Hip Hop

Kanye West is being taken to court by a former employee who's claiming Ye openly had some bizarre plans for kids attending his Donda academy ... and openly espoused antisemitic rhetoric at the school.

Trevor Phillips just filed suit against KW ... saying he was brought on to the Yeezy org in late 2022 -- right around the time Ye's antisemitism controversy reached its peak -- and explains he was tasked with growing the cotton production for Kanye's fashion line.

However, according to the docs, obtained by TMZ, Phillips claims his duties quickly expanded and started to encompass handling Ye's Donda Academy school as well, which he says started to experience difficulty as a result of Kanye's public rants.

Beyoncé and Taylor Swift were the feature attractions at the 2024 iHeartRadio Music Awards Monday night -- and two superstars walked away with more than a few statues.

But, unlike Taylor, Bey showed up at the star-studded event at L.A.'s Dolby Theater, flashing her new persona as a leather-clad cowgirl after last Friday's release of her very popular country music album, "Cowboy Carter." Taylor arrived later via video message.

After posing for some pics on the red carpet, Bey and the other stars went inside to enjoy the show, which was hosted by Ludacris. Among the awards nominees were Miley Cyrus, Drake, Jelly Roll, Luke Combs, Morgan Wallen, Olivia Rodrigo, Shakira, SZA and Usher.

Cuba Gooding Jr. was in Miami this past weekend -- the same place Diddy has been amid an ongoing federal investigation ... interesting considering their alleged connection.

TMZ obtained a photo of Cuba in South Beach on Easter Sunday, and as you can see ... he's by his lonesome on the back of a golf cart, which is advertising yacht rentals, and there are 2 unknown fellas sitting up front.

Cuba looks relaxed with his shades on as he peruses his phone -- and yes, he's certainly dressed for a festive sunny day in the Sunshine State.

Have a bad case of the Mondays??? Cheer yourself up with some hot takes courtesy of TMZ.

Let's start out on "TMZ Live," where Harvey and Charles broke down Tori Spelling's divorce filing ... and how the "Beverly Hills, 90210" actress broke the news to her estranged husband, Dean McDermott, while recording a podcast.

Kanye West and Bianca Censori let his 3 kids go off on their own into a separate SUV after they enjoyed an Easter outing ... and it's raised eyebrows among some.

Ye and his wife took Psalm, Chicago and Saint out on the town Sunday -- hitting up a movie theater in Westwood ... and getting snapped by paps on their way out of the venue. The three kids exit first, with a handler in front of them ... who leads them away to an SUV.

KW and BC, meanwhile, separate from the kids almost instantly ... and board their own SUV.

Beyoncé's fully embracing the Wild West on the heels of her new album -- and you can tell by her getup here ... which is very much so giddy up.

Riding high on the success of "Cowboy Carter" -- which became Spotify's most-streamed album of 2024 in a single day since its Friday release -- Beyoncé leaned even deeper into the music genre, making a bold statement with her head-to-toe denim look Monday in L.A.

The singer accessorized her outfit with a large buckle belt, cool boots and a matching cowboy hat as she headed into a meeting with her 12-year-old daughter Blue Ivy in tow.

Pharrell Williams and Chad Hugo sold millions of records together as The Neptunes but the two Virginia-made hitmakers are currently entangled in a legal war over use of the group's name.

Recently uncovered court docs show Chad opposing a trademark filing of Pharrell's company PW IP Holdings to lock up the rights to "The Neptunes" for music videos and other downloadable entertainment.

Pharrell's reps told Billboard he was simply going out of his way to ensure no outsiders got hold of the Neptunes' name, but Hugo’s attorney Kenneth D. Freundlich went as far as to declare Pharrell committed fraud by leaving his client's name off the filing ... without any input from Chad.

Drake's got Travis Scott in his sniper scope, and unloaded fake gunfire on a prop representing him ... putting Trav on the impressive list of rappers -- Kendrick Lamar, Future and Metro Boomin -- he's targeting for revenge.

On Sunday, Drake and J. Cole's "It's All A Blur -- Big as the What?" tour rolled into Penn State University Park ... Drake launched into an angry performance of "Meltdown" ... his most recent collab with Travis from last year's "Utopia" album.

But, he ended the verse screaming at the top of his lungs, and then mimicked gunshots on the giant Travis Scott head -- popularized during the Astroworld era -- which Drake had been using as a tour prop during the performance of the song.

Ludacris isn't salty over Katt Williams suggesting he's a puppet for the elite -- 'cause he's taking the remarks with a grain of salt ... noting comedians are supposed to make jokes!!!

The rapper checked in with "The Breakfast Club" on Monday ahead of his iHeartRadio Awards appearance, and he tackled Katt's "Club Shay Shay" digs head-on.

Remember, Katt took aim at Luda and his wife Eudoxie -- and in the moment, it wasn't clear if he was joking or not ... but Luda says he isn't trippin' either way.

Nick Cannon was the ultimate Easter bunny this year – but instead of eggs, he delivered daddy time to all 12 of his kids ... documenting the whole epic journey.

The longtime TV host went all out this weekend ... donning a rabbit costume while hopping around town to ensure his entire brood -- which includes kids from 6 different women -- got QT with him ... and on the face of it, it looks like he was successful.

Things kickstarted Saturday as he stopped by Bre Tiesi's home to chill with their 1-year-old son, Legendary Love ... with NC posting some sweet photos of him with the boy.

Diddy celebrated Easter partly by showing off his cute as a button youngest child Love on Instagram amid his federal sex trafficking probe.

The rap mogul posted a series of adorable IG photos Sunday, showing little Love Sean Combs wearing pink dresses and other spiffy outfits in various settings. In the caption, Diddy wrote, "HAPPY EASTER from Baby Love."

17-month-old Love spent much of Easter with Diddy's fourth baby mama, Dana Tran, at the home of Kimora Lee Simmons.

Lauren London hasn't forgotten Nipsey Hussle -- evident in a touching tribute she shared of her former partner on the the 5th anniversary of his untimely death.

The actress -- who shares her son Kross with the late rapper -- posted a photo of Nipsey on Instagram Sunday, admitting March is always a tough month for her after his murder several years ago ... with her post coming on none other than the anniversary of his murder.

She added ... "31 days of holding my breath. This day decided to fall on Easter Sunday this 2024. Interesting …. considering your name #GodWillRise." Lauren signed off her note by declaring her love for Nipsey, who she was engaged to before his passing.

Doja Cat is butting heads with her fans once again ... this time putting her followers on blast for comparing her natural hair to pubes.

The singer dropped new cover art for her single, "Masc," on Instagram Friday, which featured a close-pic shot of her tight, blonde curls. But it didn't take long for the comments section to take a negative turn ... resulting in DC disabling the comments on the upload.

Doja also hopped on IG Live to address the harsh criticism. A clearly irritated Doja asked her followers to stop comparing the hairstyle to "sheep and pubes and carpet and popcorn."

50 Cent took another shot at his ex Daphne Joy ... continuing to suggest she’s a “sex worker,” only now at a Nicki Minaj show.

Fiddy joined NM on stage during her show at Madison Square Garden Saturday night -- and he used his moment in the spotlight to call out his love for "sex workers" ... a clear dig at his baby mama.

He said the phrase quickly on the mic, but the audience heard it … and got a kick out of it too, it seems.

Kanye West's wife, Bianca Censori, knows how to turn heads, for sure, as she and her hubby once again hit up the Cheesecake Factory at The Grove in L.A.

Bianca left little to the imagination in a sheer, busty getup as they headed in for lunch.

There's a perplexing question here ... how does she stay in amazing shape when they hit up a restaurant -- their go-to eatery these days -- where the sweet corn tamale cakes have 1,340 calories and the quesadilla with kalua pork weighs in at 1,250 calories?!?

This is something you don't see every day ... Robert De Niro, Austin Butler and Snoop Dogg hanging out at a private home -- and having a blast!

Well ... that's exactly what happened at Snoop's Malibu estate Friday and the iconic rapper's son, Cordell, posted a bunch of footage to Instagram showing all the fun during the mini star-studded event.

Check it out ... in one pic, De Niro, Butler, Snoop, and Cordell were sitting together with big smiles on their faces. De Niro and Snoop were also flashing peace signs.