Music

Dave Burgess, the leader of the band behind the hit song "Tequila," is dead.

A musician, songwriter and producer, Dave was the band leader for The Champs ... and the group wrote the song "Tequila," which topped the charts in March 1958 and is still well-known to this day.

Dave died October 19 in Tennessee ... according to his obituary. The cause of death is unclear.

DJ Khaled has released several reggae/dancehall bangers and hates to see Jamaica in ruins following Hurricane Melissa -- now he's springing his We The Best Foundation into action!!!

TMZ Hip Hop caught up with Khaled outside Chelsea Television Studios on Thursday and he had nothing but positive affirmations for the Jamaican survivors and first responders.

Khaled tells us he's working closely with the foundations of fellow collaborators and superstars Vybz Kartel and Bounty Killer to deliver aid to local citizens.

Akon never should've been arrested, his team claims ... blaming the whole misunderstanding on a records-keeping issue.

A representative for the singer-songwriter tells us Akon already paid for the suspended license which resulted in his arrest ... but, the payment wasn't entered into the system properly.

We're told this clerical error -- a big one, if true -- will be rectified by the courts at Akon's hearing in early December.

Rory Farrell of 'Rory & MAL' podcast fame is doing damage control after dozens of racist and hateful tweets resurfaced on the web ... including one that completely devalued Beyoncé's entire existence!!!

On Wednesday evening, Rory and his podcast cohosts Mal and Demaris hopped on X Spaces -- only to receive a tongue-lashing from several African-American journalists and hip hop fans upset with commentary he reposted several years ago on X, such as "Every black woman has either, wanted to, thought about, or actually f***ed a white guy #whitepeoplefacts" and "I've never saw a good looking black woman."

Commenters also caught him deleting some of the posts -- which date back over a decade -- in real time as the public town hall meeting heated up.

Rapper Justina Valentine was Wild 'N Out in the TMZ newsroom Thursday ... freestyling a certified banger for Harvey and Charles.

Watch the video ... Valentine had us turnt up, with a 10 out of 10 off-the-cuff rap.

We really shouldn't expect anything less ... she's spent nearly a decade coming up with improvised raps on "Wild 'N Out."

Lady Gaga put on a brave face for the cameras while shooting "A Star Is Born" ... even as she was dealing with issues so serious she needed psychiatric medication to handle them.

The singer-songwriter discussed this difficult chapter in her life during an interview with Rolling Stone ... telling the outlet she was taking lithium -- a mood stabilizer -- while filming her Oscar-nominated turn in the 2019 film.

It's unclear why Gaga needed the medication ... but, shortly after filming wrapped, she says she had to put her "Joanne" world tour on hiatus after suffering what the magazine calls a "psychotic break."

Sound the alarm, there's a new Hollywood couple on the strip ... Blueface is out of prison and enjoying life with Hazel-E by his side!

TMZ Hip Hop caught up with both Blueface and Hazel-E at TAO in Hollywood on Wednesday night ... and the newly free rapper stopped to buy her a bushel of roses from the guy on the street -- it was their first official date night and he wanted to make an impression!!!

It's a love story all about timing -- Hazel-E tells our cameras Blueface first reached out to her via DM ... on the wedding day of her eventual failed marriage to DéVon Waller in 2019.

Ariana Grande was confronted by an unruly fan who leaped a barricade and grabbed her at the “Wicked: For Good” premiere in Singapore ... and her costar Cynthia Erivo quickly jumped in to protect her!

It all went down Thursday ... as Ariana, Cynthia, Michelle Yeoh and Jeff Goldblum were all hand-in-hand, greeting fans on the yellow carpet at Universal Studios Singapore.

Check out the video ... as Ariana greets a fan, a man on the opposite side suddenly jumps the barricade and beelines straight for her -- throwing his arm around her and jumping up and down with a big smile.

The Weeknd is stepping up to help Jamaicans impacted by Hurricane Melissa ... donating a bunch of money to help put food on their tables.

The "Blinding Lights" singer is donating $350,000 from his XO Humanitarian Fund to support the World Food Programme's emergency response in Jamaica.

Hurricane Melissa slammed the Caribbean island last month as a Category 5 storm, dubbed "The Storm of the Century." Melissa pushed winds up to 185 MPH and officials declared all of Jamaica a disaster area due to catastrophic damage.

Cardi B and her legal team are slamming a former security guard's attempt to get a new trial after she lost her case against the rapper ... saying the woman is grasping at straws!!!

According to the docs, obtained by TMZ Hip Hop, Emani Ellis and her attorneys are pushing for a do-over in the case ... complaining, among other things, that the judge should have excluded two witnesses from the case ... but Cardi is calling BS.

Cardi's legal team says it's rich of Ellis to say the witnesses shouldn't have testified, because she says Ellis tried to enlist one of them to help sue Cardi shortly after the incident back in 2018.

Sydney Sweeney's leaving her troubles behind in Los Angeles ... enjoying the sun, surf and sand in Santa Barbara with Scooter Braun days after her new movie "Christy" flopped on opening weekend.

The actress was photographed in the coastal Southern California town wearing a sweater to cut through the seaside chill and a pair of tiny shorts ... grabbing a bite with Braun, who dressed casually in a long-sleeve white shirt, gray shorts and a dark blue cap.

The two giggled their afternoon away ... chowing down before hopping on bikes and riding to their next destination this week.

As if Swifties weren't swooning enough ... Travis Kelce is featured in Taylor Swift's "Eras" tour docuseries -- and has a major stamp of approval from her mom!

Check out the official trailer for "The End of an Era" -- there's no hiding Trav and Tay's love as the singer's mother, Andrea Swift, gushes over the NFL star ... saying he "brings happiness" to their lives.

There's also an adorable moment that documents the Kansas City Chiefs tight end and "Fate of Ophelia" singer on the phone, drawing similarities within each other's lives.

Reneé Rapp has the Internet in a frenzy after a TikTok video sent fans thinking she quietly got engaged to her girlfriend ... but TMZ did some digging and got to the bottom of it.

Here's the deal ... social media detectives went into overdrive when Reneé flashed what looked like a sparkler on that finger in a recent TikTok, and within minutes engagement rumors were trending with fans convinced Towa Bird popped the question.

However, sources with direct knowledge tell TMZ ... Reneé is not engaged. We're told it's simply one of the rings she regularly wears on that finger.

Ozzy Osbourne’s death stunned the world ... and even Donald Trump felt the shockwaves so deeply he actually reached out to the late rocker’s grieving family to offer his condolences.

Jack Osbourne spilled the tea on the latest episode of "The Osbournes Podcast" with mom Sharon and sister Kelly ... playing Trump’s voicemail, where he’s heard saying he’d met Ozzy a few times and just wanted to say how talented and unique the rock legend was.

Donald added, "I just wanted to wish you the best and it’s a tough thing. I know how close you were and whatever I can do. Take care of yourself. Say hello to the family. Thanks, bye."

Boosie Badazz will be facing a judge later this month when he's sentenced in California for gun possession ... but he's still making the most out of his November with a birthday album release with NBA YoungBoy!!!

TMZ Hip Hop caught up with Boosie today at Amy Ruth's chicken and waffles hut in Harlem, and we took a few minutes to remember Alaicha Johnson -- the young fan whose funeral Boosie performed at in October, after being contacted by her family.

Alaicha abruptly died from cancer and didn't get to see Boosie when he popped up in Detroit ... but the Louisiana rap star tells us fulfilling her last wish was his honor!!!

Flyysoulja of the Island Boys was going through a drug-induced psychotic episode leading up to his detainment and mental health evaluation in Florida over the weekend ... TMZ has learned.

The rapper told us the psychosis came about after he took "multiple substances like pills."

He recalled, "In the psychosis, I was trying to find something for my hair for hours, and destroyed the home while unknowingly being on Live."