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Chuck D says Meek Mill is not the same man -- or artist -- he was when he first went into prison 5 months ago ... and, as such, his music should reflect it going forward.

We got the Public Enemy MC Tuesday at LAX on the heels of the news Meek was being released from prison, and Chuck thinks the Philly rapper is a changed person for the better now that he is back on the outside.

Our photog asks if this will inspire Meek to start putting out tracks that will carry a message. Based on his answer (and also his own personal history) ... we're assuming Chuck wouldn't be mad if he started speaking for the people.

Prince's ex-wife doesn't buy Sinead O'Connor's claims he was violent toward women and abused hard drugs ... because she never saw a shred of evidence to support that.

Mayte Garcia -- who was married to Prince from 1996 to 2000 -- tells TMZ he was never violent with her and she never witnessed him being violent with anyone ... man or woman. She also says he didn't do hard drugs while they were together, and she only saw him drunk once.

Garcia's very skeptical of Sinead's self-proclaimed close relationship with Prince ... telling us she seriously doubts she could have known more than she did.

Mayte has a problem with the timing of Sinead's allegations, too ... because Prince wasn't alive to defend himself.

Garcia admits she found the reports of Prince's deadly pill stash shocking and heartbreaking, because she knew him for years and didn't see anything like that.

Meek Mill's judge will NOT remove herself from his drug and weapons case ... despite the Pennsylvania Supreme Court inviting her to do so ... TMZ has learned.

Judge Genece Brinkley maintains she has been giving and will continue to give Meek a fair shake, this according to her lawyer, A. Charles Peruto, Jr.

Peruto tells TMZ the judge does not feel the Supreme Court in any way repudiated her rulings when it ordered that Meek go free without bail, pending the next hearing in June.

The hearing will determine if the drug and weapons case should be thrown out because of the testimony of a crooked cop, and Peruto suggested Judge Brinkley will not necessarily side with the prosecutor and Meek's lawyer, both of whom are asking the judge to toss the conviction.

Peruto says there were other cops who testified in the case, and if their credibility is intact the judge might not overturn the conviction.

Judge Brinkley's lawyer says the judge bears no grudge against Meek and insists she's been fair from the start.

Heidi Klum can't pass up a good beat when she hears one -- even if it's in the middle of a shopping trip ... girl's just gotta dance.

We got Heidi Tuesday night walking up Melrose Ave. in WeHo, where she stumbled across a Dundas pop-up store -- which was bumpin' some tunes that she clearly dug.

The German model got her groove on with the Norwegian designer, Peter Dundas, himself. Maybe it's a Euro thing, 'cause he didn't miss a step as soon as she stepped into his space.

Pretty hot scene ... in the middle of a clothing store.

Melania Trump pulled a France -- appropriately before her first State dinner -- and fully surrendered her right hand to President Trump. Vive la France!

The First Lady and POTUS posed for pics Tuesday night before breaking baguettes with French Prez Macron and his wife at the White House. Unlike earlier in the day, the Prez and Melania got a grip ... of each other's hands.

When the Macrons arrived, Melania had subtly -- and hilariously -- shunned Trump's attempts to hold her hand.

She might not have been smiling Tuesday night, but at least they reached an accord -- which apparently requires him to gush over Melania's dinner on Twitter.

We're kidding. We're sure he means it.

The Destiny's Child reunion is still going strong post-Coachella because all three ladies stepped out together Tuesday night in L.A. for a fashion event.

Beyonce, Kelly Rowland and Michelle Williams attended the Dundas traveling pop-up store opening in West Hollywood. Beyonce wore the designer threads for her 2017 Grammy performance.

It's not unusual for Kelly and Beyonce to hang together offstage, but Michelle rarely tags along. She's there, but hard to spot ... in the back.

Meek Mill just walked on the court at the Wells Fargo Center -- wearing a Joel Embiid jersey -- and the crowd lost their minds!!!

Philadelphia 76ers co-owner Michael Rubin personally escorted the rapper from prison to the arena to be the guest of honor for Game 5 against the Miami Heat ... and he even got to ring the bell before tip-off.

As we expected ... Sixers fans -- including Kevin Hart by his side -- erupted in cheers for several moments for their hometown guy, who many felt was wrongly locked up for the past 5 months.

Before the game, the players took the floor to Meek's "Ima Boss" as he glad-handed fans and supporters courtside. He also got in a post-prison shower in the team locker room.

Congressional Republicans came together this week to play some baseball -- the team's first reunion since a shooting last year that almost left Rep. Steve Scalise dead.

The GOP held its first Congressional Baseball Game practice Tuesday at Eugene Simpson Stadium Park in Alexandria, VA, where different members made some opening remarks at a podium ... including lobbyist Matt Mika, who was shot multiple times last summer by James Hodgkinson.

Mika thanked one of the paramedics on the scene who helped save his life, which was followed by a round of applause. We also ran into Senator Jeff Flake, who was reportedly at bat when Hodgkinson opened fire during an early morning practice.

Tekashi69's manager is under criminal investigation for two shootings that went down the day of Adrien Broner's fight ... and the moments leading up to the incident were caught on tape.

Law enforcement sources tell us 6ix9ine's manager, Tr3yway, is a person of interest in two separate gun-related incidents over the weekend -- one that occurred during the Broner fight, and another that went down just hours earlier on the streets of Brooklyn.

We're told police believe Tr3yway might be the person who fired a shot inside the Barclays Center after a fight broke out with Casanova's crew, based on surveillance video. They also think he might've been the guy who fired two shots 4 hours beforehand, when he was allegedly captured on video shooting at a car following Tekashi's SUV.

Cops tell us the suspect in the footage from both incidents resembles Tr3yway -- who'd been hanging out with 6ix9ine and Foodgod, Jonathan Cheban, over the weekend ... who was filming his new show.

In the footage from outside the arena, obtained by TMZ, you see what eyewitnesses tell us is Tekashi's SUV presumably heading to Barclays. It stops suddenly, and a guy we're told is Tr3yway hops out and runs in the opposite direction ... at which point he allegedly fired.

Sources say Tekashi got out in the vid, as well, but you can't make out his face -- or hair -- 'cause he's got a hoodie on. Criminal charges have yet to be brought against Tr3yway. Still ... considering Tekashi's crew has been linked to a THIRD shooting this week ... they might wanna lay low.

We already told you Gennady Golovkin's camp was targeting a rematch with Canelo Alvarez for September ... and now Oscar De La Hoya has confirmed that's the plan.

The Golden Boy touched down in NYC where we asked all about his #1 fighter and the alleged tainted Mexican beef that led to a positive PED test, ruining plans for a May 5 rematch with GGG.

"Canelo is getting really the short end of the stick here because obviously he's a popular fighter and a lot of people are gonna hate on him," Oscar says.

"But he's been one of the cleanest fighters I've known. He's passed numerous of tests, and you know ... it was very unfortunate."

Oscar is adamant Canelo is NOT a cheater ... and says there's proof Mexican beef has screwed all sorts of pro athletes in the past.

We also asked Oscar how he felt about GGG's new Jordan Brand ad that mocked Canelo's meat excuse ... and clearly, De La Hoya wasn't laughing!

He made it ... Meek Mill has finally arrived at Wells Fargo Center in Philly in time for the 76ers playoff game -- but first things first, dude needs a shower.

Meek arrived with 76ers co-owner Michael Rubin -- who flew Meek from the prison to the arena on his private helicopter.

Once he landed, Meek and his crew got in a waiting SUV and booked it for the arena.

Meek will hit the showers -- let's face it, gotta wash that prison stench off his body -- and then he'll get his hero's welcome before the 76ers take on the Miami Heat in Game 5 of the playoffs.

"I feel great," Meek said.

Enjoy it!

Meek Mill is out of prison ... and in a helicopter heading for the Philadelphia 76ers playoff game!!!

Sources tell us the chopper belongs to 76ers co-owner Michael Rubin, Meek's close friend who promised to personally pick him up.

Meek has about an hour to get to the arena if he wants to make it for tip off ... and with this kind of air transportation, he'll probably make it!!

Jay-Z just spoke on Meek's release saying, "Today, Meek Mill, a son of Philadelphia, is a free man. He was incarcerated unjustly and caught in a probation trap for years by a broken system. Now we can celebrate his release. We thank every individual that has supported and fought alongside Meek every step of the way."

A statement from Roc Nation adds, "We are pleased with the Supreme Court’s decision to grant Meek Mill bail and allow him to return home to his loved ones."

It continues, "We are grateful for all the support that Meek has received from his fans and public advocates over the past five months and look forward to working alongside Meek to fight for criminal justice reform.”

The prison is about 12 miles from the arena -- where the 76ers will take on the Miami Heat in Game 5 of their NBA playoff series.

The 76ers are up 3 games to 1 and have a chance to close out the series tonight!!!

Meek Mill's lawyer is happy, optimistic and feels vindicated after a long legal war finally led to the rapper's release from prison ... but he's not popping the champagne just yet.

Joe Tacopina tells TMZ he's relieved because Meek finally gets to be home with his family where he belongs, but still seems to be in disbelief over all the trouble he had to go through to get there ... which he says is unlike anything he's ever seen before.

Tacopina points specifically to the actions of Judge Genece Brinkley, who he feels had a legal vendetta against Meek from day one and was consistently unprofessional. On the plus side, Joe feels his time dealing with the judge is coming to an end ... whether it's by her choice or not.

More importantly, Tacopina firmly believes Meek is out of jail for good -- regardless of what Judge Brinkley does -- and eventually the right ruling will be made and he'll officially be a free man.

Cardi B has just a few words for Meek Mill now that he's getting out of prison -- but they're quite telling, and in the same vein as ... awww sh******eeeeetttt!!!!!

We got the "Bodak Yellow" rapper Tuesday as she was heading into LAX, where we asked if she had any thoughts on the big news of the day ... namely, Meek getting sprung.

We broke the story ... the Pennsylvania Supreme Court overruled Judge Genece Brinkley and ordered bail be set for Meek's immediate release. The justices cited the alleged corrupt police officer used as a "critical witness" in the rapper's OG criminal case as a main reason.