TMZ Hip Hop - Page 50

"Keeping Up with the Kardashians" is NOT documenting any of Kanye West's current bipolar episode -- and the order came down from Kim herself ... TMZ has learned.

Production sources tell us ... as soon as Kanye went off the rails, Kim made the decision none of it would be used as a storyline on the show. We're told the series had just recently started shooting again after a lengthy hiatus because of COVID.

Our sources say Kim takes her husband's mental health very seriously and doesn't want it exploited for ratings or good TV drama -- some things are off the table, and this is one of them. That policy extends to her kids too ... we're told production was told not to profile any of them during this ordeal because she wants them to avoid seeing it down the road.

With that said, we're told she and other family members are still filming ... but they're simply following other storylines right now. We're told they were out in Malibu Wednesday shooting for the show.

Kanye West has a steady stream of close friends showing up in Wyoming -- the latest being Damon Dash, who he took for an essential items shopping trip.

It appears Dame arrived at Ranch West sometime Wednesday, and the duo hit up the Walmart in nearby Cody ... wearing face masks to enter, as required.

The hip-hop superstars weren't exactly trying to stay incognito -- once outside they removed their masks and sat on a bench for a bit talking.

Of course, these 2 go way back to their Roc-A-Fella Records days, and it seems Dame flew in to check on Ye ... on the heels of his Monday and Tuesday night Twitter attacks against his wife and mother-in-law.

Dash posted a pic of Kanye, himself and a few others touring the ranch grounds with the caption, "We good."

Remember, on Tuesday morning it was Dave Chappelle who dropped in at the ranch and certainly seemed to lift Yeezy's spirits ... at least for a while.

Kanye is reportedly working on new music while he's in Wyoming, so it's possible Dame came by for that too -- but we know family and friends have been concerned about his mental health since the Sunday rally in South Carolina.

Kim Kardashian's made it clear her husband is in the grips of a bipolar episode and adds, "Those who are close with Kanye know his heart and understand his words some times do not align with his intentions."

Kanye West's jealousy over Kim Kardashian meeting Meek Mill last year seems misplaced ... since it was in a very public group setting, and purely to talk prison reform.

Sources connected to the Kardashians and Meek tell us Kim's prison reform summit did go down at the Waldorf Astoria in L.A. -- as Kanye said on Twitter last night -- but Meek and Kim never met in a one-on-one setting.

We're told they were joined by philanthropist Clara Wu Tsai ... and the trio met in Jean-Georges restaurant at the Waldorf. The group discussed plans to keep the prison reform movement going forward. A witness says Kim left the hotel -- solo -- immediately after the meeting.

Worth noting ... both Kim and Meek work with Cut50, the org that fights for reduced incarceration rates and criminal justice reform.

Our sources say Kim was aware of Kanye's jealousy over the situation ... and it's something the two spoke about. However, outside of that one public meeting ... we're told Kim and Meek have never been alone together.

As we reported, Kanye accused Kim of being "out of line" for the meeting, and claimed he's been trying to divorce her ever since the meeting.

TMZ broke the story ... friends and family are deeply concerned about Kanye because they believe he's in the grips of a bipolar episode.

Kim Kardashian's jumping to the defense of her husband, Kanye West, publicly acknowledging he's in the middle of a serious mental health issue ... which has everyone close to him concerned.

Kim says, "As many of you know, Kanye has bipolar disorder. Anyone who has this or has a loved one in their life who does, knows how incredibly complicated and painful it is to understand. I’ve never spoken publicly about how this has affected us at home because I am very protective of our children and Kanye’s right to privacy when it comes to his health. But today, I feel like I should comment on it because of the stigma and misconceptions about mental health."

Kim continued in a social media post, "Those that understand mental illness or even compulsive behavior know that the family is powerless unless the member is a minor. People who are unaware or far removed from this experience can be judgmental and not understand that the individual themselves have to engage in the process of getting help no matter how hard family and friends try."

Seemingly referring directly to her husband's disturbing South Carolina rally over the weekend, Kim said ... "I understand Kanye is subject to criticism because he is a public figure and his actions at times can cause strong opinions and emotions. He is a brilliant but complicated person who on top of the pressures of being an artist and a black man, who experienced the painful loss of his mother, and has to deal with the pressure and isolation that is heightened by his bipolar disorder. Those who are close with Kanye know his heart and understand his words some times do not align with his intentions."

Kanye West continued his late-night, alarming rants ... again targeting his wife, his mother-in-law and many, many others.

Kanye, who is holed up at his Wyoming ranch, attacked Kim and Kris again ... he says for trying to get him placed on a 51/50 psychiatric hold.

Ye claimed, "I been trying to get divorced since Kim met with Meek at the Waldorf for 'prison reform.'" He went on to say, "Meek is my man and was respectful ... That's my dog. Kim was out of line."

Kim and Meek were both working on prison reform and were present at a Criminal Justice Reform Summit in Los Angeles back in 2019.

He took a shot at Kris, calling her "Kris Jong-Un," though he never explained further. He accused her the night before of masterminding the release of Kim's sex tape, something Kris has strongly denied.

There were scattered references to various other celebs. He said, "Lil baby my favorite rapper but won't do a song with me."

He claimed to be worth billions, saying, "I'm worth 5 billion dollars and more than that through Christ. But ya'll ain't listen to MJ and now ya'll believe them???" MJ seems to refer to Michael Jackson.

Our sources say the family doesn't know what to do. Kanye is clearly not receptive to getting help, and anything they do to try triggers a strong, counter-reaction by Kanye.

As we reported, Dave Chapelle flew out to Kanye's ranch Tuesday as a show of friendship.

Kanye West has some company in Wyoming following his Twitter meltdown, but it's not his family checking in on him ... it's Dave Chappelle.

The rapper says Dave hopped on a jet to come see him "doing well" on the ranch, and called him a "God send and a true friend." The great, warm, friendly visit did come with one slightly awkward moment.

Kanye got Dave, and a few other friends there, to gather around for a video ... and then put the comedian on the spot to come up with something funny -- y'know, to make everyone laugh.

It was, apparently, pretty early in the day, 'cause Dave said he wasn't in funny mode yet, but watch ... of course they found their way to a punchline.

As we reported ... Kanye went on a wild rant Monday night, firing off several tweets that accused his wife, Kim Kardashian, of trying to have him involuntarily committed to a mental hospital.

He also blasted Kris Jenner for allegedly influencing some of Kim's past career moves -- i.e. posing for Playboy and selling her sex tape -- and compared his life to "Get Out."

Assuming Dave touched down in Wyoming Tuesday morning -- as Kanye inferred -- he went pretty far out of his way to help his buddy. We're told Dave's been doing "invite-only" comedy gigs near his home in Ohio.

Dave flying out couldn't come at a better time for Ye -- as we've told you, many people close to him say he's in the midst of a serious bipolar episode.

No such thing as a bad time to chill with Chappelle, but this is a particularly good time.

Kanye West has turned on his own family in the midst of what we're told is a major bipolar episode ... targeting Kris Jenner, comparing his life to the movie "Get Out" and accusing Kim Kardashian of trying to commit him to a mental hospital.

In a series of tweets Monday night, Kanye revealed his wife's plan to get him help ... just 24 hours after a bizarre and, at times, incoherent campaign rally in South Carolina. Kanye said, "Kim was trying to fly to Wyoming with a doctor to lock me up like on the movie Get Out because I cried about saving my daughters life yesterday."

West also took aim at his mother-in-law, Kris Jenner, and shared a text he sent Kris that urged her to call and to stop ignoring him. He then mentioned some of Kim's career choices, implying Kris was behind them ... and saying Kim would never do that to her own daughter.

He tweeted, "I put my life on my God that Norths mom would never photograph her doing playboy and that’s on God. I’m at the ranch ... come and get me."

Shia LaBeouf was also brought into Monday's rant, Kanye accused him of being a no-show to the first YZY GAP photoshoot. He also dragged Anna Wintour into the mix ... accusing her of first talking down on his GAP collab only to call him later, "kissing my ass."

It also appears Kanye has some serious beef with his family living in L.A. and not Wyoming full time, saying, "I love my wife. My family must live next to me. It’s not up to E or NBC anymore."

TMZ broke the story, members of Kanye's family and close circle were left extremely concerned and upset after Sunday's rally in South Carolina. West talked about guns, politics and at one point was brought to tears when sharing a story that revealed he talked to Kim about getting an abortion when she was pregnant with North.

Kanye West would be a slave were it not for the likes of Harriet Tubman ... so says her great-great-great niece who is outraged by Ye's comments on Sunday at his fundraiser.

Tina Wyatt is extremely upset Kanye dared to say Harriet Tubman did not free slaves. She says her legendary relative was actually free when she risked her life to save others, so she finds it beyond offensive Kanye made such a comment. Fact is ... Kanye's dead wrong.

Check it out ... Tina thinks Kanye's in desperate need of a basic history lesson. Once African Americans were freed, they actually flourished -- starting businesses and even getting elected to office -- until Jim Crow segregation laws and black codes were enacted to create racist policies that held black people down.

Kanye West has the proverbial snowball's chance in hell to win the 2020 Presidential election  -- but still, it never hurts to be prepared ... which is why Madame Tussauds already has a presidential bust of the guy.

The famous wax museum has a tradition of making clay head sculptures of our nation's leaders -- they made one for Donald Trump 4 years ago before he won the presidency -- and now they made one for Mr. West.

Hey, you never know -- better to have it on deck and ready to go if the ultimate upset goes down. We've seen it happen before.

Now, bear in mind the sculptures are not the full, colored-in wax statues you might see at any one of its museums around the world. These are different -- we're told they actually place the presidential heads in an Oval Office exhibit.

Here's another thing -- our sources say MT and co. have only done a head-to-head presidential "face-off," if you will, one other time ... and that was for Hillary Clinton and DT. Now, they're running it back -- but oddly enough, they opted for Ye before sculpting Joe Biden.

It's true ... we're told Madame Tussauds' team has not yet completed the Biden bust, but they say should he win, they'll knock it out.

Just goes to show where people's heads are at these days 🤷🏽‍♂️

Kanye West's first presidential rally didn't help him get on the ballot in another important state ... he just missed the cut in South Carolina.

Kanye's campaign missed Monday's deadline to get on the November ballot in SC ... Chris Whitmore, Director of Public Information for the South Carolina State Election Commission tells TMZ.

Kanye is running with the independent Birthday Party, which gave him a hard 12 PM ET deadline to get the 10,000 signatures needed as a petition candidate, but we're told the State Election Commission didn't hear a peep from Ye or his campaign -- no traditional signatures and no digital signatures.

As we reported ... Kanye tried to grab enough signatures over the weekend, even asking folks to sign up over social media, and held a wild campaign rally that alarmed, upset and concerned his friends and the Kardashians.

None of that moved the needle, apparently.

Kanye's hopes of being on the state's ballot are pretty much dashed ... there is no write-in option for voters in South Carolina and the only way Yeezy could be on the November ballot now is as a legit party candidate (Republican, Democrat, Libertarian, Green, etc.) and that ain't happening.

For those keeping score at home ... Kanye's on the ballot in Oklahoma, but he's now whiffed in SC, Florida or Michigan.

Kanye West's off-the-rails campaign stop Sunday in North Charleston, South Carolina may not only hurt Ye politically, he has concerned, upset and alarmed many of his friends and the Kardashians ... sources connected to Kanye tell TMZ.

Our sources say those around him believe Kanye is in desperate need of professional help and is in the middle of a serious bipolar episode, but he won't listen to them.

We're told they also believe Kanye is tanking some of his businesses, if not all of them, with rants like when he went on about Harriet Tubman, claiming she did not free slaves. His family and friends know comments like these are the things that trigger boycotts.

Suffice it to say ... we're told the family is upset that Kanye talked about Kim's first pregnancy and how they discussed abortion, something he says he wanted. Then he blurted out that Kim might divorce him for saying that, but even if she does, he'd thank her for having North.

It's curious he mentioned divorce ... it's usually a topic married folk don't say out loud unless it's been discussed. Whether it was or not ... between Kanye's Forbes interview and Sunday's rally ... you gotta think it puts a strain on the relationship.

BTW ... we're told there's not much concern that Kanye's comments will adversely affect Kim's businesses. We're told their money is separate and her and Kanye's brands are distinguishable.

Kanye West is already switching up his campaign -- saying he wants Jay-Z to get on the ticket with him as his VEEP ... despite having already named a running mate.

Ye made the revelation Sunday before his attention-grabbing rally in South Carolina, telling a local blogger how he realized Jay should be his VP. There are, of course, a couple of big hurdles to this pairing becoming reality ... and candidate West addressed them.

First off, Michelle Tidball ... the Wyoming preacher who is currently his running mate. Kanye says she told him she'd be down to take another position in his cabinet if he found a different running mate.

Secondly -- and Ye says it himself in the interview -- he hasn't spoken to Jay in a long while now but in his eyes ... that's a good thing because it proves they're really "brothers" and bonded for life. Unclear if Jay-Z has responded to the request, but Kanye says he's put it out there.

Now, as for how KW landed on Hov as someone to tap in the first place ... he says he was getting signs. Listen carefully ... sounds like it came down to a coincidence about initials.

Whether Jay-Z would seriously accept or not remains to be seen, but after Sunday's off-the-wall rally -- which resulted in tears shed and personal business spilled, not to mention other controversial remarks -- we wouldn't bank on it.

Especially if Jay's feeling at all like Trey Songz is at the moment. The singer openly bashed Kanye online after seeing his wild South Carolina appearance.

Nicki Minaj's intent to become a mom has finally come to fruition, 'cause she's confirming what a lot of her fans have suspected ... she's PREGNANT!!!

The rapper made the surprise announcement Monday morning on Instagram, posting a photo of herself looking at least 6 months along and adding the caption, "#Preggers."

She posted another photo too from what appears to have been a full-blown Beyonce-style baby bump shoot. No caption for the second pic -- none needed really, the image itself does all the talking.

Our girl is very preggo, and is finally ready to tell the world about it.

It's crazy ... because you'll recall Nicki announced back in September 2019 she was retiring and done with the rap game so she can focus on starting her family. It didn't take long before she got back in the game, but also she also got wifed up!

As we've reported ... Nicki ended up marrying childhood friend Kenneth Petty the following month. It seems their relationship has really prospered over the last few months -- minus their brief beef with Meek Mill.

She dropped even more hints this past May, when answering some fan questions she talked about mad cravings, "nausea and peeing nonstop," and even teased a possible baby bump!

So, with that said, congrats on Baby Barbie, NM ... or Baby Ken. Whatever it ends up being.

Kanye West's first presidential rally just wrapped up and he stirred up lots of controversy by discussing Harriet Tubman, abortion and the possibility of divorcing Kim Kardashian West.

Ye held his first event as a candidate Sunday at the Exquis Event Center in North Charleston, SC -- and right off the bat ... it was unorganized and rowdy. He didn't even have a podium or a microphone to address the crowd, which was right up in his face.

At any rate, Kanye rambled through a number of topics -- oftentimes incoherently -- but one thing he said that came through crystal clear ... him suggesting that Harriet did NOT free slaves in her day, but just siphoned them off to other oppressive white folks.

That line drew jeers and groans from the crowd almost instantly -- we gotta say, it seriously reminded us of his "slavery was a choice" moment at TMZ a few years ago.

There's more. At one point, Ye launched into a rant about abortion, a woman's choice, etc. -- and he got incredibly emotional recounting a story about his then-girlfriend (now wife) Kim once telling him she was pregnant and how they considered not having the baby.

Kanye broke down sobbing while telling the story, saying that it hurt him because he confessed he did not want to have it ... which reminded him of his own father, who apparently didn't want him either when his own mother, Donda West, was pregnant.

It was a very personal thing to share, and Ye seemed to acknowledge as much when he followed up by saying it's possible Kim might wanna divorce him after this. He continued that train of thought, saying if she ever did ... he'd be thankful for her delivering North.

Ye went on to touch on a number of other subjects, including the fact that there weren't enough Black people in true positions of power -- including at Adidas, where he says he wants to sit on the board of directors, or else. Of course, he also talked about God and Jesus.

During the chaotic rally, Ye tried fielding questions from onlookers -- all of whom had to wear masks, but hardly any of whom were socially distanced -- but it mostly turned into a shouting match between himself and the rambunctious crowd. It was all hard to follow.

Probably not the greatest start for the Birthday Party campaign, but Kanye doesn't seem to mind ... he said he doesn't care if he wins the presidency or not. Why run then, right?

Anyway, up until today, Kanye seemed pretty serious about his presidential bid. TMZ broke the story ... Ye has filed docs with the Federal Election Commission, and he's also filed docs to get on the ballot in Oklahoma.

He tweeted Saturday, "Hi guys please sign up to put me on the ballot in South Carolina at any of these locations," and he went on to list various places, in addition to his 2020 website.

The first poll shows Kanye is pulling 2% of the vote. What's unclear ... between Biden and Trump, who gets hurt more and who benefits the most? What's also unclear ... if Ye's gonna go the distance after the train wreck that just occurred.

Pop Smoke's alleged murderers were tracked down by LAPD detectives the old-fashioned way ... there were no shortcuts or easy breaks.

Law enforcement sources tell TMZ ... the big break in the case leading to the arrests of 4 men allegedly connected to the rapper's death didn't come from a tipster, but instead from LAPD detectives pounding the pavement and knocking on doors.

We broke the story ... Pop Smoke was gunned down back in February by at least 4 masked gunmen after what appeared to be a home invasion robbery at his rental property in the Hollywood Hills.

Detectives went back to the basics because, as we reported, they hit a roadblock back in February when potential witnesses wouldn't cooperate, and combing social media turned out to be a bust.

Our sources say detectives used video from citizens and businesses in the area to help track and ID the suspects, who were slapped with murder charges last week and could face the death penalty.

Sources also tell us cops believe Los Angeles street gang members were involved in Pop's murder, but they say the case doesn't appear to be a gang hit or an East Coast-West Coast beef -- Pop was from NYC.

Instead, police believe the tragedy was a robbery gone wrong after the alleged killers saw Pop's posts on social media in the hours before the fatal shooting. Pop shared his address, and flexed with huge wads of cash.

We're told, even though the arrests have been made, the case remains under active investigation as detectives search for more evidence.

Kanye West's presidential campaign just keeps rolling along, and he's now setting his sights on South Carolina ... where he's trying to grab enough signatures to get on the November ballot.

Kanye posted a tweet, urging S.C. voters to support him with a signature. His petition reads, "I am signing to put Kanye West on the ballot in South Carolina ... Click here to add your signature -- YE '20."  He needs around 10,000 signatures to qualify as the official Birthday Party candidate.

TMZ broke the stories of Kanye's efforts, including filing the necessary docs with the Federal Elections Commission and docs to get on the Oklahoma ballot.