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NRG Park -- the venue that hosted the calamitous Astroworld festival -- has an insurance policy totaling $26 million ... nowhere near what the injured and families of the dead will be seeking.

TMZ has obtained the Certificate of Liability Insurance ... a document that was filed with the City of Houston. Proof of insurance is required for such events.

The policy provides for $1 million in primary coverage with a $25 million umbrella. With 8 dead and more than 300 injured, damages could go into the hundreds of millions of dollars.

If the policy doesn't cover the judgments, then NRG would be responsible for anything above the policy limit.

Now it's possible NRG has additional coverage, but there's no evidence of that from the documents.

We do not know what insurance policies are carried by Live Nation or Travis Scott, although it's certain they have some coverage. But, whatever it is, when you total all of it together, it's unlikely it will cover the enormous judgments that could be coming their way. If the injured and the families of the dead get judgments, the policies will cover them as far as the money goes, but once the limit is reached Travis and the various companies would be personally on the hook for the balance.

It's not that the policies were not written properly, because no one could have anticipated the scope of the disaster.

A staffer at Houston's NRG Park -- which hosts Astroworld Fest -- made a very specific plea to Houston city officials to establish a wide perimeter ... in anticipation of unruly behavior.

TMZ obtained permit and planning documents and correspondence between NRG and the City of Houston, and in them ... the guy in charge of the facility's parking emailed people at the mayor's office just days before the 2-day festival was set to start.

The message -- sent by parking rep Sandeep Prasad -- is pretty detailed on what NRG was going to need from the City before Astroworld, due to what he described as past "transgressions."

Specifically, Prasad wanted to see if Houston could accommodate having a couple main road lanes entirely blocked off just outside NRG Park ... as he felt it would allow for safer entry into the premises, especially considering what had happened in 2018 and 2019.

Prasad's email reads, "During the Festivals in 2018 and 2019, there were a lot of transgressions on the Main Street side of the Yellow Lot. Those included destroying property and various acts of violence."

He goes on to say due to those issues, NRG is requesting to have the City close the two outside lanes going northbound on Main Street starting November 3. Main is a road that borders NRG and a section of its lot.

Prasad also mentions this request isn't coming out of thin air ... but on the heels of many public safety meetings in conjunction with Houston PD, which apparently thought this would be in the public's best interest.

No word on whether NRG got what it wanted, but it's telling the request was made at all. We don't know for certain if Prasad was specifically referring to the massive stampeding that took place in 2019 -- which was well-documented -- as the park opened.

You might recall, folks were trampled in 2019 -- the last time Trav held an Astroworld Fest at NRG -- with many climbing over barricades and breaking through security gates. Three people were seriously injured back then, and the email makes it seem like NRG honchos had that on their minds ahead of this year's concert.

And, that's what makes this document so important ... it shows NRG was aware of the risk for more violence and rowdiness, and attempted to take steps to curb it -- although, the tragedy still went down on the premises.

Ezra Blount, the youngest victim of the Astroworld concert tragedy, is suing Travis Scott and Live Nation for the horrific injuries he suffered -- injuries that still might cost him his life.

Ezra is the 9-year-old who was "trampled nearly to death" during the Friday night concert in Houston. According to the lawsuit, filed by renowned civil rights attorney Ben Crump, Ezra was "suddenly forced to watch in terror as several concertgoers were injured and killed" during the crowd surge.

In docs, obtained by TMZ, Crump says Ezra was "kicked, stepped on, and trampled" as people around him were lifting up "unconscious bodies of friends and strangers and surfed them over the top of the crowd, hoping to send them to safety."

The suit vividly describes many of the images we've seen in videos from the ill-fated concert, adding that many people were shouting for "help with CPR and pleading" with Travis and concert organizers to stop the concert.

According to the suit, Ezra remains in a medically induced coma and on life support after suffering severe damage to his liver, kidney and brain ... and the injuries will impair his quality of life and "ability to grow and thrive."

The lawsuit lays blame for Ezra's injuries squarely on Travis, Live Nation and several other entities ... saying they "egregiously failed in their duty to protect the health, safety and lives" of all concertgoers. Specifically, Crump says they didn't have enough security to implement crowd control measures and emergency medical support.

Many wonder why nobody working security at Astroworld Fest didn't do more to stop the show as the tragedy unfolded  ... and one guard says it's because they were woefully unprepared.

Darius Williams was one of the hundreds of people who were hired to work security for the festival by a company called Contemporary Services Corporation (CSC) ... which appears to have been contracted by either folks running NRG Park, or perhaps by the promoters themselves.

In any case, Williams tells us he was hired just a few days prior to the start of the festival -- and he claims his role was vague and not properly explained. As a matter of fact, the guy says he actually completed his training just a day before Astroworld Fest began -- and he tells us he felt inadequately briefed or coached for the task at hand.

As a result ... Williams tells us he bailed on the job entirely on the day he was supposed to work -- because he was that uncomfortable with the incompetence he says he witnessed.

Here's just a taste of what Williams says he and other guards were put through (or not rather) in order to pass CSC's smell test for the gig. For starters, Williams tells us he and the others had to take a licensing exam for a level 2 security officer -- but alleges the training for the test was brief, and all the answers they needed were being provided ... via open book and even from the instructor themselves, who were blurting out the answers.

Tired and hungry ... Williams showed up Friday for his first shift, and says he immediately realized they were understaffed and not equipped to handle the massive crowds. He says he expressed concerns to supervisors, and after they tried moving him from front gate duty to another role ... the dude just threw up his hands and left as he felt it was unsafe.

Williams claims other guards working that day also wanted to up and quit -- but he didn't stick around long enough to see if they did. BTW ... he also tells us there was virtually no security experience required to apply for this, evidenced in the company's own job listing.

Kanye West is looking to bury the hatchet with Drake -- inviting him to perform on stage with him in the name of freeing a famous Chicago gangster ... all at the behest of one J Prince.

Ye took to social media late Monday night with a video message for Drizzy -- basically, the guy's extending an olive branch ... and it sounds like this might be the doing of Prince, the Rap-A-Lot Records honcho, because he was standing right next to Mr. West during the plea for peace.

You see Kanye reading a statement, saying he wants to address the back and forth between himself and Drake and put it to rest by coming together for a December 7 benefit concert in honor of Larry Hoover, to be held in Los Angeles.

If you're not familiar, Hoover is the former head of a major gang in Chicago, the Gangster Disciples, who was convicted for a murder way back in the '70s, and was sentenced to 6 life sentences. Many feel he has done more than enough time for his crime -- and folks like Kanye, J Prince and seemingly Drake have been lobbying for his release.

Kanye addressed Hoover's situation on his latest album, 'DONDA,' and now ... it would appear J Prince is orchestrating a cease-fire between Ye and Drake (again).

You might recall ... JP brokered something similar between the 2 rap giants a few years ago when their beef was an all-time high, and when Pusha T was smack dab in the middle of it -- exposing the fact Drake had fathered a son he hadn't made public.

Drake is speaking out for the first time since joining Travis Scott on stage at Astroworld the same night 8 concertgoers lost their lives ... saying he's devastated and vowing to be of service in any way he can.

Drake posted a lengthy statement Monday, saying, I've spent the past few days trying to wrap my mind around this devastating tragedy. I hate resorting to this platform to express an emotion as delicate as grief but this is where I find myself."

He continues, "My heart is broken for the families and friends of those who lost their lives and for anyone who is suffering. I will continue to pray for all of them, and will be of service in any way I can. May God be with you all."

Drake was a surprise performer at Friday's festival in Houston, jumping on stage to perform "Sicko Mode" and other hits with Travis.

Sources close to both Drake and Travis tell us neither had any idea of the severity of what was happening in the crowd ... with waves of fans pushing forward, and suffocating others.

While it wasn't his event, Drake has still been named a defendant in injury lawsuits from those claiming the concert left them in serious physical and emotional stress.

TMZ broke the story ... Travis will cover the funeral expenses of the 8 people who died at the show -- without question -- and is teaming up with BetterHelp to offer mental health services to anyone who may need them.

Travis Scott is stepping up to help the families of those who died at Astroworld Fest -- offering to pay funeral costs -- and extending even more help for those affected.

Sources close to Travis tell us he'll be fully covering any and all funeral costs that might come about for the families of the 8 people who passed away at the concert this weekend.

We're told this is going to be coming from Travis' own pocket, and that there'll be no questions asked as it pertains to those 8 individuals and what their families might need to properly lay their loved ones to rest.

There's more ... Travis is also going to be partnering with BetterHelp -- a network of mental health professionals -- to offer mental health services, for free, to anyone who attended Astroworld Fest who may need to talk through their trauma.

The BetterHelp resources will amount to one-on-one virtual therapy sessions with trained, licensed professionals working with the org. On top of this, BetterHelp will also team up with the National Alliance of Mental Illness for people who may need more help than just virtual ... and there's going be a hotline set up to that end, which Travis is also overseeing.

Unclear how exactly Trav and co. will vet claims for the service, but we imagine it's going to be a system that vets people ... to make sure they were, in fact, in attendance Friday.

Of course, that may mean there are thousands of people who take him up on it -- as there were countless folks in the crowd that night who might've been affected ... and if that happens, it probably won't be a cheap endeavor to ensure all those folks are cared for.

It's certainly a nice gesture ... and just one step of Travis trying to do right by his fans. Obviously, there's a lot more that may have to be done -- but at least he's starting here.

As we reported ... in addition to those who died, dozens more were injured to varying degrees and hospitalized -- and some of those people have already started to file lawsuits against Travis and Live Nation.

Travis Scott and Live Nation continue to have lawsuits pile up against them, with one Houston injury attorney just submitting 7 in the last hour for various clients, and famed attorney Ben Crump is also repping victims.

The docs, obtained by TMZ, are mostly identical -- filed by the Houston law firm of Roberts Markland LLP --  but switch out the petitioner name each time. Each lawsuit claims both Travis and Live Nation failed to provide adequate security and a security plan to protect attendees ... and conditions at Astroworld Festival "caused several stampedes and a crowd compression" that led to the 8 deaths and hundreds of injuries.

The attorney behind these lawsuits -- Sean Roberts, doesn't list specific injuries for his clients, but says they were "seriously and permanently injured."

In the docs, Travis and LN are accused of failing to warn fans of safety risks and failing to provide appropriate medical staff at the event.

Of course, there will certainly be more lawsuits filed by concertgoers, and wrongful death litigation is expected as well. Attorney Ben Crump -- who repped the family of George Floyd -- has also stated he is representing Astroworld attendees.

Kanye West thinks "Saturday Night Live" forced Kim Kardashian to talk about her divorcing him on TV -- but he's sorely mistaken, 'cause she came to the show armed with the joke ... TMZ has learned.

Show sources with direct knowledge tell us ... Kanye's gripe from last week during his appearance on the "Drinks Champs" podcast is completely unfounded. We're told most of Kim's 'SNL' monologue was written ahead of time, and that included the line about their divorce.

ICYMI ... Ye complained the media was spinning a certain narrative about his relationship with Kim, something he apparently thinks still has a chance at being revived. He also called out 'SNL' specifically, saying they might've forced Kim to talk about their split.

That's simply not true, as we're being told the monologue was mostly unchanged from what Kim came in with ... and she only got a few suggestions from writers for the show.

In other words, the divorce crack was something Kim -- and her comedian pals -- wrote and wanted in the monologue. And, to further that point, our sources say Kim might acknowledge she's technically married to Ye -- but, frankly, they're not together anymore ... which is why Pete Davidson is happening.

There's also this ... Ye claimed there was no "paperwork" he'd seen to prove a divorce was even happening, but our sources say that's BS and he's fully apprised of what's happening here. As we've reported, the divorce is moving forward, full steam ... and he even signed off on Kim buying the former family home from him for $23 million.

Organizers behind this year's deadly Astroworld Fest promoted the show with footage from 2 years ago, hyping up the fact things could get crazy ... and that people could get hurt.

Check out this promotional video that was published earlier this year in May and posted by the official Astroworld Fest Instagram account -- which shows a number of news clips and civilian clips from 2019 spliced together ... demonstrating the chaos that unfolded ahead of that year's show, including the fact some people were trampled while trying to get in.

The video seems to lean into the notion Astroworld Fest was deemed dangerous/potentially treacherous, embracing that identity ... almost like they were inviting people back with that specifically in mind. You could even interpret this as a ... enter if you dare type thing.

At the end of the video, they tease the dates for this year's concert. BTW, this is the same video that Travis himself posted on his Twitter account shortly after Astroworld Fest wrapped in 2019 ... when he was accused of encouraging the wild behavior.

He wrote at the time, "THANKS TO EVERYBODY THAT PULLED UP TO RAGE !!!!"

This repackaged video used to promote this year's event has allegedly been scrubbed from Astroworld Fest's official YouTube page and other pages, but it is still up on their IG account.

On its face ... this video is pretty damning in the fact that it plays up the apparent inherent danger that lies with attending Astroworld Fest -- and rather than try to pivot away from that ... it would seem folks involved in putting the concert together encouraged round 2.

This is evidenced by the 8 deaths and dozens of other injuries that occurred on Friday night -- not to mention several video clips that appear to show concertgoers trying to relay their concerns about people passing out and dying ... but being mostly ignored and drowned out.

There are also videos that show Travis himself was at least somewhat aware of people falling into distress while he performed -- apparently acknowledging an ambulance golf cart that was working its way through the crowd, as well as taking note of someone who'd passed out in front of him. While he did alert for help for the latter ... TS carried on with the show.

After the fact, Travis described how devastated he was ... sending condolences to the deceased's family members, and promising to work with the authorities. He also denied knowing the severity of things while it was all unfolding -- saying he simply didn't realize people were dying out there. That was echoed by Kylie Jenner as well.

Travis took to Instagram to share his sadness surrounding the event ... again emphasizing he was going to work with Houston PD.

Speaking of the police ... a criminal investigation has been opened into this, as it appears at least one person might've been injected with a needle.

Houston Texans quarterback Tyrod Taylor said his team is sending their thoughts and prayers to those affected by the chaos at Travis Scott's Astroworld Festival on Friday ... saying the incident is "bigger than football."

8 people are dead and hundreds of others are injured as a result of the tragedy ... and after the Texans fell 17-9 to the Miami Dolphins, Taylor opened his postgame press conference by addressing what went down back home.

"I know something bigger than football happened back in our Houston community this past Friday at the festival," Taylor said. "Just wanted to let the city of Houston know that our organization, our team, our prayers are definitely with y’all."

"Never want to see loss of life. We'll continue to keep praying for y’all."

The Houston Police Chief was so concerned about crowd control at the Astroworld Festival, he went to Travis Scott's trailer to express concern over the "energy in the crowd."

Police Chief Troy Finner said the "energy" in anticipation of the festival had been escalating for months ... this according to the NY Times. The Chief attributed the energy to the pandemic, the fact that tickets went for hundreds of dollars and the event itself had a history of crowds that were difficult to control.

The Chief knew Travis personally and admired him for all the good work he did in Houston.

That said, it's clear the Chief was concerned about the swelling and anxious crowd.

The Chief may have gone to the trailer because some people who wanted to get in before the concert started knocking down barricades.

Sources connected to Travis tell TMZ ... the Chief never told Travis to pull the plug on the show. Furthermore, the sources say Travis was never told the stop the show prior to 10:10 PM -- more than an hour after the show began -- via his in-ear device. The sources go on to say the fire marshal was also mum.

Although Travis says because of the pyrotechnics, strobe lights and all, he couldn't see the scope of the calamity.

And, there's this ... our sources say at one point officers working the show near the stage were filming the concert on their cell phones ... in other words, not doing their jobs.

There was also this ominous sign ahead of the concert ... there was only 47 security personnel on-hand at the 2019 festival ... by contrast there was 528 security members at this event, underscoring the fear things could get out of control.

As we reported, 8 people died during the chaos, and hundreds were injured.

The fatalities from the event ranged from teens to young adults: a 14-year-old, a 16-year-old, two 21-year-olds, two 23-year-olds, a 27-year-old and a male whose age was unknown.

Travis Scott took to Instagram to share his sadness and condolences surrounding the event and that he was working with Houston PD. He's also vowed to refund festival tickets and has canceled an upcoming show in Vegas.

In addition to crowd control, Chief Finner said a security guard working the event felt a prick in his neck by an unknown assailant while he was trying to restrain a citizen -- and he quickly fell unconscious.

Finner says the guard was revived by use of NARCAN ... and that medical personnel did, indeed, see something on his neck that indicated he'd been stabbed with a syringe.

The legal floodgates are starting to open -- Travis Scott and Live Nation have just been sued by somebody alleging they were injured during Astroworld ... the first claim of what may prove to be many more to come.

A guy named Manuel Souza already lawyered up and reportedly filed suit Saturday in Harris County District Court -- claiming he was hurt during the madness that unfolded ... and alleging both negligence and gross negligence on behalf of Trav, LN and others he lists as defendants.

In his docs, obtained by Billboard, Souza says the tragedy was "predictable and preventable" -- due, in part, to what he characterizes as warning signs earlier in the day that he says should've been red flags to festival organizers ... but were allegedly ignored.

Souza describes how people first stampeded their way into NRG Park when things were first opening up ... with folks allegedly climbing over security gates and trampling over one another. Despite this, Souza claims nothing was done to further address or curtail things.

He goes on to allege that concert organizers made a conscious effort to let the show go on, despite clear evidence all around them that people were in serious distress ... and suffering "serious obvious injury." Souza believes they purposely chose this route, claiming they were well aware of the rising risk that was escalating by the minute during the night.

As for why Souza thinks Travis is at fault here ... it's not entirely clear what he's claiming Trav did or didn't do during the show that led to what Souza believes was avoidable. He does cite Travis' history of allegedly encouraging violence among fans at past concerts of his, which Souza says has led to people getting hurt. But beyond that ... it doesn't appear he connects specific dots in this instance as to why TS, specifically, is to blame.

It's also not entirely clear what injuries Souza is claiming were inflected against himself, but he does repeatedly cite the 8 dead and dozens of others who were also hurt ... while going on to claim that profit was chosen over the safety and well-being of concertgoers.

Souza is suing for at least a million dollars in damages. We're working on getting a copy of the lawsuit ourselves -- we've reached out to Live Nation and Travis for comment.

Saweetie says she wants children in her life -- and one Nick Cannon seems to be ready to deliver ... if she wants to take him up on it.

The rapper tweeted out her parental desires Saturday, writing ... "I want some babies." Short and sweet -- no real other context either, but on its face ... it sounds like she's ready to be a mom.

While there were a number of normies in her comments who offered up their services to get that done -- Nick actually stood out among the rest with a not-so-subtle offer of his own ... retweeting Saweetie's message and adding a few telling emojis.

There's a curious face emoji, a ninja emoji, a laughing emoji, and a guy raising his hand emoji. The hand-raising says it all ... NC seems to be down to provide, and as we know -- is very well-equipped to do so.

The man has fathered several children over the course of his life, including three just earlier this year -- his son, Zen, and twins Zion and Zillion ... the latter 2 having a different mother. He's got four more from previous relationships -- including a couple with Mariah Carey, a couple more with Brittany Bell.

He's talked about going celibate for a while, but seems to have backtracked on that ... indicated here in his volunteering -- not to mention what he told us the last time we got him out. Remember, Nick said he'll keep having kids ... just so long as the man upstairs keeps on allowing it.

No word from Saweetie yet if his proposition sounds appealing or not -- frankly, she probably has a lot of would-be suitors who'd be willing to give it a go ... and could have just about whoever she wanted for this mission.

Kanye West wants to honor the victims who died at Astroworld -- and he's using his religious vehicle of Sunday Service to do just that.

The rapper's latest spiritual music gathering is going on right now -- and before things officially got underway at around 1 PM PT ... there was a message posted on behalf of Kanye and co., reading, "Sunday Service dedication to the loved ones of Astroworld."

Obviously, Ye is referring to the 8 people who died while Travis Scott was performing Friday night ... not to mention the countless others who suffered injuries to varying degrees.

So far, it seems this Service has a much more somber tone than last week's -- when he brought out Marilyn Manson, Justin Bieber and others in what appeared to be broad daylight, where everyone was wearing white hoods as they engaged in worship and singing.

This time ... Kanye's got his choir and other accompanying singers dressed in all black, and they're performing in what seems to be a huge dark building, with just a sliver of light breaking through. The main choir ran through a few hymns, including some songs from "Donda" -- and now, it looks like Kanye's got a choir out there who are singing too.

No sign of Ye himself just yet ... and nobody has shared any explicit words of condolences at this point ... the show got underway, and it's been nothing but music ever since.

Ya gotta imagine Kanye might make an appearance at some point, and even say something to address the Astroworld tragedy ... as Travis is essentially his brother-in-law, and we know they're tight.

Kylie Jenner seemed to be aware something was amiss during Travis Scott's set, evidenced in her serious demeanor shortly after he took the stage ... something you can now see on video.

TMZ has obtained concert footage we're told was taken about 10 minutes into Travis' performance, which eyewitnesses say got underway at 9 PM sharp ... and went on for about an hour and 15 minutes, drastically different from Houston PD's timeline of just 40 minutes.

Check out the clip ... you see Kylie, Kendall and a bunch of their entourage/security detail hanging out under a tent that's a ways away from the stage ... literally plopped down in the middle of a massive crowd that was surrounding them. At this point, Kylie appears solemn.

As you can see, she's wearing a face mask and has her hands folded together ... looking on with what one could interpret as a nervous expression, or at the very least -- a sobering one.

Her body language says a lot here too -- which is in stark contrast to her sister's ... who's maskless and rocking out with a big smile on her face. Kylie, for whatever reason, didn't seem to be in the same spirit at this point -- and one eyewitness suggests it's obvious why.

The person who shot this tells us they started to feel the crowd surge at this point and were losing control of their footing -- prompting them to want to get out ASAP. Unclear if the ambulance was working its way through the crowd by now -- or if the witness saw/heard of people passing out -- but it's plausible some of that might've been taking place here.

In any case, it's interesting the person who filmed this was feeling a sense of danger and dread right then and there.

Kylie had also filmed an ambulance in her own IG Story -- a clip she eventually deleted, while leaving the rest of her footage up.

Of course, the obvious point ... even if she was somewhat appraised of the graveness of the situation as everything unfolded, what could she have possibly done???

Indeed, probably nothing from where she was ... as she was nowhere near the stage, and had no realistic way to get a hold of Travis STAT as he carried on with his set. Still, the one thing that remains curious is Houston PD's timetable of when things were shut down.

The Chief, Troy Finner, said his team had been told by event organizers that Travis took the stage at 9:30 PM and wrapped at 10:10 PM, but people are disputing that ... claiming it went on for much longer, and that the danger was also present for much longer than just that window.

He also said, perhaps the reason things weren't wrapped earlier was because of fear of a riot breaking out among a young crowd ... which is interesting logic. Now, Finner did say they would look into the timing even further to pin down a more accurate sequence of events -- but based on this account we've been given, this madness lasted for quite a while.