TMZ Hip Hop - Page 50

Jay-Z served the Grammys a bowl of backhanded soup while accepting his award -- but the Recording Academy deserved it, according to a couple Bone Thugs-N-Harmony members!!!

TMZ Hip Hop recently linked with Layzie and Flesh-n-Bone, the brotherly faction of the legendary Ohio rap group, and they told us Jay spoke facts when he scolded Grammy voters for Beyoncé’s lack of Album of the Year awards … while also being the record-holder for most trophies.

Few would disagree BTNH deserved their 1997 Grammy for their classic “Tha Crossroads,” but Layzie and Flesh sadly think the Grammys will never hit the bull-eyes when it comes to honoring Black and hip hop artists ... because the culture is just too vast to cover in a single night!!!

Flesh suspects the industry has been permanently infiltrated by rich culture vultures who can sway the people with dollars … and have a negative influence.

It’s the exact sentiment KXNG Crooked shared with us when railing against the industry last year.

So, if a billionaire like Jay is complaining, higher powers must be at work.

While you can’t make everyone happy, Lay and Flesh did have some grace for the Grammys for honoring their late mentor Eazy-E’s trailblazing group N.W.A with a 2024 Lifetime Achievement award -- which, they say, will go a long way in educating Gen Z on rap history.

They blame the internet for scrambling kids’ brains … as seen with the knee-jerk reactions after Killer Mike swept the Rap Grammy categories on Sunday and many younger fans — like Kai Cenat -- claimed they'd never heard of him until now.

3:40 PM PT -- A rep for Post tells TMZ ... "Post Consumer Brands was excited to partner with Broadus Foods and we made substantial investments in the business. We were equally disappointed that consumer demand did not meet expectations."

12:50 PM PT -- Following Snoop Dogg and Master P's filing today, Walmart tells TMZ Hip Hop, "Walmart values our relationships with our suppliers, and we have a strong history of supporting entrepreneurs. Many factors affect the sales of any given product, including consumer demand, seasonality, and price to name a few. We will respond as appropriate with the Court once we are served with the complaint."

Snoop Dogg and Master P are accusing Walmart of shelving their Snoop Cereal but not on the main floor … a new lawsuit accuses the grocery giant and Post Foods of intentionally hiding their product!!!

The rap legends' attorney Benjamin Crump officially filed docs which TMZ Hip Hop obtained on Tuesday … which allege Walmart and Post conspired together to bury their Broadus Foods company after agreeing to partner with them.

According to the suit, Post first attempted to buy out Snoop and P, and later pretended to share their vision by agreeing to adopt their cereal as one of their own and distribute the product in big-name retailers such as Walmart.

Broadus Foods argues Post should have stacked the Snoop Cereal next to their other top sellers but Post only agreed to the deal to shut them out of the market altogether.

Snoop Cereal launched in Walmart in July 2023 but the suit claims customers complained they could no longer find it a few months later.

Walmart stores online allegedly showed the Snoop Cereal to be sold out across the board … before store employees discovered the product was being stowed away in back stockrooms far away from potential buyers and uncoded to sell in the first place.

The lack of sales cut into P and Snoop’s contract with Post, which they feel was the intent all along -- and they're suing for damages they say fall under the "deceptive trade practices."

We reached out to P for comment … so far, no word back!!!

Usher’s Super Bowl Halftime performance on Sunday is so highly anticipated, it's bringing out the inner fan in several of his industry peers ... including Gayle King.

TMZ Hip Hop caught up with Gayle and OG human beatbox Doug E. Fresh as they were both leaving a Grammy shindig -- and both highlighted just how loaded Usher’s catalog is with hits.

In fact, they have 2 different tracks at the top of their wish lists.

Gayle didn’t have much of an opinion on the response to Nicki Minaj’s “Big Foot,” but tells us her top pick for Usher’s SB is "Confessions" ... and even gave us a little of her vocal seasoning to let you know she’s serious!!!

Doug, on the other hand, is confident his pick -- “Yeah!” with Lil Jon and Ludacris -- is what the people want to see the most.

All signs point to Jon joining Usher on stage Sunday in Vegas, because he’s releasing a mediation album a few days later ...  most likely to capitalize on the Super Bowl buzz.

Luda’s been making his interview rounds as well, so seems highly like Doug's music request dreams will come true!!!

Doug and Gayle are also pining for the San Francisco 49ers and Kansas City Chiefs, respectively, to snag the victory.

Katt Williams’ viral interview is pushing Steve Harvey and Mark Curry’s longstanding feud into the public eye -- and while Mark says it's water under the bridge, he still hasn’t forgotten!!!

We got the veteran comic Monday at LAX, where he told us Steve hasn’t said a word to his face about stealing his jokes back in the day, but Mark made it clear he's not sweatin' it.

He says Steve can have his old material, because his pen stays producing new material all the time!

Katt roasted Steve on Shannon Sharpe's “Club Shay Shay” for not only swiping Mark’s stand-up bits but also repurposing the premise of his “Hangin With Mr. Cooper” sitcom for his own “Steve Harvey Show” years later.

Mark’s currently delivering new routines on Katt’s “Dark Matter Tour” and tells us it’s perfectly fine if Steve wants to keep the old jokes he stole … he’s confident they’re still being used.

MC credits Katt for being more than an outstanding tour partner — he says Katt got in between him when he went to confront Steve in person.

We recently spoke to Torrei Hart, who’s also on the tour with Katt ... and she sang similar praises about him always taking care of his people.

As fate would have it, Gary Owen also spoke out about his experience dealing with Steve and his producers, saying it didn't go well -- professionally or financially -- when he appeared on Steve's self-titled talk show.

L.A.'s forecast lately is a 100% chance of rain, and a 0% chance Bianca Censori will cover up her body during outings with her husband Kanye West.

Just check out these pics ... even in a heavy downpour Monday evening, the Aussie model opted to be naked ... wearing only a sheer rain poncho to protect herself from getting wet as she and Kanye arrived at a music studio.

The branding on her lightweight outerwear just about managed to cover her breasts, but she had to skillfully position her hand to avoid flashing anything down below -- although, it does appear she was wearing a skimpy nude-colored thong.

Knee-high stiletto boots were the only notable wardrobe item the 29-year-old architect wore as she strutted along with the rapper -- who, for his part, pulled out all the stops to remain dry head-to-toe.

In stark contrast to Bianca, he was in full waterproof attire in his signature black ski mask and a khaki poncho. Sure, it was oversized enough to cover Bianca too, but sharing was not caring in this instance. 🤷🏽‍♂️

Of course, Bianca's nakedness is nothing new -- she's known for her barely-there ensembles -- but this is the first time we've seen it while a historic storm batters the West Coast.

Luckily, BC didn't have to suffer in the wet weather for too long ... she and KW soon made it indoors to the music studio, where they allegedly met up with Playboi Carti.

Later, Ye shared his only IG post ... a cryptic "1", which presumably refers to his delayed album "Vultures: Volume 1" which should be dropping later this week.

Killer Mike is clarifying what happened at the Grammys that landed him in cuffs -- and he says it can all be chalked up to confusion ... and someone trying too hard to play police officer.

The rapper tells TMZ ... "As you can imagine, there was a lot going and there was some confusion around which door my team and I should enter. We experienced an over-zealous security guard but my team and I have the utmost confidence that I will ultimately be cleared of all wrongdoing. Until that time, keep listening to ‘Michael,’ and keep going after your dreams."

A source close to KM tells us he and his team ran into a little mishap while trying to enter the venue -- although it's unclear if they were re-entering, or coming in for the first time.

In any case, we're told there was considerable confusion about where to go and how to get in -- and as Mike and co. were trying to figure this out, they encountered a security guard who apparently started giving them a hard time ... with Mike choosing to keep it pushin'.

Namely, he blew past the guard ... and that seems to have resulted in them chasing him down after the fact -- something TMZ got video of in the immediate aftermath of this alleged incident. In the end, we know what happened ... Mike was detained and ultimately arrested.

Our sources tell us the whole situation was completely overblown and Mike's team is confident -- as is he -- that his name will be cleared when the facts are laid bare.

As we reported ... Mike is facing a misdemeanor battery charge after a citizen's arrest was conducted -- and whole thing kinda put a damper on his big Grammy wins. He's still happy about the accolades, for 'MICHAEL,' not to mention a successful surgery for his son.

Jay-Z was right to use his Grammys moment to advocate for his wife Beyoncé ... so says another music couple who was at the award show.

We got The War and Treaty at LAX and our photog asked the Best New Artist nominees about Jay using his acceptance speech to talk about Beyoncé's 4 losses in the Album of the Year category.

The husband and wife duo say Jay was being a good hubby by standing up for his woman ... also telling us Hov isn't wrong in his views on Beyoncé albums being worthy of the top prize.

The War and Treaty say Bey is more than worthy, and they feel she's right up there with Michael Jackson in terms of music and philanthropy.

MJ, by the way, won AOTY for "Thriller" way back in the day.

Jay told Beyoncé, and any other disappointed nominees, to keep showing up and pushing for accolades they feel they deserve.

Interestingly, The War and Treaty offered Beyoncé some advice, too -- they think a country record might be the way to go ... though, they're a little bit biased.

Killer Mike and his family are breathing a collective sigh of relief ... the surgery to give his son a new kidney went successfully.

Mike tells us his 21-year-old son Mikael "Pony Boy" Render came through the transplant, and "did really well." He says Pony will be in recovery for a few hours before he's moved back to his hospital room, but they're already seeing some positive signs -- Mike says it "looks like the kidney is already working."

TMZ broke the story ... Pony went into surgery Monday morning, after waiting 3 years for a matching organ. It's been an ongoing health issue that Mike has been very open about.

His son's lifesaving surgery comes on the heels of one of Mike's most memorable days, professionally, for good and bad reasons.

As we reported, Killer Mike cleaned up at the Grammys on Sunday ... winning 3 awards for Best Rap Song, Best Rap Album and Best Rap Performance -- however, moments later he was in handcuffs for allegedly getting physical with a security guard at the Grammys venue, Crypto.com Arena.

Mike was booked for misdemeanor battery, and released on his own recognizance -- in fact, he was still able to step out Sunday night and celebrate his Grammy wins.

All of that was firmly in his rearview, though, when the family got word Pony was cleared for surgery.

Lil Jon's finally answering his own age-old question ... turn down for what? Try meditation, because -- strange as it sounds -- he's got a new album on the way that's way more relaxing than his crunk sound.

Music industry sources tell TMZ ... Lil Jon's recorded a guided meditation album, and while that doesn't seem in line with his trademark yelling of words like, "Yeah!" or "Whaaat?" -- it's in line with his personal life.

We're told Jon's been making fitness and wellness a big priority in his life for a while now, focusing especially on his health ... and his decision to record a meditation album is a direct byproduct.

While this will catch a lot of folks off guard -- especially those who still vibe to crunk classics like "Turn Down For What" and "Get Low" -- our sources say the album is "truthful" to who Jon's become these days, and it makes sense for him.

Basically, it sounds like he's combining his 2 passions ... wellness and music.

We're told Lil Jon's 10-track project is scheduled to drop Feb. 16, and that date doesn't sound coincidental.

As you know, Usher's performing the Super Bowl Halftime Show on Feb. 11 -- and Jon's widely rumored, if not flat out expected, to join him onstage for their smash hit, "Yeah!"

While no one's confirming his halftime cameo ... the fact Lil Jon's releasing his meditation album that same week, seems like a big clue.

Jay-Z says the Recording Academy is at fault for Beyoncé never winning the top prize at the Grammys ... but Bey's pops says her own record label is also contributing to the snub.

Mathew Knowles joined us on "TMZ Live" Monday, and we asked him about Jay's spicy speech at the Grammys, and what's holding Beyoncé back from winning Album of the Year.

While HOV pointed the finger at the voters, Mathew claims Beyonce's record label, Columbia Records, isn't doing its part behind the scenes ... suggesting it's not going to bat for her when it comes to the voting process or the lobbying involved for award shows.

As Mathew explains, record labels can only support one artist per category, which becomes an issue when artists from the same label are nominated for the same award ... as has been the case with Beyoncé at least twice.

Mathew says this exact scenario played out back in 2017 ... when Beyoncé and Adele, who is also signed to Columbia, were both nominated for AOTY. Bey's dad claims Columbia Records threw its support behind Adele, and she ended up trumping Bey for the Grammy.

Harry Styles is also on Columbia, BTW ... and last year, he beat out Beyoncé for AOTY.

Mathew says there are all sorts of reasons a record label would support one artist over another -- he broke down a few for us, while also pointing out it's not always about the music itself.

Jay-Z admitted in his speech this whole process is subjective, and Mathew's not denying that ... but he says money is a big motivator here too.

Beyoncé may very well win AOTY somewhere down the line ... but at the moment, her father seems to be implying the powers that be just aren't in her corner for the top prize.

Of course, Jay's solution was to "keep showing up," to the point where she can no longer be denied ... but Mathew's saying Beyonce's label has to show up for her.

Steve Harwell and C-Knight's omissions from the Grammys' "In Memoriam" segment Sunday was rude and disrespectful ... according to their nearest and dearest.

Robert Hayes, a rep for Smash Mouth's late lead singer, is hurt over the snub ... though he tells TMZ it didn't surprise him because the Recording Academy never acknowledged Steve when he was alive ... so why would they honor him when he passed?

Smash Mouth was nominated for a Grammy once, in 2000, but didn't win.

His remarks were cutting ... asking who even bothered to watch the Grammys anymore -- and expressing his belief the award ceremony hadn't been good in more than 20 years.

Steve left a lasting influence in the music industry before he passed away in Sept 2023 ... and only 2 months later, fellow artist C-Knight also died, having been taken off life support following complications from diabetes.

C-Knight's brother George Lee Blount echoed similar feelings of hurt and outrage over the "In Memoriam" exclusion.

George tells TMZ ... while C-Knight and his band The Dove Shack never scooped a Grammy, their impact on G-funk and hip hop is undeniable -- adding he was a hip hop legend, and the least they could've done was give him a mention.

George is hoping the same mistake doesn't happen again, urging the Grammys to do more research into artists to understand the hard work and sacrifice they put into their music careers.

Usher is hopping aboard Kim Kardashian's undergarment train -- he's just the most recent star to partner up with her and promote her SKIMS line ... and yeah, he's shirtless for it.

Kim and co. were able to get Usher to agree to be the newest face for their SKIMS Men's campaign -- and they got him to rock their underwear line for fellas ... including their SKIMS Stretch collection as well as their SKIMS Cotton collection.

As part of this new drop featuring Usher ... they're also releasing 4 new colorways.

It goes without saying -- the fact KK signed Usher to SKIMS is a huge deal ... especially since he's a well-known sex symbol, even these days. That's sorta alluded to in this photo shoot here -- where Mr. Raymond is baring his torso, with his chiseled abs on display.

BTW, there was a video filmed for this team-up as well ... and in it, Usher talks about why he signed on, but more importantly -- how it relates to this new album of his, "Coming Home."

Based on what he says here, you could argue this is a full circle moment for him -- Usher seems to be leaning into his R&B roots ... including what made him uber popular to begin with, like his killer looks. There's a limited edition digital version of his album that's dropping as part of the partnership ... it's releasing on Feb. 8 at 9 PM PT/Feb. 9 at midnight ET.

As for these new SKIMS products themselves ... the undies are gonna be up for grabs starting Feb. 12 at 9 AM PT -- you can obviously get 'em on the SKIMS Men Shop website.

Usher's addition to the lineup comes on the heels of Kim snagging other hunks in the industry to advertise her company -- remember, she already got Neymar Jr., Nick Bosa and other hot dudes to rock the gear ... and now, Usher is in the mix as well.

SKIMS is low-key taking over the fashion world -- everyone seems willing to strip down and pimp the product ... making ya wonder, how the hell do these things feel in person.

Killer Mike's officially putting his arrest at the Grammys on the back burner, because after a long wait, his oldest son is finally getting a kidney transplant ... TMZ Hip Hop has learned.

Sources connected to the Grammy-winning rapper tell us Mike is with his son Mikael "Pony Boy" Render Monday as he undergoes the transplant surgery. The 21-year-old has been waiting for a kidney match for 3 years.

Back in November, Mikael got bumped up on the transplant waitlist, and his proud dad talked about it during an interview with Graham Bensinger.

Mike has said Mikael -- who's a musician and rapper, just like Dad -- never had a chance to fully experience his teenage years, because of his battle with kidney disease.

The fact Pony Boy's number got called for the transplant today, of all days, seems like a strange twist of fate ... considering his dad's weekend of some major ups and downs.

TMZ broke the story ... Killer Mike was awarded 3 Grammys Sunday at L.A.'s Crytpo.com Arena -- but he also got arrested.

He was booked for misdemeanor battery after allegedly knocking over a security guard at the venue, but was quickly released on his own recognizance. After getting released ... Mike was in relatively good spirits, even though he'd gone through a fairly dramatic situation.

Paps tried talking to him about it in the aftermath -- but he wasn't really trying to talk much about it ... keeping his attention on the music. In light of this news about his son ... his mind was clearly elsewhere, as he had more important matters to attend to.

Mike won Grammys for Best Rap Album, Best Rap Song and Best Rap Performance -- but today his focus is purely on Mikael's surgery.

Ludacris is recalling a wild moment from his win at the Grammys back in the day ... and it's all about Justin Timberlake's explicit reaction to Luda's big night -- which sounds jarring.

The story, as Ludacris explained on "Drink Champs," goes like this ... Ludacris was backstage at the 2007 Grammys after winning the award for Best Rap Album and he was dropping f-bombs and letting out his emotions.

Back then, Ludacris says artists went into little holding areas only separated by thin curtains ... which didn't offer much privacy.

Once Ludacris ended his celebration, he says he heard a voice from the other side of the curtain ... "Shut the f*** up, some of us didn't win any g****** Grammys!!!"

Luda says he pulled back the curtain ... only to find Justin Timberlake standing there, and in his mind -- it was clearly him who yelled it.

Hard to tell if Luda is all that bent out of shape about it -- if anything, he seems to find it more amusing than anything all these years later. Based on his demeanor here, he clearly loves to tell the tale and still gets a kick out of it in 2024.

Ludacris says he was extra amped after winning the award because he had come up short for years and set out to win a Grammy when he recorded "Release Therapy."

Justin's funny outburst was a bit premature ... he lost Best Pop Vocal Album and Album Of The Year for "FutureSex/LoveSounds" but won two Grammys ... Best Rap/Song Collaboration for "My Love" and Best Dance Recording for "Sexy Back."

FWIW, Luda says it's all love with Justin ... calling JT "gangsta" -- so he's good in his book.

Travis Scott got snubbed yet again at the Grammys -- and he seemed to let out his rage in the aftermath ... at least that's what some are perceiving from his WWE-style performance.

The rapper was fresh off another loss at Sunday's show -- with Killer Mike beating him out for Best Rap album, even though many thought 'Utopia' was a shoo-in -- and when TS hit the stage later for a live-music moment ... he appeared to address his anger about it.

Trav and Playboi Carti tag-teamed their song 'FE!N' ... and at one point, Travis started freaking out in the middle of the stage -- throwing around foldable chairs that were there, and even hitting some of the stage props around him.

Some assumed it was just part of his thing -- y'know, typical raging, etc. -- but it became clear to others that something else was going on ... namely, because of TS's own words.

Trav switched up some of the lyrics in the song and said "They slept on me 10 times!" -- obviously in reference to him being nominated 10 times at the Grammys but never winning.

Clearly, he felt some type of way about it -- and seems to have let it out in his art.

The Grammys have come and gone -- but all the stars who were at the show were still down to boogie once the final awards had been given out ... and that's exactly what they did.

Celebs hit the town in L.A. Sunday night -- and yes, they braved the crappy weather ... seemingly determined to party regardless of the rain and wind that was plaguing the city well into the evening. No matter ... 'cause these folks showed up and showed out in force!

One of the big get-togethers came courtesy of SZA's label -- TDE -- which hosted a slew of A-listers who rolled through to celebrate the singer's big night ... she won 3 statuettes herself.

She was in good company to ring in her wins -- stars like French Montana, Chris Brown, Keke Palmer, Big Boy, Andra Day, Storm Reid, AJ McLean, Alabama Barker and more were in attendance.

Elsewhere in L.A., the Universal Music Group party was going down -- and while there was a smattering of well-known faces who rolled through ... it was mostly smaller artists, which is ironic considering this whole TikTok feud that's unfolding.

As far as the recognizable stars -- Paris Jackson, G Flip, Adrien Brody ... and that's about it. There were a ton of other more low-key musicians/acts that popped in -- ones that are no doubt being affected by UMG yanking their music from the popular social media app.

In any case ... they looked stoked to be there and to celebrate the Grammy vibes -- whether anyone knew who they were or not!

Anyhoo ... the bashes here capped off what was most certainly a memorable night in music. There were lots of standout moments, not to mention incredible performances all around.

There were the usual artists who did their thing -- but a handful of musicians who rarely hit the stage stepped into the spotlight for historic showings ... like Joni Mitchell, Billy Joel and Tracy Chapman.

While the broadcast was full of memorable happenings, there were a few strange ones.