Lil Uzi Vert Song Pulled From Streaming Services ... Over Licensing Issues
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EXCLUSIVE
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Lil Uzi Vert's return to music is now shrouded in controversy ... his new single is getting yanked from digital music services because he freestyled over someone else's beat.
Lil Uzi Vert's new song, "Free Uzi," is no longer available on Tidal and Apple Music -- for streaming or purchase -- because of licensing issues and copyright concerns. The single features a beat that was previously used in a G Herbo song.
Our music sources tell us Lil Uzi's single isn't an original production -- and he didn't clear the sample -- so he can't make money off of it.
The timing is interesting, considering Uzi is beefing with DJ Drama and Don Cannon's label, Generation Now. However, honchos at the label tell us they weren't the ones pushing for the song to come down, and there's no bad blood between the two sides.
In fact, we're told Uzi decided to drop the song after Drama and Cannon said they'd support him releasing music ... it just backfired due to the copyright.
"Free Uzi" hasn't been completely scrubbed from the internet ... you can still listen to it on YouTube and SoundCloud.
His label, Atlantic Records, had no comment on the song being pulled.
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Akon Producing Son's First Track ... Move Over, Dad!!!
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EXCLUSIVE
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Akon's ready to show off the most prized artist on his roster ... his own son!!!
The singer tells TMZ ... his 15-year-old son, Jahvor -- aka Jah -- is getting ready to drop his first EP with some major help from his favorite producer. Akon tells us Jah will appear on his Konvict label sometime in June. We got a sampling from one of the tracks, called "Locked Away" and it features, of course, Akon.
Goes without saying ... Jah's got his pops' voice.
Ya might be thinking ... Jah's song is about his dad doing time behind bars back in the late '90s and early 2000s, but you're dead wrong. Akon tells us, "My son wrote the chorus and his verse to symbolize how a kid could be mentally 'locked up' and can't escape the inevitable ways of the streets [and] becoming a product of the environment."
Deep stuff.
Akon's kids are incredibly talented. His other son, Ty Pittman, was recently featured on MattyBRaps' "Let's Dance" track. It's already racked up over 500k views on YouTube.
As for Jah ... Akon says he's aiming for a June release because that's African-American Music Appreciation Month.
Also happens to be Father's Day that month. Congrats!!!
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Podcaster Adam22 Thankful We Didn't Kill Gunman ... 'It Was Really, Really Close'
12:32 PM PT -- Adam22 tells TMZ ... the gunman came THIS close to getting shot and killed after someone in his crew pulled out his gun and pointed it at the assailant's head. Adam told us, "That's the thing I'm thankful [about], this guy didn't get killed cause it was really, really close to happening."
Adam also tells us how the assailant managed to get inside the clothing store where the alleged crime went down. And, Adam's adamant ... this was NOT a skit or a joke. It was legit.
Scary moment for the podcast/YouTube host who got held up at gunpoint ... and it all happened during his live stream.
Adam Grandmaison -- better known as Adam22 -- was in the middle of filming his popular hip-hop podcast, "No Jumper," Sunday night in L.A. when some guy, out of nowhere, pulls a gun on Adam22, who was filming from a back room at his popular BMX and clothing store, ONSOMESHIT.
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Watch the vid ... the gunman demands Adam22's money and threatens, "Do you want to die right now?" as a harrowing 14 seconds unfolds during the live YouTube broadcast to nearly 900k subscribers. Moments later, it appears security takes control of the sitch ... by knocking out the would-be thief.
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You can later hear someone scold the crap outta the assailant saying, "Don't you f***ing pull up on us with a gun you little bitch. What the f*** is wrong with you?" In a separate video, you can also see the gunman barely conscious on the ground throwing the peace sign before he gets kicked.
Adam22 ended the live stream and called cops. LAPD responded to the scene and the gunman was arrested and taken into custody. The podcaster somehow managed to take the moment in stride.
He cracked jokes on Twitter to his more than 500k followers, "One minute you're tweeting jokes about f***ing cats and the next minute you got a gun to your head."
Originally published -- 6:43 AM PT
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Lance Bass Yeah, I Forgive Lou Pearlman ... New Doc Helped With That
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EXCLUSIVE
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Lance Bass says he's come to peace over his late former manager, Lou Pearlman, and it sounds like a new documentary about the guy helped with that process.
We got the former 'NSYNC singer at LAX Friday, where our photog asked about a new doc coming out that covers Lou's sheisty dealings and financial crimes while he managed Lance and co., as well as the Backstreet Boys in their heyday. It's called 'The Boy Band Con.'
If you aren't familiar, Lou got sent to prison in 2008 for running one of the largest Ponzi schemes ever. He pled guilty to conspiracy, money laundering and other financial crimes ... and got sentenced to 25 years in prison. He died behind bars in 2016.
More relevant to Lance ... Lou stands accused of robbing his artists blind throughout his career by way of shady business practices -- aka fraud. 'NSYNC, The Backstreet Boys and even Aaron Carter all sued Lou in federal court ... and either won or settled.
There's a light at the end of the tunnel though for Lance, who explains why he forgives Lou ... and how he even feels some sympathy for him. Watch ... he dives deep here.
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Kim Kardashian Help Me, YouTube ... Stop the 'Momo Challenge' Craze!!!
Kim Kardashian's put herself squarely in the middle of the modern-day ghost story known as the "Momo Challenge."
Kim is begging YouTube to help remove all "Momo Challenge" videos. If you haven't heard about it ... the videos contain a creepy figure popping up, instructing kids to kill themselves ... and intimidating them to keep the video secret from parents.
Kim posted a plea for YouTube to get on the stick and shut it down, but the video platform tells us they've seen no evidence the 'Momo' clips actually exist. At this point ... it's more urban myth than a real thing.
Kim reposted a bunch of messages from concerned parents who've heard about the "Momo" -- although we suspect none have seen it themselves.
YouTube tells us it hasn't received any evidence of videos showing or promoting the "Momo Challenge" on its platform. If it does exist, YouTube says it would be a clear violation of its policies ... and would, therefore, be removed immediately.
It's unclear if Kim and Kanye's kids have encountered 'Momo' themselves, but it's clear Kim wants to prevent anything bad from happening.
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Jake Paul Sued Your Security Made a BS Citizen's Arrest ... Based on My Race
4:30 PM PT -- Jake Paul's lawyer tells TMZ ... Jake was not present during the citizen's arrest. The lawyer adds Jake was not even aware of the citizen's arrest at the time it was made.
Jake Paul's security roughed up a neighbor and falsely placed him under a citizen's arrest because of the way he looked ... according to a new suit.
Paul's neighbor claims in February 2018, he rang the buzzer to enter Jake's home and drove his car in once the gate was opened for him. He says he wanted to speak with Paul about cars driving at high speeds in and out of his residence ... which he felt was a safety concern for their community.
According to the docs ... one of Jake's friends verbally attacked the man once he got out of his car, and a security guard got in his face and accused him of trespassing. He claims the guard then "grabbed him, twisted his arm behind his back and threw him against his car to hold" him.
The man says cops were called by Paul's people, and he was detained while they tried to convince the officers he was trespassing. According to the docs ... the cops didn't find evidence of that and let him go.
The man claims the citizen's arrest at Paul's pad was done without reasonable probable cause and even worse ... he thinks it was "racially motivated" based on his religion and nationality.
He's suing Paul for false imprisonment and intentional infliction of emotional distress ... and wants damages.
We reached out to Paul ... no word back so far.
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Soulja Boy Jake Paul Boxing Match is Happening ... 'You a Bitch!'
Great news for people who wanna see Jake Paul and Soulja Boy beat the snot outta each other ... Big Drako says their boxing match is 100% going down!!!
TMZ Sports spoke with Soulja about his back-and-forth with the YouTube megastar ... and he says he's dead serious about setting up the celeb fight.
"Jake Paul can't beat me in no fight, you know that," Soulja says. "It's really gonna happen though. It's for real."
Of course, both dudes have offered to put $20 MILLION on the fight ... and, although Jake told us he has serious doubts about Soulja being able to cough up all that dough ... the rapper doubles down.
We also asked Drako what he thinks of Jake's skills ... and he's got one message for him.
"Jake Paul, you a bitch."
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Jake Paul I'll Fight Soulja Boy For $20 Million ... Seriously
Jake Paul wants to fight Soulja Boy for $20 MILLION ... and he's telling TMZ Sports that he'll cough up his own 20 milli to make it happen!!!
ICYMI -- the social media superstar and rapper traded jabs in an Instagram Live session last week ... with Soulja offering Paul a HUGE chunk of cash to get him to square up in the ring.
Paul tells us this was no publicity stunt -- he really wants a piece of Pretty Boy Swag ... and as for the money, he'll have no problem putting up the $20 milli if Soulja can't swing it.
FYI -- you're sitting down, right? -- Paul can put his money where his mouth is. The dude reportedly made $21.5 million in 2018 alone, according to Forbes.
Of course, Jake knows his way around the ring ... he easily handled Deji in his first YouTube super fight and called out Chris Brown right after taking him down.
Clearly, Jake will happily settle for Soulja Boy.
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Freediver Swims Underneath Frozen Ice Lake ... In a Speedo!!!
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This is one of the craziest things we've EVER seen -- a 54-year-old freediver cut a hole in a frozen lake in the Czech Republic and swam under a sheet of ice ... IN A SPEEDO!!!
The dude behind the stunt is Petr Kapoun -- and after watching this guy handle the cold, he looks like he could be part of the White Walkers from "Game of Thrones."
Dude put a yellow string above the solid ice at Lake Milada in January to guide him along during his swim ... and it worked. He was able to get from frozen point A to frozen point B without a problem.
Kapoun is a health freak -- aside from being a thrill-seeker -- and has reportedly credited his diet and strict workout regimen for the strength and focus to complete the frozen swim.
So, what's next for Kapoun? Probably waiting for his balls to drop back out of his stomach.
Someone get this dude some hot cocoa!!!
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Devon Still's Daughter Leah's New Health Scare ... NOT CANCER!
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Breaking News
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Great news for Devon Still and his family -- the ex-NFL player's daughter, Leah, is IN THE CLEAR after doctors feared her recent medical scans showed signs of cancer.
BOOM!!!
You know her story ... Leah has bravely battled and "beat up cancer" ever since she was diagnosed with stage-4 neuroblastoma in June of 2014. She's been cancer-free for 4 years.
But recently, doctors found something suspicious during one of her checkups -- and ran several tests to see if her cancer had returned.
Devon had asked for prayers for Leah and the family -- and this week, they got the good news ... IT'S NOT CANCER!!
Still documented the whole process on his YouTube channel. It's a raw experience, especially when he asks Leah if she's willing to fight cancer again, to which she responds:
"Yeah, I will. It's just that I don't want to lose my life."
Leah was a champ throughout the entire MIBG scan procedure -- which, according to the Cleveland Clinic, is "used for localization of known or suspected neuroectodermally derived tumors."
The Stills got the best news this week ... and Devon let Leah adorably share the awesome update.
"Guess what, guys? We got good news. Uh huh! The scans were clear. Mhm! Thank you, everybody, for praying for me."
Leah stays undefeated!!
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Logan Paul Hey, Dana White 'Get Your Head Out Your Ass and Sign Me!!!'
Logan Paul says Dana White needs to "get his head out of his ass" and sign him to a UFC fight already -- because it's easy money for everyone involved.
Remember, Paul fought YouTube star KSI in a boxing match earlier this year -- and got real praise from real UFC stars including Tyron Woodley and UFC color commentator Joe Rogan.
Paul had said he wants a UFC fight next, but White shot him down saying he'd get hurt if he got in the Octagon with a real MMA fighter.
But, Paul says that's a bunch of crap -- telling TMZ Sports he's already proven he can hold his own in a fight ... and would dedicate himself to training if the two sides worked out a deal.
"If I get the chance to fight in the UFC, that's my life," Paul says.
"Dana, what's good? The people want it man!"
Of course, Paul's opponent would be a huge factor -- Logan says he understands he's not ready for a shot with a killer like Khabib ... but he WOULD be down to fight Conor McGregor.
"I would be honored for Conor to rip my head off."
Stay tuned ...
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Jake Paul Shuts Down Deji Rematch Give Me Dillon Danis or FaZe Banks!!
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EXCLUSIVE
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Jake Paul is firing back at Deji's claim he's "too p***y" for a rematch ... telling TMZ Sports he's got MUCH bigger opponents in mind ... and one of them is Conor McGregor's right-hand man!!!
We spoke with the social media superstar -- who Forbes just named the 2nd-highest paid YouTuber of 2018 -- about Deji calling for a rematch of their boxing super fight from August.
Jake slams the door on another fight with Deji ... saying he wants a REAL challenge -- either Bellator star Dillon Danis or his internet rival FaZe Banks!!!
Now we know Jake has been calling out Conor for a while ... so maybe he's getting slightly more realistic going after Danis.
As for Banks -- if you follow YouTube beef (yes, it exists), you know there's a big history between the 2 ... from Jake accusing Banks of assaulting his assistant (which he later apologized for) to Banks now dating Jake's ex, Alissa Violet.
Jake says he's seen all the trash Banks has been saying on Twitter ... and tells us he's down to settle everything in the ring.
"FaZe Banks, fight me," Jake says. "You tweeted at me. Step up to the plate. Do it for your girl."
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Ariana Grande Hangin' with Real Mom at Disney ... After 'Thank U, Next' Release
Ariana Grande's "Thank U, Next" music video instantly blew up the internet Friday and shattered a YouTube record ... so what did she do next?
She went to Disneyland!
Ariana hit up "The Happiest Place on Earth" Friday night with her real mom Joan -- not her music vid mom Kris Jenner -- and some other friends to celebrate her massively successful vid ... which just broke the record for most-watched in a 24-hour period.
Included in Grande's Disney crew were her former "Victorious" co-star Matt Bennett ... who was also the guy brushing his teeth in "Thank U, Next."
Ariana and company were seen all over the park, enjoying rides like Big Thunder Mountain Railroad, the Matterhorn Bobsleds, and of course ... Space Mountain.
As we reported ... "Thank U, Next" was loaded with cameos and featured scenes from 4 female-driven films that have special meaning to Ariana. Kris Jenner's role came during the "Mean Girls" portion, where she played Amy Poehler's "cool mom" character.
Grande also included an apology to her ex-fiance Pete Davidson in the vid. If you haven't seen it yet ... check it out.
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Jonathan Bennett 'Thank U, Next' Vid ... Almost Had 1 More 'Mean Girls' Star
Jonathan Bennett says when he got the offer to appear in Ariana Grande's latest music video he couldn't say yes fast enough, and there was nearly another "Mean Girls" cameo ... but it didn't work out.
Jonathan -- who plays Aaron Samuels in the 2004 film which Grande pays homage to in her new "Thank U, Next" vid -- says working with Ariana was so much fun ... a joy actor Daniel Franzese will never know.
Bennett tells us Daniel -- who plays Damian, Lindsay Lohan's friend in the movie -- had to pass on the offer because he's currently on a comedy tour. Tough break!
Jonathan did get to hang with the "army pants and flip-flops" girl though ... better known as Stefanie Drummond. She got the call for Ariana's vid too.
BTW ... Bennett got to include his new "Mean Girls" parody cookbook in the music video, titled "The Burn Cookbook". Get it while it's hot, diehard fans.
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Ariana Grande Drops 'Thank U, Next' Video Sorry I Dipped, Pete!!!
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Breaking News
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Ariana Grande's highly-anticipated "Thank U, Next" music video has finally dropped ... and it includes an apology to her ex-fiance Pete Davidson.
During the "Mean Girls" portion of the video ... Ariana's "Burn Book" includes a page for Pete with the words "Sry I Dipped," "Love U Always" and "HUUUUUUGE."
Kris Jenner also made an appearance in the "Mean Girls" part of the vid ... playing Amy Poehler's "cool mom" character. As we first reported ... a Kardashian was gonna make a dancing cameo appearance. We didn't know who at first but later learned it was Kris, and the music video confirms it.
As you know ... the music video featured scenes from 4 female-driven films that have special meaning to Ariana -- "13 Going on 30," "Mean Girls," "Legally Blonde" and "Bring it On."
Tons of celebrities made cameos to help AG pull it all off ... including Jennifer Coolidge, Jonathan Bennett and Troye Sivan.
There's even a nod to Pete Davidson's nether regions ... Ariana has some dialogue with Coolidge where she mentions a boy with a "BIG" one ... she's dropped hints on Pete's genital size before.
Ariana's been teasing the video for some time now ... even releasing a behind-the-scenes teaser of the making of the music video. Fans and celebs alike were fired up for the video ... including Bella and Gigi Hadid.
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CM Punk 'I'm Not Fighting Logan Paul'
Sorry, Logan Paul, you ain't gettin' a crack at CM Punk in the UFC Octagon -- Punk just slammed the door on the possibility ... and then dissed the YouTube star for good measure.
Logan's brother Jake Paul had been lobbying Dana White to make the fight happen -- claiming Logan is a real athlete who could compete with guys on the UFC roster, including Punk.
In fact, Joe Rogan said he was impressed with Logan's talent during his boxing match with KSI earlier this year ... and made it clear he thinks Paul would whoop Punk in the UFC.
Now, Punk sat down with MMAFighting's Marc Raimondi and told him straight up -- ain't happening.
"I’m not fighting Logan Paul."
Then came the shade ...
"I think this is one of the avenues where people will be like, ‘I don’t even know who Logan Paul is.’ Logan Paul is apparently a popular guy, but it’s not in any kind of avenue that I drive my car on. The only thing I know about him is he’s the guy who filmed the dead body in the Japanese suicide forest, which is don’t get me started on that, because I’ll say a bunch of stuff and then I’m sure somebody will make a YouTube video about it."
There's more ...
"When you fight somebody, when you enter into a fight camp, you have to spend a lot of time thinking about that person ... And, I’m not into sharing that much of my time and my headspace and my life with somebody that did something that I feel is so reprehensibly disrespectful to the people of Japan, who I love."
"They’ll always have a special place in my heart. So, no. I’m not fighting him. I have no interest to."
Punk says he's still technically on the UFC roster and is tested by USADA in case he's called on for another fight ... but says he'd also be at peace if Dana White cut him.