TMZ Hip Hop - Page 50

Rick Ross is officially moving to Miami Beach's secluded Star Island ... closing on a $35 million home smack in the middle of the celebrity hotbed.

The rapper closed the deal Monday on his latest real estate splash ... a 6-bedroom, 9-bathroom mansion with all the bells and whistles.

Rick's new 40,000-square-foot pad is decked out with a heated pool, entertainment room, summer kitchen and plaza deck terraces opening up to the beautiful waterfront, plus a 40-foot dock.

The boss' new neighbors are just as impressive ... we're talking huge stars like Jennifer Lopez, Shaquille O'Neal and Diddy.

As we first reported ... Rick has been eyeing the place since July, and he's planning a major renovation to fit the palace to his liking.

So, the $35 million Rick just plunked down to buy the place is just the start of his investment.

The Star Island mansion adds to Rick's already impressive real estate portfolio ... he's already got one home in Texas, two in Georgia and another in Florida.

Boss moves!!!

Jill Eber, Jill Hertzberg, Felise Eber, and Fabio Lopes of the Jills Zeder Group represented the seller. Kimberly Knausz with ONE Sotheby's International Realty and Tawanda Roberts, a real estate agent with Florida Realty of Miami represented Ross.

It was a big ol' family reunion of sorts at Drake's most recent show in L.A. -- with Kim Kardashian, Kendall Jenner, Bad Bunny and Tristan Thompson all spending some QT.

Kim, Kendall and Bunny apparently had unlimited access at the show, bouncing between assigned seats, the floor section and another standing VIP area Sunday night as Drake and 21 Savage entertained for nearly 2 hours at the Kia Forum.

During her convo with Kendall and Bad Bunny on the floor, you can see Kim repeat the phrase, "I didn't come this far, just to come this far" ... a quote she said on "The Kardashians" about her situation with Kanye that Drake also included on his song "Search & Rescue."

Everyone appeared to be having a great time -- and the trio was later linked up in the crowd with Tristan Thompson -- as Kim snapped pics of Kendall and BB.

Tristan and friends also got a ride to the show with Kim, hopping out of a sprinter van and walking right through the venue's VIP entrance.

However, the loved-up couple of Kendall and Bunny got some time to themselves as well ... dancing and taking in the show with some cuddles.

The whole thing is an interesting swing given the drama between Kim, Drake and Kanye from years ago after false reports Kim and Drake were a thing. Kim later blamed Kanye for fueling the rumors ... but Kanye and Drake later made nice at their joint "Free Larry Hoover" show at L.A. Memorial Coliseum.

That relationship has since gone down the tubes thanks to Kanye's antisemitic rants.

Rapper Magoo, Timbaland's former collaborator, has died.

Recording artist Digital Black confirmed Magoo's passing in an Instagram post, writing, "Man can’t believe this RIH Magoo damn big bro wasnt ready for this at all." Digital accompanied his message with a cover of Magoo (real name Melvin Barcliff) and Timbaland's 1997 album "Welcome To Our World.”

Magoo's cause of death was not disclosed, nor were details about the circumstances surrounding it. Many of his famous friends took to social media to share their condolences.

Singer Ginuwine lamented 'time was short.' 'I don't even know how to say anything at this point, I have lost 3 friends now within a month to LIFE and it's due date. Ginuwine went on, "This dude, always pushed me …I will mis you maganooo that's what we called him ….. totally one of the best ever in my eyes always pressing forward I know we didn't talk a lot but the love was and will be always there my brotha."

Musician ORyan Omri Browner wrote, "Damn rest in heaven Mag a nu." Rapper Mr. Dalvin added, "He was such a good guy." Timbaland has not yet addressed his ex-partner’s death.

Magoo was 50 years old.

Here's what life is like right now for Tory Lanez inside Los Angeles County Jail ... he's being held away from general population and only gets a few hours a day outside his cell.

Law enforcement tells TMZ ... Tory is being held in what's called the administrative segregation unit, which is for inmates who cannot be safely housed with the rest of the folks behind bars.

With that, Tory is only allowed out of his cell for 2 hours a day ... and for those 120 minutes, he's by himself.

We're told he is allowed to get some fresh air during recreation time, but that's only for 3 hours each week.

This is the status quo for Tory as he waits to get shipped out of county jail for prison ... remember, the judge just sentenced him to a decade behind bars after being found guilty of shooting Megan Thee Stallion.

We're told Tory will be on the move within the next month, when he will be transferred to an intake center ... and that's when California will reveal which prison he'll be calling home for the duration of his sentence.

In the meantime, we're told jail staff is checking on Tory every 30 minutes ... as they do with all the inmates in administrative segregation, and he's able to load up on goodies at the commissary.

We're told whatever Tory buys from the commissary -- snacks, soap, etc. -- goes with him to the big house, as well as any money he has on the books.

Tory's vowed to appeal, and said he won't apologize to Meg ... but this is his life for the time being.

Travis Scott's riding his own wave after dropping a new album -- and by that, we mean he's riding off into the sunset ... on a jet ski, no less, with at least one hot chick in tow.

The rapper was out in Ibiza this weekend with a bunch of friends tagging along, and it looks like they got themselves a yacht for some sea-time festivities ... including jet skiing, surfing, etc. Travis was definitely happy to play with all the toys ... dude was having a ball!

Like we said, there appears to have been just one female in the crew -- at least from what we can see -- and that would be IG model Tianna Lynnm ... the one in the bikini there.

She, too, was getting wet and wild ... but from the looks of it, she was kinda hanging around one of his buddies (guy with the durag), although it's unclear who he is. Our Travis Scott sources confirmed that she is in fact dating that guy and not Travis.

Tianna's been documenting this trip on her social media all weekend ... and it looks like she's living the high life, and being treated like a queen on the high seas. Again, she's not hooking up with Travis ... which jibes with these SZA rumors, if you buy 'em.

There wasn't any sign of the singer here either, but there's been rumblings about them being a thing these days. What we know for sure ... he's definitely not with Kylie Jenner right now.

Whether Travis is seeing anyone at the moment or not ... Tianna certainly makes for some good eye candy on the vacay. Plus, he's living it up regardless ... as we can clearly see.

Drake made a startling confession to his fans in the City of Angels on night #1 of his L.A. stint -- telling them the debut show almost didn't happen ... but that he insisted it did.

The rapper was performing Saturday night at Kia Forum -- the first of 4 shows at this venue, and the first of 6 total that he'll be down here in Los Angeles. While onstage, he talked to the crowd ... and said there was some issues before showtime, which nearly derailed things.

Check out this video, obtained by TMZ, where he explains what was going down hours before the doors were set to open ... Drake says his team was saying there were some logistical issues they were facing in setting up the stage and the production at large.

Drake says due to this, they were telling him the show was probably going to have to be canceled -- but he put his foot down ... and demanded they find a way to make it happen.

Obviously, they did ... because the show went on as scheduled, albeit a bit late -- but which Drake and 21 Savage made up for by staying later ('til about midnight or so, we're told) to do their complete set. Based on what we can gather ... the concertgoers were appreciative.

It's cool to hear Drake talk about L.A. and what it means to him/why he moved mountains to make the show happen. He says this has been like a second home to him ... and that the city has a special place in his heart. Bottom line ... he didn't wanna let Angelenos down.

And, frankly, it's a huge relief The Forum gig wasn't nixed ... because it could've possibly spelled trouble for the other dates at this venue. Of course, the recent cancelation of his concert in Memphis comes to mind -- where there, too, were production issues that forced him to skip the show. It sounds like a similar situation almost unfolded here as well.

Fact is, Drake's concerts for his 'It's All a Blur' tour are pretty elaborate ... especially with the stage design and all the props he uses -- including a lot of giant/high-tech effects.

Lil Durk did not finish his show Saturday night, because cops descended on the venue after receiving reports of an active shooter.

Durk was nearing the end of the concert at the United Center in Chicago Saturday night, when pandemonium erupted as the crowd ran for the exits.

Cops showed up with rifles, on the hunt for a shooter, but Chicago PD said it turned out to be a false alarm. Chicago is on high alert these days, where shootings have become tragically commonplace.

As the some of the concertgoers left the arena, they helped themselves to some merch ... whoever was working the merch stand apparently ran with the rest of the crowd.

Lil Durk posted about the show after and shouted out the fans who stole the merch.

There were no injuries reported and no arrests were made. We reached out to the United Center ... so far no word back.

Drake went braless during his concert in Inglewood Saturday night ... and it's all because of his kid.

Drake performed his first of 4 shows at the Kia Forum in Inglewood, and fans did what they've been doing recently at all of his concerts ... throwing bras in his direction. Drake at first was dismayed by at least one of the garments at the edge of the stage, kicking it off after dismissing it as a "glue-on."

He then urged the crowd to stop with the bras, revealing his 5-year-old son Adonis was backstage ... he told his fans, "I can't talk about titties tonight in L.A. because my son is at the show for the first time ever."

Drake did take a sweet moment to serenade his son and the crowd ate it up!

Did anyone know 21 Savage was such a HUGE Beyoncé fan? Well he is, and so much so the rapper was belting out her hits all night at her concert in Georgia.

21 posted several videos on Instagram showing his love for Bey’s music as she performed to a packed audience at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta, part of her wildly popular Renaissance World Tour.

Check out the footage … 21 is having a blast singing along to Bey’s “1+1” and "Dangerously In Love 2" from the crowd — and maybe a little too much fun because he seems a bit out of tune.

But that’s ok — it’s all just barrel of laughs.

The nearly six-figure transaction for the microphone Cardi B chucked into her crowd, sparking a police investigation, has hit a snag ... we're told the winning bidder didn't pay up.

Here's the deal ... Cardi's infamous microphone was being auctioned on eBay and the bidding war came to an end Tuesday with a $99,900 winning bid ... or so it seemed.

Scott Fisher, the mic owner running the auction, tells TMZ … unfortunately, his suspicions came true and the winning bidder failed to pay for Cardi's mic.

We're told the person who placed the winning bid had 48 hours to fork over the cash, but didn't respond to multiple messages ... so Scott still has the mic. The proceeds from the auction were supposed to benefit charity, and Scott says he's exploring his options ... including sending a purchase offer to the second-highest bidder.

LM Cases, a case company in Ohio, heard about the story and hooked him up with a mic case for whoever ends up with it.

Scott says if the other top bidder doesn't end up buying the mic, he's considering selling it privately.

There's quite a story behind the mic ... as we reported, Cardi was performing at Drai's Beachclub in Las Vegas when she asked the crowd to splash her with water, only to get pissed when someone later tossed ice and liquid on her, resulting in the mic toss.

Tory Lanez still insists the system screwed him with a 10-year sentence for shooting Megan Thee Stallion -- but, that's just the consequence of the crime if you ask Trinidad James.

We caught up with Trinidad at LAX and his stance is clear: jail time should always follow the act of shooting someone in a criminal fashion, and since Tory was convicted ... Trinidad has no issue with the sentence.

The "All Gold Everything" rapper used Kendrick Lamar's "Money Trees" lyrics ... "Everybody gon' respect the shooter/But the one in front of the gun lives forever" ... to summarize his POV.

Trinidad also tells us Iggy Azalea should've kept quiet, after her public support for Tory became a hot-button issue following the sentencing.

Iggy grew close to Tory while they worked on music prior to his trial, and wrote a letter to the judge asking for leniency -- a bad move according to Trinidad, but he still respects her right to have an opinion.

Jose Baez, Tory's lawyer, told us Tory's in the dumps after getting sentenced, and Tory himself remains defiant -- insisting he didn't shoot Meg.

Stevie J is celebrating the 50th anniversary of hip hop by reaching deep into his own mental crates to find you the greatest beats of all time... to his ears, at least.

We ran into Stevie Friday at LAX, and seeing as how this marks the actual day Kool Herc got on the ones and twos for a 1973 party in the Boogie Down -- birthing hip hop -- we had to get Stevie's perspective on the momentous occasion.

For all the young'uns who only know Stevie from his 'Love and Hip Hop' days ... dude was a beast on the boards, producing some of the genre's biggest hits in the '90s, primarily for Bad Boy Records. So, we asked him to name the top 3 beats in hip hop history.

He took just a few seconds to think about it, and then ripped off his list. First up, Puff Daddy's "It's All About the Benjamins." Stevie didn't produce that one, but he did show himself some love with his second pick .. another Bad Boy classic, this one from Notorious B.I.G.

He had a harder time coming up with his #3, and, arguably, cheated as he tipped his hat to the Wu-Tang Clan.

Not everyone's gonna agree with Stevie, but that's what makes this a great day for hip hop heads -- arguing your top 3, top 5 or even top 10.

DJ Kay Slay's presence as a no-nonsense rap gatekeeper will still be felt ... at least, that's what Papoose is gunning for when he takes over as host of Kay Slay’s “The Drama Hour” radio show this week!!!

Papoose tells TMZ Hip Hop he doesn't logically think he can fill his mentor's shoes, but what he can do is uphold the standards his late mentor revered the most.

Kay Slay died in April 2022 due to COVID-19 complications and Pap says a piece of hip hop died with him ... but salutes LL Cool J for bringing him onboard Rock The Bells Radio on SiriusXM to attempt to revive the spirit.

LL echoed Pap's sentiments about wanting to uphold hip hop's traditions when we spoke to him this week and Pap says he was a great friend to Kay Slay, even being one of the real ones to attend his funeral.

Kay Slay will receive an additional honor on August 13 with a street sign renaming in East Harlem, a move Pap tells us is well-deserved.

Tory Lanez is speaking out against his 10-year prison bid ... but he's not going to apologize for the Megan Thee Stallion shooting, as he still insists he didn't do it.

The Canadian rapper broke his silence Thursday with a lengthy Instagram post, promising to bounce back after he completes his stretch in a California state prison, and maintaining his innocence.

Tory says he's not apologizing for being found guilty of shooting Meg ... he says he was wrongfully convicted. He adds, "I remain on the stance that I refuse to apologize for something that I did not do."

As you know ... the judge sentenced Tory Tuesday to 10 years in prison, though his high-powered attorney Jose Baez says the plan is to appeal that sentence.

Tory says the conviction is just another moment where he has his back against the wall, but he says he's always overcome adversity and is promising to do so here.

He declares, "I refuse to stop fighting till I come out victorious."

TMZ broke the story ... Tory's lawyer says he's leaning on his faith and his family and friends as he begins serving his sentence.

Tory says "tough times don't last, tough people do" ... and he's thanking his supporters and promising to see them soon.

Contrary to popular belief, Bun B isn't wishing eternal hell on Tory Lanez amid his 10-year sentence for shooting Megan Thee Stallion -- the UGK legend wants the rapper to become a better man in prison.

TMZ Hip Hop caught up with Bun Thursday in NYC, where he said Tory's case is a lesson for society, in general, and less about hip hop culture ... as he sees Tory's punishment as a wake-up call for domestic violence.

Following the shooting in the summer of 2020, Bun was one of the few prominent figures to publicly defend Megan while also calling out Tory, effectively making him a target for Tory's song, "Sorry I Had To" ... a record that later came back to haunt him in court.

Despite that past beef, Bun still offers up OG advice for Tory, telling him to keep his head up and he wants him to return from prison safely after the term is complete.

On a much lighter note, Bun also talked about successfully carving out a niche for his Trill Burgers franchise ... which may be adding Trill Tacos to the menu soon.

Mike Posner says he's going through some challenges in life, but he's using the bad times to work on becoming a better person ... telling us he's embarking on a spiritual warpath.

We got the singer at LAX and he told our photog he's a troubled man these days, though he's determined to spin the curveball life's throwing at him into a positive.

Mike says he knows a lot about darkness and waking up feeling like there's no point to life, but the thing is ... he says challenging times are what make folks grow, and growth doesn't happen when it's smooth sailing.

For Mike, many of his accomplishments have been tough ... just listen, he's absolutely convinced he will come out a stronger person once he navigates this storm.

Mike's climbed mountains and walked across the freakin' country ... and he says they were both extremely hard and awful journeys, but they made him learn and grow.