TMZ Hip Hop - Page 50

Lil Durk and his soon-to-be Mrs. are living large on the heels of their mid-concert engagement, flying to Aspen for a little last-minute Christmas shopping ... at Louis Vuitton.

The couple was draped in designer clothing for their holiday shopping spree -- Lil Durk wore a blue Chanel jumpsuit, and his new fiancée, India Royale, had on Chanel earmuffs.

But, all that stuff was overshadowed, almost literally, by the new huge diamond on India's left hand!!!

The Colorado getaway comes right after the rapper got down on bended knee during his Saturday night performance in their hometown of Chicago.

He'd brought India, his longtime girlfriend, out on stage to pop the question -- saying, "You've been the realest to me ... Do you wanna be my wife?"

Of course, the crowd ate it up, and later India posted about the engagement -- "I said 'Yes.' #issafiancé".

She was also sure to show off her new sparkling oval-shaped rock, and so did her jeweler. Can't blame 'em ... the thing is freakin' impressive!!!

India and Durk have been together since 2017, and they have a daughter, Willow, together.

Kodak Black is clean and sober -- the rapper just successfully completed 90 days of drug rehab, and now he's turning his attention to his career ... prepping to get back on the road.

Kodak had a court hearing this week to reinstate his supervised release -- now that he's out of rehab -- and his lawyer, Bradford Cohen, says the judge was happy with Kodak's progress.

As we previously told you, the rapper and producer was ordered to a rehab facility a few months back after failing a drug test ... a violation of the terms of his supervised release in his federal gun case.

But, now he seems to be turning things around for the better and we're told he's taking his sobriety seriously.

He's already hit the stage too -- Rolling Loud California was his first live performance since his release ... after which, he headed back to Florida.

Cohen says Kodak is looking forward to making good music, and is going to try to stay away from people, places and things that would put him in harm's way, or trigger him to use again.

Jay-Z may be a rap icon, but he doesn't carry as much weight with today's average hip-hop head like he used to, especially compared to someone like Future -- so says ... well, Future.

Mr. Hendrix himself made the bold statement this weekend -- going on a little tweet spree to declare he's not only bigger than Jigga in the streets but that he'll run up a B (billion) perhaps even faster and easier than Jay did. The latter hit the mark (per Forbes) in 2019.

In addition to his Jay-Z tweet, Future had other things to say, including ... "Everything I do legendary or it want get done. Tuh," as well as ... "I’m the only one can get YE to pull up whenever wherever..tuh." And let's not forget ... "100M’s not the goal anymore."

Sounds like Future was on one for whatever reason, and wanted to puff his chest a bit. Still, that original claim of his -- that he's "bigger" than Jay -- is getting A LOT of pushback ... and at the same time, some agreement as well.

Of course, lots of users responded ... giving Future the virtual side-eye and even laughing him off. Even at Jay's billionaire status -- many say Future will never have the pull (not to mention the music bona fides) that Shawn Carter has ... and to compare is ludicrous.

One person pointed out Jay's accolades (there are many) ... while openly wondering why it's become fashionable for modern-day rappers to size themselves up against living legends.

And yet ... there's a small handful of folks who actually seem to agree with Future, saying ... yeah, the guy IS actually bigger than Jay (in the streets), suggesting HOV simply doesn't have the street cred/influence on the culture from the ground floor ... like he once did.

Interesting take ... and is obviously up for debate. Sounds like that argument boils down to relevance, and to whom it applies. We can acknowledge Future's music does tend to be popular (among the youth) today and generally performs better on the charts than recent Jay-Z releases.

Lil Durk's finally locking it down with his longtime GF, and he definitely put the pressure on when he popped the question ... in front of a packed arena in their hometown of Chicago.

Durk performed Saturday night at a local radio station's Big Jam concert at the United Center, and at one point he brought India Royale out on stage with him ... and then did it all traditional, getting down on one knee.

LD first buttered her up ... thanking India for holding him down and being "the realest," and then said, "Do you wanna be my wife?"

Before India -- an IG model and influencer -- could even answer, the crowd erupted with cheers -- makes sense, they're both from Chicago ... so, you know they had tons of support onstage and off of it. India did eventually say yes.

The couple got together back in 2017, and had a baby girl, Willow Banks, back in November 2018. India has a cosmetics line called India Royale Beauty, which Durk often promotes ... sometimes in his songs.

They've been through a lot together -- besides parenthood, Durk and India were the victims, back in July, of a home invasion and aggravated assault in Georgia.

Good times ahead, though -- now, they've got a wedding to plan. Gotta wonder if Durk's new collab partner, Morgan Wallen, will make the cut for the guest list ... or maybe even perform. Although, "Broadway Girls" is hardly first dance material.

Big Sean finally got his chance to address Kanye West saying signing the guy to a deal was the worst thing he'd ever done -- and let's just say ... he had a lot to get off his chest.

The Detroit rapper was up to bat on the "Drink Champs" podcast, and during the sprawling interview -- Ye's remarks from about a month or so ago were brought up ... which BS did not shy away from in the slightest.

For starters, Sean says he was hurt by Kanye's words ... and took the very public shot personally -- this after thinking it was funny/absurd at first. He explains why, and it basically boils down to his loyalty and dedication to Ye's label G.O.O.D. Music ... and to Ye himself.

Check it out ... dude says he's been available to Kanye on the drop of a dime over their time together, and not just that ... but was apparently also the first one to suggest Kanye run for POTUS. Eventually, he pivots to money ... citing cash he says he's owed from Ye/G.O.O.D.

The amount Sean claims he's due ... around $6 mil or so, although he notes he's not sure if this is even on Kanye's radar. Still, he says that while he thought UMG was the one screwing him at first -- he says he finally learned G.O.O.D. Music was allegedly pocketing extra profits off the success of his many albums ... the most put out by any G.O.O.D. artist, he points out.

Sean also addresses Kanye's gripe about him and John Legend endorsing other candidates while Ye was running for President last year ... but BS denies he ever did so, saying he purposely stayed silent out of respect for Kanye.

There's a lot to unpack in the 3-plus hour-long interview ... but the takeaway here is, Sean was quite angry after hearing Ye trash him so publicly. He says Kanye actually reached out shortly thereafter to reconcile, but Sean says he shot him down.

Cardi B is delivering some bad news to fans hoping to get their hands on one of her dolls ... the product won't be released over production delays and concerns about the product's quality.

Here's the deal ... Cardi and Real Women Are -- a fashion doll brand -- joined forces to make a limited edition Cardi B doll, which they started taking pre-orders for in March at $35 a pop, but shipping deadlines were missed and folks started thinking it was all a scam.

The Real Women Are Instagram started to get flooded with unhappy customers wanting to know where their Cardi B-inspired doll was and demanding refunds.

Welp, brace yourself Bardi gang.

The role of Grinch will now be played by a rep for Cardi B, who tells TMZ ... the dolls will not be released as a result of COVID-related manufacturing and shipping delays. We're also told Cardi herself had concerns the dolls wouldn't meet her high-quality standards.

Saweetie will be more than just a celebrity face when she returns to her alma mater next semester as a guest lecturer ... we're told she will be quite involved in the classroom.

Here's the deal ... the rapper is teaching a course within the business school at the University of Southern California, and she'll be taking on a bigger role than she did back in October when she spoke in one of her former professor's classes.

Albert Napoli, professor of entrepreneurial studies at USC Marshall School of Business, tells TMZ ... Saweetie will actually be involved in facilitating the lessons and coming up with the structure in her spring semester courses.

We're told Saweetie will be the guest lecturer in 2 semester-long courses, Venture Feasibility and Venture Initiation, which count toward student degrees in entrepreneurial studies.

Saweetie made a surprise appearance in one of Professor Napoli's classes in the fall semester -- naturally, she was a huge hit with students -- and we're told she's passionate about teaching and sharing her experiences working with different brands.

As a guest lecturer, we're told Saweetie will have an active role in creating specific lesson plans -- she won't just be dropping by the classroom to give students something to post on social media.

In addition, we're told she'll be a guest speaker in the summer when USC holds a 4-week program for high school students.

It sounds like the Trojan alum's got a future on campus ... we're told she's in talks to formally instruct a class on her own within the entrepreneurial studies department, but it's going to take time to hammer out the deal.

Adele and Rich Paul couldn't keep their hands off each other at the Chargers vs. Chiefs game on Thursday ... cuddling up in a suite and hanging with Jay-Z and Maverick Carter.

The Grammy-winning crooner and sports mega-agent were spotted on cam during the second quarter of Thursday Night Football ... and the couple was in full PDA mode as Hov and LeBron James' business partner sat right next to them.

Speaking of Bron, the Los Angeles Lakers superstar seemed to have some serious FOMO as his two closest friends hung out with the big musicians -- posting a playful response to a pic of the suitemates on Twitter.

"Who the heck are Jay-Z and Adele’s +1s????" King James tweeted.

It's gotta be a bummer James had to miss out on the fun -- he's always been a HUGE Hov fan and loves to catch a football game from time to time.

But, with the Lakers facing off against the Minnesota Timberwolves on Friday, it makes sense why he had to sit this one out.

Adele and Rich have been inseparable since going public earlier this year -- hitting up parties, sporting events and everything else together.

Remember, Hov helps put together the Super Bowl halftime show ... so maybe Adele is up next for SB57 in Arizona??

Morgan Wallen's gotta be feeling like all is forgiven -- Lil Durk invited him to feature on a new song ... less than a year removed from the country singer's controversial use of the n-word.

The song, "Broadway Girls," was a surprise release Thursday night, and it's way more hip-hop flavored than country. Essentially, Morgan sings the hook and Durk handles the rapping ... although there are a few lines that sound like MW's dipping his toe, and attempting a little rap.

The collab is the latest sign the country superstar is fully bouncing back from the industry "canceling" him. As you know, back in February ... TMZ got video, shot by one of Morgan's neighbors, showing him using the n-word after a drunken night out with friends.

Radio stations stopped playing Morgan's songs, and he was banned from multiple award shows all year. However, his double album, "Dangerous" continued to top the charts and set sales records.

Morgan says he had no clue about the history or pain attached to the n-word, and told Michael Strahan he's learned from the controversy. Since then, he's popped up onstage at other artist's shows -- including Eric Church -- and gotten tons of applause. He's also announced a tour next year.

The 10 people killed at Travis Scott's Astroworld Festival all suffocated to death in a crowd surge that crushed their lungs, according to the medical examiner.

The info, released more than a month after the Houston tragedy lists each of the ten victims' cause of death as "compression asphyxia." The report states each victim was pronounced dead at local hospitals. Only one of the ten had a "contributory cause" to his death of the combined toxic effects of cocaine, methamphetamine and ethanol.

Of course, the investigation of what failures led to those deaths continues. As we reported, the Astroworld stage started to be torn down Wednesday, 40 days after the concert ended.

As you know, Travis, Live Nation and other promoters are facing billions of dollars in litigation for negligence and wrongful death.

TMZ broke the story, Travis has teamed up with government officials over the last few weeks to organize a safety report for city officials across the country to use moving forward when planning large-scale music events.

Families of the victims from the show have mostly positioned their anger toward Travis, refusing his help even after he and his team had offered to help pay for funeral costs.

Travis Scott is getting to work to ensure an event like the Astroworld tragedy never happens again, joining leaders from government and music in a first of its kind initiative ... TMZ has learned.

Sources with direct knowledge tell us Travis has spent the last few weeks meeting with leaders from The United States Conference of Mayors (USCM) -- a group that represents the interests of more than 1,400 cities across the country.

We're told the goal is to form a committee made up of members of government, public safety, emergency response, health care event management, music and technology -- and create a safety report for future shows to follow and ensure safety and security.

We've obtained an outline of the group's goals, which also states it will "aggressively focus on new technologies and innovations that offer ways to address these challenges."

Outside of Travis, the report will be led by the Chair of the Conference's Tourism, Art, Parks, Entertainment and Sports Committee and Reno Mayor Hillary Schieve.

You'll remember, it was during Travis' first interview since Astroworld last week when he told Charlamagne Tha God he felt it was his responsibility to fix things moving forward and to be sure something like the Houston tragedy never happened again.

Of course, the interview was not met well by some of the families of the 10 victims who lost their lives at the festival. Valerie Cortinas Fisher, the attorney for the family of 23-year-old Rudy Peña said despite what Travis thought, the interview didn't heal anyone -- telling us anyone can act sorry on camera -- but it's the action after that counts.

Megan Thee Stallion completing her college education is much more than a feather in her cap -- it's actually encouraging lots of other folks to go back for degrees ... specifically, at her now-alma mater.

Dr. Monica Rasmus, program director for Texas Southern University's Health Administration program, tells TMZ there's been an influx of one-time dropouts -- who used to study in her wing of the school -- steadily finding their way back and getting re-enrolled.

She says this is a direct result of Meg, in many cases, as she tells us former TSU students started reaching out to discuss returning after Meg went public in 2020 about completing her studies there.

She didn't have hard numbers, but Dr. Rasmus says there's certainly been a trend of interest -- and that intrigue goes beyond just former pupils, she says current students came flocking too. Rasmus says TSU undergrads and grad students started to hit up her department out of curiosity, and in many cases ... a genuine desire to pursue a degree in HA.

Perhaps the biggest way Meg has helped ... the $25k donation she made via Fashion Nova, which Dr. Rasmus says went a long way to helping students who need the dough. The feeling of appreciation is mutual, BTW -- MTS has shouted out Dr. Rasmus in recent interviews.

As we reported ... Megan walked the stage last weekend as she finally received her diploma, completing a long educational journey she'd been pursuing since 2013.

Travis Scott's Astroworld stage is finally being broken down and hauled away after the tragedy in Houston.

Crews were hard at work Wednesday, dismantling the stage that continued to stand tall for 40 days after the deadly concert. There's a ton of crew members removing everything from lighting to the video screens and structure of the Houston event.

As for why it stayed up so long, law enforcement likely needed everything in place while they continued their investigation into what happened and what went wrong with the show's logistics and apparent lack of a safety plan.

As you know, the death toll from the Astroworld festival reached 10, and there's massive lawsuits pending against Travis and the concert promoters.

An independent witness told cops they saw Megan Thee Stallion and her female friend, Kelsey, fighting just moments before Meg was shot in the foot ... a piece of evidence Tory Lanez's team feels cast serious doubt on what Meg said about him being the shooter.

During Tuesday's preliminary hearing a detective testified this independent witness -- who allegedly saw the shooting happen -- claimed the gun's muzzle flash went off closer to Kelsey than Tory.

Tory's attorney, Shawn Holley, says that muzzle flash detail is "corroborated by the gunshot residue found on the other female's hands." She also tells us, "It was further established that Megan gave several inconsistent accounts of what happened that night and that she omitted key information to the police."

Holley is almost certainly referring to what Meg first told responding officers, she had glass, and not a bullet, in her foot. Meg later claimed she only said it was glass because she was afraid if she told cops there was a Black man in the car with a gun, Tory could get shot.

Remember, this was the month after George Floyd was murdered.

Still, Holley adds, "We look forward to the opportunity to cross examine her at trial about the numerous inconsistencies in her story.”

Tory Lanez shouted "Dance bitch, dance!" while firing gunshots at the ground near Megan Thee Stallion's feet, subsequently injuring her ... at least according to testimony from a detective on the case.

LAPD Det. Ryan Stogner took the stand in court Tuesday during a preliminary hearing in Tory's case. The detective says Megan told him Tory was intoxicated during the July 2020 incident.

Det. Stogner went on to say this happened in the Hollywood Hills around 4:30 AM after a party, and a dispute between the artists.

He went on to describe that Tory was standing on the step board of their SUV while Megan was outside of it -- and as soon as Tory fired the shots, she "immediately felt pain to her feet, observed blood, fell to the ground, and then crawled to an adjacent driveway of a residence."

He also said under oath that Megan told him Tory apologized and begged her not to tell, allegedly offering her money to keep her mouth shut because he was on probation. Det. Stogner said, Megan initially explained her injury by claiming she'd stepped on broken glass.

Megan allegedly later admitted she only said it was glass because of the political climate ... she was afraid cops might shoot Tory if she said there was a gun in the car.

What's more ... a recorded phone call was played that Tory made from jail to a woman who was also with Meg when the incident happened. Tory apologizes on the call for something he did because he was too drunk. Tory got pissed in the courtroom, yelling out, "How you gonna tell me what I apologized for?" before his attorney told him to calm down.

The judge heard enough during Tuesday's hearing to move forward with a trial, which is now set to begin on January 13. Tory's facing one count of assault with a semiautomatic firearm in a manner that caused great bodily injury, and one count of carrying a concealed, unregistered weapon.

The detective's testimony confirmed something Megan's already said publicly ... that in the wake of George Floyd, she feared cops would shoot Tory if she told them a Black man had a gun and had shot her.

Kim Kardashian made it clear in new legal docs ... there's no way to fix her marriage to Kanye.

TMZ broke the story ... Kim filed docs last Friday to restore her marital status to single, leaving property settlement and custody issues for another day in the future.

We just got supporting docs Kim filed ... in her declaration, she says, "No counseling or reconciliation effort will be of any value at this time."

Kim also says, "Irreconcilable differences have existed and continue to exist between [Kanye] and me, which have caused our marriage to irretrievably break down."

Kim then goes on to say ... she's wanted to end the marriage for a while, but Kanye wasn't having it. She says, "I have been attempting to settle our dissolution with [Kanye] since I filed for divorce in February 2021." She adds, "I have requested several times that [Kanye] agree to bifurcate and terminate our marital status. [He] has not responded to my request."

And then she says this ... "[Kanye] and I both deserve the opportunity to build new lives. Therefore, I am asking that my request to bifurcate and terminate our marital status be granted."

This tracks with what we've been reporting ... Kanye has been making a full-court press to reconcile with Kim, even singing it to 70,000 fans at the L.A. Memorial Coliseum last week, and Kim was there with the kids. She's been super supportive of Kanye -- especially as the parent to their 4 children -- but she's clearly done with the marriage.

The two have really demonstrated they can co-parent without issue, coordinating the kids and their schedules to work together. Kanye's still got a Christmas stocking hanging at the house, too.