TMZ Hip Hop - Page 50

At least one of Travis Scott's attorneys believes Houston police intentionally timed the release of their report on the Astroworld tragedy ... in order to hurt sales of his new "Utopia" album.

Kent Schaffer tells TMZ ... it's no coincidence Houston's PD's full investigation report came out Friday, the same day as Travis' latest album.

Travis' lawyers says cops were well aware "Utopia" was dropping Friday -- it was highly publicized as Travis made an official announcement early in the week. Schaffer believes their motive for precisely timing the 1,266-page release was to hurt Travis' sales, and take some heat off law enforcement for not charging Travis with a crime.

For the record, Houston PD has said it is simply a "coincidence."

While Schaffer isn't buying that, he thinks the report won't have much impact on Travis' fans ... or hurt his album sales, for that matter.

Travis' lawyer is also pushing back on some of the report's contents ... including a statement from a security guard who claims he tried to get Travis' team to stop the show during Drake's set, but was told Drake had to finish first.

Schaffer flat out denies that, claiming all the crowd injuries happened 30 minutes before Drake hit the stage, but no one brought it to Travis' attention ... and he says police could have stopped the concert sooner if they wanted.

Travis told police he was told in his earpiece to stop the show after Drake left the stage ... and his attorney says Travis followed all directions and that's one reason he was not charged with a crime.

Travis' attorney says he was in communication with HPD throughout the investigation, which lasted over 18 months, and the opinions expressed to him were that police did not see any criminal liability on Travis' part.

That's exactly what a grand jury decided last month, refusing to indict the rapper for the 10 deaths at Astroworld. However, he's still facing several lawsuits from victims and families of victims.

Schaffer says the size and scope of the released documents is unusual ... and he thinks police wanted to show the public and the victims' families that they conducted a very thorough investigation.

Meanwhile, an attorney for a family whose child died at the concert tells TMZ ... "The release of this report only reminds the family about the terror, the devastation and the horror which took away their child. The feelings are mixed between sadness, anger and determination to continue pursuing justice regardless of whether it’s in a criminal courthouse or a civil courthouse."

Toosii thinks Nicki Minaj was totally snubbed in Netflix's female rapper documentary trailer, and says you don't have to be a woman to appreciate her greatness ... he literally grew up on her music!!!

We caught the "Favorite Song" rapper out in Hollywood, and he weighed in on the uproar over the forthcoming "Ladies First" ... which touted virtually every prominent rapper except for Nicki (and surprisingly Missy Elliott) in the preview scenes.

Toosii proudly reps Gen Z and remembers Nicki being the only woman in hip hop popping when he was a kid -- a sentiment J. Cole literally just shared with Kevin Hart.

Lil Baby also agrees and recently proclaimed Nicki to be the G.O.A.T. when it comes to female rappers, as her accolades speak for themselves.

Sources close to the production of "Ladies First" relayed to us that Nicki does indeed appear in the 4-part docuseries, but Toosii says producers screwed themselves by leaving her out of the trailer. He says they should be so honored to have the queen.

Travis Scott told police someone in his earpiece told him to end the Astroworld concert after Drake's set, but insists he had no clue there was an emergency unfolding in the crowd.

The rapper's account of what unfolded at the deadly November 2021 concert is documented in the 1,266-page report from Houston Police, who interviewed him at his home a few days after the concert.

Travis said the first time he noticed something was wrong was when he was on a lifted platform above the stage and he noticed someone down near the stage who was receiving medical attention.

Before this point, Travis said he recalled seeing lights in the crowd but could not tell what was going on ... so he asked folks in the crowd to put up a middle finger if they were fine and that was the overwhelming response ... so he thought everything was good.

Travis told police he was on the elevated platform for about two or three songs, when he saw someone waving their hands at him near the stage ... and that's when he told the crowd to back up and get medical attention to the area.

For the rest of his time on the elevated platform, Travis said he was in a "trance" going through his performance and getting into the music ... and that there wasn't a "high commotion" in the crowd.

When Drake was onstage, the report said a security guard tried to get two members of Travis' team to stop the show in the middle of the set, but was denied and told Drake needed to finish.

Travis told police he was told "Yo, this is gonna have to be like the last song," when Drake was performing ... but he says he was not told there was an emergency.

When Drake finished, Travis says he was told in his earpiece ... "Yo Trav, you got to wrap it up, it's getting kinda hectic out there." Travis says there was no mention of the situation's severity.

Travis told police he was first told something happened at the concert when he got back to his trailer, when a friend told him a concertgoer was getting CPR. Travis says he thought only one person was in trouble, but was later informed that two people needed CPR and that's when he started to question what was going on.

It was not until Travis got home, around 2 AM or 3 AM, that he says he learned about the number of people who died at Astroworld.

In total, 10 people died and dozens were injured ... and now Travis is facing civil lawsuits, though he will not face criminal charges.

Offset and Cardi B know how to handle their real-life drama well -- take all the turmoil and turn it into a hit record that boosts their bank account!!!

The former Migos member took full advantage of having a superstar rapper wife when he dropped his new single "Jealously" on Friday ... along with a music video he directed himself, taking a page outta John Singleton's 2001 classic hood romance, "Baby Boy!!!"

The visual costars Offset and Cardi's children, as well as "Baby Boy" star Taraji P. Henson, who resumes her role as the hot-headed "Yvette" to instruct Cardi on how to deal with her hubby's fictional transgressions ... strictly for the music vid.

It was just a month ago when Cardi lashed out at Offset, who had publicly accused her of cheating on him after he was accused of doing the same thing! Real messy stuff ... the song definitely sounds better.

"Jealously" was released on Motown Records, a big win for Offset as he had sued his ex-label Quality Control for blocking his music from coming out.

Victims of Travis Scott's Astroworld tragedy were alarmed the concert continued as they were fighting for their lives, and one security guard even went backstage pleading with Travis' team to stop the concert ... but his team refused to alert Travis.

Police just released their 1,266-page report ... which includes interviews with hundreds of concert attendees, many of whom suffered injuries and were hospitalized. Some of them paint a grisly picture of what happened in November of 2021 ... as the crowd surge resulted in a stampede.

The report says the security guard, Marty, made it backstage to the audio area to try and stop the show while Drake was performing. Marty said he made it clear to two members of Travis' team who allegedly had the ability to communicate with Travis that the concert needed to end, but he was blocked.

The man says Travis' team did not want to shut the show down because Drake had three more songs left ... and he says he told them the situation was "much bigger than Drake" but says Travis' team "actively impeded the ability for anyone to stop the show."

Police interviewed Drake and asked if he noticed any problems going on in the crowd while he was on stage and he told cops it was difficult to see from his vantage point because there were a lot of lights and it was his first time ever on that stage and he wasn't able to rehearse.

Drake also told cops he didn't hear anyone in the crowd begging to stop the show, explaining that his earpiece drowns out a lot of outside noise.

The report also says Drake told police he met up with Travis after the show and at that point, they did not know about the tragic incident in the crowd. Drake said his manager later informed him of what happened.

Travis is still facing civil lawsuits over the deadly concert and if it turns out people on his team were blocking folks from stopping the show it could have legal consequences in those suits.

The police report is also filled with details from concertgoers ... including one named Ayden who said he felt like he was "losing oxygen and he began to yell for help as he fell to the ground." His friend, Brianna, was nearby and he heard her yelling, "I can't breathe" and he went into "survival mode."

Ayden says he got himself out of the pile, but "it did not help that the music continued on playing even though it was clear people were being trampled on." He says he got to the front of the stage and tried to get Travis' attention to stop the concert, but was unable to do so.

Aside from the obvious stamped issues that occurred during the chaos, another fan believed the lighting on the stage caused him to have a seizure. He told police he had no history of seizures and had not taken any drugs that night.

The report also includes interviews with first responders who describe the absolutely horrific scene. One Houston firefighter said they had worked on 11 cardiac arrest patients within 46 minutes, and observed one person with a crushed larynx, one overdose and several other injuries.

Travis Scott is casting an early vote for the 2024 presidential election ... saying on his latest album he'd choose his bud Kanye West over current Prez Joe Biden.

TS took a dig at Biden on his track, "Skitzo" -- a hit from his "Utopia" album, which came out on Friday. In the song, he says, "Crazy how they love to talk s*** and got no Trident / I’m loyal, bitch, I got Ye over Biden."

As we reported, Ye's been talking quite a bit about sliding into the Oval Office next year, although he hasn't officially thrown his hat in the ring.

Worth noting Kanye's got producing or songwriting credits on a few tracks for Travis' album, and they've been close friends for a while ... so this could be just a friendly shout-out -- but it sure doesn't sound like it.

ICYMI, Kanye supporters have been selling "Ye24" merch for a while, with things like phone cases and hoodies for fans to scoop up and show their support.

The rapper's also been restructuring his presidential campaign team -- bringing his frequent collaborator Milo Yiannopoulos back on board in May as his Director of Political Operations ... giving the boot to the controversial former man in charge, Nick Fuentes.

From there, Milo started "cleaning house," according to him ... the campaign committee's treasurer resigned and Ali Alexander also got the boot around the same time.

Kanye also saw sponsors and companies drop him amid his antisemitic rants last year, so it seemed like all support for the guy was lost.

Drake's Thug Life is officially complete -- the megastar rapper has emerged as the buyer of Tupac Shakur's $1 million crown ring, which now ranks as a historic moment at a Sotheby's auction!!!

On Friday, Drake showed off his latest prized possession via IG ... and promoted Travis Scott's album "Utopia" which dropped at midnight, as he's featured on the song "Meltdown" where he reignites his beef with Pusha T!!!

Earlier in the week, Sotheby's announced they had sold the Tupac ring in New York City for $1,016,000 ... blasting through the initial estimates of $200k-$300k and making it the “most valuable hip-hop artifact ever sold at auction.” The ring's the only piece purchased for over $1 million.

The glitzy 14k ring sports an amalgam of gold, ruby and diamond jewels and will make a nice addition to Drake's jewelry collection. BTW, on "Meltdown" he raps about permanently altering chains he bought from Pharrell!!!

Tupac was Drake's #1 artist for his Spotify streams last year, so his flex is true to his fandom.

Travis Scott is treating Kylie Jenner's new boyfriend, Timothée Chalamet, like an oompa loompa on his new album "Utopia" ... and wants his bm to know she'll never find another beau more lit than him!!!

On the appropriately titled track, "Meltdown," Travis blows his tops going at Timothée while dissing his upcoming role as the King of Candy with the lyrics, "Chocolate AP and chocolate the Vs got the/ Willy Wonka factory (Vs)/ Burn an athlete like it's calories find another flame hot as me, bitch!!!"

In case you're not following Travis' hot lines, an AP is short for Audemars Piguet, one of the watches rappers favor these days that cost just as much as a moderately sized mansion ... while Timothée is set to play Willy Wonka in the fable's latest reboot ... a move too corny for his taste.

Confirmation that Kylie was getting cozy inside Timothée's chocolate factory began to surface in April, when her car was spotted at his house, and again during a mid-day taco run.

Kylie and Travis entered the summer in a fluid co-parenting situation, with zero expectations of getting back together ... but Travis is clearly upset Kylie moved on with the Golden Ticket guy!!!

Travis dropped his long-awaited "Utopia" album on Friday and all signs point to it being a huge success, with several fans complaining of outages on streaming services as everyone rushed to listen.

Well, everyone 'cept for Timothée most likely.

Drake used the bulk of his mic time on Travis Scott’s new "Utopia" album to fire shots at both Pusha T and Pharrell … and he was definitely aiming for their heads!!!

On the track "Meltdown" (the same song where Travis jabs at Kylie Jenner's new dude Timotheé Chalamet), Drake digs into Pharrell, claiming to have bought his coveted N.E.R.D. jewelry just to alter it.

If you recall, Drake flexed Pharrell's rare stones in his "Jumbotron Shit Poppin" video -- but Jim Jones has since been accused of doing the dirty work for Drake in his beef against Pusha. Now the OVO rapper says he can fight his own battles!!!

Drake also ruthlessly dissed Pharrell's new gig at Louis Vuitton ... declaring LV to be a faded brand now that Virgil Abloh is dead.

As for Pusha, Drake says there's no reason for him and his camp to duck the fade as his "It's All a Blur" tour schedule is easy to Google.

Drake also claims he would’ve pulled up on Pusha during his runway stroll amid Paris Fashion Week if it wasn’t for Vogue magazine's pesky $4M lawsuit against him. 👀

Beyoncé is giving her fans another reason to rejoice -- she's made her way onto Travis Scott's latest album, and to the surprise of just about everyone!

Bey lends her mountains of talent to Travis' track, "Delresto (Echoes)" ... the 9th song on his much-anticipated album, "Utopia," which dropped on Friday.

It's a solid track, with a distinct synth vibe -- similar to Beyoncé's recent "Renaissance" album, which dropped last year. Bon Iver's Justin Vernon also jumps on the song.

Bey and Justin aren't the only ones bringing star power to the album -- Drake, Young Thug, and SZA are just a few of the big names that collabed with Travis to bring "Utopia" to life.

As we reported, TS was partying with Drake and French Montana Wednesday night after Drake's show at The Garden ... and we're sure the album drop just around the bend was on Travis' mind.

Of course, he had a big show for the album that was set to go down in Egypt at the Pyramids of Giza on Friday -- Live Nation said the plug was pulled just a couple of days before, saying, "Complex production issues meant that the show could not be constructed in the desert."

Toccara Jones wants to work with the Drake fan who went viral after throwing her huge bra on stage -- she's offering Miss 36G a modeling job with her lingerie line.

We got the ex-"America's Next Top Model" contestant Thursday at LAX, and she told us why 21-year-old Veronica Correia would be the perfect fit to model for her company, Toccara Intimates.

For starters, Toccara and Veronica both have similar body shapes and bra sizes ... Veronica's 36G bra caught Drake's attention during his recent concert in Brooklyn.

But, it's not only about the curves for Toccara .. who tells us she also likes the confidence Veronica has in her body, as evidenced by her behavior at the concert.

She adds, Veronica should move quickly to cash in on her newfound fame. As we reported, Playboy's also offering an opportunity ... so the iron is plenty hot.

Toccara says even if Veronica doesn't seize the day, she's already struck a blow for women with all natural assets -- a statement that came with a very jiggly exhibition!

Vic Mensa's being sued by an ex-landlord, who claims he's way behind on rent ... but the rapper says the landlord was operating an unsafe building, which led to a terrifying incident for Vic's girlfriend.

Attorney George Georgopoulos filed the suit on behalf of the property owner and claims while Vic was highlighting a flashy lifestyle on social media -- pics of fancy watches and sports cars -- he was failing to pay his rent.

According to the lawsuit, Vic now owes $8,340 in rent and late fees.

Georgopoulos adds, his client “is left holding the bag of paying real estate taxes, maintenance, and other costs for the building while Vic Mensa continues to use and occupy the space without paying rent.”

However, a rep for Vic says the landlord's way outta line here ... telling TMZ the landlord actually "put the lives of Vic Mensa's family in danger, particularly his girlfriend." He points to a March incident when cops say someone broke into the place when his girlfriend was home alone.

Police records confirm a man was arrested and charged for breaking in to the apartment -- and court records show that suspect has also been previously arrested multiple times for battery, and for violating the sex offender registry.

Vic thinks the landlord failed to take adequate security measures around the building despite numerous requests, so he moved out immediately after that incident ... and, yes, stopped paying rent, because he no longer lived there.

Drake took a big bite out of the Big Apple this week, performing at Madison Square Garden to sold-out crowds and partying into the wee hours with some of his famous friends.

Drake, Travis Scott and French Montana popped into the rooftop lounge at the Dream Hotel in Manhattan after Drake's Wednesday night gig at The Garden. Not surprisingly, the trio was the center of attention, wowing all the guests.

Check out the video, obtained by TMZ, which shows Drake walking around and mingling with security shadowing him. Drake was also spotted chilling with a hot blonde -- and the two seemed to be having a good ol' time together.

Then there was Travis, who hit the DJ booth and grabbed the mic to say a few words before spinning some tunes. We're told Travis took a break at one point to go hang out with his buddy, French.

French arrived with a small posse and was seen texting, yapping on his phone and kicking it with his peeps.

Drake's joining forces with Snapchat to bring one of the social media platform's most popular filters with him on tour ... and the results are quite the sight to see.

Here's the deal, Drake's recently started using a new camera feature on crowd shots at his "It Was All a Blur" Tour ... an augmented reality filter powered by Snapchat technology.

As you can see, the AR lens makes it look like people are crying ... even when they aren't. Drake is using the filter when he performs his hit, "Laugh Now Cry Later," with the stage screens showing the crying lens on audience members.

Champagne Papi debuted the Snapchat tech during his July 17 show in Brooklyn, and we're told he will be using it at each concert for the remainder of his tour.

The crying lens has become one of Snap's most popular lenses and has been used over a billion times. Drake has a long-standing relationship with the company -- he even performed at one of its holiday parties.

Drizzy's busted out a whole bag o' tricks on this tour ... like an ugly Anna Wintour, giant sperm cells, massive Ghostface, and a hologram of the late Virgil Abloh.

Page Kennedy is feeling the burn of the ongoing SAG-AFTRA strike ... not only putting a damper on his upcoming summer blockbuster, but also reminding him how crappy royalty checks are!!!

TMZ Hip Hop caught up with Page, who says he's in shambles over the strike, which is affecting his upcoming film with Jason Statham "Meg 2: The Trench" ... a real bummer because he says he almost drowned filming the project.

Page reprised his role as "DJ" from the first 'Meg' thriller, but tells us he wasn't fully prepared to film scenes in the ocean -- at one point, he swallowed more water than his gills could handle. Luckily, the crew was able to usher him to safety.

The veteran actor/rapper has dozens of film credits under his belt, but echoed the sentiments of many actors who say their ever-shrinking residuals aren't cutting it -- and he even showed us some of his checks to drive home that point.

For example, his one-episode appearance on FX's popular Western drama "Justified" paid him $123 ... while his time on the short-lived FOX series "Backstrom" just netted him $59.

It might not be a get-rich-quick option, but Page says his love for acting is still there ... even if he feels execs like Disney CEO Bob Iger wear their greed on their sleeves!!!

He's also in the trenches with the picketers every day, and is back in his rapper bag with a new album, "A Book of Pages," slated for an August 4 wide release.

Rauw Alejandro is setting the record straight on his recent split from Rosalía ... debunking the theory that infidelity was to blame for the couple's end.

The Puerto Rican singer took to Instagram Wednesday to let fans know the facts, saying the 2 broke off their engagement a few months ago -- but makes it clear there were no third parties involved in the breakup, and says there was no cheating going down.

He says he never thought he'd have to speak publicly about something like this, but the folks claiming he's been less than faithful was enough to get him to come forward. He doesn't go into details on the split, but he's at least crossing a few theories off the list.

As we reported, Rosalía announced their engagement back in March, and the 2 have been practically joined at the hip ever since their romance began in 2021 ... so the split came as a shock to fans everywhere.

BTW, people online have been speculating Rauw was hooking up with IG model Valeria Duque ... and while Rauw's been taking a beating over the rumors, Valeria's been catching flack, too -- and she's since switched her account, which has 1.4M followers, to private.