Hip Hop

Ice Spice is dipping her toe into acting ... as the rapper has been cast in Spike Lee's new feature film, where she'll be doing her thing opposite Denzel Washington.

The rapper is set to appear in Spike's reinterpretation of Akira Kurosawa's 1963 thriller "High and Low." However, Ice Spice is only set to have a small role, as her part has been described as more of a cameo than anything.

Still, Ice Spice has already begun filming her portion of the film -- which is an Apple Original Films and A24 collab ... who confirmed production was well underway.

Drake's officially out of all Astroworld lawsuits ... a judge granted a motion for summary judgment, and has dismissed all the claims against him.

According to court documents obtained by TMZ ... a judge in Harris County, Texas heard the arguments and decided to dismiss all claims against Drake with prejudice.

Remember ... Drake was named as a defendant in some lawsuits following the 2021 crowd crush tragedy in Houston -- with plaintiffs alleging that because he took the stage with Travis Scott, they believed he helped incite the crowd into the frenzy.

Chris Brown just released the deluxe edition to his "11:11" album ... and he's doubling down on his beef with Quavo ... with a new fiery shot about the women they've both banged.

On the song "Freak," CB snaps on Quavo with clever punch lines over a super-charged version of Nelly's "Air Force Ones" ... "F****** my old bitches ain't gone make us equal/Sipping that 1942 cause I don't do no Cuervo [Quavo]/Freak bitch she like Casamigos. not the Migos."

Quavo and CB's ex-GF Karrueche Tran have been suspected of casual dating for years -- a clear trigger for the R&B superstar, despite having broken up with the "Claws" actress since 2015. We've seen Chris and Quavo bristle over this in the past, but not as overtly as this.

Kanye West seems to be trying a bit of a do-over in terms of style with his wife Bianca Censori -- 'cause the two of them were in all-white ... and it's giving Kim Kardashian.

The rapper/producer hit the town in L.A. Wednesday night with BC in town -- with the both of them attending Ty Dolla $ign's birthday bash at the Nice Guy in WeHo ... and of course, everyone was paying attention to what they were wearing, especially Bianca.

As you can see, she was rocking a unique getup ... some kind of dress that had a big slit down the middle and which exposed some cleavage and a bit of her stomach too.

DJ Mister Cee -- a prominent fixture in hip hop's radio culture -- has died ... TMZ has confirmed.

Hot 97, the station where Mister Cee built his foundation, sent out a heartfelt statement to signify his life and career ... "As a family at HOT 97 and WBLS, we’re deeply saddened by the passing of our beloved Mister Cee. He wasn’t just a DJ; he was a pillar of our stations, bringing joy to countless listeners with his legendary 'Throwback at Noon and Friday Night Live' sets."

The station adds ... "Mr. Cee’s influence stretched far beyond the airwaves, shaping the very fabric of NYC’s DJ culture. Our hearts are heavy as we send our love and condolences to his family and the fans whose lives he touched through his music. Rest easy, Mr. Cee. Your legacy will live forever."

Bobb'e J. Thompson claims Tracy Morgan mistreated him on the set of their old sitcom back in the 2000s -- alleging the dude was a straight-up bully ... all 'cause the kid was funny.

The former child actor -- who costarred alongside Tracy in "The Tracy Morgan Show" between 2003 and 2004 -- hopped on the Comedy Hype podcast to make his claims ... and he details a pretty disturbing story about how he says Morgan dealt with him back in those days.

Based on the way Bobb'e describes the alleged tale, it's a little hard to decipher if this was just a one-off, or if happened repeatedly -- but he claims Tracy had severely berated him.

Joe Budden's name quickly became a trending topic following J. Cole's apology to Kendrick Lamar for his "7 Minute Drill" diss ... fans were eager to hear JB unload on the situation -- and unload he did!!!

JB hails from the East Coast battle space, and seems willing to accept Cole just ain't cut from that same cloth -- but Joe told his podcast crew that Cole building up the diss ... to then turn his back on supporters was nasty work.

Budden couldn't stomach watching Cole's apology, yet he still applauded the "Middle Child" rapper for what he calls a rare mature look for hip hop.

But, in the next breath, he rips Cole for faking like he was "the one" all this time -- Budden says thanks to the apology, Kendrick's "Like That" bars have now turned immortal!!!

Even worse, he says Cole was cosplaying as a rapper who wanted the throne, because he's too damn quick to crown not only Kendrick ... but Drake, too!!!

Budden might think he washed his hands with the Cole situation, but Ari Lennox -- the 1st Lady of Dreamville -- isn't letting him off the hook.

Saweetie's determined to push her long-delayed debut out to the masses, and the "My Type" rapper is dropping all kinds of hints to her record label to make it happen.

TMZ Hip Hop caught up with Saweetie outside Ocean Prime this week in Bev. Hills ... where she confirmed her album's still titled, "Pretty Bitch Music," and she made it clear it needs to be released ASAP!!!

We also asked about any potential touring once her album's released -- that is how these things typically work, and Saweetie agrees ... there needs to be a tour.

Of course, she's signed to Warner Records, and the label has the final say-so on her rollout, which probably explains why she didn't declare any specific release or tour dates ... but her frustrations have been mounting.

She recently lashed out at WB for not approving her budget as she promoted an upcoming track ... a somewhat puzzling move, considering Saweetie has had several multi-platinum and Billboard 100 hits.

They recently repackaged several of her old hits for an EP to rally around her new song "Richtivities" in the meantime. 🤷🏼‍♀️

J. Cole squashed all assumptions his Kendrick Lamar apology broke his spirit for good last night in NYC -- 'cause he made a surprise guest appearance at his artist's concert.

Dreamville rapper Bas' current tour wrapped last night in NYC -- and fans were treated to a pop-in appearance from Cole himself ... which seems to have taken everyone aback, even Bas ... who said he had no clue JC was gonna be there.

Anyway ... it's interesting to see Cole surface so soon after his public apology to K. Dot.

Bas picked an eager fan to get onstage to rap Cole's verse from their 2013 collab "Lit" ... the fan was killing it word-for-word when Cole hopped on the Irving Plaza stage.

Cole congratulated the fan and stuck around with Bas to perform their latest duet "H.Y.B." ... the track features several TMZ shout-outs and is featured on Cole's controversial new project "Might Delete Later" ... a big reason fans didn't expect Cole to be there in the first place.

His "7 Minute Drill" diss to Kendrick still remains on streaming services as of now but his apology during the Dreamville Fest is still a big part of the rap chit-chats.

Kash Doll is rethinking parts of her career ahead of the birth of her next child -- mainly her rap name ... a tag she says she's outgrown!!!

While speaking to Angela Yee on "Way Up," Kash admitted she was sick of being called a doll at this stage in her life, and was debating rapping under her a condensed version of her government name, Arkeisha.

KD's career popped off several years ago at a time when "Doll" was the new "Lil' for rap names ... a point she also acknowledged in the interview.

Notable rappers Asian Doll, DreamDoll, Cuban Doll also emerged around that time.

Because of the similarities, KD says she's always being compared to those artists, and would rather separate herself from the debates ... despite feeling like she's the one who laid the foundation for hip hop "Dolls" in the first place.

Kash hasn't named her album her next album yet, but she has a more important name to figure out -- that of her soon-to-be-born daughter, her 2nd kid with boyfriend Tracy T.

Megan Thee Stallion stripped down for her latest magazine cover -- and while the pictures are grabby in and of themselves ... there's a lot of substance in the actual interview as well.

The rapper debuted on the latest cover of Women's Health Wednesday, showing off her toned body -- which she says is owed to swapping whole meals for smoothies ... nixing soda and juice and switching from cognac to tequila.

Of course, she also says she works out a ton, and that's evident from these gorgeous shots.

Diddy has a new defender in Hollywood -- and that would be Jason Derulo ... who says the guy shouldn't be persecuted by the public until all the facts are in, and they're just not yet.

We talked to the singer Tuesday in NYC while he was out and about, and our photog asked JD head on ... should innocent until proven guilty apply here for Puff???? Considering Diddy actually helped Jason break into the industry way back when ... his answer is telling.

Jason says he agrees with the old adage ... and that Diddy should be afforded that grace until more evidence surfaces, if any does at all, that implicates him in something nefarious.

Aoki Lee Simmons has already called it quits with her much older boyfriend ... TMZ has confirmed.

The exact reason for their split remains unclear -- but we're told Aoki isn't planning on dating restaurateur Vittorio Assaf beyond the time they've already spent together in St. Barts ... where they've been canoodling for the past several days.

While we know Russell was supportive of the relationship -- People Mag reports that Aoki's mom was not approving at all ... in fact, they say KLS was "concerned" about the age gap.

J. Cole's decision to pump the brakes on his battle with Kendrick Lamar has left several of his former costars with mixed feelings, including one of Cole's longtime producers ... who says he's making a list of who's not keeping it 💯.

Omen -- who's laid beats for Cole since 2009 -- sent out an ominous social media post on Tuesday ... singling out a particular group of artists who are now criticizing Cole.

Back in 2019, Omen helped orchestrate the "Revenge of the Dreamers III" compilation -- which meshed several outside artists with the Dreamville camp -- successfully landing 3 Grammy noms for their teamwork.

L.A. rappers Guapdad 4000 and Buddy appeared on several 'ROTD3' tracks -- but posted how Cole "killed his spirit" after he gobbled up a slice of Kendrick's humble pie.

Buddy -- like Suge Knight -- had no issues rooting for the hometown and hit his backyard boogie at the news of Cole's surrender.

TDE artist Reason even had fans calling for him to bounce to Dreamville when the tape dropped due to his chemistry with Cole's team ... but he also expressed doubts about the "7 Minute Drill" turning into a pump fake.

Cole's current artists Ari Lennox and Bas countered the backlash and offered up public support to their CEO, and Bas seems to have his own beef brewing with the outsiders.

Don Toliver was arrested on suspicion of DUI this week -- but it sounds like he was an easy customer for cops ... 'cause they didn't even take him to jail.

According to a report from California Highway Patrol -- obtained by TMZ -- the rapper was pulled over for speeding early Tuesday morning near the San Fernando Valley here in SoCal -- and cops say they had reason to believe he might've been impaired behind the wheel.

The report says that officers observed signs of impairment but instead of throwing him in handcuffs ... Toliver was simply cited and released in the field.

Jelly Roll's adamant about keeping those good vibes rollin' ... so much so, he says he bailed on the chance to meet Diddy months earlier 'cause he got some bad mojo from him.

The rapper dished all during the "Cancelled with Tana Mongeau" podcast ... saying he just had to trust his gut that the vibes were off, even if it meant passing up the opportunity to hang out with a big-time rapper like Diddy.

The topic kickstarted when Tana asked the country singer if there were any celebs he didn't get along with or he felt were "giving Illuminati or dark side" -- and he came clean, even though he gave the disclaimer the story he was about to tell may stir up some trouble.