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Post Malone is saying "merci" to a group of firefighters in France ... thanking them for battling blazes that threatened the vineyard where his wine is made.

Sources close to Post Malone tell TMZ ... he was having dinner at Ultimate Provence in the South of France this week when he met some local firefighters who helped save the vineyard property from the fires.

We're told Posty thanked the firefighters for all of their hard and brave work ... shaking hands and posing for pictures in the restaurant.

The fires blazed in the South of France last month, causing thousands of people to flee their homes and hotels, and the fast-moving fires raced towards famous vineyards.

Post Malone's wine company, Maison No. 9, was in the line of fire ... until firefighters got the blaze under control.

Drake made good on his promise to drop his new album -- belated though it was -- and he smack-talked Kanye hard.

"Certified Lover Boy" was unveiled as promised -- at midnight -- 9 months after Drake had planned to release it.

Drizzy doesn't mention Ye by name, but no need to ... he's clearly throwing shade at him on the track, "7am On Bridle Path."

"Told you I'm aimin' straight for the head

Now they 'Amen' and 'Please'

I can give a f*** about who designing your sneakers and tees

Had somebody put you on a guilt and you play with my seed."

But, Drake wasn't done with Kanye ...

"Trust me, there's some s*** you really gotta come and see to believe

That's why your people not believers, they all leavin' ya

You know the fourth level of jealousy is called 'Media.'"

Kanye's manager told TMZ this week Ye would be listening closely to Drake's album for references to him, and if Drizzy crossed the line it would be war on.

Among those appearing on the album -- Jay-Z, Travis Scott, Lil Wayne, Young Thug, 21 Savage, Ty Dolla $ign, Kid Cudi, Rick Ross, Lil Baby and Project Pat.

The first cut on the album -- "Champagne Poetry" -- samples one of the Beatles' iconic songs, "Michelle." Drizzy appropriately gives John Lennon and Paul McCartney songwriting credit.

In all, there are 21 tracks, including a spoken-word cameo by Nicki Minaj on "Papi's Home."

And, there's this ... R. Kelly gets a credit fo composer and lyricist for the song, "TSU."

Drake was ultimately true to his word after dropping a cryptic clue in an ESPN promo ... that the album would drop Sept. 3.

Kanye's album did incredibly well during its first week of release, but Drake's the odds-on fav to top Billboard next week.

Peppa Pig is rubbing her music review in Kanye West's nose ... trolling him because his new album came in with a lower score than an animated farm animal's album.

Here's the deal ... Peppa Pig's recent music offering, "Peppa's Adventures: The Album," earned a 6.5 out of 10 score from Pitchfork, slightly higher than the 6.0 rating for Kanye's "Donda."

Peppa Pig, the massively popular British TV series for preschoolers, is making sure Kanye and his fans know who got the better review, with the show's official Twitter account throwing shade at Ye.

Peppa Pig quote-tweeted an image showing the differing album reviews and said ... "Peppa didn't need to host listening parties in Mercedes-Benz Stadium to get that .5" higher score.

Oooh, burn! And, Peppa even did the ol' tweet and delete ... so, you know she meant it!

As you know ... Kanye had several "Donda" listening parties at football stadiums in Atlanta and Chicago before last Friday's album drop.

Peppa's walked some of the trash talk back, but she's still responding to her own fans who are still trolling Kanye.

Diane Warren released her debut studio album after recruiting some of the biggest names in music to join her, so of course ... she has some great stories about how it all came together.

The legendary songwriter joined "TMZ Live" Thursday to chat about her new album -- "The Cave Sessions Vol. 1" -- and the diverse group of talent she enlisted to perform her songs ... including John Legend, Rita Ora, Ty Dolla Sign, Darius Rucker and many more.

For her lead single though, Diane tells us she wrote it with Carlos Santana in mind but didn't have a singer ... until her friend hooked her up with G-Eazy. Obviously, he's known for his rapping and not his singing, so listen to Warren explain how she and G-Eazy made it work ... it's a testament to her brilliance.

That track's called "She's Fire" by the way, and yeah ... it's fire.

Diane has many more fun anecdotes like this, especially the one about how her dentist is responsible for getting Pentatonix on the album. However, she used her own networking skills at the Oscars to pitch Jon Batiste about being added to the track, and well ... the rest is history.

It seems a lot of big names have no qualms about saying "yes" to Diane ... and it's no wonder.

If ya don't know, she's written some of the biggest hits for artists like Cher, Celine Dion, LeAnn Rimes and Aerosmith, and she's been nominated 12 times for an Oscar for Best Original Song since the late '80s, but never won. Watch, she's got a sense of humor about it.

Besides, it's clearly not slowing down Diane.

ABBA fans, get ready to dance like queens ... 'cause they're back!!!

The pop legends dropped two serious bombshells Thursday during a globally-streamed news conference. First, the band's dropping their first studio album in 40 years since "The Visitors" dropped in 1981. The new 10-track album's dubbed "Voyage."

The best part ... they've already released 2 singles from the album -- "I Still Have Faith in You" and "Don't Shut Me Down." The album's set to drop in November.

The second bombshell ... the group's getting back together for a "revolutionary" tour in London that'll see the band members appear as virtual avatars. They'll play some of their best hits ... like "Dancing Queen," "Money, Money, Money" and "Mamma Mia."

The concert's slated to begin May 27, 2022 in a specially-built arena. The digital versions of the group will be accompanied by a live 10-piece band performing their greatest hits.

ABBA -- which split up in 1982 -- apparently got together in the studio while their studio was being built. ABBA teamed up with George Lucas' Industrial Light & Magic studio. It's the first time the studio's dipped its toe into music, and it was no small task.

The studio needed weeks and months to motion-capture digital versions of ABBA and equip the arena. The gargantuan effort required an astounding 850 members to get it all done.

Cardi B is getting applauded by the family of slain IG model Miss Mercedes Morr ... they're thankful Cardi is shining light on the tragedy and they invited her to the funeral.

The late model's mother, Jeanetta Grover, tells TMZ ... the family's grateful Cardi brought awareness to her daughter's tragic death, because Cardi took the attention away from her daughter's alleged murderer and put it back on Mercedes.

MMM was found dead last month at her home in Houston in what authorities are calling an apparent murder-suicide.

Cardi defended Mercedes online after some folks tried to blame Morr for her own death.

The family tells us Mercedes was a huge fan of Cardi's, with a fiery spirit and a kind heart, and they reached out privately to Cardi to extend an invite to the memorial service.

We're told there's no pressure on Cardi to attend the celebration of life Saturday in Houston ... the family says they understand she's a busy woman and they're just thankful Cardi brought awareness to the case.

Kanye West's manager says all is cool with Ye and Chris Brown, but there's another possible beef that could flare up this Friday ... and it all hangs on what Drake has to say on his new album.

We got Bu Thiam at LAX Wednesday who tells us Kanye recently called Chris to work things out and the two are cool again. Chris went public with his frustrations earlier this week after Ye left him off the final product of "Donda" ... calling Kanye "a whole hoe."

Bu says artist features get left off albums all the time, and it was nothing personal against Chris. However, Bu didn't indicate that Kanye's settled anything with Soulja Boy, who was also pissed about being dropped from the album ... even challenging Kanye to a fight.

As we reported, Kanye and Drake have recently been at each other's throats, with Drake calling Kanye "burnt out" and Kanye posting the address to Drake's home in Toronto. Drake's set to drop his highly-anticipated "Certified Lover Boy" album Friday.

Bu tells us things are cool between Ye and Drizzy -- but that could all change if Drake takes aim at Kanye in any songs on 'CLB' -- where Kanye would almost certainly have to respond.

Lanny Cordola is on a life-saving mission to help some of his young female guitar students left behind in Afghanistan ... and the stakes are life and death.

The legendary rocker talked to us on "TMZ Live" Wednesday about his efforts of late to help 12 girls -- not to mention their families and loved ones -- flee Taliban-controlled Afghanistan ... which is even more difficult now that the U.S. is completely gone.

These are pupils of his, BTW -- ones who were part of his Miraculous Love Kids foundation -- an org. he started to help teach music to children in war-torn parts of the world.

As you can imagine -- and as Lanny tells us plainly here -- the situation is dire ... and these girls are in hiding at the moment as they try and flee the country with the help of LC and others working behind the scenes, and across the border in Pakistan -- where he is now.

Lanny tells us the Taliban has destroyed a facility they used in Afghanistan to teach/play music -- blowing out the windows of the building and clearing the place out. They're not too fond of those types of teachings, especially if females are involved.

That's not deterring Larry though, who's determined to bring the rescue mission to a close -- and it sounds like that might happen any day now ... following some recent failed attempts. FYI ... there's another celeb who's been involved with the MLK music program -- and Lanny says he's donated generously in the past to make these girls feel like true rock stars.

Speaking of donations ... the rock community appears to be rallying around Lanny's cause here. Tom Morello of RATM asked for donations to miraculouslovekids.org to help fund what Lanny's trying to do here -- and it sounds like they could still use the help, even now.

Madonna has gone back in time ... for a sexy video shoot in the middle of Times Square.

The Material Girl looked like a version of her former self on the set of what we're told is a spot for the upcoming MTV Video Music Awards ... featuring a NYC taxi cab right out of the '80s.

Madonna arrived at Times Square at 3 AM for the shoot with her much-younger boyfriend, professional dancer Ahlamalik Williams, along with her entourage.

As you can see ... Madonna was rocking a platinum blonde wig, trench coat and high heels for the gig, in which she throws some cash in the cabbie's face and walks away with that classic swagger of hers.

We're told it was raining on and off so Madge had to take some breaks to stay dry, and the shoot wrapped up at 6 AM.

Gene Simmons is the latest KISS member to come down with COVID-19 -- and with both its frontmen coping with the virus -- the band's been forced to cancel several upcoming tour dates.

KISS announced Tuesday it'll postpone its next 4 tour dates as Gene recovers. The band and crew will remain at home and isolate for the next 10 days. The band also said on its website, "doctors have indicated the tour should be able to resume on September 9th at FivePoint Amphitheatre in Irvine, CA."

Furthermore ... all previously purchased tickets will be honored for the new dates once announced. The news comes just days after Paul Stanley also tested positive for COVID.

TMZ broke the story ... Paul's diagnosis meant the band couldn't take the stage for a scheduled concert in Pennsylvania. Our sources had said Paul is fully vaccinated and feeling fine despite the positive test.

We found video of the band wishing Gene a happy birthday on stage the night before Paul tested positive, and you see them both come face-to-face at one point.

Gene was on "TMZ Live" last week -- following Paul's positive test -- and he told us everyone was quarantining to be safe, and continued to be tested regularly. Turns out, that caution was for good reason.

DaBaby's answered the call of a number of HIV organizations for him to become educated on HIV following his homophobic comments ... so he did, and then delivered an apology.

According to the U.S. HIV awareness orgs ... DaBaby met with 9 groups to discuss HIV and share personal stories of folks who are living with the virus. The orgs had sent him a letter earlier this month "to call him in instead of calling him out" and have a thoughtful conversation about his recent comments at the Rolling Loud festival.

DaBaby made gross, homophobic remarks on stage about gay people and people living with HIV, and his subsequent attempts at saying sorry seemed half-hearted and misguided at best.

According to the orgs ... he was much different in the meeting -- "genuinely engaged" they say. The rapper apologized for what he called his inaccurate and hurtful comments about HIV and the impact it had on black and LGBTQ+ communities.

Marnina Miller of the Southern AIDS Coalition says DaBaby's willingness to attend the meeting and learn and grow from his experience could set a positive example.

Other orgs at the meeting included the Black AIDS Institute, GLAAD, Positive Women's Network and Transinclusive Group.

In the wake of his Rolling Loud controversy, DaBaby had several performances canceled -- including headlining Lollapalooza -- but he did make a surprise appearance at Kanye West's latest "Donda" listening party ... which sparked more outrage.

Soulja Boy is still steaming over being left off Kanye West's new album ... telling us Ye is nothing but a time waster and a coward!

We got Soulja at a Shell gas station in Calabasas on Monday and asked him about getting cut from "Donda" ... and the rapper didn't hold back.

Soulja says Kanye totally wasted his time by reaching out to him for a collab on Ye's new track, "Remote Control," before ultimately leaving SB's verse on the cutting room floor.

What's more, Soulja is ballistic Kanye was, as he says, spinning fake stories on social media about the album's release.

He says he's especially ticked off Ye didn't have the courage to personally call him and explain why he was cut.

Korn lead singer Jonathan Davis is gutting it out onstage as he continues to recover from the coronavirus -- he needed an oxygen mask onstage just to get through a performance.

Jonathan and Korn returned to the stage Friday night in the Chicago suburb of Tinley Park after canceling a bunch of shows when he contracted COVID-19 earlier this month -- and it's clear he's still struggling with the lingering aftereffects.

Video shows Jonathan taking occasional breaks to suck in SOME pure O2 between songs, and he spent the majority of the concert sitting down on a huge throne.

Korn guitarist Brian Welch says Jonathan's still feeling "physically weak and having a mental battle" ... and he's drawing on the energy from fans.

Jonathan confirmed as much to the crowd, saying ... "I'm f****** feeling very weak but I f****** refuse to f****** cancel!!!"

Offset is going from Main Street to Wall Street -- and he's doing it with his wifey by his side ... as they celebrate their music publishing company going public.

The rapper couple was on hand Monday at the NYSE in Times Square to do the honors of ringing the opening bell. Well, Offset did anyway ... but Cardi B was right there too for moral support. They posed for some photo-ops too as they hyped their new venture.

If you hadn't heard, Offset and the Migos' music catalog now belongs to Reservoir Media -- or RSVR -- which has snapped up a ton of masters and rights for a variety of artists in recent months, this as they were ramping up for an IPO last month.

The company hit the exchange in July, but now -- a month later -- the Wall Street heads invited Offset, Cardi and other Reservoir investors for a belated celebration ... and let 'em have some fun with the age-old bell-ringing tradition in the process.

We got Offset on his way out, and he made it pretty clear that this is something he's excited to be a part of -- not just because it's one the first female-led businesses of its kind to put itself out there, but because there's something in it for him and other musicians.

The idea behind Reservoir, it seems, is putting the power of publishing and control back into the actual artists' hands, and based on what Offset says here ... he's all about that.

Kanye West's long-awaited "Donda" album has been worth the added wait for the rapper ... it's Apple Music's top album in 130 countries, the most #1 entries in history.

As we reported ... after delaying the release of his 10th studio album for several weeks and keeping fans on pins and needles as he continued to hold "Donda" listening parties, it finally came out this weekend -- but not without drama.

First, Ye posted texts suggesting a recent holdup was due to DaBaby not signing the necessary releases to clear his verse for the song "Jail, Pt. 2" ... but that was later cleared up and his verse was added.

However, Kanye also claimed Sunday that the album was put out by his label, UMG, without his approval and they blocked "Jail pt. 2" from being included ... but it is included on both Apple and Spotify.

Speaking of Spotify ... Kanye's album's doing work there too -- his "Jail" track featuring Jay-Z and Francis and the Lights debuted at #1 on the U.S. Spotify chart with 4.277 million streams. That's the biggest debut for any song this year.

So, love it or hate it -- and we know there are plenty of people who certainly hate it -- "Donda" is a huge success so far ... and sets up a major showdown with Drake this week.

Lizzo has weighed in on the King/Queen of Pop debate -- and she's stirring the pot big time by crowning the great Janet Jackson as the latter ... which has Madonna fans up in arms.

The singer dished her rankings Sunday -- this after Justin Bieber took the title of Prince of Pop among his fanbase following a milestone Spotify record -- and she seems to concur ... saying that the Biebs is, indeed, the Prince ... still behind Michael Jackson, the King.

Then, Lizzo threw a wrench in things with her Queen bestowment -- saying Mike's sister is actually right alongside him on the pop throne ... and that was met with pushback.

Of course, music fans had to interject and point out that Madge has long claimed that title for herself -- as she's an iconic artist who did A LOT for the genre in her heyday, and just in general over the years. Some feel Lizzo's putting her head in the sand on this one.

We should point out -- before people start getting too crazy on this whole thing -- that this is simply Lizzo's opinion ... and that none of these titles are all that official anyway. Still, Lizzo seems to have taken notice of the online ruckus she caused ... writing "Ruhruoh."

She clarified later saying that there's a new generation of up-and-coming artists who might take these folks' place one day -- but, for now, Lizzo considers this the standard.

As for the rest of her list -- she thinks Britney's the PoP, Rihanna's the PP, and Beyonce's in her own category. Honorable mentions for other genres include Usher (R&B King), Aretha Franklin (Soul), Mariah (R&B Queen), Tina Turner (Rock and Roll) and Mary J (Hip-Hop/Soul).