TMZ Hip Hop - Page 50

Travis Scott has shifted his focus back to promoting his "Utopia" album after a brief side mission with The Weeknd and Bad Bunny ... and the rollout is nothing shy of a summer blockbuster!!!

On Tuesday, Travis gave fans a sneak peek of the "Circus Maximus" movie that will accompany the "Utopia" release on Thursday ... a montage of scenic visuals from all over the globe he orchestrated with some of his favorite directors.

The film will hit theaters that day and could be a hot ticket. Travis is shown trekking through a cave and sand dunes, and there's a speeding cop car and looming helicopters ... real chaotic stuff.

The Astroworld architect's intense promo run also saw him unveiling an alternative version of the "Utopia" album cover ... a slideshow of several zombie-like individuals with white eyes clutching international currency, sitting in a bombed-out car.

The meaning of the artwork remains unclear, but it won't be the final version ... Travis says he's dropping that one on Thursday.

Cryptic theatrics are totally Travis' specialty, word to his scheduled performance this Friday at the pyramids in Egypt.

Ne-Yo is clearly exercising ALL his options in his post-divorce dating life ... the R&B superstar was recently spotted with not one, but 2 damsels on his arm!!!

The "She Knows" singer happily greeted a fan in Miami on Monday who captured him strolling and holding hands with his dual dates. Even with his hands full, he replied to the fan, "Hey, yo, baby. What up?”

If he only had a third hand.

Some of Ne-Yo's fans had a cow over his openly open lifestyle, but they might wanna chill ... the guy isn't breaking any laws.

Per the story we broke in February, Ne-Yo finalized his divorce from his ex Crystal Renay ... and they still remain friends to this day, so he's free to roam as he pleases.

The last time we spoke to him, he told us the single life couldn't be better and he was even open to dating loyal fans.

The female fan who caught Drake's attention with her bra at a recent concert is makin' moves after the viral moment ... and we've learned Playboy is ready to sign her.

ICYMI, 21-year-old Veronica Correia tossed her 36G bra on stage during the rapper's show at Barclay's Center in New York last week -- and Drake picked it up, hilariously saying "Locate this woman immediately."

We spoke with Veronica, who gave us a breakdown of that entire night, particularly the big bra moment ... and says Drake's already responded to one of her posts, but she hasn't hit the guy back yet.

She also got a DM from Playboy, offering her the chance to join the team in some capacity -- an offer it sounds like she couldn't refuse.

For those unaware, Playboy's done away with its long-running magazines and has switched over to an OnlyFans-style business model. While Veronica hasn't been that gung-ho for OF, despite getting asked, something about Playboy must've called to her.

BTW, Veronica owns a coffee shop called Café La La in Cumberland, RI ... and after the wild interaction, she's considering renaming a drink after Drake -- either the Drizzy Drizzle or straight up the 36G.

Quavo was on board a yacht in Miami when two men allegedly threatened the boat's captain ... and video shows the rapper being detained by police, although nobody ended up being arrested.

TMZ obtained footage from Sunday's incident on the Miami River, and you can see Quavo handcuffed with zip ties as he sits on the boat deck and appears to interact with at least three police officers.

Cops in Miami say they got a 911 call about an alleged strong armed robbery on a yacht, and police say folks on the boat told them two men got aggressive with the captain, who said the rental time was nearing its conclusion … allegedly prompting the men to demand a refund.

The incident report, obtained by TMZ, says one of the men threatened to kill the captain and throw him off the yacht if he turned the boat around.

One crew member told police he saw a man take the captain's wallet and cell phone, but cops say folks on the yacht gave conflicting statements on this allegation.

In the video, you also see a group of women sitting on the dock ... as police lights flash and Quavo sits near officers with his hands behind his back.

Police also say they found two firearms on the boat but add that the guns weren't used in any alleged threats.

Wiz Khalifa is on the road, touring with Snoop Dogg ... so, a group of would-be burglars thought it'd be a good idea to roll up on his L.A home while he was performing.

Key word being thought ... as they, oddly, didn't expect the security guards who sent them running during the attempted Sunday evening heist.

LAPD tells TMZ Hip Hop ... 3 guys tried to get onto the property through a side gate around 6:38 PM -- just as Wiz was in Michigan burning through live renditions of his classic songs for the High School Reunion Tour.

Wiz is, unfortunately, familiar with home intruders ... crooks broke into his house back in 2018, but this time he would not be a victim again.

We're told Wiz's security at the house sprung into action, running out to the gate ... where the 3 stooges spotted them and immediately turned to flee.

LAPD responded to the alarm, but the suspects had bolted by the time officers arrived. They filed an attempted burglary report, and opened the investigation.

Meanwhile, Wiz caught wind of the caper while at his concert venue, and noted the timing ... pointing out he was actually on stage while it was going down.

Britney Spears is brimming with creative ideas on the music front, according to will.i.am -- with whom she just collab'd for her latest track -- and he says there's good reason to expect more music from her.

The Black Eyed Peas frontman's joining us "TMZ Live" on the heels of his and Britney's new single, 'Mind Your Business,' which just dropped Friday. It's the second song Britney's been featured on since her conservatorship ended.

The track came as a surprise to many -- Will acknowledges they actually recorded most of the song back in 2013, but says this was the perfect time to finish production and release it.

That's because of the song's message -- on the surface, it's all about Britney's storied history with paparazzi, and her general feeling of losing all privacy ... but Will adds, it's not just about her.

It's interesting ... he says everyone's personal life is invaded these days, which makes this an issue that transcends celebrity.

As far as any future projects together -- this is already their 4th collab -- Will says it's a bit TBD ... but he does tell us Britney is still very much invested in music -- proven, he says, by the suggestions she was making while they were working on "Mind Your Business."

The food critic in Too Short is putting his stamp of approval on Snoop Dogg's arsenal of food products ... as he's been able to get his chops on as much as he can handle!!!

TMZ Hip Hop linked with the OG Short Dog at LAX on Monday who says his Mt. Westmore bandmate has left his personal cereal and wine brands in his dressing room during their tour this summer!!!

Short says he's loaded up with so much Snoop Cereal, he gives some away to fans, who give him rave reviews on the spot as they scarf it down in front of him.

Snoop gave all praises due to Master P and Martha Stewart when he hopped on TMZ Live on Monday and debuted yet another menu item to his growing catalog: ice cream.

The power of the BTS Army is on full display, backing their captain Jung Kook's debut solo single -- which happens to feature Latto -- and they've pushed it all the way to No. 1 on Billboard!!!

On Monday, Billboard posted updated SoundScan data, showing Jung Kook and Latto's "Seven" dethroning Morgan Wallen's runaway hit "Last Night," and beating out Jason Aldean's controversial 'Small Town' ... which debuted in the No. 2 slot.

The raunchy-n-rosy track hit hard with 21.9 million streams, and saw its video reach 100 million views in just 10 days ... all of which contributed to Latto becoming the first rapper to have a No. 1 hit this year!!!

"Seven" is also the 2nd BTS-led song to top the charts this year after Jimin’s “Like Crazy” debuted at No. 1 in April.

The City Girls are sending out a warning to whom it may concern -- don't you dare question Yung Miami's maternal instincts, or you'll feel the wrath of TWO protective mama bears!!!

Godmom JT posted footage from Rolling Loud with Miami's son in big boy mode, throwing money at strippers while he was surrounded by adults ... a moment many fans thought was too grown for the 10-year-old tyke.

The scenario looked identical to a rap music video, with several people twerking and getting lit to the music. Miami can even be seen smacking Ari Fletcher's butt cheeks at some point.

The backlash pushed Miami and JT to their breaking points, and they exploded on their critics. Miami fought for her son's right to party, and called Rolling Loud the best day of his young life.

JT also backed her up ... revealing her beau Lil Uzi Vert had the area blocked off so Miami's son couldn't get a handful of any of the gratuitous flesh on display ... only an eyeful.

The "Barbie" movie had a huge weekend at the box office with $155 million ... a success shared by its "Barbie World" theme song by Nicki Minaj and Ice Spice.

Millions of fans streamed the song to the point it ranked in the top 10 for all genres -- it also placed in the top 5 on Spotify and Apple Music, and jumped 6 spots on the radio airplay chart.

"Barbie: The Album" dropped Friday, and also features Lizzo, Dua Lipa, Billie Eilish and others -- but "Barbie World" was probably destined to be the breakout hit after Margot Robbie personally requested the song be highlighted on the soundtrack!!!

Nicki and Ice clearly did their job helping promote director Greta Gerwig's film ... which had a historic debut as the biggest opening weekend from a female director.

"Barbie" is already the top-earning film so far in 2023, and "Barbie World" marks the biggest female rap collab in more than 2 years.

A$AP Rocky sent a few stray shots in Travis Scott's direction during his headlining set at Rolling Loud Miami … at least that's what fans think about a new track he performed!!!

Rocky previewed 3 unreleased songs Sunday night from his upcoming album, "Don’t Be Dumb," and completely crapped on an unnamed artist he says has been swagger-jackin' him for too long ... and there are plenty of indicators that artist is Travis.

Rocky was all smiles letting his lyrical missiles fly ... “First you stole my flow, so I stole your bitch/Then you stole my style, I need at least like 10 percent/ All due disrespect, I hope you take offense!!!"

The A$AP Mob rapper is currently expecting his 2nd child with Rihanna, but years before, back in 2015 ... she and Travis were a thing -- and that's about as long he and Rocky have been rivals.

If you remember, it was also that same year when Travis completely lost his cool after someone in NYC mistook him for Rocky ... something Rocky thinks is totally on Travis.

Just last year, Rocky publicly stated he felt Travis stole his entire style, but didn't take much offense to the copycatting ... referring to the Astroworld rapper's imitation as flattery.

Obviously, Rocky's tone has changed, and he's using the controversy to market "DBD."

Travis also has a project to promote ... he revealed his long-awaited "Utopia" album will drop on Friday during his Rolling Loud set.

Tiffany Haddish says Common's claim their breakup was amicable is BS -- she claims it was anything but, and that he dumped her with a phone call.

The actress/comedian dished to WaPo about her version of what went down when they went their separate ways in late 2021 ... after a year of dating during the pandemic. A month after they split, Common went on the record, calling it "a mutual thing."

He also said the lifting of COVID restrictions made them grow apart, and he felt they weren't "feeding the relationship" ... even though he had fond memories of their time together.

Welp, Tiffany remembers things a little differently ... especially on how it ended.

According to her, it was actually Common who started to drift away, as she claims he failed to invite her to a number of events they could've gone to as a couple ahead of their uncoupling ... including his own birthday party!

TH also says this ... "It wasn’t mutual. It was more him saying, ‘I think this relationship has run its course.’ And, I was like, ‘Okay. Like you gonna be a 50-year-old single man. Okay?'"

The one thing they seem to be on the same page about ... when it was good, it was great. Both Tiffany and Common have characterized the bulk of their relationship as healthy and mature -- but they're speaking different languages when it comes to how it finished.

It's no Powerball jackpot, but in the world of storage lockers, one bidder hit the mother lode by scooping up The Game's old unit ... and it's filled to the brim with super rare finds.

Carol, the new storage unit owner, tells TMZ ... she and her son have been picking up lockers as a hobby, and they spent $1K on a 10 x 20 L.A. unit earlier this month. They paid an additional $1,400 to dump some of the clutter and furniture that was inside.

However, we're told the unit contained more than a thousand other items like personalized art, awards, framed jerseys, clothes, shoes, hats, a guitar, and photos -- which is when they realized exactly whose unit they'd just won in the auction.

Carol says they learned a member of Game's team put a bunch of the artist's stuff in storage after he'd moved out of a home, and went back recently to snag a few things before signing off the rest for auction ... because he didn't want to keep paying rent.

She obviously wants to make some dough off her incredible find, but Carol says her first option would be selling the stuff back to The Game. She says there a lot of the items are so personal, and she has no clue if he knows the unit was sold.

Snoop Dogg's got some great mentors in Master P and Martha Stewart, and he's crediting both with inspiring his new venture -- Dr. Bombay ice cream brand with hybrid flavors bound to tempt tongues.

Snoop tells us his entrée into frozen desserts spun off from his Bored Ape Yacht Club NFT avatar -- Dr. Bombay -- and definitely a strong case of the munchies, based on the big puff of smoke he was blowing during his "TMZ Live" interview!!!

The Doggfather says all the Dr. Bombay flavors are fusions of his favorite sweet bites -- "Syrupy Waffle Sundae Daze," "S'more Vibes" and "Rollin' In The Dough" are just a few of the whimsical concoctions he had a direct hand in creating.

Snoop's super heavy in the food world these days ... he recently announced a cookbook collab with E-40 that'll be on dinner tables by Thanksgiving.

Throughout the years, Snoop says he's learned a great deal from his pals Martha and P -- literally 2 of America's biggest entrepreneurial minds.

Snoop compares P's knowledge to a college education, while Martha was like that real-world experience ya get after graduation ... to put in Doggy Dogg metaphor terms.

BTW, we recently got P promoting his cereal venture with Snoop ... which is still going strong.

As for those Dr. Bombay ice cream flavors -- you'll find them chillin' in Walmart coolers now! The launch is being supported by cultural marketing agency 160over90, a part of the Endeavor network.

Luka Sabbat doesn't think artists should abandon tours, despite the current ticket sales decline ... because he still values the stage experience as a fan.

We caught the "Grown-ish" actor out in West Hollywood this week, in the aftermath of Lil Baby downsizing his nationwide tour ... while other star rappers such as Future and Toosii also shuttered shows this year.

Luka's big on the live show circuit ... he soaked up the Coachella Festival sunrays earlier this year but says he favors headlining tours, as artists can personalize their set with theatrics, as opposed to sharing a general stage.

He even broke out his phone and shared his current 🎶 favs for us!!! Destroy Lonely and electronic music are at the top of his playlists!!!

Rashad Bilal and Troy Millings of "Earn Your Leisure" agreed that tours are still vital when we spoke to them about the topic in NYC this week ... noting that many artists would sell tickets better if they teamed up and then hit the road.

YNW Melly's years-long double murder case has just ended in dramatic fashion ... he's off the hook, for now, 'cause a judge just declared a mistrial.

The rapper got the good news Saturday in a Broward County courtroom -- where the jury actually came in on a weekend to reaffirm they had not been able to come to a unanimous decision, this after starting deliberations on Thursday ... following closing arguments.

It's one of the wildest hip hop murder cases to happen ... Melly and his co-defendant Cortlen -- aka, YNW Bortlen -- Henry were accused of killing their friends Christopher “Juvy” Thomas Jr. and Anthony “Sakchaser” Williams in South Florida circa October 2018.

Investigators used forensic evidence to argue Melly and Henry fatally shot the pair in the back of a Jeep Compass and staged the scene to look like a drive-by. The killings, at the time, were described as gruesome ... and alleged to have been carried out in cold blood.

Apparently, however, that wasn't enough to sway the jury ... at least not all of them, anyway.

Melly had been locked up since February 2019 while he awaited trial but the time away didn't hurt his rap career. Fans streamed his music faithfully and ran the numbers up ... his discography now has 10 platinum and gold plaques when he had zilch when he was initially arrested for the murders. Remember, he was facing the death penalty ... so high stakes.

Now, Melly's a free man ... that is, assuming prosecutors don't go after him again -- which they certainly can. It's unclear if the state plans to do it all over again ... stay tuned.