TMZ Hip Hop - Page 50

Drake and 21 Savage are pushing back the release date for their highly anticipated joint album ... because the producer is battling coronavirus.

Champagne Papi announced the delay Wednesday, revealing on his Instagram story that his longtime producer, Noah "40" Shebib, became infected with COVID while mixing and mastering the album.

Drake and 21 Savage's project is called "Her Loss" and it was due out this Friday ... but it's going to be the fan's loss, because Drizzy says the collab is being delayed at least a week, with the new release date moved to next Friday, Nov. 4.

Drake and Noah have worked together for years ... but based on Drake's post, it seems like the COVID diagnosis is only a minor bump in the road.

"Her Loss" was only announced a couple days ago ... Drake revealed the album's title and original release date in his new music video for "Jimmy Cooks," a song featuring 21 Savage off Drake's last album, "Honestly, Nevermind."

Kanye West is persona non grata for Peloton -- the exercise company is banning his music from any new future classes.

Peloton took a stance Wednesday in a statement to Pelobuddy ... "We take this issue very seriously and can confirm Peloton indefinitely paused the use of Kanye West’s music on our platform. This means our instructors are no longer using his music in any newly produced classes and we are not suggesting any class that includes his music in our proactive recommendations to Members."

They add, "You should know this was a decision we made immediately following his remarks. Again, thank you for sharing your concerns and thank you for being a Member of our Peloton community."

The statement comes on the heels of Peloton's Alex Toussaint -- a popular cycling instructor -- declaring he would not be playing Ye's tunes during any of his classes. He said this on Monday during his Hip Hop Ride at 7 PM ET ... without ever naming the guy.

Toussaint said he doesn't tolerate hate speech and that he stands with the Jewish community -- going on to promise he would foster a safe space and not play "that artist." It seems his bosses felt that policy should apply across the board ... and it's a big deal.

There's been a lot of folks wondering what might happen to Kanye's music as he continues to fall from grace. Until now, there hadn't been many rumblings about censoring//muting his catalog -- but at this point, it appears the door's starting to be opened a bit.

Chingy's feeling some type of way about being included on a "50 Worst Rapper List" ... and he's letting out his emotions about it in a new interview.

The St. Louis-bred rap star ... famously known for his hits "Right Thurr" and "Holidae In" on Ludacris' label in the early '00s ... was grouped with the likes of Master P, Diddy, French Montana and Coi Leray on a Twitter ranking that holds no actual weight.

Still, the rankings got under his skin, evidenced by his latest conversation with VladTV.

Chingy says the 50 million records he sold throughout his career are more than enough votes to keep his name off any "worst rapper" list, and social media reactions mainly fueled its traction.

He went on to call the list invalid, and demand it be deleted ... mainly because the entire world's 7-billion-strong population wasn't polled.

Not that he's biased, but ... Chingy said he listened to one of his old songs the other day and was floored at how anyone could think he was one of the worst because he thought the lyrics were so good.

His career might be light on flowers these days, but he literally made Bobby Shmurda LOL ... as he named the "Chickenhead" hip hop's #1 dance, which was made popular from the "Right Thurr" video.

Tory Lanez is going to be spending a lot more time inside -- a judge just placed him under house arrest until his trial against Megan Thee Stallion begins ... and it all stems from an alleged incident with August Alsina.

The order came down Wednesday during a court hearing in L.A. ... where it was ruled that Tory needs to be on lockdown until November 28 -- the start of the trial -- as a result of accusations he beat the crap out of Alsina in Chicago in September.

Prosecutors argued TL deserved to be remanded into custody because -- in their eyes -- he'd violated the conditions of his bail in the Meg case. They say he continues to pose a threat to public safety and that monetary bail alone wasn't enough of a deterrent.

Tory's attorney, Shawn Holley, pushed back, noting ... no charges had been filed in the Alsina case, and there were only allegations. As we reported, Alsina took to social media to allege Tory had sucker punched him, with bloody photos to boot -- this after he'd apparently been snubbed by the singer in passing earlier in the day.

The judge ended up splitting the difference, ordering Tory be confined to his home with a GPS ankle monitor beginning Friday.

Tory has to remain under house arrest until his felony assault trial gets underway. Remember, he's pleaded not guilty after being charged with firing the gun that seriously injured Meg in 2020.

When Adidas decided to stop producing products for Kanye West, people from around the globe rushed to the Internet to check the temp of selling the popular Yeezy shoe.

Google searches for the phrase "sell Yeezy" skyrocketed a whopping 581% Wednesday -- according to data commissioned by Celeb Tattler -- after news broke that Adidas was dropping their contract with Ye and stopping production of his brand's products.

The numbers suggest folks are trying to figure out if it's a good idea to start selling their Yeezy gear now, or wait for prices to potentially increase in the future.

As we reported ... Adidas, Kanye's biggest corporate partner, announced Tuesday they were cutting ties with Ye in the wake of building public pressure following his antisemitic comments.

The German shoe company says a "thorough review" of the Yeezy partnership projects a $246 million loss in net income this year by ending the deal.

SZA is sitting on 100 unreleased songs and it's apparently time to part with one of them ... the Top Dawg Entertainment vocalist just announced "Shirt," a mini-movie co-starring LaKeith Stanfield.

The preview clip is pretty wild ... SZA and the "Atlanta" actor are eating in a sketchy diner, seemingly discussing the laws of physics when the man sitting with them makes the fatal mistake of interrupting their conversation ... and gets his brains blown out over his plate of bacon and eggs.

'Tis the season for gruesome content, and SZA's timing should be music to her fans' ears -- they've been patiently waiting since her 2017 debut album "Ctrl" infiltrated the space.

"Ctrl" went on to go multi-platinum and recently made Billboard Chart history ... applying heavy pressure for the sophomore release whenever it decides to drop.

TMZ Hip Hop ran into SZA recently ... she told us about the whopping 100 songs she's been collecting in her studio, and hinted she was firing off something soon.

Hip hop is currently in another bling era, but Wiz Khalifa recently hurt a lot of feelings by declaring rappers being dripped in jewelry was going outta style -- but his younger contemporary, Symba, couldn't agree more.

TMZ Hip Hop got the Atlantic Records rapper's take on Wiz's comments outside Dash Radio on Tuesday ... and he thinks hip hop culture ditching the big chains is a sign of maturity.

Symba has empathy for the newer rappers who haven't gotten the opportunity to enjoy the spoils of their success just yet, but echoes the thoughts of Hitmaka, DJ Envy and many others ... saying they need security to avoid becoming targets.

Wiz also slammed rappers who felt lame without the shiny jewels, and Symba feels rappers are identified by looks more than music these days ... but that needs to change ASAP. He says some rappers are even masters of style but losers in sound!!!

Symba says jewelry getting phased out is all about "timing," a message he reiterates in new music -- he and DJ Drama just released their "Results Take Time" mixtape.

T.J. Maxx is the latest company to pull the plug on Kanye West's Yeezy brand ... following others' decisions to cut ties due to the rapper's antisemitic and bigoted comments.

TJX Companies -- operators of T.J. Maxx, Marshalls, and Home Goods -- announced its decision Wednesday ... telling CNNBusiness, "At TJX we do not tolerate discrimination, harassment, or hate of any kind. We have instructed our buying teams not to purchase this merchandise for sale in any of our stores globally.”

As we reported, Kanye's "death con 3" post -- plus his subsequent, and repeated, claims Jewish people run Hollywood and banks -- have resulted in companies boycotting the artist. Adidas, Kanye's biggest corporate partner, announced Tuesday it was cutting ties with Ye.

Rihanna making her grand return to music with a song for the "Black Panther: Wakanda Forever" soundtrack is the only thing that could make that movie even more anticipated ... and it's happening!!!

On Wednesday, the icon posted a sample to the upcoming song "Lift Me Up" to social media ... igniting excitement in the Navy, her passionate and loyal fanbase.

The brief teaser doesn't offer much ... just Rihanna harmonizing on what sounds like a solemn record, and we're told it will be a tribute to the late Chadwick Boseman, the star of the first 'BP' film.

RiRi also wrote "Lift Me Up" in collaboration with Afrobeats star Tems, Oscar-Grammy Award-winning producer Ludwig Göransson, 'BP' director Ryan Coogler ... and it will be released on her own Westbury Road label in collaboration with Roc Nation, Def Jam Recordings and Hollywood Records.

Tems says, "After speaking with Ryan and hearing his direction for the film and the song, I wanted to write something that portrays a warm embrace from all the people that I've lost in my life. I tried to imagine what it would feel like if I could sing to them now and express how much I miss them."

She adds, "Rihanna has been an inspiration to me so hearing her convey this song is a great honor."

The song marks her return to music after a noted 6+ year hiatus, and makes a great lead-up to her Super Bowl LVII halftime show appearance in February.

The star players on Kanye West's Donda Academy basketball team will not be able to showcase their talents on one of H.S. hoops' biggest stages this year ... and it's all because of Ye's controversial antisemitic comments.

The Scholastic Play-By-Play Classics announced Donda has been scrapped from this season's schedule ... claiming West's "words and actions violate our values as a company and a country, and what we seek to ensure at all of our events -- a spirit of diversity, sportsmanship, inclusion, equity and mutual respect."

The tournament -- which has five national locations -- is a huge deal at the high school level ... and has hosted future NBA superstars like LeBron James, Kobe Bryant and Kevin Durant in the past.

Donda was originally slated to compete at the December 11 event in Louisville.

It's a huge bummer for the whole roster of kids -- including five-star guards Robert Dillingham (who's committed to Kentucky) and AJ Johnson ... as well as the other players on the squad who are also ranked nationally.

Scholastic Play-By-Play feels for the young athletes ... adding, "While we are firm in our reasoning for this decision, it does not diminish our heartache and regret for Donda's hardworking athletes who will lose out the most as a result of Kanye's actions."

"Unfortunately, we cannot in good conscience host an organization founded and directed by Mr. West at our events."

Lil Durk might have to pay a very steep price for missing a scheduled performance in the Bahamas, due to his 2019 arrest for a Georgia shooting.

According to a new lawsuit obtained by TMZ, Durk was slated for a concert in Nassau back in December, 2019 ... and promotors say they negotiated a deal with Durk, sending him $24k in up-front payments. They also claim they poured hundreds of thousands of dollars into promoting and putting on the event.

But, Durk never made it on that stage, because when he flew into The Bahamas, immigration authorities learned he had pending felony charges against him in Atlanta for a shooting earlier that year, and they refused to let him into the country. So, he was a no-show.

Interestingly, Durk fought the criminal case -- he'd been facing 5 felonies, including assault and weapons charges -- and although it took years, he eventually came out on top. As we reported ... the D.A. just dropped the case.

That being said, the concert promoters say Lil Durk kept their cash and has refused to reschedule. They also allege he's tried to milk them for an additional $200k, on top of the original fee, if they ever want him to make up the show.

Fresh Entertainment, the event organizers, claim they specifically asked Lil Durk’s people back in 2019 whether he had any legal issues that might prevent him from getting into the Bahamas, and they were assured he did not.

They're now suing Durk for breach of contract, and seeking $350k -- which is the money they've paid him, plus what they spent planning the concert.

Iggy Azalea took a lot of heat for what some called a lackluster halftime performance for the Las Vegas Raiders ... an unfair criticism if you ask Tory Lanez.

We caught Tory at LAX on Tuesday and got an update on his and Iggy's developing collab ... which he announced earlier this month.

Many fans speculated the two were dating, but Tory tells us they actually were locked in the studio for the past two and a half months ... taking a short break in order for Iggy to go on tour -- they'll resume operations in November.

Tory points out Iggy's past success ... her song "Fancy" isn't quite diamond, but at 8x platinum, there's a good chance it'll hit the mark.

Iggy was recently an honorary Raider when she performed at halftime ... going viral after a back-and-forth with a local sports reporter who predicted she'd blow it.

George Floyd's brother isn't moving forward with legal action against Kanye West -- at least for now -- but that doesn't mean Ye's out of the woods just yet.

Lee Merritt -- who's repping Philonise Floyd -- tells TMZ ... Philonise is temporarily standing down on his original threat to bring a lawsuit against Ye, Candace Owens and others for pushing the narrative George died from fentanyl, as opposed to the actions of Derek Chauvin.

Remember, George's brother, and other family members, were incensed after those remarks were made on a "Drink Champs" episode ... and Philonise instructed Lee to research a possible lawsuit.

As for why he's standing down ... we're told Philonise is hitting pause, specifically pertaining to Kanye, because he just wanted Kanye to stop repeating that false narrative about his brother's death -- and that's exactly what's happened over the last week and change since the "Drink Champs" episode aired.

Lee points out the controversial episode in question has been yanked and the podcast host, N.O.R.E., has gone on an apology tour for letting Ye speak freely without pushback.

We're told that Philonise feels like Ye has complied with the demands made in the cease and desist letter sent on behalf of George Floyd's daughter, Gianna, last week -- although, he clarified that Philonise wasn't really part of that potential legal action in the first place, but supported it from the sidelines.

As for whether Gianna's lawyers might still move forward with a lawsuit -- one in which they said could seek more than $250 million in damages -- no word on that front at this time.

Now, when it comes to Candace ... Lee says that's a more difficult case to bring, because her role as a journalist presenting opinions in a documentary about BLM and the conviction of Derek Chauvin is very different from Ye spouting what Lee and Philonise see as lies about the Floyd case.

Antonio Brown is standing firm in his support for Kanye West ... releasing a lengthy statement explaining his decision to remain as president of Donda Sports -- citing his "dedication to freedom of speech, thought, and opinion."

The NFL receiver -- who joined the Donda staff earlier this year -- addressed the massive controversy surrounding Kanye following several antisemitic statements ... saying, "the world's reactionary and selective outrage at comments in the media made by my brother, Ye, have inflamed and sparked rampant conversation and reflection."

As companies like Adidas and Balenciaga cut ties with West, AB says the timing is not a coincidence.

"The people and brands that have relentlessly profited from Black ideas and Black culture chose to distance themselves at a very specific time: a time that demonstrated their prioritization of certain groups over others."

He added ... "None of us in this world are free of judgment, yet we live in a time where scrutiny and pessimism have driven our dialogues on cultural issues toward diatribes."

"Sensationalism and groupthink have forced people to not speak their minds and act out in fear rather than love. For these reasons, I stand by my dedication to freedom of speech, thought, and opinion."

Brown says he decided to speak out because he is against discrimination of any kind ... but makes it clear he's standing by Kanye's side.

"I remain true to the mission of Donda and our amazing staff and community," he says ... adding he believes Kanye's comments were taken "out of proportion" by the media.

"I remain committed to bringing new ideas, experiences, and designs to our world I remain in support of the humanity that is Ye."

The statement comes on the heels of sports superstars Aaron Donald and Jaylen Brown voicing their issues with Ye's comments ... which led them to leave Donda Sports.

Kanye West’s empire is dwindling by the day, and although he still has Candace Owens on his side -- one of Ye’s closest advisors says that's not a good thing.

Ye’s longtime collaborator Consequence called out Candace Tuesday … labeling her association with the team “an experiment,” and posting a short clip of Ye greeting a crowd while wearing his infamous 'White Lives Matter' shirt.

Cons slammed the 'WLM' shirts, calling them a bad idea from the jump.

Fact is that tarnished Yeezy gear did begin the spiral that saw Ye on the outs with the likes of CAA, Vogue, Balenciaga and now Adidas ... which cost him his billionaire status, according to Forbes.

The German shoe giant kicked Ye to the curb Tuesday due to his repeated antisemitic remarks -- but Candace has unflinchingly defended him, demanding Adidas cash him out what he's owed.

If you remember, it was also Candace who helped Ye tout the 'WLM' tees earlier this month, much to the disbelief of many of his supporters.

Cons is the first from the old G.O.O.D Music camp to speak out against the disastrous trail blazed by Ye … but his thoughts do align with Kareem “Biggs” Burke, who helped manage Ye’s career during the early days with Roc-A-Fella Records.

Biggs recently told TMZ Hip Hop ... Ye’s 'WLM' movement was harming the Black community in spite of any beef with the actual Black Lives Matter organization.

On the heels of Adidas dropping Kanye West for making antisemitic remarks, Jewish former NFL star Julian Edelman is addressing the rapper's use of hurtful language ... saying mental health is important but doesn't justify speaking hatefully.

"Mental health is a serious issue and needs to be at the forefront of the American dialogue," Edelman wrote on social media.

"It's also not an excuse for hate. Hate is a disease just like every other, except that words can spread it. Speak up, not down."

Edelman is arguably the highest-profile Jewish American athlete to speak out.

Of course, Ye has repeatedly used antisemitic and bigoted language at seemingly every turn over the last few weeks. He said he was going “death con 3 On JEWISH PEOPLE” on Twitter. He also perpetuated offensive tropes, produced "White Lives Matter" shirts and made inflammatory comments about George Floyd.

People of all races and religions have been offended by Kanye's comments ... including basketball Hall of Famer, Ray Allen.

"I see all the Kanye BS, like, he's an idiot," the NBA legend said on social media before issuing a warning about what we consume.

"I try my best to just kind of push positivity and encouragement to people in the world so we just have to be careful. Every time we pick up our phones, a lot of times we wanna feel good, laugh and joke but a lot of times, we're seeing negative stories in our media. So, we gotta be careful who we're letting into our atmosphere because it can become depressing with everything that's going on around the world."

Even his ex, Kim Kardashian, has condemned Kanye's antisemitism, writing earlier this week ... "Hate speech is never OK or excusable. I stand together with the Jewish community and call on the terrible violence and hateful rhetoric towards them to come to an immediate end."

But, not everyone is distancing themselves from Ye.

As we reported, Celtics star Jaylen Brown announced Monday he was sticking with Ye's marketing group, Donda Sports ... however, he did seemingly condemn West's remarks, saying, "I don’t condone any hurt, harm, or danger toward any group of people or individuals whatsoever."