TMZ Hip Hop - Page 50

The internet's going WILD with engagement speculation after seeing pics of Megan Thee Stallion at an elegant event with her boyfriend and wearing a giant diamond!!!

Chill. That's not the full story ... according to folks in her camp, and Megan herself.

Sources connected to Megan tell TMZ ... Meg and her BF Pardi celebrated their 2nd anniversary Tuesday night at Brooklyn Chop House Times Square -- we're told Pardi picked the place because he's really tight with the owner, Don Pooh, and it's a go-to for the rapper.

They were in New York following Meg's SNL performance, and decided to stay in town to celebrate their milestone.

As for the event, we're told Pardi set the whole thing up himself as a surprise -- spending hours on the phone with the venue to make sure everything was just right.

She was given a great night ... dining privately on the roof, which was decorated with a bunch of candles and over 1,000 balloons. She was given a HUGE bunch of roses when she walked in, too.

Meg was seen leaving the dinner with a bunch of diamonds on her left ring finger -- y'know ... the engagement one. We're told it's actually FIVE diamond rings, but the bummer part for fans is that they were a gift ... from her stylist ... not Pardi.

Meg even responded to the rumors ... saying, "Lol as nice as last night was we are not engaged."

There may be more people who have to answer for what Kanye West said about George Floyd ... Candace Owens, N.O.R.E. and Diddy's Revolt TV could soon be in the legal hot seat, too.

The legal team repping Floyd's young daughter, Gianna, tells TMZ any and all possible defendants are on the table as they continue to explore their options in what will be a mega lawsuit regarding comments made on "Drink Champs."

One of the attorneys, Kay Williams, says Candace is an obvious would-be codefendant -- as the remarks Ye made were a direct reflection of stuff she put out in her new documentary, 'The Greatest Lie Ever Sold.' Williams says there are blatant lies mentioned in the film.

Nuru Witherspoon, another lawyer on the case says Ye's comments have retraumatized Gianna all over again, as she's being exposed to the new content.

Witherspoon notes that while they mentioned suing for defamation in their press release -- the actual suit would be rooted in intentional infliction of emotional distress and misappropriation ... because you can't legally defame a dead person, and Ye didn't mention George's family.

Still, both Williams and Witherspoon make it clear ... it's open season on anyone who perpetuated lies about George Floyd -- Candace and Kanye are the clear targets.

However, you have to imagine the folks behind "Drink Champs," REVOLT TV included, could be in their crosshairs as well.

One final member of the team -- attorney Pat Dixon III -- gets into even more detail about what exactly Gianna is going through emotionally, not to mention her mother. He tells us they're going down this road to preserve George's legacy for both him and his family.

Like we said, the suit hasn't been filed yet -- but Gianna's lawyers have already signaled an amount of money they want ... at least $250 million. FWIW, REVOLT TV has removed the controversial episode in question entirely -- and N.O.R.E. has attempted to apologize.

Bow Wow is putting himself squarely in the middle of celebrity breakups ... but like a hip hop love doc, he's doing his best to rekindle broken hearts.

TMZ Hip Hop talked to Bow Wow about about his wacky new dating show “After Happily Ever After” ... which features divorced couples attempting to find new love for their exes.

Bow Wow says despite the cast consisting of "Love & Hip Hop" and reality TV vets such as Peter Gunz, Tara Wallace, and Amina Buddafly (and that's just one grouping), the series was 100% real and the cast made honest attempts at finding love for the second -- or in some cases -- third time.

Shar Jackson, model Jeremy Meeks, and social media influencer Jayla Koriyan also round out the cast.

For his own tastes, Bow Wow says he doesn't entertain dating but understands why some people would -- they just don't want to be alone!!!

The "Shortie Like Mine" rapper admits he has no problem being in relationships, but says when the interrogating and nagging begins ... he starts inching toward the door.

Bow Wow has been basking in the land of TV and film for years -- in addition to several Millenium Tour iterations, and says it's time to dip his legacy in bronze with a docuseries he's dropping next year.

Speaking of the Millenium Tour, Bow Wow recently wrapped up an emotional show in his birthplace of Columbus, OH ... where he apologized on stage for not being the same rap ambassador as he was to his eventual home of Atlanta.

Bow Wow says he was just a kid when he blew up (he dropped his first album when he was 13), and didn't understand what being a city's celebrity face entails.

Now an older and wiser pup, Bow Wow says he plans on building the city up to the same prominence as neighboring areas Cleveland and Cincinnati through marquee events and functions.

50 Cent is responding to his son Marquise's TMZ Hip Hop interview ... and it doesn't sound like father and child will be enjoying the upcoming holidays together.

The G-Unit rapper was the latest guest on "The Breakfast Club," and when asked about the chance of a reunion, 50 dismissed the notion -- claiming if Marquise really wanted to mend fences, he wouldn't have sat down with us to tell his side of the story.

Fiddy's chalking up everything his son told us to Marquise's mother brainwashing him -- and he still claims she attempted to take advantage of him while raising their son.

In an unlikely twist, 50 says he voluntarily went to court to settle their child support dispute ... intending to reduce her $500k-a-year demands, and it worked.

The courts lowered the amount to the now infamous $6,700 per month that started this whole mess.

50 claims the mom also mismanaged the money she got -- leaving her Atlanta residence in foreclosure because she refused to work. 50 also clowned Marquise for allegedly working as a hookah server at Vanity strip club in Queens.

Marquise didn't quite see things the same way, telling us he had run out of reconciliation options and going to the media was his last resort.

He made the passionate plea that he was willing to put up the $6,700 just to break new ground with his father.

50 did speak fondly of his second child, Sire, however ... noting how he set him up various companies to run when he got older.

Lil Baby is responding to the internet reactions to his song "Stand On It" -- because a lot of people view his "swap it out" lyric as a not-so-subtle swipe at Quavo over Saweetie.

The song is featured on his new album "It's Only Me," and many fans thought it was a response to Quavo and Takeoff's recent track "Messy."

In a new interview with 97.9 JAMZ, Baby admitted to seeing the internet comments ... through friends' text messages but says his response is only going to ignite more fireworks.

He then passionately shot down all beef rumors with any Migos members ... saying they all know the situation is cool beans as well.

Quavo's "Messy" lyrics fueled fan speculation with the lyrics, "I said, 'Caresha Please' ’cause she too messy/Bitch f****d my dog behind my back, but I ain’t stressin’/You wanted the gang, you should’ve just said it, we would’ve blessed it."

Fans have been speculating Saweetie cheated with either Baby or Offset ... fracturing Migos and Quality Control Records as a whole but the "Icy Girl" rapper has remained mum throughout the media and fan buzz.

Kanye West hopes to turn his online trolling into a money-making business move ... filing to trademark phrases he's used in social media bashings against former friends.

Ye recently filed to trademark the phrases, "Good to hear from you bitch" and "Tremendez." Both were used in his fiery back and forth with his former friend Tremaine Emory.

Tremaine was one of the first to publicly call out Kanye after his Yeezy fashion show -- where he debuted the "White Lives Matter shirt -- because he was pissed Ye decided to use Virgil Abloh's name when addressing the crowd pre-show.

Tremaine wrote, "I gotta draw the line at you using Virgil's death in your 'ye' is the victim campaign in front of your sycophant peanut algorithm gallery."

He also went on to defend Vogue editor Gabriella Karefa-Johnson, who Ye bashed after she criticized the Yeezy show.

Not long after Tremaine's post, Kanye posted a private text convo between them, where he greeted Tremaine with, "Good to hear from you bitch" -- the inspiration for his new trademark.

From there, Ye continued to bash Tremaine on social media, "AND TO TREMAINE I'M CHANGING YOUR NAME FOREEEEEVVVVVRRRRR. TREMAIN'S NEW NAME AS THE BLM OFFICER AT SUPREME ISSSS TREMENDEZ."

Kanye also created a logo, similar to the Supreme logo -- where Tremaine is the creative director -- and swapped the word with "Tremendez" ... the other trademark he's filed.

Fugees rapper Pras is getting ready to defend himself against allegations he was part of an international finance conspiracy ... and he wants to call some familiar names to the witness stand, including a couple of former U.S. presidents.

TMZ Hip Hop obtained the decorated witness list Pras submitted, and it includes Barack Obama and Donald Trump, ex-HUD director Ben Carson, hotel czar Steve Wynn and even former U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions.

The New Jersey-bred MC, who sold over 20 million records with Lauryn Hill and Wyclef Jean, is accused of receiving millions of dollars from Malaysian fugitive Jho Low ... who allegedly embezzled those funds from his own country's treasury.

Pras' attorney David Kenner tells us the feds' claim his client used illicit funds to finance the Leonardo DiCaprio film, "The Wolf of Wall Street" is also totally bogus ... and he plans to prove that in court.

Kenner says it was Low, not Pras, who funded the "Wolf Of Wall Street" through negotiations with DiCaprio and others -- and the "Ghetto Supastar" rapper simply helped network some of the interested parties behind the scenes.

Obama and Trump's potential inclusion in the case makes things rather interesting. Pras and Low are accused of illegally funding Obama's 2012 presidential campaign, as well as attempting to get the Trump administration to drop the charges.

They want both former commanders-in-chief to speak to those claims.

According to our sources, Pras's team is also denying the Fugees canceled their tour over the pending case.

Pras says he had even offered to help the authorities reel in Low, who he maintains is the real mastermind of the alleged crimes.

George Floyd's young daughter, her mother and their legal team are preparing to wage legal war against Kanye West ... announcing they'll sue him for a quarter of a billion dollars after his recent comments on Floyd's death.

Roxie Washington, the mother of Floyd's only daughter Gianna, announced Tuesday she's hired a team of lawyers to go after Ye, his business partners and his associates for harassment, misappropriation, defamation, and infliction of emotional distress. They're seeking $250 million in damages.

The family's attorneys also say they fired off a cease and desist letter, obtained by TMZ, to Kanye over his comments about Floyd's fatal interaction with Minneapolis police.

The letter reads, in part, "Mr. Floyd’s cause of death is well-settled through evidence presented in courts of law during the criminal and civil trials that were the result of his untimely and horrific death. Nevertheless, you have maliciously made statements that are inaccurate and unfounded, causing damage to Mr. Floyd’s estate and his family."

Kanye's taken a ton of heat for comments he made on an episode of "Drink Champs," claiming George died from a fentanyl overdose and pre-existing conditions, instead of Derek Chauvin's knee on his neck.

The Floyd family says Kanye's statements are "blatantly false" and "malicious" ... and they say Gianna is being "retraumatized" by Kanye's comments, which they say are "creating an unsafe and unhealthy environment for her."

In the cease and desist, the family's lawyers demand Kanye remove the interview and all of his similar statements on George from the Internet and keep Floyd's name out of his mouth.

Ice Cube is denying he's the one who influenced Kanye West's antisemitic thoughts, saying Ye roped him into the whole saga out of nowhere.

Cube's speaking out after Ye name-dropped him in the "Drink Champs" episode, when he said IC "set me up for this" and influenced him to be on this "antisemitic vibe" -- going on to say that he was going "finish the job" ... suggesting Cube laid the groundwork.

Well, the NWA star is distancing himself now ... taking to Twitter to clear up the linkage and writing, "I hate that my name was dragged into this Drunk Champs bull****. I don't know what Ye meant by his statements, you're gonna have to ask him."

He adds, "I didn't put the batteries in his back. Please leave my name out of all the antisemitic talk. I'm not antisemitic and never have been."

We should note ... Cube's been accused of antisemitism before, both from years ago -- when he released "No Vaseline," and referred to Jerry Heller as a "white Jew" and a "devil" that should have a bullet in his "temple" -- as well as bizarre stuff he was posting in 2020.

He's also publicly backed Louis Farrakhan, who's considered a well-known antisemite.

Despite that, he's now saying ... he didn't go out of his way to make Kanye say the things he's been saying lately, and wants his name dissociated from this mess.

Kanye West is a billionaire, yet he's living like a transient ... with no place to call home.

Sources close to Ye tell us as of late, he'll rarely stay in the same place for more than a few days -- living out of fancy hotels and various rental homes. We're also told he spends money like it's nothing, recently fronting a ton of cash for his Yeezy show in Paris and of course -- the alleged purchase of Parler.

What's more ... our Ye sources tell us he's recently made some very rash business decisions as well -- most notably firing Shervin Pishevar from Yeezy and losing other advisors and publicists.

We've spoken to former friends of Kanye, one who told us, "He blows through his money like it's water" ... and there's some serious concern he could fall into financial ruin.

Ye revealed during his "Drink Champs" interview he had recently purchased a $50 million penthouse -- another massive expense -- in addition to his various other real estate transactions.

As we reported, Kanye bought a house next to the home Kim Kardashian now owns in Hidden Hills. The house needs a total redo, but Kanye wanted it so he could be near his children. He bought it nearly a year ago, but there's been little to no work done to remodel it. As far as we know, Kanye never stays at that house.

Jay-Z wants to know just how much money his famous cognac line is making, and he's filed a lawsuit against his partners at Bacardi to get that information.

In docs obtained by TMZ Hip Hop, Jay-Z's company, SC Liquor, is demanding total financial clarity from Bacardi when it comes to D'Usse ... the top shelf cognac brand in which Jay and Bacardi are 50/50 partners.

Jay and the booze giant have co-owned D'Usse since 2011 ... he regularly shouts out the brand in his songs, and even drank it from one of his Grammys once to promote it. However, the lawsuit makes it clear something about the partnership -- officially named D'Usse LLC -- isn't sitting well.

In the docs, Jay-Z's co. says it needs all books and records, the location of all warehouses storing D'Usse barrels, bottles and accessories ... as well as all info regarding Bacardi's physical inventory and its inventory process.

It's unclear what's prompting Jay to demand this info, but it is clear there's a level of distrust between the partners. One sentence from the docs seems pretty telling: SC Liquor says it needs to "monitor the conduct of [Bacardi's] business to protect SC's rights as" a partner in the company.

While Diddy's turning his focus to R&B, he's leaving the door open for his heirs to control Bad Boy's hip hop empire -- and his son King Combs says he's boldly stepping up to claim it.

TMZ Hip Hop got Puff's not-so-mini-me out in NYC, where he admitted he was primed to takeover Bad Boy as his dad's career matures.

Team Combs is off to a fantastic start to their respective hustles ... back in the summer, they became the first father-son duo to hit the Hip Hop/R&B Chart's Top 10 at the same time.

Diddy released his Love Records intro "Gotta Move On" featuring Bryson Tiller, while King collaborated with Kodak Black for the new anthem "Can’t Stop Won’t Stop."

KC's record bridged a few generations ... sampling Lil Kim's classic "Crush On You" jam, and taking advantage of that time-tested Bad Boy energy at his fingertips!!!

The Prince of Bad Boy also addressed the naysayers and meme-makers ... especially the ones who accuse him of stunting with a silver spoon in his mouth.

The former Atlanta city councilmember who spearheaded the city's "Kanye West Day" is distancing herself from him ... she says she wouldn't bestow the honor now, in light of his recent controversial statements.

Natalyn Archibong was on the Atlanta City Council last year when she introduced a proclamation honoring Ye -- who was born in ATL -- with his own day, but now she is bidding him "a shocked and disgusted adieu."

Natalyn says she doesn't want to engage in revisionist history, but says she would NOT give Kanye the same proclamation now because of his recent comments about George Floyd's death and his antisemitic Tweets.

TMZ broke the story ... Atlanta proclaimed July 22, 2021 "Kanye West Day" after he launched his Donda tour in ATL.

Natalyn, the driving force behind the proclamation, says the proclamation was a one-time thing and can't be repeated or erased ... and she says there were 4 main reasons for commemorating Kanye with his own day.

She mentions Ye's Donda tour starting in Atlanta, his birth in Atlanta and his mother, Donda West, attending Morris Brown College, an HBCU in Atlanta. Lastly, Natalyn says "the proclamation was an acknowledgment of his substantial contribution to the arts."

Of course, Kanye's stoked a ton of controversy ever since, and Natalyn says the "July 2021 proclamation did not envision that in 2022, the artist formerly known as Kanye West would boldly make such ugly and hurtful statements."

YK Osiris isn't denying he broke down over no longer being in communication with Drake and Lil Baby -- but the "Worth It" singer says there's more to those tears than meets the eye.

YK clarified his emotions Monday ... saying he was actually crying for the fans and onlookers who also feel alone in the world -- which is an admission he's feeling lonely, and possibly also underappreciated.

In the new post, YK says he dishes out mounds of love to peers and people he admires, only to get nada in return and it's ripping him apart.

The good news is YK's ripping a page from the Rev. Al Green's playbook ... 'cause he's looking to represent peace, love and happiness, and he says not even the Devil can take him down.

It was a sharp departure from Sunday when YK was on IG Live addressing fans who kept likening him to celebrity associates such as Drake and Baby.

YK revealed he doesn't have many celeb friends left, and says neither of those superstars acknowledge his existence anymore.

The reality is YK's tearful post probably alarmed a lot of fans as it came the week after Ray J posted himself on a ledge with captions about possibly jumping. Just a few days later, his sister Brandy was admitted to the hospital for a possible stroke.

So yeah, all sorts of artists are under pressure these days.

George Floyd's family is openly considering a potential lawsuit against Kanye West and Candace Owens -- a case that could be similar to the blockbuster one against Alex Jones, but also different in some key ways.

Civil rights attorney Lee Merritt, who's repping the fam, tells TMZ ... he's exploring all possible legal avenues to bring a potential lawsuit over what Kanye said about George on the new "Drink Champs" episode -- and he's also looking into what Candace put out in her new documentary.

Lee's already noted a defamation lawsuit isn't possible because George is deceased, but he is looking into other possible ways the Floyd estate, the George Floyd foundation or the family members themselves could bring claims -- and one path could be emotional distress.

The Sandy Hook families were able to successfully sue Alex Jones for defamation because he called the parents actors.

Kanye didn't say anything about George's family members, but his statements -- and allegedly the Owens documentary -- could still have a negative impact on them, which is why Merritt is pursuing grounds for a lawsuit against them.

The bigger point here, though, is that Lee wants Kanye and Candace to understand statements like the ones they're putting out in the world -- namely that George died from a fentanyl OD and pre-existing conditions, but not Derek Chauvin's knee -- are false and hurtful.

Lee tells us that type of rhetoric undermines the Floyd family's efforts to pass legislation, like the George Floyd Policing Act, and their work at large. He also says it deflects blame from the officers who've been convicted in connection to his murder, especially Chauvin.

There's still a lot of groundwork to do before anything's filed -- we're told Lee and the family have to go through Candace's doc, "The Greatest Lie Ever Sold," to see what exactly she said and if there's any basis to bring legal action.

Lee says he believes he'll have a more specific outline of his potential causes of action later this week. He says the family hasn't discussed a dollar amount for which they'd try to sue, but it's a good bet they'd try to get punitive damages -- and given Kanye's worth, those damages would have to be several million to truly punish him.

Izzy Drake, the social media troll who Drake has distanced himself from should probably just throw in the towel on the whole clone thing ... as well as any chances at a boxing career.

Izzy took a pounding in Atlantic City over the weekend via a Celebrity Boxing match against YouTuber/rapper M2thaK.

Izzy was originally supposed to fight Lamar Odom ... but claims real Drake paid him off NOT to fight, which Lamar has denied. M2thaK came out the gate swinging, connecting plenty of jabs to Izzy's noggin.

The fight was far from a professional bout, both fighters contributed to their own knockdowns, slipping all over the canvas.

But, M2thaK managed to stay consistent for all three rounds ... and the refs unanimously handed the dubya to M2thaK -- and his fists of fury.

Following the fight, M2thak taunted Izzy with the newest addition to his jewelry collection ... the golden Celebrity Boxing championship belt, gloating about how Izzy's pride got left on the mat.