Music

The Notorious B.I.G.'s mom, Voletta Wallace, is dead ... TMZ has learned.

Biggie Smalls' mother died Friday morning in Stroudsburg, Pennsylvania ... according to Monroe County Coroner Thomas Yanac.

We're told she was in hospice care and the cause of death here is natural causes.

Treach isn't an expert on Tupac Shakur's ongoing murder trial involving Keffe D ...but he's still mourning the late rap legend until the day he dies!!!

The Naughty By Nature frontman was out in Hollywood this week hanging with his longtime bud, Boo-Yaa T.R.I.B.E.'s OG Kobra, and chopped it up with TMZ Hip Hop about the latest delay in the 27-year-old hip hop murder.

Keffe D's trial was pushed back to 2026 this week after proceedings were originally supposed to happen in March.

Tyga has been sitting on some gut-wrenching news ... his mother died last month, and his spirit has been unnerved in the wake of her absence.

T-Raww posted a touching tribute on Friday to his mom Pasionaye Nguyen, who passed away on January 18.

No cause of death has been released, but Tyga posted a pic of him holding his mom's with a hospital wristband attached, so it appears she was battling an illness.

50 Cent has been backing down both Big and Lil Meech on Instagram for days now ... but we're hearing his ex-'BMF' leading man can't be folded that easily!!!

TMZ Hip Hop obtained photos of Lil Meech kicking it with some well-known 50 Cent opps inside Lucky Strike Miami last night ... Floyd Mayweather and Rick Ross!!!

Sources for Meech tell us the actor met with Money Mayweather the night before and pulled up to the bowling alley with his brand partners to bless the legendary prizefighter with an exclusive merch drop ... the Red Letters x Wonce collab.

It might've started off as a silly social media prank, but Daytona 500 winner William Byron really is shooting his shot at Sabrina Carpenter now ... telling TMZ Sports he'd love to welcome her to a NASCAR race!!

The 27-year-old was targeted by an X account fresh off Sunday's big win ... which made it seem like he celebrated his second straight first-place finish at the historic race by flirting with the "Espresso" crooner in her Instagram comments.

The Hendrick Motorsports driver leaned into the joke ... following up on his X account to prove he was a good sport about it all.

Megan Thee Stallion's gettin' down and dirty on a sandy tropical beach ... laying out in a series of skimpy bikinis while enjoying the sun -- and, we've got all the best photos for you to peruse.

The rapper dropped a series of pics on Instagram Friday ... apologizing to her fans for not posting much recently -- but explaining she's enjoying real life.

To prove how much she's loving it, MTS shared snaps from her on a ton of different beaches ... posing with her backside to the camera, throwing it back with a pal, and even getting sand everywhere -- and, we mean EVERYWHERE.

It is open season for Jennifer Lopez and Ben Affleck ... marriage season, that is, because the exes are now officially divorced.

We're not saying J Lo's ready to walk down the aisle for a 5th time just yet, but as of Thursday they are both able to get married again.

Here's the deal ... TMZ broke the story when Ben and Jen filed their divorce settlement with the court on January 6, but after getting the judge's stamp of approval, they weren't officially single until February 21.

10:41 AM PT -- We're getting more clarity on Anthony Ricco's departure ... sources with direct knowledge of the case tell us Ricco and Diddy's relationship -- or lack thereof -- became an issue. We're told Ricco felt he was unable to establish or maintain the kind of relationship he'd need to have with the client in order to "effectively" defend him.

It's still unclear why exactly Ricco didn't feel closer to Diddy.

Diddy's latest legal drama is on his own team ... less than 3 months before his federal trial, one of the hip hop mogul's attorneys is abruptly bolting from the case.

Anthony Ricco filed a motion Friday morning in the Southern District of New York federal court to withdraw as Diddy's counsel. In the docs, obtained by TMZ, Ricco states, "under no circumstances can I continue to effectively serve as counsel for Sean Combs, consistent with the ABA Standards for Criminal Justice."

He offered no further explanation for his departure, but did add that there are "sufficient reasons for [the] brevity" of his request. Ricco does say he's discussed the action with Diddy's lead counsel Marc Agnifilo, confirming there won't be any lapse in representation or delay with jury selection or trial commencement.

DJ Khaled has become the latest celeb to receive a spooky black coffin at his Florida home -- this after Tekashi 6ix9ine got one himself at his mansion days earlier, TMZ has learned.

Khaled's creepy coffin was dropped off at his Miami residence last Saturday ... by two people who rolled up in a truck to a security guard, claiming to be from a delivery company, according to a police report.

After they were given permission, the two drove to Khaled's property and deposited the black coffin outside his gate. Scrawled across the coffin was "RIP OVO" and "RIP Drake" in white letters, along with an upside-down cross.

Cardi B showed her versatility and toned DOWN her raunchy raps to kick off the soundtrack for the upcoming "Smurfs" summer blockbuster!!!

On Friday, DJ Khaled and Cardi reunited for their latest collab, "Higher Love" ... a bubbly sample of Belinda Carlisle's "Heaven Is a Place on Earth."

Cardi's been in her single-girl era this year but her G-rated bars still hint at some shade towards her ex, Offset, when she flows, "Everybody need love and I need some too / Diamonds look sad 'cause each one blue ... Sweet like dessert but do you deserve it? / Think about me, I'm on your mental."

Rihanna and A$AP Rocky went celebrating Thursday night ... toasting to RiRi on her 37th birthday -- and, Rocky's even got jokes about new music.

The Hollywood power couple hit up the Nice Guy in L.A. -- a cozy Italian joint with an old-school feel -- and, they were absolutely mobbed by photogs outside ... dozens of cameras flashing as they left the place.

Rihanna shields her eyes from the cameras, but doesn't say much as she's heading to the car ... while Rocky asks people to move so he can walk around to the other door.

Kanye West is PO'd he can't do a Nazi salute without getting canceled ... after Donald Trump’s former White House strategist Steve Bannon was accused of flashing the hate gesture during his Thursday night speech at the Conservative Political Action Conference.

You can see clearly in the video -- Bannon is pumped up ... encouraging the CPAC audience in D.C. to "fight, fight, fight" before briefly stretching his right arm out in a diagonal motion with an open palm facing down. He takes in the cheers from the crowd for a moment, then nods, concluding ... "Amen."

Ye seemed jealous ... tweet-quoting overnight the video with "Whits [sic] guys have all the fun."

Donovan Mitchell lost his train of thought during his postgame interview on Thursday ... and it was all thanks to Darius Garland breaking out in song.

The hilarious interaction went down after the Cleveland Cavaliers secured a 110-97 road win over the Brooklyn Nets ... when Spida was trying to weigh in on Evan Mobley's impressive outing -- but Garland had other plans.

During Mitchell's response, Garland was heard in the background jamming to Drake and PARTYNEXTDOOR's "Gimme A Hug" .... and it's clear it wasn't the first time he belted out the tune.

Jerry "The Iceman" Butler, a legendary R&B singer and long-time Illinois politician, has died.

Marty, Jerry's assistant and "niece at heart," tells TMZ ... he passed away from natural causes on Thursday night at his home in Chicago. Marty notes Jerry was suffering from Parkinson's Disease.

She goes on to say, "An amazing man has relocated to heaven. Our loss here on earth."

There has been an onslaught of outrage since it was announced Cynthia Erivo would star in a short run of "Jesus Christ Superstar" in L.A. ... but one former messiah actor says haters need to chill and maybe ask -- WWJD?

Here's the deal ... Cynthia will play Jesus in the classic Andrew Lloyd Webber musical in a three-night stint at the Hollywood Bowl in August ... and some people have gone berserk online over a Black queer woman being cast in the title role.

Ted Neeley, who played Jesus on Broadway and several world tours, as well as in the Golden Globe-nominated film, tells TMZ ... he's sadly not shocked the CE casting choice is getting backlash -- after all, he says the show has been polarizing since it opened decades ago!

Grammy-winning musician Nate Ruess was in his late 20s when he and his band, fun., reached their way to the top 3 on the Billboard charts with their 2012 album, "Some Nights."

In addition to their song "Some Nights," the other bangers include "Carry On" and "We Are Young" ft. Janelle Monae (which peaked at number one).

The group -- who also consists of Jack Antonoff and Andrew Dost -- has collaborated with some of music's biggest stars like Queen ... and even toured with Paramore.

"Toniiiight, we are young, so let's set the world on fire, we can burn brighter than the sun!"