TMZ Hip Hop - Page 50

North West takes after her dad more than we thought -- 'cause one of his best friends says she's knee-deep in production for her album ... and it'll apparently be kid-friendly, literally.

We ran into Justin LaBoy Tuesday at LAX -- and he gave us some insight into how the "Elementary School Dropout" is shaping up after North announced her own project at a recent Kanye West listening event. As it turns out ... Papa Bear is guiding this whole journey.

Justin tells us Kanye is putting all his chips in on his daughter's rap career, and everyone in his camp -- including Justin, who's very much so in Ye's inner circle -- is super excited to see what she can do.

Considering she already has a verse on one of Kanye's latest hits ('Talking/Once Again') ... the feeling is, she can churn out more all by herself. Justin tells us that while Kanye is helping North, she's actually the one steering the ship in terms of creative ... which is wild.

He says North is doing beat selection, and is even picking the engineer she wants to work with. Also, she's apparently dropping a ton of freestyles on the regular these days -- so, sounds like she's gonna be doing some real rapping here for whole songs.

Not just that, but Justin goes on to tell us that North has actually had some of her friends in the studio with her already, and there's gonna be some tracks with a bunch of kids on there.

From what Justin says he's heard so far ... 'ESD' is shaping up to be a classic record.

While some might've rolled their eyes upon hearing that North was dropping her own album -- 'cause, y'know, she's a little kid and everything -- Justin says Ye and co. are very much so taking this seriously ... and based on what we're hearing, they think she can be a legit MC.

As Justin says himself ... she comes from Kanye's bloodline, and if anyone can do it ... it'd be her. Pretty exciting stuff -- guess we'll just have to wait and see what North's got.

Bo$$, who famously was the first female rapper signed to Def Jam, has died.

Rapper Bun B announced the news Monday evening, paying tribute to Bo$$ ... whose real name was Lichelle Marie Laws. Bun posted a pic of Bo$$, and wrote, “Rest in peace to my big sis Lichelle Laws AKA Boss. One of the best female MCs and a dear friend."

Bun's announcement sparked quite a huge reaction from the hip hop world ... as Jermaine Dupri, Jadakiss, 9th Wonder, Ed Lover, Lloyd Banks, Slim Thug and many others all paid tribute to the pioneering MC.

DJ Premier also weighed in, praising Bo$$ as a talented legend, and made a public plea for Def Jam to release a collab he'd recorded with her in 1993.

DJ Battlecat remembered Bo$$ for leading the way for women in gangsta rap ... and added, "Rest in Detroit Queen."

Bo$$ was born and raised in Detroit, but moved to L.A. shortly after graduating high school. She integrated herself into the local music scene, catching the eye of one of DJ Quik‘s associates.

As the story goes, Russell Simmons was the one to sign her to Def Jam, and by 1993 she dropped her first (and only) studio album, "Born Gangstaz." She found some success on the charts with "Deeper" making the Hot 100.

No word on circumstances surrounding her death, or an official cause of death ... but Bo$$ had battled renal disease, which she was first diagnosed with in 2011. A GoFundMe was also set up in her name after a 2017 stroke and seizure left her needing "costly" care ... including a possible kidney transplant.

She was 54.

Madonna had a real treat in store for her fans at her California concert Monday night … and it was none other than Cardi B!!!

The New York-born rapper shocked the packed crowd at the Kia Forum in Inglewood when she strutted out onstage without warning for a sexy two-minute-plus performance with Madonna.

Cardi's surprise appearance occurred during the "Vogue" segment in which Madonna usually brings out other celebs onstage to rate a raunchy dance-off as part of her "Celebration" tour.

Check out this video obtained by TMZ … Cardi and Madonna were seated in silver chairs next to each other holding signs emblazoned with the number "10" and the word "Chop."

The superstars rated the dancers pirouetting around them and worshipping their bodies, giving them all, of course, tens. Cardi also jumped into the contest, twerking her butt off. And you know she scored a ten!

At one point, Madonna held up the "Chop" sign, which in ballroom competitions means you're not advancing to the next round. The audience probably didn't catch that, but who cares … Madonna, Cardi and the rest were having a blast!

Meanwhile, Madonna got a little raunchy herself with Cardi, caressing her thighs throughout the segment. But that’s just expected with Madonna and Cardi didn’t seem to mind one bit.

As the song wrapped, Cardi was escorted by the dancers off the stage ... and Madonna just kept the show going.

Zita Vass says she's open to pivoting her views on wanting to say the n-word at concerts -- 'cause it sounds like she's just not aware of how or why people would possibly be upset.

We talked to the Guess model Monday on "TMZ Live," and she defended her take online from this past weekend ... where she expressed a desire to be able to say the derogatory racial slur in live music settings, especially if she was just repeating lyrics from an artist.

Zita's whole thing here is this ... if there's no hate in her heart, what's the big deal???

Welp, we tried explaining to Zita why some -- especially Black people -- might take offense to hearing her use the term ... and after a lot of back and forth, it sounds like she finally might've started to understand.

She admits there may be some ignorance on her part -- and the bigger takeaway is that she's willing to learn ... which is refreshing to hear. Of course, some just wanted to dump on her -- and that's exactly what a good amount of people did in her Instagram comments.

This conversation we had with Zita is definitely worth a watch -- it's almost like she's learning about racism (or perceived racism) live for the first time ... and seems pretty genuine about it too, surprised that some might not be willing to give her the benefit of the doubt.

Biggie's former hype man Lil Cease has gone the distance ensuring his fallen friend got the legacy he deserved ... even parting ways with his precious personal recordings, so the estate could finalize his catalog.

TMZ Hip Hop chopped it up with Cease-A-Leo at The Biggie Experience in Brooklyn, hosted by the Notorious Kids, T'yanna and CJ Wallace and the "Crush On You" rapper tells us he's sadly exhausted his stash of Biggie tracks to fill up posthumous albums.

Cease was a member of Biggie's Junior M.A.F.I.A. rap group that famously brought the world Lil Kim, and he felt it best for the family to have the music he collected over the years.

With breaks in the Tupac Shakur and Jam Master Jay ice-cold murder cases, Cease says he thinks investigators should be able to piece together evidence to bring Biggie's fam some closure, but he added ... he hasn't heard anything concrete on that front to share.

Ditto for Diddy's latest round of trauma ... Cease will forever be an OG Bad Boy but hopes for an amicable resolution for all parties for all future cases. He stressed the principle of innocence until proven guilty!

He plans on preserving Biggie's history further with a documentary, and T'yanna and CJ are doing the same.

Nicki Minaj appears to have chewed out a stagehand during her most recent tour date -- and it was all caught on video.

The rapper is in the middle of her "Pink Friday 2" tour, and on Sunday ... she was out in Seattle for a concert -- where some behind-the-scenes drama unfolded between Nicki and someone on her team, or at least someone on production.

Check it out ... Nicki and this woman -- who seems to be trying to work on NM's hair -- get into a little argument ... and it's mostly Nicki looking exacerbated/frustrated with this lady.

Before the woman can do anything for Nicki's 'do -- her boss side-steps her and shoos her away as she's getting ready to go back onstage ... getting back to business and carrying on with the show.

Some are calling Nicki's reaction a bit dramatic ... but others are actually defending her.

Comedian Rip Micheals is already back on the scene after suffering a life-threatening heart attack a few months ago -- because his condition hasn't affected his funny bone.

We recently linked up with the "Wild 'N Out" vet in NYC coming out of the gym working on his fitness, and confirmed he's currently waiting on a heart transplant as his heart is functioning at 15% ... but Rip assures us he's recovering just nicely!!! 💪🏾

Rip shocked fans last November when he posted alarming photos of himself in the hospital ICU and credits Mayo Clinic for bringing him back to life like "Thriller."

He's not out of the woods yet ... he survived another heart attack in February following his comeback concert at the Apollo Theater and continues to monitor his vitals closely.

Contrary to popular belief, Rip says he suffers from congestive heart failure -- meaning his heart attack was caused by genetics and even had some jokes for his parents for not maximizing their biological options.

His famous comic pals figured laughter was the best medicine also -- Nick Cannon advised Rip to get like him and push out multiple kids -- before things get any worse.

North West is officially following in Kanye West's footsteps as she announced her debut album on Sunday ... a title that plays off her dad's legendary catalog.

Ye gave North the floor at his "Vultures 2" listening party Sunday night in Phoenix, and she unveiled her album name -- "Elementary School Dropout."

The announcement drew thunderous cheers across the venue, as the crowd immediately recognized the title as an homage to Ye's monumental debut, "The College Dropout" ... which dropped back in 2004, long before NW was even a twinkle in his eye.

Hip Hop nostalgia aside, North's album title is interesting for another reason -- Kanye is currently crusading against his daughter's private school in L.A.

The album title's gotta have Kim Kardashian feeling some sorta way ... we know she's been upset Kanye is airing his grievances about the school on social media, instead of discussing it with her privately ... as required by their divorce settlement.

North's crack at rap stardom started with her feature on Ye and Ty Dolla $ign's "Talking/Once Again" from "Vultures 1."

That put her in historic company as one of the youngest artists to place on the Billboard charts ... and an early indicator she'll be back on "Vultures 2" and, eventually, her own record.

Zita Vass wants to know why she -- and presumably other white women -- can't say the n-word during live concerts ... and she's got quite an argument on why it should be kosher.

The Guess model posted a series of videos on her social media account this weekend ... and it was all about this hot-button issue -- namely, folks who aren't Black needing to censor themselves when it comes to singing or rapping the n-word, especially at live shows.

Zita says she's sick of doing that ... and thinks she oughta have a pass in live music settings.

She goes on to argue that African-Americans use the word as a term of endearment -- and insists she has no ill will in her heart if she were to use it in repeating back song lyrics ... going on to say she resents the notion that doing so would make her racist in some circles.

Zita also asks why the term is only exclusive to Black people ... and openly wonders why it's taboo for non-Black people to say it. She distinguishes between wanting to use the n-word generally and using it for musical purposes -- noting she only wants to do the latter.

Of course, she's catching some backlash -- with lots of people flooding her comment section to let her know why it's not okay ... explaining points that have been litigated ad nauseam.

Her IG caption for this is a little eyebrow-raising too, FWIW ... she writes, "THE N WORD - Warning #controversial #africanamericans."

Chris Brown apparently got into a little fender-bender this weekend -- and while the scrape to his sports car will probably buff right out ... that doesn't mean he was happy about it.

The singer was hitting the town very early Sunday morning in Hollywood -- leaving The Nice Guy after a little partying, we're told -- and on his way out ... he seems to have bumped into another vehicle that left the front of his Lamborghini with some major scuff marks.

The fact that his whip is white makes the black marks all the more noticeable, of course, and it looks like Chris stopped to exchange info with whoever it was he might've tapped.

He certainly looked frustrated at the moment -- but handled his biz and went on his way.

The next morning, however, Chris seems to have realized the extent of the damage -- 'cause he was photographed looking a little heated as he appeared to be addressing the mishap with a crew of people he was with while leaving a private house party just hours later.

No word on what exactly he was saying -- but it sure reads like ... "LOOK WHAT HAPPENED TO MY F***ING CAR!!!" This new angle also appears to show the bumper is slightly dented.

Like we said ... it should be easy enough to fix it -- but considering how damn pricey these cars are -- it might end up costing CB a pretty penny ... assuming insurance doesn't just handle it. In any case ... Chris wasn't happy about having to deal with it, period.

Kanye West's wife is keeping her wardrobe risque ... even though they're back on U.S. soil, she's still flashing as much skin as she did in Europe -- and it might be the perfect distraction from yet another late release from her husband.

Bianca Censori was rocking a completely sheer black bodysuit and high-high garter boots with her bare ass cheeks on full display Friday night in L.A. ... as she and Ye arrived at a listening party for his "Vultures 2" album.

The project was supposed to be released to the public on Friday, but as he typically does ... Kanye hit pause, and it never dropped.

Inside the party, though, no one seemed to mind the delay. Hell, they were all getting to hear the unfinished album -- and, no doubt, Bianca gave everyone something else to talk about ... her lack of clothing.

As for the album's status -- Kanye told fans on social media, "We in the lab." Just as he did for the first 'Vultures' record, Ye is working with Ty Dolla $ign for the follow-up.

Barbara Corcoran's dishing some no-nonsense advice for Kylie Jenner and Travis Scott over their desperate attempts to offload their uber-fancy Beverly Hills mansion.

We got the "Shark Tank" star out in L.A. earlier this week ... she tells us the exes slashing the price from $21.9M to under $18M ain't enough, and they need to quite simply be realistic when it comes to their asking price.

The real estate pro says it comes down to the L.A. luxury housing market not being the best right now, especially with that pesky new "mansion tax" in play -- which she's been vocal about ... previously telling us it was ridiculous.

BC also weighs in on Travis' other property, which sits atop a huge crack in a Brentwood hillside caused by recent record-breaking storms.

A precarious situation for sure, but Barbara says it's nothing to worry about.

As someone who's purchased a few oceanfront properties herself, Barbara says she's seen fellow seafront property owners have their pads washed out ... so, to her, a crack in the land ain't a big deal nor is it a bad investment, especially if Travis uses the property wisely.

Leave it to Barbara to put things in perspective!

B.G.'s long-awaited prison release has done NADA for Cash Money Hot Boys reunion talks -- it's actually moving things in the opposite direction!!!

During our convo with Juvenile, the OG of the bunch assured TMZ Hip Hop their reunion tour is still going down, as he plans to put his "big brother" peer mediation skills to work.

Juve believes the CMB crew just needs time to cool off -- but, as for how long that will take ... whoadie that's another story!!!

Turk was confident in telling TMZ Hip Hop a few months ago that the original Cash Money cartel would be taking over like they did in '99 and the 2000s ... but B.G. kicked off the year throwing shots at Lil Wayne and apparently, Turk needs a make-good himself.

Birdman's brother Terrence "Gangsta" Williams recently speculated to DJ Vlad that Turk would have to distance himself from Birdman if the tour happens, as the CM boss is still upset over Turk's bean-spilling "Drink Champs" interview from a couple years back.

Returning to the basics could potentially squash the posse infighting ... Juve's re-releasing his "400 Degreez" on March 29 with a pair of new tracks named "Party" and "We Be Blowing Money" and fondly recalled memories of making the classic album.

Juve didn't have an explanation for why there are several variations of his breakout single "Ha" on the project, but he's happy he took a gamble on rapping over a Latin track where he won big with his "Follow Me Now" hit.

Bad Bunny is mad at a fan whom he claims posted unauthorized concert footage on a YouTube account ... and now he's suing the dude.

According to a new lawsuit, obtained by TMZ, Bad Bunny claims a man named Eric Guillermo Madronal Garrone posted full song performances on the YouTube channel he runs, MADforliveMUSIC.

Bad Bunny claims Garrone went to his Feb. 21 concert in Salt Lake City, Utah and recorded multiple videos of his live performance ... uploading the footage to Garrone's YouTube channel.

Problem is ... Bad Bunny says he owns the rights to the live performance music and Garrone did not have his authorization or consent to record and post them online for people to watch for free.

Bad Bunny says Garrone is using the famous singer’s name and music to draw eyeballs to the YouTube channel ... thus taking views and ad revenue away from Bad Bunny's own official YouTube page.

In the docs, Bad Bunny says he tried to issue standard takedown notices under the Digital Millennium Copyright Act -- also known as DMCA -- demanding YouTube remove Garrone's videos.

Bad Bunny claims YouTube took down the videos but Garrone filed a counterclaim to get them back up … leaving BB no choice but to file the lawsuit.

TMZ did some digging and found the YouTube channel Bad Bunny has beef with ... and it seems all the videos of his song performances are deleted for now ... except for this video of the concert orchestra that opened for Bunny that night there in SLC.

Clearly, Garrone had a great view at the show and some high-quality camera equipment ... and this orchestra footage runs 9 minutes in the YouTube upload.

If Garrone was shooting/posting similar videos for the rest of Bad Bunny's concert -- as Bunny claims -- it seems a lot different than just uploading a cell phone video of the show to social media .... as millions of people do. In fact, lots of shorter clips of his concert from that evening are up on TikTok -- but none of them are all that lengthy.

DJ Paul is picking today's social media rap era as the toughest all-time to navigate but for argumentive purposes, he agrees with Nelly that the '00s were harder than the '90s!!!

TMZ Hip Hop caught up with the Three 6 Mafia star on Friday amid his jampacked week touring in Arizona and a quick ponder determined Nelly was on the money picking the '00s ... it wasn't much of a debate!!!

Nelly had social media in a frenzy all week after appearing on HBO's "The Shop." The Diamond-selling rapper argued for his own era ... he hit the 10-milly sales mark duking it out with Jay-Z, Eminem, 50 Cent and Ludacris ... the era was sprouting future hip hop legends like weeds.

Paul's the perfect guy to ask for the question ... he and Three 6 Mafia were an instant regional success in Memphis after debuting in the mid-90s, earning platinum plaques in both decades and even Oscar gold in 2006!!!

Despite the group's success, Paul also remembers having to take a backseat to Eminem on the charts after their '00s crossover but doesn't remember having to claw for attention in the '90s ... Master P and No Limit, Juvenile and Cash Money felt like their only Southern competition at the time.

It's the present day, Paul claims is kicking everyone's ass because of social media trolls!!!

He's still taking his rap career seriously... he and longtime collaborator RiFF RAFF released a new "Talky Talky" single just today and he plans on releasing joint albums with both Krayzie Bone and Young Buck.

Jeremih is sitting pretty these days after selling off a portion of his catalog for a pretty penny ... which begs the question, is the writing on the wall for music industry royalties???

Joe Budden seems to think so -- per the rants in his past pair of podcasts, and Jeremih had more riddles than answers when we caught the R&B wiz at LAX Friday to weigh in on this exact issue ... but we think we can read between the lines.

Back in January, Jeremih and HarbourView Equity Partners reached a deal that signed over a chunk of his publishing rights -- his discog booming with hits, starting directly with his debut single, 2009's "Birthday Sex."

Jeremih tells us he still maintains some ownership over his records but couldn't give his full endorsement if other artists should follow suit.

He notes the musical landscape was different back then -- release a hot track and the radio took care of the rest but in today's social media era, promoting music has become more volatile and every artist has to choose the best adventure for themselves going forward.

We tried to squeeze more advice outta him -- but the "Oui" singer took an infamous cue from his "Final Lap" tour headliner 50 Cent and copped a plea ... namely, that he's hurtin'.