TMZ Hip Hop - Page 50

Usher's upcoming Super Bowl Halftime show definitely has people feeling nostalgic already -- 'cause his music has been played like crazy in the days since the news broke.

The numbers are pretty staggering ... Billboard tells us Usher's tunes (new and old) have seen a significant spike across all streaming services since the announcement was made Sunday, and the increased plays are tipping into the millions.

Percentage-wise, we're told that boils down to about a 16% bump for Usher between Sunday and Monday ... with his most-streamed song being his new single, "Good Good," which is already on the Hot 100.

Billboard says "Good Good" was streamed 1.1 million times in this window, about a 5% gain. His classics like "Yeah!," "My Boo" and "DJ Got Us Fallin in Love" saw bumps as well -- amounting to an added 962k streams, 527k streams, and 525k streams, respectively.

When it comes to the individual streaming services, the increase is clear in their data too. Tidal, for example, tells us Usher's "Superstar" was the most popular song on their platform on the day of the announcement. They also say "You Make Me Wanna..." saw the biggest jump in streaming percentage from the day prior at 55%.

Another music streaming company that felt the Usher effect was Amazon ... they tell us "Yeah!" climbed a whopping 140% in plays compared to the day before the announcement. As a result, we're told it jumped 149 spots in their internal popular song rankings list.

Charlamagne Tha God isn't a fan of Colin Kaepernick's open letter to the New York Jets ... saying it makes it seem like the ex-NFL QB is begging for a job at this point.

CTG had heavy critiques for Colin on Wednesday's Breakfast Club broadcast ... it's been 7 years since he was ousted from the league in a clear blackball maneuver, and CTG thinks Colin has allowed the low moments to define his story and identity.

ICYMI, J. Cole posted the letter Tuesday, revealing the 35-year-old was looking for a spot on the Jets' roster in the aftermath of Aaron Rodgers' season-ending injury during Week 1.

CTG not only thinks Colin's letter should've never been published, he thinks Cole's inclusion was incredibly "wack" and thinks Colin should speak out on his own.

The comparison to racism in America vs. NFL was also made, which CTG rejected -- calling U.S. a system that indoctrinates people into racism as opposed to Colin throwing a flag on the league, leaving everyone -- even callers -- split on the issue.

The vibes were at an all-time high after the Philadelphia Phillies secured their spot in the playoffs ... and outfielder Brandon Marsh was the MVP of the party -- even hopping on a mechanical bull to celebrate the big moment!!

The defending National League champs clinched the top wild card spot after a walk-off win over the Pittsburgh Pirates on Tuesday ... and Marsh -- who had a homer in the effort -- led the charge as the squad let loose after the game.

The Phils jumped up and down in the locker room as the champagne flew through the air ... jamming out to Robyn's "Dancing On My Own."

But the rager didn't stop there -- Marsh hit up PBR Philly at Xfinity Live! later on in the night ... where he ripped off his belt and hopped up on the infamous mechanical bull!!

Don't worry, Philly fans -- the guy appeared to avoid any potential injury throughout his ride ... staying on top as Ginuwine's "Pony" played over the speakers.

If you needed further proof it was a helluva night, Marsh even danced and sang along to "Pop That" by French Montana.

Kanye West is cooking up more than nude bodysuits for his wife -- he's also hard at work on his next solo project, one that might put his popularity to a major test.

Sources connected to the production tell TMZ Hip Hop, Ye is in a "truly great headspace" and has been cranking out songs at a rapid pace ... completing nearly 10 tracks this week alone.

It's been more than 2 years since Ye released a project, the last being 2021's "Donda," and we're hearing the music and themes will be closer to the "old Kanye" sound ... with less political theatrics than some of his recent endeavors.

We're told Ye's frequent collaborator Ty Dolla $ign has also been on hand in the studio, so it's also possible they create a joint album in addition to his solo endeavor.

Fans have been fiendin' for new music from Kanye for some time, which would explain Tuesday's frenzy over a leak of Ye's Dr. Dre collab album "Jesus Is King 2."

The excitement for that surprise drop might bode well for Ye's ability to bounce back from controversy ... again.

He's been silent, publicly, since last year's antisemitic rants that cost him several business partnerships, and his billionaire status -- so, it will be interesting to see how the public responds to a musical comeback.

We're told there's no imminent release date for Ye's new tunes, and he's taking his time with the album in order to mirror the quality his reputation used to hold.

Has Kanye West permanently ruined his legacy? Vote below.

Erica Mena's ousting from "Love & Hip Hop: Atlanta" is giving the cast plenty of content for an upcoming special ... which Erica says is pretty hypocritical, considering everything was all good until her controversial episode aired.

VH1's airing a special roundtable discussion Tuesday, hosted by "colorism expert" Dr. Sarah L. Webb and featuring cast members such as Lil Scrappy, Yung Joc and Spice, ... who was the target of EM's "monkey" comment, which led to Erica's firing.

After tonight's episode was announced, Erica posted a video claiming she'd been on the set several days after her explosive argument with Spice aired and says the network "proudly" put it out for the world to see.

Her point is "L&HH" producers were fine with her, and only fired her in response to the public backlash that came once the episode aired.

A source close to Erica tells TMZ Hip Hop ... she feels the network is trying to silence her, after the fact, by not letting her participate in the roundtable.

We're also told Erica continued working on the show for 7 months after the "monkey" argument -- another reason she feels producers are only shutting her out to avoid public backlash.

Nashawn Breedlove, famous for battle-rapping Eminem in the movie "8 Mile," is dead.

A family member tells TMZ ... Nashawn died in his sleep Sunday at his home in New Jersey. We're told his loved ones do not yet know the cause of death.

Nashawn played Lotto in the 2002 movie, which is loosely based on Eminem's life ... and he's known for a scene where his character takes on Em's B-Rabbit in a rap battle.

In his movie rap, Nashawn sings ... "I feel bad I gotta murder that dude from 'Leave it to Beaver'" ... and the crowd goes nuts, though he eventually loses the showdown.

Before his big break on '8 Mile' Nashawn was rapping under his stage name OX ... with a feature on the soundtrack for the 2001 movie "The Wash" with Dr. Dre and Snoop Dogg.

Rapper Mickey Factz was first to report Nashawn's death, remembering him for his "tenacity and aggressiveness" as a battle rapper.

Nashawn was 46.

MC Lyte thinks everyone focusing on President Joe Biden's blundering intro of LL Cool J isn't keeping their eyes on the prize ... which is, in her opinion, one of hip hop's biggest moments ever.

Lyte was honored alongside LL last weekend in D.C. for her own monumental strides in rap -- but it wasn't her name the President royally screwed up, nor was she the one who had to stomach being called "boy" ... as LL did.

Biden's political critics think it's just the latest example of him losing it, and his cultural critics -- like Charlamagne Tha God -- had no mercy for him either, but Lyte went to bat for the commander-in-chief and thinks it was an honest mistake he sincerely regrets.

Lyte and LL go way back to the days of Hip Hop's dawn periods and she thanked him for the years of historic collaborations but points out that the recent Congressional Black Caucus Foundation Annual Legislative Conference marked the first time both an active President and Vice President acknowledged the culture they walk and breathe.

V.P. Kamala Harris just opened the White House doors to host a Hip Hop celebration highlighted by performances from Fat Joe, Remy Ma, and Lil Wayne ... which speaks to Lyte's points.

Usher is downplaying all the fallout his viral moment with Keke Palmer caused, at least on his end ... he thinks the whole debacle was sensationalized so he simply used the situation to their advantage!!!

The R&B icon was confronted with the issue Tuesday on "The Breakfast Club" as he explained the differences between his Vegas shows -- like the one that jeopardized Keke's relationship and his newly announced Super Bowl LVIII Halftime gig.

Usher was asked if he felt any guilt about creating a wedge between Keke and her boyfriend Darius Jackson this past 4th of July weekend.

Usher blames the internet for blowing up the spot but has no regrets for their make-good, in the form of the "Boyfriend" music video starring Keke that leaned into the moment.

The world's still heavily invested in Keke and Darius ... the actress recently pled the 5th in the name of Beyonce on morning TV.

As for the Super Bowl, Usher says Jay-Z woke him up early in the morning about a week ago with the good news, but played it coy when asked about any potential guests joining him on the big stage.

Bad Bunny just dropped a new song, and his adoring fans think it's all about Kendall Jenner -- which, considering what he's saying and showing ... might be a valid theory.

The Latin pop star just released his latest track, "Un Preview" -- along with an accompanying music video -- which BB nation staunchly believes is coded with KJ references all throughout. Considering the song's all about a cowgirl he's fallen in love with ... yeah, that's probably right.

Here are some of the lyrics (translated to English) that pretty much give away the fact this thing's all about his girlfriend. Bunny sings ... "Baby, I’m not scared // Of trying you and falling in love again // F*** it, mami, I'll follow your lead, ayy // Really crazy in the club, I'll get close // dancing and kiss your neck, ayy // With you I'm on fire."

The dude goes on to rap/sing about how hot the sex is between him and this new woman ... how they're both head over heels for each other and how he's embracing it.

Of course, there's also the imagery here that spells it out even further. The whole treatment is horse-themed -- with Bad Bunny standing in front of a toy rocking horse ... not to mention these masked cowboys/cowgirls grinding on each other. Kendall's a big cowboy hat fan.

We should also point out ... Kendall is an avid equestrian, and she took BB on a little ride a few months ago for a one-on-one date, which saw them riding a horsey together.

Krayzie Bone of Bone Thugs-n-Harmony has friends, family and fans fearing the worst with his hospitalization -- and it's an especially big shock to Three 6 Mafia's DJ Paul because he was in-studio just last week with Krayzie.

TMZ Hip Hop checked in with Paul, who says he and Krayzie recently put a jolt of urgency into their long-awaited collab album, as their respective fan bases have told them repeatedly that's the only thing they're checking for.

Paul says they were cranking out songs at an abnormal pace last Wednesday and his Cleveland counterpart seemed fine -- he humorously notes how Krayzie's tongue-twisting ways require a bit more writing time to cram the words into the notebook, but says they recorded more than usual.

It was the very next day that Paul says he learned Krayzie checked himself into the hospital. While he's been on pins and needles ever since then, Paul says he anticipates Krayzie will make a full recovery.

Paul credits Krayzie for ending the Bone Thugs vs. Three 6 wax wars by collaborating with Project Pat back in the '90s -- and says the beef was just a clash over similarities in their music. It famously flared up again during their 2021 Verzuz battle.

KXNG Crooked a supporter of West Coast Hip Hop, and doesn't think "I Got It Made" rapper Special Ed's shots at N.W.A necessarily come from a bad place ... but still says the OG may have missed the mark in his message.

We caught up with the Horseshoe Gang rapper following Special Ed's particularly passionate take on the group that pioneered gangsta rap ... he blamed Ice Cube, Dr. Dre. MC Ren DJ Yella, and the late Eazy-E for single-handily bringing "the age of destruction" into the rap game.

Ed also made his fiery comments on "Drink Champs" -- while completely sober at that but Crooked still thinks rap media often pigeonholes talent in order to get a negative headline.

Crooked was previously signed to Dre through Eminem's Shady Records/Aftermath imprint and remembers feeling the ripple effects from N.W.A's debut in real-time ... a project that broke ground for highlighting the issues in impoverished hoods -- not glorifying them.

The group's debut "Straight Outta Compton" was inducted into the Library of Congress and Crooked says their success created a negative narrative still being pushed by Ed to this very day.

Crooked's been famously alcohol-free for 7+ years after his own public battles and while he's not in the business of judging folks' life choices, he knows from experience how booze can cause you to speak more loosely.

As a former Death Row Records artist, he recalls being on hand for Suge Knight's infamous 2003 Jimmy Kimmel interview where the music mogul casually floated claims that Eazy was intentionally given the HIV virus that led to his death from AIDS.

Tory Lanez cleared up much of the speculation behind his recent inmate transfer, and just like we reported, he’s making the most of the situation!!!

Fans and haters alike were surprised Monday when Tory’s official social media accounts posted a pretty upbeat voice memo from jail where he sounded like he's free as a bird ... even though that's clearly not the case.

As we previously reported, Tory’s celebrity status has him holed up solo inside the Administrative Segregation at North Kern State Prison in Delano, CA … and the “Color Violent” rapper says he’s loving the extra legroom.

Tory’s new facility isn’t without its issues -- several people have been killed within the prison this year alone -- but Tory says it’s better than the L.A. county jail where they had him on 24-hour lockdown and in his words, they were “hating” on a G.

Tory thanked his supporters for holding him down and expressed how the situation made him fearless.

He's gonna need that confidence ... Tory's just starting a 10-year sentence for shooting Megan Thee Stallion.

President Joe Biden once told African American voters "You ain't Black" if you don't vote for him, but due to his lack of awareness about LL Cool J ... Biden's alleged Black Card is now being called into question.

The Rock the Bells pioneer was honored at the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation's annual Legislative Conference over the weekend, and the Prez pulled one of his worst teleprompter gaffes ... calling him "LL J Cool J."

To make matters worse, as Biden tried to recover from that flub, he referred to LL as "boy" ... making everyone in the crowd cringe ... even though he quickly tried to fix that screw-up, too.

It came out like this, "By the way that boy — that man’s got biceps bigger than my thighs." Good grief, Joe😬.

Republicans are using the verbal blunder as a political strike, but Charlamagne thinks it's a cultural one ... giving the Commander-in-Chief, and his writing staff, the "Donkey of the Day," and that's not a Democratic compliment!!!

As CTG notes, Joe will be 81 years old in a couple of months and his writers should stop attempting to have him come across as hip ... but he's still old enough to remember the days when the term "boy" was a racist term used to belittle Black men.

LL's also been a superstar rapper since the '80s -- one of the genre's first -- and has been spelling out his name in songs just as long -- a slice of American history CTG says the Prez should know.

Blueface is taking all the blame off himself after a photo of his infant son's genitals was posted from the rapper's social media account ... claiming his phone was stolen and his account hacked.

As the outrage against Blue piled on Monday morning, he countered with a tweet claiming his phone was stolen ... forcing his Twitter to be used against his free will.

As you'd expect, there aren't too many people who believe his new claim.

As we reported, the "hacked" account posted a lengthy rant about his newborn son and his medical struggles, including an alleged hernia. The account expressed outrage toward Chrisean Rock, the boy's mother, and said she was avoiding taking the infant to the doctor.

We should also point out, the allegedly "hacked" account only seemed to take Blueface's side in the argument ... which very rarely happens with a hack.

Things have been downhill in Blue and Chrisean's family situation since she was spotted improperly holding their child at Walmart ... and continue to spiral out of control by the day.

Should there be legal consequences to Blueface posting a photo of his child's genitals? Vote below.

11:15 AM -- Chrisean Rock and Keke Palmer have connected behind the scenes on Monday after much internet chatter.

Chrisean had initially taken issue with Keke going public but cooler heads have prevailed and Chrisean appears to have an ally in Keke while a Blueface reconcillation is still TBD.

Keke Palmer believes Chrisean Rock's issues are reflective of the challenges facing so many other Black single mothers ... publicly offering the embattled reality star support.

Keke, who's a new mother herself, couldn't contain her anger as many -- including Blueface's manager Wack 100, called for Chrisean's baby to be removed from her care.

The way Keke sees it, personal opinions against Chrisean are irrelevant -- maternal health care is the #1 priority in situations like these, and she says neglected kids are the ones placed in the system which often leads to a path of crime.

Keke says there's an ongoing epidemic in health care for Black women and Chrisean is simply one of the many victims.

The CDC reported that in 2021, Black women suffered nearly 70 deaths for every 100,000 live births ... almost 3x the number of White women.

The "Nope" actress echoed much of what Cardi B told us when she spoke about Chrisean's early struggles with motherhood ... but the controversy surrounding her newborn baby is becoming more critical by the day!!!

Chrisean and Blueface are both under fire after the "Thotiana" rapper exposed their son's genitals ... accusing Chrisean of failing to schedule the appropriate surgery to fix a hernia, which has grown rather large.

She's also still trying to live down last week's viral Walmart video that showed her carelessly holding her baby.

Chrisean barked back at Blueface for airing out their baby's business ... but also admitted she hadn't yet set a date for him to have surgery, either.

Should there be legal consequences to Blueface posting a photo of his child's genitals? Vote below.

3:18 PM PT -- And just like that ... Drake has earned his 12th #1 hit with "Slime You Out" ... the most-ever amongst rappers.

Charlamagne Tha God's predictions that nobody was checking for the song were off ... way off.

Drake is finally firing back at Charlamagne after years of sneak disses ... with the 'Breakfast Club' host's critique of his new song with SZA being the final straw!!!

On Monday, Drake emptied the clip in his IG stories ... addressing Charlamagne by his gov't name while accusing him of harboring envious emotions.

He also compared Charlamagne to a low-budget Morris Chestnut and posted several snapshots of Charlamagne modeling to prove his point! The fans got a kick outta that.

Drake was triggered by Charlamagne's review of "Slime You Out," which he essentially called boring, claiming people checked out shortly after it dropped.

The song is projected to top the Billboard Hot 100 this week so obviously people are listening to it, but Charlamagne says he hears crickets.

Following Drake's blasts, Charlamagne blew off the shots while reacting on-air Monday ... joking that Drake picks a beef with him every time it's time for an album rollout.

The two had their back-and-forth exchanges over the years but as Charlamagne remembers things, they buried the hatchet at the conclusion of Drake's beef with Meek Mill around 2015.