TMZ Hip Hop - Page 2

Drake soaked up the best of his worlds for his 38th birthday in Houston last night ... a wholesome dinner with his loving parents -- before basking in stripper paradise with the boys!!!

The hip hop megastar eased into more life last night at a restaurant surrounded by family and friends ... and a giant 3-piece cake reminding him of his age -- stuffed with fiery sparklers!!!

He and his camp later trekked to Drake's go-to strip club in the city, Area 29 -- the same place that tossed the imposter leeching off his fame a couple years ago.

Cardi B will no longer be performing at ONE MusicFest 2024 this weekend ... the superstar rapper was scheduled to headline the star-studded fest, but she says she's dealing with a health issue!!!

Cardi and ONE MusicFest broke the unfortunate news on Wednesday ... Cardi apologized to the fans in Atlanta but says she's still recovering from a "medical emergency" and is focused on coming back better than ever.

The show will go on and the lineup is still stacked ... Earth, Wind & Fire, Nelly, Method Man, Jill Scott, GloRilla, DJ Drama, BigXThaPlug, Fat Joe and dozens of other well-known artists are still scheduled to hit the stage for what will be the fest's 15th anniversary.

Travis Scott's Australian fans in Melbourne put chaos on the menu for his "Circus Maximus" world tour stop in an eerily familiar scene reminiscent of the 2021 Astroworld disaster!!!

Swarms of rowdy fans grew restless outside Marvel Stadium ahead of Tuesday's show ... and as tensions began to rise, so did the amount of objects thrown into the air!!!

At one point, fans can be seen breaking through barricades in the general admission area,  and some were bold enough to lift them off the ground altogether!!!

RZA is looking back at Kendrick Lamar and Drake's epic rap battle with admiration, but thinks K. Dot was able to get the edge because he's naturally got that glow ... the power of elevation!!!!

The Wu-Tang Clan architect tells Complex in a new interview he believes Kendrick and Drake can shake hands down the line like Jay-Z and Nas did for their era in due time ... and he goes on to analyze their rap war from an athletic angle.

"First of all, Kendrick is the natural lyricist, and Drake is a trained lyricist," RZA explained. "You could train a fighter and he could be good, then you got those natural fighters who also then go through training. So that's a different chamber there. And while Drake got bars forever, Kendrick's bars' potency was stronger."

Cardi B and Offset's divorce appears to have taken a contentious turn ... the rapper just put her baby daddy on blast in a series of heated tweets.

Late Tuesday evening, Cardi shared her candid opinions about Offset on X ... telling her followers she wished "the worst on this man."

As she continued, the "Up" rapper declared she had "never hated somebody so much" and encouraged those thirsting after the Migos member to take him off her hands.

Kanye West is taking full advantage of the Japanese resources at his disposal to complete his "Bully" album -- he recruited a well-known photog to shoot his album cover!!!

On Wednesday, Ye debuted the "Bully" cover art, which depicts a person squinting heavily and brandishing black and white teeth ... looks similar to his infamous titanium grill.

Ye credited Japanese photographer Daidō Moriyama for the album cover ... the 86-year-old is renowned for his bold black-and-white portrait shots and the superstar rapper apparently got the results he was looking for!!!

Damon Wayans Jr. isn't ashamed to say he hasn't watched everything in the famous family's extensive catalog ... he's a fan of comedies, but couldn't get past the trailer for some of the action films!!!

"The Breakfast Club" quizzed DWJ on Wednesday about studying Wayans films growing up, and he admitted totally skipping Uncle Keenan Ivory's 1996 "thriller" "The Glimmer Man" ... y'know, the one he costarred in with Steven Seagal.

If nothing comes to mind, you're not alone ... "The Breakfast Club" hosts met his mentioning of the film with complete radio silence!!!

Eminem kept it all business opening up for Barack Obama at a Kamala Harris event in Michigan ... but Barack Obama was so loose, he started rapping a famous Em song.

Slim Shady just introduced Obama at Tuesday's Harris campaign rally in Detroit, and he kept it pretty brief and played things straight ... but when Barry O came out, he lost himself in the music.

Ya gotta see the video ... Obama takes the baton from Eminem and start's rapping Em's "Lose Yourself" at the podium ... and the crowd goes crazy.

Busta Rhymes was busting out some serious anger -- in fact, he was straight-up fuming, unleashing some serious wrath on someone who clearly pushed all the wrong buttons.

TMZ obtained a clip of Busta going off on a guy in a suit at Detroit Metro Airport over the weekend ... and he definitely wasn't holding back, dishing out a string of profanities.

Busta was getting all up in the guy's face, repeatedly yelling "f*** you," making sure his message was loud and clear.

Quando Rondo wants to fix his public perception after years of legal run-ins, but won't suffer cabin fever figuring out the game plan ... a judge is allowing him to hit NYC to resume his rap career!!!

TMZ Hip Hop obtained court docs that approved QR's request to travel to New York this week to conduct business with his label, Atlantic Records.

Probation officers have been keeping Quando on a tight leash, but apparently had no issues with him visiting the Atlantic Records offices.

Busta Rhymes is urging people to take a chill pill reacting to the ongoing Diddy legal saga ... they're affecting the court of public opinion in the worst way possible!!!

The veteran rapper was at the premiere for "Venom: The Last Dance" and defended Diddy to Extra, within reason ... Busta's not feeling the snap judgment and jokes regarding Diddy's sex trafficking charges -- but is all for prosecution if there's any truth to the allegations!!!

Busta says the truth needs time to surface, and everyone should fall back until then ... because he's seeing a lot of thirst on his timeline with everyone interjecting their 2 cents!!!

Kanye West and Bianca Censori aren't letting breakup rumors stop them from enjoying the best of Tokyo's retail scene ... embarking on another adventure in the shopping district after a turbulent month.

Watch the vid ... Ye and his wife are seen hitting up the Ginza shopping district, stepping out in matching all-black ensembles. Bianca, unsurprisingly, hit Japan's capital in one of her signature skin-showing looks ... as the Yeezy architect wore tight-ass pants and an itty-bitty crop top, which featured plenty of side boob.

The rapper didn't break from his everyday style, either ... choosing to wear an all-black combo, which he's been known to rock on more than one occasion.

Doja Cat decided not to paint the town red this year for her birthday ... instead issuing an all-black dress code for her big day.

Check it out ... the artist stepped out in a black leather look arriving at The Nice Guy in Los Angeles Monday to ring in her 29th birthday. Doja kept things entirely dark for her name-day celebration ... including rocking raven hair for the occasion.

Her celebrity friends followed suit with their attire, too. For instance, Hailey Bieber arrived in a long black leather trench coat and itty-bitty black sunglasses ... reminiscent of the get-up worn in "The Matrix."

Cardi B is firing back at the prank caller who reported her kids to CPS, making it crystal clear the only one in danger is the caller -- 'cause when she finds out who it was, she’s ready to "beat the s***" out of them.

The rapper went live on IG from a hospital bed Monday, where she’d been laid up for a few days -- and despite being under the weather, she didn't hold back, venting, "Motherf***ers have taken s*** too f***ing far when you mess with my f***ing kids."

Cardi continued, sharing her frustration over CPS showing up at her gated mansion at 11 PM while her 3 kids -- whom she shares with her estranged hubby Offset -- were sleeping ... adding the anonymous caller had reported the kids were being abused and beaten.

Diddy's kids are speaking out in the wake of their father's incarceration and growing legal controversy ... posting their support of the music mogul in a joint statement.

In a message shared to Instagram, Diddy's children -- D'Lila, Jessie, Justin, Christian, Chance, and Quincy -- reflected on the last month's events ... and how it "has devastated our family."

The rapper's children wrote ... "Many have judged both him and us based on accusations, conspiracy theories, and false narratives that have spiraled into absurdity on social media. We stand united, supporting you every step of the way. We hold onto the truth, knowing it will prevail, and nothing will break the strength of our family."

Eminem is used to being the headlining act, but he'll be the opener at Kamala Harris' campaign rally tonight in Detroit ... where he's set to introduce none other than former President Barack Obama.

CNN is reporting Eminem will be joining the campaign trail at an absolutely crucial time for the Harris campaign ... with Election Day just two weeks away.

For those expecting Eminem to break out into song, don't get your hopes up. Em is reportedly planning to welcome Obama to his city and share some thoughts on the presidential race.