Music

Kanye West looks to be channeling his inner Martha Stewart -- on the heels of huge music success, he's taking a crucial step toward launching his own line ... of homeware products.

Say whaaat? Yep, according to legal docs, obtained by TMZ, Ye's company, Mascotte Holdings, Inc., filed a trademark application to slap the name "Kanye West" on a slew of home line products.

Unclear if his quest to legally change his name to "Ye" will affect this new venture ... but some of the products that will bear his name, in some fashion, include shower curtains, textile wall hangings, towels, placemats and blankets. Lots of blankets.

The docs specify Ye's company wants to crank out bed blankets, throw blankets, golf blankets ... using cashmere, fleece and silk.

Kanye famously designed his Hidden Hills home with Kim Kardashian ... a project that took several years and was eventually featured in Architectural Digest.

It should be noted ... Kim appeared to be heading down this very same road. Kim's company filed trademark docs last year to lock up "KKW Home." Her application included a lot of the same products as her estranged husband's -- towels, shower curtains/liners, linens, drapery, comforters and yes ... throw blankets.

Whether they're getting back together or not ... one thing's for sure -- these two are on a quest to conquer the consumer world.

LeBron James was having a nice meal with his wife on a romantic getaway to Italy when someone came up to their table to say hello ... and it was none other than Elton John!!!

The Los Angeles Lakers stud and 'Space Jam 2' star was enjoying the best Italian food money can buy while on vacation in Nerano with his wife, Savannah, when the Rocketman sauntered over to their table to exchange pleasantries.

LeBron's been with the Lakers for three years so he knows Hollywood is a small town ... and it seems he's finding out the same several time zones away in Italy.

LeBron and his entourage looked pretty interested in whatever Elton had to say ... and then they went back to their pasta and vino.

Post Malone is saying "merci" to a group of firefighters in France ... thanking them for battling blazes that threatened the vineyard where his wine is made.

Sources close to Post Malone tell TMZ ... he was having dinner at Ultimate Provence in the South of France this week when he met some local firefighters who helped save the vineyard property from the fires.

We're told Posty thanked the firefighters for all of their hard and brave work ... shaking hands and posing for pictures in the restaurant.

The fires blazed in the South of France last month, causing thousands of people to flee their homes and hotels, and the fast-moving fires raced towards famous vineyards.

Post Malone's wine company, Maison No. 9, was in the line of fire ... until firefighters got the blaze under control.

Drake made good on his promise to drop his new album -- belated though it was -- and he smack-talked Kanye hard.

"Certified Lover Boy" was unveiled as promised -- at midnight -- 9 months after Drake had planned to release it.

Drizzy doesn't mention Ye by name, but no need to ... he's clearly throwing shade at him on the track, "7am On Bridle Path."

"Told you I'm aimin' straight for the head

Now they 'Amen' and 'Please'

I can give a f*** about who designing your sneakers and tees

Had somebody put you on a guilt and you play with my seed."

But, Drake wasn't done with Kanye ...

"Trust me, there's some s*** you really gotta come and see to believe

That's why your people not believers, they all leavin' ya

You know the fourth level of jealousy is called 'Media.'"

Kanye's manager told TMZ this week Ye would be listening closely to Drake's album for references to him, and if Drizzy crossed the line it would be war on.

Among those appearing on the album -- Jay-Z, Travis Scott, Lil Wayne, Young Thug, 21 Savage, Ty Dolla $ign, Kid Cudi, Rick Ross, Lil Baby and Project Pat.

The first cut on the album -- "Champagne Poetry" -- samples one of the Beatles' iconic songs, "Michelle." Drizzy appropriately gives John Lennon and Paul McCartney songwriting credit.

In all, there are 21 tracks, including a spoken-word cameo by Nicki Minaj on "Papi's Home."

And, there's this ... R. Kelly gets a credit fo composer and lyricist for the song, "TSU."

Drake was ultimately true to his word after dropping a cryptic clue in an ESPN promo ... that the album would drop Sept. 3.

Kanye's album did incredibly well during its first week of release, but Drake's the odds-on fav to top Billboard next week.

Kodak Black is living proof ... no good deed goes unpunished.

Kodak is now in the crosshairs of the Pompano Beach Authority, which seems to have all sorts of problems with Kodak donating air conditioning units in a housing project to help them beat the sweltering Florida heat.

Kodak personally delivered the AC units back in July, but we found out the Housing Authority fired off a cease and desist letter last month, which accused Kodak of entering the property twice, causing "disturbances." The Housing Authority claimed the rapper caused a disruption by shooting a music video on the property and playing loud music. And, get this ... the H.A. railed on him for daring to install air conditioning in the units.

The Housing Authority said, "Your actions have adversely impacted the Property's residents' right to peacefully enjoy the property."

Kodak's lawyer, Bradford Cohen, begs to differ, firing off a letter to the Housing Authority and saying it was sad and shameful they "wish to stop the assistance to the elderly and underprivileged during a heat wave and 2 year pandemic."

Britney Spears says she wants to get married, and here's a sign it might actually happen ... her boyfriend is shopping for jewelry and looking at rings!!!

Britney's boyfriend of over 4 years, Sam Asghari, went ring shopping Thursday ... hitting up Cartier in Bev Hills. As you can see, something caught Sam's eye in the jewelry case and he snapped a pic of it with his phone.

Eventually, the saleswoman brought out what appeared to be a diamond ring so Sam could get a better look.

Sam's ring shopping is pretty interesting ... you'll remember Britney made it clear last June in court ... she had marriage on her mind. Spears claimed a big motivator in getting out of the conservatorship was to be able to get married and have children ... both things she claimed she was blocked from doing under her dad's control.

As we first told you ... Britney and Sam have talked about getting engaged but he's never formalized it with a proposal.

But, now it at least looks like Sam could be seriously considering popping the question.

Peppa Pig is rubbing her music review in Kanye West's nose ... trolling him because his new album came in with a lower score than an animated farm animal's album.

Here's the deal ... Peppa Pig's recent music offering, "Peppa's Adventures: The Album," earned a 6.5 out of 10 score from Pitchfork, slightly higher than the 6.0 rating for Kanye's "Donda."

Peppa Pig, the massively popular British TV series for preschoolers, is making sure Kanye and his fans know who got the better review, with the show's official Twitter account throwing shade at Ye.

Peppa Pig quote-tweeted an image showing the differing album reviews and said ... "Peppa didn't need to host listening parties in Mercedes-Benz Stadium to get that .5" higher score.

Oooh, burn! And, Peppa even did the ol' tweet and delete ... so, you know she meant it!

As you know ... Kanye had several "Donda" listening parties at football stadiums in Atlanta and Chicago before last Friday's album drop.

Peppa's walked some of the trash talk back, but she's still responding to her own fans who are still trolling Kanye.

Diane Warren released her debut studio album after recruiting some of the biggest names in music to join her, so of course ... she has some great stories about how it all came together.

The legendary songwriter joined "TMZ Live" Thursday to chat about her new album -- "The Cave Sessions Vol. 1" -- and the diverse group of talent she enlisted to perform her songs ... including John Legend, Rita Ora, Ty Dolla Sign, Darius Rucker and many more.

For her lead single though, Diane tells us she wrote it with Carlos Santana in mind but didn't have a singer ... until her friend hooked her up with G-Eazy. Obviously, he's known for his rapping and not his singing, so listen to Warren explain how she and G-Eazy made it work ... it's a testament to her brilliance.

That track's called "She's Fire" by the way, and yeah ... it's fire.

Diane has many more fun anecdotes like this, especially the one about how her dentist is responsible for getting Pentatonix on the album. However, she used her own networking skills at the Oscars to pitch Jon Batiste about being added to the track, and well ... the rest is history.

It seems a lot of big names have no qualms about saying "yes" to Diane ... and it's no wonder.

If ya don't know, she's written some of the biggest hits for artists like Cher, Celine Dion, LeAnn Rimes and Aerosmith, and she's been nominated 12 times for an Oscar for Best Original Song since the late '80s, but never won. Watch, she's got a sense of humor about it.

Besides, it's clearly not slowing down Diane.

ABBA fans, get ready to dance like queens ... 'cause they're back!!!

The pop legends dropped two serious bombshells Thursday during a globally-streamed news conference. First, the band's dropping their first studio album in 40 years since "The Visitors" dropped in 1981. The new 10-track album's dubbed "Voyage."

The best part ... they've already released 2 singles from the album -- "I Still Have Faith in You" and "Don't Shut Me Down." The album's set to drop in November.

The second bombshell ... the group's getting back together for a "revolutionary" tour in London that'll see the band members appear as virtual avatars. They'll play some of their best hits ... like "Dancing Queen," "Money, Money, Money" and "Mamma Mia."

The concert's slated to begin May 27, 2022 in a specially-built arena. The digital versions of the group will be accompanied by a live 10-piece band performing their greatest hits.

ABBA -- which split up in 1982 -- apparently got together in the studio while their studio was being built. ABBA teamed up with George Lucas' Industrial Light & Magic studio. It's the first time the studio's dipped its toe into music, and it was no small task.

The studio needed weeks and months to motion-capture digital versions of ABBA and equip the arena. The gargantuan effort required an astounding 850 members to get it all done.

Cardi B is getting applauded by the family of slain IG model Miss Mercedes Morr ... they're thankful Cardi is shining light on the tragedy and they invited her to the funeral.

The late model's mother, Jeanetta Grover, tells TMZ ... the family's grateful Cardi brought awareness to her daughter's tragic death, because Cardi took the attention away from her daughter's alleged murderer and put it back on Mercedes.

MMM was found dead last month at her home in Houston in what authorities are calling an apparent murder-suicide.

Cardi defended Mercedes online after some folks tried to blame Morr for her own death.

The family tells us Mercedes was a huge fan of Cardi's, with a fiery spirit and a kind heart, and they reached out privately to Cardi to extend an invite to the memorial service.

We're told there's no pressure on Cardi to attend the celebration of life Saturday in Houston ... the family says they understand she's a busy woman and they're just thankful Cardi brought awareness to the case.

Kanye West's manager says all is cool with Ye and Chris Brown, but there's another possible beef that could flare up this Friday ... and it all hangs on what Drake has to say on his new album.

We got Bu Thiam at LAX Wednesday who tells us Kanye recently called Chris to work things out and the two are cool again. Chris went public with his frustrations earlier this week after Ye left him off the final product of "Donda" ... calling Kanye "a whole hoe."

Bu says artist features get left off albums all the time, and it was nothing personal against Chris. However, Bu didn't indicate that Kanye's settled anything with Soulja Boy, who was also pissed about being dropped from the album ... even challenging Kanye to a fight.

As we reported, Kanye and Drake have recently been at each other's throats, with Drake calling Kanye "burnt out" and Kanye posting the address to Drake's home in Toronto. Drake's set to drop his highly-anticipated "Certified Lover Boy" album Friday.

Bu tells us things are cool between Ye and Drizzy -- but that could all change if Drake takes aim at Kanye in any songs on 'CLB' -- where Kanye would almost certainly have to respond.

Dua Lipa's trading in one star-studded event for another -- the singer's missing out on the Met Gala ... because she's working on her big-screen acting debut.

Sources with direct knowledge tell TMZ ... the "Levitating" singer's among a slew of celebs invited to the famous fundraising ball in NYC this month, but she had to decline because she's busy filming for the upcoming action thriller, "Argylle."

The movie will be Dua's first acting role, and she'll be co-starring alongside some of the biggest names in Hollywood ... Samuel L. Jackson, Henry Cavill, Bryan Cranston, Bryce Dallas Howard, John Cena, Sam Rockwell and Catherine O'Hara, just to name a few.

We're told Lipa's currently in the UK shooting the film -- directed by Matthew Vaughn of 'Kingsman' fame -- otherwise, she'd be at the event. She previously attended in 2019.

The Met Gala will be held on Monday, September 13, and even without Dua, will feature HUGE names, with rumored attendees that include Beyonce, Kim Kardashian West, Jennifer Lopez, Rihanna, Harry Styles, Lupita Nyong’o, Camila Cabello, Addison Rae and Lewis Hamilton.

Britney Spears can rest a little easier after the ugly incident in which her housekeeper accused her of battery ... we've learned the singer will NOT be charged with a crime.

The Ventura County District Attorney's Office tells TMZ ... prosecutors decided NOT to file any criminal charges against Britney for misdemeanor battery.

The D.A. says the office declined to file charges "based on insufficient evidence that a crime had occurred and the lack of injury to the housekeeper or significant damage to the phone."

Britney's attorney, Mathew Rosengart, tells us "As I have previously-stated, this was nothing more than sensationalized-tabloid fodder -- an overblown 'he said, she said' regarding a cell phone. If this involved Jane Doe rather than Britney Spears it would not have been pursued or covered at all."

He continues, "Anyone can make an accusation but this should never have made it this far and we are glad the DA’s Office has done the right thing. Sadly, it is apparent that some have learned nothing from the past, and we sincerely hope the media and others will be more respectful of Ms. Spears in the future."

We broke the story ... one of Britney's longtime housekeepers accused her of battery during an argument over Brit's dogs, with the housekeeper claiming Britney slapped her phone out of her hands.

As we reported, the housekeeper called deputies to Britney's home, but later went to a Ventura County Sheriff's station to file a report, and the Sheriff's Dept. launched an investigation.

As we first told you ... Britney's dogs were taken to a vet after her dog sitter and housekeeper believed the pets were being neglected ... and that's what triggered the confrontation between Britney and her housekeeper.

The Ventura County Sheriff's Dept. wrapped up its investigation into Britney's housekeeper's claim and forwarded its findings to the Ventura County District Attorney's Office.

We were told the case basically boiled down to Brit's word against the housekeeper's story -- the housekeeper claims Britney struck her in the arm, while Britney claims all she did was swipe the phone out of her hand.

We're told the Sheriff didn't know which version was true, and the case was ultimately forwarded on to the D.A. to make the final call.

As we reported, our Britney sources were confident nothing would come of the allegations ... and ultimately that's what happened.

Lanny Cordola is on a life-saving mission to help some of his young female guitar students left behind in Afghanistan ... and the stakes are life and death.

The legendary rocker talked to us on "TMZ Live" Wednesday about his efforts of late to help 12 girls -- not to mention their families and loved ones -- flee Taliban-controlled Afghanistan ... which is even more difficult now that the U.S. is completely gone.

These are pupils of his, BTW -- ones who were part of his Miraculous Love Kids foundation -- an org. he started to help teach music to children in war-torn parts of the world.

As you can imagine -- and as Lanny tells us plainly here -- the situation is dire ... and these girls are in hiding at the moment as they try and flee the country with the help of LC and others working behind the scenes, and across the border in Pakistan -- where he is now.

Lanny tells us the Taliban has destroyed a facility they used in Afghanistan to teach/play music -- blowing out the windows of the building and clearing the place out. They're not too fond of those types of teachings, especially if females are involved.

That's not deterring Larry though, who's determined to bring the rescue mission to a close -- and it sounds like that might happen any day now ... following some recent failed attempts. FYI ... there's another celeb who's been involved with the MLK music program -- and Lanny says he's donated generously in the past to make these girls feel like true rock stars.

Speaking of donations ... the rock community appears to be rallying around Lanny's cause here. Tom Morello of RATM asked for donations to miraculouslovekids.org to help fund what Lanny's trying to do here -- and it sounds like they could still use the help, even now.

Madonna has gone back in time ... for a sexy video shoot in the middle of Times Square.

The Material Girl looked like a version of her former self on the set of what we're told is a spot for the upcoming MTV Video Music Awards ... featuring a NYC taxi cab right out of the '80s.

Madonna arrived at Times Square at 3 AM for the shoot with her much-younger boyfriend, professional dancer Ahlamalik Williams, along with her entourage.

As you can see ... Madonna was rocking a platinum blonde wig, trench coat and high heels for the gig, in which she throws some cash in the cabbie's face and walks away with that classic swagger of hers.

We're told it was raining on and off so Madge had to take some breaks to stay dry, and the shoot wrapped up at 6 AM.

Amy Winehouse's dad believes the production company planning to make a biopic about his late daughter is playing a losing game ... because it's "100 percent not allowed."

Mitch Winehouse, Amy's father and administrator of her estate, tells TMZ ... there's no way the recently announced project with Halcyon Studios can go forward, because the estate already has its own plans for a biopic and owns all the rights.

Mitch says Halcyon -- which is producing the film after it optioned Daphne Barak’s 2010 book, "Saving Amy" -- has not reached out to him, nor has it reached out to her record label, Universal, to use any of her music.

Amy's dad claims Halcyon needs permission from the estate to make a biopic because it controls her image -- and definitely hasn't gotten it -- and that Barak needs to do the same and has also failed.

For her part, Barak says the project is not a biopic, but rather her story with her footage featuring herself with Amy and Bill Gunasti. She claims ... "I have all of the releases and legal agreements needed. Just like the NFTs being marketed on OG2D, this material is also all legally my property to sell."

Mitch certainly seems to disagree, and tells us this isn't the first time something like this has happened -- where people and production companies try to use Amy's image in various projects ... but the estate has denied it.

Meanwhile, Mitch says there's an authorized biopic in the works with a large production company in the UK along with Universal ... with plans to begin filming next year.

As for taking legal action against Halcyon or Barak ... Mitch doesn't think it will get to that point. He says, "They can't be that stupid. Everyone knows proper licenses must be granted."