TMZ Hip Hop - Page 50

LeBron James may not wear No. 6 anymore, but he's still got love for the 6 God -- the Lakers superstar and Bronny were front and center at Drake's concert in L.A. on Monday ... escorting the rapper out to the stage at the start of the show!!

Drizzy has made it a thing throughout his "It's All a Blur" tour ... enlisting famous celebs and friends to walk out with him before his performance.

Fittingly enough, Drake decided to give the James Gang the honor at Crypto.com Arena ... and judging by their faces, the ballers were thrilled with the rockstar treatment.

It's great to see Bronny at yet another public outing ... considering he suffered cardiac arrest at a USC workout less than a month ago.

Drizzy also gave Bron a big shout-out during the show ... thanking the four-time champ for being a day one supporter.

One of the mothers of Ne-Yo's children is speaking out after he slammed parents who let their kids transition genders ... making it clear, his thoughts aren't aligned with hers.

Monyetta Shaw-Carter, mom to Madilyn and Mason, tells TMZ ... she's fully aware of the things the singer said recently about the transgender community, and while she respects his opinion, she adds, "Those views are HIS."

She tells us she stands with the LGBTQ+ community -- but, to be clear, she's not bashing Ne-Yo for what he said, noting they still have a positive co-parenting relationship.

As we reported, Ne-Yo condemned parents who affirm their kids' gender identity, saying he grew up with only 2 genders ... and claimed he's got no problem with people identifying as they wish, but added, "It becomes my business when you try to make me play the game."

He later offered up his "deepest apologies" to anyone he hurt with his comment -- only to clarify his apology hours later, saying he's not sorry for having an opinion, just for the hurt feelings.

BTW, Ne-Yo also claimed the way he keeps a healthy relationship with Monyetta -- as well as his ex-wife, Crystal, and ex-GF, Sadé -- is by keeping the bickering away from the kiddos.

Jermaine Dupri feels the city of Atlanta got a raw deal when it comes to commercialized celebrations of hip hop's 50th anniversary -- but Charlamagne tha God is asking why JD didn't step up and put one together???

Last week, JD stirred up controversy by calling out brands for their lack of hip hop soirees on ATL soil ... forcing the music mogul to clarify himself Monday after fans kept giving him crap about his comments.

The "Money Ain't a Thang" rapper explained he was only attacking companies with big bucks for not getting ATL in the mix, and didn't have any animosity toward any other celebrations of hip hop's culture. Parties, are the priority here, people!!!

Charlamagne also questioned JD's response on Monday ... noting how the So So Def founder easily has the influence to pull off the kind of function he was demanding from corporate powers that be.

Several other fans were perplexed by JD's rationale.

Sprite, one of hip hop's longstanding corporate partners, got several rap legends "together" last week ... T.I., Young Dro, Crime Mob, and even JD himself, who was honored with an award in front of the audience!!!

Atlanta Mayor Andre Dickens also partnered with Amazon, Mercedes-Benz, and even the homegrown concert series, One MusicFest, just to name a few, to help spearhead the city's Hip Hop 50 celebrations.

Rihanna and A$AP Rocky are now officially parents twice over ... as we've learned she secretly gave birth to another baby boy earlier this month.

Sources with direct knowledge tell us the baby arrived August 3rd in Los Angeles. We don't yet know the kiddo's name, but we do know it starts with "R" and it's a boy.

The last time we saw Rihanna was back in June, when she and Rocky were globetrotting, she looked far along in her pregnancy at that time.

Remember ... Rihanna announced her second pregnancy back in February, during her Super Bowl halftime show. RiRi was rocking an obvious baby bump for the huge surprise, shocking viewers all around the globe.

Rihanna and Rocky welcomed their first child together back on May 13, 2022 ... naming their little boy RZA Athelston Mayers in a nod to the famous leader of the Wu-Tang Clan.

So the latest development officially makes RZA a big brother.

As we reported ... RiRi went topless during a maternity photo shoot for her first pregnancy, though she didn't share the photos until a few days after RZA's first birthday.

When she posted the pics, Rihanna hinted at a second topless maternity shoot because she included a #tobecontinued hashtag on her post ... so it will be interesting to see if she follows through.

Congrats to the whole family!!!

Eminem's dissed a ton of people throughout his career but Benzino is taking his past snipes from Slim Shady in stride ... while also coming clean he used his Source magazine publication to get a bit of revenge!!!

While speaking on Math Hoffa's "My Expert Opinion," Benzino recalled being impressed with Eminem's 2002 diss track "Nail In the Coffin" ... despite the song labeling Benzino an "83-year-old fake [Al] Pacino."

Benzino and Eminem infamously waged a rap war in the mid-00s that eventually roped in 50 Cent and G-Unit, Ja Rule, Murda Inc., and infamously, The Source mag.

As time went on, Benzino says the beef began to get disrespectful, and he put his foot down and prevented Em from getting a perfect "5-mic" rating for any of his albums.

The rating was a pretty big deal in hip hop at the time, and the snubs clearly affected Em ... hence the lyrics on his 2nd Benzino diss track titled "The Sauce," where he rapped, "'The Source' was like our only source of light, when the mics used to mean somethin', a four was like, 'You were the shit,' now it's like the least you get, 3 1/2 now just means you're a piece of shit, 4 1/2 or 5 means you're Biggie, Jigga, Nas, or Benzino -- shit, I don't even think you realize you're playin' with motherfuckers' lives ... I done watched Dre get f****d on 'The Chronic' ... Probably ‘cause I was on it/Now you f****d me out of my mics twice..."

MMG rapper Gunplay landed in jail after his wife told cops he pressed a rifle against her chest and threatened her.

According to docs, obtained by TMZ Hip Hop, cops in Miami arrested the longtime Rick Ross associate on charges of aggravated battery with a deadly weapon, false imprisonment, and child abuse. His wife, Vonshae Taylor-Morales, claims he pointed an AK-47 at her while she was carrying their 6-month-old daughter.

Vonshae told officers she and Gunplay went out to dinner and when they came home, he was "highly intoxicated and playing a game on his Xbox" extremely loudly.

She told officers when she asked him to keep the noise down, Gunplay became violent and began throwing glass liquor bottles and cups in her direction ... forcing her to cover the baby with a blanket to prevent glass from injuring her.

Afterward, she claims Gunplay then picked up an AK-47 rifle and pressed it against her chest while she held the baby, allegedly threatening ... "I will blow your shit back." Vonshae says she tried to escape, but Gunplay blocked her exit and attempted to grab the baby by her head and neck.

Vonshae stated she began screaming for help, which she says prompted Gunplay to exit the apartment and also yell for help. She says she picked up the rifle, and stashed it in her luggage for everyone's safety and then fled.

She call out Gunplay Sunday on IG, and announced she was filing for divorce after one year of marriage.

When officers arrived on the scene, they say Gunplay denied all the allegations, but was still arrested and booked on the charges.

The Florida rapper recently celebrated his 44th birthday last month ... where he displayed extreme fits of rage after the club DJ spun a couple of 50 Cent songs, causing him to flip out and throw trash cans.

Travis Scott’s "Utopia" is the biggest rap album of the year by miles, earning its 3rd consecutive week on top of the Billboard 200 ... and a deep discount for the project's vinyl definitely helped keep it on top.

Trav raked in 185k equivalent album units in the U.S. alone last week, bringing his total to over 800k units ... nearly platinum status in just a month!!!

Out of the 185k Travis sold last week, 93k of them came from "Utopia's" vinyl record sales, which were discounted from $50 to $5 for a limited time.

Despite the low payout, "Utopia" now holds the record for biggest vinyl sales week for an R&B/hip-hop or rap album ... and it ranks in the top 10 of vinyl sales for any album -- at No. 7 -- since 1991.

Chrisean Rock is setting the internet ablaze, because she blazed up while pregnant ... and while many fans are up in arms about the baby's safety, others are actually supporting her right to light up.

On Sunday, social media users debated a recent clip from Chrisean and Blueface's reality show "Crazy In Love" ... where the two are having a mild disagreement as Chrisean blows billows of smoke in the kitchen.

Blueface seemed more concerned about money, informing Chrisean she did not accumulate $10 million in her last round of paydays -- but plenty of viewers expressed concern for the unborn child, and launched into anti-Chrisean tirades.

The CDC strongly advises against smoking while pregnant, but her actions aren't illegal and Chrisean still had some folks supporting her.

As fans argued amongst themselves, Blueface and Chrisean were able to squash their immediate differences to attend Jason Lee's birthday party Sunday night in Los Angeles.

Memphis Bleek hears the fans loud and clear ... he's totally on board to record a collab project with Jay-Z but he's not the one who needs convincing!!!

TMZ Hip Hop caught up with the Roc Nation legend outside of LAX and he tells us he's constantly sending Jay material to record, and even gets rejected from time to time.

Bleek jokes he should've attempted the Jay duet album when his bank account was sitting at $100 mil as opposed to his current billionaire status -- but he points out, he was riding with Team Roc well before Jay started stacking commas.

Jay handpicked Bleek to rap alongside him when he was just a teen in their Marcy Housing projects in Brooklyn, and Bleek thinks their collab would be a fitting close to their "Coming Of Age" saga ... which details their relationship.

Bleek also gave us an update on Jay's storied 40/40 Club, which closed its doors without warning after 20 years this week.

What appeared to be a setback is actually the dawn of another venture ... Bleek says they're bringing the 40/40 to midtown NYC sometime in 2024, and they're already taking applications for beautiful women to handle the VIP bottle service!!!

The "My Mind Right" rapper also gave us his 2¢ on the current state of hip hop, including his earnest reasoning as to why things have gone stale. Like many of his fellow rappers, Bleek feels the genre's lacking creativity -- mainly because copycatting isn't frowned upon in the younger generation.

Drake's now having books thrown at him onstage, in addition to bras ... and it sounds like a fan got lucky the page-turner didn't smack him in the face.

Ya gotta see the video from Drizzy's Friday concert in San Francisco ... he's onstage talking to fans between a break in songs when suddenly a book comes hurtling out of the crowd, and he snatches it with one hand.

While it appears the book may have gone over his head, Drake told the book-thrower ... "You lucky I'm quick. Would've had to beat your ass if that hit me in the face."

Champagne Papi's been totally cool with women throwing bras at him during his concerts, even helping one big-chested fan go viral and land modeling deals.

But, it appears book throwing is crossing a line for Drake.

It's part of a larger trend unfolding at concerts ... Bebe Rexha got hit in the face with a flying phone, Keslea Ballerini took a friendship bracelet to the noggin and someone even threw a bag of cremated ashes at Pink.

Fat Joe made a huge splash to ring in his 53rd birthday — on a $100 million superyacht surrounded by his closet and coolest pals, including Babyface, who performed a song he’s never done live!!!

The BX bomber’s shindig went down on the Hudson River across from NYC and was hosted by Market America co-founder Loren Ridinger.

Babyface ribbed Joe for being his #1 superfan but did him a solid and performed his favorite song, “Given A Chance” a deep cut from BF’s 1989 album “Tender Lover” … and managed to bring the house down, without sinking the ship!!!

Other artists in attendance such as Jim Jones and Styles P also performed hits but Remy Ma stole the show when she grabbed the mic and rapped Lil Kim’s “Quiet Storm (Remix)” verse — in front of the Queen Bee and sent everyone into a frenzy!!!

T.I.'s son King unveiled a new set of pearly white veneers this week -- only to get attacked by internet trolls who think they're way too big for his mouth ... but now, his sister's coming to his defense.

We caught up with King's sister Zonnique with her group The OMG Girlz in NYC and asked her thoughts about her bro's new chompers, which immediately caused her to literally LOL.

Zonnique tells us King likes what he sees in the mirror, so she supports her bro, too.

King entrusted his mouth to world-renowned Colombian dentist Dr. Mario Montoya, who's worked on the likes of Kanye West, Rick Ross and Tekashi 6ix9ine. Those credentials didn't seem to matter to the internet, though, and brutal memes featuring Donkey from "Shrek" started popping up.

King's mom, Tiny, also got her teeth done and went out of her way to defend King's mouth makeover ... assuring haters her son's still popular with the ladies. Zonnique thinks people just love commenting and reacting to things that stand out, like King's teeth.

The Drake concert was far from a drag, but NBA superstar Kevin Durant was spotted taking one at the rapper's big show on Wednesday ... blowing smoke in the air right from his VIP seats.

TMZ Sports has obtained video of the Phoenix Suns hooper vibin' out at the 6 God's "It's All A Blur" tour stop at KIA Forum ... and he appeared to be locked in on the performance.

Now, it's unclear which of God's Plants K.D. was enjoying ... but we have our guess, considering the two-time champion was at the forefront of getting cannabis removed from the NBA's banned substances list.

In fact, Durant even admitted commissioner Adam Silver could smell weed on him when they met on the matter ... claiming he didn't have to do much persuading, as they were both on the same page.

Drake debuting a new look -- while kicking it with Kevin Durant -- has the creator of FUBU thinking hard about his brand's place in hip hop history, as more and more young rappers discover it.

He was on the sidelines in L.A. this week to take in NBA open runs, while randomly rocking a shirt with the FUBU logo ... proudly repping one of the most dominant fashion houses ever within the culture.

Founder Daymond John tells TMZ Hip Hop ... seeing Drizzy in the FUBU tee certainly surprised him, but he says it's a testament to the foundation he and his partners carved out nearly 30 years ago.

For the record, the pink barrettes aren't FUBU ... but we guess they work with Drake's 'do, nonetheless.

Daymond also credited Megan Thee Stallion, SZA and Chris Brown for also keeping FUBU's name strong in the streets -- on the 50th anniversary of hip hop, at that!!!

Hip Hop’s 50th-anniversary celebrations must've done little to impress Polo G or Yo Gotti … as they've both been speaking out about how the culture's failing to inspire them.

Interestingly enough, both rappers are promoting new projects -- so, their criticism could either be a marketing ploy or just honest commentary. Either way, they're not holding back!!!

Polo launched a mini-rant Thursday, threatening that his upcoming “Hood Poet” album could potentially be his last and ripping the rap game for becoming watered down and lackluster.

The Chicago rapper is arguably entering his prime as an artist -- he broke milestones with his last album, “Hall Of Fame,” shooting to the top of the charts and its single "Rapstar" also going No. 1.

Yo Gotti took his gripes to Power 106 in L.A. this week ... and also griped about the state of rap, pointing to the COVID-19 pandemic as the beginning of the low points for him.

Gotti says his contribution to the creative drought is his new DJ Drama-led Gangsta Grillz "I Showed U So" ... which dropped Friday.

Jake Paul just released the ultimate flex on his haters ... dropping a rap video bragging about his massive wealth and success -- and he recorded the whole thing during Nate Diaz fight week!!

The Problem Child shared the visuals for his new track, "Witness," on Friday ... and he put his luxurious toys, boxing career and love life on full display.

The 3-minute project includes footage from fight week and highlights from his win over Diaz -- and as it turns out, Jake even recorded himself mouthing the words to the song inside the ring after the match.

While Jake raps early in the track that he's "been tryna keep it humble for y'all," ... the lyrics are anything but -- with the internet superstar-turned-boxer listing all his favorite toys: private jets, Ferrari GTB and SF90, rare watches, and, of course, his $16 million crib in Puerto Rico.

Jake also mentions his recent milestones -- becoming a Sports Illustrated cover athlete, getting his own documentary on Netflix, as well as the Paul brothers being worth a billion bucks combined.

As for his fighting, the 7-1 pugilist spits about working harder than ever and still being hungry for more, despite all his achievements ... and how Cleveland couldn't handle his vision.

Paul even shows off his girlfriend, Dutch speed skater Jutta Leerdam, in the vid ... saying, "Gon' marry the queen of the Netherlands" as he holds her hand.