TMZ Hip Hop - Page 50

Kanye West is hitting the town again with Brazilian model Juliana Nalú -- this time catchin' a flick together ... and, no, he did not wear the "White Lives Matter" shirt. This time.

Ye and Juliana hit up a movie theater Sunday night in Hollywood ... getting a pair of tickets for Swedish filmmaker Ruben Östlund's "Triangle of Sadness."

On the surface, not a great title for date night, but hey ... it's Ye.

The 24-year-old model was reppin' some of his merch once again -- the "2024" hat he's shown off online and worn in the past.

These 2 had already been out and about recently -- they checked into a hotel together Thursday in Beverly Hills ... and followed that up with dinner Saturday night at Giorgio Baldi in Santa Monica.

FYI -- Juliana's had modeling on her mind for a loooong time ... telling Latina Magazine she knew it was in her blood since she was 6.

Fabolous wanted to wish his two-year-old daughter Journey a happy birthday ... but was quickly met with opposition from his estranged stepdaughter Taina Williams.

Fab posted a fairly cryptic message on Instagram Monday to celebrate the child's big day, speaking in codes about having faith while adding up her birthdates to establish symbolism for her life.

His original post got love from several of Fab's rap friends such as Busta Rhymes, Jadakiss, Ludacris and more ... but Taina would hear none of it and proceeded to scold him for allegedly being an absent daddy-o these last couple of years.

Fabolous and Emily B, Tania and Journey's mother, ended their longtime relationship earlier this year after nearly four years of marriage ...but according to Taina's tea, he's just gaslighting the situation and only keeps up his relationship with her brothers because the male-bonding is perfect for manipulation.

Fab and Emily infamously hit a rough patch in 2018 ... when Fab was accused of knocking out two of her teeth during a dispute that brought both sides of the family.

Cardi B injected new life into rising New York rapper Ice Spice's viral hit "Munch (Feelin' U)" with a sample rap over the weekend ... but that seems to be where the remixing starts and stops on her end.

The Bronx rap star got fans -- and Ice Spice -- riled up after sharing a snippet of a freestyle over the 'Munch' beat where she slammed "bum hoes" for not being on her level, but smiles were quickly turned upside down when she shot down plans of ever releasing the song.

According to Cardi, she was just "having fun" and didn't love her verse enough to put it out officially.

The exposure will still go the distance in helping Ice Spice solidify her budding career which has been a whirlwind affair, best highlighted by Drake unfollowing the young artist on Instagram after the two hung out in his Toronto backyard during OVO Fest '22 this past August.

Ice recently addressed Drake's IG unfollow during her first BET Hip Hop Awards ... and said she has no hard feelings about Champagne Papi's cold shoulder ... but also doesn't know why he did it.

'Munch' recently made its Billboard Hip Hop chart debut ... largely from the support of TikTok and social media ... so Ice is just happy to get a boost wherever she can!!!

If anyone knows about surviving a shooting, it's 50 Cent ... that's why the rap legend shouted out Commanders RB Brian Robinson on social media,  celebrating the 3rd round draft pick for playing just six weeks after he was shot twice.

"That s**t ain’t stop nothing, 👀when God has bigger plans it’s just a bump in the road. @b.robinson_4 right back in action 💪🏽," 50 wrote on Instagram Monday morning.

50, of course, was famously shot 9 times in 2000 ... and miraculously survived.

23-year-old Robinson returned to the field on Sunday ... after being shot in his butt and leg on August 28th. The Commanders lost to the Titans, 21-17, but Robinson ran the ball 9 times for 22 yards.

Robinson -- who had surgery after the shooting -- was medically cleared to play last week ... but the team wanted to give the rookie ball carrier a little extra time to heal.

It was well worth the wait for fans ... who were clearly pumped to see Robinson. When he ran onto the field before kickoff, he received one of the loudest ovations.

After the game, someone on the internet put Fif's song "Many Men" -- largely about his shooting -- to video of Robinson running onto the field for the first time ... and it's pretty damn cool.

Xzibit says he's super stoked to toke in light of President Biden pardoning weed possession inmates -- but says people should understand, it's just one small step in the right direction.

The Golden State rap warrior chopped it up with TMZ Hip Hop to add his 2 cents to the brewing cannabis conversation, and while he commended the Prez for cutting federal prisoners the break ... he says the majority of federal marijuana-related convictions will remain intact.

X says there's a lot more the feds -- and individual governors -- can do to ensure no one is incarcerated for Mary Jane.

Already one of hip hop's most trusted cannabis CEOs ... X kicked down doors with his previous company, Brass Knuckles, which blossomed into his current booming biz, Napalm.

We also asked him about his famous 420 shoutouts from 50 Cent's iconic hit "In da Club" off the diamond-selling "Get Rich or Die Tryin'" album .. and he tells us the nod followed him around for years.

Xzibit also revealed during the convo that after 4 decades of blazing mics, he's calling it a career at the top of next year with his final album, "King Maker."

X admits he still has love for the craft and culture of being an MC ... but at this stage of his life, he has other obligations -- including family -- that needs his time the most.

LeBron James went full Sicko Mode for Bronny's big 18th birthday party ... losing his mind and dancing during Travis Scott's surprise performance -- and it was LIT!!

The James Gang pulled out all the stops for the Sierra Canyon hooper's celebration ... renting out Harriet's Rooftop bar in West Hollywood for all his friends.

The highlight of the night came when La Flame grabbed the mic and performed for the crowd  ... doing his biggest hits like "Butterfly Effect," "goosebumps" and "Sicko Mode."

King James and Bronny were clearly feeling the show ... rapping along and jumping up and down.

It's another step forward for Scott ... who has slowly made his return to performing after the Astroworld Festival tragedy in November 2021.

While most ragers tend to include alcohol, word is all drinks were kid-friendly (maybe in 3 years, Bronny) ... and there was plenty of pizza and ice cream to go around, according to Daily Mail.

Rapper SoFaygo also took the mic at the party ... with Bronny standing on stage with him throughout his set.

LeBron gave a special tribute to Bronny on Thursday ... saying, "I'm so proud of the young man you've become kid!" he said.

"Continue to be YOU throughout your journey because it's simply better that way! And I'll be right beside you whenever/however needed! Love you Young 🤴🏾"

The crowd at Kushstock did exactly what they wanted to do -- get super stoned -- because one of the acts swapped out a simple fog machine for weed smoke that got blasted into the audience!!!

Rapper Chucky Chuck gave his fans an experience they'll never forget, though the memory might be a little foggy ... posting the vid from this weekend's festival in Adelanto, CA with a caption that says, "F*** a fog machine."

The artist says he worked with 2 custom cannabis creation companies to make the impossible possible -- building what looks like a leaf blower attached to a big pipe -- with a bunch of weed inside, of course.

It looks like the audience was loving -- and inhaling -- every second of it ... it's called Kushstock for a reason, people.

Lizzo acknowledged the fact Kanye West name-dropped her on primetime television to decry obesity -- but it sounds like she's taking the high road ... straight to Canada, apparently.

The singer was performing at Toronto's Scotiabank Arena Friday when she stopped at one point in the show to address Ye's comments about her during his appearance on Tucker Carlson's show this week -- and her response was to seek refuge there up north.

Lizzo says everyone in America has something to say about her, this while she just minds her business. She prefaced that with "fat, Black, beautiful" to hit her point home.

She then asks if she can stick around, to which the audience cheered. Lizzo openly wondered if she could marry someone for dual citizenship ... and got a good laugh.

She didn't mention Kanye explicitly ... which is a similar approach she took when Aries Spears recently trashed her. There, too, she didn't really lay into him ... but simply said she'd let her success do the talking -- despite people wanting her to "clap back." Ditto for Ye, it seems.

Remember, Kanye used Lizzo to make a point about folks supposedly booing the notion of bettering themselves through weight loss ... something he called "demonic" and the "genocide of the Black race."

Kanye West's 'White Lives Matter' tees aren't gaining traction with his hip hop peers ... and count his former Roc-A-Fella label boss as the latest deflector!!!

TMZ Hip Hop recently sat down with Kareem "Biggs" Burke and picked his brain about Yeezy's controversial clothing, and there was no half-stepping -- right off the bat he said, "I condemn the shirt. I'm not with that."

Biggs says the fact Ye created the "WLM" shirt as a counter to BLM ... makes it potentially disastrous to the movement. He says he'd love to see Ye focus on repairing the community -- not harming it.

He notes it's important not to misconstrue the BLM movement with the corporation ... which has been under fire due to some execs allegedly misappropriating funds, including the purchase of a $6M mansion.

Aside from the fact others are already capitalizing and copycatting, Biggs says Kanye's shirt hurts the families of slain victims such as Trayvon Martin, George Floyd and Breonna Taylor. Breonna's mother has already fired back at Ye for looping her name into one of his 'WLM' rants.

Kanye and Biggs' relationship dates back to the start of Ye's professional career when he first signed to the Roc in the early 2000s.

Biggs co-founded the label with Jay-Z and Damon Dash, and it went on to sell millions upon millions of records -- many of those being Ye's creations. But, that past glory isn't getting Ye a pass with Biggs.

Biggs is far from alone with his thinking amongst music execs ... Diddy recently doubled down on his stance that Ye's "WLM" shirt was a dangerous concept.

Puff is adamant we shouldn't cancel The College Dropout, but more so turn the page on this most recent chapter as quickly as possible.

Coolio’s fellow old-school rapper Tone Loc says life on the road won't be the same now that he's lost his touring partner of nearly a decade!!!

We caught the "Wild Thang" OG outside of LAX, where he opened up about Coolio's death leaving an immense void in his life -- a painful absence he's already felt during his last few performances.

Their friendship runs several decades deep -- Tone tells us Coolio, along with Young MC and the late Shock G, actually performed at his brother's funeral around 16 years ago.

Tone says he and Coolio were regulars on the "I Love The 90s Tour" circuit for the past 6 years, as was Vanilla Ice … who’s also been in mourning since Coolio’s death last week in Los Angeles.

TMZ broke the story -- Coolio died suddenly on September 28 while visiting a friend's home.

At the age of 59, he was still an active hip hopper … with gigs in Vegas and television appearances on "Wild ‘N Out" and "Futurama" already scheduled before he passed.

Tone's DJ M.Walk also chimed in, telling us about his special bond with Coolio ... and it's clear they both miss him dearly, having linked up more than 20 years ago.

Kanye West wore his 'White Lives Matter' shirt at his daughter's basketball game ... right behind Kim Kardashian, no less.

The controversial long-sleeve was on display Friday night while North played in Thousand Oaks with other kids -- plus, a bunch of parents on hand to watch. Ye was rocking it proudly, and he was within arms reach of the mother of his children too.

Kim doesn't appear to acknowledge him in the photos, and eyewitnesses say she never turned to look in his direction either while they were both there. We're also told KW had a cameraman with him who looked busy. No word of any trouble due to his wardrobe choice.

What we do know ... Kim completely avoided him outside of this seating arrangement. We're told she actually moved her car to the opposite side of the building once he rolled up ... in order to avoid any run-ins afterward. Indeed, her focus was all on North for this outing.

It's interesting ... Ye seemed pretty animated here, and he wasn't trying to hide what he was wearing either. If anything, you could argue he was trying to draw attention to himself.

He's obviously sticking to his guns on this -- remember, he first trotted out the 'WLM' shirt earlier in the week during a fashion show ... and after a lot of criticism, he doubled and then tripled down online. Eventually, he went on Tucker Carlson's show to try and explain.

Even at this point, though, Kanye's rationale behind the move isn't all that clear. He did say he thought Black Lives Matter was a scam, but aside from that -- he hasn't thoughtfully laid out his position ... although he has thoroughly described the backlash coming his way.

Justin Bieber believes Kanye West has gone way too far to carry on their friendship, after Ye attacked his wife, Hailey, claiming she got a nose job.

If you missed it, Kanye went after Hailey on social media after she defended Vogue Editor Gabriella Karefa-Johnson, whom Kanye attacked. Ye called Hailey "nose job Hailey Baldloose" and told Justin, "Get your girl before I get mad. You spose to be my friend right," after posting an old article from 2016 about Hailey and Drake out on a date.

Sources close to Justin and Hailey tell us they're obviously hurt by Kanye's attacks -- especially since they were there for him in 2020 when he was going through a tough time in his life -- traveling to Wyoming to visit him at his ranch.

It's obvious, but we're told both believe Kanye crossed the line, especially because Hailey never attacked him in her defense of Gabriella ... she only said supportive things about her friend after Kanye publicly ripped into her. What's more, Hailey claims she's never got a nose job.

Our sources say Justin has always been super supportive and sensitive to Kanye's issues, but this time, he's gotta distance himself and stand up for his wife.

Judge Mathis thinks Kanye West is degrading African-American with his antics -- and by extension, he believes Ye makes Adidas look bad too ... giving 'em every right to break up.

The TV magistrate went scorched earth on KW Friday in L.A. where he told our photog what he thought of the shoe company looking into its options as it pertains to their relationship with Ye ... and according to him, they likely have the legal ground to kick him to the curb.

Of course, nobody but Adidas and Kanye know the specific terms of whatever contract they have -- so all of this is totally speculative. Still, based on his experience ... Mathis says there's likely a morality clause that gives the 3-stripe honchos an out if they choose.

The reason ... most of these agreements, per JM, have something in them that says the individual (in this case, Kanye) can't make the company look bad and/or exhibit behavior antithetical to their principles/mission statement -- often written vaguely to give them cover.

Considering all of Kanye's anti-Black rhetoric this week -- not to mention over the last few years -- Mathis believes Kanye's crossed that line more than enough times for Adidas to pull the plug and cancel their partnership ... even if that means no more Yeezys.

Jim Jones agrees with Wiz Khalifa ... President Joe Biden's move to pardon marijuana convicts is right on, but if you ask the Harlem Capo, it's the first thing 46 has done right in a long time.

TMZ Hip Hop caught up with the Dipset legend as he conducted boss business around NYC. He's stoked over Biden's move, especially since he's the CEO of his own cannabis co. -- Saucey Farms & Extracts.

Jim co-founded the company with his partner, celebrity jeweler Alex Todd, in 2018 and says at the time there was moderate opposition to them getting things off the ground.

He now sees New York as a completely different place -- recreational cannabis was legalized in 2021 -- but he's warning up-and-coming weed entrepreneurs that the government will still make it hard for average hustlers to get a slice of the pie.

Jim thinks marijuana will become ubiquitous ... and the government will buy up all the farming -- effectively squeezing out the 'lil guy.

He's urging anyone with a stake in the cannabis game to get their licenses and permits because he says no one will be able to match U.S.A.'s bankroll.

Speaking of cigarettes, the celebrated rapper is diversifying his portfolio with the addition of a tobacco company he runs with his fellow Dipsetter, Juelz Santana.

Kanye West says Hollywood bullied him so much for supporting Donald Trump, he wasn't able to talk about it anymore ... which left him wondering what's the point of being famous.

Ye made the claim in the second part of his interview with FNC's Tucker Carlson, saying it "drove me crazy not to be able to say I liked Trump." He was especially shocked that people would go after him, because -- as he puts it -- he's Kanye!

Ye dove deeper ... questioning why he had worked so hard to get famous -- with millions of adoring fans and a massive platform -- if Hollywood didn't want him to use his own voice and connect it to his own opinions.

Ye's complaints build on what he told Tucker in portions of the interview that aired Thursday ... when he said he respects Russell Brand and Candace Owens for going against the grain and speaking their minds, no matter the consequences.

He also gets into his relationship with another former Prez ... Barack Obama. Ye says their connection faded "soon as I wasn't supposed to be saying the things I wasn't supposed to say as a rapper" -- but adds, he would talk to Obama if they ran into each other.

President Biden's decision to pardon all federal prisoners convicted of simple marijuana possession is sitting very well with rappers like Wiz Khalifa ... who tells us he hopes it's just the first step towards more pro-weed legislation.

Referring to Biden's announcement, Wiz tells TMZ Hip Hop ... “It’s awesome to see things are moving in the right direction. Cannabis laws have negatively impacted people for way too long.”

The Prez outlined his plan for marijuana reform this week ... speaking to that negative impact, and there's widespread hope that the next move could be federal decriminalization of cannabis ... if not outright legalization.

Outside of Snoop Dogg, Wiz is arguably rap music's smokiest cat ... and has been perfecting his own Khalifa Kush brand for some time now.

In addition to his KK and Khalifa Mints strains, he also sells supported merch and delves heavily into the art of cannabinoid science ... through hits of a Taylor Gang-branded, gravity-infused bong!!!

The White House says the Justice Department is actively working to make legalization a reality, but has yet to reveal any sort of timetable.