Music

Snoop Dogg is trying to sway President Trump to free Death Row Records co-founder Michael 'Harry-O' Harris from an attempted murder conviction ... but the clock's ticking.

During the presidential transition, Snoop's been secretly lobbying Trump to commute Harris' sentence and the rapper even enlisted Alice Marie Johnson to bolster his case ... according to The Daily Beast.

Harris, who started Death Row Records with Suge Knight way back in 1992 and helped sign Snoop and Tupac to the label, is serving time on attempted murder and drug charges at California's FCI Lompoc.

Supposedly a changed man, Harris has been incarcerated for nearly 30 years ... and he's not supposed to get out until at least 2028, unless Trump steps in.

Snoop's reportedly gotten Trump's attention ... Alice Marie says Trump, Ivanka, Jared and White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows all know about Harris' case. Remember, Kim Kardashian helped Alice get her life sentence commuted by Trump.

What's remarkable about Snoop's effort here is that back in 2017 ... he made his hatred of Trump perfectly clear in his "Lavender" music video by pulling a fake gun on a Trump lookalike in clown makeup.

So, this could be an uphill battle for Snoop to get Trump to see things his way. There's a long list of candidates for potential pardons with less than 24 hours to go in Trump's presidency ... so stay tuned.

Halsey is the new owner of a zen paradise, after scooping up Liam Payne's oasis in Calabasas.

The "You should be sad" singer certainly has reason to be happy after dropping $10,161,150 for the former 1D singer's 5-bedroom, 6-bathroom crib tucked away in the hills above Malibu.

The 9,659 square-foot home is perfect for entertaining, with a home theater, beautiful backyard and wine cellar. It's also got a giant library for quiet nights at home.

The pool looks like it was plucked right out of a 5-star resort, with a koi pond, waterfalls and tons of surrounding gardens.

There's also a massage/meditation house, recording studio, pool house with a full gym and guest room. And, this is on TOP of an additional private guest house.

Deion Sanders says a priceless boombox was stolen from his truck early Monday morning ... and now, he's offering a reward with the hopes of getting the piece back.

Prime -- who's now the head football coach at Jackson State -- says at 5:37 AM, a white suburban pulled up to his car at a hotel in Jackson, Miss. and broke into his black, Ford F350.

Deion says the scumbag smashed out his window ... and took a boombox that was VERY valuable to him.

"I'm a little disturbed," Deion said in a video message this week. "Because the boombox has a sentimental value."

Sanders added, "Somebody that's very special and dear to me gave me that as a birthday gift. And I want that back."

Deion says he's now offering an unspecified reward for the music-playing device ... explaining he doesn't care about the damage to his truck or anything else.

"Please, find my boombox," Deion said. "Streets, please, find my boombox."

We reached out to the Jackson Police Dept. over the incident ... and a spokesperson tells us they're on the hunt for the suspect, adding the white suburban is a "suspect vehicle that we've been looking for a while now."

Country rocker Eric Church and R&B star Jazmine Sullivan will team up to sing the national anthem at Super Bowl LV next month ... the NFL announced Tuesday.

No details yet on how the two will perform the song in Tampa Bay on Feb. 7 -- it's unclear whether it will be a harmony or a verse-trading rendition.

But, what is clear is Church and Sullivan have some of the best vocals on the planet ... and their version of the anthem could be one of the most memorable ones in recent history.

43-year-old Church is a 10-time Grammy nominee. Sullivan, meanwhile, earned 7 Grammy nominations alone for her 2008-debut album, "Fearless."

Previously, stars like Mariah Carey, Demi Lovato and Lady Gaga have all sung the pregame anthem.

The league also announced Tuesday that 23-year-old R&B star H.E.R. will sing "America the Beautiful" in the lead-up to the big game as well.

Gucci Mane and Tyga are among a throng of celebs living it up like the pandemic has long been defeated ... partying at a huge maskless rager in Miami.

Gucci and Tyga were seen partying over the weekend at a 150-person bash in the 305. The shindig was apparently held in the backyard of ex-"Real Housewives of Miami" star Lisa Hochstein and her plastic surgeon husband, Lenny Hochstein.

Some of the other celebs there included Lil Pump, Scott Disick and Lil Baby. You can see from the videos there wasn't a mask in sight for the private party/concert being held for Electric Feel label founder Austin Rosen. Post Malone and 24kGoldn are among Rosen's artists ... Post wasn't at the party, but 24kGoldn was in attendance.

Guests were encouraged to wear their masks while not drinking and eating ... and they were also supposed to practice social distancing but that clearly didn't happen. And, get this ... according to the NY Post, which first reported the story, guests were on a so-called "honor system" to get tested for COVID before attending the party.

Hochstein told the Post, "We offered the backyard of our home to a friend that wanted to plan a last-minute get together. They were required to hire private security and cap the capacity at 150 people." She went on to say guests were also temperature checked and they were only allowed access to the outdoor space surrounding the house.

It looks like Lil Wayne could be let off the hook in his federal gun case by none other than President Trump ... who's reportedly expected to pardon the rapper before his term ends.

Trump's believed to have a pretty lengthy list of names for his final round of commutations and pardons -- an estimated 50 to 100 people -- and according to Fox News ... he'll announce them in a big reveal Tuesday or, at the latest, Wednesday morning before Joe Biden's inauguration.

When he does, it sounds like people anticipate Lil Wayne to be a notable beneficiary of a presidential pardon ... which ya can't help but think is perhaps a thank you for endorsing Trump in the days leading up to the 2020 election.

As you'll recall ... Weezy posed for a photo op with 45 and touted his track record with criminal justice reform, along with the Trump administration's proposed "platinum plan" for helping the Black community.

Trump also praised Lil Wayne as an activist and a "really nice guy." Weezy got a lot of criticism for their pow wow, but it seems he's on track to reap a big reward for it now.

As we reported ... Wayne pled guilty in federal court last month to illegally possessing a loaded weapon while traveling to Miami on a private jet a year earlier.

The rapper's a convicted felon, so he's facing the possibility of up to 10 years in prison at sentencing ... though he's likely to get far less than that for agreeing to the guilty plea.

Kyrie Irving came through with an incredible gesture for George Floyd's family ... with Stephen Jackson revealing the NBA superstar recently bought them a new home.

Jackson -- who personally knew Floyd and referred to him as his "twin" -- vowed to be a father figure for George's 7-year-old daughter, Gianna, after George's death in May 2020.

But, the ex-NBAer says he's not alone in supporting Floyd's family ... joining Etan Thomas' "The Rematch" podcast to praise other huge names who have stepped up in support.

"I'm just continuing to do what I said I was going to do," Jackson said on the podcast. "I said I was going to be my brother's keeper and take care of his daughter and make sure that her next days are her best days."

"A lot of my friends ... Kyrie Irving bought them a house. Lil Wayne's manager bought them a Mercedes-Benz. Barbra Streisand gave them stock in Disney."

As we previously reported, Lil Baby also stepped up to throw a lavish party for Gianna's 7th birthday ... and Jackson says the kind gestures have helped her deal with the tragic loss of her father.

"I think God has definitely blessed her," Stack continued. "Right now, she's doing the best she's ever done. She's happy."

Bow Wow's the fall guy for all of the events in Houston this weekend that didn't follow proper COVID-19 protocols ... according to the rapper himself, who believes the mayor has it out for him.

As we reported ... BW was criticized for drawing a large, mostly unmasked crowd at a club Friday night, and caught the attention of Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner because he had more gigs scheduled the rest of the weekend.

The mayor tweeted Sunday that Bow Wow's scheduled events in Houston were on his radar, adding ... "Other bars/clubs that are operating as restaurants, beyond capacity and social distancing requirements, please expect visits."

Though the mayor cited rising COVID cases and deaths in his city and made it clear "Concerts are not allowed in Houston at this time unless it is virtual," Bow Wow's taking it personally ... griping, "Safe to say the mayor of houston hates my guts."

The rapper says he's skipping town but he can't believe he's getting blamed for the whole weekend, and points out he wasn't the only celeb there over the weekend.

That's true -- as we told you ... Meek Mill and J. Prince Jr. were also at the club with Bow Wow Friday night, and neither seemed to be wearing masks, like most of the crowd.

Jon Schaffer -- the founder of heavy metal group Iced Earth -- is now in federal custody, and as it turns out, he was one of the more hardcore rioters who raided the Capitol ... according to the FBI, anyway.

The feds say Schaffer turned himself in Sunday in Indiana, where he faces six charges in connection to the Capitol insurrection ... including engaging in an act of physical violence in a Capitol building, violent entry and disorderly conduct in a capitol building, among others.

There's also this ... the FBI say, "Schaffer was allegedly among rioters who sprayed Capitol police with 'bear spray.'" You might've seen some of that going on Jan. 6 -- members of the Trump crowd were getting hosed with pepper spray, but were dishing it right back.

One such individual who was caught on camera unloading his bear spray nozzle has been dubbed #BearSprayMan, but it doesn't appear to be Schaffer in the video. In any case, law enforcement believes he used some on the Capitol police at some point.

As we reported ... Schaffer was named as one of the rioters shortly after the chaos in D.C., and he was one of the many wanted individuals on the FBI's list. The guy didn't exactly try hiding his presence either ... even leading up to the Jan. 6 storming, he'd been in and around different protests, voicing his support for Trump as part of the #StopTheSteal crowd.

And, on the day itself, he was photographed all over the place too ... with his face fully revealed.

As for Iced Earth, they put out a statement a couple weeks ago ... but didn't mention Jon by name. What they did say ... "We absolutely DO NOT condone nor do we support riots or the acts of violence that the rioters were involved in on January 6th at the US Capitol building. We hope that all those involved that day are brought to justice to be investigated and answer for their actions."

Interestingly enough, they didn't include a photo of Jon in their collage art for that IG post.

American artist Tommy Heath shot to stardom in the early '80s after he laid down the vocals for his band Tommy Tutone's now-classic track, "867-5309/Jenny" ... which found its way onto the Billboard Hot Mainstream Rock Tracks charts and caused a phone-calling frenzy in search of the mysterious woman in the jam, Jenny.

While Tommy Heath was taking center stage as the singer in Tommy Tutone ... he was joined in creating the rock band by Jim Keller as the lead guitarist going all the way back to 1978.

Dr. Dre is back home, and back to doing what he does best in the wake of being released from the hospital ... making music, and looking healthy doing it.

Five-time, Grammy-winning producer Focus posted a photo Saturday of him, Dre and a bunch of other creatives hanging out in what appears to be a recording studio. Dre is front and center, giving a slight smirk, and everyone around him seems to be in high spirits too.

Focus writes, "𝗠𝘆 𝗕𝗶𝗴 𝗕𝗿𝗼 𝗶𝘀 𝗦𝘂𝗽𝗲𝗿 𝗚𝗼𝗼𝗱!!! We Working... I TOOK THE PIC SO IM HERE!!!" That seems to confirm what we've been hearing about Dre's condition -- that he's recovering nicely, and seems to be out of the woods, as far as immediate danger.

Ice-T said as much himself, taking to Twitter on Friday to let his followers know he'd Facetimed with Dre, and that the guy was back home, "safe" and "looking good."

As we reported, Dre was released Friday ... this after nearly a week in the ICU. Doctors had kept him there out of an abundance of caution following his brain aneurysm, in case he suffered another health scare that required immediate medical attention.

Phil Spector, the music producer responsible for some of the biggest hits in music and the architect of The Wall of Sound has died ... sources with direct knowledge tell TMZ.

We're told he died from COVID-related complications, after being transferred from his prison cell to a hospital. We're told he was diagnosed 4 weeks ago and went to the hospital but recovered well enough to return to prison, where he was serving a 19-to-life sentence for the murder of Lana Clarkson.

Our sources say he relapsed, had trouble breathing and was rushed back to the hospital, where he died Saturday.

Spector began his career early ... when he was still in high school, he produced his first big hit, "To Know Him is To Love Him," by the Teddy Bears.

And then, the floodgates opened. He produced a flurry of hits ... from The Righteous Brothers "You Lost that Lovin' Feeling," "Unchained Melody," "You're My Soul and Inspiration," The Ronettes' "Be My Baby," The Crystals' "He's a Rebel," and on and on.

Spector had a deep association with The Beatles, and produced their album, "Let It Be." Among the songs, "The Long and Winding Road," "Get Back," and the title track. He also produced John Lennon's solo work, including "Instant Karma," and "Imagine."

Phil's reach was far and wide. He also produced Ike & Tina Turner's "River Deep, Mountain High."

When Phil produced The Ronettes, he went on to marry their lead singer, Ronnie in 1968, and had a tumultuous relationship. She accused him of tormenting her during their 4 years together by telling her she was nothing -- personally or professionally -- without him, forbidding her to leave their mansion alone, and pulling guns on her.

She eventually fled barefoot from him in 1972.

Spector's "Wall of Sound" was a technique he discovered in a tunnel near Hollywood Blvd. The sound created a roaring effect, which Spector called the "Wagnerian approach to rock 'n' roll" -- it involved overdubbing scores of musicians in an orchestral style to make a fuller sound.

The technique was mimicked by the Beach Boys and Bruce Springsteen.

He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1989.

Spector ended up in prison for the second-degree murder of Clarkson, an actress he'd met in 2003 while she was working at the House of Blues in WeHo. They went back to his mansion, and he shot her ... although he'd claimed it was an accidental suicide.

His first trial, in 2007, was declared a mistrial, due to a hung jury, but he was convicted in a 2009 retrial.

In March 2013, Al Pacino played Spector in the movie "Phil Spector."

Spector was 81.

Joe Biden's getting sworn in as the 46th President of the United States in just a few days, but his dog's getting sworn in right now -- with none other than Josh Groban helping out.

Joe's second German Shepherd, Major, is being honored Sunday with a virtual celebration via Zoom, which has been appropriately tagged -- "inDOGuration." During the event, Major will get some serious screen time with ticketholders and partake in pooch-friendly activities, with Jill Martin from the "TODAY" show hosting, and Darius Brown appearing as a guest.

They won't be the only human faces to drop in though ... Groban was added as a bit of a last-minute booking for some live entertainment. He willed his desire to perform for the "inDOGuration" into existence, recently asking Joe's team to let him sing for it.

Looks like his wish was granted, because on Sunday Josh wrote, "IT CAME TRUE!! I am so happy. The world is a mess, but we can all agree dogs rule. Let’s celebrate Major’s Indoguration and raise $$ for his rescue shelter, Delaware Humane Association."

Tickets go for $10, and the show starts at 3 PM ET. As for what Josh is gonna be doing exactly ... word is, he'll be singing an original dog-themed song. Sounds about right!

As you might know, Joe adopted Major in 2018 from the animal shelter mentioned above ... making him the first shelter dog to occupy the White House. The Bidens have another German Shepherd, Champ, who's been in their family for well over a decade now.

It's been 4 years since we've had some canines in the White House. Trump infamously didn't have any pets ... despite it being a tradition for Presidents to have some furry friends.

Latin singer Chesca -- an artist who was supposed to perform at Joe Biden's MLK Day celebration -- just announced she caught the coronavirus ... but the show will still go on, with her in the mix no less.

Chesca took to IG to break the news Saturday, writing in Spanish that she recently attended a recording session at a studio in Miami ... where one of the producers looked sick. She says she asked if it was COVID-related, and he assured it wasn't -- he said he was hungover.

Not the case it turns out ... Chesca says it was COVID all along, because everyone in the studio that day caught the virus. Chesca posted her positive test result, with a caption that reads ... "#F***COVID." Looks like she got a rapid antigen test too.

Chesca tells TMZ ... "Luckily none of us are experiencing bad symptoms and feel ok. We all tested positive as well. I have mild to 0 symptoms and I feel good just a bit of body aches."

She adds, "I feel good and I am doing the performance on my own. They are putting a camera and I’ll be alone." So Chesca's going to perform on Monday, as scheduled.

She is one of more than a dozen speakers and performers set to take center stage Monday to honor Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. It appears some of the appearances are going to be virtual, while others will be held in person, with CDC guidelines in mind.

Some of the folks who will speak or sing/perform ... Aloe Blacc, Rev. Dr. Bernice King, Martin Luther King III, Rep. Sharice Davids, Rosario Dawson, Andra Day, Yo-Yo Ma, Reverand Al Sharpton, Sean Patrick Thomas, Diane Warren, Lynn Whitfield, and Bebe Winans.

The show will air Monday on Bideninagural.org, YouTube, Twitter and Facebook starting at 8 PM ET.

Bow Wow's catching heat for performing at a packed club this weekend, but more than him ... the people who put their lives at risk here who are catching major heat.

The rapper was one of a handful of artists who showed up Friday night to Cle Houston for a bash celebrating club promoter Larry Morrow's birthday ... with some footage from the event leaking online, showing just how packed it got -- packed and mostly unmasked.

Meek Mill and J. Prince Jr. were also there ... neither seemed to be wearing masks.

Anyway, the clip making the rounds captures the audience below the stage, and it's clear there are upwards of 100 people (and probably more) looking on as Bow Wow performed. They were singing the lyrics to his song "Like You" ... before BW jumped in to finish it off.

People were quick to criticize Bow Wow for participating in what appears to be a clearly unsafe event, especially as the pandemic continues to rage and cases surge -- especially there in Houston, which just reported over 24k new positive patients Friday alone.

Along with the criticism came jokes at Bow Wow's expense, with many openly wondering why anyone in their right mind would put their life on the line for ... a Bow Wow show. Even actor Zach Braff got in on the mockery, writing ... "I thought about it and have decided I’m not willing to die for Bow Wow." A lot of other folks felt the same way.

Of course, this comes about a week after he posted a video of himself on a boat with a bunch of ladies, all of whom weren't masked up. Basically, the guy seems to be flouting COVID protocols, and people are taking notice and calling him out.

Dr. Dre will finally get to sleep in his own bed tonight -- he's been discharged from the hospital after suffering a brain aneurysm, but doctors are still watching him closely.

Sources close to Dre tell TMZ ... he went home Friday and while he's on the road to recovery, he still needs attention. We're told there are medical professionals at his home who will monitor him 24/7 for the next few weeks to make sure he's okay.

Our sources tell us Dre was in ICU at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in L.A. until Wednesday, when he was then moved to a private room at the hospital. Although he's been released, we're told doctors still don't know what triggered the brain bleed -- and that's part of the reason for the at-home care.

We broke the story ... Dre suffered an aneurysm at his Pacific Palisades home on Jan. 4 and was rushed by ambulance to Cedars.

Our sources told us Dre's doctors cautiously informed his family a "bad outcome" did not appear to be on the horizon.