Music

Usher's doubling down on his claim he was Beyoncé's babysitter for a second in the early '90s ... though he's not comfortable calling himself a "manny."

The singer-songwriter, and upcoming Super Bowl Halftime performer, stopped by Shannon Sharpe's "Club Shay Shay" podcast, released Wednesday, when the question of babysitting Queen Bey herself came up again.

ICYMI ... Usher revealed back in August that he'd watched over Beyoncé when she was just 11 or 12-years-old -- though he didn't say if anyone paid him for his services!

So, Sharpe asked him about being "Beyoncé''s nanny" and, after joking he'd actually be a "manny" ... Usher said it's probably a step too far to give him that title.

The 45-year-old explained Bey came to Atlanta with Destiny's Child -- before they "became Destiny's Child," as Usher describes it -- when he was in his teens, and he was tasked with watching the kids while they hung out at musician Daryl Simmons' house.

The way Usher explained it, his responsibilities were simple ... make sure none of the girls broke anything! So, more like a chaperone on a school field trip than a full-time caretaker, it sounds like.

And, if you're wondering if Usher's always had an eye for talent ... he says he did, claiming he saw a "brilliance and brightness" to Bey and the rest of DC that he was sure would take them all far.

On Beyoncé, he added, "[It’s] really great for my sister, to see that she’s done so amazing and continue to thrive and just get bigger and better."

Obviously, both Usher and Beyoncé have taken off since then with each winning multiple Grammys and selling millions of records worldwide ... and soon, Usher will tie Beyoncé in two Super Bowl Halftime Show performances a piece.

Megan Thee Stallion can count on Latto as an ally amid her nasty entanglement with Nicki Minaj ... and it appears there may even be more people rooting for her behind the scenes.

The Atlanta rapper hopped into the comments of Meg's latest IG post ... a promo of her "Hiss" single ... and cheered her on.

"U making us proud Meg 🤩" Latto wrote ... us, as in plural. Could there possibly be a secret group chat of rap girls pining for Meg to win this beef???

Meg sent Latto big love back with several 💙💙💙 solidifying their friendship ... the two rappers collaborated on Meg's 2022 album "Traumazine."

No telling who's included in that "us" but Latto's issues with Nicki have notably spilled out into the public, so it's not surprising she's Team Meg all the way.

Back in October 2022, Latto accused Nicki of trying to bully her into boycotting the Grammys after she got nominated and Nicki was snubbed.

Latto went on to create the diss song "Put It On Da Floor Again" ... a track where Coi Leray caught a stray shot and was later remixed by Cardi B.

Megan's "Hiss" is also predicted to have a big debut on Billboard. All this beef is apparently good for business.

Nicki Minaj no ha terminado de atacar a Megan Thee Stallion, ahora la está acusando de buscar desesperadamente el cariño del público cuando se sentó con Gayle King para conversar sobre el tiroteo de Tory Lanez.

La rapera, que ha estado en pie de guerra desde que Megan lanzó "Hiss" la semana pasada, estuvo en un X Spaces junto a Joe Budden y comparó su entrevista de 2022 con CBS con una de Rihanna en 2009, donde habló de su agresión por parte de Chris Brown.

Recordemos que Megan no pudo contener las lágrimas mientras hablaba sobre el aterrador tiroteo en el que estuvo involucrada, y aunque tocó la fibra de la mayoría de los espectadores, Nicki no fue uno de ellos.

Nicki acusó a Megan de hacer quedar mal a artistas como Tory y DaBaby para llamar la atención, y finalmente intentar conseguir un "momento Rihanna".

Minaj lo elaboró más diciendo que RiRi recibió un montón de apoyo cuando se emitió su entrevista porque era sobre ella y no para conseguir nada. Dijo que Rihanna trató de pasar rápidamente sobre la agresión de Brown en su entrevista, atribuyéndolo a la juventud.

Pero Nicki dijo que no pasó lo mismo con Meg. Alega que ella estaba buscando constantemente la "f***ing simpatía".

Este es solo el último de una serie de ataques de Nicki, incluyendo una broma sobre la difunta madre de Meg y el lanzamiento de "Big Foot", una pista dirigida a ella.

Meg ha permanecido en silencio desde el lanzamiento de "Hiss", en donde rapea el controvertido verso sobre la "Ley de Megan". Tal vez esto la convenza de devolver el golpe finalmente. Eso es claramente lo que Nicki quiere.

O, tal vez se lo tome todo con calma. Siempre es agradable ser comparada con Rihanna.

Nicki Minaj isn't done sniping at Megan Thee Stallion -- now she's accusing her of desperately seeking sympathy when she sat down with Gayle King to discuss the Tory Lanez shooting.

The rapper, who's been on the warpath since MTS released "Hiss" last week, hopped on an X Spaces hosted by Joe Budden ... and compared Meg's 2022 CBS interview to a Rihanna interview in 2009, after Chris Brown assaulted her.

Remember, Megan couldn't hold back tears as she talked about the terrifying shooting -- and while it tugged at most viewers' heartstrings, Nicki wasn't one of those people.

NM accused Megan of making artists like Tory and DaBaby out to be attention-seeking bad guys ... before hamming it up to get a "Rihanna moment."

Minaj elaborated ... saying RiRi received a ton of support once her interview came out because she's all about being herself, and would never "milk anything." She pointed out Rihanna tried to move past Brown's assault quickly in her interview, chalking it up to youth.

But, Nicki said it's not the same with Meg ... claiming she needs "constant f***ing sympathy."

It's the latest in a long string of attacks Nicki's shot off ... including a joke she made about Meg's dead mom and releasing "Big Foot" -- a diss track aimed at MTS.

Meg's stayed silent since dropping "Hiss" with its controversial "Megan's Law" line last week ... perhaps this will finally convince her to hit back. That's clearly what Nicki wants.

Or, maybe she will take it all in stride ... it's always nice to be compared to freakin' Rihanna!!!

8:57 AM PT -- Mystery solved ... Taylor-Con is just a regular Swiftie fan convention that's going down in Dallas in March -- one that's being organized by fans, and which Taylor Swift and co. seem to want to jump on by trademarking this phrase, which will undoubtedly be circulating.

Taylor and her team don't appear to have any official affiliation with this -- she'll be touring around this time, so she definitely won't be there -- but Taylor-Con is going down, and it's already sold out.

Taylor Swift is moving into a new business era, it seems -- 'cause she's interested in locking down a certain phrase for what sounds like an event centered all around her.

The pop star just filed for a new trademark through her company, and it looks like she wants to the sole rights to the term "TAYLOR-CON." No word on what exactly that may be at this point -- but we do know what TS and co. have in mind in terms of advertising it.

According to the application, obtained by TMZ, T-Swift appears to wanna brand a wide variety of items with "TAYLOR-CON" ... which means, yes, she wants to sell you crap.

Just a taste of what she's aiming to slap this phrase on ... everything from guitar picks and jewelry to clothing/accessories and coffee cups/journals -- not to mention digital items, like sound recordings and computer media. In other words, the whole nine yards of "stuff."

Again, it's hard to say exactly what this is ... but based on the name alone, it certainly sounds big -- and you can almost guarantee it'll revolve around her almost exclusively.

Also worth noting -- this new trademark application from Taylor basically mirrors her "Midnights" application that her same company filed in 2022, which was also seeking to brand a ton of things with that label at the time. Take a look, they almost match up to a T.

On its face, you could argue this may well be a new album ... but it's too early to say.

In any case, it seems Taylor's not done taking over the world just yet ... her reign continues, and it's looking like she's getting set to make the next move in her career ... nonstop Ws.

Swifties, rejoice!

Justin Timberlake seems to be taking back his apology to Britney Spears, and maybe even Janet Jackson too -- the timing of which couldn't have come at a worse time, TBH.

The singer performed in NYC Wednesday for a one-night-only show, and there's footage of him going around on social media that's raising eyebrows -- specifically, a clip of him winding down one song and transitioning into the next, where he says something curious.

Check it out ... JT tells the crowd that he'd like to take this moment to apologize -- but then hits a brief pause before he finishes his thought and says ... "to absolutely f***ing nobody."

Some in the audience cheered right then and there -- but this video is NOT being well-received online in the aftermath ... for a couple reasons, depending on how you look at it.

For starters, this is immediately being perceived by many as a straight-up shot to Britney -- which is probably spot-on considering he reportedly went right into "Cry Me a River" right after this ... and everyone knows that track is famously about his popstar ex.

Of course, BS herself recently apologized to JT publicly ... well, kinda. She said sorry if what she wrote in her book made anyone feel bad -- so it was a half-apology, of sorts, to him.

The other celeb people are expressing outrage on behalf of is Janet -- and that's 'cause Thursday is the 20-year anniversary of her Super Bowl performance with him, where he pulled her boob out in front of millions ... something folks are still angry about even today.

There was a lot of controversy over this a few years ago when a doc dove into the topic in great detail, and JT ended up apologizing at the time not just to JJ, but Britney as well.

8:57 AM PT -- Misterio resuelto... Taylor-Con no es más que una convención de fans de Swiftie que se celebrará en Dallas en marzo, organizada por fans, y a la que Taylor y compañía parecen querer unirse registrando esta frase.

Taylor y su equipo no parecen tener ninguna afiliación oficial con esto, ella estará de gira por estas fechas, así que definitivamente no estará allí, sin embargo, Taylor-Con se va a celebrar y ya se han agotado las entradas.

Taylor Swift tiene en mente un gran paso en el mundo de los negocios y pretende usar una frase muy personal para vender una variedad de productos.

La estrella del pop acaba de solicitar una nueva marca a través de su empresa y parece que quiere tener los derechos exclusivos del término "TAYLOR-CON". No se sabe exactamente de qué tipo de productos estamos hablando, pero de seguro será algo interesante .

De acuerdo con la solicitud obtenida por TMZ, Swift parece querer una amplia variedad de artículos con "TAYLOR-CON".

Nos referimos a TODO tipo de cosas, tales como púas de guitarra, joyas, ropa, accesorios, tazas de café y revistas, por no hablar de los elementos digitales, como grabaciones de sonido y soportes informáticos. En otras palabras, prepárense para ver a Taylor en una increíble variedad de productos.

No podemos dejar de pensar en qué es este "Taylor-Con", pero basándonos en el nombre, sin duda suena grande.

También vale la pena señalar que esta nueva solicitud de marca de Taylor básicamente refleja su solicitud que su misma empresa presentada en 2022, que también estaba tratando de poner la marca en un montón de cosas.

A primera vista, se podría argumentar que esto podría ser un nuevo álbum, pero es demasiado pronto para decirlo.

En cualquier caso, parece que Taylor no ha terminado de tomarse el mundo, su reinado continúa y parece que se está preparando para hacer el siguiente movimiento.

Justin Timberlake parece estar retractándose de su disculpa a Britney Spears, y tal vez incluso a Janet Jackson, y el momento no podría ser peor, para ser sinceros.

El cantante actuó el miércoles en Nueva York para un show de una sola noche, y hay imágenes de él dando vueltas por redes sociales que están causando desconcierto, en concreto, un clip donde dice algo curioso después de terminar una canción.

Echa un vistazo, Justin Timberlake le dice a la multitud que le gustaría aprovechar este momento para pedir disculpas, pero luego hace una breve pausa antes de terminar su pensamiento y dice "a absolutamente nadie" (f***ing nobody).

Algunos en la audiencia aplaudieron en ese momento, pero el video no está siendo bien recibido en línea por un par de razones, dependiendo de cómo se mire.

Para empezar, esto fue inmediatamente percibido por muchos como un golpe directo a Britney, lo que es probable considerando que justo después cantó "Cry Me a River", una pista que todo el mundo sabe que trata sobre su ex popstar.

Por supuesto, la propia Britney se disculpó recientemente con Justin Timberlake públicamente, o bueno, más o menos. Dijo que sentía si lo que escribió en su libro hizo que alguien se sintiera mal, por lo que fue una media disculpa hacia él.

La otra celebridad por la que los fans están muy enojados es Janet, y eso es porque el jueves es el 20 aniversario de su actuación en el Super Bowl con Justin, donde le sacó las tetas delante de millones ... Algo por lo que la gente aún está enojada hasta el día de hoy.

Hubo una gran controversia sobre esto hace unos años, cuando un doctor se sumergió en detalle en el tema y Justin terminó pidiendo disculpas en el momento no solo a Janet Jackson, sino que también a Britney.

8:45 AM PT -- Turns out, Kanye made it to the show ... and he was wearing that Jason mask too.

The question ... was he slicing and dicing on the mic??? 😅

Kanye West and Travis Scott appear poised to take the stage together tonight at Travis' Orlando concert ... and Kanye's got a wild look that would make Jason Voorhees blush.

Travis is due to perform Wednesday night at the Kia Center in Orlando as part of his Circus Maximus tour -- and videos from the venue appear to show Kanye rehearsing some songs on stage ... which has a lot of people buzzing about a potential performance tonight.

There are different reports of sightings of Ye flying in and touching down in FL from Los Angeles earlier today ... and he even posted a photo on his Instagram story showing him wearing an old-school hockey mask.

Check it out ... looks like Kanye is channeling some serious Camp Crystal Lake vibes.

Not only did Ye post shots of himself at the airport -- with some fans swarming him for autographs as he walked through -- but he also threw up a clean shot of the mask itself.

Considering his affinity for face coverings in recent years ... maybe this is his new fave.

Anyway, it's unclear if Yeezy is going to rock this particular mask on stage with Travis -- assuming he gets up there at all, 'cause you just never know with KW -- but he's definitely got the internet going wild, and drumming up a bunch of interest.

Travis has mostly been performing his latest studio album, "Utopia," on tour as of late -- and previously brought out Drake at a tour stop in Canada ... performing one of their collabs from the album.

FWIW, Kanye is not featured on ''Utopia" but he's recorded several songs with Travis over the years ... and when Travis performed in Rome back in August on the heels of the album release, Yeezy joined him on stage. In other words, a surprise pop-in ain't outta the question.

We should also note ... TS himself is leaning into the possibility of hitting the stage with him at some point tonight -- so all signs point to this happening fairly soon.

If it does come to pass, it'll be interesting to see what they're cooking up for the Orlando crowd. By the same token, you gotta wonder how Travis's fans might receive Ye.

G Herbo is feeling on top of his game -- he's got a new set of pearly whites in his mouth, which he plans to use to stunt on his rap peers with a ballsy new album title that's bound to get challenged!!!

The Chicago-born rapper was all smiles when we caught up with him Wednesday at LAX ... thanks, in part, to recently fitted veneers, which prompted a shoutout to "Da Smile Boss" -- his dentist back in Chi-town.

Herbo says the dental work's given him newfound confidence and mental toughness -- and advises anyone feeling self-conscious about their mouth to invest in themselves and get the work done.

Herbo had another big, non-dental, revelation for TMZ Hip Hop ... he's standing on business, and naming his upcoming project "Best Rapper Alive."

A bold proclamation, for sure, and one that could build anticipation for the project -- and maybe that's the point.

Ne-Yo's one of the many music giants gracing the Lovers & Friends stage this year, and says the lineup deserves all the headlines it's making ... just as Mary J. Blige deserves her place on the marquee.

TMZ Hip Hop caught up with the R&B magnate in L.A., and he was surprised to hear Mary staged a short-lived holdout for better Lovers & Friends' billing -- but also has zero issue with her strategy.

After all, as Ne-Yo reminded us, she is the Queen of Hip Hop Soul. Bow down, bishes.

Ne-Yo predicts this year's show has massive potential to be the best one yet ... featuring MJB, Usher, Gwen Stefani, Lil Wayne, Timbaland, Backstreet Boys, Janet Jackson and himself! How can they possibly lose?!?

That's a question folks operating Coachella have been asking with ticket sale woes -- so, we asked Ne-Yo why he thought the once-premier festival had fallen off.

Although he doesn't have much experience performing at the event, he told us he's heard through the grapevine Coachella's lost its grassroots feel, and gone more corporate.

By contrast ... the L&F fest is collecting names to potentially launch a 2nd show.

Ne-Yo suggests Coachella can turn things around if it turns around its next lineup.

He and MJB might be happy campers going into this year's L&F, but the powers that be should check on Juvenile -- fast!!!

Taylor Swift has no chance of swaying the 2024 election -- this according to Congressman Tim Burchett ... though, a prominent dueling Representative says otherwise.

Rep. Burchett chopped it up with a photog in D.C. Wednesday -- where he said he doesn't care for a TS endorsement ... cause she lost him when she left country music, and he hasn't cared for her since. So, Swift's seal of approval means absolutely nada to him.

Tim's TS loathing doesn't end there ... he says her NFL influence may be significant with more people than ever tuning into the sport ... but he personally hasn't watched a game in years despite being the captain of his high school football team back in '87 ... so, in his mind, her influence can't be that big of a deal.

Basically, he tells the cameraman she's all talk cause she previously came out to speak against Tennessee's Republican Senator Marsha Blackburn ... and it didn't move the needle.

Tim adds that a celeb endorsement doesn't mean much in general ... all it does is just become a scenario where both teams think they've won by bringing in top dogs as backup.

So, that recent poll that showed 18% of voters were "more likely" to vote for a candidate endorsed by Tay? Tim's essentially pouring cold water on it ... saying it's total BS.

While Tim's adamant about his stance, former Tennessee Rep. Jim Cooper, who Taylor endorsed for House of Representatives in 2018, tells TMZ he's got it all wrong -- cause TS' endorsement is the best endorsement you can have -- period.

He says anyone who cares about Taylor having a voice in politics is jealous they didn't get her endorsement ... cause, at the end of the day, she's got a massive 29 million followers on her socials and can easily influence swing states that are really close in numbers.

Also, her fans are well and truly devoted ... meaning they're game for anything, he says.

Jim's a massive Taylor fan ... and says she's handled all politics-related matters with complete brilliance and wholesomeness, which is refreshing. He also can't resist touching on her Travis Kelce romance -- saying it plays out like a Hollywood movie.

Back to Tim though ... he goes on to talk about the current political climate ... expressing hopes more young voters will come out and vote because historically, they don't.

Donald Trump should be cautious about poking the bear when it comes to attacking Taylor Swift ... so says a well-seasoned political talk show host and media personality.

FOX11 anchor and politico Elex Michaelson joined us on "TMZ Live" Wednesday and we asked him about the ramifications of Trump's inner circle vowing to wage a "holy war" on Taylor and any Democrats she may endorse ... which they're reportedly ready to do.

Given Taylor's massive popularity right now -- coupled with the fact that she's dating a star player on an NFL team, who's about to play in the freaking Super Bowl -- Elex says DT and co. should be careful with how his campaign approaches Swift ... especially if it's to attack.

Elex says he worries Trump may wake up a sleeping giant here, and stir up Swifties en masse to hit the ballot box and vote for his opponent, Joe Biden, who is courting TS' endorsement. That might be a preemptively self-own, especially since she hasn't joined the Biden train yet.

Those same voters are also pretty young, for the most part, and that could hurt Trump too ... Elex explains. Considering Taylor has such influence over the youths in this country -- antagonizing her too early may well backfire if Trump goes in hard right now.

Another layer to this is Trump's potential loss being Biden's gain ... Elex points out Biden's struggled with some key demographics, and TS could help reel those voters back in ... at Trump's expense.

Of course, Elex says folks shouldn't be quick to dismiss Trump or write him off ... saying DT usually has a handle on how best to drum up his base. Fact is, he's run successful campaigns before and gotten tons of votes.

Donald Trump debería ser cauteloso a la hora de atacar a Taylor Swift, así lo dice un presentador político y personalidad de los medios de comunicación.

El presentador de FOX11 y político Elex Michaelson se unió a nosotros en "TMZ Live" el miércoles y le preguntamos acerca de las ramificaciones del círculo íntimo de Trump prometiendo librar una "guerra santa" contra Taylor y cualquier demócrata que pueda apoyar ... que al parecer están dispuestos a llevarle la contra, dice Elex Michaelson

Dada la popularidad masiva de Taylor en este momento, junto con el hecho de que ella está saliendo con un jugador estrella en un equipo de la NFL que está a punto de jugar en el maldito Super Bowl, Elex dice que Trump y compañía deben tener cuidado con la forma en que su campaña se acerca a Swift ... sobre todo si es para atacar.

Elex dice que le preocupa que Trump pueda despertar a un gigante dormido y agitar a los Swifties en masa para que acudan a las urnas y voten a su oponente, Joe Biden, que está cortejando el respaldo de Taylor. Eso podría ser un autoapoyo preventivo, sobre todo porque ella aún no se ha subido al tren de Biden.

Estamos hablando de votantes en su mayoría jóvenes, y eso también podría perjudicar a Trump, explica Elex. Teniendo en cuenta que Taylor tiene tanta influencia sobre los jóvenes de este país, enemistarse con ella demasiado pronto puede resultar contraproducente si Trump entra con fuerza ahora mismo.

Otra capa de esto es la pérdida potencial de Trump ante Biden. Elex señala que Biden ha tenido problemas con algunos grupos demográficos clave, y Taylor podría ayudar a recuperar a esos votantes a expensas de Trump.

Por supuesto, Elex dice que la gente no debe apresurarse en descartar a Trump, diciendo que Donald por lo general tiene un as bajo la manga. El hecho es que ha corrido campañas exitosas antes y consiguió un montón de votos.

Juvenile is taking a page out of the Mary J. Blige playbook with Lovers & Friends ... and putting the super star-studded festival on notice over his lack of payment!!!

The New Orleans rap legend's gripe stems from L&F slapping his name on the flyer to help entice ticket sales but not forking over the dough for the promo!!!

Juve accused L&F of straight-up doing bad business ... claiming the organizers are stalling on paying him his deposit.

The "Back Dat Azz Up" rapper simply deems this type of treatment is unacceptable for an artist of his stature ... pretty much the sentiment that MJB gave off when she stonewalled the fest for a higher placement value.

Mary publicly canceled her appearance -- only to turn around a day later and posted a moneybag emoji with a newfound energy for the fest.

Charlamagne Tha God is giving Megan Thee Stallion the 'W' over Nicki Minaj in their rap war by TKO, telling us the aftermath of Nicki's "Big Foot" was enough to sway his decision!!!

Charlamagne and DJ Envy mulled over the latest developments Wednesday morning in Meg and Nicki's face-off -- after a select group of Barbz posted the location of Megan's mother's burial site.

TMZ broke the story ... the Texas cemetery where Holly Thomas is laid to rest beefed up security measures after the address went viral, and local authorities in the area were put on high alert at the same time.

Charlamagne noted how Megan's "Hiss" track caused Nicki to spiral on X all weekend ... and wrote off her "Big Foot" response as a weak one.

Do remember, Nicki's own fans bombarded her with thousands of messages telling her the track was trash, so CTG is in the majority with his opinion.

Charlamagne also scolded "groupie ass" young fans for foolishly riding behind celebs, and, in this case, thinking it was a good decision to threaten someone's grave.

He predicts curses will soon come their way!

Fans have been going for broke over this battle ... a TikToker claiming to be from Queens recently posted a vid giving the impression he was cocking a gun as he threatened Meg if the beef kept going.