TMZ Hip Hop - Page 50

XXXTentacion's been gone for 2 years, but there's still fresh family drama brewing -- his half brother's suing XXX's mom, and accusing her of stealing.

Jodi Kavney, the mother of XXX's half brother, Corey Pack, claims XXX's mom, Cleopatra Bernard, concocted a plan to siphon off millions of dollars from her own son's trust -- money the late rapper set aside for Corey ... according to legal docs obtained by TMZ.

Jodi, who's suing on behalf of Corey, says in docs, XXX left behind assets in excess of $50 million ... including a trust that lists Corey as 1 of 3 beneficiaries. She claims the breakdown is supposed to be 50% to Cleopatra, 25% to XXX's brother, Aiden Kerr ... with Corey getting the remaining 25%.

But, in the lawsuit, Jodi claims Cleopatra cut a deal with XXX's baby mama which helped her cut Corey out of his portion of the estate. Jodi's now seeking to recover assets she claims were "improperly and surreptitiously transferred" by Cleopatra to herself.

Jodi's suing for $11 million in damages and may try to triple that amount ... if she can prove this was intentionally done. She also claims Corey's entitled to ownership rights to XXX's record label, Bad Vibe Entities.

Jodi's attorney, Natasha Shaikh, tells TMZ ... they originally sent a demand letter to Cleopatra seeking the $11M but says that fell on deaf ears ... so they filed the lawsuit to let the court decide. We reached out to Cleopatra for comment ... so far, no word back.

TMZ broke the story ... XXX was gunned down back in June 2018 while shopping for motorcycles at a South Florida dealer. Four suspects were arrested and indicted for the rapper's murder.

2 Chainz's got more drama over his ATL joint, and this time it's beef with the keepers of Pablo Escobar's name ... who are suing the rapper over the restaurant's name.

Pablo Escobar's family company, Escobar Inc., is suing 2 Chainz for at least $10 million ... claiming his Escobar Restaurant and Tapas -- there are 2 of 'em in Atlanta -- violates federal law with its unauthorized commercial use of the Escobar name and likeness.

According to docs, obtained by TMZ, the company's pissed 2 Chainz slapped the family name across his famous ATL restaurants, their websites and social media -- not to mention the clothing sold with the restaurant name.

The company says it owns the trademark to Escobar's likeness and 2 Chainz is using the name to generate traffic and sales. The company says, for example, 2 Chainz has Escobar's likeness painted inside one of his joints. They also point to the menu featuring "Escobar Crab Cakes."

Escobar Inc. wants the 8-figure damages, minimum, plus an injunction blocking use of the name and likeness at the restaurants.

As we've reported, 2 Chainz's ATL joints have had plenty of unrelated drama recently, stemming from the coronavirus pandemic.

Kids -- do NOT try this at home!!!

Lil Jon just took CRUNK to a whole 'nother level ... with the rap legend joining a pro Trophy Truck driver for the most INSANE joyride you'll ever see!!!

But, don't worry, everyone was wearing a helmet.

The "Turn Down For What" hype man joined 2020 Baja 1000 winner Alan Ampudia for a drive through the streets of Ensenada in Mexico ... and it's equally awesome and terrifying.

The duo -- with Jon in the passenger seat, obvi -- zoomed through the streets of the city, twisting and turning at every curve ... and even coming within inches of the edge of cliffs.

Ampudia even makes his own path and does some WILD jumps ... all while Lil Jon is trying to keep his cool (spoiler alert: he doesn't).

FYI -- Ampudia is one of the best drivers in the extremely dangerous industry ... he's a 2-time world champ, so Jon was in great company.

Once the boys made it to their destination safely, Lil Jon gave his Uber review -- saying, "That s**t was crazy. I got a different respect for y'all motherf***ers being in the car now. Y'all do this for a whole day!?"

One of Jay-Z and Beyonce's songs, "Black Effect," leans heavily on a Jamaican artist, who claims she was never given proper credit or compensation ... despite being the leading voice on the track.

Dr. L'Antoinette Stines says she's renowned in Jamaica for "her artistry and wisdom" -- and to that point, she says the Carters sought her ought in March 2018 to provide dancers for a video promoting their upcoming tour.

According to a lawsuit, filed Tuesday in federal court, Dr. Stines claims she hooked 'em up with dancers, and then Jay and Bey wanted to record her views on love. She claims she was told the interview would be used in the video ... "for promotional purposes" only.

In the docs, obtained by TMZ, she says she was shocked when she heard "Black Effect" -- from The Carters' "Everything Is Love" album -- because the whole first minute of the track is just her voice.

Hearing herself on the song -- uncredited, mind you -- left Dr. Stines feeling "artistically raped" ... according to her lawsuit.

The doc claims a contract for her services was only thrust in front of her on the day of the shoot, and she alleges the Carters' reps told her not to worry ... after all, her interview would only be used for promotion.

So, she signed, but she's pissed she never got a chance to have it reviewed by her own lawyer -- and worst of all, claims she hasn't been paid a dime for her vocal work.

Dr. Stines is suing Jay and Bey for copyright infringement and violation of her right to publicity ... PLUS damages, of course. She also wants a writing credit, and everything that comes with that ... meaning, cash money.

Snoop Dogg led the way over the weekend -- back in the music biz after months of being sidelined -- shooting a music video at a famed, Sunset Strip burger joint.

Snoop took over Mel's Diner for the shoot, grabbing some food and drink in between takes. Classic cars lined the parking lot as shooting began.

Xzibit and Wiz Khalifa were also part of the shoot ... something we haven't seen here in Hollywood since mid-March.

John Legend was just down the road -- well, maybe 5 miles down the road -- shooing his own music vid in the Los Feliz part of L.A.

TV and film production is back in business, but there are precautions. Among them -- health check for all vendors and others who arrive on set, social distancing restrictions, and requirements for wearing masks.

When actors are shooting scenes, they won't have to wear masks, but otherwise, the mask requirements are pretty much unbending.

Kanye West is putting on his Yeezys and getting to work -- it looks like he's trying to expand his brand into the world of cosmetics and fragrances ... just like the women in his family.

According to new legal docs, Kanye's company recently filed for a "Yeezy" trademark to cover a plethora of beauty and skincare products. We're talking makeup, false eyelashes, facial masks, nail polish, moisturizers, bath gels, body oils, shaving cream, hair care products and perfumes, along with some hygienic products like toothpaste and deodorant ... and even scented pine cones and aromatherapy pillows.

If Kanye's successful, he'll be following in the footsteps of his wife Kim Kardashian's KKW Beauty line and sister-in-law Kylie Jenner's massively popular Kylie Cosmetics ... which includes Khloe's Koko Kollection.

It should be noted ... Kanye's tried to go this route before. Back in 2017, he filed similar docs to lock up the rights to DONDA brand cosmetics -- named after his mother -- but it never really got going.

Jay-Z and his social justice team are going after the Charleston PD, claiming officers violated the constitutional rights of a peaceful protester by hauling him off in handcuffs.

Jay's Team, ROC, is outraged over the arrest of Givionne "Gee" Jordan Jr., who told police he loves and respects them during a May 31 peaceful protest. Givionne wasn't even in the faces of the cops while speaking to them ... he was a good 20-feet away.

Still, they arrested him for disobeying a lawful order, and although he was released on $465 bond ... Team ROC says Gee is still facing charges, and has an upcoming court date. That doesn't sit well with Jay-Z and co.

Right after the arrest, attorney Jordan Siev sent a letter to the Charleston PD calling it “unconstitutional,” and demanded discipline for the officers responsible and a dismissal of the charges ... but to no avail.

Instead, an attorney for the PD wrote back ... "The City is continuing to navigate through the unprecedented and violent attack by rioters on the City and its citizens on Saturday May 30, 2020, and continues to hold the safety and security of citizens and visitors as a top priority."

Team ROC calls that response "lackluster," and say it deflects from Jordan Jr.'s case and the request to dismiss it.

Dania Diaz, Director of Philanthropy, says ... "We are outraged by the Charleston police department’s reprehensible arrest of Givionne Jordan Jr. -- not to mention their dismissive response to our concerns about their conduct. Giovionne’s arrest was unlawful and the Charleston police clearly violated his Constitutional right to peacefully protest. We applaud Givionne and demand that his charges are immediately dismissed."

YG's about to release the music video you could call the fruit of his extensive labor ... pulling together that massive Black Lives Matter rally last weekend in Hollywood.

We're told his new "F**k the Police" vid will drop early Friday, and while the song -- for obvious, lyrical content, reasons -- won't get a lot of radio airplay, you know it'll be all over the Internet. The song itself already has several million plays on YouTube.

As we reported, YG shot much of the music video during Sunday's Hollywood BLM rally, which he helped organize. With an estimated 50,000 people turning out, it was L.A.'s largest protest since George Floyd was killed -- and we're told parts of YG's speech, which kicked off the march, will be featured in the video.

As the Compton rapper said Sunday, "This s**t been going on for too long. I'm tired of waking up, looking at my phone, seeing another one of my people killed by the police."

He added, "I know if my brother Nipsey Hussle was here, he'd be right here with me."

Nicki Minaj is going back to the well for what could be her next big hit -- snitching be damned, she's got a new collab with Tekashi 6ix9ine.

The 2 rappers just revealed they worked together on a track called "Trollz," which Nicki says will be released Thursday at midnight. She adds that a portion of proceeds from their project -- including merch items -- will go to The Bail Project Inc.

Minaj and 6ix9ine have been tight for awhile now, and previously worked together on Tekashi's smash hit "FEFE" in July 2018, which featured Nicki. It appears the artwork for "Trollz" has a similar vibe to their last collab too ... as seen on 69's online store.

Only difference to the "FEFE" art is they switched sides ... and replaced an ice cream cone with a lollipop.

Of course, Minaj took some heat after their last collab for continuing to support the rapper when he was arrested in November 2018 on racketeering charges and proceeded to snitch on his former gang members -- along with roping in Cardi B during his testimony -- in order for a reduced sentenced.

It worked, and 6ix9ine was even released early to house arrest due to COVID-19 concerns. He then began to get back to business and back on social media almost immediately ... much to the chagrin of many in the hip-hop world, especially Meek Mill.

So, ya gotta think the Nicki/Tekashi collab's not going to make them any new friends or squash any old beefs ... but that's probably no bother for the "Trollz" team.

Travis Scott's "Highest in the Room" has a catchy guitar melody that appears throughout -- but one producer claims Travis and his team lifted it.

The guy's name is Benjamin Lasnier, who says he's a Danish music producer who's made beats for lots of people, especially rappers like Trippe Redd, Desiigner, Don Toliver and if he's right ... you can add Travis Scott to his resume.

According to the docs, obtained by TMZ, Lasnier says he wrote and recorded the guitar refrain featured in Trav's hit song, 'Highest,' back in early 2019 ... which he then started shopping around to different producers, engineers and even artists themselves.

He says he also posted this guitar recording on his IG stories 3 different times -- although it's unclear if he still has them up or not for reference. Either way, Lasnier says he put it out there to more than 700k followers.

Welp, around springtime ... Lasnier claims he got in touch with a guy who works with Travis named Jamie Lepr -- who goes by Jimmy Cash on IG, and apparently solicits beats. Lasnier says he sent Lepr a beat pack, which included the guitar melody in question -- and with no formal deal struck between them ... Lasnier claims he eventually heard a slightly tweaked version of his melody on Trav's new song in late 2019. He says a strikingly similar arpeggio appears around 24 times, which he says makes it the meat of the song.

Of course, Lasnier says he never explicitly authorized Lepr to use the music -- and now wants his cut of the loot for what the song has gone on to make -- which is a lot, BTW. He claims "Highest in the Room" has generated north of $20 million for everyone involved in making it -- it's even had crazy success on the charts ... reaching No. 1 on Billboard's Hot 100 chart.

If you know, you know it's one of Travis Scott's most popular songs to date, without question. Now, Lasnier's asking a judge to give him an accounting of the profits, damages, and a running royalty share too.

We've reached out to Travis' team ... so far, no word back.

As L.A.'s largest protest yet of George Floyd's killing made its way through Hollywood streets -- with huge celebs showing support -- YG used it as a powerful backdrop for his new "F**k the Police" music video.

The peaceful demonstration of more than 50,000 people began Sunday on Hollywood Blvd ... and the aerial views were epic. YG teamed up with BLM LA and joined activist and BLM co-founder Patrisse Cullors at the front of the crowd to share some words and explain the importance of using his voice.

Much of the crowd came equipped with face masks, homemade BLM signs and messaging to remember the deaths of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor and so many other black people killed by police.

YG also used the huge protest as the music video setting for his newly released track, "F**k the Police" ... which he shot during the event. Speaking of which, police presence during the march was minimal, and it remained a totally peaceful event.

Other celebs in attendance included Jamie Foxx, J Lo, A-Rod, Machine Gun Kelly, Vanessa Hudgens, Mod Sun, Margaret Qualley, Kaia Gerber, Michael Rappaport, Madeline Petsch, Karreuche Tran, Ireland Baldwin and Marlon Wayans.

There were separate protests in other parts of L.A as well, including Compton, which was attended by Russell Westbrook, Cassie and Alex Fine.

Sunday's event followed the success of protests last Tuesday which ended outside the home of L.A. Mayor Eric Garcetti. Lizzo, Kehlani and Common were among those who marched ... it was shortly after that protest when Garcetti announced an enormous, $150 million cut, from the LAPD's budget.

Tekashi 6ix9ine found himself his first musical ally outside of prison -- and it's already proving to be fruitful ... with a remix on the horizon that'll get your 2000s taste buds tingling.

The rapper just posted a video of himself with none other than Akon, and it looks like the 2 of them laid down a new track that's actually an oldie, only refreshed with T69's own verse. Yes, we're talking Akon's iconic tune, "Locked Up," which now features Tekashi.

You can hear a bit of Tekashi's bars -- he raps about feeling regret and trying to strike the best deal possible for himself via his lawyers ... and also wanting to see his daughter again. Here's the thing though ... 6ix9ine is still stuck on his trolling ways (sorta) 'cause while he teased the track, he only promised to fully release it if he racked up 100k comments.

He writes, "100,000 comments if you want this 🧡❤️💚💛💜💙🖤🤍LOCKED UP PART 2 IM ON ALBUM MODE 💿💿💿 THIS ALBUM GOING CRAZYYYYYYY 🔥🔥🔥 @akon." Something tells us he'll get those comments. The post already has 2 million-plus views, and it went up less than an hour ago.

It's interesting ... Akon seems to be the first rapper to hop on the train and get in the studio with the rainbow-haired MC -- which is REALLY colorful right now. We'd heard from several different artists over the past year or so on whether anyone would work with him again.

Kodak Black could be spending the last year of his sentence at a halfway house ... but first, he's gonna need a few dominoes to fall perfectly.

Kodak's attorney, Bradford Cohen, tells TMZ ... the rapper is now eligible to spend the last year of his sentence in a halfway house, meaning, he could be out of prison by 2021. Thing is, he first needs to complete a court-ordered 500-hour drug treatment program before getting the green light for the halfway house.

And, therein lies the problem. Cohen tells us the maximum-security program where Kodak's currently behind bars does NOT offer the program. But, there's a glimmer of hope after Miami-Dade State Attorney Katherine Fernandez Rundle decided to drop the state's gun case against Kodak Black after speaking with Cohen. With the state dropping 3 felony counts of possession of a firearm by an individual under 24, Cohen says Kodak can now be moved to a lower-security prison where they do offer the drug treatment program.

As for why the state dropped the charges ... a rep for the Miami-Dade State Attorney's Office tells TMZ, Fernandez Rundle "felt that the [state] charges were a duplicate of the federal charges for which [Kodak Black] had already been convicted and is currently serving his sentence."

Kanye West's giving a huge assist to the families and legal teams fighting for Ahmaud Arbery, Breonna Taylor and George Floyd ... and helping in other ways too.

Kanye's donated $2 million, so far, to the cause and set up a 529 college savings fund to fully cover tuition for Floyd's 6-year-old daughter, Gianna. He's also made a separate donation to cover the legal costs for the Arbery and Taylor families.

Along with that, a rep confirms Kanye's donating to several black-owned businesses in his hometown of Chicago and nationwide that have been in crisis and impacted by the unrest in the U.S.

As you know ... widespread protests and riots have broken out since Floyd was killed in police custody on May 25. The demonstrations are a demand for an end to systematic racism and police brutality ... of which the killings of Arbery and Taylor are also prime examples.

Arbery was shot and killed in Georgia in February after being chased by 3 men who allegedly believed he fit the description of a burglary suspect in the area.

Taylor -- who was an emergency medical worker -- was shot and killed by Louisville cops in her own home in a "no-knock warrant" case, in which cops allegedly busted in without warning.

Kim Kardashian and Kanye West are going after a former bodyguard for talking smack about them -- something he's done before -- and warns if he opens his mouth again ... he can expect a multi-million dollar lawsuit.

The couple fired off a cease and desist letter to Kanye's ex-bodyguard, Steve Stanulis, claiming he went on the "Hollywood Raw Podcast" a few weeks back and made "false and defamatory" statements ... while also breaching their confidentiality agreement.

According to the letter, Kim and Kanye claim Steve signed the agreement in February 2016, and it prohibits him from blabbing any personal or business info about them ... something they say he did big time on the podcast.

If you missed it, Stanulis claimed Kanye had "ridiculous rules" -- like walking 10 paces behind him on city streets, and claimed he got angry if Steve blocked a paparazzi shot. He also called Yeezy the "moodiest" and "neediest" celeb who's hired him.

Kim and Kanye don't specify which of Steve's statements are false and defamatory, but they're threatening to sue him for at least $10 million for breaching their confidentiality deal ... if he does it again.

Here's the thing, though -- this isn't the first time they've threatened Stanulis for the same thing. It happened in May 2016 as well, but back then they also demanded a public apology. They didn't ask for an apology this time around.

We reached out to Stanulis, who switched careers in 2016 and is now an actor and director ... he has been working on a movie called "5th Borough" starring Tara Reid, which comes out June 3rd.

His publicist, Zack Teperman, tells us "... no breach of any confidentiality agreement was done. My client went on a podcast to promote his new film, and old stories that were already out there were brought up."

He adds ... "For Kanye and Kim's counsel to send out a threatening letter to bully my client against his rights is unwarranted. My client has already made it clear that he respects Kanye, their time working together."

Teperman says, "If Kanye and Kim wish to continue this further, that is up to them, but I think their time and money would be better suited helping out with more pressing matters in our society than what happened many years ago."

Kodak Black was allegedly photographed, and it was sent to a U.S. Marshal -- without his permission -- the day he was arrested at Rolling Loud ... and now, his lawyer's ramping up for a lawsuit.

The Miami Dade Police Department took a report showing that Kodak's attorney, Bradford Cohen, recently filed a complaint with them alleging one of their men illegally snapped and disseminated a pic of KB while he was in custody back in 2019. According to the report, MDPD looked into it and discovered the pic was actually not disseminated by one of their own but perhaps by someone in the U.S. Marshals Service.

The docs -- obtained by TMZ -- outline the steps MDPD took to get to the bottom of Cohen's claims ... and during their back and forth, they discovered a Miami-Dade cop, who was with Kodak the day he was arrested, claimed he was called up and instructed by a high-ranking official -- a U.S. Marshal Chief, per the officer -- to snap a photo of Kodak while he was cuffed. The guy says he did so and sent it along to the USM who wanted it.

Cohen claims that same photo served no law enforcement purpose, but still found its way into the inbox of a local Miami reporter ... who then published it in a local paper. Cohen claims it was all done without Kodak's permission.

Now, the Miami-Dade sergeant, who took the photo and then passed it along to the Marshal, says it was needed for "law enforcement purposes," but Cohen says that's a bunch of BS ... arguing the pic was taken for personal use and/or gain.

Now, Cohen tells us he's taking legal action against the responsible parties.

A rep for USMS tells us they can't comment on the situation, but assure us any allegations of misconduct will be thoroughly investigated.