TMZ Hip Hop - Page 50

Ice Spice says she and Taylor Swift immediately hit it off when recording their hit record "Karma" ... and they still keep in contact via text to this day!!!

The "Munch" rapper relived her experience working with the pop powerhouse with Zane Lowe on Apple Music 1 ... openly admitting she was having a crummy day until her manager told her TS was requesting her for a collab.

Ice says Taylor wasn't acting Hollywood once they pulled up to the studio either ... the "Midnights" singer was actually waiting for her outside, eager to collaborate.

The song immediately became a hit when it dropped in May, and is one of the reasons Ice is tied with Morgan Wallen for most Top 10 hits in 2023.

According to Ice, Taylor keeps her LOLing at all times, dubbing her "the funniest person ever" as they still keep in frequent contact via text.

Collaborations aren't always guaranteed to create friendships, but Ice also counts her newfound partner-in-rhyme Nicki Minaj as well as Drake as mentors — and soaks up all the advice they give her!!!

Next up for Ice, is the deluxe follow-up to her debut EP "Like..?" which arrives on Friday.

The home cops raided in Vegas this week in connection with the unsolved Tupac murder belongs to the wife of a guy who says he was in the car with a man who shot and killed the late rapper.

TMZ has confirmed the address where Vegas Metro executed a search warrant Monday night ... it's owned by a woman named Paula Clemons -- who's married, we've learned, to Keefe D.

Folks familiar with Tupac lore know exactly who Keefe D is -- he's a former Crip, and for years now he's been doing interviews claiming to be the uncle of the late Orlando Anderson ... who's been suspected, at least on the streets, to have been the shooter.

Orlando and his crew -- including Keefe -- were in Vegas that night ... and Orlando was actually jumped by Tupac, Suge Knight and other Death Row affiliates at the MGM Grand. It's an altercation that was caught on surveillance video ... and many thought Orlando might have orchestrated a revenge shooting after the Mike Tyson fight that night. FWIW, Orlando himself had denied any involvement before he was killed in a shootout himself.

As for Paula, she also owned a home in Compton in the '90s ... what's interesting, in 1998, the L.A. County Sheriff's Dept. recovered a gun in the backyard of a Compton home ... a home the Sheriff's Dept. said belonged to the girlfriend of known Crip who was in Vegas the night of the murder.

As we reported, cops raided Paula's Henderson, Nevada home Monday. The reason the raid is significant is because, to obtain that warrant, police had to show a judge there was probable cause to believe there was evidence in the home connected to Tupac's murder.

Cops are not saying what they recovered from Paula's Henderson home.

We covered it all on the latest of The TMZ Podcast, available on all podcast platforms.

Yo Gotti's co-ownership of MLS soccer team D.C. United has opened new doors for the "Rake It Up" rapper ... making a trip to the White House to hang with the First Lady!!!

The CMG boss kicked off his MLS All-Star Week on the South Lawn of the White House Monday as an invited guest. Gotti was part of a youth soccer clinic designed to raise awareness for the sport with future generations.

Sources tell TMZ Hip Hop that Gotti and Jill Biden had a great chitchat on the South Lawn about his own children's growing love for soccer ... and he connected with officials from the Biden-Harris Administration throughout the day.

Gotti joined D.C. United in 2021 and has been proactive in ingraining himself in the soccer community.

We're told he'll be joining the TV booth for the MLS All-Star Game later this evening, as 2 D.C. United players and their coach Wayne Rooney are on the roster.

Post Malone is a man of his word, fulfilling a promise made to a huge fan who'd gone through a life-altering medical episode, and we've got the pics from the super sweet face-to-face.

The whole thing started last year when Garrett Belanger's sister Taylor made a Tik Tok detailing his story and Post responded. Garrett, a longtime Post Malone supporter, suffered a brain hemorrhage in 2022 -- and he's been slowly (but surely) recovering following a coma.

Post actually sent Garrett a bunch of merch and a video last August -- not long after he came out of the coma -- telling him to hit him up whenever he was ready to come to a show and rock out ... and on Monday, he finally got that chance at Post's concert in Buffalo, NY.

On Monday, Garrett, his sister Taylor, family and friends took Post up on his offer -- getting to enjoy the singer's show. We're told not only did PM get them regular tickets ... but he and his camp rolled out the red carpet for Garrett and his loved ones with VIP tickets and a backstage meet and greet.

The photos are pretty awesome -- you can see Posty and Garrett hugging it out, and Garrett looks absolutely stoked. While he can't talk or walk just yet ... Taylor says Garrett can communicate by blinking now, and he was more than aware he was meeting his idol.

In addition to the meet-and-greet ... the family brought Post a Garrett's Army shirt that he put on while posing for the pictures. Considering how long this has been in the works ... it's truly full circle.

Garrett's family has started a GoFundMe to help with his care and recovery.

YG is ready to get his show back on the road -- bringing his BFF, Tyga, and his GF, Saweetie, to get in on the action.

The trio of West Coasters popped the lid off their joint "Str8 To The Klub" Tour revealing dates across California, Arizona and Canada and additional support from their fellow Golden State MCs Kamiyah and Wallie The Sensei.

Rap show tour dates have been getting slashed left and right this summer and these guys know where to roam where they're most wanted.

Sources close to the tour also tell TMZ Hip Hop that YG and Saweetie are actively working on new music together, possibly even an EP, and will even be dropping a new video soon.

YG and Tyga also have a joint album that's been in the making for years and just birthed a new single called "Platinum" in June.

Saweetie and YG have also been dating for months ... having been spotted hand-in-hand at several Los Angeles restaurants and even a Mexican getaway vacation.

Kissin' collaborators can often make incredible music, you know.

Miranda Lambert's shaming of front-row photo-taking fans is getting mixed reactions on the internet, but Charlamagne Tha God isn't straddling the fence -- he says Miranda reacted like a lame ball when she should've embraced the attention!!!

"The Breakfast Club" cohost pinned the tail on Miranda with his Tuesday "Donkey of the Day" ... questioning how the country superstar could be so oblivious to fan behavior in 2023.

As we previously reported, Miranda paused her recent Vegas set to call out a group of fans attempting to snap the perfect pic of them with the stage in the background.

CTG thinks Miranda used the moment to adjust her singing, which he says was off-key ... but also pointed out that social media rules the world in 2023, which means you're guaranteed to see phones everywhere.

CTG says he'd expect such behavior from the much older Dolly Parton over Miranda ... which is about the depth of the Breakfast Club's knowledge of country music. They couldn't name one ML song, let alone tell her apart musically from Carrie Underwood!!! 😂

Lil Durk's health issues appear to run deeper than what his team has stated publicly ... as the rapper's now been forced to pull the plug on several tour dates as well as his appearance at Rolling Loud.

The Chicago rap star was scheduled to hit the stage Saturday right before Travis Scott's comeback performance ... but has to sit on the sidelines for now.

Durk's also set to hit the stage August 11-12 in Chicago for some homecoming dates ... but as it stands, the matter seems to be a day-by-day situation.

As we told you in the story we broke last week ... Durk claimed he fell victim to dehydration and checked himself into an Ohio hospital after becoming exhausted. Durk spent nearly a week getting treatment.

Durk's planned tour dates with Kodak Black, NLE Choppa, and DD Osama for his "Sorry For The Drought" Tour, have also been canceled.

There's apparently some new life in the investigation into who killed legendary rapper Tupac Shakur ... as Las Vegas cops descended on a home in connection to the murder.

Detectives from the Las Vegas Metro PD served a search warrant Tuesday at a home in Henderson, Nevada ... about 20 miles away from the LV city limits. Cops were brief in the details surrounding the search, only adding it was, "part of the ongoing Tupac Shakur homicide investigation."

Law enforcement sources confirm to us the home was in the area of Interstate 11 and Wagon Wheel Drive but, as of now, no arrests have been made.

Pac died on September 13, 1996, after being shot multiple times just off the Las Vegas Strip.

The "All Eyez On Me" rapper's afterlife spawned one of the biggest-selling music careers, not to mention one of the biggest fandoms ... but his family just wants closure.

DJ Khaled had the best reaction to Michael Block's incredible shot on the golf course on Tuesday ... celebrating like a madman right after the PGA Championship star holed out from a distance!!

The two guys were getting in a warmup round to prep for the musician's inaugural "We the Best Foundation Golf Classic" later this week ... when on the first hole, Block found himself in the rough some 100-yards-or-so away from the green.

The 47-year-old club pro, though, calmly stepped to his ball with a wedge ... launched it high in the air -- before it hit the dance floor and then spun back into the hole.

Khaled couldn't believe his eyes ... and then he lost his mind celebrating with the golfer!!

The "I'm The One" producer jumped into Block's arms -- before screaming "Let's go" over and over again.

When Block wished he had saved the shot for the charity tourney later on Thursday ... Khaled guaranteed there'd be "another one" in his future!!

"It's gonna happen again!" he said.

As for Block -- the golf hero who finished tied for 15th in the PGA Championship back in May -- while he played it all cool on the course Tuesday ... he was pretty thrilled afterward.

"Blessed! by @DJKhaled," he wrote on a clip of the shot on his Instagram page. "Did this really just happen on the first hole?"

Snoop Dogg and E-40 are cooking up something together again ... but it won't be studio tracks this time around.

The legends of Mt. Westmore announced Tuesday they're going halfsies on a cookbook fashioned around 40's "Goon With the Spoon" brand.

Snoop and 40 say the book will come out November 14 ... featuring over 65 recipes with some inspiration taken from both their classic music.

According to People, Snoop penned the book's foreword which reads ... “E-40 is my big homie, my brother, my mentor ... Watching him expand his love for food and cooking over the years to his many successful businesses is some boss-level shit. Which is why Snoop Dogg Presents Goon with the Spoon had to be the next cookbook, ya dig?”

Both rap stars' cooking expertise has been established at this point ... Snoop is renowned for his long-running partnership with Martha Stewart and also published his own independent cookbook in 2018.

40's GWTS specializes in ice cream and sausage meats and has been notable on the festival circuit as of late.

Drake is severely neglecting his responsibilities to the hip hop community while also being the biggest rapper in the game ... at least, that's what several of the top gatekeepers in rap would have you believe.

Rap Radar's Elliott Wilson couldn't stomach seeing Drake interviewed on TikTok star Bobbi Althoff's "The Really Good Podcast" ... and ripped him for being too comfortable with talking to hip hop outsiders -- his beachside chat with Lil Yachty notwithstanding.

Drake interviewed with RR back in 2019 and Elliott thinks he should continue to talk to hip hop podcasters, even if his outlet isn't the one getting the exclusive.

Dishing the tea is one thing but Hot 97's Ebro Darden took Drake to task even further, on Apple Music's "Rap Life Review," for never addressing Black social issues.

Ebro discredited Drake's diss of Childish Gambino's "This Is America" ... noting how CG chose to speak out when the country was in turmoil while Drake played the background where it's safe!!!

The pile-up came to a head Tuesday when DJ Akademiks had plenty of "told-you-so's" for his Rumble audience ... after having a rant similar to Elliott and Ebro's go viral back in March.

Ak thinks Drake's silly interviews are just measures to expand his youth reach but says it's criminal he hasn't even been interviewed by rap media's leading platform ... "The Joe Budden Podcast!!!"

Ice Cube says the assumptions he and Kanye West had beef after their infamous back-and-forth over antisemitism were blown straight outta proportion.

The legendary rapper was on TalkTV for “Piers Morgan Uncensored” on Monday evening and addressed the aftermath that came after Ye invoked Cube's name during his antisemitic outbursts in late 2022.

Remember, Ye had claimed -- while on Drink Champs -- Ice Cube was the one who turned him on to hating Jewish people ... something Cube vehemently denied at the time.

He told Piers, "He spoke my name without really explaining what he meant, and I couldn’t leave that statement out there without … I had to rebut that."

As we reported, Ye went to Cube's house last month, and they both seemed happy after the meeting. Cube hinted Ye's learned a lot since spewing antisemitic tropes -- "We’ve talked. I think Ye understands that generalizing will always get you in more hot water than being very specific.”

Post Malone is about to become the first artist to play a show on a permanent stage that's just been installed in Times Square.

The rapper/singer is set to perform Tuesday in the heart of NYC, and he'll be doing it on none other than the new TSX stage -- which has been getting worked over the past several months ... and which will have its big debut with Posty leading the way.

There's actually a billboard covering up the stage right now there in Times Square, teasing Post's concert -- with a plug of his forthcoming album, "Austin."

It's coming out next Friday, and we're told Post is expected to perform songs from his new project -- and probably some old hits of his as well. As far as how people are gonna see Post -- well, this billboard is actually going to open up and unveil the hidden TSX stage.

TSX Entertainment has actually been posting behind-the-scenes footage of the stage being built -- and it's pretty cool ... like we mentioned, this stands to be a staple in Times Square live entertainment going forward -- and it's cool they're having Post handling the debut.

We'll be watching ... 👀

Steph Curry's hot streak rolled right into Monday night ... 'cause just one day after he scored a huge win at a prestigious celeb golf tournament, he got an epic shout-out from Drake!!

The Golden State Warriors star was at Barclays Center in Brooklyn for Drizzy's "It's All A Blur" tour some 24 hours after he nabbed the American Century Championship in Lake Tahoe ... and the rapper actually paused his show to give the hooper love.

Drake called Curry his "brother" and complimented his looks ... before he told the sold-out crowd to "make some noise" for the four-time NBA champ.

Drake also shouted out Ayesha Curry and Sonya Curry -- who had VIP seats right alongside Steph at the concert.

The Currys all seemed to love it -- arena cams caught them grinning ear-to-ear -- before Drake started spittin' on the microphone once again.

The moment was just one of many big ones for Steph in the last few weeks ... he's had a hell of a summer so far -- first appearing on The Match in late June, then hitting a hole-in-one on Saturday ... before earning the ACC crown on Sunday.

Things are only looking up from here too ... Steph revealed Monday his Gentleman's Cut Bourbon is launching worldwide later this month as well.

Pras is doing A-OK in spite of his recent conviction for criminal conspiracy ... at least, that's the update Wyclef Jean is sharing about his fellow artist.

TMZ Hip Hop connected with Wyclef outside NBC Studios on Monday, looking spry and lively after surviving a burnout earlier this year after he denied all retirement rumors.

He also assured us Pras was still in good spirits since we last spoke to him in May after the guilty verdict.

Pras is currently awaiting sentencing for his role in a $20 million fraud political theater, the type of stuff that makes for a ripe movie script ... but Wyclef says don't expect to see a feature film of the legendary hip hop trio anytime soon.

Wyclef says Fugees' life story is still being written in real time and there's no way to put a cap on the saga just yet.

He, Pras and Lauryn Hill recently reunited at this year's Roots Picnic but haven't released an album together since 1996's Diamond-selling blockbuster album "The Score."

Wiz Khalifa is getting ready to throw that high cheese when he takes the mound at the Pirates game ... 'cause the rapper says he's planning on being "stoned af" for the ceremonial first pitch.

The Pittsburgh native -- who's in town for his "High School Reunion" tour -- will do the honors before his hometown team hosts the Cleveland Guardians on Monday ... and he's got a perfectly on-brand strategy in place ahead of his big moment at PNC Park.

"Finna get stoned af and throw this first pitch at the pirates game," Wiz tweeted to his 36 million followers.

It may not just be ganja powering Wiz through the toss, though ... 'cause he also added, "Shroomed out throwin a baseball is crazy."

To prove he wasn't kidding (not like he needed to), Wiz also posted a picture of his supply ... showing two big jars of weed, as well as some mushrooms.

You could say Wiz is sorta paying homage to former pitcher Dock Ellis, who famously claimed to have thrown a no-hitter while high on LSD back in 1970!!

High or not, Wiz will still probably throw a better pitch than 50 Cent.