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Lil' Kim's legacy is alive and well, even during a funeral ... just check out "Love & Hip Hop" star Dream Doll's living tribute to her hip-hop idol.

The 'L&HHNY' MC recently did a photo shoot recreating many of Kim's iconic looks as part of a music video she's doing for her new track, "Funeral," which features Lil' Kim.

Check out the pics -- they're a dead-on impression of some of Kim's most stunning shoots and visuals, including her blue outfit and wig for the "Crush On You" music vid, Kim's "Got D***" campaign from '03, her "How Many Licks" album cover, her 1999 Interview Magazine Louis Vuitton cover shoot, and more. Lucky for DD, there was no shortage of inspiration.

Dream Doll's manager KD McNair tell us production for the photo shoot and the music video -- which is still in the works -- ran her team upwards of $10,000 and took 12 hours to complete. We're told DD looks up to Kim and wanted to pay homage to her in this project.

Boston Red Sox star Mookie Betts is sitting out a visit to the White House to celebrate his team's World Series win.

According to the Boston Globe, Betts was asked about the trip to 1600 Pennsylvania Ave. Saturday night -- which is currently scheduled for May -- and he reportedly said, "I won't be going there. I decided not to." He didn't elaborate beyond that, but he joins at least one other Sox player skipping it ... third baseman Rafael Devers also said he'd be a no-show.

FWIW ... Betts is the American League MVP, and arguably the best player on the Sox's roster. It's kind of a big deal in baseball if one of the best of the best doesn't wanna meet with President Trump.

Three other Red Sox players are reportedly on the fence, but the rest of the team has expressed interest in meeting with the Prez. The team was supposed to head out there in February, but it was pushed back to May because of the government shutdown.

Red Sox President Sam Kennedy said he didn't feel it was appropriate to be celebrating at the White House while so many federal employees were going without a paycheck and struggling.

9:00 AM PT -- R. Kelly's attorney Steve Greenberg tells us, "Mr. Kelly has not violated the law. Certainly not the Mann Act. The story has flawed factual predicates. Beyond that, we remain unaware of any investigation, anywhere."

R. Kelly allegedly arranged a coast-to-coast trip for Azriel Clary when she was underage, and the FBI is now looking into the trip to see if R. Kelly committed a federal crime ... TMZ has learned.

Azriel, one of the women featured in "Surviving R. Kelly," was flown from Palm Springs to Phoenix to Orlando on May 25, 2015. She flew US Airways, leaving Cali at 6:57 AM and eventually landing in Florida at 4:09 PM.

A source connected to Azriel's family tells us the flights were arranged by a woman who was R. Kelly's assistant at the time.

Here's why it's potentially a big deal. Azriel was only 17 at that time and that means R. Kelly could have violated the Mann Act -- the federal act that makes it illegal to transport a minor across state lines for purposes of sex, debauchery or prostitution.

We're told the FBI just learned about the flights within the last week. As we reported ... the FBI has also been in touch with Joycelyn Savage's father multiple times in the last 18 months -- so it's clear the feds are taking the R. Kelly allegations seriously.

R. Kelly sources tell us the singer believes he did nothing wrong because he claims this signed note from Azriel's mom, Alice ... gave Kelly's assistant consent to care for Azriel.

It's not a great defense, because you can see it's dated Sept. 21, 2015 -- but Azriel made the trip back in May 2015. However, we're told R. Kelly's camp thinks the note shows her parents were generally willing to let Azriel travel with him.

He might end up having to make that point in court. Stay tuned.

Tom Brady and the Patriots have really convinced themselves they're the underdogs in Super Bowl LIII ... which couldn't have been more obvious than at their send-off rally.

The Pats' QB was center stage Sunday at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, MA for one last hurrah before the team heads out to Atlanta ahead of the big game against the Los Angeles Rams. With Blue Man Group on hand to warm up the crowd ... Brady finished 'em off by starting a battle cry that screams of defying the odds ... "WE'RE STILL HERE!!!"

The only problem ... the Patriots are heavily favored to win, so they're not underdogs at all -- even if they and their die-hard fan base truly believe they are.

In case you missed it, Tom and co. had a nice little mantra going among themselves last weekend when they beat the Chiefs in overtime ... "You're/I'm too old." But, Julian Edelman probably said it best on the sideline ... "YOU'RE TOO F***IN' OLD!!!"

This will be Tom's ninth trip to the Super Bowl with the Pats, and it'll be a chance to win his sixth SB ring. Considering they've been here time and again with young buck teams like the Rams ... something tells us they'll be just fine.

Whatever works for you guys, though.

Meanwhile, in LA ... Rams fans stood outside the still-to-be-completed L.A. Stadium at Hollywood Park, where they did their best to match the Pats' energy. They got spirit ... we'll give them that.

Cardi B rocked the AVN Awards Saturday night with a pretty spectacular and racy performance that did not disappoint.

Cardi opened the AVN's with "Bickenhead" and "She Bad." She looked amazing and the crowd went wild during her short set.

Before the big show, Cardi performed at a private, 40-minute show for the Cam Girls -- adult stars who perform live stream shows. Again, she did not disappoint. Both outfits were epic ... choose your own adventure, but both were fantastic.

At the end of Cardi's set, she was hilarious, telling the crowd, "I'm so excited for these awards ... more than the Grammys. I don't know why."

XXXTentacion's legacy lives on, in the form of a baby boy who was born 7 months after his tragic death.

X's girlfriend gave birth Saturday to Gekyume Onfroy. The kid already has a nickname -- Yume! Gekyume is derived from a word X created. It means "a different state" or the next universe of thought. X's mom and girlfriend say X himself chose the name for his firstborn son.

Both mother and child are healthy.

Yume was born 3 days after what would have been X's 21st birthday.

Andy Cohen's baby shower was wild ... with the help of a few Real Housewives.

Kyle Richards threw the shindig Saturday night in Bev Hills at The Palm restaurant. John Mayer mugged with the dad to be, and a huge number of Housewives were partying hard, including Teresa Giudice, Vicki Gunvalson, NeNe Leakes, LeeAnne Locken, Karen Huger, Stephanie Hollman, Teddi Mellencamp, Jennifer Aydin, Denise Richards, Tamra Judge, Shannon Beador, Candiace Dillard, Sonja Morgan, Phaedra Parks and Danielle Staub.

It looks like Andy and John were the only guys present.

The theme for the evening ... 'A Star is Born.'

The group dined on Chinese Chicken and lobster cobb salad, salmon with mango salsa, filet mignon, asparagus, fried potatoes, spinach, grilled polenta cakes and key lime pie, creme brulee and chocolate chip cookies.

Lady Gaga had a surprise guest Saturday night in Vegas ... her co-star and director of "A Star is Born" -- Bradley Cooper, and he did not disappoint.

Gaga was performing her 'ENIGMA' show at the Park Theater at Park MGM when Bradley appeared on stage, and people in the crowd went wild.

They sang a duet of their song "Shallow," after B.C. overcame some difficulty in installing his earpiece.

It's a super smart move ... Bradley and Gaga are best up for Oscars -- Best Actor and Best Actress -- and this type of publicity keeps them and the film front and center.

Prince Philip was being driven around town Saturday, and he finally buckled up ... and he also tried explaining away his car crash.

The Duke of Edinburgh was seen being driven through the Sandringham Estate in Norfolk. The Duke had attended a post-shoot lunch with HRH The Queen and guests.

Philip also sent a letter to the woman who broke her wrist in the car accident earlier this month. Philip says in the letter he's sorry for the crash and blames it on blinding sun that obscured his view of the road.

Philip makes it clear he's traveled that road many times without incident. The subtext seems to be he's still capable of driving safely, even at 97.

Well, this is random.

Turns out, when former "To Catch a Predator" host Chris Hansen came up with the money needed to get charges against him dropped for writing bad checks, he got a huge assist from a guy he never met ... with a troubling background.

Bob Romanik -- radio DJ for the St. Louis area station 1190 KQQZ-AM, best known for calling Waka Flocka the n-word -- tells TMZ ... he reached out to Hansen when he heard about his financial troubles and offered to help him out.

Romanik says he thinks Chris is a good guy who's done good work, so he gave him nearly $13,000 to square up with a mom-and-pop shop in Stamford, CT. We broke the story ... the cash got Hansen out of a jam with prosecutors, who decided to drop his larceny case.

Romanik isn't looking for Hansen to return him any favors either, but he does tell us if Chris starts another project busting predators and helping children ... he'd like to invest in the noble cause.

What's not noble ... is Romanik's history of dropping racial slurs on the air. As we told you, he went on a racist rant back in 2017 after Waka Flocka wiped his ass with a Trump jersey. Bob called the rapper a "greasy black n***** son of a bitch" -- and he hasn't stopped using the n-word since.

In fact, Romanik has responded to criticism for his racist comments by saying it's his First Amendment right ... and he'll stop saying the n-word when rappers stop saying it.

Missouri State Senator Jamilah Nasheed called for the FCC to remove Romanik's license last year for his hate speech, but as far as we know ... he's still on the air.

Every time David Arquette launches off the top rope, his family cringes inside ... 'cause the actor-turned-wrestler's sister tells TMZ Sports his new career scares the hell outta her!!

We spoke with Golden Globe-winner Patricia Arquette about David's new, more bloody career as a pro wrestler ... and she says he's got her full support ... even if she's too scared to watch him perform.

"It scares me a little bit. We're all scared as a family," Patricia says. "But also, I know this is David's life and David is an eccentric, wonderful, incredible person and it's his path."

Patricia says she's most worried about David getting hurt ... and rightfully so. Have you SEEN what he does in the ring?!?

As we've previously reported, Arquette has been on a mission to get respect as a real deal wrestler -- after participating in one of the worst storylines EVER back in the WCW days.

Arquette won the WCW heavyweight title back in April 2000 as part of a promotion for his movie, "Ready 2 Rumble" ... a stunt that's been panned as the lowest moment in pro wrestling history.

But, David has been laser-focused on redemption and even went to Mexico to train with luchadores to prove he can hang with the big boys.

His comeback has been nothing short of impressive -- he's executed crazy aerial maneuvers, bulked up ... and even sacrificed his body in a death match.

The 47-year-old was hospitalized and got stitches -- but returned to the ring a short time later.

We just saw Arquette a few weeks ago and he made it clear he ain't slowing down any time soon.

Robert Herjavec's personal customer satisfaction rating is higher for Jeff Bezos' company than Elon Musk's, so for that reason ... he gives Jeff the edge on making it to Mars first.

We got the "Shark Tank" star outside the Staples Center and asked who he'd be more willing to invest in for the next great space race. Robert tells us he used to have a Tesla, and he's had many Amazon deliveries, and based on his experience ... point Bezos.

Speaking of Amazon, Herjavec has thoughts on how its founder's pending divorce will affect the shareholders. He doesn't think much will change for now, but says the situation will impact how boards of huge companies do business in the future.

Megan Mullally's good looks are no joke!

Here's a 41-year-old version of the "Will and Grace" star in New York City back in 1999 (left) and 19 years later ... The now 60-year-old SAG Awards host all dolled up in Beverly Hills earlier this month (right).

Award-winning!

The question is ...

Retired Navy SEAL Kristin Beck is ready to fire up her acting career ... and she's calling on Hollywood producers to start considering more LGBT actors for LGBT roles.

Kristen, a transgender woman and former SEAL Team Six soldier, says she just signed with acting agency Nine9 ... and she's ready to get to work.

Kristin already has a Bronze Star and a Purple Heart from her military service, but she's ready for a new challenge ... and she is throwing her name in the ring for any projects casting a female Navy SEAL.

You might recognize Kristin as the subject of the documentary, 'Lady Valor' ... or from her bashing of President Trump's ban on transgender soldiers in the military.

Kristin says she knows tons of transgender actors ... and she thinks Hollywood should do a better job of at least giving them a chance to land LGBT roles.

Brian Ortega says he's ALMOST back to 100% after breaking his nose and thumb at UFC 231 ... which begs the question -- is a rematch with Max Holloway on the horizon?!

TMZ Sports spoke with T-City -- who just got back from some R&R in Mexico -- about his plans following his loss to Holloway last month ... and he says he'll be good to go in 2 months.

Ortega says he's got a number of options to pursue when he gets back into the Octagon ... and says he's even exploring moving up to lightweight.