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Wyclef Jean says there's something way more important than just producing or performing on a track, and that's publishing ... a moneymaking well he wants to help new artists tap.

The Fugees rapper talked to us Friday in NYC about his new industry venture -- a publishing and distribution company he started and just got major financial backing for called Carnival World Music Group -- which is meant to give a big leg up to up-and-coming creatives.

The idea behind it is that Wyclef and co. will offer royalty advances to artists, producers and songwriters who want to get their music out there, but without taking copyright ownership.

Check it out ... Wyclef says the focus of the company is for Africans, but that doesn't mean he's excluding anyone who wants to partner up. Come one, come all, pretty much.

As for why he's doing this ... the guy says he's learned a valuable lesson from his many years in the game, and it's basically this -- producing/rapping/singing only makes you so much cash. The real green comes from publishing rights, which are often awarded to the songwriters, composers and the publishing companies those people are affiliated with.

Take, for example, "Killing Me Softly." He says while he produced the iconic cover, he and the Fugees didn't make the millions they should have because they didn't write or compose the new version. Most of that money presumably went to Charles Fox and Norman Gimbel.

Blueface jumped into a brawl that involved his own crew beating on a guy who allegedly tried snatching the rapper's bling ... which is a shame because he was dressed to impress.

The rapper popped up Friday night with his entourage at the Blue Moon Hookah Lounge in Downtown L.A., where he even got on stage at one point and performed for a bit. Blueface was rocking what appears to be a Burberry puffer coat, which retails at $1,390.

Bottom line ... it doesn't look like Blueface was looking for trouble. Unfortunately, it seemed to find him nonetheless.

Eyewitnesses tell TMZ ... word around the lounge was that some dude tried stealing Blueface's chain right off of him -- something we know people attempt to do when rappers make public appearances like this. That said, it's unclear what exactly sparked this beatdown.

Either way, the guy certainly pissed someone off and got his ass handed to him as a result. We're told security eventually broke it up, and Blueface and co. left shortly thereafter. Similar to the time he jumped into the mix of another brawl up in Santa Cruz.

50 Cent just spoiled his son rotten for Christmas ... getting an entire Toys 'R' Us on lock and letting the kid have whatever his heart desired. Jealous much?

The rapper pulled the ultimate parenting move this weekend for his 7-year-old, Sire, by renting out an entire store in New Jersey -- only one of two locations open at the moment -- and closing it off to the public while his boy went around and picked out anything that caught his eye and letting him take it all home as his gift(s) for the holiday.

Basically, a personal shopping spree for a kid ... which became even more of a custom experience with Sire's name and mug incorporated into the presentation. A decal on the ground read 'Sire's Toys R Us' ... not even Charlie Bucket could've dreamt of this.

As for how much all of this cost ... we're told Fitty dropped a pretty penny to give his son the best Christmas ever -- about $100k to have this place to himself and Sire.

Hell, it looks the cash went so far as to pull Geoffrey the Giraffe out of retirement -- who posed with 50 and Sire in a sweet photo-op. You'll recall, Toys 'R' Us temporarily closed up shop last year -- but it's being brought back, slowly but surely, under new ownership.

Marc Anthony's burned out yacht is posing a significant danger to Miami's coastal waters -- so the federal government's stepping in to assist ... but it ain't gonna be cheap.

As you know, Marc's $7 million yacht, the Andiamo, burst into flames Wednesday night in a Miami marina, and despite valiant efforts ... the vessel went under. It's still resting mostly submerged, and it will until divers tackle the issue of fuel leaks.

The U.S. Coast Guard tells TMZ ... the government is dipping into something called the Oil Spill Liability Trust Fund to pay for the divers. We're told they're inspecting the wreckage to figure out the best way to clear the engines and tanks.

After the fuel clean up, another company will tow Marc's baby to dry dock where investigators can determine what caused the fire. Officials estimate the job will cost about $300,000 -- that's how much they pulled from the fund.

Now, before ya fire off an angry email to Congress ... the feds only front that $300k.

We're told the government will seek reimbursement from Marc, or more likely, his insurance company, once the job is done. So, if you need to know ... taxpayers will NOT be paying to raise his yacht.

The perps who allegedly busted a window of Boosie Badazz's Bentley SUV and jacked $70k in jewelry were caught on camera ... and so was their escape as the rapper's buddy gave chase.

Surveillance video of the burglary -- obtained by TMZ -- shows 2 men in dark clothes approach the passenger side of Boosie's ride and hang out there for several moments ... presumably, this is when they broke his rear passenger window to get in.

Cops say an alarm scared them off temporarily, but as you can see ... they return in a black sedan and one jumps out to grab something. Then they make their getaway -- which doesn't go too smoothly -- but they still manage to outrun B-Will, a rapper who works with Boosie.

We broke the story ... the suspected thieves allegedly swiped 2 diamond and rose gold rings worth $10k and a $50k necklace. Boosie posted a video about one of those rings -- a diamond-encrusted "BOSSMAN" piece -- because he was pissed about it getting stolen.

Cops are still investigating, but so far no arrests. As for the guy driving the getaway car ... remind you of anyone?

Lil Pump is spreading holiday cheer for the people who need it most ... one corn dog at a time.

The rapper was out in Los Angeles Wednesday, hooking up the homeless with hot meals, cold drinks and warm clothes for the winter.

Lil Pump hit the streets of Skid Row, serving up corn dogs, turkey dogs, cheese dogs, french fries and lemonade ... and passing out jackets, pants and socks to 600 people.

Pump teamed up with a couple of companies for the good deed ... joining forces with My Friends House Foundation, Hot Dog on a Stick and his buddy, RD Whittington, the owner of luxury celeb car company Wires Only, who dropped $7,000 on the charity event.

If the carnival fare sounds different as far as givebacks go ... that's because we're told Lil Pump and RD wanted to pass out food that was nontraditional, so mission accomplished there.

A$AP Rocky's addressing a leaked sex tape clip allegedly featuring him with another woman in the best way possible -- by being really funny ... and a little cocky.

The naughty clip began making the rounds Thursday and going viral for obvious reasons, but also because folks seem to be a little disappointed in Rocky's ... uh, performance.

Well, the rapper responded in a big way, saying he and his penis woke up to the "alarming disturbance" of the leaked sex vid ... then went to bat for Lil' Rocky.

He says as the defense attorney for his dong, "WE’RE PREPARED 2 DENY ANY SLOW STROKES OR LACK OF KILLIN THE P***Y." A$AP adds there's a long list of satisfied women who'll back him up.

He also seems to find it funny that there's a lot of judgmental folks out there who've never had sex with him rating his sex skills based on a minute and a half clip.

R. Kelly absolutely knew Aaliyah was a minor when he married her in 1994 ... that's according to his former tour manager who now says he unwittingly and regretfully helped it happen.

Demetrius Smith has admitted he helped get the fake ID for Aaliyah the day before her wedding to Kelly -- but on "TMZ Live" Thursday he told us the marriage was the last thing he wanted to see go down.

On the heels of Kelly pleading not guilty to the fake ID allegation, Smith told us he actually wanted to delay the singer from walking down the aisle with Aaliyah ... who was only 15 at the time. Smith claims his intent was to "buy time" until he came up with a better plan to convince Kelly NOT to marry her.

Smith says both he and Kelly knew she was underage. Interestingly, he says the ID he had made for Aaliyah did NOT have an age on it. He would not elaborate on what kind of ID it was.

Nick Cannon's feud with Eminem just got intensely racial -- he's dropped a new diss track in which he calls Em the "KKK of his generation!!!"

Nick's latest dig is dubbed "Canceled: Invitation" ... and Nick pulls old lyrics he claims are from an unreleased Em track from before he made it big. If it's really Eminem ... they're pretty indefensible -- he rapped, "Black girls are bitches, black girls are dumb."

Nick loops that line in his diss track.

Chester Bennington's ex-wife just scored a major victory ... the executor of his Estate is earmarking 50% of the Estate's Linkin Park royalties to her.

Samantha Bennington -- who was married to Chester between 1996 and 2005 -- filed a claim with the Estate demanding the royalties as well as child support. The child support portion was withdrawn back in June. They had one son together.

The executor filed legal docs with the probate court, stating that he would allow Samantha's royalties claim, which includes a share of the non-touring merch, publishing rights and a share of the master sound records.

The executor made no mention of child support.

What's interesting ... the executor is Chester's widow, Talinda, so she seems down with Samantha getting her cut.

Justin Bieber and Demi Lovato have formed a holy alliance with their manager Scooter Braun.

Justin and Demi hit the pews Wednesday night at an L.A. church with Scooter, along with Justin's wife, Hailey.

It seems more than just a trek to a place of worship ... it's a showing of a united front with some of Scooter's most famous clients ... this in the wake of Taylor Swift's campaign against the manager and his Big Machine.

Remember ... when Taylor launched on Scooter at the Billboard Awards, he was in Florida with Ariana Grande ... another client.

There's been a lot of back and forth with Scooter and Taylor. She says neither he nor his team has reached out to her so she could have an opportunity to buy her masters from BM, and he has said on social media he wants to sit down with her but she hasn't accepted his olive branch.

O.T. Genasis' hilariously off-key cover of Keyshia Cole's "Love" ballad is a viral sensation ... so he's determined to find out who got it yanked from YouTube ... and put 'em on blast.

We got O.T. at LAX Wednesday and asked why his pitchy new party anthem, "Never Knew," has vanished ... and he's nothing if not suspicious. Signs point to Keyshia as a likely suspect, but the singer's recently admitted she likes the cover and thinks O.T.'s take is funny.

So, whodunnit?? The rapper might not know for sure just yet ... but his savage side-eye in this clip speaks volumes.

His investigation seems to be all in good fun, though, and the rapper tells us he'd love to collab with Cole ... if it's true she's a fan of his comedic reboot. Still, he warns ... if Keyshia turns out to be the mystery hater, he'll let the world know.

Despite the YouTube deletion ... Genasis is free to perform "Never Knew" live ... as he did Tuesday night at Teyana Taylor's ugly sweater party.

Gotta say, we can see why it's a hit -- but don't sleep on the original.

Tekashi 6ix9ine's in for a very emotional day when he finally learns his fate in his federal racketeering case, but odds are no matter what happens ... he'll cry about it.

The folks at sportsbetting.ag have released the betting lines for the rapper's sentencing hearing on Wednesday ... and they set it up for some exciting courtroom drama.

First of all, the oddsmakers don't expect 6ix9ine to get out anytime in 2020 -- they've set the "No" on that prop bet as the heavy favorite at -1000 ... meaning a bettor has to drop a grand to win $100.

However, anyone who bets on Tekashi to get released from prison in 2020 will get a 5/1 payout ... the "Yes" is currently +500.

As for the length of his prison sentence ... the line is set at 5.5 years, meaning bettors can take a shot at betting either over or under that length of time and hope the judge rules in their favor.

But, here's the really good stuff -- will Tekashi 6ix9ine cry after sentencing? The oddsmakers think it's likely ... "Yes" is favored at -300 while "No" is a +200 underdog. It doesn't matter if they're happy or sad tears either ... it cashes the same.

Bret Michaels is on a mission to give the folks in the Bahamas something to believe in ... including 15,000 lbs. of supplies and toys for all the good girls and boys!

The Poison lead singer is teaming up with The Paradise Fund to deliver gifts to 200 families in the Coopers Town village on Abaco island. We're told along with toys, Bret and members of the organization are packing planes with meals, winter clothing, books, school supplies and even Christmas trees.

Sources connected to the giveaway tell us Michaels will be flying in on his own plane Friday to deliver the goods ... and fittingly, he'll be wearing a Santa hat. We're told the Paradise volunteers will match him -- in elf garb.

All in all ... $20,000 worth of gifts and supplies will be dispersed to the families in need.

Boosie Badazz hates Mondays, like most of us -- actually, probably more -- because someone broke into his ride, and made off with some pricey rings and a $50,000 necklace!

While the rapper was grabbing a bite to eat at a Pappadeaux Seafood Kitchen outside Atlanta, the perps smashed the rear passenger side window of his Bentley SUV ... according to police.

A man named Brian Wilcott reported the break-in, saying he saw a younger-looking black male by the car reaching into it. Wilcott -- better known as rapper B-Will -- works with Boosie and told cops he gave chase, but a suspect jumped into a waiting car and fled.

According to the police report ... B-Will says 3 pieces of his jewelry were stolen -- a "super bowl style" diamond ring valued at $10k, a large rose gold one with the diamond letters "BOSSMAN" valued at $10k, and a rose gold Cuban link chain with diamonds valued at $50k.

Kanye West and Jay-Z's friendly greeting at Diddy's 50th is no surprise to people close to them -- turns out they've squashed their legal feud, and have already gotten back to making money ... together.

You'll recall ...both members of the "Watch the Throne" duo lawyered up in 2017 when Ye split from Tidal, Jay's streaming service. Kanye said he was owed $3.5 mil, and their professional relationship was on ice.

Cut to Saturday night at Diddy's crib ... where they smiled, shook hands and seemed totally cool with each other ... because they are. Sources connected to both moguls tell us they quietly reached an agreement in the Tidal dispute earlier this year. We're told both men are satisfied with the outcome and they're moving forward.

Case in point ... when Kanye put on his first opera, "Nebuchadnezzar," last month at the Hollywood Bowl ... it streamed exclusively on Tidal. We're told there will be future collabs for Ye and Tidal, too.

Of course, they've had an up and down relationship -- putting it mildly -- for years ... even before the Tidal lawsuit. Kanye was famously upset that Beyonce and Jay-Z didn't attend his wedding to Kim Kardashian -- and went off on him during a 20-minute rant onstage in 2016.