Music

La música de Drake podría ser considerada técnicamente "rap" si tuvieras que clasificarla en un género, pero Yasiin Bey (alias Mos Def) dice que no es puro hip hop, según lo que él entiende.

El legendario MC se sentó a conversar para una entrevista con "The Cutting Room Floor", en donde el anfitrión le preguntó directamente si consideraba que Drizzy era "hip hop", lo que se convirtió en un intercambio fascinante. Cuento corto, no ... Mos no cree que Aubrey esté en el círculo.

Echa un vistazo al video para ver su respuesta completa... porque es bastante brutal. MD dice que las canciones de Drake son como la música para ir de compras, es decir, amigables y fáciles de escuchar y digerir, tal vez con un poco de ventaja de vez en cuando.

También utiliza a Target para hacer su punto, señalando que Drake en general es tan corriente y comercial, que sería mejor llamarlo pop que hip hop. Sí, es duro.

Mos tenía aún más que decir sobre el tema. Preguntando retóricamente si Drake realmente desafiaba a su público con arte (o música) que no necesariamente disfrutaran, pasó a sugerir que todo el mundo piensa que la música de Drizzy es siempre "buena" y que hay un montón de pompones haciéndole barra.

Por supuesto, este ha sido un debate candente desde siempre, con los puristas del hip hop constantemente lanzando m**** sobre Drake por ser demasiado suave para su gusto y ahora, otro grande del hip hop se está sumando a la pila.

Drake se ha defendido sobre este tema, y ha demostrado que puede rimar con los mejores, por lo que su buena fe en el hip hop ha quedado demostrada. Sin embargo, sigue siendo considerado demasiado pop para algunos de sus contemporáneos... lo cual está bien.

El hecho es que es uno de los artistas más famosos del mundo y, además, es muy rico. Se cambia una cosa por la otra, suponemos ... Ser atractivo para las masas es bastante lucrativo.🤷🏽‍♂️

Drake's music might technically be considered "rap" if you had to throw it in a genre bin -- but Yasiin Bey (aka, Mos Def) says it ain't pure hip hop as far as he's considered.

The legendary MC recently sat down for an interview on "The Cutting Room Floor" ... where the host asks him straight up if he considers Drizzy to be "hip hop," which made for a fascinating exchange. Long story short, no ... Mos doesn't think Aubrey's in the circle.

Check out the video to see his full response on this ... 'cause it's pretty brutal. MD says Drake's tunes are like shopping music -- namely, friendly/easy to listen to and digest ... perhaps with a little edge every now and then.

He also uses Target to make his point here ... noting Drake, by and large, is as mainstream and commercial as they come, and calling him pop more than hip hop. Yeah, it's harsh.

Mos had even more to say on the topic ... rhetorically asking if Drake actually challenges his audience with art they might not necessarily enjoy -- going on to suggest that everybody thinks Drizzy's music is always "great," and that there's a lot of pom-pom cheering.

Of course, this has been a raging debate forever now -- with hip hop purists constantly s****ing on Drake as too soft for their taste ... and now, a hip hop great is piling on.

Drake has defended himself on this issue, and yes ... he's proven he can spit with the best of them, so his hip hop bona fides have been proven. Still though, it sounds like he continues to be considered a little too pop-y for some of his contemporaries... which is fine.

Fact is, he's one of the most famous artists in the world, and he's wildly wealthy too. You trade one thing for the other, we suppose ... mass appeal is pretty freaking profitable.🤷🏽‍♂️

Soap star Bill Hayes – best known for his role opposite his real-life wife, Susan, on "Days of Our Lives" – has died.

Hayes passed away Friday in Los Angeles, his rep confirmed to TMZ, although his cause of death was not disclosed.

In 1970, Hayes landed the part of lounge singing scam artist Doug Williams on NBC's "Days of Our Lives." Actress Susan Seaforth had already been hired for the soap opera, playing the pampered heiress Julie Olsen Banning Anderson Williams.

Hayes and Seaforth hit it off, getting married four years later on October 12, 1974. The actors also tied the knot on the show – three separate times in fact! -- beginning in October 1976.

During their first nuptials on set, the couple read their vows from their real wedding.

In 1976, they became the only daytime drama stars to be featured on the cover of Time magazine for an article titled, “Soap Operas: Sex and Suffering in the Afternoon.”

But, in 1984, the two clashed with producers over storylines, resulting in the pairing down of their popular roles.

Yet, Hayes and Seaforth still appeared on "Days Of Our Lives" even after the show crossed over to the Peacock network in 2022.

Before his legendary soap gig, Hayes was a singer who wrote the 1955 song, "The Ballad of Davy Crocket," which rocketed to Number 1 on the U.S. charts.

He was also a regular personality on Sid Caesar's iconic TV variety series, "Your Show of Shows."

Bill was 98.

DDG and Halle Bailey's newborn son is already being primed for superstardom -- his proud papa couldn't wait to hit the town and splurge on high-end baby gear!!!

TMZ Hip Hop caught up with DDG this week outside English Rabbit -- a posh Bev Hills children's boutique -- where he celebrated fatherhood by dropping $5k in that one store.

The child will be "Moonwalking in Calabasas" in his baby kicks just like his daddy in no time!!!

DDG and Halle announced their son Halo's birth last week, which was the first time they even confirmed the months of speculation about them expecting.

Even though fans were buzzing about it, DDG says he and Halle never felt like they had to cave to social media pressure ... and only decided to introduce Halo when they felt comfortable doing so.

DDG also discussed the stereotypical "horrors" of new parenthood, which he says is mostly 🧢.

He says he and the 'Little Mermaid' star are already diaper-changing pros and have a good rotating schedule for late-night crying ... a sound neither one of them minds hearing.

Gear up, Swifties ... Brett Favre tells TMZ Sports if the Chiefs don't make this year's Super Bowl -- fans WILL blame it all on Taylor Swift!!

Favre, of course, doesn't think it's right ... but he says, like it or not, it'll come if Travis Kelce and Kansas City aren't able to compete for the Lombardi Trophy next month.

"If they don't win it," Favre said, "or get to the Super Bowl, people are going to say, 'That's why.'"

Swift, needless to say, is used to it by now ... after all, people have deemed her a K.C. curse for weeks -- as her new boyfriend and the Chiefs only won five of their last 10 regular season games.

But, good news for her and the rest of Chiefs Kingdom ... Favre tells us he believes Kansas City -- despite being the No. 3 seed -- should still be considered the favorite to come out of the AFC's side of the bracket.

"Until Andy Reid is unseated as the champion," Favre said, "I have to see it to believe it."

Kansas City will begin its quest to win its second straight title later Saturday ... when it kicks off its wild card round game in frigid temperatures against the Miami Dolphins.

Playboi Carti had his spot blown this week ... body cam footage of the enigmatic rapper being arrested in September 2022 for driving over 133 miles per hour on Atlanta's I-75/85 Southbound Expressway leaked online.

TMZ Hip Hop obtained the police report from the incident ... Carti was slapped with multiple traffic violations, including reckless driving ... a case he tried to plead with the arresting officer to no avail.

Carti told the officer he was driving like greased lightning because of an emergency getting to the airport, to which the officer informed him that driving 133 MPH in a 55-mile-per-hour zone, was a hazard in itself and placed him in the back of his vehicle.

According to the docs, a search of his car also found a Glock handgun on the passenger seat, along with an extended mag in the weapon but no round was chambered.

The firearm was legally registered to Carti and his background check revealed he was not a convicted felon ... his uncle later arrived on the scene and took possession of the weapon at Cart's request.

A somewhat funny moment also occurred when Carti was booked ... a fan recognized him through his face mask and openly admitted Carti was his fav rapper in the whole wide world!!!

We checked the records and Carti emerged with a clean slate from the incident ... which wasn't the case that following December.

Kelly Clarkson hit a home run with her decision to keep her kiddos off social media ... at least as far as a couple national parenting groups are concerned.

The singer recently revealed she banned Instagram in her house, and now some big-name organizations are singing her praises.

The MomCo International tells TMZ ... "We love that Kelly is making this bold decision for her kids and hope it helps parents normalize letting kids be kids without the added pressure of a digital life while they are still learning how to navigate life in 3-D."

Remember ... Kelly says social media is hard on kids in general, but it's even worse for kiddos with a famous mother or father ... hence the IG ban for her daughter River and son Remington.

Meanwhile, the National Association for Child Development tells TMZ ... Kelly's social media ban should be respected and honored because parents know their children best and are responsible for ensuring a safe and age-appropriate online environment for their kids.

It will be interesting to see if Kelly's social media ban catches on ... especially with celeb parents.

Kelly Clarkson ha dado en el clavo con su decisión de mantener a sus hijos fuera de las redes sociales, al menos para un par de grupos nacionales de padres.

La cantante reveló recientemente que prohibió Instagram en su casa, y ahora algunas organizaciones de renombre están cantando sus alabanzas.

El MomCo Internacional le dice a TMZ: "Nos encanta que Kelly esté tomando esta decisión audaz para sus hijos y esperamos que ayude a los padres a normalizar que hay que dejar a los niños ser niños sin la presión añadida de una vida digital mientras todavía están aprendiendo a navegar por la vida en 3-D".

Recuerden, Kelly dice que las redes sociales son difíciles para los niños en general, pero es aún peor para los niños con una madre o un padre famoso, de ahí la prohibición de IG para su hija River y su hijo Remington.

Mientras tanto, la Asociación Nacional para el Desarrollo Infantil le dice a TMZ: La prohibición de las redes sociales por parte de Kelly debe ser respetada y honrada pues los padres conocen mejor a sus hijos y son responsables de garantizar un entorno en línea seguro y apropiado para su edad.

Será interesante ver si la prohibición de las redes sociales de Kelly se pone de moda, especialmente entre los padres famosos.

Ron Browz's name is etched in rap history for producing Nas' brutal Jay-Z diss track "Ether," and more than 20 years later he's still collecting residuals ... at least, on some social platforms, but he says others are robbing him blind!!!

TMZ Hip Hop sat down with "Etherboy" this week after his beat was used TWICE to highlight 2 of the biggest moments of the week on the internet ... both of which involved lots of "Ether" level disrespect.

The first was Katt Williams' "Club Shay Shay" interview where he mentioned virtually every comedian in his lane -- and the second came with Stephen A. Smith's hour-long flogging of Jason Whitlock.

The internet -- undefeated, as it is -- seized the moment and put the Ron-produced track over Katt and Stephen's highlights. That's not great for Ron, because he says if those posts aren't on TikTok or YouTube, which track music, then he's ass out ... and has no clue how much money he's missing.

He says the powers that be at other social platforms have yet to creat their royalty road map.

BTW, there's an interesting backstory on the making of the track -- Ron says the aggressive DNA of the song came from him desperately looking for a way out of his Harlem hood, and had the coin flipped on the other side, the instrumental could've belonged to Jay!!!

Ron says he passed the beat, and several others, to Jay's A&R at the time, Kyambo "Hip Hop" Joshua, but it never fell into Hov's lap.

"Ether" is not the only instrumental RB produced that morphed into a problematic track ... Busta Rhymes' 2008 hit "Arab Money" can easily be misconstrued for bigotry, especially in the current social media landscape.

Ron says he was simply inspired by the Arabic music playing inside NYC bodegas and added his 1uto-tuned twist to the hook.

However, it includes a recanting of the Islamic Shahada -- a profession of faith -- and that almost got Busta in hot water, and Ron too when he got booked for a Dubai gig ... but he swears the track is all positive.

Despite both beats taking a life of their own, Ron tells us his fav track he did was actually "Pop Champagne" with Jim Jones and Juelz Santana.

Anderson .Paak se está divorciando y poniendo fin a un matrimonio largo y muy privado que parece haberse desmoronado muy de repente ... TMZ ha averiguado.

El cantante acaba de presentar los documentos legales para pedir la disolución del matrimonio con su esposa, Jae Lin, con quien ha estado casado durante mucho tiempo.

De hecho, a diferencia de lo que se pensaba, AP cita el 2010 como el año en que se casaron y no el 2011 como todos creían.

Ahora, en cuanto a su fecha de separación, parece que ni Anderson lo sabe, pues dejó en blanco esa casilla en el papeleo y simplemente escribió "TBD".

Sin embargo, no oculta el hecho de que quiere un divorcio directo, a diferencia de una separación legal, y nombra a sus dos hijos menores de edad como individuos con los que tendrá que negociar la custodia, y de buenas a primeras, parece dispuesto a compartir los deberes de crianza.

Anderson señala en su solicitud que él y Jae quieren tener la custodia legal y física conjunta de sus hijos, con un régimen de visitas para ambos. En términos de la división de sus bienes y propiedades, Anderson .Paak dice que él y su equipo legal todavía tienen que determinar quién es el dueño de qué.

Como hemos dicho, han sido pareja desde hace un tiempo y Anderson es bastante discreto con su vida privada, a pesar de que, profesionalmente, se ha disparado en los últimos años.

Anderson .Paak is getting divorced -- ending a lengthy and very private marriage that seems to have fallen apart very suddenly ... TMZ has learned.

The singer just filed legal docs asking for a dissolution of marriage from his wife, Jae Lin ... to whom he's been hitched for a long time. In fact, contrary to the year the public seems to have thought they tied the knot (2011) ... AP cites 2010 as the year they got married.

Now, as far as their separation date ... it doesn't sound like Anderson even knows when that was -- 'cause he leaves it blank here in the paperwork, and simply writes "TBD."

Still, he makes no bones about the fact that he wants a straight-up divorce -- as opposed to a legal separation -- and goes on to list their two minor children as individuals they'll need to hash out custody over ... and right off the bat, he seems willing to share parenting duties.

Anderson notes in his filing that he wants himself and Jae to have joint legal and physical custody of their kids ... with a visitation schedule for both of them. In terms of divvying up their assets/property ... AP says he and his legal team still need to ascertain who owns what.

Like we said, they've been a couple for a while now -- and Anderson's pretty low-key about his private life ... even though, professionally, he's been skyrocketing over the past few years.

Supa Emcee -- the Michigan-born rapper whose biggest claim to fame is being cut OUT of Eminem's "8 Mile" -- has been charged with murder following the death of his girlfriend.

According to the local reports, Supa -- real name Jimmie Brown -- has been accused by the authorities of stabbing and slashing his partner of 13 years, Kelly Mays, around 17 times in the neck and chest during an alleged altercation in their Detroit apartment on January 7.

Cops claim he fled the scene before turning himself in later in the day ... when he was ultimately charged with murder.

Mays' daughter denounced all association with Brown, telling local Fox 2 Detroit, “I hate him now and he is no father of mine. I touched her foot, and it was cold. I have nightmares about it so every time I fall asleep, I see it.”

Brown's a seasoned veteran on the Detroit rap scene ... he got the chance to battle rap against Em in the iconic hip hop film but the scene got downgraded to the DVD ... destined to become a relic soon.

We obtained the court docs ... Brown's next hearing is scheduled for January 25. He faces up to life in prison if convicted. Mays was 49.

Fat Joe says 100 million Americans are in the red because of hospital bills ... and he's working with Congress to try and fix what he says is a greedy healthcare system.

The rapper joined us on "TMZ Live" Friday and told us why he's advocating for big changes with the way hospitals and health insurance companies do business.

Fat Joe says most people who go to the hospital have no idea how much care is going to cost until after the fact ... and he says the lack of transparency is putting way too many folks in debt.

Joey Crack's been banging this drum for almost a year now ... and this week he brought his message to Congress' doorstep, hosting about 500 lawmakers and government officials at an event for Power to the Patients ... a healthcare advocacy group.

Fat Joe says only 27 cents of every $1 Americans are charged at hospitals goes back to doctors, nurses, staff and the actual procedures and treatments ... with the rest of the money lining the pockets of the hospitals and insurance companies.

He says folks who are already struggling to afford treatments are being told the prices are going up ... but Fat Joe says that's really just a move by hospitals and insurance companies to increase profits.

Fat Joe's calling on Congress to change the system so people aren't being unfairly charged with hidden costs and fees when they go to the hospital.

Sam Asghari posó junto a nada más ni nada menos que Brad Pitt esta semana y la foto podría ser una indirecta a su ex Britney Spears, que históricamente ha estado encaprichada con la mega estrella de la lista A.

Sam publicó algunas fotos suyas junto a Brad Pitt en la exposición de arte del director de "Moneyball", Bennett Miller, en Beverly Hills el jueves por la noche, afirmando que obtuvo "un montón de buenos consejos sobre el cuidado de la piel del mismo hombre". La foto muestra a un Sam muy brillante, junto a un prístino Brad.

Por cierto, la galería de Bennett combina la inteligencia artificial con la historia de la fotografía y trabaja con un generador de imágenes DALL-E para hacer sus piezas. La razón por la que esto es importante es porque algunos han levantado una ceja de sospecha... preguntándose si realmente era el verdadero McCoy.

Algunas personas han dicho que la foto de Sam y Brad parece un poco retocada. No está claro si ese es el caso, pero definitivamente ese es el verdadero Brad Pitt. Hay otras fotos suyas circulando por Internet en este momento. Así que Sam no está aprovechándose.

Ahora, sobre el tema de Britney, ella ha admitido que Brad fue su primer amor con una celebridad y ha estado un poco obsesionada con él durante décadas, francamente, ¿quién no?

Cuando Sam y Britney se comprometieron en 2022, Sam se tropezó con una foto sin camisa de Brad en "Thelma & Louise" y enmarcada en su casa, a lo que Britney respondió: "The one and only". Él se lo tomó con humor y ha hecho bromas sobre Brad en línea también.

Brit también publicó -y luego borró- una foto de Brad Pitt joven en su Instagram el año pasado y dijo que lo hizo "porque se parece mucho a su tío". Interpreten eso como quieran. El caso es que... parece que Sam tuvo la oportunidad de conocer al hombre y la aprovechó.

Teniendo en cuenta que sabe mucho del amor de Britney por Brad, hay que preguntarse si estaba muy ansioso por publicar estas fotos, tal vez para restregárselo en la cara un poco después del divorcio. Quién sabe.

De todos modos, Brad todavía se ve muy bien, así que les dejamos una pequeña galería del hombre para disfrutar de sus formas de ensueño.

Sam Asghari posed alongside none other than Brad Pitt this week -- and the snap could be a dig at his ex, Britney Spears ... who's historically been infatuated with the mega A-lister.

Sam posted some pics of himself and BP at "Moneyball" director Bennett Miller's art exhibit in Beverly Hills Thursday night -- claiming he got "a lot of great skin care tips with the man himself." The photo itself features a very glossy-looking Sam, next to a pristine Brad.

BTW, Bennett's gallery combines AI with the history of photography, working with a DALL•E image generator to make his exhibit pieces -- and the reason that's relevant is because some have raised an eyebrow on this photo ... wondering if it's actually the real McCoy.

Some folks have pointed out the fact that the snap of Sam and Brad looks a little touched up -- unclear if that's the case, but this is definitely the real BP ... other photos of him there are circulating online right now. So Sam isn't pulling a fast one.

Sam's rep, Brandon Cohen of BAC Talent, tells TMZ ... Sam was honored to be in the room of great talent and artists to support Bennett Miller. Sources at the event tell us Sam and Brad bonded over the acting business.

Now, on the subject of Britney ... she's admitted in the past that Brad was her first celebrity crush ... and has been a bit obsessed with him for decades -- frankly, who hasn't, right?

When Sam and Britney were engaged back in 2022, Sam stumbled upon a framed, shirtless pic of Brad in "Thelma & Louise" inside their home ... to which Britney responded, "The one and only." He kinda poked fun at her about ... and he's made jokes about Brad online too.

Brit also posted -- then deleted -- a photo of young Brad Pitt on her Instagram last year, and said she shared it "because he looks so much like my uncle" ... so take that for what you will. The point is ... it looks like Sam got his opportunity to meet the dude and he took it.

Considering he very much knows about Britney's love for Brad ... you gotta wonder if he was extra eager to post these pics -- perhaps to rub it in her face a bit post-divorce. Who knows!

Anyway, Brad still looks great ... so here's a little look back at the guy and his dreamy ways.

Farm life has apparently been treating Kelis well ... something the Internet can collectively agree on ... because she's aging like fine wine, and she's got some cool content to boot!

The singer/rapper posted yet another update on her little California farm -- something she's been doing routinely lately as she grows her social media presence. Kelis' following has been ballooning too ... but many suspect it's because she looks so damn good in these clips.

Anyway, for this latest offering ... Kelis proudly announced a couple additions to her animal family this week  ... a newborn baby goat and a micro-donkey she hilariously named Smokey Robinson, but fans genuinely seemed to care more for what the "Milkshake" singer had in those jeans.

Yes, she's certainly a shapely woman ... something people just can't help but remark on!

While Kelis' agricultural report may have been largely ignored by horndogs on Twitter/IG ... she does have some interesting info here about the habits of new mothers in the animal kingdom. Of course, for the straight men out there ... it's a little hard to focus.

With that said, Kelis is a legitimate farmer ... she's got beans, greens, potatoes, chickens, turkeys, virtually everything you can name for a substantial farm and also starred in her own Netflix cooking show a few years ago.

Bill Murray was her Old MacDonald for a couple of months last summer but that relationship has since fizzled. On its face, it looks like Kelis may be single right now.