TMZ Hip Hop - Page 50

Lil Nas X and Zedd ignored a property owner's demand they not party in his swanky Hollywood Hills mansion, and then left the place trashed after the huge bash ... at least according to a new lawsuit.

According to legal docs, obtained by TMZ, the "Old Town Road" singer and the famed DJ are among the defendants being sued by landlord Daniel Fitzgerald, who owns a slew of fancy homes in the Hollywood Hills.

In his suit, Fitzgerald says when he leased the property he specifically told the tenants they couldn't have any big parties, but he says that didn't stop the tenants from allowing Lil Nas X to host a bash for 1,000 people where Zedd was paid to spin tunes for the partygoers.

Fitzgerald claims Lil Nas X, Zedd and the party promoters and sponsors knew they weren't supposed to be having a party on the property ... but he says that didn't dissuade them from throwing an epic bash in April 2022.

In addition to allegedly pissing off neighbors and getting him into hot water with local officials, Fitzgerald claims the massive rager resulted in over $25,000 in physical damages to his property ... mainly to chairs, sofas, walls and ceilings.

Fitzgerald claims the home needed extensive repairs after the bash, forcing him to lose out on a month of rent between tenants ... which he says cost him another $40,000.

The landlord claims Lil Nas X and Zedd were each paid at least $250,000 for the party ... while all he got was a huge bill for a messy cleanup.

Fitzgerald is going after LNX, Zedd and the party's sponsors and promoters for money ... and he wants compensatory and punitive damages totaling at least $1 million.

Ice Spice is more than flattered one of the most famous kiddos in the world decided to draw her portrait ... shouting out North West's fandom -- in both music and art.

We caught up with the "Munch" rapper in Brooklyn Monday, and she clearly perked up a bit when we asked about North's recently-debuted portrait of her.

North posted the freehand drawing on her joint TikTok account she shares with Kim Kardashian ... soundtracking the vid to the sounds of Ice and PinkPantheress' "Boy's a liar Pt. 2" duet.

Ice also tells us new music is on the way ... but her current tracks are doing just fine.

Her debut EP 'Like..?' dropped last month ... peaking at No. 37 on the Billboard 200, and the project also spawned her first Hot 100 hit — the Lil Tjay-featured "Gangsta Boo."

JT of the City Girls was so floored by Rihanna's Super Bowl halftime performance, she didn't seem to mind her beau Lil Uzi Vert was probably somewhere reeling over his Eagles losing such a nail-biter!!!

TMZ Hip Hop linked with JT as she was leaving SB LVII, where Rihanna's pregnancy reveal was almost as talked about as the sensational game ... depending on who ya ask.

JT admits she's never been pregnant so can't directly relate to what RiRi pulled off, but says the performance made her sure of one thing -- she proclaimed God to be of the fairer sex after witnessing Rihanna's comeback.

While JT might have left feeling like a winner ... the halftime show pales in comparison to the career leaps Uzi's hit record "Just Wanna Rock" would've seen had the Eagles won.

The song has been competing with Meek Mill's established "Dreams & Nightmares" for the official team anthem, and DJ Drama -- who first sparked the friction between the tracks -- agreed with Meek and relented, once in AZ, that both songs would deserve a spot during the Eagles' championship celebrations.

Both Tech N9ne and Gillie Da Kid repped for their Kansas City Chiefs and Philadelphia Eagles at the Super Bowl ... but only Tech left the arena smiling after his squad emerged as world champs!!!

The Strange Music rapper was full of energy when he stormed the State Farm Stadium field after the Chiefs took SBLVII 38-35 ... and later when we caught him exiting the venue with SM co-founder Travis O'Guin en route to dap up SB MVP Patrick Mahomes at the team's postgame celebration!!!

Tech tells us he cannot wait for both Gillie and Wallo to land in K.C. to film the "Red Kingdom" music video as they wear Chiefs' colors ... a deal the "Million Dollarz Worth of Game" host agreed to after Tech made the initial challenge on TMZ Hip Hop!!!

A dejected Gillie sang quite the opposite tune on Monday ... posting a good sport video from his Airbnb congratulating real Chiefs fans for the latest SB victory.

That said, Gillie had absolutely no love for supporters of notorious losers ... such as the Dallas Cowboys and Washington Commanders, who were calling his phone just to tease him!!!

Rick Ross threw a Super Bowl party fit for a king -- with enough room for both his close family members and tons of his famous pals!!!

There were no signs of Rod Wave ... who Rozay invited to his suite ahead of the Big Game but the Bawse managed to attract the likes of Jay-Z, DJ Khaled, Yo Gotti, GloRilla, Johnny Dang, Ryan Clark and an iced-out Floyd Mayweather ... who bragged about sipping on alkaline water ahead of his fight with Aaron Chalmers.

Jay's Roc Nation produced Rihanna's halftime show but he was just one of the guys cheering on the pregnant megastar.

Kodak Black and French Montana have an album dropping soon and they also checked in with Rozay ... and bragged to IG followers about the money they were putting up for the game.

Not every cameo appearance resulted in a bang, though. Chrisean Rock also flicked it up with Ross ... angering Blueface in the process all because he thought she was being a groupie for the MMG boss.

Kodak Black says he didn't have much luck betting on this year's Super Bowl, but he already has a plan to make up for it next year ... he's gonna need some help, though!!!

TMZ Hip Hop caught Big Yak in AZ getting swarmed by adoring fans after the game, and he humbly admitted his pockets were feeling anything BUT victorious following the game. He didn't give us details but sounds like he laid a lot on the Eagles.

That said, Kodak didn't seem to mind that much. He got so much love exiting State Farm Stadium, you'd think he was one of the players.

Of course, a year ago Kodak's Super Bowl weekend activities ended in violence -- he and Justin Bieber are currently facing a lawsuit related to the 2022 shooting that went down in L.A. just ahead of Super Sunday.

We asked Kodak about the case, but his mind was already on 2024. The "Super Gremlin" rapper said he plans to bet several million on Lamar Jackson and the Baltimore Ravens to appear in next year's big game.

Drake is trying to put the kibosh on getting deposed in the XXXTENTACION murder trial — and he's making some legal moves to try to get out of it.

The rapper filed a motion, through his attorney Bradford Cohen, asking the judge to set aside the subpoena requiring him to sit for a private deposition in late February.

As we reported, the judge was persuaded by arguments made by defense attorney Mauricio Padilla to call Drake as a witness in the case. Padilla represents Dedrick Williams, one of three defendants charged with killing XXX. The murder trial for the 3 men began last week.

According to the docs, obtained by TMZ, Padilla sent Drake a ZOOM link for the deposition without putting it under seal, which could have compromised Drake's security given that he’s an international star.

Several days later, the docs say Padilla filed a notice with the court but failed to include details on how the ZOOM interview with Drake would be conducted. As a result, Drake says the subpoena was procedurally defective.

Per the motion, Drake also claims his name never appeared in the investigative files and there's nothing to suggest he has any relevant knowledge about the case ... he believes it's unreasonable to ask him to sit for a deposition and says doing so is just an attempt to "add more layers of celebrity and notoriety to a tragic and unfortunate event."

Rihanna shocked the world Sunday by announcing her pregnancy during her Super Bowl performance -- but it was a well-kept secret even among people who were part of the show.

Super Bowl sources tell TMZ ... most of her backup dancers -- upwards of 280, as we came to find out -- had no idea RiRi was preggo before she hit the stage this weekend, and that's due in part to the baggy clothing she'd been rocking during all the rehearsals.

Our sources tell us Rihanna was wearing very loose-fitting outfits both on Saturday and on Sunday as she was practicing her set. It wasn't until showtime that anyone involved saw her final costume, which seemed designed to show off her belly.

In other words ... Rihanna covered her bases here, not letting anyone involved with the halftime production get a whiff of her pregnancy before she could show it off to all.

Remember, Rihanna was also seen publicly a couple days before the Super Bowl, when she did an interview talking about the different setlists she'd created ... and there, too, RiRi seemed to be trying to hide her bump -- wearing a big furry jacket and other fluffy garb.

Of course, you could even trace this cover-up back to the Golden Globes in January ... where Rihanna and A$AP Rocky showed up in person, with RiRi again wearing a loose-fitting outfit and keeping her purse in front of her stomach throughout much of the broadcast.

Patrick Mahomes and Travis Kelce turned all the way up after winning the Super Bowl, hitting the stage with The Chainsmokers ... and partying with the group until the wee hours of the morning.

The Kansas City Chiefs stars joined the "Closer" crooners at the Hyatt Regency Scottsdale Resort and Spa on Sunday night just after beating the Eagles 38-35 in SB LVII in Arizona ... and by the looks of things -- they had an absolute blast.

In front of hundreds of Kansas City supporters, the guys danced their faces off ... while the musical group played tune after tune after tune.

At one point, the quarterback and tight end were joined by Chiefs head coach Andy Reid, as well as team honcho Clark Hunt, who grabbed the mic to recognize the guys ... and rile up the crowd.

Just before that, DJ Khaled, Jason Derulo and Tech N9ne also performed.

Of course, all of the guys had every reason to party ... they played a hell of a game against Philadelphia, with Kelce logging six catches for 81 yards and a TD -- and Mahomes completing 21 of his 27 pass attempts for 182 yards and 3 TDs of his own.

Pat was ultimately named MVP of the game -- and you can see in the vids of their postgame bash, he rocked a WWE-style championship belt to let everyone know he had just won the second title of his career.

Swae Lee isn't validating Billboard's Top 50 rapper list for obvious reasons -- it's missing his and Rae Sremmurd's names, and that makes him suspect of the whole damn thing!!!

We caught Swae out in Glendale, AZ during the Super Bowl party blitz and he was hot at Billboard's omission, although he agreed with Jay-Z's spot at No. 1.

He explains his success as a rap star should've qualified him for a spot ... and he makes a decent point.

Swae Lee has 2 Diamond (sales of 10 million) tracks to his name ... "Unforgettable" with French Montana and "Sunflower" with Post Malone, and seeing as Billboard's whole deal is compiling stats and numbers, that should've counted for something, eh?

While Swae and Slim Jxmmi rank high amongst Gen-Z legends, their opinions don't differ much from one of rap's true pioneers Ice Cube ... who also unloaded on the list to TMZ Hip Hop last week.

As Cube sees things, Billboard doesn't have enough credentials to speak on hip hop culture, and couldn't be reasoned with once he realized his Mt. Westmore co-star Too $hort was left off the list!!!

Rihanna got lots of compliments for her Super Bowl halftime performance, but there was one glaring, predictable exception ... the man who famously holds grudges -- Donald Trump.

The ex-Prez went on his social media platform, Truth Social, and had nothing but bad things to say ... "EPIC FAIL: Rihanna gave, without question, the single worst Halftime Show in Super Bowl history — This after insulting far more than half of our Nation, which is already in serious DECLINE, with her foul and insulting language. Also, so much for her 'Stylist!'”

As for why the grudge ... well, in August 2020, in the heat of the election Trump ultimately lost, Rihanna posted a photo on Instagram, featuring a car littered with graffiti, with the words "F*** Trump" spray-painted on it.

A$AP Rocky must've been on cloud 9 after Rihanna's Super Bowl performance AND her pregnancy reveal ... because he took to the club to party it up after the big game.

The rapper hit up E11EVEN Miami's Big Game Weekend Pop-Up at Maya Nightclub in Scottsdale Sunday night, after the Chiefs took down the Eagles ... clearly in great spirits as the night went on.

Rihanna wasn't with A$AP ... but he was still in good company, spending time with French Montana, Kevin Gates and YG.

FYI -- it seemed like A.R. was on daddy duty during the game, because he left the State Farm Stadium with his baby in tow. And no, A$AP didn't pull up to the club with the kiddo ... sounds like that job was passed to someone else.

As you know, A$AP's boo RiRi stepped back into the music game in AZ ... bringin' some of her classics to the field -- and of course revealing she's pregnant once again.

David Jolicoeur -- also known as Dave and Trugoy the Dove, who was one of the three founding members of De La Soul -- has died.

Sources familiar with the situation tell TMZ the rapper passed away Sunday at a hospital in Maryland. No other details, including a potential cause, have been released ... but we're told his death appears to be from natural causes, and that he was battling an undisclosed illness.

De La Soul's official social accounts have yet to say anything about Dave -- ditto for the other two members and their own pages ... Kelvin Mercer (Posdnuos) and Vincent Mason (Maseo).

Dave was with DLS since the beginning, getting together in '87 and going on to crank out some of the most famous rap songs of all time. The group went on an incredible three-album run through the '90s -- with two of those being certified platinum and gold, respectively.

Some of their best-known tracks include ... "Me, Myself and I," "Eye Know," "The Magic Number," "Stakes Is High," "Ring Ring Ring," "Say No Go," "Breakadawn," "Oooh," "Buddy," "All Good," "Ghetto Thang," "I Am I Be," "Ego Trippin (Part 2)" and countless others.

De La Soul was unique in that they emerged in one decade, but seamlessly transitioned into another ... all while adapting their style and production to keep up with the times.

Three of their songs have been nominated for Grammys over the years, with one of those -- a smash hit collab with the Gorillaz in "Feel Good Inc." -- actually winning Best Pop Collaboration in 2006.

Their music has been hard to listen to in recent years ... for one reason or another, nobody has been able to stream their stuff on major platforms, but a deal was recently inked that'll finally allow their classic tunes to be played en masse starting next month.

Dave was 54.

Ryan Shepard, who acted as Eminem's stunt double in the early 2000s, has died ... tragically losing his life after getting hit while attempting to cross the street.

Ryan's brother Kyle tells TMZ ... Ryan died in Washington at the end of January after getting hit by an oncoming pickup truck. Emergency responders rushed him to a hospital, but it was too late.

Ryan worked not only as Eminem's stunt double but also as his photo double and stand-in ... appearing at the MTV Movie Awards as Eminem's superhero character, Rap Boy.

He took the stage again with the rapper for his 2002 Anger Management Tour, and on his Japan and Europe tour the following year -- he also appeared in D12's "Purple Hills" music video as Eminem's double.

Kyle tells us Ryan was incredibly intelligent ... going on to work at Disney as a ride mechanical engineer, and eventually moving to Elon Musk's SpaceX as a test automation engineer.

Ryan leaves behind his 2 children, a 7-year-old and an 11-year-old.

He was 40 years old.

Bill Bellamy thinks the Grammys have a diversity problem in their voting ranks, and that's why -- as he sees it -- their final ballots on the major categories rarely match up with public opinion.

The "Top Billin'" podcast host and comedian was out in West Hollywood when we polled him on the recent Grammy controversy over Song of the Year.

Bonnie Raitt's "Just Like That" beat out some pretty hefty competition such as Beyoncé’s  "Break My Soul," Harry Styles' "As It Was," Kendrick Lamar’s "The Heart Part 5" ... and surprised even the veteran blues-rock singer herself!!!

The song was indisputably the least-known song on the list, and Bill says it should be a no-brainer for one of the more well-known tracks to take home the award.

He brings up how a band like Journey can unite all people with their great song -- and we're assuming he's referring to their iconic track "Don't Stop Believin'" ... which, BTW, was not nominated for a Grammy back in 1981.

Bill was also displeased with the Grammys' 50th-anniversary hip hop tribute ... noting the lack of West Coast artists, in addition to missing many female rap greats such as MC Lyte, Da Brat, Foxy Brown and Lil Kim -- a sentiment Lola Brooke literally just shared with us.

Despite Questlove's best efforts, Bill says hip hop history cannot be condensed or covered in 2 minutes and they should've made room for a Snoop Dogg and Dr. Dre set, T.I., 8Ball & MJG ... or nixed the idea altogether!!!

Fat Joe feels similar to Bill, having gone on yet another rant earlier this week about losing his 2018 Grammy to Chance the Rapper.

Joe and Remy Ma's "All The Way Up" was the more popular record on the Billboard Charts, but still lost out to Chance's "No Problem" -- a song Joe maintains the world doesn't remember to this day.

Rihanna has A LOT of songs to consider as she finalizes her 13-minute Super Bowl set -- but if she's curious what her peers think she should sing ... she might wanna watch this.

We got Christina Aguilera and Winnie Harlow heading into Drake's SB party Friday in Scottsdale -- and, of course, we asked them about RiRi's many options in terms of tracks she could perform Sunday ... and what exactly they'd like to hear during the Halftime Show.

Check it out ... each of them gives us a response, and they're quite different. CA says she wants to see Rihanna's take on an ODB classic -- while going on to tell us she thinks Ri's gonna kill it.

Winnie had her own pick for a Rihanna song she'd like to see performed -- a fan fave, no doubt -- but she also had a lot to say about the fact that Rihanna is one of the first Afro-Caribbean women to take the big stage. Winnie is of Jamaican descent, BTW.