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Jay-Z had mad love for DMX, despite their fierce competition ... and he felt this way for years.

Jay was on the season premiere of "The Shop: Uninterrupted" with LeBron James and Maverick Carter, and talked about years past when he boycotted the Grammys after X was overlooked for a single nomination, despite having 2 #1 albums in 1999. Jay won his first Grammy but was a no-show as a way of standing with X.

As Bad Bunny, WNBA star Nneka Ogwumike and SpringHill CMO Paul Rivera looked on, Jay recounted his relationship with DMX.

Jay went down memory lane, remembering his first meeting with X at a Bronx pool hall. He paid homage to his friend, saying he became a better rapper by watching X perform.

Gene Simmons appears to be making good on his plan to leave California for Nevada ... he just dropped over $8 million for a rockin' mansion near Las Vegas.

The KISS star nabbed a 6-bed, 8-bath palace in Henderson with 11,000 square feet of living space and distinctively modern features ... like a floating pathway entrance over a koi pond and floor-to-ceiling glass walls.

Gene and his family jewels will have room to move -- the place has seriously spacious rooms inside ... and outside there's a pool, hot tub, built-in barbecue and a courtyard. Desert cool, baby!

We broke the story ... Simmons put his recently renovated Beverly Hills mansion back on the market in March for $25 million.

He'd initially listed it for $22 mil, but then took it off the market and made several improvements.

Around that time, he told reporters he was leaving California, saying ... "There are earthquakes, fires and pandemics every year. Even though there is nice sunshine, I’m done."

Gene must be serious, because along with buying a new home in Henderson ... he slashed the asking price on his Bev Hills home to just under $20 mil. As they say, priced to move!!!

It might be time for The Weeknd to invest in a new mantel -- he continues to rack up awards, despite the Grammys snub ... this time taking home the most trophies at the iHeartRadio Awards.

Abel was the winner of 3 pieces of hardware Thursday night -- including the coveted Song of The Year and Top Male Artist awards -- for his single, "Blinding Lights," and album "After Hours." The 3 wins tied him with BTS for the most of the night.

The singer was humble in accepting, thanking his team and his fans ... but you gotta imagine the last couple weeks have brought him great vindication after leaving the Grammys with goose eggs.

Fans and fellow artists were outraged when "After Hours" was snubbed. Abel vowed to never submit his work to the Recording Academy for Grammy consideration again, accusing "secret committees" within the org of getting it wrong.

However, just last week, the singer was validated when he took home 10 trophies -- the most of any artist -- at The Billboard Awards.

Here's the first look at Ariana Grande's wedding dress ... and it's absolutely gorgeous.

The "7 Rings" singer just shared a photo dump from her big day earlier this month, when she slid a wedding ring on her new husband, Dalton Gomez's finger. There were only 20 people watching at her home in Montecito.

TMZ broke the story of the wedding, and Ariana just confirmed the date -- she got hitched May 15.

Ariana's home was decorated with lots of white flowers and white candles.

Vera Wang designed Ariana's silk wedding dress, following up on a pact they made a few years back at the Met Gala, and Dalton wore a Tom Ford suit ... according to Variety.

Check out all the pics ... there's a bunch of kissing, huge smiles and even a cute little pup.

DMX's first posthumous album is going to be named after his youngest son -- something that had been in the works before he passed ... and it's now happening thanks to a longtime collaborator.

The CEO of Ruff Ryders Inc., Joaquin Dean, tells TMZ, X's newest album -- the first to hit shelves since his passing -- is going to be titled "Exodus" ... but fans might not have realized it was an idea X had kicked around at length before he died.

We're told DMX had been working on this album for the past year ... as he was growing closer and closer to his 4-year-old, whom he shared with his widowed fiancee, Desiree.

Dean says X had expressed to his lifelong friend Swizz Beatz -- who helped produce "Exodus" -- he wanted to name the project after his boy. So, to fulfill that wish, Swizz made the call to honor X's wish.

In addition to the title, there are two tracks on the album that reference X's relationship with his son -- including a track called "Exodus Skit" and "Letter to my Son (Call Your Father)." "Exodus" also happens to be the final tattoo DMX got before his passing.

Rap phenom Metro Marrs drew a loud ovation after making it rain at his high school graduation ... but the stunt ended up getting him detained by cops.

So, here's the deal ... Marrs graduated from Langston Hughes High in nearby Atlanta and when he crossed the stage Friday, he decided to go out with a bang. You can see from the video he took wads of cash out from his pants and made it rain ... to the delight of his fellow grads.

The crowd went absolutely nuts ... and grads were more than happy to raise their arms and catch all the green. But, school officials were not happy campers. You can see several of them get up off their seats to corral the 18-year-old rapper who just recently signed with Quality Control ... the label home to Migos, Lil Yachty and City Girls.

Marrs, though, had a can't-stop-won't-stop attitude ... 'cause he kept going into his waistband for more dough. All-in-all ... he threw around $10k in cash to his cap-and-gown colleagues.

Cops stepped in to escort him out of the ceremony ... and we're told he was detained for inciting a riot and disorderly conduct and then ticketed for the offense.  If you ask us, it's ridiculous -- inciting a riot because the grads grabbed some dough?  Really outrageous.

Ray J's living proof the rich just get richer ... because his investment yielded a 17,000 percent return on his investment ... yes, 17,000 PERCENT!!!

Ray J was playing a penny-slot game called "Buffalo" and won $17,000. We're told he plunked down a total of $100 so, yeah, it was a good day at the slots.

In case you want in ... Ray hit up the San Manuel Casino in San Bernardino County. It was quite the scene ... a crowd gathered to watch Ray J rake in the dough.

He played the slots because he considers himself an old man now, and that's what old folks do. BTW ... he's 40.

Ray has retired his days as a big gambler on table games, particularly roulette ... and his most recent lucky streak is probably a sign that's a good idea.

It's not like he needs money ... Ray's Raycon earbuds hit a milestone earlier this year ... 1 million unique customers who paid between $80 and $150 a pop. Translation ... he made a fortune, and that's just on one product.

Chi Modu -- one of the most famous photographers in hip-hop history, documenting iconic shots from the 1990s -- has died.

An Instagram post announcing the sad news went up Saturday, with a caption that read ... "Our hearts are broken... We continue the fight ©💪🏾 The family request privacy at this time 📷." It was accompanied by a photo of him and his lifespan in years, 1966-2021.

The details surrounding his death weren't released.

Chi had snapped one of the most memorable batches of photos as it pertains to music -- shooting a variety of rappers in the '90s, which went on to grace the covers of memorable albums, as well as T-shirts and stills for years to come.

He's perhaps best known for photographing Prodigy and Havoc of Mobb Deep for the cover of their 1995 album, 'The Infamous' ... but he might be just as known for his black and white photo of a shirtless Tupac, with his hands up near his head and cigarette smoke blowing.

There are countless other legendary artists in his repertoire, including The Notorious B.I.G., Snoop Dogg, Nas, Diddy, LL Cool J, Wu-Tang Clan, Eazy-E, Ice Cube, Mary J. Blige, Busta Rhymes, Dr. Dre, Ice-T, Run-DMC, Q-Tip, Gang Starr, Geto Boyz, Redman, Dead Prez, Eminem, Fat Joe, Kris Kross, Mac Miller, Ty Dolla $ign, Common and Flavor Flav.

The list can go on forever -- but bottom line ... your favorite rapper has probably been shot at one point or another by Chi ... whose work is well-documented and seriously unmatched.

The guy started at The Source and was pretty much tasked with getting in with these acts that were bubbling at the time ... and sure enough, they gave him unprecedented access to document their work, lifestyles and their most intimate moments. All the photos made for sick shots, which goes without saying.

His photojournalism went beyond just hip-hop, BTW -- Chi traveled the world and snapped a wealth of pics in countries all over Asia, the Middle East and Africa. Chi's contribution to photography and music culture is unparalleled ... and his death is, frankly, shocking.

He was only 54.

RIP

Drake's 3-year-old son clearly has dad's knack for big moments -- he made an unforgettable night at the Billboard Music Awards even more memorable by getting emotional on stage.

The hip-hop star cemented his spot as a legend Sunday night as he was named Artist of the Decade, and his little boy, Adonis, took the stage with him to accept the award ... to give it an adorable boost.

As Drake spoke to the celeb-stacked crowd at the Microsoft Theater in L.A. about dedication to his music and using his fear to fuel improvement, his son hugged his legs pretty tight.

But, as Champagne Papi was closing his speech, Adonis seemed to have had enough and started walking away ... only to get picked up by Drake and start crying as his father dedicated the award to him.

As we first told you ... Drake's mother, Sandi, was also in attendance to watch him win the huge award Sunday night, which previously went to Mariah Carey in the 1990s and Eminem in the 2000s.

Drake and friends celebrated his win at SoFi Stadium -- home of the L.A. Rams and Chargers -- after the show ... and there was a massive message on the big screen.

The lead singer of the music group that won the 2021 Eurovision Song Contest did NOT use drugs live on air during their celebration ... according to an official investigation.

As we told you ... Damiano David of the Italian band Maneskin -- which took top honors at the singing competition -- was accused of snorting a bump of cocaine after video showed him lowering his head toward a table where the group was gathered.

However, the European Broadcasting Union that organized the event says it conducted a review of the footage and facts -- while also claiming David took a voluntary drug test that came back negative, and determined ... "No drug use took place in the Green Room and we consider the matter closed."

The EBU added that "inaccurate speculation leading to fake news" tarnished this year's event and unfairly impacted Maneskin ... which the organization congratulated again for winning and wished them success.

As we reported ... David claimed the reason he was looking down by the table in the video clip was because a bandmate had broken a glass, and insisted to reporters he doesn't do drugs.

If revenge is a dish best served cold, then The Weeknd has himself some well-chilled hardware from the Billboard Music Awards, which gave him what the Grammy heads didn't.

Abel walked away with the most wins at the BBMAs Sunday ... racking up 10 total at the end of the night (the most out of any artist nominated) with many of the statuettes among the top honors given out, including Top Artist, Hot 100 Song and more.

In other words, Abel made up for lost time at the Grammy Awards and then some ... which completely shut him out from this year's ceremony with zero nominations.

As you know ... The Weeknd's on a campaign of sorts to call out the Recording Academy as corrupt, crooked, outdated, out of touch, you name it. Interestingly, though, he refrained from any Grammy talk during the BBMAs ... and kept it classy.

Franky, he didn't have to say much, because the wins spoke for themselves -- as did his performance later in the show of his hit, "Save Your Tears," which he performed in a parking lot with some sweet coordinated car choreography ... one of the highlights of the night.

As for his postshow celebration, The Weeknd was one of several celebs to hit the Billboard party at The Nice Guy.

Chuck D's extending an olive branch to Flavor Flav, and he seems more than ready to get on stage or in a studio with him for the rebirth of Public Enemy.

We caught up with the legendary MC as he was touring construction of the Universal Hip Hop Museum in the Bronx. The groundbreaking group brought out rap royalty like Grandmaster Flash, Nas, Fat Joe and LL Cool J -- but it was Chuck who dropped major news about his group.

We asked if we're ever going to see Public Enemy together again, and he more than left the door open ... and pretty much said it's up to Flav at this point.

That brought us to our next question: Are Chuck and Flav even on talking terms? Watch his response ... he was a little evasive, but also made it clear he's ready to squash whatever beef remains between them.

In Chuck's words, "It's whatever Flavor wants to do."

TMZ broke the story ... FF got pissed when Chuck D announced back in March 2020 that Flavor was fired from the group ... following a huge argument over PE appearing at a Bernie Sanders rally.

Flavor Flav and Chuck D hadn't been cool for years -- ever since FF sued the group -- but things really reached a boiling point after Flav fired off a cease and desist letter to Bernie's campaign ... accusing them of using his image and likeness for a gig Chuck D agreed to play in support of the candidate.

We brought up that Bernie beef and Chuck dropped a joke about Flav and politics. We're thinking it was just good-natured ribbing, because he seems ready to put the whole mess behind them.

Justin Bieber's nest of a hairdo is in the history books -- at least for now -- because the guy's got a fresh cut on his hands, but the question remains ... what caused the change???

We caught the Biebs and his wife, Hailey, leaving Voda Spa in WeHo Sunday, where JB was flashing a whole new look from the shoulders up ... namely, his was much shorter than what we'd seen of late. And yes, that means he's lost the so-called dreadlocks he was rockin'.

Of course, our photog had to ask what inspired the drastic clip -- and if it, perhaps, had anything to do with the criticism he was getting over his recent hairstyle (more on that later).

Unfortunately, Justin didn't seem to be in too chatty of a mood. Instead of answering, the mister and missus hopped into their Tesla and drove away. It sounded like he might've said something in response, but it appears that was just his bodyguards, who were close behind.

As for that backlash ... well, some felt Justin was misappropriating Black culture by rocking the locks with impunity. He had also tied his hair up in pigtails at several points throughout most of this past month ... but never really addressed the elephant in the room.

Maybe it was just a Must-Not-Cut-Hair May type of thing.

Of course, folks weren't necessarily losing sleep over this either. Considering all the different celebs over the years who've been accused of rocking hairstyles that aren't technically in their ethnic wheelhouse, the outrage over Justin's go wasn't nearly as loud in comparison.

Morgan Wallen continues to rake in success, despite using a racial slur -- the guy just nabbed multiple wins at the Billboard Music Awards ... even though he wasn't allowed to show.

The country singer was among several winners who were announced before the broadcast -- which starts at 5 PM PT -- and lo and behold ... he ended up taking three awards home, after being nominated for six total.

MW won for Top Country Artist, Top Country Male Artist and Top Country Album -- for his sophomore project, "Dangerous: The Double Album," which has continued to stream incredibly well in recent months. This in spite of the fact that he hurled the n-word in February.

Dick Clark Productions had already said Wallen would NOT be involved in the BBMAs this year in any capacity because of the epithet he said ... saying his behavior didn't align with their values. That said, they acknowledged he'd move forward as a finalist nonetheless, which was based solely on his music numbers and his charting.

DCP said they'd reevaluate his progress in the near future and decide if they want to invite him back for next year. Of course, Wallen doesn't appear to have done a whole lot outside of basic apologizing ... as we've reported ourselves.

Lil Nas X brought 'SNL' to a grand finale Saturday night, but the performance was a little ... well, a little too tight.

Lil Nas was performing "MONTERO (Call Me By Your Name)" during the show, and all the gyrating was too much for his pants, 'cause they split down the front.

It happens at around the 2:20 mark in the video, as he was dancing on a stripper pole. You see him drop low, and that's when his pants do the splits.

He's a pro, so he immediately grabbed his crotch -- Michael Jackson style -- so it wasn't super obvious ... but yeah, it happened.

He boldly glares right into the camera as it happens and then presses on to the end of the song.

Lil Nas X was the musical guest for the season 46 finale. Anya Taylor-Joy did the hosting honors.

He's a funny guy, tweeting after the show, “NOT MY PANTS RIPPED ON LIVE ON TV,” adding, “OMFG NO… I wanted to do my pole routine so bad this what I get lmaoo.”

He followed up saying, "at first i was afraid to even perform. then we rehearsed for 2 weeks, then all of the dancers got removed because one had covid and new ones had to learn the routine in 24 hours, and then i ended up ripping my pants and couldn’t finish. everything happens for a reason tho lol"