Music

Erica Mena's ousting from "Love & Hip Hop: Atlanta" is giving the cast plenty of content for an upcoming special ... which Erica says is pretty hypocritical, considering everything was all good until her controversial episode aired.

VH1's airing a special roundtable discussion Tuesday, hosted by "colorism expert" Dr. Sarah L. Webb and featuring cast members such as Lil Scrappy, Yung Joc and Spice, ... who was the target of EM's "monkey" comment, which led to Erica's firing.

After tonight's episode was announced, Erica posted a video claiming she'd been on the set several days after her explosive argument with Spice aired and says the network "proudly" put it out for the world to see.

Her point is "L&HH" producers were fine with her, and only fired her in response to the public backlash that came once the episode aired.

A source close to Erica tells TMZ Hip Hop ... she feels the network is trying to silence her, after the fact, by not letting her participate in the roundtable.

We're also told Erica continued working on the show for 7 months after the "monkey" argument -- another reason she feels producers are only shutting her out to avoid public backlash.

Una mujer de Georgia está siendo tachada de aguafiestas después de golpear agresivamente el piano de un artista callejero y tirar su instrumento al suelo.

Un video que se ha hecho viral en las redes sociales muestra a la joven acercándose al artista —llamado Andrew— dos veces, mientras este toca y canta "Piano Man", de Billy Joel, en la acera de Athens, Georgia.

Lo primero que hace es golpear las teclas en medio de la canción, pero vuelve más tarde y hace lo mismo, provocando que el piano se caiga al suelo. Luego aparece para acercarse al tarro de propinas. Andrew dice que ella tomó el dinero, pero eso no está claro.

Los investigadores de Internet descubrieron que la mujer del video era Shauntae Heard, quien ahora se disculpa por sus acciones.

Shauntae dice: "Lo siento por todos los que han visto el video viral. He asumido la responsabilidad de mis acciones. Sé que estuvo mal y que fui una ignorante, pero por favor, no metan a mi familia en esto. Ustedes tienen problemas conmigo, no con mi familia, no sacan nada con mandarles mensajes a ellos o a mí y ya me he disculpado con la persona afectada".

Y añade: "Todo está bien, yo no robé ningún dinero y no rompí el piano, soy un ser humano al igual que todos ustedes. Todo el mundo ha cometido errores. Nadie es perfecto. Otra vez lo siento... he visto cosas mucho peores ocurriendo en el centro, esto no es nada en comparación, pero sé que no está bien".

Shauntae dice que más tarde habló con el artista callejero por teléfono y él aceptó sus disculpas.

Lil Tay's father has been accused of being the mastermind behind her death hoax on social media, but the guy's calling BS ... and pointing fingers at who may be to blame.

Christopher Hope tells TMZ an IG Story posted to Lil Tay's official account Tuesday -- which labels him as the perpetrator of the death hoax -- is not only false ... but defamatory, and he warns that this could land in civil court.

He says, "The person who is responsible for that Instagram post, as well as anyone repeating the completely false and libelous accusation within it, are virtually certain to become defendants in a defamation lawsuit."

Hope adds, "Everything stated is 100% false, and I trust that this should be obvious to anyone who knows me or the long history of absurd and untrue statements made by the various people who have controlled the Instagram account."

As far as what exactly the IG post said ... well, you can read it for yourself. It accuses Hope of being racist and abusive toward women -- in addition to being the one who pre-emptively announced her death ... which turned out not to be true.

Frankly, it's hard to decipher what the truth is in this whole Lil Tay saga ... because all of it is so freaking weird. What we know for certain is that Lil Tay's parents have been embroiled in a nasty custody battle for years now -- which her mom recently told us went in her favor.

Attorneys for Tay's mother, Angela Tian, told us their client was happy to regain a lot of control over how to raise their kid ... and all but guaranteed a comeback to showbiz.

The one person we haven't seen or heard from directly in all this ... Lil Tay.

El padre de Lil Tay ha sido acusado en redes sociales de ser el cerebro detrás de su fingida muerte, pero él dice que todo es mentira y está señalando con el dedo a quienes se atrevan a responsabilizarlo.

Christopher Hope dice a TMZ que la historia de Instagram publicada en la cuenta oficial de Lil Tay el martes, que lo etiqueta como el autor del engaño, no solo es falsa sino que es difamatoria, y advierte que esto podría terminar en un tribunal civil.

Él dice: "La persona que es responsable de ese post de Instagram, así como cualquiera que repita esta acusación completamente falsa y difamatoria, están prácticamente seguros de que serán acusados en una demanda por difamación."

Hope añade: "Todo lo que se afirma es 100% falso, y confío en que esto debería ser obvio para cualquiera que me conozca o para el largo historial de declaraciones absurdas y falsas realizadas por las distintas personas que han controlado la cuenta de Instagram."

En cuanto a lo que decía exactamente el post de Instagram, pueden leerlo ustedes mismos. Se acusa a Hope de ser racista y abusivo hacia las mujeres, además de anunciar preventivamente la muerte de Lil Tay, que resultó no ser verdad.

Francamente, es difícil descifrar cuál es la verdad en toda esta saga de Lil Tay porque todo es súper extraño. Lo que sabemos con certeza es que sus padres han estado envueltos en una batalla muy desagradable por su custodia desde hace años, la que según nos dijo su madre recientemente, terminó inclinándose a su favor.

Los abogados de la madre de Tay, Angela Tian, nos dijeron que su clienta estaba feliz de recuperar una gran cantidad de control sobre la forma de criar a su hija, y casi garantizaba su regreso al mundo del espectáculo.

La única persona que no hemos visto o escuchado directamente en todo esto es a Lil Tay

A woman in Georgia is being labeled a serious party pooper after aggressively slamming her hands on a street performer's piano ... knocking the instrument to the ground.

Here's the deal ... a video going viral on social media shows the young woman approach the performer, named Andrew, twice as he plays and sings Billy Joel's "Piano Man" on the sidewalk in Athens, GA.

On the first go-round, she slams the keys in the middle of his song ... but then returns later in the evening to pull the same stunt, causing the piano to fall to the ground. She then appears to reach into his tip jar, Andrew says she took money, but that's unclear.

Internet sleuths outed the woman from the video as Shauntae Heard, and now she's apologizing for her actions.

Shauntae says ... "I'm sorry for everyone that has seen the viral video. I have took accountability for my actions. I know it was wrong and ignorant of me but please keep my family out of it. Y'all problem is with me not my family you don't get anything out of texting them or me and I have already apologize to the person we have talk."

She adds ... "Everything is good no I didn't steal any money, and I didn't break the piano I'm a human just like you all. Everyone has made mistakes nobody isn't perfect again I'm sorry, For my actions I've seen worse downtown this is nothing compared to what I did and I know it's not right."

Shauntae says she later spoke with the street performer on the phone and he accepted her apology.

Nashawn Breedlove, famous for battle-rapping Eminem in the movie "8 Mile," is dead.

A family member tells TMZ ... Nashawn died in his sleep Sunday at his home in New Jersey. We're told his loved ones do not yet know the cause of death.

Nashawn played Lotto in the 2002 movie, which is loosely based on Eminem's life ... and he's known for a scene where his character takes on Em's B-Rabbit in a rap battle.

In his movie rap, Nashawn sings ... "I feel bad I gotta murder that dude from 'Leave it to Beaver'" ... and the crowd goes nuts, though he eventually loses the showdown.

Before his big break on '8 Mile' Nashawn was rapping under his stage name OX ... with a feature on the soundtrack for the 2001 movie "The Wash" with Dr. Dre and Snoop Dogg.

Rapper Mickey Factz was first to report Nashawn's death, remembering him for his "tenacity and aggressiveness" as a battle rapper.

Nashawn was 46.

Nashawn Breedlove, famoso por su rapeo con Eminem en la película "8 Mile", ha muerto.

Un miembro de la familia le dice a TMZ que Nashawn murió mientras dormía el domingo en su casa de Nueva Jersey. Sus seres queridos aún no saben la causa de muerte.

Nashawn interpretó el papel de Lotto en la película de 2002, que se basa libremente en la vida de Eminem, y es especialmente conocido por una escena en la que su personaje se enfrenta a B-Rabbit de Em en una batalla de rap.

En la película, Nashawn canta: "Me siento mal tengo que asesinar a ese tipo de 'Leave it to Beaver'", y la multitud se vuelve loca, aunque finalmente pierde el enfrentamiento.

Antes de su gran oportunidad en '8 Mile', Nashawn rapeaba bajo su nombre artístico OX, y tuvo una participación en la banda sonora de la película de 2001, "The Wash", con Dr. Dre y Snoop Dogg.

El rapero Mickey Factz fue el primero en informar de la muerte de Nashawn, recordándolo por su "tenacidad y agresividad" como rapero de batalla.

Nashawn tenía 46 años.

When Beyoncé says, "Everybody on mute," you better keep quiet ... or else ya might end up like this concertgoer who got whacked for ruining the viral "mute challenge."

The clip appears to be from Bey's Sunday night concert in Houston, and shows the repercussions for someone in the crowd who just couldn't pipe down during the popular moment of her song, "Energy."

For those unaware, concert venues have usually gone dead silent as the singer goes, "Look around everybody on mute." The strict silence has been a growing trend throughout her world tour, and the BeyHive has gotten pretty good at it.

They've also become very vigilant of rowdy fan's like this guy, and he ended up getting hit while chomping on some popcorn! Looks like he laughed it off, so it's not clear if they know each other, but the woman who struck him added a "Shut the f**k up" ... so he'd know she meant it.

FYI, fans online haven't been that thrilled with the noisy dude either ... as one person put it, "When the queen says stfu you stfu."

As you can imagine, it's gotta be impossible to get stadiums fully quiet, so some are still going to screw it up and disregard the social media trend.

But most are doing the challenge justice ... even this fan who was quick to stop themself from doin' everyone else dirty!

Cuando Beyoncé dice: "Todo el mundo en silencio", es mejor hacerle caso, de lo contrario puedes terminar como este fanático que fue golpeado por arruinar el desafío.

El clip parece ser del concierto de Bey el domingo por la noche en Houston, y muestra las repercusiones para un hombre en la multitud que simplemente no pudo callarse durante el popular momento de su canción "Energy."

Para los que no saben, en los conciertos suele haber un silencio sepulcral mientras la cantante dice: "Mira a tu alrededor todo el mundo en silencio". El silencio estricto ha sido una tendencia creciente a lo largo de su gira mundial, y a la BeyHive se le ha dado bastante bien.

También se han vuelto muy vigilantes con los fans alborotadores, como este en particular, que terminó recibiendo un golpe mientras comía palomitas (o pop corn). Parece que él se lo tomó para la risa, así que no está claro si se conocían, pero la mujer que lo golpeó añadió un "cállate la puta boca", para que él supiera que lo decía en serio.

Para su información, a los fans de Internet tampoco les ha gustado la actuación del fan, porque como una persona dijo: "Cuando la reina dice silencio es silencio".

Como se pueden imaginar, es casi imposible lograr que los estadios se silencien por completo, así que algunos siguen metiendo la pata y haciendo caso omiso a la tendencia de las redes sociales.

Pero la mayoría está haciendo justicia al desafío, ¡incluso este fan que se apresuró en dejar de arruinar la fiesta para todos!

MC Lyte thinks everyone focusing on President Joe Biden's blundering intro of LL Cool J isn't keeping their eyes on the prize ... which is, in her opinion, one of hip hop's biggest moments ever.

Lyte was honored alongside LL last weekend in D.C. for her own monumental strides in rap -- but it wasn't her name the President royally screwed up, nor was she the one who had to stomach being called "boy" ... as LL did.

Biden's political critics think it's just the latest example of him losing it, and his cultural critics -- like Charlamagne Tha God -- had no mercy for him either, but Lyte went to bat for the commander-in-chief and thinks it was an honest mistake he sincerely regrets.

Lyte and LL go way back to the days of Hip Hop's dawn periods and she thanked him for the years of historic collaborations but points out that the recent Congressional Black Caucus Foundation Annual Legislative Conference marked the first time both an active President and Vice President acknowledged the culture they walk and breathe.

V.P. Kamala Harris just opened the White House doors to host a Hip Hop celebration highlighted by performances from Fat Joe, Remy Ma, and Lil Wayne ... which speaks to Lyte's points.

Morgan Wallen certainly doesn't need help filling seats at his concerts, but he still called on his good buddy Peyton Manning to spread the word about his new tour ... and the Hall of Famer delivered -- rocking a fake mullet and showing off his pipes for the job!!

The country superstar announced he's going back on the road for his "One Night At A Time 2024" shows ... but instead of just posting the dates and locations on his social media, he decided to have some fun with it.

Wallen enlisted both Peyton and Eli to appear in a short sketch ... with the former Colts and Broncos signal-caller donning a wig and hat and singing "Last Night" before picking up a FaceTime call from the singer.

In the phone chat, Wallen explained he wanted Peyton to make a clip to announce the tour ... but asked him to leave out his signature dry comedy and give a straightforward statement on the big news.

"No dressing up ... no singing ... and do not overdo it with the bad jokes," Wallen told Peyton.

"Avoid the bad jokes, kinda like that new hairdo of yours," Peyton clapped back ... referring to MW's new shaved head appearance.

The two-time Super Bowl champ was bummed about the instructions ... and said if Wallen wanted a boring, uncreative vid, he should have just hit up his younger brother.

The comment gave Wallen a lightbulb moment ... and sure enough, Eli popped up to handle the gig just as requested.

Of course, Peyton had to give one more silly joke before the end of the clip ... making a song pun for good measure.

As for the tour, MW said ... "Been one of the best years for me and my music so we're gonna run it back.. same tour name, staying on this album and many more cities to visit."

The jacket Travis Kelce was spotted wearing while leaving the Chiefs game with Taylor Swift has already sold out -- ya know, the one renamed in honor of one of the singer's most beloved albums.

As we reported, fashion line KidSuper had a matching denim jacket and pants on its site, named "Bedroom Painting," but the company slapped "1989" on it after the vid of Travis and Taylor went viral -- a nod to Tay Tay's 2014 album, and her upcoming, re-recorded release.

Don't forget, Taylor's appearance at Sunday's game wasn't the first interaction they've had -- sources told us they've been together "several times" over the last few months ... having person-to-person interactions in a "very private setting."

Well, it looks like fans everywhere have been dying to get their hands on the duds because all sizes of the $295 jacket are sold out ... and the $285 pants are currently marked as "low stock."

Safe to say, KidSuper's marketing plan worked -- even though they dubbed it the "1989" jacket after Travis bought it, that clearly didn't stop folks from jumping on board!

Of course, the big game was the first time Taylor met Travis' parents, Donna and Ed -- and it seemed like Taylor fit right in with the gang.

La chaqueta que llevaba Travis Kelce, cuando fue visto con Taylor Swiftt a la salida del partido de los Chiefs, ya se agotó en Internet, ya saben, la prenda que fue renombrada en honor a uno de los álbumes más queridos de la cantante.

Como informamos, la línea de moda KidSuper tenía una chaqueta de mezclilla y pantalones a juego en su sitio, llamada "Bedroom Painting", pero la compañía decidió re bautizarla como "1989" después de que el video de Travis y Taylor se hiciera viral: un guiño a su álbum del 2014, y que será lanzado próximamente, regrabado.

No hay que olvidar que la aparición de Taylor en el partido del domingo no fue la primera interacción que han tenido. Fuentes nos dijeron que han estado juntos "varias veces" en los últimos meses y también en encuentros personales en un "entorno muy privado."

Parece que los fans de todo el mundo están muriendo por poner sus manos en sus atuendos, porque todos los tamaños de la chaqueta de $295 se agotaron, y los pantalones de $285 están catalogados como "bajos en stock".

Es seguro decir que el plan de marketing de KidSuper funcionó. Aunque la chaqueta fue apodada "1989" después de que Travis la comprara, ¡claramente eso no impidió que la gente se subiera a bordo!

Por supuesto, el partido del domingo fue la primera vez que Taylor conoció a los padres de Travis, Donna y Ed, y parecía que Taylor encajaba a la perfección con la pandilla.

9:56 PM PT -- Britney Spears just adjusted her caption, saying, "Don't worry they are NOT real knives!!! Halloween is soon!!!" Thing is ... you hear the clanging of the knives as they come together, so they sure seem real.

Britney Spears put her years-long fascination with knives on full display ... dangerously dancing with two massive butcher knives in a bizarre new video.

Spears posted the video Monday holding the razor-sharp blades with the caption, "I started playing in the kitchen with knives today" while she rubbed and even clapped the blades together while dancing.

The whole thing comes across as extremely dangerous -- as Spears clearly isn't trained to hold or handle the tools in such a manner ... at times jabbing them in the air.

While Britney claims she only started playing with the knives "today," we were first to report months ago Britney had a fascination with knives.

In fact, as her conservatorship came to an end, those responsible for her care made a list of recommendations ... one major rec being to keep knives away from her.

Multiple sources tell us Britney saw knives as a form of protection, afraid she's be re-institutionalized. We're told Britney keeps knives all around her house -- including in her bedroom -- and one source said she, "was paranoid someone was going to get her, and she needed the knives as protection."

Now, without Sam Asghari or anyone to truly make sure she's safe, the new video is extremely dangerous alarming to say the least.

Do you think Britney Spears is a danger to herself? Vote below.

Taylor Swift está en todas partes de Estados Unidos por estos días, y ahora estará también en todas partes del mundo con el estreno de su nueva película en el extranjero.

La cantante hizo un importante anuncio el martes sobre su próximo documental de la gira "Eras", que ya se va a estrenar en Norteamérica en un par de semanas. Ahora, dice que se estrenará también en todo el mundo exactamente el mismo día, en MUCHOS países.

Tay Tay escribe: "La gira no es lo único que estamos llevando a todo el mundo........ 🌎 ¡Estoy tan emocionada de contarles que la película del concierto The Eras Tour llegará oficialmente a los cines de TODO EL MUNDO el 13 de octubre!".

Los detalles de la mayor cobertura son asombrosos. La nueva película "Eras" de TS se proyectará en más de 100 países, incluidos todos los cines Odeon de Europa.

AMC Theaters, con quien se ha asociado Taylor para estrenar su película, espera que más de 7.500 cines de todo el mundo proyecten la película al mismo tiempo. En cuanto al número de entradas que se venderán, todavía se está calculando, pero probablemente serán muchas.

Hace un mes, cuando Taylor dijo por primera vez que el documental "Eras" se estrenaría en Norteamérica, sus fans se lanzaron en masa por las entradas y se vendió una cantidad récord en un solo día, de unos 26 millones de dólares. Las estimaciones esperan que 'Eras' recaude $100M en el norte en su fin de semana de apertura.

Este es solo el último titular de Taylor ... obviamente, ella ha estado en la mente y boca de todos por estos días, por su incipiente relación con la estrella de los Chiefs, Travis Kelce, y ahora esta otra bendición.

Taylor Swift is everywhere in America these days -- and now, she's gonna be everywhere around the world on big screens ... 'cause she's taking her new movie overseas.

The singer made a major announcement Tuesday about her forthcoming 'Eras' tour documentary -- which was already getting a North American release in a couple weeks. Now, she's saying it's going to open globally on the exact same day ... in LOTS of countries.

Tay Tay writes, "The tour isn’t the only thing we’re taking worldwide…….. 🌎 Been so excited to tell you all that The Eras Tour concert film is now officially coming to theaters WORLDWIDE on Oct 13!"

The details of the expanded rollout are staggering ... TS's new 'Eras' movie is going to be playing in over 100 countries -- including every single Odeon theater across Europe.

AMC Theaters -- which Taylor is partnering with to put out her film -- says it's expecting more than 7,500 theaters worldwide to be showing this thing at once. In terms of how many tickets this will sell ... it's still being tallied right now, but probably a ton.

A month ago -- when Taylor first said the 'Era's doc would release in North America -- her fans swooped in to snap up tickets ... and they sold a record amount in just one day, about $26 million worth. Estimates had 'Eras' raking in north of $100M in its opening weekend too.

It's just the latest splashy headline for Taylor ... obviously, she's top of mind right now due to her budding relationship with Chiefs star Travis Kelce -- and now, here's another boon.