TMZ Hip Hop - Page 50

People who stay talking about missing the "old Kanye" might wanna listen to this -- 'cause Mr. West was in NYC dropping bars like it was 2004 again ahead of his album drop.

Ye was in Jamaica, Queens Sunday at The Greater Allen A.M.E. Cathedral of New York, where he put on his weekly service with the help of the local congregation there -- and at one point, the MC did what he arguably does best (besides making music) ... spittin' rhymes!

Check it out ... Kanye joyfully rapped with the help of the choir behind him, and it sounds like the man was flowing from off the top. A pure freestyle, in other words.

He had the whole church rockin' with him too as he got everyone to put their hands up, jamming along to the music before eventually stepping back and letting another guy -- who looks like he might've been the pastor for the day -- take center stage again.

BTW, Ye had some talented company with him too. Word on the ground is Akon, Swizz Beatz and Alexander Wang were all in the building. So was Kim, North and Jonathan Cheban.

Tekashi 6ix9ine has been hearing an earful from his fellow MCs about his snitching -- it's been all bad -- but T69 has a theory on all that ... they're jealous and running scared.

Sources close to the embattled rapper tell TMZ ... Tekashi is well aware of the hate he's been receiving either on camera, in interviews or on social media from his peers, but he doesn't give a crap about any of it -- 'cause he thinks those folks are foolhardy haters.

In fact, we're told Tekashi has strong words for those people -- which is a LONG list at this point, BTW -- and it goes something like this ... just wait and see.

According to our sources, Tekashi believes him testifying against his old crew will be forgotten almost instantly as soon as he's released from prison -- and he also thinks he'll be more popular than ever with the masses ... which, of course, means $$$$ in his pocket.

Cardi B is taking a page right out of Charlie Day's game day playbook -- donning a full body suit that covers every inch of her from head-to-toe.

CB was spotted -- or heard, more like -- in the City of Love Saturday, right in the middle of Paris Fashion Week. She was doing a photo shoot in front of the Eiffel Tower in this interesting little number that screams Green Man from "It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia."

Granted, Cardi's getup here is a bit more elaborate than Charlie's spandex morph suit in the show ... in fact, hers seems to resemble a men's kimono more than anything.

In the good ol' days, Tekashi69's music career would be dead and buried after pulling Snitchfest 2019 -- but times done changed ... according to hip-hop mogul Irv Gotti.

We got the Murder Inc. honcho outside Le Pain in WeHo, and asked what he thought about 6ix9ine's plan to pass on witness protection ... so he can return to making music. Irv's disgust with Tekashi was written all over his face.

At the risk of going a little Clint Eastwood in "Gran Torino" ... Irv told us this kinda thing wouldn't even be debated back in his heyday of the '90s. He says Tekashi would just KNOW he couldn't show his face in NYC. As he put it, "N****s would probably whoop his ass on sight" ... even if they had nothing to do with the trial or Tekashi's gang.

Megan Thee Stallion's getting serious with her boyfriend/fellow rapper by buying him a seriously expensive birthday gift ... with a pretty romantic message attached.

The "Hot Girl Summer" rapper gifted Moneybagg Yo with a blinged-out, half-heart pendant. As you can see, there are 2 chains with 2 half-heart pendants -- his and hers.

Before ya start thinking the half-heart pieces are kinda basic, know these didn't come cheap for Megan. The complete set includes 120 grams of 14-karat rose gold and 40 carats of VVS diamonds blanketing the pendant.

Translation: Serious drip!!!

Snoop Dogg and his family are mourning the loss of his infant grandson, who appears to have died in the hospital.

Snoop's oldest child -- his 25-year-old son, Corde Broadus -- says his son, Kai Love, was born on September 15, but died on Sept. 25. Corde posted a video of his daughter kissing Kai as someone else was cradling the baby.

Kai was still in the hospital -- apparently in the neonatal intensive care unit -- when he passed away. A dry erase board outside his room had the words "Love + Light" written on it under the "Plan for the Day."

The family hasn't released a cause of death yet.

The investigation into who gave Mac Miller a deadly dose of pills has resulted in the arrest of a third person.

Law enforcement sources tell TMZ, Stephen "Stevie" Walter was arrested Monday in Los Angeles. According to docs, Walter was contacted by Cameron James Pettit on the night of September 4, 2018 -- Mac died on Sept. 7 -- asking for "10 blues" ... Percocet pills.

Cops say Mac had texted Pettit the following ...

Mac -- "percs?"

Pettit -- "I got some dilaudid 2s but that's about it. I could get yellows and blues though"

Mac -- "blues as far as percs?"

Pettit -- "Yeah 30s"

Mac -- "Those are my sh*tttts man"

From there, according to cops, Pettit then contacted Walter to obtain the ten blues. Walter sent a runner to Pettit with the pills -- and Pettit delivered them to Mac at about 2:30 AM on September 5 -- the rapper was found dead on September 7.

The runner was allegedly Ryan Reavis who was arrested earlier this week in Lake Havasu in connection to Mac's death.

Lil Wayne's gotta pay up for allegedly creating fraudulent companies to book fake concerts ... 'cause he didn't even bother to fight the lawsuit against him.

According to new legal docs ... the rapper's been ordered to fork over $150,000 to Ramin Natan, who sued Weezy for breach of contract and fraud. It's a default judgment ... meaning the judge ruled for Natan because Wayne blew off the lawsuit.

Natan filed suit against Lil Wayne and Migos back in January, claiming they were "Ponzi scheme artists" who created shell companies to get money for shows they never planned to really perform.

In the suit, Natan claimed he loaned $500,000 to a guy named Eric Stenger to promote Weezy shows. Natan claimed Stenger lied about being a concert promoter, and was in cahoots with Wayne from the jump. Natan claimed Wayne received the $500,000 but never performed and never gave back the cash.

Tekashi 6ix9ine plans to do something very un-snitch-like -- after all the snitching he just did -- and that's to reject the witness protection program as soon as he's a free man again.

The federal trial that saw the rapper sing like a canary for 3 days wraps up Thursday as prosecutors and defense attorneys give closing arguments. Tekashi pointed fingers and named names of his old gang members (and other celebs too), but sources close to him tell us he will forgo any participation in witness protection -- and will instead opt for a life of fame.

That might sound like a death wish, considering how many people he rolled over on during his testimony -- but we're told Tekashi's still itching to make new music, and believes he can pick up where he left off.

Tekashi realizes the Nine Trey Bloods could be gunning for him, and possibly others who are pissed he turned rat for the feds -- but we're told his safety plan is simply round-the-clock security. It's, essentially, the hide-in-plain-sight approach.

As for how he'll foot the bill for 24/7 bodyguards -- we're told Tekashi still has some cash left from before his arrest ... plus, he's planning on his music career taking off again, once he's out.

French Montana is pulling out ALL the stops for his upcoming album -- which you can hear in a new single that features Post Malone, Cardi B and one catchy ass tune.

TMZ got a hold of a new track that we're told will appear on the NYC rapper's much-anticipated third album, "Montana" -- which is set to drop in November. After releasing a recent single with Gunna ... it looks like we might have the second coming here.

The song is called "Writing on the Wall," and it features Post, Cardi and producer-singer Rvssian. It is VERY different from what you heard on 'Suicide Doors' ... in a good way, of course. While 'SD' was hypnotic ... this one's gonna get you up and dancing.

In fact, we'll even go so far as to say that 'Writing' is kinda reminiscent of French's smash hit, 'Unforgettable,' with Swae Lee from a couple years back. Similar in vibe, for sure.

Another man has been arrested in connection with Mac Miller's fatal overdose.

36-year-old Lake Havasu City resident Ryan Reavis is in custody ... this after the FBI and DEA targeted him over Mac's death. The law enforcement agencies obtained a search warrant for Reavis' home, and what they found led to his arrest.

According to investigators, drugs were found -- including prescription-only pills and marijuana. Cops say they also confiscated firearms, including a 9mm pistol and two shotguns, a homemade firearm suppressor and an arsenal of ammo.

Perhaps most important ... police found a physician's prescription pad.

The Game is calling out Tekashi69 ... calling the kid's snitching something a fake ass gangster -- and not a real Blood -- would ever do.

We got Game Tuesday in downtown L.A. at MedMen ... and the rapper unloaded on Tekashi for singing like a bird on the witness stand. Game confesses he actually feels sad for the kid ... because he got himself into a mess after claiming to be something he's really not.

Plain and simple ... Game says Tekashi shoulda kept his mouth shut.

Tekashi 6ix9ine's story has captured the attention of Snapchat, which has agreed to air a docuseries about the dude ... and it's supposed to be hitting your phone any day now.

Snap's launching their first documentary-style franchise called "VS The World" and T69 will kick off the first season.

It is being produced by Complex -- following his sudden skyrocket to fame in 2017, and his eventual crumbling in 2018 ... when he got arrested, indicted on RICO charges and incarcerated as a result.

The interesting thing here ... the Tekashi saga is obviously still playing out. Remember, the guy just testified for days against his old Nine Trey Blood crew members ... spilling a lot of alleged deets about them and others too.

Kanye West's Wyoming Sunday Service appeared to go off without a hitch -- and it was definitely the place to be based on the sheer number of heads ... who came as they were.

The highly-publicized event started bright and early Sunday morning, with massive lines forming outside the Buffalo Bill Center of the West ... which is serving as host for Ye's latest gathering. According to eyes on the crowd, the estimated count was well over 700 people who'd come out -- well over the max capacity of BBCW's Powwow Garden.

Just to give you a sense of how many folks flocked in to catch Ye this weekend, check out this photo ... an absolutely packed house. Might as well have been a music fest.

Looks like Kanye and co. made due though, as early footage of the worship sesh showed everyone standing around the 80-man (and woman) choir, with Ye himself in among the group as well. He's the one with the yellow hoodie on down below.

As far as what was sung ... NIRVANA COVERS!!!! (but the Kanye hymn versions, of course). The choir sang their own renditions of "Smells Like Teen Spirit," "Come As You Are" and other Nirvana hits. There were some traditional prayers in the mix here too.

Eyewitnesses tell us Kanye did not perform this time around -- it's hit or miss with that, he's taken the stage at some stops lately, and other times he lays low and directs from the side.

According to what appears to be a setlist that was passed around, Kanye and the choir ended up running through 14 songs which included Ye's own "Ultralight Beam." There was also some nifty Wyoming Sunday Service gear for sale as well.

As we reported ... this week's Service was no secret. The Buffalo Bill Center made it clear that Kanye would be there and seemed to invite as many people as they could fit for free. As far as we can tell ... the homecoming was a complete success.

Kanye West wants his presence in Wyoming to be known far and wide -- it looks like he's hosting a mega Sunday Service this week, inviting all the townsfolk and their mom.

Ye's forthcoming Service is taking place at the Powwow Garden of the Buffalo Bill Center of the West in Cody, Wyoming -- where Kanye now owns a massive waterfront property, aptly named Monster Lake Ranch. Per local reports, the sign now reads "West Lake."

We already know he and Kim have made themselves at home -- getting acquainted with the local wildlife, to the chagrin of the Wyoming Game & Fish Dept. Now, it looks like Kanye wants to properly introduce the Wests to the community, 'cause his Sunday Service is being heavily advertised on a massive digital billboard, as well as on social media.

According to the venue's Facebook post about it, he's bringing out his "80-person choral group" for the performance -- so yeah, Kanye and co. are pulling out all the stops.

Preparations are currently underway for the free and public event, and it looks like they're expecting quite a turnout. Photos obtained by TMZ show a bunch of tents being set up Saturday ahead of Ye's Sunday Service, with catering and special event trucks in tow.

The Powwow Garden has a capacity of about 700 people -- 200 seated or 700 standing according to the Center's website -- but it's unclear how many people will actually show up. FYI, there are less than 10,000 people total living in Cody itself.

It's an interesting move on Kanye's part, as many of his Sunday Services of late have been relatively low-key -- not including the Chicago stop, of course. This appears to be the exact opposite of that -- pretty much a come one, come all approach.

DaBaby seems to have handled his own business for once instead of resorting to goons -- 'cause he appears to have thrown a punch at a handsy fan.

The North Carolina rapper -- who's been blowing up these past few months -- was performing Friday night as a headliner at the Prime Festival in Lansing, MI ... where at one point in the show, he seemed to hurl his fist (sloppily) at a guy in the front row.

DB probably had good reason to swat at him though ... looks like the dude got his paws on his chain, and might've even been trying to tug on it and snatch it away.

In video of the altercation, obtained by TMZ, DaBaby is below the stage level and face-to-face with the crowd, where only a barricade separates them. We're told DB was doing his thing, when someone close by reached up and made contact with his jewelry.

Well, DaBaby noticed and paused to throw a punch -- although, it's unclear if it landed properly or even made contact with the guy. After that, eyewitnesses tell us DaBaby hopped back onstage and finished out his 30-minute set ... immediately leaving the stage.

We're told nobody called cops and no one appeared to be injured -- so no harm, no foul really. That's good, considering DB has a bit of a track record being around beatdowns, allegedly at the hands of his entourage with him looking on.

While he did take credit for a beating at a mall once, after a dude relentlessly heckled him, it was not clear at the time if he'd handled the fella himself or not. Fast-forward to early August, when another fan got a thrashing ... and DB had his hands clean there too.

Now, it appears DaBaby took a swing on his own -- in clear view, without any convenient edits. Whether it's him or the homies, it's clear ... DB WILL come at ya. Take note, y'all.