Hip Hop

Kanye West is being dragged to court by Donna Summer's estate -- this after her estate claims he made an unauthorized soundalike of one of her biggest songs ... after it denied his request to clear a sample of the real thing.

The late singer's estate just filed suit against Ye, Ty Dolla $ign, Ye's record label and others -- and according to the docs, obtained by TMZ, they're claiming Kanye wanted to sample Summer's smash hit "I Feel Love" for a track on his first 'Vultures' album.

The song in question is called "Good (Don't Die)" ... and it was actually included in the tracklist at first when KW dropped 'Vultures 1' on Feb. 10 across different streaming platforms.

Indeed, those who've heard the song know quite well ... it sounds a lot like Donna's voice from 'IFL' in the new West track -- but the problem, according to the lawsuit, is that Ye and co. never properly got permission to use it ... and the estate claims they were very clear about rejecting the request.

In the suit, filed by attorney Larry Stein, Donna's estate claims Ye and Ty approached them about a month ago -- on Jan. 31, 2024, they say -- to request clearance on her iconic hit ... but the estate flatly denied them.

The estate says Summer's estate still controls a portion of the copyright -- and claims Ye and company approached them a little more than a week before the release date for the new song ... with Kanye apparently wanting to drop the album on Feb. 9, with the song in the mix.

The estate says because of Ye's rep lately -- presumably the controversies surrounding his antisemitic comments and other public statements -- Donna's estate decided her song being used on his album wasn't going to do them any good ... so they say they passed, and rejected his ask for the sample.

Despite this, Donna's estate claims Ye dropped the album anyway with "Good (Don't Die)" on there ... and it showed up on Apple, Spotify and other major streaming/music platforms.

They claim Ye attempted to get around the denial by creating an interpolation of Donna's song instead of the actual track --- but Donna's estate claims the workaround doesn't insulate them from copyright infringement.

Donna's estate says they contacted Apple, Spotify and other streamers to ask they yank the song -- which may explain why Kanye's album briefly disappeared the weekend it was released. Eventually, it was re-uploaded -- but "Good (Don't Die)" is now removed from the list.

However, in the time it took for all this to happen ... Donna's estate claims the song had been streamed millions of times -- and they allege they've been harmed as a result.

BTW, "Good (Don't Die)" is still included in the track list for 'Vultures 1' for those who actually purchased the album when it first dropped, and it still plays in full ... at least, we've confirmed that's the case on Apple Music.

Bob Marley's biopic is the biggest thing sizzling at the box office despite mixed reviews ... but that's no excuse to miss it if you're a real Jamaican ... as far as Shaggy's concerned.

TMZ Hip Hop caught up with rapper/singer at the Island Music Conference in Kingston this past weekend -- and he tells us straight up ... it's completely "un-Jamaican" for any native NOT to support the flick.

Divisive words for sure ... but Shaggy's not sipping on hypocrisy here -- he's been a staunch supporter of the film himself and even recently attended the 'One Love' premiere in L.A. alongside Brad Pitt, Stevie Wonder and several members of the Marley family.

The film has been accused of skimming through the late-reggae legend's life too quickly -- but Shaggy defended the film, as well as lead star Kingsley Ben-Adir's vocal performance.

Kingsley's British, so he had to be coached to learn his Jamaican accent, which opened him up to more criticism. Of course, all the singing done on-camera ain't him ... it's Bob.

Anyway, Shaggy gives us an honest review of his own -- he admits Kingsley's dialect wasn't spot-on but still thinks the guy gave a believable performance considering he's not actually Jamaican ... so, KBA gets his seal of approval here.

The film's success could potentially make the Marley clan billionaires ... something Shaggy is counting on if people heed his advice.

Diddy's former producer -- and latest accuser -- filed a lawsuit with damning sexual misconduct allegations ... but just a few weeks ago, he fundraised for this same suit, and made no mention of the alleged sexual assault he detailed in his complaint.

Back on February 7 ... Rodney Jones -- aka, Lil Rodmadeit -- posted an IG confessional that flew under the radar before his very public lawsuit hit the press Monday, and the video is an attempt to raise money from his followers to pay for a suit against Diddy.

In the video, Jones lamented over not being able to revel in Diddy's 'LOVE' album's Grammy nominations -- because he claimed he'd been screwed in royalties and publishing ... and alleged that Diddy had refused to pay him what he says was owed.

He goes on to indicate that he plans to launch a legal battle against Puff, and notes that he'll need funds to fight him in court -- and that's where his GoFundMe comes into play.

Two days before this video went up, Rodney had started a GFM campaign -- the title of which reads ... "Help Me Sue Sean 'Diddy' Combs" and it had a $50k goal. In both the description of his GoFundMe and in his clip, he makes no mention of the alleged sexual assault he claims he endured at the hands of Diddy/his associates while working for him.

It's all interesting in hindsight ... ya gotta wonder why he might not have addressed these claims of his a few weeks ago ... when he was literally trying to raise cash for this lawsuit.

As we reported ... Rodney claims Diddy forced him to sleep with sex workers and watch gay porn -- and even floats the possibility that he was drugged at one point ... but the bulk of the complaints online earlier this month were geared towards his business dealings with Diddy.

At the time of this writing, his GFM has only raised $1,500 of his $50,000 goal.

Unclear how Jones was able to pay for his legal counsel but obviously -- the suit was filed.

Diddy was accused of sharing a sex tape that allegedly showed Stevie J with another man -- but a gay porn star is coming forward to say it's actually him seen in the now-viral image.

The photos that have been circulating online -- which show a Black man apparently having sex with another guy, and who was purported to be Stevie -- were included in Rodney Jones' lawsuit against Diddy that he filed Monday ... but adult film star Knockout is taking credit.

Knockout hopped on Twitter -- this amid mass sharing of the image and a lot of gossip/speculation about Stevie's name being invoked -- and he cleared the air definitively.

He wrote, "This is not him it's me yall really be trying it." Knockout has also been reposting/retweeting people responding to the images ... all of whom are pointing out this is from a well-known porno he was in from years ago, and which has been around for a while.

Knockout has also clarified that he was NOT at any of Diddy's parties -- as described in the lawsuit -- and he also adds that he doesn't appreciate Rodney using his image to make a salacious claim. He also retweeted someone who claims this image of Knockout has often been used to try and smear Stevie's name ... something Knockout appears to acknowledge.

Remember ... Rodney claimed in his suit that Diddy had shared this video with him and allegedly said it depicted Stevie -- with the whole point of this allegedly being Diddy attempting to "groom" Rodney ... something Diddy has come out and vehemently denied.

Stevie J, for his part, has also denied Rodney's allegations ... calling them false. He also seemed to allude to future legal action against him for roping him into this whole mess.

2/27 -- 8:10 AM PT -- Stevie J tells TMZ ... "These allegations are false and my lawyer will be handling this going forward."

7:23 PM PT -- A rep for Justin Combs tells TMZ ... "Justin Combs categorically denies these absurd allegations. They are all lies! This is a a clear example of a desperate person taking desperate measures in hopes of a pay day. There will be legal consequences for ALL defamatory statements made about the Combs family."

4:40 PM PT -- Diddy's attorney, Shawn Holley, tells TMZ ... "Lil Rod is nothing more than a liar who filed a $30 million lawsuit shamelessly looking for an undeserved payday. His reckless name-dropping about events that are pure fiction and simply did not happen is nothing more than a transparent attempt to garner headlines."

She adds, "We have overwhelming, indisputable proof that his claims are complete lies. Our attempts to share this proof with Mr. Jones’ attorney, Tyrone Blackburn, have been ignored, as Mr. Blackburn refuses to return our calls. We will address these outlandish allegations in court and take all appropriate action against those who make them."

Diddy has just been sued by a man claiming the mogul sexually assaulted him.

In legal docs, obtained by TMZ, Rodney Jones, a former producer and videographer for the mogul, claims he was repeatedly sexually assaulted by Diddy and subjected to unwanted advances by associates of Diddy at his direction.

Jones claims Diddy, among other thing, would grope Jones' genitals and touch his anus. Jones goes on to allege Diddy would parade around naked in front of Jones.

Jones believes Diddy was trying to groom him into having sex. He says Diddy would downplay the alleged assaults as "horseplay." Jones goes on to allege Diddy forced him to watch a video involving Stevie J having sex with another man. Jones included a screen grab of the video.

There are more allegations ... he says a female cousin of Diddy's girlfriend, Yung Miami, also sexually assaulted him, allegedly attempting to have sex with him in front of Diddy and members of his staff.

And there's more ... Jones says Diddy brought prostitutes to his house in Miami and on one occasion, Jones says he was present at the house and was drugged and possibly raped.

He also alleges, at several parties, Diddy intentionally served women bottles of his tequila and vodka brands laced with drugs.

There are more tawdry allegations, including bringing underage girls to Diddy's home and providing them with alcohol.

Jones claims Diddy directed Stevie J and his son Justin Combs to recruit prostitutes -- and in Justin's case, he was instructed to find underaged girls to attend the parties.

Jones claims Diddy introduced him to Cuba Gooding Jr. on Diddy's yacht and Cuba allegedly began "touching, groping, and fondling Mr. Jones's legs, his upper inner thighs near his groin, the small of his back near his buttocks and his shoulders."

There are also allegations of a shooting, where Jones says Diddy and his son Justin got into a heated argument at an L.A. recording studio. Jones says gunfire erupted and a man named G was hit and bleeding profusely from his stomach.

Jones says Diddy told him to lie to cops and say G was shot in a drive-by.

It's worth noting, LAPD investigated the shooting and reportedly found the victim had been shot outside the studio during a robbery, and merely ran into the studio while still bleeding.

In addition to Diddy, Jones is suing Justin, other employees as well as various record execs, and according to the docs ... he's seeking at least $30 million in damages.

We reached out to Diddy's rep, as well as reps for Cuba and Stevie J ... so far, no word back. NBC News first reported the lawsuit.

North West is living the good life ... jetting back home in a private jet after performing her chart-topping collab with Kanye West in Paris.

Kanye and Kim Kardashian's oldest daughter touched down Monday in Los Angeles aboard a PJ, hustling back home after doing her thing Sunday at a "Vultures" listening event halfway across the world.

North's traveling party included her nanny and at least one bodyguard ... and it looks like she did some shopping in Paris, because they walked off the plane with bags from Chanel and Celine, two French luxury fashion houses.

The private flight home caps off a big week for North and her pops ... all 16 tracks from Kanye and Ty Dolla Sign's "Vultures 1" album cracked the Billboard Hot 100, including North's feature on the song "Talking."

North's little brother is doing big things too -- the same day North was performing in Paris, Saint West escorted soccer star Lionel Messi to the field at the Inter Miami vs. L.A. Galaxy match.

Princess Love put the final nail in the coffin containing her marriage with Ray J by abruptly filing for divorce on Monday ... or did she?

TMZ Hip Hop caught up with Princess out in Bev. Hills shortly after she publicly told the world she and Ray were splitting for the fourth time.

Princess tells us she's still on the up after the latest divorce filing but she wouldn't exactly spill on what prompted her to sign the paperwork.

Their "Love & Hip Hop" fanbase was extremely skeptical of the news and suspected foolishness afoot ... in the form of a classic PR stunt.

Princess had no comment for her critics ... which will likely fuel their suspicion even more, but of course, she has no control over that.

Ray J and Princess Love are on the outs again -- and she's ready to throw in the towel in court ... filing to end their marriage, marking the 4th time they've been down this road.

The 'L&HH' star filed for divorce Monday in L.A. County -- and while the details of what she wants out of it are unclear at this point ... the fact she's calling it quits isn't. The only thing we know for certain is she notes there are minor children involved, and money's gotta be hashed out.

Worth noting ... she's the petitioner this time, and Ray's the respondent -- on their third divorce attempt, RJ was the one who filed ... and that was back in 2021. He also initiated their second divorce filing in late 2020 ... and she kicked it off initially in Spring '20.

So, they've kinda been going back and forth over who files ... this time, it's her doing it.

PL posted a lengthy statement on IG addressing the news, writing ... "It is with heavy hearts that we share the news of our decision to divorce. After much reflection, discussion, and counseling, we have come to the difficult realization that our paths have diverged, and it is in the best interest of both of us to part ways."

She goes on to say they're doing this with both of their well-being in mind, and that they're committed to being great co-parents to their two kids, a young daughter and son they share.

Princess Love asks for privacy over their divorce, finishing by saying ... "Though this chapter of our lives may be closing, we look forward to embracing the opportunities for growth, healing, and new beginnings that lie ahead. We are confident that with time, understanding, and the support of our loved ones, we will navigate this transition with grace and resilience."

ScHoolboy Q is dropping his new album this Friday and the promotional landscape has changed since then ... but he's rejecting one of the biggest platforms of the moment, Bobbi Althoff's podcast!!!

Q scratched Bobbi off his list while fielding questions about his "Blue Lips" album, but also was able to nix another bucket list item for the project ... playing the album for Jay-Z!!!

Last week, the TDE rapper wished upon a star to have a chance to give Hov an exclusive preview, which he did on Monday when he and label president Punch took a trip to the Roc Nation offices.

Q claims Jay asked him to run it back after listening ... on March 1, both of their credibilities will be on the line. Hov did break out his Reebok S. Dot Carter sneakers for the occasion though ... so album must be a banger!!!

Tragic new video shows the moment a mother and daughter leaving a Drake concert were killed by a car running a red light -- and you can see just how fast this person was driving.

The dramatic footage shows Laticha Bracero and her adult daughter, 21-year-old Alyssa Cordova, walking through a crosswalk on early Feb. 14 -- right after Drake's concert in St. Louis -- when, suddenly, a car comes flying into frame, blowing through a red light and sideswiping another car before running them over.

It all happens in a flash -- and we've stopped the video to avoid showing the gruesome moment of impact -- but make no mistake ... Bracero and Cordova were obliterated.

Obviously, the fatal incident is absolutely horrific -- and worse yet, it happened a few blocks away from the Enterprise Center in downtown St. Louis, where the women had just left a Drake show ... the 2nd night of his two-show performances there in town.

The St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department says the mother died at the scene and her daughter later died at a hospital.

Cops also claim the alleged driver, 22-year-old Monte Henderson, was running red lights for several blocks and speeding in a Jeep Cherokee before running over the women and injuring several other pedestrians. They ended up finding him and arresting him shortly after this.

Henderson's been charged with two counts each of armed criminal action and involuntary manslaughter. Cops say he was speeding at over 70 MPH -- it's unclear why he might've been driving that fast ... but in any case, he has reportedly since bonded out of jail.

According to the St. Louis Post-Dispatch ... a judge overseeing his case denied a request from prosecutors to keep him locked up -- with them arguing he's a danger to the community -- and allowed to be freed on a $20,000 bail. He has since been released from custody.

The mother and daughter apparently weren't even from St. Louis -- word is, they'd traveled into town from Chicago just to catch Drizzy in person. A GoFundMe to help pay for funeral arrangements and other costs has been started in their name.

Kanye West's beef with Adidas is far from finished, despite the fact he recently posted a shot with its CEO Bjorn Gulden -- making it seem like the cold war had thawed, but now he's accusing the company of creative "rape."

On Monday, instead of celebrating his "Vultures 1" album staying at No. 1 for the 2nd straight week, Ye called out Adidas for selling colors of his popular Yeezy sneakers that he never approved, and claiming it was using contract clauses to "rape an artist, one of y'all's favorite artists" -- clearly referring to himself.

Adidas is aggressively promoting the Yeezy Boosts in a new "steel grey" shade which Ye says is as fake as a $3 dollar bill.

Ye says Adidas is using legal loopholes and muddled language to pull a fast one without his consent, in addition to suing him for $250 million.

And Ye is calling for his true fans to turn their back on the brand.

Drake is throwing more support to his fellow Canadian Tory Lanez as he serves out his 10-year sentence in the Megan Thee Stallion case ... but Champagne Papi wants him out ASAP!!!

Following the Cleveland show of his, "It's All a Blur - Big As the What?" tour, Drake tossed up a black-and-white photo of Tory and captioned the flick "3 you" ... as in free the "Alone At Prom" singer from his current predicament.

Tory was found guilty of shooting MTS last August and promptly sentenced to 10 years ... and was eventually denied bond.

Megan's lawyer told us Drake and other doubters would eat crow ahead of the verdict but Drake's going Team Canada all the way.

Despite Drake's wishes, it appears Tory will be staying put for the time being ... a scenario Tory says he's since made peace with.

Fans are pissed at Drake for still standing by Tory and this isn't the first time he rubbed them the wrong way.

Keyshia Cole's music has transcended several generations ... just ask the group of middle schoolers the R&B songstress just floored with a surprise performance of one of her earlier hits!!!

A choir of middle schoolers at Ron Clark Academy in Atlanta were recently belting out Keyshia's 2005 track "Love" at a concert ... but were caught off guard when Clark stopped and cut the music mid-way, instructing them to sing it more like the originator.

The gag could've potentially killed the little guy leading the choir's confidence... Clark told him he wasn't bringing enough heart and soul to the show!!! 😬

Little did they know, the originator was waiting in the back to crash the party ... and the kids completely lost their minds when Keyshia showed up and joined them in a super "Love" sing-along.

The song has been blowin' up on TikTok and is also a go-to for up-and-coming singers to show off their vocal range.

Coco Jones covered "Love" a few years ago and won a Grammy for Best R&B Performance!!!

Tragedy has hit Beyoncé's family ... the megastar's uncle has passed away.

Bey's mom, Tina Knowles, delivered the news on Instagram just hours ago, revealing her brother, Rowland Martin Buyince, who went by Butch, died over the weekend. No word yet on how what happened.

Tina uploaded a black and white photo of Butch in a United States Air Force uniform with a caption honoring his memory.

She called Butch her "Beautiful big brother" who was now with God in heaven, while expressing she'll miss him "so much."

She described Butch as a handsome "career Airforce man” who had a passion for riding motorcycles and was a black belt in karate.

Tina noted Butch's "beautiful green eyes," while emphasizing that he was a "great story teller" and was beloved by his incredible wife Jeanette, daughter Dana, and two grandchildren Yvette and Roland.

So far, Bey has not commented on Butch's passing ... but we expect something from her to down the pike.

As you know, Bey's been making headlines lately with her recent pivot to country music, releasing the hit country song, "Texas Hold 'Em."

Butch was 77.

Bad Bunny's got animal rights activists up in arms for a stunt during his new show ... and PETA's not horsin' around in their response.

ICYMI ... singer-songwriter kicked off his "Most Wanted" tour in Salt Lake City Wednesday night, and at one point he trotted out in style -- on the back of a horse.

Check out the video ... BB's in an all-denim 'fit on the back of a chestnut-colored horse heading out to the spotlight with tons of fans screaming for him.

PETA wasn't cheering Bad Bunny on though, posting the video to TikTok with a sharp condemnation attached in white lettering.

Their main point ... horses are skittish animals who have no business being near the loud noise and bright lights of a concert setting, and adding the horse, the crowd or even Bad Bunny himself coulda been hurt.

If all this feels vaguely familiar ... it's 'cause PETA's called out other artists for this exact same thing before. Notably, CeeLo Green, who fell off a horse last year.

Remember ... Green wanted to make an impact with his entrance to Shawty Lo's birthday party last April. The horse was clearly nervous at the time, jolted forward then slipped on the tile floor, spilling CeeLo from its back.

PETA told us at the time the fall was essentially inevitable ... for all the same reasons they think BB shouldn't have been on a horse. Loud noises and flashing lights and horses just don't mix.

Busta Rhymes seemingly got into an altercation at a club last night ... with fellow rapper Nizzle Man, appearing to draw much of his ire.

Here's the deal ... video of a melee leaked to the popular IG account The Shade Room, and it seems to show Busta getting right in Nizzle Man's face.

Nizzle Man appears to have fallen down the stairs -- whether he tripped or was pushed is unclear -- and Busta's running right after him, grabbing the guy by the wrist to have a word with him.

Not clear exactly what went down ... but BR's not happy with the dude one bit, berating him as a couple other guys drag the 23-year-old rapper down a corridor away from the action.

A few people make to follow after Nizzle and Busta, but several others who look like event security step in front and block them from going any further.

We've checked ... doesn't look like their any pre-standing beef between the two MCs as far as we can tell.

This all reportedly went down at French Montana's album release party in NYC ... the mixtape, "Mac & Cheese 5 (Versions)" is a gigantic project with over six hours of content packed into it -- and French told us all about it in a recent interview.

We've reached out to Busta's team for comment ... so far, no word back.