TMZ Hip Hop - Page 50

Post Malone and Swae Lee's "Sunflower" is hitting at a new, historic milestone -- the 2018 duet was certified Double Diamond, aka 20 million sold, putting it in a class all of its own!!!

Both artists were equally excited when they hugged it out at the award ceremony Thursday in celebration of their achievement, and posed for pics with their managers and label teams.

RIAA Chairman and CEO Mitch Glazier said the Carter Lang/Louis-produced track raised the bar for collaborations going forward, and it'll probably take a new-age "We Are The World" moment to even approach its success.

When the song broke the all-time record at 17x Platinum, Post told TMZ Hip Hop that having Swae in the studio was the secret sauce needed for making the track so huge.

Joe Budden thinks Travis Scott and Playboi Carti stunk it up at the Grammys big time -- 'cause their rock star shtick failed to read the room ... and made 'em seem like brats.

ICYMY, Travis and Carti performed their explosive collab "FE!N" mid-show -- complete with the rager-style, flame infernos that made his 'Circus Maximus' tour such a big deal. They were throwing around chairs and smashing stuff onstage ... mostly Travis though.

Some might argue it gave the Grammys a little flair when the room can be known to be a bit stuffy -- but there are many who feel like TS was lashing out for losing at the show after Killer Mike swept all the Rap Grammys this year, leaving his "Utopia" album in the dust.

Regardless of the reason for the tantrum, JB doesn't wanna hear any of it ... on his episode "Business Decisions," he argued that Trav and Carti were nothing but a pair of "bozos" who made fools of themselves in the presence of beautiful women and buttoned-up men.

He also roasted Carti like a marshmallow for hitting the stage in a mask and then wondering why fans didn't go crazy ... "Playboi Carti looked confused. Like, ‘Y’all don’t know who I am?’ No, n**** You got a f***ing mask on! Who the f*** are you under there? You are not at SXSW anymore!!!"

Joe added, "We can’t recognize you bozos by the stocking mask you’re wearing. I hate these n*****, man ... all of ’em!!!”

Both Travis and Carti were exposed without the "little white kids" going apes*** in the crowd,  Joe argues -- saying their act was better suited for the muddy stomping grounds of Coachella.

BTW, Bone Thugs-N-Harmony's Layzie and Flesh-n-Bone recently told us similar ... there was no reason not to expect an OG like Killer Mike not to win the awards. Joe agrees.

Tough criticism, no doubt -- but considering how seemingly out of pocket their set was ... perhaps JB has a point here. FWIW, Trav and PC haven't addressed the whole thing.

Charlamagne Tha God is licking his wounds in the wake of Mo'Nique's "Club Shay Shay" interview ... and apologizing for his role in fueling her career downslide.

On Thursday, CTG gave himself "Donkey of the Day" -- 6 years after he did the same to Mo'Nique for scoffing at her crusade against Netflix for not paying her what it paid her peers like Chris Rock and Amy Schumer.

Mo'Nique sued Netflix in 2019 for discrimination, and ultimately the case settled out of court in 2022 ... and also got her special aired the following year.

At the behest of DJ Envy and Jess Hilarious, Charlamagne admitted he should've minded his business, and apologized to Mo and her husband Sidney for his meddling ways.

Mo'Nique mentioned 'DOTD' in her Netflix special, and her "Club Shay Shay" convo ... so the dishonor was clearly weighing on her brain all this time.

While Charlamagne's easing up on Mo'Nique, D.L. Hughley isn't cutting her any slack and ripped her in a lengthy rant off of his own.

D.L. and Mo'Nique have been at each other's throats for years, and now he's disputing her claim he and his podcast team were dismissive when she was a guest.

Usher gets the next crack at Apple Music's reign over the Super Bowl Halftime Show -- and they're going all out with a highly-produced promo ... an ode to "The Hangover."

Super Bowl LVIII's in Vegas this year and Apple gathered Usher and the gang -- Ludacris, Lil Jon and Taraji P. Henson -- to recreate the classic comedy flick in a 7-minute clip loaded with other stars, and it seems to suggest these stars might be in the mix on Sunday.

The short film opens with Apple CEO Tim Cook alerting Luda, Jon and Taraji via FaceTime (shameless plugs, duh!) that Ursh had gone MIA  ... and the trio proceeds to run amuck through Sin City to find the missing R&B superstar.

Along the way they encounter Anderson .Paak, J Balvin and Wesley Snipes, and Vegas staples -- The Blue Man Group and Criss Angel -- in full character to beef up the comedy and there's a strong hint that Usher will incorporate his masterclass roller skating into his halftime set.

Around this time last year, Usher, Floyd Mayweather and several other celebs hit the rink to celebrate Dr. Dre's "The Chronic" album with Apple Music so the synergy is running high.

It's shaping up to be Usher's year ... he's dropping his new album "Coming Home" on Sunday and also going on tour in August.

11:11 AM PT -- Leah Remini took to X to weigh in on the viral comparison saying, "I am screaming! And loving all the tweets! This perimenopausal woman will take any and all comparisons to the beautiful Beyoncé!"

Beyoncé reigns over her Beyhive ... but a new wax figure has social media thinking of Queens, New York, instead of the international pop sensation.

Here's the deal ... Madame Tussauds Blackpool, over in the UK, unveiled a statue of a pair of singer-songwriters Wednesday -- Beyoncé and Lady Gaga. While Gaga's recreation received little in the way of reaction, Beyoncé's had fans doing a double-take.

The general consensus ... Bey's life-size statue looks less like the 32-time Grammy winner and more like actress Leah Remini.

Check it out ... the statue's wearing a classic Bey outfit, and they captured her hair pretty well, but the face does seem to share some striking features with Leah -- and folks on social media were confused once they realized it's not supposed to be LR.

FWIW ... stuff like this happens semi-frequently with Madame Tussauds -- like Dwayne Johnson's statue racking up Vin Diesel comparisons or Lil Wayne blasting his own likeness.

Basically, it seems hella difficult to work with wax and even tougher to appease hordes of fans .... so, sometimes a Queen ends up looking like "The King of Queens" wife!

No word on whether Bey's seen the statue ... or if a Jay-Z/Kevin James wax mashup is on its way!

Usher's biggest hit single, "Yeah!" almost didn't happen, if not for his label boss L.A. Reid threatening him like a mob boss ... at least, that's how producer Rico Love remembers it.

The decorated singer/songwriter was a recent guest on Home Grown Radio where he looked back at his first big break -- writing the "Throwback" song on Usher's chart-topping "Confessions" album, which celebrates its 20th anniversary this year.

Rico says he was on hand when Usher first heard the demo to "Yeah!," written by Sean Garrett, which initially failed to impress the R&B megastar ... who flat-out refused to record the track.

Rico admits he also thought the song was corny -- he says the opening lyrics, "Up in the club with my homies/Tryin' to get a little V.I./Keep it down on the low-key" ... made him fall on the floor laughing.

On the other hand, Reid -- who was the President of Arista Records at the time -- heard a hit and demanded Usher push the song out ahead of the original first single, "Burn."

When Usher pushed back further, Rico says Reid didn't give him much of an option and told him to "do the f***** song" and hung up on him immediately after!!!

The tough love paid off in plaques ... "Yeah!" topped the charts for 12 weeks straight, and "Confessions" went on to be certified Diamond. Rico calls it great A&R'ing.

Tech N9ne is gearing up for his Kansas City Chiefs to play in the Super Bowl ... by hosting a party at a famous Las Vegas strip club across the street from the football field!!!

The Strange Music co-founder is working with Crazy Horse 3, kicking off their Super Bowl party lineup Thursday night at a special event -- and they're making sure he's all set to do his thing for the big weekend ... and yes, the specifics are very stripper-friendly.

Our sources say Tech N9ne's contract calls for him to get $20,000 in singles to throw in the club. Yeah, it's gonna be raining greenbacks in there ... and Tech's gonna be tossin' cash.

Tech N9ne's deal also includes a supply of 10 magnum bottles of 10 tequila -- those are the big boys -- with 5 bottles of Clase Azul and 5 bottles of Don Julio 1942. Nothing but the best for Tech.

The guy's a massive Chiefs fan and his "Red Kingdom" song has kinda become the unofficial team anthem ... so we're guessing the crowd is gonna favor KC.

NFL players expected to appear include ... Dallas Cowboys wideout KaVontae Turpin, Seattle Seahawks cornerback Riq Woolen, Los Angeles Chargers linebacker Daiyan Henley, Washington Commanders cornerback Emmanuel Forbes Jr. and Pittsburgh Steelers cornerback Joey Porter Jr.

Mo'Nique is riding Katt Williams' coattails in talking major trash -- 'cause she basically just did the exact same thing on the same pod ... but her list of names slightly differs.

The comedian sat down for a new episode of Shannon Sharpe's "Club Shay Shay" podcast -- and she took aim at A LOT of big stars in the industry -- airing out grievances and claims against Oprah, Tyler Perry, Tiffany Haddish and Kevin Hart ... just to name a few.

Mo'Nique has been vocal over the past few years about feeling blackballed in Hollywood and she continued to double down on all that here in this chat with Shannon ... once again dragging O and Tyler into the conversation with allegations of them attempting to torpedo her career, something she's alleged in the past -- but there's a new twist to this now.

She tells Shannon that she has TP on audio allegedly admitting something to this effect ... and SS himself appears to acknowledge that he might have heard it off-camera.

We should note ... Tyler has denied tarnishing Mo'Nique's rep behind the scenes -- despite her repeated insistence over the years that he has. She also didn't play the alleged audio on Shannon's show. Mo'Nique wasn't done there, though!

She kept the parade of insults and accusations going -- calling out Oprah for "overstepping" with her in many instances ... and even took a shot at Tiffany for something she said about Mo'Nique in a GQ interview. Mo'Nique went below the belt and mentioned TH's DUI arrests, as well as her controversy in regard to the icky lawsuit she was embroiled in.

We will note ... Mo'Nique has been on this campaign for years and years now -- alleging she's been done dirty by so many different people in the industry ... and while she's squashed some of her beef with a few individuals, it sounds like there's still bad blood with a vast majority.

It's pretty crazy to think Mo'Nique's gripes all stem from a movie she did way back in '09 -- a film we're sure she probably regrets now considering how much acrimony it's spurred.

Chrisean Rock's facing a legal battle on the civil front ... she's on the receiving end of a lawsuit for an alleged assault, one that allegedly took place during a Tamar Braxton show.

According to legal documents, obtained by TMZ ... TV personality James Wright is suing Chrisean, claiming she attacked him at a club show back in November -- an incident he says led to multiple face lacerations and two broken teeth.

ICYMI ... James Wright was reportedly hospitalized following Tamar's show in Downtown Los Angeles around this same time. Tamar talked about the alleged incident during an IG Live where she said Chrisean thought she was supposed to have a bigger role in the show ... and apparently became agitated when she was told that wasn't the case.

We obtained video showing Chrisean breaking up a prayer circle before the show ... but eyewitnesses on the tour told us that had nothing to do with the alleged incident.

Anyway ... in the suit, James, who sang backup for TB, says he told Rock she was supposed to only come onstage for the twerk portion at the end of the night. He says he told her she was not in the properly designated area and that’s when she allegedly hit him.

Wright claims Rock stuck him several times using a hand with "large champion style rings" that caused the lacerations and broken teeth. He also claims she called him a homophobic slur in the aftermath of the alleged assault.

Wright says he was sent to the hospital and also had to consult with a dentist and plastic surgeon in the aftermath of the alleged incident.

Now, James is taking Chrisean for assault, battery, and emotional distress … and he’s seeking compensation for his medical bills, among other damages.

North West's rap career has officially launched ... -- 'cause her verse on one of Kanye's tracks just got released ... along with a music video that features the kid too.

On Wednesday, Ye dropped his and Ty Dolla Sign’s "Talking/Once Again" music video from their forthcoming "Vultures" album -- releasing the music/visuals on social media, and having North front and center on camera ... not to mention on the mic.

The video -- directed by The D'Innocenzo Brothers -- not only highlights NW's "your bestie" bars ... but it also gives an up-close look at her hair styling routine -- as you can see, she's getting her hair braided in this clip.

She's not the only famous daughter in the mix here -- TD$ also introduces his daughter Jailynn Crystal in the video as he sings about protecting her from the crazy world.

BTW -- this is the same song North performed in Miami during Art Basel, where she surprised the crowd and rapped these same lyrics ... which she's definitely proud of. Her appearance on the song also tracks with recent enthusiasm she's shown as a creative -- remember, she hopped on TikTok and laid out her ideas for a music video of her own.

On its face, it appears she might be following in her dad's footsteps ... guess we'll see!

Anyway, the first installment of Ye and Ty$'s "Vultures" is finally expected to drop Friday -- although, it remains to be seen whether it'll actually hit mainstream streaming services. Ye's had a hard time finding distribution lately -- so it's unclear who people are gonna listen to this. We're also not sure if the project will release at all ... he's pushed it back a ton already.

Kanye recently complained he's being barred from booking venues in his hometown of Chicago ... and didn't rule out it might be because of his past antisemitic remarks. Clearly, that's all still top of mind for many -- which makes getting this project out sorta difficult.

In any case, Ye's got his little girl right by his side ... North obviously loves her father.

Kristin Cavallari says she was courted in a major way by Diddy when she was younger, but she blew him off because he wasn't her type and ultimately dodged "a f***ing bullet."

The former reality star sat down with her sidekick, Justin Anderson, on her "Let's Be Honest" podcast Tuesday and revealed that Diddy aggressively pursued her when she was in her early 20s, showering her with gifts on Valentine's Day one year.

Kristin said Diddy sent her the "biggest bouquet of flowers I’ve ever seen," as well as a large box of chocolates, a massive teddy bear and boatloads of tequila from his then-co-owned brand, Cîroc vodka or DeLeón tequila.

She said a slew of deliverymen marched into her house to drop off all the presents and "it was like s*** you see in a movie.”

According to Kristin, Diddy told her that he had a "TV crush" on her and "wanted to take me out," but the "Laguna Beach" star poo-pooed the idea and finally told him "no" after he kept hitting on her.

Justin asked Kristin if she had any interest at all in Diddy, and she admitted that part of her was wooed by him spoiling the "s*** out of me," but she just wasn't attracted to him.

She added, “And I’ve got a lot of stories like that, you guys, where I could never just go on a date with someone because it was so-and-so. Like, I literally always have had to be attracted to you … I don’t want to be the arm candy.”

Now, looking back, Kristin says she "dodged a f***ing bullet" and Diddy's a "red f***ing flag," alluding to his multitude of recent legal issues stemming from allegations of sexual assault stretching back decades.

Since late 2023, Diddy has been fighting lawsuits filed by multiple women, claiming the music mogul raped them and was involved in sex trafficking.

Diddy's former longtime girlfriend and R&B singer Cassie was first to bring a suit against him, but the two quickly settled, yet other lawsuits followed.

Kanye West says he can't book arena shows to perform his new music ... and he's seemingly saying his antisemitic rants are to blame.

Ye just posted a video on his Instagram story complaining about being told by multiple venues there's no availability for him.

Kanye's reasoning ... "And you know why that is."

Reading between the lines here, it seems Kanye says people who run the arenas and stadiums have a problem with him ... likely because of his hateful rants.

There's one arena Kanye says is open to his schtick ... the United Center in Chicago.

Kanye says his hometown arena is the only one he's had access to in the past year ... and it's where he's hosting a listening party Thursday night with Ty Dolla $ign for their new album, "Vultures."

Ye claims he sold out the United Center in seven minutes ... so he's saying he's in high demand but is being blacklisted.

At least, that's the takeaway from this video where he speaks with a lisp due to his new titanium dentures.

Doubling down on his point, Kanye also posted an all-caps note on his IG saying ... "I HAVE NOT BEEN ALLOWED TO PERFORM IN A YEAR FEELS LIKE THE ELVIS PRESLEY MOVIE."

Don Toliver will be a proud papa soon and thinks his baby should carry on the family's name ... but which name that'll be is still being figured out.

The Cactus Jack Records crooner tells TMZ Hip Hop he's greatly anticipating the new life he and longtime girlfriend, and fellow artist, Kali Uchis are bringing into the world ... which, judging by his use of pronouns, will be a baby boy. 💙

He and Kali lifted the pregnancy veil a few weeks ago with a video announcement that intertwined both of their childhoods, equally split 50/50.

Don told us that same collaborative effort is going into picking a name -- as they say, teamwork makes the dream work!

They both hit it big in R&B with stage names -- so the possibilities between their legal names and aliases could yield unique results.

No need to rush, they can always adjust the baby's birth certificate if they have second thoughts.

In the meantime, Don's riding high ... just as he did over Grammy weekend, pulling up to Hyde nightclub in WeHo.

He clearly does his own stunts ... making a memorable entrance on the same personalized chopper and "Hard Stone Psycho" from his new “Bandit” music video.

Issa Rae's jump into independent filmmaking is something more Black creators might have to explore ... according to Mona Scott-Young, who says it's all about maximizing your value!!!

We spoke to the "Love & Hip Hop" architect as she was shimmering outside of Clive Davis' pre-Grammy party, and she was confident Issa would continue to be a powerhouse in Hollywood, one way or another.

Issa recently predicted a doomsday for future Black programming on major TV networks after her HBO series "Rap Sh!t" got canceled ... publicly accusing studios for making Black shows less of a priority.

Several shows geared towards Black audiences -- "Southside," "A Black Lady Sketch Show," "The Game" reboot, and Issa's other HBO series, "Sweet Life: Los Angeles" all recently got the axe ... so, it feels like a shift is real.

Mona has operated several variations of 'L&HH' with VH1 for over a decade, so her experience with big wig execs isn't necessarily the same -- but she says if Issa needs to go indie to get the job done, then so be it!!!

When we asked Vivica A. Fox about this very subject, the actress could only speak positively of her travels through Tinseltown, so there are plenty of different perspectives hovering around the testy topic.

Killer Mike's epic sweep of 3 categories is the Grammy headline that matters -- not his arrest -- at least, that's how one of the producers who helped him win those trophies will remember the weekend.

TMZ Hip Hop first obtained the video Sunday showing Mike surrounded by several security guards outside Crypto.com Arena -- and they ended up holding him until LAPD showed up to arrest Mike for battery.

Honorable C.N.O.T.E. tells us he spoke to KM moments after the run-in with a security guard, and he says Mike called it "the third best thing" that happened to him on Sunday -- in other words, the whole drama was already rain down the drain for Mike.

His self-titled album dominated this year's hip hop categories -- including Best Rap Album award, for which C.N.O.T.E. produced the track "Spaceship Views."

Danielle Bregoli -- AKA Bhad Bhabie -- got a jump on Valentine's Day for good reason … she and her boyfriend threw a baby shower for their little girl, who'll be here in due time.

On Monday, the rapper and her man, Le Vaughn, shared photos and videos from the lavish party -- which they dubbed "A Kali Love Story," named after their first child together ... and Bhabie's first kid period.

As you can see ... Danielle is just about ready to pop. She's definitely at least in the second trimester now, and based on how big she is -- ya gotta figure she'll give birth very soon.

The platinum-selling MC -- who got her start on Dr. Phil's show way back when -- showed off her baby bump in a silky gown laced with red rose petals and the event space, curated by The Bella Xperience, decorated the scenery with pink and white colors for V-Day.

Several of their friends and family members were also seen indulging in the fun ... and everyone seemed to be having a ball.

BB and Le Vaugh made their reveal last year in similar grandiose fashion, a trend that’s likely to continue after the baby arrives. The couple -- who've been together since 2021 -- first announced they were expecting back in December.

If it feels like time has flown by watching this young lady grow up -- well, join the club ... we've covered her since pretty much the beginning, and now -- she's a Mama Bear to be.