TMZ Hip Hop - Page 50

Alicia Keys, Swizz Beatz and Meek Mill were high rollers Friday night in NYC's Rockefeller Center ... and it looked like a blast!

The "Girl on Fire" singer threw an awesome party for close friends and family, celebrating the release of "KEYS II" ... a deluxe edition of her double album "KEYS."

Alicia and Swizz showed off their rink skills, dancing and holding each other, taking smiling selfies and even smooching as they rolled along.

Alicia also got jiggy by herself ... busting moves just like back in the 70s!

And, then there was Meek ... he was having fun with a young woman, circling the rink as they held hands.

The Philly rapper was also cutting it up with Busta Rhymes off to the side. Guess Busta wasn't in the skating mood.

Wiz Khalifa almost has his Los Angeles mansion off his hands, with an interested buyer about to pull the trigger.

Wiz is selling his Encino home for $4.45M, which turns out to be about $1M more than what he paid for it back in 2019, so it's a nice little profit.

The mansion is a modern beauty, with 6 bedrooms and 6 bathrooms, floor-to-ceiling glass doors, a home movie theater, a pool and a spa. Oh, and a waterfall to boot.

TMZ broke the story ... Wiz isn't moving too far away from his old crib, he'll be living it up, just a few miles down the street in a newly built $7.6 mil mansion.

Wiz's new mansion comes with a guesthouse and a gym.

There may be just as many eyes on the crowd as on the ring when Teofimo Lopez steps into the squared circle this weekend, 'cause the former unified champ tells us some of the biggest stars in the world are attending his fight.

"I've been contacting everybody to let everyone know honestly we're gonna have Odell Beckham Jr. at the fight, we're gonna have Akon, Lil Wayne, I've been contacting everyone tryna have everyone come and support," 25-year-old Lopez tells TMZ Sports.

"It's all love and support at the end of the day and that's the type of man I am. I wanna let people know, I wanna show that I am that type of fighter, I am that guy. I'm the man of the hour, the man with the power, the man too sweet to be sour."

Lopez, who beat pound-for-pound king Vasyl Lomachenko in October 2020, snatching his three belts, lost to George Kambosos Jr. in November 2021. It was the first loss of his career.

It'll be the first time Lopez has been back in a ring for a sanctioned fight following the loss ... and his opponent, Pedro Campa, is tough. The 30-year-old fighter has a 34-1-1 record with 23 knockouts.

Despite a tough challenger, Teofimo says he made changes to his team following the L, and he's ready to go.

"We had to cut a lot of people and bring some new people in just so we can what's the different environment that I need. My team now, it feels so more as a team, as a unit, as it should be," Lopez says.

And, Teo feels awesome.

"I'm feeling the greatest right now. What else can I say? Preparation went really well, push myself to the limits, man, to greater heights, and just seeing how much I can really handle. I think that overall it's been amazing."

In addition to the stars that'll be in the building, Oscar De La Hoya will also be in the building. But, this is a business trip for the legendary boxer. His fighter, Ryan Garcia, is a possible opponent for Lopez.

That's why Teofimo says he extended an invite to The Golden Boy.

"I actually invited Oscar De La Hoya a couple weeks before he decided to make that announcement so it's been on his mind," Lopez said, referencing ODLH telling the media he was going to scout TL.

But, Lopez isn't convinced Ryan actually wants to fight.

"If you're gonna call me out, better keep that same energy 'cause after Saturday night, I don't want them to make some excuse. If you're gonna talk about it, be about it. I've seen Ryan Garcia call out so many fighters and yet, has fought one of them. I don't believe anything until it's on contract and it's on paper."

Megan Thee Stallion has finally responded to Dwyane Johnson’s animalistic desires … rather mildly we might add … probably because she has a boyfriend who’s watching things really closely.

Meg was a guest on SiriusXM to promote her new — and controversial — “Traumazine” album when she reacted to The Rock wishing to be her “pet” as promoting his “DC League of Super-Pets” film with Kevin Hart.

An overly astonished Meg appeared to hear the Rock’s statements for the first time … which is kinda crazy, considering her boyfriend Pardison Fountaine nearly had a cow over the comment earlier in the week.

Meg said the moment solidified her celebrity but didn’t take the megastar actor up on his offer all the same.

In a comment-and-delete scenario on Instagram, Pardison admitted his joke about The Rock’s wife using food seasoning didn’t land the way he hoped and offered up an explanation.

The “Traumazine” drama didn’t end there, however. Ahead of the album’s release, Megan’s now former label head Carl Crawford aired out her manager T. Farris to close the curtain on their relationship with a bang.

R. Kelly's fiancée, and the woman the world believed was his victim, Joycelyn Savage, just dropped a bomb ... claiming to be pregnant with the singer's baby.

Joycelyn reveals in her upcoming book she's several months pregnant, learning she was expecting after the disgraced artist sent her an engagement ring. She says Kelly is "extremely excited about the news," but wishes he could be there for the birth of their kid.

The big hole, obviously, is she never explains how the child was conceived -- R. Kelly has been locked up for over a year.

A lawyer for Joycelyn's parents tells TMZ they're still processing the news, but aren't willing to make a comment at this time.

As we reported, Joycelyn revealed the two were engaged through a letter sent to the judge ahead of his sentencing, asking for him to get a lenient sentence while claiming, "I'm not the victim that the government has portrayed me to be."

In her book, she refers to Azriel Clary, one of Kelly's other live-in GF's as "the other girl" ... saying she became bipolar and eventually "smeared my name all over social media" after returning to her family.

As you know, Azriel wanted out of the situation and tried getting Joycelyn to leave, too ... resulting in them landing blows on each other back in 2020.

Drake is saluting Rod Wave's skills as a nonverbal artist ... after the Florida rapper admitted his verses weren't good enough to make the cut of their proposed collaboration.

Back in 2021 when Drake was releasing his 3-song "Scary Hours" EP, he originally asked Rod to hop on a song for the mini project.

In a new interview with Complex, Rod admits he sat with the instrumental for weeks ... hoping for a creative spark to fuel an iconic moment but nada, nothing, zip -- came to mind.

Rod says he basically idolized Drake as a youth and felt bad about eventually declining the collaboration ... but felt confident in his decision to say no.

Drake respected the move so much, that he told Rod publicly in a comment for the interview!!!

The song would eventually still become a hit in the form of the "Lemon Pepper Freestyle" with Drake eventually swapping out Rod's spot for another Florida rapper ... by the name of Rick Ross.

If A$AP Rocky and Rihanna were at all concerned about his current legal battle, they certainly didn't show it during date night in NYC.

The new parents hit Emilio's Ballato Thursday, looking cool and casual. A$AP had what appeared to be a joint in his mouth, clutching a bottle of his Mercer & Prince booze.

RiRi showed off her legs with a black dress, white shirt, heels and sunglasses.

The outing comes on the heels of legal troubles for A$AP. As we reported, the "Fashion Killa" rapper is being sued for assault and battery by Terell Ephron AKA A$AP Relli ... over the alleged shooting that led to his arrest back in April.

Relli claims Rocky set up a meeting in Hollywood and pulled out a gun during the November confrontation ... firing multiple shots. Relli says he was hit by bullet fragments.

The Game's failed to get Eminem on a Verzuz battle ... so now he's trying to bait Slim Shady into responding with a diss track.

Game released his long-delayed "DRILLMATIC: Heart vs. Mind" album with 31 tracks ... but the song everyone is talking about on social media is the 10-minute Eminem diss song "The Black Slim Shady."

The Hit-Boy-produced track mostly comes off slapstick with the West Coast rapper using silly voices ... akin to Eminem's classic "Stan" track but Game does pepper the song with several personal attacks.

Disrespectful topics range Em's past pill-popping addictions, his songs only get played within white America and how Game believes Big Sean and 6ix9ine are better rappers.

50 Cent -- who also has been ignoring Game's Verzuz challenges -- also catches a few strays on the track ... mainly for his lack of rapping output these days.

Of course, Em is one of the biggest artists of all time -- actually the 2nd highest-selling -- behind Garth Brooks, but Game says his beef is for the spirit of hip hop culture ... which just celebrated its 49th birthday yesterday!

Chuck should be careful what he wishes for, though. In 2019, Eminem happily railroaded Fat Joe's "Lord Above" song with Mary J. Blige -- just to fire back at Nick Cannon.

A$AP Relli claims he's been receiving death threats after allegedly being shot by A$AP Rocky ... and his legal team says it's gotten so bad they had to contact law enforcement.

A$AP Relli's attorneys, Jamal Tooson and Brian Hurwitz, tell TMZ Hip Hop ... their client has been subjected to constant harassment online and being labeled "a snitch" following Rocky's arrest in April.

Although Relli did not initially come out publicly as the person on the other side of the altercation, A$AP Bari proverbially pointed the finger at Relli — labeling him a "rat" online, causing the harassment to really pick up from there.

We're told things have gotten so bad, Relli's been in intensive therapy to cope with the situation, claiming the ordeal has disrupted his sleep and impaired his mental state.

Relli's attorneys also rejected the notion Relli "snitched" on Rocky or the Mob ... insisting a "snitch" is someone who initially agrees to do illegal activity with another individual, but then rats out that person to law enforcement when things go south. They say that's simply not what happened here.

TMZ broke the story back in April ... Rocky was arrested for assault with a deadly weapon shortly after returning from Barbados before the birth of his child.

As we reported, Relli sued Rocky in civil court, claiming Rocky shot him after the two got into an argument and said he suffered physical harm and emotional distress as a result.

Chicago rap friends Polo G and G Herbo are being sued by a concert promoter for allegedly double booking concert dates in Tampa and Atlanta ... and now, the promoter is looking for $300K in damages.

According to legal docs, obtained by TMZ Hip Hop, Polo and Herbo signed contracts with concert promoter Charles Potter of NoNaNi Entertainment to perform at a festival in Tampa.

NoNaNi claims Polo got $105K and Herbo got around $43K in deposits.

NoNaNi claims to have dropped nearly $200K to pay for the venue, soundstage, lighting, advertising, promotion, and hosts such as Million Dollarz Worth Of Game hosts Gillie Da Kid & Wallo, Tonio Skits and Glo Jenna.

According to the lawsuit -- Polo G then booked and promoted an entirely different event in Tampa around the same time as the NoNaNi gig ... and G Herbo booked a different event in Atlanta that directly conflicted with the date of the NoNaNi show in Tampa.

NoNaNi claims both Chicago rappers also failed to promote the NoNaNi event on their social media, even though they agreed to do so in their contracts.

Meek Mill has landed a sweet new Hollywood deal with William Morris Endeavor -- this after bouncing from Jay-Z's Roc Nation management after 12 years.

Meek praised WME President Ari Greenburg Thursday for "opening the door" for his upcoming dives in the film, digital and books sectors ... as well as expanding business for his planned Culture Currency takeover.

Thursday became an unofficial Meek holiday and longtime friend/supporter Michael Rubin also hit "CBS Mornings" ... promoting their REFORM Alliance in efforts to fix inequalities within the criminal justice system.

Meek revealed he was dropping new "war-ready Dreamchasers music" in September ... but has been giving NBA stars Trae Young, Marcus and Markieff Morris (Meek's fellow Philly natives) exclusive practice music for the fastly approaching 2022-2023 season.

Things appear to be different for the veteran rapper following last year's disappointing "Expensive Pain" album where he railed against his label for lack of promotion.

He just dropped $200K on a Dreamchasers chain and the new deal should boost his rep with new talent.

Former NBA and college basketball standout Chris Webber is entering the cannabis biz via his new Player’s Only strain -- collaborating with several other rapper brands in the process!

On Thursday, C. Webb rolled out his Players Only strains C4, Time Out and G.O.A.T.’s Milk strains in addition to collaborations with Quavo’s BIRKINZ strain, Royce 5’9’s “Heaven” and Raekwon’s “Compliments Of The Chef” brand.

The Wu-Tang Clan legend’s company actually pays people to grow weed in their home state while Royce’s strain will double as an NFT.

And, the last time we checked with Quavo, his Birkin business was booming without any fear of copyright claims!

Naturally, C. Webb’s “Players Only” also lobs to athletes with cannabis companies and today’s launch reunites the Hall of Famer with his ex-Sacramento Kings teammate Jason Williams who has his “White Chocolate” strain, former Fab 5 teammate Ray Jackson and his Black Sox strain and former NBA champ and “All The Smoke” podcast co-host Matt Barnes, who launched “The Smoke” strain with Stephen Jackson.

Barnes was recently appointed Chief Collaborations Officer of PO and C. Webb calls it a big move for minorities and entrepreneurs alike.

For those who don’t know, C. Webb is quite the rap head … having produced for Nas' "Hip Hop Is Dead" album and even dropped a rap album towards the peak of his NBA career!

J. Cole's Dreamville artist JID is countering the current conversation sparked by Tory Lanez that 2022 hip hop music is in the dumps ... claiming it's a great year for the genre.

We caught up with the Atlanta-bred lyricist in Hollywood at DASH Radio as he readies his upcoming album "The Forever Story" ... and he's fully confident the new project won't have a problem penetrating the alleged "mid" landscape.

ICYMI, Tory basically called out the entire hip hop and R&B game for not bringing the excitement this year ... a take not only brushed off by JID but singer Tank all the same.

Tony Yayo recently did an interview with VladTV and disclosed J. Cole could've been in G-G-G-G-Unit before he ultimately signed with Jay-Z's Roc Nation imprint ... which would've altered JID's career indefinitely.

It's not uncommon for rappers to shop for deals nowadays and JID reveals he was actually being courted by Quality Control's Coach K ahead of his Dreamville contract!

JID says it's still all love with QC, Migos and them, as there's plenty of rap money for everyone in ATL. And, he actually has plenty of reasons to be pumped about his odds to beat the "mid-year."

Just yesterday, he released his "Dance Now" video which garnered nearly one million views in a day and the album is slated to feature the likes of 21 Savage, Russ, Lil Yachty, Ari Lennox and more!

Drake flipped the script for his 119 million Instagram followers this week by changing up his profile pic … a moment that surprised even the artist who created the portrait.

South African artist Siphesihle PM tells TMZ Hip Hop ... he was inspired by the music on Drake’s latest album “Honestly, Nevermind” … especially since it’s partly produced by hometown hero, Black Coffee.

BC scored a pair of tracks on the album and Siphesihle immediately created the oil painting on June 18 — a day after Drake dropped “HN” … coloring in details like Drizzy’s finger wave braids and diamond ring.

Siphesihle thought nothing of it for nearly two months, continuing to paint as usual, until Tuesday ... when he woke up to messages alerting him Drake had posted his work.

Siphesihle calls the recognition Drake gave on his profile and IG stories “an honor and huge accomplishment," as the megastar rapper is giving a budding artist a chance to showcase his work.

A$AP Rocky is now being sued over the alleged shooting that led to his arrest ... and the guy who says he's the victim is a former member of the rapper's group.

Rocky is being sued for assault and battery by Terell Ephron, a former A$AP Mob member who used to carry the moniker "A$AP Relli."

According to the lawsuit, obtained by TMZ, Ephron claims the shooting went down November 6 in Hollywood, where he says Rocky set up a meeting and initiated a verbal altercation leading to shots being fired.

In the docs, Ephron says Rocky pulled out a handgun during the dispute, pointed it at him and pulled the trigger ... firing multiple shots, with bullet fragments striking Ephron. Ephron claims he suffered injuries to his hand that required medical attention.

Remember ... A$AP was arrested at LAX back in April, with cops waiting for him to get off his private jet from Barbados and take him away in handcuffs.

Rocky was arrested for assault with a deadly weapon ... and police said it stemmed from the Nov. 6 shooting, where the alleged victim claimed Rocky shot at him multiple times, with at least one bullet grazing his hand. Cops also said Rocky knew the alleged victim.

There's some bad blood between the A$AP Mob and Relli ... with A$AP Bari claiming Relli snitched on Rocky, leading to the arrest.

Relli claims a large portion of the shooting incident was caught on camera ... which lines up with what LAPD sources told us back in April, when we first reported cops had footage of the alleged shooting in their possession.

Ephron is going after Rocky for damages ... he says he continues to suffer emotional distress as a result of the shooting and is losing out on work.

Ludacris is currently beaming with positivity -- even if the world is drenched in negativity.

We ran into Chris Lova Lova out in NYC … defending Snoop Dogg's gray dreadlocks and pounding the pavement in support of the 3rd season of his Netflix children’s special “Karma’s World” and he says the overall goal is to spread light and energy in the places that need it the most.

It’s been a helluva career for Luda, one he tells TMZ Hip Hop he can't believe bounced from blockbuster rap albums and movies to dropping his own toy line.

Luda, ever the proud Girl Dad with four daughters, also connected with Barbie toymaker Mattel for a line of 'Karma’s World' dolls -- with accessories ranging from microphones, portable stereos, high fashion sneakers -- y’know, everything needed for ladies to become the next big thing in rap!