TMZ Hip Hop - Page 50

Kanye West looks to be channeling his inner Martha Stewart -- on the heels of huge music success, he's taking a crucial step toward launching his own line ... of homeware products.

Say whaaat? Yep, according to legal docs, obtained by TMZ, Ye's company, Mascotte Holdings, Inc., filed a trademark application to slap the name "Kanye West" on a slew of home line products.

Unclear if his quest to legally change his name to "Ye" will affect this new venture ... but some of the products that will bear his name, in some fashion, include shower curtains, textile wall hangings, towels, placemats and blankets. Lots of blankets.

The docs specify Ye's company wants to crank out bed blankets, throw blankets, golf blankets ... using cashmere, fleece and silk.

Kanye famously designed his Hidden Hills home with Kim Kardashian ... a project that took several years and was eventually featured in Architectural Digest.

It should be noted ... Kim appeared to be heading down this very same road. Kim's company filed trademark docs last year to lock up "KKW Home." Her application included a lot of the same products as her estranged husband's -- towels, shower curtains/liners, linens, drapery, comforters and yes ... throw blankets.

Whether they're getting back together or not ... one thing's for sure -- these two are on a quest to conquer the consumer world.

Post Malone is saying "merci" to a group of firefighters in France ... thanking them for battling blazes that threatened the vineyard where his wine is made.

Sources close to Post Malone tell TMZ ... he was having dinner at Ultimate Provence in the South of France this week when he met some local firefighters who helped save the vineyard property from the fires.

We're told Posty thanked the firefighters for all of their hard and brave work ... shaking hands and posing for pictures in the restaurant.

The fires blazed in the South of France last month, causing thousands of people to flee their homes and hotels, and the fast-moving fires raced towards famous vineyards.

Post Malone's wine company, Maison No. 9, was in the line of fire ... until firefighters got the blaze under control.

Drake made good on his promise to drop his new album -- belated though it was -- and he smack-talked Kanye hard.

"Certified Lover Boy" was unveiled as promised -- at midnight -- 9 months after Drake had planned to release it.

Drizzy doesn't mention Ye by name, but no need to ... he's clearly throwing shade at him on the track, "7am On Bridle Path."

"Told you I'm aimin' straight for the head

Now they 'Amen' and 'Please'

I can give a f*** about who designing your sneakers and tees

Had somebody put you on a guilt and you play with my seed."

But, Drake wasn't done with Kanye ...

"Trust me, there's some s*** you really gotta come and see to believe

That's why your people not believers, they all leavin' ya

You know the fourth level of jealousy is called 'Media.'"

Kanye's manager told TMZ this week Ye would be listening closely to Drake's album for references to him, and if Drizzy crossed the line it would be war on.

Among those appearing on the album -- Jay-Z, Travis Scott, Lil Wayne, Young Thug, 21 Savage, Ty Dolla $ign, Kid Cudi, Rick Ross, Lil Baby and Project Pat.

The first cut on the album -- "Champagne Poetry" -- samples one of the Beatles' iconic songs, "Michelle." Drizzy appropriately gives John Lennon and Paul McCartney songwriting credit.

In all, there are 21 tracks, including a spoken-word cameo by Nicki Minaj on "Papi's Home."

And, there's this ... R. Kelly gets a credit fo composer and lyricist for the song, "TSU."

Drake was ultimately true to his word after dropping a cryptic clue in an ESPN promo ... that the album would drop Sept. 3.

Kanye's album did incredibly well during its first week of release, but Drake's the odds-on fav to top Billboard next week.

Kodak Black is living proof ... no good deed goes unpunished.

Kodak is now in the crosshairs of the Pompano Beach Authority, which seems to have all sorts of problems with Kodak donating air conditioning units in a housing project to help them beat the sweltering Florida heat.

Kodak personally delivered the AC units back in July, but we found out the Housing Authority fired off a cease and desist letter last month, which accused Kodak of entering the property twice, causing "disturbances." The Housing Authority claimed the rapper caused a disruption by shooting a music video on the property and playing loud music. And, get this ... the H.A. railed on him for daring to install air conditioning in the units.

The Housing Authority said, "Your actions have adversely impacted the Property's residents' right to peacefully enjoy the property."

Kodak's lawyer, Bradford Cohen, begs to differ, firing off a letter to the Housing Authority and saying it was sad and shameful they "wish to stop the assistance to the elderly and underprivileged during a heat wave and 2 year pandemic."

Peppa Pig is rubbing her music review in Kanye West's nose ... trolling him because his new album came in with a lower score than an animated farm animal's album.

Here's the deal ... Peppa Pig's recent music offering, "Peppa's Adventures: The Album," earned a 6.5 out of 10 score from Pitchfork, slightly higher than the 6.0 rating for Kanye's "Donda."

Peppa Pig, the massively popular British TV series for preschoolers, is making sure Kanye and his fans know who got the better review, with the show's official Twitter account throwing shade at Ye.

Peppa Pig quote-tweeted an image showing the differing album reviews and said ... "Peppa didn't need to host listening parties in Mercedes-Benz Stadium to get that .5" higher score.

Oooh, burn! And, Peppa even did the ol' tweet and delete ... so, you know she meant it!

As you know ... Kanye had several "Donda" listening parties at football stadiums in Atlanta and Chicago before last Friday's album drop.

Peppa's walked some of the trash talk back, but she's still responding to her own fans who are still trolling Kanye.

Cardi B is getting applauded by the family of slain IG model Miss Mercedes Morr ... they're thankful Cardi is shining light on the tragedy and they invited her to the funeral.

The late model's mother, Jeanetta Grover, tells TMZ ... the family's grateful Cardi brought awareness to her daughter's tragic death, because Cardi took the attention away from her daughter's alleged murderer and put it back on Mercedes.

MMM was found dead last month at her home in Houston in what authorities are calling an apparent murder-suicide.

Cardi defended Mercedes online after some folks tried to blame Morr for her own death.

The family tells us Mercedes was a huge fan of Cardi's, with a fiery spirit and a kind heart, and they reached out privately to Cardi to extend an invite to the memorial service.

We're told there's no pressure on Cardi to attend the celebration of life Saturday in Houston ... the family says they understand she's a busy woman and they're just thankful Cardi brought awareness to the case.

Kanye West's manager says all is cool with Ye and Chris Brown, but there's another possible beef that could flare up this Friday ... and it all hangs on what Drake has to say on his new album.

We got Bu Thiam at LAX Wednesday who tells us Kanye recently called Chris to work things out and the two are cool again. Chris went public with his frustrations earlier this week after Ye left him off the final product of "Donda" ... calling Kanye "a whole hoe."

Bu says artist features get left off albums all the time, and it was nothing personal against Chris. However, Bu didn't indicate that Kanye's settled anything with Soulja Boy, who was also pissed about being dropped from the album ... even challenging Kanye to a fight.

As we reported, Kanye and Drake have recently been at each other's throats, with Drake calling Kanye "burnt out" and Kanye posting the address to Drake's home in Toronto. Drake's set to drop his highly-anticipated "Certified Lover Boy" album Friday.

Bu tells us things are cool between Ye and Drizzy -- but that could all change if Drake takes aim at Kanye in any songs on 'CLB' -- where Kanye would almost certainly have to respond.

DaBaby's answered the call of a number of HIV organizations for him to become educated on HIV following his homophobic comments ... so he did, and then delivered an apology.

According to the U.S. HIV awareness orgs ... DaBaby met with 9 groups to discuss HIV and share personal stories of folks who are living with the virus. The orgs had sent him a letter earlier this month "to call him in instead of calling him out" and have a thoughtful conversation about his recent comments at the Rolling Loud festival.

DaBaby made gross, homophobic remarks on stage about gay people and people living with HIV, and his subsequent attempts at saying sorry seemed half-hearted and misguided at best.

According to the orgs ... he was much different in the meeting -- "genuinely engaged" they say. The rapper apologized for what he called his inaccurate and hurtful comments about HIV and the impact it had on black and LGBTQ+ communities.

Marnina Miller of the Southern AIDS Coalition says DaBaby's willingness to attend the meeting and learn and grow from his experience could set a positive example.

Other orgs at the meeting included the Black AIDS Institute, GLAAD, Positive Women's Network and Transinclusive Group.

In the wake of his Rolling Loud controversy, DaBaby had several performances canceled -- including headlining Lollapalooza -- but he did make a surprise appearance at Kanye West's latest "Donda" listening party ... which sparked more outrage.

Soulja Boy is ready to settle his beef with Kanye West the ol' fashioned way -- by throwing hands -- telling TMZ Sports he wants to come face-to-face with Ye for a celeb boxing match for the ages.

Draco recently threatened to beat up West on social media, saying he'd "knock out" the Donda artist ... so when we ran into the hip hop star in L.A. on Monday, we asked about the warning.

"That's just me having some fun, you know what I'm saying? We ain't trippin', man," Soulja says ... "Unless Kanye wants to get in the boxing ring, know what I'm saying? I think we could make $100 to $200 million."

Of course, the beef started when West cut Soulja Boy's "Remote Control" verse out of Donda ... and that really pissed him off.

Soulja's got his hands full ... Aaron Carter recently challenged him to a fight (Celebrity Boxing is trying to lock down the match).

But, a scrap between West and Soulja Boy could be one of the biggest celeb fights of all time.

Bottom line, Soulja's message to Ye is this ... "Kanye, lets get in the boxing ring."

Lil Nas X wants the world to know he has no beef with Tony Hawk -- 'cause the rapper hung out and skated with the legend ... just days after calling out the double standard between his Satan shoes and Hawk's blood-painted skateboard.

Of course, Hawk teamed up with Liquid Death to sell limited edition "Blood Deck" skateboards painted with his blood earlier this month ... which was met with not nearly as much backlash as LNX's kicks with bloody soles.

While Hawk's boards aren't laden with satanic imagery, LNX's shoes are ... but he still felt the outrage was actually for another reason, not the fact that they were demonic as hell (ha).

"Now that tony hawk has released skateboards with his blood painted on them, and there was no public outrage, are y’all ready to admit y’all were never actually upset over the blood in the shoes? LNX said on Twitter, "and maybe u were mad for some other reason?"

But, the two made it clear they are not about to get in an all-out bloodbath over the controversial items ... with LNX rocking his Satan Shoes and Hawk holding his blood board as they posed for a pic!!

Hawk even came up with a clever name for the duo ... saying, "blood brothers?"

Hawk and LNX made a TikTok together ... with the artist pretending to ride down a halfpipe.

Despite the outrage over the blood, the guys aren't doing anything too groundbreaking -- after all, legendary guitarist Steve Vai did this way back in 2000 with his "JEM Y2K DNA" models, which are super collectible and painted with his own blood, too.

Offset is going from Main Street to Wall Street -- and he's doing it with his wifey by his side ... as they celebrate their music publishing company going public.

The rapper couple was on hand Monday at the NYSE in Times Square to do the honors of ringing the opening bell. Well, Offset did anyway ... but Cardi B was right there too for moral support. They posed for some photo-ops too as they hyped their new venture.

If you hadn't heard, Offset and the Migos' music catalog now belongs to Reservoir Media -- or RSVR -- which has snapped up a ton of masters and rights for a variety of artists in recent months, this as they were ramping up for an IPO last month.

The company hit the exchange in July, but now -- a month later -- the Wall Street heads invited Offset, Cardi and other Reservoir investors for a belated celebration ... and let 'em have some fun with the age-old bell-ringing tradition in the process.

We got Offset on his way out, and he made it pretty clear that this is something he's excited to be a part of -- not just because it's one the first female-led businesses of its kind to put itself out there, but because there's something in it for him and other musicians.

The idea behind Reservoir, it seems, is putting the power of publishing and control back into the actual artists' hands, and based on what Offset says here ... he's all about that.

Kanye West's long-awaited "Donda" album has been worth the added wait for the rapper ... it's Apple Music's top album in 130 countries, the most #1 entries in history.

As we reported ... after delaying the release of his 10th studio album for several weeks and keeping fans on pins and needles as he continued to hold "Donda" listening parties, it finally came out this weekend -- but not without drama.

First, Ye posted texts suggesting a recent holdup was due to DaBaby not signing the necessary releases to clear his verse for the song "Jail, Pt. 2" ... but that was later cleared up and his verse was added.

However, Kanye also claimed Sunday that the album was put out by his label, UMG, without his approval and they blocked "Jail pt. 2" from being included ... but it is included on both Apple and Spotify.

Speaking of Spotify ... Kanye's album's doing work there too -- his "Jail" track featuring Jay-Z and Francis and the Lights debuted at #1 on the U.S. Spotify chart with 4.277 million streams. That's the biggest debut for any song this year.

So, love it or hate it -- and we know there are plenty of people who certainly hate it -- "Donda" is a huge success so far ... and sets up a major showdown with Drake this week.

Kanye West hosting Marilyn Manson at his latest "Donda" event has spurred a reaction from one of the latter's most notable accusers ... Evan Rachel Wood's got a response, in song.

The actress hit the Bourbon Room in Hollywood Saturday night, where she got on stage and did an impromptu performance of the New Radicals' "You Get What You Give" ... with just a guitarist and an iPhone on hand to help out.

It's pretty clear who ERW was dedicating the song to, because her caption alluded to "survivors" who she feels were betrayed this week -- of course, in relation to Manson. Also, as you may know, Manson is name checked in the lyrics ... and when she sang that line (4:40 in the video), Evan threw up a middle finger.

She writes, "For my fellow survivors who got slapped in the face this week. I love you. Don't give up." Evan also said that she'd been saving this cover, and that Saturday felt like an appropriate time to let it rip.

This all comes on the heels of Kanye's third listening show in Chicago this week -- where he not only had Manson come hang out, but DaBaby as well ... both of whom have been embroiled in controversy of late. Manson, however, is another level ... he's been accused of rape and sexual abuse by numerous women -- all of which he's vehemently denied.

Still, it was a bizarre move on Ye's part to bring both of those guys out -- not to mention feature them on one of his tracks. DB and MM are on "Jail, Pt. 2." Some reports say Kanye did it just for shock value and publicity ahead of the release ... which if true, is bonkers.

Speaking of the chaotic upload of "Donda" ... Ye spoke on that just today, saying it was put out by UMG without his final approval. But, he still appears to be firmly in support of "Jail, Pt. 2" being included. For the record ... the song did end up making it on Apple and Spotify.

Well, it finally happened ... "Donda" is out!!!

Kanye finally released his long-awaited album ... this, after multiple listening parties and would-be release dates that came and went.

The album, which has 26 songs, hit Apple Music and Spotify Sunday AM.

The release was not without drama ... in the middle of the night, Kanye posted tweets which seemed to say the most recent hold-up was that DaBaby hadn't signed the necessary releases to clear his verse for the song "Jail." DaBaby is not on the track, instead, Jay-Z appears. You'll recall, Jay recorded his verse hours before the first listening party in Atlanta ... a sign their feud was squashed. It was confusing when DaBaby replaced Jay's verse at the Chicago listening party, but Jay is now back.

The album was initially supposed to be released July 23. That date got moved to August 6. Then it became unclear exactly when the album would hit streaming services. Kanye's manager promised it would be released following last Thursday's listening event at Soldier Field in Chicago ... and that promise was kept.

Ye famously tinkers with his albums even after their release ... e.g., "The Life of Pablo," so the same may happen with "Donda."

As for the songs on the album, it's heavily religious ... "Donda Chant," "Jail," "God Breathed," "Off the Grid," "Hurricane," "Praise God," "Jonah," "Ok Ok," "Junya," "Believe What I Say," "24," "Remote Control," "Moon," "Heaven and Hell," "Donda," "Keep My Spirit Alive," "Jesus Lord," "New Again," "Tell the Vision," "Lord I Need You," "Pure Souls," "Come to Life," "No Child Left Behind," "Ok Ok, Pt. 2," "Junya, Pt. 2," "Jesus Lord, Pt. 2."

Here's what's interesting ... Drake seemed to drop a clue last week his album will drop Friday ... so with the release of "Donda," Drake and Ye will be going head-to-head for #1 bragging rights.

And, the final mystery ... Kim Kardashian. As you know, she wore a wedding dress at the Chicago listening party. TMZ broke the story, the divorce is not a done deal anymore. Kanye and Kim have been seeing each other privately, and they seem to be trying to work things out ... whatever those things are.

Beyonce and Jay-Z celebrated an anniversary Saturday night ... the 18th anniversary of 40/40.

A ton of celebs hit the party, including Megan Thee Stallion, Swizz Beatz, Quincy Jones, Meek Mill, Remy Ma, Lil Uzi Vert, Van Jones, Pusha T, Joe Budden, Belly, Fabolous and Victor Cruz.

We tried asking Jay about the flap over the blood diamond Beyonce was wearing in their Tiffany and Co. ad, but that was a no-go.

Van Jones talked to us about Jay getting into gaming, and why it makes total sense and why it's important for the Black community to get involved at the ground stage.

The 40/40 Club, a chain of Jay's sports bars and lounges, opened in NYC back in 2003, followed by ATL in 2005, Vegas 2 years later and the Barclays Center in 2012.

Beyonce looked amazing ... you gotta give it to her for the pink platform heels.

Young Thug must've been a huge fan of the "SimCity" video game series as a kid ... 'cause the tiny town he envisions building feels like an awesome mini metropolis.

So, here's the deal ... the rapper turned 30 earlier this month and among the fancy gifts that came his way were 100 acres in the greater Atlanta area ... gifted to him by his manager, Geoff Ogunlesi.

Atlanta realtor, Trey Williams, helped Geoff lock down the land deal and the plan's for Young Thug to subdivide the property with the name, "Slime City." Trey tells TMZ ... YT wants to build really nice homes, a waterpark, perhaps a camping site and so much more.

Young Thug wants to host his annual "Slime Fest" on the property. Hence ... "Slime City." YT has hosted "Slime Fest" every year -- sans 2020 for obvious reasons.

Trey says Young Thug will include a dirt bike trail on the property ... where people who love riding bikes and 4-wheelers can cut loose.

Trey says Young Thug's already been chopping it up with architects and engineers. There are a few permits they're waiting on ... but as soon as they get the green light, it's game on.

We're told this is just one way Young Thug wants to give back to his community. Just recently the rapper bought his mom a new home in the ATL ... and he plans to do the same for his dad. As for how much YT dropped for the property ... Trey wouldn't say.