Music

Ray J is taking his "On Top" motto to a new level ... offering up a whopping $25K prize to the best bull-riding cowgirl in Northern California!!!

Sources close to Ray tell TMZ Hip Hop the contest will go down this Saturday at Westwood in San Francisco as part of the promotion for his new collab "On Top" with Bobby Brackins and P-Lo.

The competition is open to non-professional female riders dressed in rodeo-style gear and will be held from 10 pm - 12 am ... plenty of time to get a decent ride in.

J. Espinosa will be spinning on the turntables and the Bay Area's own Too Short will also be in the building ... always guaranteed to be the life of the party!!!

To add more pay to the oola, Ray is also launching a 30-day #OnTopChallenge on TikTok where he'll be giving away $100 to the user with the best creative dance!!!

Expect the band to be in full party mode ... we're told the bull-riding event will predate Bobby's birthday celebration at Apt 200 in Los Angeles that Thursday and they're also putting together special edition merch to pump the song as well.

A$AP Rocky's attorney went way too far in his defense of the rapper after his 2021 shooting incident ... at least according to the alleged victim, A$AP Relli, who's now suing Rocky and his high-powered attorney, Joe Tacopina.

According to docs, obtained by TMZ, Relli claims Tacopina went on a press campaign after he was allegedly shot by A$AP Rocky .... and Relli was defamed in the process.

Relli claims he was painted by Tacopina in the media as a liar, a money grabber, and an extortionist  ... and he believes this was all the direction of A$AP Rocky.

The suit claims Tacopina spoke to various outlets, including TMZ ... in one story, Tacopina said, "Rocky didn't commit a crime. It was an extortion attempt by a former associate, who threatened to make false, criminal accusations if Rocky didn't pay him."

Relli claims as a result of the alleged attack on him, he received several death threats and has been the subject of ridicule. He's asking for unspecified damages.

As for Rocky ... his case is still pending. He has pled not guilty.

Coco Gauff es la nueva campeona del US Open y todavía tiene una enorme sonrisa luego de ganar el torneo. Sin embargo, no va a celebrar con una gran fiesta, sólo quiere dormir largo y tendido.

La profesional de 19 años parecía estar de buen humor el lunes, saliendo de su habitación de hotel de Nueva York pocos días después de ganar el oro en el gran evento de este año. Coco se detuvo para tomarse una foto con un fan mientras subía a un carro con un peluche de Miles Morales en la mano.

Por supuesto, a Coco le preguntaron por sus planes para después de ganar, pero lo único que tenía en mente era volver a casa y meterse en la cama para dormir un poco. Parece una idea perfecta.

Coco ha estado en la cancha de tenis durante años y se convirtió en profesional en 2018. Es la número 3 del mundo en tenis individual y la número 1 en dobles; en otras palabras, la gran victoria de este fin de semana se hizo esperar para la adolescente.

Como informamos, Coco tuvo su partido de semifinales retrasado por un manifestante que pegó sus pies descalzos al suelo de hormigón del estadio. Tomó cerca de 49 minutos para que Coco pudiera continuar su partido.

Incluso contó con el apoyo de Justin y Hailey Bieber en la tercera ronda, quienes la animaban desde sus palcos. Después del partido Coco declaró a un periodista de ESPN: "Vi quién estaba allí y pensé: "No puedo perder delante de Justin Bieber'".

US Open champ Coco Gauff still has a massive grin on her face after winning the big tourney, but she won't be celebrating with a huge bash ... just a bunch of zzzz's.

The 19-year-old pro seemed to be in a great mood Monday, stepping out of her NYC hotel room just days after striking gold at this year's big event. Coco stopped to snap a pic with a fan while jumping in a waiting car with a Miles Morales plush in her hand.

Of course, Coco was asked about her post-win plans, but the only thing on her mind is heading home and climbing in bed for some sleep ... sounds like a perfect idea.

Coco's been on the tennis court for years and turned pro back in 2018. She's ranked number 3 in the world in singles tennis and number 1 in doubles -- in other words, this weekend's big win was a long time coming for the teenager.

As we reported, Coco had her semifinal match delayed by a protestor who glued his bare feet to the concrete floor of the stadium ... taking about 49 minutes of attention to remove him before Coco could continue her match.

She even had some serious support from Justin and Hailey Bieber in the 3rd round, who were cheering her on from their box seats. After that match, Coco told an ESPN reporter, "I definitely saw who was there. I thought, 'I cannot lose in front of Justin Bieber.'"

Doja Cat is one of hip hop's saviors, at least on the commercial front ... her track, "Paint the Town Red" is the culture's first Billboard No. 1 song in over a year!!!

The bouncy demon-praising bop topped the Billboard Hot 100 Monday, marking the first rap song since Nicki Minaj's "Super Freaky Girl" made history debuting at the top of the chart in August 2022.

Doja and Nicki's collab "Say So" also hit number one back in 2020.

Artists can only dream of having this type of momentum going into an album release, especially when the stakes are high.

Doja's 4th album "Scarlet" drops on September 22 ... the same day as Drake's "For My Dogs." The battle for the audience's eardrums will be intense!!!

Doja appears to have partied enough for the Hot 100 milestone and then some ... burning up NYFW events with her future tour mates Ice Spice and Doechii last night.

Harry Styles is not giving up on summer, and who would with a body like that?!?

The 29-year-old was topless, tatted and remarkably ripped as he dove into a duck pond in England ... yes, apparently that's a thing over there.

Although Harry's never had trouble gettin' dates, he's clearly stepped up his game in the physique dept. We're told he's lately been into pilates, but judging from the pics, he's also lifting ... a lot.

Someone who wasn't in the water with HS was his rumored new girlfriend, actress Taylor Russell. You'll recall, she was getting the VIP treatment at his Vienna concert earlier this year, chilling in an exclusive spot while he performed.

The 2 were spotted getting handsy weeks later at press night for her London play, "The Effect" ... and we were told ended up in the back of the same car, driving off together later in the night.

Harry Styles no quiere soltar el verano y, ¿quién lo haría con un cuerpo así?

Al joven de 29 años se lo vio sin polera, tatuado y notablemente tonificado mientras se zambullía en un estanque de patos en Inglaterra. Sí, al parecer eso es posible por allá.

Aunque Harry nunca ha tenido problemas para conseguir citas, está claro que ha mejorado en su aspecto físico. Nos han dicho que ha estado practicando pilates últimamente, pero a juzgar por las fotos, también ha estado levantando... mucho peso.

Alguien que no estaba en el agua con Harry es su rumoreada nueva novia, la actriz Taylor Russell. Como recordarán, Taylor fue tratada como asistente VIP en su concierto de Viena a principios de este año, poniéndose cómoda en un lugar exclusivo mientras él actuaba.

Semanas después, los dos fueron vistos muy acaramelados en la noche de prensa de la obra de teatro "The Effect" en Londres, y nos dijeron que ambos terminaron juntos en la parte trasera del mismo coche, conduciendo en la noche horas más tarde.

Tink and Hitmaka's longtime artist/producer working relationship erupted in violence in tropical Cancun, of all places ... with the R&B songstress admitting to throwing blows on sight!!!

According to Tink, Hitmaka's been dodging her for months and also demanded $2 million from her after disclosing she wanted to work on her next project without him ... and those tensions boiled over when they happened to pop up at the same Mexican resort over the weekend.

Hitmaka was celebrating his 38th birthday on Saturday and Tink says she was in Cancun to celebrate her assistant's birthday, but things came to a head when she claims she spotted Hitmaka there ... enjoying the moment with several other women.

The two have been making music in a semi-exclusive relationship for the better part of the year and Tink admits her emotions (and perhaps a bit of booze) got the best of her and she attacked Hitmaka in a fit of rage ... which he claims to have captured on his phone.

He posted a screenshot of Tink allegedly flying off the handle, which had some fans calling him a snitch.

Despite being on the receiving end of Tink's anger, Hitmaka downplayed the incident and says he understands her disappointment with seeing him move on, but still maintains they're cool and will resume rolling out the next album.

That's still a big TBD ... after cooling her jets a bit, Tink returned to IG, and explained feeling royally disrespected after not getting a response to texts she'd sent Hitmaka, and isn't sure of their future.

Un grupo de comunistas hicieron lo que Jason Aldean dijo que "no se debe hacer en un pueblo pequeño", solo que aquí lo hicieron en una gran ciudad... y recibieron el castigo de la ley.

Más de 20 miembros del Revolution Club de Chicago —autodenominados comunistas— organizaron una protesta el sábado fuera del concierto de Jason en Chicago, donde marcharon, cantaron y quemaron banderas. Sí, prendieron fuego a la Vieja Gloria, un par de veces de hecho.

Varios de ellos se manifestaron específicamente contra Jason, diciendo que no tenían miedo de intentar cualquier cosa en cualquier lugar. Lo llamaron "pedazo de mierda fascista". Un tipo que estaba en un megáfono también gritó: "Lo intentaremos en una gran ciudad. Y lo haremos delante de tu concierto".

La manifestación parecía ser anti-Jason, pero también anti-América. Uno de los cánticos incluía la frase: "A la mier... los EE.UU. y todo su poder", entre otros comentarios despectivos.

Finalmente aparecieron varios agentes de la policía de Chicago y les dijeron que se marcharan, anunciando que su reunión era ilegal y que estaban alterando el orden público. Al parecer, el grupo se dispersó poco después sin más incidentes así que no hubo detenciones.

Es evidente que la polémica suscitada por la exitosa canción de Jason "Try That In a Small Town" sigue resonando en todo el país, incluso semanas después. Y, sin embargo, sigue yendo a un montón de grandes ciudades y atrayendo a una multitud.

A group of communists tried what Jason Aldean said not to do in a small town -- only here, they did it in a big city ... and got the boot from cops.

Upwards of 20 members from the Revolution Club of Chicago -- who are self-described commies -- staged a protest Saturday outside of Jason's concert near Chicago, where they were marching, chanting and flag burning. Yes, they set Old Glory ablaze -- a couple times, in fact.

Several of them specifically called out JA, saying they weren't afraid to try anything anywhere -- going on to call him a "fascist piece of s***." One guy who was on a megaphone also shouted ... "We will try that in a big city. And, we will try it right in front of your concert."

The demonstration seemed to be both anti-Jason, but also ... anti-America. One chant included the phrase -- "F*** the U.S. and all its might," among other derogatory zings.

Eventually, several police officers showed up and told them to scram, announcing that their gathering had become unlawful and that they were disturbing the peace. It sounds like the group dispersed shortly thereafter without further incident ... so no arrests here.

The controversy from Jason's hit song, "Try That In a Small Town," clearly continues to reverberate across the country -- even all these weeks later. And yet, he's still going to a ton of major cities and drawing a crowd.

Fuentes directas le informan a TMZ que Kevin recibe $40k al mes para los 2 niños que comparte con Britney: Jayden James y Sean Preston. La cantidad se basa en que cada uno tenga a los niños el 50% del tiempo, pero la realidad es que Britney no ha estado con ellos en todo este tiempo.

Sean Preston cumple 18 años en un par de semanas, por lo que la manutención terminará para uno de los chicos. Sin embargo, la de Jayden permanecerá intacta hasta junio de 2025, cuando se gradúe en el instituto. Así que siendo realistas, 20.000 dólares sería probablemente la cantidad si Kevin pide un aumento, aunque esa cifra podría dispararse si demuestra que necesita más dinero para el 100% del cuidado de Jayden.

Como ya informamos, Kevin, sus hijos y Victoria —su mujer— se mudaron a Hawai el mes pasado. Una decisión que Britney no impugnó en los tribunales.

Kevin animó a Sean Preston y Jayden a ver a su madre, pero no iba a obligarlos. No quisieron despedirse. Los niños no la han visto desde hace 2 años.

Kevin Federline is thinking of going to court to ask for an increase in child support from Britney Spears ... because he never bargained on having the kids full-time when they hashed out the terms of support.

Sources with direct knowledge tell TMZ ... Kevin gets $40k a month for the 2 kids he shares with Britney -- Jayden James and Sean Preston. The amount is predicated on each having the kids 50% of the time. The reality -- Britney has had the kids 0% of the time for years.

Sean Preston turns 18 in a couple of weeks, so the support will end for one of the boys. However, Jayden's will stay intact until around June 2025, when he graduates high school. So realistically, $20k is the relevant amount if Kevin asks for an increase ... but that amount could balloon if he proves he needs more money for 100% of Jayden's care.

As we reported, Kevin, his sons, and his wife, Victoria, all moved to Hawaii last month ... a decision Britney ultimately didn't fight in court.

Kevin encouraged Sean Preston and Jayden to see their mom but wasn't gonna force them. They passed on saying goodbye. The kids haven't seen her going on 2 years.

We reached out to Kevin's attorney, Mark Vincent Kaplan. So far, no word back.

Do you think Britney should pay up? Vote below.

Gunna might’ve recently been labeled a snitch by some, but it looks like even more people are still rocking with him.

The rapper performed a headlining show Saturday at Barclays Center in Brooklyn — his first in a long time — where the stadium was packed to the gills with paying customers.

The dude went through a ton of his songs, including some newer ones he dropped in his latest album — “A Gift And a Curse” — which the crowd seemed to know well as they rapped along. By the looks of it, there was a lot of enthusiasm and good vibes … almost as if nobody cared about the whole YSL scandal.

Remember, Gunna’s name has been getting dragged through the mud these past several months after he struck a deal with Fulton County prosecutors who are going after several of his label mates, including Young Thug. The perception from some fans was … dude must’ve ratted out his crew and cut himself a deal, which led to hateful comments.

Gunna denied doing that though, and has maintained he still supports Thug — which was evident in his concert this weekend. On one of the monitors, there was a “Free Jeffrey” message blaring across the screen, so it’s clear he still considers himself aligned with YT.

This was just one of 2 shows that Gunna is doing in the near future — he’s got another one scheduled in LA later this month. He’s not touring, per se, but does seem to be testing the waters on how a full-blown comeback might look like.

Joe Jonas squarely broke his silence over his impending divorce from Sophie Turner Saturday, saying it's been rough.

Joe and his bros performed in front of a packed audience at Dodger Stadium, where he took the mic and said this ...

“It’s been a tough week. I just wanna say, look, if you don’t hear it from these lips, don’t believe it. Okay? Thank you everyone for your love and support. Me and my family love you guys.”

As we reported, Joe filed for divorce Tuesday, saying his marriage was irretrievably broken. TMZ broke the story, a key reason he's ending the marriage is a difference in lifestyles ... and the straw that broke the camel's back was ring video/audio of Sophie, although we do not know the nature of what was seen/heard.

Joe got backlash on social media ... so addressing the divorce was not unexpected.

Joe and Sophie issued a joint statement ... "After four wonderful years of marriage we have mutually decided to amicably end our marriage. There are many speculative narratives as to why ..."

Ed Sheeran pulled out of his Nevada concert Saturday night shortly before he was to take the stage ... apologizing to his fans and rescheduling the show.

Sources connected to venue operations tell TMZ ... "The stage wasn’t approved last night for safety reasons so they tried to rebuild this morning and even picked back doors opening times as they thought they’d pull it off…nope. It has been rescheduled for Oct 28th. There are fans in the stadium as they made the call and he’s in the stands taking pics and saying sorry."

The Grammy-winning musician posted a statement on Instagram around an hour before he was set to perform at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas.

Sheeran blamed the cancellation on "challenges encountered during the load in of our Vegas show" -- whatever that means.

He went on, "I'm so sorry. I know everyone has traveled in for this and I wish I could change it."

Fans flocked to the arena and stood outside in sweltering temperatures (above 90 degrees!) waiting to go in. But there were constant delays, causing some to fall ill.

The Clark County Fire Department said they treated multiple people for "heat-related issues" at the scene. One person was hospitalized.

Blueface videos showing his young son hanging around exotic dancers at home are getting a lot of attention ... including from cops and the Department of Children and Family Services.

Law enforcement tells TMZ ... sheriff's deputies have been called to the rapper's Los Angeles-area home a whopping NINE times since May, with the most serious call for a DCFS investigation into Blueface bringing strippers around his kids.

After Blueface posted footage of him asking his son if he was gay while women stripped in a nearby room, we're told DCFS got wind of the video and launched an investigation, which led to sheriff's deputies being called to the home.

We're told Blueface still has his son, and it sounds like the DCFS investigation hasn't moved forward ... in part, because no one answered the door or picked up the phone when deputies were called to the house.

Law enforcement tells us other calls to the house include noise complaints for loud music and barking dogs.

So, cops frequent Blueface's place a lot ... but the stripper videos with his son are the most concerning.

Over at Blueface's party house in the San Fernando Valley, we're told cops have been there multiple times about parties and fights ... with Blue's neighbors making the complaints.