TMZ Hip Hop - Page 50

NBA YoungBoy and his team got super creative so the rapper could enjoy his album release with fans while still on house arrest ... but there was one big problem ... YoungBoy didn't hold up his end of the deal.

Elevate Lounge in Los Angeles was packed with friends and fans Thursday night who were all eager to not only hear the rapper's new album, but to also get a live stream video appearance from the man himself.

If you didn't know, YoungBoy's been on house arrest in Utah for a gun possession charge ... so the live stream seemed like a perfect idea.

The plan was for the album to play at midnight and YB to join in once it dropped ... however, that didn't happen, and a source with direct knowledge tells us it's because he fell asleep.

A statement from YB's team refutes that claim, saying, "There was a technical difficulty and they couldn't get NBA YoungBoy on the live stream. They tried Zoom and FaceTime without any success and unfortunately, NBA YoungBoy was unable to connect with his friends and fans."

Quavo's latest IG caption angered fans who jumped to the conclusion he was taking shots at Offset's new tattoo honoring Takeoff ... but his mother is setting the record straight.

On Thursday, Quavo amassed thousands of comments with a photo shoot atop a giant military aircraft and wrote, "Rocket Power It’s In You Not On You! 👑 #RocketPower🚀."

Many fans took the "not on you" quip as a slight towards the full-back portrait ink Offset debuted last week -- but Quavo's mother/Takeoff's grandmother is assuring fans the line is a quote taken from the late rapper's legacy.

That said, it's not like the remaining Migos members have given fans a ton of reasons to believe they're going to be cool with each other going forward.

Tory Lanez is still pining for his freedom despite his looming sentence for shooting Megan Thee Stallion -- calling on the D.A. to give him a fair shake this time around.

Tory released a bombshell open letter on Instagram Friday addressed to L.A. County District Attorney George Gascón pleading for the laws and God to work in his favor.

The letter accused Deputy D.A.'s Kathy Ta and Alex Bott of suppressing evidence that could've cleared his name, and painted himself as a martyr for the cause of minority justice worldwide.

Tory and his legal counsel have an upcoming motion hearing for a new trial on May 8 and the Canadian rapper says he owes it to his family, friends and fans to fight for his freedom.

You'll remember, Tory's family caused quite a scene outside the courthouse after he was found guilty in December.

Megan also broke her silence on the case this week ... expressing her wishes to put the trial and Tory in the past for good.

TMZ Hip Hop caught up with DaBaby this week, who was kind of entangled in a love triangle between Tory and Meg ... but told us he's down to record with her again, and also revealed jail has made it difficult to speak to Tory.

Jim Jones paid a trip to The Breakfast Club Friday to offer clarification behind his super viral Pusha T remarks ... but he didn't bend to social media pressure and switch up his stance.

Jim was a recent guest on Spotify's RapCaviar podcast with TMZ Hip Hop's Trent Clark -- and they both agreed Pusha didn't belong on Billboard's Top 50 list ... with Jim going so far as to suggest Pusha's coke rhymes were essentially fairy tales.

Proud Pusha fan Charlamagne Tha God grilled Jim about his opinion -- and the Dipset rapper reiterated he meant no malice behind his comments but doubled down that Pusha's music never influenced or swayed him.

Jim then quizzed everyone's ability to rap along to either Pusha or his top songs when put on the spot, with the majority siding in Jim's favor. It might have been a skewed case study -- TBC's filmed in NYC, giving Jim a clear home court advantage.

DJ Envy spent considerable time in Virginia for college but openly admitted he hasn't memorized Pusha's tracks all that well, so there's that.

Coi Leray isn't cool with Latto using her name in a punchline attack in her supposed Nicki Minaj war -- and defended her honor in an onslaught of tweets.

On Friday, Latto dropped her new track "Put It On Da Floor" -- the same song she premiered at Coachella last weekend where fans assumed she was dissing Nicki.

Latto put Coi in the crosshairs with the lyrics, "Smokin' on that gas, blunt big as Coi Leray/Bitches like to run their mouths but I'm the type to run the fade" ... a low-blow according to Coi, as she's constantly fending off body-shamers online.

Coi thinks Latto truly used her name because she's secretly jealous of Coi's body, and remarked the "Big Energy" rapper has no place to be a body judge towards anybody, for whatever reason.

She also shed light on the ongoing narrative that female rappers have taken on masculine roles, including their lust for rap beef. Coi says she doesn't know the rap chicks in real life and they should keep their negativity out of her general direction.

No candidate for U.S. President will burn up the campaign trail like this one ... Afroman is throwing his hat in the ring, and he picked an appropriate week to make it official.

The rapper just filed the paperwork with the Federal Elections Commission required to run for our nation's highest elected office in the 2024 election.

According to the docs, obtained by TMZ, Afroman's presidential committee is named "Joseph Afroman Foreman for President," and he's running as an Independent. We know you were thinking Green Party, but no dice.

TMZ broke the story ... Afroman announced his intention to run back in December during a concert in Missouri, where he told the crowd about his POTUS dreams -- and while others are focused on 2024, he's dubbed it the 20-20-FRO election. 😉

Afroman's platform will unsurprisingly place an emphasis on the national legalization of marijuana ... but it's still unclear where he falls on other international and domestic issues.

Afroman didn't get high and forget to file his paperwork ... the docs are dated April 18 ... so he got his official business out of the way before 4/20. 😂

Afroman's campaign manager Jason Savage tells TMZ... "Afroman’s ongoing persecution by the overtly corrupt Adams County Sheriff’s Department perfectly highlights that this corruption of leadership has trickled down to law enforcement all across the country. Criminal Justice Reform and Federal Marijuana Legalization remain two of the primary planks in his campaign platform. We are asking for your support as Afroman takes on this great and worthy cause as our Cannabis Commander in Chief."

It will be interesting to see if any other celebs run for president this election cycle -- so far, Afroman's the first to make it official.

Kanye West made noise about trying again, but that was before, y'know ... all his antisemitism.

Desiigner is having problems with his mental health, a struggle he says has been made abundantly clear after we're told he exposed himself on an international flight.

Sources with direct knowledge tell us the "Panda" rapper was on an international flight over the weekend coming back to the United States after a trip with stops in Thailand and Tokyo. We're told during the flight he exposed himself, and was scolded by a flight attendant.

Once Desiigner's plane landed Monday in Minneapolis, he was met by cops, questioned and eventually released.

As for what led to the incident ... our sources say while he was on his trip, Desiigner got ill and was prescribed meds, he believes the medication caused some sort of chemical imbalance.

In a statement to TMZ, Desiigner tells us, "For the past few months i have not been ok, and i have been struggling to come to terms with what is going on. While overseas for a concert i performed at, i had to be admitted in to a hospital, i was not thinking clearly."

Twitter's looking really different right now, as some huge celebs are getting stripped of their precious blue checkmarks ... but despite Elon Musk cutting their verifications, some A-listers are handing the bird the monthly fee.

Taylor Swift, Khloe Kardashian, and Ryan Reynolds are among the bunch putting up cash to keep the badge ... as well as Soulja Boy and The Weeknd.

It doesn't stop there -- Arnold Schwarzenegger, Nick Carter, LL Cool J, O.J. Simpson, Sia, and John Cena seem to be shelling out the dough, too.

If you click on their checkmarks, you'll now see the following response -- "This account is verified because they are subscribed to Twitter Blue and verified their phone number.”

Worth noting, there are a couple reasons why their usernames still come with a side of blue. For starters, they could be paying to keep Twitter Blue's features -- uploading longer vids, making longer tweets and editing tweets.

Of course, these folks could have been paying the $11/month, and made the decision to unsubscribe within the past month ... so, the checkmark is just there until it expires.

You also might have noticed some celebs who have the check, but say they aren't paying -- well, Elon says he's covering the cost for a chosen few ... his Inner Blue Circle, if you will.

As we reported, celebs like Beyonce, Lady Gaga, Kim Kardashian and K-pop group Blackpink all had their verification revoked when the change rolled out Thursday ... but it looks like there are a decent amount doing their part to keep the lights on at Twitter HQ.

Snoop Dogg and Buju Banton are 2 of music's biggest chieftains when it comes to cannabis, so it's only proper they connect to celebrate the "High Life" -- the name of their new single together.

On Thursday, Snoop and Buju hopped on IG Live to premiere their track to their followers ahead of its release tomorrow, and sparked on humongous blunts at the same time!!!

Snoop told Buju the collab was a dream and admitted he regretted not getting Buju on his 2013 "Snoop Lion" reggae project, which still found time for authentic collabs from the likes of Collie Buddz, Mr. Vegas and Mavado.

Buju's not the only music wiz getting lifted with Snoop this 4/20 -- Bebe Rexha just dropped her new joint, "Satellite," with Tha Doggfather ... and she claims his Death Row prerolls had her seeing stars at the video shoot!!!

Freddie Gibbs isn't feeling the holiday spirit as far as 4/20's concerned ... mainly because the "Alfredo" rapper says he smokes every day!!!

TMZ Hip Hop linked with Gangsta Gibbs Thursday at LAX, and he admitted he doesn't see what the big deal is about "Cannabis Christmas," if you will. That being said, he does have a vote for rap's best weed anthem.

According to Fred, Bone Thugs-N-Harmony's 1995 burner, "Buddah Lovaz" from the album "E. 1999 Eternal" takes the highest honors in his book.

The Cleveland-bred rap legends specialized in rapping about weed on plenty of tracks for decades, and have helped keep fans' ashtrays filled over the years.

It's anyone's guess when Freddie will make more marijuana music himself. He tells us his acting has picked up to the point where he doesn't feel like hitting the studio!!!

Jim Jones is stoked for New York City's first legal 4/20 holiday ... especially since the Dipset rapper stopped caring about the marijuana laws eons ago!!!

Capo linked with TMZ Hip Hop Thursday, which marks a big day for smokers in the Big Apple.

The state's first-ever cannabis dispensary opened today, but Jim recalls what daily life was like before the hoopla and admits he's gotten arrested for marijuana so many times, he lost count!!!

Jim tells us he and his crew used to sneak around to smoke anywhere they could — but still managed to get shaken down by cops, even when hiding in stairwells.

After a while, Jim says he stop giving a f-- until the city changed the laws. A stall tactic that clearly worked out for him and his fellow tokers.

The Dipset rapper and his High Tolerance connects have a big 4/20 event co-hosted by Gillie Da Kid planned later today.

E-40's been hot about Sacramento Kings' security booting him from Game 1 of their playoff clash against the Golden State Warriors ... but tensions have since subsided, and their beef's officially been squashed.

On Thursday, 40 dropped his new single, "Front Row 40" ... which features the legendary rap star spitting his patented slang from inside the Chase Center where his beloved Warriors play.

Sources close to the production of the Jae Synth-directed video tell TMZ Hip Hop that 40 actually filmed the visual several months ago, and had always planned to drop it parallel to the Warriors' postseason run.

The clip also leverages plenty of star power ... with cameos from JAY-Z, Diddy, Snoop Dogg, Too $hort, 2 Chainz and GSW stars Steph Curry and Draymond Green.

But, the rollout takes on new meaning now in the wake of his removal from Sacramento's Golden 1 Center last Sunday, which resulted in 40 deeming the org racist -- but both sides are putting it in the rearview.

40 and the Kings released a joint statement that spoke to the issue's conclusion ... “Contrary to speculation, Mr. Earl 'E-40' Stevens did not stand excessively from his ticketed courtside seat; the outcome resulted from an unfortunate misunderstanding between both parties.”

Frank Ocean's out at Coachella as a result of an ankle injury, but Benny Blanco says his much-maligned performance still left him inspired.

TMZ Hip Hop caught the decorated producer out Wednesday afternoon in Bev Hills, and he offered a much different take from the majority of Coachella attendees who felt Frank's show was a bust.

Benny says he saw Frank live and thinks the "Channel Orange" singer, hands down, had the best set of Coachella Weekend 1 ... and he insists all the internet chatter won't sway his opinion.

The guy's worked with Snoop Dogg, SZA and Lizzo in recent months, so his ears have to count for something ... even if he's going against popular opinion. 🤷🏽‍♂️

The quality of Frank's set might be up for debate, but with his exit from the festival, it's definitely a one-of-one now.

TMZ Hip Hop broke the story ... Frank suffered two fractures and a sprain in his left leg, prompting festival organizers to replace his headlining slot with Blink-182.

Killer Mike is celebrating his 48th birthday today -- fittingly on 4/20 -- but instead of receiving gifts, the Run the Jewels rapper is actually giving one to fans ... his new album single, "Don't Let the Devil!!!"

The song officially marks the upcoming release of "Michael," KM's first solo album in more than 10 years, which is set to drop on June 16.

Mike lyrically tackles multiple issues he feels are plaguing his community and carries on the current RTJ tradition with an EL-P feature, who also produced the track alongside No I.D. and Little Shalimar.

He's also shouting out the sticky icky, since his born day falls on the official THC holiday.

This time last year, he educated TMZ Hip Hop on the benefits of cannabis, and his wife, Shay Bigga, even had a funny cameo!!!

DaBaby says there are no hard feelings between Megan Thee Stallion and him -- at least on his end, in the aftermath of their public fallout that played out in rap lyrics.

We caught up with DaBaby in Bev Hills, and he perked up when we asked about repairing his relationship with Meg ... via new songs together.

Megan broke her silence this week for the first time since Tory Lanez's guilty verdict ... and lashed out at those who turned their backs on her. She didn't name names but we're guessing DaBaby fits that profile.

DaBaby and Meg have several collabs together ... including 2020's "Cry Baby," which earned a platinum plaque, but their relationship soured when DaBaby sided with Team Tory at the time he was arrested for shooting Meg.

And yeah, he kind of dissed her on his last album. But he seems to think she's willing to let bygones be just that. We'll believe it when we see it.

DaBaby tells us he has no issues with Tory either, but hasn't exactly been able to communicate with him due to his incarceration, obviously.

Post Malone just saw 3 of his tracks cross the 10-mil sales mark -- shattering Bruno Mars' previous record to become the artist with the most RIAA Diamond-certified singles EVER!!!

On Thursday, Post's hits "Circles," "Better Now," and "I Fall Apart" brought his Diamond total to 8 ... besting Bruno's previous record of 6.

It's another huge W for Post's already decorated career ... his "Sunflower" track from the "Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse" soundtrack is the RIAA's biggest song ever at 17x platinum!

The last time we saw Post, he told TMZ Hip Hop that song couldn't have become so legendary without the help of Swae Lee.

Post and his label Republic Records are now compiling all the 10-mil winners for the compilation, "The Diamond Collection" ... which is currently being promoted by his new single, "Chemical."