TMZ Hip Hop - Page 50

DaBaby just got slapped back ... with a lawsuit from the woman who claims the rapper smacked the hell outta her at a recent concert.

Tyronesha Laws just filed the suit, claiming she was minding her own damn business when the rapper, "suddenly and without any warning," lashed out and brutally and violently struck her in the face last weekend during his Tampa gig.

In docs, obtained by TMZ, Tyronesha says she was in the crowd of concertgoers waiting for DB to take the stage. She says he did not simply walk on the stage to begin his performance, and instead, proceeded through the crowd with his entourage, and "without incident." Until he got to her.

She claims DaBaby expressed no remorse for his slap and points out the rapper made fun of the situation on social media when he posted a skit featuring comedian Michael Blackson.

Laws' attorneys, Matt Morgan and Chelsea Cromer of Morgan and Morgan, say the incident was "outrageous and shocking." Her legal team added, "Our goal is to deter similar conduct in the future and send a message that this type of behavior is not tolerated in America."

Remember, Tyronesha told us she was NOT the person who put a phone right in DaBaby's face. She insists she was standing next to the person who did that when DB unleashed his anger.

On the other hand, DB's lawyer, Drew Findling, told us Laws is NOT the person his client slapped and added alleged victims are coming out of the woodwork.

DaBaby is vehemently denying a woman's claim she was on the receiving end of his vicious slap -- the rapper admits hitting someone, but says alleged victims are coming outta the woodwork.

We broke the story ... DaBaby brutally assaulted a fan before his Saturday night gig in Tampa while walking through the crowd. Tyronesha Laws claims she's the one DaBaby slapped, but his legal team says not so fast.

DaBaby's attorney, Drew Findling, tells TMZ ... enhanced video shows DaBaby slapping an individual who struck his left eye with what appears to be a phone with the flashlight on -- NOT the person standing to the left or the right of the individual shoving the phone in his face.

That's interesting because Tyronesha told us she was standing next to a young lady who reached with a phone -- flashlight activated -- toward DaBaby right before he allegedly smacked her in the face.

Findling says his law firm has been contacted by multiple people claiming to be the victim, but they haven't been able to establish the real identity.

DaBaby's already apologized to the woman he struck, saying he thought he was hitting a guy and couldn't tell the difference because of the light in his face.

Clearly not the greatest explanation for the violence

Kevin Durant enlisted one of his good buddies to keep his spirits high during his Achilles recovery on Tuesday night  ... hitting up an L.A. hot spot together for a night on the town.

Oh, yeah ... and that friend is Drake!!!

Of course, KD is still working to get back on the court following the devastating injury he suffered in Game 5 of the NBA Finals last season ... and it's been going VERY well -- the dude is already dunking in pick-up games again!!

The Brooklyn Nets superstar stayed busy while his team was in town to play the LA Lakers ... hitting up The Nice Guy in West Hollywood for a good time.

FYI -- Drake and KD are solid buds despite their teams going against each other in the Finals last season ... and Drizzy was very emotional in the crowd when Durant went down with the injury.

On top of that, Aubrey loves to name-drop Durant in his songs ... so the meet-up ain't all that surprising.

DaBaby's really not sorry for smacking the hell out of a woman over the weekend ... at least according to the victim, who says his apology is sorely lacking.

The woman on the receiving end of DaBaby's brutal slap, Tyronesha Laws, tells TMZ ... the rapper's mea culpa is empty and the proof is on his social media. Tyronesha got choked up when she told us about seeing a comedic skit about the incident the rapper posted.

We broke the story ... DaBaby brutally assaulted a fan Saturday night in Tampa on his way to the stage. Tyronesha told us what led up to the insanely violent blow, saying she wasn't even the person who put the flash in his face.

She says she's embarrassed by everything that's happened since that fateful moment, telling us it's really "hateful."

She's referring to DaBaby's skit with Michael Blackson -- they reenacted the incident, clearly making light of it, but Tyronesha ain't laughing.

She says online trolls are making her life, and her daughter's, a living hell.

Tyronesha's already lawyered up ... and says she was diagnosed with a bruised cheekbone as a result of the vicious smack.

Tee Grizzley says he no longer has beef with Eminem and Royce da 5'9" ... and he's chalking it all up to a classic case of a misunderstanding.

Here's the deal ... Tee Grizzley blasted Royce after he revealed he'd advised Eminem to hold off on collaborating with the up-and-coming Detroit rapper until TG had another hit to his name.

Now, Tee Grizzley says he talked to Royce and smoothed things over ... and he wants to do the same with Em.

As you know ... Royce said he convinced Eminem to not work with Tee Grizzley just yet, so Em wouldn't get credit for helping TG blow up. Royce and Em were gonna sit back and wait, and then Tee Grizzley took a shot at Eminem.

The diss -- "I run Detroit, n****s talkin' 'bout Eminem. Talking that s**t, I kill you, him, and him."

Kylie Jenner and Travis Scott are officially a thing again ... and they have been for several weeks now.

Sources close to the couple tell TMZ ... Kylie and Travis are back together romantically but they're not quite ready to put a title on their relationship, even though they regularly sleep under the same roof, share a child and don't see other people.

Our sources say Kylie and Travis both benefited from last year's breakup ... the time apart was good for both parties because they needed some space. Remember, their initial relationship in 2017 moved very fast because she got pregnant with Stormi right after they first started dating at Coachella.

Fact is ... Kylie and Travis work well on several levels ... in addition to a strong family bond, they both lead full and successful professional lives.

There were tons of clues leading up to this official reconciliation. Kylie and Travis celebrated Thanksgiving and Christmas together as a family and reunited for Stormi's second birthday party, plus a trip to Disney World.

Travis also sent Kylie flowers on Valentine's Day and she gave her own signal in her recent social media activity with her "It's a mood" post.

Now, the band is officially back together.

DaBaby brutally assaulted a fan Saturday night as he made his way to the stage, and the crowd was so enraged at him the show ended before it began.

The rapper was at Whiskey North in Tampa for his "Up Close N Personal" tour when a woman waved her phone in his direction, presumably to get a pic. Check out the video ... you see DaBaby unload on her.

Folks at the concert tell TMZ ... after the initial shock subsided, the crowd started booing the rapper. DaBaby and his crew left without performing a single song. Check out the strike from a different angle too, BTW. It's a straight up open palm slap across the face.

You can hear people shriek in horror as DB calmly walks away, and the crowd around the woman bend over to help her. Eerily to similar to another incident DaBaby's bodyguard was involved in back in September ... when the guy KO'd a girl, whom he thought was a guy.

Now, DaBaby has spoken on this. He went on his Instagram story to share a video of the incident, saying, "who know shawty government name so my lawyer can get active."

Cops showed up -- responding to a 911 assault call -- but no arrests were made.

DaBaby's had his share of problems recently. He was recently accused of beating up and robbing a guy in Miami. The battery charges were dropped but he's still under the microscope for robbery -- he allegedly jacked the guy's cellphone, credit card and cash.

Lil Baby's concert Saturday night ended abruptly after gunshots rang out and at least one person was injured.

Check out the video ... you hear the shots and then the panic in the crowd. The rapper was performing at the Bill Harris Arena in West Birmingham, Alabama when someone in the crowd began firing rounds. Some fans hit the floor ... others ran out of the venue.

At least one person was taken to a nearby hospital for treatment. The person's condition is not known.

What we do know is this ... there was some sort of physical altercation before the shots rang out, so it appears this was targeted.

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.