Music

How talented is Jamie Foxx? Talented enough to smoothly slip in and out of his Jay-Z, Dave Chappelle and Mike Tyson impressions ... without skipping a beat.

The actor/singer/comedian/all-around-renaissance-man broke down the most famous, and hilarious, voices he's known for doing -- and it's masterful to watch. He was talking to WNBA star Candace Parker on IG Live about his method approach to getting in character, and explained he uses music to help achieve the perfect tone for each celeb.

Then came a rapid-fire series of impressions, which did not disappoint. Check it out ... he shows off Jigga, Kermit the Frog and Sammy Davis Jr. -- and they're all basically the same voice, with slightly different twists. We'll let Jamie explain.

After that, JF presents us with 2 takes of Chappelle -- young and current -- and he couldn't be more spot-on if he tried. Seriously, easy to see why this was always part of his stand up act.

Finally, Jamie does his best Tyson ... which we're sure came in handy while he was portraying the iconic boxer for a new movie that's due to come out soon. He makes a stark distinction between people's caricature impersonation of Tyson and the real McCoy.

Little Richard, a giant in the early stages of Rock 'n' Roll and beyond, has died.

Richard had enormous influence over the genre, with insanely popular hits like the fantastically frenetic, "Tutti-Frutti" and "Long Tall Sally." The Beatles have credited Richard as being inspirational to the Fab Four.

Richard's bass guitarist, Charles Glenn, tells TMZ ... Richard had been sick for 2 months. He died at his Tennessee home, surrounded by his brother, sister and son. Glenn says he spoke with Richard March 27 and the singer asked him to come over and visit, but he couldn't because of the pandemic. Glenn says Richard was like a father to him. Richard would sometimes tell him, "Not to take anything away from your dad, but you're my son."

Richard was born Richard Wayne Penniman in 1932. Ironically, he was born in a depression and died in what feels like a depression.

His dad had disdain for Richard's sexuality and threw him out of the family home when he was just 13.

Richard's music was heavily influenced by the church. He sang gospel and learned the piano at his house of worship.

His first break came in 1951, when he performed at an ATL radio station and it caught the ear of record execs. Richard was signed to RCA. He didn't become successful while at the label, but it was a start.

But then, in 1955, Richard signed with Specialty Records, where he recorded "Tutti-Frutti" which became an immediate hit.

So many hits followed -- "Long Tall Sally," "Good Golly Miss Molly" and "Send Me Some Lovin'".

And, Richard tried his hand at movies, appearing in rock films like "Don't Knock the Rock," "The Girl Can't Help It" and "Mister Rock 'n' Roll."

In 1957, Richard shocked the world by quitting the rock biz and became part of the ministry, recording gospel. He recorded an album, "God is Real," in 1959.

He couldn't stay away for long. Richard came back in '64, after The Beatles re-recorded his hit "Long Tall Sally" with great success.

In 1964, following the Beatles’ recording of “Long Tall Sally,” Little Richard plunged back into rock music. Over the ensuing decades, Little Richard would continue to perform and record, but the public response failed to match the enthusiasm that greeted his earlier success.

Although he didn't achieve great success after that, his influence is irrefutable. He was one of the original inductees into the Rock 'n' Roll Hall of Fame in 1986, received a Lifetime Achievement Award from the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences in '93, and got the Pioneer Award from the Rythm & Blues Foundation.

Richard suffered a heart attack in 2013. BTW, he took a baby aspirin and doctors told him that saved his life. He credited his survival to a higher power, saying, "Jesus had something for me. He brought me through."

Andre Harrell, a legendary music exec who gave Diddy his big break and, among many other accomplishments, ran Motown Records, is dead.

DJ D-Nice broke the news Friday night on Instagram Live. The cause of death is not yet known, but the day before his death Andre posted this ... "Whoever need a ride to 2021 ... we leave tomorrow morning," and ... "Skip the virus and Let's Pick it up again at the top of the year."

Andre's career began as half of the rap duo, Dr. Jeckyll and Mr. Hyde, back in 1981. Andre and Russell Simmons worked together and Andre ultimately became a veep for Def Jam Records.

But by 1986, Andre became restless and wanted a label of his own, and he did just that with Uptown Records. It was enormously successful, with artists like Teddy Riley, Al B. Sure, Heavy D and many others. He signed Mary J. Blige when she was a teenager. And, get this ... his former intern helped jump-start the label ... an intern named Sean "Puffy" Combs, who quickly became an exec for the label.

And, as they say, the rest is history. Combs discovered Notorious B.I.G., but it was short-lived. Combs was fired in '93 and created Bad Boy Records, bringing Biggie along for the ride. But, Andre and Diddy stayed close over the years. Andre was Vice-Chair of Revolt.

Andre made another move in '95, when he became the head of Motown.

But, there's more ... Andre went on to become E.P. of the series, "New York Undercover."

Tributes are pouring in ... Mariah Carey said, "Why Andre ... My heart is breaking and I can't stop crying. He was an amazing friend and I will miss him forever." DJ D-Nice said, "Truly heartbroken. Rest peacefully, Andre Harrell." Viola Davis ... " RIP Andre Harrell ... thank you for the gift of so many incredible artists. Gone too soon." And, Ava DuVernay tweeted, "Saluting Andre Harrell. The architect of so much music, so much culture."

Andre is survived by partner Wendy Credle and a son, Gianni Credle-Harrell.

Queens of the Stone Age front man Josh Homme is flipping the script on his estranged wife, whom he claims has been trying to get him busted for allegedly violating a restraining order.

Now the rock singer's filed for a restraining order against her. In the docs, obtained by TMZ, Josh claims Brody Dalle-Homme intentionally shows up to his events, trying to trigger a restraining order violation against him.

In one case, he says he took their teenage daughter to a horse riding lesson in February, but an hour before it ended ... he claims Brody parked next to his car and started recording video on her phone. Josh says he then got a threatening message from her attorney saying they were gonna call cops if he didn't leave immediately.

Josh says he's afraid those kinds of phony allegations are going to get him arrested. In the docs, he also alleges during their marriage she punched him in the face at least 7 times and threw an iron, and even bragged to friends and relatives about it.

Josh says he has not lived with Brody for nearly 6 months but claims she continues to monitor his phone and credit card usage to keep track of his movements.

The judge gave Josh the restraining order ... so now Brody has to stay at least 100 yards away from him -- at least until they have a court hearing later this month.

As we first reported ... Brody filed for legal separation back in November and a month later, divorce. She got the restraining order against him in December claiming he showed up to her house drunk and head-butted her.

Meek Mill believes there's only one thing Tekashi 6ix9ine should be doing on Instagram Live ... saying sorry for being a snitch and to all the people he harmed along the way.

The hip-hop star slammed his fellow rapper on Twitter Friday morning ... ahead of 69's first live social media appearance since he was released from prison and ordered to home confinement due to COVID-19 concerns.

Meek says ... "I hope that rat going live to apologize to the people he told on or the victim." He seems to be upset over Tekashi seemingly getting a pass on snitching from fans, and wants to remind people that another "rat" was allegedly responsible for the death of his friend, Nipsey Hussle, last year.

Mill's suggesting Nip's alleged killer, Eric Holder, had a history of being an informant just like 6ix9ine ... which is why he was on the streets in the first place.

The insinuation's pretty clear -- once a rat, always a rat ... and Meek's not buying into 6ix9ine's act.

Nevertheless, Tekashi's no longer behind bars for his crimes and is hyping up his Instagram Live show ... in typical boastful fashion.

He's also already fired back at Meek, replying ... "Imagine having a new born baby come into the world & be pressed about a Mexican with rainbow hair." As we reported, Meek's GF gave birth to a baby boy on his 33rd bday.

6ix9ine's hours away from going live, and a lot of people will be watching to see what he's gotta say. Ya gotta think Meek will be paying attention too.

Chris Cornell's widow, Vicky, is threatening members of her late husband's band, accusing them of making a fortune off Chris' back and then viciously attacking her and her kids and screwing them out of what's rightly theirs.

Vicky's lawyer, legal pit bull Marty Singer, fired off a blistering letter to the remaining members of the group, expressing outrage at their latest legal move -- accusing Vicky of stealing money from the Chris Cornell Tribute Concert. Singer says the claim is BS, noting almost 2 million bucks went to charity and overhead was only $43k.

Singer also claims the tribute to Chris lined the pockets of the band members, who demanded reimbursement for expenses. Singer clearly doesn't buy the "expenses" argument.

The demand letter, obtained by TMZ, calls the allegations against Vicky "mean spirited drivel." Singer says band members have tried to "brow-beat her into giving up the rights to her late husband's copyrighted works" by initiating a hate campaign, enlisting "cyber-stalkers and trolls" to harass not only Vicky but her kids.

The letter notes band members have liked defamatory, social media allegations ... like suggesting Vicky operates a brothel from her home and that she "pimped out" her daughter.

Vicky's lawyer succinctly said, "Shame on you and shame on your clients [who] have made millions of dollars off of Chris Cornell's hard work and talent."

The letter ends with a threat of a malicious prosecution lawsuit against not only the band members but their lawyer as well ... that is, unless the band immediately drops its fraud claim against Vicky.

Originally Published -- 6:15 AM PT

Princess Love is officially waving the white flag on her marriage with Ray J ... because she just filed for divorce after nearly 4 years of marriage.

The "Love and Hip Hop: Hollywood" star filed divorce docs Tuesday in Los Angeles County Superior Court ... and it's not a total surprise, because they were already living separately after tons of relationship drama.

Ray J and Princess tied the knot way back in 2016 but last year the marriage nearly imploded and they got into a blowout fight in Las Vegas.

As we reported ... Ray and Princess were living separately in February, and they had not reconciled after she claimed back in November that he "stranded" her and their daughter, Melody, in Sin City following a heated argument. At the time, Princess was only weeks away from giving birth to their second child.

Princess gave birth to a son, Epik, in January ... but the bundle was not enough to save the marriage.

Ray tried to make amends on Valentine's Day ... going all out and filling their Bev Hills condo with thousands of roses for his wife and daughter, but it still was not enough to save the union.

Princess stopped wearing her wedding ring after the Vegas incident -- Ray J briefly stopped wearing his -- and she threatened divorce ... but nothing came of it until this week when she finally pulled the trigger.

We reached out to the former couple’s manager, David Weintraub, who did not have a comment.

Carole Baskin wants to be a cool cat and kitten herself, so she submitted a clip for Justin Bieber and Ariana Grande's new music vid ... but she didn't make the final cut.

Here's the deal ... Justin and Ariana have a new music video for their quarantine-themed song, "Stuck With U," dropping tonight, and they've been asking for fan submissions to be included in the vid.

Carole and her husband sent one in, dancing to the tune with their cat and wearing animal print robes. Justin shared it on social media to promote his video, but that's as far as she's getting.

Sources close to JB tell TMZ ... Justin and Ariana will NOT be using Carole's submission in the final cut.

Carole Baskin tells TMZ ... some of Justin's friends asked if they would submit a clip for the music video, so she and Howard dressed up in their old Fur Ball gala outfits and filmed a dance with their cat, Pearlie.

Missing the final cut is news to Carole ... she says they weren't told one way or another if they made the cut, but she's happy Justin shared it with his followers and she hopes "it doesn't attract too many of the haters who have been bashing us since being misled by 'Tiger King.'"

Ariana perhaps summed up the whole thing best ... "for the record, I did not allow or approve this clip to be in the actual video. but. nonetheless. it exists and that's ..... unique."

Lily Allen seems like she's officially off the market ... because it looks like she's engaged to David Harbour, and she's got the rock to prove it.

Lily stoked engagement rumors once again Thursday, posting a sultry snap to her social media and bragging about her physique ... but a closer look reveals what appears to be an engagement ring, and yes it's on THAT finger.

One of Lily's 1.2 million eagle-eyed Instagram followers straight-up asked her in the comments if she's indeed wearing an engagement ring, and Lily's answer was telling ... she replied, "First rule of engagement club...."

So, there you have it, straight from the horse's mouth.

The Grammy-nominated singer and "Stranger Things" star are notoriously private about their relationship ... the couple only officially announced they were an item earlier this year after months of dating.

We reached out to reps for both Lily and David to confirm their engagement ... so far, no word back.

But, Lily's picture and comment kinda speak for themselves.

Brian Anthony Howe, the former lead vocalist for Bad Company, has died ... TMZ has learned.

Howe passed away Wednesday at his home in Florida. One of his relatives told TMZ ... Howe died from cardiac arrest ... possibly on his way to the hospital. He had heart issues ... the singer had a heart attack in 2017.

The 66-year-old singer's career launched when he worked on Ted Nugent's 1984 "Penetrator" album.

Howe replaced Paul Rodgers as the lead vocalist for Bad Company. Howe, who was also a songwriter, handled most of the writing for the album, "Holy Water," back in 1990 ... it made the top 40 and attained platinum status. It was the most successful album for the group, helped along by the hit song, "If You Needed Somebody."

The group's last album for Howe was in 1992 ... "Here Comes Trouble." The album went gold with a top 40 hit, "How About That." Howe left the group in 1994.

Howe went on to have a solo career, but it never reached the level of Bad Company.

Howe was 66.

He is survived by his sister Sandie and her husband, his son Michael and daughters Victoria & Ella, along with 3 grandchildren Kira, Alexandria, and Aurora.

RIP

Chris Cornell's former bandmates are digging in their heels in an escalating legal war against his widow -- and are now wondering where the money she raised from a charity concert really ended up.

Soundgarden is once again responding to Vicky Cornell's lawsuit, filed last year, in which she claims to be the rightful owner of 7 tracks she says she found on Chris' computer after his death.

The band is firing back now, claiming Vicky has been unwilling to provide sufficient information on the proceeds from a tribute concert after Cornell's death.

In docs, obtained by TMZ, the surviving band members say they performed for free based on her promise the proceeds would go to charity, but they claim Vicky never explained where all the money went. They say she's only mentioned $643K going to a medical research charity. The band wants a full accounting of where any other revenue was donated.

Vicky posted a statement, saying, "When you attack the foundation, you attack my husband's legacy. The foundation has nothing to do with who owns Chris' vocal recordings. Their knowingly false allegations are a deliberate attempt to harm not just my credibility, but the foundation my husband and I created and everything WE stand for."

Soundgarden wants damages and for the judge to declare once and for all that they are the rightful owners of the unreleased tracks.

Meek Mill will always remember his 33rd birthday -- 'cause it's the day his new baby boy was born. Can't top that gift!!!

The rapper ecstatically announced Wednesday his Philly fashion designer GF, Milano Harris, gave birth to their first child together. Meek said, "Milano dropped me off a king on my birthday! #thebestgift ❤️."

No word yet on the new kid's name ... but that hasn't stopped Milano from celebrating their new arrival. She's been flooded with congrats on social media ... after months of posting pics of her growing belly.

She first revealed the pregnancy back in December at her Milano Di Rogue fashion show, saying ... "Im a creative, so I didn’t want to announce my pregnancy to the world or even to my family with just a photo of my baby bump. I wanted to create a moment that I could cherish and remember forever. We planned this show in 6 weeks and I have to say this was the hardest show we’ve planned to date but all in all I’m so happy with the turn out."

Meek and Milano have been dating for about a year now. Back in February during his Twitter spat with ex Nicki Minaj, Meek confirmed he was expecting a kid with Milano in a since-deleted tweet that said, "My girl is pregnant watching me tweet about my ex is very clownish ... Ima exit."

This will be Meek's third son. He has 2 sons from a previous relationship.

CONGRATS!!!