Music

Nelly's legal team is firing back at police after the rapper was arrested at a Missouri casino ... they say he was "targeted by an overzealous, out of line officer."

Nelly's attorney, Scott Rosenblum, tells TMZ ... Nelly had won a jackpot at the Hollywood Casino in St. Charles Wednesday morning when the arresting officer falsely told him they needed to run a background check before giving Nelly his money.

Rosenblum says Nelly knew this claim to be bogus because he had won bigger jackpots at the same casino, and in those instances, he received his winnings without a background check and no issues whatsoever.

Kanye West's former chief of staff is taking Ye's dentist to task, claiming the doctor has been supplying Ye with nitrous oxide for recreational use ... but the dentist says the chief made up the allegations for attention.

Milo Yiannopoulos -- Ye's chief of staff for two years before departing the company earlier this year -- submitted an affidavit to the California Dental Board claiming Ye's dentist, Thomas P. Connelly, provided Kanye with nitrous oxide for recreational use.

Yiannopoulos claims Connelly provided the gas for cash ... taking in upwards of $50K every month, even when the gas led to distressing signs from Ye -- including addiction to the substance.

Taylor Swift's concerts in Austria have been canceled due to government concerns about a planned terrorist attack ... despite TMZ confirming two men were already arrested for the alleged plot.

Authorities aren't fully confident they've caught all the terrorists involved in the planned attack. They say the threat has been "minimized," but there is still an "abstract" threat that looms.

Vienna police say they arrested 2 Austrian citizens after a bomb squad found bomb-making materials in the home of a 19-year-old suspect.

Kamala Harris has been drawing major musical acts to her campaign events ... and now she can add one more to the list -- DJ D-Nice.

The Harris for President Campaign tells TMZ ... DJ D-Nice will perform at Harris' rally this Saturday in Vegas. We're told both the VP and her Democratic running mate, Governor Tim Walz, will take the stage.

D-Nice will be serving up tunes and hyping the crowd during the event. There aren't many people better on the 1s and 2s ... you'll recall, D-Nice's "Club Quarantine" DJ sets on Instagram Live became a massive hit during the pandemic, sometimes drawing more than 100K people at a time.

The man charged with felony murder in the shooting death of rapper PnB Rock has just been found guilty.

A Los Angeles jury on Wednesday convicted Freddie Lee Trone on one count of murder, one count of conspiracy to commit robbery, and two counts of second-degree robbery ... stemming from PnB Rock's September 2022 slaying.

TMZ broke the story ... PnB was gunned down inside a Roscoe's Chicken and Waffles restaurant in Los Angeles as he sat and ate with his girlfriend.

Kanye West is blaming it on the booze ... saying he was under the influence when he fired off those antisemitic statements in '22 that got him seriously canceled.

The rapper dropped this bombshell on Candace Owens' podcast -- which was filmed in 2022 but just released Wednesday ... saying in his words, "You wanna know what alcohol I had inside me? Hennessy."

Ye acknowledged Hennessy turns people "gray" -- and brought out his demons real quick -- which he says is what happened in this case.

1:33 PM PT -- The Missouri State Highway Patrol tells TMZ the incident occurred at 4:45 AM Wednesday. The agency has a gaming division, with troopers stationed at the Hollywood Casino in St. Charles.

Nelly was asked to show his ID to police and his info was run for verification in accordance with Missouri Gaming Commission regulations.

Police found Nelly had an active warrant for no insurance from a previous traffic stop conducted by Maryland Heights Police.

Blake Lively didn't have to break the bank for her Britney Spears tribute ... because TMZ found out how much she paid for a Versace dress the singer famously wore back in the day.

Sources familiar with the situation tell TMZ ... Blake spent a little more than $10,000 for Britney's iconic outfit from the 2002 Versace fashion show.

We're told Blake purchased the dress through Tab Vintage, a shop in Los Angeles specializing in vintage clothing. The store posted the dress on social media, but didn't include the price -- and when Blake inquired about the cost, she was surprised ... and just had to have the garment.

Drake has just confirmed a long-suspected theory about one of his hit songs ... as the rapper has dropped never-before-seen footage from the studio.

The hitmaker released a bunch of archival footage from the last several years ... including one telling video, where he makes a big confession about his 2016 anthem, "Too Good," featuring Rihanna.

Watch the vid ... as Drake dishes to his mother -- who is off camera -- that he wrote the song with former flame Serena Williams in mind.

Two men have been arrested for allegedly plotting a terror attack on Taylor Swift's show in Vienna, Austria ... TMZ has confirmed.

A rep for the Vienna State Police tells TMZ ... two Austrian citizens, including one 19-year-old suspect, were arrested for allegedly planning a terror attack at one of Taylor's shows this weekend. It's not clear what exactly they planned to do.

A bomb squad reportedly found chemical substances after raiding the 19-year-old's home, who was suspected of possessing an explosive device, according to police. Authorities are investigating whether the substances found in the residence could have been used to make a bomb.

BTS star Suga had his driver's license revoked over a driving-while-intoxicated scandal ... though the vehicle he was operating has raised questions.

Suga's label, Big Hit Music, has confirmed the singer was arrested Tuesday evening ... and shared the boy band member was booked after he fell while parking an "electric kickboard." Suga was spotted by a police officer in Hannam-dong in Yongsan District, in central Seoul, South Korea -- and was asked to take a breathalyzer test ... which he failed.

His license has since been revoked, and he has been slapped with a fine over the incident.

Shakira was out on the town with a mystery man in Miami ... and clearly, the pics don't lie, 'cause she was seen having a good ol' time at dinner.

The Colombian singer was chillin' at Lido Bayside at The Standard Spa ... with the venue’s waterfront setting providing a picture-perfect backdrop for a date night. But for now, it’s still a mystery whether this handsome companion is a new romance or just a good pal.

All in all, it was great to see Shakira soaking up the low-key vibes with her new company ... especially since she revealed in a recent interview she wasn’t really focused on dating right now 'cause she’s swamped with other stuff.

Elle King is opening up about the struggles she faced before giving a drunken performance at Dolly Parton's birthday bash ... sharing she's come a long way in the aftermath of the scandal.

The singer addressed the performance during her appearance on Kaitlyn Bristowe's "Off the Vine" podcast, where Elle admitted she had been seriously struggling with her mental health before the tribute show at Nashville's Ryman Auditorium earlier this year.

As Elle put it ... nobody really knew the extent of her struggles, but she was very sad and dealing with a "high level of pain."

Cardi B is getting close to releasing a bunch of new music, and it looks like she has a couple names in mind for her upcoming album ... or at least a couple of singles.

According to new legal docs obtained by TMZ, the rapper filed trademark applications for two phrases ... "Defamation of Character" and "Intrusive Thoughts" ... which she says she wants to use for music albums.

Cardi's trademark applications also state she wants the phrases for music videos and downloadable music files, plus potential other uses ... basically everything an artist would need to make money off their music.

Britney Spears has yet to name the leading lady for her biopic ... but those close to the pop star are already making suggestions.

Felicia Culotta, Britney's former longtime assistant and confidante, tells TMZ ... she's so happy to hear the singer's best-selling memoir, "The Woman in Me," is being made into a movie. As she's a significant character in the tell-all, she already has a couple of casting ideas ... for Britney AND herself.

For starters, she thinks Emma Roberts would be a stellar choice for Brit. Emma is best known for her work in the "American Horror Story" franchise ... but was once a singing child star on Nickelodeon's "Unfabulous," which parallels Britney's own roots on "The Mickey Mouse Club."

Here's Blake Lively channeling Britney Spears at her movie premiere ... with a nod to one of the singer's most iconic looks.

Blake turned heads Tuesday at the "It Ends With Us" premiere in New York ... wearing a one-strap Versace dress once worn by Britney herself.

The homage to Britney comes on the heels of news about Britney's bestselling memoir being on track to be turned into a biopic.