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Next year's Grammy Awards is stacked with competition from rappers of all shapes and sizes but hip hop podcaster/producer Rory Farrell thinks the running favorite is questionable -- Kendrick Lamar's "Not Like Us"!!!

TMZ Hip Hop caught up with the "New Rory & MAL" cohost at LAX this week ... and while his inner hip hop head won't allow him to crown the Grammys of the culture, he has no beef with this year's rap picks.

Doechii is up for Best Rap Album -- which would make both Kendrick and Rory happy, but he's also a big J. Cole guy.

Britney Spears is 3 days away from closing the books on child support ... namely, the checkbook.

Sources with direct knowledge tell TMZ ... Britney will write her last child support check (yes, we know, it's actually going to be wired) November 15.

We're told she's been making bi-monthly payments to ex-hubby Kevin Federline on behalf of Jayden James, their youngest son who turned 18 2 months ago. She paid $10,000 at the beginning of November and will make her final $10,000 payment Friday.

Armie Hammer’s 38th birthday gift was ... a vasectomy -- and if that doesn’t raise eyebrows, get this -- his mom picked up the tab.

The actor's mom, Dru, joined him on his 'Armie HammerTime Podcast,' explaining that while she knows loads of women would love to have his baby, as a Catholic, she’d prefer he wait until marriage.

Realistically, though, she knows that the ship has sailed -- he's already got 2 kids with his ex-wife -- so she gifted him the ultimate "just in case" gesture to avoid any surprises.

Kathy Bates is getting real about why she skipped breast reconstruction surgery after her cancer diagnosis and double mastectomy, and her reasoning is simple -- less is more.

The actress explained on the "MeSsy" podcast with Christina Applegate and Jamie-Lynn Sigler that her breasts were so heavy -- in fact, 10 lbs when they were removed during her double mastectomy in 2012 – that getting rid of them felt like a huge relief.

Kathy admitted her decision raised a few eyebrows, but she made it clear that after dealing with big breasts her whole life, she actually enjoys the weight off her chest.

Machine Gun Kelly showed up for a surprise set with Mod Sun at a venue in Los Angeles last night, after a big family announcement earlier in the day.

Rocker Mod Sun was playing the last show of his current tour at The Wiltern Monday night, when he was joined onstage by MGK.

"Straight from the plane to the Mod Sun show, my friend," MGK said, addressing his pal onstage after he joined Mod for a song. He congratulated MS and the band for an "amazing" tour, and the crowd for "keeping the scene alive."

Passengers onboard the Spirit Airlines flight struck by gunfire are speaking out in the aftermath of the harrowing ordeal ... confessing the situation left many "traumatized."

"Good Morning America" spoke with 2 passengers after their flight from Florida to Port-au-Prince, Haiti was diverted when gunfire damaged the aircraft as it approached to land in the city ... with bullets piercing the cabin, injuring a flight attendant.

Passenger Jean-David Desrouleaux said he heard a "clock, clock, clock" sound before realizing it was bullets striking the plane. He said he wasn't alone in the revelation, noting a few others realized the gravity of the situation in the aftermath of the shooting.

The Los Angeles Rams made this Veterans Day an unforgettable one for a young fan ... with a U.S. Marine Corps helicopter pilot surprising his son at the game!!

The emotional moment happened at halftime of the Dolphins and Rams' "Monday Night Football" matchup at SoFi Stadium in Los Angeles ... when Captain Justin Vega walked out of the tunnel and onto the field.

Cpt. Vega's wife and mother-in-law were in on the surprise ... but his son, Leo, had no idea until he saw him walking toward them -- and he instantly broke down in tears.

The Muppets' famed home in Hollywood will have new owners soon ... John Mayer and McG are set to buy The Jim Henson Company Lot -- after the Church of Scientology had reportedly been eyeing the property, TMZ has confirmed.

Mayer's rep confirmed the singer and the director are "under contract to buy Henson Studios" ... which was once A&M Studios, and Charlie Chaplin Studios before that -- making it an important piece of Hollywood history.

John and McG are shelling out a whopping $60 million to nab the deed to the Tinseltown tourist spot, according to The Hollywood Reporter.

Ashlee Simpson is reacting to all the buzz about her sister Jessica’s marriage being on the rocks ... and if she's concerned, she's doing her best to cover it up.

The singer was out with her husband, Evan Ross, at Mr. Chow in Beverly Hills Monday evening, when our photog asked about the rumor ... sparked by Jessica's own post. We asked "Is it true? Do you know?"

Ash had a simple a one-word answer, “No.”

It could be "no" the rumor's not true, or "no" she doesn't know.

Either way, she and Evan didn't seem the least bit fazed by the topic, so chances are she knows full well what's going on -- but clearly isn't gonna out Jessica and her husband Eric Johnson's biz at this point.

Dreams really do come true -- at least that's the case for WNBA star Cameron Brink -- 'cause the Los Angeles Sparks rookie just landed a spot in the newest Sports Illustrated Swimsuit issue!!

The baller beauty jetted down to Boca Raton, Florida for a photo shoot with Ben Horton ... joining athletes like Suni Lee, Gabby Thomas, Jordan Chiles and Eileen Gu who will grace the pages of the popular magazine in 2025.

It's a full circle moment for Brink, who said earlier this year it was a life goal of hers to pose for S.I. ... telling Paul George on his "Podcast P" show, "I think it's super empowering."

9:13 AM PT -- Sources close to the situation tell TMZ that the woman seen with Mod Sun last night was "Love Is Blind" star Brittany Wisniewski.

The woman in the video with Brittany is her costar Alexandra Byrd.

Seems like Mod Sun is a big fan of 'LIB,' by the way -- he spotted Brittany in the crowd at a concert earlier this month ... and took time out of his show to call her out.

Mod Sun has moved on from Avril Lavigne ... 'cause we caught him canoodling with a hot blonde inside a Los Angeles bar.

The comedian who caught hell for his "garbage" joke about Puerto Rico has released his post-speech reaction, recorded the night after his appearance at Madison Square Garden.

In an episode of "Kill Tony," the podcast and live show hosted by Tony Hinchcliffe, he's onstage performing ... and he goes into a bit about his freshly controversial set from the night before.

You'll recall ... at a Donald Trump rally at Madison Square Garden in NYC on October 27, Hinchcliffe was warming up the crowd -- one of his jokes was, "I don't know if you know this, but there's literally a floating island of garbage in the middle of the ocean right now. I think it's called Puerto Rico."

Brittany Cartwright is putting her estranged husband, Jax Taylor, on blast ... claiming his stint in rehab didn't change him one bit.

The "Vanderpump Rules" alum opened up about her current relationship with Jax on Bravo’s "Hot Mic" podcast, where she said she saw little change in her ex -- despite his 30 days of treatment for his mental health.

As Brittany put it ... Jax didn't change "at all in those 30 days," promising her proof will play out on season 2 of "The Valley" -- which filmed over the summer.

6:26 AM PT -- Elon Musk is responding to Chloe Fineman's accusations that he made her cry while appearing as a guest on "Saturday Night Live" ... defending his response to one of her pitches.

In a statement shared to X, the Tesla CEO said he was "worried" about his appearance on the show ... because "it was only on the Thursday before the Saturday that ANY of the sketches generated laughs."

He continued ... "I was like damn my SNL appearance is going to be so f***ing unfunny that it will make a crackhead sober!!  But then it worked out in the end."

Sorry, Chloe ... no apology here.

The "Saturday Night Live" guest who made Chloe Fineman cry on set years ago has finally been unmasked — and it's none other than Elon Musk.

Camryn Bynum is hoping to parlay his Raygun interception celebration into a meeting with the famous breakdancer ... telling TMZ Sports he's "1,000 percent" down to collab with her in some way this offseason.

If you missed it ... the Minnesota Vikings safety paid homage to the Olympics star in incredible fashion on Sunday afternoon -- after he picked off a Mac Jones pass to seal a win for his squad in Jacksonville.

Bynum got up from the endzone turf and immediately mimicked each one of the moves Rachael Gunn made famous during the Paris Games last August. It ended up being such a good impression, Gunn herself even gave her stamp of approval!

Before this cute kid smiling from ear to ear was onstage making his audience chuckle, he was just hitting the beaches of Boca, playing the double bass and grabbing hold of his music degree from Berklee College of Music ...

Hi first broke into the comedy scene in 2003 and was the creator and host of his own show, which ran for 6 seasons! Don't worry about having FOMO if you haven't seen him live ... his Instagram content is full of comedy relief, and he's not afraid to push the limits!

Need one more clue? "Disenchantment" on Netflix!