TMZ Hip Hop - Page 50

Kanye West is reportedly working behind the scenes to lock down trademark rights to "YEWS," a phrase he wants to slap on just about everything .. from streaming to restaurants.

The filing, obtained by TMZ, and first submitted earlier this month is linked to an LLC called Ox Paha Inc. We've never known Kanye to be associated with that LLC, but it has an address listed to Kanye's office on Melrose Ave.

Unclear if there's anything Kanye wants to do specifically with the word -- if he's the guy who filed for it -- but he's taking just about every realm of possibility with it.

The docs want to use "YEWS" for financial services, real estate, clothing (footwear, headwear, jeans, etc.), music and audio, entertainment content, beauty products, restaurants and so much more.

Of course, while Kanye hasn't publicly said anything about the word "YEWS" -- people are already speculating it's got some sort of connection to "Jews" and the controversy surrounding Kanye.

Chrisean Rock says her son is recovering after undergoing surgery to remove the hernia that Blueface brought to the world's attention.

Chrisean posted a boomerang video holding a smiling Chrisean Jr. Friday from his hospital bed, nothing the newborn was "recovering so fast."

As we reported, the youngster was suffering from an inguinal hernia ... and Blueface blamed Chrisean for mistreating their son by not getting him treatment soon enough. The rapper also posted a nude photo of the child, showing his condition ... and got a ton of heat online.

Despite the backlash, Blue's mother Karlissa Saffold defended her son to TMZ Hip Hop ... even going as far as to blanket it as a teachable moment for new parents and their child's medical issues.

We're not even a month removed from Chrisean facing the wrath of the internet and Blue's family as she let her baby dangle loosely during a Walmart shopping trip.

Nicki Minaj fans have long held onto a promise from Drake that she'd be featured on his new album, but the rapper failed to deliver on that promise ... and the Barbz are pissed.

Drake's "For All The Dogs" packs on several big-name features ... 21 Savage, Bad Bunny, Sexyy Red, and J. Cole, just to name a few, but Nicki's fans are now taking her absence as a sign of disrespect ... especially after she publicly pushed for the album to drop.

There's still a chance the collab could appear on Nicki's "Pink Friday 2" album when it drops in November but the Barbz would hear none of it and called for their Queen to cut all ties from Drizzy!!!

21 Savage has a Green Card and he's finally putting it to good use, joining Drake in Toronto to perform together ... TMZ has learned.

Sources with direct knowledge tell TMZ 21 and his team will be in "The 6" Friday and Saturday night for the Toronto stops of the "It's All a Blur" tour. It's the first time in years 21 has legally been able to leave the United States.

Drake dropped his highly-anticipated "For All The Dogs" album Friday, and hinted 21 had finally cleared his immigration issues on the track "8AM in Charlotte."

Drake raps, "Savage got a green card straight out of the consulate/Where I go, you go, brother, we Yugoslavian."

It was back in 2019 when 21 was taken into custody by ICE, and we learned he was actually from the UK -- living in the United States illegally on an expired visa. The case dragged on for years, further complicated by the fact he was caught with codeine and a handgun during the ICE bust.

Of course, 21's been touring with Drake for months now but has never been able to hit locations outside the US -- most notably when Drake went to Vancouver and brought Travis Scott out in place of 21.

Soak up his new album, "For All the Dogs," because Drake is dropping the mic -- he says he's walking away from music to deal with a health issue that's plagued him for a long time.

He made the bombshell announcement Friday morning on his SiriusXM show "Table for One" ... saying, "I need to focus on my health, first and foremost." Apparently, he's been battling a gastrointestinal issue ... he says, "I've been having the craziest problems for years with my stomach."

He didn't get any more specific about the ailment, but says it's gonna require enough of his time that "I'ma lock the door on the studio for a little bit. Maybe a year or something ... maybe a little longer."

It's a huge revelation, and not just for his fans, but for the music industry as a whole. Quite frankly, Drake's thing has been quantity -- the guy cranks out records very regularly.

He's dropped 9 studio projects in the last 13 years, most of them packed with #1 hits that dominate radio play and streaming services.

But, just hours after releasing his latest, he's making it clear he's got more important things to deal with now -- "I need to focus on my health, and I need to get right."

Drake fulfilled his lifetime dream of collaborating with Sade on his new "For All The Dogs" album, even if it is in the form of the teeniest tiniest contribution.

The reclusive R&B legend pops up to plug the album's Snoop Dogg-hosted mock radio station "BARK Radio" at the tail end of "BBL Love - Interlude" ... an ode to surgically enhanced women.

Sade only offers a couple of words, but it's been years since anyone has heard from her on a track -- 2018 to be exact, and Drake managed to be the one to get her.

Drake attempted to recruit Sade on his debut album all the way back in 2010, which she declined, not because she wasn't a fan of his buzz but because she's never done collaborations and didn't want to disappoint anyone.

Snoop's cameo can be found at the close of the Drake and J. Cole face-off "First Person Shooter" ... which is currently attracting memes by the thousands.

Drake's giving all the lingering R. Kelly fans out there the side-eye on his new album ... by taking a shot that might have 'em rethinking their streaming selections.

On the track "Drew a Picasso," which is planted just past the midway mark of "For All The Dogs," Drake paints the picture of himself in a tit-for-tat argument with his girlfriend.

When she comes down on him for living up the nightlife, he barks back with a shot at the incarcerated R&B star ... "Why you act like just 'cause I go to the strip club, girl, that I don't love you? You still listenin' to R. Kelly in the whip, baby girl, and I don't judge you!!!"

The shot is particularly interesting considering Drake sampled R. Kelly on his 2021 album "Certified Lover Boy" ... but he's clearly rinsed himself of all things dealing with the former Pied Piper of R&B, and he's advising all the girls who love him to do the same!!!

R. Kelly still generates several million Spotify monthly listens, but his career is stalled indefinitely, if not permanently, as he serves a 30-year sentence for federal sex crimes.

His music royalties have been garnished to pay restitution to his victims, and he's even had to deal with an unauthorized album leak from prison.

Drake dissed a particular "gyal" from his past on "For All The Dogs" ... and fans think he's firing at his former flame Rihanna -- A$AP Rocky's feelings be damned!

The possible Rihanna disses pop up at the opening of "Fear of Heights," where Drake raps, "Why they make it sound like I'm still hung up on you?/That could never be/Gyal can't ruin me ... better him than me."

If that wasn't indication enough, Drake repeatedly screams how he's "anti" -- the title of Rihanna's last released album, a project he's even featured on, before going on the claim the sex wasn't so amazing like the song goes ... he remembers it as average. 😱

He goes on to claim he's been with women whose beauty is superior and her new man is stuck like Chuck in their current situation.

As you know, Rihanna and Rocky just welcomed their 2nd child together in August ... months after performing pregnant at the Super Bowl -- they haven't given Drake much thought.

KD's going by a different set of initials now -- the NBA superstar played a key role in Drake's highly anticipated album "For All The Dogs" ... serving as A&R for the project!!

Drizzy dropped his eighth solo studio album early Friday morning ... and as it turns out, Kevin Durant was involved in bringing it to fruition.

The Phoenix Suns baller is listed on the credits as an A&R -- short for "artists and repertoire" -- a position that's held by someone who helps put the album together.

Durant -- who was traded to Phoenix in February -- took pride in his role ... and shared the accomplishment on his own Instagram story.

"The greatest," the 2-time NBA champ said of Drake. "6godAM ... for all of us."

Drake also name-dropped his music partner in the track, "All The Parties" ... saying, "Me and KD 'bout to turn up the art."

KD is known to be a big supporter of Drake -- he was even spotted lightin' it up in the crowd at his recent show at the Forum.

The 35-year-old forward also walked out with Drake during his Austin concert last month.

FYI, Durant has also taken a stab at being a hip hop artist himself under the name "Sniper Jones."

Drake is making a habit of putting big smiles on the faces of his fans by giving away designer bags on tour ... and the latest one in Miami came with a very important disclaimer.

Champagne Papi was performing last week at the Kaseya Center when he spotted Nicolette Valenti singing along in the crowd, and eventually he had his security deliver her a brown Birkin.

Drake picked her out between songs, but let the audience know he wasn't blessing her with a bag because of her large breasts -- which has been a thing at previous tour stops -- instead, he said it was because of the way she was singing all night.

In video capturing the giveaway, Drake tells the audience he likes to make people's days and Nicolete needs a brown Birkin to go with her brown top, and then security swooped in for the handoff.

Nicolette tells us she immediately called her mother ... Drake noticed her making the call, and after she showed him her phone, he dedicated the next song to her mom.

Birkin bags can run well past 5 figures in retail, so Drake arranged for Nicolette to get a police escort out of the venue ... and she says Drizzy's stage manager made her text him to make sure he knew she made it home safely with the Birkin.

It was an unforgettable moment for Nicolette ... and she tells us she is never selling the bag.

Tupac Shakur's murder suspect went out for his morning walk, and then suddenly found himself in handcuffs ... charged in the nearly 30-year-old unsolved case.

TMZ just obtained police body cam footage from Duane "Keefe D" Davis' arrest, and you see him walking down a residential street when cops pull up, and tell him he's being busted.

Keefe D is totally compliant throughout the interaction with Las Vegas cops ... he doesn't resist at all. In fact, his only complaint was that he was "thirsty as f***" for the bottled water he was carrying.

It's the first time we've seen the footage of Keefe D's arrest ... and he goes pretty quietly.

When officers put him in the car, he tells them he's a "pro" and climbs in the front passenger seat. He even engages in some casual conversation with one officer that makes it clear, Keefe knows exactly why he's being arrested.

In his words, he's involved in the "biggest case in Las Vegas history" ... and drops the exact date of Tupac's murder.

As we reported ... Keefe was arrested Friday and charged with one count of murder with a deadly weapon, plus a gang enhancement.

Keefe appeared in court for the first time this week ... but his arraignment proceedings ended up being delayed.

Tupac was shot and killed in Las Vegas in September 1996 ... and cops arrested Keefe over 27 years later ... saying his outspoken interviews about being involved in Pac's murder prompted them to reopen the case.

Jason Derulo is calling BS on a new lawsuit claiming he fired an up-and-coming musician after she repeatedly refused to have sex with him.

In a video statement posted on Instagram, the singer addressed the salacious allegations in the suit filed by Emaza Gibson in L.A. Superior Court Thursday.

Derulo said, "I wouldn’t normally comment but these claims are completely false and hurtful. I stand against all forms of harassment and I remain supportive of anybody following their dreams."

He continued, "I’ve always strived to live my life in a positively impactful way, and that’s why I sit here before you deeply offended, by these defamatory claims. God bless."

In her suit, Gibson says Derulo contacted her in 2021 offering her a joint contract with him and two record companies, Atlantic and Future History, to produce songs.

Gibson says Derulo chose her because he needed to bring a fresh artist to Atlantic to launch the project, and she eagerly signed the agreement, believing he was now her mentor.

She says the plan was to work closely with Derulo on a mixtape and an album, delivering the final recordings to music execs within 6 months.

But, Gibson claims Derulo had other ideas, wanting her to participate in cocaine-fueled sexual rituals called “goat skin and fish scales" to fulfill his role as her artistic collaborator.

On several occasions, Gibson says Derulo also propositioned her to have dinner with him and tried to ply her with booze to get her into bed.

When she refused his advances, Gibson says Derulo eventually cut off all communication with her and terminated her contract with him and the record companies.

As a result, Gibson says she was diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder after she suffered breakdowns and other medical issues.

He may have a significant head start, but Drake's son, Adonis, is already making his mark in the rap world ... not only designing the cover art, but rapping on his dad's new album too.

Drake dropped "For All The Dogs" -- his highly-anticipated album -- with features from Bad Bunny, 21 Savage, J. Cole and more. However, it's on the song "Daylight" where Adonis seemingly freestyles over the beat.

The 5-year-old says, "Don't talk to my man like that. I like it when you like it. My, my, my, my man. My, my, my, my man. Don't talk to my man like that. I like it when you like it. My, my, my, my man. My, my, my, my man. You know which one you want. I don't care which one you want. You can take whatever. I don't care what you do. I will always, watchin' for you."

The kid doesn't offer a lot of context to his verse, but who cares ... it's still cute as hell.

As we reported, Adonis drew the cover art for the album, a picture of a goat -- which he says represents his dad. Unclear if Adonis was paid for the artwork or his verses, but knowing Drake, he likely got some sort of cut.

YNW Melly and YNW Bortlen are both facing witness tampering charges now, and officials say some of the tampering involved them invoking Rihanna's name as part of their system of codes.

According to docs, obtained by TMZ Hip Hop, Melly and Bortlen both actively worked behind the scenes to keep key witnesses from cooperating with authorities and testifying in their double-murder trial.

Officials claim Melly is said to have used the phone privileges of another inmate to pass word to the outside ... sometimes in calls to Bortlen, who was out on bond at the time.

According to the docs, Melly had apparently lost phone privileges due to disciplinary violations while in custody.

The docs say during some of the calls, there were references made to "Rihanna" and "A$AP Rocky's baby mama" staying behind in a "Maybach" -- which prosecutors believe was code for instructing a particular female witness not to appear at the trial. The docs note that the woman, in fact, did not show up at the trial.

Officials also say Melly developed a sophisticated system for communication -- which they say is caught on surveillance video -- where he would coordinate the delivery of hand-written messages to various cell blocks through nonspeaking cues.

Melly's lawyer told TMZ Hip Hop the claims are a "desperate attempt" on the part of prosecutors after they failed to get a conviction during the first go-around.

Kanye West didn't wanna tough it through a painful pedicure, cutting the technician off before the whole thing wrapped, and then getting back to his business.

Kanye's pal, and music partner Ty Dolla $ign uploaded the funny footage Thursday showing  Kanye's interaction with the puzzled pedicurist. You see Kanye react with a quick jolt of pain before deciding the whole treatment was over ... standing up and saying he wanted to stop.

The woman performing the pedicure tries to convince Kanye to let her finish, but he ain't budging, saying "It's my toes." Check out the look on Ty's face, he's stunned by the whole interaction.

Kanye's essentially been trekking barefoot in Europe throughout the summer -- so you gotta imagine the nail tech had her work cut out for her -- but Ye didn't wanna take a chance.

Funny enough, after he told her the whole thing was over, Kanye didn't miss a beat ... getting back to business.

Colombia has The Weeknd to thank for a huge boost to the country's economy ... his latest not only brought in a whole bunch of money, but a ton of jobs with it.

The singer performed in Bogotá -- the country's capital -- Wednesday night, working with 35 different companies in the city, which translated into a sky-high number of folks able to work for the big night. In fact, we're told 1,500 jobs in all were created through the show.

The Weeknd's been selling out stadiums across the globe as part of his "After Hours Til Dawn" tour, blowing the roof off in London, Paris, and, of course, Bogotá -- and his latest shows ended up generating over 800 million pesos.

He brought the house down at Nemesio Camacho El Campín Stadium, BTW ... with fans having a blast all night long as he sang his chart-topping hits.

Sounds like The Weeknd's Colombian fans aren't the only ones grateful that he came and put on a show ... the rest of the country's gotta be thanking him, too!