TMZ Hip Hop - Page 50

LL Cool J is sick of hearing how rap is both a "young man's game" and comparable to sports ... setting the record straight on how he feels hip hop culture should thrive.

The legendary rapper appeared on SiriusXM’s "Sway In The Morning" Thursday to promote his new tour, the 50th anniversary of hip hop, and he closed the interview with his first-ever freestyle on the celebrated radio show. ... supplying a dizzying array of rhymes.

LL rocked the mic for nearly two minutes, causing all Sway's Universe cohosts to go wild as Tracy G proclaimed LL shut down their freestyle segment for the rest of the year.

Earlier in the interview, LL expressed his disappointment with older rappers being rubbed out of the culture, much like he did when he took DJ Akademiks to task last year.

LL admits he's a fan of songs from the likes of Lil Baby, Lil Durk and DaBaby but says his reason for creating his "Rock The Bells" platform was so he didn't have to pretend like he's not older than he is.

The 55-year-old MC also laid into the rap debates that liken the genre to sports and says rappers only flirt with retirement like pro athletes over insecurities of becoming obsolete ... a position LL says he's allergic to!!!

Megan Thee Stallion's music release hiatus hasn't kept her from working ... the "Savage" rapper has gone straight Hollywood with her feature film debut.

Fans got a glimpse of what Megan will bring to the table when A24 popped the lid off its trailer for "Dicks: The Musical" comedy on Thursday ... which stars Aaron Jackson and Josh Sharp as a pair of bumbling salesmen who soon discover they're long-lost twins.

Megan plays their business suit-wearing, potty-mouthed boss and makes use of her artistic talents ... even breaking off into a rap song at the point where she instructs the boys to munch on her male genitalia. 😬

Joseline Hernandez just got slapped with two more felony charges from her backstage brawl at a Floyd Mayweather fight ... so she had to go through the booking process again at a Florida jail.

The "Love & Hip Hop" alum was in court Thursday for her arraignment when the judge dropped the bad news ... prosecutors are charging her with two felony counts of battery on a law enforcement officer.

Joseline stood before the judge stone-faced as he explained why she needed to be taken into custody again and booked on the new felony charges ... check out the video, it sounds like she won't be spending much of her day in jail.

TMZ broke the story ... police body camera footage from the aftermath of Joseline's epic beatdown of Big Lex captured her violent, profanity-laced rage from start to finish ... and the video shows her shoving cops.

Joseline had initially been charged with a felony charge of resisting officers with violence, plus a slew of misdemeanor charges ... and she previously went through the booking process for those charges.

But, as the judge explained, two new felony charges being tacked on meant Joseline needed to be taken into custody and booked a second time ... in part to prevent her legal team from finding some potential legal loopholes.

Lizzo is speaking out for the first time since being sued by three of her former backup dancers who claim she sexually harassed them.

The singer posted a statement Thursday, just days after she was sued. The singer says, "These last few days have been gut wrenchingly difficult and overwhelmingly disappointing. My work ethic, morals and respectfulness have been questioned. My character has been criticized. Usually I choose not to respond to false allegations but these are as unbelievable as they sound and too outrageous to not be addressed."

She continues, "These sensationalized stories are coming from former employees who have already publicly admitted that they were told their behavior on tour was inappropriate and unprofessional."

She went on, "As an artist I have always been very passionate about what I do. I take my music and my performances seriously because at the end of the day I only want to put out the best art that represents me and my fans. With passion comes hard work and high standards. Sometimes I have to make hard decisions but it's never my intention to make anyone feel uncomfortable or like they aren't valued as an important part of the team."

She adds, "I am not here to be looked at as a victim, but I also know that I am not the villain that people and the media have portrayed me to be these last few days. I am very open with my sexuality and expressing myself but I cannot accept or allow people to use that openness to make me out to be something I am not. There is nothing I take more seriously than the respect we deserve as women in the world. I know what it feels like to be body shamed on a daily basis and would absolutely never criticize or terminate an employee because of their weight."

She concludes her statement, "I'm hurt but I will not let the good work I've done in the world be overshadowed by this. I want to thank everyone who has reached out in support to lift me up during this time."

As we reported ... three of Lizzo's former backup dancers -- Arianna Davis, Crystal Williams and Noelle Rodriguez -- claim she subjected them to nude entertainment shows in Amsterdam and Paris on tour earlier this year, to what they say was the clear discomfort of her employees.

In the docs, the women say Lizzo pressured dancers to interact with sex performers at Bananenbar in Amsterdam, where patrons are known to eat bananas out of the performer's vaginas.

Two of Lizzo's accusers, Davis and Williams, joined us on "TMZ Live" Wednesday and told us what their experiences were working for Lizzo ... alleging all of her dancers operate in fear of losing their jobs if they don't bend to her demands and get rewarded for playing ball.

Beyoncé seemingly caught wind of the lawsuit too ... Bey noticeably failed to mention Lizzo by name in the lyrics for one of her songs during a concert in Boston as part of her "Renaissance" tour.

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

Diddy will have to find another cannabis company to capitalize on, as the Bad Boy mogul's intended $185 million purchase to acquire a pair of marijuana operations is no longer going down.

Sources with direct knowledge tell us Diddy waited in the wings as Cresco Labs and Columbia Care planned their proposed merger that was agreed upon last year.

However, we're told the shareholders never reached an agreement, and Diddy's deal was terminated earlier this week as a consequence. Diddy's team tells us he and his Combs Global empire still have a vested interest in pursuing opportunities to diversify the cannabis industry ... they just have to find the perfect fit.

The move would've made Diddy the owner of 9 stores throughout New York, Massachusetts and Illinois, with each having its own production facility ... effectively making him the biggest Black cannabis business owner.

Travis Scott's "Utopia" is headed to a No. 1 spot on the Billboard 200 -- but not all of the album's participants are celebrating.

Rapper KayCyy, who worked closely with Kanye West on his "Donda" album, is reaming Travis for not crediting him on the track "Thank God" ... despite his vocals being heard on the track.

KayCyy couldn't contain his anger and lashed out at Travis after fans kept pestering him about being left off the credits ... rapper Teezo Touchdown's name made the cut.

Another fan noted how Travis didn't acknowledge KayCyy's appreciation for the album on social media when it dropped last Friday ... another indicator for the Minnesota-bred rapper that Travis could be trying to avoid sharing the royalties altogether.

Interestingly enough, KayCyy initially began working on "Thank God" for Ye's "Donda" before it ended up in Trav's "Utopia" desert.

Lizzo makes it clear her backup dancers will face repercussions if they don't do what she asks, even if that means getting freaky at a live sex show ... at least, that's what 2 of the women suing her are claiming.

The singer's former backup dancers, Arianna Davis, and Crystal Williams, joined us Wednesday on "TMZ Live" and told us about their experiences working under Lizzo.

Arianna and Crystal accused Lizzo of coercing backup dancers to participate in nude cabaret shows ... and they say there's an unspoken feeling among the group of having to bend to Lizzo's demands or be fired if they don't play ball.

As they allege in the lawsuit, sometimes that means eating bananas out of sex performers' vaginas in Amsterdam -- and they told us dancers who went along with Lizzo's idea of fun were rewarded with lavish private jet trips to tropical locations.

On the flip side, they claim dancers who didn't feel comfortable doing everything Lizzo wanted would be threatened with termination.

As for why they're no longer working with Lizzo -- Crystal says she was accused of drinking before performances, and Arianna claims Lizzo body-shamed her for gaining weight ... and she claims Lizzo used an admission of an eating disorder to justify firing her.

Lizzo has yet to comment publicly, or respond to the lawsuit in court ... but her accusers have a lot to say here.

Gunna's not hiding from his public enemy status with Young Thug loyalists -- instead, he's embracing the villain role in his new "Rodeo Dr." video by likening himself to O.J. Simpson!!!

Veteran director Spike Jordan captured Gunna zipping all through California as they reenacted O.J.'s infamous 1994 police chase ... the same one he led cops on for nearly an hour after he was charged with murdering his ex-wife Nicole Brown and Ron Goldman.

The song is featured on Gunna's new album and the YSL rapper mentions the chase on the track's chorus ... "Helpin' the P out, I'm beamin' on Narcos/Thinkin' I should take the Bronco, yeah/O.J., yeah)/Gotta go get it tomorrow."

Many fans, and even artists, have ripped Gunna since he got out of jail back in December ... claiming he snitch on Thug get out -- but he restates his allegiance to YSL on the track with the line, "I'm still doin' it for Jeff and Lil Keed."

O.J. was found not guilty of the murder, and Gunna will avoid jail time as long as keeps his nose clean in accordance with his probation. Not a direct parallel, but obviously, Gunna thinks it's close enough.

His album has plenty of juice this year ... it spawned his biggest hit to date with "Fukumean" ... which has since proven to be tasty ex-girlfriend bait.

Lizzo kept an eye on the famed banana sex show in Amsterdam for years ... sharing her desires way before being sued for allegedly pressuring backup dancers to get in on the act.

Here's the deal ... Lizzo talked about wanting to go to a specific live sex show in the city's infamous Red Light District during a 2019 interview with an Amsterdam radio station ... the same show she's now being sued over.

In her interview with 3FM DJ Frank van der Lende, Lizzo reveals her love for live sex shows in Amsterdam ... and she asks the hosts about the banana sex show, where patrons eat bananas out of sex performers' vaginas.

Lizzo excitedly talks about her desire to find out where the banana show happens ... explaining, "That's what I want to do, I need my potassium if you know what I'm saying. My puss-tassium."

The radio hosts tell Lizzo the place she's looking for is Bananenbar ... a venue that's mentioned several times in the lawsuit she's now facing.

As we reported ... Lizzo is being sued by 3 of her former backup dancers, who say they were sexually denigrated by Lizzo while on the job.

In the suit, the dancers claim during a February 2023 tour stop in Amsterdam, Lizzo took them to Bananenbar and pressured them to interact with the sex performers.

The dancers claim "Lizzo began inviting cast members to take turns touching the nude performers, catching dildos launched from the performers' vaginas, and eating bananas protruding from the performers' vaginas."

It's unclear if the alleged incident was Lizzo's first time at Bananenbar ... but she's clearly had the banana sex show on her mind since 2019 at least.

Houston rapper Big Pokey collapsed mid-performance back in June ... an unfortunate result of a heart attack, his autopsy has revealed.

Tom Gillam III, Justice of the Peace for Jefferson County, Texas, signed Pokey's death certificate this week ... highlighting the medical condition.

"The cause of death, in layman's terms, 'Big Pokey' had a massive heart attack ... He had hypertensive and atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease," Gilliam said in a statement.

Pokey collapsed while performing at a bar in Beaumont, TX on June 18 and died shortly after being rushed to a nearby hospital.

He was 45 years old and left behind a pioneering hip hop legacy for the Lone Star State as a member of the DJ Screw's "Screwed Up Click" ... counting the likes of Slim Thug, Paul Wall and BFF Lil Keke as mourners.

Wallo267's fight promoter aspirations just punched him back in the face!!!

The "Million Dollars Worth Of Game" cohost was congratulating Terence Crawford for his decisive victory over Errol Spence last weekend ... when he immediately looked to the future for Terence's potential next opponent: Jaron Ennis, whose nickname is Boots.

Terence's confidence was understandably swelling after KOing Spence and told Wallo he was indeed the undertaker of the ring ... jokingly asking, "y'all trying to see another dead body???"

Wallo then screenshotted Terence's reply and sent it to Jaron ... who accused Terence of attempting to change weight classes to duck the fight altogether.

The convo was apparently in jest and supposed to stay between friends because Terence completely unloaded on Wallo after he posted it to IG ... upset over the obvious lack of discretion.

Terence appeared on 'MDWOG' ahead of his fight with Spence, and probably thought he'd built a rapport with the boxer. Apparently not THAT good.

That said, now that the gloves are off, will Crawford vs. Ennis become a real thing??? Both fighters are undefeated and Jaron's already told us he wanted dibs on the Crawford-Spence winner.

Stephen Curry's not ashamed to say he's gone fishing this offseason ... the NBA legend grabbed his boat and pole to star in Grammy-nominated lyricist Tobe Nwigwe's new video -- which is the theme song for his new documentary!!!

On Tuesday, Steph starred in the "Lil Fish, Big Pond" music vid, which Tobe directed to exclusively accompany the soundtrack of "Stephen Curry: Underrated" ... the documentary about Steph's life and career.

The two-time MVP is cool, calm and collected in his bucket hat while lip-syncing the song's lyrics that define his greatness on the court -- "They know I'm the one/Daddy taught me how to flick my wrist, I'm my father's son/Think I'm pistol-packing, how that ratchet on me like a gun/They should put the basket in a casket after I am done."

Tobe has built a reputation for having colorful visuals and 'Lil Fish' is no exception. It also really allows Steph to revel in his offseason ... he doesn't touch a single basketball in the whole clip!!!

Steph's downtime without b-ball has literally been par for his course this summer ... the sports world is still reeling from the hole-in-one he sank a few weeks back.

Lizzo isn't sitting at Beyoncé's table right now in the wake of claims made against her by a few former backup dancers -- at least that's how it seems after this apparent Bey sting.

The singer was doing a show in Boston Tuesday -- as part of her "Renaissance" tour -- and during her performance of "Break My Soul (The Queens Remix)" ... Beyoncé noticeably failed to mention Lizzo's name in the lyrics, despite having done so repeatedly in the past.

If you're unfamiliar, Lizzo is actually written into the remix -- meaning her name is supposed to appear in the song naturally, so the fact Bey switched it up live is telling.

The name-drop happens in verse 3, where Beyoncé is listing a bunch of trailblazing women -- which normally includes Lizzo as well -- but on this particular outing ... Bey omitted her and instead chose to mention Erykah Badu 4 different times (more on this later).

Of course, to some ... it felt like, perhaps, Beyoncé had caught wind of the lawsuit filed against Lizzo Tuesday -- which had some pretty scandalous accusations in it, like the notion that she allegedly coerced her backup dancers to participate in nude cabaret shows ... not to mention allegedly badgering/body-shaming one of the dancers over a weight issue.

The internet certainly chatted about it yesterday, and now with this ... some are assuming Beyoncé did as well, and possibly made a decision to leave her off her 'BMS' list.

Now, there's another explanation for this would-be snub. As we reported ... there's bad blood between Erykah and Beyoncé right now. The former called out the latter for ripping off her fashion sense ... this 'cause Bey's worn similar 'fits onstage that echo EB's style.

It was a pretty public call-out ... and you could interpret Beyoncé's move as a response to Erykah stirring the pot. Eye of the beholder, we suppose ... but a choice was certainly made.

Angus Cloud may have been struggling ahead of his surprising death, but it didn't affect his mood while with his closest friends ... and he was actually offering them support before he passed.

The "Euphoria" star was outwardly celebratory and uplifting to his pals at the MacArthur Maze album release party 3 days before his death, according to group members D.Bledsoe and Champ Green.

As we reported, Angus seemed to be in great spirits at the event, and the rappers tell us he was congratulating everyone involved in the album. We're told Angus was getting a lot of attention from partygoers ... but he wasn't there for attention, he just wanted to show love.

D.Bledose says Angus had to soothe his lips with lip balm mid-conversation that night at the party, and Angus laughed and apologized for making things awkward. It was a funny interaction, and one D is remembering fondly today.

A few weeks ago, Angus gave the rap group a big endorsement by sharing one of their music videos on his IG page. We're told Angus slid into the group's DMs and offered to shoot a music video for them -- alongside MacArthur Maze's videographer, who was close friends with Angus.

Of course, everyone involved with the group is now just in complete shock about his death.

Beyoncé is honoring a man who was stabbed to death -- allegedly because he was dancing to her music in public -- and she's doing it a heartfelt message on one of her biggest platforms.

The singer paid tribute to 28-year-old O'Shae Sibley on her website, with a message that reads ... "Rest In Power O'Shae Sibley." It's the first thing you see when you go to beyonce.com, where it's prominently displayed on the homepage.

Sibley was fatally stabbed over the weekend at a Brooklyn gas station after getting into a scuffle with another man ... and cops are reportedly investigating the incident as a possible hate crime.

Sibley was gay and leading up to the confrontation, witnesses say he was voguing in the parking lot to Beyoncé's tracks. Authorities think the altercation might have started because the suspect was reacting to Sibley dancing, according to the NY Post.

Part of the face-off was actually captured by a surveillance camera outside ... and you can see quite a few people arguing.

The actual stabbing happens off-camera, but you can see Sibley (who's shirtless and wearing a hat) and a friend getting heated with an opposing group. Eventually, Sibley goes around a corner ... and moments later you see him come back into frame.

One of his pals who was there on the scene that night posted bloody photos of the aftermath, claiming the attacker was Muslim and let them know he didn't like gay people.

Post Malone's Magic: The Gathering collection just got a whole lot "better now" ... 'cause the musician scooped up one of the game's rarest cards this week -- a piece that some believe is worth more than $2 MILLION!!

The card -- a 1-of-1 called "The One Ring" -- was put out by MTG back in June as part of The Lord of the Rings: Tales of Middle-earth set ... and when it got pulled by an anonymous collector just days later, everyone wondered what would end up happening to it.

Turns out, Post Malone -- a lifelong fan of MTG -- hunted it down ... and finally bought it off the owner on Tuesday.

Unclear what he ultimately paid for it -- though some collectors had reportedly made $2 million offers on it already. Regardless, check out the video of when he decided to make the purchase, he was clearly stoked for it despite the high price tag.

The guy who sold it, meanwhile, said he couldn't have been more thrilled to pass it on to a true MTG collector like Post.

"When I found the One Ring," Brook Trafton wrote in the caption of the video of him selling it to the rapper, "the first person who came to mind was @postmalone."

"I have played MTG since I was a kid and obviously it would be amazing to keep this card. But for a guy like me, being able to sell it is life changing. I just really hoped it would go to someone who would appreciate it as much as I do. This is my dream come true, meeting @postmalone and him buying the One Ring card from me is literally a moment straight out of a fairytale."

In addition to being the only one of its kind, the Lord of the Rings tribute card has some other sweet features -- it's got gold foil accents all over it, and "001/001" is emblazoned on the front.

It'll now join Post's Magic collection that already includes an $800,000 Black Lotus ... and a bunch of other rare pieces.