TMZ Hip Hop - Page 50

Saucy Santana is in the throes of a would-be cancelation via Twitter -- one he's fiercely pushing back on ... and it all has to do with old tweets about Beyonce and her kid.

The Florida rapper started responding to folks who were apparently dogging him and demanding he say sorry for messages he posted/reposted about Bey and Blue Ivy from 2014 and 2017 ... ones in which he appears to insult them over their looks.

One tweet that SS responded to reads, "I just wanna be Blue Ivy," to which he wrote ... "nappy headed or ... " Another reads, "Im sorry but North West CLEARS Blue ivy. Have several Carseats Blue" -- and to that, Santana replied, "Just said this yesterday."

Both of these tweets are from the fall of 2014 ... when Blue was about 2 1/2 years old. A few years later, he agreed that Bey looked "dry" during her pregnancy photo shoot.

So, why is all this resurfacing now??? A few things -- one, Beyonce just scrubbed her profile pics across all social media ... sending the internet into a frenzy about a potential new project. Also ... Santana's performing in Houston Saturday, plus his newest song samples her.

He's taking the stage around 6:15 PM CT for Summer Jam HTX 2022 ... and in the wake of this possible Beyonce news, some have (again) called for him to make amends while in her home city. What that amounts to exactly is unclear -- but in any case, SS says screw that.

Santana swiped back at all the criticism, writing ... "Fake woke ass bitches!!!! People don't care about old tweets. The internet have this weird thing with power! Thinking they have the power to cancel someone… NEWS FLASH! You don't! Y'all be thinking y'all have someone by the balls about situations you don't give a damn about."

He went on to say his tweets are years-old, made when he was 20 ... and he even acknowledges they were childish and hateful. But, he's doubling down and refusing to bend to random Twitter warriors' will and apologize. He asks ... "To who?! To y'all?"

Santana insists that despite what Twitter (collectively) might believe, it's not nearly as powerful as those who use it think ... and he's basically telling everyone to kick rocks.

Blac Chyna's already heated before she even steps into a boxing ring tonight ... thanks to the well-timed Kardashian-related jab fired off by her opponent, Alysia Magen.

The Celebrity Boxing combatants, who are fighting in a Saturday night PPV event, came face-to-face for the traditional weigh-in and trash talk moment. They didn't disappoint.

Chyna flexed for cameras as she stepped on the scale, and definitely looks like she's been training hard.

First, Chyna grabbed the mic and told Alysia, "I seen your little rap. It was trash" ... referring to an IG post Alysia made to hype the fight.

Chyna's right. It was trash. However, props to social media influencer Alysia for hitting BC with the best comeback possible.

She said, "Hey, I'm not Kim Kardashian. I'm going to knock you both out!" Chyna lunged at her, but a bunch of people stepped in to break it up.

For the record: Chyna weighed in at 140 lbs. ... one more than Alysia.

Alysia was taking a shot at Chyna and her trainer, Tamara Frapasella-Fortune ... who beat Kim in a 2010 charity boxing match.

Anyway, after Chyna lost the $100 million defamation trial against the whole Kardashian family ... Alysia knows how to hit her where it hurts. At least outside the ring.

Pharrell is giving back -- not only is he hosting a huge music festival in our nation's capital, but he's hooking up the kids who go to school there ... or at least the grads, anyway.

The rapper/producer announced Friday that he's dishing out free tickets to his mega music event, Something in the Water, for all graduating seniors in the D.C. public school system to celebrate the achievement of getting through high school.

Not just that ... but Pharrell says he's especially inspired by the fact they got through these past couple years with COVID restrictions in place -- and still made it across the finish line.

He says to commemorate the achievement ... he's issuing one free general admission pass per graduating student for SITW next weekend, which is going down right there in town. Pharrell tells the seniors to check with their school teachers/leaders to redeem the gift.

As for how many tickets this might end up amounting to ... it's a bit unclear. Pharrell only said this applies to grads in the public school system -- and according to their website, there are just over 2,000 seniors enrolled this year. No word on how many are graduating.

It would seem the breadth of the giveaway is larger though -- because the Mayor chimed in by saying charter schools are included. It's probably in the low thousands somewhere.

Azealia Banks says she's getting screwed over, and even though her anger doesn't seem to be at fans ... she still took it out on them during a Pride performance in Miami.

Azealia was onstage early Saturday morning -- around 3 AM -- for the Wynwood Pride concert, and was VERY over being there. The controversial rapper -- who performed with her boobs all the way out -- started ranting about promoters jerking her around about her set times and whether she's the headliner.

She brazenly told the crowd, "I'm really not happy to be here." Azealia rambled a little more, and said she knew it wasn't the fans' fault ... but she clearly wanted off that stage. She said, "I'm trying y'all, but it's difficult."

Seems like the concert promoters had enough though, because when Azealia repeated her frustration by saying, "I really don't wanna f***ing be here" ... someone cut off her mic.

That only pissed her off more, and pulled a spot-on mic drop ... and left the stage in a huff.

Now, mind you ... Azealia had only done about 4 songs at that point, so you can hear the crowd get restless -- everyone started booing when they realized she wasn't coming back.

Azealia was already an odd pick to headline the event ... considering she's come under fire, for good reason, from the LGBTQ+ community in the past. Remember, she's called HIV/AIDS patients sex addicts, and dropped a homophobic epithet on a flight attendant.

YNW Melly appears to have been the triggerman in the murders of his two friends ... at least according to a police detective who is set to testify at Melly's upcoming trial.

According to new legal docs, police detective Christopher Williams will be called by prosecutors as an expert witness, where he will tell the jury it was "more likely" Melly fired the fatal shots inside a car.

The detective, who says he has extensive training and expertise in reconstructing shootings, says his analysis shows it's a better bet Melly -- not co-defendant Cortlen Henry -- fired the fatal shots ... though he's not saying it with absolute certainty.

Remember ... when Melly and Henry were arrested and charged in the double murder of their friends, cops said their initial investigation determined Melly shot the men, and that he and Henry then staged the crime scene to look like a drive-by shooting.

Detective Williams says he reconstructed the shooting by looking at blood splatter and the angles of the bullet holes and gunshot wounds ... and it appears the shooter was seated in the backseat, behind the driver, and shot the victim from inside the car.

He also says the evidence shows the gun was fired no more than 8 inches from the victim's face.

Blueface will be looking to break face on July 30 -- the rapper is slated to fight ex-NBA player Nick Young in a boxing match.

TMZ Sports has confirmed ... the "Thotiana" MC and NBA champ are going to face off in the ring at Crypto.com Arena as part of the Social Gloves event starring YouTubers Austin McBroom and AnEsonGib.

Blueface has a bit of history in the ring -- he beat up on TikToker Kane Trujillo in July 2021 ... and ended up having to throw hands that same night after a fan attacked him in the ring.

Young is less experienced ... but he's never shied away from calling people out for a fight in the past. He's previously voiced interest in boxing Logan Paul, Gilbert Arenas and Chad Ochocinco.

We broke the story -- ex-NFL star Le'Veon Bell is also slated to take a fight on the same card ... although his opponent has not been announced.

Jack Harlow is turning into quite the method actor -- the rapper was spotted working his ass off on the basketball court on the set of the "White Men Can't Jump" reboot.

Of course, Jack is no stranger to hoop ... but his Billy Hoyle character is a former college baller, so the dude's gotta look the part when the cameras start to roll.

Harlow can be seen backing down his defender and whizzing by him for a layup in one of the clips ... and appears to be laser-focused on immediate feedback from a trainer.

As we previously reported, Harlow has been hanging around on set in Venice this week ... as TMZ Sports obtained video of the "Nail Tech" MC walking around on a court.

Now, we get a chance to see the guy with a ball in his hand ... which will obviously be a big part of the flick.

Harlow has recently showed off his basketball skills during celebrity basketball games ... and he's got some solid range.

Hollywood Harlow in full effect -- Jack Harlow is on set for his acting debut in the "White Men Can't Jump" reboot ... and TMZ Sports has the vid!!

As we previously reported, the "First Class" rapper landed the gig after crushing his first-ever audition ... playing Billy Hoyle, which was Woody Harrelson's role in the original film back in 1992.

The project appears to be well on its way ... as Harlow was spotted making his rounds on set at a basketball court in Venice.

Of course, Harlow is working alongside Sinqua Walls in the flick ... who was picked to play Wesley Snipes' Sidney Deane role, despite Quavo's hopes of getting his name called.

The project is backed by Kenya Barris, NBA star Blake Griffin, NFLer Ryan Kalil and Noah Weinstein of Mortal Media ... and is directed by Calmatic.

Other actors on board include Lance Reddick, Teyana Taylor, Andrew Schulz and Laura Harrier ... so some of those names were probably on set as well.

Atlanta hip hop culture is having a really rough go of it this year -- but one of the city's beloved rappers, Trinidad James, says the ATL will power through these hard times.

We caught up with the "All Gold Everything" rap star Wednesday at LAX, and it's clear he was traveling with a heavy heart.

Between the murder of Metro Boomin's mom at the hands of her own husband to Young Thug, Gunna and much of YSL's RICO indictments to Lil Keed's sudden death ... ATL rappers have had an extraordinary bad luck streak.

Trinidad attributes the downward spiral to the fact Atlanta's been on top for several years now, and as he puts it -- when you're at the top, "there's all types of energies, people and situations just trying to take you down."

The murder of Def Jam rapper Trouble also weighed on Trinidad ... in the wake of the alleged killer surrendering to cops.

Trinidad told us about a recent text exchange with Trouble, which was their last communication, and it was a lighthearted -- and slightly racy -- joke between friends.

R. Kelly needs to be locked up for more than a quarter century ... according to federal prosecutors, and that's just for the one case for which he's been convicted.

Federal prosecutors out of the Eastern District of NY -- who won a conviction against Kelly last September -- just filed their recommendation for his sentencing, and they believe there's more than enough reason to send him away for "in excess of 25 years."

In the docs, obtained by TMZ, the feds say Kelly's particularly menacing because of his history of enticing minors. Prosecutors hold up the case of his relationship with Aaliyah as a prime example, saying he "began to sexually abuse her when she was just 12 or 13 years old." As they laid out in the trial, Kelly went on to marry her in an attempt to cover up that abuse and dodge criminal charges.

Other reasons prosecutors want the judge to throw the book at Kelly include his recordings of child pornography ... and the "physical and psychological" abuse of women. Of course, much of that was detailed in the "Surviving R. Kelly" documentary -- things like Kelly making women call him "Daddy," violent spankings if they disobeyed his rules, and prolonged isolation as punishment.

They also say Kelly knew he had genital herpes in 2004, but continued to have sex with women without telling them.

The feds are particularly concerned because they say Kelly continued doing all of these heinous acts even after he'd been arrested and gone on trial in 2008.

And there's this ... as we all know, R. Kelly has an impressive catalog of hits, and prosecutors say that led him to believe "his musical talent absolved him of any need to conform his conduct -- no matter how predatory, harmful, humiliating or abusive to others -- to the strictures of the law."

Add it all up, and the feds say that's why they're recommending the judge put Kelly behind bars at least until he's well into his 70s. He's currently 55, and sentencing is scheduled for June 29.

Rae Sremmurd are back as a unified front and the brothers, Swae Lee and Slim Jxmmi, are celebrating in a majorly blinging way.

Swae put on for Gemini season at Poppy nightclub in West Hollywood with a live performance Tuesday night, and big bro Jxmmi surprised him with a diamond-encrusted chain to make his 28th birthday that much more lavish.

Celeb jeweler Boo Daddy Diamonds tells TMZ Hip Hop the custom "BIG SWIZZY" piece is made with VS diamonds and white gold with a VS Diamond and White Gold Tennis chain to match.

Jxmmi was so impressed with the work, he picked up a custom 'JXM' diamond pendant for himself.

The blinged-out vibes carry into Rae Sremmurd's new single release "Denial," which dropped today. The music vid was shot by Bryan Barber in Rio De Janeiro, and the song officially serves as the kick-off for their upcoming 4th album, "Sremm4Life."

Rap music's first song to go No. 1 on Billboard -- Vanilla Ice's "Ice Ice Baby" -- is still one of its most controversial, as one of Ice's collaborators comes forward claiming the rapper's a total fraud.

Mario "Chocolate" Johnson — the man Suge Knight infamously appointed as co-writer of the eventual blockbuster track — went off in a new interview with "The Art Of Dialogue," exposing what he says was Ice's true contribution to his debut record ... ZERO!!!

Mario ripped Ice, aka Rob Van Winkle, saying ... "He said he wrote 'Ice Ice Baby' at 16 ... he didn't write NO parts of that song!"

Vanilla Ice has disputed Johnson's work in the past ... perhaps most passionately in his ABC interview in the 90s when the incident was still fresh in his mind.

The urban legend goes Suge and his henchman physically strong-armed Ice by hanging him over a hotel balcony and making him drink urine in order to coerce him into signing over part of the writing credits -- which funded the launch of Death Row Records.

One thing all parties (including Suge) agree on is the whole Vanilla Ice hung-over-a-balcony mafia-style was widely embellished.

While Ice admits he did go out on the balcony to be intimidated, that's where the physical contact stops. Mario backs that up too, and adds the heated meeting was NOT about "Ice Ice Baby" at all -- but, instead, says it was about the 8 other songs on Ice's album, "To the Extreme."

Ray J hit the nail on the head when he said straight men should do more to support members of the LGBTQ community, so says Da Brat, who believes even more can be done when it comes to straight men in hip hop.

Da Brat and her wife, Judy Dupart, joined "TMZ Live" and gave us their thoughts on Ray J's take on homophobia in the Hip Hop community.

Da Brat says she feels Ray's comments are a step in the right direction and believes more artists -- like Snoop Dogg, for example -- who holds legend status in the biz could help too.

ICYMI ... Ray J posted an 11 minute video on IG, calling out straight men for not shouting out folks in the LGBTQ+ enough. In his caption he wrote "GAY PRIDE/ RAY PRIDE!!" and went on to say that the time is now to show more love.

As for Da Brat, who only came out publicly in the last few years, tells us Judy is someone who makes her feel like it's OK to be free and be herself. She says she never felt stuck with her sexuality, but she was conditioned to keep her dating life private as a celeb.

Kanye West has another female friend in his life, and she's someone he's previously mentioned in his music ... swimwear and OnlyFans model Monica Corgan.

Ye had previously been linked to model and Kim Kardashian look-alike Chaney Jones, but sources tell us they're no longer a thing. Corgan and Ye popped up together at a showing of "Top Gun: Maverick" over the weekend ... leading to speculation she was Kanye's new fling.

However, sources connected to the two tell us they've actually been off and on for a while now, so the movie date wasn't totally shocking.

What's more ... Kanye's rapped about Corgan in the past in a leaked song with Andre 3000 when he said, "So don't text me like I'm Juanita JCV / Or more important, Monica Corgan, who was there for me."

23-year-old Corgan has done a ton of modeling collabs, and her OnlyFans account -- which is a $19/month subscription -- boasts more than 400 postings.

Alicia Keys is setting the record straight about her song choice at the Queen's Platinum Jubliee -- saying her NYC-based hit wasn't her pick -- it was the Queen's.

Alicia's been facing some backlash ever since performing "Empire State Of Mind" at Queen Elizabeth's royal ceremony on Saturday, with many thinking the song serves no purpose at an English bash ... but she says she was only giving the 96-year-old Royal what she wanted.

She posted some BTS videos from her big performance on Instagram Tuesday, showing how the whole thing went down.

The clip shows her 11-year-old son Egypt saying, "You can't refuse the Queen. It's against the law here!" She even wrote on her IG caption, "FYI: Every song was requested personally by the Queen ... Even EMPIRE!!"

Of course, fans of both Alicia and the royal family were confused when she sang her classic song about New York for the festivities overseas ... one even tweeted about the odd choice, saying "why the hell were American entertainers even invited."

The NFL will have to wait for its first black team owner -- the Denver Broncos just sold for a record $4.65 BILLION to Walmart heir Rob Walton and his family ... which is sad news for Magic Johnson and Kanye West.

The Broncos and the Walton-Penner family announced the deal late Thursday night ... which is believed to be the biggest deal for a North American franchise in sports history.

Walton -- who has a reported net worth of $59 BILLION -- will also take the throne as the richest owner in the league BY FAR -- David Tepper, the owner of the Carolina Panthers, has a net worth of $16.7 bil.

As we previously reported, the Lakers legend was part of a group led by Philadelphia 76ers co-owner Josh Harris ... although it's unclear how far along their bid made it in the process.

The agreement also means Yeezy's Donda Sports will not be part of a historic sale ... after Antonio Brown previously told TMZ Sports the company was "extremely serious" about buying the Broncos back in March.

It's worth mentioning -- it's unclear if Donda ever actually brought a bid to the table.

Walton spoke about securing the deal ... saying, "Having lived and worked in Colorado, we've always admired the Broncos."

"Our enthusiasm has only grown as we've learned more about the team, staff and Broncos Country over the last few months."

He added ... "We look forward to earning the confidence and support of the NFL as we take the next step in this process. When the necessary approval procedures are met, our family is excited to share more with Broncos fans, the organization and the community."