Music

Bo$$, who famously was the first female rapper signed to Def Jam, has died.

Rapper Bun B announced the news Monday evening, paying tribute to Bo$$ ... whose real name was Lichelle Marie Laws. Bun posted a pic of Bo$$, and wrote, “Rest in peace to my big sis Lichelle Laws AKA Boss. One of the best female MCs and a dear friend."

Bun's announcement sparked quite a huge reaction from the hip hop world ... as Jermaine Dupri, Jadakiss, 9th Wonder, Ed Lover, Lloyd Banks, Slim Thug and many others all paid tribute to the pioneering MC.

DJ Premier also weighed in, praising Bo$$ as a talented legend, and made a public plea for Def Jam to release a collab he'd recorded with her in 1993.

DJ Battlecat remembered Bo$$ for leading the way for women in gangsta rap ... and added, "Rest in Detroit Queen."

Bo$$ was born and raised in Detroit, but moved to L.A. shortly after graduating high school. She integrated herself into the local music scene, catching the eye of one of DJ Quik‘s associates.

As the story goes, Russell Simmons was the one to sign her to Def Jam, and by 1993 she dropped her first (and only) studio album, "Born Gangstaz." She found some success on the charts with "Deeper" making the Hot 100.

No word on circumstances surrounding her death, or an official cause of death ... but Bo$$ had battled renal disease, which she was first diagnosed with in 2011. A GoFundMe was also set up in her name after a 2017 stroke and seizure left her needing "costly" care ... including a possible kidney transplant.

She was 54.

Luke Combs is done trying to make sense of what the Carolina Panthers are doing with the team -- the last straw was the Brian Burns trade -- and now the country music star is going in on the squad!

"Panthers, WHAT ARE WE DOING?!?!?" the 34-year-old said in a message to the organization on X.

"No first-round pick for McCaffrey a few years back and now none for Burns?!?! Are we just firebombing the whole team here or what?"

If you missed it, the New York Giants traded for the 2x Pro Bowl pass rusher on Monday (and then signed him to a massive $150 mil contract), sending the Panthers a 2nd and 5th-round pick in return in the upcoming NFL Draft (they also swapped 5th rounders in '24 and '25).

Clearly not the haul Combs would expect for a premiere player who can get to the quarterback.

This trade comes almost two years after the Panthers sent Christian McCaffrey, one of the NFL's best running backs, to the 49ers ... and Luke's had it!

To add salt to the wound, Panthers fans had to watch their former RB star in Super Bowl LVIII in February.

"I usually don’t comment on these kinds of things but it’s just becoming slow torture at this point," Combs said to end his message.

Madonna had a real treat in store for her fans at her California concert Monday night … and it was none other than Cardi B!!!

The New York-born rapper shocked the packed crowd at the Kia Forum in Inglewood when she strutted out onstage without warning for a sexy two-minute-plus performance with Madonna.

Cardi's surprise appearance occurred during the "Vogue" segment in which Madonna usually brings out other celebs onstage to rate a raunchy dance-off as part of her "Celebration" tour.

Check out this video obtained by TMZ … Cardi and Madonna were seated in silver chairs next to each other holding signs emblazoned with the number "10" and the word "Chop."

The superstars rated the dancers pirouetting around them and worshipping their bodies, giving them all, of course, tens. Cardi also jumped into the contest, twerking her butt off. And you know she scored a ten!

At one point, Madonna held up the "Chop" sign, which in ballroom competitions means you're not advancing to the next round. The audience probably didn't catch that, but who cares … Madonna, Cardi and the rest were having a blast!

Meanwhile, Madonna got a little raunchy herself with Cardi, caressing her thighs throughout the segment. But that’s just expected with Madonna and Cardi didn’t seem to mind one bit.

As the song wrapped, Cardi was escorted by the dancers off the stage ... and Madonna just kept the show going.

Madonna tenía un verdadero regalo guardado para los fans que fueron a su concierto en California el lunes por la noche, ¡¡¡y se trataba nada menos que de Cardi B!!!

La rapera oriunda de Nueva York sorprendió a la multitud abarrotada en el Kia Forum en Inglewood cuando se pavoneó sobre el escenario sin previo aviso para una sexy actuación de más de dos minutos con Madonna.

La aparición sorpresa de Cardi ocurrió durante el segmento "Vogue" en el que Madonna suele subir al escenario a otras celebridades para calificar sugerentes bailes realizados por miembros del cuerpo de baile como parte de su gira "Celebration".

Echa un vistazo a este video obtenido por TMZ, Cardi y Madonna estaban sentadas en sillas plateadas y sosteniendo carteles con el número "10" y la palabra "Chop".

Las superestrellas calificaron a los bailarines haciendo piruetas a su alrededor y adorando sus cuerpos, dándoles a todos un 10, por supuesto. Cardi también se lanzó al concurso e hizo twerking con su trasero. Y ya saben que se llevó un diez.

En un momento dado, Madonna levantó el cartel de "Chop", que en los concursos de baile de salón significa que no pasas a la siguiente ronda. El público probablemente no se dio cuenta, pero a quién le importa, Madonna, Cardi y el resto lo pasaron de maravilla.

Mientras tanto, Madonna se puso sensual con Cardi, acariciando sus muslos durante todo el show. Pero eso es lo que se espera de ella y a Cardi no pareció importarle en absoluto.

Al final de la canción, Cardi fue escoltada por los bailarines fuera del escenario y Madonna continuó con el espectáculo.

Eric Carmen -- famous for being the frontman of the Raspberries, and for multiple solo hits through the '70s and '80s, including "All By Myself" -- has died ... this according to his family.

The sad news was posted to the singer's own website, with a message posted from none other than his wife, Amy. It reads, "It is with tremendous sadness that we share the heartbreaking news of the passing of Eric Carmen."

It goes on ... "Our sweet, loving and talented Eric passed away in his sleep, over the weekend. It brought him great joy to know, that for decades, his music touched so many and will be his lasting legacy."

Amy adds, "Please respect the family’s privacy as we mourn our enormous loss." No further details were shared about the circumstances of his death ... Eric had no known or reported ailments of late.

Obviously, it's a huge blow to the music industry -- as Eric was a staple in pop culture in the late 20th century. Not only was his hit 'ABM' a massive success ... but he went on to churn out several others well into the next decade ... including "Never Gonna Fall in Love Again," "She Did It," ''Hungry Eyes" (from the "Dirty Dancing" soundtrack), and "Make Me Lose Control."

Other great songs of his included ... "Go All the Way," "Love Is All That Matters," "I'm Through With Love," "It Hurts Too Much," "The Way We Used to Be," "I Wanna Hear It From Your Lips" ... and many, many more.

In addition to 4 albums he put out as the lead singer of the Raspberries, Eric released 6 studio albums solo ... and he went on to become a phenomenon in the music biz. He's survived by his wife and two children. Eric was 74.

Diane Warren lost again at the Oscars this year -- a years-long tradition that she says she's gonna break next year with her next Best Song nomination ... which makes us very curious.

We ran into the legendary songwriter Monday at LAX -- this after she was shut out at Sunday's ceremony yet again for her song "The Fire Inside" featured in "Flamin' Hot." Nothing new there ... Diane stays getting screwed at the Oscars, a whopping 15 times mind you.

You can tell DW ain't letting it get to her ... 'cause she's a good sport, and more importantly -- she's pretty confident too, telling our photog that she thinks her 16th nom will see gold.

Check it out ... Diane says she's already got another hit cooking, and believes she'll be back at next year's Academy Awards as well. Only this time, she thinks she'll make it on the stage!

Kinda makes us wonder what sorta banger she has waiting in the wings ... Diane's already got a lot of great tunes under her belt as it is. In fact, our camera guy picked his faves.

In case you've forgotten ... Diane has written some of the most iconic songs heard in film, probably ever.

Just a few that our photog thought could rank among her best ... "I Don't Want to Miss a Thing," "Because You Loved Me," "Til It Happens to You" and "Nothing's Gonna Stop Us Now."

Zita Vass says she's open to pivoting her views on wanting to say the n-word at concerts -- 'cause it sounds like she's just not aware of how or why people would possibly be upset.

We talked to the Guess model Monday on "TMZ Live," and she defended her take online from this past weekend ... where she expressed a desire to be able to say the derogatory racial slur in live music settings, especially if she was just repeating lyrics from an artist.

Zita's whole thing here is this ... if there's no hate in her heart, what's the big deal???

Welp, we tried explaining to Zita why some -- especially Black people -- might take offense to hearing her use the term ... and after a lot of back and forth, it sounds like she finally might've started to understand.

She admits there may be some ignorance on her part -- and the bigger takeaway is that she's willing to learn ... which is refreshing to hear. Of course, some just wanted to dump on her -- and that's exactly what a good amount of people did in her Instagram comments.

This conversation we had with Zita is definitely worth a watch -- it's almost like she's learning about racism (or perceived racism) live for the first time ... and seems pretty genuine about it too, surprised that some might not be willing to give her the benefit of the doubt.

Taylor Swift y Travis Kelce pueden haber fracasado en hacer su debut en la alfombra roja como pareja en los Oscar 2024, pero al menos se presentaron para una fiesta posterior.

TMZ ha confirmado que la estrella del pop y el semental de la NFL pasaron por la fiesta exclusiva de Madonna y Guy Oseary's post Oscars en una residencia privada en Hollywood Hills el domingo por la noche, donde no se permitían fotos en el interior.

Por supuesto, British Vogue publicó una serie de fotos de estrellas que aparecieron y posaron en lo que parece ser un área designada para sesiones de fotos, la cual tenía varios recortes divertidos, entre otras cosas.

Algunas de las estrellas que fueron fotografiadas incluyeron a Robert De Niro, Matthew McConaughey, Jodie Turner-Smith, Lenny Kravitz, Salma Hayek y otros. Cabe destacar que Taylor y Travis no formaron parte de la alineación de fotos, pero están mencionados como invitados famosos que participaron.

Como dijimos, fuentes con conocimiento directo nos informan que, de hecho, estuvieron allí, aunque parece que hicieron un esfuerzo consciente por no ser vistos o fotografiados, lo cual resulta interesante.

La llegada de Taylor y Travis a Los Ángeles se produce después de los seis conciertos agotados en Singapur como parte de su gira "Eras", que concluyó el pasado fin de semana. Parece que estaban listos para salir de allí y regresar a Estados Unidos, y eso es exactamente lo que hicieron.

Disfrutaron de un tiempo a solas en Asia durante el breve periodo en que Travis estuvo allí, pero obviamente, con su gira en pausa durante aproximadamente un mes, estaban listos para volver a casa.

No han tenido problemas en dejar que su historia de amor se desarrolle en público en ciertos entornos, pero en otros son extrañamente privados, y realmente no tiene mucho sentido.

Recuerda que la cantante apoyó al tight end de los Kansas City Chiefs en varios de sus juegos de fútbol, incluido el Super Bowl, y Travis ha asistido al tour "Eras" de Taylor en cuatro ciudades diferentes. A simple vista, parece que solo se sienten cómodos siendo captados en público en ciertos momentos.

Incluso Taylor parece ser increíblemente reacia a ser fotografiada en ocasiones, llegando al punto de esconderse bajo paraguas para evitar que los paparazzi la capturen, lo cual, nuevamente, resulta muy extraño. En esta fiesta posterior, parece que fue más de lo mismo: una gran preferencia por la privacidad extrema.

Quizás Taylor y Travis han tenido suficiente de los comentarios de todos aquellos opinando sobre cada uno de sus movimientos. ¡El tiempo dirá!

Biggie's former hype man Lil Cease has gone the distance ensuring his fallen friend got the legacy he deserved ... even parting ways with his precious personal recordings, so the estate could finalize his catalog.

TMZ Hip Hop chopped it up with Cease-A-Leo at The Biggie Experience in Brooklyn, hosted by the Notorious Kids, T'yanna and CJ Wallace and the "Crush On You" rapper tells us he's sadly exhausted his stash of Biggie tracks to fill up posthumous albums.

Cease was a member of Biggie's Junior M.A.F.I.A. rap group that famously brought the world Lil Kim, and he felt it best for the family to have the music he collected over the years.

With breaks in the Tupac Shakur and Jam Master Jay ice-cold murder cases, Cease says he thinks investigators should be able to piece together evidence to bring Biggie's fam some closure, but he added ... he hasn't heard anything concrete on that front to share.

Ditto for Diddy's latest round of trauma ... Cease will forever be an OG Bad Boy but hopes for an amicable resolution for all parties for all future cases. He stressed the principle of innocence until proven guilty!

He plans on preserving Biggie's history further with a documentary, and T'yanna and CJ are doing the same.

Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce may have failed to make their red carpet debut as a couple at the 2024 Oscars ... but they at least showed up for a shindig afterward, albeit on the DL.

TMZ has confirmed that the pop star and the NFL stud stopped by Madonna and Guy Oseary's Oscars exclusive after-party at a private residence in the Hollywood Hills on Sunday evening ... where there weren't any photos allowed inside.

Of course, British Vogue published a bunch of shots of stars who showed up and posed at what appears to be a designated photo-op area -- which had a bunch of fun cutouts, etc.

Some of the stars who were pictured included Robert De Niro, Matthew McConaughey, Jodie Turner-Smith, Lenny Kravitz, Salma Hayek and others. Notably, Taylor and Travis were not part of the photo lineup ... but are listed among the celeb guests who crashed it.

Like we said, sources with direct knowledge tell us they were in fact there ... even though they seem to have gone out of their way to not be seen/photographed, which is interesting.

Taylor and Travis landing here in L.A. comes after T-Swift's six sold-old shows in Singapore as part of her "Eras" tour -- which wrapped up this past weekend. Sounds like they were ready to get the hell out of there and come back stateside ... which is exactly what they did.

They enjoyed some alone time in Asia for the brief period Travis was there -- but obviously with her tour being on pause for a good month or so ... they were ready to come home.

They've had no problem letting their love story play out in the public eye in some settings ... but in others, they're weirdly private, and it really doesn't make much sense.

Remember, the singer supported the Kansas City Chiefs tight end at several of his football games -- including the Super Bowl -- and Travis has seen Taylor's "Eras" tour in four different cities. On its face, it seems like they're only cool being snapped in public at certain times.

Taylor herself even seems to be incredibly averse to being photographed at times -- going so far as to hidey under umbrellas to keep paparazzi from snapping her ... which, again, is so bizarre. Here for this after-party, it looks to have been more of the same ... ultra privacy.

Perhaps Taylor and Travis have had enough of the Dads, Brads and Chads weighing in on their every move? Time will tell!

Lady Gaga sale en defensa de Dylan Mulvaney después de que una publicación en redes sociales en honor a las dos celebridades durante el Día Internacional de la Mujer provocara una dura reacción en línea.

La cantante publicó una foto de ella y Dylan -que es transgénero- e hizo un punto para criticar a los trolls que reaccionaron a la publicación Insta de Dylan del viernes (Día Internacional de la Mujer) que la presentaba a ella y a Gaga juntas, y recibió una gran cantidad de odio en sus comentarios.

Gaga escribe: "Me resulta espantoso que un post sobre el Día Nacional de la Mujer escrito por Dylan Mulvaney y por mí sea recibido con tanto vitriolo y odio. Cuando veo que un periódico informa sobre el odio, pero lo llama "reacción violenta", creo que es importante aclarar que el odio es odio, y este tipo de odio es violencia".

Y continuó: "'Contragolpe' implicaría que a la gente que nos quiere o nos respeta a Dylan y a mí no les ha gustado algo que hemos hecho. Esto no es una reacción violenta. Esto es odio".

Gaga añade: "Pero no es sorprendente dado el inmenso trabajo que todavía tenemos que hacer como sociedad para darle lugar a las vidas transgénero para que sean apreciadas y defendidas por todos nosotros". Gaga dice que protege a la comunidad trans... pero dice que no habla en su nombre.

Gaga termina diciendo: "Espero que todas las mujeres se unan para honrarnos a TODAS en el Día Internacional de la Mujer, y que siempre lo hagamos hasta EL DÍA en que todas las mujeres sean celebradas por igual. Que se celebre a todas las personas por igual. Un día en el que las personas de todas las identidades de género sean celebradas en cualquier festividad que les hable. Porque las personas de todas las identidades de género y razas merecen paz y dignidad".

En otras palabras. Gaga está totalmente de acuerdo con Dylan y dice que la gente debería retirarse.

Dylan, por supuesto, no es ajeno a la controversia. Recordemos que Dylan se enfrentó a una gran indignación en Internet por su colaboración con Bud Light el año pasado, la cual que provocó un boicot masivo y perjudicó a Anheuser-Busch.

Los que se opusieron a la colaboración, entre ellos Kid Rock, se comprometieron a no comprar la marca de cerveza a propósito, llegando incluso a destruir las latas que ya habían comprado. Kid Rock incluso se hizo viral por disparar a cajas de Bud Light por la colaboración.

La respuesta no fue del todo negativa... Paris Hilton, Sasha Colby de "Drag Race" y muchos más expresaron su apoyo a Dylan.

Lady Gaga is coming to the defense of Dylan Mulvaney after a social media post honoring the two celebs on International Women's Day sparked a harsh reaction online.

The singer posted a photo of her and Dylan -- who's transgender -- and made a point to slam trolls who reacted to Dylan's own IG post from Friday (International Women's Day) that featured her and Gaga together ... which got a massive amount of hate in her comments.

Gaga writes, "It’s appalling to me that a post about National Women’s Day by Dylan Mulvaney and me would be met with such vitriol and hatred. When I see a newspaper reporting on hatred but calling it 'backlash' I feel it is important to clarify that hatred is hatred, and this kind of hatred is violence."

She continued, "'Backlash' would imply that people who love or respect Dylan and me didn’t like something we did. This is not backlash. This is hatred."

LG adds, "But it is not surprising given the immense work that it’s obvious we still have to do as a society to make room for transgender lives to be cherished and upheld by all of us." Gaga says she's protective of the trans community ... but says she doesn't speak for them.

Gaga finishes by saying ... "I hope all women will come together to honor us ALL for International Women’s Day, and may we do that always until THE DAY that all women are celebrated equally. That all people are celebrated equally. A day where people of all gender identities are celebrated on whichever holiday speaks to them. Because people of all gender identities and races deserve peace and dignity."

In other words ... Gaga is fully in Dylan's corner here -- and says people oughta back off.

Dylan, of course, is no stranger to controversy. Remember ... Dylan faced some serious outrage online over her partnership with Bud Light last year -- which sparked a massive boycott, and hurt Anheuser-Busch's bottom line.

Those who opposed the collab, including Kid Rock, vowed to purposely not buy the beer brand -- even going as far as to destroy cans they'd already purchased. ICYMI ... Kid Rock even went viral for shooting up cases of Bud Light over the partnership.

The response wasn't all negative, though ... Paris Hilton, 'Drag Race's Sasha Colby and more voiced their support for Dylan in the aftermath.

Dylan now has a new champion in Lady Gaga -- who is a pretty powerful ally, FWIW.

Nicki Minaj appears to have chewed out a stagehand during her most recent tour date -- and it was all caught on video.

The rapper is in the middle of her "Pink Friday 2" tour, and on Sunday ... she was out in Seattle for a concert -- where some behind-the-scenes drama unfolded between Nicki and someone on her team, or at least someone on production.

Check it out ... Nicki and this woman -- who seems to be trying to work on NM's hair -- get into a little argument ... and it's mostly Nicki looking exacerbated/frustrated with this lady.

Before the woman can do anything for Nicki's 'do -- her boss side-steps her and shoos her away as she's getting ready to go back onstage ... getting back to business and carrying on with the show.

Some are calling Nicki's reaction a bit dramatic ... but others are actually defending her.

Comedian Rip Micheals is already back on the scene after suffering a life-threatening heart attack a few months ago -- because his condition hasn't affected his funny bone.

We recently linked up with the "Wild 'N Out" vet in NYC coming out of the gym working on his fitness, and confirmed he's currently waiting on a heart transplant as his heart is functioning at 15% ... but Rip assures us he's recovering just nicely!!! 💪🏾

Rip shocked fans last November when he posted alarming photos of himself in the hospital ICU and credits Mayo Clinic for bringing him back to life like "Thriller."

He's not out of the woods yet ... he survived another heart attack in February following his comeback concert at the Apollo Theater and continues to monitor his vitals closely.

Contrary to popular belief, Rip says he suffers from congestive heart failure -- meaning his heart attack was caused by genetics and even had some jokes for his parents for not maximizing their biological options.

His famous comic pals figured laughter was the best medicine also -- Nick Cannon advised Rip to get like him and push out multiple kids -- before things get any worse.

On this episode of The TMZ podcast ...

The 96th Academy Awards went down on Sunday night and there were many memorable moments! One of those moments was when host Jimmy Kimmel traded insults with former President Donald Trump, reading one of his Truth Social posts to the audience!

Sadly, Greta Gerwig's "Barbie" lost out on all their possible awards except for one -- Billie Eilish and Finneas' "What Was I Made For?" took home Best Original Song!

Barbie's own Ryan Gosling brought the house down when he belted out and fully committed to performing "I'm Just Ken" with the help of Slash, who came out for a surprise appearance.

John Cena surprised everyone when he went nude during the presentation of Best Costume Design ... but we eventually learned he was actually covered up the whole time.

Princess of Wales, Kate Middleton, admitted to editing a Mother's Day photo of her with her kids after the internet quickly spotted some confusing mistakes. Some people were accusing the photo of being AI-generated, but we think it looks more like a Photoshop fail.

Ariana Grande is urging fans to back off from attacking her ex-husband Dalton Gomez following her new cryptic song lyrics for "Eternal Sunshine."

Plus, 'Harry Potter' star Miriam Margoyles thinks adult fans of the franchise need to "grow up".

Subscribe to The TMZ Podcast wherever you get your podcasts!

Hosts: Charlie Cotton & Roger Corral

Los Oscar han terminado y todas las estrellas se han ido de fiesta por la ciudad, y el lugar de moda ha sido la fiesta de Vanity Fair, en la que se ha reunido todo el mundo.

La lista A de Hollywood acudió a la reunión anual de la revista después de los Oscar, lo cual se ha convertido en algo habitual durante la temporada de premios, y donde casi todo el mundo que estuvo en la ciudad pasó para tomarse fotos y codearse con otras celebridades después del espectáculo.

Por supuesto, no se puede culpar a nadie por querer asistir a esta fiesta de los Oscar: la alfombra roja y las letras gigantes son llamativas y todo el mundo va vestido de punta en blanco.

Las fotos de la ceremonia eran dignas de ver, pero una vez dentro, también hubo mucho que ver... con muchas estrellas cruzándose e intercambiando sonrisas. De hecho, los propios ganadores de los Oscar estaban presentes, al igual que los finalistas.

Algunas de las celebridades presentes fueron: Da'Vine Joy Randolph, Emily Blunt y John Krasinski, Margot Robbie, America Ferrera, Billie Eilish, Jeff Bezos y Lauren Sánchez, Sydney Sweeney, Sofía Vergara, Lenny Kravitz y muchos otros.

A propósito, no fue la única celebración en la ciudad... Beyoncé y Jay-Z dieron otra fiesta en el Chateau Marmont que también estuvo repleta de estrellas. De hecho, es posible que la fiesta fuera doble.

Solo una pequeña muestra de las estrellas que acudieron a la fiesta de Jay y Bey son: los KarJenner, LeBron James, Kelly Rowland, Ciara y Russell Wilson, Chrissy Teigen y John Legend, Emma Stone, Mark Ruffalo, MGK y Megan Fox, Kerry Washington y muchos más.

Fue sin duda una noche para recordar, especialmente por algunas películas como "Oppenheimer", "Poor Things", "The Zone Of Interest" y un puñado de otras películas que realmente limpiaron y arrasaron.

"Barbie" se fue con las manos relativamente vacías, al igual que "Killers of the Flower Moon", pero eso no quiere decir que la gente no estuviera contenta en la ceremonia... porque lo estuvieron.