Erick Morillo 'I Like to Move It' DJ Dead at 49

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UPDATE

1:16 PM PT -- Miami Beach PD tells TMZ there were no apparent signs of foul play, and Morillo's cause of death will be determined by the medical examiner.

DJ Erick Morillo -- best known for his 1993 hit, "I Like to Move It" -- has died ... TMZ has learned.

Law enforcement sources tell us the DJ and music producer's body was found this morning in Miami Beach ... the circumstances surrounding his death are currently unclear.

Best known for his work in international house music, Morillo produced his biggest hit in the '90s with the electro-dance track "I Like to Move It" ... which he put out under the stage name Reel 2 Real.

He's a 3-time winner of the DJ Awards' Best House DJ and a 3-time winner of Best International DJ ... including his most recent win in 2009.

Morillo's death comes a few weeks after he was arrested in Miami on sexual battery charges. The alleged victim claims she and Morillo went to his place after they were both DJing. She alleges she resisted his sexual advances, and then went to sleep at his place, but woke up nude ... with Morillo standing next to her, also nude.

He'd turned himself in on August 6.

Morillo was 49.

Originally published -- 11:30 AM PT

Kanye West I Spent $50 Million on Sunday Service

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INVESTED IN JESUS

Kanye West spared no expense putting on his Sunday Service ... he claims it cost a whopping $50 MILLION to pull it off!!!

Ye recently sat down with Nick Cannon for a segment on Nick's podcast, "Cannon's Class," and they started talking dollar figures, with Kanye boasting he's richer than Donald Trump.

Kanye says he burned through a ton of cash on his Sunday Service in 2019 ... with the $50 million being spread around for choir uniforms, flights, operas and all the other operating expenses that went with it.

At first glance, that number sounds way overblown.

However, remember ... Sunday Service traveled around the country last year, with stops at Coachella, Skid Row in Los Angeles, Houston, Howard University in D.C., the family home in Calabasas, his ranch in Wyoming, The Forum in Inglewood, Louisiana, Chicago, Ohio, Joel Olsteen's Lakewood Church and even Jamaica.

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There were construction costs too ... for the Sunday Service on Easter at Coachella, bulldozers moved tons of earth to make a huge hill for the performance.

Ye says the cash was taken out of funds set aside for marketing his Yeezy shoes ... Kanye says he didn't need to spend all the marketing dough on the kicks -- Yeezy's sell themselves, he says -- so instead he used it to put on Sunday Service.

$50 million ... that's a lot of holy bread.

Kamala Harris Brandy, Monica Have Great Voices ... Use Yours And Vote!!!

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MUTUAL ADMIRATION SOCIETY

Brandy and Monica started off their Verzuz rap battle with a very important message from a very special surprise guest ... Kamala Harris!!!

Joe Biden's running mate showed up at the start of Brandy and Monica's showdown Monday, and she reminded everyone why it's so important to vote in the upcoming election.

Senator Harris says Brandy and Monica have used their voices in a powerful way throughout their careers ... and she says everyone else can make an impact with their voices by voting.

Ya gotta see the video ... Monica's shocked when Kamala comes on the screen, and Brandy does a little fangirling. The respect and admiration here are definitely mutual.

Kamala makes her voting pitch, then says she's ready to sit back, relax and enjoy Brandy and Monica's showdown ... and she's even gonna sing along in her Howard shirt!!!

Jack Harlow Drops $$$ for Championship Rings W/ REAL Expensive Bling!!!

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Jack Harlow takes care of his own -- and by that, we mean he's willing to spend an arm and leg to ice out his entourage, and make it look like they just walked off with the Lombardi Trophy.

The Louisville rapper -- who performed at the VMAs Sunday -- was flaunting a set of 8 rings he and his crew (AKA, Private Garden) were rocking around town ahead of and during the show. They're like championship rings -- NBA or NFL-esque -- and they look pretty sweet.

Turns out, they're more than just nice looking ... they're completely loaded with precious stones that ended up costing well over a hundred grand. Teamwork makes the dream work!

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Celebrity jeweler Alex Moss -- who commissioned the custom pieces for Jack and co. -- tells TMZ the rings altogether are valued at about $110k, and that's because they're laced with VVS diamonds and 14k gold, with each ring weighing in at 55 grams.

We're told the rings have the Private Garden members' names etched in plus their 502 area code. Of course, Jack's ring is slightly more blinged-out -- he is the leader, after all.

Alex tells us he met Jack a couple years ago in the studio when he was first coming up, but just got hit up for this job a few months ago.

Sounds like Jack knew he'd be getting a primetime spot on MTV, so he went to the best in the biz for a lot of ice. Good call, JH.

The Weeknd Demands Justice for Breonna Taylor & Jacob Blake During MTV VMAs Speech

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The Weeknd hit the stage multiple times at the MTV VMAs, but his message remained the same ... demanding justice for Jacob Blake and Breonna Taylor.

The singer took home awards for Video of The Year and Best R&B Video Sunday night during MTV's virtual show. Both trophies came courtesy of his song, "Blinding Lights." However, Abel was somber when accepting his awards, saying there wasn't much to celebrate given the climate of the country.

At the end of each acceptance speech, he demanded justice for Breonna Taylor, who was gunned down by cops while she slept, and Jacob Blake -- who was shot 7 times in the back by cops -- while getting into his vehicle.

The Weeknd also took the stage -- hundreds of feet in the air above Manhattan -- to perform the hit song.

The Weeknd has been extremely charitable over the last few months, donating more than $2 million to COVID, Beirut relief and social justice causes.

The show also opened with a tribute and dedication to Chadwick Boseman.

Dave Grohl Accepts 10-Year-Old Girl's Drumming Challenge ... Kicks It Back to Her

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Dave Grohl just took up an awesome challenge from a drumming prodigy who's only 10 -- and he also put the ball back in her court ... which means there's more rockin' to come.

The Foo Fighters founder was called out by 10-year-old Nandi Bushell -- who's a bit of a percussion sensation across the pond. She did a cover of FF's "Everlong," taking care of Dave's drum section with incredible precision and flair. She then kicked it over to him.

Welp, Dave saw the challenge ... and picked up the baton. He did the same song digitally on his end with an assist from his daughter's drum set ... it's hard to say who won. Obviously, Dave's the OG and is just about flawless, but Nandi certainly held her own.

Anyway, the challenge didn't end there -- Dave dared her to try an older track he did with a supergroup he formed in 2009 called Them Crooked Vultures, featuring Josh Homme on guitar, John Paul Jones on bass and Dave, obviously, on drums.

It's called "Dead End Friends" ... and based on Dave's drumming here, it sounds like Nandi's got her work cut out for her. Your move, kid ... Dave and everyone else is waiting!

Katy Perry Salads & Smoothies During Pregnancy ... Sayonara to Sushi

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New mom Katy Perry's got sushi-on-the-brain now, but she effectively booted it from her diet during her pregnancy by adding a few new faves to her takeout orders.

KP called on the good folks at Postmates 25 times while she was carrying Daisy Dove and almost half of those orders included some sort of salad. Baby needed her greens, and got plenty.

Postmates is dropping the deets on Katy's orders for its blog series The Receipt ... and we got a preview, which was glaring for what it did NOT include. Her soft spot for sushi is no secret -- in fact, the delivery app says she ordered a massive sushi meal from Katsuya in Hollywood months before the big announcement.

However, she quit sushi cold turkey in March when she announced she was pregnant. Y'know, the whole risk of mercury and bacteria makes it a major no-no for the expectant mother.

Katy didn't just ease up on raw fish, she also swapped out coffee. King's Road Cafe lattes are her most ordered item, but she had a newfound love for strawberry banana smoothies during pregnancy.

As for her sweet-tooth cravings -- Katy's top urge was for Pinkberry. Her go-to frozen yogurt -- a small original with two servings of Fruity Pebbles and Milk Chocolate Crunch. Yum!!!

Make no mistake, though -- now that Katy and Orlando's little girl is here, Mama's already said she's got her heart set on ... "All of the sashimi!!!"

Old habits, right?

Joey Fatone 'NSYNC Would Beat Backstreet Boys on Verzuz ... This I Promise You!!!

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Joey Fatone says it's game if 'NSYNC and Backstreet Boys ever square off in a battle of the boy bands ... and he thinks it wouldn't even be close!!!

We got Joey out at LAX Monday and our camera guy asked him about the possibility of 'NSYNC and Backstreet battling it out on Verzuz, the Instagram Live pandemic phenomenon usually reserved for rappers. So far, it's seen showdowns between Timbaland and Swizz Beatz, Lil Jon and T-Pain, and Snoop Dogg and DMX.

Joey tells us how he really feels ... he says 'NSYNC would win in a landslide no matter what!!!

A potential Verzuz showdown would be a huge hit, but Joey says there are some huge hurdles before the two bands ever go toe-to-toe.

Joey's giving 'NYSNC the edge, but he tells us why Backstreet could give them a run for their money, depending on the ground rules.

Check out the clip ... and dream about what an epic showdown it would be!

Damian Lillard Dropping 'Kobe' Track For NBA 2K21 ... W/ Snoop Dogg, Derrick Milano

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NBA superstar Damian Lillard is paying tribute to Kobe Bryant in the booth ... by dropping a Mamba-inspired track for NBA 2K21 -- and SNOOP DOGG is on it!!!

The Trail Blazers guard teased the song featuring the hip-hop legend and rapper Derrick Milano on Kobe Bryant Day (8/24) ... officially announcing "Kobe" will be released when the game comes out September 4.

The teaser starts off with a post-game interview from 2013 when Kobe was asked about Dame's rookie performance ... and famously said, "that boy's serious, man."

The lyrics are all about the Lakers legend -- including lines like, "ever since a young boy, I been getting buckets ... pull it back, Kobe," and "I don't even gotta look, I take the shot and hear it swish ... I don't even touch the rim, when I pull up it's just swish."

Of course, Lillard is no stranger to rapping under the name Dame D.O.L.L.A. ... and used some pull as being one of the 2K21 cover athletes to get the song on the game's soundtrack.

"When I found out I was gonna be on the @NBA2K cover the same year Kobe was on the legends cover, I decided to use my access to the 2K soundtrack to pay tribute to Kobe through music," Dame said of the track.

No snippet of Snoop or Dame's part of the track yet ... but we're expecting some 🔥🔥🔥.

Beyonce My New Vid's Got A Powerful Message ... 'All Different Shades of Brown' Represented

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Beyonce is back with another visually striking music video ... and Queen Bey says it's got a very important message in these seemingly impossible times.

Beyonce just dropped the music vid for her song, "Brown Skin Girl," and it's not your typical eye-candy experience. The video's really artsy and features appearances from her daughter, Blue Ivy, plus former Destiny's Child bandmate Kelly Rowland, Naomi Campbell and Lupita Nyong'o.

Bey says she and director Jenn Nkiru wanted to represent "all different shades of brown" ... explaining to "Good Morning America" why they wanted every woman to be filmed "in a regal light."

Mission accomplished, Beyonce and Jenn ... the beautiful backdrops and fancy outfits definitely give off a regal vibe.

The song is from Beyonce's album, "Black Is King," but don't let the title fool you ... Bey says it's important folks remember we're all in this together and there's good reason to celebrate one another.

Check out the video ... it's pretty much the polar opposite to "WAP."

Cardi B That's Some 'WAP' Merch ... Prepare to Get Wet!!!

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Cardi B's not wet behind the ears when it comes to promoting herself, so it's no surprise she's selling "WAP" gear in a way that'll get everyone talking.

The rapper's online store is promoting a new merchandise line featuring the title of her sexually explicit hit track with Megan Thee Stallion, and it's um ... water-themed.

To make sure her fans don't get soaked, Cardi's got "WAP" umbrellas, rain ponchos, spandex sports bras and biker shorts for sale.

There's also "WAP" t-shirts, sweatshirts, sweatpants and crop-top hoodies available ... and some of the attire features sexy shots of Cardi and Meg.

If you've been living under a rock, you might not know that the duo's hit track has been all the rage since the release of the music video -- which features a Kylie Jenner cameo -- earlier this month.

It's also been the subject of controversy and debate over whether or not it speaks to female empowerment ... but as always, Cardi's making a powerful statement.

Diddy Black Excellence on the Beach ... Nas, Quavo, Trav & Swizz!!!

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Diddy has done it again ... bringing powerhouse Black musicians and artists together in a stunning display of talent and solidarity, only this time -- he did it on a shoreline!!!

The Bad Boys honcho was leading the pack Saturday out in Malibu with some pretty famous faces in the biz following close behind. We're talking Nas, Travis Scott, Quavo, Swizz Beatz and a gaggle of people in their entourage in tow too. Quite the showing of musical force.

Unclear what exactly these fellas were out there doing -- besides posing for pics and looking fly in their getups -- but something tells us they might have something cooking.

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We already know Diddy's tight with Nas -- he recently plugged his new album on IG -- but it's clear the music mogul is cool with multiple generations in the game, and truly seeks to bring people together.

He's showcased his Black Excellence movement before with other heavy hitters, but that was a much more formal atmosphere. Here, this looks a pretty caj get-together, but it could also signal collabs to come.

A tape with all these guys on there at once??? Sign us up!

Coronavirus Germany Experiments with Indoor Concerts ... How Many Volunteers Will Get Sick?!?

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This is both frightening and interesting ... Germany is putting thousands of volunteers in harm's way in the middle of the pandemic, to see if indoor events -- like concerts --can resume.

The research study -- sanctioned by the government -- solicited 4,000 folks between the ages of 18 and 50 ... all of whom are healthy. They have agreed to attend one of 3 concerts performed by singer Tim Bendzko.

The stated purpose of the concerts ... "to investigate the conditions under which such events can be carried out despite the pandemic."

The volunteers will get face masks and they will have tracking devices to determine if they have socially distanced and if not ... how close they got to others. They are also using some sort of electronic device which is supposed to show how aerosolized particles spread.

The first concert went down Saturday in Leipzig, Germany, where 2,000 people showed up.

The Minister of Economics and Science said, "As long as there is a risk of infection, major concerts, trade fairs and sporting events cannot take place. This is why it is so important to find out which technical and orginisational conditions can effectively minimise the risks."

You know who will surely be watching.

Maluma, CNCO Calling All Super Fans for the VMAs ... But Prepare to Isolate!!!

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Maluma and CNCO will attempt to pull off what few entertainers have been able to do this year -- perform for a live audience -- but to do so, they're setting some strict rules for the fans who want to risk it.

We've learned the pair is currently casting "super fans" to be a part of a special outdoor performance at next week's MTV VMA's ... with some very specific requirements.

According to the casting call, fans who want to attend must live near NYC, bring a guest (but only if they live together), get a COVID-19 test on August 23 and then self-isolate with the guest until the August 30 show.

It certainly sounds like a lot of work, but considering Maluma's got 52 million followers on Instagram and boy band CNCO has 3.5 million ... they should be able to wrangle up enough willing participants.

Maluma's nominated this year for Best Latin video with "Que Pena" and CNCO's up for a brand new category dubbed Best Quarantine Performance, as well as Best Choreography.

Luann de Lesseps Sobriety's Helping Me Thru Pandemic ... Alcohol Makes Me Anxious!!!

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Luann de Lesseps admits staying sober is a challenge -- especially under pandemic lockdowns -- but she says it's put her in a better headspace to cope during trying times.

"The Real Housewives of New York City" star joined "TMZ Live" Thursday to chat about her ongoing sobriety and what she's been doing to help her along ... including yoga, meditation, and making "diva" music.

Luann understands why studies show alcohol use is way up since the pandemic began in March -- people turn to booze to ease pain -- but she says, for her, it only raised her anxiety level ... something no one needs more of these days.

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In fact, the 'RHONY' star says sobriety has her feeling like she has control of her life again, and she's expressing that with a new song ... "Viva La Diva."

Luann shared a preview of her latest single which drops Friday -- which makes it clear she's proud to let her diva flag fly.

As you may know ... Luann's path to sobriety followed her Christmas Eve 2017 arrest after an alleged drunken dispute with cops in Palm Beach. A judge placed her on probation in 2018 and ordered her to stay off drugs and alcohol ... and it's obviously had a profound impact on her life. Between her song, and her makeup line, her WFH life is boomin'!

Gene Simmons Kissing My Home In the Hills Goodbye ... Yours for $2.2 Million!!!

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Gene Simmons is done with his life in the Hills of Hollywood, so he's unloading some real estate at a price that might be perfect for a KISS memorabilia collector ... who's also rich.

The iconic rocker just listed his 3-story pad in picturesque Laurel Canyon for a cool $2.2 million ... which gets ya 4 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms and rock star-worthy views.

Gene's crib is on a gated private road, perched at the top of Laurel Canyon ... so you get offers 360-degree views of the downtown skyline, Hollywood sign, Bev Hills, Santa Monica Mountains, Griffith Park Observatory and the Pacific Ocean. Basically all of L.A.

You can take in the sights from spacious outdoor decks on all 3 levels of the 2,345-square-feet home, which Lisa Young and Kennon Earl of Compass are listing.

The master suite -- or primary suite, your choice -- has a reading alcove full of shelves and the room opens up to one of the decks ... and the kitchen and bathrooms are recently updated with modern touches.

By the way, Gene's not packing up his family jewels and leaving Hollywood altogether. He and Shannon still have their massive mansion in those other Hills. Beverly, that is.