Woodstock 50 Free Concert!!! But Don't Forget to Donate

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Woodstock 50 will be a free show to those lucky enough to get their hands on tickets ... though which performers will officially take the stage is still up in the air.

Sources familiar with the event plans tell us, organizers have decided to release tickets in the coming days free of charge. We're told a limited number of seats will be available for the show -- which has been moved to Maryland -- and instructions on how to get tickets will likely be posted by the end of the week.

Our sources say the show will now be billed as a benefit concert ... and those who are able to snag seats are encouraged to donate to their favorite causes.

Here's the problem ... we're told it's still VERY unclear who will perform at Woodstock. Artists who signed onto the OG 50th Anniversary event are no longer obligated to their contract ... and big names like Jay-Z and John Fogerty have already announced they've pulled the plug on their performances.

Our sources say organizers are still hopeful they'll be able to put on a 3-day festival with music throughout ... and final plans are still very much in motion. In fact, we're told all artists who are still booked and scheduled to perform have been paid in full.

As for how Woodstock plans to make money to pay for event employees and other costs? We're told VIP tickets will still be sold at a cost in an effort to bridge the gap between expenses and profit.

Woodstock 50 is set to happen the weekend of August 16.

Jay-Z, John Fogerty No Woodstock 50 For Us

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Woodstock 50 has taken another body blow ... Jay-Z and John Fogerty are pulling the plug on the festival.

The event's supposed to go down in just 3 weeks, and this kind of news could cause a stampede.

It's all kind of come full circle but not in the way Woodstock would have wanted -- it was Fogerty, along with Common and festival founder Michael Lang, who announced back in March that Jay-Z would perform at Woodstock 50.

Jay-Z was the big get for W50. He was slated to close the 3-day festival, which has faced a devastating series of setbacks.

As we reported ... the major blow came back in June when Watkins Glen International -- an upstate NY racetrack where the event was supposed to go down -- pulled the plug. There were major money issues as well that dogged the festival.

The event's now being held at the Merriweather Post Pavilion ... an outdoor amphitheater in Columbia, Maryland.

BTW ... Fogerty -- who performed at the OG Woodstock -- will still perform that weekend -- at an unconnected event in Bethel, NY, where he took the stage a half-century ago with Creedence.

Chance the Rapper I've Dropped $30,000 on Postmates!!! And I Don't Forget to Tip

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Chance the Rapper is here to make sure you don't feel bad about all the money you've spent on Postmates ... because you probably can't come close to the huge tab he's racked up.

The rapper is one of Postmates' most dedicated customers ... because the company tells us he started getting deliveries way back in 2015 and he's since dropped more than $30,000, including $4,000 in tips!!!

Chance is being featured on a Postmates series, The Receipt, which profiles celebs who are big spenders ... sharing their strangest requests and favorite orders.

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Baked goods keep Chance going in the studio ... his new album just dropped, and while he was working on "The Big Day," Chance kept his team fueled with fresh croissants, cake and coffee.

Chance's first order was for chicken wings from Harold's Chicken Shack on March 4, 2015, and since then he's racked up 632 orders for 1,992 items across 26 cities.

Lots of those orders were for Portillo's Hot Dogs in Chicago, with Chance getting delivery once every two days from Dec. 2015 to Jan. 2016 ... chowing down on a burger, fries and a drink each time.

Grub isn't the only thing Chance orders on the go ... he purchased a ton of board games for a pre-Grammys party in 2017 -- Uno, Connect Four and Twister -- and just last summer he ordered a $440 Apple iPad Mini.

$30k is A LOT to spend through Postmates, and even the smallest purchases add up ... like his cheapest order ever, $1.32 for some fresh cilantro. Sometimes you just need a garnish.

Demi Lovato Never Looked Better!!! 1 Year of Sobriety in the Books

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Demi Lovato could NOT look happier celebrating her 1 year anniversary of sobriety.

The singer and a big group of friends hit up Barton G in WeHo Tuesday night for dinner. As they left, Demi struck a chic pose with her buds to commemorate the occasion, no doubt a pivotal moment for the singer.

It was exactly a year ago Wednesday when Demi -- who struggled with addiction for years -- was rushed to the hospital following her near-fatal overdose. She'd been sober for 6 years before relapsing but has made it priority No. 1 to live a sober life again.

Demi's surrounded herself with a strong support system. In fact ... her team back in January surprised her with a slice of cake to celebrate 6 months of sobriety with a note that read in part, "We are so f**king proud of you!!"

AWESOME!!!

Kanye West God is My Witness ... I'm Gonna Own Sunday Service Merch!!!

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Kanye West wants to be holier-than-thou when it comes to hawking apparel embossed with his now-famous Sunday Service, because he's asking the feds to allow him to corner the market.

Ye just filed legal docs asking for exclusive ownership of clothing, dresses, footwear, headwear, jackets loungewear, scarves, shirts, socks and clothing tops.

If approved, he'll get a trademark that gives his exclusive rights to sell the merch.

Kanye had a merch booth at Coachella during his Sunday Service on Easter Sunday. He sold hoodies for $165 and $225 a pop and socks for ... $50!!!

He took some heat from some folks on social media who felt it was untoward to make a buck on such a holy day.

The Sunday Service has become quite the thing ... riddled with celebs such as Katy Perry, Orlando Bloom, Kid Cudi and, of course, the entire Kardashian Klan.

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SUNDAY PERFORMANCE

His choir is always decked out in uniforms ... usually sweats and the latest Yeezy shoes.

Wale A$AP Rocky Doesn't Deserve This ... He's One of the Good Ones!!!

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Wale says what's happening to A$AP Rocky is an injustice ... and he's defending the rapper from those who think it's actually a dose of karma.

We got Wale leaving Bootsy Bellows in WeHo late Tuesday night, and he spoke his mind on Rocky's situation in Sweden. He says it's totally unfair, and everyone the Swedish government is screwing over in the process deserves some payback ... especially A$AP.

Wale also goes out of his way to praise A$AP's character, which some have called into question since the rapper was arrested for assault early this month. He says he has a good heart and is a caring person ... and he's important to their culture.

If you don't know ... some fans are still pissed at Rocky for distancing himself from the Black Lives Matter movement and the Ferguson protests in an interview a few years back, along with claiming Bill Cosby's innocent.

But, Wale says he knows A$AP is one of the good ones -- despite not choosing his words carefully sometimes and speaking on impulse -- and he wants him back in the U.S.

As we've reported ... Rocky's still in a jail cell awaiting charges for his role in a street fight in Stockholm, even though like Wale says -- he wasn't the aggressor in the altercation.

R. Kelly's Crisis Manager Pedo Comments Didn't Get Me Fired ... I Have a Family Emergency!!!

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R. Kelly's crisis manager says he was NOT canned for going on national TV and saying he would never leave his daughter alone with an accused pedophile ... he says he left his post to deal with a family emergency.

Darrell Johnson tells TMZ ... he's stepping away from R. Kelly's defense team so he can spend time with a family member he claims is on their deathbed. Darrell is adamant he was NOT fired, and he's leaving the door open on a potential return as Kelly's crisis manager.

Darrell's removal from Kelly's defense raised eyebrows, because it came on the heels of him telling CBS' Gayle King he would not leave his 21-year-old daughter alone with someone who was convicted or accused of pedophilia.

As you know ... R. Kelly is back in jail and being held without bond after being arrested on 2 federal indictments alleging he made sex tapes with underage girls.

Darrell is walking back his pedophile comments ... he tells us his answers were taken out of context and he says he would have no problem leaving his daughter alone with Kelly.

Johnson says he hasn't directly told Kelly about his decision to step down ... and he believes the embattled singer will once again be acquitted.

Mick Jagger Toddler Son's Got Moves Like Dad!!!

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Forget mother's little helper -- Mick Jagger's son is on his way to being his father's future replacement!!!

The Rolling Stones front man's 2-year-old look-alike son, Deveraux, and his mom, Mick's girlfriend, Melanie Hamrick, were in the crowd for the band's show in Jacksonville, FL last week ... front and center.

Though Dev didn't appear to be getting much satisfaction watching his dad perform "It's Only Rock 'n Roll" with baby earmuffs on early in the set ... he had plenty of fun dancing around backstage like his old man before the Stones took the stage.

As you can see ... Mom's a fan of her little man's moves.

We're told Dev and Mel only stayed for a few songs -- 2 year olds have early bed times, you know -- but Jagger went on to put on a hell of a show ... and he liked it.

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Beyonce's 'Lion King' Album Her 'Gift' to Kenya Was a Big, Fat Snub ... Says Native Singer

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Beyonce's omission of any Kenyan artists on her 'Lion King' album is a slap to the face and a damn shame -- so says a famous East African, who helped coin "Hakuna Matata."

John Katana -- the frontman of the Chakacha Kenyan band, Them Mushrooms -- tells us he and a bunch of other Kenyans noticed Bey didn't include ANY local artists (big or small) in her new 'Lion King' album, "The Gift" ... a self-described "love letter" to Africa.

While the Disney folks tapped tons of other African artists that are hot and poppin' in their own countries -- for example, Nigerian pop star WizKid, Ghanaian producer Shatta Wale, Nigerian singer Burna Boy, South African artists Busiswa and Moonchild Sanelly, Nigerian stars Tekno, Yemi Alade and Mr Eazi -- they excluded Keynans.

Considering a lot of the scenery, culture and language used in '94's and 2019's "The Lion King" appears to come straight FROM Kenya (or at least East Africa) ... John says he and lots of other Kenyan creatives found it puzzling not one of 'em made the cut for "The Gift."

John and music critics alike have noted the omission, and he's super bummed about it ... especially since he says no one from Disney even reached out to the "Hakuna Matata" OGs.

As we've reported ... a petition was started last year that called for Disney to drop its trademark over "Hakuna Matata," which is a well-known Swahili phrase that John and co. claim to have popularized in their '80s platinum hit, "Jambo Bwana."

Yeah, he's not saying "no worries" about this one either.

Anderson .Paak Sweden Can Never Pay A$AP Rocky Back ... It's About Way More Than Money

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Anderson Paak
IT'S THE PRINCIPLE

Anderson .Paak feels bad for A$AP Rocky, not just because he thinks the rapper's getting royally screwed by Sweden ... but because he's losing something priceless -- time.

We got the "Bubblin" rapper out in NYC Tuesday, and he's among the choir in the U.S. who are outraged that A$AP's still sitting in a jail overseas ... awaiting charges for his role in a fight that -- according to video -- he didn't seem to start.

Anderson says he got angry just watching the video of the guy harassing and allegedly attacking Rocky's crew ... so he can't imagine what it must have been like dealing with it.

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LET'S MAKE PEACE

A$AP's still dealing with it too -- 3 weeks later -- and .Paak says that's the true outrage of it all. We broke the story ... Sweden might be on the hook to pay Rocky back millions if he's found not guilty, but Anderson tells us that's beside the point.

According to him ... the travesty is A$AP's missing out on valuable time with family and friends and losing experiences he'll never get back.

As for whether A$AP's plight has had any other effect on him ... it definitely has ... he'll be very careful if he performs in Europe

Future Team Pulled Him from Brutal Ibiza Fight ... To Avoid Another A$AP Rocky

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Future wanted to kick some ass before a melee broke out that left his bodyguard knocked out cold ... but his team pulled him away, fearing he'd end up like A$AP Rocky ... behind bars.

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THE VICIOUS SUCKER PUNCH

As we reported, a group of around 10 guys started harassing Future and his crew at the Ibiza Airport ... and sources connected to Future say it was full-on racist attack, which began with racial epithets. A fight erupted, and Future's bodyguard did some street justice with 6 of the guys before he got coldcocked with an alleged rock to the head.

We're told before the fighting began, Future was fully engaged and enraged, but his team had A$AP on the brain and didn't want the rapper to end up in a Spanish jail, so they literally pulled him away from the scene. That's when the bodyguard took over.

Future clearly wanted in on the action, because his anger was apparent hours later when he referred to the attackers as "fake goons" and other choice words.

It's interesting ... it sure looks like Sweden is trying to send a message to black rappers that they come to the country at their peril. The message seems to have been received loud and clear, and rappers visiting other European countries are adjusting their moves accordingly ... clearly out of fear the justice system will screw them.

By the way ... eyewitnesses tell us the sucker punch video is edited to make it look like Future was watching nearby with no concern for his bodyguard ... but fact is he didn't see it and had already left the scene.

The good news ... our sources say the bodyguard is doing fine.

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LET'S MAKE PEACE

As you know ... things played out much differently for A$AP in Stockholm earlier this month, where a man allegedly harassed and attacked the rapper's bodyguard. Rocky tried to diffuse the situation but eventually snapped and now has hell to pay.

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BRUTALLY BEATEN

A$AP's still sitting in a Swedish jail awaiting official charges, but the guy who attacked his crew will not be prosecuted.

O-Town to Diddy Need Mentors for 'Making the Band' Reboot?!?

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HOLLA AT YOUR BOYS!

Diddy's search for mentors is OVER ... O-Town's offering their services if Diddy needs a hand for his "Making the Band" reboot.

We got the band out Monday in NYC and had to get their take on Diddy bringing back the famed reality show. If ya missed it ... Diddy announced earlier this month he's bringing back the MTV series that helped launch bands like O-Town and Danity Kane. It's set for a 2020 return.

The guys were in the middle of dishing some advice for the reboot but also took it a step further ... shooting their shot and literally telling Diddy to call them about possibly serving as mentors on the show.

The guys also talked to us about their 4th upcoming album and how they funded the project -- through its fans. That's right ... the guys crowdfunded on Kickstarter and raised nearly $100k to get it done. How'd they repay their fans' generosity? Watch ... it's actually pretty awesome.

Slim Jxmmi Boycott Sweden!!! They're Screwing A$AP Rocky

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BRING A$AP HOME

Slim Jxmmi is fully supporting a rap industry boycott of Sweden ... and he says it's all because of the country's awful treatment of A$AP Rocky.

The Rae Sremmurd rapper is calling for all rap artists to stop touring in Sweden, and it sounds like the boycott could be indefinite ... because Jxmmi says no one should perform there until A$AP is released from jail and gives his blessing.

Slim has performed in Sweden in the past, but he says that's all over now ... he promises he won't return to the European nation until they change their laws and right their wrongs with A$AP.

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SCREWED IN SWEDEN

As for the dangers posed by touring overseas ... Slim says it's real tricky, claiming he was almost detained once for smoking weed at a festival. His story sounds a little like the one Quavo shared with us last week, when he told our photog he was almost arrested in Sweden.

A$AP Rocky's mom believes the country of Sweden is trying to make an example of her son ... and there's very a good chance it's only because of the color of his skin. 7/22/19
BRING A$AP HOME

As we first reported ... A$AP's mom thinks Sweden is trying to make an example of her son -- who is has been in jail for weeks without being charged with a crime -- and she says there's a good chance race is factor.

Slim stops short of calling Sweden's treatment of A$AP racist ... but he did call out Swedish authorities for being far more lenient when white rapper G-Eazy got in trouble over there.

A$AP Rocky Fans in Sweden Showing Support With 'Free A$AP' Posters

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A$AP Rocky is getting a groundswell of support from fans on the ground in Sweden ... posters calling for his release are popping up all over Stockholm, and people are snapping pics to bring attention to his plight.

Smash Fest, the music festival A$AP performed at days before he turned himself into police in Stockholm, has started a #JusticeForRocky campaign in the country's capital ... and festival honchos tell us they've printed out and put up thousands of posters that read, "FREE A$AP ROCKY ASAP."

We're told Smash Fest created the signage to show support for A$AP and urge Swedish authorities to release him ... and people have been showing their support for the Harlem rapper by taking pics with the posters and posting them all over social media.

It's interesting ... we're told many of the posters were taken down soon after going up, but Smash Fest printed new ones and replaced them almost immediately.

One A$AP supporter in Stockholm tells us he's been walking around the city with a poster as a silent protest ... and he says most people have been sympathetic and supportive.

Smash Fest tells us they stand with A$AP and they feel sorry for fans who will miss him this summer ... as he's already missing out on tons of previously scheduled shows across Europe.

A$AP remains in a Swedish jail ... and later this week prosecutors are expected to formally charge him with aggravated assault.

Future Bodyguard Knocked Out Cold ... He Responds

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THE VICIOUS SUCKER PUNCH
UPDATE

2:47 PM PT -- Future just responded to our story about his bodyguard getting knocked the hell out. He says, "Basically these fake goons ask to suck my d**k for a picture I toldem NOOOOO...apparently they get angry and do sum sucker s**t." 

UPDATE
UPDATE

He goes on to say, "I left the airport, they edit the video they filmed and sent it to blogs real real tuf guys ... what they did to security I didn't see period, I'm not a witness to anything...leave me out (of) anything have to with this incident."

Future's bodyguard was knocked the f out and a source close to the rapper says it was a racially-motivated attack.

The incident went down Monday in Ibiza, Spain at the International Airport. We're told Future had just arrived and was walking through the terminal when 10 guys approached and asked for a photo. Future said, "Not today, guys," because he was tired and had just gotten off a long flight.

We're told the guys then erupted in anger, and began hurling racial slurs and other epithets.

Our sources say Future's bodyguard stepped in and tried to block the guys and get Future to his ride on the curb.

The sources say the bodyguard actually beat up several of the guys before someone came from behind and sucker punched him. The sources claim the person who struck the bodyguard did so with a rock.

Originally Published -- 10:37 AM PT

Art Neville NOLA Funk Legend Dead at 81

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Art Neville of the Neville Brothers -- a legend in the New Orleans music scene and a funk pioneer -- has died.

The musician passed away Monday after years of declining health, according to his family. His longtime manager, Kent Sorrell, said Art's death was "peaceful" ... adding that he died at his home with his wife, Lorraine, by his side.

Art was a singer, songwriter and prominent keyboardist in the NOLA music scene for a long time. He's perhaps best known as the voice of the Carnival season anthem, "Mardi Gras Mambo," which he wrote and originally recorded in the 1950's ... and has endured to this day.

He formed multiple bands throughout the decades -- and along the way, pumped out well over 10 singles and at least a couple dozen albums between the Neville Bros. and The Meters.

Art is survived by his wife and his three children. He was 81.