Digital Underground's Shock G Oakland To Honor Him W/ Celebration ... Good Deeds, Good Music
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Shock G is being honored with a celebration of life in Oakland ... there's a day-long tribute coming up full of good deeds and good tunes.
Shock G's longtime manager, Atron Gregory, tells TMZ ... Oakland is celebrating the Digital Underground star with a city-wide event August 21, and the day kicks off with the late rapper's family and friends feeding about 2,000 unhoused community members.
We're told the late Shock had a passion for supporting those who have a hard time supporting themselves, and organizers wanted to honor his legacy by giving back.
From there, we're told there will be a motorcade traveling through Oakland en route to City Hall, which will play host to a Shock G tribute featuring live music, performances and speakers.
The celebration will wrap up with an afterparty at The New Parish in Oakland, with several DJs spinning tunes.
TMZ broke the story ... Shock G was found dead in a Tampa hotel room back in April from an accidental overdose.
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Since his death, we're told surviving members of Digital Underground -- which was founded in Oakland -- and other musicians close to the group banded together to organize a celebration for Shock in Oakland ... working with Oakland City Council members and non-profits in the city to make it happen.
We're also told event organizers within Digital Underground got support and approval from Shock G's family.
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Sean Garrett I Launched a New Record Label ... Future Legends Wanted!!!
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Renowned record producer Sean Garrett isn't resting on his laurels -- he's still out there looking to discover new talent ... with a modernized "Star Search"-type strategy.
Garrett and music executive Max Gousse co-founded a new record label called Hey Young World, and Sean joined "TMZ Live" to explain how he's not looking for new artists -- instead, he's "Looking for Legends."
He's teaming up with iHeart Radio to find a diverse crop of fresh talent in 5 different categories -- pop, R&B, hip-hop, Latin and country -- and applying is as easy as submitting a video.
From there, the contest will enter a top 30 phase in which the finalists will perform live in front of Sean and some other judges ... with 5 record deals at stake.
And if you aren't familiar ... Garrett's resume includes writing and producing hits for Ciara, Mario, Nicki Minaj, Pussycat Dolls and most famously -- Usher's "Yeah!"
Sean told us he's confident he can find new artists to follow in those huge footsteps, but you gotta submit your video before Aug. 22.
We're already know one place the winner's gonna pop up. We're holding ya to it, Sean!!!
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Kanye West's 'Donda' Event Down Goes Fan Crashing Stage!!! Tackled by Security Guards
A Kanye West fan tried to join the show during the rapper's second "Donda" listening event ... but got taken down by security before he got too close.
About midway through Ye's performance Thursday night at Atlanta's Mercedes-Benz Stadium -- his second in as many weeks -- a man dressed in orange breached security in the stands and made a break for the stage.
As the guy made his way through the large crowd of backup dancers, that's when a security guard came out of nowhere with the big tackle. Unfortunately, it looks like he may have been injured in the collision.
While we hope the guard's okay, the fan was apprehended by several other guards after the take-down and hauled away. However, it seems police were not involved because we're told they have no record of the incident.
As we told you ... Kim Kardashian and all their kids attended the "Donda" listening party 2.0, which was supposed to lead up to the public release of Kanye's 10th studio album after already being delayed.
Turns out, the second time around yielded the same result, as of Friday 7:30 AM PT ... "Donda" is still not out.
#DONDA pic.twitter.com/55tmitK7ha
— Kim Kardashian West (@KimKardashian) August 6, 2021 @KimKardashian
Some fans have joked it's because Kanye still hasn't come down after levitating out of the stadium to dramatically end last night's show. Or, maybe the third listening event will be the charm.
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Kim Kardashian & Kids Let's Run it Back ... Attend Kanye's 2nd 'Donda' Event
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6:45 PM PT -- Kanye’s kids were spotted getting ready for the album release.
The West kids are now in the audience! #DONDA pic.twitter.com/E9zCt4a0vi
— Photos Of Kanye West (@PhotosOfKanye) August 6, 2021 @PhotosOfKanye
Kim Kardashian and all of her children are showing just how much they love and support Daddy ... they're back in Atlanta for Kanye West's encore "Donda" album release.
Kim and their kids -- North, Saint, Chicago and Psalm -- are on the East Coast yet again to attend Ye's second event at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in 2 weeks in anticipation of the release of his 10th studio album ... scheduled for Friday.
— Kim Kardashian West (@KimKardashian) August 6, 2021 @KimKardashian
Kim and the kids are dressed head to toe in Balenciaga, which sorta makes sense ... the creative director behind the event is the head of Balenciaga.
We're told some family friends are also with Kim -- including KKW's Chief Marketing Officer Tracy Romulus and her kids -- to celebrate the rapper's momentous occasion.
Worth noting -- our sources say this is not some sign that Kim and Kanye are getting back together ... the divorce is still happening, but the family support remains strong.
7/22/21
As we first told you ... Kim and the family were also in attendance on July 22 when Kanye first debuted "Donda" ahead of its initial July 23 release date. It never came out, though ... thus his need for round 2.
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Our sources say the plan is for Kayne to put a new twist on the second album release event ... which looks like it may involve transforming into a supervillain.
Then again, as Khloe recently told us ... only Kanye truly knows what's in store.
Originally Published -- 6:15 PM PT
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The Offspring Drummer Not Kicked Out ... But Return Appears Unlikely
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The Offspring are telling people their drummer, Pete Parada, was NOT kicked out of the band due to being unvaccinated ... but as a practical matter, it may be the case.
Jason "Blackball" McLean -- famous for singing "You gotta keep 'em separated" on The Offspring's 1994 hit, "Come Out And Play" -- tells TMZ ... Pete was never given the boot by his bandmates and a mutual agreement was reached ... but frankly, a return is sounding more and more like a pipedream.
We're told there have been several discussions between Pete and the other band members for months about getting back on the road, traveling and touring again ... which would require getting vaccinated.
More and more venues, cities and countries are requiring proof of vaccination to perform ... and we're told the band needs a drummer who's all-in on getting the shot.
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Pete says he can't get vaccinated due to a medical issue that's gotten worse since childhood, so he's out ... and there doesn't appear to be a pathway for a return in the foreseeable future.
Drummer Josh Freese will be filling in for The Offspring's upcoming shows -- but the band is telling folks it's not permanent and as soon as things get better and Pete's not required to be vaxxed to be in a venue, there's an open invitation to return.
Thing is ... vaccine mandates don't appear to be going away anytime soon, nor does COVID, and with herd immunity seeming further and further away, it's increasingly hard to imagine Pete getting behind a drum set with The Offspring.
BTW ... though Jason's not an official member of the band, he will be appearing at some of their upcoming shows to perform his iconic lyrics, just like he did on a recent ep. of their "Cockpit Karaoke."
Pete, on the other hand, will likely be sidelined for the foreseeable future, even though he and the band might not be ready to accept it.
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Dua Lipa & Anwar Hadid Get Cozy in Ibiza ... With a Side of Holy Moly!!!
Dua Lipa's dress screams "IDGAF" ... as in, who cares if you can see her black g-string.
The singer and BF Anwar Hadid got real comfy with each other during a lunch date in Ibiza. They were there with a group of friends, and even though this looked pretty caszh, that didn't stop Dua from dressing to the nines with a beige dress, long earrings and heels ... on the beach, mind you.
And, as you can see, Dua's dress is pretty revealing on the sides ... not that it restricted her mood in any way. She looked to be having a blast at the beachside joint.
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Dua snapped a few selfies while laughing it up, and when Anwar rejoined the group after a smoke break ... she couldn't help but throw her arms around him.
Looks like they hung out at their lunch spot until late into the night.
Dua and Anwar have been gallivanting all over Europe. They were in Albania before hitting up Spain, and just a few days ago she posted a pic of them and captioned it, "my love."
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Aaliyah Music Finally Streaming ... 20 Years After Her Death
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Aaliyah fans who've been waiting years to be able to listen to her music on digital streaming platforms, are about to get it.
According to Blackground Records -- which owns the late singer's masters and is rebranding as Blackground Records 2.0 -- it's partnering with the independent label EMPIRE to bring her songs to streaming services worldwide ... along with catalog material from Timbaland & Magoo, Tank, Toni Braxton and JoJo.
The catalog will be released in near chronological order, starting with Aaliyah's "One in a Million" album on August 20 ... though physical vinyl and CD pre-orders, as well as digital pre-orders and pre-saves, are available now on Blackground's site.
In September, the late singer's self-titled album will be released to streaming, followed by "I Care 4 U" and the "Ultimate Aaliyah" compilation albums in October.
If you didn't know ... her songs have notoriously never been available to download or stream, except for her 1994 album "Age Ain't Nothing But a Number." But, now -- 20 years after Aaliyah tragically died in a plane crash -- her music finally will be available for fans to enjoy.
The big news isn't welcome from everyone, though. As you may know, the reason for the hold-out is a long-standing rift between Aaliyah's uncle, Barry Hankerson -- founder of Blackground Records who owns her masters -- and her mother, Diane Haughton, who controls the rest of her estate.
That contention is still there, as it seems Blackground Music is behind the digital streaming release of Aaliyah's music.
This resulted in the Estate of Aaliyah issuing this response -- "For 20 years we have battled behind the scenes, enduring shadowy tactics of deception with unauthorized projects targeted to tarnish." The Estate also calls the streaming deal an "unscrupulous endeavor to release Aaliyah’s music without any transparency or full accounting to the estate."
Family drama aside, a whole new generation is about to get exposed to Aaliyah's entire catalog. We got Jamie Foxx in Malibu, shortly after the announcement, and he weighed in on whether Gen Z will connect with her sound.
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Kanye West Spiked Out to Hang with Lil Yachty ... Before 2nd 'Donda' Party
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Lil Yachty's posted up with Kanye West inside Mercedes-Benz Stadium, and from the look of things, Yachty's vibing on "Donda" ... while Ye's morphing into a supervillain.
The "Hit Bout It" rapper paid Kanye a visit at his makeshift ATL home ahead of the second "Donda" listening party set to go down Thursday evening -- and Kanye was wearing his usual full head cover, plus a jacket covered in giant spikes!
Seriously, looks like something from the "Suicide Squad" wardrobe.
Yachty's the latest rapper to visit him inside his quarters at the home of the Atlanta Falcons. Chance The Rapper and Vic Mensa have also popped in to see Kanye.
Apple's launched a stream for viewers to "Watch Kanye finishing Donda in Atlanta," but it's intentionally muted the entire time ... which is why you can't hear any sound coming from the video Yachty posted.
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As we reported ... Kanye and co. had been trying to figure out how to make this experience different from the first, which as we first reported, broke the Apple Music Global Livestream record with 3.3 million viewers.
Kanye, of course, has been living in the stadium as he finishes up the album. At this point, he knows the place inside and out ... so that very well could come into play as he tries to come up with something new for the second event.
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Fetty Wap Daughter Died of Heart Defect Complications
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Fetty Wap's daughter died as a result of a health issue she'd carried with her since birth ... TMZ has learned.
The rapper and his ex Lisa Pembroke's 4-year-old, Lauren, died from a fatal cardiac arrhythmia due to complications of congenital cardiac anomalies ... this according to the death certificate. Essentially, that means she'd had this heart problem since birth, and the resulting irregular heartbeat killed her.
According to the document, obtained by TMZ, Lauren passed on June 24, 2021 ... at her home in Riverdale, Georgia.
Both Fetty and Lisa have posted touching tributes to their daughter during the last week ... which was the first time they'd definitively shared the heartbreaking news with the public.
Fetty seemed to imply Lauren had passed away a couple weeks ago -- during his set at Rolling Loud, he dedicated the performance to her.
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He's got another child who came frighteningly close to death -- his daughter, Alaiya, underwent emergency brain surgery back in January 2019 ... a procedure that luckily went well.
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Rolling Stones OG Drummer Out for U.S. Tour ... Recovering from Medical Procedure
The Rolling Stones can't always get what they want -- they'll be touring without their original drummer for the first time in their nearly 6 decades as he recovers from an unspecified medical procedure.
Charlie Watts is 80 -- the oldest of the Stones -- and has been with the band since its inception in 1962, but he says he's going to have to sit out their upcoming U.S. tour "on the advice of the experts that this will take a while."
The good news ... Watts' medical procedure is said to have been a complete success, but time just isn't on his side to make a recovery before the band is set to resume their No Filter tour with a stadium show in St. Louis on Sept. 26.
They've also sold out many other big shows for the fall tour, and Watts will be replaced by his friend, Steve Jordan ... a veteran musician who's played with Keith Richards for years.
Still, the Stones say this is all "very disappointing to say the least, but it’s also fair to say no one saw this coming."
Watts joked, "For once my timing has been a little off," adding that he didn't want his recovery to delay the tour any more after all the suffering fans have gone through with Covid.
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Khloe Kardashian Kanye's Still Family, I Support Him ... But I Can't Help Ya on 'Donda' Release!!!
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Khloe Kardashian isn't letting on if she has the inside scoop on whether Kanye West will actually release "Donda" this week ... but she still has his back no matter what.
Khloe was at The Grove in L.A. Wednesday with her daughter, True, and mom, Kris Jenner -- along with nieces and nephews Chi, Psalm, Dream and Stormi -- for what led to a rather large ice cream order.
We asked Khloe if Kanye's upcoming 10th studio album's finally coming out Friday -- after already being pushed a couple weeks -- and her answer's pretty telling.
Still sounds like it could go either way, as far as she knows, but she tells us he's family ... so she'll be supporting him no matter what.
Ye's holding a second "Donda" listening event Thursday night in Atlanta in anticipation of the updated August 6 release date, with plans to make it different from the first.
7/22/21
As you may recall ... the initial release date was scheduled for July 23 and he packed ATL's Mercedes-Benz Stadium the night before to debut the album, but it was never made available to the public.
This time around it might be the real deal, but like Khloe says ... only Kanye knows for certain.
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Justin Bieber on Morgan Wallen I Didn't Know He Said N-Word ... 'Painful Memories' For Me
Justin Bieber is apologizing for plugging Morgan Wallen's album -- saying he didn't know about Morgan's n-word scandal, but now that he does ... he admits it's bringing back bad memories for him.
The controversy started Wednesday morning when Justin posted an Instagram story saying he loved Morgan's "Dangerous" album, a post that was quickly deleted ... presumably after he got some backlash, and some knowledge about Morgan's incident.
Justin's been explaining himself ever since ... claiming he had no clue about Wallen's n-word scandal, saying he doesn't support or tolerate racism or discrimination and apologizing to anyone he may have offended by initially supporting Morgan's record.
JANUARY 2021
As you know by now, Morgan was caught on video saying the n-word back in January after a night out in Nashville with friends.
Once Justin heard about that, it immediately reminded him of his own infamous, on camera, use of the n-word when he was 14. He substituted the epithet in one of his early hits, singing ... "There'll be one less lonely n***er."
Justin says those "painful memories" came back to him Wednesday, but added he wanted to share them with his followers to "educate people who may be ignorant to the topic of racism and how hurtful it is."
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Da Brat & Judy Dupart Being Openly Gay in Hip-Hop Easier Now Despite DaBaby's Ignorance
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Da Brat says it's "way better now" being an openly gay rapper, and even though DaBaby's recent homophobic rant makes it seem otherwise -- she's "living out loud" with her ride or die fiancee Judy Dupart.
The extremely happy couple joined us Wednesday on "TMZ Live" and insisted DaBaby wasn't speaking for all of hip-hop when he dropped that homophobic rant at Rolling Loud. Da Brat says there's a different vibe these days when someone comes out as gay versus back when she was coming up in the industry ... when artists could lose everything just for coming out.
Da Brat says there's an easy case in point with Ellen ... whose ABC sitcom was subsequently 86'd after she came out in a 1997 episode. The rapper says that undoubtedly made artists feel like they needed to continue hiding their sexual orientation -- or face the consequences.
Brat herself came out just last summer, saying she was finally free to share her truth because she's established her career after 2 decades. But, mainly, because of Judy ... a successful woman in her own right as CEO of Kaleidoscope Hair Products.
Da Brat says Judy gave her the courage to be herself, and that supersedes the garbage that came out of DaBaby's mouth. He has since apologized for his "hurtful" and "triggering" comments ... but only after a handful of major music festivals, including Lollapalooza, dropped him from their lineups.
As for how Judy and Da Brat's engaged life is going -- fans can see 'em in action when their new show "Brat Loves Judy" premieres Thursday night on WeTV.
DB even teased their wedding perfectly ... by flaunting an iceberg-sized diamond ring. Seriously, grab your shades before watching.
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The Weeknd New Vid Pulled from IMAX Screens ... Due to Seizure Concerns
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The Weeknd hoped to surprise fans with a really BIG screen showing of his new music video ... but safety concerns for viewers with epilepsy got the project pulled.
Abel's been teasing his new track, "Take My Breath," without an official release date for the last week. Well, sources familiar with the situation tell us it drops THIS Friday. We're told the plan was to premiere the song's video on IMAX screens showing "The Suicide Squad" ... which comes out Thursday night in theaters.
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We're told a deal was inked to preview Abel's newest project before IMAX 'Suicide' screenings across the country, which would've been a huge plus for Weeknd -- obviously, that's major eyeballs and a ton of exposure for his latest hit.
Our sources say the honchos over at IMAX just made the decision to pull the video ... on the belief that the light and strobe effects have the potential to be dangerous to those watching with epilepsy and who might be prone to seizures.
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But, never fear Weeknd fans, 'cause we're told the video will drop on YouTube and other platforms ... the song also recently got some love during a spot on the Olympics.
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Rihanna Move Over Kim & Kylie ... Billionaire Status Achieved!!!
Rihanna's put in the work and she's got plenty o' Fenty money -- so much that she's officially a billionaire ... and then some!!!
According to Forbes ... the famous singer is now worth a whopping $1.7 billion -- making her the richest female musician in the world -- but most of it is not a result of her music.
Instead, Rihanna's 2017 launch of Fenty Beauty -- her real name is Robyn Fenty -- with a mission of being more inclusive of all women has been a huge success ... and grown into a cosmetics empire.
Forbes says the bulk of her fortune -- an estimated $1.4 billion -- comes from Fenty, of which she owns 50 percent. The rest is linked to her spin-off lingerie company, Savage x Fenty, and the remaining millions come from her music career.
Of course, Rihanna's beauty brand aspect makes you think of Kim Kardashian and Kylie Jenner, who also reached billionaire status thanks to their cosmetics and fashion lines. Though, Kylie's story came with a little more controversy.
Either way, Rihanna's blown past them both, and according to Forbes is the world's second-richest female entertainer ... just behind Oprah.
Guess she's got more work to do.
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Biz Markie Obama Letter to Widow ... Touches on '08 Campaign Memory
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Biz Markie held a special place in Barack and Michelle Obama's hearts, as evidenced by the words they shared with his widow ... which touched on a long-forgotten moment they shared in the run-up to the 2008 election.
Mrs. Biz ... Tara Hall herself, provided this copy of the letter the Obamas sent ... and it's way more personal than perhaps people might've expected. The poignant correspondence -- on the Obamas' new official letterhead -- begins, "We want to extend our heartfelt condolences to you as you reflect on Biz Markie's life."
Check out the letter for yourself -- BO and MO say that although they didn't know Biz as well as Tara did, he'd left a great impression on the couple as "one of rap's most innovative stylists and as a great man."
They added, "Biz Markie brightened every room he was in, and we will always appreciate him for his early support in 2008, bringing people together to 'Party With a Purpose' and get out the vote." Looks like Barack actually posed with Biz at one of those events.
The former first couple finished by saying Biz's legacy in hip hop will span generations, just like it had for 4 decades prior to his passing.
Michelle and Barack told Tara, "We hope you take comfort in all the fond memories you have with him. Please know that we are holding you, Averi, and your entire family in our thoughts and prayers."
Tara tells us she was stunned when she received the letter, unsolicited, last week ... and plans to have it framed in her home. She's also starting a fund in Biz's name -- the Biz Markie's Just a Friend Charity Fund -- to raise money to support orgs Biz was already helping ... like food banks in Maryland, Bread for the City (in D.C.), Soles4Souls and more.