TMZ Hip Hop - Page 50

Diddy's had enough of the narrative he's a greedy, self-centered label boss who steals from his artists ... and he says he's now fighting for his reputation!!!

The newly minted Love Records CEO hit "The Breakfast Club" Wednesday to tackle a bunch of topics ... including Kanye West's "White Lives Matter" controversy, and his former artist Ma$e's contract dispute with Fivio Foreign.

Diddy praised Kanye for being a "free thinker" and said he wouldn't condemn him as a person. For his part, Charlamagne said that excuses Ye's behavior ... but Diddy did call Ye's controversial T-shirt "unnecessary noise" and "tone deaf."

He also dubbed Ye's sidekick, Candace Owens ... "Karen Owens," because her real name is too Black.

Diddy says now is the time for Black lives to matter more than ever, and promised to poach high-profile executives from every business imaginable to get his people in good standing.

Elsewhere in the convo, Diddy was far less forgiving towards Ma$e ... alleging the former Bad Boy rapper owes him $3 million, and boldly declared all thieves should have their hands sliced off!

Nonetheless, Diddy says Ma$e abandoned the label -- only to become a "fake" pastor who ran to Atlanta to scam people following the success of his debut album.

Diddy says he's been scapegoated all these years for his ex-artists' failed careers, and people like Ma$e tend to push something he calls a "tap-out button" ... a convenient exit when the going gets tough.

The 'BC' crew also interrogated Diddy about his girlfriend Yung Miami's brand new series "Caresha Please" tying for Best Hip Hop Platform with "Drink Champs" at the 2022 BET Hip Hop Awards.

Charlamagne jokingly accused Diddy of paying off the judges ... which Diddy naturally denied but still basked in the fact both shows were owned by his REVOLT TV hub.

Mo money, mo problems still ring true in Diddy's world after all these years!!!

Memphis rapper BlocBoy JB sent out some alarming tweets last week, hinting he's navigating some troubled waters -- but now he's seeking treatment and opening up to TMZ Hip Hop about it.

We caught the Shoot Dance creator at LAX and picked his brain a bit regarding his soul-baring post. The Memphis rapper made it clear he was in dire straits ... flat out saying he wasn't going to "make it" if he couldn't get his mind right.

BlocBoy says his label, Interscope, hasn't reached out, aside from an A&R -- but he was forthcoming with us in revealing his music career isn't the cause of the pain.

He admits feeling the pressure of being the top provider in his circle, and having so many close friends die at a young age has been tough for him.

On the bright side, BlocBoy says his closest kin reached out following the tweet, which is great, especially since he really seems to gravitate toward loyalty.

It's been an amazing past few years for BlocBoy ... beginning in 2018 when he hit it big with his Drake-assisted "Look Alive" single.

The song would go on to sell 5x platinum ... predating the current Memphis rap boom highlighted by NLE Choppa, Moneybagg Yo, GloRilla and many more.

He also tells us there are plans for him to release a new project this winter ... but we need ya healthy first, BlocBoy!!!

Rihanna is finally breaking her silence on her hugely anticipated Super Bowl halftime performance ... telling us exactly how she feels leading up to the big day and even offering a tiny hint at who might join her onstage.

RiRi was shopping at Bristol Farms Tuesday in L.A., and of course we had to ask about the big game. At first, Rihanna says she feels "nervous" for the performance, but says she's excited to hit the stage.

We then shifted the convo to who might join her for a song or two. TMZ broke the story, we were told there's a roster of close to 50 names of possibilities ... basically almost anyone she's collabed with in the past.

While Rihanna wasn't offering up any info, we pressed about the possibility of her longtime bf and baby daddy, A$AP Rocky hitting the stage -- RiRi shrugged and finally did say something.

Rihanna's halftime show will mark her big comeback to music, it's been 6 years since she last released an album, when she dropped "Anti" in 2016.

Miguel's marriage is no longer a sure thing ... because his model wife just filed for divorce.

The "Sure Thing" singer's high school sweetheart, Nazanin Mandi, beelined it to court Tuesday and filed to divorce Miguel after nearly 3 years of marriage.

According to the documents, obtained by TMZ, Miguel's wife is citing irreconcilable differences as the reason for the split and she says there is a prenup.

Miguel and Nazanin reportedly announced in September 2021 they were separating after 17 years together ... but he seemed to hint they were back together in February, when he posted a photo dump of them on Instagram with the caption, "Love heals. Proud of us."

The couple was photographed together as recently as July and in the docs, Nazanin does not list a date of separation ... that section of the paperwork says "TBD."

Miguel met Nazanin when he was 18 and they got engaged in 2016, before tying the knot in November 2018. They did not have any children together.

Post Malone is showin' some love to his new baby girl in a totally fitting way -- it appears he's inked his daughter's initials on some prime real estate.

Sources close to Post tell TMZ ... he got the new piece backstage after his Indianapolis show Sunday night by tattoo artist Chad Rowe.

Now, Post has yet to reveal his daughter's full name ... but we're told this new tat was definitely in her honor, so we're assuming the bold "DDP" on his forehead are her initials. Let the guessing begin!

FYI, Chad's no stranger to PM ... he's the same artist who did his "Always Tired" face tattoos back in 2018.

We broke the story that Posty was expecting his first child with his girlfriend in May. He then announced the birth of his daughter by subtly dropping the news while on Howard Stern in June.

Fat Joe says he's never been robbed at gunpoint, but people in business suits have been robbing him blind for years!!!

Joe Crack hopped on "The Breakfast Club" Tuesday ahead of the BET Hip Hop Awards ... and started venting about the alleged Ponzi scheme he claims his longtime accounting firm, BDO, cooked up.

TMZ Hip Hop broke the story ... Joey's suing BDO, alleging the firm ripped off millions from him, as well as several professional baseball players

Joe says he was embarrassed finding out about the caper -- the mortgage company called him to inform him he had missed several payments, alerting his suspicions to the scheme.

The lawsuit accuses Joe's CPA Andre N. Chammas and his assistant Vanessa Rodriguez of going to town on his dime ... allegedly pulling cash out of ATMs for personal use such as children's school tuition and swiping his AMEX without a care in the world.

Joe's advice to his fellow money-makers ... don't trust anyone with your wealth!!! The Terror Squad rapper thinks simply having someone overseeing your money isn't good enough ... that person needs an overseer as well.

Jay-Z is eyeing a new blueprint these days -- the evolution of pizza making and delivery ... all carried out by robots!!!

The hip-hop entrepreneur's venture capital firm Marcy Venture Partners recently invested $16.5 million into California-based Stellar Pizza ... a mobile-truck company with a unique twist on flipping pies.

Started by a trio of former SpaceX engineers, Stellar Pizza boasts the ability to make ready-to-eat pizzas in less than 5 minutes, and one truck has the capacity to produce 420 pizzas before needing a re-up.

In light of the new funding, Stellar Pizza truck is set to test its product on the best subjects available: college students.

The first truck is scheduled to appear on the USC campus this fall.

Kanye West's "White Lives Matter" T-shirt is the can of worms he just can't close ... and one of his former collaborators is gutting him over one of the rants that followed his fashion statement.

The fiery response comes from Tremaine Emory ... the creative director over at Supreme, who took great exception to Ye using the late Virgil Abloh as a metaphor for his latest plight.

Ye accused LVMH CEO Bernard Arnault of "killing" Virgil ... doubling down on his belief Virgil was overworked while he battled terminal cancer in his final days, but Tremaine just isn't having it.

Tremaine accused Ye of knowing about Virgil's cancer before he died, yet still opting to rip his career choices -- specifically, he claims Ye called Virgil’s designs "a disgrace to the Black community."

That would stand in stark contradiction to the special Sunday Service Ye held the day after Virgil's death.

Virgil was mourned at a star-studded funeral in December 2021 ... with the likes of Drake, Rihanna, Tyler, The Creator, A$AP Rocky and more in attendance, but Ye left an unhappy camper.

Ye had complained he wasn't able to speak at Virgil's funeral but Tremaine says Ye's behavior was to blame ... that it prevented him from being invited to the private gathering beforehand.

Tremaine also defended Vogue fashion editor Gabriella Karefa-Johnson from Ye's recent attacks, who was doxxed after she stepped up to criticize the "White Lives Matter" shirt.

He finished his post by painting Ye as a narcissist still seeking props from the fashion world ... which sounds like something Sway said like 10 years ago!!!

The Black Lives Matter movement is going after Kanye West for the controversial "White Lives Matter" shirt he wore to his YZY Show, saying it's nothing but a stunt to hurt folks fighting for justice.

In a statement to TMZ, BLM says ... "While some may see Kanye and Candace's stunt as a distraction, we recognize that it harms thousands of families fighting for justice for their loved ones killed by state-sanctioned violence."

BLM's also ripping Candace Owens -- who also wore the shirt -- for what they view as spreading "toxic confusion" ... claiming the shirts, and phrasing, can be "used to legitimize violent assaults on Black people."

Kanye should know better, BLM says, telling us ... "Kanye knows very well that 'white lives' have never been targeted for oppression. Black folks, in contrast, are at the bottom of virtually every economic, social, and political measure because of centuries of individual and institutional racism."

For his part, Kanye says he wore the "White Lives Matter" shirt at his fashion show because he thinks BLM "was a scam."

Naturally, BLM disagrees ... they say the movement will benefit everyone in the long run because "when Black people get free, everybody gets free."

Lil Kim is reaffirming her allegiance with Cardi B ... and probably at the perfect time too, because her BFF just might be heading into a full-scale rap war.

The legendary rapper is set to kick off BET's "Rap City" reboot, and in an upcoming interview with host Big Tigger ... Kim gushed over her friendship with Cardi, and even admitted to taking her advice when it comes to navigating life and career.

We're told the early episodes will feature appearances from DJ Drama, Remy Ma, Rapsody, G Herbo, Ice Spice and more ... with the premiere coming tonight at 8 PM ET/PT.

Kim's allegiance to Cardi is just the latest development in the female rap battle -- things are getting extremely feisty in the wake of Cardi and City Girl rapper JT's recent spat online.

On Monday, JT congratulated GloRilla for her first entry into the Billboard Hot 100 top 10 ... her "Tomorrow 2" single co-starring Cardi B -- only JT didn't name Cardi, prompting fans to instigate.

JT recently appeared on Nicki Minaj's "Super Freaky Girl (Remix)" ... so saluting Cardi B would be considered a slap in the face in the Barbz' eyes.

However, the Twitter chatter alerted Cardi ... and she proceeded to lay into JT for needing her help to pad City Girls' video stats. JT didn't let the criticism slide and then chastised Cardi for using writers to help with her songs.

The pettiness didn't end there ... Nicki entered the fray by changing her Twitter avatar to a photo of JT -- to which Cardi countered by changing her avatar to Nicki's longtime nemesis Remy Ma.

Travis Scott knows how to put a smile on his daughter's face ... taking her to Universal Studios Hollywood and sitting front row on some rides.

Travis and Stormi Webster hit up the theme park Monday, enjoying all there was to offer at Universal's Wizarding World of Harry Potter.

Stormi has a need for speed it seems, she and her dad took 3 rides around the Flight of the Hippogriff ... she was sitting in the front seat, flashing a huge grin and raising her arms as the car raced around the track.

Travis bought 4-year-old Stormi a stuffed toy to carry around all day, and they also enjoyed a Minions ride and one of the park's new attractions, the Secret Life of Pets ride. Sounds like a pretty good way to start a week.

Kanye West seems to be saying he wore a "White Lives Matter" shirt because, in his mind, Black Lives Matter is nothing but a racket.

Ye took to IG to respond to all the blowback he's been getting -- and it's been A LOT -- over a shirt he and his Yeezy models were rocking during his fashion show Monday ... which had the controversial message plastered across the back.

Ye says, "EVERYONE KNOWS THAT BLACK LIVES MATTER WAS A SCAM NOW ITS OVER YOU'RE WELCOME."

What he's referring to, it seems, is the fact that a small handful of BLM executives who've been caught in alleged scandals over the past couple years -- including one honcho accused last month of siphoning $10 million from donors, and another who's been accused of using BLM funds to buy a house.

Candace Owens -- who was also on hand Monday for Ye's show, wearing the shirt too -- has been one of many critics on the right who've latched onto this, despite denials from the BLM execs ... and it would appear Kanye's skeptical too.

There's more ... KW also went after one specific person who criticized him because of his fashion choice/political statement -- a contributing editor for Vogue named Gabriella Karefa-Johnson, who called his shirt "dangerous" and "irresponsible" in a well-thought-out analysis.

His response was more simple, and quite frankly childish ... making fun of her wardrobe. He posted a photo of her, roasting her shoewear, saying -- "I KNOOOOOOW ANNA [Wintour] HAAAATES THESE BOOTS."

Kanye went on to say ... "This is not a fashion person. You speak on Ye. Ima speak on you. Ask Trevor Noah."

Gabriella doesn't seem to have responded to Ye's barbs just yet ... but she was far from the only blue checkmark to have blasted him for his stunt. Kanye was trending all day because of it -- with many recalling other controversial statements, including his infamous suggestion, while on "TMZ Live," that slavery was a choice ... not to mention all the MAGA stuff from over the past few years.

At any rate, it looks like Kanye is sticking to his guns. Not only was he wearing the shirt, but there are photos online from the Yeezy show that depict other people -- including models of his -- who were rocking it on the runway.

Just another day in the life of Kanye West. 🤷🏽‍♂️

Coolio had a lot of things in the works before his sudden passing last week -- including the fact he was about to headline his first ever Vegas residency this month ... TMZ has learned.

Shortly before he died, Coolio was actually in talks with a production company called Fan Rebellion -- which produces an ongoing Vegas residency show called Boombox!, held at the Westgate Las Vegas Resort & Casino ... this according to FB's Chief Creative Officer, Jimmy Maynes.

Boombox! tends to specialize in old-school hip hop acts from the '80s and '90s -- and have booked big names like CeeLo Green, Tone Loc, and others -- so it's right up Coolio's alley .. and exactly why Maynes and co. were negotiating to get him onstage.

Maynes tells us the plan was to have Coolio come in and head the show starting at the end of October and running through the second week of November ... for a total of 10 days, with one performance per day at 5 days a week. In other words, ten concerts.

We're told Coolio would've been one of a handful of MCs -- he'd be the headliner -- and Maynes says he would've only done 3 songs when he was up. The tracks that were being considered ... "Gangsta's Paradise," '1, 2, 3, 4,' and "C U When U Get There."

As for the specifics of what Coolio had in mind ... it's pretty interesting. Maynes tells us Coolio made some requests for the stage for his set -- including a variety of props, upwards of 10 dancers, a 2-story background screen for visuals and two to three outfit changes.

We're told Coolio wanted his headlining set to be a look back on his story, and was excited for this next chapter of his career.

Of course, his death put an abrupt halt to things -- with Maynes telling us they're now scrapping that late October window and hoping to pick it back up in December with a whole new lineup. Indeed, Coolio passing away threw 'em for a loop.

New Orleans native and rapper Lawrence Cennett AKA Baby Boy Da Prince was just 23 years old when his hit song "The Way I Live" transcended into the ears of millions and became an instant banger back in 2006.

The popular track was first played on a popular radio station in New Orleans, and within three weeks ... the song hit the number one spot.

"Lil Boy still pushin' big wheels, I stack my money, lay low, and chill. Don't need to work hard that's the way I feel, I feel, I This is the way I live."

DaBaby and Tory Lanez are both under the impression their music is blackballed on streaming services -- but Russ says his expertise tells him it's highly unlikely artists are truly getting blackballed.

On Monday, the proud independent rapper posted a message related to the ongoing debate ... prompted by Akademiks and Apple Music's Ebro Darden's claims DaBaby and Tory are being silenced.

Both Tory and DaBaby recently released albums ... with DB pulling in dismal 16K units sales, down from the 120k his 2020 solo project sold in its first.

Tory's project was noticeably absent from all the top playlists but reached the top of Apple's album chart after being released last Friday ... which pretty much proves Russ' point.

Russ argues that unless an artist has all internet access cut from their fan's visibility, there's no blackball in place, noting how fans have the personal choice to push play or skip the music altogether.

The Diemon Records founder also tackled the notion that famous artists who need the editorial playlists to thrive don't have real fans as those listeners are only loyal to the platform -- which clashes with Tory's recent claim -- made on Ak's 'Off The Record' podcast -- that 80 percent of top artists' streams come from playlist support.

Akademiks and Ebro traded shots last week over claims DB was blackballed after Ak accused him of using his chief global editorial position at Apple to bury artists dripped in controversy ... namely DaBaby.

Boosie Badazz is making it VERY clear, Kanye West's "White Lives Matter" shirt has taken it way too far ... and the Louisiana rapper is calling for someone to pull Ye's Black card!!!

The ever-outspoken Boosie laid into Ye after the WLM shirt made its rounds on the internet ... accusing the YZY brainchild of abandoning his race in spite of all the opposition African Americans have historically faced.

Ye has yet to explain the true meaning behind his latest racial stance, but Boosie says Ye blatantly doesn't care about any Black deaths at the hands of White people.

Boosie then went for the jugular ... dismissing Ye's infamous 2005 Hurricane Katrina moment when he said then-President George Bush didn't care about Black people during a live telethon.

Political pundit Candace Owens also joined Kanye in wearing a "White Lives Matter" shirt during the presentation ... which angered people even further.