TMZ Hip Hop - Page 50

Kanye West is making peace with Ice Cube ... 7 months after throwing him under the bus by claiming Cube was the one who turned him on to antisemitism.

The 2 rap icons met face-to-face Friday at Cube's home in the L.A. area -- and it definitely looks like they hammered out their differences. They hugged it out as Ye was leaving, and both guys were smiling.

You'll recall, late last year -- after Ye started his antisemitic rants -- he went on "Drink Champs" and claimed Ice Cube's social media posts inspired his dangerous bigotry.

For his part, Cube made it clear he had no idea what Ye was talking about. He tweeted, "I didn't put the batteries in his back. Please leave my name out of all the antisemitic talk. I'm not antisemitic and never have been."

"Drink Champs" eventually deleted the episode ... as it featured Ye making several offensive rants about Jews, Trevor Noah and George Floyd.

Since then Ye has claimed he no longer hates Jewish people, although his explanation for why -- watching Jonah Hill in "21 Jump Street" -- was, at the very least, bizarre ... and, at most, highly offensive.

Danny Masterson won't be like all the regular folk behind bars while he awaits sentencing ... we've learned he'll be in the same area where some high-profile inmates stayed in the past.

Law enforcement tells TMZ ... the "That '70s Show" actor is not in lockup with the general population at the L.A. County Men's Central Jail, as he waits to be sentenced for his rape conviction. Instead, we're told he's being kept in "administrative segregation" for his safety.

Our sources say he's in the same unit where some very famous inmates once stayed ... including Suge Knight and O.J. Simpson.

As we reported, DM was found guilty on two rape counts he was facing ... the jury was deadlocked on the third count. The verdict was reached this week in Los Angeles ... after his first trial ended in a mistrial.

There's no TV in his cell, but he'll have books from the jail's library, and will be allowed out of his cell for 2 hours each day, at which time he can go to the day room and have access to a phone and TV.

He'll get time for recreation 3 hours a week. He's able to shower every other day ... unless he's going to court, and then he can shower daily.

Ty Dolla $ign wants to put the "Motion" back in everyone's ocean this summer, because he thinks things in the music game have gotten too bleak.

We caught up with Ty$ outside Dash Radio in Hollywood ... fresh off the release of his new vibey dance track, "Motion." It's an upbeat mood-changer, and he tells us that was 100% intentional on his part.

He's following up that single with a full dance EP, and firmly believes it's necessary. Ty$ says the current frequency of the soundscape needs an overhaul from all its negative energy!!!

Hip hop music has been under fire, more than usual, in the past few years ... as dozens of rappers have had their murders play out on social media, and a few others had their lyrics used as evidence in criminal cases.

College hoopers looking for a place to showcase their skills this summer just got some great news ... The Game, Dom Kennedy and a host of other hip hop stars are helping to start a new basketball league in L.A.!!

The program is called the Real Run College Basketball Summer League -- and it's all slated to begin on June 17 ... and run until August 13.

It'll feature both women's and men's basketball players ... and ex-NBA player Pooh Jeter, who's partnering up with Real Run founder Deanthony Langston, tells TMZ Sports he's hoping it'll change countless lives.

Jeter explained ... the league will not only offer high-level games for college players, but rappers like Game, Dom Kennedy, BlueBucks Clan and G PERICO will all be in charge of teams -- and will help provide athletes a bridge from sports to musical culture in addition to on-court competition.

"A lot of the rappers was like, 'This is something amazing,'" said Jeter, an L.A. native who played for the Sacramento Kings in 2010. "'This is something we can change the game with.'"

Jeter says college basketball stars like Boogie Ellis and JuJu Watkins have already planned to play ... and he's hoping it will all eventually inspire other musicians to join in too.

"I would love for Diddy and Snoop or whoever!" Jeter said. "If you from L.A., show up, and let's do something amazing for our community."

Juvenile isn't taking news of being omitted from this year's Essence Fest lineup well ... and would rather New Orleans residents spend their money at the Donna Fest, where he and Mannie Fresh will be performing!!!

On Friday, Juve ripped the popular summer shindig a new one on Twitter for its tremendous artist lineup being devoid of any of Cash Money's flagship artists, i.e. the Hot Boys.

This year's EF is boasting a 50 Years of Hip Hop celebration with legendary acts such as Missy Elliott, Ice Cube, Big Daddy Kane, T.I. and Remy Ma -- but none of that matters to Juve, who encouraged fans to go with the less expensive Donna Fest, with tickets starting at just $25.

At the time we're posting ... 3-day EF passes are sold out, and the 1-day tix start around $90.

Rebirth Brass Band and the "400 Degreez" rapper's son, Young Juve, will also be performing. Both events go down during the first weekend of July so the city will be lively, to say the least.

Trey Songz has been sued for sexual assault ... this after exposing a woman's breast at a pool party outside a Connecticut casino.

According to legal docs, obtained by TMZ, the woman -- who's suing anonymously as a Jane Doe -- is coming after Trey, his production company, record exec Kevin Liles, and Atlantic Records over the 2013 incident.

TMZ broke the story -- the woman fired off a demand letter to Trey last year, claiming the rapper pulled her breast out of her bikini top without consent, exposing her to the crowd at his "Foxwoods Liquid Sundays with Trey Songz" event ... providing video of the ordeal.

The docs say the multiple defendants should have known about his "sexual proclivities" and are therefore responsible for failing to keep Trey under control during the event.

The woman's attorneys claim she was humiliated and left with long-lasting emotional distress ... adding their client could not stop thinking about it and eventually left her promising career a few months later due to the embarrassment.

In last year's letter, her lawyers claimed his 2021 Vegas sexual assault case -- which was dropped weeks before the demand letter was sent -- triggered Megan to seek justice.

She gave Trey and co. weeks to respond before moving forward with legal action ... and now she's seeking least $10 mil in damages.

Gunna is denying flaming his "Drip Too Hard" brother-in-rhyme Lil Baby on his new track ... but isn't clarifying exactly who he's referring to with his eyebrow-raising lyrics.

On Friday, Akademiks was fanning the flames of the perceived Lil Baby diss from Gunna's "Bread and Butter" song -- the part about "switching up" in exchange to hang with a rat.

Gunna hopped in Ak's comments to call cap on the claims, saying the lyrics merely reflect his side of the story, but what that exactly means is still up for interpretation!!!

He's also accused of barking back at Lil Durk and Quality Control CEO Pierre "Pee" Thomas. So far, he doesn't seem bothered enough to set those records straight.

Non-incarcerated YSL rapper Lil Gotit flat-out rejected Gunna's return to rap, and Boosie Badazz drew a bold line -- with permanent marker -- when we spoke to him on the subject.

Not even a hypothetical billion dollars was enough for Boosie to agree to collab with Gunna ... but he did insinuate he'd take the money to end Gunna's career for good.

Snoop Dogg and Dr. Dre don't think their upcoming "Doggystyle" 30th anniversary will be any fun if their homies involved in the Writers Guild of America strike can't get their piece -- so they're moving the date!!!

Like we previously told you, the hip hop legends announced they're taking over the Hollywood Bowl on June 27-28, but on Friday, Snoop announced the new dates as October 20 and 21 ... with the first one being his 52nd C-Day!!!

Sources close to the situation tell TMZ Hip Hop the "Doggystyle" anniversary is designed to be a joyful celebration of the 1993 classic album, and conducting it while having a considerable portion of the creative community in turmoil just didn't sit right with Snoop and Dre.

Snoop has been especially passionate about the issue ... likening Hollywood's paltry conditions to the low payouts artists receive through their existing recording contracts.

The WGA is currently on its 5th week of striking -- with further public support from Lil Wayne and Flavor Flav -- but they've made it clear a negotiation with the Director's Guild of America won't get them instantly off the picket lines.

We're also told Snoop and Dre are in the process of rolling out lunch orders for the striking writers ... so stay tuned for more updates!!!

Naomi Osaka and Cordae just revealed ... they're having a GIRL!!!

The "Gifted" rapper and the tennis superstar announced the major news on Friday ... sharing a pic of Cordae kissing Naomi's baby bump at their pink-themed baby shower.

The couple had an awesome celebration with their friends and family ... with Osaka and her growing belly standing in front of pink flowers, balloons, and a sign that read, "A little princess is on the way."

Osaka's fans were incredibly happy for the new parents ... flooding the comments with well wishes.

"Congratulations!" one user said. "Can’t wait for your matching tennis outfits."

Cordae, 25, was super excited ... channeling his inner Kobe Bryant by posting the hashtag "#GirlDad."

The 4-time Grand Slam champ and Cordae announced they were expecting their first child by posting a sonogram of the baby back in January.

Of course, this upcoming blessing has Osaka sidelined from tennis for a bit ... but she's previously vowed to be back for the 2024 Australia Open.

She's serious about her comeback, too ... and shared videos of her training on the court and beach while pregnant earlier this year.

Gunna is finally responding to his haters after being railroaded for months -- a new track titled "Bread and Butter" has fans believing he's defending his honor against Lil Baby, Lil Durk and even Quality Control boss Pierre "Pee" Thomas.

On Friday, Gunna came out swinging with Auto-Tuned bars denying he ever snitched on Young Thug after taking a plea deal in the YSL RICO case.

He kicks off "Bread and Butter" with the bars ... "Never f****d a nigga, always stayed solid/Kept it real with n****s, never lied and always stay honest."

He also raps, "You bitch-ass n****s got me as the topic of the chat/ You switched on me when you know you in business with a rat/And the boy that’s like your brother, and nobody speak on that?"

Fans are under the belief those bars are aimed at Lil Baby for unfollowing Gunna earlier this year ... and at QC's Pee, for allegedly snitching on someone back in the day.

Gunna also fired back at Durk for his "What happened to Virgil?/He probably gunna tell" song snippet from earlier this year with the lines ... "Had these n****s talkin’, only knew ’em ’cause of Slatt/You rap boys need more streams, heard he put my name on wax.”

Despite Gunna's triumphant return, "Bread and Butter" is failing to impress Lil Gotit, one of the few YSL rappers who didn't get rounded up in the label's massive RICO trial.

Gotit has been insinuating he speaks for Thug since the trial started ... and hopped on IG to tell Gunna the song was trash and even his deceased YSL rapper brother Lil Keed, would've disapproved of Gunna's actions.

Angel Reese went from "you can't see me" to "you can see me everywhere" ... 'cause the LSU superstar is front and center in Latto and Cardi B's new music video!!

The 21-year-old hooper has been on top of the world ever since the Tigers beat Iowa to win the national championship in April ... securing huge opportunities like posing in the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit issue and raking in millions of dollars through endorsement deals.

Now, Reese can add yet another accomplishment to her list -- starring alongside Latto and Cardi in their visuals for the song, "Put It On Da Floor Again" ... which dropped Thursday night.

Reese makes several appearances during the grocery store scenes in the 3-minute video ... pushing Latto in a shopping cart and holding up a makeshift hoop as the Atlanta M.C. dunked a stuffed heart.

But the biggest highlight comes during Cardi's verse ... when she raps "I been ballin' so damn hard, coulda went to LSU" as the camera cuts to a mean-mugging Reese.

Reese tweeted about the cameo ... saying, "i told y’all i wanted to be a video vixen😭"

It's not the only LSU/Latto connection -- Reese's Flau'jae Johnson also dropped her own cover of the same song last month.

Boosie Badazz is sticking to his G-code when it comes to wishing Gunna the worst ... even with a hypothetical Bezos-sized payday on the line.

TMZ Hip Hop got the Louisiana-bred rap legend Thursday in NYC, where he couldn't resist the opportunity to lump Gunna in with the city's infamous rat infestation.

Boosie makes it clear he believes Gunna snitched on Young Thug when he took a plea deal in the YSL RICO case. The embattled YSL rapper is currently back in the studio ... likely laying down some rebuttals for all his haters.

We asked Boosie if he would swallow his street pride to record with Gunna ... IF someone offered him a billion dollars, but he immediately shut down because -- as he put it -- the convo was about a "rat."

One topic he was happy to address is cars -- Boosie weighed in with some advice for Cardi B, whose current rich people problem is possessing too many luxury automobiles she doesn't even drive.

Boosie flat-out tells us filling up your garage with cars is a waste of money, and says he sold off "damn near" all of his whips.

Remy Ma brought Jersey City back to the roarin' '20s last night, thanks to a glitzy birthday bash fashioned after the Prohibition Era that brought out plenty of her famous rap pals!!!

The ultramagnetic MC ushered in year 43 inside the speakeasy-style lounge Casa De Lobo, and was flanked by Fat Joe, Fabolous, Maino and Remy's husband Papoose.

Little did Remy know, but Pap whipped up a super surprise for her at the end of the night -- a personal performance from one of her all-time favorite rappers: Ma$e!!!

The Harlem World rapper popped up on an unsuspecting Remy toward the end of the night, and rocked the mic to his classic, "Can't Nobody Hold Me Down."

Ty Dolla $ign's music industry run has been going strong since his 2013 breakout "Beach House 2" mixtape, a project the Cali crooner is sheepishly admitting he never even heard!!!

The DJ Drama-sponsored LP was home to Ty's double platinum B.o.B collab, "Paranoid," and also kicked off his connection with Wiz Khalifa's Taylor Gang -- but he claims things were moving too fast for him at the time to even bask in his own glory.

While on Apple Music's Beats 1, he told Zane Lowe, "I haven't listened to 'Beach House Two' ... I'm not going to lie. Nah, but it's been huge, definitely a celebration and shout out to everybody that was with me then, the ones that are still with me now from that team, and all the new people I've met that have just been here for this journey."

He proudly added, "It's still going, we're still going … it was more so back then, that trying to get people to hear it or just to be noticed, knowing you make good music and all your homies around you are telling you this is crazy."

Ty$ says the project was still well received from everyone around him, but he remembers spending more time getting accustomed to dealing with managers and the music industry overall.

In 2023, it's understandable he isn't stuck listening to his old tracks. He just dropped his new dance single "Motion," which he says he intentionally released for the summertime ... and has a new EP ready, mixtape and genre-bending album ready for release.

Drake made a cherry-on-top cameo for the season finale of Lil Dicky's "Dave" series -- an episode that also boasted Brad Pitt and Rachel McAdams appearances!!!

As fate would have it, Drake's actually a superfan of the show -- which just wrapped its third season -- and he said exactly that to Dicky, in person.

Dicky says, "Drake is like the top of the mountain top musically and as a rapper," and when they met ... Drake told him "the show is one of the more important shows of our generation."

High praise, for sure, and Dicky told The Hollywood Reporter scoring Drake, Rachel and Brad created a major challenge for his team -- "With all of them, my writers' room was like, 'This is kind of crazy that you’re putting all your eggs in these baskets because what if they say no?' These people don’t even do TV. Drake hasn’t done TV since 'Degrassi."

But he move forward confidently, saying ... "Honestly, I think the show can have a tendency to get overlooked. Once you sit down and watch, it’s kind of objectively a great show. These are like the biggest stars of our time validating our show."

"Snowfall" star Damson Idris is admitting he tapped into the forces of darkness to help his actor's block ... and says he damn near needed an exorcism after the terrifying experience!!!

During The Hollywood Reporter's 2023 TV Drama roundtable, Damson made the shocking confession to Pedro Pascal, Jeff Bridges, Kieran Culkin, and others ... harkening back to the final season of "Snowfall" when he had difficulty bringing out the evil for his character, Franklin Saint.

Damson says after failing at the scenes, he then went into the corner to drum up his dark magic, and repeatedly called to Satan, "Come on, Devil -- come to me!!!"

Fans marveled at Damson's character's transition and subsequent downfall at the end of the series, but the British actor says the conjuring left him with nightmares for a month and he even had to call his mother to "bring him back to life."

Damson claims the spirits were real and not to be trifled with ... a point Lil Uzi Vert also made a few months ago when we asked him about the Satanist accusations that were being levied against him.