TMZ Hip Hop - Page 50

Kanye West's presidential aspirations don't come cheap -- just ask his campaign, which paid Milo Yiannopoulos tens of thousands last year ... while reimbursing Nick Fuentes for a few expenses, as well.

According to FEC filings obtained and viewed by TMZ, Kanye 2020 -- his official presidential committee that appears to still be active -- shelled out a whopping $40,000 to the alt-right media personality ... with whom Ye recently cut ties amid his anti-Semitic spiral.

The docs show that Milo was paid this amount for "Campaign Wrap Up Services" ... with the cash getting dispersed about a week or so before Christmas 2022. That would seem to line up with what we were seeing at the time publicly ... Milo tagging along with Ye throughout much of the fall.

That's not the end of Milo's payday, though ... the filings also show a separate $9,955 that was paid to him by the Kanye's campaign in November for what they describe as "Domain Transfer."

Keep in mind ... Milo was claiming in early December that Ye actually owed him $116k for campaign consulting -- but our Ye sources said nothing was ever in writing.

On top of this, the FEC docs also show that Nick Fuentes was paid back by the campaign for some travel costs ... totaling $14,719.87. You'll recall -- NF was on Ye's national press tour for a while too, going city to city with Kanye for months on end.

Some rappers make NBA highlights just by sitting courtside -- but a few artists actually got on the court this weekend to make some Top 10-worthy jumpers!!!

Both Travis Scott and The Game got the royalty treatment during the Utah Jazz win over the Dallas Mavericks Saturday inside Vivint Arena ... and were able to shoot around before the game, targeting nothing but the bottom of the net.

Not to be outdone, YG sank a half-court shot Sunday inside Moda Center, decked out in baggy gear from his 4Hunnid line.

The "Alone" rapper was in Portland for his Red Cup Tour stop and got to see his Lakers beat the Trail Blazers before hitting the stage.

Game hit a couple of consecutive long bombs and went the extra mile and campaigned for an NBA 10-day contract. He also called out Gillie Da Kid to pull up to his home court in L.A. and earn an ass-whooping!!!

Gillie's one of the better shooters in hip hop ... even showing out NBA organizations in the past, so this could get interesting.

Master P is still the only traditional rapper who played in the NBA, having suited up for both the Charlotte Hornets and Toronto Raptors in the late '90s.

Rich Dollaz has his daughter Ashley Trowers' back after her arrest for allegedly shooting at her ex in Memphis ... insisting she's a domestic violence victim who acted in self-defense.

The "Love & Hip Hop" alum hopped on "TMZ Live" Monday and emphatically claimed Ashley only fired out of fear, and added she and her child's father have had multiple domestic disputes in the past.

TMZ Hip Hop broke the story ... cops say Ashley was approached by the ex, Demiah Tatum, and his friend Mykel Yates during her first day working security at a Kroger's, and she ended up firing 2 shots at the vehicle.

Rich says Ashley already had a temporary restraining order requiring Demiah to stay away from her -- but he claims Demiah got out of his car to confront her.

Rich says people have told him Demiah's claiming he just happened to "pull up" at the Kroger's where Ashley worked ... but her dad isn't buying it was a total coincidence.

Flavor Flav is reflecting on the tumultuous drug-bingeing past he says nearly cost him his life and did cost him almost $1 million/year -- and he's convinced God allowed him to survive to share his story.

The Public Enemy hype man came clean on DJ Akademiks' 'Off The Record' Spotify podcast ... admitting getting off drugs was the hardest obstacle he's ever overcome.

Flav claims he spent $2400 per day on crack and hid it from those closest to him, including Chuck D and his other PE bandmates.

The Long Island-born rap legend first revealed his crack addiction in his 2011 book, "Flavor Flav: The Icon The Memoir." He tells Ak he was his own biggest and best customer, on account of having a lot of money during his heyday.

Flav also frowned upon today's hip hop landscape ... noting how rappers are filling their lyrics with drug use, which doesn't leave him very hopeful for the future.

He predicts crack will be around as long as there are humans -- a claim on which Boosie Badazz would, no doubt, cosign.

The rapper ranted about today's drugs being too strong. He'd been reacting to Gangsta Boo's death -- which some believe was a fatal OD -- when he offered some wildly irresponsible advice about getting high.

Miami's Club LIV was the location for a Young Money-sanctioned movie last night ... with Lil Wayne, Drake and 2 Chainz all gracing the stage to celebrate the birthday of DJ Stevie J!!!

Drake was seemingly in a great mood last night after winning big betting on the Super Bowl-bound Philadelphia Eagles ... and you can see his enthusiasm as he surprised the crowd by rapping along to performances of Wayne's "Steady Mobbin'" and 2 Chainz' "Watch Out."

The event was thrown by Michael Gardner and Louis Oliver and hosted by Wayne ... who was in his element ripping through a flawless rendition of his classic tongue-twisting track, "A Milli."

Drake eventually grabbed the mic, joining Wayne on their platinum collaboration "The Motto" and for his own "Her Loss" opening track, "Rich Flex" ... giving the crowd an impromptu concert on Sunday for David Grutman's club at Fontainebleau.

Meek Mill celebrated the Eagles' big win with a freestyle rap on Sunday ... taking shots at 49ers fans by dropping bars on one of the most iconic diss tracks of all time.

The Philly rapper posted his video to Instagram right after Philly whooped San Francisco 31-7 in the NFC Championship game ... punching their ticket to Super Bowl LVII.

Meek used the beat from Tupac's "Hit 'Em Up" to send his message to the Niners ... which, of course, was a diss track to Notorious B.I.G. -- and to this day, remains one of the top verbal attacks in the rap game.

"This for all my 49ers fans right here ... First off, f*** ya clique and the team you claim," Meek starts off.

"Northside, Southside this an Eagles game. Y'all claim to keep it playa, but we packed ya bag -- plus the other quarterback, y'all couldn't even pass it back."

Of course, Meek is referring to S.F. rookie quarterback Brock Purdy, who injured his elbow in the first half. To make matters worse, his backup, Josh Johnson, left the game in the 3rd quarter with a concussion.

BTW, Meek was watching the game in the Lincoln Financial Stadium suite with an A-list crowd -- Kevin Hart, Lil Baby, James Harden, Joel Embiid, Michael Rubin, and former Eagles receiver DeSean Jackson.

Chrisean Rock has hinted at getting married to Blueface, but it seems the wedding might've just been for show ... or for the camera, rather.

The volatile couple were seen on what appears to be a set Friday -- the day CR said she'd be saying "I do" during a visit to a bridal shop in DTLA. A lot of photos/clips have since leaked showing what they were up to, and it looks like they were shooting a music video.

You can see BF suited and booted in a white tux, surrounded by a group of pals -- one of whom is actually a fellow rapper, DDG. You can also hear music playing in the background as they pose in front of a professional video camera ... the telltale signs this is a production.

In other words, the whole idea of actual nuptials that Chrisean was teasing doesn't seem to have gone down in reality -- although, they certainly went all out to make it feel authentic.

Chrisean was decked out in a white bridal gown ... which she presumably picked up the day she was talking out loud about all this. And then, there's the ring ... a purported photo of which has since been posted -- and it has all the sparkle of a damn nice rock.

Meanwhile, on social media, Chrisean and Blueface have been posting clips of what seems to be new music on the way from both of them -- so it all adds up this is just make-believe.

Of course, the interesting thing about this is the fact that Blueface and Chrisean are on solid terms once again ... this just a week after a massive blowup/breakup that spelled trouble to the outside world. Remember, she announced she was pregnant -- and Blueface denied it was his/dumped her.

Shortly thereafter, they were involved in a scuffle on the street ... and things looked bad.

It would appear they've made up again and are back to work. Not only are they romantically involved, but Blue and Chrisean obviously have a working relationship too ... their reality show, and joint projects as well. So, it probably isn't so easy for either to just walk away.

Kanye West is the named suspect in a battery investigation after a heated exchange with a photographer escalated to the point of Ye grabbing and throwing the woman’s phone.

Check out the video, Ye’s clearly upset — accusing the woman of following him — all the while she continues to record.

The woman exclaims, “You’re a celebrity!” but that’s enough for Ye, who grabs and throws the woman’s phone into the street.

He then hops into his SUV where his wife, Bianca Censori, is patiently waiting.

A law enforcement source tells us Kanye’s the named suspect in a battery investigation, deputies from the Ventura County Sheriff’s Department were called to the scene around 4:30 PM and were provided video evidence of the incident.

It’s currently unclear if the woman is a professional photographer or was just taking videos of Ye as a citizen.

We should note … the whole thing happened near a sports complex where North West had a scheduled basketball game.

Sada Baby shocked fans earlier this week, announcing he was done with lean and cigarettes after spending upwards of $20k on the habits per week ... a move he says not only benefited his health, but his pockets too!!!

TMZ Hip Hop chopped it up with Sada, who openly admits he pushed his body to its limits, calling it an "immature goal" that backfired ... comparing himself to late Temptations frontman David Ruffin, who infamously died of an overdose.

Sada says his addiction forced him to mentally disregard the rising cost of lean and even admitted being muddy influenced some of his biggest songs ... but he no longer wants to be a hypocrite in the streets for fans who actually look up to him!!!

After merging with Asylum Records (a division of Warner Music Group), Sada shared he's now an independent artist and says he's eager to finally make streaming money from his own music and will receive his masters and royalties in due time.

The money's there to make -- Sada says he's dropping a mixtape next month but is really anticipating the release of his debut album with possible features from Chris Brown, Marc Rebillet and Sevyn Streeter ... and beats from Hit-Boy, Hitmaka and Mustard!!!

Sheek Louch thinks Pusha T did himself a favor by choosing to part ways with Kanye West following his 2022 string of hate and antisemitism.

The LOX legend recalled how disappointed he was in Ye's antisemitic rants when DJ Vlad alerted him Pusha had quit his longtime gig as GOOD Music President over those very same outbursts!!!

Sheek applauded Pusha for choosing to bounce away from Ye ... calling him "solid" while voicing some pretty hefty complaints of his own about the embattled megastar.

Back in August 2021 when Ye was rallying the troops for his "Donda 1" album, he called upon a sleep-deprived Sheek, Jadakiss and Styles P to fly on a private jet in the middle of the night to work on the project.

The LOX had just beaten Dipset in their historic Verzuz battle but still agreed to help Ye for the culture.

Sheek says once they got there, Ye thanked them for coming ... through his mask — which he didn't remove one time — but even crazier, that was the last time they saw him!!!

Sheek floated the idea of telling Ye to suck a 🍆 — the ultimate form of disrespect in his book — if he reaches out to do a track in 2023, but doesn't think Ye and Pusha should beef going forward.

One person who strongly disagrees is proud Ye loyalist Consequence ... who's currently dragging Pusha's name in the gutter for abandoning ship!!!

Pusha T is firing back at Consequence's latest interview that painted "disgust" on his recent departure from Kanye West's GOOD Music, in a theological fashion ... with a quote from the Bible that outlines his views on the entire debacle.

The "It's Almost Dry" rapper took a page outta 1 Corinthians 6:7 ... quoting "suffer yourselves to be defrauded," a call for Cons to focus on the bigger picture and not attempt to clean up Ye's mess.

Push is heavily rumored to be restarting his Clipse duo with brother No Malice, who's a devout Christian, which probably explains why he's rattling off bible verses like they live on Genius.

Push started his 2023 off Kanye-free ... having cut ties with Ye and GOOD Music after years by his side over his antisemitic rants, but Consequence says his reasoning was total BS.

Cons says Kanye prevented Push from getting on stage at a Donda performance in Chicago and has been on some taking-his-ball-home-ish ever since!!!

Cons says Push's real loyalty is to Pharrell, but he expected more outta the Virginia rapper, after hanging around all these years.

He also blamed Push for bringing tensions with Drake into Good Music, revealing he's actually been to Drake's crib but never stepped foot inside Push's house!!

Kanye West's GOOD Music is a dub as we know it -- Push, Kid Cudi, Big Sean, Desiigner -- have all departed with less than stellar things to say about Ye and Consequence wants to know where's the loyalty!!!

The TikTok community was dealt a devasting blow this week, with Randy Gonzalez of popular father-son duo Enkyboys dying after a battle with stage-4 colon cancer.

Trae Tha Truth is feeling the loss as well ... having befriended both Randy and Brice over the years and collaborated on several skits.

We caught Trae out in NYC as he attempted to find silver linings in losing his friend.

The Houston rapper said Randy was a "fighter" to the end and also praised him for being brave enough to share his cancer diagnosis with the world back in April 2022.

TMZ broke the story ... Randy passed away on Wednesday morning in hospice, leaving behind his wife Kimberly, 3 children and nearly 16 million followers on social media.

Trae tells us he spoke to Randy's wife following the sad news, and he's in early talks to continue on his legacy.

If there's any silver lining, Trae predicts Randy's children -- especially Brice -- will go on to accomplish big things to make their father proud.

N.O.R.E. made a splash guest-hosting on "The Breakfast Club" this week when he fueled rumors Future was upset with Drake for collaborating with 21 Savage -- but Freebandz rapper Young Scooter says that's nothing but cap!!!

Scooter swatted down the rumors on IG with a below-the-belt homophobic dig at N.O.R.E. ... claiming the "Drink Champs" host was turning shock jock on the radio simply for views.

Without naming any sources but the "streets," N.O.R.E. claimed Future felt his and Drake's 2015 album "What a Time to Be Alive" lost its importance in the wake of the success of Drake and 21's "Her Loss" release.

An interesting take ... seeing this sentiment wasn't brought up when Future and Lil Uzi Vert dropped their "Pluto x Baby Pluto" joint album in 2020.

Plus, Scooter is Future's right-hand man -- and since Hendrix rarely responds to anything himself -- there's good reason to take his word on this.

Drake's Los Angeles mansion came under attack after a man allegedly broke in, alerting the rapper's security, who in turn called the cops.

Law enforcement sources tell TMZ, officers responded Thursday night to Drake's home after his security reported seeing an unknown man leaving the house -- carrying something in the process.

We're told the suspect had disappeared by the time cops arrived, and a search around the neighborhood started. Our sources say just a few hours later, a man matching the suspect's description was spotted walking down a street.

Cops stopped and arrested the man -- who we're told was carrying an item from the home -- which is believed to have been taken from Drake's place.

Our sources say Drake was not home at the time of the break-in.

This isn't the first time Drake's had to deal with an intruder -- TMZ broke the story, a man was arrested at the same place back in July for misdemeanor trespassing ... with the 23-year-old suspect claiming the 36-year-old rapper was his pops.

Drake's not the only rapper taking over the Apollo Theater these days ... Lil Kim headlined the Harlem Festival of Culture there, and shared the shine with her Brooklyn rap descendant Lola Brooke!!!

Kim brought out Lola Thursday night to perform her breakout hit "Don't Play With It" ... rousing the crowd as the rappers shared a quick embrace before Lola started ripping the mic.

Lola's head was still spinning after her cameo, and she gushed over the moment on Twitter -- where she also got Missy Elliott's stamp of approval.

Lola and her independent label, Team 80 Productions, just inked a deal with Arista Records earlier this month, as "Don't Play With It" makes a push on various Billboard charts.

Yung Gravy is getting a legal Rick-rolling from the man himself ... Rick Astley is suing the up-and-coming rapper for allegedly ripping off the singer's voice from his most popular hit.

Astley filed legal docs Thursday in L.A. claiming Gravy's hugely popular "Betty (Get Money)" uses an impersonated version of his own voice from 1987's "Never Gonna Give You Up."

In the docs, obtained by TMZ, Astley says Gravy and his producers -- including Dillon Francis -- "conspired to include a deliberate and nearly indistinguishable imitation of Mr. Astley's voice throughout the song." He's also suing Nick Seeley (aka Popnick), the vocal impersonator.

Astley says he never gave Gravy, or anyone involved in "Betty (Get Money)," permission to use or impersonate his voice -- and because Gravy did so, he's spoiled any future chance for Rick to collaborate with another artist in the future.

We should say, however, Gravy did license the instrumental from Astley's '80s hit ... just not his voice.

What's more ... Astley's lawsuit points to some examples where Gravy allegedly claimed he knew he was in murky territory for impersonating Rick, including an interview with Billboard where he said he "basically remade" Rick's voice, "because it makes it easier legally."

"Never Gonna Give You Up" was a huge hit for Astley, shooting to the #1 spot. "Betty" has been Gravy's most successful song thus far -- reaching Gold in the U.S., Canada and Australia.