Music

Diddy chose to do the right thing over money -- evidenced in the fact that he turned down a fortune to make sure his former artists have control of their own music .. TMZ has learned.

Sources with direct knowledge tell us the media mogul and Bad Boy label honcho is making an unprecedented move in the music industry right now -- namely, handing over the publishing rights to several of his former BB acts ... and forsaking a lot of cash to do so.

Word of this started to percolate just a few days ago, when Cam'ron took to social media to announce that Ma$e had finally sealed the deal with Puff and secured his catalog for himself.

It sounds like that had been a long time coming, but what we're told is ... Ma$e is far from the only ex-Bad Boy artist to be receiving the rights to their music -- several others have recently signed deals with Diddy to do the exact same thing, including some huge names.

Our sources tell us that some of the other artists to have gotten a similar deal recently include ... Faith Evans, The Lox, 112, the Notorious B.I.G.'s estate, and others. BTW, Diddy is hooking up the writers who were working with him too ... they're getting a cut in all this.

Here's the kicker ... in opting to do this -- which we're told Diddy sees as the noble move -- he actually sacrificed quite a bit of dough, to the tune of hundreds of millions of dollars. Our sources say Diddy has been approached for Bad Boy's entire portfolio and was offered a king's ransom for it all ... but he turned that down and chose to go down this route instead.

Again, we're told the rationale for this boils down to wanting to revolutionize the industry with this to empower artists and to switch up the dynamic -- which has been a certain way for a long time. As part of his legacy, Diddy's hoping to enrich others in his community.

This is a big part of Diddy's identity lately -- as seen with other charitable efforts he's taken -- and now ... he's mirroring that same energy here as a label exec, choosing people over personal wealth. Our sources say he hopes others in the music biz will follow suit.

Diddy's empire is already as big as they come, so the fact he's breaking a small piece of it off and giving back to those who helped him build this is a pretty awesome thing to see.

Smash Mouth's lead singer, Steve Harwell, has died ... TMZ has learned.

The rock band's longtime frontman -- who was one of the original founding members dating back to 1994 -- passed away Monday morning at his home in Boise, Idaho as a result of liver failure -- this according to his manager.

We're told he was surrounded by family and friends and passed peacefully and comfortably.

TMZ broke the story ... Steve had been in hospice and was given only days to live this past weekend. As such, he was receiving end-of-life care at home with friends/family. We'd been told he succumbed to his health battles over alcohol abuse, among other ailments.

Remember, SH announced he was retiring from performing a couple years ago following a show in which he was found to have been slurring his words and acting erratic onstage.

His passing marks a tragic day for Smash Mouth fans -- of which there are many. His band skyrocketed to fame in the late '90s and early 2000s, on account of their album "Astro Lounge" ... which featured some of their most famous songs, like "All Star."

Of course, their involvement in the "Shrek" film put them on another level of fame -- as did their cover of The Monkees' hit song "I'm a Believer." Around this time, they were huge. Other notable tracks that Steve contributed to ... "Walkin' On the Sun," "Then the Morning Comes," "Can't Get Enough of You Baby," "Pacific Coast Party" and "Why Can't We Be Friends."

Steve dealt with hardships through much of his life -- his infant son died at only 6 months due to leukemia -- and he himself had been diagnosed with illnesses over the years too.

Despite this, he carried on with a smile and did what he loved in music and performing ... bringing joy to many, many listeners throughout his career. Steve was only 56.

Joe Jonas has been shopping for divorce lawyers, as TMZ first reported, but he's not giving up the symbol of marriage ... he was wearing his wedding ring Sunday night at his concert.

Joe and his bros performed at the Moody Center in Austin, and the gold band on his ring finger was impossible to miss.

It's unclear what message he's sending, but it comes after fans noticed he had not been wearing the ring recently and people began to wonder if the marriage was in trouble.

TMZ broke the story ... Joe and wife Sophie Turner have been having problems for the last 6 months and Joe's team has contacted at least 2 divorce lawyers over the past few days for the purpose of ending his marriage.

Sophie was rocking out at Yankee Stadium at the Jonas Brothers’ kickoff concert last month but has been MIA ever since.

As we reported, Joe has been caring for the couple's 2 young children most of the time over the last 3 months, even as the band toured the U.S.

TMZ also noted that regardless of whether he rocks the ring or doesn't ... our sources are firm on this much -- their marriage is circling the drain and on its way to family court in due time.

Kanye West and Bianca Censori can't seem to stay out of trouble in Italy ... the couple was reportedly barred from using a Venice boat rental company due to indecent exposure.

The ban stems from an incident last Monday when the rapper and his model wife were riding in a water taxi through the historic island city, according to Daily Mail Australia.

One photo caught Bianca kneeling in front of Kanye, who was seated on a bench with his hand gripping the back of her head. Another snap showed Kanye's pants pulled down from behind, revealing his butt crack.

The water taxi company, Venezia Turismo Motoscafi, was totally in the dark until the images surfaced in the media.

Now, a rep for the company has issued a statement, saying, Ye and Bianca are "no longer welcome" on its vessels.

The spokesperson insisted the driver didn't see "these obscenities" because he was too busy operating the boat. If he had, he would have immediately reported Ye and Bianca to the authorities.

What's more ... the rep claimed a third person, who was with Ye and Bianca, blocked the driver's view of the couple.

Britney Spears has been steering clear of a bunch of different social media deals, TMZ has learned ... despite a potentially big payday for some Instagram posts.

We've learned several companies have contacted Britney's reps, asking if she'd promote their products online for a decent chunk of change.

We're told Britney has turned thumbs down on the offers, in part because she wasn't crazy about the companies. We're also told the companies wanted more than just a post ... they wanted a photo shoot and some video of her pitching the product.

There is big money to be made ... we're hearing Gwyneth Paltrow gets around $100k for a single Insta post promoting products, and Kim Kardashian has snagged around a million bucks for a single post.

Britney has around 42 million followers on social media, so she could make a killing, but for now, she's taking a hard pass.

Hurricane Chris was found not guilty of 2nd-degree murder in March ... a grueling three-year battle, the "Ay Bay Bay" rapper says cost him over a million dollars in potential earnings.

It's a point of contention for Chris, who tells us the Shreveport police didn't properly investigate the scene back in June 2020 and he's now preparing to sue for all damages and lost wages.

A jury determined Chris acted in self-defense when he shot and killed Danzeria Farris Jr. at a Texaco station in their hometown ... but only, he claims, after a key investigator was nailed on the stand for failing to track the witnesses and identify the threat on Chris' life.

Chris says the situation left him remorseful, as he's actually friends with some of the deceased's family members. He's excited to resume his career ... which will include acting.

Chris says he had to miss out on auditions for hit TV shows such as "Snowfall" and 50 Cent's "BMF" ... roles he says his real-life experiences would've enabled him to slay.

On the music front, Chris is aiming for a comeback with a pair of mixtapes he plans on dropping before the year is up.

Steve Harwell is experiencing the last chapter of his life -- this after battling medical complications for years -- and his family is saying their goodbyes ... TMZ has learned.

A manager for the Smash Mouth lead singer tells us Steve has been struggling with alcohol abuse throughout his life -- and now, he's reached the final stage of liver failure ... for which he'd, up until recently, been receiving treatment at a hospital.

At this point, we're told SH is in hospice at home ... where his friends and loved ones have gathered over the past 3 days. Steve's manager says he likely has only a week or so to live.

This news comes almost 2 years after a troubling incident involving Steve ... where he appeared incredibly disoriented during a live performance, slurring his words and yelling at the audience. It was concerning at the time, and shortly thereafter ... he said he was retiring.

At the time, sources close to Steve told us he'd been battling ongoing health issues -- stemming from a number of diagnoses he'd received over the years, including cardiomyopathy, heart failure and Wernicke's encephalopathy. His substance abuse was also mentioned to us back then ... which we were told had contributed to his declining state.

It's an incredibly sad development for fans of his ... and for music lovers everywhere.

Smash Mouth contributed some of the biggest pop culture hits in the early 2000s -- including, of course, "All Star," "I'm a Believer" and others ... some of which were featured in "Shrek."

Beyoncé's second show in L.A. wasn't able to escape criticism from some fans who recently saw Taylor Swift at the same venue ... and who noticed a big difference in visibility. 👀

Here's the deal ... Bey has been performing at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood these past couple nights -- which is a go-to stop for big touring artists these days ... and one that TayTay also performed at just a few weeks ago to cap off her U.S. leg of the Eras Tour.

Folks who went to both SoFi concerts (Bey's and Taylor's, that is) are walking away with an interesting comparison ... namely, the monitor system. Based on some of these posts, it appears some felt Bey might've cut a few corners in the display ... whereas Taylor didn't.

What they're referring to is SoFi' 360-degree, circular videoboard -- which hangs suspended in the middle of the facility and which has massive LED screens all around it (inside and out) ... so that people in the nosebleeds can watch whatever action is going on down below.

Take a look at these videos people are posting juxtaposing the performances ... they're pointing out Taylor had that circular videoboard on the entire time, and that each screen was turned on as well. In Beyonce's case, it appears only one monitor on the videoboard was on ... and the rest of them were turned off. In other words, ticket buyers who were further out had to rely on just a couple of giant monitors on Beyonce's main stage.

Some of these Beyonce clips are a little cringeworthy ... 'cause people from certain angles legitimately couldn't witness much at all -- other than tiny specks down on the ground.

And yet, for the Taylor Swift crowd ... even the people who were furthest away seemed to have had a great view of the performance, all because that circular videoboard was turned on.

Now, there's been some speculation as to why this was the case for one and not the other ... and it all has to do with what some claim is SoFi actually charging artists/their touring companies to run and operate those monitors -- and, presumably, it isn't all that cheap.

We haven't been able to find any definitive evidence that SoFi even charges for this feature, or that the alleged cost is passed on to the artist -- but if that is the case, it's interesting.

The bigger picture here is that Swifties and Beyhivers continue to be at odds over which star is doing the touring thing better right now, but we won't weigh into all that. No thanks!

One last thing ... Chart Data claimed this past week that Beyonce's Renaissance tour had broken a record by becoming the highest-grossing tour by a solo female artist since Madonna's Sticky & Sweet Tour, raking in $461 million so far. What that report fails to acknowledge, strangely, is that Taylor's Eras Tour has been projected to be in the billions.

Joe Jonas and Sophie Turner are headed toward divorce ... TMZ has learned.

Sources with direct knowledge tell TMZ ... Joe had his people contact and consult with at least 2 L.A.-area divorce lawyers and he is on the cusp of filing divorce docs to end his marriage to Sophie.

Our sources say the couple has had "serious problems" for at least 6 months.

We're told over the last 3 months, Joe has been caring for their 2 young children "pretty much all of the time," even as his band was touring. We're told Joe currently has both kids, as the group plays around the U.S.

On the surface, it seems there's been no outward signs of trouble. Joe and Sophie have attended events together. However, in recent weeks ... Joe has been seen not wearing his ring.

And they recently sold their Miami mansion. They bought that place just a year ago ... and sold it fairly quickly, for a decent profit.

Joe and Sophie first linked up in 2016 ... and got engaged a year later. In 2019, they were married -- Vegas-style -- and have been living the family life ever since ... quickly welcoming their first kid in 2020 ... and another in 2022. A lot has happened for them in 4 years.

Professionally, Joe and Sophie have been busy -- mostly JJ, though. He's gone on tour with his brothers recently and is scheduled to perform through the winter. Sophie's done some TV/movie stuff in recent years -- but isn't nearly as active as she was during her 'GoT' days.

BTW, they're both still young ... Joe's just 34, and Sophie's only 27.

We reached out to reps for Joe and Sophie. So far, no word back.

10:29 AM PT -- Aquí hay una foto de Joe andando sin anillo hace apenas unas semanas en Nueva York, mientras iba por un café.

Sin embargo, parece que el rostro de Jonas Brothers va y viene en eso de ponerse y sacarse el anillo. Ayer mismo publicó una foto de él y sus hermanos durante el Día del Trabajo, en donde aparecía con él puesto. Por supuesto, algunas fans tomaron esta foto como una señal de que estaba todo bien, lo que sabemos que no es así.

Independientemente de si lleva o no el anillo, nuestras fuentes son firmes en decir que su matrimonio está dando vueltas por el desagüe y se dirige a los tribunales de familia.

Joe Jonas y Sophie Turner estarían por divorciarse, según ha indagado TMZ.

Fuentes con conocimiento directo le han dicho a TMZ, que Joe le pidió a su gente que se contacte con al menos dos abogados de divorcio en Los Ángeles, y que estaría a punto de presentar los documentos de divorcio para poner fin a su matrimonio con Sophie.

Nuestras fuentes también dicen que la pareja ha tenido "serios problemas" durante al menos seis meses.

Agregan que en los últimos tres meses, Joe ha estado cuidando de sus dos hijas pequeñas "casi todo el tiempo", incluso mientras andaba de gira con su banda. Nos dicen que actualmente Joe está con las dos niñas, mientras su grupo toca por todo EE.UU.

A primera vista, pareciera que no hay signos de problemas en la pareja. Joe y Sophie han asistido a algunos eventos juntos. Sin embargo, en las últimas semanas el cantante y músico ha sido visto sin su anillo de matrimonio.

Y recientemente vendieron su mansión de Miami. La pareja había comprado el lugar hace apenas un año y lo pusieron en venta bastante rápido por una ganancia decente.

Joe y Sophie se engancharon por primera vez en 2016 y se comprometieron un año después. En 2019 se casaron -al estilo de Las Vegas- y han estado viviendo una vida familiar desde entonces, dando la bienvenida rápidamente a su primera hija en 2020 y, a otra en 2022. Muchas cosas han pasado en estos 4 años.

Profesionalmente, Joe y Sophie han estado ocupados, sobre todo JJ. Junto a su banda ha estado de gira recientemente y tiene previsto actuar durante el invierno. Sophie, por su parte, ha hecho algunas cosas en televisión y cine en los últimos años. Pero ya no está tan activa como en sus días junto a Game of Thrones.

Por cierto, ambos son jóvenes... Joe tiene 34 años y Sophie solo 27.

Nos pusimos en contacto con los representantes de ambos y hasta ahora no hemos tenido respuesta.

Erica Mena apparently wasn't just kicking and screaming during her arrest last weekend in Atlanta -- she was allegedly biting too ... not to mention dropping some fake baby news, so say cops and her lawyer.

The 'Love & Hip Hop' star was one of four people arrested Friday at a lounge there in town after police say all hell broke loose when they were asked to leave by the security -- and according to the police report, obtained by TMZ, it was a lot uglier than what we all saw.

The doc lays out what APD officers say went down -- and one of them describes a chaotic brawl he says he was trying to break up ... and says EM was in the middle of it all.

According to the cop, Erica was fighting like hell ... even brutalizing security guards as they tried to get her out of the facility. During the melee, the officer says one of the guards told him Erica had chomped down on his forearm ... and she allegedly kicked another in the face!

The officer claims he took some licks from Erica as well ... but after a lot of physical struggle, he was finally able to get her under control.

Another interesting tidbit -- the officer in this report says Erica made clear she was pregnant. Unfortunately, that didn't prevent her from getting busted ... and her lawyer tells us she was fibbing.

Erica's attorney, Drew Findling, tells TMZ ... "On behalf of Erica Mena (who is not pregnant), we will immediately start investigating the events of August 25, 2023. It is clear that this was an incident between citizens, private security and off-duty police officers that was not properly handled or de-escalated."

He continued, "We know this because the officer readily admits in his report that he punched a private citizen in the face 4 or 5 times and used unnecessary force against Erica as well. While Erica regrets some of the circumstances of that night, it is also important to understand the context and details of the incident so we will do our due diligence and review accordingly."

As for the others who were hauled to jail -- including Bambi Richardson and Zellswag, plus a mutual friend of theirs -- APD says they were all trying to prevent officers from restraining Erica the entire time ... which explains why they were booked for misdemeanor obstruction.

Burning Man has been calamitous this year ... leading to a death.

The Pershing County Sheriff's Office confirms ... they are investigating a death that occurred as rain poured down over the venue. The Sheriff has not gone into detail, but by the description, it might be rain-related.

As we reported, the event -- which was being held in the Nevada desert -- was flooded Saturday, causing cars and campers to become immobilized. It got so bad, concertgoers were told to shelter in place.

Diplo and Chris Rock fled the event on the back of a truck. Diplo said he walked 5 miles to get the hell out.

It's not looking better for Sunday ... they're expecting even bigger storms with heavy rainfall and hail, as well as 40 mph wind gusts.

Unclear if the plug has been totally pulled ... the gates to Black Rock City are locked up tight. No one can drive in the area except emergency vehicles.

Margaritaville is mourning the death of Jimmy Buffett, and one of the ways is the symbolic flag-lowering.

The Margaritaville in Palm Springs, and presumably elsewhere, lowered its flag to half-mast in honor of the legendary singer/songwriter.

Jimmy was known as the Mayor of Margaritaville, so in a way it's an official title that makes flag-lowering appropriate.

As we reported, Jimmy died late Friday night. We're told he was diagnosed with skin cancer 4 years ago and it turned into lymphoma.

He was receiving hospice care since Monday. On Friday night, we're told the house was filled with people, just hours before his death. Jimmy was in an upstairs bedroom, and he passed peacefully.

And, as we reported, Sir Paul McCartney went to the South Hampton home a week ago to sing for Jimmy and his family.

A number of people posted tributes, including Elton John, Kenny Chesney and President Biden.

Jimmy was 76.

Boosie Badazz says he's seeing life differently these days, having embraced his court-appointed anger management classes, and now he's been bitten by the educator bug!!!

TMZ Hip Hop checked in with Boosie this week, as well as renowned and reformed drug dealer "Freeway Rick" Ross, who tells us he's been mentoring Boosie for years ... dating back to the Louisiana rap legend's days in prison.

Now, they're using their alliance to spread a message to disenfranchised kids from the hood.

As Rick points out, typical children's books don't speak to kids in those environments, and he and Boosie are launching an initiative to create literature to address the problem, in addition to teaching from their own autobiographies.

Boosie says the anger management classes he's taking due to his recent arrest for gun possession have opened his eyes -- he no longer gets upset with people, because he's learned not to expect the same drive from them that's made him the man he is today.

He admits he owes a bit of luck to surviving the streets, but is proud of the maturity he displays on his new album, "Goin Thru Some Thangs" ... noting how he's not the same hell-raising rapper from his earlier days.

His newfound road to zen has proven useful for his latest bout of family drama.

Janelle Monae's looks over the years will "Make Me YOU Feel" all the things!

Here is a 19-year-old version of the singer-songwriter -- pretty in purple -- posing for her former music group, the Purple Ribbon All-Stars, in Atlanta, Georgia back in 2005 (left). This was just two years after she released her demo album "The Audition."

And, 18 years later Janelle recently took all her beauty and glory to her "The Age Of Pleasure" album event in NYC (right) ... just in time for her tour (which kicked off earlier this week)!

Clearly, Janelle is still a baddie in the "Moonlight", but the question is ...

Britney Spears' ex-husband, Jason Alexander, needs a new gym ... because his old gym gave him the boot after he got arrested for allegedly stalking another member.

Jason was a member at Life Time in Franklin, TN but a manager at the gym tells us Jason has officially been kicked out.

We're told Jason had his membership revoked after police opened their investigation into allegations he was stalking a woman at the gym.

TMZ broke the story ... Jason was arrested for stalking last month and his alleged victim claims he followed her out to the gym's parking lot, where she says she told him to leave her alone, only for Jason to blow up her phone with tons of calls and texts.

The woman says Jason then showed up at her house, driving by a couple times the day after the alleged parking lot confrontation ... and she also says he approached her at the gym pool when she was with her kid.

As we first reported, Jason's been ordered to steer clear of his alleged victim ... he can't contact her or post about her on social media.