TMZ Hip Hop - Page 50

Usher's doubling down on his claim he was Beyoncé's babysitter for a second in the early '90s ... though he's not comfortable calling himself a "manny."

The singer-songwriter, and upcoming Super Bowl Halftime performer, stopped by Shannon Sharpe's "Club Shay Shay" podcast, released Wednesday, when the question of babysitting Queen Bey herself came up again.

ICYMI ... Usher revealed back in August that he'd watched over Beyoncé when she was just 11 or 12-years-old -- though he didn't say if anyone paid him for his services!

So, Sharpe asked him about being "Beyoncé''s nanny" and, after joking he'd actually be a "manny" ... Usher said it's probably a step too far to give him that title.

The 45-year-old explained Bey came to Atlanta with Destiny's Child -- before they "became Destiny's Child," as Usher describes it -- when he was in his teens, and he was tasked with watching the kids while they hung out at musician Daryl Simmons' house.

The way Usher explained it, his responsibilities were simple ... make sure none of the girls broke anything! So, more like a chaperone on a school field trip than a full-time caretaker, it sounds like.

And, if you're wondering if Usher's always had an eye for talent ... he says he did, claiming he saw a "brilliance and brightness" to Bey and the rest of DC that he was sure would take them all far.

On Beyoncé, he added, "[It’s] really great for my sister, to see that she’s done so amazing and continue to thrive and just get bigger and better."

Obviously, both Usher and Beyoncé have taken off since then with each winning multiple Grammys and selling millions of records worldwide ... and soon, Usher will tie Beyoncé in two Super Bowl Halftime Show performances a piece.

Megan Thee Stallion can count on Latto as an ally amid her nasty entanglement with Nicki Minaj ... and it appears there may even be more people rooting for her behind the scenes.

The Atlanta rapper hopped into the comments of Meg's latest IG post ... a promo of her "Hiss" single ... and cheered her on.

"U making us proud Meg 🤩" Latto wrote ... us, as in plural. Could there possibly be a secret group chat of rap girls pining for Meg to win this beef???

Meg sent Latto big love back with several 💙💙💙 solidifying their friendship ... the two rappers collaborated on Meg's 2022 album "Traumazine."

No telling who's included in that "us" but Latto's issues with Nicki have notably spilled out into the public, so it's not surprising she's Team Meg all the way.

Back in October 2022, Latto accused Nicki of trying to bully her into boycotting the Grammys after she got nominated and Nicki was snubbed.

Latto went on to create the diss song "Put It On Da Floor Again" ... a track where Coi Leray caught a stray shot and was later remixed by Cardi B.

Megan's "Hiss" is also predicted to have a big debut on Billboard. All this beef is apparently good for business.

Nicki Minaj isn't done sniping at Megan Thee Stallion -- now she's accusing her of desperately seeking sympathy when she sat down with Gayle King to discuss the Tory Lanez shooting.

The rapper, who's been on the warpath since MTS released "Hiss" last week, hopped on an X Spaces hosted by Joe Budden ... and compared Meg's 2022 CBS interview to a Rihanna interview in 2009, after Chris Brown assaulted her.

Remember, Megan couldn't hold back tears as she talked about the terrifying shooting -- and while it tugged at most viewers' heartstrings, Nicki wasn't one of those people.

NM accused Megan of making artists like Tory and DaBaby out to be attention-seeking bad guys ... before hamming it up to get a "Rihanna moment."

Minaj elaborated ... saying RiRi received a ton of support once her interview came out because she's all about being herself, and would never "milk anything." She pointed out Rihanna tried to move past Brown's assault quickly in her interview, chalking it up to youth.

But, Nicki said it's not the same with Meg ... claiming she needs "constant f***ing sympathy."

It's the latest in a long string of attacks Nicki's shot off ... including a joke she made about Meg's dead mom and releasing "Big Foot" -- a diss track aimed at MTS.

Meg's stayed silent since dropping "Hiss" with its controversial "Megan's Law" line last week ... perhaps this will finally convince her to hit back. That's clearly what Nicki wants.

Or, maybe she will take it all in stride ... it's always nice to be compared to freakin' Rihanna!!!

8:45 AM PT -- Turns out, Kanye made it to the show ... and he was wearing that Jason mask too.

The question ... was he slicing and dicing on the mic??? 😅

Kanye West and Travis Scott appear poised to take the stage together tonight at Travis' Orlando concert ... and Kanye's got a wild look that would make Jason Voorhees blush.

Travis is due to perform Wednesday night at the Kia Center in Orlando as part of his Circus Maximus tour -- and videos from the venue appear to show Kanye rehearsing some songs on stage ... which has a lot of people buzzing about a potential performance tonight.

There are different reports of sightings of Ye flying in and touching down in FL from Los Angeles earlier today ... and he even posted a photo on his Instagram story showing him wearing an old-school hockey mask.

Check it out ... looks like Kanye is channeling some serious Camp Crystal Lake vibes.

Not only did Ye post shots of himself at the airport -- with some fans swarming him for autographs as he walked through -- but he also threw up a clean shot of the mask itself.

Considering his affinity for face coverings in recent years ... maybe this is his new fave.

Anyway, it's unclear if Yeezy is going to rock this particular mask on stage with Travis -- assuming he gets up there at all, 'cause you just never know with KW -- but he's definitely got the internet going wild, and drumming up a bunch of interest.

Travis has mostly been performing his latest studio album, "Utopia," on tour as of late -- and previously brought out Drake at a tour stop in Canada ... performing one of their collabs from the album.

FWIW, Kanye is not featured on ''Utopia" but he's recorded several songs with Travis over the years ... and when Travis performed in Rome back in August on the heels of the album release, Yeezy joined him on stage. In other words, a surprise pop-in ain't outta the question.

We should also note ... TS himself is leaning into the possibility of hitting the stage with him at some point tonight -- so all signs point to this happening fairly soon.

If it does come to pass, it'll be interesting to see what they're cooking up for the Orlando crowd. By the same token, you gotta wonder how Travis's fans might receive Ye.

G Herbo is feeling on top of his game -- he's got a new set of pearly whites in his mouth, which he plans to use to stunt on his rap peers with a ballsy new album title that's bound to get challenged!!!

The Chicago-born rapper was all smiles when we caught up with him Wednesday at LAX ... thanks, in part, to recently fitted veneers, which prompted a shoutout to "Da Smile Boss" -- his dentist back in Chi-town.

Herbo says the dental work's given him newfound confidence and mental toughness -- and advises anyone feeling self-conscious about their mouth to invest in themselves and get the work done.

Herbo had another big, non-dental, revelation for TMZ Hip Hop ... he's standing on business, and naming his upcoming project "Best Rapper Alive."

A bold proclamation, for sure, and one that could build anticipation for the project -- and maybe that's the point.

Ne-Yo's one of the many music giants gracing the Lovers & Friends stage this year, and says the lineup deserves all the headlines it's making ... just as Mary J. Blige deserves her place on the marquee.

TMZ Hip Hop caught up with the R&B magnate in L.A., and he was surprised to hear Mary staged a short-lived holdout for better Lovers & Friends' billing -- but also has zero issue with her strategy.

After all, as Ne-Yo reminded us, she is the Queen of Hip Hop Soul. Bow down, bishes.

Ne-Yo predicts this year's show has massive potential to be the best one yet ... featuring MJB, Usher, Gwen Stefani, Lil Wayne, Timbaland, Backstreet Boys, Janet Jackson and himself! How can they possibly lose?!?

That's a question folks operating Coachella have been asking with ticket sale woes -- so, we asked Ne-Yo why he thought the once-premier festival had fallen off.

Although he doesn't have much experience performing at the event, he told us he's heard through the grapevine Coachella's lost its grassroots feel, and gone more corporate.

By contrast ... the L&F fest is collecting names to potentially launch a 2nd show.

Ne-Yo suggests Coachella can turn things around if it turns around its next lineup.

He and MJB might be happy campers going into this year's L&F, but the powers that be should check on Juvenile -- fast!!!

Juvenile is taking a page out of the Mary J. Blige playbook with Lovers & Friends ... and putting the super star-studded festival on notice over his lack of payment!!!

The New Orleans rap legend's gripe stems from L&F slapping his name on the flyer to help entice ticket sales but not forking over the dough for the promo!!!

Juve accused L&F of straight-up doing bad business ... claiming the organizers are stalling on paying him his deposit.

The "Back Dat Azz Up" rapper simply deems this type of treatment is unacceptable for an artist of his stature ... pretty much the sentiment that MJB gave off when she stonewalled the fest for a higher placement value.

Mary publicly canceled her appearance -- only to turn around a day later and posted a moneybag emoji with a newfound energy for the fest.

Charlamagne Tha God is giving Megan Thee Stallion the 'W' over Nicki Minaj in their rap war by TKO, telling us the aftermath of Nicki's "Big Foot" was enough to sway his decision!!!

Charlamagne and DJ Envy mulled over the latest developments Wednesday morning in Meg and Nicki's face-off -- after a select group of Barbz posted the location of Megan's mother's burial site.

TMZ broke the story ... the Texas cemetery where Holly Thomas is laid to rest beefed up security measures after the address went viral, and local authorities in the area were put on high alert at the same time.

Charlamagne noted how Megan's "Hiss" track caused Nicki to spiral on X all weekend ... and wrote off her "Big Foot" response as a weak one.

Do remember, Nicki's own fans bombarded her with thousands of messages telling her the track was trash, so CTG is in the majority with his opinion.

Charlamagne also scolded "groupie ass" young fans for foolishly riding behind celebs, and, in this case, thinking it was a good decision to threaten someone's grave.

He predicts curses will soon come their way!

Fans have been going for broke over this battle ... a TikToker claiming to be from Queens recently posted a vid giving the impression he was cocking a gun as he threatened Meg if the beef kept going.

Blueface's mom is tired of Chrisean Rock's antics -- she has her fingers crossed the new face tat she got of Blue is fake, and that she finally leaves her son alone. Spoiler ... at least one of those wishes won't come true.

TMZ got Karlissa Saffold outside L.A's Men's Central Jail on Wednesday, following a failed attempt to see her son, and she tells us Chrisean's enormous tattoo of Blueface's mug on her cheek is "absolutely f***ng crazy" ... and she thinks it's a shady ploy to make Blue feel obligated to deal with her once he gets out of jail.

She also has a very simple, passionate reaction to CR moving back into Blue's pad -- "Hell motherf***ing no!" Karlissa says, again, the move will give Blue zero chance of escaping Chrisean's shenanigans ... when he should be focusing on getting his mind right.

What's more, she believes the face ink stems from mental issues ... and her son isn't trained to unpack Chrisean's baggage for her.

For her part, Karlissa's tried to support Chrisean for the sake of her grandbaby ... but is now taking a step back after seeing her on IG live saying she wants Karlissa to die.

But of course, as any doting grandma ... she's still willing to take care of the baby if it comes to that point.

For now, Karissa tells us she's devastated Blue's in jail for a probation violation -- in fact, it's her worst nightmare, especially cause her eldest son served 13 years behind bars, too ... and now history's repeating itself.

Basically, she's got a lot on her plate, and says CR needs to go find someone else's family to play "Fatal Attraction."

Chrisean Rock isn't the only one of Blueface's baddies dedicating their bodies to his mug shot while he's locked up -- there's another gal doing the same ... only lower.

On Wednesday, his admitted side chick, Bonnie, debuted a HUMONGOUS tattoo of her own -- which was being done on her ass. Indeed, she posted pics and video of herself lying down with her pants dropped and her booty with BF's mug stenciled onto her left cheek.

Bonnie's an OG cast member of Blue's "Blue Girls Club" -- his short-lived reality show -- but her cheeky ink seems to have even surprised her close friend group ... 'cause they're saying she's a fool. Nevertheless, she's been doubling down all day, professing her 💙 for Blue.

We should note ... Bonnie has beef with Blue's other girlfriends/baby mamas -- including Chrisean and Jaidyn Alexis -- and basically all the other women in BF's life. That seems to be why she's doing this ... almost as a way to "stick it to them."

With this move, Bonnie appears to be trying to plant her flag on Blue -- with the message being ... he's all mine, once he's released from jail in a few months, of course.

Probably worth noting ... Bonnie just released a new track titled "That's My Daddy" ... and it's a diss to all her competition with Blueface -- and just further confirmation that he has her on lock, just like all the other ladies in his orbit, it seems.

TMZ Hip Hop just confirmed with Chrisean's tattoo shop that her newly planted "Blueface" is indeed permanent ... but like Bonnie, her own family thinks she needs to step aside.

Candace Owens is blaming Ice Spice for inducing stupidity in the United States ... a reaction made after her ears got crop-dusted by the superstar rapper's new "Fart" song!!!

On the latest episode of her podcast, Candace moonlighted as a music journalist tackling Ice's new single and rated the track with a proverbial p-u ... nothing but stink!!!

Ice keeps it simple on the new track produced by her longtime producer RIOTUSA, rapping on the chorus ... "Think you the sh**, bitch? You not even the fart/I be goin' hard/I'm breakin' they hearts...Grrah!!!" -- a little too simple for Candace's intellect.

Candace didn't miss the window to throw more shade at Cardi B and Megan Thee Stallion for making "WAP" back in 2020 ... still an all-time low in her book.

The political pundit also hammered HotNewHipHop's recap of Ice's "Think U The Sh**" -- for its glossy review, where they describe the song as a "bold declaration" to "establish dominance" and something about her "personal prowess."

Plenty of heavy-handed huff ... but one could say the same for CO's declaration Ice's lyrics are ripping apart society's fabric.

It's a fun song for TikTok ... at least for the time being.

TikTok and Universal Music Group are in the final hours of an epic standoff that will see all the label’s music removed from the world’s biggest app … and neither side is budging.

UMG let off a lengthy statement on Tuesday defending their stance on their waning contract -- which is set to expire at midnight -- accusing TikTok of sitting back and getting filthy rich off their product without "paying its fair share."

That's why they're now taking the position of yanking their artists' music off the platform ... basically, they feel TikTok needs to pay more cash to license their tunes.

Universal also argued they’ve applied every potential countermeasure available to ensure their artists are protected from AI impersonation and online security … something they say TikTok has failed to do for the music industry and its fans overall.

The Big 3 label has a huge roster ... Taylor Swift, Drake, Nicki Minaj, Ariana Grande, Bad Bunny, Ice Spice, Rosalía -- and dozens of other superstar names will soon be affected, but UMG says they have a greater responsibility to uphold.

TikTok snapped back at UMG, pinpointing the issue on classic corporate GREED … they accused UMG of spinning a “false narrative” and noted they have healthy 'artist-first' agreements with every other label and publisher.

UMG has been monitoring its books closely ... earlier in January, Variety reported that UMG was preparing to fire hundreds of employees -- primarily targeting the recorded music division. So, on its face, it appears they're tightening their belt on all fronts.

Russ, the rapper, has been speaking out on industry politics since going fully independent a couple of years ago and he's weighing in here as well ... saying both parties have too much stake in the game to drop the ball at midnight. He thinks UMG's crusade to protect the artists is simply code language to appease their own bottom line.

Trippie Redd is distancing himself from all things demonic ... this after YEARS of, in his eyes, unfounded accusations he's a pawn of Satan!!!

An incensed Trippie launched into a tirade Tuesday, laying into anyone who wanted to attach any antichrist connotation to his name.

In the posted video, Trippie fumed, "Stop saying I worship the f****** devil!!! I can't wear all black? I've been wearing all black -- that's my thing!!!"

Now, according to him, he's just a Goth guy from Ohio who likes black cats and furniture ... born to be the "sad-boy." He also explained his many face tattoos are simply the type of art he prefers.

Trippie was adamant he had no idea where fans were getting the satanic sticks and stones -- but it's kinda hard to deny the Diamond-selling rapper has leaned into the occult throughout his career ... like the time he adopted '666' for his brand.

Or when he released his "Demon Time" music video where he twists his hair into devil horns, and he and Ski Mask the Slump God killed people outside a seedy motel.

Even his peers took notice ... Meek Mill publicly roasted Trippie for allegedly having a dark soul and being a snitch a few months ago.

And, that was after DJ Akademiks' fiery rant aimed at Trippie, Playboi Carti, and Lil Uzi Vert for still pushing for shock value tactics after their fans had grown up.

Chrisean Rock showed off some fresh ink last week that bared the mug of her on-and-off boyfriend, Blueface, and while some thought it wasn't real ... we're being told otherwise.

The owner of the Lakimii Tattoo Shop in WeHo -- where Chrisean got this job done -- tells us the reality star came by for this new face tat last Saturday ... and while they normally have a policy against needling up someone's face, they made an exception for Chrisean.

We're told this work took about 4 hours in total to complete ... which is evident in how detailed and elaborate it is. No word on whether they charged her or not -- but the owner, Timo, tells us they've done tats for her in the past ... so they're familiar with her as a client.

Anyway ... you can take a look at the tattoo in more detail here. While there've been some who've believed this may have been a henna thing ... Timo insists it's the real McCoy.

It certainly looks like it could be based on what we're seeing -- you can see her pores opened up, and the ink filling them. Plus, her head is slightly shaved around the area in question -- which is a telltale sign that a tattoo is about to take place.

There's a handful of folks who are still skeptical about whether this is fake -- but from the looks of it, Chrisean appears to have gotten blasted again ... this after re-devoting herself to Blueface, who's currently behind bars on a probation violation in L.A.

She certainly seems happy waiting for him to be released ... and we know Lakimii is also stoked. They tell us business has booming for them ever since the ink job they did for her.

And get this ... we're told Blue himself apparently has plans to come and get some fresh ink as well. No word on when exactly that might happen -- he could be locked up for a while.

GloRilla has a few hot takes that will definitely ruffle some feathers ... especially if you're a guy who enjoys puffing on hookah, or a woman who's raising a kid. She said it, not us!

Big Glo laid out her gripes on Tuesday, claiming every woman she knows who's a "baby mama" is a few sandwiches short of a picnic ... to put it kindly.

She actually called 'em dumb bitches.

The "FNF" creator even went so low as to call those particular chicks the "r-word." Remember, Lizzo recently caught flak for dropping that word in a song, and ended up apologizing and changing the lyric.

Glo identifies as an equal opportunist, so she also has smoke for the males, especially the ones she calls "fake tricks" -- guys who pretend like they have the money to spoil her, but actually have empty pockets.

But, her biggest pet peeve is guys who smoke hookah! Glo even claimed she turned down a guy who caught her eye, after seeing the hookah hose hit his lips.

She might be on her own defending her "baby mama" comments, but 21 Savage is also fully against guys who smoke hookah.

He scolded Kai Cenat last night for partaking in such a "girly" activity.

Megan Thee Stallion's beef with Nicki Minaj has taken an ugly turn -- cops are getting involved to protect her late mother's gravesite, this after doxxing by her arch-rival's fandom.

The Texas cemetery where Megan's mom, Holly Thomas, was laid to rest after passing away from brain cancer in 2019 -- tells TMZ ... they've notified local authorities and increased security personnel at their facility in light of the escalating feud.

What's more ... we're told PSC will continue to monitor the situation as they take all matters regarding safety and security seriously -- and lately, things have been getting too real.

They do add ... as of yet, thankfully nothing has happened to the gravesite, but they emphasize they're on high alert regardless.

The extra precautions come after some of Nicki's "Barbz" -- AKA, her army of fiercely loyal supporters -- first leaked the location of Holly's burial site on social media ... encouraging others to go and desecrate her grave as a way to get back at MTS for her OG diss.

It all kicked off last week when Nicki distastefully cracked a joke about MTS' mother on the streaming platform Stationhead. Her exact line at the time was ... "You better go conjure up your mother and apologize. That's disgusting." It seems some of her fans took that to heart.

No doubt, ya gotta figure that was particularly heartbreaking for Megan to hear ... as she's been super candid and emotional over the years about her mother's influence in her life.

Megan has also been very open about what the loss of her mom has meant to her -- and by all accounts, it's been very difficult ... something that's been well-documented and discussed.

Now, Nicki did later explain that she only took the shot at Meg's mom cause MTS was coming after her own family. In particular, MTS seemed to reference Nicki's husband, Kenneth Petty, in her new track "Hiss" -- making a "Megan's Law" reference that many interpreted as shade toward Petty's legal trouble.

So, tit for tat really ... many felt Nicki had just gone too far, and doubly so for any one of her supporters who was seriously considering heading over to Holly's grave.