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Coachella 2020 is officially dead on the table -- the music festival will NOT go on in October as previously planned ... with hopes to fire it back up next year.

The news came down Wednesday from Riverside County Public Health Officer Dr. Cameron Kaiser. Kaiser signed an order to cancel the October event citing the fears of another rise in COVID cases in the fall. Stagecoach -- a country music festival held on the same grounds -- is also canceled.

It's still undecided if Coachella organizers will try to bring it back in April -- when it normally runs -- in a limited capacity, or just wait 'til October 2021 to open anew, and welcome everyone.

Another thing that's not totally clear is whether the 2020 lineup will remain the same, or if organizers will try booking new acts for 2021. You'll recall, this year's headliners -- which were supposed to perform later this October after the initial postponement -- included Travis Scott, Frank Ocean, Rage Against the Machine and even a late-game Gaga announcement.

A lot of those artists were already rescheduling shows for 2021, so folks probably saw this coming. Not just that, but Lollapalooza just got canceled too ... and will live stream instead.

Nicki Minaj is going back to the well for what could be her next big hit -- snitching be damned, she's got a new collab with Tekashi 6ix9ine.

The 2 rappers just revealed they worked together on a track called "Trollz," which Nicki says will be released Thursday at midnight. She adds that a portion of proceeds from their project -- including merch items -- will go to The Bail Project Inc.

Minaj and 6ix9ine have been tight for awhile now, and previously worked together on Tekashi's smash hit "FEFE" in July 2018, which featured Nicki. It appears the artwork for "Trollz" has a similar vibe to their last collab too ... as seen on 69's online store.

Only difference to the "FEFE" art is they switched sides ... and replaced an ice cream cone with a lollipop.

Of course, Minaj took some heat after their last collab for continuing to support the rapper when he was arrested in November 2018 on racketeering charges and proceeded to snitch on his former gang members -- along with roping in Cardi B during his testimony -- in order for a reduced sentenced.

It worked, and 6ix9ine was even released early to house arrest due to COVID-19 concerns. He then began to get back to business and back on social media almost immediately ... much to the chagrin of many in the hip-hop world, especially Meek Mill.

So, ya gotta think the Nicki/Tekashi collab's not going to make them any new friends or squash any old beefs ... but that's probably no bother for the "Trollz" team.

Bonnie Pointer of The Pointer Sisters has died ... TMZ has learned.

The Grammy-winning Motown artist, who was originally part of the popular quartet group of sisters in the '70s, died this morning. Her sister, Anita, tells TMZ, "It is with great sadness that I have to announce to the fans of The Pointer Sisters that my sister, Bonnie died this morning. Our family is devastated, on behalf of my siblings and I and the entire Pointer family, we ask for your prayers at this time.”

Bonnie was one of the OG Pointer Sisters -- which started out as a duo, with her as one of the leads -- but eventually left the group in the mid-1970s to pursue a successful solo career. She's perhaps best known for her cover of "Heaven Must Have Sent You."

Anita continues, "Bonnie was my best friend and we talked every day, we never had a fight in our life, I already miss her and I will see her again one day."

Bonnie had a prolific recording career under Motown Records -- which signed her after she left TPS -- cranking out 3 full albums and producing a number of singles too. Her disco rendition of 'Heaven' peaked at No. 11 on the Billboard's Hot 100 chart.

While she was with the Pointer Sisters, she earned a Grammy award for Best Vocal by a Duo or Group in the country category, no less, for their crossover hit "Fairytale."

After Bonnie went solo, they continued to rack up accolades and hits with the remaining members.

She got hitched to Motown exec Jeffrey Bowen and remained married for several years until they called it quits in the early 2000s.

Another one of the sisters, June, died in 2006 from cancer.

Bonnie is survived by 2 sisters. She was 69.

Tekashi 6ix9ine found himself his first musical ally outside of prison -- and it's already proving to be fruitful ... with a remix on the horizon that'll get your 2000s taste buds tingling.

The rapper just posted a video of himself with none other than Akon, and it looks like the 2 of them laid down a new track that's actually an oldie, only refreshed with T69's own verse. Yes, we're talking Akon's iconic tune, "Locked Up," which now features Tekashi.

You can hear a bit of Tekashi's bars -- he raps about feeling regret and trying to strike the best deal possible for himself via his lawyers ... and also wanting to see his daughter again. Here's the thing though ... 6ix9ine is still stuck on his trolling ways (sorta) 'cause while he teased the track, he only promised to fully release it if he racked up 100k comments.

He writes, "100,000 comments if you want this 🧡❤️💚💛💜💙🖤🤍LOCKED UP PART 2 IM ON ALBUM MODE 💿💿💿 THIS ALBUM GOING CRAZYYYYYYY 🔥🔥🔥 @akon." Something tells us he'll get those comments. The post already has 2 million-plus views, and it went up less than an hour ago.

It's interesting ... Akon seems to be the first rapper to hop on the train and get in the studio with the rainbow-haired MC -- which is REALLY colorful right now. We'd heard from several different artists over the past year or so on whether anyone would work with him again.

Kanye West has joined protesters in Chicago. The rapper is with Chicago Public Schools students to protest the killing of George Floyd as well as to demand CPS cancel their contract with the Chicago Police Department.

Kanye West's giving a huge assist to the families and legal teams fighting for Ahmaud Arbery, Breonna Taylor and George Floyd ... and helping in other ways too.

Kanye's donated $2 million, so far, to the cause and set up a 529 college savings fund to fully cover tuition for Floyd's 6-year-old daughter, Gianna. He's also made a separate donation to cover the legal costs for the Arbery and Taylor families.

Along with that, a rep confirms Kanye's donating to several black-owned businesses in his hometown of Chicago and nationwide that have been in crisis and impacted by the unrest in the U.S.

As you know ... widespread protests and riots have broken out since Floyd was killed in police custody on May 25. The demonstrations are a demand for an end to systematic racism and police brutality ... of which the killings of Arbery and Taylor are also prime examples.

Arbery was shot and killed in Georgia in February after being chased by 3 men who allegedly believed he fit the description of a burglary suspect in the area.

Taylor -- who was an emergency medical worker -- was shot and killed by Louisville cops in her own home in a "no-knock warrant" case, in which cops allegedly busted in without warning.

The band that provided the magic for Joe Exotic's unique set of songs on 'Tiger King' has good news for everyone itching for more of their good musical vibes.

Vince Johnson of The Vince Johnson Band -- who made up one half of the music duo who wrote and performed Joe's tracks featured on the Netflix series -- just inked an exclusive licensing and distribution deal with BMG Rights Management and Create Music Group.

As part of the agreement, all those Joe tunes (which are actually Vince's) will be compiled onto an album for the first time and be released on streaming services everywhere in the coming months. There'll also be some new tunes, including a cut called 'Killer Carole.' Probably won't be a big hit in Carole Baskin's crib.

We got a little taste of this gem before it officially drops Friday -- we're thinking you can add this one to your back road country playlist. No sign of Joe, though, in the pseudo-music video -- he's a little tied up right now, unfortunately.

In any case, it's great news for Vince and co. ... whom, as we previously told you, were gunning for a record deal of some sort in the wake of the show's massive popularity. Unclear if they've gotten signed to a label yet, but a licensing deal is kinda like getting halfway there.

Of course, Vince lost his longtime music collaborator -- Daniel Clinton -- who helped him pen a lot of the songs on 'Tiger King,' after he passed away from a heart attack late last year. Here's hoping Vince does him proud with this streak of good luck going forward.

Danielle Bregoli -- otherwise known as Bhad Bhabie -- is getting professional help for a couple very serious issues ... she's made the decision to enter rehab.

Sources connected to the rapper tell us Danielle, who's just 17 years old, recently checked herself into a facility at an undisclosed location, and has been held up a few weeks now. We're told she's receiving treatment for a combination of things ... childhood trauma, but also substance abuse in the form of prescription pills.

Our sources tell us Danielle, as well as people around her, were aware of the severity of the issue ... which is why she decided to seek assistance. We're being told she's doing well so far and is optimistic about her progress. She could be in there from 30-90 days.

BB's been kinda off the radar lately, which caught the attention of fellow femcee CHIKA ... who recently called her out for her silence on George Floyd. She wrote, "bad bhabie lil chickenhead ass been silent, too. we really ain’t caught her outside not once. hmm."

Welp, Danielle broke that silence Tuesday with a black square on IG -- following suit with tons of others who went in on a social media blackout this week to honor George and the BLM movement. But, as for not "being outside," well ... she's been busy getting herself right.

Her management team tells us ... "We are very proud of Danielle for recognizing that she needed help and seeking it out."

Here's hoping she comes out the other side new and improved. Get well, kid.

Music producer David Jassy says a magical thing happened while producing a mixtape inside San Quentin State Prison -- rival gang members found common ground in their love for music.

The award-winning producer, and formerly incarcerated man at San Quentin, joined us Friday on "TMZ Live" to download us on his groundbreaking achievement, a 17-track mixtape written, recorded and produced inside one of America's most notorious prisons.

David says the project, dubbed "San Quentin Mixtape, Vol. 1," quickly brought together members from rival sets within the highly-segregated prison.

When he started making beats on a keyboard inside his cell, David says he noticed inmates from different gangs congregating outside -- a super rare occurrence for any prison, let alone San Quentin.

David seized on the opportunity and ran with it ... pairing rival gang members on the same tracks to further boost camaraderie and ease years of tensions.

In the end, David managed to get 17 different inmates to rap about their struggles behind bars without using profanity, while teaching them the ins and outs of the music industry, production and artistry.

The end result goes way beyond creating a record -- as David told us the inmates learned valuable skills they can use in the future. In other words ... true prison reform.

The mixtape dropped Friday on all streaming platforms ... and as we first reported, David already got a huge shout-out from Kim Kardashian, who had visited him at San Quentin before Governor Gavin Newsom commuted his sentence just a couple months ago.

Kim Kardashian is applauding music producer and ex-inmate David Jassy on a groundbreaking achievement ... a mixtape written, recorded and produced in San Quentin State Prison.

The 17-track project, dubbed San Quentin Mixtape, Vol. 1., is dropping Friday, and Kim surprised David with this congratulatory message ... admiring his work, passion and dedication to his music-led prison initiative.

David, an award-winning producer who wrote and produced for Britney Spears, Sean Kingston, and Ashley Tisdale before being incarcerated, is the mixtape's brainchild ... he used a keyboard to makes beats in his San Quentin cell, and had other inmates rap about their stories.

Along the way, David's vision captured the hearts and minds of a host of celebs ... with Kim, J. Cole, MC Hammer and Common among the famous folks who visited San Quentin to see what Jassy was cooking up, and encourage the inmates to keep doing their thing.

David spent 11 years in San Quentin as part of his sentence for killing a man during an altercation, but while inside ... he worked with the prison to establish a music-focused initiative within the Youthful Offenders Program. He taught inmates how to write, produce and record their own music in a studio.

Jassy used his contacts in the music industry and other donors to support the program with enough donated audio equipment to build a full-scale production studio inside the prison's media lab.

The end result -- a project delving into the life experiences of 17 different inmates, exploring their struggles behind bars while encouraging the next generation to learn from their mistakes and forge a better path.

Kim says David and the 17 inmates featured on the mixtape should be very proud of themselves, and she can't wait for the world to hear their positive message -- the mixtape has no profanity.

Queen's guitarist, Brian May, got a double shot of "Another One Bites the Dust" ... first with an agonizing crushed nerve, followed by a heart attack.

Luckily, Brian lived to tell the tale himself, but he says for a good week he was in absolute "agony" -- and that was before his heart nearly stopped pumping.

The rock icon says he thought he tore a muscle while gardening -- not very rock 'n' roll, we know, but he's 72. Brian says he tried to treat himself with ice for a week, but when he finally got an MRI it revealed he had a compressed sciatic nerve.

While struggling to recover from that he got the double whammy -- heart attack!!! Brian says he was at home when he felt the tightness in his chest and got his doctor to drive him to a hospital.

Brian calls it a "small" heart attack, but consider this ... doctors had to implant three stents to clear blocked arteries. So, it doesn't sound all that small.

As his buddy, the late great Freddie Mercury put it ... "Sends shivers down my spine ... body aching all the time."

Cardi B's body now plays host to a massive new art installation ... because the ink has just dried on her insanely colorful back tattoo.

Cardi showed off her latest handiwork, which she says took months to complete, with a special shoutout to the tattoo artist. The piece traverses Cardi's entire backside, from the top of her back down to the middle of her thigh. It's festooned with flowers, butterflies and even a hummingbird.

The new tattoo isn't Cardi's first -- she already had some serious ink on her other leg -- but her latest, thanks to the steady hand of Jamie Schene, is a spectacle if not spectacular.

Cardi isn't the first to engage in a rear-view coverup. Ben Affleck revealed an insane back piece a while ago. Fans thought he was clowning, but turns out it was the real deal.

Drake's relationship with Kylie Jenner's been fueling the rumor mill for months, and now that he's referred to her as "a side piece" -- on wax, as we used to say -- expect it to heat up.

Here's the deal ... Drake went on Instagram Live Wednesday night to tease some unreleased music from a collab with Future.

On the track, the duo raps about all the hot women they're able to haul in, and Drake spits these lyrics -- "Yeah, I’m a hater to society / Real sh*t, Kylie Jenner that’s a side piece / Yeah, I got 20 motherf***in’ Kylies."

Future follows with similarly themed lyrics, but what's interesting is the 2 have been working on this song together for a couple years now, but in the past ... Future rapped the Kylie part.

It should be noted, the track shouts out Kendall Jenner and Gigi Hadid, as well -- "Yeah, I got 20 damn Kendalls / Young slim baddies and they in vogue / Yeah, I got 20 f***in’ Gigis."

Drake, of course, is no stranger to gossip related to Kylie and the Kardashian/Jenner crew. There were reports of romance with her in November, but we were told they were just hanging out as friends.

That friendship endured despite Drake's beef with Kylie's brother-in-law, Kanye West, over a variety of issues ... including a rumored affair he had with Kim.

No lyrics about that on any new music from Drake, though ... at least not yet.