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Breaking News

Kendrick Lamar might find it harder to be humble — his “DAMN” album just won a prestigious Pulitzer Prize.

The Pulitzer committee made the unprecedented announcement Monday … hailing Kendrick’s album as “a virtuosic song collection unified by its vernacular authenticity and rhythmic dynamism that offers affecting vignettes capturing the complexity of modern African-American life.”

Translation: That s**t is dope.

With the win, Kendrick becomes the first non-classical or jazz artist to win a Pulitzer since they started awarding them for music in 1943.

A lot of people feel Kendrick was snubbed at the Grammys for Album of the Year (Bruno Mars took that statue), but with the Pulitzer peeps … game recognize game!

EXCLUSIVE

Stormy Daniels has just filed legal docs responding to Donald Trump‘s request to put her lawsuit on ice.

Daniels’ lawyer, Michael Avenatti, says the case should go full steam ahead for 3 reasons.

  — He says neither Trump nor Michael Cohen have submitted declarations explaining why going to trial would be unfair to them.

  — Avenatti says Cohen, who has suggested his 5th Amendment rights might be compromised, has made a number of statements since the FBI raid, so he can’t be afraid of speaking out.

  — He says Trump is going after Stormy for $20 million, and it’s unfair to make her live in limbo under those circumstances. 

EXCLUSIVE

T.I. says the only way to get Starbucks’ attention is to hit ’em where it hurts most — their pockets — after 2 black men were treated unequally in Philadelphia.

We got the rapper at LAX Sunday and asked him about the controversial arrest in Philly … where cops arrested 2 men last week after an employee called 911 saying they were trespassing, while they stated they were simply waiting for a friend before placing their orders. A video showed the men being walked out in handcuffs and customers telling cops they’d done nothing wrong. 

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The arrest sparked public outcry … forcing Starbucks to issue an apology days later, which T.I. just wasn’t buying. But, maybe he’ll buy this — the coffee giant’s CEO, Kevin Johnson, went on “Good Morning America” Monday and said managers will undergo training on how to spot “unconscious bias” after calling the arrest reprehensible.

You’ll recall T.I. was behind the Houston’s boycott — which he’s since lifted — and it’s pretty clear he thinks Starbucks should get the same treatment until real action’s taken.

EXCLUSIVE

Logic‘s wasting little time getting back in the saddle … or in his case, in a private jet with a new chick.

Our Logic sources say the rapper boarded a jet bound for Vegas to do a show last week, and had a 19-year-old hot blonde with him, who we’re told is named Brittney. She and Logic met earlier this year.

Sources say Brittney works at a juice shop in Calabasas that he frequents. It’s unclear when they started dating.

TMZ broke the story … Logic pulled the plug on his marriage last month from Jessica Andrea, and divorce is looming. As we first reported, Logic and Jessica have a prenup, but we’re told there’s some wrangling about the terms.

Logic said he wanted out of the marriage because he wanted to be single. Maybe not for long.

EXCLUSIVE

Bobby Shmurda could be walking out of prison sooner than he (and most people) expected … thanks to some simple math.

Law enforcement sources tell TMZ … Bobby will have a parole hearing in August 2020, and could be eligible to be paroled by December 2020 from from Clinton Correctional Facility in Upstate NY.

Quick timetable: Bobby was sentenced to 6-7 years in 2016, so, theoretically, he wouldn’t get a whiff of freedom until 2022 at best. However, a little something called time served is gonna push that date way forward.

The 23-year-old rapper sat in jail — awaiting his murder conspiracy trial — from December 2014 until his eventual sentencing. We’re told he’s getting credit for 685 days behind bars. That number, nearly 2 years, gets added to his prison time and equals … 2020 parole, instead of 2022. 

The math won’t matter, though, if he keeps screwing up in prison. He’s racked up 11 violations, including drug possession, fighting and having a shank — and good behavior weighs heavily with the parole board.

EXCLUSIVE

CM Punk will NEVER step foot inside the Octagon again after he gets embarrassed at UFC 225 — so says the fighter who’s planning on embarrassing him. 

We spoke with Mike “The Truth” Jackson now that Punk vs. Truth is official … and he told us he’s gonna show the world the ex-WWE superstar doesn’t belong in MMA.

“I’m just going in here to beat him up a little bit and show him it’s not for him,” Jackson told TMZ Sports.

That said, Mike’s backtracking on his violent threats from last month … saying he really doesn’t wanna hurt the guy.

As for why he thinks he got the call to fight Punk — “If you bring in someone else … it’s not gonna get this type of buzz. It’s getting this type of buzz because of me.”

“This is a storyline not even Vince McMahon could write.” 

Really, bro? 

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Breaking News

Cardi B just did what Beyonce refused to last year — making her debut at Coachella while SUPER pregnant … but her ever-growing baby bump didn’t slow her down one bit.

Cardi hit the stage Sunday night for Day 3 of the festival, where she performed hit songs from her album “Invasion of Privacy.” She was rockin’ an all white mesh top and high-waisted pants that kept her baby bump from being too visible.

But still, there was no hiding that bump, and Cardi wasn’t slowing down one bit just because she was preggo — she twerked all over the stage and hyped up the crowd. She even brought out 21 Savage, YG, G-Eazy, Chance the Rapper, and Kehlani for surprise cameos. Safe to say, pregnancy ain’t no thang for Cardi when it comes to getting that Coachella $$$$. 

And in Bey’s defense … she definitely made up her absence last year with a killer performance and an epic Destiny’s Child reunion. 

Breaking News

John Cena and Nikki Bella have called it quits … calling off their engagement and breaking up.

The former couple said, “While this decision was a difficult one, we continue to have a great deal of love and respect for one another,” adding, “We ask that you respect our privacy during this time in our lives.”

The 40-year-old Cena proposed to 34-year-old Nikki almost a year ago to the day at Wrestlemania 32.  

Earlier Sunday Cena tweeted out a quote from Walt Whitman … “Keep your faith always toward the sunshine — and shadows will fall behind you.”  He said the quote is for anyone feeling down.

John may have given a hint of trouble last month, telling Us Weekly, “It takes being able to mesh two lives. I would never ever want Nicole to be in a position where she says ‘I’m holding you back from doing this because I feel it’s wrong for us.’  And I would never say that to her. That’s why she’s super busy and sometimes we don’t see each other for months at a time, but when we do see each other, it’s our time together.”