TMZ Hip Hop - Page 50

The Antonio Brown cross-country turn up continues ... the NFL star spent Wednesday night partying with Rick Ross at the rapper's 46th birthday party in Miami, and TMZ Sports has video of the bash.

The ex-Bucs wideout hit up the invite-only, star-studded event last night at Mr. Hospitality's El Tucan restaurant in south Florida to celebrate another trip around the sun for Rozay (and the release of his new album, "Richer Than I Ever Been")

In addition to AB, we're told Nelly, Timbaland and French Montana were also in the house.

Brown and Ross are both Florida natives ... and have been friends for years. In fact, Ross made a cameo in AB's "Whole Lotta Money" music video.

Of course, AB pulled up in grand style ... sporting a grey suit and black turtleneck and lots of jewelry to accompany the drip.

Cardi B shining light on the death of Lauren Smith-Fields helped spur a criminal investigation in Connecticut ... so says the girl's family, who is applauding the singer.

Smith-Fields' family attorney Darnell Crosland tells TMZ ... Cardi was instrumental in getting Lauren's tragic death to become a criminal case, because police launched their investigation only after Cardi spoke out.

As you know ... 23-year-old Lauren died while on a date, back in December, with a man she met on a dating app. The medical examiner announced Monday Lauren died from an accidental drug overdose, which the family questioned ... and as public pressure continued to mount, police finally said Tuesday they were opening a criminal probe.

The family's attorney says Cardi B's Sunday night tweet calling for "Justice for Lauren" -- and accusing Connecticut of failing her -- brought extra attention and made a big impact ... because there's been a ton of progress ever since.

A Texas home owned by NBA YoungBoy -- where his mother currently lives -- became the target of an intense SWAT raid ... resulting in the arrests of 3 men and the seizure of multiple weapons.

A spokesperson for the Harris Co. Sheriff's Office tells TMZ, SWAT officers served a warrant at the property Tuesday morning. We're told NBA Youngboy purchased the home, and his mom, Sherhonda Gaulden, lives there ... although it's unclear if she was home when cops arrived.

Neither YoungBoy or his mother were arrested ... but cops call the 3 men who were busted associates of YoungBoy. We're told they were arrested on charges ranging from aggravated robbery to aggravated assault.

The Sheriff spokesperson, Thomas Gilliland, tells TMZ the arrests are related to the November shooting. Cops say the man was shot multiple times in the body and head, but survived and is out of the hospital now.

We're told the SWAT team also seized weapons, including AR-15s, pistols and long guns.

Travis Scott's fans are pushing hard for him to headline next year's Coachella, and even have a petition going to get him on stage this year ... and they're getting a big wave of support.

Following the tragedy at Astroworld, Travis has pulled out of multiple festivals, including Coachella, and while he's opting for a break ... his fans still want him to return to live performances.

The petition that's circulating online is pushing for a Coachella make-good -- they want organizers to commit to Travis being a headliner next year ... OR guarantee Kanye West brings him out as a guest during his set this year.

After 3 days, the petition has almost 70,000 signatures.

Keep in mind, there's another petition out there ... this one started immediately after 10 people died at Astroworld in Houston, and demanded Coachella ban Travis, who, at the time, was rumored to be headlining in the desert. Right now that one has 63,000 signatures and counting.

According to the new petition, many of Trav's fans feel Coachella did him dirty -- it says, "After Coachella unfairly removed Travis Scott for Harry Styles, they need to do the right thing and rebook him immediately."

It also absolves Travis of any wrongdoing in Houston, saying ... "We all know Astroworld tragedy wasn't Travis's fault. Let him get back to performing on the biggest stages!"

As for the potential guest spot with Ye? We do know they have the Kardashian-Jenners in common, and Ye recently thanked Trav for helping him find Chicago's birthday party.

Right now it seems unlikely he'd be up for performing -- especially because he voluntarily bowed out -- but then again, the festival's not until April.

Neymar met Kanye West for the first time in Paris on Wednesday -- and the soccer superstar didn't come empty-handed for the occasion, bringing the musician a custom "Ye" jersey.

Neymar also showered Kanye with praise on his social media following their meet-up ... calling the "Hurricane" performer a "legend."

"Nice to meet u legend 👏🏽," Neymar said while sharing two pictures from their get-together.

Kanye is, of course, in town for Fashion Week ... and he was able to see Neymar during a tour of the soccer superstar's Paris Saint-German facilities.

The two were clearly pumped to meet each other ... you can see in one of the pics the guys were smiling ear-to-ear.

It's unclear how big of a soccer fan Ye is ... but we do know he's a huge sports guy -- he's spotted at big games in the U.S. regularly and he even started his own high school basketball team at Donda Academy last year.

There's apparently only one Kim Kardashian and Ray J sex tape in the Universe ... and while Kim's thankful Kanye recently retrieved a laptop with footage from Ray, we're told there's nothing sexual about the unseen content.

Kanye made waves during his Hollywood Unlocked interview Monday when he shared he'd delivered the device to Kim during her recent stint on 'SNL,' causing her to cry happy tears when she saw it.

Many speculated the laptop contained a rumored second sex tape between Ray J and Kim -- but a rep for Kim tells us that's just not the case -- "After review, there was nothing sexual unseen, only footage on the plane on the way to Mexico and footage at a club and restaurant on the same trip. Kim remains firm in her belief that there is no new second tape that exists." Page 6 first had the statement.

Sources close to Kim tell us while the sex tape has been a source of embarrassment, she won't forget Kanye's gesture in retrieving the material from Ray J.

The source notes that both Kim and Kanye are sensitive as co-parents, and how the continued talk of the tape may affect their kids, "Especially when it's continued to be brought up in a way that's thoughtless and intended to cause more pain."

Interestingly -- it's been Ray J's former manager, Wack 100, who teased the existence of a second sex tape since last year -- and Kanye's been hanging with Wack lately. Kanye says he had met with Ray in Florida and was given the laptop.

Snoop Dogg has a huge gig on Super Bowl Sunday -- sharing the stage with Dr. Dre and co. -- but he has a different collab floating around in his head ... doing a song with Sade!!!

Check out this video of Snoop chilling in his Inglewood studio with some friends, and when someone asks if there's anyone left in music he wants to work with ... he only hesitated to take a hit of his joint before wistfully announcing it's Sade.

When the topic came up earlier this month, Snoop's revelation got a huge reaction in the room -- everyone thought it was a great idea, and encouraged him to make it happen. What's really interesting here is ... the Doggfather and Sade have some history.

You gotta see his story about the first, and only, time he's seen the "Smooth Operator" singer in concert -- apparently she had some crazy effects and even disappeared at a point -- but, even better, is what almost happened backstage at the show!

Now, Snoop -- who's about to crush the Super Bowl Halftime Show with Dre, Eminem, Mary J. Blige and Kendrick Lamar -- makes it clear there's no plan for Sade and him to record ... at least not yet. He definitely hoping this video gets him a step closer to his dream duet.

In his words ... let's "put a bat signal in the air."

If you're wondering what kinda track Snoop would wanna do with her? Well, he's a big fan of her smoothed-out loved songs -- one in particular.

Cardi B is feeling super grateful to a lot of people now that her libel trial is wrapped up ... and she's also walking away with a lot of money, thanks to the jury.

Cardi spoke out as she was leaving federal court in Atlanta Tuesday ... after a hearing to determine punitive damages in her case against YouTuber Tasha K. As we reported, Cardi won big in the case yesterday -- the jury found Tasha liable for all 3 claims against her for telling several damaging lies about Cardi.

The rapper was flanked by her attorneys as she thanked the jurors for reaching a "fair" decision, and she even thanked the media for encouraging her through the trial. She said reporters helped keep her strong while dealing with the "emotional distress."

She also shouted out her attorneys for nearly 3 years of work on the case.

As we told you ... Cardi was awarded $1.25 mil yesterday, and today she got an additional $1.5 million in punitive damages, plus $1.3 million for her attorney's fees.

Cardi B claimed a blogger made up harmful lies about her on the internet is ringing true with the jury ... which just sided with her in federal court.

The rapper won her libel case against Tasha K, who she sued for posting videos where she alleged, among other things, CB was a prostitute who dabbled in drugs and had contracted STIs.

After a week-plus long trial, Tasha was found liable on 3 separate claims, and ordered to pay Cardi $1.25 million in general damages and $250k for medical expenses.

Cardi called BS on Tasha, suing her back in 2019 when the blogger refused to take down the damaging posts.

CB even went on the witness stand during the trial and testified she was suicidal during this period as a direct result of Tasha's stories.

Looks like she made an impact with jurors -- she and her attorneys, Lisa Moore, Sarah Matz and William Pequignot scored a big W, and can close the book on this mess, for now.

Kanye West and Julia Fox are two peas in a pod -- but for Paris Fashion Week, that pod’s made of cow.

The couple stepped out together Monday to attend the Schiaparelli Couture show ... wearing matching black outfits, no less.

Ye and Julia were in all-leather getups from head to toe -- quite literally in Kanye’s case, specifically. The guy was wearing a full head mask with small slits for his eyes ... sorta like a Lucha libre wrestler. And, per usual, he had those boots on again.

Julia, meanwhile, was going for more of a "Black Swan" look upstairs, wearing exaggerated eye shadow that streaked across her face. Indeed, they were going with a pretty futuristic look for sure -- reminiscent of "The Matrix," even.

Look, we're just gonna say it ... Morticia and Gomez never looked better! (*snap, snap)

Anyway, they were far from the only American stars on hand -- Pusha T touched down in Paris as well, and so did Tyler, the Creator ... so Ye and JF are in good company.

Kanye and Julia have been on the move nonstop since this weekend, it seems. Before jetting off to France, they were in Miami hanging with DJ Khaled ... rocking out in his studio and sharing gifts.

Kim Kardashian has moved on from Kanye, but she's still very much embracing the sense of style he helped influence.

Kim was out on the town Saturday night, hitting up the David Kordansky Gallery for a show.

She was draped in all black, and that includes the sunglasses that make it next to impossible to navigate in the dark. But navigate she did, all the way to dinner.

Kim showed up in WeHo to dine at Craig's. Again, for the uninitiated, Craig's is one of 5 restaurants in L.A. where celebs know there's a bank of paparazzi always at the ready, so you get the drill.

Kim walked in arm-in-arm with Shelli Azoff, wife of music titan Irving Azoff. The Azoff's have known Kim since birth ... Irving's her godfather.

All in all, an enjoyable Saturday night in the City of Angels.

Kanye West's minivan may not come with little juice box holders -- but it's got swivel seats, custom speakers and TVs big enough for a living room -- all tools to get him in dad mode.

Kanye's been spotted whipping around L.A. lately in a 1-of-1 custom luxury Mercedes-Benz van ... less horsepower than the Lamborghinis we usually see him drive, but it still comes with a hefty price tag of more than $400,000!!!

We're told the vans are sold exclusively by RD Whittington, owner of Wires Only in L.A. and Miami.

Ye's version is called Executive Style, seats 7 and features multiple TV screens, fully reclining and swiveling chairs ... as well as a sound system to rival a recording studio.

We've obtained some photos from inside different versions of the van, Kanye's is almost exactly like the one with red leather seats -- but you can see the insane light and interior options that come with these suped-up minivans.

RD will show off more crazy rides on the Jamie Foxx-produced "Million Dollar Wheels" ... which premieres February 21 on Discovery Plus.

When you think about it, Ye's vehicle makes a lot of sense ... he's got 4 kids to drive around AND a new album on the way. So, the available seating and impressive audio setup are a perfect fit for his needs.

We saw Kanye out to grab some ice cream Thursday in the van -- he had a massive smile on his face when a fan told him he was an "awesome dad."

Kanye West doesn't wanna argue with paparazzi anymore -- he just wants to share the wealth ... especially if they're planning on filming him in public.

Ye had a bit of a tense convo Saturday while leaving Miami after chillin' with DJ Khaled and friends -- coming face to face with a pap at the airport who tried asking him a few simple questions. Right off the bat, KW tells him he's not in the mood to be photographed.

The pap plays it cool and calm, and eventually ... Kanye tells him how he really feels about the fact that they guy's making money off the interview. And that feeling is ... fine, but let me get in on it too!!!

Check out Kanye's rationale here -- he basically says he thinks he should be able to control how his image is used, including MOTS run-ins like this. He notes that's not how the law works -- which is correct -- but insists ... he's gonna work to turn that around for celebs.

In the end, Kanye and the paps following him actually end on good terms -- with Ye meeting up GF Julia Fox ... and them going through a bit of logistical juggling on how the heck they were gonna get out of there (who's got Ye's ticket???).

Pretty interesting insight from Ye -- especially since he alludes to his alleged not-so-nice face-off with an autograph hound in L.A. -- and it's good to see he's found a more constructive way to deal with the media.

Kanye West might be able to swap out the boots he's been wearing for weeks on end for something more comfortable and caj -- and it's all thanks to DJ Khaled hooking him up!

DJK gifted Ye a sweet pair of Jordans Saturday during what appears to have been a hangout/collab session at Khaled's pad down in Miami ... where KW was with his crew, and his new boo too -- Julia Fox.

Anyway, check out the sneakers Khaled had all lined up ... and how Kanye reacts upon receiving 'em. It's a super nice gesture, especially considering how rare they apparently are. As Khaled notes, there's only 100 pairs made ... and lucky enough he had some in Kanye's size.

Khaled says he can use the shoes for an upcoming Fashion Week event that Ye's supposed to be attending ... and Kanye seems appreciative of the present.

Of course, they didn't just talk kicks during their time together ... indeed, it looks like Ye and Khaled got to work on some actual music -- much of which was teased on his social media.

No word on what their collab might sound like just yet, but it sure seems Ye and Khaled were feeling it ... dancing around the studio like two little kids having the time of their lives. This is far from their first time making music with one another -- but it's been a while, no doubt.

Julia Fox is scoffing at folks who think she's a clout chaser for dating Kanye West, saying she's so not in it for the fame.

Julia addressed the doubters on her "Forbidden Fruits" podcast Friday, saying she couldn't care less about the attention she's getting.

The "Uncut Gems" star put it this way ... "People are like 'Oh, you're only in it for the fame, you're in it for the clout, you're in it for the money.' Honey, I've dated billionaires my entire adult life, let's keep it real."

Well, dating a billionaire doesn't automatically raise your profile ... but dating Kanye sure does.  But, she goes in hard, saying fame's not her thing anymore.

And, speaking of fame, Julia talked about partying with Ye, Madonna, Antonio Brown, Floyd Mayweather, etc at a restaurant a few days back. She says ... "I was actually supposed to be at dinner for just Madonna and I. All of these other celebs crashed [the party]."

Kanye West will give you a fist bump if you call him an "amazing father" ... as one fan found out while Yeezy was grabbing some ice cream.

The bizarre interaction went down Thursday in Calabasas, where Ye hit up an ice cream shop after a doctor's visit.

Kanye's licking his ice cream cone and answering a paparazzi's question about the death of fashion icon Andre Leon Talley ... when suddenly someone comes up and praises Kanye's father skills.

Ye perks up and gives the dude a fist bump, telling him he loves the praise and appreciates the recognition.

Kanye then gets behind the wheel of his whip ... which turns out to be a minivan!!!

Seems he's got plenty of room for North, Psalm, Saint and Chicago to ride in the back.