TMZ Hip Hop - Page 50

J. Cole fans are rejoicing ... the Dreamville rapper's unexpectedly delivering a pair of new verses for Gucci Mane and Burna Boy, and it's a truly holy moment for some!!!

The Dreamville rapper showed his versatility with the features that dropped Friday -- Gucci's track, "There I Go" sports a bouncy beat produced by Mike WiLL Made-It designed for clubs and radio, and Cole flexes on a bed of money to drive home the point!!!

Burna opted to recruit Cole for a more reflective verse on his, "I Told Them..." album.

Cole compares himself and Burna to "Shaq and Kobe winnin' a ring" on the song, "Thanks" ... and also takes credit for fathering a few other rappers' styles along the way!!!

It may sound like bragging but Top Dawg Entertainment's Reason flat-out referred to Cole and Kendrick Lamar as "gods" in terms of their musical greatness while speaking Friday on "The Breakfast Club."

Reason recently predicted Cole's next album, "The Fall Off," would make him a bigger artist than Kendrick ... creating more controversy for himself in the wake of his public spat with his label over claims they didn't create enough hoopla around his new album.

Dave Chappelle's 50th birthday party looked more like the Oscars or Grammys, as his A-list celebrity pals continued to pour into the bash.

Dave and company were at The Comedy Cellar in NYC Thursday to celebrate. Among the guests -- Chris Rock, Justin Timberlake, T.I., Chance the Rapper, Jon Hamm, Aziz Ansari, Jaleel White, Tisha Campbell and more.

Witnesses tell us Dave was among the last to leave the party around 2 AM, and was extremely grateful to everyone who came ... even thanking the cops outside.

Unclear if he did any sort of stand-up, but you gotta imagine Dave grabbed the mic at least once in the night. Dave's also in the middle of a 4-night stint at Madison Square Garden ... with shows the 22, 23, 25 and 26.

Drake’s "For All the Dogs" album didn't drop Friday like many people hoped it would, and they're taking their anger out on Lil Yachty ... who hopped online to tease the disappointed fans!!!

Yachty seized the opportunity to plug his new track, "Tesla" ... promising to basically siphon off his album, and release a new single every Friday for the rest of the year.

Lil Boat recently revealed he was in possession of some of Drake's unreleased music, claiming to have almost crashed his car trying to play it on his phone for friends.

Dennis Rodman just added more ink to his body to honor his girlfriend ... this time, he got a huge photo of her face tattooed right on his butt cheek.

The NBA legend hit up an artist in Florida this week to get the piece done -- the second time this summer he's gotten a tribute tat for Yella Yella placed on his body.

You'll recall, the first time was back in July -- when he got her portrait put on his face. This time around, he opted for his backside ... while adding a photo of his face to the imagery as well.

Rodman shared a video of the whole process on his social media pages on Thursday ... revealing Yella Yella had no idea of his plans when the two went on a late-night venture to the tattoo parlor.

In the footage, you can see the tats came out great ... taking up one-half of the 6-foot-7, former basketball player's butt.

Beyoncé's Renaissance Tour has been mostly flawless during its run through Europe and The United States, but that changed thanks to a major glitch at her most recent stop.

Bey and team were at State Farm Stadium in Glendale, AZ Thursday when the mishap went down. The singer started to perform her hit "Alien Superstar" from the Renaissance album when her mic went out.

Obviously, fans noticed and started to get upset, but then the entire audio went out ... causing even more fans to get ticked.

Beyoncé and her dancers continued to do their thing without the sound for a bit, likely thinking it would all turn back on -- but when that didn't happen, they exited the stage.

Polo G and Trench Baby's arrests ended with them both getting booked for crimes -- the rapper for gun possession and his brother for robbery.

LAPD says Wednesday's raid at Polo's house was in response to a report from August 15, which alleged Trench Baby robbed a man in Granada Hills during a music video shoot.

The alleged victim arrived on location to film the video, and cops say Trench Baby drew a handgun with an extended magazine, demanding the man empty his pockets and wire money to him into another account.

According to cops, Trench Baby and the alleged victim had a prior working relationship. When officers made the arrest, they say they found a small baggy of unknown drugs on Trench's person during a pre-booking search.

Polo was booked for illegal possession of the short-barreled rifle, and cops say numerous firearms were recovered during the raid.

As we told you earlier, the Chicago-born brothers were released on bond early Thursday but were then promptly arrested by Burbank PD for a separate incident.

Safaree isn't here for Halle Berry writing fat child support checks to ex-husband Olivier Martinez ... in fact, he sees it as an inappropriate gender role reversal!!!

As we reported, Halle and Olivier's divorce settlement calls for her to pay him $8k per month ... plus, and additional 4.3 percent of any annual income she makes over $2 million.

Safaree, who has no connection to either party, decided to weigh in nonetheless ... saying, "A man getting child support is crazy he might as well put on a dress."

Welp, that sexist hot take drew plenty of fire online, but the "Love & Hip Hop" star says he's not about to argue with haters on social media -- not unless there's a paycheck involved.

As for why Safaree feels the need to voice his opinion at all ... we're guessing it has something to do with the fact, he's forking out a few thousand himself each month to his ex-wife Erica Mena.

TMZ Hip Hop broke the story ... Safaree agreed to pay $4,305 a month in child support after his divorce was finalized in September 2022.

Erica wasn't exactly thrilled with that figure, as she told us kids are expensive to raise in this day and age.

Travis Scott's "Utopia" album is now eligible for a platinum plaque ... a speedy run through 1 million units as the album was just released last month.

The album crossed the threshold after getting a historic boost last week when Travis discounted vinyl copies of "Utopia" from $50 to $5 for the biggest vinyl sales week for a Hip Hop or R&B album since 1991.

"Utopia" is still on pace to sell around an additional 160k units this week and is currently in the running to top the Billboard 200 for the 4th straight week!!!

Travis will still have to submit the album to the RIAA for official certification, which will give him the honor of seeing all his albums to date go Platinum.

Nicki Minaj is declaring victory after falling victim to a swatting prank ... cops have an arrest warrant out for the suspect allegedly behind the calls

The rapper went on social media Wednesday and called out a woman named Stephanie Bell, who Nicki is accusing of making swatting calls to her San Fernando Valley home.

Nicki says ... "Stephanie Bell. A warrant is in the system. Great detective work. So grateful. The DA filed one count for the swatting call and one for the false report to DCFS. To God be the glory."

Law enforcement sources confirm to us Bell's facing two charges of deliberately reporting a false emergency ... and there's a warrant out for her arrest.

TMZ broke the story ... cops say Nicki was the victim of a swatting prank back in June when a caller falsely claimed Nicki's child was being abused and her house was up in flames, resulting in a police response.

A$AP Rocky is ready to reveal the much-anticipated name of his new baby boy with Rihanna, but not at this very moment.

The father of 2 was in great spirits Wednesday night in West Hollywood -- showing off his kicks and his glistening pants while hopping into the back of his ride.

While all smiles, he's asked the million-dollar question: What's your new baby's name?? Check out his response ... sounds like the due date -- for the name -- is right around the corner.

As we reported, A$AP and Rihanna had their second kid on August 3 in L.A. -- while his name is under lock and key, we do know it starts with an "R." Remember, they named their first son RZA, so they've got a theme going.

You'll recall, Rihanna broke the pregnancy news to the world on one of the biggest stages in the world -- showing off her baby bump during her Super Bowl halftime performance, which dropped the jaws of millions of fans.

Blueface was stabbed during his boxing workout yesterday -- but we're told cops now have the man who they think is responsible for the attack in custody.

Law enforcement sources tell TMZ Hip Hop, 36-year-old Brandon Henry Snell was arrested and booked for felony assault with a deadly weapon Wednesday afternoon after turning himself in ... and is currently sitting in jail.

You can see in the video, Blueface and a man get into a physical fight ... with the man's Rottweiler jumping in the background along with the action.

The animal never got involved in the fight. For what it's worth, we're told the dog was with Snell when he surrendered ... and it hung out at the police station until a family member came to retrieve it.

As we previously reported, Blueface was inside the Kaminsky Boxing Gym in L.A.'s San Fernando Valley when he was accosted ... with the "Thotiana" rapper describing the incident as similar to being attacked by a "boogieman."

Blueface got on IG Thursday to update fans on his recovery process, where his 5-year-old son offered up some valuable life advice ... suggesting his dad hang up his gloves, at least in that particular gym.

The kid may have a point ... someone bringing a knife to a fistfight is totally cause for concern.

Asian Doll is diversifying her portfolio through OnlyFans, saying she's got no interest in continuing to rap at 30 years old!!!

AD made the statements Thursday ... a sharp retort to the backlash she received after making her OF announcement earlier this week.

The 26-year-old Dallas rapper revved up her promotion by posting several videos of her in a bikini while twerking in the kitchen ... claiming she was paid a hefty $500k to join the platform while going on to brag about raking in another $100k every 24 hours!!!

Fans were skeptical of AD's earning claims and accused her of falling off as a rapper ... she's released nearly a dozen full-length projects throughout her career since 2015, but has never even placed on the Billboard Chart. She knows how to call an audible, at least.

Polo G and his brother Trench Baby's problems didn't end after a police raid at their home -- in fact, they only got worse -- TMZ Hip Hop has learned the two were arrested for several felonies AFTER they were released from the raid.

Burbank Police tell us Polo and TB had outstanding warrants for kidnapping, assault with a deadly weapon, and robbery, stemming from a report filed last April.

Officers waited for the pair to be released from LAPD custody, and then nabbed them for the warrant around 10:30 PM on Wednesday.

We're told Polo was released from Burbank Jail around 4:30 AM on Thursday after posting a $100K bond.

As for the raid, our sources tell us the "Pop Out" rapper was released on his own recognizance in that case. Trench Baby posted $100k for the Burbank case and another $100k for bail in the LAPD case.

TMZ Hip Hop broke the story, LAPD officers swarmed in heavily and removed everyone from the home.

Michael Blackson says Nick Cannon's provided him with a lifetime of material -- and he's never gonna stop ribbing him for having 12 children ... and counting!!!

We linked up with Mike Wednesday in West Hollywood, and asked about 50 Cent going viral for ribbing Nick's personal population boom during a recent Forbes interview.

Mike's not offering any sympathy, and, in fact, tells us he's eager to see the day his old "Wild 'N Out" pal's struggling to take care of a few thousand grandchildren!!! 😂

He jokes Nick has to stagger visitations on FaceTime, and if it sounds like he's going in a little hard ... it ain't gonna stop. Mike says he's sticking to the comedian's code, so Nick (and his fam) will have to catch these jokes forever!!!

Nick's also sticking to that code -- he was publicly poking fun at 50's weight just a few months ago, so expect more back-and-forth in due time.

Mike will be here for a good time and long time, thanks to his new series "The Michael Blackson Show."

R. Kelly is still on the hook for more than half a million bucks in restitution to his victims -- but they’ll be getting a big check soon thanks to his old hits.

According to docs, obtained by TMZ Hip Hop, a judge signed an order garnishing the embattled singer's royalties ... as it was discovered Universal Music Group is holding a bunch of his royalties.

So, the company will now cut a check to cover Kelly’s restitution bill.

The order says Kelly's outstanding restitution balance is $506,950.26, and UMG just so happens to be sitting on 567,444.19 of his royalties -- more than enough to settle the debt.

As we previously reported, the singer is currently serving a 20-year prison sentence for various sex crimes.

Although his back catalog apparently still generates plenty of money, Kelly hasn’t had as much success with music recently.

Blueface is nursing fresh wounds suffered in the boxing gym when a guy whipped out a knife and stabbed him during an altercation that started on video.

The rapper, and pretty successful amateur boxer, was training Wednesday morning at a gym in L.A.'s San Fernando Valley when the attacker came into the gym. Security footage posted on Blue's IG shows the trainer, David Kaminsky, trying to get in between the man and Blueface.

It appears there was an argument about something, and Blueface decided he was through talking and hit the guy with several punches -- but then he appears to take something out of his pocket and charge back at Blueface ... the video cuts off before the stabbing.

Kaminsky tells TMZ Hip Hop ... things got heated quickly because the unknown attacker immediately started barking, "I'm gonna kill you" to Blueface as soon as he charged into the gym.

He tells us the guy stabbed Blueface in the leg, and then fled. Witnesses say the guy was in a black Tesla Model S and had a Rottweiler with him.

Blueface's injuries don't seem life-threatening -- paramedics did show up on scene -- but he says he won't be able to compete in a boxing match he had scheduled for October 14.