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Diddy is the proud owner of his clothing brand again -- being reunited with his Sean John line after buying it out of bankruptcy for a steal.

The rap mogul won the rights to Sean John after a bidding war with 4 other parties ... claiming it for about $7.5 million, cash. The deal will be finalized this week, barring any objections -- and safe to say, the guy's pretty excited about it.

He tells TMZ ... "I launched Sean John in 1998 with the goal of building a premium brand that shattered tradition and introduced Hip Hop to high-fashion on a global scale."

Diddy adds, "Seeing how streetwear has evolved to rewrite the rules of fashion and impact culture across categories, I’m ready to reclaim ownership of the brand, build a team of visionary designers and global partners to write the next chapter of Sean John’s legacy."

Like we told you ... the SJ line fell into bankruptcy recently under management firm GBG USA Inc., which had owned 90%. When word of its assets being up for grabs reached Mr. Combs, he'd expressed interest in gaining control once again, especially considering how cheap it was going for earlier this month.

Britney Spears' lawyer says it is an "abomination" her father is asking for even more money now that the conservatorship has been terminated and reports have surfaced alleging the conservatorship was one big money grab.

Mathew Rosengart issued a blistering statement -- "The conservatorship has been terminated and Mr. Spears was suspended ignominiously. Under the circumstances, his petition is not only legally meritless. It is an abomination. Britney poignantly testified about the pain her father caused her and this only adds to it. This is not what a father who loves his daughter does."

Jamie Spears filed legal docs to make Britney's estate pay for his legal fees in winding down the conservatorship, asking that it be paid in a "prompt" fashion.

This all comes on the heels of a blistering report by the New York Times, alleging, among many other things, Jamie received a $40,000 loan from Britney's then business manager, Tri Star Sports & Entertainment early on. According to the NYT, Jamie received $6 million from Britney's estate, while Tri Star benefited to the tune of untold millions.

The report also claims the estate paid for a security company that surveilled members of the #FreeBritney movement who went after Jamie and Tri Star and its owner, Lou Taylor.

And the NYT reports Tri Star donated tens of thousands of dollars from Britney's charitable foundation to a Christian counseling group ... a group in which Taylor was associated.

And, the allegations go on ... that Britney's estate paid for advertisements touting Tri Star and Taylor.

As we previously reported, Tri Star was receiving a percentage of Britney's earnings, which for many years were sky-high. When she stopped performing, Tri Star asked Jamie to approve a minimum guarantee of $500,000 which we're told Jamie approved. This drew heavy criticism because the concept of getting a percentage is that you take the good with the bad.

Jamie's lawyer, Alex Weingarten, has said all expenditures were made with the approval of the court or Britney's court-appointed lawyer, saying, "Jamie has nothing to hide and will therefore hide nothing."

A vacant lot next to one of Beyonce's childhood homes is up for sale in Houston... and of course, the sellers are making it all about Bey to try and push the property.

The piece of land, located on Rosedale Street in Houston, is right next to the house where Beyonce spent her early years. The vacant lot was listed for $315k earlier this year but was pulled off-market in November. Interested buyers are still welcome, and there's a number available for them to call and inquire.

We spoke with real estate investor Kevin Wright, who is selling the property, and he tells us that he is asking for an offer close to $315k, but it is negotiable. The lot previously had a home on it, but the house burned down in a fire 4 years ago.

As you can see in photos, realtors are doubling down on the fact Beyonce was the girl next door... even if it was many many years ago. There is a huge sign on the tiny lot -- about a tenth of an acre -- that says "Build On Beyonce's Old Block."

The Knowles family bought their home on the street for $64k in 1981, but moved out before Solange was born in 1986.

It's unclear if they've gotten any offers, but one thing's for sure ... it's bound to attract a Beyhive of attention!!!

Big Time Rush is in the TikTok hot seat after some users accused the group of knowingly exposing fans to COVID after one member tested positive.

If you hadn't seen, Big Time Rush had a show in Manhattan Saturday, and it was announced to fans just before the meet and greet started that band member Kendall Schmidt had tested positive for COVID-19.

From there ... rumors started to swirl, including one claiming Kendall had been in the building and around his bandmates just before getting his test result. Fans started to draw conclusions -- believing the band continued with the meet and greet and performance, even though they'd been around a sick Kendall.

However, a source connected to the band tells us ... Kendall was not near the group or the venue for Saturday's show, and everyone in the band -- including James Maslow, Logan Henderson & Carlos PenaVega -- all tested negative multiple times before arriving for the gig.

We're told all of the guys wore masks during the meet & greet, for extra precaution, and they stood on an elevated platform to increase distance between fans and them.

Billie Eilish is brave for speaking out about how watching porn as a kid hurt her adult sex life ... at least according to a retired XXX star, who says she's on to something and young people should pay attention.

Randy Spears, who starred in and directed adult movies for decades tells TMZ ... Billie is absolutely right about the damage porn can inflict on the developing brain.

The way Randy sees it ... pornographic images and movies are way too much for children to understand, and he agrees with Billie that such experiences can have lasting negative effects.

As we reported ... Billie says she was just 11 years old when she started watching "violent" porn and she thinks it caused her to have nightmares, sleep paralysis and bedroom troubles when she started having sex as she grew older.

Carlos Marin, a member of Il Divo, has died ... this according to his bandmates.

The operatic quartet confirmed Marin's passing Sunday, writing ... "It is with heavy hearts that we are letting you know that our friend and partner, Carlos Marin, has passed away. He will be missed by his friends, family and fans. There wiIl never be another voice or spirit like Carlos."

They add, "For 17 years the four of us have been on this incredible journey of Il Divo together, and we will miss our dear friend. We hope and pray that his beautiful soul will rest in peace. With Love -- David, Sebastien and Urs."

His death might be COVID related ... as his agent reportedly told some media outlets he'd contracted the virus and was recently hospitalized -- this while he was actually on tour with his guys in Europe.

Marin was the only baritone of the group ... with Urs Buhler, David Miller and Sebastien Izambard -- the other 3 singers -- all serving as tenors. The group was formed by Simon Cowell in '03, sort of as a reimagining of the hugely popular Three Tenors from the '90s.

Speaking of Cowell, he too shared his condolences with a sweet tribute ... "I am finding this so difficult to put into words how I feel right now. I am devastated Carlos Marin has passed away. He loved life. He loved performing and always had so much appreciation towards the fans who supported the group from day 1. Rest in peace Carlos. I will miss you."

Il Divo had a prolific run through the 2000s and well into the 2010s ... cranking out 10 studio albums, 2 live albums, lots of collabs and other mashups of their greatest hits over the years. The 4 crooners are credited with pioneering the way for pop opera ... AKA, popera.

They were a big hit ... producing more than 150 certified gold and platinum hits globally, and pumping out around 30 million album sales as well. Il Divo had some of their original songs -- like "Regresa a Mi" ... but were also well known for their covers, including "O Holy Night," "Hallelujah," "Amazing Grace" and others.

Marin was 53.

Kodak Black is clean and sober -- the rapper just successfully completed 90 days of drug rehab, and now he's turning his attention to his career ... prepping to get back on the road.

Kodak had a court hearing this week to reinstate his supervised release -- now that he's out of rehab -- and his lawyer, Bradford Cohen, says the judge was happy with Kodak's progress.

As we previously told you, the rapper and producer was ordered to a rehab facility a few months back after failing a drug test ... a violation of the terms of his supervised release in his federal gun case.

But, now he seems to be turning things around for the better and we're told he's taking his sobriety seriously.

He's already hit the stage too -- Rolling Loud California was his first live performance since his release ... after which, he headed back to Florida.

Cohen says Kodak is looking forward to making good music, and is going to try to stay away from people, places and things that would put him in harm's way, or trigger him to use again.

Jay-Z may be a rap icon, but he doesn't carry as much weight with today's average hip-hop head like he used to, especially compared to someone like Future -- so says ... well, Future.

Mr. Hendrix himself made the bold statement this weekend -- going on a little tweet spree to declare he's not only bigger than Jigga in the streets but that he'll run up a B (billion) perhaps even faster and easier than Jay did. The latter hit the mark (per Forbes) in 2019.

In addition to his Jay-Z tweet, Future had other things to say, including ... "Everything I do legendary or it want get done. Tuh," as well as ... "I’m the only one can get YE to pull up whenever wherever..tuh." And let's not forget ... "100M’s not the goal anymore."

Sounds like Future was on one for whatever reason, and wanted to puff his chest a bit. Still, that original claim of his -- that he's "bigger" than Jay -- is getting A LOT of pushback ... and at the same time, some agreement as well.

Of course, lots of users responded ... giving Future the virtual side-eye and even laughing him off. Even at Jay's billionaire status -- many say Future will never have the pull (not to mention the music bona fides) that Shawn Carter has ... and to compare is ludicrous.

One person pointed out Jay's accolades (there are many) ... while openly wondering why it's become fashionable for modern-day rappers to size themselves up against living legends.

And yet ... there's a small handful of folks who actually seem to agree with Future, saying ... yeah, the guy IS actually bigger than Jay (in the streets), suggesting HOV simply doesn't have the street cred/influence on the culture from the ground floor ... like he once did.

Interesting take ... and is obviously up for debate. Sounds like that argument boils down to relevance, and to whom it applies. We can acknowledge Future's music does tend to be popular (among the youth) today and generally performs better on the charts than recent Jay-Z releases.

Snoop has responded to Drakeo's death, taking to Twitter with a sorrowful message.

SD says he was informed about the stabbing while he was in his dressing room, and immediately left the grounds. In the same breath, he sent condolences to Drakeo's family.

L.A. rapper Drakeo the Ruler is dead after a stabbing at the Snoop Dogg-headlined Once Upon a Time festival concert ... TMZ has learned.

Drakeo was one of the dozens of billed performers at the huge all-day event Saturday in L.A.'s Exposition Park.

He was backstage around 8:30 PM when a fight broke out -- and during the altercation, he got stabbed ... according to law enforcement sources

We're told LAPD, California Highway Patrol and the fire department responded, and Drakeo was rushed to a hospital -- but multiple sources tell us he died from his injuries.

There are reports he was stabbed in the neck, but we haven't confirmed that yet.

We're told cops are investigating and will try to interview all artists and their entourages who were in the area when the fight started.

After the fight and Drakeo's stabbing, concert organizers shut down the festival -- so headliners like Snoop and 50 Cent never even took the stage.

Cases of COVID-19 are ramping up again in the United States -- and the omicron variant has firmly planted roots -- but that doesn't mean things will slow down on the Las Vegas Strip, which is set to go buck wild for NYE.

We've spoken with club sources across Sin City who all tell us the same thing -- their hyped-up party plans to ring in 2022 aren't changing a bit. In fact, Vegas might become an even bigger party destination for the big night if other cities start to shut down.

As for some of the bigger events ...
- The Chainsmokers will be at XS Nightclub
- Zedd at Zouk Nightclub
- Lil Jon at JEWEL Nightclub
- Rick Ross at Drais
- Steve Aoki at Omnia

Almost every party still has tickets available online, meaning venue capacity can still hold more people.

However, we are told casinos and clubs will continue to adhere to the mask mandate put in place by NV Governor Steve Sisolak. The mandate asks patrons to wear masks while inside indoor spaces unless eating or drinking, but as you can imagine, there will be plenty of drinking on NYE.

Of course, those government regulations could get much stricter if the situation worsens -- but as of now, it's full steam ahead.

Cardi B is delivering some bad news to fans hoping to get their hands on one of her dolls ... the product won't be released over production delays and concerns about the product's quality.

Here's the deal ... Cardi and Real Women Are -- a fashion doll brand -- joined forces to make a limited edition Cardi B doll, which they started taking pre-orders for in March at $35 a pop, but shipping deadlines were missed and folks started thinking it was all a scam.

The Real Women Are Instagram started to get flooded with unhappy customers wanting to know where their Cardi B-inspired doll was and demanding refunds.

Welp, brace yourself Bardi gang.

The role of Grinch will now be played by a rep for Cardi B, who tells TMZ ... the dolls will not be released as a result of COVID-related manufacturing and shipping delays. We're also told Cardi herself had concerns the dolls wouldn't meet her high-quality standards.

Saweetie will be more than just a celebrity face when she returns to her alma mater next semester as a guest lecturer ... we're told she will be quite involved in the classroom.

Here's the deal ... the rapper is teaching a course within the business school at the University of Southern California, and she'll be taking on a bigger role than she did back in October when she spoke in one of her former professor's classes.

Albert Napoli, professor of entrepreneurial studies at USC Marshall School of Business, tells TMZ ... Saweetie will actually be involved in facilitating the lessons and coming up with the structure in her spring semester courses.

We're told Saweetie will be the guest lecturer in 2 semester-long courses, Venture Feasibility and Venture Initiation, which count toward student degrees in entrepreneurial studies.

Saweetie made a surprise appearance in one of Professor Napoli's classes in the fall semester -- naturally, she was a huge hit with students -- and we're told she's passionate about teaching and sharing her experiences working with different brands.

As a guest lecturer, we're told Saweetie will have an active role in creating specific lesson plans -- she won't just be dropping by the classroom to give students something to post on social media.

In addition, we're told she'll be a guest speaker in the summer when USC holds a 4-week program for high school students.

It sounds like the Trojan alum's got a future on campus ... we're told she's in talks to formally instruct a class on her own within the entrepreneurial studies department, but it's going to take time to hammer out the deal.

Skee-Lo's famous 1995 single "I Wish" is about to put some money in someone's pocket ... because the royalties just sold on the open market.

The songwriter royalty streams for the iconic hip-hop song just went up for sale through the Royalty Exchange with an initial asking price of $375k -- but, apparently, that number was too high ... for everyone. The eventual buyer dropped a mere $245,000 to scoop up the rights for "I Wish". Quite the bargain!

The deal is similar, in principle anyway, to the mega-transaction Bruce Springsteen pulled off this week -- selling ALL his publishing and royalty rights to Sony for $500 million.

As for Skee-Lo ... we're told his hit track's recently been paying off more due to increased plays on streaming services -- "I Wish" has been streamed more than 103 million times on Spotify alone, and the royalties paid out nearly $28k in the past 12 months.

Skee-Lo released the song way back in 1995 and it was an instant hit, rising up the charts and eventually earning a Grammy nomination.

You know how it goes ... "I wish I was a little bit taller, I wish I was a baller, I wish I had a girl who looked good I would call her, I wish I had a rabbit in a hat with a bat and a six four Impala."

Skee-Lo's single is certified gold for selling over 600,000 copies.

Federal agents investigating Young Dolph's murder are hoping their informants can help them crack the case ... but so far, the information provided hasn't led to any suspects or arrests.

Sources with direct knowledge of the investigation tell TMZ ... federal agents recently interviewed informants about Dolph's shooting death in Memphis, resulting in a few new leads.

While we're told there are no solid suspects yet, the feds are hoping the information gleaned from their informants will lead them in the right direction to eventually make a probable cause arrest.

Meanwhile, investigators from the Memphis Police Department are also probing the case and talking to their sources on the street.

Memphis PD Sgt. Louis Brownlee tells TMZ ... cops have received quite a few tips on Young Dolph's murder, and while investigators have followed up on that info, there hasn't been anything to lead to an arrest.

Morgan Wallen's gotta be feeling like all is forgiven -- Lil Durk invited him to feature on a new song ... less than a year removed from the country singer's controversial use of the n-word.

The song, "Broadway Girls," was a surprise release Thursday night, and it's way more hip-hop flavored than country. Essentially, Morgan sings the hook and Durk handles the rapping ... although there are a few lines that sound like MW's dipping his toe, and attempting a little rap.

The collab is the latest sign the country superstar is fully bouncing back from the industry "canceling" him. As you know, back in February ... TMZ got video, shot by one of Morgan's neighbors, showing him using the n-word after a drunken night out with friends.

Radio stations stopped playing Morgan's songs, and he was banned from multiple award shows all year. However, his double album, "Dangerous" continued to top the charts and set sales records.

Morgan says he had no clue about the history or pain attached to the n-word, and told Michael Strahan he's learned from the controversy. Since then, he's popped up onstage at other artist's shows -- including Eric Church -- and gotten tons of applause. He's also announced a tour next year.

Bruce Springsteen's the Boss alright ... of the IRS, because the rock legend is gonna end up saving millions in taxes every year, courtesy of his record-setting sale of his music catalog ... according to Daymond John.

The "Shark Tank" star gave us some insight into why Springsteen and several other huge music stars are unloading their master recordings and publishing rights to corporations -- and turns out taxes are one major motivation.

Even before Sony bucked up big time for Bruce's songs we've seen Bob Dylan, Stevie Nicks, Neil Young, Shakira, Imagine Dragons and others sell their tunes in 9-digit deals ... although, only Dylan's at $300 mil comes close to Springsteen's half a BILLION.

As Daymond explains on Friday's "TMZ Live" ... obviously these celebs are already in the highest tax bracket, which means they'd be paying around 40% in federal taxes on their income from annual royalties.

Now those royalties go to whoever buys the catalog, and that's the true brilliance of these deals. You've gotta see Daymond's explanation, but basically, Bruce is about to cut his tax rate in half!!!

There are other motivators too -- such as worldwide pandemics shutting down concerts and traditional revenue streams -- but at the end of the day, Daymond says the name of the game, for Bruce and others, is securing steady income for generations to come.