Music

G Herbo is feeling on top of his game -- he's got a new set of pearly whites in his mouth, which he plans to use to stunt on his rap peers with a ballsy new album title that's bound to get challenged!!!

The Chicago-born rapper was all smiles when we caught up with him Wednesday at LAX ... thanks, in part, to recently fitted veneers, which prompted a shoutout to "Da Smile Boss" -- his dentist back in Chi-town.

Herbo says the dental work's given him newfound confidence and mental toughness -- and advises anyone feeling self-conscious about their mouth to invest in themselves and get the work done.

Herbo had another big, non-dental, revelation for TMZ Hip Hop ... he's standing on business, and naming his upcoming project "Best Rapper Alive."

A bold proclamation, for sure, and one that could build anticipation for the project -- and maybe that's the point.

Ne-Yo's one of the many music giants gracing the Lovers & Friends stage this year, and says the lineup deserves all the headlines it's making ... just as Mary J. Blige deserves her place on the marquee.

TMZ Hip Hop caught up with the R&B magnate in L.A., and he was surprised to hear Mary staged a short-lived holdout for better Lovers & Friends' billing -- but also has zero issue with her strategy.

After all, as Ne-Yo reminded us, she is the Queen of Hip Hop Soul. Bow down, bishes.

Ne-Yo predicts this year's show has massive potential to be the best one yet ... featuring MJB, Usher, Gwen Stefani, Lil Wayne, Timbaland, Backstreet Boys, Janet Jackson and himself! How can they possibly lose?!?

That's a question folks operating Coachella have been asking with ticket sale woes -- so, we asked Ne-Yo why he thought the once-premier festival had fallen off.

Although he doesn't have much experience performing at the event, he told us he's heard through the grapevine Coachella's lost its grassroots feel, and gone more corporate.

By contrast ... the L&F fest is collecting names to potentially launch a 2nd show.

Ne-Yo suggests Coachella can turn things around if it turns around its next lineup.

He and MJB might be happy campers going into this year's L&F, but the powers that be should check on Juvenile -- fast!!!

Taylor Swift has no chance of swaying the 2024 election -- this according to Congressman Tim Burchett ... though, a prominent dueling Representative says otherwise.

Rep. Burchett chopped it up with a photog in D.C. Wednesday -- where he said he doesn't care for a TS endorsement ... cause she lost him when she left country music, and he hasn't cared for her since. So, Swift's seal of approval means absolutely nada to him.

Tim's TS loathing doesn't end there ... he says her NFL influence may be significant with more people than ever tuning into the sport ... but he personally hasn't watched a game in years despite being the captain of his high school football team back in '87 ... so, in his mind, her influence can't be that big of a deal.

Basically, he tells the cameraman she's all talk cause she previously came out to speak against Tennessee's Republican Senator Marsha Blackburn ... and it didn't move the needle.

Tim adds that a celeb endorsement doesn't mean much in general ... all it does is just become a scenario where both teams think they've won by bringing in top dogs as backup.

So, that recent poll that showed 18% of voters were "more likely" to vote for a candidate endorsed by Tay? Tim's essentially pouring cold water on it ... saying it's total BS.

While Tim's adamant about his stance, former Tennessee Rep. Jim Cooper, who Taylor endorsed for House of Representatives in 2018, tells TMZ he's got it all wrong -- cause TS' endorsement is the best endorsement you can have -- period.

He says anyone who cares about Taylor having a voice in politics is jealous they didn't get her endorsement ... cause, at the end of the day, she's got a massive 29 million followers on her socials and can easily influence swing states that are really close in numbers.

Also, her fans are well and truly devoted ... meaning they're game for anything, he says.

Jim's a massive Taylor fan ... and says she's handled all politics-related matters with complete brilliance and wholesomeness, which is refreshing. He also can't resist touching on her Travis Kelce romance -- saying it plays out like a Hollywood movie.

Back to Tim though ... he goes on to talk about the current political climate ... expressing hopes more young voters will come out and vote because historically, they don't.

Donald Trump should be cautious about poking the bear when it comes to attacking Taylor Swift ... so says a well-seasoned political talk show host and media personality.

FOX11 anchor and politico Elex Michaelson joined us on "TMZ Live" Wednesday and we asked him about the ramifications of Trump's inner circle vowing to wage a "holy war" on Taylor and any Democrats she may endorse ... which they're reportedly ready to do.

Given Taylor's massive popularity right now -- coupled with the fact that she's dating a star player on an NFL team, who's about to play in the freaking Super Bowl -- Elex says DT and co. should be careful with how his campaign approaches Swift ... especially if it's to attack.

Elex says he worries Trump may wake up a sleeping giant here, and stir up Swifties en masse to hit the ballot box and vote for his opponent, Joe Biden, who is courting TS' endorsement. That might be a preemptively self-own, especially since she hasn't joined the Biden train yet.

Those same voters are also pretty young, for the most part, and that could hurt Trump too ... Elex explains. Considering Taylor has such influence over the youths in this country -- antagonizing her too early may well backfire if Trump goes in hard right now.

Another layer to this is Trump's potential loss being Biden's gain ... Elex points out Biden's struggled with some key demographics, and TS could help reel those voters back in ... at Trump's expense.

Of course, Elex says folks shouldn't be quick to dismiss Trump or write him off ... saying DT usually has a handle on how best to drum up his base. Fact is, he's run successful campaigns before and gotten tons of votes.

Donald Trump debería ser cauteloso a la hora de atacar a Taylor Swift, así lo dice un presentador político y personalidad de los medios de comunicación.

El presentador de FOX11 y político Elex Michaelson se unió a nosotros en "TMZ Live" el miércoles y le preguntamos acerca de las ramificaciones del círculo íntimo de Trump prometiendo librar una "guerra santa" contra Taylor y cualquier demócrata que pueda apoyar ... que al parecer están dispuestos a llevarle la contra, dice Elex Michaelson

Dada la popularidad masiva de Taylor en este momento, junto con el hecho de que ella está saliendo con un jugador estrella en un equipo de la NFL que está a punto de jugar en el maldito Super Bowl, Elex dice que Trump y compañía deben tener cuidado con la forma en que su campaña se acerca a Swift ... sobre todo si es para atacar.

Elex dice que le preocupa que Trump pueda despertar a un gigante dormido y agitar a los Swifties en masa para que acudan a las urnas y voten a su oponente, Joe Biden, que está cortejando el respaldo de Taylor. Eso podría ser un autoapoyo preventivo, sobre todo porque ella aún no se ha subido al tren de Biden.

Estamos hablando de votantes en su mayoría jóvenes, y eso también podría perjudicar a Trump, explica Elex. Teniendo en cuenta que Taylor tiene tanta influencia sobre los jóvenes de este país, enemistarse con ella demasiado pronto puede resultar contraproducente si Trump entra con fuerza ahora mismo.

Otra capa de esto es la pérdida potencial de Trump ante Biden. Elex señala que Biden ha tenido problemas con algunos grupos demográficos clave, y Taylor podría ayudar a recuperar a esos votantes a expensas de Trump.

Por supuesto, Elex dice que la gente no debe apresurarse en descartar a Trump, diciendo que Donald por lo general tiene un as bajo la manga. El hecho es que ha corrido campañas exitosas antes y consiguió un montón de votos.

Juvenile is taking a page out of the Mary J. Blige playbook with Lovers & Friends ... and putting the super star-studded festival on notice over his lack of payment!!!

The New Orleans rap legend's gripe stems from L&F slapping his name on the flyer to help entice ticket sales but not forking over the dough for the promo!!!

Juve accused L&F of straight-up doing bad business ... claiming the organizers are stalling on paying him his deposit.

The "Back Dat Azz Up" rapper simply deems this type of treatment is unacceptable for an artist of his stature ... pretty much the sentiment that MJB gave off when she stonewalled the fest for a higher placement value.

Mary publicly canceled her appearance -- only to turn around a day later and posted a moneybag emoji with a newfound energy for the fest.

Charlamagne Tha God is giving Megan Thee Stallion the 'W' over Nicki Minaj in their rap war by TKO, telling us the aftermath of Nicki's "Big Foot" was enough to sway his decision!!!

Charlamagne and DJ Envy mulled over the latest developments Wednesday morning in Meg and Nicki's face-off -- after a select group of Barbz posted the location of Megan's mother's burial site.

TMZ broke the story ... the Texas cemetery where Holly Thomas is laid to rest beefed up security measures after the address went viral, and local authorities in the area were put on high alert at the same time.

Charlamagne noted how Megan's "Hiss" track caused Nicki to spiral on X all weekend ... and wrote off her "Big Foot" response as a weak one.

Do remember, Nicki's own fans bombarded her with thousands of messages telling her the track was trash, so CTG is in the majority with his opinion.

Charlamagne also scolded "groupie ass" young fans for foolishly riding behind celebs, and, in this case, thinking it was a good decision to threaten someone's grave.

He predicts curses will soon come their way!

Fans have been going for broke over this battle ... a TikToker claiming to be from Queens recently posted a vid giving the impression he was cocking a gun as he threatened Meg if the beef kept going.

Blueface's mom is tired of Chrisean Rock's antics -- she has her fingers crossed the new face tat she got of Blue is fake, and that she finally leaves her son alone. Spoiler ... at least one of those wishes won't come true.

TMZ got Karlissa Saffold outside L.A's Men's Central Jail on Wednesday, following a failed attempt to see her son, and she tells us Chrisean's enormous tattoo of Blueface's mug on her cheek is "absolutely f***ng crazy" ... and she thinks it's a shady ploy to make Blue feel obligated to deal with her once he gets out of jail.

She also has a very simple, passionate reaction to CR moving back into Blue's pad -- "Hell motherf***ing no!" Karlissa says, again, the move will give Blue zero chance of escaping Chrisean's shenanigans ... when he should be focusing on getting his mind right.

What's more, she believes the face ink stems from mental issues ... and her son isn't trained to unpack Chrisean's baggage for her.

For her part, Karlissa's tried to support Chrisean for the sake of her grandbaby ... but is now taking a step back after seeing her on IG live saying she wants Karlissa to die.

But of course, as any doting grandma ... she's still willing to take care of the baby if it comes to that point.

For now, Karissa tells us she's devastated Blue's in jail for a probation violation -- in fact, it's her worst nightmare, especially cause her eldest son served 13 years behind bars, too ... and now history's repeating itself.

Basically, she's got a lot on her plate, and says CR needs to go find someone else's family to play "Fatal Attraction."

Morgan Wade's Instagram page was scrubbed clean of almost all of her posts, including snaps of her and Kyle Richards, but despite speculation ... we've learned they're all good.

Sources with direct knowledge tell TMZ everything's totally fine between the pals ... and the country star archived all but two posts on her page including Kyle pics because she's gearing up to release new music.

In case you didn't know, singers/actors have made it a trend to wipe their social media accounts clean when getting ready to promote a new project -- and that's exactly what's happening here with MW.

Fans clearly missed Morgan's memo ... raising particular concern her music video featuring Kyle was removed from Kyle's page as well, making people think Kyle removed the music video from her own page but that's not the case ... we're told because Morgan archived the video that pulled it down from Kyle's profile.

We should point out, Kyle still has all of her Morgan posts still up -- all 10 of them, in fact ... they're just tucked away in her picture carousels ... so unless fans are going through each and every one of her snaps, they may miss them.

We can safely say there's no brewing rift between them ... and they're still good friends!

BTW, this ain't the first time their friendship status has come under the microscope -- they've also long been subjected to dating rumors.

Kyle also told us last week she was willing to talk about her relationship with Morgan -- as well as her estranged one with husband Mauricio Umansky during the 'RHOBH' reunion.

La página de Instagram de Morgan Wade fue limpiada de casi todas sus publicaciones, incluyendo fotos de ella y Kyle Richards, pero a pesar de la especulación hemos averiguado que todo está bien entre ellas.

Fuentes con conocimiento directo le dicen a TMZ que todo está completamente bien entre las amigas y la estrella del country archivó todos sus post, a excepción de dos, incluyendo fotos de ella y Kyle, porque se está preparando para lanzar nueva música.

Por si no lo sabías, los cantantes y actores han convertido en tendencia lo de limpiar sus cuentas de redes sociales cuando se preparan para promover un nuevo proyecto, y eso es exactamente lo que está pasando aquí con Morgan Wade.

Los fans claramente se perdieron el mensaje de Morgan, y se preocuparon especialmente cuando vieron que había eliminado el video musical donde aparece Kyle, haciendo pensar a todo el mundo que Kyle borró el video musical de su propia página, pero no es el caso. Nos dicen que Morgan archivó el video que bajó del perfil de Kyle.

Debemos señalar, que Kyle todavía tiene todos sus post con Morgan arriba. Son 10, de hecho, solo que están escondidos entre otros carruseles de fotos, así que a menos que los fans estén revisando todas y cada una de sus fotos, se los pueden haber perdido.

¡Podemos decir con seguridad que no hay ninguna distancia entre ellas y siguen siendo buenas amigas!

Por cierto, esta no es la primera vez que el estatus de su amistad está bajo la lupa. También se ha rumoreado que tienen algún romance.

La semana pasada, Kyle también nos dijo que estaba dispuesta a hablar de su relación con Morgan, así como de la separación de su marido Mauricio Umansky durante la reunión de "Real Housewives Of Beverly Hills".

Chrisean Rock no es la única que quiere recordar a Blueface tatuándose su cara... hay otra chica haciendo lo mismo, solo que más bajo.

El miércoles, Bonnie estrenó un tatuaje en su culo. De hecho, publicó fotos y videos acostada con los pantalones caídos y la cara de Blueface inmortalizada en su mejilla izquierda.

Bonnie miembro del elenco original de Blue "Blue Girls Club" -su reality show de corta duración- pero su tinta descarada parece haber sorprendido incluso a su grupo de amigos cercanos, porque están diciendo que es una tonta. Sin embargo, ella ha estado todo el día profesando su 💙 hacia Blue.

Debemos señalar que Bonnie tiene problemas con las otras novias de Blue, incluyendo a Chrisean y Jaidyn Alexis y básicamente todas las otras mujeres en la vida del rapero.

Con este movimiento, Bonnie parece estar tratando de plantar su bandera en Blu, apartándolo para ella cuando salga de la cárcel.

Vale la pena señalar que Bonnie acaba de lanzar una nueva pista titulada "That's My Daddy", y es una muestra de toda su competencia con Blueface, y solo una confirmación más de que él la tiene muy lejos, al igual que las demás

TMZ Hip Hop acaba de confirmar con la tienda de tatuajes de Chrisean que su reciente tatuaje es permanente, y al igual que Bonnie, su propia familia piensa que necesita hacerse a un lado.

Kim Kardashian y Kanye West parecen estar dejando de lado sus diferencias por el bien de sus niños, compartiendo una cena con North y sus amigos, quienes además llevaban puestas camisetas promocionales del nuevo álbum de Ye.

La ex pareja llegó por separado el martes por la noche al restaurante Nobu en Malibu, ambos luciendo el estilo que han estado llevando en el último tiempo: Kim con un crop top y un largo abrigo negro y Kanye, con la cara cubierta con una de sus máscaras negras patentadas. Nada nuevo en eso.

Debemos señalar que Kim llegó con North y un grupo de amigos, y parece que Kanye apareció por separado más tarde para unirse al grupo, pero sin su esposa Bianca Censori.

Nos dicen que el grupo estuvo cerca de una hora y media dentro del restaurante antes de que Ye llegara en su carro flanqueado por su seguridad. Minutos más tarde, Kim se fue con North y sus amigos, y todos ellos llevaban camisetas de "Vultures".

North es claramente la más entusiasmada, levantando la camiseta para darle a los fotógrafos un buen vistazo del logotipo y nombre del álbum en la parte superior. Tenemos que decir que es la viva imagen de su padre. Ahora, ¿por qué estaban usando estas camisetas? No lo sabemos.

Esto es llamativo por un par de razones. Primero, es sorprendente ver a Kim y Kanye reunidos de esta manera, pues no los vemos cenando juntos incluso por sus hijos.

Más importante aún, es interesante que Kim deje a North usar las cosas de "Vultures", teniendo en cuenta que hay algún contenido antisemita en el disco, por lo que hemos oído.

Recuerden, "Vultures" es el próximo álbum de colaboración de Kanye con Ty Dolla $ign, y la canción que da título al disco ha sido muy criticada por sus controvertidas letras como esta: "¿Cómo voy a ser antisemita? Si acabo de acostarme con una puta judía".

No hace falta decir que la canción no ha caído bien en las organizaciones judías, quienes han criticado la canción.

Como hemos dicho, no está claro cómo surgió este desfile promocional de "Vultures". Es posible que Kim fuera sorprendida a último minuto.

Como hemos informado, North rapeó un verso que podría aparecer en el nuevo álbum de su padre durante una fiesta el mes pasado, por lo que tiene sentido que ella y sus amigos estén emocionados con el lanzamiento del álbum y quieran llevar camisetas suyas.

Notablemente, y como era de esperar, Kim no llevaba una de las camisetas. Los hemos visto juntos en varios partidos de baloncesto de Saint en el último mes y han tenido algunas interacciones bastante frías, si se les puede llamar así.

Chrisean Rock isn't the only one of Blueface's baddies dedicating their bodies to his mug shot while he's locked up -- there's another gal doing the same ... only lower.

On Wednesday, his admitted side chick, Bonnie, debuted a HUMONGOUS tattoo of her own -- which was being done on her ass. Indeed, she posted pics and video of herself lying down with her pants dropped and her booty with BF's mug stenciled onto her left cheek.

Bonnie's an OG cast member of Blue's "Blue Girls Club" -- his short-lived reality show -- but her cheeky ink seems to have even surprised her close friend group ... 'cause they're saying she's a fool. Nevertheless, she's been doubling down all day, professing her 💙 for Blue.

We should note ... Bonnie has beef with Blue's other girlfriends/baby mamas -- including Chrisean and Jaidyn Alexis -- and basically all the other women in BF's life. That seems to be why she's doing this ... almost as a way to "stick it to them."

With this move, Bonnie appears to be trying to plant her flag on Blue -- with the message being ... he's all mine, once he's released from jail in a few months, of course.

Probably worth noting ... Bonnie just released a new track titled "That's My Daddy" ... and it's a diss to all her competition with Blueface -- and just further confirmation that he has her on lock, just like all the other ladies in his orbit, it seems.

TMZ Hip Hop just confirmed with Chrisean's tattoo shop that her newly planted "Blueface" is indeed permanent ... but like Bonnie, her own family thinks she needs to step aside.

Kim Kardashian and Kanye West seem to be putting their rocky past aside for the sake of the kids ... doing dinner with North and her friends, who wore merch promoting Ye's new album.

The famous exes pulled up separately Tuesday night at Nobu in Malibu, keeping their outfits in line with their recent style trends ... Kim wore a barely-there crop top and long black coat and Kanye covered his face in one of his patented black masks -- no surprises there.

We should note ... Kim arrived with North and a bunch of her friends in tow -- and it appears Kanye showed up separately later, heading in to join them, sans his new wifey Bianca Censori.

We're told they all hung out inside the restaurant for about an hour and a half together before Ye headed to his car flanked by security ... and minutes later, Kim left with North and her pals -- with all of the kids wearing matching "Vultures" merch.

North's clearly the most excited ... pulling the shirt up to give photogs a good look at the logo on the front and the album's title written in script at the top. We gotta say ... she's the spitting image of her father. Also -- no word on whether the group went in with these shirts.

This is eye-popping for a couple reasons. One, it's surprising to see Kim and Kanye get together like this, we don't see them breaking bread together ... even for their children.

More importantly ... interesting to see Kim let North wear the 'Vultures' stuff, y'know -- considering there's some antisemitic content on the album, from what we've heard so far.

Remember ... "Vultures" is Kanye's upcoming collaborative album with Ty Dolla $ign, and the title track's caught quite a bit of heat for controversial lyrics like, "How I'm antisemitic? I just f***ed a Jewish bitch."

Needless to say, the song's not sitting well with Jewish orgs, which have blasted the song.

Like we said, it's unclear how the t-shirt promo parade came together -- it's possible Kim was blindsided by it at the last minute.

As we reported ... North rapped a verse that might appear on her dad's new album during a listening party last month -- so, it makes sense she and her friends would be jazzed about the album's release and want to wear shirts bumping it.

Notably, and unsurprisingly, Kim did not wear one of the shirts. We've spotted her and Kanye at multiple basketball games for Saint over the last month and they've had some pretty frosty interactions -- if you can even call them that.

Candace Owens is blaming Ice Spice for inducing stupidity in the United States ... a reaction made after her ears got crop-dusted by the superstar rapper's new "Fart" song!!!

On the latest episode of her podcast, Candace moonlighted as a music journalist tackling Ice's new single and rated the track with a proverbial p-u ... nothing but stink!!!

Ice keeps it simple on the new track produced by her longtime producer RIOTUSA, rapping on the chorus ... "Think you the sh**, bitch? You not even the fart/I be goin' hard/I'm breakin' they hearts...Grrah!!!" -- a little too simple for Candace's intellect.

Candace didn't miss the window to throw more shade at Cardi B and Megan Thee Stallion for making "WAP" back in 2020 ... still an all-time low in her book.

The political pundit also hammered HotNewHipHop's recap of Ice's "Think U The Sh**" -- for its glossy review, where they describe the song as a "bold declaration" to "establish dominance" and something about her "personal prowess."

Plenty of heavy-handed huff ... but one could say the same for CO's declaration Ice's lyrics are ripping apart society's fabric.

It's a fun song for TikTok ... at least for the time being.

Taylor Swift got a special shoutout from her boo on Wednesday ... with Travis Kelce giving a playful "thank you" to the pop superstar for jumping on the Chiefs bandwagon just in time for their Super Bowl run.

The "Cruel Summer" crooner has been Kelce's biggest supporter since they first started dating last year ... making numerous appearances at home and away matchups, including every game during the Chiefs' current playoff run.

The love hasn't gone unnoticed in the Kelce fam ... with Jason Kelce jokingly congratulating Swift on reaching the biggest sporting event of the year so early in her fandom.

"Shout out to the newest members of the Chiefs Kingdom," Jason said on the 'New Heights' podcast. "Taylor Swift who has officially reached the Super Bowl in her rookie year."

Travis played along ... adding, "Shout out to Tay! Thanks for joining the team!"

Of course, the Swifties have followed in her footsteps ... tuning in to every Chiefs game to get a glimpse of "mother" catching games from her usual suite seats.

The Traylor craze has left a huge impact on Kelce's jersey sales and TV ratings ... further solidifying the defending Super Bowl champs as the must-see game every week.

Worth noting -- Swift used to show love for her Philadelphia Eagles ... something Travis mentioned when addressing the musician's interaction with his head coach Andy Reid after Sunday's AFC Championship Game.