TMZ Hip Hop - Page 50

Cardi B is playing Santa Claus this year -- only she's doing it without the big red hat, reindeer or sleigh -- and will bring smiles to a ton of kid's faces.

Cardi was spotted in Miami Friday spending a bunch of money on gifts for kids at a local Target store. The rapper also had a U-HAUL rented to load the presents and ship em off for those in need.

We're told in total, Cardi spent about $5,000 on everything from games, dolls, car sets and more. She had staffers help her load everything up in the truck.

It's unclear exactly where the gifts will go -- Cardi talked about helping kids out in New York -- but nonetheless, it's an awesome gesture.

Cardi's daughter, Kulture, will be celebrating her second Christmas this year, and if mom's spending for other kids on Friday is any indication ... it's about to be a big year.

Merry Christmas from Cardi Claus!!!

Kanye West brought his city-hopping opera to NYC -- and while much of it was the same -- Yeezy added some Christmas flare to the latest tour stop.

Kanye, his choir and band hit Lincoln Center's David Geffen Hall Sunday to perform "Mary." The stage was decked out in plants, over 100 choir members and props to tell the story of Jesus' birth from the eyes of his mother.

The choir belted out songs from Kanye's "Jesus is King" album -- as they normally have -- but there was also a rendition of "The Little Drummer Boy" added to the setlist.

Dave Chappelle, Bradley Cooper and Kim Kardashian West were among the stars in the crowd ... and Kanye voiced much of the show from offstage.

It's been a family affair for the West's in NYC -- we got Kim, Kanye and the kids leaving The Ritz Friday -- North was definitely in a holiday mood.

Kanye West seems ready to switch things up for his second go-around on 'Mary' -- this time, kids are going to be directly involved, as will a big surprise guest ... supposedly.

The rapper's in NYC right now, where he's hours away from his 2nd performance of his latest opera at Lincoln Center's David Geffen Hall. On Saturday, he was in rehearsals ... and a bunch of tykes were spotted onstage at the David H. Koch Theater across the way -- where we're told everyone was warming up their pipes and getting the cues down.

People on the scene tell us they saw the kids rehearsing their singing too, as we're told it appears they're going to be incorporated into the chorus of adults -- made up of Ye's Sunday Service choir, of course. That's different than what he did at Art Basel 2 weeks ago.

Kodak Black isn't letting a little thing like prison bars stop him from giving back this holiday season -- because the guy's opening up his wallet and shelling out for strangers.

The rapper's attorney, Bradford Cohen, tells TMZ ... KB is giving thousands of dollars away this Christmas -- to both charities, religious institutions and individual families. We're told Kodak has authorized his camp to buy an allotment of toys for the Paradise Day Care Center in Broward County, FL ... which will be dished out to kids from 70 different families in need.

The children range in age, from 2 to 7-year-old ... who'll get bikes, dolls and a ton of other stuff on behalf of inmate 18149 at FCC Miami (that's Kodak, BTW). But wait, there's more!!!

Kanye West has a simple message on what people should take away from his journey in 2019 -- but his son has an even louder one that might resonate more.

We got the Kardashian-West family Saturday in NYC, where they left a restaurant and boarded a waiting SUV with two of their kids in tow ... North and Saint, who were feeling chatty after dinner. Saint had a firm message for the paps standing by ... they didn't listen.

As Kim got the kids situated in the car, we asked Ye what it was he wanted folks to know or remember about him and his religious awakening from this past year ... which was pretty much a complete 180 from his rocky 2018 and mostly positive, all things considered.

At the start of this year, Kanye pivoted away from politics and dove head first into music -- and as it turned out, God too. His Sunday Services seemed to be his focal point, which started indoors but quickly went outside ... and, eventually, to Coachella and beyond.

Drake has completed his fly-boy look with something folks thought he would've had done years ago ... getting his ears pierced. And, the reason he finally did it is hilarious.

Otniel Pichardo, who's the owner of Atlanta Ink -- a tattoo and piercing studio in the ATL -- tells TMZ ... Drizzy's team called up their shop Friday night out of the blue and requested Otniel and the crew come to Drake's hotel in Buckhead, Atlanta for a personal session.

Apparently, the rapper's camp did a quick Google search of the best piercers in the area, and Atlanta Ink came up close to the top in the results. Talk about having a good rep!!!

Anyway, Otniel rolled out with his biz partner, CJ, and their best piercer, Christian, and they hit up Drake's hotel room ... where none other than Champagne Papi himself was waiting. We're told Drake wanted his ears pierced ... and naturally, was kinda nervous about it.

50 Cent just spoiled his son rotten for Christmas ... getting an entire Toys 'R' Us on lock and letting the kid have whatever his heart desired. Jealous much?

The rapper pulled the ultimate parenting move this weekend for his 7-year-old, Sire, by renting out an entire store in New Jersey -- only one of two locations open at the moment -- and closing it off to the public while his boy went around and picked out anything that caught his eye and letting him take it all home as his gift(s) for the holiday.

Basically, a personal shopping spree for a kid ... which became even more of a custom experience with Sire's name and mug incorporated into the presentation. A decal on the ground read 'Sire's Toys R Us' ... not even Charlie Bucket could've dreamt of this.

As for how much all of this cost ... we're told Fitty dropped a pretty penny to give his son the best Christmas ever -- about $100k to have this place to himself and Sire.

Hell, it looks the cash went so far as to pull Geoffrey the Giraffe out of retirement -- who posed with 50 and Sire in a sweet photo-op. You'll recall, Toys 'R' Us temporarily closed up shop last year -- but it's being brought back, slowly but surely, under new ownership.

Tekashi 6ix9ine has more strings attached to his prison sentence, and they're aimed at helping him out ... and helping the feds out.

The rapper's been ordered by the court to enroll in an outpatient mental health program once he's free ... according to new legal docs obtained by TMZ. As we reported, his release is potentially not too far off ... as early as next August.

In addition, 6ix9ine must continue to cooperate with the U.S. Attorney's Office once he's released from prison in any ongoing investigations where he might be useful.

As for his incarceration ... there's some good news for him. The court's recommended Tekashi be placed in a correctional facility as close to New York City as possible -- so his family can easily visit him.

As we reported ... the rapper was sentenced Wednesday to 24 months in his racketeering case. However, he's already served 13 months ... so he could be out by late 2020 if all goes well for him.

Tekashi 6ix9ine could catch an even bigger break -- getting out of prison much sooner than the end of 2020, if a few small stars align for him.

Tekashi could be back on the streets by early August based on the good behavior guidelines established by the Bureau of Prisons ... according to his lawyer, Lance Lazzaro, who's taken a closer look at the numbers.

6ix9ine got 24 months, but with 13 months credit for time served ... leaving him with just 11 months remaining. That would get him out around November 2020, but then the BOP math kicks in, and the potential sentence starts shrinking.

BOP guidelines call for up to 54 days per year to be shaved off IF inmates show good behavior. So, with the 2-year sentence, he's eligible for up to a 108-day discount.

Lil Pump is spreading holiday cheer for the people who need it most ... one corn dog at a time.

The rapper was out in Los Angeles Wednesday, hooking up the homeless with hot meals, cold drinks and warm clothes for the winter.

Lil Pump hit the streets of Skid Row, serving up corn dogs, turkey dogs, cheese dogs, french fries and lemonade ... and passing out jackets, pants and socks to 600 people.

Pump teamed up with a couple of companies for the good deed ... joining forces with My Friends House Foundation, Hot Dog on a Stick and his buddy, RD Whittington, the owner of luxury celeb car company Wires Only, who dropped $7,000 on the charity event.

If the carnival fare sounds different as far as givebacks go ... that's because we're told Lil Pump and RD wanted to pass out food that was nontraditional, so mission accomplished there.

A$AP Rocky's addressing a leaked sex tape clip allegedly featuring him with another woman in the best way possible -- by being really funny ... and a little cocky.

The naughty clip began making the rounds Thursday and going viral for obvious reasons, but also because folks seem to be a little disappointed in Rocky's ... uh, performance.

Well, the rapper responded in a big way, saying he and his penis woke up to the "alarming disturbance" of the leaked sex vid ... then went to bat for Lil' Rocky.

He says as the defense attorney for his dong, "WE’RE PREPARED 2 DENY ANY SLOW STROKES OR LACK OF KILLIN THE P***Y." A$AP adds there's a long list of satisfied women who'll back him up.

He also seems to find it funny that there's a lot of judgmental folks out there who've never had sex with him rating his sex skills based on a minute and a half clip.

Tekashi 6ix9ine deserves to rot in his cell for the holidays AWAY from his loved ones, and he's got even more paying back to do after that ... so says one of his victims.

We talked to Skyy Daniels on the heels of Tekashi receiving his 2-year prison sentence Wednesday -- one of which he's already been completed -- and asked if she was pleased with the outcome. Overall, she says she's not ... but there is a silver lining in her mind.

Skyy tells us she's giddy at the fact Tekashi69 won't get to be with his family for Christmas -- something she says she couldn't even do this time last year all because of him.

If you're unfamiliar, Skyy was one of the people who got held up at gunpoint by Tekashi's Nine Trey Blood gang members -- which turned out to be an awful case of mistaken identity. They thought she and her assistant were Rap-A-Lot Records associates ... they weren't.

NBA YoungBoy scored one sweet plea deal in his assault and kidnapping case ... the most serious charges have been dropped.

The rapper pled guilty to misdemeanor simple battery family violence. In exchange, prosecutors dropped the charges of kidnapping and aggravated assault ... this according to the Ware County District Attorney's Office in Georgia.

YB will avoid jail time. He's been sentenced to 12 months probation, fined $1,500, must attend anger management classes and have no violent contact with the victim ... his GF.

O.T. Genasis' hilariously off-key cover of Keyshia Cole's "Love" ballad is a viral sensation ... so he's determined to find out who got it yanked from YouTube ... and put 'em on blast.

We got O.T. at LAX Wednesday and asked why his pitchy new party anthem, "Never Knew," has vanished ... and he's nothing if not suspicious. Signs point to Keyshia as a likely suspect, but the singer's recently admitted she likes the cover and thinks O.T.'s take is funny.

So, whodunnit?? The rapper might not know for sure just yet ... but his savage side-eye in this clip speaks volumes.

His investigation seems to be all in good fun, though, and the rapper tells us he'd love to collab with Cole ... if it's true she's a fan of his comedic reboot. Still, he warns ... if Keyshia turns out to be the mystery hater, he'll let the world know.

Despite the YouTube deletion ... Genasis is free to perform "Never Knew" live ... as he did Tuesday night at Teyana Taylor's ugly sweater party.

Gotta say, we can see why it's a hit -- but don't sleep on the original.

Tekashi 6ix9ine is facing the judge in federal court, and he's about to find out exactly how long he'll be locked up -- AKA, how much all that snitching shaved off his time.

The sentencing hearing got underway Wednesday at 10 AM ET, and prosecutors are breaking down exactly how valuable Tekashi was in helping them convict 2 members of the Nine Trey Bloods ... Anthony "Harv" Ellison and Aljermiah Mack.

Prosecutors told the judge they met with him 2 to 3 times a week, and he sang like a canary -- about his involvement in numerous crimes.

And, this was interesting -- did you know there's a rating system for criminals? For purposes of sentencing, the feds calculated Tekashi's criminal history at a category 2.

Here's the math on that: 6ix9ine got 1 point for his 2018 conviction for using a minor in a sexual performance (in a music video), and 2 more points for his involvement in the Nine Trey Bloods while on probation. Those 3 points put him in category 2. Keep in mind the highest/worst criminal history rating is a 6.

Tekashi was originally facing a minimum of 47 years in prison before agreeing to assist prosecutors by ratting out his former gang members. As we reported, he pled guilty to 9 counts when he entered his plea back on January 23.

Kylie Jenner and Travis Scott are planning to spend Christmas together as a family with Stormi ... but just because they're co-parenting doesn't mean they're back on as a couple.

Sources close to the former couple tell TMZ ... Kylie and Travis are celebrating Christmas in Los Angeles as a fam, because both parents want to be there for Stormi when she opens presents on Xmas morning.

Stormi, who will turn 2 in February, is getting old enough to understand the holiday's importance ... and we're told Kylie and Travis want to make it super special for her by being together as a unit.

But, before you get too worked up, we're told Kylie and Travis are still not back on as a couple ... this despite spending plenty of time together during their break up.

As we've reported ... Travis has been cohabiting at Kylie's crib, and she took Stormi to his music festival in Houston a few weeks before the trio reconnected for Thanksgiving.

Our sources say the family's Thanksgiving was super chill and fun, and they're confident the good vibes will be flowing once again on Christmas.

Kylie was also spotted out Tuesday wearing an "Astroworld" shirt -- the name of Travis' album and tour -- so clearly they're on good terms.

We'll see if the holiday spirit leads to another make up.