TMZ Hip Hop - Page 50

French Montana is having serious health problems ... he's been laid up in ICU for several days, and it appears doctors are still struggling to resolve the issues.

French posted this video early Monday morning which he shot from his hospital bed. There is a dry erase board in the room, with the words "manage pain."

TMZ broke the story ... the "Unforgettable" rapper was rushed to the hospital last week after experiencing intense stomach pain and nausea ... along with an elevated heart rate.

Apparently, when cops arrived at French's home they felt he was intoxicated, at least according to the 911 call. French's people say he was NOT intoxicated.

Kanye West's opera, Nebuchadnezzar, is officially underway at the Hollywood Bowl -- and based on what we can see so far ... it's pretty epic.

Ye's got his Sunday Service choir collective gathered at the Bowl, as well as singer Peter Collins and the music group Infinity's Song on hand ... who are expected to be part of the performance. Longtime collaborator Vanessa Beecroft is directing the opera.

Early footage we got a hold of shows Kanye bringing the dialogue ... and it's a totally full house.

This, of course, comes after Kanye and his choir put on a stupendous performance last week at Joel Osteen's megachurch in Houston. That show went on for 2 plus hours, but there was never a dull moment. It also brought in a record number of viewers across the board.

Ye's opera is based on a biblical story of the Babylonian King Nebuchadnezzar from the Book of Daniel. He's often remembered as the destroyer of Solomon's temple, who went on to hold Jews captive in the city after taking Jerusalem by siege.

A$AP Rocky says he would love to perform for the people he was locked up with in a Swedish jail, but has his doubts it would ever happen ... however the facility could actually grant his wish.

The Swedish Prison and Probation Service tells TMZ ... they haven't received any formal request from A$AP regarding a potential performance for the inmates, but they say they would take any such request seriously and at least discuss how they could make it happen.

In other words, prison officials tell us it's not an automatic no on their end.

You'll recall ... A$AP told us earlier this week he's going back to Sweden to help immigrants in the European country, and also said he wants to do a show inside the jail he spent a month in after he got into a street brawl in Stockholm.

Rocky told us he doubted a potential jail gig would even be possible because prisoners there aren't allowed out of their cells for more than an hour each day ... but it sounds like the Swedes are willing to work with him if he goes through the proper channels.

In the same convo, A$AP claims some immigrants in the jail wait between 10 months and 2 years to go before a judge ... but Swedish officials tell us Rocky's got his facts wrong, and only 15 percent of inmates go 4 months or more without seeing a judge.

Keep that in the memory bank for your next world trivia game!

Iggy Azalea and Playboi Carti's rental home was burglarized in Atlanta ... and the couple told cops a massive amount of jewelry was stolen!!!

Law enforcement sources tell TMZ ... officers responded to a residential burglary Sunday, and Iggy told cops a thief found a way into the couple's Buckhead mansion a few days before and made off with tons of bling.

Our sources say the missing items include custom rings, chains, bracelets, pendants, watches, earrings and even a diamond engagement ring. The missing jewelry is a mix of gold, diamonds, silver, platinum, pink sapphire and rose gold.

We're told the amount of missing jewelry is worth a whopping $366,000!!!

Our sources say Iggy told cops she was alone inside the home when the burglary went down, and she heard footsteps in the house but didn't think much of it at the time. Iggy told police it was raining, and she left a back door unlocked so Playboi Carti could get in the house ... and she also told cops she thought the thief had a gun.

We're told cops have security cam footage from the night of the burglary, and video shows the suspect leaving the house with a bag in hand.

Don't let these two almost identical images of rapper Offset throw you for a loop ... Get it together and see if you can detect the sneaky switches that have been made to this tricky pic!

The Migos member was spotted at the Los Angeles Lakers vs. Atlanta Hawks game earlier this week, and we have made a few changes to the pic above! Don't let the bright bling blind you ... Try and get a really good look around and see if you can figure out the differences between these two extra icy shots!

French Montana was rushed to the hospital by ambulance Thursday after experiencing heart issues and intense stomach pain, but according to the 911 call, it appears cops believed he was 'intoxicated' ... something his team disputes.

We're told when cops arrived they stormed the house and put several people in handcuffs. French was in his bedroom, asleep. His people say he was not feeling well. When cops woke him up we're told he began yelling -- because he didn't know what was going on -- and then he collapsed. That's when police called for an ambulance.

We got the 911 dispatch audio and you hear a portion that's redacted, although they are clearly talking about French since he was the subject of the call. When the redaction ends you hear the word, "intoxicated."

Sources connected to French say he was NOT intoxicated, but now we have additional information that helps put the scene in context. We're told a neighbor called 911, believed a robbery was going down at French's Calabasas home.

XXXTentacion fans are about to get something special from the late rapper ... his fourth and final album is set for its long-awaited release.

XXX's posthumous album is dubbed "Bad Vibes Forever" and it's dropping in just two weeks on Dec. 6.

The late rapper's manager, Solomon Sobande, describes 'Bad Vibes' as the love child between 2 of XXX's previous projects, "17" and "?" ... and the new album is the second released since XXXTentacion's death.

XXX's mother, Cleopatra Bernard, is the album's executive producer ... and the project has a healthy number of features, including Blink-182, Tory Lanez and Mavado, plus a country collab with Lil Nas X.

'Bad Vibes Forever' includes some previously released singles in "Royalty" and "Hearteater" ... with the latter's music video featuring an appearance from the ex-girlfriend who accused XXX of physical abuse.

It's been almost a year and a half since XXX was murdered ... as we first reported, XXX was shot dead in June 2018 when 2 men wearing hoodies rolled up on the rapper at a motorcycle dealership in Florida and opened fire. The deadly shooting was captured on video.

As for the new album ... its title track is now streaming on all major platforms.

French Montana is hospitalized in Los Angeles after suffering scary cardiac issues, intense nausea, and getting an unexpected visit from cops to his home ... TMZ has learned.

French was rushed to a hospital by ambulance Thursday around 1:30 PM ... but it's cops who made the call to get him treatment. According to law enforcement sources ... L.A. County Sheriff's deputies were called to his Calabasas home for a possible robbery.

That turned out to be a false alarm, but the responding deputies determined French was acting abnormal and seemed out of it. Sources connected to the rapper tell us he'd been suffering severe stomach pains, nausea and perhaps most alarmingly ... an elevated heart rate.

We're told French was taken to a San Fernando Valley hospital, and he's awake and alert right now. He's getting treatment that includes IV fluids and is expected to be released later today.

Our sources say French has been traveling a lot over the last couple of weeks -- including trips to the Middle East and Europe. We're told some around him suspect he could have been exposed to contaminated food.

Story developing ...

Originally Published -- 11/21 5:29 PM PT

Post Malone likes to raise the stakes when he plays beer pong ... and he went home a huge winner after sinking some cups with a ton of dough on the line!!!

Here's the deal ... Post challenged his up-and-coming artist, Tyla Yaweh, to a $50,000 game of pong before their Wednesday night concert at The Forum in Los Angeles ... and Posty came out on top.

The high-stakes drinking game during the concert pre-party drew a huge celeb crowd ... with Billy Idol, Rich The Kid, Niall Horan, Mike Stud and Diplo hanging around the table as Tyla and Posty went back and forth.

The beer pong game came down to the wire, and when the dust settled, the "Beerbongs and Bentleys" rapper was $50k richer. Not a bad way to make some money.

And unlike Post's $20k NFL playoff wager with YG, this bet didn't take 9 months to collect ... Tyla sent Posty the dough over Cash App right after Post sank the last cup.

Diddy is calling out one of his biggest business partners -- potentially risking his own neck -- in order to take a stand in a Supreme Court case that will effect discrimination laws for all Americans.

Diddy's pissed off at Comcast, because the cable provider used his name and REVOLT channel as an example of how inclusive it is of minority-owned channels. Comcast is being sued by Byron Allen, who claims it refuses to carry his channels ... while it airs "lesser-known, white-owned" networks.

The case is now being heard in the high court, and when Comcast puffed its chest by using Diddy, the mogul had enough. Diddy says, "It is not accurate to use my name or my network as an example of inclusion." He adds, the cable company is putting "its legal tactics ahead of the rights of millions of Americans to be heard. This is not OK."

In the simplest terms ... Comcast wants the Supreme Court to rule that under the Civil Rights Act of 1866, Byron must prove racial discrimination is the "sole cause" for it rejecting his channels.

As Diddy points out, "If they [Comcast] are successful, it will become much harder for any victim of discrimination to seek justice in court."

Beyond the Supreme Court case ... Diddy's making it clear he's not thrilled with this biz relationship with Comcast, anyway. He says, "REVOLT has never been in a position to truly compete on a fair playing field because it has not received the economic and distribution support necessary for real economic inclusion. Our relationship with Comcast is the illusion of economic inclusion"

Kanye West's plan to build an amphitheater on his ranch is drawing the ire of officials in Wyoming ... and they're ordering him to put the brakes on his construction project pronto!!!

Park County Wyoming Planner Joy Hill tells TMZ ... the County is ordering Kanye to cease construction on his property because he broke ground without a permit and that's a big no-no.

As we reported ... Kanye submitted docs to build a 70,684-square-foot amphitheater on his sprawling Monster Lake Ranch, and there were construction crews on the property moving large amounts of land to clear a footprint.

We're told Kanye's team was told to stop construction when county officials visited the site after he submitted his building permit application, but subsequent visits to the site by officials showed his team ignored the mandate and kept working.

And, get this ... we're told Kanye's proposed meditation space was on the agenda at a Tuesday meeting for the Park County Planning and Zoning Commission, but the topic never came up because a few hours prior, Kanye's team notified the commission he was changing the intended purpose of the site to residential use.

Now, we're told Kanye's about to get a letter from the County telling him to put an end to construction ... and he's gotta submit a whole new building permit application.

A$AP Rocky just got catapulted to "primary" status in the impeachment investigation of President Trump ... due to the EU Ambassador's testimony about a phone call regarding the rapper's Swedish assault case.

Rocky got roped into Wednesday's hearing because EU Ambassador Gordon Sondland said while he was sitting in a restaurant in Kiev on July 26 ... Trump called him and the "primary purpose" of their chat was A$AP.

Sondland testified Wednesday they mostly discussed A$AP's imprisonment in Sweden ... despite claims the phone call involved Trump inquiring about the Ukrainian government investigating Joe Biden and his son, Hunter.

As you'll recall, the rapper was jailed in Sweden for nearly 5 weeks as he awaited trial for assault following an altercation with a man on the street. He was eventually found guilty by a panel of judges, but with no further jail time ... Rocky bolted back to the States.

Trump was very vocal about the unfair treatment of Rocky and his administration got involved ... and Sondland says that's what they discussed on that July 26 call.

However -- pertaining to the impeachment investigation -- Sondland later testified the phone call also "included the subject of investigations" into the Bidens, and stated there was a quid pro quo established between Trump and Ukraine.

It looks like Kodak Black is gonna be a superman when he walks out of a federal prison -- that is, if he sticks to his higher education plan, which includes a little nihilistic philosophy!!!

Sources close to the incarcerated MC tell TMZ ... on the heels of getting sentenced to 46 months in prison, Kodak's shooting to get a college diploma by the time he gets out. We're told he's interested in pursuing business and marketing. The federal prison in Florida where he's doing his time offers classes, and he plans to register.

That's not where his learning road ends. Our sources say Kodak's actually planning to take the SAT when he's eventually released in hopes of getting into the University of Florida and earning a bachelor's degree.

Of course, this follows his previous goal of wanting a GED about a year ago while he was locked up. We're told he ended up getting it, BTW.

And, as if biz and marketing reading isn't enough, we're told he'll be supplementing that with some other literature to get his creative juices flowing -- good, old-fashioned Friedrich Nietzche books, in fact. Ah yes, "The Death of God," "The Superman" and "The Will To Power." Heavy stuff, but time's on his side. Sorta.

In addition to his nearly 4-year sentence, Kodak was just hit with two new counts of gun possession last week and could get up to 30 more years for each charge.

A$AP Rocky says his time behind bars in Sweden is exactly why he's returning to that country -- which seems insane -- but he's on a mission to help the inmates and immigrants he met there.

We got the rapper Tuesday evening outside the swanky Rick Owens clothing store in NYC and asked why in the world he'd go back. A$AP says the month in jail for his assault case opened his eyes to the plight of immigrants. He says he was especially aware of the support he was getting, as a celeb, while some prisoners around him were rotting for 10 months or more before seeing a judge.

He's on a mission to change that. For starters, A$AP says he's donating proceeds from his December 11 concert in Stockholm to an immigrant rights org called FARR, the Swedish Network of Refugee Support Groups.

As we first reported ... Rocky was held in inhumane conditions while prosecutors decided whether to charge him for aggravated assault stemming from a street brawl. The case drew worldwide attention ... and even President Trump and his administration got involved.

A$AP was ultimately found guilty but did NOT have to serve any more time behind bars. Rocky wasted no time jetting outta Sweden, and it seemed that would be the last time he'd ever be there -- until Live Nation announced he'd be returning to Sweden next month.

A$AP had said jail was scary and humbling during his first performance in the States after getting back from Sweden. Still, he tells us he's not letting fear hold him back, and even plans to visit an area where police don't go ... just to boost spirits of Swedish immigrants.

There was one topic he did NOT want touch, though. We asked about Trump's efforts to free him, and ... well, just watch. Fair to say, Rocky would rather play a Swedish jailhouse concert than discuss POTUS!

Kanye West's appearance and performance at Joel Osteen's Lakewood Church was one of the biggest Christian events in recent memory, with streaming numbers that shattered records.

Kanye's Sunday night service was broadcast across 4 Lakewood-related platforms on Facebook and YouTube with 4.17 million unique viewers total. We're told by comparison, Joel's Sunday morning service usually pulls between 700k and 1.3 million sets of eyeballs.

The 4.17 million is certainly impressive, considering Kanye's appearance at Joel's service earlier in the day also amassed hundreds of thousands of viewers. It was also broadcast on SiriusXM radio and will hit television sets in the coming weeks.

People in Christian circles tell us the Kanye collab was one of the biggest faith-fueled events in recent history ... and the effects are still being felt around the community.

Kodak Black wants approval to enter a drug rehab program while he's serving his Florida prison sentence -- but he could end up getting more than just clean and sober.

According to docs filed Monday in federal court, the rapper is asking the court to send him to a prison that offers the Residential Drug Abuse Program. The 500-hour program lasts 9 months and involves group therapy, as well as one-on-one treatment.

It also requires all participants to live in a separate unit from the general population -- a pretty clear benefit to a celebrity rapper doing time.

The biggest fringe benefit, though, for Kodak could be shortening his sentence. Upon completion of the program, inmates can get as much as 12 months knocked off their prison bid.

It's an interesting request from Kodak, who -- as we first reported -- claimed last week, someone in his current prison had drugged him, causing him to get involved last month in a prison brawl.

He's serving 46 months right now on federal weapons charges, and still has to deal with a sexual assault case in South Carolina.