Music

Drake attempted to rattle Pharrell's cage on his "Family Matters" rapper diss fest earlier this year ... but the former Neptunes producer says the punchline was lost on him!!!

GQ quizzed Pharrell about his reaction to Drake swooping in to buy all the gem-laden jewels he auctioned off in 2022 -- but Pharrell says he's fine with it!!!

The way Pharrell sees it, he got all the life use of the shiny items, and wherever they end up is their destiny ... even if happens to be in the possession of a rival!!!

Ariana Grande has left fans clamoring for answers after calling out one inaccurate "Wicked" lyric ... with some debating the pop star's stance on the song.

Here's what went down ... Wednesday, the "Wicked" movie uploaded to Instagram a snippet of Ariana's rendition of "Popular" in the musical movie ... slapping the lyrics over the first look of the scene.

However, the upload seemingly had one glaring error .... this according to Glinda, herself. In the comments on the Instagram post, Ariana chimed in and revealed the word "poise" in the lyric video should actually be "ploys."

Jessica Simpson's husband is ditching his bling ... leaving his wedding ring at home -- just a day after we learned Simpson may be considering a divorce.

Eric Johnson -- Jessica's husband of more than a decade -- stepped out in Los Angeles Tuesday, and he's baring all here ... all of his ring finger, we mean.

He's not trying to hide his left hand here -- letting it hang out for all to see ... while looking over what may be important documents.

10:30 AM PT -- Just like we predicted, Diddy's kids got wind of Meek Mill's deflection and let's just say Justin Combs is severely disappointed in the Dreamchaser!!!

Meek Mill has officially ended an era -- by distancing himself from all things Diddy-related, and he did it with nothing but disgust in his voice!!!

Meek was out in the streets Wednesday and Hood Report gave him the open floor ... where he pounced on the opportunity to slander Diddy's name in the wake of the allegations that got him locked up!!!

"No Diddy Gang, Meek Milly in real life -- don't ever disrespect me, ya heard?" Meek growled for the cameras ... a moment that's sure to go viral.

Mod Sun's totally blinded by his new love and paparazzi cameras flashing ... 'cause he stepped out with Brittany Wisniewski for a bite to eat Tuesday night -- and, they posed for pics.

The singer-songwriter took his "Love Is Blind" gal pal to Catch Steak L.A. ... an upscale steakhouse near West Hollywood -- and, ya gotta watch the clip 'cause the 2 aren't shying away from the limelight.

In the clip, the pair steps out of Catch hand in hand ... walking over to the valet -- all while dodging questions about whether they're official or not.

Nelly can put his August arrest for possession of ecstasy behind him and focus on the jackpot he won the same night ... prosecutors will not be issuing the "Country Grammar" rapper any charges.

Chris King, spokesperson for St. Louis County Prosecuting Attorney's Office, tells TMZ Hip Hop, "We don't believe the facts in this case warrant the issuing of charges."

Nelly’s attorney, Scott Rosenblum, gave us further clarity ... "Wesley Bell, the prosecuting attorney, and his office looked at all the circumstances and after a fair and impartial review of the evidence, declined to prosecute."

Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo are proving they're perfectly in-sync ... busting out into song during their recent appearance on "TODAY."

Check it out ... the stars of the upcoming "Wicked" film sit down with Savannah Guthrie and Hoda Kotb to discuss their bond after making the musical movie -- and give a taste of their pitch-perfect sound together.

When asked by Hoda if there's any song they can't help but sing when around one another, the on-screen besties confess "I'm Every Woman" by Chaka Khan is a favorite ... jumping into a live rendition of the song.

Ray J says he's been contacted by multiple celebs who are so scared about their affiliation with Diddy ... they're going to some of the alleged victims and paying them to keep quiet.

Ray appears in TMZ's new TUBI documentary, "The Downfall of Diddy: Inside the Freak-Offs" ... and says some high-profile people are trying to cut alleged victims off at the pass, even before they make money demands.

Attorney Tony Buzbee also appears in the doc and reveals he has sent a demand letter out to various high-profile people with an ultimatum ... pay up, or face a lawsuit.

Pharrell Williams criticized music stars on both sides of the aisle campaigning for their presidential picks ahead of the election ... but is flat-out denying he was gunning at Taylor Swift!!!

The superproducer-turned-Louis Vuitton fashion czar made the political slam a week after TS publicly endorsed Kamala Harris, naturally angering the Swifties.

In a new interview with GQ, Pharrell laughed off the backlash ... "I love Taylor. She knows that."

Liam Payne's death is putting a spotlight on the unseen struggles teen singers face when they put trust into stardom, even when it seems like they're thriving ... according to Jeff Timmons from 98 Degrees.

Jeff is just one of several boy banders opening up about the rollercoaster ride his group, Backstreet Boys, *NSYNC, New Edition, New Kids on the Block and many others endured for decades. They're all featured in the new Paramount+ documentary, "Larger Than Life: Reign of the Boybands."

On Tuesday's "TMZ Live," Jeff told us the sudden fame they all encountered -- mostly in the early 2000s -- was absolutely a blessing, but it was also impossible to prepare for everything that was thrown at them.

Sergio Mendes' cause of death has been revealed -- the Brazilian musician died from respiratory failure.

According to the death certificate, obtained by TMZ, the official cause of death is acute hypoxemic respiratory failure ... a condition that occurs when there's not enough oxygen in the body.

The condition can be brought on by pneumonia ... and Sergio's death certificate says aspiration pneumonia is an underlying cause here. This specific type of pneumonia is a lung infection resulting from food, liquid or other substances being inhaled into the lungs.

Drake and Chris Brown squashing their beef back in the day has resulted in a shiny new accolade -- a Diamond-certified plaque for their "No Guidance" duet!!!

Tuesday, Breezy was showered with several new certifications from the Recording Industry of America, with the 10 million sold from his 2019 Drake duet being the biggest.

Chris celebrated the win by echoing his mantra as of late -- keeping his head down and remaining humble!!!

The plaque rings of Diamond but in all actuality, they sold 11 million units so far.

Megan Fox and Machine Gun Kelly’s baby news has everyone buzzing -- and we've learned she’s pretty far along in her pregnancy!

Sources tell us the actress is already 4 to 5 months along ... meaning she'll be due sometime in March. While the couple already knows the baby’s sex, they’re keeping it under wraps for now -- so no word yet on whether it’s a boy or a girl.

We're told Megan's feeling confident and healthy during this pregnancy, which is definitely a relief after the heartbreak of her miscarriage, which she revealed last year.

Tekashi 6ix9ine may be holed up in the same MDC tombs as Diddy but that doesn't mean they're dishing the latest music industry gossip -- we're told they're in totally separate areas!!!

Lance Lazzaro, 6ix9ine's attorney, tells TMZ Hip Hop the rumors of Diddy and 6ix9ine hanging together in prison are totally false ... we're told 6ix9ine's currently in isolation because of his notoriety, and that includes being separated from other famous people!!!

Despite the confinement, Lance assures us 6ix9ine is not happy being locked up ... but he is happy about being one step closer to going home.

Two people directly connected to Jessica Simpson have spoken with 2 divorce lawyers in the last 2 months ... specifically about Jessica's marriage to Eric Johnson ... TMZ has learned.

Sources with direct knowledge tell TMZ ... late last month someone close to Jessica went to a Los Angeles divorce attorney and said Jessica was unhappy in her marriage and wanted to arrange a meeting with the attorney and Simpson. We do not know if this was done at Jessica's behest, but we're told the message to the lawyer was clear. We're also told up to this point Jessica has not made contact with the lawyer.

And, we've learned someone on Jessica's team made contact with another Los Angeles divorce lawyer regarding matters that were divorce-related. Again, so far we're told there has been no follow-through.

Ice Cube has been questioned to oblivion about making up with his ex-Westside Connection groupmate Mack 10 ... and it just may happen ... if a passive blip of body language is to be believed!!!

Bootleg Kev shot his Hail Mary WS Connection question in a new interview with Cube after swelling the Don Mega's head with inquiries about his other past supergroups, N.W.A. and Mt. Westmore.

Cube bluntly told Kev "I don't know" with a shrug in regards to the reunion ... which is a total improvement after he completely shut down the last time this was a topic!!!