Music

XXL magazine's debuting its 2024 Freshman class and riding the wave of Kendrick Lamar's "Not Like Us," but the outlet's also overlooking the song's main theme -- showing love for the West Coast!!!

The annual cover, which dropped Monday, only allows for 10 spots and this year's lineup filled 5 slots with artists from New York and other East Coast cities, including Cash Cobain ... who TMZ Hip Hop caught up with in March to speak on his viral "Fisherrr" moment.

Texas lyricists BigXthaPlug and That Mexican OT were also celebrated on social media for earning their spots through skill -- but fans on PDT were left confused as to why the rankings were so lopsided.

Joe Budden is convinced the dismantling of Drake amid the 2024 Rap Wars started with his pen ... thereby blazing a path for Pusha T and Kendrick Lamar to polish him off!!!

In a recent X Spaces, JB argued Drake's decline wasn't only due to K. Dot's "Not Like Us" victory lap, because his diss songs came first, and long before this year.

Back in 2016, JB went on an anti-Drake warpath, dropping several diss tracks aimed at Champagne Papi -- at the time, Joe took some of Drake's raps as sneaky shots.

Kendrick Lamar's "Not Like Us" video went down in Compton over the weekend without a stitch of negativity ... and Jason Martin was there and witnessed all the love and harmony.

The "Like Whaaat" rapper joined TMZ Live on Monday to run back the whirlwind of events that culminated this past week for rap's biggest moments of the year ... which capped off with a music video shoot for K.Dot's West Coast anthem.

JM was a featured performer at Kendrick's Pop-Out concert last week ... and he and Kendrick grew up in the area where "Not Like Us" was filmed -- so, based on his experience, it was as safe as could be ... even for those who weren't from the neighborhood.

Aaron Carter was worth a fair bit of money when he died -- and we're now getting a sense of just how much dough there was in his pot ... a 6-figure amount, at least.

The late singer's estate filed new court docs, obtained by TMZ, laying out a partial inventory and appraisal that puts a dollar amount on what they say Aaron's estate was worth ... based on what they've been able to appraise thus far.

The estate says Aaron's valuables/assets are worth an estimated $757,400 ... as of April 2023.

Shaboozey is blowing up right now over a song plugging Jack Daniel's -- so it's only fitting that he poured a crap ton of the whiskey brand while raging in Miami ... and we got footage.

The "A Bar Song (Tipsy)" singer made sure Jack Daniel's had a history with partygoers at E11VEN ... buying 111 whiskey shots as he performed his hit song on the stage.

Check out the video ... Shaboozey is doing his thing on a crowded stage as servers pass out shots, and the whole place is singing along as he downs some whiskey himself.

Taylor Swift isn't taking Dave Grohl's comment about her "Eras" tour too kindly -- and she took the first possible opportunity to fire back, declaring she and her band do, indeed, perform live!

ICYMI ... the Foo Fighters frontman appeared to make a dig at the pop star Saturday, joking his band's tour is called the "Errors Tour" as they "actually play live" ... seeming to imply Taylor does not.

Well, less than a day after that perceived dig, Taylor appeared to directly respond to Dave during night 3 of her Wembley Stadium residency ... as she called out her band in a particular way.

Kesha won't say anything about Katy Perry working with her old nemesis Dr. Luke again ... but it's clear she's feeling some type of way, and her facial expressions are a dead giveaway.

The singer was at LAX this weekend when a photog asked her about Katy collaborating with Luke on new music -- something that was confirmed last week -- and while she remained mum on the topic, her body language certainly telegraphs how she really feels.

Check it out ... Kesha definitely isn't running from the question here -- and she actually reacts to it -- albeit, without any words. Instead, she smirks and then gets into her car -- it's telling.

All eyes were on Paris this weekend -- but not because of the forthcoming Olympics ... it all had to do with celebs who got dressed up in wacky outfits and posed in front of cameras.

Countless stars descended upon the City of Light Sunday for Vogue World 2024 -- a fashion event rivaling the Met Gala and fashion week itself. The event went down Sunday at the famed Place Vendôme ... where A-listers were channeling an Olympics theme.

There were plenty of famous faces ... Cara Delevingne, Joey King, Selma Blair, Pharrell Williams, Emma Chamberlain and more all showed off some pretty out-there looks.

Taylor Swift's concert got a little buggy Sunday after she swallowed an insect during her Sunday "Eras" show in London.

The pop star hit the stage for the third night in a row at Wembley Stadium ... and during the 10-minute version of "All Too Well," there was a fly in the ointment -- AKA her mouth.

Check out the vid ... Taylor was strumming her guitar, standing at the mic, when suddenly announced she had swallowed the bug and asked the audience to pinch hit and sing the lyrics.

Taylor Swift's mixing business and pleasure -- finally bringing Travis Kelce out onstage with her in London Sunday ... and, we gotta say he nailed the choreography.

The singer-songwriter took the stage in England's capital Sunday -- her third show this weekend -- and, her footballer boyfriend went from spectator to spectacle ... hitting the stage in a tuxedo and top hat.

This all went down during "The Tortured Poets Department" part of her set ... as part of the intro for "I Can Do It With a Broken Heart" she pretended to throw a tantrum and collapse to the stage.

Michael Jackson would be happy to learn his former pet chimp, named Bubbles, is living the good life as an elder primate ... according to the sanctuary that took him in.

Patti Ragan -- director of the Center for Great Apes in Wauchula, FL --  tells TMZ ... Bubbles has a lot of freedom at the sanctuary. He's able to explore tunnels, build a nest under a tree, take daily midday naps and occasionally even paint!

Bubbles, now 41, is regularly checked out by a veterinarian and caregiver staff ... and weighs in at 180 pounds. BTW, the lifespan for a chimp in captivity is between 50 and 60 years.

Dave Grohl's ready to Foo Fight some Swifites ... 'cause he took a shot at Taylor Swift -- implying she's not actually performing live at her shows.

The singer-songwriter took the stage with the Foo Fighters at London Stadium Saturday night ... about 25 miles from Wembley Stadium where Taylor has performed all three of her shows this weekend.

Check out the clip ... DG starts out by name-dropping the pop star's "Eras" Tour -- which receives a lot of boos from the crowd. Dave jokes FF should rename their string of shows the "Errors" Tour 'cause he says they've messed up their fair share since hitting the road.

Bad Bunny was a very bad boy in Paris this weekend ... grabbing Kendall Jenner's backside while walking around the City of Love!

The singer-songwriter stepped out with the model-turned-mogul and hit up the popular Ferdi restaurant in the city ... and, check out the pics 'cause there is a whole lot of PDA happening here.

Bad and Kendall wear matching gray outfits -- him in a stylish suit and Kendall clad in a skintight bodysuit ... and, clearly the temptation's too great for BB 'cause he's got hands all over Kendall's booty as they leave the hot spot.

When it comes to embracing beef, Taylor Swift is a master, because she resurrected her feud with Kim Kardashian during a London performance of the "Eras" tour.

Taylor's wind-up was thanking the crowd profusely for coming out in droves. She will play the famed Wembley Stadium 8 times this summer, and filled the 90-thousand-capacity venue to the gills at her latest show.

Then she fired ... “On the other hand, it really makes me think about how every time someone talks s**t, it just makes me work even harder and it makes me even tougher. So, it also makes me incredibly thankful for those people.”

Julio Foolio -- an up-and-coming rapper from Florida -- has died in a shooting outside a Tampa-area hotel ... TMZ has confirmed.

His attorney Lewis Fusco released a statement announcing the death Sunday, just hours after his client passed. According to the statement ... Julio -- whose real name was Charles Jones -- was in town to celebrate his birthday.

While he was staying at an AirBnb at first ... Fusco cites law enforcement reports which say he was kicked out of his accommodations for exceeding the maximum occupancy and checked in to a local Holiday Inn.

Celine Dion felt the love this weekend ... 'cause a world-class cellist honored her with a rendition of her "Titanic" theme -- and safe to say she's never gonna let go of the memory.

The singer-songwriter attended HAUSER's "Rebel With a Cello" show at Wynn Las Vegas Saturday night ... if you don't know, HAUSER's a prominent cello player from Croatia.

Celine got applause when she arrived at the venue ... so, clearly, it was no secret she was in the crowd -- and, HAUSER played "My Heart Will Go On" as a way to honor the music legend.