TMZ Hip Hop - Page 50

Kanye West's "White Lives Matter" shirt is generating tons of attention -- mostly negative -- but now it's spawning fakes ... meaning the controversial shirts will pop up in public, even if Ye doesn't decide to sell 'em.

We've discovered several eBay listings where the long-sleeve shirts are found under listings like "Lives Matter-Kanye West-Candace Owens" and "Kanye Style All Lives Matter."

Interestingly, the listing descriptions don't include the word "White" ... but the actual shirts certainly have it in bold letters.

Our Kanye sources say the final decision will be up to him as to whether or not he'll decide to sell the actual design he wore at the Paris Yeezy show ... but at this time, it doesn't appear they'll be sold in any official capacity.

Regardless, some will say the damage is done ... while others clearly see potential profits. The fake eBay listings are going from anywhere between about $20-$25 ... a bargain considering Ye's usual merch sells for well over $100.

One more big difference between what Kanye wore at the Yeezy show Monday and the eBay gear -- Kanye's shirt had a photo of Pope John Paul II on the front -- the eBay gear only includes the "White Lives Matter" slogan.

As we reported, Kanye attacked Kim Kardashian and the Kardashian family Wednesday on Instagram -- accusing them of "kidnapping" his daughter, Chicago on her birthday and not letting him know where her birthday party was being held.

"Drink Champs" is, no doubt, one of the best hip hop platforms around ... but N.O.R.E. says Issa Rae is making him rethink how wild the show gets!!!

N.O.R.E. was at last weekend's BET Hip Hop Awards when Hot 107.9’s Lore’l asked him about Issa giving him the nickname "Messy-eaga," and it's clear he's not looking to own the title of media's new gossip king.

During the award show, the veteran MC ended up sharing the Best Hip Hop Platform Award with City Girls rapper Yung Miami.

And, while N.O.R.E. tipped his hat to Miami's new "Caresha Please" -- where guests also drink and spill their thoughts -- he's also promising to ease up on the drama on his show.

The infamous 'DC' episode featuring Irv Gotti's unsolicited Ashanti confession also came up -- N.O.R.E. admitted Gotti still has hard feelings over it, but says what's done is done.

BET's Best Hip Hop Platform award was centered on controversy, but not related to N.O.R.E.

Tekashi 6ix9ine's recent dustup with his girlfriend, Jade, is officially behind them ... at least legally speaking, because we've learned she's off the hook in her criminal case.

According to court records, the case against 69's boo -- which included a domestic violence battery charge -- has now been dismissed.

Sources with knowledge tell us Tekashi didn't have any plans to cooperate with law enforcement -- ironic, we know -- and that's likely why the whole thing was dropped.

Jade's attorney, Steven Bell, confirmed to TMZ that Tekashi's lack of cooperation was certainly one of the factors in the case being dropped. Bell also said prosecutors did a thorough review and felt they couldn't move forward.

You'll recall ... there was some sort of a scuffle at a club where they were partying, and 6ix9ine ended up facing off against Jade and a group of her friends in the street. Some of that was caught on video -- and you can see one of the women attempt to swing on him.

Cops eventually arrived on the scene, and Jade ended up getting cuffed and taken to jail.

He later told us he believed the girls Jade was hanging out with were having a bad influence on her ... and that he didn't hold the altercation against her whatsoever.

Tekashi bailed her out, STAT ... and even when a court order was issued saying she had to stay away from him, he stuck by her side -- telling us it would all blow over soon enough.

Kanye West is doubling down on his "White Lives Matter" stance ... and explaining his thought process behind the controversial clothing.

Ye took to IG Wednesday to respond to the latest round of backlash surrounding the 'WLM' shirt he debuted earlier this week at his fashion show ... and it's clear he's digging in his heels on this issue.

For Kanye, the meaning behind the shirt is pretty cut and dry ... white lives do matter.

Of course, Kanye's catching heat from all angles ... including a scathing response from Black Lives Matter, who feel Ye is pulling a stunt and hurting folks fighting for justice.

Still, Ye's latest statement is way more subdued than his initial defense ... when he labeled BLM a "scam."

Joey Bada$$ made a powerful statement at the 2022 BET Hip Hop Awards ... urging rappers to stop delivering messages that lead to their demise, or the death of others.

During his performance of his "2000" album cut “Head High," Joey lined up 12 backup dancers ... each with a slain rapper's name embroidered on their hoodie.

In chronological order of their deaths, Joey honored Scott La Rock, Tupac Shakur, The Notorious B.I.G., Big L, Soulja Slim, XXXTENTACION, Nipsey Hussle, Pop Smoke, King Von, Young Dolph, Trouble and PnB Rock -- all who fell victim to gun violence between 1987 and last month ... when PnB was killed. 😕

Joey went on to argue rappers are spurring their own genocide, and preached the culture needs to take accountability for the message it's delivering to kids.

He also slammed the popular slang term "op" a.k.a. enemy ... contending that war is being fought within rappers' own circles.

The New York rapper isn't the only one from his rap generation to decry the rap murder rate -- just a few weeks ago, Rich Homie Quan told us the "shoot 'em up, bang-bang music" is a problem for everyone who hears it.

Rick Ross says his "Boss" brand is being copied, threatening to sue the woman behind an upcoming kid's event unless she changes the name to something that doesn't give off that Maybach Music glow.

Rozay's team sent out a warning shot to Tiffany McIntosh of "I’m the Biggest Boss Conference" ... after accusing her of using a couple of his biggest hits -- singles "The Boss" and "Push It" -- to promote her conference designed to shape children into entrepreneurs.

The legendary rapper also notes he has his own "Boss Up Conference" that went down this past September, and Ross insists her conference is likely to cause confusion that he's sponsoring her event.

According to the letter, Rozay says he wants to solve the matter amicably -- and spare Tiffany the litigation hassle, but only if she takes "Boss" out of her conference title and stops using his music to promote it.

Tiffany's event also has a celebrity connotation -- with scheduled appearances from Master P, Romeo Miller and Vivica Fox ... but Rozay wants his name, brand, and music kept out of it.

Ross said he wants his demands met by October 5th ... but we're told Tiffany does not intend to make the changes and plans to go forward with the event as is. Ross' legal counsel tells us they'll evaluate the situation accordingly if there's a failure to comply.

Diddy's had enough of the narrative he's a greedy, self-centered label boss who steals from his artists ... and he says he's now fighting for his reputation!!!

The newly minted Love Records CEO hit "The Breakfast Club" Wednesday to tackle a bunch of topics ... including Kanye West's "White Lives Matter" controversy, and his former artist Ma$e's contract dispute with Fivio Foreign.

Diddy praised Kanye for being a "free thinker" and said he wouldn't condemn him as a person. For his part, Charlamagne said that excuses Ye's behavior ... but Diddy did call Ye's controversial T-shirt "unnecessary noise" and "tone deaf."

He also dubbed Ye's sidekick, Candace Owens ... "Karen Owens," because her real name is too Black.

Diddy says now is the time for Black lives to matter more than ever, and promised to poach high-profile executives from every business imaginable to get his people in good standing.

Elsewhere in the convo, Diddy was far less forgiving towards Ma$e ... alleging the former Bad Boy rapper owes him $3 million, and boldly declared all thieves should have their hands sliced off!

Nonetheless, Diddy says Ma$e abandoned the label -- only to become a "fake" pastor who ran to Atlanta to scam people following the success of his debut album.

Diddy says he's been scapegoated all these years for his ex-artists' failed careers, and people like Ma$e tend to push something he calls a "tap-out button" ... a convenient exit when the going gets tough.

The 'BC' crew also interrogated Diddy about his girlfriend Yung Miami's brand new series "Caresha Please" tying for Best Hip Hop Platform with "Drink Champs" at the 2022 BET Hip Hop Awards.

Charlamagne jokingly accused Diddy of paying off the judges ... which Diddy naturally denied but still basked in the fact both shows were owned by his REVOLT TV hub.

Mo money, mo problems still ring true in Diddy's world after all these years!!!

Memphis rapper BlocBoy JB sent out some alarming tweets last week, hinting he's navigating some troubled waters -- but now he's seeking treatment and opening up to TMZ Hip Hop about it.

We caught the Shoot Dance creator at LAX and picked his brain a bit regarding his soul-baring post. The Memphis rapper made it clear he was in dire straits ... flat out saying he wasn't going to "make it" if he couldn't get his mind right.

BlocBoy says his label, Interscope, hasn't reached out, aside from an A&R -- but he was forthcoming with us in revealing his music career isn't the cause of the pain.

He admits feeling the pressure of being the top provider in his circle, and having so many close friends die at a young age has been tough for him.

On the bright side, BlocBoy says his closest kin reached out following the tweet, which is great, especially since he really seems to gravitate toward loyalty.

It's been an amazing past few years for BlocBoy ... beginning in 2018 when he hit it big with his Drake-assisted "Look Alive" single.

The song would go on to sell 5x platinum ... predating the current Memphis rap boom highlighted by NLE Choppa, Moneybagg Yo, GloRilla and many more.

He also tells us there are plans for him to release a new project this winter ... but we need ya healthy first, BlocBoy!!!

Rihanna is finally breaking her silence on her hugely anticipated Super Bowl halftime performance ... telling us exactly how she feels leading up to the big day and even offering a tiny hint at who might join her onstage.

RiRi was shopping at Bristol Farms Tuesday in L.A., and of course we had to ask about the big game. At first, Rihanna says she feels "nervous" for the performance, but says she's excited to hit the stage.

We then shifted the convo to who might join her for a song or two. TMZ broke the story, we were told there's a roster of close to 50 names of possibilities ... basically almost anyone she's collabed with in the past.

While Rihanna wasn't offering up any info, we pressed about the possibility of her longtime bf and baby daddy, A$AP Rocky hitting the stage -- RiRi shrugged and finally did say something.

Rihanna's halftime show will mark her big comeback to music, it's been 6 years since she last released an album, when she dropped "Anti" in 2016.

Miguel's marriage is no longer a sure thing ... because his model wife just filed for divorce.

The "Sure Thing" singer's high school sweetheart, Nazanin Mandi, beelined it to court Tuesday and filed to divorce Miguel after nearly 3 years of marriage.

According to the documents, obtained by TMZ, Miguel's wife is citing irreconcilable differences as the reason for the split and she says there is a prenup.

Miguel and Nazanin reportedly announced in September 2021 they were separating after 17 years together ... but he seemed to hint they were back together in February, when he posted a photo dump of them on Instagram with the caption, "Love heals. Proud of us."

The couple was photographed together as recently as July and in the docs, Nazanin does not list a date of separation ... that section of the paperwork says "TBD."

Miguel met Nazanin when he was 18 and they got engaged in 2016, before tying the knot in November 2018. They did not have any children together.

Post Malone is showin' some love to his new baby girl in a totally fitting way -- it appears he's inked his daughter's initials on some prime real estate.

Sources close to Post tell TMZ ... he got the new piece backstage after his Indianapolis show Sunday night by tattoo artist Chad Rowe.

Now, Post has yet to reveal his daughter's full name ... but we're told this new tat was definitely in her honor, so we're assuming the bold "DDP" on his forehead are her initials. Let the guessing begin!

FYI, Chad's no stranger to PM ... he's the same artist who did his "Always Tired" face tattoos back in 2018.

We broke the story that Posty was expecting his first child with his girlfriend in May. He then announced the birth of his daughter by subtly dropping the news while on Howard Stern in June.

Fat Joe says he's never been robbed at gunpoint, but people in business suits have been robbing him blind for years!!!

Joe Crack hopped on "The Breakfast Club" Tuesday ahead of the BET Hip Hop Awards ... and started venting about the alleged Ponzi scheme he claims his longtime accounting firm, BDO, cooked up.

TMZ Hip Hop broke the story ... Joey's suing BDO, alleging the firm ripped off millions from him, as well as several professional baseball players

Joe says he was embarrassed finding out about the caper -- the mortgage company called him to inform him he had missed several payments, alerting his suspicions to the scheme.

The lawsuit accuses Joe's CPA Andre N. Chammas and his assistant Vanessa Rodriguez of going to town on his dime ... allegedly pulling cash out of ATMs for personal use such as children's school tuition and swiping his AMEX without a care in the world.

Joe's advice to his fellow money-makers ... don't trust anyone with your wealth!!! The Terror Squad rapper thinks simply having someone overseeing your money isn't good enough ... that person needs an overseer as well.

Jay-Z is eyeing a new blueprint these days -- the evolution of pizza making and delivery ... all carried out by robots!!!

The hip-hop entrepreneur's venture capital firm Marcy Venture Partners recently invested $16.5 million into California-based Stellar Pizza ... a mobile-truck company with a unique twist on flipping pies.

Started by a trio of former SpaceX engineers, Stellar Pizza boasts the ability to make ready-to-eat pizzas in less than 5 minutes, and one truck has the capacity to produce 420 pizzas before needing a re-up.

In light of the new funding, Stellar Pizza truck is set to test its product on the best subjects available: college students.

The first truck is scheduled to appear on the USC campus this fall.

Kanye West's "White Lives Matter" T-shirt is the can of worms he just can't close ... and one of his former collaborators is gutting him over one of the rants that followed his fashion statement.

The fiery response comes from Tremaine Emory ... the creative director over at Supreme, who took great exception to Ye using the late Virgil Abloh as a metaphor for his latest plight.

Ye accused LVMH CEO Bernard Arnault of "killing" Virgil ... doubling down on his belief Virgil was overworked while he battled terminal cancer in his final days, but Tremaine just isn't having it.

Tremaine accused Ye of knowing about Virgil's cancer before he died, yet still opting to rip his career choices -- specifically, he claims Ye called Virgil’s designs "a disgrace to the Black community."

That would stand in stark contradiction to the special Sunday Service Ye held the day after Virgil's death.

Virgil was mourned at a star-studded funeral in December 2021 ... with the likes of Drake, Rihanna, Tyler, The Creator, A$AP Rocky and more in attendance, but Ye left an unhappy camper.

Ye had complained he wasn't able to speak at Virgil's funeral but Tremaine says Ye's behavior was to blame ... that it prevented him from being invited to the private gathering beforehand.

Tremaine also defended Vogue fashion editor Gabriella Karefa-Johnson from Ye's recent attacks, who was doxxed after she stepped up to criticize the "White Lives Matter" shirt.

He finished his post by painting Ye as a narcissist still seeking props from the fashion world ... which sounds like something Sway said like 10 years ago!!!

The Black Lives Matter movement is going after Kanye West for the controversial "White Lives Matter" shirt he wore to his YZY Show, saying it's nothing but a stunt to hurt folks fighting for justice.

In a statement to TMZ, BLM says ... "While some may see Kanye and Candace's stunt as a distraction, we recognize that it harms thousands of families fighting for justice for their loved ones killed by state-sanctioned violence."

BLM's also ripping Candace Owens -- who also wore the shirt -- for what they view as spreading "toxic confusion" ... claiming the shirts, and phrasing, can be "used to legitimize violent assaults on Black people."

Kanye should know better, BLM says, telling us ... "Kanye knows very well that 'white lives' have never been targeted for oppression. Black folks, in contrast, are at the bottom of virtually every economic, social, and political measure because of centuries of individual and institutional racism."

For his part, Kanye says he wore the "White Lives Matter" shirt at his fashion show because he thinks BLM "was a scam."

Naturally, BLM disagrees ... they say the movement will benefit everyone in the long run because "when Black people get free, everybody gets free."

Lil Kim is reaffirming her allegiance with Cardi B ... and probably at the perfect time too, because her BFF just might be heading into a full-scale rap war.

The legendary rapper is set to kick off BET's "Rap City" reboot, and in an upcoming interview with host Big Tigger ... Kim gushed over her friendship with Cardi, and even admitted to taking her advice when it comes to navigating life and career.

We're told the early episodes will feature appearances from DJ Drama, Remy Ma, Rapsody, G Herbo, Ice Spice and more ... with the premiere coming tonight at 8 PM ET/PT.

Kim's allegiance to Cardi is just the latest development in the female rap battle -- things are getting extremely feisty in the wake of Cardi and City Girl rapper JT's recent spat online.

On Monday, JT congratulated GloRilla for her first entry into the Billboard Hot 100 top 10 ... her "Tomorrow 2" single co-starring Cardi B -- only JT didn't name Cardi, prompting fans to instigate.

JT recently appeared on Nicki Minaj's "Super Freaky Girl (Remix)" ... so saluting Cardi B would be considered a slap in the face in the Barbz' eyes.

However, the Twitter chatter alerted Cardi ... and she proceeded to lay into JT for needing her help to pad City Girls' video stats. JT didn't let the criticism slide and then chastised Cardi for using writers to help with her songs.

The pettiness didn't end there ... Nicki entered the fray by changing her Twitter avatar to a photo of JT -- to which Cardi countered by changing her avatar to Nicki's longtime nemesis Remy Ma.