TMZ Hip Hop - Page 50

DeRay Davis says he's all for Katt Williams' shaking things up for Steve Harvey, Cedric The Entertainer, Ludacris and others ...  'cause it's good for the comedy culture, and doesn't bleed out into real-life beef.

TMZ Hip Hop recently got DeRay's take on Katt's big ticket "Club Shay Shay" interview and he swears up and down that all the comedians whom Katt rang through the ringer still love him at the end of the day and would quickly have a private convo about the public fallout.

He also lent his expertise to one of Katt's biggest gripes ... Cedric's alleged joke-stealing after seeing Katt win on ComicView many moons ago with the classic bit.

DeRay has been rubbing shoulders on the same circuits as Katt's targets for years ... and didn't hold back the fact he was a little bummed Katt didn't call him out ... for better or worse. Katt named a lot of names in his bombshell interview -- but DeRay wasn't one of 'em.

Now, for what it's worth, Gary Owen gave DeRay a shout-out when reacting to his own name being mentioned ... working with DeRay was better for his bank account than working with Steve Harvey. Oop.

Looking into the new year, Kanye West closed out 2023 -- not by dropping his new album but by giving DeRay a ringing endorsement on his rap skills ... as the most valuable comedian spitting on the m-i-c.

DeRay assures us he's a legit MC ... he's been rapping since 11 years old and is finally buckling down to tighten up his music career after his comedy took a life of its own.

Before Cardi B and Offset called it quits late last year, it looks like they were dealing with some bozo calling 911 and reporting fake crimes happening at their home ... and some of it was captured on video.

TMZ has obtained police body cam video that was taken in August last year out in Sandy Springs, GA -- where the estranged couple have a home. In an incident report, cops say they were dispatched to their address after calls came in to report someone had been shot there.

One officer notes in the police report that a caller claimed someone fired a shot at a "famous rapper's house" and even suggested Cardi herself may have been hit with a bullet ... so cops came with lights and sirens, and with their firearms drawn.

Fortunately ... cops say the call turned out to be BS -- something officers discovered when they arrived at the property and talked to Offset's uncle, Derrick Cephus, who said he was house-sitting. Yep, it sounds like Cardi and Offset weren't even home for this swatting attempt .... just a confused relative!

Check out the video to see the encounter, 'cause it's pretty wild -- especially when it sounds like Offset gets roped in on the phone, which you can clearly hear from the speaker. It's pretty obvious he was heated about the bogus report ... and perhaps even angrier that officers were there at all.

After some back and forth -- and eventually realizing nothing was wrong -- the cops left and just took a report of the whole thing. Also worth noting ... Offset refers to CB as his "wife" here, and says she's with him in L.A. while all this ruckus is going down back at home.

Now, in terms of how this plays into their current relationship status (complicated), it's hard to say for sure ... but it seems to suggest that whatever happened with their relationship may have been after this.

Blueface and Jaidyn Alexis came into 2024 with plenty of momentum and controversy ... but they're embracing the notoriety, because it's fueling their rap careers!!!

TMZ Hip Hop caught up with Blue and Jaidyn at the event Meet The Faces at Fountain LA over the weekend and they had a laugh at all the feathers their new "Barbie (Remix)" ruffled -- remember, BF decided to skewer Soulja Boy, NLE Choppa and more on the track.

Speaking of NLE, their proposed boxing match ain't happening ... NLE's mother got involved after Blueface mentioned her, and she called them both childish Crips who are taking their antics too far.

Blueface agrees with Mama Choppa, but tells us he looks at the current Hip Hop game as a circus, and he's taking it upon himself to be its ringleader.

We also gauged Jaidyn's temperature on breaking her engagement after saying "Yes" to his proposal back in December, and much to Blueface's amusement ... she's cool for now!

Ari Lennox is painting Rod Wave's Nostalgia Tour as the concert series from Hell -- this after she says she survived attacks from unruly fans, who she labels as pretty evil.

Ari broke her silence, going live on social about her time opening up for the "Heart on Ice" singer -- which went down last year -- including the November concert in L.A., where she walked off stage after being pelted with a water bottle.

Ari claims Rod's fans fed her nothing but dark energy from certain corners of the venue and she was terrified. She also openly wonders why Rod's base was so aggressive -- and defended her lashing out at times while onstage.

It's pretty disheartening to hear ... Ari clearly had a bad time on tour, and it sounds like she went through a lot. But, she was professional and powered through it regardless.

As for the bottle, the culprit was eventually caught, but Ari spoke of an uneasiness during her time on stage ... she specializes in RNB X vibes and the crowd RW brings out didn't embrace what she brought to the stage.

Now, Rod hasn't addressed Ari's grievances like he did when Boosie Badazz called him out about uncleared samples ... for now, he's been mum on the whole thing.

Gary Owen was one of the select few comedians Katt Williams spared in his wild "Club Shay Shay" interview, and turns out Gary has some explosive stories of his own to share.

Katt likened GO’s lack of crossover success to NOT joining the Illuminati -- unlike Ludacris, who Katt accused of joining the secret society -- prompting Gary to recall the time he attempted to breach mainstream audiences on Steve Harvey's TV show.

Gary says he was under the impression he and Steve were going to partner up, but instead found himself hidden backstage doing voiceovers for his show … the same show Katt clowned Steve for eventually losing to Kelly Clarkson.

Gary said working with Steve was hurting his pockets due to his standup schedule being pinched, and says the final straw came when he scored a gig as one of the celebs on the Deray Davis hosted "Hip Hop Squares."

Gary says he made 4 times more cash doing 3 episodes of 'Squares' than he did doing 2 weeks at SH's operation!!!

Katt also claimed Rickey Smiley was a prick to him while they were filming "Friday After Next" -- a trait GO says he remembers Rickey possessing back in the day.

Nicki Minaj refusing to perform her almost-Diamond smash hit "Starships" is shocking fans, but RedOne -- the maestro who co-produced the track -- says the music mutiny is okay in his book.

RedOne tells TMZ Hip Hop, "I have the utmost respect for Nicki Minaj and I love her work very much. I will always respect an artist's wishes ... I feel very proud to have made that record with her along with the global success it made."

"Starships" first arrived in 2012 and currently sits at 9x Platinum, but Nicki told her NYE audience in Miami, live renditions of the track are a thing of the past.

As she put it, "I don't like it, what y'all want me to do? Stupid song!"

RedOne likely isn't feeling the burn, either. The superproducer has hits for days -- Lady Gaga's "Just Dance," and Usher's "More" to name a couple. He also scored a few more records with Nicki, such as "Pound the Alarm," and she's still performing that one to this day.

2024 has only just begun – but Halle Bailey already has a lot to be thankful for with the birth of her first child, Halo!

The Grammy-nominated singer and her rapper boyfriend, DDG, posted photos on their Instagram pages Saturday night, showing their hands gently holding Halo's fingers with his name etched in a gold bracelet around his little wrist.

In her caption, Halle wrote, "Even though we’re a few days into the new year, the greatest thing that 2023 could have done for me, was bring me my son.. welcome to the world my halo 🥰👼🏽 ✨the world is desperate to know you 😉🤣♥️."

DDG also commented under his IG pic, "my biggest blessing by far 👶🏽❤️ son son.. never been so in love 🥹 baby halo."

As you may recall, the couple became an item in March 2022 when DDG posted a message on Halle's IG account for her birthday. Since then, they've kept their private lives out of the spotlight ... that was until last night.

Blueface escaped jail time in his Las Vegas shooting case, but his debt to the shuttered strip club's owner is growing even bigger by the day.

According to legal docs, obtained by TMZ Hip Hop, Euphoric Gentleman's Club's $13,072,482 judgment has gone unpaid since the judge ordered it in October 2023 ... and accrued interest has raised the new total due to a staggering $14,386,164.23.

The judge hit the rapper with probation after he took a plea deal for his role in the Nov. 2022 shooting. However, he was still ordered to shell out over $12 million for the venue's lost revenue and another $84k to cover lost wages for the employees.

Euphoric's owner slammed Blueface and his buddies with a passionate response at the time of the incident ... vowing to make him pay off the debt until the day he leaves this earth.

Unfortunately for him, IG likes don't enforce court orders. On the positive side, that interest is pilling up in his favor.

The guy who claimed he was shot by BF wasn't a happy camper in court, either, as he snapped a solemn selfie with the rapper/boxer in the background.

Bianca Censori's been showing a lot of skin lately, and that didn't change whatsoever for her birthday weekend ... where she was in Sin City with Kanye West showing off the goods.

Ye brought wifey to Las Vegas Friday, and between yesterday and today -- they've been hitting the town ... in very little clothing, from BC's side anyway. Exhibit A is this video of her walking around the Wynn Las Vegas casino-resort Saturday ... hand-in-hand with hubby.

Check out the clip -- obtained by TMZ -- where you can see KW and Bianca casually strolling along as a crowd of people look on around them. There sure was an eyeful to take in.

As you can see ... Bianca is wearing an incredibly skimpy bikini top, with her breasts pouring out. She's got no shame to her game -- and even giggles a little. She appeared to be wearing something similar on Friday as well ... another video's going around that shows her, Ye and their entourage singing Happy Birthday, and she's busting out of her top there too.

This new boobs-out look matches what Bianca has been rocking lately -- particularly on Ye's IG feed, where he seems enthralled by her figure ... and for good reason, she's banging.

As we reported ... Ye shouted out his wife on Saturday with several different posts, calling her the love of his life, a great muse and an awesome stepmom to his and Kim K's children.

As for Saturday's bare-it-all outing ... we're told they were hitting up different high-end luxury shops -- like Balenciaga and Chrome Hearts, for example -- so it sounds like Ye was splurging on the missus as she rings in the big 2-9.

Kanye West is sending big-time birthday wishes to his wife, Bianca Censori ... whom he's clearly head over heels in love with -- and who makes for a great muse for hubby.

The rapper is celebrating BC's 29th born-day Saturday ... and he's doing it by throwing up a ton of tributes to her on his social media pages -- complete with some hot shots, as well as some behind-the-scenes pics of their fairly secretive life together.

Ye posted a ton of shots of Bianca, but the one with the lengthiest caption featured a photo of her face ... with KW adding, "Happy birthday to the most beautiful super bad iconic muse inspirational talented artist masters degree in architecture."

He adds, "140 IQ loving by my side everyday when half the world turned their backs on me and the most amazing step mom to our children I love you so much thank you for sharing your life with me."

Ye threw up tons of other shots of Bianca as well, including standout moments from their eventful year all over the world. Of course, with some of these photos -- BC's assets were on full display ... just as they were the other day when he posted nearly-naked pics of her.

Obviously, the guy loves everything about her ... including her voluptuous, curvy figure.

It might seem like they've been a couple for a lifetime now, but it's actually been just a year or so. Kanye was first linked to Bianca way back in January 2023 ... and now, here we are.

He kinda plucked her out of obscurity ... although, granted, she was a Yeezy employee, somehow falling onto his radar. Now, the man is hardly ever seen without her these days. He also can't seem to keep his hands off her, in public or otherwise.

Ice Cube has entered the Katt Williams chat days after the comedian shook up showbiz with his "Club Shay Shay" interview ... and, he's looking to clarify the allegation he tried to make light of a rape scene.

Katt accused Rickey Smiley of lying about being the OG pick for his "Money Mike" role in "Friday After Next" -- and also claimed he saved the character from a bathroom rape scene involving Terry Crews' ex-con character, "Damon."

Cube agreed that Rickey lost the part after Katt embodied the pimp schtick to make "Money Mike" an unforgettable character, but denies he ever wrote a rape scene for the film -- he says that's just not his style.

Cube says the main goal of the scene was to cancel out Katt and Terry's characters, as the film had 3 main villains, including the "Santa Claus" role Rickey ended up filling.

The hip hop legend also took some time out to address the ingrates who've groused over the years about their salaries in the 'Friday' franchise.

Cube explained actors aren't the only ones who need to get paid for movies -- producers, stagehands, even the coffee runners have to get paid every day, while most of the actors he employed were done with their scenes after a couple of days.

Joey Badass fans collectively mourned the death of his character, "Unique" from 50 Cent's 'Power' spin-off 'Raising Kanan' this week, but he's telling TMZ Hip Hop he's partially to blame for being cut!!!

We linked up with Joey and his GF Serayah in NYC Thursday, still very much in sync after social media blogs recently fueled breakup rumors, and Joey did admit he's a little bummed about being written off the show.

It's not like Joey actually wanted to end his run on the highly touted series -- his 2024 plans involve a new album and tour combo, which conflicted with his time on set, so his character got axed ... figuratively and literally!!!

No worries, Joey says he plans on bringing plenty of Aquarius energy to celebrate his bdday month and flood fans with new music.

Katt Williams can count on at least one comedic ally after his royal roast of Kevin Hart, Steve Harvey and Cedric the Entertainer -- "Wild 'N Out" vet Bobb'e J. Thompson cosigns everything Katt's saying!!!

We linked with Bobb'e in Hollywood to discuss Katt's super-viral sit-down on Shannon Sharpe's podcast as the numbers for the nearly 3-hour chitchat breached 15 million views in just a couple of days.

Many comedians and even rappers such as Ludacris and Trick Daddy, took Katt's unfiltered thoughts as fightin' words.

TD suggested he's ready to get physical, as he reminded Katt he's from the streets.

But, Bobb'e tells us there's never any reason to rumble over a joke ... unless you can fight, and he says Katt has no issues in the fisticuffs department. He also doesn't feel like Katt spoke out a turn, especially in the pursuit of being credited for his work.

Katt accused guys like Steve and Ced of stealing his material over the years, and even had damning allegations for Michael Blackson ... claiming the Nigerian accent is faker than everything sold on Canal Street.

Bobb'e worked with both Katt and Michael on "Wild 'N Out" and can't confirm or deny Mike's 24/7 speaking patterns ... but does say tensions will arise if a joke gets stolen on the 'WNO' set.

Big Daddy Kane has 0 objections to the proposal to turn Jay-Z's birthday into a holiday in NYC ... saying Hov's successes are worth celebrating.

BDK caught up with TMZ Hip Hop on Thursday and connected the ascension of hip hop over the past 50 years to Jay's billionaire status ... a signal he says makes Jay more than deserving of the honor.

New York City Councilmembers have been pining for legislation to officially make December 4 "Jay-Z Day" for his years of contributions to society.

Hip hop historians note it was BDK who first mentored Jay as he was beginning his career ... even introduced him to the world on "Rap City" back in 1990 -- 6 years before Jay dropped his debut album.

B.G.'s homecoming from prison hasn't ignited the Cash Money Hot Boys reunion, and his new diss in Lil Wayne's direction probably means it's definitely not happening!!!

On Finesse2Tymes' new track "Gangstafied," B.G. unloaded on Wayne ... "My n**** Weezy steady torn/Touring ... but he's a bitch and it's showing!!!" 😱

No clue why B.G. set out to embarrass Wayne on the track, but they haven't been spotted together like fans had hoped they would after B.G.'s release.

B.G. got out of prison last September after serving 11 years for gun possession and was immediately greeted by Birdman, sparking talk of a Cash Money reunion.

Ludacris and his wife Eudoxie also fell victim to the wrath of Katt Williams' viral "Club Shay Shay" interview, but in a fiery freestyle response ... Luda's telling Katt to get back because he doesn't know him like that!!!

The "Fast & Furious" star doesn't do much rapping these days, but returned to the studio Thursday night to bust out a freestyle over Kanye West's classic "Devil in a New Dress" instrumental -- clearly aimed at Katt's noggin.

During his 3-hour sit-down with Shannon Sharpe, Katt swore Luda had joined the Illuminati after selling his soul to the "Fast & Furious" franchise in exchange for $200 million.

Katt also hinted Luda was stripped of his Blackness and sent an insane shot at Luda's spouse for being a "light-skinned ugly-face wife" -- a wild insult, especially considering Luda collaborated with Katt on his 2004 hit single "Pimpin' All Over the World."

Luda kicked off his anti-Katt flow shouting out Snoop Dogg and then slyly responding to Katt's disses and clarifying his sexuality ... "They throwing shade ‘cause n****s could never take my shine ... Never been Illuminati, only Ill-Luda-nati/And I only left with bitches when coming from any party."

The freestyle ended with an RIP to "2 Fast Too Furious" director John Singleton and a final warning to Katt ... "Afro with the sideburns, yeah that’s my signature/Addiction’s on the rise, comedians check your temperature.”