Music

Gladys Knight's husband says President Biden straight up told them he didn't have 15 minutes to chat with them about what they see as a huge problem ... Black businesses being passed up for government contracts.

The singer and her husband, William McDowell, joined us on "TMZ Live" Monday and explained their experience trying to nail down a meeting with Biden ... which has so far proven impossible, much to their chagrin.

Remember ... Gladys has been trying to meet with Biden since 2021 -- she wants to get a government contract so her company can provide PPE to the public -- and her husband says he finally cornered Biden in the White House and was told the meeting wasn't going to happen.

Biden presented Gladys with the National Medal of Arts last week, but her husband says when he brought up the meeting to POTUS he was immediately shut down.

Gladys and William are adamant they're not looking for a government payday or handout here ... they say Biden's refusal to meet with them is an example of a much larger problem ... Black businesses continually coming in last for federal contracts, which they feel is a civil rights issue.

It's a problem Gladys says is not unique to Biden, though ... she says the feds have always been unfair to Black business owners, dating back to when JFK was in office ... at least in her experience.

The issue here though ... Gladys and William say the Biden Administration is talking about wanting to create a level playing field, but actions aren't backing up words.

Quavo just announced he's been cooking a new "bun" in the oven and is ready to pull the finished product from the studio!!!

On Monday, Quavo posted a pic of himself in a fur coat, puffing on something ... and, in the post, revealed he had something called "Honey Bun" dropping this Friday. He dedicated the rollout to his late nephew Takeoff.

Sources close to the Huncho tell TMZ Hip Hop the announcement is for a new song that will find the former Migos leader back in his OG bag after he sought therapy through a string of tribute tracks.

The former Migos leader has, understandably, been in mourning since Takeoff's shooting death in November ... and released the songs "Without You" and "Greatness" in his memory, and even performed at the last Grammy Awards.

Quavo's first and only solo album dropped back in 2018 ... but with the end of Migos, we're told his solo discography is primed to be beefed up in no time!!!

Khia's not impressed with the loads of rappers who have repurposed her 2002 breakout hit "My Neck, My Back (Lick It)" ... which mainly includes Saweetie's version, the one that actually took an artist's career to the next level!!!

The 'Thug Misses' rapper was quizzed on the spot about the legacy of her XXX-rated track — and immediately targeted Saweetie's 2017 song "Icy Grl."

Khia had a hard time reciting the song and began dubbing Saweetie "Sweet Pea" as a diss ... while digging into her further, claiming green peas were her least fav veggie as a kid.

YG and the City Girls were offered a handful of props for their songs that borrowed from 'My Neck, My Back,' but Khia ultimately doesn't think anyone has improved on the record she originally created.

TMZ Hip Hop recently talked to Larrance Dopson -- from the Grammy Award-winning outfit 1500 or Nothin' -- and he ripped some producers for being lazy, and dropping the ball when it comes to upgrading the samples. Much like what Khia's fuming about.

Backstreet Boys singer AJ McLean is hitting pause on his marriage, separating from his wife, but not divorcing ... TMZ has learned.

AJ and Rochelle DeAnna McLean tell TMZ ... "Marriage is hard, but worth it. We have mutually decided to separate temporarily to work on ourselves, and on our marriage with the hope of building a stronger future."

They continue, "The plan is to come back together and continue to nurture our love for one another, and our family. We ask for respect and privacy at this time.

Separation is hard enough without the commentary, please be kind and remember there are children involved."

AJ and Rochelle tied the knot back in 2011 after 6 years of dating ... saying "I Do" at the Beverly Hills Hotel with the rest of his Backstreet Boys crew in attendance.

Here's Dan Reynolds dancing his face off on the high seas ... and the video is awesome!!!

The Imagine Dragons front man clearly had a blast onboard a Royal Caribbean cruise from Los Angeles to Los Cabos ... showing off his moves on the dance floor as the DJ played hits from Jay Z and Kanye West, David Guetta and Chris Brown.

As you can see, the dance floor wasn't always packed ... but Dan wasn't shy about cutting a rug. He's mostly dancing by himself, but did find himself in the middle of a circle at one point and appeared to chat up some fans too.

Dan's been the talk of the Internet lately after showing off his muscular body during a recent concert ... and while he sadly doesn't go topless in this portion of the video, you can still see his ripped physique under his tank top.

We're told the cruise set sail Wednesday and Dan tore up the dance floor Thursday night ... but now the ship's coming back to port today after making stops in Ensenada and Cabo.

Soccer star Sebastian Lletget says he's the victim of an "extortion plot" amid rumors he cheated on his fiancee, Becky G ... but admits he did, in fact, screw up.

It started last week when an Instagram user claimed the FC Dallas midfielder cheated on the award-winning singer with a woman last year while at a nightclub in Madrid, Spain.

Along with the accusation, the person also seemingly provided receipts including alleged video, text messages, DMs and audio from Lletget.

FYI, Sebastian proposed to Becky G just 3 months ago.

After the posts went viral, the accuser's IG account was deleted ... but the damage had already been done. Days later, Lletget has decided to address the rumors (though not in specifics) in a lengthy statement, saying on Monday, "a 10 minute lapse in judgement results in an extortion plot."

"Since this person did not get what they wanted it has now become a public social media spectacle filled with more lies than any truth and false posts aimed at the love of my life, the one person who I should never take for granted or put at risk."

Lletget -- who joined the Dallas football club in 2022 -- apologized to Becky and vows to do better honoring their love.

"I know that any actions made that put us here should have never happened to begin with," Lletget said.

Sebastian continued ... "You have been the light in my life, my strength, who has always shown me unconditional love. Instead of honoring that love every day, I have done the opposite, hurting you, and disrespecting the one person I love more than anything."

"I am so sorry and Know I have to do whatever it takes to earn back the trust and love you deserve."

Lletget also revealed he'll participate in a wellness program to work on his mental health.

Drake missed his headlining Lollapalooza Brazil set Sunday night -- less than 24 hours after he was partying in Miami with 50 Cent the night before.

The 2 superstars linked up inside the Booby Trap On the River, which would have been a monumental occasion ... had thousands of fans not been expecting him on the stage down in Brazil to cap performances from Rosalía, Tove Lo, Armin Van Buuren and more.

Drake was quickly replaced with Skrillex on the bill, which, as you'd expect, didn't sit well with some fans.

The festival issued a mea culpa ... explaining Drake didn't have all the necessary tools to nail his performance and offered Day 3 ticketholders the opportunity for a refund.

A translated statement on the festival's social media says, “Due to unforeseen circumstances, Drake is without members of his sound and production team, essential to the realization of the Lollapalooza show in Sao Paulo. Drake was excited to perform for his fans in Brazil. Unfortunately, this is beyond his control. Sorry.”

Drake and 21 Savage are set to go on tour latest this year ... but as of now, Brazilian fans are SOL as the dates only hit North America!!!

Prince Harry has made the trek to England, but not to make peace with his family ... he's there to wage war with a media org, and Elton John is joining him on the front lines.

The Duke of Sussex arrived Monday at London's High Court ... flashing a smile as he went inside to begin legal proceedings in his ongoing lawsuit against Associated Newspapers, which distributes The DailyMail and other UK tabloids.

He wasn't the only one there ... the Rocket Man himself was on hand. Harry and Elton have company ... EJ's husband, David Furnish, actress Sadie Frost, Baroness Doreen Lawrence and Elizabeth Hurley. SF showed face as well on Monday, joining in the lawsuit.

Harry has already taken Associated Newspapers to court with his wife, Meghan Markle, and settled.

This time around ... Harry and the gang claim the publisher violated privacy laws, including allegedly bugging their cars and homes, tapping their phones, paying off cops for inside info, among other damning accusations that they say have crossed the line big time.

Associated Newspapers has denied the allegations ... so now, everyone's gonna make some preliminary arguments in front of a judge to see if this case can move forward.

Harry's already involved in a separate legal case with these folks. In addition to what Meghan sued them over a couple years back, he's sued them again for libel over articles they ran about his security arrangements.

The battle goes on.

Motown singer Martha Reeves is once again calling out around the world ... hoping fans will help her secure the star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame that was supposed to be hers 2 years ago.

The "Dancing in the Streets" singer was selected by the Hollywood Chamber of Commerce back in 2021 after getting nominated by a former manager -- and she was clearly honored, saying at the time, "My wildest dreams are coming true."

But, the WoF plaque costs about $55K, and Martha didn't have that kinda cash-on-hand, according to Detroit Free Press. Costs for the hardware and ceremony are often covered by a record label or some studio, but the stars weren't aligning this time around.

Martha says her now-former manager assured her the funding was secured ... but that's not how it went down -- now, her new manager, Chris Roe, has launched a public campaign to raise funding before the June deadline.

Chris claims Martha's old manager didn't realize how tough it would be to get the job done, noting they "wasted a year of fundraising time." Regardless, he's gunning toward the $55K mark, working with corporations and private benefactors to hit the goal.

BTW -- Chris has successfully done campaigns for the WOF before ... with celebs like Malcolm McDowell in 2012 and George Romero in 2017, who sadly died before getting to see the honor set in stone.

As for Martha, she's also well deserving of the honor -- for those unaware, she's the lead singer of the Motown girl group Martha and the Vandellas, cranking out over a dozen hits during their long-running success. Her group was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1995, and she's celebrating 60 years in Motown this year.

Rihanna's home is on a streak, and not a good one -- turns out it was the scene of another recent crime ... a thief just shut up and drove off with one of her driver's cars.

Law enforcement tells TMZ ... RiRi's driver told cops he pulled up to her L.A.-area home late last week, running inside to grab something while leaving the keys in the whip and the engine running. Big mistake. Huge.

We're told the driver came back out to find the 2012 Audi sedan was gone. For obvious reasons, he believes someone just jumped in and took off with it.

It's unclear if Rihanna was home at the time of the incident.

LAPD is investigating, but it appears the suspect made a clean escape.

The stolen car makes it 2 straight weeks of alleged criminal activity at the singer's home. TMZ broke the story, cops raced there Thursday after a man showed up claiming he wanted to propose to her.

Back in 2018, another man was arrested at her house after allegedly crashing there for at least a day and telling cops he was there to have sex with her.

As far as this new incident goes -- yes, it sucks the driver's ride got jacked ... but, word to the wise in just about every major city in America: Don't leave your keys in a running car in the middle of the night!

Jim Jones is a proud gym rat but when it comes to rats in the gym ... he doesn't have a whole lot to say!!!

TMZ Hip Hop caught up with the Dipset Capo promoting his new "Back In My Prime" album ... but he immediately burst out laughing and hit a meannnn Milly Rock when we asked his thoughts about 6ix9ine's now infamous lopsided brawl inside an LA Fitness gym.

Tekashi 6ix9nine and Jim have a pretty contentious past ... thanks to 6ix9ine repeatedly attempting to get him arrested after the two clashed several years ago.

Jim finally did offer up some insight in between his hitting the whoa ... and suggested Tekashi's choice of a public gym wasn't the brightest and is certain that would never happen in the facilities he works out at.

The Harlem rapper is currently plotting his own line of Vamp Fitt gyms, and frequents New Jersey's Impact Zone with fellow artists Fabolous, Dave East and Maino ... but discouraged knuckleheads from attempting to pull similar stunts in his sanctuary. You've been warned!!!

Adam Levine is a man of his word -- in the wake of his sexting scandal, he publicly declared he was fully committed to his family ... and here's video showing exactly that.

TMZ obtained footage of the singer out doing a little shopping Sunday with his brood, hitting up the H&M store at the Forum Shops at Caesars in Las Vegas ... and rolling in as a tight unit. Both of his kiddos, Gio and Dusty, were there ... as was his wife, Behati Prinsloo.

Watch for yourself ... you can see Adam and co. cruising up the escalator, and when they reach the top -- Adam lifts his son off his shoulders as their daughter runs around near him. Seems they had a bodyguard with them too ... but it was a straight up Levine family outing.

The reason this is notable now ... on Friday -- during Maroon 5's debut concert for their new residency -- AL specifically shouted out Behati and his children during his performance.

During the sweet moment, Adam spoke candidly ... saying he used to be out here (onstage, it seems) for himself -- but at this point, he says he's out here for them. He also said his family is the only thing that truly matters to him in the whole world. Adam said he loved his fam, and looked to his left ... so it appears Behati and the kids were actually there.

The backdrop of all this, of course, is the fact that Adam was accused of cheating last year -- or, at the very least, emotionally cheating ... by allegedly DM'ing a bunch of women.

He denied getting involved with any of the women who claimed he was messaging them, but acknowledged he'd crossed a line and screwed up. It was a whole scandal for a while.

In the aftermath of that, Adam and Behati appear to have reconciled ... as they've been spotted out together and looking happy several different times now -- including here. Also, they just welcomed a third baby into their lives ... although, there's no sign of it in this clip.

Bottom line ... Adam seems to have a new outlook on life, and the crowd at his first show appreciated it -- giving a good round of applause, with cheers to boot.

Taylor Swift continues to blow fans away with one of the most well-received concert tours in years ... and this time a Mumford gave her an assist!

Taylor took her Eras Tour to Vegas Saturday night and the Allegiant Stadium was packed to the gills.

During her long set, she brought up a surprise guest -- Marcus Mumford.  The 2 performed "Cowboy Like Me,' with Taylor taking the lead and Marcus doing backup.

The fans were rabid, waiting more than 3 hours in line to buy some Swift merch. As for ticket prices ... well, an obstructed view seat on the secondary market went for north of $2k. Some of the premium tickets were topping $20k!!!

The concert, in which Taylor performs for hours without a break, has drawn high praise from the likes of former NFL star J.J. Watt, who was blown away at her kickoff concert in Glendale (aka Swift City) concert in Arizona.

Harry Styles has moved on ... and Emily Ratajkowski is feelin' the love!

Harry and Emily shared a passionate kiss in Tokyo Saturday night, and they clearly didn't care people were watching.

The 2 had just left a nightclub and the video, obtained by DailyMail, unravels the mystery of who Harry is currently dating.

They were standing outside in the rain locking lips, after a night of dancing inside the club. They clearly want people to know at this point, they're a thing.

Harry is in Tokyo for his Love on Tour concert ... we don't know if Emily was at the show, but it's a good bet she was.

As you know, Harry and Olivia Wilde broke up last November, and over the last month, there's been a buzz he's dating someone new.

Fivio Foreign is back on the scene after some sort of health crisis forced him to cancel his Rolling Loud Cali performance, and he's assuring fans he's 100% back to form.

We caught Fivio out at LAX where he told us he's fully recovered since his last-minute cancelation three weeks ago in L.A. -- and while he wasn't any clearer about what exactly he was going through ... he did say simply hydrating more helped bring him back.

The "Big Drip" rapper alarmed fans by asking for prayers when he abruptly dropped out, only saying his body was dealing with some "real issues."

He also didn't get to make up for the missed show with his hometown crowd, in light of Rolling Loud New York being permanently shuttered.

While it might seem like Fivio's downplaying whatever he went through, dehydration has taken down artists from time to time. Wyclef Jean was recently ordered by a doc to rest and drink fluids after he was hospitalized for going too hard.

Jhené Aiko's in the market for a new luxury SUV after the worst possible restaurant valet experience -- witnessing a thief make off with her vehicle.

Law enforcement tells TMZ ... Jhené went out to dinner with family last weekend, grabbing a bite at L.A.'s Tasty Noodle House. She walked away from her white 2020 Range Rover around 8:30 PM Saturday.

We're told when the singer arrived she gave the valet her keys, then went inside to eat. Typical night out up to that point.

But, about 30 minutes later, Jhené saw someone drive away in her Range. We're told she figured the valet staff was just moving it, but it was never returned.

It's unclear who made the clean getaway; it wasn't any of the valet drivers, but cops say there was an extra key inside the SUV --- which, obviously, made things a lot easier for the car thief.

Police are investigating ... no arrests at this point, and no sign of Jhené's Range Rover.