TMZ Hip Hop - Page 50

Kanye West is like a shepherd leading a flock of sheep these days when it comes to paparazzi -- and here, he led 'em right to Bianca Censori ... who was ready to be snapped.

Check out this wild footage of Ye leading a crush of photogs -- who've been hounding him and Bianca for days now as they move all over L.A. -- into a private studio that he seems to have been using. The reason he brings everyone in is for one purpose ... shoot his wife.

Of course, we mean photograph ... as in, he was down to do an impromptu camera sesh right there and then on the spot with the dudes on hand ... and they happily obliged.

It's pretty funny ... Ye is very specific with what sorta angles he wants from them -- and he even gives in when they ask if Bianca (the model in this instance) can show some face.

Very reminiscent of how KW dealt with paps the other day. In this case, he was a little more hands-on in giving them instructions. Ditto for Bianca ... who, BTW, was in quite the outfit.

Indeed ... she's got some kind of full-body fur coat on -- with a giant fur hat to match. Unclear if it's real or not ... but that's sorta besides the point with this one. It's ... wacky.

A lot of Bianca's outfits lately have been eye-opening -- whereas she normally shows off a lot, it looks like she went in the opposite direction this time around ... all covered up.

Kanye West and Bianca Censori keep finding new ways for her to show off her breasts ... and this time, it looks like she went for the old nothing-underneath routine in the rain.

Check out these pics of Ye and his wife at a shopping mall in Century City Monday ... as you can see, he's wearing a brown Balenciaga raincoat, and Bianca's in a blue poncho with not much else underneath. In fact, it looks like she's going commando for her upper half.

The only thing clearly visible under Bianca's coat is her black underwear and knee-high black boots ... outside of that, there's nothing there but a rockin' bod and human flesh.

Safe to say, KW and BC are making a fashion statement on a cold and rainy day in L.A. ... and it certainly looks like the weather isn't the only thing here that's a bit nippy. Sorry, we just couldn't resist!

Anyway, this is far from the wildest getup Bianca's worn of late. She's been known to wear some super tight body suits, and sometimes ... nothing much at all. On this occasion, she is technically covered up more than usual -- but, like, not really at the same time.

Whether it's in a raincoat or anything else, Bianca (and Kanye, too, if we're being honest) seems determined to show off her assets one way or another -- and she usually succeeds.

YFN Lucci is suddenly in the clear for the felony murder case he's been facing for nearly 3 years -- and, while he will be going to prison, his attorney believes it won't be for long.

On Tuesday morning, prosecutors dropped 12 of the 13 counts the rapper had been facing, including felony murder, for the death of James Adams ... who was killed during a shootout with a rival Atlanta gang back in December 2020.

Cops didn't suspect Lucci of pulling the trigger, but he was the driver of one of the vehicles involved in the shootout, and he eventually surrendered to cops in January 2021.

Lucci, whose real name is Rayshawn Bennett, pleaded guilty to one count of violating the street gang terrorism and prevention act ... and will have to do time for that. As part of the plea deal, he was hit with a 10-year sentence, plus 10 years probation.

He is getting credit for time served -- Lucci's been jailed awaiting his trial since the spring of 2021, when he violated his release on bond by going to a strip club.

However, his attorney Drew Findling believes his client will only be locked up for a few months. He tells TMZ, "As he has maintained for three years now, Mr. Bennett will NOT cooperate in any other case. By entering into this resolution, he will be eligible for parole in as early as four months from now. The prosecution has also agreed that he should be released early on parole and this will allow him to get back to his children, family and career."

Findling's math breaks down like this -- Lucci got 10 years, but he's eligible for parole after 40 months ... and since he's been locked up for about 36 months (that's the time served), he's predicting Lucci's release in 4 months, as long as he keeps his nose clean.

Rihanna and Natalie Portman are the duo we didn't know we needed ... until now, that is -- 'cause they came together in the most epic of ways, with mutual adoration for the other.

Check out this clip that's making the rounds ... you see RiRI fangirling hard after running into Natalie in Paris -- where she tells her she's the "hottest bitch in Hollywood." NP ain't shy about dishing out the compliments either ... 'cause she's clearly a fan of Rihanna as well.

Rihanna shamelessly makes it crystal clear she's well acquainted with ALL of Natalie's acting resume ... in particular, commending her abilities for pulling off the perfect innocent impression. Yeah, she's not kidding about being a fan -- you know she's seen her work.

Natalie, for her part, is pretty taken aback that RiRi is star-struck ... saying she may faint by all the love being poured on her. Like we said, she's certainly familiar with Rihanna too.

It's pretty funny to watch -- usually, Rihanna has a cool, calm, collected demeanor about herself in just about everything she does ... but here, she's like a kid in a candy store!

The exchange doesn't end there ... Rihanna asks someone to take a snap of them, to which they happily obliged. The two mega stars posed for a pic ... flashing big smiles.

Kanye West is getting hands on with the paparazzi ... directing photographers on how to shoot him and his wife Bianca Censori's stroll through a parking lot, and the exchange is hilarious.

TMZ obtained video of Yeezy yelling at multiple paps, telling them the proper angles -- in his mind, at least -- to use while photographing the couple leaving a Melrose Place tanning salon.

You can hear Kanye directing photogs where to stand, as he attempts to turn the back alley parking lot into his own personal set. The takeaway -- don't dare to shoot Ye at a 45-degree angle!!!

The funny interaction between Kanye and the paparazzi went down at the same time a homeless man appeared, and started screaming at Ye and Bianca in a bizarre rant.

As we reported, Kanye and his wife seemed pretty alarmed when the guy got near their car and blocked their path.

Guess this ain't a closed set.

Anyway, it's interesting to see Kanye working closely with the paps here ... seeing as how he's frequently been at odds with them.

Chris Brown and Quavo have been at odds for years over their mutual connection to Karrueche Tran ... which is why Chris is so pissed about an awkward moment at Paris Fashion Week.

Here's the deal ... CB and Quavo were plopped right next to one another Sunday at the Rhude Menswear Fall/Winter '24 showcase -- and yes, they were definitely uncomfortable with the situation, evidenced by their body language.

The clip of them sitting there and squirming went viral, but then Chris chimed in as everyone cracked jokes about it -- he commented, "Can't pick who u sit by. F*** all that growth s***."

He added, "N**** not finna fumble my bag for little n*****." In other words, he wasn't gonna make a big stink, or start a fight, over getting placed -- seemingly by coincidence -- next to Quavo.

As he notes, there are bigger issues to worry about -- y'know, like getting paid!

In case you're unfamiliar, Quavo dated Karrueche in 2017 -- not long after CB broke things off with her, following a tumultuous relationship -- and Chris certainly didn't like it back then.

In fact, we'd been told at the time that he was fuming over this ... and felt like the Migos rapper had outright betrayed him. They've traded jabs back and forth since then -- almost coming to blows after the 2017 BET Awards.

Anyway, Chris is making a couple things clear -- yes, he still doesn't like Quavo, but also ... he's a grown-up who's able to control his emotions.

Too Short is adding filmmaking to his resume ... and he's already scored some Hollywood heavy hitters for his movie, "Freaky Tales," which recently premiered at the Sundance Film Festival.

He spoke to us Monday on "TMZ Live," about the "anthology horror-movie-thriller-comedy" ... which depicts 4 interconnected stories during 1987 Oakland, and heavily features his music.

The film serves as a "love letter to Oakland," and also mirrors Short's experience growing up there in the eighties -- and he tells us his emotional attachment to the project is even more significant because he's an executive producer and narrator for it.

He acknowledges it also means a lot to the others involved -- most noticeably its A-list cast that includes Tom Hanks, Pedro Pascal, Normani, and the late Angus Cloud. It's also directed by "Capt. Marvel" writers/directors Ryan Fleck and Anna Boden -- which is major.

After the movie's debut, Short took advantage of his time in Park City, UT ... deciding to hit the slopes for his first time.

He tells us he didn't need much convincing to give it a whirl, because he's always been adventurous and agile, even at 57.

Kanye West and Bianca Censori had a very L.A. experience ... getting confronted by a random dude in the street, who was ready to rant and rave at a very high volume.

Ye and his wife were minding their own business Sunday on Melrose Place, when a bystander who seemed to come out of nowhere launched into an oddly personal tirade against KW as the couple walked back to their Range Rover.

Kanye and Bianca -- who was back to showing off her curves in a tight, body-hugging outfit --- appeared pretty alarmed by the outspoken man here ... who got somewhat close to them, and even blocked their path for a few moments as they were pulling out and leaving.

The guy seemed to have beef with Kanye ... yelling and repeating, "You ain't s***, boy!!!" The dude also told them they were in his territory and he kept saying things about Lucifer, the Devil and 666 while flashing some menacing hand signs.

Kanye let the guy have his say though ... he didn't drive off in a hurry -- instead cracking his window to get an earful once he was safely in the car with Bianca. There was no physical confrontation, thankfully, but Ye seemed content with letting the man blow off steam.

Normies in L.A. are used to this sitch -- it happens all the time -- but you hardly see celebs have to deal with it ... especially someone like Kanye, who's prone to outbursts himself.

Tyrese saw Kanye West posting thirst traps of Bianca Censori and tried one-upping him with his own ... showing off his voluptuous GF, and cracking jokes at Bianca's expense.

The singer/actor caught wind of Ye's "cream of wheat" shoutout to his wife this weekend -- where he posted a bunch of shots of BC hanging out in a kitchen, while wearing basically nothing and showing off her ass cheeks on the process.

KW was clearly pleased with what he was seeing, but Tyrese seems to have thought Bianca was lacking in the body department a bit -- 'cause he highlighted his own lady ... who's a little curvier than Bianca, and with a lot more body too.

Tyrese posted a clip of influencer/model Zelie Timothy -- whom he's currently dating -- and the two of them were out at a beach somewhere ... with ZT rocking a 2-piece bikini.

She gets up and starts walking toward the water, showing off her booty to an admiring Tyrese, and the dude captioned the clip ... "Dear Kanye ... All wheat, hold the cream."

It seems to be a little bit of a dig at Ye/Bianca -- but it's, no doubt, all in good fun. What Tyrese appears to be telegraphing here is the obvious ... his gal's a thickie-poo, and he's proud to show it.

Of course, this is just a troll on Tyrese's part -- but it's interesting that people are kinda following Ye's lead in showcasing their significant others for everyone to gawk at. That's something Kanye's been doing a lot of lately with Bianca ... he likes to show her off.

Luckily for both dudes ... their ladies are absolutely stunning, so they're each winning.

The women themselves also don't seem to mind the attention either ... have at it then!

Kodak Black has been behind bars since last month after cops claimed they found illegal drugs on him -- but now, his legal team says lab tests prove ... it was all kosher.

The rapper's attorney, Bradford Cohen, just filed new legal docs -- obtained by TMZ -- asking a judge to dismiss this new drug case against his client ... which alleges Kodak had a controlled substance on him, Oxy, on Dec. 7, and that he was trying to hide it from officers who rolled up on him.

You'll recall ... during the arrest, officers claimed that when they found Kodak that evening -- allegedly asleep at the wheel while parked on a road -- they discovered white powder in his mouth, and went on to allege that KB was trying to hide this from them.

The cops say they tested the substance on the spot -- and alleged that it came back positive for cocaine, so they cuffed Kodak and hauled him off to jail ... where they booked him for possession, evidence tampering, and a traffic violation.

Of course, the authorities also alleged he was in violation of his current probation -- but now, Cohen says the lab tests have come back on the substance ... and they show Kodak wasn't lying when he said the white powder collected that night was just Percocet.

Cohen argues Kodak has a valid prescription for Oxycodone so prosecutors have no grounds to hit him with the drug possession charge.

Blueface's life behind bars isn't so bad -- compared to most inmates -- in fact, our sources say it could be a whole heck of a lot worse.

The embattled rapper's back in L.A. County jail after violating his probation in a 2021 assault case, and law enforcement sources tell us he's staying in the administrative segregation area -- meaning he's kept outta gen pop -- and he's got a cell all to himself where he's getting his meals brought to him.

Blue can leave his cell for up to 7 hours a week to participate in education classes or religious services -- assuming they're being offered -- or head to the rooftop yard to call his family or his lawyers.

There's a TV in the shared unit he can watch, and access to the library. Showers are allowed every other day ... unless he's headed to court in which case he's allowed to wash up on that day too.

Blueface will find some commissary options, too ... including Texas beef and cajun chicken ramen, tuna, sliced pepperoni, hot & spicy pork cracklings, hot cheese crunchies, jalapeño peppers, hot tortilla chips and Club crackers.

For dessert, he can choose from Oreos, blueberry and chocolate donuts, chocolate chip cookies or bear claws -- and he can wash it all down with cocoa or coffee.

It's a good thing the food options look tasty ... cause Blue's gonna be locked up for a bit. We broke the story -- he's stuck in prison until at least the summer after violating his probation for a 2021 assault.

We don't know exactly what conditions he violated (his mom's blaming his baby mamas), but there was a hearing last Friday, and now he's in custody until July 2. He was supposed to do a full year, but for every day he serves in county, he'll get credit for another.

Yo Gotti's already back onstage ... surprising fans at 42 Dugg's concert -- less than a week after his brother Big Jook was killed in Memphis.

The rapper pulled up at Little Caesars Arena on Friday night and dapped up 42 ... before performing his hit song "F-U" for the packed crowd.

Check out the vid ... Gotti's looking iced out with the chains and an angelic, all-white 'fit -- going about his business despite the very public tragedy he's coping with.

As we previously reported ... the Tennessee-born rapper's big brother was shot and killed Saturday, Jan. 13 outside a restaurant in Memphis -- he was just 47 years old.

Remember, video started circulating online of Jook's final hours ... where he grieved with close friends and family at his uncle's funeral. The shooting happened just hours after he left the event.

BJ worked with Yo Gotti closely at his label Collective Music Group though more on the business/promotion side than as an artist.

Cops still aren't sure exactly who killed Jook or why though they have a pretty big lead in the case ... posting pics of a white Ford Explorer they say may have carried his killers and offering the public a cash reward for information.

Ja Rule is excited to be an uncle once again -- through Ashanti and Nelly's pending bundle of joy, and he thinks parenthood will be a cinch for them.

TMZ Hip Hop caught up with Ja Thursday in NYC, where he told us he's been tracking the news updates on his forever collaborator/friend just like everyone else.

Now, Ja stopped short of confirming the baby buzz is true -- but Ashanti and Nelly have, seemingly, leaned into the reports they're expecting their first child together.

They still won't say for sure, so much like Halle Bailey and DDG, we might just have to wait and see if the stork delivers.

Ja's had several youngins of his own, so, naturally, he had some advice for Ashanti and Nelly on how best to raise their little tyke ... assuming there's really one in the oven.

BTW, JR's also expecting -- not a tiny human, but the release of his first album in well over a decade.

He told us fans can expect a project reminiscent of "all" of his previous sounds.

Marlena Shaw -- best known for her song "California Soul" -- has died ... according to her daughter.

The legendary jazz and R&B singer passed away Friday afternoon Marlena's daughter Marla said in a video she posted to Facebook. She did not give a cause of death.

MS' most famous track is "California Soul" -- a song originally performed by The Messengers, but one she covered and made famous ... that's had a lasting impact on hip hop and popular culture at large.

A few of the hit properties that featured the songs ... "The Italian Job," "The Lincoln Lawyer," "All Things Must Pass," "Pixie," the TV series "Bad Sisters" and video game "Grand Theft Auto V."

It's also taken on a second life in the world of hip hop sampling ... Gang Starr, The Game and Jay Rock, Elzhi, Quasimoto, Jay Electronica, Laika and Xzhibit are just a few of the stars who've sampled the song in one form or another.

"California Soul" is her most enduring classic, but Shaw had a number of other hits too including "Feel Like Making Love," "Loving You Was Like A Party," "Go Away Little Boy" and "Is You or Is You Ain't My Baby" -- another song she covered that bagged her a Grammy nod back in 1990.

Marlena was 81.

Meek Mill must be feeling a lot like one of his songs right now ... because his day is "Going Bad" -- after he asked what seemed an innocent question on X.

The Philly-born rapper took to the social media network formerly known as Twitter Saturday morning where he asked his followers if he's big on other continents ... specifically Africa.

MM asked, "Do a lot of people play my music in South Africa I remember having on big show [there a] few years back … how do yall listen to our music in South Africa???? On what platform or in Nigeria?"

A seemingly innocuous question ... Meek's probably not super well-versed on how other countries and cultures consume music -- but the internet gave him no mercy and instead relentlessly roasted the man.

Check out the Meek Mill trend on Twitter to see what we're talking about ... the guy's getting mercilessly mocked over this tweet -- with many seemingly calling Meek out for insinuating Africa isn't technologically advanced.

Mill ain't letting the haters bother him though ... instead following up that tweet with another saying he's trying to figure out where his fans in Africa are located so he can put on a show for them.

The 36-year-old's not about to let doubters get to him now -- he released a new album with Rick Ross just a few months ago and recently got teary-eyed during a probation reform bill signing last month in Philly ... he's living an authentic life, no cap.

George Clinton's forever etched in Hollywood history now ... because he just got his star on a famous stretch of pavement with A-listers' names up and down the boulevard.

The P-Funk legend was just honored with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame ... and his Friday ceremony drew a huge crowd, with an even bigger celebration. We're not kidding either ... there were massive swaths of people lining the block to peep this thing.

Of course, George commanded attention with his sparkling, colorful and bedazzled outfit ... seriously, ya gotta see his getup ... he's shining from his shoes, to his pants, to his shirt, to his jacket, and all the way up to his headwear. It's amazing that this icon is 82.

As you know ... George has been leaving his mark on music since the 1960s ... he was huge in the 1970s and had a rebirth recently in the 'Trolls' movie franchise ... and now the homie is finally getting his due from La La Land with a certified star on the ground.

Just a quick list of his and his band's hits ... "Give Up the Funk," "Flash Light," "Aqua Boogie," "Atomic Dog," "Can You Get to That," "Mothership Connection," and so many more.