Grammy Awards

Jay-Z is set to deliver his internet-breaking "God Did" verse live at the 65th Annual Grammy Awards ... as part of DJ Khaled's big stage blowout on Sunday night, TMZ Hip Hop can confirm.

"God Did" is up for Song of the Year, Best Rap Song and Best Rap Performance ... potentially extending Jay-Z's rapper-leading tally, which currently sits at 24.

The live performance of the viral hit will also feature the song's guests Lil Wayne, Rick Ross, John Legend and Fridayy, and will also mark a return to the Grammy spotlight for Hov ... after he was infamously shut out in 2018 on his 8 nominations — immediately after receiving their Industry Icon Award.

Details are mum on the performance theatrics but we're told to expect big things from Khaled and Co.

It's Grammy weekend once again in Los Angeles, and some of the industry's biggest stars aren't wasting any time in celebrating music's biggest honor.

Tons of parties popped up across the city Thursday ... events dedicated to the rookies of the biz and even some dedicated to the veterans.

For starters -- there was the Warner Music Party at The Hollywood Athletic Club -- which brought out Anderson .Paak, Nile Rodgers, Missy Elliott, Wiz Khalifa, Saweetie and Bebe Rexha ... just to name a few.

Some of the biggest names turned out at the Black Music Collective Party at The Hollywood Palladium. While there was plenty of celebrating, Lil Wayne was honored with the Global Impact Award at the event. Drake presented him with the awards, cracking jokes about The Grammys in the process.

Lil Kim, DJ Khaled, Dr. Dre, Ciara and Swizz Beatz were also all in the house to watch Wayne get his props.

The Spotify party kicked off at The Pacific Design Center in West Hollywood -- Ice Spice, Latto and Yung Gravy were some of the newcomers there -- but vets like Jared Leto, Machine Gun Kelly, Drew Taggart from The Chainsmokers and Diplo also went.

There was also Dj Drama's Grammy Weekend Release Party for his new project “I’m Really Like That” at Classic Cat which brought out names like Tyler, the Creator, Blac Chyna, G Herbo and Don Cannon.

GloRilla keeps grinding out gigs on the road, and recently found herself face-to-face onstage with platinum producer Polow Da Don ... but she held back on giving him the full Glo experience.

TMZ Hip Hop got this vid of Glo pump faking as if she was gonna throw her “FNF” clappas on Polow -- she threw out all sorts of sensual questions, only to flip the script and bust into a performance of her viral hit, “Nut Quick.”

The switcheroo went down at Polow's stomping grounds inside Atlanta’s Center Stage Theater ... and, as you can see, he was a good sport about Glo's stunt.

The next few weeks will be busy for the Memphis rapper, who just earned her first Grammy nomination ... and, on Monday, graced the cover of "The Cut."

We're hearing Glo will be hosting parties in the Phoenix area for Super Bowl LVII, and this coming weekend, she'll be in L.A. for the Grammys ... where she's up for Best Rap Performance.

Jay-Z’s 2022 didn’t involve much rapping … but his year-end playlist proves he kept his ear to the street!!!

Hov released his self-picked playlist on Wednesday via TIDAL, which featured many of the notable artists and tracks of the year -- including Lil Uzi Vert’s spaced-out “Just Wanna Rock,” his wife Beyoncé’s “Plastic Off The Sofa” (which got an extra nod in the cover photo) and Drake and 21 Savage’s Billboard-topper “Jimmy Cooks.”

From his own discog, Hov selected his feature off Pusha T’s “Neck & Wrist” ... largely memorable for being a response to Faizon Love’s pesky disses ... as well as his show-stealing verse from DJ Khaled’s “God Did" track.

Hov rapped for 4 minutes straight ... and the song is currently up for three nominations at the 2023 Grammy Awards -- how could he not close the playlist with that banger?!?

Alicia Keys helped Jay-Z earn his first No. 1 song back in 2009 with "Empire State of Mind” -- an accomplishment she now calls a gift and a curse, because they both fear they can't repeat it.

Alicia told E! ... she and Jay consider doing new songs together all the time, but immediately grow hesitant when they consider all the damage “Empire State of Mind” did on the charts, and in the culture.

Released in 2009, 'Empire' became an instant NYC anthem that transcended worldwide … going 3x platinum, soundtracking numerous campaigns as well as the Yankees’ World Series winning run that year.

Alicia released a sequel the next year, which was just her version of 'Empire' without Jay rapping.

Jay is no stranger to bowing out gracefully after knocking it outta the park. He and Eminem haven’t rapped together since their 2001 infectious “Blueprint” duet “Renegade” … and after a 2006 Grammy win, he never followed up with Linkin Park.

Shaggy is heading to the Grammys again thanks to his "Com Fly Wid Mi" album, but musical accolades aren't the only thing fueling his drive ... he's very much about giving back, these days.

We caught the reggae icon at LAX, and this time he couldn't deny it -- it absolutely was him recently speaking to inmates at Michigan's Genesee County Jail.

Shaggy was the guest speaker for the graduation of IGNITE ... which stands for Inmate Growth Naturally and Intentionally Through Education.

Through the program, inmates are given tools to successfully reenter society -- as Shaggy explained to us, ex-cons typically have a hard time adjusting to life on the outside.

Shaggy says he works with a company called Colour Bank that offers inmates financial literacy courses -- and credit cards to use with the education they've earned!!!

With over 4 decades in showbiz and a new Best Reggae Album nom, Shaggy wants to leverage his success to help anyone in need going forward ... and he left us with some wisdom he learned from the late Notorious B.I.G.

Quoting Biggie's final interview, Shaggy reacted to the string of violence in the music community as of late, saying artists should become responsible for the content they make once they hit it big ... especially because they're able to influence so many.

The Grammys are doing what they do ... pissing off several notable artists about nomination snubs, but H.E.R. is telling them to focus on the big picture -- like their actual art!!!

We got the R&B superstar in Bev Hills this week -- just as the nomination backlash was simmering for artists like Summer Walker ... whose "Still Over It" album didn't got get a nom, despite breaking several sales records.

Summer reacted with disappointment -- as did Kid Cudi and Denzel Curry on the rap side -- and H.E.R. feels their pain, especially when it comes to the women.

She acknowledges while it's always dope to get recognition from the Grammys, making music should be more about fun and love at the end of the day ... so folks shouldn't take the snubs to heart so much.

H.E.R. has plenty of experience with the Grammys -- she performed at the 2020 ceremony --  but knows you simply can't win them all.

She's been nominated 21 times, and has won 5 -- so, H.E.R.'s advice to fellow performers is to go with the flow.

Kendrick Lamar is set up to do a bunch of damage at the 2023 Grammy Awards with 8 nominations ...  and he's celebrating by dropping off a new music video from his "Mr. Morale & the Big Steppers" album.

K-Dot's vid for his "Rich Spirit" single debuted Wednesday, and the visual finds the Compton-bred rapper comfortable in his own skin -- and a pair of sparkling cowboy boots!!!

The music video was directed by "White Men Can't Jump" reboot director Calmatic and features Kendrick and himself fighting off demons in a barren apartment -- similar to the one seen on the 'Mr. Morale' album cover.

Kendrick has one of the highest Grammy counts as a rapper with 14, and he's now the first artist to have his first 4 albums get nominated for Album of the Year.

He didn't win the previous 3 times, but there's no shame there -- sad fact is, no hip hop album has ever received the Album of the Year award.

Denzel Curry, who's cut from the Kendrick cloth, openly disagreed with this year's noms ... but ensured K-Dot got his props this time around.

'Mr. Morale' opened up to big numbers in May -- 295K out the gate to make it Kendrick's fourth No. 1 album.

Celebrated lyricist Denzel Curry jumped out in front of the inevitable "Grammy snub" convo as noms came out Tuesday, and with just a few exceptions ... he says the Recording Academy missed again.

Kendrick Lamar, Pusha T, DJ Khaled, Jack Harlow and Future were all nominated for Best Rap Album but aside from the first 2, Denzel insisted he could name 10 acts more deserving of slots in the category -- and then he did!!!

He cited fellow MCs Freddie Gibbs, Joey Bada$$, JID and Smino as clear-cut snubs, and said he feels the Grammys care more about money, mainstream acts and "half-ass s**t" than actual culture.

Denzel's acclaimed 2022 "Melt My Eyez See Your Future" also didn't earn any nominations ... which seems like the real reason he was pissed, but the Florida rapper says his rant was bigger than himself.

If the Academy cares, DC did have one more positive note -- giving GloRilla her just due as her "FNF (Let's Go)" hit is up for "Best Rap Performance." Baby steps?

Nicki Minaj and Latto are at each other’s throats ... arguing about which Grammy categories their songs belong in and there's nothing sacred in this war, as they're both putting private convos on front street.

Both rappers had been subtweeting each other for weeks about the Grammy's decision to move Nicki’s smash hit “Super Freaky Girl” from the Rap category to Pop, and Thursday night the feud erupted like a volcano.

As Nicki sees it, Latto should have spoken up in her defense ... seeing as how the Grammys left her record, “Big Energy,” in the Rap category, despite having the same bubbly pop sound.

Nicki then began to retweet Barbz who were dissing Latto's silence on the subject ... prompting Latto to tweet, she "can't win for losing." That's when Nicki posted a DM convo where Latto agreed with Nicki's viewpoints, but said she didn't like the fact Nicki put her in the beef.

Then the gloves really came off.

Nicki called Latto a "Karen" and "Scratch-Off" ... posted more DMs, including one where she turned down Latto's attempt to collaborate on the "Big Energy" remix.

Latto fired back, calling Nicki a 40-year-old bully, and uploaded a recorded phone conversation they had on the Grammy topic ... and you hear both women going at it!!!

Latto accused Nicki of having "only child syndrome" because, at one time, she was the only female rap star in the game -- to which, Nicki scolded her with, "You didn't do your research!"

As of now, there's no resolution, and fans don't expect one.

Trevor Noah has just rocked cable news and news itself ... he's leaving his gig on Comedy Central.

Trevor made the announcement Thursday, telling the audience his 7-year tenure is coming to an end ... and he made the announcement on his 7-year anniversary.

A Comedy Central source tells TMZ ... his decision has to do with his schedule, which is hardcore crazy ... and it's just too much of a grind for him to do a daily show.

Comedy Central says, "We are grateful to Trevor for our amazing partnership over the past seven years. As we look ahead, we're excited for the next chapter in the 25+ year history of 'The Daily Show.'"

It's unclear when Trevor will leave the show ... our Comedy Central source says Trevor and the CC team are working together on "a timeline for his departure."

TN has hosted "The Daily Show" since 2015, taking over for longtime host Jon Stewart on the satirical news program.

During his time as host, Trevor won a Primetime Emmy Award ... and was nominated for a bunch of other awards.

In 2017, Trevor extended his contract with Comedy Central through 2022 ... and now he's leaving altogether.

It will be interesting to see who Comedy Central tabs as the next 'Daily Show' host ... but one thing is for sure, they will have some big shoes to fill.

Underneath this puckered-up shot is a singer and songwriter who has taken on the music industry with numerous wins at a time, and you should note she started as just a teenager growing up in West Reading, PA.

You most likely first heard of this scrambled star back in 2006, which was just the beginning for this multi-Grammy-winning musician. When she's not in the recording studio, she's either hangin' with her three cats or her famous bud Selena Gomez.

Jennifer Hudson is in rare company today after winning a Tony award, she's joined some huge celebs who've won 4 major entertainment awards ... aka the EGOT.

The Jennifer-produced musical "A Strange Loop" took home the trophy for Best Musical during Sunday night's 75th Annual Tony Awards ... giving her the final piece of the Emmy, Grammy, Oscar and Tony pie.

Jennifer had previously nabbed 2 Grammy Awards, one for Best R&B Album in 2009 album and another in 2017 for Best Musical Theater Album for The Color Purple.

She won her Oscar in 2006 for Best Supporting Actress in "Dreamgirls" ... and a Daytime Emmy for producing the VR-animated film "Baby Yaga."

Jennifer is going down in history as the 17th person to get all 4 awards ... and she's the 3rd youngest ever to get it done, behind John Legend and composer Robert Lopez.

The former "American Idol" star's musical "A Strange Loop" follows a black, queer writer writing a musical about a black, queer writer writing a musical about a black, queer writer. Ya get the title now, right?

The meta-musical's been getting rave reviews since it launched off-Broadway in 2019.

Antonio Brown is a real-deal rapper, according to Keyshia Cole -- who tells TMZ Sports the NFL star is so good on the mic ... he could win a Grammy!

Of course, the award-winning R&B singer knows firsthand about Brown's potential ... after all, she worked with the former Buccaneers receiver on his new "Paradigm" album that dropped earlier this week.

She also performed her song with Brown on stage at Gunna's new weed strain launch in downtown L.A. on Wednesday ... and after their show, when we asked her if AB's got what it takes to make it big in the music industry, she said yes.

"I think so," the "I Changed My Mind" songbird said.

"I think he's really talented, for sure. I love the body of work that he created. I think he's gonna be great. I do. I wouldn't have collaborated if I didn't think he'd be great."

Now, is he gifted enough to win a Grammy? The 40-year-old also said she believes so.

"Of course!" Cole said. "Whatever you do, you put your mind to it, you can do whatever you choose to do in life."

FYI -- several athletes have been nominated for a Grammy before, including Muhammad Ali, Magic Johnson and Oscar De La Hoya.

Even though Cole believes AB can have a promising music career, she doesn't think the free agent should give up on the NFL.

Drakeo the Ruler was overlooked in the Grammys' In Memoriam segment -- and his brother is fuming ... with some choice words for the Academy.

Ralfy the Plug -- DTR's sibling -- tells TMZ ... "On behalf of Drakeo The Ruler, Ketchy The Great and The Stinc Team, it comes off as a spit in the face disregarding the facts that we’ve created an entire movement that generated the momentum for underground emerging L.A. artists to have a platform."

Ketchy, another rapper who was affiliated with Drakeo, also died in 2021 -- and he too wasn't mentioned in the In Memoriam slideshow. Granted, he wasn't nearly as famous.

In any case, Ralfy continues with this barb about cops and free speech ... "Let alone the reality that we lost my Brother, Drakeo The Ruler, the poster child for systematic prejudices against rappers by law enforcement using lyrics against our culture and violating what they call our constitutional rights of freedom of speech- The First Amendment."

Ralfy also notes Drakeo was slain while doing what he loved most ... performing his music. He was stabbed in the neck when he was backstage at an L.A. music festival. The attacker is still on the loose.

He ends by saying, "Leaving Drakeo out of their tribute and by not giving him any acknowledgment of his existence sums up exactly what we feel the industry has been trying to do. Erase us."

Ralfy also says he and the fam appreciate all the love and support they've gotten from the rest of the community ... and promises to keep the truth alive. As you know, Ralfy actually sued the concert promoters for whom Drakeo was working the night he was stabbed.

Kourtney Kardashian and Travis Barker were determined to get married, even if the financial aspect of their relationship wasn't quite ironed out.

Sources connected to the two tell us ... prior to Sunday night's Vegas wedding, the two had started working on a prenup, but nothing had been signed. We're told the plan now will be for a postnup -- and should be handled without issue.

Kourtney is reportedly worth around $65 million and Travis around $50 million ... so there's a lot of money on the line.

Prenups and postnups at this level typically separate earnings during the marriage ... that's the way Kim and Kanye handled it. What they bring into the marriage stays as separate property.

TMZ broke the story -- Kourtney and Travis beelined it to a Vegas chapel Sunday night after the Grammys for an Elvis-themed wedding ceremony. We're told they didn't allow the venue to take any photos, bringing their own photog instead as well as their security team.

What's more ... we're told the two came prepared with a marriage license -- which they presented to the chapel's owner -- so while it may have seemed impulsive, there was still some planning behind the scenes.

Our sources say Kourtney and Travis are planning on something more elaborate in the future with close friends and family.