TMZ Hip Hop - Page 50

Jay-Z's 6-year flip of Tidal's streaming service is complete -- he just closed the deal to sell the majority of the company to Square for $350 million ... a pretty good return on his initial investment.

Square, the financial services company owned by Jay's pal, Jack Dorsey, is now firmly in the music streaming biz. Jack had announced back in March that he planned to take Tidal off Jay's hands, but sources familiar tell TMZ they just closed the deal Friday morning.

Remember, Jay-Z launched Tidal back in 2015 for $56 million in a partnership with several artists, including Beyonce, Rihanna, Kanye West, Madonna, Alicia Keys, Calvin Harris, Chris Martin and others.

For its $350 mil ... Square gets 80% ownership of Tidal, along with licensing deals with the major record labels and all the artists/owners will remain with the company too.

We're told Jay and Roc Nation CEO Desiree Perez, who helped broker the deal, will both remain on board to help run Tidal.

Over the last year we've seen Jay and Jack hanging out several times -- sometimes sipping wine together in the Hamptons -- and now we know what they're discussing ... major tycoon stuff.

Jay's made serious bank of his Tidal investment. He'd previously sold 33% of it to Sprint back in 2017 for an undisclosed amount.

Post Malone's brought the magic touch to one collectible shop ... 'cause his mere presence alone brought fans out in droves to watch him spend bank on Magic: The Gathering.

We're told the "Circles" rapper hit up the super popular Frank & Son Collectible Show shop Thursday in Industry, CA -- just outside L.A. -- and he was on the hunt for some very pricey 'Magic' cards.

For the too-cool-for-school kids ... MTG is a collectible and digital collectible card game that hit the market back in the early 1990s. The game astoundingly has around 35 million players as of 2018, and more than 20 BILLION cards have reportedly been produced to meet the incredible demand!

As you can see ... Posty's a HUGE fan, and once fans got word he was in town looking to plunk down some serious cash, they swarmed the collectible shop as if he were the Pied Piper.

We're told PM signed autographs for fans before dropping thousands of dollars on a slate of cards. He's so passionate about the game, he was rocking an MTG button-up when he appeared on "Late Night with Seth Meyers."

Fans went bananas trying to figure out how to get their hands on the $135 shirt. They also started speculating it was probably PM who dropped $511k for the highly-coveted alpha Black Lotus card when it sold earlier this year.

Tekashi 6ix9ine's baby mama flew down to Colombia for a little mommy makeover but it came at a high cost ... in the form of a severe reaction.

69's baby mama, Sara Molina, had gone through a bout of depression from being holed up at her house during the pandemic ... according to her manager. So, she went down to Colombia for a little pick-me-up in the form of a Brazilian butt lift and a 360 liposuction.

Thing is ... after Dr. Humberto Peña performed the 5-hour surgeries over the weekend, Sara, who has Multiple sclerosis, had a severe MS flare-up hours after the surgery ... her entire body was racked with pain.

We're told Sara was given nausea medicine but doctors also removed a pain pump that had been placed under the skin of her abdomen to funnel medication directly to the source of the pain. We're told this helped, but she still has big issues. She can't even lie flat.

Sara now rests in a special recliner and although she's still experiencing pain ... we're told she's recovering at the posh Lluxe Recovery facility in Colombia until mid-May.

Kodak Black just pled guilty to first-degree assault and battery in his sexual assault case in South Carolina, and he's been sentenced to 18 months probation ... TMZ has learned.

The rapper was originally indicted on a felony charge of first-degree criminal sexual conduct, but his attorneys, Bradford Cohen and Beattie Ashmore, tell us Kodak copped a plea to a lesser charge to put the case behind him.

As we reported, Kodak was charged for allegedly sexually assaulting a teenage girl back in February 2016 at a hotel. According to prosecutors, he pushed the girl into a wall and onto a bed before assaulting her, allegedly biting her breast and neck. Kodak had denied the allegations.

Ed Clements, the 12th Circuit Solicitor in Florence County, tells TMZ ... Kodak admitted in court he bit the girl, but apologized to her, on the record.

We're told Kodak was given a 10-year suspended prison sentence and placed on 18 months of supervised state probation.

While on probation, he will not wear an ankle monitor, but must let his probation officer know where he goes and where he lives.

Kanye West has the Midas touch ... a pair of shoes he wore during his performance at the 2008 Grammys just sold for a record 7-figure price.

The prototype Nike Air Yeezy 1 brought in a whopping $1.8 million in a recent private sale, according to Sotheby's, which brokered the deal.

Kanye famously wore the kicks, known as the "Grammy Worn" Nikes, at the 2008 Grammy Awards, when he performed "Hey Mama" and "Stronger."

The $1.8 million sale price completely shatters the record for the most expensive pair of sneakers ever sold ... it's the first pair to sell for over $1 million, nearly tripling the previous high of $615k for a pair of 1985 Nike Air Jordan 1s Michael Jordan wore when he broke a backboard during a preseason game in Italy.

MJ's record didn't last long ... those kicks sold last year, and now Kanye's got the top spot.

Ye and Mark Smith designed the size 12 shoes, a combination of Nike and Yeezy signature brandings. There's a classic Nike Swoosh, plus a Yeezy forefoot strap and a bright pink "Y" medallion lace lock.

Kanye West turned out to be quite present throughout DMX's tributes this weekend -- and he'll continue to be ... because he's got a seven-figure gift for the man's family.

Sources close to Kanye tell us the custom DMX T-shirt designed by Balenciaga -- which was commissioned by the Yeezy brand and put up for sale Saturday as X's memorial got underway -- ended up cranking out huge profits quickly ... upwards of a million bucks.

Balenciaga had already said they'd be giving the net profits back to the fam -- but the fact those sales produced a million dollars is staggering. Then again, the shirt was retailing for $200 a pop ... so we suppose it makes sense. The DMX tribute shirt sold out in 24 hours.

There's another way Kanye got involved in Saturday's ceremony -- which Swizz Beatz actually alluded to during the event. Yes, we've heard Kanye and the Yeezy team did, in fact, design the stage where the Sunday Service choir performed, and where guests also spoke.

You might've noticed the elaborate set pieces at play -- the stage looked like an inverted pyramid ... or maybe even two. Our sources say Ye recruited renowned visual artist Akeem Smith to help with the layout ... and it looks like their joint efforts paid off, because it definitely made for quite a spectacle -- one that was worthy of DMX and his loved ones.

Tekashi 6ix9ine performed before a live audience for the first time since his release from prison, but it was abruptly cut short.

Tekashi headlined a concert Friday night at Tier Nightclub in Orlando and, as he performed "GOOBA," he jumped into the crowd from the VIP balcony.

The crowd was lovin' it, but according to a fan who was there, Tekashi got pissed when someone knocked his hat off and others started messing with the chains around his neck. He told everyone to chill out but, according to the fan, one of his chains fell to the ground and his security scooped it up.

The show abruptly ended.

Tekashi's lawyer, Lance Lazzaro, tells TMZ, Tekashi was happy with the show and 69 did not lose any of his prized jewelry.

What's remarkable ... that Tekashi felt emboldened to hurl himself into the crowd, given the trial where he turned on several gang members and got a plea deal for his cooperation. Lazzaro says 69 isn't worried about a thing and, if anything were to happen, he's confident his security would handle it.

The Congressman who ripped Cardi B on the House floor says he didn't watch her Grammys "WAP" performance until AFTER his lecture ... and he couldn't stomach the whole thing.

U.S. Rep Glenn Grothman tells TMZ ... he finally watched Cardi's Grammy performance for the first time Thursday, about 5 hours after decrying it as "inconsistent with basic decency" while lambasting the FCC for broadcasting it.

Grothman tells us he stopped watching "WAP" after about 2 minutes ... he says he was turned off by how "offensive and boring" it was.

As you know ... Grothman complained about Cardi's Grammys appearance on the House floor, saying it's contributing to America's moral decline.

Cardi quickly shot back ... calling Grothman names and wondering why the Wisconsin Republican's wasting time on the House floor ranting about "WAP" instead of tackling critical issues like police brutality.

Grothman says he was just doing what his constituents asked of him -- he tells us folks in his district complained to him about Cardi's performance shortly after the Grammys, demanding he straighten things out with the FCC when he's in D.C.

Rep. Grothman says Thursday was his first chance to speak up, and he believes young people are in his corner on this one. He says several "respectable young staffers" did not give him positive Cardi reviews before he shared his piece. Of course, they work for him ... so, those are hardly unbiased opinions.

The way Grothman sees it ... Cardi struck it rich by appealing to the lowest common denominator, and he thinks that hurts the country's moral climate.

Rich the Kid's injecting his own stimulus package ... for those lucky enough to catch it on Rodeo Drive 'cause that's where he was making it rain.

The rapper pulled up in his expensive Rolls-Royce Phantom on Thursday right outside the Burberry and Louis Vuitton stores in Beverly Hills, where he started throwing wads of cash in the air. It wasn't long before a throng of fans -- of the rapper and money, of course -- showed up to catch it.

Our guy asks him how much he's throwing but it's hard to tell if RTK gives a direct answer. He wishes a woman happy birthday before pulling out another wad of bills.

Then, things get interesting ... for Rich, anyway.

You can see near the end of the video he's taking a selfie and 2 police motorcycles pull up behind him. RTK's driver takes off ... and the cops follow right behind him. We never saw the sirens and lights go on, but our law enforcement sources tell us Rich did end up getting a ticket ... for littering. That's gonna cost him a few more dollar bills -- minimum $250, max $1,000 for a first offense.

BTW ... Rich was definitely in a celebratory mood 'cause we're told he had just been inside the Patek Philippe store on the eve of dropping his new track, "Richard Mille Patek."

As for the Phantom, we're told it's a brand new model and around $600k. Rich was cruising around town with his buddy, RD Whittington, who owns celebrity auto and aircraft super-firm Wires Only ... so you gotta imagine he helped hook him up.

Boxing phenom Edgar Berlanga has KO'd all 16 of his opponents in the 1st round ... and when he goes for #17 this weekend, Lil Wayne will walk him to the ring!

The 23-year-old knockout artist dropped the news to TMZ Sports as he gears up to fight Demond Nicholson (23-3-1) on Saturday night ... in what many expect to be another signature violent performance from the young star.

Wayne is a big boxing fan -- and he's clearly taken notice of Berlanga as he's destroyed every pro fighter who's ever stepped in the ring against him.

Fat Joe has also become a huge fan.

And Berlanga tells us ... both rap stars have told him they'll be in the house as VIP guests at the Silver Spurs Arena in Kissimmee, FL.

"I'm going to spoil it right now for TMZ," Berlanga told us ... "[Wayne's] gonna be there with us this Saturday night, so I have him and Fat Joe."

Wayne won't just be a spectator ... Edgar says the hip-hop icon will be a part of his ring-walk entourage and will perform one of his hits on the way in.

"Lil Wayne is gonna perform and Fat Joe is gonna come to show love like he always does."

FYI, Edgar and Joe are both from NYC ... and go back a few years. FJ has been a regular at Berlanga's fights.

And Wayne isn't just hopping on the bandwagon ... he's been a staunch supporter of Berlanga for a while and has been mentoring Edgar about how to navigate the fame that comes with obliterating 16 straight opponents!

In fact, Weezy even has a near-life-size cardboard cutout of Edgar!

Cardi B is indignant over what just went down on the House floor ... after U.S. Rep. Glenn Grothman lectured the FCC about her "WAP" performance at the Grammys.

Here's the deal ... the Wisconsin Republican lambasted the FCC for broadcasting Cardi and Megan Thee Stallion's "WAP" rendition on national TV last month, saying it's contributing to America's moral decline.

Grothman says Cardi's performance was "inconsistent with basic decency" and even shades Vice President Kamala Harris -- whose name he mispronounced -- for being a Cardi fan.

Cardi fired back ... wondering why he's wasting time on the House floor ranting about her "WAP" performance instead of dealing with critical issues like police brutality.

Cardi says Grothman should pay attention to what's going on in his own state with the Jacob Blake shooting ... and she blames him for not helping Jacob's family get justice.

Cardi B seems to be looking to break into the beauty biz -- and it looks like she wants to keep her B-branding at the forefront of her new venture.

The rapper's company, Washpoppin Inc., just filed legal docs to lock down the rights to the phrase "Bardi Beauty" -- which she apparently wants to slap onto a ton of different merch that screams of the fabulous life.

According to the trademark docs, Cardi is apparently aiming to hawk a bunch of glam products -- including stuff like cosmetics, fragrances, haircare, skincare, nail polish, nail enamel ... pretty much the works when it comes to a beauty line.

Here's another interesting thing ... the docs actually include Cardi's signature -- with her real name, of course -- Belcalis Almanzar -- as the CEO of Washpoppin. Take a gander at that beauty ... it definitely has all the volume and flair you'd expect from CB.

It's wild to think Cardi hasn't already gone the Kardashian-Jenner route to roll out her own line. She's been serving up fashionable looks (both wardrobe and makeup-wise) ... and has even teamed up with different companies, like Fashion Nova, for signature collections and curated items, but doesn't appear to have offered up one that's uniquely her own just yet.

Donald Trump's apparently a big fan of Waka Flocka Flame's charity work ... because the former President recognized the rapper with a lifetime achievement award.

We are told Waka's award is for his humanitarianism and philanthropy as a volunteer for the Chicago non-profit Daughter of Destiny.

Waka received the Trump award Friday in Atlanta, his hometown, with his pastor and mentor Apostle Dr. Bridget Outlaw presenting WFF with an official certificate and medal.

As you can see, Waka was beaming from ear-to-ear with the framed award in hand and the medal around his neck, and he had a few kind words for Trump.

Daughter of Destiny's an outreach program helping women by providing employment, food, housing, community and inner healing ... and the certificate recognizes Waka's "lifelong commitment to building a stronger nation through volunteer service."

We're told 45 signed the certificate and the Trump Administration had everything approved before Trump left office in January.

Black Rob -- a rapper who was once part of Diddy's Bad Boy roster -- has died ... this according to his former labelmates.

Rob reportedly passed away Saturday while hospitalized in Atlanta -- this after he was apparently battling kidney failure for quite some time ... so says NYC radio personality DJ Self, who posted a video of Rob from his hospital bed speaking on DMX's death.

Of BR's passing, Self says ... "Lord knows i tried to get help ...... I’m sad to say RIP to Black Rob." Self had been with Rob in his final days, posting different clips of the former MC as his health was clearly deteriorating. In one such video, Rob himself explained that he'd been battling health issues for five years ... including several strokes and other ailments. It also sounds like Rob might have been homeless too ... going on to say he needed "rest."

It's pretty heartbreaking to watch ... especially since Rob didn't appear to have reps of his own toward the end. DJ Self made clear he wasn't representing Rob either, but simply getting his message out.

Another former Bad Boy MC, Mark Curry, also confirmed the sad news of Rob's passing ... posting a teary-eyed video Saturday saying he'd just gotten word, thanking everyone who donated to a GFM campaign in Rob's name -- while publicly asking Rob's children to get in touch with him ... presumably to make funeral arrangements.

Both Mark and Rob were featured on Diddy's famous track "Bad Boy 4 Life" ... with each contributing verses in the memorable music video, which showed Diddy and co. moving into a suburban neighborhood and drawing the ire of Ben Stiller. Rob had performed with several other Bad Boy affiliated acts ... like 112, Faith Evans, Mase and even Biggie himself.

Of course, Rob broke through with his own hit in 2000 ... the critically-acclaimed "Whoa!" which ended up making it on several music charts, including the Billboard Hot 100 and others ... and ended up getting remixed several times over.

"Whoa!" stands as Rob's biggest hit to date -- but the man went on to churn out several albums ... even after leaving Bad Boy in the mid-2000s. He was reunited with his Bad Boy counterparts in 2016 when Diddy put together the Bad Boy Family Reunion Tour.

Diddy doesn't appear to have commented on Rob's passing just yet. He was 51.

RIP

Lil Durk's concert was cut short Saturday night after gunshots rang out concert in Phoenix at the Celebrity Theatre.

Durk was performing at the Celebrity Theatre in Phoenix when the crowd of 10,000 heard gunfire erupt. The crowd scrambled as people fought to flee the venue.

The Phoenix PD says they couldn't locate anyone who was directly hit by bullets, and reports that one woman was grazed in the leg by a bullet are not true. Phoenix Police say It was reported to their team that the injury was not from gunfire. A few people suffered non-life-threatening injuries from attempting to fleeing the area. This is an ongoing investigation.

Durk seemed upset about something when he posted, "10k people sold out and no drama stop tryna stop us." He posted this before the gunfire but during the concert. It's unclear the drama to which he was referring.

The event was tagged, "Smurkchella," as Lil Durk and other rappers hit the stage.

Various videos were posted showing the mad dash to the exits as the crowd tried to get out of harm's way. Chairs were knocked over, people screaming ... the works.

The show abruptly stopped and that was the end of it.

So far, no suspects are in custody.

Kanye West is cementing the logo for his company's collab with Gap ... and it looks exactly like what Yeezus envisioned when this deal came together.

Kanye's company filed legal docs locking up the rights to the new logo design for his Yeezy Gap fashion line ... and as you can see, the branding is pretty much the same logo Ye first tweeted out last summer, when he announced his 10-year deal with the retailer.

It's clearly a play on the original Gap logo ... only instead of "GAP" in white block lettering inside a blue square, the letters spell out "YZY" and the blue square has rounded edges.

The docs, obtained by TMZ, also shed some light on what we might expect to see from Yeezy Gap -- all types of clothing, of course ... but also footwear, headwear, accessories and bags.