TMZ Hip Hop - Page 50

YK Osiris is in talks with the family of the 14-year-old who fell to his death from an amusement park ride, saying he wants to do his part by covering funeral expenses.

We talked to YK Tuesday at LAX, where he told us he's already talking through the process with Tyre Sampson's family. The rapper says he'd also like to be in attendance for the funeral, if they'll have him.

YK says he decided to get involved when ICON Park in Orlando, FL wasn't acting fast enough, in his opinion, so he wanted to make something happen for the family.

As we reported, 14-year-old Tyre was visiting ICON Park a few weeks ago when he fell to his death from the "Orlando Free-Fall" ride. The attraction, which just opened in December, reportedly plummets at 75 mph.

Tory Lanez was handcuffed in court and had his bail increased after a judge ruled he violated the protective order in his case with Meg Thee Stallion for talking about her on social media.

The Canadian rapper had a hearing Tuesday in L.A. where he was remanded into custody of the Sheriff's Department, and the judge set his bail at $350K. Prosecutors had requested he be held without bail, or at least set it at $5 million.

We're told he's in the process of posting the $350K.

The judge said Tory's tweet, where he directly addressed Meg as "U" was a violation of a protective order -- he's not supposed to contact or mention her at all. Tory fired off that tweet back in February when he said, "Good d*** had me f***ing 2 best friends ... and I got caught ... that's what I apologized for ... it's sick how u Spun it tho ..."

Prosecutors also voiced concern about a tweet from DJ Akademiks from February which read, "BREAKING: It was revealed in court few moments ago that Tory Lanez DNA WAS NOT found on the weapon in the Meg Thee Stallion case."

The prosecution believes that info was given to Ak from Tory's team. However, Tory's attorney, Shawn Holley, said that wasn't possible, because DJ Akademiks's initial tweet was wrong ... Tory's DNA wasn't on the magazine, and a sample from the gun was inconclusive.

About 15 minutes after posting his initial tweet, Ak posted a new one which reflected the inconclusive finding.

Quavo had an epic night as he celebrated his 31st Bday with a huge glow-themed birthday bash.

The star star-studded party went down Monday night in L.A. at Nightingale Plaza, with a glow-in-the-dark theme ... glowing jello shots, glow drink cups, dancers, the works.

Check out the video. The Migos rapper had the spotlight as he took the stage, rapped some songs and helped folks sing happy Bday to him.

There were a whole bunch of glowing accessories like bracelets, glasses, rings and sticks to go along with the theme. In true Quavo fashion, some of his amigos were able to sip on some drunks like the 'Huncho Rita' and the 'Cheat Code'.

Among the celebs there were Travis Scott, Offset and Takeoff ... and yep you guessed it, actress Karrueche Tran. As you know, folks have speculated that Karrueche and Quavo are indeed a thing, after they were spotted having a romantic dinner and taking a vacation to St. Martin back in January.

Of course, Karrueche told us the two are just friends and nothing more ... but we aren't buying it just yet! Either way, she was sure to pull up and celebrate the birthday boy.

Quavo's actual birthday is April 2 ... and he celebrated in the ATL with the Atlanta Hawks, but hey, the party continues.

Kanye West has left Coachella organizers with a massive headliner hole they need to plug in less than 2 weeks ... but organizers aren't pissed -- they just want him to get better.

We've spoken with festival honchos who tell us there's not currently another artist locked in to take Ye's Sunday spot. However, our sources say there's no animosity toward Kanye ... Coachella organizers understand he's been through a lot lately, and want him to take the time to work on himself. We're told if that means having to miss the gig, so be it.

It's interesting ... Coachella producers were blindsided by Ye's withdrawal. In fact, they learned about it from us. Nevertheless, no hard feelings.

The month of March saw Kanye on a social media tear, going after Kim Kardashian, Pete Davidson and others -- eventually resulting in a suspension from Instagram for the racist attack against Trevor Noah.

In fact, just before the suspension, he teased the Coachella performance with a still image of Pete Davidson's head in the "Eazy" music video and caption, "Y'all ready for Coachella?"

Our sources say Kanye's team didn't provide a specific reason as to why he was no longer going to be headlining -- but he's obviously been suffering through personal issues.

TMZ broke the story ... Kanye backed out of Coachella, and in doing so fans will no longer see Travis Scott who was supposed to hit the stage with Kanye during his show.

While he's out of the show, Kanye hasn't gone into hiding ... he was spotted in Beverly Hills Monday glued to his phone.

Erica Campbell is praising Chris Rock for showing restraint in the face of a Will Smith slap to the face ... and his ability to keep calm has only helped draw attention to his comedy tour.

The Gospel singer sat down with Raq on the "It's Tricky With Raquel Harper" podcast ... and shared her take on The Oscars moment, applauding Chris for not fighting fire with fire.

Erica says emotions can cloud judgment and she's proud of Chris for keeping a cool head at the moment ... lifting him up as an example for lots of folks to follow.

It's just one part of the silver lining Erica sees from an otherwise disappointing moment between two celebs she views as important Black figures.

Chris is doing a comedy tour and his shows have been packed -- with a surge in prices on the resale market. Erica believes Chris helped his own case by showing restraint in the moment Will slapped him, and now audiences are drawn to his tour to hear what he has to say about the incident.

It's business as usual for Kanye West -- despite dropping out of Coachella -- he's apparently still on his work grind ... stopping by a construction site in L.A.

Ye was spotted in Beverly Hills Monday, just hours after we broke the story that he was no longer going to headline the music festival. For the most part, it appears Kanye's got his head buried in his phone ... perhaps reading fan reactions to his cancelation.

What's interesting ... recent reports suggested Kanye was leaving town to get treatment and better himself after his social media outbursts. However, that just doesn't seem to be true.

Coachella organizers have not yet named Ye's replacement ... Billie Eilish, Harry Styles and Swedish House Mafia are all still scheduled to headline.

Cardi B's archenemy, blogger Tasha K, will not have a pass to say whatever she wants about the rapper while she appeals their defamation case ... the judge just saw to that.

On Monday, a federal judge in Atlanta signed off an injunction forcing Tasha to delete a bunch of her old posts which trashed and defamed Cardi. Remember, Cardi won her legal battle with the blogger back in January when the jury ruled in her favor.

Tasha was ordered to pay Cardi about $4 million in damages and attorney's fees ... and had to delete all old posts that include offending statements -- false claims about Cardi and STIs, cocaine, prostitution and "side peen." However, Tasha's appealing that judgment and had yet to remove those posts and/or videos.

According to the new docs, Tasha's now on the clock -- the judge has given her 5 days to scrub her social media platforms and YouTube page of all those shots at Cardi. Both sides agreed to the terms of the injunction.

Now, if Tasha wins the appeal, the judge says she can file to modify the injunction ... so, she could repost her allegations about Cardi.

Rapper Goonew was quite literally front and center at his own funeral ... with his body propped up and on display in a club.

The 24-year-old's funeral, named The Final Show, was held at Bliss Nightclub in Washington D.C. Sunday, and footage from inside the building appears to show the rapper's embalmed corpse overlooking the crowd, fully dressed up and wearing a crown.

The audience reaction is pretty mixed ... some are dancing along to the music, while others are stone-faced, staring at the dead body in front of them. Bliss Nightclub said they weren't made aware of the tribute ahead of time, according to TooFab, and have apologized to anyone offended.

The club is still investigating if the body was real or not, or if any legal ramifications are possible.

Goonew, real name Markelle Morrow, was found with fatal gunshot wounds a few weeks ago in a District Heights parking lot -- his family believes he was the victim of an armed robbery.

Kanye West will no longer be performing at Coachella this year -- leaving the festival with an open headliner spot ... and fans without an appearance from Travis Scott.

Sources connected to Ye tell us he's decided to pull the plug on his performance at the 2-weekend-long event in Indio, CA -- which starts next weekend. What's more, we're told Travis Scott was supposed to join Kanye onstage ... so that's now out of the question as well.

It's currently unclear exactly why Kanye's backing out -- but he's clearly had a tough few months -- lashing out at Kim Kardashian, Pete Davidson and Trevor Noah, among others on social media.

TMZ broke the story, his racist attack on Trevor got him suspended from Instagram for 24 hours last month ... he hasn't posted anything since.

Kanye's cancelation leaves Coachella with an obvious hole. Billie Eilish, Harry Styles and Swedish House Mafia are still headlining ... but there's clearly a lack of diversity.

Of course, Travis was supposed to headline the festival back in 2020 before it was canceled because of COVID. Travis was then booked for 2022, but Coachella organizers pulled the plug on the idea after the tragedy at Astroworld. Fans demanded he come back with a petition, to no avail.

Travis has not performed in a large capacity since.

Ja Morant just had one of the best jewelry shopping sprees ever -- he copped a bunch of expensive diamonds ... and then shot tequila with Gunna!!!

The fun time all went down at the Icebox jewelry store in Atlanta last week ... when the NBA star came to the famous showroom to get some of his old pieces cleaned up and to shop for more.

TMZ Sports has learned ... as the 22-year-old was browsing items -- they brought out Don Julio 1942, and everyone had a shot.

Later, "Drip Too Hard" rapper Gunna entered the shop -- and he, too, got in on the drinking!

The interaction between the guys was awesome -- they chatted it up about jewelry and admired some of the pieces in the store.

Eventually, we're told Morant copped several items -- a 14MM Miami Cuban bracelet, three other diamond bracelets and two diamond rings.

He also got a leather Icebox travel case to carry all his new bling ... and we're told his overall shopping spree bill came out to over $55K!

Kodak Black is strapped for time these days -- booking gigs here, there and everywhere -- but at least he's got a sweet new watch for his travels ... and it's worth its weight in gold.

The rapper recently had a ridiculously pricey timepiece delivered to him in Miami -- a Richard Mille RM 030, completely iced-out with diamonds and valued at about $300k!!!

As you'd expect at that price ... the watch is a custom design courtesy of celeb jeweler Gavriel from NYC Luxury, and he's sure proud of a job well done. He posed with Kodak, and the watch, when he dropped it off.

Kodak liked it too ... the dude was rocking it all weekend while at the Ultra Music Festival -- and was even happy to show it off to his buddies.

The rapper's definitely getting back into the swing of things since getting released from prison last year -- thanks to then-Prez Donald Trump -- when he had his sentence commuted. As we've reported, he's kept fairly busy in a variety of ways.

Not only has he been charitable, but he's also getting hired for jobs around the globe. And, unfortunately, he seems to have found some trouble in the year-plus since walking out a free man ... sometimes through no fault of his own (that wild shooting comes to mind).

Waka Flocka says Kanye West doesn't care about performing at the Grammys in the slightest ... so Ye's ban shouldn't mean much to an artist Waka considers a genius.

The "No Hands" rapper sat down with Raq on the "It's Tricky With Raquel Harper" podcast ... and offered a strong defense of Kanye, and a scathing review of the music awards show.

Waka says musicians shouldn't put much weight into the Grammys, because they're being judged by a few dozen people ... whereas concerts see crowds with 100,000 fans.

As we reported ... Kanye was yanked from the upcoming Grammys lineup because of his online antics.

Waka's read is along the same lines as Damon Dash's ... who told us hip-hop doesn't need the Recording Academy.

Waka says Kanye is "an unapologetic genius" who is being judged too harshly by most folks ... though he admits Ye should be a little wiser with his choice of words given his celebrity.

Rapper Stallionaires Pooch tells us he and Tiffany Haddish are an item after they did dinner together this week ... but Tiffany doesn't exactly see it the same way.

We talked to Pooch outside The Henry restaurant Thursday in WeHo ... and he was pretty confident he's got a new lady. He says he knew his charm was what hooked Tiffany, adding he's a respectful dude and knows how to treat a woman right.

Tiffany, however, doesn't appear to be taking their connection as far as Pooch is ... she tells us, "Well, I don’t think one dinner counts as dating. Does it?"

Well, to her point ... Pooch did get a little dodgy when we asked how long they'd been in a relationship. Watch the video -- he also wouldn't say if he's the man Tiffany's been praying for -- something she talked about on "The Tonight Show" back in January while discussing her recent DUI arrest in Atlanta.

While Tiffany and Pooch aren't on the same page about their relationship status ... we gotta give him some props for getting the first date with her. As for a second date? Well, Tiffany will ultimately decide just how charming he is or isn't.

Choreographer and former "Celebrity Big Brother" contestant Todrick Hall may not be a homeowner after all ... cause TMZ has learned, the dude's just been hit with a lawsuit for thousands in unpaid rent.

According to docs obtained by TMZ, Hall is being sued by Avi Lavian who claims Todrick failed to pay $60k in back rent, for his Sherman Oaks home. The suit claims, Hall is supposed to pay $30k per month in rent but is now around 60 days behind.

Oddly enough, the 36-year-old singer raved about buying the lush home and gave an elaborate tour on YouTube. He said ... "I have been wanting to buy a home for a very very long time, and this is a dream come true."

Check out the video of Todrick showing off his pad and all the cool amenities ... including an outdoor pool, a movie theater, an enormous walk-in closet and a bedframe decked in Louis Vuitton -- just to name a few.

You might recall Todrick from the reality show, "Celebrity Big Brother." He first gained national attention, after appearing on the 9th season of "American Idol" … he's done quite a few gigs since then, including appearing on "RuPaul's Drag Race" as a choreographer and judge, and working with huge stars like Beyonce and Taylor Swift.

Now, it looks like the homeowner life may not have really been a reality for the reality star.

Waka Flocka says his estranged wife Tammy Rivera can do no wrong in his eyes, and it's all love between them ... despite calling it quits, after 8 years of marriage.

The "No Hands" rapper sat down with Raq on the "It's Tricky With Raquel Harper" podcast ... and opened up, for the first time publicly, about the split from Tammy.

Waka says the former "Love & Hip Hop" star is still his best friend, and while he knows folks always suspect there's some kinda beef or nasty incident behind a breakup -- he insists it just ain't so in their case.

As for why they are going their separate ways ... Waka says they've simply grown apart.

Raq asked if there's any chance they work things out, and he didn't want to get into that -- read that anyway ya want -- however, he did say there's nothing Tammy could ever do to make him hate her.

He added, his biggest blessing is their daughter Charlie -- who Tammy had in a previous relationship. Waka says Charlie helped him appreciate life and made him feel like a role model.

Based on Charlie alone, he will always have love for Tammy.

ICYMI, Tammy recently opened up on social media about their split, posting ... "I've been filming for the new show ... it's been pretty good this season ... even though me and Waka not together, we still have this show."

Apple Watts, former star of "Love & Hip Hop," is still fighting for her life after a violent car crash sent her to the hospital with severe injuries.

Sources close to Apple tell TMZ ... the wreck left her with 2 breaks in her neck, a shattered arm and a brain injury. While we're told she's able to breathe on her own, she's still getting oxygen in hopes it helps with the healing process.

We're told she still has not opened her eyes or been able to verbally communicate. Doctors are doing what they can ... she underwent a successful surgery Tuesday night on her neck.

As we reported, Apple was driving on the freeway last week in Baker, CA when her Mercedes collided with a Ford F250 pickup truck. Her car flipped multiple times, bursting into flames before it came to a stop.

The 36-year-old was pulled from the wreckage by the passenger of the truck and was life-flighted to a hospital in Nevada to be treated for her injuries.