TMZ Hip Hop - Page 50

Boxing star Shakur Stevenson is back in the public eye for the first time since Takeoff's tragic murder ... but he did not speak about the events that went down that night.

TMZ Sports broke the story ... Shakur was standing inches away from the Migos rapper just moments before he was fatally shot twice in Houston.

Stevenson went silent on social media in the days following the shooting -- aside from a tweet honoring his friend, saying, "R.I.P Takeoff 🙏🏾"

On Thursday, Shakur returned to his usual routine by joining the "Spit Bucket Podcast" to talk boxing ... and he seemed pretty composed throughout the interview.

The topic of Takeoff was not brought up ... probably for a couple reasons.

One, there is an active investigation into what went down that night ... and there may not be much Shakur can get really discuss at this time.

The other -- the incident literally happened just days ago ... and it's understandable to consider Shakur isn't mentally ready to talk about it.

Drake wasn't only going after Megan Thee Stallion on his new album ... Serena Williams' husband was also name-dropped -- getting called a straight-up "groupie" in a new song.

The OVO rapper released his 16-track joint album, "Her Loss," with 21 Savage on Friday ... and the superstar's hubby, Alexis Ohanian, might not be a fan of a certain track called "Middle of the Ocean."

Here's what he says around the 3:35 mark:

"Sidebar, Serena, your husband a groupie
He claim we don't got a problem but
No, boo, it is like you comin' for sushi"

Fans went crazy over the bars on social media -- one person called Drake petty and another said Ohanian deserved it, as he's seemingly taken subtle jabs at the rapper in the past.

Remember, Drake and Serena were a thing back in the day -- TMZ Sports obtained pictures of them kissing in a fancy restaurant in 2015 ... before Ohanian was in the picture.

Drake also went to Williams' Wimbledon match in 2018 ... cheering her on from the crowd.

FYI, this ain't the first time Drake has mentioned Williams in his lyrics -- in his "Worst Behavior" song from 2013, he talks about the tennis legend:

"I'm with my whole set, tennis matches at the crib
I swear I could beat Serena when she playin' with her left."

Williams and Ohanian have not responded to Drake's diss ... but Meg did call him out for targeting her in the "Circo Loco" track.

Happy Friday, everyone!!!

Drake and 21 Savage's "Her Loss" album continued its feather-ruffling wave Friday ... with "Cha Cha" rapper DRAM being the latest to react to a subliminal shot thrown his way!!!

For the chorus of the song "BackOutsideBoyz," Drake and Lil Yachty rap in unison "Tried to bring the drama to me, he ain't know how we cha-cha slide..." a clear reference to Drake usurping the then up-and-coming artist.

The two had public issues back in 2015 when Drake openly admitted to borrowing from DRAM's breakout "Cha Cha" single -- to make his own Grammy Award-winning hit "Hotline Bling" ... leaving DRAM feeling a type of way.

As DRAM tells it, things got a little physical when they ran into one another at the time!!!

He awoke Friday to give Drake a piece of his mind ... slamming him for bringing up a 7-year-old issue, claiming Drizzy was too scared to face him mano a mano.

He also claims they once had an altercation where he says he physically bested Drake, but admitted the Toronto rapper's bodyguards stepped in to mop the floor with his face.

DRAM was clearly unbothered by the past events, and doubled down on his challenge to fight Drake ... but claims he'd be too "bitch-made" to hop in the ring altogether.

21 Savage doesn't appear on the "Her Loss" album nearly as much as Drake ... but the Slaughter Gang rapper still maximized his greasy talk over the bubbly R&B production.

On the solo track, "3AM on Glenwood" ... 21 borrows the script from Drake's famed "timestamp" series ... where he lyrically floats streams of consciousness in the studio during the middle of the night.

A couple of those streams target YouTuber Charleston White for his infamous altercation with Soulja Boy and Ma$e ... who's been getting dragged all year by Fivio Foreign over an alleged lopsided contract.

21 boldly raps, "See my opps, I jump out and chase them/I ain't Charleston White, n***a, I'll never Mace® them/Love for all my artists, nigga, I'll never Mase them ... Shit, that's probably why they hate him."

The track also features several references to gunplay, such as "spraying witnesses" -- an odd verse for 21 to drop after his viral tweet earlier this year urging ATL residents to put down their guns.

Ironically, he also raps on the track ... "Hope you know you gotta stand on all that s**t you been tweetin'"

Not long after the album was released, a viral tweet calculated 21's involvement on the album ... and it's less than half of Drake's contributions to the project.

Drake got plenty off his chest this go around, after spending his last album mostly crooning over EDM tracks.

Drake is firing a direct shot at Kanye West on his new album, saying there was no love gained between them following their 2021 reunion concert -- but, in an odd twist, Ye is reacting calmly, saying he wants no more beef.

On Drake and 21 Savage's "Her Loss" track "Circo Loco" ... Drake revisits their L.A. concert with the line, "Linking with the opps, bitch, I did that for J. Prince/Bitch, I did it for the mob ties."

He further spits in the face of their alleged reconciliation with the verse ... "And I never been the one to go apologies/Me, I'd rather hit 'em up one more time."

"Circo Loco" is the same song where Drake questioned the validity of Megan Thee Stallion's shooting ... which has her hot at the moment.

Kanye awoke on Friday, reminding everyone he's praised Drake plenty of times in the past and called for all rappers to stand together against the record labels and bad contracts.

Drake recently inked a deal with Universal Music Group rumored to be around $400 million ... so that rally cry may fall on deaf ears.

On Ye's now-deleted "Drink Champs" episode, he declared Drake the "best rapper ever" ... so he obviously walked away from their concert with much better feelings.

Last December, Rap-A-Lot Records boss J. Prince convinced the 2 rap giants to squash their years of subliminal disses for the Larry Hoover benefit concert at the L.A. Memorial Coliseum.

Drake's set was later removed from the Amazon playback so yeah, the reunion felt bogus for many fans.

Shaq has advice for Kanye West -- get your affairs in order before commenting on his ... after Ye took a shot at O'Neal on social media.

The interaction started when Kanye tweeted ... "Shaq is in business with Jamie Salter. Jaimie first said he's 50/50 with David Beckham and 50/50 with Shaq. I said "Jamie . . . There’s no such thing as 50/50 in business . . . Who has the extra 1 percent for the control and voting rights."

Ye continued ... "Jamie then said he's actually got the 51 percent on both those deals   We as the creators and talent get so caught up in our vanity that we don’t read or understand the fine print  Like Dave Chapelle said, we need to stop giving up control over our own names and our likeness."

Jamie Salter is a Canadian billionaire ... and his company, Authentic Brands Group manages Shaq's name and likeness. Jamie previously said ABG bought 50% of Shaq's future earnings. The company also owns more than 50 brands, many very large. O'Neal is one of the company's largest shareholders.

The tweet didn't sit well with Shaq, who responded to Kanye, writing, "Believe me you don't know me like that. Worry about your business, and to quote the once great Kanye west " I got more money than you, so why would i listen to you" take my advice get your family business in order. Have a great day brother."

It all seemingly started when Shaq (and Charles Barkley) ripped Kyrie Irving for publicizing the controversial film, "Hebrews to Negroes: Wake Up Black America!" Shaq said the NBA superstar was "not conscious" and didn't care who he offended.

Naturally, West took issue with Shaq's criticism of Irving, writing on Twitter, "They make us bully ourselves because of our business alignments."

Ye has evidently taken a liking to 30-year-old Kyrie ... showing support for the Nets hooper by posting a photo of him on social media.

Both men have been accused of being antisemitic.

Cops are trying to piece together the argument that escalated to the point of gunfire in the fatal shooting of Takeoff, and the triviality of the whole thing is just mind-boggling.

Law enforcement sources tell us ... angry words were exchanged between Quavo and others after he lost in a dice game at the bowling alley. We're told they took the argument outside, and somehow they begin jawboning over who could beat who at basketball.

That lines up with video obtained by TMZ, in which you hear Quavo become increasingly frustrated ... talking about basketball and assuring the group he'd win.

From there is when things hit a breaking point ... Quavo begins to walk away and then, our sources say, a punch was thrown. Suddenly, at least 10 shots ring out. It appears multiple weapons were fired, striking 3 people -- Takeoff fatally.

No arrests have been made, and cops haven't publicly named a suspect. However, in another video obtained by TMZ, you see one man in the group holding and then raising his gun. Cops tell us he's currently a person of interest.

Takeoff's Migos groupmates have not yet made public statements about his death.

Diddy played a secret role in Elon Musk's takeover of Twitter ... we've learned he was among the investors who helped Elon buy the bird app.

Sources close to Diddy tell TMZ ... the music and fashion mogul invested north of $10 million for the social media service.

Remember ... Elon bought Twitter last month for $44 billion ... with the help of wealthy investors and loans from Wall Street banks. Some of those investors reportedly include Saudi Arabian Prince Alwaleed bin Talal and Twitter co-founder Jack Dorsey.

As for Diddy's 8-figure investment, we're told his strategy always revolves around having a seat at the table to represent.

Our sources say Diddy and the rest of Elon's Twitter investors believe in Elon's vision for the bird app. As for what that vision is ... our sources are mum.

Diddy and Elon have been rubbing elbows a lot this year ... they both sat in the front row of Dave Chappelle's show back in May at the Hollywood Bowl ... the show where an attacker ran on stage and assaulted Dave.

Diddy and Elon were among the celebs hanging out at Kanye West's Donda 2 experience back in February, along with French Montana and Rick Ross.

And in other Diddy business news -- according to The WSJ -- he's supposed to buy cannabis operations in NY and two other states for up to $185 million ... a move that we're told will create the largest black owned company in the world.

Megan Thee Stallion isn't gonna take Drake's insults lyin' down ... because she's firing shots back at the rapper after he called her out on his new album with 21 Savage.

Meg took to Twitter early Friday morning ... soon after Drake and 21's "Her Loss" album dropped -- and it's on the track "Circo Loco" where he blasts the H-Town Hottie.

Drake goes, "This bitch lie 'bout getting shots, but she still a stallion/She don't even get the joke, but she still smiling" ... clearly referring to her getting shot in the foot in 2020 while in a car with Tory Lanez.

Meg quickly responded ... "I know I'm very popular but y'all gotta stop attaching weak ass conspiracy theories in bars to my name lol N***** nor hoes EVER address me or @ me WITH a fact or receipts. I AM CLOUT BITCH keep sucking my p***y."

Not that she needed to say anything more, but she sprayed a slew of follow-up tweets ... one said, "Since when tf is it cool to joke abt women getting shot ! You n***** especially RAP N***** ARE LAME! Ready to boycott bout shoes and clothes but dog pile on a black woman when she say one of y'all homeboys abused her."

FYI -- Drake circled back to Megan later on the track -- referring to her graduation from Texas Southern University with the line, "Shorty say she graduated, she ain't learn enough/Play your album, track onе, 'kay, I heard enough."

Takeoff's shooting death shocked the world, but especially his hometown of Atlanta, where a graffiti artist was moved to honor the Migos rapper with a mural ... in little more than an instant.

TMZ Hip Hop spoke with Armondo Monoletti, the artist who painted Takeoff's likeness underneath the John Lewis Freedom Parkway bridge near downtown ATL.

Armondo says he couldn't sleep after hearing the Takeoff news and vigorously painted throughout the night ... using only the few paint cans he had in his arsenal, as all the stores were closed at the time.

He says he intentionally painted Takeoff without his signature sunglasses in order to humanize him, and he also wanted to show him smiling ... so fans could escape the grim reality surrounding his death.

Armondo -- whose "APE" graffiti tag stands for "Armondo Paints Everything" -- actually painted over the DMX mural he created back in 2021 to create the Takeoff tribute.

He says there was no disrespect intended -- just like he's done for Takeoff, he had painted the X tribute immediately after his passing.

Method Man isn't trying to hide his frustrations ... not only over Takeoff's death, but also over hip hop culture shouldering the blame for rap slayings.

We caught up with him Thursday in NYC and asked about escalated violence taking out so many more artists ... especially compared to his peak as an OG Wu-Tang Clan member.

Meth sarcastically scoffed at the question, suggesting it was the skinny jeans that changed the culture -- but then he got serious about the notion criminality is driving the culture.

In fact, he wasn't willing to even offer his two cents on potential solutions. Meth urged people to look closer at the circumstances in each case of violence ... instead of always blaming hip hop culture.

He adds ... it simply isn't always the artists' fault.

Jay-Z and Jeff Bezos, two of the most successful men in America, are interested in buying the Washington Commanders, in light of owner Dan Snyder's interest in selling the NFL team, sources tell TMZ Sports.

And, we're told a partnership between the men is on the table.

On Wednesday, the team issued a statement announcing Snyder hired a major bank to investigate a possible opportunity to sell the team ... but made it clear he hadn't yet made a final decision.

Still, the move provided hope to droves of Washington football fans ... who after controversy after controversy and endless losing have long wished Snyder would sell.

We're told Jay, worth an estimated $1.3 billion by Forbes, has expressed serious interest in acquiring the team ... valued at $5.6 billion this summer.

Despite the rap legend and businessman's incredible fortune, we're told he'd look for a strategic partner.

Bezos, one of the world's richest people ($114 billion net worth), is also interested in the team.

Bezos has ties to the area ... he owns the Washington Post newspaper.

Amazon also owns Prime Video ... which recently inked a multi-year, multi-million dollar deal to broadcast Thursday Night Football.

Jay-Z is in business with the NFL ... signing a partnership deal in 2019 which gave Hov power over the halftime show, as well as social justice initiatives.

He also previously owned an NBA team, the New Jersey/Brooklyn Nets ... before being forced to sell when he opened his sports and marketing agency, Roc Nation Sports, over a potential conflict of interest.

Byron Allen and Robert Griffin III, amongst many more, have also expressed interest in the team.

There's no shortage of suitors, but topping Bezos and Jay-Z would be a monumental task.

Lil Uzi Vert had New York City in a tizzy last night, shooting the music video for his new jam "Just Wanna Rock" ... and bringing out so many fans it looked like a rowdy flash mob.

Uzi -- joined by top Twitch streamer Kai Cenant and fellow Philly rapper 2Rare -- hit the streets and fans did too, toppling cars and whipping out their cell phones as Uzi put his electric dance moves on display.

The viral trio was destined to cause pure pandemonium ... turning up in the trailer and car ride ahead of the shoot.

Kai recently took the Twitch 👑 on October 15 and 2Rare inked a joint venture deal with Warner Records and music exec Mel Carter's Second Estate Records ... so the vibes were on 10 the entire night.

A hilarious moment came when 2Rare caught Kai lacking in 4K on sleep-cam before he awoke to spit bars from his NLE Choppa collaboration "Bustdown Rollie Avalanche."

The song could lead hip hop's next dance craze. It was released last month and racked up more than 500 million TikTok impressions from the previews alone.

There were two other people shot in the gunfire that killed Takeoff -- and one of those people is Quavo's assistant -- TMZ has learned.

Law enforcement sources tell us Joshua "Wash" Washington is the 23-year-old male who was shot and rushed to a local hospital by someone at the scene in the minutes following the melee ... cops described his injuries as non-life threatening.

Wash has been close with Quavo for years, and describes himself as Quavo's assistant and part of operations management at Huncho Records on his social media profile.

As we reported, there was also a 24-year-old female who was shot ... she was also taken to a hospital and treated for non-life-threatening injuries.

While the shooter (or shooters) have yet to be publicly named, the Harris County Medical Examiner's Office says Takeoff was shot in both the head and torso early Monday morning.

In video obtained by TMZ from the scene, you can see Quavo in an argument and then start to walk away as shots ring out. There's also video showing one man holding a gun to his side ... police have named that man as a person of interest in Takeoff's death.

Rob Dillingham, a 17-year-old consensus five-star basketball recruit and Kentucky commit, is leaving Kanye West's Donda Academy school ... and signing with Overtime Elite league.

Of course, Donda Academy has been engulfed in turmoil after West's repeated use of antisemitic remarks ... putting the future of the school/sports teams in flux.

Dillingham's exit from Donda Academy comes on the heels of Celtics star Jaylen Brown and Rams star Aaron Donald both parting ways from Ye's Donda Sports marketing agency.

The fallout unfortunately swallowed up the kids on the basketball team. Donda was recently pulled from a big tournament -- the Scholastic Play-by-Play tourney in December -- and, most recently, Morehouse College pulled the plug on a showcase in ATL.

Dillingham, a 6'2" point guard out of NC, is considered one of the top point guards in the 2023 class ... and was Donda's highest-rated player, so losing him is a huge blow.

Dillingham -- named Charlotte Observer Player of the Year -- is joining OTE at the perfect time ... the 6-team basketball league just inked a streaming deal with Amazon Prime.

Games start streaming Friday night ... meaning RD went from being on a team that was banned in places to potentially playing in front of millions.

Johnny Depp is a wanted man in just about every lane Hollywood has to offer these days, and he's about to make a guest appearance in a huge show -- orchestrated by Rihanna!

No, Depp won't be shredding his guitar with RiRi at the Super Bowl ... but production sources tell us he'll be a featured surprise guest in her Savage X Fenty Vol. 4 fashion show.

We're told JD won't be walking the runway, instead, he's going to be a focus of one of the show's "star" moments -- which has included the likes of Cindy Crawford and Erykah Badu in the past. Depp -- who will wear items from the men's collection -- will be the first male in Savage X Fenty show history to take the role.

Our sources say Rihanna and her team invited Johnny to be a part of it, and both sides were super excited to make it happen. We're told Johnny has already filmed his part, and it'll be included in the show's premiere on Amazon Prime Video November 9.

As for how Depp will look, we're told the vibe is "cool and chic" and works for all aspects of Johnny's artistry -- music, modeling and acting.

TMZ broke the story -- it was just a couple months ago when JD made his big return to TV after the Amber Heard trial, when he appeared as the Moon Person at the VMAs. One thing's for sure ... he's been welcomed back to A-list status with open arms.