TMZ Hip Hop - Page 50

Iggy Azalea is calling it quits on the album she’s been working on for months -- most of them with Tory Lanez -- and she doesn’t know if she’ll return to music, because her heart’s no longer in it!!!

The Aussie-born rap star penned a lengthy note to her fans Wednesday ... blindsiding many in the process by declaring hanging it up was the best course of action for her in 2024.

Iggy denied she was bullied or pressured to drop the mic, but admitted she no longer loves expressing herself through music.

She says, "In truth what I’ve known for a long time is that I feel more passionately about design and creative direction than I do about song writing. To many of you that’s no shock to read. It shows in my work. 😢 ... Haha! Jokes aside, i do spend a lot more time on that part of things… because Im most confident at that."

The "Fancy" rapper then revealed she's no longer moving forward with her next album project -- she says production's been stalled for months, and there was 0% urge to finish it.

Iggy had been working with Tory in-studio throughout 2022 but their pairing obviously hit a skid when TL was found guilty of shooting Megan Thee Stallion, and sentenced to 10 years in prison ... a verdict Iggy did not like.

Without Tory steering the ship, Iggy spent much of 2023 teasing singles without delivering them ... which brings us to present day, and her waving the white flag.

Katt Williams came on Shannon Sharpe's "Club Shay Shay" with guns blazing ... and taking shots at Steve Harvey, Cedric The Entertainer, Rickey Smiley and more rivals.

Katt ripped several of his famous contemporaries in what he called a 2024 reckoning ... starting with his "Next Friday" costar Rickey Smiley for claiming their roles in the film were reversed before filming began when he appeared on "CSS" last year.

Katt says not only was he always cast as "Money Mike," he was responsible for rewriting the character's scene to prevent an on-screen rape with Terry Crews' character "Damon."

After the "Friday After Next" rift, Katt put a clause in his contract that only allowed Rickey to appear in films with him where he was wearing a dress because Katt deemed that's the depth of his acting skills ... and 2008's "First Sunday" featured just that -- Rickey starring as church lady "Bernice Jenkins."

Ced also got thrashed for claiming Katt stole jokes from him during his "CSS" episode, and Katt didn't hold back -- he painted Ced as talentless for having "Entertainer" in his name without being able to sing, dance or write his own jokes. Katt noted Ced's stand-up specials suck so bad, there's no demand for them on Netflix or Tubi.

Ced's "Live from the Ville" from 2016 is indeed on Netflix, but Katt claims the real joke-stealer is Steve Harvey -- for undercutting Mark Curry's "Hangin' With Mr. Cooper" sitcom back in the day with his "The Steve Harvey Show" ... both premises revolved around the comedians starring as high school teachers -- but Mark's series came out 4 years earlier.

Katt accused all of them of running in packs to blackball him behind the scenes and also sent a couple of strays in Earthquake and Faizon Love's direction for also falling short of his level of greatness.

50 Cent's New Year's resolution is already crashing and burning -- barely a day after saying he'd bring positive energy in the new year, he couldn't resist taking a jab at his favorite punching bag ... Diddy!!!

On Tuesday, 50 posted himself with a glass of champagne and a Santa Claus hat along with the upbeat message, "2024 let’s go! Nothing but positive energy, let’s make it happen."

Too bad Uncle Murda's "Rap Up 2023 Pt. 2" recap was designed solely to highlight Diddy's string of legal battles, while also plugging 50's expose doc on the Bad Boy mogul.

On top of that, 50 jumped at the opportunity to sling more mud at the Bad Boy legacy in a follow-up IG post.

Uncle Murda didn't bite his tongue accusing Diddy of being guilty of all the allegations, and did it disrespectfully over Diddy and Biggie's "Victory" instrumental to add insult to injury.

G-Unit Film and Television confirmed with TMZ Hip Hop that 50's proceeds from his Diddy doc will benefit real victims of sexual misconduct, so he might argue a positive will come out of the constant promotion of the project.

Blueface is putting all the controversy he built up in the last year with rival rappers to good use ... by hopping on the remix of his baby mama Jaidyn Alexis' "Barbie" track and dissing them all!!!

After Jaidyn raps her verse, Blueface defiantly inserts all his beefs into the conversation ... "Offset upset/Cardi B got the update/Soulja Boy found out his bitch got f*****" ... before going on to claim that NLE Choppa’s baby mama Marissa Da'nae also wanted to surf on his board.

Blueface and Offset have been at odds for weeks over still unfounded claims he cheated on Cardi with Chrisean Rock ... but BF's bits about Soulja's ex-girlfriend are easily the boldest -- considering he's currently being sued by her!!!

TMZ Hip Hop broke the story in December ... Jackilyn Martinez, mother of Soulja Boy's kid, filed a lawsuit against Blue for allegedly making false statements about their past hookup.

Blueface acknowledged he was just jabbing to get streams, because hip hop is a business at the end of the day.

Lil Nas X says not even a Dave Chappelle brouhaha can disrupt his newfound "Christian era" of his music career -- and sounds like he wants the comedian to get a new routine.

On Wednesday, LNX took exception to Dave's bit about him on his latest Netflix special "The Dreamer" ... where DC tells a story about LNX having his hopes set on recruiting Chappelle for his controversial 2021 "Montero" video.

The video infamously depicted LNX traveling to Hell to give Satan a lapdance -- but Dave said he had no idea who the "Old Town Road" artist was at the time ... and laughed at LNX's decision to push sexual boundaries onto his youthful fanbase.

LNX is now arguing that "Montero" is old news and anyone holding on to that version of him is living in the past.

To prove it, LNX announced his new single/video coming next week and previewed the holier than thou artwork ... an illustration of him dressed as a priest with the caption, "In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost, Amen."

7:52 AM PT -- T.I. and Tiny Harris tell TMZ ... "On the heels of positivity, negativity always rears its ugly head. This plaintiff has been threatening to file this lawsuit for THREE years. For THREE years, we have emphatically and categorically denied these allegations. For THREE years we have maintained our innocence and refused to pay these extortionate demands for things we didn't do. For THREE years, we've maintained the same position while the claims in this story have changed time and time again. Our position is clear... We are innocent of these fake claims, we will not be shaken down, and we look forward to our day in court."

T.I. and his wife Tiny Harris are accused of drugging a woman they met in a nightclub, and then taking her to their hotel for a threesome ... according to the lawsuit the woman's now filed against the couple.

The plaintiff, who's filed as a Jane Doe, says she was enlisted in the U.S. Air Force and stationed in L.A. in or around 2005 when she and a friend went to a party at Coolio's home and met a guy who went by "Caviar" ... who, they allege, worked for T.I. and Tiny.

In the lawsuit, obtained by TMZ, the plaintiff says T.I. and Tiny no-showed at the party, but "Caviar" told her they would be at an L.A. nightclub the next night, and that's when they all met ... in the VIP section.

The woman says she ordered 2 Amaretto sours on her own, before Tiny allegedly handed her another drink ... one from which she never saw Tiny sip, and which the woman also shared with her friend.

When T.I. decided to leave the club, the woman claims he asked her to ride with Tiny and him ... while her friend would ride with "Caviar," who said they were all going to the same place.

But, that's not how it played out, allegedly ... in the suit, the woman says 2 other women she didn't know got in an SUV with Tiny, T.I. and herself, and all 5 of them ended up in a hotel room -- but Tiny kicked out the other 2 women, because one was flirting too much with T.I.

Once it was just the 3 of them ... she alleges Tiny took her into the bathroom, where she took off both of their clothes and then a naked T.I. joined them and they all got in the shower.

Afterward, she claims she was starting to feel lightheaded and extremely dizzy, and T.I. told her to go to the bed. While he watched some porn, she alleges he handed her massage oil and demanded she give him a rub down. Eventually, Tiny joined them and allegedly pinned the woman on her stomach and began rubbing and grinding her naked body on the plaintiff.

While that was happening, she alleges T.I. penetrated her vagina with his toe, and she told him "no" as she tried to push him away. According to the suit, he got up and said he was going to get a condom -- but the plaintiff says she went to the bathroom to vomit. She claims T.I. mockingly laughed at her and said, "Are you alright? Looks like you in last place."

Shortly thereafter, she says she passed out until the next morning, when a security guard woke her up. She claims her "vagina was in serious pain" -- itching and burning -- but the security guard told she had to go, and escorted her out while T.I. and Tiny were still asleep in the bed.

She is suing the Harrises for sexual battery, assault, negligence and false imprisonment.

BTW, the plaintiff says she's filing the suit now due to California's Sexual Abuse and Cover Up Accountability Act ... which opened a year-long window for the revival of claims where the statute of limitations would have otherwise run.

A lawyer for T.I. and Tiny tells TMZ ... "Not only are the claims bogus, but they missed the deadline to file the lawsuit."

Yung Bleu is set to open his Moon Boy University campus to all comers next month, and predicts his halls will lead the next generation of great music.

The "You're Mines Still" singer opened up to TMZ Hip Hop about operating the 24,000-sq-ft super studio, and he scoffs at the notion the genre's glory years have passed ... in the wake of all the 50th-anniversary celebrations.

Bleu says he mainly identifies on the R&B side, but subscribes to the age-old theory that most fans champion the music released during their carefree adolescent years, and his MBU will produce sounds to supplement those times.

He tells us admission packages can range from $1500 - $10K and unlike record labels, MBU isn't looking to get a chunk of their credits and earnings ... they're simply here to teach and steer artists away from bad contracts!!!

To date, Bleu has already invested $2.6 million of his own money, with another $1 million pledge toward content production over the next 2 years.

He's already had artists such as Sukihana, Kirk Jay and Seddy Hendrinx touch grass on the Atlanta-based hub and expects many more visitors this year -- even the ones who'd be totally unexpected.

Kanye West didn't release his "Vultures" album on New Year's Eve, but apparently stayed busy ... organizing a very revealing photo shoot for his wife Bianca Censori!!!

On Tuesday, Kanye rolled out his first posts of 2024 -- a thirst trap trifecta of images of Bianca that hinted the fashion-forward couple would continue pushing boundaries this year.

In one photo, the Australian model is pictured wearing a fur bra and panties in high heels, to which Kanye captioned the pic ... "No pants this year."

That motto rang true for the rest of the photos where Bianca donned a corset that barely held in her boobs, and went bare bottom again with Ye making a cameo fully clothed.

If you remember, Ye and Bianca caused quite a stir in Europe last summer by revealing too much skin, but don't appear to be worried about any such controversy in the U.S. ... or wherever they are now.

YFN Lucci is going to great lengths to look like his usual self when he enters a Georgia courtroom to stand trial for murder -- the incarcerated rapper got the judge's approval for some professional grooming.

According to new legal docs, obtained by TMZ Hip Hop, Lucci has the greenlight to get a haircut and shave ahead of his trial ... and it seems like he'll be rocking a new suit too. The judge also granted him a contact visit, so a tailor could get his proper measurements.

Lucci's been locked up since the top of 2021 on murder charges, and his road to redemption hasn't been a cakewalk -- just ask his legal counsel.

TMZ Hip Hop broke the story ... Lucci claims he was stabbed by a fellow inmate in February 2022, but he has been unsuccessful in attempting to bond out of jail ahead of the trial.

The ship has long sailed on "Starships" for Nicki Minaj ... and she's not letting it fly again for anyone, not even on New Year's Eve!!!

Watch in this TikTok clip ... just seconds after starting the iconic 2012 tune while performing at E11EVEN in Miami, the rapper abruptly signals the backing track to stop -- leaving fans outraged as she refuses to continue, but she couldn't care less.

"Hold on. Psych, psych, psych, psych. I don't perform that song no more, y'all," the rapper tells the crowd. With their cries of frustration heard loud and clear, Nicki explains: "I don't like it ... what y'all want me to do? Stupid song."

Thankfully, it was only a brief moment of disappointment for her fans ... Nicki quickly launched into another party pleaser, "Super Bass."

This isn't the first time Nicki's made her distaste for "Starships" known ... telling Pollstar Live in 2020 she hated it, and questioned why she even came up with that song in the first place.

But don't feel bad for "Starships" -- she also loathes "Your Love" and "Anaconda" -- so, it's in good company.

Angela White, formerly Blac Chyna, is going for a new look ... and she says reducing the size of her breast implants has been a painful process.

Chyna says she recently decided to decrease her breast implants, with multiple plastic surgeries leading to some health complications.

BC says she made the change because she no longer felt large fake boobs fit her body type ... but because she's had so many implants over the years, she needed to gradually reduce the implants to get to her desired size.

Chyna says she's had two recent surgeries to go from 585cc implants to 190cc ... and one procedure resulted in her left breast being encapsulated. In other words, her muscle contracted around the implant.

Thing is ... Chyna says it's the first time she's dealt with side effects from breast implants, calling it the worst possible outcome.

While Chyna says it's been painful, she's on the mend ... and she's loving her new look and happy about her future.

2:51 PM PT -- Cardi B says she and Offset banged on NYE ... but again denies they are back together.

In a social media post, Cardi reveals she had sex with her estranged husband but says they are still working on their issues, going to therapy and aren't officially ending their split.

Cardi B and Offset started off the new year together ... but she says that doesn't necessarily mean they are together again.

The estranged couple rang in 2024 at a strip club in Miami, throwing money around and dancing ... and it's all on video.

But Cardi says the NYE hangout -- which was a group hang -- isn't a sign they've kissed and made up ... far from it.

In fact, Cardi has a message for folks thinking she's back with Offset ... "we not together.. we together when I say so not when you THINK so."

Thing is ... Cardi and Offset were both in Miami for work ... they each had NYE gigs at the Fontainebleau Miami Beach - Offset performed at LIV and Cardi poolside - making this rendezvous pretty easy.

Cardi and Offset spending time together amid their split and then her denying they're back together is quickly becoming a thing ... it happened during Christmas and once again after they were spotted in NYC.

CB also said she's leaving toxic energy in 2023 ... and it's clear Offset doesn't fall in that category.

It will be interesting to see if Cardi and Offset do in fact patch things up again ... stay tuned.

Chrisean Rock's cameo at Tamar Braxton's L.A. concert seemingly started harmlessly -- she joined a pre-show prayer backstage ... and yet, violence allegedly broke out later that evening with Chrisean in the middle of it.

As you know, Tamar's backup singer James Wright ended up hospitalized after eyewitnesses claim Chrisean bloodied his face with a punch ... and a new video obtained by TMZ Hip Hop adds context to why things might have gotten heated.

Eyewitnesses on the tour tell us Chrisean burst into Tamar’s dressing room in the middle of the prayer and judging from everyone's reaction, no one expected her to be there!!!

You can see Chrisean not only breaking up the prayer circle, but also giving Toni Braxton a shove in order to get next to Tamar.

Chrisean's aggressiveness clearly disrupted Toni's concentration -- she refused to hold Rock's hand or even touch her as the prayer continued.

The encounter was Chrisean and Tamar's very first time meeting after Tamar had invited Chrisean to pull up to the show via IG Live.

We're told everyone backstage -- even James -- laughed off the prayer circle fiasco and made Chrisean feel welcome, even allowing her to stay backstage and do a pre-show shot with everyone in the room.

It was post-show where the mayhem went down ... Chrisean was under the impression she was supposed to perform during the show and things were said to turn extremely violent when James politely told her that wasn't the case.

Tamar hopped on Instagram for a teary-eyed live once the dust settled to name Chrisean as James' attacker, and clarify she was never scheduled to perform ... just assist in the twerk-off portion of the show.

James has yet to address the incident, but Chrisean denies it went down.

John Legend got onstage with 50 Cent to do his best version of Nate Dogg -- and while he certainly dished his own twist ... not everybody's feeling it, and they're letting him know too.

The singer celebrated his 45th birthday Thursday in NYC -- where he and Chrissy Teigen hired Fitty to perform, with the rapper doing his classic "21 Questions" live in front of a crowd. At first, it was just 50 Cent handling the hook and verses ... but JL eventually jumped in.

Very impromptu, John grabbed the mic from 50 and started belting out the chorus ... singing, "Girrrrl, you seem to love me now // Would you love me if I was down and out."

Looks like John kept singing while 50 continued to rap -- and in the moment, everyone seemed to receive it pretty well ... cheering on the bday boy and giving him props.

Unfortunately, it was a bit of a different reaction on the old bird app (now X) ... 'cause folks saw this clip and roasted the hell outta John -- some kinda meanly, others more lovingly.

You can hop into the trend to see what people had to say ... but essentially, the jokes amounted to John sounding more like a church crooner than an R&B stud with his take on the famous hit. As someone put it, "John legend made it sound like a negro spiritual."

Like we said, it's all in good fun ... but let's just say his version certainly took people aback.

Cardi B seems a little annoyed by her fans ... many of whom don't believe her when she says she's moving on -- presumably from Offset.

Cardi tweeted, "I must be a lil toxic cuz I enjoyed cursing ya out today… but we not taking that into 2024. Now have a good day. No make it a bad day!"

It's actually mild compared to the video she posted on social, telling her legion of fans to "shut the f*** up" about her relationship status.

Fans started questioning her after Cardi and Offset were seen together on Xmas day ... unfair, because they spent it with the kids, and that doesn't mean she's backing down.

Cardi said as much, when she liked a post essentially saying people were making up stories about a reconciliation.

Thing is ... AFTER Xmas, they were spotted in the same store in NYC, which led some fans to double down, suggesting Cardi was fully back with her hubby.

2023 was a year of highs and lows ... and unfortunately, some of the lowest points came from the world's biggest stars tragically losing their lives -- many of whom died way too soon.

Matthew Perry shocked the globe when he was found unresponsive in his hot tub in October ... as did Sinead O'Connor, who was found at her flat in South London at the end of July.

25-year-old "Euphoria" star Angus Cloud was found dead at his family's home in Oakland, CA, also at the end of July ... not long after the actor lost his father. The coroner said he died of an accidental overdose of fentanyl, cocaine, and methamphetamine.

Tina Turner, known as the "Queen of Rock 'n' Roll," died at 83 years old back in May after battling a "long illness" regarding her kidneys ... and the singer opened up about regretting not taking better care of her kidneys in the months before she passed.

79-year-old Jerry Springer died at his Illinois home in April after his battle with pancreatic cancer -- something he kept out of the public eye. A rep for Springer's family told us he was sick for months, and kept the illness close to not worry others.

Paul Reubens, known to so many as Pee-wee Herman, died at the age of 70 in July ... and he also privately battled cancer for years. In an apology to fans written before he died, Paul said, "I have loved you all so much and enjoyed making art for you."

Others who are gone but certainly not forgotten include Jacky Oh!, Bob Barker, Jimmy Buffett, Raquel Welch, Heather Armstrong, Alan Arkin, Andrea Evans, Tony Bennett, Clarence Avant, and Diane Feinstein.

RIP