Music

Well, it finally happened ... "Donda" is out!!!

Kanye finally released his long-awaited album ... this, after multiple listening parties and would-be release dates that came and went.

The album, which has 26 songs, hit Apple Music and Spotify Sunday AM.

The release was not without drama ... in the middle of the night, Kanye posted tweets which seemed to say the most recent hold-up was that DaBaby hadn't signed the necessary releases to clear his verse for the song "Jail." DaBaby is not on the track, instead, Jay-Z appears. You'll recall, Jay recorded his verse hours before the first listening party in Atlanta ... a sign their feud was squashed. It was confusing when DaBaby replaced Jay's verse at the Chicago listening party, but Jay is now back.

The album was initially supposed to be released July 23. That date got moved to August 6. Then it became unclear exactly when the album would hit streaming services. Kanye's manager promised it would be released following last Thursday's listening event at Soldier Field in Chicago ... and that promise was kept.

Ye famously tinkers with his albums even after their release ... e.g., "The Life of Pablo," so the same may happen with "Donda."

As for the songs on the album, it's heavily religious ... "Donda Chant," "Jail," "God Breathed," "Off the Grid," "Hurricane," "Praise God," "Jonah," "Ok Ok," "Junya," "Believe What I Say," "24," "Remote Control," "Moon," "Heaven and Hell," "Donda," "Keep My Spirit Alive," "Jesus Lord," "New Again," "Tell the Vision," "Lord I Need You," "Pure Souls," "Come to Life," "No Child Left Behind," "Ok Ok, Pt. 2," "Junya, Pt. 2," "Jesus Lord, Pt. 2."

Here's what's interesting ... Drake seemed to drop a clue last week his album will drop Friday ... so with the release of "Donda," Drake and Ye will be going head-to-head for #1 bragging rights.

And, the final mystery ... Kim Kardashian. As you know, she wore a wedding dress at the Chicago listening party. TMZ broke the story, the divorce is not a done deal anymore. Kanye and Kim have been seeing each other privately, and they seem to be trying to work things out ... whatever those things are.

Ron Bushy -- the longtime drummer of rock band Iron Butterfly -- has died ... TMZ has learned.

Bushy passed away Sunday morning at UCLA Medical Center in Los Angeles -- this according to his family members ... several of whom were by his side, including his wife and daughters. We're told he'd been battling some form of cancer.

The guy was the only member of IB to have appeared on all six of their albums, and is perhaps best known for his iconic drum solo on their 1968 hit, "In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida."

The track is legendary for a number of reasons -- not the least of which because it's more than 17 minutes long ... and Bushy completely shreds on the drums for a good 2-3 minutes.

RB went on to help record their second, third and fourth albums into the '70s -- and then took a break until the gang got back together in '74 for albums no. 5 and 6. They continued jamming into the '80s -- when a second breakup occurred -- but they rekindled once more.

There were an infamous amount of lineup changes for IB through the '70s and '80s -- but the one constant mostly throughout was Bushy ... who was usually around to keep the tempo and the beat going, through studio sessions or on tour.

He played with other bands too during his tenure with Iron Butterfly -- including groups like Magic and Gold. Ron hung up full-time playing in the mid-2010s due to health concerns, but word is ... he'd make guest appearances with the new iteration of the band in the years after.

He's survived by his wife, Nancy, their three daughters and six grandchildren. Ron was 79.

Beyonce and Jay-Z celebrated an anniversary Saturday night ... the 18th anniversary of 40/40.

A ton of celebs hit the party, including Megan Thee Stallion, Swizz Beatz, Quincy Jones, Meek Mill, Remy Ma, Lil Uzi Vert, Van Jones, Pusha T, Joe Budden, Belly, Fabolous and Victor Cruz.

We tried asking Jay about the flap over the blood diamond Beyonce was wearing in their Tiffany and Co. ad, but that was a no-go.

Van Jones talked to us about Jay getting into gaming, and why it makes total sense and why it's important for the Black community to get involved at the ground stage.

The 40/40 Club, a chain of Jay's sports bars and lounges, opened in NYC back in 2003, followed by ATL in 2005, Vegas 2 years later and the Barclays Center in 2012.

Beyonce looked amazing ... you gotta give it to her for the pink platform heels.

Young Thug must've been a huge fan of the "SimCity" video game series as a kid ... 'cause the tiny town he envisions building feels like an awesome mini metropolis.

So, here's the deal ... the rapper turned 30 earlier this month and among the fancy gifts that came his way were 100 acres in the greater Atlanta area ... gifted to him by his manager, Geoff Ogunlesi.

Atlanta realtor, Trey Williams, helped Geoff lock down the land deal and the plan's for Young Thug to subdivide the property with the name, "Slime City." Trey tells TMZ ... YT wants to build really nice homes, a waterpark, perhaps a camping site and so much more.

Young Thug wants to host his annual "Slime Fest" on the property. Hence ... "Slime City." YT has hosted "Slime Fest" every year -- sans 2020 for obvious reasons.

Trey says Young Thug will include a dirt bike trail on the property ... where people who love riding bikes and 4-wheelers can cut loose.

Trey says Young Thug's already been chopping it up with architects and engineers. There are a few permits they're waiting on ... but as soon as they get the green light, it's game on.

We're told this is just one way Young Thug wants to give back to his community. Just recently the rapper bought his mom a new home in the ATL ... and he plans to do the same for his dad. As for how much YT dropped for the property ... Trey wouldn't say.

Offset is clearly ready to see the Matt Ryan era come to an end in Atlanta ... telling TMZ Sports he wants to see his beloved Falcons move on to a new quarterback.

The "Bad and Boujee" rapper -- who's from the ATL area -- was talking football with us out in NYC earlier this week ... when he explained he's done with Ryan.

"We need a new quarterback," Offset said. "I love Matt Ryan, though. But, we just need somebody young. You know what I'm saying?"

The 29-year-old continued ... "He's had success every year, but we've got to get a championship. It don't matter 'til we get a ring."

Of course, Offset's Migos-mate, Quavo, has felt the same way for a while ... telling us repeatedly over the years he's not a fan of Ryan's game.

In fact, back in 2019, Quavo said the Falcons should bench Ryan for Colin Kaepernick.

Justin Bieber has left every other artist on Spotify in the dust -- hitting a major milestone by attracting the most listeners ever, which begs the question ... is he MJ's heir apparent???

The Biebs broke a record this week ... raking in the most monthly listeners on Spotify over the course of the streaming platform's history, with a whopping number of 83.3 mil -- the first time that's been accomplished -- this as his "Justice" album continues to surge on the charts.

And, don't get us started on his hit single with The Kid LAROI, "Stay," which continues to cruise at #1 several weeks after its release. Safe to say, August has been good to JB.

BTW, as far as Justin's Spotify lead ... he's far ahead of the rest of the pack by millions of listeners. The Weeknd clocks in at #2 with 74.5 million monthly listeners, Ed Sheeran is #3 with 72.4. And his female contemporaries are even further behind ... in the 60s.

The record before this was around 82 mil monthly listeners -- held by Ariana Grande for a good while. In any case, some major congratulations are in order ... and maybe some title-bestowing too. A lot of people are throwing around the term "Prince of Pop" right about now.

There's some controversy with that ... some feel he isn't deserving (for a variety of weird reasons) -- but the numbers don't lie, and Justin's longevity speaks for itself. So yeah, he may just be the modern-day prince of the genre ... behind the all-time king, Michael, of course.

Speaking of MJ, the dude's music continues to hit new benchmarks in its own right ... even today, more than a decade after his untimely death. "Thriller" was just certified 34X Platinum this week -- yep, people are still playing that classic.

As if it wasn't obvious before, Adele is officially in LeBron's orbit -- because she was partying alongside him, his NBA buddies and his agent/her BF ... all to celebrate the King's wife's bday.

Savannah James hit the big 3-5 Friday night ... and she and her Lakers superstar hubby hit the town for a bash that became a who's who of the NBA -- and of Hollywood at large, it seems, seeing how Adele dropped in with Rich Paul ... whom she's dating at the moment.

A clip of her rocking out inside The Classic Cat restaurant in WeHo -- where the party was thrown -- has surfaced ... and it looks like Cardi's "WAP" was blasting through the speakers as Adele bobbed back and forth.

She and Rich tried keeping a low profile on the way out -- but paps caught 'em getting into a waiting SUV. Adele attempted to obscure her face, but the cat was outta the bag ... and Rich didn't seem to care either way as he buttoned up his shirt and faced the flashing lights.

If ya thought this would be a quick thing, think again ... because Adele and Rich have been going strong for a while now -- even before they went public earlier this year, apparently.

As for the rest of the shindig ... it was a rager and a half, with Savannah as the glowing star. LeBron filmed his wife getting down on the dance floor, and she got major love from just about everyone in attendance. He even booked singer Giveon to perform!

Kanye West and Drake's beef has trickled into real life harassment -- some fan(s) of the latter took it upon themselves to hit up Ye's childhood home with some hateful words in tow.

Photos surfaced this weekend of three different signs that appear to have been left on the front steps of the South Shore Chicago house that Kanye grew up in ... and which he bought in recent years and is reportedly in the process of renovating.

It also served as the centerpiece of his latest listening event there in town -- with Ye creating a replica version of the crib to help tell the story of his "Donda" album. Now, it's tainted.

Somebody left signage touching on Drake's lyrical shots that he fired last weekend ... in which he called Kanye "burnt out," among other things. One sign echoes those words exactly, while another warns that Drizzy's album, "Certified Lover Boy," is coming soon.

And, the middle sign randomly takes a swipe at Justin Laboy -- a social media influencer who's been relaying a lot of Kanye "Donda" news lately ... seemingly on his behalf.

Luckily, no real damage to the home was done ... but it still feels like crossing the line into a space that's obviously sacred to Ye. Unfortunately for him, the address is widely public ... and doesn't seem to have any barricades or security around to keep nosy prowlers out.

The fact someone had the gall to go to Kanye's actual house to do this perhaps speaks to the stunt he pulled on Drake this week ... posting the dude's Toronto address publicly.

Eric Clapton is putting his anti-vaccine sentiments into song -- the guy just released a ditty that's all about resisting COVID vaccines and restrictions ... and it's surreal.

The legendary rocker and guitarist debuted his new track, "This Has Gotta Stop," Friday ... which at first feels like a social justice-like protest song -- based on the lyrics and visuals. But, when you read between the lines and read up on EC's recent COVID remarks ... it's clear what he's talking about.

The chorus goes, "This has gotta stop, enough is enough // I can't take this BS any longer // It's gone far enough, you wanna claim my soul // You'll have to come and break down this door." His first talks about knowing something was wrong when the proverbial man started laying down the law ... which Eric says made him apprehensive and break out in sweat.

He goes on to talk about what he thinks this future (of COVID mandates, vaccine requirements, etc.) will mean for his kids down the road. There's also a lot of animations of people being controlled by strings and hypnotized ... so it's clear what he thinks of it all.

Of course, that's no surprise ... Eric made his feelings known about a month ago when he announced he wouldn't perform at venues with vaccine requirements ... going on to liken it to "discriminated audience(s)." Even before that, he's been pushing anti-vaccine rhetoric pretty much all throughout the pandemic -- so, now, it appears he's channeling that in music.

Kim Kardashian's wedding dress cameo at Kanye West's "Donda" show wasn't a total kumbaya for the pair's marriage, but things behind the scenes are drastically improving for the former couple.

Sources close to K & Y tell us ... there actually is a chance they could get back together. They've been spending time together privately and "working on rebuilding the foundation of their relationship."

While our sources say their divorce is still on, it's possible Kim might withdraw the divorce petition. There's obviously a lot of love and history between the former pair, but many areas of disagreement that have to be worked out.

We're told one of the glimmers of hope is that both Kim and Ye want what's best for their kids, and if they can work things out it's a win for the entire family.

Our sources say Kim and Kanye's main focus is to keep a healthy and sturdy foundation of love and support for their 4 kids ... and Kim bringing them to all 3 of Ye's "Donda" listening events demonstrates that.

Marvin Bagley III -- the Sacramento Kings’ #2 overall pick in the 2018 NBA Draft -- is jumping on a new track with boxing legend Roy Jones Jr. ... with both stars letting the world know they’re more than athletes ... they’re rappers too!!

The new track is called "Y’all Must’ve Forgot II" ... a direct throwback to Roy’s "Y'all Must’ve Forgot" from his 2002 project, "Round One: The Album."

The 22-year-old Bagley -- who raps under the artist name MB3FIVE -- goes hard on the track over a booming southern rap beat ... making references to his NBA career in the process.

"Gone from the game for a year, I came back like ‘Pac, when he got shot they wouldn’t believe it but they had to watch," Bagley raps on the song’s third verse.

He continued ... "I do not listen to the negative energy, they gon’ envy me. I do not care if they not feelin’ me."

MB also gave RJ some major love on the song -- "I just beat 'em with the left like Roy," he raps. “I was built for this game, I just kill and destroy.”

Okay, Marvin!!

Kanye West may have put on a buzz-worthy show in Chicago for his third "Donda" listening event, but the showing for vaccinations wasn't great ... only 13 attendees got the shot.

A spokesperson from the Illinois Department of Public Health tells TMZ ... 13 doses of the COVID-19 vaccine were administered to guests at Soldier Field Thursday Night.

A rep for the venue previously told us 1,500 doses would be available ... so a very low percentage went into arms.

On the bright side -- at least for those who are not anti-vaxxers -- 13 is an increase from the 4 vaccinations at Kanye's last listening party in Atlanta, which had 40,000 people in attendance.

As for the Chicago show ... attendance was 38k, but attendees were not required to show proof of vaccination or a negative COVID test to enter. So, considering the percentage of Illinois' population who have had at least one dose is just above 65 percent ... ya gotta think there were way more unvaccinated people there than 13.

Oh, and look at these lines ... not a lot of social distancing going on.

Kanye's "Donda" event 3.0 had a lot of interesting moments though ... from DaBaby and Marilyn Manson being his controversial guest performers, to Kim Kardashian showing up in a wedding dress.

Gene Simmons says his KISS co-founder, Paul Stanley, is not feeling great after catching COVID, but he's going to be just fine thanks to the vaccine ... and Gene's urging everyone to get their shots too.

The famous rock 'n' roller joined "TMZ Live" Friday to talk about canceling the band's Pennsylvania show after Paul tested positive for the coronavirus.

Gene says Paul, who's been fully vaccinated, started to lose his voice Thursday and felt tired so the band's doctor suggested he and the crew get a COVID test. Sure enough, Paul tested positive ... and Gene says everyone else on the tour was tested too, but all came back negative.

Gene says everyone involved is quarantining to make sure additional tests don't come up positive. As for Paul, medical professionals advise COVID carriers quarantine for 10 days.

Gene says there is no KISS without Paul, which likely means the band won't hit the stage again until Sept. 9 in Irvine, CA. So upcoming shows in NC, GA, MI, OH, IL and WI will almost certainly be rescheduled.

Britney Spears might've thought this battery case with her housekeeper would "go nowhere" -- but she's not out of the woods yet ... we're told it's now been handed over to prosecutors who will make the call on whether Britney is hit with a criminal charge.

Law enforcement sources tell TMZ ... the Ventura County Sheriff's Dept.'s wrapped up its investigation into Britney's housekeeper's claim of battery from last week and forwarded its findings to the Ventura County District Attorney's Office Friday.

Law enforcement at the Ventura County Sheriff's Dept. has told TMZ ... they routinely send such cases over to the D.A. for review, unless it's clear the case has no merit. In this case, there are 2 versions -- the housekeeper says Britney struck her in the arm, but Britney says all she did was swipe the phone out of her hand. The Sheriff doesn't know which version is true, so that's why it was forwarded on.

The law enforcement sources also tell us the house keeper suffered no physical injuries.

As we've reported, our Brit sources were confident nothing would come of this ... and that still may end up being true at the finish line ... but until then, it's a waiting game.

TMZ broke the story ... Britney got into a spat with the housekeeper after the housekeeper showed Britney pics of the dogs in distress. Britney was angry the housekeeper was taking photos inside her house, and she tried wrestling the phone away.

The housekeeper -- who had worked for Britney for years -- is no longer working for the singer.

BTW ... the dogs were returned last Friday after being in the care of Britney's dog sitter for 2 weeks.

Kim Kardashian did more than just support her former hubby from the audience, she got involved in the action too, wearing a wedding dress!!!

Kanye's performance at Soldier Field in Chicago Thursday night featured plenty of guest appearances -- including some head-scratchers like DaBaby and Marilyn Manson -- but the audience went most crazy when Kim showed up outside the mockup of Kanye's childhood home in the dress.

Kim stepped out in a stunning Balenciaga Couture wedding dress during the song "No Child Left Behind," the final song of the night.

Now, our sources with direct knowledge have told us for weeks the two are NOT back together ... but they're forever family. Kim and Kanye have always supported the other's endeavors and will continue to do that in the future, whether it be a collaborative effort or not.

Our sources say Kim was happy to do it for Kanye and the event, which was so important to him.

By the way, the wedding gown moment came just minutes after Kanye -- or a likely stunt-double -- lit themselves on fire and walked around the house ... talk about a turn of events!

As we reported ... the event in Chicago marks the third "Donda" event, but the official product hasn't dropped yet.

Beyonce's mom is out for blood against those who've turned her daughter's Tiffany campaign into a controversy about blood diamonds.

Tina Knowles went off on Instagram on all the "socially conscious activist[s]" who've called out Bey for wearing the famous 128.54-carat Tiffany Diamond ... which is from a colonial mine in Kimberley, South Africa.

If you haven't heard, Beyonce's just the 4th woman to wear the iconic diamond -- and the first Black woman -- as part of Tiffany & Co.'s new "About Love" campaign ... which also features her husband, Jay-Z.

It seems Bey didn't know the jewel was a blood diamond ... so the question -- was Beyonce tricked by Tiffany and Co. into wearing it in the ad? There are reports Beyonce is pissed she didn't get a heads up.

A lot of folks don't care about that though, and have called her out for flaunting it ... but Mama Tina's not having it.

Knowles directed a comment on Instagram toward these critics, asking how many of them own diamonds, and if they do ... "did you go to try to check to see where the diamond came from?"

Her point is ... every person who has an engagement ring or owns diamonds probably does not research their origin, so all the "righteous" bashing of her daughter is hypocritical.

It's a fair point ... but likely not one that will shut everybody up on Twitter.

Speaking of, several Twitter folks have also rushed to Beyonce's defense ... pointing out that there was no such backlash when Lady Gaga wore the Tiffany Diamond at the Oscars in 2019.