Black Rob -- a rapper who was once part of Diddy's Bad Boy roster -- has died ... this according to his former labelmates.

Rob reportedly passed away Saturday while hospitalized in Atlanta -- this after he was apparently battling kidney failure for quite some time ... so says NYC radio personality DJ Self, who posted a video of Rob from his hospital bed speaking on DMX's death.

Of BR's passing, Self says ... "Lord knows i tried to get help ...... I’m sad to say RIP to Black Rob." Self had been with Rob in his final days, posting different clips of the former MC as his health was clearly deteriorating. In one such video, Rob himself explained that he'd been battling health issues for five years ... including several strokes and other ailments. It also sounds like Rob might have been homeless too ... going on to say he needed "rest."

It's pretty heartbreaking to watch ... especially since Rob didn't appear to have reps of his own toward the end. DJ Self made clear he wasn't representing Rob either, but simply getting his message out.

Another former Bad Boy MC, Mark Curry, also confirmed the sad news of Rob's passing ... posting a teary-eyed video Saturday saying he'd just gotten word, thanking everyone who donated to a GFM campaign in Rob's name -- while publicly asking Rob's children to get in touch with him ... presumably to make funeral arrangements.

Both Mark and Rob were featured on Diddy's famous track "Bad Boy 4 Life" ... with each contributing verses in the memorable music video, which showed Diddy and co. moving into a suburban neighborhood and drawing the ire of Ben Stiller. Rob had performed with several other Bad Boy affiliated acts ... like 112, Faith Evans, Mase and even Biggie himself.

Of course, Rob broke through with his own hit in 2000 ... the critically-acclaimed "Whoa!" which ended up making it on several music charts, including the Billboard Hot 100 and others ... and ended up getting remixed several times over.

"Whoa!" stands as Rob's biggest hit to date -- but the man went on to churn out several albums ... even after leaving Bad Boy in the mid-2000s. He was reunited with his Bad Boy counterparts in 2016 when Diddy put together the Bad Boy Family Reunion Tour.

Diddy doesn't appear to have commented on Rob's passing just yet. He was 51.

Prince Philip, the Duke of Edinburgh and late husband of Queen Elizabeth II, is being laid to rest in an emotional farewell, with clear signs of Royal Family tension.

The ceremony was held against the backdrop of a bright and early Saturday morning across the pond at Windsor Castle ... where Philip's life, service and loyalty to the Queen is being celebrated. As expected, Harry and William were separated as they walked into the church.

QE2's husband of 73 years has been lying in repose at the castle's private chapel -- and today his coffin will be transported to St. George’s Chapel, where he'll be laid to rest in the Royal Vault.

The coffin was flanked by 9 members of the Royal family, including his grandsons Prince William and Prince Harry.

Of course, all eyes were on Harry to see how he interacted with his brother, his father, Prince Charles, and others because this is their first public interaction since Harry and Meghan Markle's Oprah interview ... where they accused members of the Royal family of racism.

After the ceremony, the brothers were spotted chatting and walking around the grounds of Windsor Castle.

While Harry flew in from California for the ceremony, Meghan did not get medical clearance to travel as she's pregnant with their second child.

As for Prince Philip, his coffin will be loaded into the back of a Land Rover he himself customized into a hearse, and the procession will pass by roads lined with military personnel saluting his naval service.

Felix Silla, who famously played the mysterious and hairy Cousin Itt on "The Addams Family," is dead after a battle with pancreatic cancer.

Felix died Friday afternoon in Las Vegas ... according to Gil Gerard, Felix's co-star on the old NBC series "Buck Rogers in the 25th Century."

Gil says he's sad to see his friend lose his cancer battle, but says he's glad Felix is no longer suffering.

Although we never saw his face on the show ... Felix was extremely well known for playing the mumbling Cousin Itt on the 1960s sitcom. For the young 'uns... he dressed in sunglasses, a bowler hat and a hairpiece covering his entire body. The audience never understood what he was saying, but members of the Addams Family did.

Silla also didn't get any face time as Buck Rogers' robot sidekick Twiki, or as a hang-gliding Ewok in "Star Wars: Episode VI - Return of the Jedi" ... but folks knew him because he stood barely 4 feet tall and weighed about 70 pounds.

Felix did have at least one famous role where he actually showed his mug ... in 1975 he shaved his head to play the villainous Litvak in "The Maltese Falcon" sequel "The Black Bird."

Born and raised in Italy, Felix moved to the United States way back in 1955 and toured around with Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus, working for several years as a tumbler and trapeze artist before landing in Hollywood in 1962 as a stuntman.

Felix did stunt work on "E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial," "Batman Returns," and "Poltergeist," among other films ... and also appeared in the OG "Planet of the Apes" and "Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom."

Silla was 84, and is survived by his wife of more than 55 years, Sue, and their children, Bonnie and Michael.

DMX will be honored by his family, friends, loved ones and fans in one of the premier entertainment venues in the country -- the Barclays Center, TMZ has learned.

X's public memorial will be held on Saturday, April 24 at the arena in Brooklyn ... X's former manager, Steve Rifkind, tells TMZ. We're told the event's final logistics are still being figured out -- including how many people will be allowed inside and how ticketing will work -- limited capacity will obviously be in effect because of COVID.

DMX's family and more direct contacts will then attend a more private funeral service at a church in the NYC area on Sunday, April 25.

TMZ broke the story, Yonkers' Mayor, Mike Spano, welcomed the idea of the family using Yonkers Raceway for the service ... X grew up in the city. Nonetheless, there are still plans for DMX to be remembered there, Spano told us they've considered possible plans for a statue or street name.

DMX hit the Barclays Center stage in June 2019 in what would be one of his final big shows during the Masters of Ceremony event.

Tragic news out of the North Texas basketball program -- assistant coach Nelson Haggerty has passed away after a single-car crash Friday morning. He was 47 years old.

Haggerty was part of the coaching staff that helped lead the Mean Green to their first-ever NCAA tournament win last month ... when #13 North Texas beat #4 Purdue 78-69 in the first round on March 19.

Law enforcement officials in Texas say Haggerty was driving on Highway 380 near the city of Decatur in Wise County around 2:30 AM Friday ... when his car went off the right side of the road and hit a culvert, according to local reports.

Cops say Haggerty's vehicle flipped and hit a fence before coming to a halt. Emergency responders rushed to the scene, where Haggerty was pronounced dead.

Haggerty is a Texas hoops legend -- he was a high school star out of Houston ... and played 4 seasons at Baylor University, leading the NCAA in assists during his senior year.

NH went on to coach from 1997-2019 ... including 8 seasons with Midwestern State, where he became one of the most successful coaches in program history. He was named National Association of Basketball Coaches regional coach of the year in 2012.

Haggerty joined North Texas in 2019 ... and head coach Grant McCasland immediately praised his positive presence on the team.

The North Texas athletic department honored Haggerty Friday morning ... saying "Father, Husband, Friend, and Coach."

Cariol Horne -- the Buffalo police officer who was fired for trying to stop a chokehold employed by a fellow cop -- says George Floyd's death demonstrates how fearful police are of crossing the thin blue line ... even when they know it's the right thing to do.

Cariol joined "TMZ Live" Friday on the heels of winning a ruling this week to get her pension and back pay reinstated, after she was fired for the 2006 incident in which she intervened during the arrest of Neal Mack ... stopping a white officer from choking him.

Horne tells us she cried for 2 days after Floyd's death because it didn't have to happen, but the case brought to light what she dealt with 15 years ago. She adds that it shows there needs to be systemic change in how police behave when they witness brutality among their peers.

She's already done her part to make it happen, not just with the 2006 incident, but by writing legislation that's been passed into law in Buffalo which obligates officers to stop police brutality, and legally protects those who do.

It's called Cariol's Law, and she's pushing for it to become the norm in the U.S. ... so police can actually play their part in ending police brutality.

As for her legal victory this week, Horne believes the current climate factored in ... as she says people are finally recognizing that police brutality is simply a progression from the days of slavery and segregation.

Helen McCrory -- best known for playing Aunt Polly on "Peaky Blinders" -- has died of cancer ... according to her husband, "Billions" star Damian Lewis.

Lewis announced his wife's death on Twitter, saying ... "I'm heartbroken to announce that after an heroic battle with cancer, the beautiful and mighty woman that is Helen McCrory has died peacefully at home, surrounded by a wave of love from family and friends."

He adds ... "She died as she lived. Fearlessly. God we love her and we know how lucky we are to have had her in our lives. She blazed so brightly. Go now, Little One, into the air, and thank you."

Along with starring as the matriarch of the gangster Shelby family on 'Blinders,' McCrory played Narcissa Malfoy in 3 "Harry Potter" films.

She also had roles in the HBO series "His Dark Materials" and the Showtime horror show, "Penny Dreadful."

Helen also appeared in several popular movies since her acting career began in the early '90s, such as "Skyfall," "The Queen" and "The Count of Monte Cristo."

McCrory and Lewis wed in 2007 and have a daughter and son together, both teenagers.

She was 52.

Lamar Odom -- who made more than $100 million in his NBA career -- admits he struggled with a gambling problem ... and says things got so bad, he turned to Kobe Bryant for help paying off his debt.

The 41-year-old says his call to Kobe about the gambling issue was one of the last conversations they had before Bryant's death in Jan. 2020.

"I had been gambling," Odom said on the "All The Smoke" podcast ... "And, I had an old debt that got a little too steep for where I was at at that time."

"It was getting tight. And, if you're in a bad situation, especially about some money, he ain’t the one that you’re gonna want to call."

Odom never revealed the exact amount of money he owed his bookie -- but he was clearly embarrassed about the debt ... and admits the call to Kobe was out of desperation.

Lamar admits Kobe gave him a tongue lashing about the debt -- but ultimately offered to help him out.

"He was just, 'Have your people call my people, and then we’ll figure it out," Lamar said ... "And that was one before the last time I spoke to him."

Odom did not say if Kobe ever sent him the money before he passed.

What we do know ... Kobe was incredibly fond of his former Lakers teammate and treated him like a family member.

In fact, when Lamar suffered that drug overdose in a Nevada brothel in 2015 -- Kobe bailed on a Lakers preseason game early to visit Odom in the hospital.

A Chicago police officer shot and killed a 13-year-old in what was reported as an "armed confrontation" -- but newly released footage of the incident seems to show the kid raising his empty hands as the cop fired.

Adam Toledo was killed during a foot pursuit in Chicago around 2:30 AM on March 29, and the officer's body cam was recording as he caught up to the teenager in an alley.

In the video, the officer yells, "Show me your f**king hands." It also sounds like he said, "stop it" ... or "drop it" ... and then fired a single shot. Adam was putting his hands up at that moment.

He died as a result of the gunshot according to the Cook County medical examiner. Adam's family claims Chicago PD took 2 days to notify them of his death, and they think cops have been cagey about providing details.

According to police, officers were responding to a shots fired call, and saw "two males in a nearby alley." Cops say one of them was armed and fled, then one officer fired shots and hit a suspect in the chest.

Police initially only said the person "was pronounced deceased on scene" but didn't specify the age of the person the officer had shot.

"KOBE!!!!!"

That's how LPGA Tour star Jessica Korda celebrated an amazing chip shot on the golf course Wednesday ... and it was AWESOME!!

The 28-year-old was up near the green for her 3rd shot on the 17th hole during her 1st round at the Lotte Championship in Hawaii ... when she straight-up dunked her ball into the cup on the fly!!

Check out the clip ... the stroke was incredible -- her ball landed in the center of the hole from about 30 yards away -- giving her an eagle!!!

The best part? Korda celebrated immediately after the shot hit the plastic, flicking her wrist and yelling out, "Kobe!"

Of course, the celebration has been around for YEARS ... who hasn't thrown a ball of socks into a laundry basket and yelled out the NBA legend's name???

But, it's taken on a whole new meaning since Kobe Bryant tragically passed away last year ... and it's pretty incredible to see the honor still going on to this day.

A high school basketball coach in North Carolina was shot to death while trying to steal drugs and money from a stash house used by a violent Mexican drug cartel, officials say.

Yeah, this is one of the craziest stories we've ever heard.

Officials have identified Barney Harris -- who worked as a coach and teacher at Union Academy in Monroe.

Investigators say Harris was also part of a "criminal organization" that was hell-bent on robbing some of the most dangerous people in town ... the Sinaloa New Generation Cartel.

According to the Alamance County Sheriff’s Office, Harris -- along with "a team of people" -- snuck into a mobile home park on April 8 to clean out a "stash house" used by the Cartel.

Harris allegedly entered the stash house first and captured one of the Cartel members, Alonso Beltran Lara.

Officials say Lara was subsequently tied up and shot twice in the head, execution-style.

At some point during the incident, officials say another suspected Cartel member entered the home and a gun battle broke out.

"It was almost like an old western shootout," Alamance County Sheriff Terry Johnson said.

"What was found was over 30-some shell casings in the trailer and outside the trailer, and three other mobile homes, in that particular park, with bullet holes in them."

When cops arrived at the scene, they found Harris shot to death in one of the bedrooms. He was wearing a bullet-proof vest and mask at the time. But, officials say his vest was no match for the high-powered weapons that were used against him.

Officials say they found Lara still alive and raced him to a hospital where he later died from his injuries.

Sheriff Johnson says investigators searched the crime scene and found 5 guns, roughly $7,000 in cash and more than a KILO of what they believe to be cocaine.

The concern now ... officials are VERY worried about violent retaliation from the Cartel.

"When we are dealing with the Mexican drug cartel ... somebody is probably gonna die as a result of this," Sheriff Johnson said.

"The Mexican cartels, they don't forget. They're gonna pay somebody back, somewhere and that concerns me."

The daughter of former NY Jets superstar Al Toon was shot and killed in an apparent murder-suicide over the weekend ... this according to cops.

The Scottsdale PD in Arizona says at around 5 PM on Sunday, officers responded to a call of a shooting at a residence in east Scottsdale.

Cops say when they arrived, they saw 28-year-old Molly Elizabeth Lillard -- Toon's daughter -- suffering from multiple gunshot wounds.

Officials say officers immediately got her help and rushed her to the hospital, but she tragically died due to the injuries.

The Scottsdale PD says it quickly learned Lillard's husband, 36-year-old Royce Dale Lillard III, was the apparent gunman ... and claim he went back into the residence after shooting Molly.

Officials say officers attempted to make contact with Royce for several hours at the home ... but could not get him to answer.

At around 10:45 PM, roughly 5 hours after responding to the scene, cops say SWAT stormed to the residence and found Royce dead with "what is believed to be a self-inflicted gunshot wound."

Cops did not release a potential motive for it all ... but say a preliminary investigation revealed, "all indications are that this was a murder-suicide."

Officials added the couple's 8-month-old baby was present at the time of the shooting. They say the child was not injured and is now being taken care of by family members.

Toon's daughter was a superstar high school volleyball player who went on to play at the Univ. of Michigan.

Bobby Brown is steadfast in his belief that his ex-wife, Whitney Houston, and their daughter, Bobbi Kristina, died in similar ways because the same person was responsible for both of their deaths.

Bobby put the blame squarely on the late Nick Gordon -- Bobbi Kristina's boyfriend at the time of her death -- during the new episode of "Red Table Talk." He tells Jada Pinkett Smith and co. that he believes Nick supplied Whitney and Bobbi with the drugs that ultimately killed them.

It's been known for many years that Bobbi Kristina's family suspected Gordon killed her -- and Nick was found legally liable for her death in civil court -- but when Bobby was asked if he thinks Gordon killed Whitney too, he replied ... "I believe so."

Bobby points out that Nick was the only person present for both Whitney and Bobbi's situations -- they both overdosed in bathtubs ... Whitney in 2012 and Bobbi in 2015.

He claims Nick was the kind of guy who provided party favors, and it's clear Bobby thinks that's why his ex-wife and daughter are gone.

It should be noted ... cops investigated Gordon in connection with Bobbi's death for years, but he was never charged. He was never a known suspect in Whitney's death.

It's a beautiful day to move into the neighborhood Mr. Rogers called home ... or at least that should be the pitch to sell Fred Rogers' old crib in Pittsburgh.

The home where the late TV host once lived is for sale at a cool $855k ... and, boy is it rich with history. Fred and his wife, Joanne, lived there from the late 1950s until the early 1960s. In fact, the listing includes a birth announcement for the couple's youngest son, John -- the published article serving as proof they really did live there.

And, get this ... according to Pittsburgh Next, which first reported the listing, previous neighbors recalled how Mister Rogers would do puppet shows for the kiddos who lived in the neighborhood.

The house is 3,693 square feet ... featuring 5 bedrooms and 4 bathrooms, and was built in 1921. It also has 2 fireplaces and a pretty awesome library.

"A year ago my life was forever changed. To the most beautiful woman I will ever know, I love you more than life itself."

Karl-Anthony Towns is remembering his late mother on the one-year anniversary of her death ... and his tribute is incredibly moving.

Jackie tragically passed away on April 13, 2020 after a lengthy battle with the coronavirus ... which included being placed in a medically induced coma.

KAT reflected on the impact she left on his life Tuesday ... remembering the loving woman who helped raise him to be the man he is today.

"Every day I miss you more and more, but your endless love and unforgettable memories are what keeps me going," Towns said on Instagram.

"One day, we will walk side by side again but until that beautiful day, I will continue to hold down the amazing family you made."

Towns recently stepped away from the Minnesota Timberwolves to be with his family during the difficult time ... and he will miss the team's Tuesday matchup against the Brooklyn Nets.

The team honored Jackie on Sunday with a reserved courtside seat ... draped in a custom #32 jersey and flowers.

Towns' girlfriend, Jordyn Woods, also paid tribute to Jackie -- gifting KAT an amazing portrait of his mom.

KAT continued ... "I can never replace you in this family, but I will try my best every day."