TMZ Hip Hop - Page 50

Timbaland is facing the backlash head-on after his "muzzle joke" aimed at Britney Spears -- he's apologizing to her and her fans, who had a riotous response when his remark went viral.

On Tuesday, during a TikTok streaming session, Timbaland admitted his faults, saying ... "I’m sorry to all the Britney fans, even to her" -- and added he was in the wrong for attempting to block her right to speak out.

Fans thought Timbaland's reaction to Britney's "The Woman in Me" memoir -- particularly the bits about Justin Timberlake -- was in poor taste.

While on a panel last week with 9th Wonder at the Kennedy Center for Performing Arts, Timbaland quipped JT needed to "put a muzzle" on Britney, blaming today's social media climate for her actions.

Fans thought Timbaland was being insensitive and he saw their perspective, and when some of them asked if he respects women, he fired back a hearty "hell yeah."

JT and Tim go way back -- but so do JT and Britney. In her book, she says they both decided to have an abortion when she got pregnant back in 2000 ... among other shocking revelations from her heyday.

Sexyy Red is under the impression she's the 2nd coming of Boosie Badazz -- a bold claim the Louisiana rapper's not mad at one bit!!!

TMZ Hip Hop chopped it up with Boosie Tuesday at LAX, and he wholeheartedly embraced the "Pound Town" rapper's comparisons. He tells us he's just as ratchet as Sexyy, and has been swimming in money and motion for years ... so, for him, the similarities stack up.

The comparison is catching on with others, too -- certified hitmaker Chrisean Rock also validated Sexyy's claims so the nickname just might stick ... and the fact they're recording a track together will help.

Boosie tells us they'll be making a chart push as soon as Sexyy sends her verse back for their song, which is produced by platinum-selling Beatking.

In fact, Boosie's popped the lid off several projects he's got in the works -- he told us about a new movie, and albums with newly freed Cash Money rapper B.G. and Tha Dogg Pound's Daz Dillinger!!!

What really has his juices flowing is a big pending appearance -- he says he's booked for the 2024 Grammys, alongside his fellow trap rap kings T.I. and Jeezy. He told us he was on his way to shoot it.

American actress Chloe Greenfield was just 7 years old when she played Lily Smith -- B-Rabbit's younger sister who grows up in a mobile home in Detroit, Michigan -- in the drama film "8 Mile" back in 2002.

Chloe shared the big screen with Eminem as the up-and-coming rapper who wants better for his life, B-Rabbit, Brittany Murphy as being sweet (and a little rough around the edges) and B-Rabbit's love interest, Alex, and Anthony Mackie who goes after B-Rabbit and his crew with violence, Papa Doc.

Chloe also acted in the popular medical series "ER."

Rick Ross is looking back at the infamous moment his ankle monitor sounded while meeting with President Obama inside the White House -- and, now at least, it brings him nothing but LOLs!!!

Complex's Speedy Mormon asked Rozay to detail the embarrassing moment during his co-interview with Meek Mill to promote their joint album ... and he recalled trying to maneuver around D.C. in spite of being on house arrest at the time.

We broke the story back in 2016 ... Ross was among the hip hop heavyhitters invited to the WH for Obama's Brother's Keeper youth initiative when the ankle monitor went off. He'd been fitted with the device after his 2015 arrest for aggravated assault and aggravated battery.

Rozay remembers hearing the thing beeping outta control, and says he slumped in his seat hoping no one would notice -- but, it's totally the Secret Service's job to notice. He says agents sprung into action seeking out the source of the noise.

Obama totally heard the ankle monitor and commented, but the MMG rapper won't spill the deets on what was said. Although, he seems to think Busta Rhymes, who was also there, will!!!

Also in attendance were J. Cole, Wale, Chance The Rapper, DJ Khaled, as well as Nicki Minaj, who was dating Meek at the time.

Meek says he was also on house arrest at the time ... and learned of the incident after Nicki came home cussing him out that he wasn't capitalizing off the moment.

12/4 1:07 PM PT -- C-Knight's family tells TMZ ... the rapper has not been buried because the family does not have the money to put on a proper funeral for him.

They are seeking crowdfunding from fans via their GoFundMe.

C-Knight, a member of hip hop group The Dove Shack, has died ... TMZ has learned.

A family member tells us C-Knight, real name Arnez Blount, passed away Tuesday after it was decided to take him off life support, weeks after first being admitted to the facility for a stroke.

TMZ broke the story, C-Knight's father told us his son was hospitalized mid-October after his blood sugar was at a scary level -- a result of his diabetes.

While getting dialysis at the hospital, he somehow suffered a stroke and went into cardiac arrest. He was resuscitated by doctors and put on life support ... but had been in an unresponsive state -- with medical staff telling the family there were no signs of progress.

C-Knight's father last told us they were waiting on the results of a crucial MRI to hopefully see any notable brain activity -- but his family kept optimistic while they waited.

The Dove Shack played a big part in the West Coast G-Funk music movement in the 1990s ... jumping in the game with fellow big dogs like Warren G and Snoop Dogg.

C-Knight, along with Bo-Roc and 2Scoops, put out some memorable hits like "Summertime in the LBC," "This Is The Shack," and "Smoke Out."

He was 52.

RIP

Offset's already letting his youngest son Wave set it off in the booth -- hip hop's literally in his blood and the rap prince got his first taste of the artist limelight.

On Tuesday, both Offset and Wave made their debut performance with Vevo's CTRL series to perform "On The River" ... the kickoff track from Offset's recently released album, "Set It Off."

Wave didn't actually make his rapping debut -- à la Drake's son -- but the 2-year-old tyke didn't skimp on bringing his energy to the shoot. Watch the clip, in particular ... he got super amped up toward the end of his dad's performance.

The kid already knows ya gotta finish strong!

Offset recently tipped us off a family collaboration was coming -- in addition to another bombshell revelation ... he's dropping another album in just a few month's time.

BTS' Jungkook just dropped his debut solo album, entitled "Golden" ... but he can go ahead and bust out some platinum instead for a big celebration.

His "Seven" collab with Latto just crossed the million sales mark, a milestone that comes on the heels of the track becoming the fastest to reach one billion streams on Spotify!!!

Jimmy Fallon broke the news to Jungkook on 'The Tonight Show' last night -- prompting the pop star to hit his best rendition of Michael Jackson moves!!!

Later on in the interview, JK attempted to teach Jimmy the dance to his new single "Standing Next to You" ... but the talk show host couldn't get down with the MJ-esque crotch grab at the end of the routine!!!

Timbaland happily came to Justin Timberlake's defense when the topic of Britney Spears' best-selling memoir came up -- but his response has Britney's army of fans declaring war on the superproducer!!!

Fans caught wind Tuesday of the sly remark Tim made during his Oct. 29 live interview with 9th Wonder at the Kennedy Center for Performing Arts.

In response to Britney's "The Woman In Me" memoir -- in which she says JT got her pregnant back in 2000, and they decided to abort the baby -- Timbaland told the D.C. crowd his "SexyBack" collaborator should've "put a muzzle on that girl."

He also said he doesn't blame Britney for having loose lips, because that's what you have to do to go viral, and that's the name of the game in the current social media era of showbiz.

The audience got a good chuckle over Tim's response but Britney's fans are doing the opposite of laughing -- they're calling for him to apologize, and think he's actually harboring a now decades-old vendetta against Britney.

Back in 2007, Timbaland told MTV that Britney dissed him and JT, and she needed to apologize if they were ever going to work together.

That didn't happen .. Britney went on to drop her "Blackout" album with beats from Timbaland's former protégé Danja, and, clearly, there are still lingering tensions!!!

Nicki Minaj is swooping in like a crisis negotiator -- or some sorta rap whisperer -- to put an end to Soulja Boy's reign of internet rants at J. Cole ... even convincing the "Crank Dat" rapper to apologize.

ICYMI, SB totally blew his top over Cole bringing his name up as a prime example of someone with much different taste in hip hop music than himself.

Cole told Lil Yachty, SB's music once went against everything he stood for as an artist, but would listen to his music in mixed company ... a statement Soulja took as disrespect -- that is, until Nicki convinced him it wasn't.

Nicki joined SB's IG live stream Monday -- as his Twitter fingers were sending brutal tweets at Cole -- and managed to calm him down.

She never showed her face on the stream, but stressed the importance of Soulja having real love in his life outside the internet, but more importantly, pointed out Cole was giving him props, and his temper tantrum was misguided.

Wyclef Jean is confident his group The Fugees are solidified in history, even with their lack of albums ... they've been perfecting their craft since childhood.

TMZ Hip Hop caught up with the 'Carnival' creator at LAX right before his L.A. leg as a part of Lauryn Hill's "Miseducation" 25th-anniversary tour (more on that later) ... and he told us flat-out the trio's legacy surpassed all his expectations!!!

Clef recalled starting the group with Lauryn and Pras all the way back in high school in Jersey in the '80s ... the precursor to their monumental, 22x Platinum-selling album "The Score," which dropped in 1996.

Wyclef says U2's Bono told him The Fugees were "Hip Hop's Beatles" at the height of the album's success, a compliment lost on him at the time but says the years of having fans sell out their shows -- or wait for them at airports -- validated the honor for him.

He's hinted at them finally preparing a release after all this time ... a topic Pras played coy with us when we spoke to him last. Something big's obviously on the horizon!!!

Fast forward to the present day, the trio is still seeing their fans attend their droves .... with some special provisions added to the fray.

Lauryn defended her historic lateness during her first L.A. show on Friday, basically telling fans they should be grateful she's onstage to begin with.

Despite Ms. Hill's shade, fans were still treated at the 2nd L.A. set -- Lil Wayne surprised and performed to The Fugees' "Ready or Not" beat while rocking his own "A Milli" classic.

Nas also showed up to congratulate Lauryn for earning a Diamond plaque for her "Miseducation" album ... and stayed to perform their duets "Nobody" and "If I Ruled The World (Imagine That)."

Their track record speaks for itself ... now seems like the perfect time to add to it!!!

New Edition is set to take Vegas by storm ... the famed R&B powerhouse just announced a residency for Wynn Las Vegas’ Encore Theater -- and it's coming at ya next year.

The six-man supergroup revealed the six-date details to Sherri Shepard's TV audience on Monday ... with Johnny Gill promising nothing short of a blockbuster, not to mention a more intimate performance than what fans have gotten accustomed to.

NE has been packing arenas on tour for the past two years and says they want to give their diehards a more streamlined experience on stage.

“This is going to be more theatrical than our Legacy and Culture tours,” Bobby Brown told the AP, adding, “This will be a lot more intimate. We wanted it to be up, close and personal for our fans.”

The last time we spoke to Bobby, he told us NE was "forever" and they take pride in everything they do ... looks like nothing's changed on that front!!!

The festivities kick off on February 28 with tickets going on sale Friday.

Chris Brown lives by the motto that a broken clock is right twice a day -- his upcoming album, "11:11," is gonna have two different sides to hear ... in both the AM and PM!

The R&B star made a major announcement Monday -- saying his new album is gonna be double trouble ... touting Future, Fridayy, Davido and a few more surprise guests as part of the project. Like we said, there'll be an A side and a B side ... with 11 tracks on each.

The rollout news also confirmed fans' suspicions that Breezy still loves his long LPs. His last 2 albums both spiraled over 30 songs a piece ... 22 songs is still a heaping dose of new tunes, though!!!

All signs point to CB sticking close to the Afrobeats/light riddims this time around.

He's already dropped a pair of songs from the album -- "Sensational" featuring Davido and Lojay and the track "Summer Too Hot" and is teasing a similarly themed vibe with UK dancehall singer Byron Messia for the next single!!!

Dee-1 and Rick Ross have been engaged in a war of words on IG for days ... all stemming from Dee's open disapproval of Rozay's new "Shaq & Kobe" collab with Meek Mill.

The "Uno" rapper recently appeared on Sway's Universe ... where Dee called out Ross, Meek and Jim Jones for still glorifying killing people in their music after so many hip hop artists have been slain.

Dee lumped Meek, Jim and Rozay into a category he calls "DGs" -- aka disappointing grown-ups, and told a story of how he once spearheaded a shoe giveaway in his New Orleans hometown for Meek's Reform Alliance ... speaking to the movement's strength.

Meek claimed 1st Amendment for his part but Ross didn't take too kindly and dissed Dee for questioning his place in the community, citing his Thanksgiving turkey drives and other contributions for 20 straight years across Miami-Dade!!!

Dee took Ross' "baskethead" snipes in stride but explained to the MMG rapper he was actually criticizing his status as a Hip Hop OG who's still detailing graphic murders like he did on the "Shaq & Kobe" track.

Dee also explained to Rozay that he wasn't clout-chasing ... he's collaborated with several of Rozay's peers and has a long track record of giving back himself, although that wasn't the point of the debate.

3:55 PM PT -- Time hasn't cooled Soulja Boy's jets ... he's still dumping on J. Cole well into Monday afternoon and now is threatening to do the Dreamville rapper bodily harm.

He's also noting to fans that Drake just gave Cole his first No. 1 song when he wrote his first one at age 17. SB thinks there's no career comparison.

Soulja Boy isn't taking any perceived disrespect from J. Cole and Big Sean -- and he's letting them both know about it ... in only a way that Soulja himself could.

The "Crank Dat" rapper held court with his IG followers this weekend, where he gave both Cole and Sean a tongue-lashing for the ages ... all 'cause he feels like they're dogging him and his legacy, especially JC -- who spoke on Soulja pretty recently.

Of course, we're referring to Cole's interview with Lil Yachty the other week -- in which he attempted to give SB his props as a trailblazer -- but in the same breath, admitting he wasn't a fan of the dude at first, and that he simply didn't mesh with his rap purist taste.

Ultimately, it was a compliment ... but Soulja Boy took it as a back-handed one -- which is why he's cussing Cole out here. As for Sean, he got roped into this over past anti-SB remarks.

Soulja took the opportunity to slam both of 'em ... and said they owe their careers to him.

BTW, SB used his trendsetter status to deliver what he felt was the final nail in Cole's coffin -- thousands of people dressed up as him for Halloween this year ... while nobody wanted to copy Cole's unique dressed-down look.

Time will tell if SB will move past this beef -- but we assume Cole is somewhere thinking this is exactly why I don't do interviews!!!

Kanye West has been hanging out in the Middle East lately -- and now, his daughter North is there too ... chillin' with her pops in what seems to be some one-on-one quality time.

Ye's eldest kid -- who seems to like being with her dad more than her mom, Kim K -- was spotted hand-in-hand with her father this past weekend ... walking through a mall. They're surrounded by an entourage, but it seems they had some relative privacy here.

Other clips of KW and North have been floating around on social media these past few days -- looks like they might've been in neighboring Saudi Arabia as well, hobnobbing with fans.

Worth noting ... we don't see any of his other children out there -- and ditto for his wife, Bianca -- so, it seems only North's with him at the moment, which kinda jibes with the parenting style Ye shares with his children these days.

As of late, he tends to bring them along one at a time ... even though they're all usually staying with Kim in California.

Of course, it's also notable that it's North who's here with Dad ... we know she's a huge fan of his and apparently actually prefers to be with him -- at least according to KK. Remember, in a recent 'Kardashians' episode ... Kim revealed North loves Ye's ratty apartment.

That was doubly confirmed by North's costume choice for Halloween this year ... she dressed up as Kanye's famous 'Graduation' bear, paying homage to her father's music legacy.

Jim Irsay channeled his inner Meek Mill after the Indianapolis Colts' win Sunday ... the billionaire busted out his best dance moves to one of the Philadelphia rapper's biggest hits -- and his players lost it!

The 64-year-old Colts CEO and owner was captured celebrating with his players and coaches in the Bank of America Stadium locker room after the Colts' 27-13 win over the Panthers in Charlotte.

Irsay -- who bought his team in 1997 -- rocked a Colts-themed suit, and did his best to dance to Meek's "Dreams and Nightmares" ... while holding head coach Shane Steichen's hand.

Irsay shared the awesome footage on X ... and captioned it, "Hold up, wait a minute, ya’ll thought we were finished. - Meek Mill (and also me)."

The squad loved it ... and so did Meek Mill, who caught the clip of Irsay vibing to his track, saying on X, "Can’t find a better song!"

The Colts fans also thought it was dope ... with one saying, "What the f*** did I just watch? But seriously I loved it."

It's obvious Irsay is proud of his players' performances in Sunday's game, including cornerback Kenny Moore II, whom he gave a shoutout for setting a franchise record with two pick-six interceptions in a single game.

The 4-5 Colts are currently third in the AFC South ... and will play the New England Patriots in Germany next weekend.