Music

Rick Ross just started cutting checks to his baby mama ... the judge in his paternity case just signed off on his agreement to cough up monthly child support payments for their 3 kids.

According to new legal docs, obtained by TMZ, the "Aston Martin Music" rapper will pay his baby mama, Briana Singleton, $11,000 per month in child support.

The docs say RR also has to foot the bill for their children's health insurance, and he's got to help her pay for the kids' extracurricular expenses once the figure goes north of $7,560 ... with Ross on the hook for additional annual payments of up to $3k per child.

Rick also agreed to cut a check to Brianna's attorney for $25,000, but he can afford it ... the docs say RR's monthly income is $585k, compared to $142 a month for his baby mama.

TMZ broke the story ... Briana told Rick last year he needed to take COVID-19 tests to see their 3 kids.

Britney Spears is warning fans and viewers of a new documentary about her conservatorship to take it with a grain of salt ... because she claims a lot of the information is untrue.

According to our sources ... Britney's latest Instagram post is specifically calling out the CNN special -- "Toxic: Britney Spears' Battle For Freedom" -- that debuted Sunday night, and she has a list of reasons why she's not down with it.

Aside from Britney claiming it's loaded with inaccuracies -- even though she says she's only watched a little bit of it -- she suggests that it's all about stuff that happened in the past ... and she's trying to move forward.

Brit also seems to take issue with the dialogue not being very "classy," doesn't like the footage they used of her ... and implies the general tone of the special is unkind.

Now, while we're told she's referring to the CNN special, it's actually another one -- the new NYT documentary, "Controlling Britney Spears" -- that made more headlines for the allegation her father, Jamie Spears, recorded her bedroom conversations.

So far, at least, Britney's staying mum on that claim, but as we reported ... her attorney Mathew Rosengart will almost certainly raise the alleged recordings during Wednesday's conservatorship hearing.

Strangely, the singer's IG post takes a left turn where she focuses on her "Rose Project" and how she once kissed Madonna and suffers from social anxiety.

Then, she reveals she's wearing white for her post for "new beginnings" ... which possibly alludes to her huge court hearing and her father finally stepping down as her conservator.

Yo Gotti has gone from taking over the rap game to taking over the soccer game -- 'cause the star MC is now a co-owner of the MLS' D.C. United!!!

Gotti just announced his new business venture on Monday ... saying he -- alongside 3 other investors -- bought ownership of the franchise.

With his investment, Gotti currently owns 2-3% of the team -- and BTW, D.C. United is currently worth $750 million.

Gotti's investment comes shortly after Houston Texans RB Mark Ingram II invested in June to push the team’s value to $710 million.

The "Put a Date on It" rapper explained his decision to get involved in a statement on Monday.

"I was introduced to the game by my son and watched how quickly it has grown in our country, so I’m honored to join the D.C. United ownership group,"

The Memphis rapper is known for his business acumen since his early days ... and has sold over millions of records, created multiple hits and even started his own rap label called CMG in 2014 (Collective Music Group).

R. Kelly has just been found guilty on all counts in his federal sex crimes trial ... and could be staring down life in prison.

The jury started deliberating on Friday afternoon, had the weekend off, and took about half the day on Monday to reach its verdict on 9 federal counts ... including racketeering, sex crimes, human trafficking, obstruction of justice and kidnapping.

The trial wrapped a little over a month after it began ... with the prosecution calling far more witnesses than the defense. Kelly's team only called 5 witnesses over a couple of days. Kelly himself never took the stand.

Sentencing is scheduled for May 4, and now that Kelly's been convicted on all counts, he could get 10 years to life. Mind you, he's still set to go on a second federal trial in Chicago, and state trials in Illinois and Minnesota.

Monday's verdict in federal court in Brooklyn comes just over 2 years after Kelly was arrested in Chicago for multiple federal sex crimes in 2 different states.

Kelly's legal team called a handful of ex-Kelly employees and associates to take the stand in an effort to discredit allegations the singer sexually abused women, girls and boys.

Some of Kelly's ardent defenders said, under oath, they never saw Kelly abuse anyone. What's more ... some of the defense witnesses went as far as saying that, if anything, Kelly was "chivalrous" to his GFs.

Prosecutors, however, called dozens of witnesses to the stand to refute defense testimony and poke holes throughout. Some of the prosecutors' witnesses straight-up said Kelly had a small team made up of managers, bodyguards and assistants who rounded up Kelly's potential victims before the singer groomed them for unwanted sex, among other things.

These witnesses also testified saying Kelly's entourage would recruit potential victims ... either at his concerts, malls and even fast-food joints.

You'll recall one of the 2 women interviewed by Gayle King back in 2019 also took the witness stand ... and claimed Kelly was controlling them right then and there during the interview.

Britney Spears' lawyer is outraged and indignant over revelations his client was secretly recorded even in her bedroom, and he's filed legal docs suggesting Jamie Spears and the conservators may have committed a crime.

Attorney, Mathew Rosengart, is referring to the NYT doc, "Controlling Britney Spears," in which a former member of the security team Jamie hired claims there are hours and hours of recordings that should never have been made, especially those in Britney's bedroom.

Rosengart says in his docs ... some of what was captured may involve the attorney/client relationship, which are "a sacrosanct part of the legal system." Rosengart notes California is a 2-party state -- meaning all parties on a recording must have given their prior approval to be recorded, and if they're not, it's a crime.

And, Rosengart seems to have his sights set on Jamie for Wednesday's big hearing, and it seems this issue is coming up as even more ammo to get Jamie out of the conservatorship.

What's more ... Rosengart makes it clear in the docs ... he's going to depose Jamie and will ask about the recordings, and if Jamie invokes the 5th Amendment right against self-incrimination, it will be telling.

Rosengart's latest filing makes it clear ... he's doubling down to get Jamie out, but Britney's dad has already all but said he'll be gone for good Wednesday.

And, Rosengart ends with this ... once Jamie's gone, there must be a "prompt termination of the conservatorship."

Kelly Price is finally addressing going MIA from her family and sharing an incredible story of her hospitalization with COVID ... telling us at one point, she was medically dead.

Price tells us she was never actually missing, despite some of her family members insisting she had vanished without a trace. Kelly says she isolated herself as she recovered from COVID, and was avoiding her family, who she says she doesn't routinely stay in touch with.

Price's battle with COVID was a serious one ... she says she actually flatlined at one point, and had to be brought back to life by doctors and staff. She tells us she was literally on her death bed -- but miraculously bounced back.

That's not to say she's out of the woods yet -- far from it, in fact ... Kelly is still on oxygen and at times had a tough time speaking with us, but wanted to get her story out. We asked Kelly's attorney, Monica Ewing, if she had been vaccinated, but Ewing would not specify.

As for why there's a disconnect between Kelly's family and her whereabouts, Kelly touches on that as well ... sounds like there's some BTS drama between her and her sister, and perhaps others.

We also spoke to Ewing who outlined the steps they'll need to take in order to get Kelly off Georgia's missing person list -- which is what kickstarted this frenzy to begin with.

Sounds like there's still a few hoops she has to jump through, but everyone can rest assured that Kelly is alive and still working on her recovery.

R. Kelly is so deep in the red, a lot of people are claiming to be richer than him -- that is, if you believe a site's estimation of his net worth ... which has it pegged as a negative.

At some point this year, Celebrity Net Worth updated R. Kelly's page to list his overall value in assets as negative $2 million ... something the Internet appears to have just caught on to in the past few days or so, including one 42 Dugg -- who was howling over the news.

He posted a video showing himself cackling with his buddies, as they recorded different articles (all circling back to CNW) reporting on Kelly's latest alleged numbers.

Ditto for the rest of Twitter ... whose users are posting jokes about how they're technically wealthier than the one-time R&B icon -- who's in the middle of several criminal cases, as well as one that's about to wrap up, with jury deliberations having officially gotten underway.

As for how Celebrity Net Worth landed on the -$2 mil figure ... it seems they're simply citing a story we broke last year -- in which R. Kelly told a judge, via court docs, that he owed Uncle Sam nearly $2 million in back taxes ... which he cited as a reason why he wouldn't be a flight risk if released on bail. The court shot him down ... he's remained in custody since.

Now, whether or not R. Kelly actually has a negative net worth is pure speculation -- but one thing is for sure ... the guy does seem to be strapped for cash, and apparently has been for years now. He revealed as much himself in song back in 2018 ... calling himself "broke."

Of course, he's been struggling on the business side of things even before "Surviving R. Kelly" aired ... as different streaming platforms took down his music, and several venues refused to book him for concerts. And, with the addition of a cadre of attorneys who've been in and out for at least 2 years now ... you can only imagine the legal bills he's racked up.

Tekashi 6ix9ine might be on probation, but the dude isn't afraid to fire back if someone tests him out in public -- which is exactly what happened in Vegas this weekend.

The rapper showed up Saturday to the T-Mobile Arena for UFC 266 ... and as he was making his way in and past fans behind barricades -- he had a little face-off with someone who was NOT a fan.

Check out this video TMZ obtained of the altercation -- you see 69 ignoring the taunts from this dude, who's calling him a bitch and a ton of other insults. As he passes, the man appears to chuck something at his back, and it makes contact with Tekashi.

Eyewitnesses tell us it was the man's drink that he threw, and Tekashi circled back to look at him ... and to also a hurl a drink of his own. We're told it looked like coffee -- and it went splashing on others nearby. Security rushed in and broke it all up ... ushering T69 away.

No word on whether 6ix9ine was dealt with for this -- but sources on the scene say the guy who initiated it was, indeed, led away in handcuffs.

Jennifer Lopez and Ben Affleck were all about the Global Citizen Live concert in NYC ... and she jumped on stage with a performance that definitely did not disappoint.

The concert was part of a worldwide event, staged in London, Paris, Rio, Lagos, Nigeria and the Big Apple ... all to put a spotlight on the hunger epidemic, the climate crisis and COVID vaccines.

Billie Eilish, Coldplay, Lizzo and Paul Simon all performed in New York, but J Lo got the most buzz as she took the stage with LL Cool J and Ja Rule for "All I have" and "I'm Real." She also sang "If You Had My Love" and "Love Don't Cost a Thing."

She also wore a gold-colored Yankees hat ... interesting given her breakup with A-Rod.

Machine Gun Kelly got an earful Saturday night at the Louder Than Life Festival in Louisville, Kentucky, when the fans turned on him and began booing and flipping him off.

Check out the video ... the fans unleash on MGK. As for why ... well, maybe a couple reasons. First, a lot of metal/rock fans aren't happy he went from rapper to rocker. It's partly a purist thing, and partly shade that maybe he pivoted to rock out of necessity.

The second reason -- MGK trashed Slipknot recently, saying he was happy to not be a 50-year-old wearing a mask. Corey Taylor of Slipknot was the target, and MGK wasn't done with him, claiming Corey did a verse for MGK's album, "Tickets to My Downfall" but, as MGK put it, "it was f**king terrible," so it was 86'd from the album.

Corey proceeded to own MGK with receipts in the form of email screenshots, in which it was pretty clear -- MGK loved Corey's track but it was Corey who passed.

Anyway ... a good time was had by some.

Lil Baby's celeb jeweler is doing more than just profusely apologizing to the rapper for selling him a fake Patek Philippe watch ... he's taking costly action so it never happens again.

Gabriel Jacobs from Rafaello & Co. tells TMZ ... moving forward he's going to hire a professional watch authenticator who will inspect all the watches he sells ... to avoid another fake watch disaster.

What's more ... Gabe tells us anyone who has purchased jewelry from him can return and have it authenticated to assure them the jewelry's legit. He says he has no issue whatsoever with that in wake of the fallout from selling Lil Baby a fake Patek Philippe watch for $400k.

As we reported ... Lil Baby posed with the watch before hitting up the Met Gala but got pissed off after watch enthusiasts alerted him that the 40th-anniversary Patek Philippe Nautilus watch was a fake.

Rafaello & Co. issued a lengthy apology, copped to the mistake, refunded the dough and gifted the rapper 4 diamond rings. Gabe, who says he quickly righted the wrong because he wants to continue working with the rapper, doubled down a week later saying his mistake was not doing enough due diligence.

In fact ... Gabe says he showed the watch in question to 2 other dealers who also couldn't tell the Patek Philippe was a fake. That said ... Gabe insists it was an honest mistake.

He says he has NOTHING to gain by selling a budding rapper a fake watch. He also told us he gave Baby $3.5 million worth of jewelry to wear at the Met Gala ... so what's to be gained by selling him a fake watch?

Gospel singer Kelly Price is NOT missing and is safe, at least according to her attorney.

Monica Ewing, Kelly's rep, tells TMZ ... the singer is continuing to recover from COVID at an undisclosed location.

We're told Kelly's legal rep reached out to Cobb County police to notify law enforcement Kelly is accounted for ... even though she's now listed as missing with the National Crime Information Center.

TMZ broke the story ... Georgia officials say Kelly has been listed as a missing person, following last weekend's welfare check conducted at her home.

Before going missing, Kelly revealed in July she had COVID and was battling symptoms, and her family says she was eventually admitted to a hospital and ended up in the ICU.

Kelly's family told us her kids recently got a call that she was discharged, which surprised them because she was apparently not fully out of the woods.

The family says Kelly has gone radio silent and they told police her boyfriend is allegedly keeping her children from visiting her home ... and it led the fam to have cops conduct a welfare check.

We asked Ewing to clarify why Price had seemingly been ignoring her family and what her current status was with her fiancé, Ewing reiterated Kelly is safe and recovering from COVID and is trying to get well and will further address the story later.

Bill Maher laid it all out Friday night ... saying the United States is becoming a segregated nation again, and the latest evidence is the push for 2 National Anthems.

The 'Real Time' host blasted the NFL for playing "Lift Every Voice and Sing" -- often called the Black National Anthem -- in addition to the OG N.A. at football games.

Maher's not against a new National Anthem -- one that better reflects current times -- but he's flatly against more than one.

His argument goes like this ... Martin Luther King Jr. and many others fought hard -- even some losing their lives -- to end segregation. The battle was won 67 years ago when the U.S. Supreme Court put an end to separate but equal, which at the time was considered a victory for human rights.

Not so anymore, Maher says, pointing to colleges which now offer segregated residences, segregated graduation ceremonies, and on and on.

He invokes the words of Barack Obama, who said, "There is not a Black America, and a white America, and Latino America, an Asian American, there's a United States of America."

His overarching point ... diversity is a virtue that was celebrated until recently, and to cast that aside threatens the very fabric of America.

Sam Asghari ain't a fan of the Britney docs, that's for sure, because he shaded them all on the heels of the latest.

Sam got a jump on "Controlling Britney Spears," which aired on FX Friday night, saying, "Past docs left a bad after taste. I'm hoping this one will be respectful."

Sam wasn't done, saying, "I question producers who made them 'just to shed light' without input or approval from subject [Britney]."

Sam's loyalties are clearly stated when he says, "Any credit for light being shed should go to #freebritney."

Britney said back in March she cried for 2 days after watching "Framing Britney Spears."

This all comes days before an enormously important court hearing, when Jamie will almost certainly say goodbye to the conservatorship. Britney's lawyer, Mathew Rosengart, has filed legal docs declaring his intention to make a case for ending the conservatorship altogether this fall.

The big question -- and the one that could be make-or-break -- is whether the judge orders a mental evaluation as a prelude for deciding whether to 86 the 13-year-old conservatorship. Britney, Rosengart and Jamie Spears have all said they wanted the conservatorship terminated without such an evaluation.

There have been 2 dozen medical professionals who have weighed in over the years in closed court, presenting their diagnoses. If the judge orders an evaluation, this could turn into a war of the doctors, and the judge will have to decide who's more credible.

The judge has already said Britney was capable of hiring her own lawyer, and that's a clear sign she's competent to run her own life. What's more, now that she's engaged to Sam and Britney's personal conservator, Jodi Montgomery, has agreed to stay on and work for Britney post-conservatorship, the judge may feel she now has a good safety neet.

Jennifer Lopez took a trip to Central Park in NYC Friday night, to rehearse for the big concert Saturday.

J Lo hit the stage with Ja Rule and LL Cool J at around 8 PM and went through the paces, rehearsing 5 songs. They were on stage for a half hour, prepping for Saturday's Global Citizens Festival.

Two of the songs were collabs with Ja Rule and LL ... 3 were J Lo's, including "Dinero." She and Ja Rule sang "Ain't it Funny."

The woman who just said she feels like a Hollywood outsider will be at the center of the action tonight. And, it's a good bet Ben will be watching ... and cheering, and maybe even busting a move or 2!

Gospel singer Kelly Price has gone missing in Georgia, TMZ has learned -- and it happened shortly after she was released from the hospital after battling COVID.

According to officials in Cobb County ... Kelly has been listed as a missing person following a welfare check conducted at her home last Saturday.

We're told the authorities found no evidence of foul play and spoke with Kelly's boyfriend at the residence, BUT ... she's now listed as missing with the National Crime Information Center.

As for what led to this ... Kelly posted a video July 29 revealing she had COVID and was struggling with symptoms. According to Kelly's family ... she was admitted to the hospital about a week later and ended up in the ICU because her condition worsened.

Her family tells TMZ ... they were in touch with Kelly while she was in the hospital in early August, and her children visited her several times. However, 3 weeks after she was admitted ... we're told her kids got a call that she'd been discharged, which was surprising because she was apparently still not fully healthy.

The family says Kelly has not been heard from since, and they told cops her boyfriend is allegedly keeping friends and family members from visiting her home.

We're told this concerned many people close to Kelly, and led to someone alerting the authorities to do a welfare check last week.