can't understand, but he says Wondaland aims to please with everything they do.

Nick Carter is pushing back against a woman who claims he sexually assaulted her on his yacht when she was 15 years old ... he says her lawsuit is full of false allegations.

The Backstreet Boys singer is being sued by a woman who says Nick sexually assaulted her multiple times back in 2003, when she was 15 and he was 23 -- she claims Nick forced himself on her aboard a yacht, and on a bus after plying her with alcohol.

But Nick is vehemently denying it happened, claiming the lawsuit is full of BS.

This accuser has filed her lawsuit anonymously, and she's now the third woman suing Carter for sexual assault.

Carter's lawyer, Dale Hayes Jr., tells TMZ ... when the woman made her allegations against Nick 2 decades ago, authorities investigated her claims and found no merit to move forward with charges.

Nick's lawyer says the accuser is simply "repeating the same false allegations in a new legal complaint" but he says that "doesn’t make them any more true."

As we first reported, Nick is also being sued by a woman named Shannon Ruth, who filed a lawsuit in December claiming he sexually assaulted her after a concert in 2001, when she was underage ... but he says he has witnesses who will testify Ruth is lying.

Singer Melissa Schuman is also suing Nick over an alleged 2002 sexual assault. He denies her allegations, as well.

Travis Scott is ready for a nationwide tour performing his new album ... and he's making a couple tour stops in Texas, with one notable exception ... Houston.

The rapper just announced dates and cities for his upcoming "Utopia" tour, and he's got shows in almost every major American market, except for the place where his infamous Astroworld concert left 10 dead and dozens injured.

Travis going with a full tour -- 26 stops in the U.S. plus two in Canada -- makes it seem like he's not sweating Astroworld all that much ... but it's interesting he's skipping Houston in favor of two other shows in Texas, performing in Austin and Dallas instead.

Of course, a grand jury in Houston recently decided against indicting Travis on criminal charges for the deadly November 2021 concert in H-Town.

Travis is still facing some civil lawsuits in Houston over Astroworld, and with that in mind it seems his hometown is not safe territory ... at least for this tour.

Jay-Z is back on his social media grind, but he's sticking to his pattern of only returning when he's got product to push ... this time it's his new feature film.

The elusive rap legend rebooted his account on Tuesday, revealing the official trailer for "The Book of Clarence" ... the upcoming theatrical release he produced, starring LaKeith Stanfield, Benedict Cumberbatch, Teyana Taylor and others.

Jay made a blip on IG back in November 2021 to promote the movie "The Harder They Fall" ... and then promptly fell back into social media obscurity. But, there's a chance he might stick around this time.

The 'BoC' trailer promises new music from Jay and director Jeymes Samuel ... which could range from a couple of tracks like he supplied for the 'THTF' soundtrack, or even a full-blown album like he did with the 2007 Denzel Washington film "American Gangster."

If he really wants the film to sell, he'll do a TikTok. C'mon, you know Jay on TikTok would be a vibe!!!