TMZ Hip Hop - Page 50

Feathers are seriously ruffled over at Drake's company, OVO, after a couple of companies jacked their famous owl logo ... or at least that's what OVO's claiming in a lawsuit.

OVO is suing Australian-based Bellroy and L.A.-based Clae claiming the merch companies collaborated to create, among other things, a shoe featuring a bird which OVO claims is the spitting image of its famous owl ... and it's crying fowl.

In docs, obtained by TMZ, OVO claims Bellroy "changed the design of the owl by altering its posture, width, wings and feet in order to blatantly mimic the OVO owl." OVO thinks these changes were intentionally made to maximize similarities with Drake's brand.

Specifically, OVO gives a hoot because Bellroy first sold wallets, smartphone cases and small luggage, but recently added footwear and clothing which OVO says is the core of its biz.

OVO alleges Bellroy and Clae are misleading consumers into thinking they're in bed with OVO's world-famous brand.

It's suing for trademark infringement and is asking for an injunction to stop Bellroy and Clae from jacking its owl -- plus any profits it's made so far and damages.

Pop Smoke's most ardent fans are out in droves in Brooklyn ... giving the late rapper one final, emotional sendoff.

The funeral procession is going down Thursday afternoon in the Canarsie neighborhood of the borough. Two horses are pulling the carriage and hearse, decorated with white curtains ... and Pop Smoke's casket can be seen through the glass.

The carriage made its way past a mural honoring Pop Smoke, and his good friend and mentor 50 Cent's Lamborghini was part of the procession as well ... though it doesn't look like Fiddy was behind the wheel.

There were barricades set up in the mostly residential neighborhood to keep fans on sidewalks. NYPD is also on hand to keep things under control.

TMZ broke the story ... 20-year-old Pop Smoke was gunned down last month in the Hollywood Hills in what appeared to be a targeted hit.

He was taken to Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, but doctors couldn't save him, as he died from a gunshot wound to his chest, according to his death certificate.

Pop Smoke's family held a private ceremony last weekend for close friends and family. After today's procession ... he'll be laid to rest in a Brooklyn cemetery.

Megan Thee Stallion is now square in the middle of a dispute between her Roc Nation managers and hip-hop mogul J. Prince ... who claims she's been brainwashed by lawyers.

The Rap-a-Lot Records founder also consults with Megan's record label 1501 Certified Entertainment ... the label she's suing over her contract. In her lawsuit, Megan accused J. Prince of bullying and intimidating people in the record biz, and now he's firing back.

Prince lays blame squarely at Roc Nation's feet, insinuating Jay-Z's management company is trying to profit off 1501's hard work building Megan's career. He says, "These record labels and managers don’t want sh*t to do with these artists until the hard work, risk, sacrifices, and resources have been spent by the little guys."

He adds, "This is the same technique of the culture vultures. I didn’t allow this to happen to me when New York and LA record labels attempted to take my artists- so they labeled me as malicious for fighting back. I didn’t allow it then so I damn sure ain’t gonna allow it to happen to 1501 Records or any of the other independent record labels that I’m associated with."

He also says Megan's complaints about the contract she signed when she was 20 years old are unfounded because, "Any artist in the music industry will testify that a 40% profit share is a great deal especially for an unestablished artist that til this day has never delivered an album."

As for Megan's claims about him strong-arming people, he blames Roc Nation attorneys, saying ... "Megan even though she signed an affidavit, talked down, and lied in court documents on me... I understand how lawyers brainwash artist to milk them of funds in lawsuits that they know they can’t win. Megan seems to be a perfect candidate for self destruction."

If this smells like a brewing battle between J. Prince and Jay-Z, Prince is saying he wants peace, and is willing to negotiate Megan's deal.

However, he's clearly pissed at Jay's company, adding ... "I find it very interesting that Roc Nation would allow their employee to sign an affidavit and statement full of slanderous lies on my methods of doing business when we have partnered together on several occasions. I don’t think Jay Z is aware of this but only time will tell."

Megan Thee Stallion will NOT be releasing new music this week, after all ... not if her label gets its way, and 1501 Certified Entertainment wants an emergency court hearing on the matter.

Label honcho Carl Crawford just filed a motion to dissolve the temporary restraining order Megan got earlier this week ... which allowed her to drop new music on Friday. However, the label says she had no right even taking them to court in the first place.

According to the docs, obtained by TMZ, Crawford says Megan's contract stipulates all disputes between her and the label must be handled in arbitration. Coincidentally, this is the very contract Megan complained was one-sided and unfair when she signed it as a naive 20-year-old.

He also claims Megan's guilty of booking several gigs without its approval -- but what really chaps Crawford's britches (it's a Texas case, after all) is her plan to release music on March 6.

In docs, 1501 Certified says she can't drop that music without its approval ... it's part of her contract. Even if she wants out of it, it remains in place for now, and Crawford says he's exercising his contractual right to control distribution of her music.

Crawford's also not buying Meg's claim that "disappointment of her fans" is a basis for getting a restraining order to release the music.

He's demanding a hearing today in Harris County, Texas ... so a judge can hear the label's side of the story before the music comes out on Friday. No word yet if that hearing will be granted.

G-Eazy and Three 6 Mafia's Juicy J shoulda known better when they ripped off the work of some Southern hip-hop legends ... so claim those artists in a new lawsuit.

According to new legal docs, obtained by TMZ, Memphis-based DJ Squeeky and Gaylon Love say they own the rights to "Looking 4 Da Chewin" and claim G-Eazy's "No Limit" straight-up sampled their 1993 Southern hip-hop classic.

Squeeky and Love claim G-Eazy never got permission to sample the track and are suing for copyright infringement. They also want a slice of the profits from G-Eazy's "No Limit" track, which enjoyed mega-success when it dropped in 2017 as the lead single in G-Eazy's fourth studio album, "The Beautiful & Damned."

It's interesting ... "No Limit" features Cardi B and A$AP Rocky, and the remix also includes French Montana, Belly and Juicy J. But, Squeeky and Love are only going after G-Eazy and Juicy J.

The Memphis artists' lawyer Alcide Honore tells us, for starters, G-Eazy's getting sued because it's his track. As for Juicy J ... he hails from Memphis, so he should have known he was rapping over a popular Southern hip-hop track that first hit the scene in the early '90s. We're told other parties could be added to the lawsuit down the road, but for now, the legal team says G-Eazy and Juicy J bear responsibility.

It's been a rough week for Juicy J and counterpart DJ Paul ... both of whom were slapped with separate lawsuits earlier this week.

Nicki Minaj's husband's past is coming back to bite him in the ass -- he's been arrested by U.S. Marshals on an indictment for failing to register as a sex offender ... TMZ has learned.

Kenneth Petty was in federal custody Wednesday -- we're told he turned himself into the Marshals. According to court docs, he'll face a judge later today. Petty moved to California in July 2019, but according to law enforcement he got pulled over in Beverly Hills in November and that's when his legal troubles started.

We're told Bev Hills PD made a traffic stop on November 15 and determined Petty was a registered sex offender in New York state but had not registered in California ... as required.

He was arrested and released on a $20,000 bond. The L.A. County D.A. charged him for failing to register as a sex offender.

It appears he still didn't check in after that because now the feds are in on the case. He was indicted in federal court for the same thing ... failing to register.

As we've reported, Kenneth's rap sheet includes a 1995 conviction for first-degree attempted rape. He served almost 4 years in NY state prison for the crime and was required to register as a sex offender. If convicted on the federal charge for failure to register, Kenneth faces up to 10 years in prison.

TMZ broke the story ... Nicki and Kenneth hit up the Bev Hills Courthouse to get a marriage license in July ... around the time the couple moved to Cali.

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

DaBaby's no longer sweating a battery case in Miami ... TMZ's learned prosecutors are dropping the charge but the rapper's not exactly out of the woods just yet.

The Miami State Attorney's Office says it dropped the battery charge against DB claiming one of the alleged victims would NOT cooperate. That alleged victim is a friend of concert promoter, Kenneth Carey. You'll recall Carey was the guy who got beat up and allegedly robbed on video. The other alleged victim is not seen in the video.

Even though the battery charge has been tossed, cops are still investigating the alleged robbery of Carey ... so DaBaby could potentially be charged.

TMZ broke the story ... Carey sued DaBaby claiming DB and his crew beat him to a pulp and in the process jacked his phone, money and credit card over a business deal gone wrong. That lawsuit -- Carey's suing for more than $6 mil -- is still active.

Megan Thee Stallion shoulda known what she was getting into when she signed her first contract with a record label, because she put pen to paper herself ... so says Yung Berg.

We got the "Sexy Can I" rapper at LAX Monday and asked about Meg's beef with her record label -- she claims 1501 won't allow her to drop any new tunes, because she wants to tweak her deal -- and Yung Berg says Meg shouldn't have signed the contract if she didn't like what was in it.

Yung Berg's seeing things from the other side now -- he's rebranded himself as a producer called Hitmaka and is the VP of A&R at Atlantic Records -- and explains why it's super important for young artists to pour over the paperwork before signing the dotted line.

As we reported ... MTS says she was about 20 years old when she signed a contract with 1501 and wasn't aware of a lot of clauses in it until she started getting managed by Jay-Z's Roc Nation.

Megan shouldn't be using youth as an excuse, Yung Berg says, because the music industry is big business, and there's no love lost for anyone.

Of course, Taylor Swift would likely argue differently ... you'll remember, she's in a nasty battle with Scooter Braun after he purchased the rights to her first 6 albums thanks to a deal she signed when she was young.

The good news for MTS and her fans ... YB tells us why she won't stay on ice forever.

Megan Thee Stallion says certain execs at her record label have a rep for "bullying and strong-armed tactics," but she's taking a stand by taking them to court ... and she's already won a major battle.

Meg went on the offensive by filing suit Monday against 1501 Certified Entertainment and its honcho, Carl Crawford. As you know, she's pissed about the contract she signed with the label back when she was 20, and claims it's now blocking her from releasing new music because she wants to renegotiate.

A district judge in Harris County Texas granted Megan a temporary restraining order which prevents her label from blocking the music she plans to drop on Friday.

In the suit, Megan lays out the most outrageous terms of her contract, at least in her eyes. For instance, she claims the deal calls for 1501 Certified to get 60% of her recording income. The remaining 40% goes to her, but she has to use that to pay engineers, mixers and featured artists who work on the songs.

Point is ... MTS claims there's a very small slice of pie left for her when it's all said and done. She also says her live gigs currently benefit the label more than her.

According to the suit, the contract calls for all money from Megan's touring and live performances to be paid directly to 1501 Certified. She says the label is supposed to give her a proper accounting of what she's owed -- but claims what they've provided is incomplete, and "purposefully and deceptively vague."

Megan also claims Crawford has been using his relationship with Rap-a-Lot Records founder J. Prince to intimidate people in the industry. In the suit, she claims Crawford pressured a producer to hand over beats by saying Prince would be pissed. Megan claims, "Prince is notorious in the industry for strong-armed intimidation tactics, and the comment was taken as a physical threat of harm."

Megan thinks Prince has had a hand in an online smear campaign against her ... including the recent story about her getting arrested 5 years ago.

All of these headaches simply aren't worth it to Megan, who says in exchange for signing the contract she got a measly $10,000 advance. Hence, her desire to renegotiate.

She's suing Carl and 1501 Certified Entertainment for at least $1 million in damages. Megan is not suing J. Prince.

BTW, the temporary restraining order she got also prevents the label from attacking or abusing her on social media. Megan's attorney, Richard Busch, tells TMZ, "We are very happy the Court granted our TRO and thrilled that the world should be able to now hear Megan's new music on March 6. We will now proceed with the other claims set forth in the [lawsuit]."

North West is going worldwide ... performing in Paris at her dad's Paris fashion show, and while she's still honing her rapping skills, ya can't say the kid ain't cute ... and loud!!!

Kanye managed to score 6-year-old prodigy North for his Yeezy Season 8 show ... part of Paris Fashion Week. While his models stood silently behind him, per usual, he gave North a mic and she did her thing ... busting out a rap that seemed to double as a review of Ye's new line.

Check it out ... sure, ya might not be able to understand every word outta the kid's mouth, but c'mon ... that's true of most rappers. We definitely made out "cool," "cute" and a whole lot of "YEAH!!!!"

Her Paris debut comes about a week after she showed off her skills at school -- where she was a bit more articulate and audible. Just like then, Ye was by his kid's side in full support.

He's definitely been encouraging her creativity ... which we've also seen on display at Sunday Service.

At this rate, we'll likely see North open for Kanye at his next concert. Might be time to remix one of his and Jay-Z's "Watch the Throne" hits!!!

Doctors tried to save Pop Smoke's life by opening his chest after he was rushed to the hospital with multiple gunshot wounds.

Pop Smoke's death certificate, obtained by TMZ, says doctors performed a thoracotomy on the left side of his chest -- meaning they opened his chest, most likely attempting to remove bullets. As we first reported, he was hit multiple times when masked assailants broke into the Hollywood Hills home where he was staying.

Pop Smoke's cause of death was a gunshot wound to the torso, according to the document. It says the time between the shooting and his death was "rapid."

The rapper -- born Bashar Barakah Jackson -- died at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center at 5:12 AM.

The document also reveals his body was transported back to his native Brooklyn. Pop Smoke's family held a private ceremony last weekend for close friends and family.

Megan Thee Stallion says a simple request to renegotiate her contract turned into a stalemate that's keeping a lid on any new tunes.

The rapper took to IG Live Sunday to call her out her record label, 1501, claiming they're not allowing to drop any new music for the time being -- all because, as she claims, MTS asked them to tweak some fine print in the deal she's signed with them at a young age.

Megan says she signed with 1501 when she was about 20 years old, and there were a lot things in her contract with them she simply wasn't aware of -- that is, until she started getting managed by Jay-Z's Roc Nation, which pointed a lot of stuff out to her.

Long story short, Meg says everything was all good and dandy until one day she approached the label and asked to renegotiate ... at which point, she says things went "left."

Megan claims as a result of her asking ... the label has put her and any new tunes on ice. She likens the move to nothing more than greed in its purest form -- and it's clear, there's beef.

Interestingly enough, we actually spoke to the co-founder of Meg's label, ex-MLB player Carl Crawford, and he told us he basically discovered Meg and helped put her on. Didn't sound like there was much friction between her and them at the time -- seems things have changed.

The bad news is for fans, of course -- 'cause if what she's saying is true, it can mean a whole year without some 'Hot Girl' seasons to bless us. Shame ...

Waka Flocka is bringing self-awareness and self-deprecating humor to a whole new level -- saying he was a wack rapper at the peak of his career ... but honest nonetheless.

The hip-hop star was chopping it up with the team at Everyday Struggle, where he made the startling declaration ... that he was wack, he knows he was wack and probably should've stopped rapping way earlier than he actually did. His words, folks ... not ours.

Check out his explanation for yourself ... WFF says he made a massive amount of money around 2012 -- $30 million, apparently -- and says he'd achieved what he'd set out to do in the rap game ... which is to get rich. He insists he didn't need to keep going.

It's funny ... the Everyday crew tries to convince him otherwise -- that he's not wack and actually contributed a lot to the game -- but he remains firm, explaining his hip-hop idols are hardcore lyricists like Nas, KRS-One and others. He says he's simply not near them.

His one saving grace, according to him, was his ability to keep it real. Waka says people probably respected that more than his rapping ability.

Waka might be a little too hard on himself here -- fact is ... the dude put out tons of songs that landed on the Billboard charts, and while they weren't the most lyrically complex ... they were fun as hell for what they were -- and enjoyed by many.

Kylie Jenner and Travis Scott are back together ... at least that's the signal she's giving, and pretty clearly giving at that.

Kylie posted a bunch of pics from the Houston Rocket's Western Conference Quarterfinals back in 2017. It's when she was pregnant with Stormi. Kylie and Trav certainly look couply. She captioned the photos, "It's a mood."

She posted pics of Travis whispering in her ear, another staring into each other's eyes ... get the picture?

Kylie also modeled shoes Travis released Saturday ... Nike SB Dunk low trainers. BTW ... they've gone from $150 a pop online to $1,000.

Pop Smoke's murder is still a mystery, and police are making little progress in finding suspects due to a variety of issues ... but they're still pressing on.

Law enforcement sources tell TMZ ... detectives have hit a road block in the rapper's murder investigation, specifically with regard to witness testimony. We've heard it before -- a lot of people are simply refusing to talk. But also ... a lot of the info they're getting is sketchy.

Our sources say among the potential witnesses cops have spoken with, stories have either changed or are provably untrue. Also, because nobody was outside or nearby Pop's house when the crime occurred ... they have no neutral witnesses.

To make matters worse ... we're told investigators have wasted time looking into videos posted online allegedly connected to the murder, but they've all ended up unrelated to the case.

Likewise, with the case being bi-coastal -- Smoke was killed in L.A. but lived in NYC -- cops have had to spend extra time and effort tracking down people.

Finally, even though the murder appears to be a targeted hit and not a robbery ... our law enforcement sources say they're still having trouble coming up with a motive.

Cops are working all leads and resources possible in the meantime, but it seems they're in desperate need of a break in the case.

Diddy's ready to get down to recruiting in the ATL for his "Making the Band" reboot ... and he's relying on some serious hometown talent to help him get it done.

Production sources tell TMZ ... the music mogul's locked down Quavo, Monica and 112 to serve as advisers when 'MTB' kicks off its official open casting call Friday in Atlanta's famed Center Stage Theater.

And, get this ... Quality Control Music honchos Pierre "Pee" Thomas and Kevin "Coach K" Lee -- who claim Cardi B and Migos, among others, to their label -- have also signed on to help Diddy find the next R&B supergroup.

The casting call goes from 10 AM to 6 PM ... with invitation-only callbacks slated to go down Saturday. The casting call will eventually make its way to Houston, Charlotte and NYC.

And, speaking of Charlotte ... DaBaby's lending Diddy a hand in his hometown. He's already signed up to help there. The show returns to MTV later this year.

As we reported ... Diddy made a surprise announcement back in July 2019 about a possible "Making the Band" reboot. He had some doubts but ultimately forged ahead. And there's been no shortage of former 'MTB' stars wanting to get back in the game.