Music

Halsey, Khalid and Benny Blanco might be able to do anything if they put their minds to it -- and one band claims the hitmakers were set on ripping off a song 3 years ago.

Konstantine Lois and Shane Williams say they wrote a song called 'Loveless' in 2015 for Williams' musical group American XO. Now, they've just sued the above-mentioned A-listers ... claiming their 2018 smash hit, "Eastside," is basically a carbon copy of their own tune.

In the docs, obtained by TMZ, Lois and Williams are suing for copyright infringement and are going after not only Halsey, Khalid and Blanco -- but also Ed Sheeran, who's credited as a songwriter on "Eastside," plus the labels who distributed it. They say the similarities are fairly obvious ... to their ears, at least.

The pair break down in excruciating detail what they claim are virtually identical note dyads, note intervals, similar tempos and an all-around familiar beat -- and it doesn't sound like they think it's a coincidence either ... pointing to interviews Blanco gave that they say prove their case.

In a Vibe article, Blanco is quoted as saying he listens to 10 to 12 new artists every day in hopes of finding inspiration for ideas he could try himself. Based on their lawsuit, Lois and Williams seem to believe Benny stumbled upon their ditty somehow -- which was streaming at that point -- and then lifted parts of it for "Eastside."

You can listen to the 2 songs yourself, and make up your own mind.

Chi Modu -- one of the most famous photographers in hip-hop history, documenting iconic shots from the 1990s -- has died.

An Instagram post announcing the sad news went up Saturday, with a caption that read ... "Our hearts are broken... We continue the fight ©💪🏾 The family request privacy at this time 📷." It was accompanied by a photo of him and his lifespan in years, 1966-2021.

The details surrounding his death weren't released.

Chi had snapped one of the most memorable batches of photos as it pertains to music -- shooting a variety of rappers in the '90s, which went on to grace the covers of memorable albums, as well as T-shirts and stills for years to come.

He's perhaps best known for photographing Prodigy and Havoc of Mobb Deep for the cover of their 1995 album, 'The Infamous' ... but he might be just as known for his black and white photo of a shirtless Tupac, with his hands up near his head and cigarette smoke blowing.

There are countless other legendary artists in his repertoire, including The Notorious B.I.G., Snoop Dogg, Nas, Diddy, LL Cool J, Wu-Tang Clan, Eazy-E, Ice Cube, Mary J. Blige, Busta Rhymes, Dr. Dre, Ice-T, Run-DMC, Q-Tip, Gang Starr, Geto Boyz, Redman, Dead Prez, Eminem, Fat Joe, Kris Kross, Mac Miller, Ty Dolla $ign, Common and Flavor Flav.

The list can go on forever -- but bottom line ... your favorite rapper has probably been shot at one point or another by Chi ... whose work is well-documented and seriously unmatched.

The guy started at The Source and was pretty much tasked with getting in with these acts that were bubbling at the time ... and sure enough, they gave him unprecedented access to document their work, lifestyles and their most intimate moments. All the photos made for sick shots, which goes without saying.

His photojournalism went beyond just hip-hop, BTW -- Chi traveled the world and snapped a wealth of pics in countries all over Asia, the Middle East and Africa. Chi's contribution to photography and music culture is unparalleled ... and his death is, frankly, shocking.

He was only 54.

RIP

Drake's 3-year-old son clearly has dad's knack for big moments -- he made an unforgettable night at the Billboard Music Awards even more memorable by getting emotional on stage.

The hip-hop star cemented his spot as a legend Sunday night as he was named Artist of the Decade, and his little boy, Adonis, took the stage with him to accept the award ... to give it an adorable boost.

As Drake spoke to the celeb-stacked crowd at the Microsoft Theater in L.A. about dedication to his music and using his fear to fuel improvement, his son hugged his legs pretty tight.

But, as Champagne Papi was closing his speech, Adonis seemed to have had enough and started walking away ... only to get picked up by Drake and start crying as his father dedicated the award to him.

As we first told you ... Drake's mother, Sandi, was also in attendance to watch him win the huge award Sunday night, which previously went to Mariah Carey in the 1990s and Eminem in the 2000s.

Drake and friends celebrated his win at SoFi Stadium -- home of the L.A. Rams and Chargers -- after the show ... and there was a massive message on the big screen.

The lead singer of the music group that won the 2021 Eurovision Song Contest did NOT use drugs live on air during their celebration ... according to an official investigation.

As we told you ... Damiano David of the Italian band Maneskin -- which took top honors at the singing competition -- was accused of snorting a bump of cocaine after video showed him lowering his head toward a table where the group was gathered.

However, the European Broadcasting Union that organized the event says it conducted a review of the footage and facts -- while also claiming David took a voluntary drug test that came back negative, and determined ... "No drug use took place in the Green Room and we consider the matter closed."

The EBU added that "inaccurate speculation leading to fake news" tarnished this year's event and unfairly impacted Maneskin ... which the organization congratulated again for winning and wished them success.

As we reported ... David claimed the reason he was looking down by the table in the video clip was because a bandmate had broken a glass, and insisted to reporters he doesn't do drugs.

Ice Cube has some cash that's long owed to someone who made dozens of beats for him over the years ... so claims the guy, who's now taking the rapper to court over it.

Producer Sir Jinx just sued Cube for what he claims are unpaid royalties he recently discovered are due to him for production work he provided to IC. If you're not familiar, SJ helped make a bunch of Cube's beats dating as far back as his first album in 1990, "AmeriKKKa's Most Wanted."

According to the docs, obtained by TMZ, Jinx says he's produced upward of 28 tracks for Cube ... and that it wasn't until 2019 that he realized he wasn't getting his fair share of the profits.

So, to make things right, Jinx says he reached out to Cube's team to let them know there was some back pay that needed to come his way ... but in the end, Jinx claims Cube never forked over the dough.

Jinx claims he's incurred damages north of $100k ... and he's asking a judge to get a proper accounting in place, and to award him whatever he deserves according to his contracts.

Sir Jinx has a list of what songs he believes he got stiffed on -- and they include some of Cube's best-known songs, including ... "No Vaseline," "True to the Game," "The Bomb," "It's a Man's World," "The Funeral," "Who Got the Camera?" and several more.

As time went on and Cube continued to make albums into the 2000s and beyond, Jinx was featured less and less. It looks like he was mostly influential in Cube's early sound after leaving N.W.A.

If revenge is a dish best served cold, then The Weeknd has himself some well-chilled hardware from the Billboard Music Awards, which gave him what the Grammy heads didn't.

Abel walked away with the most wins at the BBMAs Sunday ... racking up 10 total at the end of the night (the most out of any artist nominated) with many of the statuettes among the top honors given out, including Top Artist, Hot 100 Song and more.

In other words, Abel made up for lost time at the Grammy Awards and then some ... which completely shut him out from this year's ceremony with zero nominations.

As you know ... The Weeknd's on a campaign of sorts to call out the Recording Academy as corrupt, crooked, outdated, out of touch, you name it. Interestingly, though, he refrained from any Grammy talk during the BBMAs ... and kept it classy.

Franky, he didn't have to say much, because the wins spoke for themselves -- as did his performance later in the show of his hit, "Save Your Tears," which he performed in a parking lot with some sweet coordinated car choreography ... one of the highlights of the night.

As for his postshow celebration, The Weeknd was one of several celebs to hit the Billboard party at The Nice Guy.

Chuck D's extending an olive branch to Flavor Flav, and he seems more than ready to get on stage or in a studio with him for the rebirth of Public Enemy.

We caught up with the legendary MC as he was touring construction of the Universal Hip Hop Museum in the Bronx. The groundbreaking group brought out rap royalty like Grandmaster Flash, Nas, Fat Joe and LL Cool J -- but it was Chuck who dropped major news about his group.

We asked if we're ever going to see Public Enemy together again, and he more than left the door open ... and pretty much said it's up to Flav at this point.

That brought us to our next question: Are Chuck and Flav even on talking terms? Watch his response ... he was a little evasive, but also made it clear he's ready to squash whatever beef remains between them.

In Chuck's words, "It's whatever Flavor wants to do."

TMZ broke the story ... FF got pissed when Chuck D announced back in March 2020 that Flavor was fired from the group ... following a huge argument over PE appearing at a Bernie Sanders rally.

Flavor Flav and Chuck D hadn't been cool for years -- ever since FF sued the group -- but things really reached a boiling point after Flav fired off a cease and desist letter to Bernie's campaign ... accusing them of using his image and likeness for a gig Chuck D agreed to play in support of the candidate.

We brought up that Bernie beef and Chuck dropped a joke about Flav and politics. We're thinking it was just good-natured ribbing, because he seems ready to put the whole mess behind them.

Justin Bieber's nest of a hairdo is in the history books -- at least for now -- because the guy's got a fresh cut on his hands, but the question remains ... what caused the change???

We caught the Biebs and his wife, Hailey, leaving Voda Spa in WeHo Sunday, where JB was flashing a whole new look from the shoulders up ... namely, his was much shorter than what we'd seen of late. And yes, that means he's lost the so-called dreadlocks he was rockin'.

Of course, our photog had to ask what inspired the drastic clip -- and if it, perhaps, had anything to do with the criticism he was getting over his recent hairstyle (more on that later).

Unfortunately, Justin didn't seem to be in too chatty of a mood. Instead of answering, the mister and missus hopped into their Tesla and drove away. It sounded like he might've said something in response, but it appears that was just his bodyguards, who were close behind.

As for that backlash ... well, some felt Justin was misappropriating Black culture by rocking the locks with impunity. He had also tied his hair up in pigtails at several points throughout most of this past month ... but never really addressed the elephant in the room.

Maybe it was just a Must-Not-Cut-Hair May type of thing.

Of course, folks weren't necessarily losing sleep over this either. Considering all the different celebs over the years who've been accused of rocking hairstyles that aren't technically in their ethnic wheelhouse, the outrage over Justin's go wasn't nearly as loud in comparison.

Morgan Wallen continues to rake in success, despite using a racial slur -- the guy just nabbed multiple wins at the Billboard Music Awards ... even though he wasn't allowed to show.

The country singer was among several winners who were announced before the broadcast -- which starts at 5 PM PT -- and lo and behold ... he ended up taking three awards home, after being nominated for six total.

MW won for Top Country Artist, Top Country Male Artist and Top Country Album -- for his sophomore project, "Dangerous: The Double Album," which has continued to stream incredibly well in recent months. This in spite of the fact that he hurled the n-word in February.

Dick Clark Productions had already said Wallen would NOT be involved in the BBMAs this year in any capacity because of the epithet he said ... saying his behavior didn't align with their values. That said, they acknowledged he'd move forward as a finalist nonetheless, which was based solely on his music numbers and his charting.

DCP said they'd reevaluate his progress in the near future and decide if they want to invite him back for next year. Of course, Wallen doesn't appear to have done a whole lot outside of basic apologizing ... as we've reported ourselves.

Ben Affleck and Jennifer Lopez are back, and they're done hiding it ... because the first clear shots of them together have surfaced, and they look all too pleased in each other's company.

BA flew into Miami Sunday to meet up with his old flame, trying to look incognito in a helluva getup. Dude was rocking sunglasses, a dad hat pulled down low and a face mask for good measure. Yet, even with all that, he kinda stuck out like a sore thumb ... and paps picked up on the scent. Good effort, though, Ben!

It became clear he was in town when he later surfaced at a waterfront mansion J Lo was at -- where Ben came out onto the balcony for a smoke at one point ... facing out towards the cameras, without trying to mask anything. There's no question, that's Ben Freakin' Affleck.

Jen popped in and out herself, but you could only make out her back, as she seemed to be trying to lay a little more low than her boo was. They never came out onto the balcony together -- but it's obvious ... they were sharing the same space, if only temporarily.

Eventually, they gave up the elusive act altogether and walked down a flight of stairs -- with Ben trailing Jennifer, who flashed a big smile ... and couldn't have looked happier. We'd like to say the same for Ben -- but he looked as aloof/pensive as he ever has (in memes and elsewhere).

Michael Jackson's family -- or at least some of them -- are outraged by the revelations about the BBC's Martin Bashir interview with Princess Diana, and they're reportedly considering legal action.

In case you don't remember, Bashir did a documentary in 2003 titled "Living with Michael Jackson." It profiled MJ's life at the Neverland Ranch. During the interview, Bashir lasered in on Jackson's relationship with young boys and the allegations of sexual abuse.

Jackson was unapologetic about sleeping in the same bed as 13-year-old Gavin Arvizo, saying, "Why can't you share your bed? That's the most loving thing to do, to share your bed with someone."

As you know, Jackson was prosecuted for allegedly molesting Arvizo. The jury found MJ not guilty.

In the wake of the report concluding Bashir deceived Princess Diana into doing her famous interview, Jackson's nephew, Taj, and MJ's brother, Tito, now allege Bashir "manipulated footage and unethical journalism."

The pair believe Bashir tricked Jackson the way he tricked Diana. Taj blames Bashir on Michael's death, saying, "Bashir's manipulated footage and unethically journalism is one of the main reasons my uncle Michael is not here today."

Taj wasn't done, adding, "That 2005 trial broke him. Shame on those who provided cover for Bashir. Shame on those who rewarded him. My family deserves an investigation & apology too."

Lil Nas X brought 'SNL' to a grand finale Saturday night, but the performance was a little ... well, a little too tight.

Lil Nas was performing "MONTERO (Call Me By Your Name)" during the show, and all the gyrating was too much for his pants, 'cause they split down the front.

It happens at around the 2:20 mark in the video, as he was dancing on a stripper pole. You see him drop low, and that's when his pants do the splits.

He's a pro, so he immediately grabbed his crotch -- Michael Jackson style -- so it wasn't super obvious ... but yeah, it happened.

He boldly glares right into the camera as it happens and then presses on to the end of the song.

Lil Nas X was the musical guest for the season 46 finale. Anya Taylor-Joy did the hosting honors.

He's a funny guy, tweeting after the show, “NOT MY PANTS RIPPED ON LIVE ON TV,” adding, “OMFG NO… I wanted to do my pole routine so bad this what I get lmaoo.”

He followed up saying, "at first i was afraid to even perform. then we rehearsed for 2 weeks, then all of the dancers got removed because one had covid and new ones had to learn the routine in 24 hours, and then i ended up ripping my pants and couldn’t finish. everything happens for a reason tho lol"

A punk rock band made of four ethnically diverse girls is on its way to producing its first professional record -- 'cause they just got signed ... this after a kickass performance.

The band is called The Linda Lindas, and it features four pre-teen/teenage girls -- aged 10 to 16 -- who describe themselves as "Half Asian/Half Latinx" ... and who rocked the house so hard earlier this month at the L.A. Public Library that landed them a deal with a major label.

Variety confirmed The LLs had been signed to Epitaph Records -- which has had quite the repertoire of rock acts in its roster over the years ... including Green Day, Weezer, Rancid, The Offspring, Pennywise, Bad Religion and scores of other legendary punk bands.

Now, the Linda Lindas are part of that mix -- although the details of their contract aren't out yet. In any case, it's a helluva achievement ... and it's all due to a set they put on in early May as part of AAPI Heritage Month, which got tons of love and famous fanfare.

ICYMI ... the Linda Lindas performed a number of original songs at the library, including one called "Racist Sexist Boy" -- the origin of which they explained had to do with the increased Asian hate that's been rocking the nation of late. To vent, they came up with this banger.

Morgan Wallen's starting to get back to performing after his n-word controversy, while seemingly snubbing an organization we're told he'd pledged to meet with ... the NAACP in Nashville.

According to NAACP Nashville President Sheryl Guinn ... after her branch reached out to the country singer in February, she says his team expressed interest in scheduling a sit-down because they claimed he felt terrible about using a racial slur and wanted to make amends.

Guinn tells us both sides agreed to a meeting that was likely to include multiple Black leaders, as well as several people accompanying Morgan ... all they had to do was iron out the details.

However, we're told Wallen's team went silent after that initial phone call, and there's been no effort by Morgan to make it happen ... along with no explanation.

The NAACP Prez says her Nashville chapter never pressured the country star for a face-to-face, but simply wanted to make itself available because he publicly expressed a desire to educate himself. Guinn tells us her hope was to help Wallen become an advocate for Black equality and enlist his fans to do so as well.

To be fair ... shortly after TMZ broke the story that Morgan was recorded by a neighbor casually calling a buddy the n-word, he claimed he'd met with several Black groups that helped him realize how harmful his actions were.

Wallen also stated in April he was taking time to work on himself and would not be adding any tour dates this summer.

As we reported ... he did get back on the stage this week in Nashville at Kid Rock's Big Ass Honky Tonk bar in front of what looked like a packed house.

Drake is about to get a huge award and he wants his family close as he receives it.

Billboard will bestow the Artist of the Decade Award on Drizzy Sunday night and it's clearly something that's meaningful to him. His mom, who almost never makes a public appearance, will be front and center as her son accepts the honor ... this according to production sources.

Drake's son, Adonis, will also be in the audience ... watching his dad clutch the award.

The award is a big deal ... previous winners include Mariah Carey in the 1990s and Eminem in the 2000s.

Drake has snagged 27 Billboard Music Awards, and that makes him the record-holder. He received 12 in 2019 alone. As accomplished as he is, Drake was stoked to dine with his idol ... Ronald Isley of the Isley Brothers. Drake said he was "high on life" after dining with Ron.

BTW ... Nick Jonas will host the event, which airs on NBC at 8 PM.

The only thing bigger for Drake might be a chance to play for the Raptors.

Lil Mosey is being ordered to stay the hell away from his alleged sexual assault victim after being charged with second-degree rape.

The "Blueberry Faygo" rapper has been hit with a sexual assault pre-trial protection order ... according to new legal docs obtained by TMZ.

The order, issued in Lewis County, Washington, bars Lil Mosey from contacting the alleged victim in any way and requires him to stay at least 500 feet away from her at all times while he awaits trial for rape.

TMZ broke the story ... Lil Mosey was charged with rape last month for the alleged incident back in January. Mosey's pled not guilty.

According to the docs, Lil Mosey is also prohibited from obtaining or possessing a firearm, other dangerous weapons or a concealed pistol license and must surrender any firearms to the Sheriff's Office.