Music

Tank is giving Mariah Carey her flowers for "All I Want for Christmas Is You" being an everlasting gift ... but thinks her composition has to take a backseat to the Cooleyhigh classics!!!

TMZ Hip Hop recently caught up with Tank at LAX, and he tackled the future of R&B -- namely, Usher and L.A. Reid's latest protege ... a budding vocalist named JayDon.

The singing upstart has gotten cosigns from the likes of Chris Brown, Vedo and now Tank, who acknowledges the R&B torch has to be passed at some point, but giving JayDon the flame is a great bet.

Ludacris is back in the studio, gearing up for a new album, and reminded everyone how an Atlanta rap legend can hail from Chicago ... with a few of his "44 Bars" aimed at Scottie Pippen!!!

On Wednesday, Luda released the visual for his "44 Bars" single, where he flexes punchlines galore -- à la previous smashes such as "Hip Hop Quotables" and "Cry Babies (Oh No)" -- and quipped, "Wishin' you fake rappers slide down a giant switchblade / Cut the nonsense, boys, you know you trippin / 'Stop the 'Bullsh*t', ya nose growin' bigger than Scottie Pippen's!!!"

Scottie has gone lengths to destroy the lore of the Chicago Bulls dynasty after hating the way he was portrayed in Michael Jordan's "The Last Dance" doc ... even claiming MJ was once a "horrible" player in his eyes -- the type of nonsense Luda is referring to.

Bebe Rexha had a change of scenery and hair color in the Turks and Caicos Islands ... where she showed off more than her singing voice.

The ocean was calling the singer-songwriter who waded into shallow water, flaunting her hourglass figure and sun-kissed bum.

She had even more accessories to show off in the shade, rocking an armful of bracelets to match her island vibe.

11:10 AM -- A neighborhood source tells TMZ, Micah was not living at his father's home but was known in the neighborhood for rambling in public and shouting nonsensical things to no one in particular.

According to our source, Micah had mental health issues, but the official diagnosis is unclear. The source adds ... Jubilant loved Micah and had been optimistic about his condition, as -- just a few weeks ago -- Jubilant told a neighbor Micah was doing really well.

Jubilant's wife was home at the time of the murder and was the one who called 911.

The son of slain Grammy-nominated opera singer Jubilant Sykes was allegedly violent toward his family years before cops arrested him in connection to the stabbing death of his father ... according to a restraining order petition.

Here's the deal ... a woman named Sarah Bennett filed for a restraining order against Micah Sykes for herself and several of her friends in 2017 -- alleging he tried to break into her friend's father's home.

In the documents, Bennett says she and Micah used to go to the same church ... and she claims he was relentlessly pursuing her -- saying she was his true love, and they were meant to be together. Bennett also claims Sykes sent her multiple texts and other direct messages

Sarah says her friend Jason Lee stepped in to defend her in person on at least one occasion ... and, eventually, she says Lee went to a meeting with Micah to explain to him Sarah wasn't interested -- which allegedly ended with Lee having to lock himself in his car to get away from an enraged Micah. Weeks after this encounter, Bennett claims Micah went to Jason's father Philip's home and attempted to break down the door.

While the dating rumors surrounding aespa's Winter and BTS' Jung Kook continue to heat up, the girl group's agency, SM Entertainment, is reportedly taking legal action in response to the backlash its singer is receiving.

Speculation about the two K-Pop idols dating started back in 2023 ... but have recently gained more traction with fans noticing them sporting similar 'fits and what appear to be matching tattoos.

Positive reactions to the potential romance have hit social media, but there has also been a ton of backlash from people who disapprove ... forcing aespa's label to step in to protect Winter from posts that they feel have crossed the line.

SM stated, "In particular, we have identified numerous acts damaging Winter’s character and reputation, as well as malicious postings and sexually harassing content made with the intention of publicly slandering the artist ... After reviewing these posts, we will be expanding the filing of complaints in stages."

Sharon Osbourne got visibly emotional ... opening up about the last thing Ozzy ever said to her before he passed in July.

Chatting on "Piers Morgan Uncensored" Wednesday, Sharon said Ozzy woke her up at 4:30 AM before he died and told her, "Kiss me, hug me tight"... and she had to stop for a sec during the interview to pull herself together as her eyes welled up with tears.

Sharon said Ozzy then went to work out for about 20 minutes ... before suffering a heart attack and passing away -- and she only found out after rushing downstairs when she heard people screaming while he was being resuscitated.

Diddy's most successful "Making The Band" product, Danity Kane, is back on tour ... well, most of the group, at least!!!

On Tuesday, Aubrey O'Day, Aundrea Fimbres, and D. Woods kicked off the latest iteration of DK in San Francisco for their "The Untold Chapter Tour" -- minus OG members Dawn Richard and Shannon Bex.

The 11-stop date is being billed with a daunting tagline ... "This isn't a comeback. It's a revelation," which speaks volumes following their former Bad Boy Records boss' highly publicized criminal trial.

Grammy award-nominated singer Klypso hosted our 12:30 PM brunch bus for his birthday weekend, and we caught all the madness as it went down!!

The "Stray Cat" artist serenaded passengers with amazing singing performances as we went to some of the best brunch spots in West Hollywood -- The Henry, where everyone got free mimosas ... Lisa Vanderpump's TomTom, where we took watermelon shots ... and finally, The Butcher, Baker, Cappuccino Maker, where we got free empanadas and hot chocolate!

Even better, Klypso created an epic TMZ moment by dancing on the hood of the bus! He said it was the most amazing way to spend his bday and he wants to host more tours ... he even had a pic of himself on top of the bus on his birthday cake!

Madison Beer says she never had any question about the way she would die ... telling Alex Cooper she used to tell people when she was young that she was sure she'd take her own life.

The singer-songwriter dove into her mental health issues on Cooper's "Call Her Daddy" podcast two years ago ... including touching on her two past suicide attempts -- including the one spurred on by naked photos of her leaking online when she was just a teenager.

Beer's talked about the emotional toll the leak took on her in the past ... but now she says it goes deeper than just feeling horrible about one thing -- because when people asked her how she thought she'd die, she always used to tell them suicide.

Jason Kelce ripped a page out of his future sister-in-law Taylor Swift's book and got in the studio ... and it was all for the sake of spreading some holiday beer cheer!!

TMZ Sports got an early listen of Garage Beer's special holiday project ... and it's hard to argue that he doesn't have some serious vocal talent. Perhaps a future in voiceover work is on the horizon??

Kelce -- a co-owner of the popular beer brand alongside his brother, Travis -- hopped on the mic to record a holiday story narration for a limited-edition 7-inch vinyl record ... which will be released this coming Friday on the Garage Beer website.

Only 100 copies exist ... so it'll be a rare item for Kelce fans.

Taylor Swift becomes visibly emotional in her new “The End of an Era” docuseries releasing Friday on Disney+ as she discusses the hard work that went in to pulling the record-breaking tour off.

Check out the new preview shared by "Good Morning America" Thursday morning -- Taylor and her mother, Andrea Swift, are expressing how massive of a job creating and perfectly executing the Eras Tour was -- including adding in a whole new album era for dates later in the worldwide trek.

At one point, the "Fate of Ophelia" hitmaker can be seen emotional and wiping a tear from her cat-winged eye.

If Teyana Taylor’s fighting any battle these days, it’s getting hotter with age -- she’s leveling up every year ... and her 35th birthday proves she’s nowhere near slowing down.

The girl is fun, fab, and ridiculously fit -- and you’ll see exactly what we mean in our gallery of her hottest snaps, where she’s leading every shot with those sculpted abs.

Taylor Swift and Blake Lively look like they are still on the outs ... because they both went out Tuesday night in New York City ... and Taylor was with a different blonde friend.

Check out these photos of the former besties, doing their separate things in the Big Apple ... Taylor's venturing out with fellow musician Este Haim, and Blake is promoting her brand at a holiday pop-up.

Gwen Stefani and Blake Shelton are shutting down the rumor mill without saying a word ... stepping out for a grocery run and looking totally at ease together despite a wave of divorce rumors online.

The two were photographed Tuesday in Los Angeles while shopping at the upscale Italian market, Eataly ... grabbing groceries side by side before heading out with smiles that didn't leave much room for speculation.

Sources close to the couple tell TMZ ... the talk is way off base, saying the pair is "completely baffled" by the divorce rumors. Our sources say they don't even know where the rumors came from, but that they're complete nonsense and they’re very happy together.

Clinton "Clintnlord" Adams, a social media influencer and hip-hop artist, has been hit with multiple felony charges after prosecutors accused him of sexually assaulting two women he allegedly lured to a vacant area still scarred by California's January wildfire destruction.

The Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office announced Tuesday that Adams is charged with three felony counts of forcible rape and one felony count of assault with intent to commit rape. Prosecutors also allege the crimes involved multiple victims, an enhancement that could significantly increase his prison time.

District Attorney Nathan J. Hochman called the alleged attacks "predatory," saying they occurred in an isolated, fire-damaged zone that remained impacted by the devastating winter wildfires. Adams allegedly targeted the women in separate incidents over the summer, bringing each to the remote location where the assaults allegedly occurred.

Jubilant Sykes -- a Grammy-nominated opera singer -- was stabbed to death inside his L.A. home Monday -- and his son was arrested in connection with the murder, according to police.

Cops said they responded to an "assault in progress" Monday night at Sykes' Santa Monica home after receiving a 911 call from an unidentified person.

When officers arrived, the 911 caller directed them inside the residence, where they found Sykes with "critical injuries consistent with a stabbing," police said. Sykes later died at the scene.

Police said his 31-year-old son, Micah, was present inside the home and arrested in connection with the murder, then booked into the L.A. County jail for suspicion of murder. He's being held on $2 million bail.