Music

Erica Mena hasn't lost her ability to make a headline despite not being associated with "Love & Hip Hop," and she's not looking to change things ... her stage lights have simply gotten brighter!!!

TMZ Hip Hop caught up with Erica this week at the premiere of her upcoming Chris Stokes-directed thriller "Run," in which she costars opposite Annie Ngosi Ilonzeh, Marques Houston, and Drew Sidora ... and she couldn't be happier.

Erica didn't return to 'L&HH' after clashing with dancehall star Spice, but Erica tells us she doubts she officially got banned ... more like, scapegoated.

Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce's wedding is still undoubtedly months away, but now that's it's a matter of "when" and not "if" ... gamblers can make a buck on it!!

The folks over at BetOnline.ag tell TMZ Sports, they're releasing some nuptial-themed betting odds now that Swift and Kelce are officially engaged.

One of the more intriguing options centers around the couple's bridal party -- as in, who will nab Best Man and Maid of Honor titles??

Glasses Malone has assembled his West Coast troops to saddle up against Drake ... through a music video that paints Champagne Papi as all types of snitches for filing a lawsuit after essentially losing his rap battle to Kendrick Lamar!!!

Along with veteran rappers Jurassic 5 and their new-age counterparts L.A. Giantz, Glasses released the "Wanted" video.

The 6-minute visual depicts the inside a courtroom, complete with cameos from court reporter Meghann M. Cuniff and hip hop podcaster Justin "The Company Man" Hunte -- and a FAKE DRAKE!!!

President Trump is changing his tune when it comes to former nemesis Taylor Swift ... he used to say he hated her, but now he's showering her with praise and love following her engagement to Travis Kelce.

POTUS finally said something nice about Taylor ... when a reporter asked him about Tuesday's engagement news during a Trump cabinet meeting.

Trump wished Taylor and Travis "a lot of love" ... and went on to say he thinks Taylor is "a terrific person."

Bryson Tiller's 2015 debut album "T R A P S O U L" went on to create an entire new lane for artists -- a vision the lowkey artist says Timbaland couldn't see in real time!!!

While discussing his career trajectory on the "New Rory & MAL" podcast, Tiller says Timbaland was so impressed with his 2015 single, "Don't," the superproducer urged him to quit his job and fly down to Miami to "get to work"... presumably as a signed artist.

Bryson says he banged out "T R A P S O U L" heaters like "Sorry Not Sorry" and "Been That Way" -- but Timbaland was left unimpressed and Bryson was sent back home to Kentucky.

Cardi B made her debut in court Monday for her civil trial in which a former security guard said the rapper ridiculed her, spit on her, and even cut her with a fingernail!

Emani Ellis took the stand in a Los Angeles courtroom and testified she first encountered Cardi at a Beverly Hills obstetrician's office, where Cardi had an appointment while 4 months pregnant in 2018.

Ellis testified she spotted Cardi and said, "Wow, that's Cardi B," prompting Cardi to get in her face and accuse her of using her phone to spread word of Cardi's private medical visit.

Taylor Swift took "New Heights" to heart ... 'cause the singer's appearance on Travis and Jason Kelce's podcast was one for the record books -- literally!!

Guinness World Records officially recognized T. Swift's sit-down with the Kelces as a historic event ... as the 1.3 million YouTube viewers it drew in was the biggest concurrent audience in the platform's history.

The accomplishment is no surprise -- as GWR pointed out, Tay is a "record-breaking machine" at this point ... and her "The Tortured Poets Department" album had the most first-day album streams on Spotify and was the most-streamed LP in a 24-hour period with 313.7 million.

V from BTS threw out the ceremonial first pitch at the Dodgers game on Monday ... and it wasn't just the ARMY losing their minds over the moment -- even Shohei Ohtani and the rest of the players were stoked to meet the K-pop idol!!

The crowds flooded to Dodger Stadium to make it to see the singer do his thing on the mound ... with insane lines piling up outside the venue pregame.

In the ballpark, it was pretty much a meet and greet event for Taehyung ... as he spent time and took pics with Clayton Kershaw, Yoshinobu Yamamoto and Sho-time himself!!

Ice Cube and the Big3 had a very good day, celebrating the Goodyear Blimp’s 100th Anniversary with his classic song, “It Was a Good Day" ... and his lyrics hold up!!!

To stamp home the BIG3 Championship Sunday in Orlando, Goodyear and Ice Cube presented a special blimp takeover featuring Cube's 1993 bars, “Even saw the lights of the Goodyear Blimp/And it read, ‘Ice Cube’s a Pimp.'"

The partnership will be shakin' 'em up all through the arenas of the "Truth to Power: 4 Decades of Attitude" tour, which kicks off September 4 -- the legendary rapper's first headlining tour in over a decade.

Boy band worlds collided at the Sphere in Las Vegas ... because *NSYNC superstar JC Chasez hit up the venue to see the Backstreet Boys ... and he was treated like royalty.

Our sources tell us JC sat and watched the concert with James Dolan in his suite ... Dolan owns the Sphere, Madison Square Garden and the New York Knicks ... so you already know those are good seats!!!

Before the show, JC went to dinner with his girlfriend, Jenn, his manager, Eric Podwall and President of Entertainment for MGM Resorts Ryan Abboushi ... and at the Sphere, he posed for some photos with Nick Carter, AJ McLean, Kevin Richardson, Brian Littrell and Howie Dorough.

Taylor Swift is in full promo mode, launching another highly anticipated countdown on her website ... resulting in the drop of her 4th vinyl collection.

The Grammy winner sent fans into a tizzy Monday when she put up another countdown clock ... but this time set the countdown for 4 PM ET -- 2 hours later than her prior drops.

The pivot in time had fans hopeful for a shakeup from the vinyl announcements for her upcoming 12th album, "The Life of a Showgirl" -- given she had announced a handful of designs already.

Lil Wayne’s Chicago concert Sunday night ended with a heartfelt moment with a longtime fan ... who fulfilled a 17-year-old wish to meet her GOAT rapper!!!

TMZ Hip Hop obtained photos of Wayne backstage at Credit Union 1 Amphitheatre having an emotional meet-and-greet with Sade Stephens and her mother, Andrea Carson.

In addition to taking photos and chatting it up with Sade and Andrea, Wayne took off his cross pendant and chain, and gave it to Sade.

Andrea called the moment one of the best days of her daughter's life, which was forever changed 17 years ago ... just as she was expecting to see Wayne in concert for the first time.

Justin Bieber's latest thirst trap may've given wife Hailey the "ick" ... the makeup mogul has offered up a less-than-desirable reaction to his shirtless snap on social media.

The pop star was clearly feeling himself on Monday, when he dropped a couple mirror selfies after seemingly working out at a home gym. Justin knew the pics of his sweat session would send his fans into a tizzy, self-describing them as "thirstrap fa u hoes."

While plenty of Justin's followers applauded his spicy upload, Hailey gave a short, albeit curt, response to his online activity.

Billy Ray Cyrus currently has no "achy breaky" family drama with daughter Miley Cyrus ... proving this to be true by releasing the sweet birthday song she wrote for him.

The country legend was just about beaming while sharing a snippet of the unreleased single, titled "Secrets," which was penned and performed by Miley -- oh, and featured Billy's favorite band, Fleetwood Mac.

Take a look, Billy filmed himself sitting in a field and listening to the new track, which he played on his phone. BRC looked beyond thrilled by the new anthem, bobbing his head and smiling repeatedly while listening to his daughter belt out her tune.

Lil Nas X is now facing years in prison ... because the L.A. County District Attorney has charged him with 4 felonies ... including battery with injury on a police officer.

TMZ broke the story ... the "Old Town Road" rapper was naked on Ventura Blvd. in the San Fernando Valley when cops were called. They say when they confronted him, he charged the officers ... and presumably injured at least 3 of them -- hence the 3 felony charges.

Nas was also hit with a felony charge of resisting an executive officer -- i.e., a cop.

Justin Herbert may've scored big in the love department ... the NFL quarterback was all smiles while out once more with Madison Beer amid romance rumors.

Check it out ... the Los Angeles Chargers QB greeted the "Selfish" singer with a smile and a warm hug after arriving at a friend's house in Redondo Beach, CA, for a comfy night in on Sunday.

Dressed in casual clothes -- including sweats, shorts, and tees -- the rumored couple couldn't contain their glee as they stayed side by side while making their way inside. The twosome looked ready for a mellow Sunday, bringing a bottle of wine with them and a box of sweet treats for their hangout session.