TMZ Hip Hop - Page 50

Alicia Keys isn't going to argue with any fans who want her Kanye West and Fivio Foreign collab "City of Gods" to be the sequel to her classic "Empire State of Mind" duet with Jay-Z.

In fact, she seems to think both tracks rep the Big Apple just fine!

We caught up with AK out in NYC and asked her thoughts on the records being related, and the topic seemed to perk her interest ... as she labeled "City of Gods" a straight-up vibe.

The Grammy Award-winner recently admitted she and Jay have been hesitant to deliver a follow-up to their iconic tune for the past 13 years -- but it's not like "City of Gods" isn't a powerful record in its own right.

The song was released in February as Fivio's lead single for his debut album "B.I.B.L.E." and has since been certified gold by the RIAA.

Both Quavo and Offset are missing their late Migos brother Takeoff dearly ... and expressing it in completely different ways on social media.

Quavo has remained off the grid since Takeoff's funeral on November 11, while Offset has been sharing a mix of memories and sadness. Offset asked fans Tuesday to only remember Takeoff in a positive light going forward ... posting a pic of Jesus Christ to hammer home his point.

There's a possible chance that Offset was reacting to the latest social media rumors that Takeoff's parents, Titania Davenport-Treet and Kenneth M Ball, were currently battling over his estate ... as he's said to have died without a will at the age of 28.

Dr. Dre and DJ Quik both hail from Compton, both have produced for countless rap artists and both are considered production geniuses in their own right -- so, Quik's wondering why the comparisons stop there.

His point is only Dre is featured on Forbes' lists, had his own Super Bowl halftime show and been the subject of a feature film. Translation: Quik's not feeling the balance!!!

In a string of unprovoked tweets Tuesday, he revealed his secret desires to be considered on the same level as Dre -- and he's blaming his lack of resources within the music industry "machine" for stunting his popularity.

Quik called his current position "unfair" and compared himself to the unheralded janitor who makes the school run smoothly ... but never gets the credit.

The veteran studio wiz denied he was having a meltdown or that his tweets were podcast fodder ... and affirmed his love for Dr. Dre, even though he considers him real-life competition.

Dre and Quik collaborated many moons ago for the "Training Day" soundtrack on the song "Put It On Me."

A Boogie Wit Da Hoodie turned 27 today and will have even more celebrating to do when "Me Vs. Myself" -- his first album in nearly 3 years -- is unleashed on the world.

Unfortunately, A Boogie had to complete the project without his longtime collaborator and ex-Atlantic Records labelmate PnB Rock, who was murdered in September.

A Boogie and PnB have several songs together, including a joint on A Boogie's last album, and the Bronx rapper figured out a way to honor his late friend ... with a feature on the "Me Vs. Myself" deluxe version down the line.

He tells Apple Music ... "When it comes to PnB Rock too, that was a big one right there, that was the end of my album."

He added, "I didn't expect that right there. I had to put him on the album at the same time as not making it. I don't like to do that when it comes to people passing away, putting [out] their music. It feels like a weird tension towards that ... I separated his song from my album and I'm dropping it solo as a deluxe."

Tory Lanez is facing yet another hurdle in his Megan Thee Stallion shooting case -- prosecutors are hitting him with a third charge just as his trial is about to begin.

Court records show the new charge against Tory is felony negligent discharge of a firearm ... which comes on top of his previous 2 charges of assault with a semiautomatic firearm, and carrying a loaded and unregistered firearm.

As we reported, Tory plead not guilty, way back in 2020, to the first 2 charges ... denying Megan's claim he was the one who shot her in the foot while they were in a vehicle together.

She put him on blast the following month, saying on social media "Yes, this n**** Tory shot me. You shot me, and you got your publicist and your people to these blogs lying and s***, stop lying!"

In the 2 years since ... both have traded jabs in songs, on social ... and through other artists. Tory was still smiling, though, in October when he was fitted for an ankle monitor and put on house arrest until the trial starts.

Jury selection has begun, and opening statements are set for next week.

Roddy Ricch's megahit "The Box" is celebrating its 3rd anniversary Tuesday ... but now the Compton rapper is dealing with a new copyright lawsuit over it.

According to court documents, obtained by TMZ Hip Hop, Roddy, his producer 30 Roc, Atlantic Records, and others are being sued by artist Greg Perry ... who claims Roddy and co. took certain key elements of his 1975 song "Come On Down (Get Your Head Out Of The Clouds)" and dropped 'em in "The Box" without permission.

Perry says the similarities are unmistakable and claims a musicology expert "clearly and convincingly" shows the 2 tracks share similar melody, form, and structure.

Perry is looking to be awarded damages and wants the court to find that Roddy and team willingly infringed his copyright.

Roddy dropped his debut studio album "Please Excuse Me for Being Antisocial" on December 6, 2019 ... and "The Box" immediately jumped out the gate as the fan favorite, spending 11 weeks atop the Billboard Hot 100 Chart. It also fueled countless TikToks during the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The song was certified Diamond this time last year so yeah, there's a lot of royalties on the table to be had.

Lil Baby's birthday was technically on December 3, but the rapper isn't just limiting his celebrations to one day -- seemingly celebrating all month.

Baby's festivities took him to Houston Monday, where he partied with James Harden and the Philadelphia 76ers after they lost to Harden's former squad, the Houston Rockets.

Bouncing back after an L in the club is very familiar territory for JH13 -- and he and Lil Baby switched courses for one of H-Town's illustrious strip clubs.

With Harden in tow, Baby rapped along to his "Danger" lyrics while previewing the insane stack of cash they set aside for the dancers, which undoubtedly had them throwing cash all night!!!

The evening is giving a serious case of déjà vu ... Baby got wild with James, Travis Scott, and Meek Mill for his birthday in March after losing by 29 points -- against another one of his former teams, the Brooklyn Nets.

Kanye West is embroiled in controversy, but that doesn't mean Kim Kardashian is holding him from his kids -- inviting Kanye to celebrate their son's 7th birthday together at her home.

Ye spent several hours at Kim's Hidden Hills estate Monday night for Saint's birthday. Unclear if other members of Kim's family were present for the party, but Kanye's attendance truly speaks to Kim's commitment to keeping Kanye in their kids' lives ... no matter what he's going through publicly.

Earlier in the day, Kim and Kourtney took Saint and Reign -- who turns 8 next week -- to Disneyland to celebrate.

On top of that, Kim took Saint and a bunch of his friends to the L.A. Rams game to celebrate his birthday on Sunday ... where they got field access, watched the game from a suite and even got to meet Rams' star Jalen Ramsey.

Kanye was not present for the friend bday party on Sunday, but it was clearly something Kim had organized on her own.

TMZ broke the story -- Kim and Kanye settled their divorce last week, he's paying $200,000 per month in child support and it was agreed they'd have "equal access" to the kids.

Kanye West's pockets aren't as deep as they used to be, which might explain why he was none too pleased by Milo Yiannopoulos charging him more than $100K after their media blitz together.

Sources connected to Ye tell us he and Milo never had a financial agreement for the right-wing extremist to work as an advisor. However, we've obtained an invoice, dated Dec. 1 and allegedly sent from Milo to Kanye ... for $116,000!!!

We're told because Kanye hasn't yet officially declared a run for president in 2024, everyone who has worked with him so far -- including white nationalist Nick Fuentes and far-right activist Ali Alexander -- have worked as volunteers.

Simply put ... they can't be on the payroll of a campaign that doesn't exist.

As we reported, Milo told the Daily Beast he and Kanye decided to part ways after reaching a "mutual conclusion" ... and we're told the issue of money was a big part of that conclusion.

Of course, Kanye was joined by Fuentes on "Infowars" as he spewed hate -- claiming his love for Hitler and Nazis. Milo was noticeably absent from that interview after he'd been traveling the country with Nick and Ye.

Trap rapper Hoodrich Pablo Juan is going to do some hard time in prison as part of a plea deal he made, and once he gets out ... he'll have to be on his best behavior for an even longer stretch.

According to legal docs, obtained by TMZ Hip Hop, HPJ pleaded guilty to one count of violating the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act -- aka a RICO case -- and got 5 years in prison. He'll get credit for time already served, which is substantial ... he's been in custody for more than 2 years.

The Jersey-born, Atlanta-bred rapper was arrested back in October 2020 along with 45 other people as part of a sweep that targeted the local Rollin 20 Neighborhood Bloods.

His plea deal calls for 10 years of probation after he gets out of prison. During that time, HPJ must avoid any contact with members or associates of a criminal gang ... and he's also barred from possessing firearms and ammo.

Jewish UFC fighter Natan Levy says he's getting more hate -- but also a ton of support -- since calling out Kanye West for his repeated antisemitism.

Levy, who was raised in Herzliya, Israel, met with the media on Saturday in Orlando after beating Genaro Valdez by unanimous decision and issued a stern warning to Ye.

“Kanye West, if you’ve got a problem with me or my people, come see me, bro.”

On Monday, 31-year-old Levy talked to TMZ Sports about the reaction to his remarks.

"My interview, most of the comments are antisemitic. Most of the comments say, 'Hey, look, actually I think Kanye is right,'" Natan told us.

Levy says that's nothing new ... but the sheer amount of messages he's received since going at Kanye has increased.

"I'm always getting a lot of hate just for being who and what I am, which I'm fine with. It's not fun, but, right now I'm getting more."

But, it's not all bad.

"I'm also getting a lot of love. There is also a lot of positive out there. I'm getting a lot of love. A lot of reinforcement. I'm getting a lot of friends, a lot of people who speak up. Post the video and share it and saying 'stop the hate.'"

Of course, West's antisemitism has become almost routine. He's gone as far as to praise Hitler and the Nazis on Alex Jones' show last week. He's also hung out with white nationalist Nick Fuentes.

"Just think about how many Jewish kids will get bullied because of [Kanye's] comments. How many Jewish people will get attacked. The hate speech, it does turn into violence."

Natan says while Ye's behavior is incredibly dangerous for reasons he just stated, he's not the only one ... but Levy's had enough of turning the other cheek.

The Weeknd is adding yet another career achievement to his resume -- his FOURTH diamond certification!!!

The Toronto-bred megastar's 2015 party starter "Can’t Feel My Face" received its flowers from the Recording Industry Association of America on Tuesday -- an award for selling 10 million records sold overall.

The "Can’t Feel My Face" video also has over a billion views on YouTube ... so yeah, the song's been a monster jam for years.

His hits "The Hills," "Starboy" and "Blinding Lights" were also previously certified diamond ... making him the third solo artist and fourth artist overall to obtain the 4 milestone plaques.

A$AP Rocky's set to break his 5-year album hiatus soon ... but he's not exactly thrilled about the comeback.

The A$AP Mob rapper thinks today's hip hop space is marred, on account of the constant deaths and brewing competition from other genres. Rocky was speaking on his desire to have his art at the forefront, but acknowledged the string of rapper deaths is affecting him.

Migos' star Takeoff, PnB Rock, JayDaYoungan and Trouble all died violently this year ... seriously sucking the joy out of the culture.

Rocky told Complex, "It’s such a really weird time for hip hop ... we’re losing so many legends."

Rap has consistently dominated charts for the past few years, but 2022 saw Bad Bunny and Taylor Swift amongst the top streamers, with Drake being the only frequent representative for hip hop on the lists.

Rocky continued, "Pop is fighting for the number one spot, as far the most predominant genre. It’s a really weird time right now. I don’t really care for the politics of it. I just want to give motherfuckers some dope shit."

Diddy and Yung Miami are all over each other at Art Basel ... effectively letting the world know their polyamorous relationship is still on and popping!!!

TMZ Hip Hop obtained video from inside Diddy's Club Love pop-up party at his Miami estate ... where the pair engaged in a few steamy dances, and their body language spoke volumes.

Miami didn't break a stride in her stilettos, even as Diddy grabbed a handful of cheeks!!!

Diddy and Miami have been openly dating for much of this year ... providing both entertainment and drama for fans.

They were first linked in the summer of 2021, and finally went public in June 2022. Yung Miami has clarified they're both single ... even though they're dating each other.

The Bad Boy Records mogul copped Miami a brand new Mercedes Maybach to firm up their union -- and he even played mediator between one of his other GFs and Miami.

They're linked in the workplace too -- Miami hosts "Caresha Please" on Diddy's Revolt TV ... where she recently put her "man" in the hot seat, and pressured him into marriage down the line.

Bobby Shmurda and Rowdy Rebel are typically on the same page, but now they're publicly disagreeing about what Bobby calls a "miscommunication" with NBA YoungBoy's camp.

Bobby recently visited Math Hoffa's "My Expert Opinion" show where he was attempting to clear up his pal Rowdy's previous comments, on that same show, about King Von's murder.

Rowdy had suggested Lul Tim had "no morals" when he allegedly opened fire on the late Chicago rapper in November 2020. As we reported, Tim's been arrested for the killing.

Tim is affiliated with YoungBoy's homie, Quando Rondo ... so, the commentary angered YB, and prompted an exchange of words between Bobby and him that ultimately went nowhere.

But, according to Bobby, Rowdy misspoke and had no biz sticking his nose in that particular situation ... and therein lies the disagreement, because Rowdy's standing by his comments. He posted on IG, "I said what I said."

The "Computers" rapper did clarify there's no rift with Bobby as far as he's concerned. Remember, Shmurda famously added time to his prison sentence to shave numbers from Rowdy's stint.

Order has finally been restored in 50 Cent's 'Power' universe ... now that Joseph Sikora and Gianni Paolo have officially squashed their beef!!!

The two actors, along with Michael Rainey Jr., are set to appear on The Crew Has It Podcast where they'll clear the air on their long-brewing war. In a teaser for the interview, Michael shared of pic of Joe and Gianni hugging and smiling -- promising everything would be explained on Tuesday when the podcast airs.

TMZ Hip Hop broke the story ... Joe and Gianni had been feuding behind the scenes on set, with tension being felt by fellow cast members whenever they were around one another.