TMZ Hip Hop - Page 50

Peso Pluma and Eslabon Armado’s "Ella Baila Sola" is officially crowned the global Song of the Summer by Spotify -- a massive hit, reportedly collecting 367 million streams throughout the season!!!

"Ella Baila Sola" has made history since being released in March ... it was the first regional Mexican song to grace late-night television when Peso performed on "The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon" in May, and the first of its kind to top the Billboard Global 200!!!

Variety first reported the news, along with the complete list of Spotify's Top 20 Songs of the Summer which includes heavyweights Taylor Swift, Bad Bunny and Olivia Rodrigo, but there's a glaring lack of hip hop representation -- mirroring the complaints several artists have had over the lack of quality this year.

UK rappers Dave and Central Cee's blockbuster duet "Sprinter" is the only actual rap song to make the list, and Latto is the only American rapper -- having gone No. 1 with BTS Jung Kook a few weeks ago with their "Seven" collab.

Hot 97 DJ and Apple Music exec Ebro Darden recently claimed record labels are now prioritizing African and Latin music over hip hop -- indicative of Spotify's summer results and this week also marked a full year since rap reigned supreme on the Hot 100.

Lizzo's got plans to sue the same backup dancers who are taking her to court ... and new photos appear to show her accusers having a great time backstage following some nude entertainment in Paris, about a month after the infamous banana incident in Amsterdam.

Lizzo's attorney, Marty Singer, tells TMZ ... newly surfaced photos show Lizzo's accusers "happily carousing" and "gleefully reveling" backstage with the performers from a topless cabaret show in Paris during Lizzo's tour.

Singer says the photos are from March 5, which is about a month after the infamous February visit to Bananenbar in Amsterdam. Remember, in their suit, Lizzo's accusers claim she pressured them to eat bananas from performers' vaginas.

Lizzo's accusers -- Arianna Davis, Crystal Williams, and Noelle Rodriguez -- also claim they were essentially forced to go to the Paris topless show, but her attorney says that contradicts the photos ... he says they're "happily cavorting backstage" with the topless dancers, who are the ones in the colorful wigs.

Singer says Lizzo's accusers chose to re-up with Lizzo a few weeks after the Paris show and return for the third leg of her tour.

What's more, one month after the Paris backstage visit, Lizzo accuser Arianna Davis gushed over Lizzo in an audition tape ... saying, "It's been so amazing and such a beautiful journey. I look up to her so much. I just want to follow in her footsteps, and I just want to share that with the Queen Lizzo herself."

Singer says after we first reported on Davis' audition tape "she tried to explain away her glowing comments about Lizzo by claiming the 'bulk' of her accusations were based on things that happened later" ... but he says, "That excuse is completely contradicted by the facts, including by these images."

The attorney for the accusers, Neama Rahmani, tells us of the smiling pic, "Of course, they wanted to keep their jobs. They had bills to pay just like everyone else but they finally had enough of the abuse. We stand by every claim in the lawsuit and look forward to trial."

Rahmani continues, "We’ve been hearing from other former employees sharing similar stories, and as seen in the Los Angeles Times article today about how Lizzo used intimate footage of her dancers without their approval in the 2022 HBO Max ‘Love Lizzo’ documentary, we’re seeing even more of a pattern of just how much Lizzo thinks of those who work for her. Clearly, not very much.”

Lizzo was spotted in public Monday for the first time since being sued, and she said she was doing just fine and working on new music.

Her attorney says he has other "substantial evidence" in addition to the photos and videos that "prove the glaring contradictions between what the plaintiffs claim in their bogus lawsuit and what is actually proven by the facts."

Public Enemy and Ice-T are set to take over the nation's capital to cement hip hop's 50th anniversary ... a booming told-you-so moment for Ice, who's been vouching for the rap vets, lately.

The free blowout concert is set for October 6-7 and will feature a ton of rap legends ... Kurtis Blow, Melle Mel and Scorpio, The Sugarhill Gang, Kid 'n Play, Roxanne Shante, Positive K and many more will be performing at West Potomac Park on the National Mall in Washington D.C.!!!

DJ Hurricane will also be spinning a special Beastie Boys tribute set and the event is produced in collaboration with Ice-T, Nathan Parienti and Lauren Bissell for Chasing Live and Mickey Bentson’s The Art of Rap ... a full-circle moment for the "Colors" rapper, who's been watching the culture from an OG's perspective.

Ice recently saluted the accomplishments of his peers ... Snoop Dogg, Nas and LL Cool J, just to name a few ... noting how the old school has been leading the charge.

LL echoed those exact same sentiments a couple weeks ago when we spoke to him about the anniversary!!!

Cardi B is threatening to take legal action against a Twitter user who's been spreading claims that Offset cheated behind his wife's back!!!

On Monday evening, Cardi reacted viciously to a video posted Sunday by Twitter user @ayywalker -- who, by all accounts appears to be dedicated to Nicki Minaj.

Cardi scolded the fan for posting clearly fake images and AI audio of Offset, but also claimed to have the fan's father's personal information ... and planned on following through with legal action in order to make an example out of them!!!

The @ayywalker's post featured a purported photo of Offset, along with a fake voice memo attempting to set up a sneaky link with a woman behind Cardi’s back.

They included the caption, "Offset has allegedly cheated on Cardi B once again. How embarrassing” … effectively getting Cardi’s attention, who only found humor in the potential lawsuit she was filing.

There's precedent for Cardi filing this kind of lawsuit, especially because @ayywalker's defense for making the claim is "the streets" are saying it's true. Someone should tell them that's exactly how Tasha K got slapped with a $4 million judgment.

Jets receiver Jerome Kapp transformed into Eminem for New York's rookie talent show this month ... and the guy crushed the role so hard -- even Aaron Rodgers had to give him a standing ovation.

The performance all went down last week inside a Jets team meeting ... when after the veterans made some of the squad's newcomers grab a mic for them, Kapp decided to re-enact Em's famous freestyle from "8 Mile."

And, thanks to "Hard Knocks" cameras -- we got to see the epic concert in its entirety.

Kapp threw on a beanie and a hood, put the movie's famous track on the speakers ... and then he got busy.

"Everybody from the 3-1-3 put your motherf***ing hands up and follow me!" he yelled ... before rapping the legendary Eminem verses word-for-word.

Kapp even hit the a cappella portion of the song ... and when he wrapped up, his teammates -- including Rodgers -- exploded.

Drake paid homage to LeBron James on Monday night, but on Tuesday, he tipped his cap to another Laker legend -- Kobe Bryant -- and the impromptu tribute to the Mamba was pretty cool.

Drizzy was performing yet another show at Crypto.com Arena as part of his "It's All A Blur" tour -- his sixth stop in the City of Angels this month -- and when someone threw a black, Bryant Lakers jersey on stage ... he paused his show to remember the Hall of Famer.

The 36-year-old rapper picked up the No. 24 uni and told the sold-out crowd at the venue where Bryant played almost all of his home games for his entire NBA career, "I'mma hold this up 'cause we got to show love to Kobe one time."

"Ya'll make some noise for Kobe at this time," he added.

The fans in attendance roared for several moments ... before Drake continued on with his performance.

It's the second time in as many days that Drake has urged his crowd to support the Lakers -- at Monday's show in Crypto, he featured James and the L.A. star's son, Bronny, a couple times during the concert.

Tuesday's tribute, though, was perhaps the most fitting ... considering this week is a special one for Bryant and his family.

Jhene Aiko and Big Sean are seeking court-ordered protection from a creepy fan they say keeps showing up to their concerts, events and home.

Jhene beelined it to court Monday and filed for a temporary restraining order against a 29-year-old man named Ian Craig Lees, who she claims recently snuck onto her Pacific Palisades property.

In the docs, obtained by TMZ, Jhene says despite being a total stranger, the guy appears determined to make contact with her ... and now she says she fears for her life.

Jhene claims the guy's been going to her shows and events, and things reached a head earlier this month when he allegedly got into a physical altercation with the residential security in her neighborhood.

The singer claims the guy breached their gated community's security post and got inside the home she shares with Big Sean, their son and her daughter.

The City Girls are at odds over which project should be considered their debut album ... a shocking yet not-all-that-surprising revelation once you hear all the details.

Caresha and JT were both tasked by Complex to pick the greatest hip hop album of all time and naturally picked their own projects ... but when JT referred to "Girl Code" as their debut project, Caresha argued that its predecessor, "Period," was their inaugural album.

Here's where it gets tricky ... both projects were released through their longtime label, Quality Control, 6 months apart in 2018 with "Period" arriving first.

However, Quality Control billed "Period" a mixtape when it dropped, so technically JT is correct. Record labels tend to use the mixtape tag to test the waters for a project, which means there's little consequence if it fails.

A rep for QC tells TMZ Hip Hop the label officially recognizes "Girl Code" -- complete with City Girls' Billboard-debuting singles "Twerk" and "Act Up" -- as their first project, so that's that.

If we're gonna get even more technical, one could argue the City Girls' never had a proper debut, at least as far as rollout goes.

"Girl Code" was released while JT was in prison for credit card fraud, and its follow-up, 2020's "City On Lock," leaked prematurely in summer 2020, forcing the duo to piecemeal the project and promote it as it was.

GloRilla is pushing for all females to enjoy the "F.N.F." lifestyle all through their 20s, because ... YOLO!!!

The Grammy-nominated rapper put out the call Monday morning for women worldwide to display toxic behavior, and up their levels of delusion -- but only while they're in their early 20-somethings. Glo says, biologically speaking, they can't get that time back.

She also warned women not to wait until they're in their 30s to go on rampages -- such as slashing men's tires -- because that would make them old and toxic, instead of just toxic.

We wish she were joking, but Glo seems pretty serious.

Glo wasn't specific in what she considers toxic behavior, but on her last released single "Lick or Sum" ... she does brag about ghosting dudes and sneakily getting oral sex from their cousins. That would check ALL the bad dater boxes!!!

Social media users and fans didn't exactly embrace Glo's words of wisdom and pushed back considerably.

Flo Rida fans apparently come in all ages -- just ask the baby who joined the superstar rapper onstage after crowd-surfing through the audience!!!

The wild scene happened during Flo's performance at the CelebrateErie Fest on August 19 ... the baby was passed through the crowd, eventually making it to Flo's arms. At one point, Flo put the mic up the infant's mouth for them to sing along with the rowdy crowd.

Somehow, the child even found his way onto the main stage, where they were hoisted up in the air -- "Lion King" style -- while Flo jammed his hit "GDFR."

Lizzo looks and sounds unbothered by the lawsuit hanging over her head ... possibly using all the controversy as inspiration to create new art.

The "Truth Hurts" singer was spotted Monday for the first time since being sued by three of her former backup dancers who claim she sexually harassed them. Photogs asked her how she's been holding up in the face of the lawsuit.

Lizzo says she's doing good, and she was all smiles as she strolled into a recording studio in Hollywood. Her only other message ... new music is coming.

It's the first time we've heard Lizzo on camera since being sued ... she previously blasted the lawsuit in a statement, chalking it up to "sensationalized stories."

Lizzo said the days following the suit were "gut wrenchingly difficult and overwhelmingly disappointing" ... but now she seems at ease, at least publicly.

Remember ... Lizzo is being sued by a trio of former backup dancers, who claim she subjected them to nude entertainment shows in Amsterdam and Paris on tour earlier this year, claiming Lizzo pressured them to interact with the nude dancers despite their discomfort.

Two of Lizzo's accusers, Arianna Davis and Crystal Williams, previously joined us on "TMZ Live" and told us what it was like for them working under Lizzo ... alleging all of her backup dancers work in fear of losing their jobs if they don't go along with her demands.

The Fugees' reunion is officially on, centered around the blockbuster album "The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill" ... which is celebrating its 25th anniversary on Friday.

Beginning in September, Lauryn will embark on a 17-date tour throughout New York, Los Angeles, Chicago and her New Jersey hometown, with Wyclef Jean and Pras reuniting for their first tour in years.

'Miseducation' is Lauryn's first and only solo album, but its impact has survived the test of time ... the project famously earned her 5 Grammys in one night and eventually got certified Diamond by the RIAA.

In a rare public statement, L-Boogie broke down the album's synopsis ... “The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill is and was a love song to my parents, my family, my people, my musical and cultural forebears, my teachers, my loves, my Creator. I wrote love songs and protest songs— (still love songs) about the subjects and interests that inspired and moved me. I was confident that what inspired me would resonate with an audience that had been led to believe that songs of that kind could only live in the past.”

She elaborated on her art further writing, “I loved music, I loved people, I truly felt grateful to God for my life, and genuinely blessed to have a platform where I could share wisdom and perspective through music. I felt a charge to challenge the idea that certain kinds of expression and/or certain kinds of people didn’t belong in certain places. I loved showing what could work or happen provided there was imagination, creativity and LOVE leading the way.”

The "Killing Me Softly" trio tested the waters at The Roots' picnic back in June and will also perform classics from their Diamond-selling album "The Score."

Drake is preparing to unleash the "Dogs" ... the theme around his upcoming eighth studio album.

Drake shared the cover art for the album on Monday, hand-drawn by his 5-year-old son Adonis ... a ghoulish-looking white dog with glowing red eyes.

If Adonis' vision is to be realized through the music, then Drake will be a lyrical Cujo on the project ... having recently barked up Childish Gambino's tree for his previous disses.

He's also been posing as dogs known for their bites ... wearing Doberman Pinscher and Bulldog masks to create buzz around the album.

Kanye West's wife Bianca Censori is apparently showing too much skin for some residents of Italy ... because they want her to be booted from the country or arrested!!

The couple was galivanting around Italy over the past month ... and Bianca didn't leave much to the imagination during their outings. She was photographed braless, wearing sheer, tightfitting bodysuits that exposed her private parts.

In one instance, The Daily Mail reported, Bianca was forced to cover her nipples with a black bag strapped across her chest.

A number of Italians took to social media to express their dissatisfaction with Bianca showing off her naked body.

One critic wrote, "How about police in every country arrest anyone who is nude? It's called indecency ... Tired of being forced to see nude women and should be illegal for children to see this."

Another said, "I hope Italy kicks them both out of the country. They don't need this pair polluting it."

A third pointed out it was "Completely disrespectful to a conservative catholic culture; the Italians should have kicked them out."

We guess that's what they mean when they say, "When in Rome ..."

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.