Music

Pitbull is climbing on board the fitness equipment train just like Jay-Z ... he's investing in the same startup and hooking up students in the process.

Here's the deal ... Pitbull is the latest celeb to invest and partner with CLMBR, and he's helping some charter school students gain access to one of the startup's flagship products, a vertical climbing machine.

Pitbull's collab with CLMBR calls for one climbing machine to be donated to each of the 11 Sports Leadership and Management public charter schools around the country.

There's about 1,000 kids in each SLAM charter school, and they're getting unlimited access to the on-demand, instructor-led fitness content available on the climbing machines. It's like Peloton, but instead of using a bike, you simulate climbing.

Pitbull's got a special connection to SLAM ... he helped start the first school, which serves K-12 students seeking careers in sports leadership and management, back in 2013 in Miami's Little Havana neighborhood, where he grew up.

Famous Dex's home became the site of a SWAT standoff when cops suspected he might have hurt his ex, and possibly barricaded himself inside with weapons.

Law enforcement sources tell TMZ ... police were called Monday morning in regards to a potential domestic disturbance at Dex's crib. The caller claimed an argument between Dex and his ex-GF turned violent ... and he allegedly had at least one gun in the house

We're told when cops arrived to the scene, they found the woman had cuts consistent on her, and -- believing Dex was still there -- called for backup from SWAT.

Aside from the tipster's claim, Dex was armed, we're told police were also aware of a troubling video he'd posted on social media, showing him with a firearm.

The clip in question depicts Dex holding what appears to be a TEC-9 semi-automatic weapon, complete with a magazine of ammo, and he's incoherently addressing his fans while waving around the gun.

We're told when the cops got inside the house, Dex was nowhere to be found. For now, we're told he's just listed as a suspect in a felony domestic violence report ... and cops are investigating.

Lil Wayne is blaming an "unrelated 3rd party" for screwing up his plans to perform at the Mike Tyson fight -- telling TMZ Sports there's no bad blood between himself and Triller.

Our Weezy sources tell us the rapper cut short his Thanksgiving weekend celebration with his family in Louisiana so he could be in L.A. to perform at the fight -- and he DID actually make the trip out.

But, something went wrong on the day of the fight leading Wayne to bail on the entire event.

So, what happened?

"Unfortunately there was an unrelated 3rd party who attempted to insert themselves in the production process between Triller and Lil Wayne the night before the event and the morning of and it unfortunately caused enough of an issue that Wayne couldn’t perform," Triller said in a statement co-issued by Wayne.

The details behind the scenes are unclear -- but one source put it this way ... one of the event's producers "interfered with Triller and Lil Wayne at the last minute trying to insert themselves and ended up creating a mess and all around confusion. At a certain point, Wayne got frustrated and decided it was best to pull out of the performance. By the time Triller learned about the mess it was too late."

Wayne -- who is actually a co-owner of Triller -- said he's proud of the way the event turned out, "but was truly disappointed I was precluded from performing by the 3rd party."

Tichina Arnold believes there's a real catch-22 with the Grammys right now ... and it may signal the end of the music industry's biggest award having any real significance.

Fresh off co-hosting the 2020 Soul Train Awards, Tichina joined us Monday on "TMZ Live" to address the fallout of some big-name artists -- most notably The Weeknd -- getting snubbed for Grammy nominations last week. She says the major problem is talented artists, whose music is popular, are often a total blind spot for the people in charge of choosing noms.

The Soul Train Awards honored several acts -- like Chris Brown, H.E.R. and Summer Walker -- overlooked for the Grammys' major awards this year ... and Tichina says artists are not only noticing it, but they're fed up.

Halsey, Drake, Elton John and The Weeknd himself have all openly suggested there's a disconnect between the music and most award shows.

Tekashi 6ix9ine had deep concerns about COVID when he was in prison, which is why he got out early ... but those concerns have evaporated in a big way, 'cause dude hit a packed strip club ... and didn't seem too concerned anymore about catching the 'rona.

The New York rapper celebrated his girlfriend Jade's birthday Sunday by walking into a gentleman's club with two human-size sacks full of cash ... which he and the crew dragged over to a VIP section and started unloading singles on dancers.

Based on what we can see ... it looks like they might've rolled in there with upwards of $200k on hand -- at least that's what Jade's claiming.

Speaking of her, 69's GF documented much of their good time on IG -- where she was seen wearing a body-hugging, green bodysuit ... while Tekashi was decked out in all black with a ton of bling and a new mustache. One thing they weren't seen wearing at all ... face masks. Nobody in the video seems to be rockin' one.

We should note that it looks like they were somewhere in Florida here -- just the night prior, there were reports that 6ix9ine and co. had been spotted in Miami.

It's perfectly legal there to be up in the club right now -- even without face coverings, although it'd be wise to wear one. That said ... it's funny how Tekashi's urgent fears of catching COVID-19 just earlier this year have vanished.

You'll recall ... part of the reason why Tekashi was even allowed to finish his sentence from home was because he cited asthma and other underlying conditions he claimed made him susceptible to contracting the disease from inside prison walls -- and a judge believed it and let him out early.

Cher spent some time with the Asian elephant she helped rescue from miserable conditions in Pakistan ... following him to his new home in Cambodia.

The icon's been working with other animal activists since 2016 to free Kaavan ... a 36-year-old pachyderm dubbed the "world's loneliest elephant" after his partner died in 2012.

Kaavan had been living for years in Pakistan's controversial Islamabad zoo, where he reportedly suffered from lack of exercise and other ailments due to living in an inappropriate structure.

Thankfully, the zoo was closed earlier this year and thanks to the efforts of Cher and her charity Free the Wild ... the animal welfare organization Four Paws got permission to remove Kaavan and send him to a sanctuary in Cambodia.

Cher visited Kaavan where he was being held in Pakistan to celebrate his departure a couple days ago, and followed him to the Siem Reap International Airport Monday for his arrival.

Lil Yase -- an up-and-coming Bay Area rapper -- was shot and killed this weekend in what amounts to a mysterious murder with no explanation thus far ... TMZ has learned.

Sources close to Yase tell us ... he was, indeed, shot early Saturday morning -- and his body was discovered somewhere in the southern section of the East Bay ... which is miles away from where he was last seen.

Our sources tell us Yase was hanging out with his crew late Friday night at a recording studio in Marin County -- slightly north of San Francisco -- and left on his own at one point around 11:30 or midnight, telling his buddies he'd be right back.

We're told no more than an hour and a half later, word came in that Yase had been shot dead somewhere in the East Bay -- which is damn near an hour away by freeway, depending on what part of town you head to down there.

We're told folks in Yase's inner circle are dumbfounded -- as he had no known enemies and had done nothing they can see leading to something like this. Our sources say Yase might've played tough in his music, but in reality ... all he was really about was rapping, promoting his label (Highway 420 Productions) and labelmates, and gaming. That's it ... he had no beef with anyone anywhere, we're told.

He had just posted a photo of himself on Friday, showing his Thanksgiving festivities ... with a caption that read, "If my n**** trippin den I’m trippin it’s up wit UNK😤😈 #HappyThanksGivin🦃" It's his last post on IG -- and has since gotten tons of tributes from fellow artists in the Bay Area and beyond in the comments.

Yase started releasing music as young as 18 years old, but truly burst onto the scene with his single "Get It In" in 2015 -- which he went on to create a remix of that garnered even more national attention the following year.

He released a string of hits that racked up hundreds of thousands of views on YouTube over the years -- including songs like "No Diss," "Demon," "What You Mean," "Yeah Yeah," "Furl," "Bum B****," "Mad," "Workin" and many others.

Yase collaborated with artists such as Yalla, A.B. Milli, Cash Kidd, G-Val, That Boy Tyson, Stunna June, IamSu!, Shoreline Mafia and several other musicians, both local and otherwise.

We've reached out to Alameda County to confirm Yase's body is in their possession, and if any suspects have been apprehended -- so far ... no word back.

Lil Yase -- a Sunnydale native -- was only 26 years old. RIP

Lil Wayne will NOT be performing at the Mike Tyson vs. Roy Jones Jr. fight after all -- even though he signed a contract saying he would ... TMZ has learned.

Sources tell us ... organizers for the mega event this weekend had a flight booked for Weezy so he could take the stage Saturday ahead of the fight set to go down at Staples Center in L.A. in just a few hours. We're told LW simply never got on the plane.

Sounds like it was a last-minute cancelation -- we're working on getting more info about why that happened, but in any case ... it's a no-show for Wayne, and our sources say folks at Triller are working on adding another big name to the lineup.

So far, rapper SAINt JHN has stepped in and signed on to perform at the fight. We're told there's a real possibility Snoop Dogg could get on the mic, too. He's an investor at Triller, so it's feasible he'd do that.

Even with Weezy out, there's a stellar entertainment lineup -- featuring performances from stars like Ne-Yo, Wiz Khalifa, French Montana and YG.

Plus, THE FIGHTS! Both Mike Tyson and Roy Jones Jr. have said they're gunning for knockouts -- and they looked in incredible shape during Friday's weigh-in.

Plus, the undercard features Jake Paul vs. ex-NBA star Nate Robinson -- and those dudes HATE each other. Should be a good scrap.

As for Wayne, it's strange that he wouldn't follow through if it wasn't an emergency -- the dude was literally plugging his involvement in the fight just on Friday night (on the heels of him dropping his 'No Ceilings 3' mixtape, to much fanfare).

We've reached out to Wayne's camp as well for an explanation and to make sure everything's okay ... so far, no word back.

Demi Lovato's heartsick ex-fiance has found love again -- or maybe it's just a rebound -- but he's definitely trying to make it look like he's moved on.

Max Ehrich hit the beach with blazing hot Mariah Angeliq. They took a sunset stroll at the South Pointe Park Pier Friday in Miami Beach and looked, well, cozy. They were there with singer Lele Pons.

Last we saw Max, he was fretting in the sands of Malibu, appearing crestfallen in the wake of his breakup with Demi ... a breakup which he claims he only became aware of through tabloids, although she strongly denies it. Max, like Trump, seemed to have trouble letting go.

Demi seemed super annoyed by Max's post-breakup antics, and even leaked a song about their breakup.

Drake is in love ... and it shows.

Drizzy posted this super sweet pic of him, asleep on the shoulder of his son, 3-year-old Adonis, and it kinda melts your heart.

Adonis lives with his mom, Sophie Brussaux, but Drake definitely spends time with his son. When Adonis turned 3 last month, Drake celebrated with him at his Toronto estate. He and Adonis are partying hard, around a swarm of white, black and silver balloons.

Drake was initially coy about his parental status with Adonis, but he officially disclosed their relationship on his 2018 album, "Scorpion."

Nelly's custom-made dance shoes were all the rage on this season of "Dancing with the Stars," and now they're going to a great cause -- helping young women who are survivors of human trafficking.

As we told you ... the rapper wowed 'DWTS' fans and the judges with his slick moves and his hip hop-inspired footwear, but now that the dancing competition's wrapped up, he's sending his shoes to The Teen Project to be auctioned off.

Our sources say Yung Swivel's donating at least 10 pairs to the organization -- which also aids young women who've suffered trauma and homelessness -- and his entire collection is expected to fetch $50,000 ... if not more.

Nelly's been a major advocate of The Teen Project over the last few months, helping the org raise $820k overall in 2020 ... which is about $300k more than last year.

The rapper's been working to raise funds for Vera's Sanctuary, a rehab facility operated by The Teen Project for victims of sex trafficking. Our sources say the money raised by Nelly has already been used to send women who've been through Vera's to college.

Aaron Carter is ready to rumble ... and he wants to beat the crap outta any boy band-type singer willing to step in the ring with him!!!

The singer has inked a deal with Celebrity Boxing promoter Damon Feldman, who tells TMZ ... Aaron's planning to fight in April or May in Los Angeles, once the coronavirus pandemic slows down.

Aaron's opponent is still up in the air, but we're told his dream match would be against Justin Bieber. We get it ... that would get the most headlines, but for lots of reasons, it's highly unlikely.

If the Biebs ain't down, we're told Aaron's ready to fight anyone else of his ilk -- a singer ready to put his hands to the test.

Aaron's got some experience in this arena ... he fought his brother, Nick Carter, back on their old reality show, "House of Carters."

Boosie Badazz is recovering from multiple surgeries after being shot in the leg ... but that didn't stop him from turning up at the club on Thanksgiving.

The rapper hosted a "Thanksgiving Bash" Thursday night at the Exquis Event Center in Charleston, SC ... despite being confined to a wheelchair with his leg still heavily bandaged.

Boosie didn't need his legs to get on the mic though, and seemed to be in really good spirits as he rolled in to get the party going.

Still ... it sure seems pretty dicey from a guy who recently went under the knife, not to mention the fact he hit up a club where it appears there were zero COVID-19 precautions in place.

And get this ... Boosie's planning on throwing another bash Saturday at an Alabama club for his birthday. The dude's definitely not taking it easy.

We broke the story ... Badazz was shot in the leg a couple weeks ago in Dallas, just days after his friend, Mo3, was killed there in a fatal shooting.

There were rumors the rapper had to have his foot amputated, but thankfully that was false. He did have to undergo a couple of surgeries for his gunshot wound, though ... including a procedure to remove bullet fragments and have screws put in to make sure his foot properly heals.

Florida is experiencing enormous increases in COVID illnesses and deaths, but the State is still allowing big events, so the City Girls performance in Orlando on Thanksgiving Day was perfectly legal ... and perfectly dangerous.

The Girls packed Gilt Nightclub, and that's fully in line with the State's COVID plan. According to the regulations, bars, pubs and nightclubs that derive more than 50 percent of sales from booze are allowed to operate at full capacity. There are social distancing regs, but it seems inconsistent with the notion of packin' 'em in.

Florida, like the rest of the country, is out of control. New cases have increased by 47%, hospitalizations are up by 17% and deaths have increased by 21%.

'Memba that concert full of fans enclosed in plastic bubbles -- well, the Flaming Lips are bringing 'em back for the simplest, safest way to rock out ... even before the coronavirus vaccines arrive.

Lead singer Wayne Coyne took us inside the bubble, if you will, explaining how it all works ... ahead of 2 more shows they're putting on next month. It might look like a logistical nightmare, but he says it's all about organization and location.

He says they've actually got the whole thing down to a science ... as the world saw when they debuted the COVID-safe concept last month. Videos from the show went viral due to the ingenuity.

For starters, Wayne says you need a big old open space ... and you also gotta herd the cattle a bit, so to speak, so everyone can get outfitted in their personal bubble before the concert kicks off -- a good 45 minutes or so beforehand is about what's necessary.

Now, we know what you're thinking. Can you hear anything from in there? And, how do they inflate it?? AND, can a person breathe in these damn things?!? All valid questions -- and lucky for you, we asked. Wayne's got all the answers.

Megan Thee Stallion has inspired untold numbers of people, so add a turkey to the list.

This little gizzard -- posted on TikTok by one Joel Erkkinen -- couldn't stay still for Megan's "Body" challenge as it shook its rump and slightly spread its wings. Pretty hilarious, don't ya think?

The challenge is officially a thing. We knew that earlier in the week, when a Starbucks employee got down with it. MTS posted a video Tuesday of Hunter Gallagher doing the "Body" dance moves from behind the counter. Megan liked it so much she reposted it.