TMZ Hip Hop - Page 50

Jay-Z is once again explaining why his partnership with the NFL is actually for the same cause Colin Kaepernick fights for ... it's just the approach that's different.

Jigga sat down with the NYT this weekend ahead of Super Bowl LIV and re-defended his collaboration with the league, which many saw as a betrayal of Kap and everything he stood for. Jay also took a lot of heat at first, but he seems okay with it for the bigger picture.

He tells the paper, "As long as real people are being hurt and marginalized and losing family members, then yes, I can take a couple rounds of negative press," going on to insist he is still fighting for people of color -- only now, from a position of strength and influence.

Case in point ... Sunday's broadcast will apparently include a PSA-type video -- one in a series, per NYT -- that aims to tell the stories of black men and boys killed by cops.

It'll probably be similar to the PSA Malcolm Jenkins and Roc Nation teamed up to produce, which was called "Everyone's Child." Unclear if this new vid is part of the same "Responsibility Program," but chances are it falls under the same umbrella.

Getting back to Kaepernick though, Jay kinda sticks to his guns in this new interview as far as addressing the guy's situation ... acknowledging he was done dirty by the league, but also strongly suggesting it's time to move forward and start looking for new solutions.

Jay says, "No one is saying he hasn’t been done wrong. He was done wrong. I would understand if it was three months ago. But it was three years ago and someone needs to say, ‘What do we do now -- because people are still dying?'"

DaBaby better get da lawyer on the phone ... he's just been slapped with a lawsuit by the guy claiming he and his crew beat him up.

Concert promoter Kenneth Carey just filed suit against DB, his entertainment company and a bunch of the goons that were with him that day ... alleging the rapper not only illegally battered him but also turned his back on a deal they'd struck to host an event.

Long story short ... Kenneth now claims in legal docs -- obtained by TMZ -- that he and DaBaby agreed to have the latter host a party where another artist, Stunna 4 Vegas, had been booked to perform at. Ken says he and DB agreed on a flat rate ... $20k, no more.

In his lawsuit ... Ken says when DaBaby and co. arrived in town, he arranged hotels and cars for them via a rental company -- and alleges one of those vehicles was returned damaged.

Fast-forward to the day Ken was supposed to pay DB, and he claims the guy asked him for an additional $10k on the spot to cover the damage to the car, which apparently got billed to DaBaby and his crew. Ken says DaBaby insisted it was the least Ken could do ... seeing how he agreed to do the hosting gig for way cheaper than he normally charges.

Ken says he refused to pay another $10k, and that's when the alleged ass-whooping -- part of which was caught on camera -- went down. The promoter says DaBaby and at least 4 other guys pulled his pants down, beat him up and poured apple juice all over him.

He also claims the crew jacked him of his phone, money and credit card that he had on hand. Adding insult to injury, Ken says neither DaBaby or Stunna showed for the event. The suit was filed by Jonathan May of The Lions' Den law firm in Miami.

Of course, DaBaby was later arrested and charged for battery in connection to this case ... but he later sprung himself from jail and defended himself online, denying the account.

Post Malone came bearing strip club-esque gifts to a regular night club ahead of Super Bowl LIV in Miami ... and people were just as willing to stoop low for a taste of cheddar.

The singer touched down in Miami a couple days before kickoff on Friday, and at the ass crack of dawn of 5 AM the next day ... he popped into E11EVEN Miami -- a 24/7 "ultraclub" -- in a celebratory mood. And, by that, we mean he was ready to start chucking cash.

We got this video of Posty being hand-delivered a few different boxes full of single dollar bills ... which ended up adding up to a hefty $50,000. Looks like a delivery from heaven.

Anyway, we're told PM and his crew spent the rest of the night making it rain on people for a few hours. We imagine he had his own elevated booth or VIP area somewhere, so the regular folks down below likely had paper falling on them for a while. Free for all!!!

BTW, this place ain't a gentlemen's club by any means. E11EVEN Miami's just a good old-fashioned disco with trapeze artists and whatnot. Nobody gets full-blown naked though.

Post almost fooled us by the stacks of cash he had on hand. Bandz a make anybody dance, it seems.

The Big Game means big paydays for celebs ... and Nicki Minaj, DaBaby, Lil Baby and Yo Gotti are among the famous folks cashing in on appearances at Super Bowl parties in Miami.

One of the biggest cash cows for rappers this weekend is Studio 23 in Miami Beach. Sources with knowledge of the deals tell us Nicki's getting $125,000 to host Monday night's finale and Gucci Mane's pocketing $100k to host Saturday night's bash.

Jeezy and Yo Gotti hosted parties Friday night, with Jeezy getting $40,000 from Studio 23 and Mirage Miami shelling out $50k for Yo Gotti's services.

Gunna's hosting at the Mirage Saturday night, and he's getting $60k -- on top of the $60k he got from Studio 23 for Thursday's gig.

Lil Baby and DaBaby are co-hosting the Trap Bowl day party Saturday at Wynwood Factory in Miami's art district, and Lil Baby's earning $70,000, compared to $80k for DaBaby.

Don't let these two almost identical images of Young Thug throw you off ... stay focused and see if you can spot the sneaky switches that have been made to this tricky pic.

Earlier this week the rapper was spotted out in Los Angeles, California and we have made some changes to this photo of him. Now, it is up to you to figure out what changes have been made! Take a really good look here and see if you can find the differences between these two super-similar snaps!

Lil Wayne paid tribute to Kobe Bryant on his brand new album he dropped TODAY -- laying in 24 seconds of silence on track #8 to show love to the Lakers legend.

Wayne spent years working on the album "Funeral" -- but when he learned about Kobe's death on Sunday, he connected with Young Money President, Mack Maine, and they agreed to make last-second changes to honor Bryant.

The final decision was to lay in a moment of silence for Kobe at the end of the 8th song on the album, titled "Bing James" -- 24 seconds in total. Obviously, the numbers refer to Kobe's Lakers jersey numbers, #8 and #24.

Wayne appeared on FS1's Undisputed on Friday morning and credited the producers who worked on the album for being nimble enough to change up the album just HOURS before it was released ... truly an impressive feat.

Wayne is a huge basketball fan who LOVES the Lakers -- and has been a public Kobe supporter for years. In fact, he dropped a song called "Kobe Bryant" years ago.

Wayne also shouts out "Black Mamba" in the chorus of another song on the new album -- a song called "Ball Hard."

Wayne's "Funeral" album happens to have 24 tracks -- but he told Skip Bayless that was just a coincidence.

Chance The Rapper is featured in the first-ever TV commercial for Quibi -- a revolutionary new mobile platform -- and the funny spot is hitting the airwaves during the Super Bowl.

The commercial depicts a bank heist gone wrong, leaving the robbers with just 4 to 10 minutes to spare ... which just so happens to be the perfect amount of time to watch a Quibi.

As you can see ... the bank robbers pause mid-heist to check out Chance's revival of "Punk'd" on Quibi.

BTW ... Quibi is short for "quick bites" ... and the first-ever entertainment platform designed specifically for phones delivers episodes and movie-quality shows in 10 minutes or less.

Quibi's launching April 6, with original content from huge celebs like Jennifer Lopez, Liam Hemsworth, Zac Efron, Idris Elba, Kendall Jenner, 50 Cent, Steph Curry, Chrissy Teigen and Kristen Bell ... plus our own celebrity show with a TMZ edge.

Mase, one of Diddy's biggest Bad Boy Records stars, is coming for blood ... calling the mogul a hypocrite for his Grammys speech, and for keeping him under a horrible contract.

The "Mo Money, Mo Problems" rapper went off on Diddy Friday saying it's ironic Bad Boy's honcho is calling on black artists to take back control of their art -- because Mase claims Diddy keeps his own artists "enslaved," purposely starves them and subjects them to his "horrendous business model."

On a personal level, Mase is pissed about the $20k he says Diddy paid him for his publishing rights more than 20 years ago, when he debuted at the age of 19.

As you know ... Diddy gave a 50-minute speech while accepting an Industry Icon award at Clive Davis' pre-Grammy gala at the Beverly Hilton Hotel. He was also at Jay-Z's Roc Nation brunch earlier that day, toasting black billionaires and black excellence.

None of this sat well with Mase, who said he offered Diddy $2 million in cash just a few days ago to buy back his catalog. He claims Diddy told him he had to match a European man's offer and "that would be the only way I can get it back."

Mase -- who signed with Bad Boy in 1996, retired in 1999 and returned in 2004 -- added, "You bought it for about 20k & I offered you 2m in cash. This is not black excellence at all. When your own race is enslaving us. If it's about us owning, it can't be about us owning each other. No More Hiding Behind 'Love.' U CHANGED? GIVE THE ARTIST BACK THEIR $$$$. So they can take care of their families."

Mase has feuded with Diddy in the past ... and in 2009 Mase tried getting out of his deal with the label.

Brooklyn MC Sauce Money, who's worked with Diddy and Jay-Z, also took a swipe ... saying he watched Diddy's speech, and "I respect the message, just not coming from him."

We've reached out to Diddy's camp for comment, but so far no word back.

Damn. Can we just run it back ...

Offset reacted to a guy spraying champagne -- which might have splashed Cardi B -- by delivering some cham-pain ... in the form of a wild punch off the stage.

The husband and wife rappers were partying after 3 AM at Booby Trap On the River strip club in Miami, and were standing on stage next to a pole when the champagne started flying.

We're told Cardi got wet and wasn't thrilled about it, but Offset was enraged and immediately began looking for the guy. As you can see, once he spotted him, Offset wound up his fist and let it fly.

People at the club tell us the punch landed, and Offset kept throwing 'em until he was pulled off by security. We're told he and Cardi took off immediately after that.

It's pretty crazy, because both Cardi and Offset performed at David Grutman's LIV nightclub in Miami Beach earlier Thursday night ... kicking off a series of events this weekend leading up to Sunday's big game.

The vibes seemed to be all good, and the couple also seemed to have a great time when they first arrived at Booby Trap. Cardi danced on Offset, and he made it rain on her.

Obviously, things changed for the worse later on.

The strip club dust up came a day after Offset was detained in an L.A. shopping center. We broke the story ... Offset was released from jail after a few hours and told us cops had the wrong guy.

Billy Porter's got some solid advice for Lil Nas X on the heels of Pastor Troy's homophobic rant ... brush the dirt off that shoulder.

We got the "Pose" star out Thursday morning in NYC and got his take on Pastor Troy's hateful message directed at Lil Nas X just days after X won 2 Grammys for his hit track "Old Town Road."

Troy's words don't bear repeating here ... but ya gotta give props to Lil Nas X -- who wore a pink leather cowboy suit to the awards show -- for one helluva clap back. Porter doesn't seem surprised .... saying there's still lots of homophobic vibes in hip-hop.

Offset has been detained by cops after a report of a person with a gun at an L.A. shopping center.

Law enforcement sources tell TMZ a call came in just before 8 PM of a person with a gun inside the parking structure at The Grove shopping center. We're told the person who had the weapon allegedly fled the scene, and Offset and members of his entourage have been detained.

It is NOT clear if Offset or anyone he was with actually had a weapon, and police are currently investigating the situation.

In video -- obtained by TMZ -- Offset can be seen in a yellow hoodie asking officers why he's been cuffed ... the officer pushes the Migos rapper up against a wall.

We are told Offset is currently being held near the security station of The Grove.

Team Roc, Roc Nation's philanthropic arm, is releasing video it says graphically illustrates the inhumane conditions inside a notorious Mississippi penitentiary ... as Yo Gotti continues fighting for federal assistance.

These videos and photos were shot by inmates using contraband phones, according to Team Roc. The images include what looks like a knife fight between 2 prisoners, gruesome injuries and horrific filth inside a cell.

TMZ broke the story ... Yo Gotti, with Team Roc's support, is taking legal action over the conditions seen in the video. Most recently, they've filed for an emergency protective order in federal court -- on behalf of dozens of inmates -- and they've now added some of these photos to that filing.

Nicki Minaj and her husband got a nasty stare-down by Meek Mill ... and THAT'S what started the epic shouting match.

Sources close to the situation tell TMZ ... Nicki and hubby Kenneth Petty had barely walked into the high-end clothing store, Maxfield in WeHo, last weekend when Meek immediately gave them a nasty stare-down.

Like anyone running into an ex, Nicki and Kenneth took offense to Meek giving them a dirty look and that's what triggered the shouting match. Our sources say Nicki and Kenneth did NOT approach Meek by any means. The couple just happened to cross Meek's path when they walked into the store.

This, of course, disputes Meek's side of the story. As we first reported ... the "Championships" rapper said Nicki and Kenneth approached him and started getting loud.

Nicki Minaj's brother was just sentenced to 25 years to life in prison following the guilty verdict in his child rape trial.

Judge Robert McDonald sentenced Jelani Maraj in a New York court Monday ... several months after the verdict been reached.

As we reported ... Maraj was found guilty of predatory sexual assault against a child and endangering the welfare of a child in a trial that lasted less than 3 weeks. At the time of the verdict, the Nassau County D.A. told us, "We hope that today's verdict will help the family in the healing process."

Back in 2017, Nicki visited her brother while he was locked up. We were told she only went to support her mother.

The show must go on for YG ... according to his lawyer, anyway, who says the guy WILL perform at the Grammys after all, this following his arrest and release.

YG's attorney, Joe Tacopina, tells TMZ ... YG is moving forward with his Grammy Awards performance Sunday night, which had already been in the books before he got hauled in by cops last week on suspicion of robbery and bonding out the same day on $250k bail.

The rapper's performance is supposed to be in honor of the late Nipsey Hussle -- which Tacopina and others, including The Game, thought might've been behind the arrest.

We still don't know what the robbery allegation stems from, but YG's Escalade was involved in a high-speed chase back in July that left a 65-year-old man dead. The MC denied he was anywhere near that scene at the time ... it's unclear if the two cases are related.

Looks like YG's following in the footsteps of his fellow artist Young Thug -- who was also put in cuffs last year right before his Grammys performance, but was then released.

Cardi B looked amazing at Clive Davis' pre-Grammy bash Saturday night, and her hubby was more than happy to sample the goods!

Cardi hit up the annual bash at the Bev Hilton Hotel and wore a super NSFW dress, to Offset's resounding approval.

Offset and Cardi are nominated for Best Rap Performance for "Clout."

She's won a Grammy last year for Best Rap Album, and she definitely won at Clive's party.