TMZ Hip Hop - Page 50

Styles P, one of Verzuz most valuable players, says he'll cut ties with the livestream event if Triller can't figure things out with Swizz Beatz and Timbaland ... and he's urging the hip hop community to do the same.

We spoke with the LOX rapper Wednesday who says if he was on Triller's board, he'd do anything possible to make it right with Swizz and Timbo, the founders of Verzuz.

TMZ broke the story, Swizz and Timbaland filed a $28 million lawsuit against Triller Tuesday claiming Triller has missed significant payments since acquiring Verzuz in 2021.

Styles P says if those allegations are true, it feels like some serious culture vulture conduct, and he's advising the entire hip hop community to distance itself from the livestream giant if nothing is resolved.

Interestingly enough, when we spoke to Timbaland at the height of the Verzuz movement, he was pretty confident that selling the hot commodity would ruin the magic ... and while the magic isn't necessarily ruined, it's certainly going through some tough times.

Antonio Brown has been making waves with his custom dance for his "Put That Sh*t On" single … and he's using his signature moves honed on the football field to make a big splash.

AB tells TMZ Hip Hop ... he’s currently in the middle of finalizing a couple of deals to fund the "Put That Sh*t On" music vid … which should be an explosive and fashionable affair.

The former All-Pro NFL Star released his "Paradigm" album with the "Put That Sh*t On" single back in April and has been in rap mode since ... even performing the song on the coveted Rolling Loud stage.

AB is lining up the aesthetics for the vid, AB will feature Kanye's Gap displays as well as some unreleased Ye items. There will also be plenty of flashy bling!

Judging from his recent Tom Brady comments, it appears making music is AB's career choice ... at least at the moment.

Mattel is taking a snack company to court over a Nicki Minaj-themed chip that shares the name with everyone's favorite plastic doll.

Legal docs, obtained by TMZ, show Mattel filed a lawsuit in L.A. federal court last week against snack brand Rap Snacks ... claiming they "made the deliberate and calculated choice to launch a new product line using Mattel's famous BARBIE trademark."

Nicki is not being sued.

Rap Snacks recently launched its new "Barbie-Que Honey Truffle Chips" -- with Nicki front and center on the packaging. For those unaware, Nicki's known for calling herself a "Barbie" in her music, with her fanbase even being known as "The Barbz."

Mattel's claiming they weren't approached by the snack company prior to releasing their latest flavor ... and even tried to reach out to them to come to an agreement.

However, they say Rap Snacks "refused to cease use of the BARBIE trademark and issued no corrective advertising, thereby forcing Mattel to bring this lawsuit as a last resort to protect its rights and prevent further consumer confusion."

R. Kelly's child pornography case from 2008 was front and center during opening statements in his new Chicago criminal trial ... something his attorney claims is a witch hunt.

Prosecutors kicked things off Wednesday in front of a jury, saying ... "The defendant, Robert Kelly, had sex with multiple children. He made videotapes of himself having sex with children," while also pointing at 2 co-defendants, ex-associates of Kelly's, whom they claim knew about it while it was going on and allegedly helped keep things quiet.

The woman at the center of the '08 case -- who was alleged to have been videotaped in sexual encounters with Kelly, at the age of 14 -- was mentioned too. She was referred to by prosecutors as "Jane" ... and they say she's going to testify in this case about what happened with RK.

According to prosecutors, Kelly went to incredible lengths to buy Jane and her family's silence at the time ... allegedly shipping them out of the country on his dime, and having his employees move mountains to conceal her identity or any connection to some tapes.

There are 4 tapes in play during this trial, and prosecutors say they'll have the jury watch three of them. At least one of those tapes appears to pertain directly to the alleged '08 victim, and the remaining ones might have to do with other alleged victims from over the years.

Prosecutors have accused Kelly of having sex with at least 4 minors, as well as rigging the '08 trial ... in which he was acquitted. Kelly's attorney, however, fired back.

Jennifer Bonjean, who's now repping Kelly, said her client was the victim of a mob mentality prosecution -- one that she says is way too late, and clearly intended to paint him as a monster, even though he's already been through this wringer once before.

She called his accusers "criminals" who have tried to extort Kelly, and who actually have immunity deals with these same prosecutors. Bonjean also said that one tape prosecutors have alluded to, but won't play, doesn't exist -- and leaned on the fact that the Jane Doe (who's the '08 alleged victim) has long maintained she is not on tape with Kelly.

A$AP Rocky has pled not guilty to felony firearms charges.

A$AP showed up at the Downtown L.A. criminal courthouse Wednesday all suited up for his arraignment. Arraignments are quick, and this was no exception. A$AP entered his plea to both charges of assault with a semiautomatic firearm.

A$AP walked confidently to the podium with his lawyer, Sara Caplan of O.J. Simpson fame.

His bond was set at $550k and the preliminary hearing was set for November.

As we reported, A$AP is accused of firing shots at A$AP Relli during a dispute in Hollywood back in November. Relli claims bullet fragments struck him, causing an injury to his hand. He is suing Rocky over the incident.

You'll recall ... he was arrested at LAX back in April after landing in a private jet with Rihanna.

Neither Jay-Z or Nas took the stage for Dr. Dre's iconic Super Bowl LVI halftime show, but the legendary producer is crediting them BOTH for saving the event.

On Wednesday, a clip from Dolvett Quince's "Workout the Doubt" podcast surfaced, with an interview with Dr. Dre. The legendary producer admitted he had reservations about looking like a Super Bowl sellout in the aftermath of the Colin Kaepernick protests.

Dre recalls when pondering his decision, he hopped on the phone with Nas, who was able to convince his longtime friend the SB performance would be monumental for the culture.

Together with Snoop Dogg, Eminem, Kendrick Lamar and Mary J. Blige, the halftime show was nominated for 5 Primetime Emmy Awards -- with massive viewership.

Dre says Jay-Z, whose Roc Nation company produced the halftime show with Jesse Collins, also gave him advice on the stage design.

Chris Brown and Lil Baby's show was at risk, though only for a short period of time, of getting canceled ... but a judge has decided the show will go on.

Ms. LaJuan Bailey, through her real estate company, filed legal docs asking the court to step in and block CB and co. from performing Wednesday at the Toyota Center in Houston ... a scheduled stop in his national 'One of Them Ones' tour, which is in full swing.

The paperwork, obtained by TMZ, is trying to achieve a few things -- first, filing a restraining order to prevent Chris from hitting the stage ... and second, asking Chris to address why he missed a charity gig in the area earlier this year.

We spoke to a source inside the courtroom who tells us the judge was quick to throw out the restraining order ... allowing Wednesday's show to happen.

As we reported, Bailey made a stink last month after claiming Chris bailed last minute on a hurricane benefit relief concert after Bailey claims to have shelled out $1 million to get Chris there.

Chris' camp denied her account, telling us there were contract stipulations that weren't met, and Chris gave at least a 2-day notice before canceling. He even tried forking over a 6-figure donation to make things right, but that apparently wasn't enough.

T.I. allegedly punched The Chainsmokers' member Andrew "Drew" Taggart in the face after a wild night in the club … which allegedly included an unsolicited kiss on the cheek.

Drew and his fellow Chainsmokers' DJ Alexander "Alex" Pall posted their Tip chronicles on TikTok, and captioned the encounter "When meeting T.I. Goes wrong."

Drew shamelessly admitted to kissing T.I. on the cheek ... chalking it up to being too comfortable around the megastar rapper. He says T.I. returned the kiss with a punch to the face, and turned to Alex, instructing him to "get your boy."

An exasperated T.I. woke up on Wednesday morning and went on Instagram to invite The Chainsmokers to his "ExpediTIously" podcast and attempt to hold in laughter retelling the story.

Battle rapper Pat Stay's public challenge to The Game for his Eminem-dissing "Black Slim Shady" song has backfired … resulting in Game blocking him on Instagram, which is not the expected outcome from the typically confrontational artist.

In a fiery Instagram post Tuesday, Pat Stay claimed the veteran rapper was looking weak for allegedly begging for Eminem's attention by dropping the 10-minute track. Pat, who is white, apparently thinks Game wanted Em to respond, but he did not.

Game groused in the song ... Eminem only became successful because he was white. Pat wanted to show Game that white rappers have game, so he offered to battle Game in his hometown of L.A. with lots of $$$ on the line.

Game didn't take the challenge ... rather, he just blocked Pat. It's curious, because Game recently said in a No Jumper interview he'd never block anyone -- because that would be like losing a fan.

Pat eventually gave up and told his fans to lay off Game ... he didn't want to start a war with the L.A. legend.

Swizz Beatz and Timbaland created a super popular rap battle show, and now they're doing legal battle with the company to which they sold their idea ... in the form of a $28 million lawsuit!

The big time music producers are suing Triller, claiming the video-sharing social networking service failed to pay up for the cash cow Swizz and Timbaland dreamed up -- Verzuz.

According to the lawsuit, obtained by TMZ, Swizz and Timbaland agreed to sell Verzuz to Triller back in January 2021 … but they say Triller defaulted on the deal after only two payments.

Swizz and Timbaland say they settled with Triller after the initial default, but they say Triller played the same game as before ... making one installment and then not paying up the remaining balance.

The music moguls are going after Triller for more than $28 million … plus interest.

We reached out to Triller ... so far no word back.

A$AP Rocky is in hot water after being charged with assault for a shooting in Hollywood ... and the alleged victim couldn't be happier.

Jamal Tooson, the attorney for A$AP Relli, tells TMZ ... his client feels vindicated the justice system worked for him, despite the stature of Rocky.

Tooson says Relli's life was shattered by the experience ... Relli says even though he wasn't hit by a bullet, he came within inches of death, and the experience has had a profound psychological impact on him.

The lawyer goes on to say Rocky is so powerful in Hollywood and specifically in the music industry, Relli, who is a music producer, felt he would not be believed and drummed out of the business. He believed if he pressed the case, people would just dismiss it as a money grab.

Relli says his faith in the justice system has been restored, because both the police and the D.A. believed him enough to file 2 serious felony charges against Rocky.

Relli sued Rocky in civil court last week, claiming Rocky fired multiple shots at him with a semiautomatic firearm, resulting in injuries to his hand after being struck by bullet fragments that required medical attention. Relli's attorneys told us since the shooting he's been the victim of online harassment, including death threats.

Fresh off his contributions on The Game’s latest album, Hit-Boy has just taken on a new digital gig ... curating the musical sounds of the upcoming "Madden NFL 23."

The platinum-selling Grammy-winning producer announced the move Tuesday, expressing the passion gridiron Sundays gives him when creating music.

Hit-Boy produced a jaw-dropping 33 beats for in-game play, while selecting the likes of Kendrick Lamar, Wiz Khalifa, Ty Dolla $ign, Erica Banks, Cordae and his "King’s Disease" collaborator Nas for the soundtrack.

Sources close to the situation tell TMZ Hip Hop the third installment of “King’s Disease” is being worked on as we speak, arguably making Hit-Boy the hardest working producer of 2022.

This year alone, Hit worked on Beyoncé's No. 1 “Renaissance” album, dropped his own “Corsa” single with Dom Kennedy, and gave The Game a template to diss Eminem for 10 minutes straight.

R&B visionary Steve Lacy has a permanent reminder from the last time he hung with Kanye West -- a matching arm tattoo they got with Lil Uzi Vert.

The trio of Geminis inked arms with the phrase “We here forever technically” last week -- a slogan Steve told TMZ Hip Hop at LAX Tuesday, speaks to the longevity of their music -- even after they pass away.

Steve says he's excited reminiscing on last week’s ink-spilling moment … but tells us he’s not locked in the studio with Kanye whatsoever at the moment, he just enjoys being in his presence as their friendship continues to build.

Even without a scheduled collaboration, Steve has already earned Ye’s respect -- via a public praising of his latest album “Gemini Rights.”

Rick Ross and his family are under fire in Mississippi for allegedly skimming money from the wages of their Wingstop workers -- and now they've been hit with fines.

The U.S. Department of Labor says they hit Boss Wings Enterprises LLC -- Rick Ross's company -- with a $114,427 fine for back wages and other penalties after the agency determined their franchises were violating labor laws.

Unclear what period of time this covers exactly, but the DOL claims that after an investigation into 5 locations -- all owned and operated by Boss Wings -- they found many of the employees were taking home less than $7.25/hour after factoring in all the deductions --  a big no-no under the minimum wage laws on the books.

The reason ... DOL alleges the owners of these specific franchises were forcing workers to pay for uniforms, basic safety training, background checks and cash register shortages.

The department also claims the bosses at these 5 restaurants were, in many instances, working their employees to the bone ... making them work overtime without properly compensating them and not keeping clean time records on hand.

Not just this, but DOL claims they found one instance when a 15-year-old employee worked past 10 PM several times in June 2021 -- which the agency claims ran afoul of a law prohibiting workers that young from working past 7 PM.

All in all, the DOL hit Boss Wings with $51,674 in back wages/damages for 244 workers -- and additional fines of nearly $63,000.

A labor official says, "Restaurant industry employees work hard, often for low wages, and many depend on every dollar earned to make ends meet. The law prevents Boss Wing Enterprises LLC from shifting operating costs to workers by deducting the costs of uniforms, cash register shortages or training expenses, or to allow a worker’s pay to fall below the minimum wage rate."

Brittney Griner's plan to appeal her 9-year Russian prison sentence over a weed pen is underway ... but Onyx rapper Fredro Starr feels there are bigger political forces in play.

In a new interview clip from VladTV, Fredro actually admitted to smoking plenty of weed on Russian soil on several occasions!!!

According to Fredro's travels, Russia not only has better weed than top dog California, but they grow it too ... and from the picture he paints, recreational use sounds pretty common in the region.

He also suggests the country's hip hop scene is very liberal, alluding to the notion a 9-year punishment for a simple weed pen doesn't add up.

Griner officially filed her appeal on Monday, in conjunction with the United States government actively working for her release, calling her detainment unjust.

The last time we talked to Fredro, he was talking about a different kind of smoking ... as in torching Cypress Hill during their somewhat underpromoted Verzuz.

The Roots’ frontman Black Thought has been wowing audiences for decades with his raw rap style … without having the same solo recognition as his peers.

BT addressed notions he was an “underrated” talent during a recent interview with Zane Lowe for Apple Music to promote his new joint album with Danger Mouse.

According to the Philly rapper, random opinions don’t really affect him, despite hearing the word “underrated” in all of his interviews.

BT says people whose perspectives are valued by him have always rated him properly, so that’s where he places his trust.

Black Thought and Danger Mouse dropped their "Cheat Codes" collaborative album last week with features from A$AP Rocky, Russ, Joey Bada$$ and even a posthumous contribution from MF DOOM.

BT has been releasing albums since the 90s and has been regularly starring on "The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon" with The Roots for many years.

Calling him underrated feels like an overreach at this point.