Music

8:10 AM PT -- Willow's clapping back at everyone side-eying in her recent clip ... telling them they "forgot funny existed" -- 'cause the selfie was clearly a joke. She calls everyone who reacted to it "slow" ... guess the joke's on her followers!!!

Willow Smith -- the daughter of Will Smith and Jada Pinkett -- is getting her close-up ... but it's not what you think ... she's looking pretty downtrodden and saying some racy sh*t!

The musician -- who's signed to Jay-Z's Roc Nation -- uploaded a close-up photo of her face with tears streaming down her cheeks and a caption that reads, "who ate all the p***y."

As you may know, Willow has openly talked about being bisexual and exploration of polyamory -- the practice of engaging in multiple romantic partners at the same time.

Travis Kelce's Kansas City Chiefs teammates' jaws were on the floor when they realized he was REALLY dating Taylor Swift ... with Chris Jones and Patrick Mahomes admitting they were stunned when the pop superstar showed up to her first game.

The topic came up in the new "The Kingdom" documentary that dropped on Thursday ... which broke down the Pro Bowl tight end's journey from publicly shooting his shot on his "New Heights" podcast to landing a full-on relationship with the musician.

The program featured interviews with Chiefs staffers who got the heads up about Swift's plans to attend the Week 3 matchup with the Chicago Bears back in 2023 ... and as Jones put it, even the players were in disbelief.

Taylor Swift is tipping her hat to the late, great George Michael on her upcoming album "The Life of a Showgirl" with a track called "Father Figure" -- and the icon’s former partner says George would’ve totally approved of it.

Kenny Goss -- George’s partner of 13 years -- tells TMZ George would be proud of the tribute, which isn't a straight sample, but an interpolation ... meaning you’ll hear the melody of his '87 classic woven into Taylor’s track.

Kenny tells us George never met Taylor, but he’s pretty sure the icon would’ve been a fan -- and would’ve appreciated someone of her caliber taking an interest in his work.

Flint, Michigan rappers Rio Da Yung OG & YN Jay are among today's generational leaders of horniest hip hop tunes around, so naturally, they abide by an entirely unconventional set of relationship rules!!!

TMZ Hip Hop caught up with Rio at his "F.L.I.N.T. (Feeling Like I'm Not Through)" album release party in Hollywood on Wednesday night with YN Jay AKA "The Coochie Man" in tow ... he's on the project a couple times too!!!

We ask Rio about his lead single "Sneaky B" that's racked up millions of plays on Spotify and YouTube. Rio tells us he's too slick to let cheating go undetected but admits he needs some spice in his life, so he'd rather be suspicious than bored!!!

Lil Jon adopted meditation and wellness a couple years ago, and those results have been paying off in the gym ... let's just say, he's not so little anymore!!!

The veteran hitmaker posted a video of himself completely melting the iron in the gym on Thursday, showing off a muscular and slimmed-down physique.

Jon tells TMZ Hip Hop ... “My diet is high protein, low carbs, spring water, no sugar, and no processed foods. I've been hittin’ the gym 3-4 days a week for 2 years now."

Brandon Blackstock’s death certificate is revealing more about his passing from melanoma -- showing that seizures played a major role in his death.

According to the death certificate from the Butte-Silver Bow County Clerk and Recorder’s Office in Montana, first obtained by People -- Brandon died at 11:13 AM on August 7 -- with seizures listed as a "significant condition contributing to death but not resulting in the underlying cause."

The death certificate reveals no autopsy was performed, and Brandon was cremated.

Here's Dua Lipa turning a stand-up paddleboard into her own personal floating yoga mat ... and she's hitting all her poses in a super skimpy bikini.

Ya gotta see these photos of the "Don't Start Now" singer flaunting her smoking hot body on vacation over in Ibiza ... she's got legs for days.

Dua Lipa slipped into some barely there swimwear during a yacht day with her actor fiancé Callum Turner and a bunch of their friends ... then she grabbed a paddleboard for a steamy yoga session on the water.

Taylor Swift's highly anticipated 12th album will feature a track titled "Elizabeth Taylor" ... and the legendary Hollywood actress' son hopes it might serve as an inspiration to young women everywhere.

In case you've been under a rock for the past 24 hours ... everyone knows TS announced the details of her newest album "The Life of a Showgirl" Wednesday on her bae Travis Kelce's podcast.

She released the track list ... and, the second song on the album is named after Taylor -- the two-time Academy Award winner, activist and all-around badass Hollywood icon!

BigXthaPlug took a moment to celebrate his accomplishments now that his breakout album "Take Care" has been certified Platinum ... depression almost took him out!!!

The Texas rapper thanked all his supporters on his Instagram page and admitted he questioned EVERYTHING ... his goals, his career -- even his reason for being on Earth.

If you remember, we caught up with BigX on the cusp of "Take Care's" release last year when he revealed Wallo267 of the Million Dollarz Worth of Game podcast was his lone guest appearance ... which was more of a spoken word interlude.

Taylor Swift's landed plenty of hits over the length of her career, and we're gonna let you in on a little not-so-secret ... lots of her hits were completed with the help of collaborators.

And the singer's pretty loyal to a select few -- including Max Martin, who's co-written and produced a fair amount of her biggest hits.

We're going to take a look at the music industry titan's work history, as well as Max's longstanding professional relationship with Swift.

Martin -- who was born Karl Martin Sandberg -- is originally from Sweden, and he got his start in the music industry by performing in various bands in the late 1980s and early '90s.

The performer eventually moved into producing, and he worked with artists like The Backstreet Boys, Celine Dion and *NSYNC early in his career.

He eventually worked on some of the catchiest tracks of the 21st century, like Justin Timberlake's "Can't Stop The Feeling" and Britney Spears' "...Baby One More Time," just to name a few.

Oh, and he's picked up plenty of awards for his work, including five Grammy Awards and an impressive 25 nominations.

Martin and Swift began collaborating way back in the early 2010s, when he co-produced several songs on her 2012 record "Red."

The hitmaker was evidently pleased by the producer's efforts, as she brought him back to work as one of the co-producers on the record's follow-up, "1989."

Martin stuck around for Swift's 2017 record "Reputation," serving as one of the main producers and songwriters.

Oh, and remember those Grammy Awards we mentioned earlier? Several of those nominations were for his work with Swift!

Although Martin sat out for the production of much of Swift's post-"Reputation" material, she revealed he was coming back for more on an August 2025 episode of the "New Heights" podcast, which was co-hosted by Jason and Travis Kelce.

The singer spoke highly of Martin and their frequent collaborator Shellback, who she worked with on her 12th studio album "The Life of a Showgirl," and recalled working on the album as a trio "felt like catching lightning in a bottle."

She went on to say she felt as if the group had "all grown up so much" in the years since "Reputation" was released.

We don't think we need to tell you about how huge Taylor Swift's album rollouts are ... unless you've been living under a rock for the past few years!

The thing is, the hitmaker's albums usually aren't just solo affairs, and she's built up a cool little group of collaborators she goes to for help with production and instrumentation -- including Karl Johan Schuster, a songwriter and producer known professionally as Shellback.

We're going to take a look at his background and see how he went from playing rock music to writing some of the biggest modern pop tracks in the world.

Shellback's originally from Sweden, and he made his bones as a vocalist and multi-instrumentalist in the country's well-known heavy metal scene.

The performer provided vocals for death metal band The Blinded's 2007 album "Bedtime Prayers," and he played various instruments for several Swedish groups over the course of the 2000s, according to Discogs.

Shellback eventually began collaborating with Max Martin -- who's got a history of his own with Swift -- and started working in the pop music scene as a producer and songwriter.

He racked up a healthy amount of hit tracks as a co-songwriter in the 2010s -- like Pink's "Raise Your Glass" and Maroon 5's "Moves Like Jagger" ... long story short, the guy's got a knack for writing catchy tunes.

Shellback began working with Swift in 2012, and he helped write the smash hit tracks "We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together," "I Knew You Were Trouble," and "22" ... all of which were featured on her album "Red," which he co-produced.

The producer became one of the singer's frequent collaborators, and they worked together on numerous occasions over the course of the decade.

The musician was listed as one of the several co-producers who worked on Swift's re-recorded versions of "Red" and "1989."

Shellback also earned himself a total of four Grammy Awards -- including the Album Of The Year award for his work on Adele's 2015 record "25" -- and numerous nominations for his work as a songwriter and producer.

Although Shellback and Swift didn't collaborate on her later albums "Midnights" or "The Tortured Poets Department," she kept in contact with the musician, and he was revealed to have been one of the producers of her twelfth record, titled "The Life Of A Showgirl."

The singer spoke about her work with the songwriter during an episode of the "New Heights Podcast" -- cohosted by her boyfriend Travis Kelce -- and claimed she, Shellback and Martin, were "carrying the same weight as creators" working on the new record.

Swift described the recording process as "really special" and said the trio wanted to "bring the best ideas we’ve ever had" to the studio.

J. Cole's longtime Dreamville artist Cozz wants fans to know the label isn't going anywhere -- his labelmate JID just happened to misspeak!!!

Cozz tells TMZ Hip Hop the Dreamville distribution deal that Cole signed with Interscope back in 2014 simply expired, it didn't get sold off ... the brand is still alive and well!!!

JID was a recent guest on "The Joe Budden Podcast," where he framed things like Dreamville was being dissolved and liquidated like laundry detergent.

Saweetie and Manchester United star Jadon Sancho have been a rumored couple for months ... and their recent trip to a renowned tattoo shop possibly reveals their bond goes BEYOND skin deep!!!

TMZ Hip Hop obtained images of Saweetie and Jadon hitting up The Apollo Tattoo & Piercing Studio in Santa Monica this summer ... where the heavily tatted athlete expanded his art physique -- by adding Saweetie's middle name, Qiava, on his neck behind the left ear.

The tat has a nice, stylish flair in cursive ... we know das right!!! 💅🏼

Taylor Swift's new album is coming out October 3, the same day Diddy is set to be sentenced in his federal criminal case ... which is interesting, 'cause T-Swift once said she'd go to prom with the guy in a group!

A clip from a 2011 interview from "The Rachael Ray Show" has resurfaced in the aftermath of Swift revealing her album release date, where Taylor selects her ideal prom date from a choice of a group of celebs.

Taylor says she'd rather go with a group than a specific date ... picking up photos of Jennifer Lopez, Justin Timberlake, Katy Perry, Sheryl Crow -- and, finally, Diddy.

Lil Pump is thanking God above for saving his life after he survived a car accident that completely totaled his vehicle!!!

The Florida -- and proud MAGA -- rapper posted footage of a destroyed large SUV flipped over on its side ... the windshield smashed in, the front bumper lying on the ground in pieces.

Pump told his 13 million followers the miracle happened on August 9, and he's become more religious ... "Guys I almost lost my life four days ago. GOD is real!! Do not drive in the rain. Health is wealth I had to kick down the window to get out. If not, I was dead. On my birthday I will be going to church to thank God for all the blessings."

Taylor Swift has drawn plenty of criticism and insults from Donald Trump in the past -- and now Jimmy Fallon’s spinning her material to roast the Commander-in-Chief ahead of his Friday summit in Alaska with Russian President Vladimir Putin.

It was pure comedy gold -- Jimmy went full Swiftie on Wednesday's 'The Tonight Show,' belting lines like, "For a long time Trump looked at Putin and thought, 'You Belong With Me,' and when the people warned him to steer clear, he would just 'Shake It Off.'"

The hits kept coming -- like how Americans worry Trump isn’t serious about negotiating for peace in Ukraine … "because his brain is basically one giant 'Blank Space.'"