TMZ Hip Hop - Page 50

Tupac's father Billy Garland is showing he's not above buying into a juicy conspiracy theory, and wholeheartedly believes the United States government killed his son.

In his latest interview bit with "The Art of Dialogue," Billy claims his son was tailed by the government for years including September 7, 1996, when Pac was shot in Vegas.

Rap fans have heard the stories a million times ... Pac and members of Death Row Records' entourage stomped out Los Angeles native Orlando Anderson following the Mike Tyson vs. Bruce Seldon fight, only for him allegedly to return hours later, guns a blazing.

Billy condemned Pac's behavior that night, citing his need to prove himself to the Death Row team. He also scolded Suge Knight and the security team for not protecting the label's money maker and being too comfortable with him leading the charge.

Orlando's uncle Keefe D has implicated his nephew (and himself) in the Tupac shooting for years ... but Billy thinks his self-snitching has been a part of the government's master plan and doesn't think either of them had anything to do with the murder.

YNW Melly's career essentially came to an end in 2019 after he was arrested and charged with double homicide ... but his streaming has seen a resurgence as of late.

On Monday, Melly's trial kicked off in Florida's Broward County court, where it was uncovered the 24-year-old rapper had absolutely zero RIAA certifications on his wall at the time of his arrest on February 13, 2019 ... but now has 10 platinum plaques and 6 gold.

Fans have especially been running up the numbers for Melly's more sinister tracks ... "Suicidal" sits at 4x platinum while his signature hit "Murder on My Mind" is fairly close to Diamond status at 6x platinum.

Melly and Kanye West's 2020 collab "Mixed Personalities" is also double platinum.

The Florida rapper, born Jamell Demons, stands accused of gunning down his own friends YNW Juvy and YNW Sakchaser.

Travis Scott's "Utopia" album recently founds its way into the mix of his new Nike campaign, revamping the Nike Mac Attack kicks worn by John McEnroe during his fiery heyday.

The two longtime Nike ambassadors appeared in a new TV spot Monday to preview the Mac Attacks in their OG colorways of Light Smoke Grey/Black-White. In the accompanying photo shoot, the patented briefcase containing the master copy of "Utopia" can also be spotted.

John's been down with Nike before Travis was actually born ... but Travis has loads of Cactus Jack merch collabs underneath the Swoosh umbrella, so their ties with the brand are both deep-rooted at this point.

Cam'ron is telling Ja Morant he's seen hoop dreams deflate ... and doesn't want the embattled NBA superstar to flush his career for being too in love with the streets.

The Diplomats founder was once a top basketball prospect coming outta Harlem in the mid-1990s ... but didn't take his academics seriously and saw his career fizzle after tearing his hamstring at junior college in Texas.

Cam'ron shared pics of his basketball playing days throwing up a gang sign to show Ja how unfocused he was at the time, where he says he got kicked outta college for pistol-whipping someone.

The "Oh Boy" rapper says he's not glorifying his past actions and doesn't want Ja, who's currently awaiting NBA Commissioner Adam Silver's judgment after his latest gun-toting video, to make the same mistake.

Ja should probably listen to Cam, as he's had his own run-ins with NBA Commissioners in the past.

DC Young Fly spared no expense to celebrate the life of his late partner Jacky Oh! ... as evidenced in the beautiful photos from the mother of three's funeral service.

The celebration of life went down over the weekend in Atlanta, with Jacky getting a grand send-off ... her casket was covered in beautiful flower bouquets, and outside the church DC was surrounded by loved ones as he released a dove into the air.

As you can see, Jacky's casket rode in on a horse-drawn carriage ... and everything was white and gold.

Tons of folks turned out to pay their respects to Jacky ... including friends, family and even a few celebs.

The photos show the full scope of Jacky's funeral ... as we previously reported, video of DC Young Fly's funeral speech featured a powerful message about faith, and in the pics you see him kiss her casket.

TMZ broke the story ... Jacky, a mother of three, died May 31 in Miami at 32 years old and her official cause of death has not yet been announced, though there's speculation swirling online that she was in Miami for a cosmetic procedure.

Looking at the celebration of life here, it's clear Jacky made a huge impact on people's lives.

Floyd Mayweather might've been throwing jabs this weekend, but Joseline Hernandez was handing out haymakers backstage ... landing several on Big Lex.

The former "Love & Hip Hop" star -- dressed in light blue -- was on hand Sunday during FM's exhibition fight against John Gotti III in South Florida ... as were a ton of other Zeus Network-connected reality stars, like Big Lex for example.

Lex -- once featured on Joseline's own reality show, "Joseline's Cabaret" -- was on the receiving end of a brutal beatdown during the boxing match.

The video of her taking a whoopin' is going viral on social media right now ... and for good reason. You see Joseline holding Lex in a headlock while she wails on her -- which got so violent and tumultuous, it actually ended up leaving BL flailing and topless.

Clearly, Joseline got the better of Lex in the moment ... eventually, the women were separated. However, Joseline wasn't done using her fists -- she continued to throw punches at a bunch of different people in the vicinity (even men) ... and seemed to strike at random.

At one point, an unknown woman walking by all the commotion threw a drink in Joseline's direction ... and then got chased out of the building once JH realized where it came from.

It's unclear what precipitated the brawl -- but it obviously had Joseline in a wild state.

This wasn't the only chaos in the building that night ... another brouhaha broke out in the actual ring itself, not between the boxers -- but between their teams and management. Gotti was disqualified in the 6th for continuous holding ... and yet, he continued to battle.

Floyd's team jumped in to stop him themselves ... and that spurred an all-out rumble. Safe to say the antics made it one of the craziest sporting events anyone's seen in quite a while.

Rubi Rose's 2021 "TWORK" music video was responsible for the destruction of some very valuable art ... so says the owner of the property next to the rapper's Los Angeles filming location.

According to a new lawsuit, obtained by TMZ Hip Hop, a renowned contemporary sculptor named Analia Saban's art studio/creative space is suing Rubi, video directors Jay and Georgio Rodriguez, and her label HitCo, claiming the music video shoot involved a high-pressure fire truck hose that ended up causing major damage to the artist's building and art pieces.

Saban claims you can spot the exact moment above when the water from the fire hose breached Analia's studio ... and says the unwelcome water damaged the building, destroyed valuable art, and caused at least six figures in overall damage.

Hollywood Fire Authority, a Los Angeles-based company that rents firefighter equipment, is also named in the suit ... for allegedly failing to properly train Rubi and the crew on using the equipment. After all, the high-pressured fire hoses aren't exactly toys like water guns!!!

Analia says she has undeniable proof the "TWORK" video wrecked her studio and is suing for at least $300K in damages.

Tyga and Travis Barker are linking up again and it has nothing to do with any old family ties ... the duo's actually getting ready to drop some new music.

Witnesses tell TMZ ... Tyga and his buddy, Alexander "AE" Edwards, strolled into Travis' studio Tuesday in Calabasas ... something that's become a common sight lately.

Sources familiar with the situation say the rapper and drummer have been spending a lot of time together in the studio, and the tunes they're cooking up will be for an upcoming EP.

They plan to drop the project in the coming months.

The collab isn't all that surprising ... considering Tyga and Travis have worked on music together in the past. There's also some family history, of course.

You'll recall, Tyga dated Kylie Jenner many moons ago -- they were first linked when she was 17 and he was 24. As you know, TB married Kylie's sister, Kourtney Kardashian back in April 2022.

Travis has been rocking out with Blink-182 as of late, after sharing the stage at Coachella with his bandmates Tom DeLonge and Mark Hoppus -- their first shows in 9 years.

Kanye West celebrated his birthday with two very important people by his side, and it appears those same two people are getting along just fine ... as North West and Ye's wife, Bianca Censori, strolled hand-in-hand into his birthday bash.

Check out the pics taken from outside Kanye's party Saturday night in Los Angeles to celebrate his 46th birthday. You see North, wearing her dad's signature black boots and fingers locked with Bianca as the two made their way inside.

It's not the first time North's spent time with Bianca, but she's clearly getting more comfortable with Ye's new wife.

It also appeared North had a series of painful-looking scrapes on her face ... but we're told it's just makeup -- as the 9-year-old likes to experiment with FX looks.

Inside the bash, a DJ played a bunch of Kanye's greatest hits, there was sushi served on models and minimal lighting, mostly by candlelight.

One guest also captured a cute moment between North and Kanye where she recorded him lip-syncing to his song "Off The Grid" while Bianca watched on.

As for other celebs in attendance, it wasn't the A-list filled roster of Kanye parties in the past -- but Chloe Bailey and Ty Dolla Sign both showed face.

DC Young Fly is turning to his faith to help move his family through an incredibly tough time after the death of Jacky Oh! ... delivering a powerful message during a beautiful service for the mother of three.

DC spoke Saturday at Jacky's celebration of life as family, friends and loved ones gathered in Atlanta to remember Jacky. His message was clear and powerful -- he's a God-fearing man and isn't questioning God's plan.

Throughout his words, DC continued to tell Jacky how much he loved her and praised her as an incredible mother to their kids. The comedian also thanked those in attendance for their posts and messages of support -- saying many of them helped him through.

Looking to the future -- DC says when you see him out with a smile, interacting and carrying on, it's because of the spirit helping him through ... as his journey forward is unimaginable.

And, of course, in true DC fashion -- he had everyone cracking up at one point of his message ... saying God granted him the strength to have three children, thrusting his hips and saying, "You know I wanted 7 more."

The audience burst out laughing, and so did the comedian, before pointing to Jacky's casket and joking she was gonna beat him up for the joke.

Finally, on a more solemn note ... DC says he knows Jacky didn't leave her family, she's in heaven and her spirit is with all of them.

Nicki Minaj is the victim of a swatting prank ... one the Sheriff's Dept. says involved a caller falsely claiming Nicki's child was being abused, but also -- that her house was up in flames.

Law enforcement sources tell TMZ ... the attempted swatting went down earlier this month when child services got an anonymous call alleging child abuse at Nicki's L.A.-area home.

We're told sheriff's deputies rolled up to Nicki's place around 6 PM Monday, but after speaking with her and her husband Kenneth Petty ... and looking at their almost 3-year-old child, determined there was no abuse and everything was kosher.

Our sources say deputies chalked it up to a swatting call, and officers want everyone to know these sorts of calls are a huge waste of time and resources.

BTW, that wasn't the only thing being falsely reported about Nicki on this particular night -- sources with direct knowledge tell us another call came in around 3 AM to report that her home was on fire ... something that was also found to be completely untrue. In other words, 2 bogus calls came in a span of about 24 hours -- which is pretty jarring on its face.

For the uninitiated, swatting is a form of prank call where the goal is to get a big police response at someone's home ... and it's a growing problem for cops around the country.

Nicki's not the only celeb dealing with swatting calls. As we first reported, it's recently happened to YouTuber Adin Ross and influencer Madison Beer.

Big Boy says emceeing Tupac Shakur's Hollywood Walk of Fame ceremony is a full-circle moment for him, considering he spent time with the hip hop icon when he was alive and thriving.

TMZ Hip Hop caught up with the radio legend right after the event let out Wednesday, telling us he was floored when they called him to lead the charge. BB set the alley-oop for Tupac's sister Sekyiwa Shakur's touching and tearful address to the jam-packed crowd.

With over 30 years in radio, BB says he was able to hit the road on tour with Tupac and was able to support once he got on-air.

He's so indebted to him, we couldn't get him to pick a winner between Pac's classic albums "Me Against the World" and "All Eyez on Me" ... but he's urging fans who disliked the 'All Eyez' film to give it another chance!!!

We also ran into Nipsey Hussle's good friend Herman “Cowboy” Douglas, who thinks it's a fitting honor that Pac's star landed so close to Nipsey's — not the other way around.

Cowboy thinks Nipsey's impact in Los Angeles ranks greater than Pac's, bias be damned.

Fetty Wap's just starting his 6-year prison bid after pleading guilty in his drug trafficking case ... but even when that's done, he'll be under very strict guidelines for almost as long.

According to court docs, obtained by TMZ Hip Hop, Fetty will have to fully disclose his financial records and yearly income tax returns to the U.S. Probation Department.

Fetty is also prohibited from opening any new bank or financial accounts without prior approval from the feds, and will have to submit virtually everything he owns -- houses, vehicles, even himself -- to search whenever there's a reasonable suspicion he's violated any terms of supervised release.

He also must cooperate with the probation officer to get a sample of his DNA upon release from prison.

TMZ Hip Hop broke the story ... last August, Fetty pleaded guilty to conspiracy to distribute a whopping 500 grams or more of cocaine. He was sentenced to 6 years in prison and 5 years of supervised release.

The Miami Heat are on the ropes in the NBA Finals, but their celeb turnout is still top-seeded in the league ... right up there with legendary LA Lakers Showtime.

Lil Wayne, Conor McGregor, G-Eazy, Chris Tucker and J. Balvin filed into the primo seats at Miami's Kaseya Center.

McGregor actually got some playing time -- not in the game, which the Denver Nuggets won -- but he was part of the center court entertainment. The UFC legend squared off with the Heat mascot Burnie ... and earned a one-punch W.

Some other famous fans in the crowd included Odell Beckham Jr., Flo Rida, Forest Whitaker, Neymar, Ozuna and Paul Pogba.

YFN Lucci is rejecting a plea deal Georgia prosecutors offered him in his racketeering case ... we've learned Lucci's instead opting to go to trial to clear his name.

According to court docs, obtained by TMZ Hop Hop, Fulton County D.A. Fani Willis recommended a 20-year sentence, 17 of them in prison ... and in exchange, Lucci would have to plead guilty to multiple charges -- including felony murder, racketeering, aggravated assault and violation of the street gang terrorism and prevention act.

Lucci, whose real name is Rayshawn Bennett, is not interested in the offer. His attorneys, Drew Findling and Gabe Banks, tell us the plea offer is "absurd," and they strongly hinted the D.A. is intentionally dragging her feet -- they point out Lucci is still waiting to go to trial after 2.5 years in custody.

The attorneys also slammed Willis for focusing instead on "newer, high-profile cases that have completely monopolized the Court’s resources" and pointed out her "utter inability to prosecute complex cases."

They went on to say ... "Despite the obstacles consistently placed in the way of Mr. Bennett’s constitutional right to a speedy and fair trial, we continue to be ready and prepared to defend these false allegations."

Snoop Dogg's once favorite car -- his '66 Cadillac DeVille lowrider -- has a new owner and home ... as a permanent fixture inside a brand-spanking-new dealership in Texas!!!

The classic Snoop DeVille now resides at Cadillac of Arlington ... which we're told just had a huge party to celebrate its grand opening.

The car's previous owner, Christian Bonilla, tells TMZ Hip Hop he recently brokered a deal with the family-owned dealership group, which has been around since 1935 ... and is headquartered in the DFW area.

Snoop was rich rollin' and winning contests in the whip for years ... until the engine gave out. The car was also famously featured in 50 Cent's "P.I.M.P. Remix" video amid the "Get Rich or Die Tryin'" era.