Music

Michael Jackson's daughter, Paris, is officially off the market and ready to walk down the aisle ... she's engaged!

Paris announced her engagement to her BF and bandmate, music producer Justin "Blue" Long, on Instagram ... sharing a series of photos with him, including one with him bending his knee and holding a diamond ring.

Paris drops to her knees and kisses her new fiancé. Justin is seen sliding the ring on THAT finger ... what a rock!

Backstreet Boys singer Kevin Richardson says he didn't see Flavor Flav get kicked out of the green room at the NBC tree lighting ceremony in NYC ... 'cause he woulda stepped in to help his friend if he did.

Kevin was at LAX on Thursday when a photog asked him about what went down backstage at Wednesday's tree lighting event at Rockefeller Center ... including Flav's claim that security guards kicked him out.

The BSB says he saw FF and dapped him up before their gig, but says the greenroom was a madhouse and security was extra tight in the wake of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson's murder down the street earlier in the day.

LL Cool J only needs a mirror to see the "greatest rapper of all time" -- a claim that's not getting any pushback from Slick Rick.

If LL says he's the G.O.A.T. -- it's because he coined the term!!!

TMZ Hip Hop caught up with the legendary rapper at LAX on Thursday ... MC Ricky D got his start a few years after LL on Def Jam Records and for all intents and purposes, holds his own place in hip hop history.

Whitney Cummings says rejecting Sabrina Carpenter from "The Conners" was the best thing that could have happened to the pop star.

We got Whitney on Thursday at LAX and our photog asked the former 'Conners' showrunner about the time Sabrina tried to get on the show.

Whitney says Sabrina auditioned for the role of Harris Conner-Healy back in the day, but they ultimately passed because they were looking for someone with a darker energy.

Ariana Grande expressed strong feelings while opening up about body-shamers ... confessing it’s been overwhelming dealing with endless opinions on what people think she should look like, but making it clear she has no time for them.

The actress was continuing on with her "Wicked" promo duties alongside Cynthia Erivo on the "Oui Oui Baguette" web series when she spilled about the never-ending struggle -- you fix what people say is wrong, and just like that, they've got another problem for other reasons.

Ariana got real about how body-shaming hit her hard in the past, starting as a teenager in the biz, and how tough it’s been to shield herself from all that constant noise since.

Flavor Flav's all about fighting the power, standing up to NBC security ... but, it seems they were just doing their jobs -- 'cause we're told he wasn't expected at the tree-lighting, and security booted him.

Here's the deal ... Flav took to X to air some grievances about NBC kicking him out of the Backstreet Boys dressing room at the the Rockefeller Center tree lighting ceremony Wednesday night -- despite all his work with them during the Olympics.

However, sources tell TMZ security had a very good reason to kick him out of the event ... 'cause he wasn't on the list of expected attendees.

All Mariah Carey wanted for Christmas was a peaceful holiday concert ... but fans had something else in store for the pop star when they started throwing punches during her show.

Check it out ... a brawl broke out during one of MiMi's recent Christmas concerts after a verbal spat and a thrown drink escalated things amid the singer's performance of "All I Want for Christmas Is You."

As you can see in the video, the drama started between 2 women ... where the one with curly hair pushed the other from behind. The shoved concertgoer then responded by tossing her drink onto the other lady -- sparking chaos.

Lizzo scored a big legal win in the harassment case filed against her -- at least, for her as an individual ... but her touring company is still facing serious claims.

Here's the deal ... on Monday, a judge dismissed the claims made by former backup dancer Asha Daniels against Lizzo as an individual -- ruling that such claims can only be made against Daniels' corporate employer, not Lizzo as an individual.

Basically, the judge found Lizzo can't be held personally liable for the harassment alleged in the lawsuit.

Daz Dillinger doesn't feel he's going out on a limb declaring the West Coast had the best rhythm and flow over hip hop this year ... Kendrick Lamar reached another stratosphere, Snoop Dogg was all over the globe and Tha Dogg Pound reunited!!!

TMZ Hip Hop linked up with Mr. Daz Dilly at LAX this week and we asked how 2024 stacks up to the Death Row Records days ... in short, Daz calls the vibes nothing short of a resurgence.

Daz was an invaluable fixture in Suge Knight's former operation, where he co-produced on classics such as Snoop's "Doggystyle" and Tupac Shakur's "All Eyez On Me" ... his validation on the West Coast's year speaks VOLUMES!!!

Lil Durk is facing a legal slugfest, with the feds claiming he's the mastermind behind a murder-for-hire plot ... and his attorneys are convinced it's a classic example of prosecutors grasping at straws with some street-savvy rap lyrics because they don't have a real case against the rap star.

The Chicago rapper's attorneys -- Drew Findling and Marissa Goldberg, of The Findling Law Firm, P.C., along with Jonathan Brayman, and Christy O'Connor -- tell TMZ Hip Hop ... "When you see an artist’s rap lyrics quoted as 'evidence' against them, it is a glaring indication that there is no real evidence against that person."

According to the feds, Durk detailed the steps that led up to the August 2022 murder of rival Quando Rondo's cousin Saviay'a Robinson on Babyface Ray's song "Wonderful Wayne & Jackie Boy" when he rapped ... "Told me they got an addy (gooo) / Got location (gooo) Green light (go, go, go, go, go) / Look on the news and see your son, You screamin’, 'No, no' (p***y!!!)"

It looks like the holidays came early for Vanessa Bryant ... 'cause she just received a surprise gift from Taylor Swift -- complete with a special letter!!

Kobe Bryant's widow shared the awesome gesture on her Instagram ... revealing an "Eras" tour book and written message from the pop superstar.

Part of the note says, "I hope you'll enjoy this journey through the memories of my proudest moments: The Eras Tour."

Diddy's defense team is coming out swinging against the prosecution ... accusing the federal government of unfairly spying on him amid his ongoing detention.

In new court documents obtained by TMZ ... the rap mogul's legal team says the feds have trampled Diddy's constitutional rights and hindered Diddy's ability to fairly prepare for his upcoming trial while behind bars.

As the lawyers put it ... the feds flagrantly invaded Diddy's confidential communications with his attorneys -- once again calling into question the raid on the Bad Boy Records founder's cell at MDC Brooklyn.

Angel Reese shot her shot with Rihanna ... and it appears to have worked -- 'cause the two agreed to work together after meeting each other on Wednesday!!

The link happened at the Footwear News Achievement Awards in New York City ... where the Chicago Sky star accepted the Style Influencer of the Year honors.

RiRi was there with her bae, A$AP Rocky ... and Reese totally lost it when they crossed paths.

BigXthaPlug had zero tolerance for a couple of fightin' fans disrupting his show in Los Angeles last night -- and had security swiftly throw both of the dudes out, so fans could enjoy the show!!!

TMZ Hip Hop obtained footage of BigX on his sold-out Take Care Tour at The Regent in DTLA … performing the fan-favorite track “Law & Order” -- you know, the one that borrows its bounce from the series Ice-T helped build.

The Dallas-born rap star didn’t even get to his “woo-wop” rhymes when he spotted a couple guys scrapping and immediately stopped the show for some law & order on his terms!!!

Rihanna and A$AP Rocky have been dating for years, and it certainly shows because they're now super comfy and very loving with each other in the public eye.

Just check out video, obtained by TMZ, which captures the singing icon and the rap star attending Wednesday night's 38th Footwear News Achievement Awards in NYC.

The event celebrates the most influential people in the footwear biz — and A$AP snagged a Collaboration of the Year Award with Puma for their work together.

Flavor Flav claims he got the boot from hanging out in the Backstreet Boys green room backstage at NBC's yearly Rockefeller Center Christmas Tree Lighting on Wednesday night.

The rapper took to X saying he was invited to the event but claims when he got together with the BSB guys in their dressing room, security quickly came along and told him NBC allegedly didn't want him in the area he was in and asked him to leave.

He went on to describe what he views as a very contradictory situation writing, "At the same time,,, their social media woman came up and asked to capture social content."