TMZ Hip Hop - Page 50

Nelly's recent performance in Australia has the Internet thinking he was a drunken mess on stage ... and the "Country Grammar" rapper can't help but laugh at all the jokes getting thrown his way about the show.

Video from Sunday's performance at Melbourne's Juice Fest shows Nelly staring off into space and missing the cues for his song "Over and Over" -- causing fans to voice their concerns on social media -- and letting the jokes fly.

"Nahh Nelly caught 4k Perced up and on god knows what other drugs he on," one fan quipped while another wrote, "Nelly was HIGH AS EGGS at that festival in Australia lmao every video i see if him performing gets funnier and funnier."

Nelly didn't deny being under the influence of anything ... but comedian Spice Adams spoofed the performance on Instagram, prompting the rap superstar to react with a slew of laughing emojis ... because what else can you say at this point? 😅

Funkmaster Flex thinks Gunna is full of oxymorons following his plea deal in the YSL RICO case, and recently spent a considerable amount of airtime shredding the embattled "Pushin P" rapper.

The Hot 97 vet lit up Gunna with jokes and slander Tuesday evening … noting how Gunna’s IG post calling for the law to "free" Young Thug contradicted statements Gunna made in court to secure his own freedom.

Despite taking shots, Flex also said he understood why Gunna confessed, and also shared advice from Jim Jones ... warning him to be leery of anyone willing to openly share incriminating information.

Earlier in the week, Flex tossed Tekashi 6ix9ine a radio life raft, and unbanned his music after shutting him out in 2021.

Beyoncé has everyone's ears open in Dubai ahead of her $24 million gig this weekend ... and that means some fans got a free show ... late at night.

A little past midnight over there, social media users within earshot of Atlantis The Royal resort started documenting Beyoncé's songs blaring out during her sound check. As you can see in the videos, you don't have to be all that close to the hotel to hear her.

So far, she's blitzed through renditions of her solo hits "Naughty Girl," "Halo," "Spirit" and "Freedom" ... in addition to "Crazy in Love" and "Drunk in Love," her platinum collabs with her hubs Jay-Z, so could be a good chance he'll pop out on stage alongside his queen.

Saturday's event will mark Beyoncé's 1st full-length concert in 5 years and is said to be the launching pad for her upcoming Renaissance Tour ... which has fans salivating and hunting down sold-out tickets.

Platinum-selling hitmaker Flo Rida undoubtedly has a good feeling about his recent lawsuit victory against energy drink giant Celsius ... a jury awarded him $82 million in damages!!! That's a lotta fizz.

Flo had originally claimed he was owed around $30K for the contract breach but over the years, its name grew bigger -- and so did the profits!!!

He argued he helped Celsius become the giant it is today, starting all the way back in 2014 ... and the dispute centered around whether his deal with the company expired after it hit certain sales goals.

The "My House" rapper claimed the deal didn't expire and insisted his music helped launch the brand to big profits -- as evidenced by the now-viral moment where he was grooving to his own music in court!!!

Obviously, the jury agreed with Flo and decided he deserved to share in the company's success ... to the tune of $82 million.

Snoop Dogg’s legendary rap career is about to reach a new level -- he'll be inducted into the Songwriter’s Hall of Fame ... along with several other iconic artists!!!

The Songwriters Hall of Fame announced its 2023 inductees Wednesday at the 52nd Annual Induction and Awards Gala. R&B/jazz great Sade Adu, new jack swing legend Teddy Riley,  Gloria Estefan, Electric Light Orchestra frontman Jeff Lynne and Taylor Swift co-writer Liz Rose all round out the class.

Snoop will be the 5th hip hop act or artist inducted -- Jay-Z, Jermaine Dupri, Missy Elliott, and The Neptunes’ Pharrell Williams and Chad Hugo were previously honored … and Tha Doggfather celebrated his distinction with a series of emojis on IG, speaking to his rapping skills!!!

Songwriter’s HOF Chairman Nile Rodgers saluted all the inductees in a statement, “The music industry does not exist without songwriters delivering great songs first. Without them there is no recorded music, no concert business, no merch . . . nothing, it all starts with the song and the songwriter."

Cardi B is opening up more about her plastic surgery journey ... revealing she actually took surgeon recommendations from Kim Kardashian before going under the knife.

The Bronx-bred rapper is the first guest on Revolt TV's The Jason Lee Show, and audio from the interview first dropped on the Jason Lee Podcast where she talked about her cosmetic procedures -- including a nose job and butt lift -- and she gives props to the SKIMS founder for pointing her in the right direction.

Jason asked Cardi how she was able to find good docs she could trust to work on her face and her body ... and she says she did, in fact, phone a couple of the names Kim gave her.

She doesn't say whether she ended up going with any of them in the end.

Kim has been very candid about how much she loves giving beauty advice.

During a chat about Madonna's skincare line in 2018, she told Fashionista ... "I love analyzing someone's face and going with them to a doctor, and being like, wait, a little Botox here."

As for Cardi, she's been open about her different procedures and she's even shared some advice of her own.

Ray J and his estranged wife, Princess Love, have had their share of ups and downs over the years -- but it appears they've smoothed things out ... at least for his birthday.

Ray turned 42 Tuesday and was live on Instagram most of the night ... broadcasting from a Vegas hotel he and Princess rented out to throw his children a party in his honor.

The music was blasting and performers in Mickey and Minnie Mouse, "Toy Story" Woody and Buzz Lightyear costumes kept the kids occupied as Ray preached to the camera.

Ray says his middle-age status has made him appreciate the finer things in life -- like seeing his kids happy and starting "fresh" with Princess -- despite they fact they're going through a divorce.

TMZ broke the story in October 2021 ... Ray filed for divorce from Princess, citing irreconcilable differences, the case is still ongoing.

Princess spoke to us back in March about the hurdles she and Ray have faced, but didn't seem to be all that concerned about the divorce ... so maybe she felt it would work itself out.

Ray's been alarming fans as of late ... posting cryptic messages that hinted at self-harm and picking a bone with Tyrese of all people.

G-Unit rapper Tony Yayo is sharing his own experience in a similar situation to the one that ended deadly for Takeoff, and the clear pattern is ... dice games tend to go awry.

Coming up in Jamaica, Queens, Yayo says he's seen a ton of dice games go sour and recalled a brush with death he had while shooting dice inside an NYC barbershop years ago.

Yayo says he and his friends were celebrating as they were cleaning the guy outta his rent money, but afterward the loser asked for “a walk.”

Yayo explained to DJ Vlad “a walk” is when someone asks for a portion of their money back, so they won’t go home totally broke and disgusted.

Yayo says he was cordial with the guy, but when he refused to give up some of the winnings ... an argument resulted in gunfire, which Tony oddly described as a “friendly shootout.”

Dice games have been a touchy subject within the hip hop community since Takeoff’s Nov. 1 death in Houston following a not-so-friendly encounter.

The Golden State Warriors returned to The White House to celebrate their 2021-2022 NBA Season championship -- but it wasn't just members of the team who went -- Oakland hip hop legends joined in too!!!

TMZ Hip Hop obtained photos and videos of E-40, Too $hort, Sway Calloway and Mistah F.A.B. at the White House during the reception, posting up with V.P. Kamala Harris and former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi.

We’re told V.P. Harris was excited to meet 40 and $hort ... being a proud Oakland native herself, and the guys got to swap stories with Pelosi and her husband, Paul.

The hip hop stars are regulars at The Chase Center, supporting the Warriors through thick and thin -- so it's not totally shocking they were able to tag along. The group also got a pic in with players Andre Iguodala and Moses Moody.

Outside on the White House grounds, 40, $hort and F.A.B. discussed Oakland streetwear legacy and later connected with former Atlanta mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms for a photo-op.

We spoke with $hort earlier this season about the potential for this year's squad, and he’s adamant the Warriors will win another chip with ease.

Last year marked the Warriors’ 4th championship in recent years, but it was their first trip back to the White House since 2015, after refusing to celebrate with Donald Trump.

Tory Lanez might not be staring down a 22-year prison sentence if he'd hired renowned defense attorney Jose Baez during the trial ... at least according to Baez, who's feeling good about winning an appeal.

Tory's new high-powered lawyer -- who famously won an acquittal for Casey Anthony --  joined us Tuesday on "TMZ Live," saying he's ready to go all out for Tory too, but, interestingly ... said he regrets the fact Tory didn't call him in for the trial.

While Baez wouldn't reveal too many specifics prior to going before the judge, he strongly insinuated there were things he would've done differently if he were repping Lanez during his trial for shooting Megan Thee Stallion.

That being said, he told us he's confident there were procedural errors made -- partly because it was a high-profile trial -- and that will be the foundation of Tory's appeal of the conviction.

As for how Tory's doing in jail while awaiting sentencing ... Baez says his client's never been convicted before, so he's never gone through anything like this, but says he's trying to make adjustments.

As we reported, Lanez pulled out all the stops last week, retaining David Kenner, Matthew Barhoma and Baez to work on his appeal.

Iggy Azalea might've lied about never joining OnlyFans, but she says she's keeping it all the way real when it comes to the numbers her surprise subscription is putting up.

The "Fancy" rapper debunked some widespread reports her new OF account earned $307,000 Tuesday, after its first 24 hours in existence.

Iggy says the staggering figures were pulled from "thin air" ... but she's still hyping the new account, which she calls the start of her "slut era," promising "hotter than hell" content ... leaving the door open for her music career.

Iggy previously stood tall on the notion she would never join OF ... writing in April 2021, "I think onlyfans can be really empowering for people, But I WILL NEVER, EVVVER join.
I don’t want to make that type of content & it only f***s up the bag for ppl on there who really bout that life. Shoutout to the baddies tho!!!!"

The change of heart towards OF appears to be a backup -- now that her would-be album executive producer Tory Lanez is behind bars!!!

We spoke to Tory shortly before his trial for shooting Megan Thee Stallion, which, as you know, he eventually lost, but he was genuinely excited about working with Iggy ... claiming to have been working on a "new classic" like her famed IG handle.

Usher and Pusha T have yet to unify for a record throughout their illustrious careers, but that could change, seeing how eager their convo was in Paris while checking out some fashion.

The R&B legend was at the Wales Bonner Autumn/Winter 2023 show when he ran into King Push. The fellas dapped it up, exchanged pleasantries ... and at the end, Ursh told the Clipse rapper, "We gonna make it really happen."

Push was all smiles and appeared to be in agreement. Get these 2 some studio time and a producer!!!

The bright orange hairdo Usher's been rocking for a couple of months finally got the attention it was seeking with the string of international posts -- and as you can imagine, the IG haters have been roasting him like a chestnut at Christmastime.

Tuesday marked a big day for Usher outside the fashion show ... his Lovers & Friends Festival announced a blistering lineup with Missy Elliott, 50 Cent, Chris Brown, Bow Wow, Omarion, Soulja Boy, and way too many other superstar names to list in this sentence.

Cardi B was back in front of the judge in her strip club beatdown case after failing to start the community service portion of her plea deal ... and now she's got a new deadline.

The "WAP" rapper showed up Tuesday to a courthouse in Queens, where the judge gave Cardi until March 1 to complete her sentence, which includes 15 days of community service.

A rep for the Queens District Attorney tells TMZ ... Cardi was supposed to complete her community service by Tuesday, but so far, Cardi has done ZERO hours.

Cardi made a fashion statement at court ... rocking a huge fur coat over a skintight dress, strutting around in Louboutin heels and hiding her eyes behind Christian Dior sunglasses.

As we reported ... Cardi copped a plea deal back in September, pleading guilty to 3rd-degree assault and reckless endangerment, both misdemeanors, and received 15 days of community service as part of the deal.

Drew Findling, who reps Cardi, tells TMZ ... "Personally and professionally, Cardi is dedicated to community service and charitable endeavors. She therefore appreciates the court giving her until March 1st to complete her community service commitment in Queens, New York."

We're told Cardi will be doing community service this week.

Remember ... Cardi was accused of ordering an attack on 2 strip club bartenders, Jade and Baddie Gi, way back in August 2018 ... and she was arrested and booked a few months later for her alleged role in the strip club fight.

Drake and 21 Savage clearly aren't on the same page promoting their "Her Loss" album to start the new year.

The OVO rapper released the video for one of his solo songs from the album, "Jumbotron S**t Poppin," just hours after 21 got into a ridiculously heated argument on Clubhouse ... one that would surprise no one if it spawned an investigation!!!

Per his usual video treatments, director Tristan C-M splices clips of Drake hanging out with his famous pals -- Lil Baby, Mike Tyson, French Montana, Lenny Kravitz and Central Cee -- and adds some luxury items, like a golden PSP and Rolexes, and Drake rapping in front of a bright red Lamborghini.

Drake's been wooing fans with access to Pharrell's custom jewelry in the form of a 22 karat gold, diamond-encrusted skateboard pendant, and upped the ante in 'Jumbotron' ... brandishing Pharrell's Jacob & Co. piece that features N*E*R*D members glowing in rare stones. The chain and pendant actually sold at an auction last November for $2.184 million.

21 Savage raised eyebrows for not being fully featured on "Her Loss" -- which might explain why he got so heated Monday during a now viral argument on Clubhouse ... just ahead of the 'Jumbotron' video release.

21 and a group of people were arguing over who had the bigger war chest between people in Atlanta and Chicago ... and the 'Slaughter Gang' rapper bragged about his crew's winning streak while yelling "you gon' die" repeatedly throughout the audio clip.

Drake will just be a spectator for Trippie Redd’s upcoming feature-filled project -- but that’s perfectly fine with the megastar rapper.

Trippie dropped off the intimidating tracklist Monday for his "Mansion Musik" album, which comes fully loaded with guest appearances from Chief Keef, Future, Lil Baby, Travis Scott, Kodak Black, DaBaby ... the list literally goes on.

Drake couldn't contain his excitement and fired off a series of emojis in the comment section, prompting Trippie to respond with the #MM hashtag.

Trippie told his followers he would let off the release date at 80k likes ... which has since been obliterated by nearly a million clicks.

Sources close to the project tell TMZ Hip Hop that Trippie is actually dropping "Mansion Musik" this Friday, January 20 -- so fans won't have to wait much longer to hear him paired with some of the best in rap!!!

He'll also update his barren IG profile pic with the project's cover art later today as well.

Lil Tjay’s getting a raw deal from the NYPD, at least according to his legal team which believes cops had no business searching the "Calling My Phone" rapper's car, leading to his arrest for gun possession.

Attorney Dawn Florio tells TMZ Hip Hop ... Tjay was just a passenger inside the vehicle alongside several other people, and she insists the vehicle was parked legally on the street.

Once police arrived, Florio claims they gave no reason for searching the vehicle and, perhaps most importantly ... she adds, the gun they found does not belong to Tjay.

So, she's claiming the traffic stop itself was bogus -- and, therefore, cops had no right to arrest her client.

Florio thinks NYPD targeted Tjay on account of the social media posts he and fellow Bronx-born rapper Ice Spice put out to promote the filming of the music video for their "Gangsta Boo" collaboration.