TMZ Hip Hop - Page 50

DMX's 1998 debut album single "How's It Goin' Down" is a track still near and dear to fans' hearts, because they're currently giving Yung Bleu hell for remaking it.

On Monday, Yung Bleu dropped off the music video for his new single "What Type of Games" ... a clear homage to the late Ruff Ryder with its imagery set in NYC's concrete jungle.

The song, produced by Murda Beatz, also features an interpolation of X's time-tested chorus -- but Bleu's had to defend his artistic decision against a wave of backlash, accusing him of using too much auto-tune ... and therefore RUINING a classic.

Bleu says he received the blessing of DMX's estate to revamp the song a couple of weeks ago, and assured fans his family is being compensated for the cover.

The song is featured on Bleu's most recent album "Tantra" ... a project the Alabama-born artist recently told TMZ Hip Hop he's proud of, regardless of first-week sales numbers.

Even if fans hate the X tribute, there are still plenty of other options on the album ... which sports guest appearances from ZAYN, Fivio Foreign, Nicki Minaj and Ne-Yo.

T.I. has been performing at Atlanta Hawks' games for 10 years and for his next halftime performance, he's bringing his son Domani along as the father-son duo are bridging their Trap Museum brand with the team.

T.I. and Domani will perform their "Family Connect" single on November 23 when the Hawks face the Sacramento Kings ... and the State Farm Arena will be decked out for their presence.

The Hawks will don their PEACH 2022-23 Nike NBA City Edition uniform ... and the home court will also reflect the unis.

“I’m a true Atlanta Hawks fan and have performed in State Farm Arena on numerous occasions, but this time it feels different being able to take the stage with Domani," T.I. said in a statement.

"The Hawks are off to a great start this season, hopefully, we can continue the momentum. I can’t wait to hit State Farm Arena on the 23rd and give the fans a memorable performance."

Ticket bundles for T.I.'s Hawks-Kings performance come with a courtesy ‘Trap Commandment CDIV (404)" t-shirt and a ticket to Trap Music Museum -- an artifact house T.I. has maintained for years, and uses to host exhibits from the likes of Outkast, Goodie Mob, Future and Gucci Mane.

Domani has been steadily building his hip hop career outside of trap music ... collaborating with fellow MCs Rapsody and D Smoke on his last album to carve out his sound ... and his older brother Messiah has officially entered the country music scene.

Nas and Hit-Boy just released their new "King's Disease III" album ... but to hear 21 Savage tell it, it's all just a formality.

During a heated Clubhouse debate about rappers' longevity, 21 questioned Nas' relevancy as a whole ... in addition to why fans still dissected hip hop music like it was anatomy class.

The Slaughter Gang rapper was also accused of "ageism" AKA hating on older MCs ... similar to DJ Akademiks' recent controversy.

21 virtually shot down every example of Nas' relevancy during the argument -- including his 2020 Grammy Award win, and doesn't think having ride-or-die fans who date back to his classic 1994 debut album "Illmatic" counts for current-day relevance.

The discussion tossed around several hip hop heavyweights such as Jay-Z, Snoop Dogg, Scarface, Too Short and Fat Joe as candidates for relevant "old rappers" ... while Kool G Rap and Big Daddy Kane also caught slander for a nonexistent joint album.

GloRilla just might be hip hop's 2022 rookie of the year -- in fact, she's achieved so much success, she's already on the radar of a legend like Nas!

We caught Glo out in NYC on the heels of her aptly titled debut EP "Anyways, Life's Great..." which she released in conjunction with her feisty new single, the early-ejaculation anthem, "Nut Quick."

The song already has more than one million views on YouTube and the Memphis rapper stands by her words ... even urging fellas to seek medical assistance if her song hits a little too close to home for them.

Glo also reacted to Nas' shoutout on his latest album with Hit-Boy "King's Disease III." On the song "Til My Last Breath," Nas raps on the chorus, "I'm applying pressure, I see why she prеssed / When she with me she GloRilla, 'FNF' / N-A-S, I'm stepping 'til my last breath."

21 Savage claims Nas isn't all that relevant, but Glo clearly feels otherwise because she couldn't believe the news, and told us ... "never in a million years" did she expect a big-time rapper such as Nas to speak her name.

Glo has been on an absolute tear even before signing to Yo Gotti's CMG imprint in the spring. Her breakout single "F.N.F. (Let's Go)" paved the way for her Cardi B collab "Tomorrow 2" to reach the Billboard Hot 100 Top 10 and "Nut Quick" seems to be following suit.

Lil Baby is officially a hometown hero after getting his own day in his birthplace.

The 4PF rap boss received a proclamation from the Atlanta City Council on Sunday, forever cementing November 13 as "Lil Baby Day" in the ATL, and thanked the fans with a pair of prayer emojis on Instagram.

In turn, he was saluted by several of his show biz peers, such as Ludacris, Lala Anthony, Atlanta Hawks' star Trae Young and "BMF" actor Lil Meech ... among others.

Lil Baby also launched his Four the People Foundation ... which follows his Quincy Jones Humanitarian Award during the 2022 Black Music Action Coalition Gala.

2022 also marks another breakout year for Baby. His most recent album, "It's Only Me" topped the Billboard Charts and he received ASCAP Songwriter of the Year for the second year in a row!!!

R&B singer Keri Hilson was 25 years old when she put her name on the map and on the top of the music charts back in 2007. After signing with rapper and music producer Timbaland, Keri was hitting the ground stage running!

Keri definitely made her mark on the mid-2000s after being featured on Timbaland's track "The Way I Are" and continued to make big waves with hit songs "Knock You Down" and "Pretty Girl Rock." She worked with industry icons including Lil Wayne, Usher and Ciara.

'My name is Keri, I'm so fly, it's a lil' bit scary!'

Nas's home was burglarized this weekend -- and it sounds like a lot of crap was jacked.

Law enforcement sources tell TMZ ... two men broke into the rapper's Calabasas property Saturday around 8:30 PM PT, apparently having smashed through a rear door to gain entry. We're told Nas's team became aware of their presence due to a Ring camera.

When the two guys were leaving, we're told the crew saw them ... and they called the cops. By the time officers arrived, the two dudes were long gone. Nas wasn't home, BTW -- he was in NYC for an album release party. Nobody else was at the house either, it seems.

As for the damage done ... our sources say the guys tore the place apart and left with at least two bags worth of stuff. Unclear what exactly was taken, or how much it's worth.

We're told Nas is still out of town and will have to come back and do a proper inventory of the items stolen, which will then give authorities an idea of what they're looking for. No arrests have been made and the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department is investigating.

Drake is $2 million lighter this morning after betting on the loser in Saturday night's UFC title fight, but for a good part of the fight he looked like he was gonna win big.

The iconic rapper -- known for his love of high-stakes gambling -- plunked down the INSANE amount of cash on middleweight champion Israel Adesanya to beat Alex Pereira during UFC 281 at Madison Square Garden in NYC.

Adesanya seemed to have the upper hand until the 5th round. Then, Pereira unleashed a series of brutal body blows that staggered Adesanya, although he didn't drop to the canvas. But, the referee decided to step in anyway and stop the fight.

Pereira's victory marked the third time he defeated Adesanya ... their other two clashes were kickboxing matches.

As for Drake, he captioned his ticket on Instagram with "been focused on the album gotta get back to stacking up" before the fight ... so stacking will have to be an even bigger priority now that Izzy lost.

Flavor Flav will tell you Spirit Airlines is like 9-1-1 ... a total joke, except he's not laughing after narrowly missing a flight in Las Vegas and losing his cool.

TMZ Hip Hop obtained footage of Flav trying not to pop his top Thursday night at a Spirit gate inside Harry Reid International Airport. Sources tell us it was around 11:30 PM, and the iconic Public Enemy rapper was sitting near the gate waiting to catch a flight to Detroit.

We're told he was working on his laptop and chatting on the phone -- basically, preoccupied -- when he noticed the gate agent shutting the jetway door. He ran up, but she wouldn't reopen it for him ... so he missed the flight.

You can see he was super annoyed, and argued back and forth with the Spirit employee -- another man even stepped in to plead Flav's case.

Flav was fired up and hurled some obscenities at the employee, who threatened to call security -- but thankfully for Flav, in the end, she didn't and he did not become public enemy #1 at the Vegas airport.

Sources close to Flav tell us he commonly waits to board after everyone else because people want to take pictures with him ... and he doesn't want to hold up the boarding process. Those sources also claim Spirit actually did reopen the door to let other passengers in -- before this video starts -- but closed it again on Flav and 2 other people.

Flav tells TMZ ... "Spirit Airlines shut the door on me while I was in line to board. I was upset and said some harsh words to the gate agent. I apologize to those who witnessed me acting out of character. I do not apologize to Spirit Airlines or the gate agent."

Vanilla Ice also had a similar meltdown after missing a flight a few years ago, and as we reported ... Gillie Da Kid just had an intense showdown with a TSA agent.

The Commanders will be in amazing hands if Daniel Snyder does end up selling the team to Jeff Bezos and Jay-Z ... so says Mark Cuban, who tells TMZ Sports the duo would be "great" NFL owners.

Snyder revealed earlier this month he has hired Bank of America to explore a potential sale of the Washington franchise ... and it didn't take long for Jay and Jeff to express interest in putting in a bid.

In fact, the duo had a secret dinner in Los Angeles on Tuesday night to discuss it all ... breaking bread at a closed restaurant near the Sunset Strip for over two hours.

When we got Cuban -- arguably the most famous celeb owner in sports -- out in D.C. on Thursday ... he assured us the two titans would make for great honchos of the Commanders.

The Dallas Mavericks boss didn't elaborate further -- he had to jet quickly -- but he made it clear he's got full faith in the guys to turn the NFL org. around.

Jamie Foxx apparently misses the 2000s, when things were simpler and when he was rolling in the good times ... a stark contrast to what he says is the overall climate right now.

We got the A-lister Friday as he was leaving lunch in Bev Hills, and asked about Takeoff's murder -- over which he sent condolences ... but it also launched him into a train of thought about what he considers a massive cloud of negativity that's hovering above Hollywood.

Jamie suggests there's a general heaviness among his celebrity pals these days -- especially rappers, it seems -- that's leading to some dark moments and tragedies ... which he says could be avoided if everyone just went back to having fun again like they used to.

He talks about making records and partying it up ... implying that camaraderie and light-heartedness are long gone in 2022 among his music industry peers. Instead, we're seeing more killings than ever ... not to mention more controversies than ever, a la Kanye West.

JF tells us he'll never speak ill of his brothers -- Kanye included, with whom he's made a handful of hits over the years -- but does say he thinks the solution to all the rancor and handwringing that seems to consume everyone lately is a little more focus on positivity and less attention on the ugly side of things ... particularly when it comes to the media.

While Jamie is right about the world changing since the aughts, his desire to roll back the clock is probably a pipe dream. With the advent of social media/tech, Trump-fueled politics and huge societal shifts in attitude about what's acceptable and not ... something tells us we're never going back. With that said, his sentiment is certainly appealing and nostalgic.

In the meantime, he's a throwback to those peak Jamie Foxx days. If only, if only ...

Quavo is publicly addressing Takeoff's death, and he did with a lengthy remembrance that highlights their storied life together.

The rapper took to Instagram to post a tribute to his nephew and partner-in-rhyme ... starting out by recapping their childhood and noting how difficult his passing is since Takeoff had always been right by his side in virtually everything.

Quavo touched on a few character traits of Takeoff's that he says he'll always remember, including the fact that the guy was the quietest in the room but was always watching. Quavo also says Takeoff was the most unbothered and by far the funniest of their group.

He also says Takeoff always felt like more than a nephew to him, even though he knew he wasn't quite a brother -- as he was the son of Quavo's older sister. Turns out, he likened him to an angel. Quavo then reflected on Takeoff's death specifically and said something poignant.

Quavo writes, "Me and u knew we gon always be with each other for life and jus like now we gon see each other again. I love with you all my heart. I'll never leave you I guess God jus ain't need my help. So can you ask Him for me what I gotta do to be with you again!!!"

Offset was consoling mourners and they were consoling him after the incredibly emotional memorial service for Takeoff.

Offset was in a parking garage outside the State Farm Arena in Atlanta Friday, hugging friends and receiving it right back as they absorbed the tragedy of their dear friend.

The service was packed with friends, family and fans ... among them, Cardi B.

Cardi has not spoken about the death of her husband's compadre and her dear friend, until now. She posted this ... "Takeoff your untimely passing has brought a great deal of pain and sorrow to so many lives. The impact you had in this world was so considerable and we have struggled to grasp this tragedy. I am heartbroken but I am grateful for all the precious memories we got to share while you were here with us."

She went on ... "This has truly been a nightmare and the pain is incomparable. The emptiness your brothers are feeling is unbearable and I pray that you give Offset ,Quavo, and your friends and family the strength to keep going as they are trying to cope with this loss. I believe that angels send signs and beautiful dreams to loved ones to assure them that they’re watching them and they’re okay and happy…send your mom some of those 🙏🏽."

Cardi made it clear ... she's not just a close friend of the Migos member who was gunned down nearly 2 weeks ago ... "As a Migos fan it hurts me to look at pictures and videos of y’all together, and hearing y’all songs that changed the music industry and moved the culture and had the clubs lit 🔥. It hurts because I know it will never be the same again—but I know your bros and y’all fans will make sure the world never forgets the impact you made."

Nelly started carving out his mega career back when he delivered "Country Grammar" to the masses, but quite frankly, he has no idea how the current crop of rappers can duplicate his success.

TMZ Hip Hop caught up with Nelly outside Crypto.com Arena in L.A. and tried to pick his brain for advice he'd give new artists. We'll say this ... he kept it short and sweet. Well, short, at least.

With more than 20 years in the industry, Nelly admits he has no idea how the game works for new school rappers -- but he did tell us what's gotten him where he is. Maybe there's a clue in there for the up-and-comers.

Nelly's lack of advice for the next gen is particularly interesting in the aftermath of DJ Akademiks' recent "broke and dusty" controversy.

Ak found himself on the social media hot seat after ranting about older rappers not glowing up with wealth nor passing down game to the younger generation.

We're guessing Ak would probably say Nelly's guilty of exactly that ... right or wrong.

Nowadays ... Nelly is getting his bread buttered through country music. He recently linked with platinum-selling singer Chris Lane for their "Birthday Girl" collaboration and he's the only traditional rapper on the bill for Stagecoach '23.

Takeoff's memorial service in Atlanta just ended, and his sendoff was marked by several emotional moments ... especially speeches from his Migos family and Drake.

The service started shortly after noon, and lasted several hours Friday from State Farm Arena ... which was packed with mourning fans, as well as the celebs who worked with Takeoff and loved him.

Justin Bieber, Chloe Bailey and Yolanda Adams all performed during the ceremony, and Takeoff's family members -- including his mother, brother and sister -- addressed the crowd.

His close friend Drake spoke about the great times he and Migos all shared while touring together. He compared their brotherhood to the famed Rat Pack -- Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, Sammy Davis Jr., Joey Bishop and Peter Lawford -- which he grew up watching on TV.

Of course, Offset and Quavo spoke not only about Takeoff as their groupmate, but as family. Their speeches, especially Offset's, really had the audience in tears.

All the free tickets to the event were gone almost instantly, and folks in attendance weren't allowed to use their phones -- ushers locked them in pouches during the service.

The venue, where the NBA's Atlanta Hawks play, lit up a big sign out front that read "Celebrating the life of Takeoff."

As we reported ... Cardi B and Offset were dressed in all black Thursday evening in Atlanta, looking somber during a gathering with close friends.

Multi-platinum producer Sonny Digital thinks passing weed during recording sessions is a thing of the past -- a sentiment apparently shared by some of his hip hop peers, including Mr. 420 himself, Wiz Khalifa!!!

Sonny was a recent guest for On The Radar’s podcast when he went on a mini-rant about refusing to pass the J going forward.

In the post's caption, Sonny noted how the premium prices of his weed also influenced his shift on the topic.

Iconic films like Ice Cube’s “Friday” have deeply rooted that sharing is caring when it comes to cannabis but Sonny says it’s a new day, and he’s not swapping spit with anyone!!!

The post struck a nerve with many of his fellow artists, who are choosing to relate rather than hate.

Artists like Gashi and Vory couldn’t contain their laughter ... while Da Honorable C.N.O.T.E. revealed his fear of catching mouth sores.

Wiz -- one of rap’s undisputed chieftains -- maintained he hadn’t passed weed in years and advised anyone who wanted to smoke with him to bring their own stash.

Sonny did eventually swat off another commenter accusing him of being stingy ... but hey, safety first.