TMZ Hip Hop - Page 50

No Limit Records mogul and businessman Master P recently had his first-ever birthday party at 52 years of age, and he's stopping by "TMZ Hip Hop" to run down the festivities.

The music icon -- who's spent over half his life building an empire -- explained why birthday parties just weren't a thing for him his entire life, but says all that changed this weekend.

Thousands of fans packed the Smoothie King Center in NOLA as P was surrounded by plenty of famous friends ... and a humongous birthday cake shaped like a golden NL army tank.

Snoop Dogg, Nelly, Juvenile and the No Limit Records roster were all on deck to help The Colonel celebrate.

The funny thing is ... last time Master P was almost thrown a birthday party, back in 2013, it didn't go so well. He abandoned a live flash mob in Santa Monica before they could finish their routine because he thought he was getting punk'd!

Thankfully, things went much smoother this time around ... and you can tell from his chat with the "TMZ Hip Hop" crew that he was really moved by the whole event.

Make sure to catch the full Master P interview on Tuesday's episode of "TMZ Hip Hop," because he also gets into squashing beef with Kodak Black, his new charity supporting mental health awareness ... and has a hilarious reaction to his son Romeo Miller's twin popping up on our show. 😂

Here's where you can watch if you're in the following cities:

New York: 11 PM MY9 (WWOR)
Los Angeles: 2:30 PM FOX11 (KTTV)
Chicago: 12 AM FOX32 (WFLD)
Philly: 12 AM FOX29 (WTXF)
Dallas: 12:30 PM FOX4 (KDFW)
Houston: 12:30 PM FOX26 (KRIV), 10 PM MY20 (KTXH)
Washington, DC: 12 AM FOX5 (WTTG), 6:30 PM FOX5 PLUS (WDCA)
Seattle: 11:30 PM FOX13 (KCPQ)
Phoenix: 11:30 PM FOX10 (KSAZ)
Minneapolis: 11:30 PM FOX9 (KMSP)

Rick Ross is flashing his bubbly persona -- and, of course, some Belaire champagne -- as he ramps up for his huge car show by checking in with the crew at TMZ Hip Hop.

The Biggest Bawse appeared on Monday's episode to pour some tea on his first annual Rick Ross Car & Bike Show ... but also clarified why he was hanging with Tory Lanez over the weekend.

Fans might remember Rozay had some choice words for the Canadian singer shortly after the Megan Thee Stallion incident in 2020, and jokingly promised to get him into a Smart Car -- clever short joke!

During the interview, Rozay confirmed cooler heads prevailed, and after hanging with Tory in Vegas this past weekend -- that compact whip will pop up at Rick's car show on his Promise Land estate in Fayetteville, GA.

We got into a lot more with Rick ... including his plans to perform at the car show, his farming skills and why you won't see him whizzing around in a Tesla anytime soon.

Sounds like he's still a combustion engine guy, and car enthusiasts will see plenty of that on display come May 21 at Rick's crib.

Lil Xan is not only doing much better, but he's taking extra precautions to make sure he stays sober when he returns to life on the road.

We caught up with the rapper this weekend at BOA Steakhouse ... where he told us about his progress and how he plans to stay on track in the future.

Xan says, he is 40 days clean, after doing 30 days in a detox center and 30 days in a rehab facility. He tells us he's feeling better than ever, and blessed to finally be sober.

One element of his sobriety will be controversial to some people -- Xan says his rehab facility allowed patients to smoke weed, which he says helped him. That approach has been called "California sober," something Demi Lovato said worked for them ... until it didn't.

For now, LX is in great spirits and even showed off his GF while opening up to us about his new lifestyle. He's also looking forward to going on tour May 25 -- but, he's gonna be extra careful this time ... planning to bring a sober companion to make sure everything goes well and he isn't tempted to relapse.

As we've previously reported, Xan checked himself into a hospital in March and got 51/50'd  ... he said he was experiencing a mixture of exhaustion, dehydration and depression from things he was seeing online.

He ended up spending 3 days in the psychiatric ward before getting the green light to check into a part of a facility focused on mental health.

Despite becoming the target of some politicians, drill music is no phase or fad ... so says heavyweight hip hop producer Hit-Boy, who knows a thing or 2 about making beats that stand the test of time.

TMZ Hip Hop caught up with the Grammy Award-winning producer -- who's made gold with JAY-Z, Kanye West, Nas and Nipsey Hussle -- as he launched his "Hit-Boy OG" hybrid strain of cannabis.

When asked about the longevity of drill music, today's hottest sound in rap music, Hit-Boy didn't mince his words and certified the bass-heavy subgenre is here to stay. HB's comments are timely and right on cue, too.

On Friday, up-and-coming London rapper JNR Choi decided to upgrade his TikTok viral "To The Moon" single by enlisting UK, Chicago and Brooklyn drill features from M24, Russ Millions, G Herbo and Fivio Foreign, respectively.

BTW, we got Hit-Boy while he was at the Lemonnade Van Nuys dispensary -- owned by Bone Thugs & Harmony manager Steve Lobel -- so, it was the perfect time for him to reveal the one track that blew his mind, while his mind was blown ... "Rare" by Nas.

Originally released as the lead single for 2021's "King's Disease II" album, the explosive piano medley infamously switched into an old-school break-beat for Nas to lyrically demolish.

Makes you wonder what they have in store for "Part 3." According to Hit, he and Nas have already started vibing on it.

Tory Lanez might be on a good luck streak in Vegas -- he's still partying there after a run-in with the law ... over marijuana TSA allegedly found in his bag.

TMZ has learned Tory was stopped Sunday morning in the Las Vegas airport -- where he was attempting to board a flight outta town -- and according to law enforcement sources ... a TSA agent found a "large" amount of ganja in one of his bags.

We're told TSA temporarily detained him, but eventually let him go ... without the stash, of course. The feds are holding that. While marijuana is legal in Nevada, it's still not legal federally ... and that means ya can't fly with it.

Tory's not letting that little hiccup with the law ruin his weekend. Since he probably missed his outgoing flight, he's turned this into a biz opportunity ... and now he'll be onstage Sunday night for a performance at Drai's.

If he wants to get high beforehand, someone's gonna have to puff puff give ... 'cause Tory ain't got it!

The man that was allegedly beat up by DaBaby and his crew was apparently throwing the N-word around during his confrontation with the group ... at least according to new video.

The North Carolina rapper posted the footage himself Saturday, which appears to show Gary Prager pacing back and forth on the grounds of the mansion where the alleged beating took place in December ... and sure enough, you hear him scream "n*****s" in a rage.

DB's caption reads, "On today's episode of 'Let's Make DaBaby Look Like a Bad Person'" ... going on to accuse Prager of being a "PROUD white supremacist" ... adding that he (Prager) was "lying to TMZ & LAPD. Not knowing that he's caught on camera."

Later it reads, "These are the type of people y'all validate & let assassinate DaBaby's character." DaBaby also says Prager spat in his face, but the vid doesn't seem to show that.

For starters, nobody lied to us about this story -- DaBaby has, in fact, been charged with felony battery as it relates to this case ... so his beef is actually with Prager and law enforcement officials. DaBaby will have a chance to confront Prager's claims in court.

As for the guy screaming out the slur ... yeah, that's bad. It's unclear if him saying this occurred before or after the alleged assault -- but we suppose it doesn't really matter ... no excuse for invoking racism in any event.

DaBaby apparently thinks this will help make him look better in the public's eye -- but he seems to have bigger issues beyond just this one event, if we're being honest.

DJ Khaled turned into Adam Sandler to appease his son who was in the mood for some Mickey D's -- looking far and wide for a burger/toy combo ... and finally scoring!

The music producer went on an elaborate mission, it seems, to honor a weekend tradition he and 5-year-old Asahd apparently have -- namely, going out to the Golden Arches and securing the kid a Happy Meal.

Sounds like this is a tradition of theirs ... DJK calls is "Happy Meal Saturdays," and Asahd seems more than happy to tag along. Plus, just great father-son bonding right here.

Anyway, fast-forward to the hunt ... which was way harder than Khaled imagined. He filmed himself pulling up to a McDonald's that actually served Happy Meals ... telling both the drive-thru window workers (and his fans) that they'd struck out at 5 other locations.

He says this McDonald's was still serving Happy Meals ... and you can tell the staff was stoked to oblige, getting selfies with Khaled and asking him to drop some of his lines, which he happily did.

While Papa Bear was grateful to have gotten what he needed for his boy -- he was flabbergasted at how hard it was to come across a Happy Meal ... but there's a reason.

Word is ... McDonald's is phasing out current iterations of their staple menu item to replace the not-so-environmentally friendly plastic toys with biodegradable ones ... all in an effort to be more eco-conscious. So, it sounds like Happy Meals might be on pause at the moment.

Rihanna wants to make it clear to everyone ... she and A$AP Rocky are solid.

A$AP headlined at the Smokers Club Festival Saturday night in WeHo, and RiRi was backstage showing her support.

She's reportedly just weeks away from giving birth to her first child, but showing up at the club was clearly important to her.

There's been lots of drama over the last few weeks. As we reported, A$AP was arrested for assault with a deadly weapon last month in connection with a shooting last November in Hollywood. A$AP and Rihanna were blindsided by cops who met them at LAX and hooked Rocky up. They then searched his house for weapons but did not find the gun used in the shooting.

Rapper Pooh Shiesty won't be a completely free man even after he does his time for a wild shootout -- the artist will have some serious restrictions, according to legal documents.

Pooh's sentencing docs, obtained by TMZ, show he'll have to be on supervised release for 3 years once he completes his 63 months in prison, and the supervision comes with a bunch of rules attached.

During the 3 years, Pooh isn't allowed to associate with any of his co-defendants or gang members ... and his PO has permission to search Pooh and his property from time to time.

The rapper will also have to go through a treatment program for drugs and alcohol.

As we reported, he's currently serving the 5-plus year sentence over a South Florida shootout from back in October 2020.

DaBaby is facing criminal charges for a beatdown a man claims he suffered for trying to stop the rapper's entourage from shooting a music video on his property.

The rapper has been charged with felony battery by the L.A. County District Attorney's Office ... over an incident from early December last year ... which allegedly left a guy, Gary Pragar, with serious injuries.

There's another man named Thankgod Awute who's being charged as well. Prosecutors claim he was DaBaby's cohort in crime ... they hit him with felony robbery.

Pragar filed a lawsuit in February, claiming he was attacked for enforcing basic property rental rules at his place.

DaBaby and his team rented a massive pad that Pragar manages in L.A. ... and Pragar says he was told it was going to be a vacation place for DB and his pals. Pragar says he made clear ... there was a guest limit -- no more than 12 -- which he claims DaBaby's management team agreed to in a rental agreement.

During their weeklong stay ... Pragar says he became aware there were way more than 12 people at the property at any given time and complained to DaBaby's team ... getting assured, falsely he says, that they wouldn't be there for long.

Eventually, on Dec. 2, he says he paid a visit himself and realized they were shooting a music video there with an entire film crew and a ton of other people around -- upwards of 40, he says -- and Pragar tried to shut the whole thing down by talking to DaBaby.

That's when he claims he was attacked by someone in DB's crew, part of which was caught on video. He says DB ordered the guy off of Pragar, but then allegedly sucker-punched him in the face, knocking out his tooth ... this, per the lawsuit.

Sounds like Pragar went to the authorities after this, and now they're coming down hard on DB and co. Tough few weeks for DaBaby -- this is just the latest incident for him in a string of seemingly nonstop hiccups.

Post Malone did a good deed -- a very good deed -- for students who were grieving over the death of their principal.

Post recorded a video for students at P.S. 56, The Louis Desario School in Staten Island. Principal, Phil Carollo, died suddenly last month at 49 ... apparently from a heart attack.

Phil's widow Erin tells TMZ ... her husband was a huge Post Malone fan ... the fam would take car rides and all they played was PM as the couple and their kids sang along.

Well, Phil would have celebrated his 50th birthday Friday, so folks at the school wanted to do something special. They held a carnival, and wanted Post to record a vid honoring Phil that could be played to all the students.

One of the teachers, Linda Acevado, started an online petition to get Post to record the video.

Linda was undeterred ... a colleague had a friend who somehow had a way to get to Post, and he recorded the video.

You see Linda in the video break down in tears as an emotional Post offers words of comfort to the students.

Travis Scott has another fellow artist supporting his decision to resume his music career following the Astroworld tragedy that left 10 people dead.

TMZ Hip Hop caught up with Tinashe at LAX, and the R&B starlet feels it's prime time for Cactus Jack's comeback. While she acknowledged the festival was indeed a "sensitive subject," she doesn't feel Travis should be banned from performing ... provided additional security measures are in place.

The singer -- who just fired off the deluxe version of her "333" album -- actually collaborated with Travis on her 2014 debut album "Aquarius" and echoed much of what T-Pain told us earlier this week.

As for the various Astroworld lawsuits still hanging over Travis' head ... both sides have accused each other of "tainting" the jury pool

Attorneys for victims have criticized Travis for his charitable initiative, Project Heal, calling it a thinly-veiled attempt to get into a jury's good graces -- while reps for La Flare claim a new documentary, "Concert Crush: The Travis Scott Festival Tragedy," is a cash grab, and one that could potentially taint a jury.

Questlove is fresh off his first Oscar for his "Summer Of Soul" documentary, and it sounds like he wants to hand Action Bronson some hardware too ... for his latest album.

As new music releases flooded social media and DSPs Friday, The Roots' drummer, Oscar winner and, let's not forget, all-around hip hop genius ... found his favorite in Action's "Cocodrillo Turbo," and gave it a glowing endorsement on Twitter.

The 10-song project is a fluid offering, finding the colorful New York-bred MC rummaging through his traditional rap bag over production from Griselda's Daringer ... with features from Conway The Machine, Roc Marciano and Meyhem Lauren.

While Quest digs the record, some Twitter mob critics think it lacks hooks, and it's "filled with random phrases that have no meaning and Italian food references over weird jazz beats."

Can't please 'em all, right?

But, AB's loyal fans point out he's been improving his life aura ... chopping down his once familiar 400-pound frame by 160 pounds and even altering his eating habits on his popular show, "F**k, That's Delicious."

As for that album title -- it's Latin for crocodile -- the proud Sagittarian says it's inspired by his time in the water, and he delved into his reptilian side via a freaky short film to tell another story.

Chris Paul went absolutely nutty yesterday ... breaking an NBA Playoff record while leading the Phoenix Suns to victory over Curren$y's New Orleans Pelicans, but Spitta Andretti is taking it in stride.

The NOLA rap legend was courtside Thursday night in his hometown to witness CP3 shoot a perfect 33-point game. Following the 115-109 victory, Chris still had enough energy to talk smack to Spitta and his manager Mousa in a viral moment on the sidelines.

The footage is hilarious … CP3 was still in go mode as Curren$y eventually playfully pushed him off.

Curren$y tells TMZ Hip Hop of the heartfelt moment "Chris was just talking s***," as they've been pals for a long time. Remember, CP3 started his future Hall of Fame career with the then-New Orleans Hornets.

Despite the loss, Curren$y says the playoff experience unified the city -- "The Pelicans put it all on the court for us and we filled the arena for them," Spitta continued. I feel like this turnaround season is definitely gonna be a booster shot to the season ticket sales."

Spitta's having a personal come-up in 2022, having dropped off 2 projects this year alone ("Land Air Sea" Chopped + Slopped reissue w/ Cash Fargo and "Continuance" w/ Grammy-Nominated producer The Alchemist) -- and recently blazed his way through a heralded Tiny Desk Concert ... dropped, appropriately, on 4/20.

Travis Scott's team is coming out swinging against the creators of a documentary that takes aim at the tragic events of the Astroworld music festival ... calling it a pathetic money grab.

The "propaganda piece," as Scott's reps have dubbed it, is called "Concert Crush: The Travis Scott Festival Tragedy" and started screening in Texas on Friday.

The movie's director, Charlie Minn, told the AP the project isn't intended to be a hit piece against Travis, but rather a recounting of the devastation from that day.

Clearly, that's not what Travis' team thinks, calling it a, "... farce financed by and containing content from members of the plaintiff's legal teams, who, weeks after a tragedy, sought to exploit and benefit financially from it, with the clear goals of making money and swaying future juries and public opinion."

Interestingly enough, attorney Ricardo Ramos, who represents plaintiffs in multiple Astroworld cases is a producer for the film, and actual plaintiffs from the lawsuits are also featured in the film.

They also go in on Minn, saying, "It's a profit play and a publicity stunt, with no support from the film industry, no distribution, and from a director with no respect from his field who has been termed a "trauma pornographer."

For what it's worth, Minn has been critical of Travis' actions during the festival in the past, telling the Houston Press, "I think he'd be a lot more nervous if he didn't know the mayor and police chief. The police had all the authority to stop things, and the show should have been stopped by the third song. It was a dangerous, evil joke."

The documentary features several concertgoers from that day, most blaming Travis for not seeing what was happening in the crowd.

TMZ broke the story, several Houston Police officers were seen watching Travis and Drake perform while things got worse in the crowd -- apparently unaware of the severity of what was going on.

As we reported, 10 people died from "compression asphyxia" as a result of the events at Astroworld. The investigation continues as to who or what was responsible for the deaths ... but several lawsuits have pointed the finger at Travis and promoter Live Nation.

A$AP Rocky got good news and bad news ... LAPD sources tell TMZ, the guns they found at the rapper's home did not match the gun used in the shooting ... now for the bad news.

Our LAPD sources say they have video of the shooting in their possession ... presumably from a surveillance camera. A$AP was arrested for assault with a deadly weapon ... cops believe he shot a man in Hollywood last November during an argument, grazing his hand.

If the video is clear enough, it could be bad news for A$AP. The video could be even more powerful evidence than the gun itself.

Speaking of the guns ... we've now learned cops did indeed find multiple weapons when they executed a search warrant on his house last week, but they determined on the spot they were not the weapon they were looking for. In fact, we're told cops found shell casings at the crime scene, so they knew the type of caliber, and none of the guns at A$AP's home were a match.

Our Rocky sources say the weapons found were all fully registered and legally purchased.

We're told cops ran the serial number on the guns and they were all legally acquired. Turns out our Rocky sources were correct ... police didn't take the guns to the station -- they left them at Rocky's house.