TMZ Hip Hop - Page 50

9:35 AM PT -- Turns out Gradey's intro was more PG-13 than rated R ... 'cause the Raptors tell us their announcer did actually say the D-word, but instead went with the clean version, "Big Big Energy!"

Latto's smiling somewhere ... after the Toronto Raptors PA man announced rookie Gradey Dick in the most hilarious way during player introductions -- "Mr. Big Dick Energy!"

The WTF moment happened right before the Raptors took on Damian Lillard and the Bucks at Scotiabank Arena in Toronto on Wednesday.

The Raptors' PA announcer began introducing the Raptors starting lineup ... which for the first time ever, included Dick.

The announcer made sure GD's first time starting would be very special ... and the intro was hysterical.

"Wearing number one, Mr. Big Dick energy!" the announcer yelled, before eventually saying his full name. Video of the intro has gone viral.

Of course, it's not the first joke that's been made about Gradey's last name since the 19-year-old was selected with the 13th overall pick in the 2023 NBA Draft ... Raptors fans immediately began having fun with it.

"I’m not a fan of grading draft picks this early but I’m no stranger to grading Dick picks," a fan said on draft night in June.

Insert a million and one other jokes here.

Gradey's been a star since he arrived in the city of Toronto ... and even become buddies with Drake. In fact, Gradey made a cameo in Adonis' music video for his song, "My Man Freestyle!"

Drake says the force has taken hold of him, and the songs are writing themselves, so he's releasing them -- the 3rd edition of his 'Scary Hours' EP series is about to drop!

On Thursday, Drake made the impromptu announcement via a video trailer shot inside one of his lavish estates, where he explained the method for his latest round of madness ... comparing his latest tier to being on drugs!!!

Drake says he's so confident in his recently released album "For All The Dogs" that he could go MIA for a couple of years ... but says that's not his style.

He cited his famed "If You're Reading This It's Too Late" mixtape as inspo behind the 'SH3' drop and claims to have written the project within the last 5 days!!!

Kevin Durant and Drake's longtime engineer Noel Cadastre are also listed as executive producers for the project but the guest appearances are mum for now.

Drake made no mention of the "stomach issues" he brought up last month when he told fans he wouldn't be releasing music for a while.

The new EP, and the fact he's going on tour with J. Cole, seem like good signs he's no longer worried about his health.

Tua Tagovailoa used part of his bye week to get cornrows ... and then he spent most of his press conference Wednesday insisting he doesn't look like Drake now!!

The Miami quarterback showed off the new hairdo in his first meeting with reporters since the Dolphins returned to Florida from Germany this month ... and almost immediately, reporters on the scene and social media users away from it said he now bears a striking resemblance to the "God's Plan" rapper.

But, Tagovailoa said flat-out he ain't sure about the comp ... although he certainly had some fun over it all during the newser regardless.

"I don't know if I look like Drake," he said with a laugh. "Drake?!"

When a media member then asked if he could rap, he leaned into the microphone and sang, "Kiki" ... before hitting a little dance.

The scene was hilarious -- but if you were wondering ... he said the person he needed to impress the most with the haircut is a fan of it.

"The wifey likes it," Tagovailoa ensured. "She loves it."

Travis Scott is opening up about the Astroworld Festival tragedy back in 2021, which left 10 dead and hundreds injured ... he says that "devastating" night is one he'll never forget.

The rapper broke down his thoughts about the horrific incident in an interview with GQ -- saying, "That moment for families, for the city, you know, it was devastating."

It's always on his mind, too ... saying, “I always think about it. Those fans were like my family. You know, I love my fans ... You just feel for those people. And their families.”

He was asked if the tracks he made in the studio after the horrors in Houston, Texas reflected his thoughts about the tragic event ... he appears to think so, saying his music is always about dialing in on things that happen in his life.

TS says getting back into music after Astroworld was "therapeutic" -- adding he was "able to channel some of the energy into production and sounds and finishing it.”

As you know, Travis dropped his album, Utopia, in July, marking the first album he released since his Astroworld tour ... and one of the tracks on it -- "My Eyes" -- dives deep into his perspective of the horrific event.

Model Danii Banks isn't used to complaints when she drops her top -- but Las Vegas Raiders games are, apparently, a much different story ... because her boobs got her booted from the stadium.

Danii tells TMZ ... shortly after she recorded herself flashing her breasts inside Allegiant Stadium, security guards and police officers swooped in, not in appreciation, but to deliver that classic line -- Danii didn't have to go home, but she had to get the hell outta Sunday night's game.

DB says cops didn't ticket or arrest her, but she had pretty good seats, and she didn't get to stick around long enough to see the Raiders' thrilling-ish win over the New York Jets.

Danii, who's big on OnlyFans, says security or police must have seen her go topless in the moment, because she didn't post the video until after she got the boot.

The incident was reminiscent of Blueface's recent visit to a Los Angeles Rams game ... where he brought a bunch of strippers with him to a suite and made it rain as the nearly nude dancers twerked.

Now, Blueface says he wasn't kicked out and stadium officials didn't say anything to him. While that might look like Vegas is running a tighter ship ... it's worth noting no one in Blueface's crew freed the nipple like Danii did.

When Rod Wave's "Nostalgia" tour blitzed through D.C., some car thieves did too ... hitting the parking lot at Capital One Center -- but, shocker, social media's blown the crime spree way outta proportion.

The wild narrative spread after Rod's Monday night show that more than 200 cars had been burglarized, but the D.C. Police Department tells TMZ Hip Hop they've only fielded 4 reports of car break-ins, as of now.

More reports could be expected in the coming days but the initial whopping number of 200 is feeling more like the Goodyear blimp ... a whole lot of hot air!!!

The fans whose cars did get hit suffered some serious damage -- the lowlifes smashed windows on all sides of the cars, and grabbed whatever they could scoop up in the least amount of time.

It's bad, for sure, but NOT 200 cars bad.

K Camp's been grinding a little too hard, or too long, in the studio -- he's ruptured his vocal cords, a condition the "Spin the Block" rapper says he's gotta fix by going under the knife.

K Camp broke the sad news to his followers Tuesday, informing them the surgery was happening this week, but the good news is that his condition isn't cancerous.

He consulted the advice of an ENT -- after losing his voice and exhausting every home remedy -- and the doc told him he has a polyp in his throat that's become inflamed.

We're told K Camp won't know the length of his recovery until after surgery on Thursday, and while everyone involved anticipates he'll make a full recovery ... he won't be able to talk until healed.

Camp's been putting in OT this year to put out plenty of music as an indie artist, and even had some pointers for Ice Spice the last time we spoke with him.

LeBron James didn't become the NBA's all-time leading scorer without his fair share of haters rooting against him, but he's still not above showing even them some love!!!

Take up-and-coming Detroit rapper Skilla Baby for example, who outed himself as a proud LBJ hater on a recent podcast appearance -- but King James is here for it.

Skilla started off by giving LBJ his props ... but soon flew off the handle with a laundry list of reasons he'd create a LeBron voodoo doll.

LeBron's "The Decision," his unpredictable jump shot and his penchant for playing with super-teams were all low points for SB -- but he really just sounded like a Pistons fan going hard for his team.

At any rate, LeBron got a kick outta SB's rant and quipped, "Crazy thing is I HATE ME TOO" with several 😂's.

Drake and J. Cole are looking to rack up A+ reviews for their expanded "It's All a Blur" tour ... they intentionally selected towns with booming college campuses!!!

Sources with direct knowledge tell TMZ Hip Hop both Drizzy and Cole wanted to dedicate their stage energy to the fans who truly drive up their numbers -- the younger generation!!!

There's also the addition of dates in Lexington, KY where Drake's beloved Wildcats play ... and State College, PA, home to Penn State, but Cole won't be at that one.

They also set out to pay homage to the communities that embraced them early in their careers ... Drake has proclaimed Columbus, OH to be his 2nd home since his debut "Away from Home" tour and the city's Schottenstein Center now has TWO dates after being shut out from the 'Blur' tour's first leg.

Memphis also gets a make-good date after the FedEx Forum reportedly wasn't prepared for all the tour's glitzy decorations, but the stage should be ready to go come March!!!

Canadian fans were initially upset the tour was announced without any dates in their area but we're told the 2nd leg is designed primarily to service cities who missed out last time.

Outkast's outcast André 3000 announced today his debut solo album is dropping this Friday, totally shocking the music world ... although, it's probably not what they're expecting.

He's not doing any rapping, or speaking, for that matter!!!

André posted the album cover art for "New Blue Sun" on his IG, which is a drawing of him holding the flute he's been spotted trotting around the globe for years.

The lack of any lyrical verses is one thing folks are buzzing about, but the other is the song titles. Take, for instance, the opening track ... "I Swear, I Really Wanted to Make a Rap Album But This Is Literally the Way the Wind Blew Me This Time.” Yeah, that sets the tone.

André broke down his methodology in a rare interview with NPR ... and explained although he doesn't rap on the project, he still speaks with his music. Like he could be screaming "I hate that p**** n****" and you wouldn't even know exactly.

Rap fans might be disappointed, but he did get the stamp of approval from both Frank Ocean and Tyler, The Creator ... 2 artists who credit him with some of their highest inspirations!!!

The album is billed as a "stunning 87-minute mind-bender," and André says he pulled up at Tyler's house to get his opinion ... and Frank just happened to be there.

André played them a few tracks and the music cleared Tyler's head, allowing him to crack the matrix that was his Louis Vuitton wall of trunks while Frank gave 3 Stacks 👍🏿.

Fans have been praying for news like this since André and Big Boi won Album of the Year for 2004's "Speakerboxxx/The Love Below."

YG's getting flooded with comments about a photo of what looks like a fun night at an in-house stripper party ... because some dude claims the dancer in the pic is his baby's mother!!!

The viral fuss is coming from a man named Andre Lowe, who's been campaigning for days to get YG to remove the post ... but hasn't had any luck yet.

YG was snapped making it rain dollar bills during the Halloween bash as the dancer flaunted her flexibility ... and a strong game of G-string peek-a-boo!!! The photo IS a lot, but we don't think Andre's actually losing any sleep over it.

The guy labels himself a rapper/social media entertainer who jokes all day long, so there's a good chance this whole thing is just a skit, or a bit of trolling -- either way, it's prompting some hilarious comments from people.

Andre says he's getting teased online by a bunch of hypocrites -- guys who have the same kinda girl problems as him, acting like he's a chump.

He barked back at the haters in a new video, scoffing at all the newfound "Suga Free" pimp experts.

Some people are imploring YG to cut Andre a break and delete the post -- but even more see it for what it most likely is ... a funny skit from a dude looking to exploit IG's algorithm.

Angela White -- formerly known as Blac Chyna -- and Rob Kardashian's daughter, Dream, got back-to-back birthday parties this past weekend -- and the one with her mom was a princess', well ... dream come true.

The bash went down Sunday at Famecast in Santa Monica, where Chyna -- who now goes by her real name -- went all out with a Disney theme ... namely, 'Princess and The Frog,' and Mama Bear didn't spare any expense to make it all very real.

For starters, there were real-life horses in the building -- including one that received a dye job to look like a freaking unicorn! Dream made sure to hop aboard and pose for cute pics.

Speaking of photos, just about everyone who was there -- a hodgepodge mix of a ton of Dream's friends and family members, plus her half-brother King Cairo -- snapped shots with the professional photog on hand ... and everybody seemed to be having a really good time.

Makes sense, considering everything else that was going on ... like the buffet of desserts, party bags for guests and even an appearance from Hip Hop Harry himself (from the children's show). Oh, and yes ... "Tiana" herself from the 'P&TF' flick showed face as well.

Royal Bus Divazz produced the entire event.

Like we said, this was actually the second shindig for Dream ... just a couple days earlier, her dad and aunts -- Kim and Khloe, specifically -- threw a party of their own for the bday girl ... and that one was just as extravagant, with a "spa day" theme running throughout.

Not that it's a competition or anything, but let's just say Angela gave the Kardashians a run for their money when it came to showing out for her little girl.

Kodak Black's arrest for drug possession was nothing but a big waste of taxpayer money, according to his lawyer, who wants the whole case dismissed ... claiming his pain pills were OTC and fully legal.

The "Super Gremlin" rapper was busted in Ft. Lauderdale back in July 2022, and hit with one count of possession of a controlled substance and one count of trafficking oxycodone ... but according to his motion to dismiss, obtained by TMZ Hip Hop, testing of a sample of the pills showed they were just Tylenol.

Bradford Cohen, Kodak's attorney, is also accusing the Broward Sheriff's Office of a massive cover-up involving FBI Special Agent James Mitchell, who Cohen says is biased against Kodak.

He even claims prosecutors tried to withhold a body cam video of an officer surveilling Kodak, and saying he's "always ready" as the camera was focused on the cop's firearm

Cohen says the pills that were actually tested were destroyed in the process, and officials never provided any report ... despite the results showing them to just be the over-the-counter pain med.

Babyface helped out a lucky fan with her marriage proposal ... by giving her the opportunity to get down on one knee during a meet and greet with the singer!

Babyface got a message on IG from Angelica Pichardo ... proposing to propose to her GF, Diana Rosario, at one of his concerts.  Babyface was down with it, and worked with his team to make it happen.

So, Angelica and Diana hit up the concert at The Theatre at MSG Saturday, after which they were invited backstage to meet Babyface face-to-face! During their exchange, Angelica got down on one knee and popped the question.

Angelica said afterward, "Our relationship is the epitome of a '90s love song" ... so having the "Give U My Heart" and "Every Time I Close My Eyes" singer right in front of them made the moment perfect.

Omarion's getting praise for being cool about his child's mother Apryl Jones' relationship with his ex-bandmate, but she doesn't see it that way -- instead, Apryl says the "Touch" singer dished all sorts of subliminal shade!!!

TMZ Hip Hop linked up with Apryl in Studio City, CA, where "The Comeback" actress vented about Omarion's 2-hour sit-down with "Hollywood Unlocked" host Jason Lee.

Apryl tells us she and O have been broken up for nearly a decade, so the notion of him "forgiving her" for previously dating former B2K member Lil' Fizz is lost on her!!!

While she admits her Fizz relationship might have hurt fans raised on "Scream" tours ... Apryl has zero bad things to say about him. She points out they hooked up 5 years after she and Omarion split, and still credits Fizz for helping her through postpartum depression.

As for her relationship with Omarion ... Apryl says she's woman enough to co-parent peacefully with him, but wishes he'd push forward with his career without using her in his storylines!!!

Claudia Jordan and Foxy Brown engaged in a nasty war of words over the weekend ... and it all stems from CJ's love for Lil Kim, and Foxy's hate for her!

It all began when Kim made the crazy prediction that her upcoming memoir would topple The Bible in sales.

Foxy got a kick outta Kim's confidence -- she's kept their 20-year beef alive through frequent subtweets, which prompted CJ to openly question Foxy's motives after all this time.

Foxy redirected her venom to Claudia's DM's where she essentially called CJ a D-list celebrity and ripped her for having mangled feet.

CJ clawed back at Foxy ... updating the "Ill Na Na" rapper that she had cosmetic surgery on her feet but still needed proof that Foxy got the gaps in her teeth fixed!!! 😬