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4:00 PM PT -- Kyle died of an accidental drug overdose ... according to a statement from his family. They also say they've created The Kyle Pavone Foundation in his honor to help those struggling with drug addiction.

Kyle Pavone -- the lead vocalist of metal band We Came as Romans -- died as a result of drugs ... TMZ has learned.

The Oakland County Medical Examiner's Office in Michigan tells us ... Kyle died of drug abuse. It's unclear if this means his death was accidental or by suicide ... or if he suffered an overdose or another complication related to drugs.

We're told a toxicology report will take up to 8 weeks to complete.

As we reported ... Pavone's death was revealed by the metalcore band on social media last weekend, with a statement saying, "Kyle's tragic loss came too early in his life and those of his bandmates. All are devastated by his passing. We will miss his smiles, his sincerity, his concern for others, and his impressive musical talent."

Sources close to the situation told us Kyle was transported to a Michigan hospital August 19 and was pronounced dead August 25.

We Came as Romans is best known for their songs "Hope," "The World I Used to Know" and "I Knew You Were Trouble." Their album "Tracing Back Roots" reached #8 on the Billboard charts in 2013.

Dr. Dre and Xzibit screwed 3 people out of a fortune in the cannabis industry by taking their time, money and hard work, and then pretending they never existed ... according to a new suit.

Three individuals are suing the rappers and their weed company, Brass Knuckles, claiming they did a ton of legwork for them and eventually struck a deal to acquire a 14.5 percent stake in the business ... but then got hosed.

According to the docs, Dre -- who the 3 individuals claim is a secret co-owner of Brass Knuckles -- was happy with their work and was going to be involved in promoting some major projects associated with the biz.

The 3 people claim they reached an agreement with Dre, Xzibit and others in the company to pay $5 million to buy their 14.5 percent, and everything was going fine ... until the Brass Knuckles execs got greedy.

According to the docs ... the company was originally valued at $50 million, but after the deal was struck with the group of 3 and they ponied up the $5 mil for their share, it was determined the company was actually valued at $170 mil.

The 3 claim at this point ... Dre, Xzibit and company pretended the deal never existed. The 3's lawyer, Larry Ecoff, tells us his clients were essentially kicked to the curb after the higher valuation, and "this case is all about greed and weed."

They're now suing for breach of contract and want monetary damages ... along with a judge to rule they are 14.5 percent owners of the company.

Dr. Dre's lawyer, Howard King tells us ... this lawsuit is "without any allegations of anything done by [Dre] that would justify naming him as a defendant," and that doing so "is nothing more than a blatant and short-sighted attempt by the plaintiffs to generate publicity for their cause."

Actress Vanessa Marquez -- who played Wendy Goldman on "ER" -- was shot and killed by police ... and authorities believe Vanessa had mental issues stemming from an eating disorder.

Vanessa's landlord called South Pasadena police Thursday afternoon, saying he was concerned for the actress. When police arrived she became combative and waved what cops believed was a semi-automatic handgun. Police shot her at least once in the torso.

It turned out she was brandishing a BB gun.

Vanessa was rushed to the hospital where she died.

Authorities say she was suffering from some sort of eating disorder which triggered seizures. Apparently when police arrived at her apartment she was mid-seizure.

Vanessa was on "ER" from 1994 to 1997. She accused George Clooney of booting her from the show and blacklisting her ... saying she was the victim of racist and sexist comments. Clooney has said he had no idea what she was even talking about.

In addition to "ER," her credits include "Stand and Deliver" and "Twenty Bucks."

Kylie Jenner is almost a billionaire and world famous largely because of Tyga ... so says Tyga.

Kylie's ex appeared on Nicki Minaj's Beats 1 show on Queen Radio, and took lots of credit for Kylie's success. He said, "When I stepped in ... it was like, you can do this, you should do this, you should start doing your hair like this."

And then the kicker ... Tyga said, "You need Black people to f*** with you 'cause you need culture. If you ain't got black people behind you, you ain't got nothin'. Ain't nobody gonna listen. You can't influence nobody. So, I had a lot to do with all that."

Nicki bristled when she heard Tyga grab credit, and essentially said it's a sexist view where men jack credit from successful women.

NBA star J.R. Smith has turned himself into police in New York -- and has been charged with a crime -- stemming from a July incident where he allegedly threw a cell phone, TMZ Sports has learned.

TMZ Sports broke the story ... Smith was being investigated for allegedly stealing a cell phone from a person outside of The Park -- a hot spot in Chelsea. Officials believe Smith threw the phone into a nearby construction zone, damaging the item.

Now, we've learned Smith appeared at an NYPD station in Chelsea early Friday morning where he was charged with misdemeanor criminal mischief and issued a desk appearance ticket to appear in court at a later date.

We spoke with Smith's attorney, Alex Spiro, who tells us, "This is nonsense, and we aren't responding to nonsense. He was issued a ticket."

A guy who jacked a truck on an L.A. freeway Friday morning wanted cops to know he wasn't packin' heat.

The truckjacker was darting across lanes on the 101 Freeway in East L.A. ... this after cops spotted the truck and gave chase.

The guy -- who was pretty well built -- stunned motorists who were driving to work at around 6 AM. He eventually got off the freeway as police and TV news choppers followed him. He was eventually caught.

John Legend picking a favorite Aretha song is like eating just one potato chip ... it's just impossible.

John was flying solo Thursday night at Craig's in WeHo, when our photog asked if one song from the Queen stood out. Check out John's answer. He probably could have gone even longer.

Aretha's funeral service is being held today, and it's like the Grammy's ... Jennifer Hudson, Ariana Grande, Stevie Wonder, Patti LaBelle, Faith Hill, Fantasia, Chaka Khan and on and on.

Former Prez Bill Clinton will speak.

Before Louis C.K. shocked an NYC audience with his return to stand-up, he warmed up off the beaten path by crashing a Long Island comedy club where he got a standing O ... and TMZ got photos from the gig.

The disgraced comedian hit the stage last Sunday at Governor’s of Levittown out on Long Island. Club owner James Dolce tells us Louis did about 10 to 15 minutes of material ... but no one, including Dolce, had any clue C.K. was dropping in for the set.

In the photos from the Governor's gig, you can see Louis whipped a notepad out of his pocket ... clearly refreshing himself on the new material he was trying out that night.

This set came just a few hours before Louis drove into NYC to surprise the crowd at the famed Comedy Cellar in Greenwich Village. While there's been much debate about whether it's too soon for him to return after admitting to sexual misconduct last November -- Dolce says it was clear how the audience felt at his club.

They loved it. Some fans even waited for photos after the show, but Louis had bolted for the Big Apple.

Brett Favre tells TMZ Sports if there's one player in the NFL who deserves the biggest deal in league history -- it's Aaron Rodgers ... 'cause Favre says he's already one of the greatest to ever play!!

"I think when it's all said and done, he's a top 5 player, all time -- regardless of position," Favre says. "Quite frankly, he could be there right now."

And, get this -- remember all those reports of tension between Brett and Aaron back in the day? Favre tells us the two are actually FRIENDS, and Rodgers even came to visit him in Mississippi this summer.

"We were actually talking about how much of this contract he was going to give to me," Favre joked.

In reality, Rodgers was there to pick Favre's brain for a "Life of Aaron Rodgers" project he was doing ... and that's when Brett shoveled some serious compliments on the Packer QB.

"He made a comment while he was here, 'Hey, I'm just trying to fill your shoes,'" Favre says.

"I said, 'I appreciate that, but you've kind of paved your own way and continue to pave it.'"

As for Brett ... he's still traveling the world and getting recognized by fans -- EVEN IN IRELAND!!

Bow Wow just went nuts while shooting a segment for his TV show, attacking his camera crew and damaging thousands of dollars worth of equipment ... TMZ has learned.

Production sources tell us the rapper was shooting "Growing Up Hip Hop: Atlanta" Thursday night at the Westside Cultural Arts Center when he allegedly snapped. We're told Bow Wow shifted from calm cool and collected to a person no one recognized ... and it's unclear why.

Our sources say in a fit of rage -- Bow Wow started shattering gear -- busting three cameras in the process. The rapper also attacked anyone who tried to step in and stop him.

We're told cops were called to the scene ... no word yet if anyone was arrested.

The event at the Cultural Arts Center was a party for Da Brat -- who recently got off of probation -- we're told she may have been involved in the melee too.

Aretha Franklin's memorial in Detroit was a marathon of live music to honor the Queen of Soul -- and Patti LaBelle gave an incredibly moving performance.

Patti sang her hit song "You Are My Friend," and belted what turned out to be one of the best tributes of the night. Other acts including The Four Tops and Johnny Gill also hit the stage at Chene Park Amphitheatre.

We broke the story ... 23 acts were originally slated to perform Thursday, including big names like the Four Tops, Gladys Knight, Johnny Gill, Ron Isley and lots of others. Gladys' rep later clarified she wouldn't be performing, but would be in attendance.

The Four Tops performed "Bernadette," "I Can't Help Myself (Sugar Pie, Honey Bunch)" and "Reach Out, I'll Be There."

It's kind of a big deal these stars committed to the show -- 'cause they're all footing their own travel and lodging expenses, according to a document obtained by TMZ. Clearly, these folks hold Aretha near and dear to their hearts to trek out to Michigan to do this.

Aretha's funeral service is still to come Friday, which will feature headliners like Stevie Wonder, Jennifer Hudson and Ariana Grande.

A 2-day, open casket public viewing was held this past Tuesday and Wednesday ... which had lines around the block of the Charles H. Wright Museum of African American History.

Aretha died earlier this month from pancreatic cancer. She was 76.

If you think you're excited about the inevitable sequel to "Crazy Rich Asians," you've got nothing on Singapore ... because its movie industry is poised to rake in a fortune from the next installment.

A rep for the Singapore's Infocomm Media Development Authority tells TMZ the first film was a huge boon to the nation's minuscule movie biz. Much of the flick -- which was shot on a relatively small $30 million budget -- was set in Singapore, and producers hired more than 300 local actors and crewmen to work on the flick.

Now -- after banking close to $100 million at the box office in just the first three weeks -- Warner Bros. is reportedly moving forward with a sequel likely based on the second book in author Kevin Kwan's trilogy, "China Rich Girlfriend." CRG will no doubt command a budget many times larger than the original ... meaning more actors, more crew and millions of more dollars for the Singaporeans involved in the film.

It may not mean much to Singapore's citizens as a whole -- the seventh wealthiest nation in the world -- but it's pretty good for the island nation's "industry" folks, who have reportedly supported a grand total of about 70 movies over the past twenty years.

Martin Luther King Jr.'s niece says her uncle might've actually gotten a kick out of Cardi B's 'Housewives of the Civil Rights Movement' skit, but the real-life iconic women wouldn't be laughing.

We talked to Alveda King -- whose father was Dr. King's brother -- and while she realizes the bit was all in good fun, she says it's important people know that's all it is. Alveda says Coretta Scott King and the other Civil Rights 'housewives' didn't talk like that, and never would.

Alveda seems to be fine with people laughing, as long as they don't take it seriously in a historical context. She adds, it'd be a "disgrace" if young people watching think these brave women acted this way behind closed doors.

Like we told you ... Bernice King called Cardi's take on her mother "repulsive," but then later said Cardi had reached out and apologized. Bernice's older bro, Martin Luther King III, also expressed his hatred for Cardi's portrayal and the fact it came out on the 55th anniversary of his father's "I Have a Dream" speech.

Danielle Bregoli's gonna need a serious pair of sunglasses if she keeps shining like this ... first going certified gold and now with some new bling.

Danielle -- aka Bhad Bhabie -- was in a celebratory mood after her track "Gucci Flip Flops" featuring Lil Yachty earned gold certification from the Recording Industry Association of America. With that in mind, we're told Bhabie commissioned celeb jeweler Johnny Dang to create some new pieces for her.

First, she got a 14k yellow gold Bhabie pendant with VVS1 quality diamonds. The enamel's a special paint mixed with 3 different colors and glitter. The second, a grill with flawless diamonds. The pieces are loaded with a total of 7 carats in diamonds.

The price tag ... we're told Bhabie dropped $45k. With sellout shows galore, it's no doubt a drop in the bucket for BB, who btw should probably also earn an award (or get a grill) for producing the funny-ass "Gucci Flip Flops" music video. Congrats!!