TMZ Hip Hop - Page 50

Antonio Brown is a real-deal rapper, according to Keyshia Cole -- who tells TMZ Sports the NFL star is so good on the mic ... he could win a Grammy!

Of course, the award-winning R&B singer knows firsthand about Brown's potential ... after all, she worked with the former Buccaneers receiver on his new "Paradigm" album that dropped earlier this week.

She also performed her song with Brown on stage at Gunna's new weed strain launch in downtown L.A. on Wednesday ... and after their show, when we asked her if AB's got what it takes to make it big in the music industry, she said yes.

"I think so," the "I Changed My Mind" songbird said.

"I think he's really talented, for sure. I love the body of work that he created. I think he's gonna be great. I do. I wouldn't have collaborated if I didn't think he'd be great."

Now, is he gifted enough to win a Grammy? The 40-year-old also said she believes so.

"Of course!" Cole said. "Whatever you do, you put your mind to it, you can do whatever you choose to do in life."

FYI -- several athletes have been nominated for a Grammy before, including Muhammad Ali, Magic Johnson and Oscar De La Hoya.

Even though Cole believes AB can have a promising music career, she doesn't think the free agent should give up on the NFL.

Snoop Dogg is arguably the most recognizable rapper on the planet, and he says that translates to cold hard cash -- lots of it -- if you want him on your song.

The Doggfather stopped by the Nelk Boys' 'Full Send Podcast' to discuss all things smoke, Super Bowl and superstar material when they brought up his Bored Ape Yacht Club NFT biz, and his feature price tag.

The hip hop legend was smoking-and-joking, but got pretty serious when Bob Menery asked what he charges artists or labels to drop bars on a track -- calculating businessman Snoop dropped the number ... $250,000!

And, get this ... Snoop says if the song has an accompanying music video, you can expect another $250,000 to come out of your account for that appearance.

Big names such as T.I., Justin Bieber, Lil Baby – and even Heidi Klum have collaborated with him within the past couple of years. Let's hope he has a celebrity discount option when they swipe their black cards?

Snoop is fresh off performing with Dr. Dre, Kendrick Lamar, Mary J. Blige, 50 Cent and Eminem at the Super Bowl, and buying his first label home of Death Row Records ... while steadily promoting damn near everything on store shelves.

Coi Leray is maintaining she indeed "sets trends" ... despite the heavily scrutinized first-week sales of her album, "Trendsetter."

TMZ Hip Hop caught up with the "Big Purr" rapper outside Gunna's 420 party for his Wunnaland cannabis strain last night in Hollywood, and considering how many rap pundits have been throwing shots at the upstart artist, she's taking everything in stride.

Coi tells us she's only seen positive reviews and reactions, and insists her record ranks as a "great debut album." She also alluded to her massive social media following (6 million on Instagram, 9.5 million on TikTok) being the main reason fans and critics thought she'd post bigger stats.

The project has heavy-hitting features from the likes of Nicki Minaj, Fivio Foreign, G Herbo, Lil Durk and H.E.R. – and the deluxe version could potentially feature Antonio Brown, who also just released his first album and makes a cameo midway through the interview.

The New Jersey-bred rapper's debut has been a major point of contention after Billboard reported it only sold 9,000 units in its first week.

Coi has clarified her team's reports show a bigger number, but not by much.

She also addressed the subliminal jabs 1501 Certified Ent. artist Erica Banks punched in her direction earlier this week ... when she claimed Nicki Minaj (who features on "Blick, Blick!" with Coi) only records songs with girls who "can't rap."

While Coi tells TMZ Hip Hop the Texas rapper may regret her comments down the line, she doesn't have any f*cks to give, not even in her furry tote bag.

Antonio Brown had a REALLY good 4/20 ... the dude smoked a footlong blunt -- and then rapped for a huge crowd in downtown Los Angeles!!!

AB was out in DTLA at Traditional dispensary on Wednesday night for Gunna's new weed strain launch event -- and the free agent wide receiver was having the time of his life.

TMZ Sports got video of the 33-year-old smokin' weed and then hitting the stage to perform songs off his new album, "Paradigm" -- which a packed crowd in attendance loved.

In video from the event, you can see Brown smoked several times (including once from a monster blunt) in between grabbing the mics -- and at one point during one of his songs, he even threw a bunch of money at the crowd.

Later, he asked fans about his football career, saying, "What you guys think I should do? Do you think I should play football? What do you think I should do? If you think I should play football, say, 'Yes!'"

Brown spoke with us later in the evening ... and hinted that he's receiving interest from the Dallas Cowboys to continue his football career.

AB eventually ended the night by rapping his hit, "Pit Not The Palace," with a white mask over his face ... officially putting an exclamation point on a helluva 4/20.

By the way, if you were wondering, the NFL has laxed its policy on weed in the past couple years -- its threshold for positive tests has increased, and it's no longer suspending players who do test positive.

Trey Songz has a new accuser -- a woman whose attorneys are demanding he pay for allegedly groping their client ... and they say the video makes their case a slam dunk.

The demand letter, obtained by TMZ, was fired off to Songz and his team Thursday by attorneys George Vrabeck and Ariel Mitchell on behalf of their client, Megan Johnson, who they allege was sexually assaulted by Trey during a party back in August 2013.

They say Johnson was at an event called "Foxwoods Liquid Sundays with Trey Songz" at the Foxwoods Resort Casino in Mashantucket, CT -- and it was there, they claim, that Megan encountered Trey in the VIP tent.

According to the letter, Johnson was having a friend take a picture of her, but in that moment they allege Trey came up from behind and pulled her breast out from her bikini top and then chanted "T***ies in the Open" four different times.

In the video, you see a woman who they claim is Johnson quickly reach up to cover her chest in embarrassment.

While Megan appears to have laughed it off, the attorneys claim she was humiliated and the incident caused lasting damage, including severe emotional distress and self-harm.

The attorneys say Megan was recently triggered by Trey's Vegas case -- which was recently dropped by authorities. The lawyers say they will drop the case if Trey settles ... for north of $5 mil.

There may be a statute of limitations problem for Megan ... the statute of limitations for this in CT is generally 3 years, although if there's a memory issue with the alleged victim where she doesn't recall the incident until she's triggered later, she may be able to try to extend that period.

Joel Embiid walked the walk against Drake's beloved Raptors ... and then he talked the talk to the rapper -- hilariously clowning the guy after hitting the game-winner in Philly's victory over Toronto on Wednesday.

Embiid -- who's the favorite to win the NBA's MVP award this season -- gave Drake the earful following his ridiculous overtime shot at Scotiabank Arena ... playing around with the "Hotline Bling" artist for a few seconds on the hardwood.

"Get your ass out," the 7-foot center said to Drake as he was leaving the floor. "I'm coming for the sweep, too!"

To his credit, Drake took all the trash-talk in stride ... smiling with Embiid and seemingly attempting to dish a little of it back.

Of course, Drake doesn't have too much ammo to send Embiid's way -- his Raptors are now down 3-0 in the series and are facing elimination on Saturday.

Drake, though, seemed to be deserving of Embiid's ribbing ... because Philly forward Tobias Harris revealed following the game that the rapper was trolling Embiid in the first half -- when the star center struggled.

"In the first half, Drake was over there saying, 'He can't play here!' That's what he was saying," Harris said to the media during a post-game interview.

"I said, 'He can play here, for sure.' He was like, 'Nah, he can't play here.'"

Embiid must've heard Drake's heckling ... 'cause he closed out the game with 33 points, 13 rebounds and two assists in the W.

A$AP Rocky was totally blindsided by cops when they showed up at a private, LAX terminal and put him in handcuffs ... all while a pregnant and equally shocked Rihanna looked on.

Law enforcement sources tell us ... cops chose not to give Rocky or his team a heads up. In fact, we're told the arrest was more than a week in the making.

There's a very common procedure LAPD and other agencies employ when they arrest a suspect ... a voluntary surrender. The cops would typically call the suspect's lawyer or other rep and arrange for the suspect to turn himself/herself in without fanfare. That didn't happen here, and we're told Rocky and his team can't understand why ... it's not like he would escape -- and, by the way, his girlfriend is in the 3rd trimester of pregnancy.

Our law enforcement sources say the reason they blindsided Rocky was because they wanted to see if they could find the gun used in the shooting. As we reported, cops believe A$AP shot a man in Hollywood during an argument back in November. The bullet grazed the victim's hand. Cops wanted to find the gun and worried if they gave Rocky a heads up, he might 86 it. That's why they coordinated the arrest and the search of his home so both went down at the same time.

We're told at least 10 cops were waiting for Rocky when his private jet pulled up to the terminal ... and that's when they cuffed him and took him away. Rihanna and Rocky were on their way back from Barbados.

We're also told Rihanna wanted to go by his place Wednesday morning and pick up some of her stuff but cops wouldn't let her in.

"We Ready" rapper, Archie Eversole, was shot in the jaw while he was asleep, shortly before he died from his wounds ... this according to cops.

According to the police report ... Archie told cops someone had kicked open his bedroom door and he was awakened by a gunshot to his face on March 25, but he couldn't see who shot him.

The docs say police then asked if the shooter was still in the home and he nodded his head yes. Cops say they asked if he knew who it was but Eversole wouldn't answer and then he started to fade in and out of consciousness.

As we reported, Archie was rushed to the hospital and died April 3 ... police say his brother, Alexander Krause, was the shooter.

Cops found fresh blood covering the front door and a trail of blood from the stairs to Eversole's room where the blood-spattered door had been busted through ... there was also blood all over the bed, pillows and the wall.

According to the report, Krause initially told cops he was fine and just checking on his brother, although police did notice he had blood on his socks. He also told police he was limping from a blister on his foot.

As we reported, Krause has now been arrested for murder and is in custody in DeKalb County.

Here's A$AP Rocky leaving LAPD headquarters -- surrounded by several officers -- after his arrest for a 2021 shooting.

The rapper posted $550k bail before he was able to walk out of police HQ Wednesday afternoon in DTLA, and directly into a waiting SUV in the rear parking lot. This was several hours after he was busted at LAX.

As we reported, Rocky was arrested after flying back from Barbados with Rihanna on a private jet, with cops meeting him at the terminal and taking him away in handcuffs.

We're told A$AP was arrested for assault with a deadly weapon with a gun ... and our law enforcement sources say the arrest is for a November 6 incident where an alleged victim claims Rocky shot at him multiple times, and at least one bullet grazed his left hand.

Police also served a search warrant at A$AP's home Wednesday in L.A., busting out a battering ram to get through his front gate.

When cops wrapped up their search, they left Rocky's house with a box of potential evidence.

Remember, Rocky had been in Barbados living it up with his pregnant gf RiRi ... jet skiing and hanging with her family and friends.

The infamous state prison Jay-Z, Yo Gotti and several others blasted for inhumane treatment of inmates has now been labeled unconstitutional by the federal government.

The Department of Justice came down hard on Mississippi's Parchman State Prison Wednesday in a 59-page report that calls out inadequate mental health treatment, failure to roll out sufficient suicide prevention measures ... or protect inmates from prison violence.

Jay's Team Roc lawyers filed multiple lawsuits on behalf of the prisoners after horrifying videos showing the conditions inside Parchman were posted online. Gotti, who grew up not far from the prison, was particularly outraged ... and the DOJ agrees the prison needs a major overhaul.

The report says Parchman's conditions "violate the Eighth and Fourteenth Amendments to the U.S. Constitution" -- basically, barring state prisons from doling out cruel and unusual punishment.

Gotti tells TMZ, "I'm grateful for the U.S. Department of Justice's thorough report to hold the Mississippi Department of Corrections accountable for the cruel and inhumane treatment of the incarcerated population."

Rapper Pooh Shiesty is going away for a 5-plus year stretch for a South Florida shootout -- and, considering what he could have gotten, he's actually happy with that number.

Pooh, whose real name is Lontrell Williams, was facing more than 8 years in prison, if prosecutors got their way -- but his attorney, Bradford Cohen, tells TMZ ... the government's calculations were off.

Cohen says they asked for no more than 63 months, which is exactly what the judge gave him.

Pooh was busted for an October 2020 shootout involving himself and several other men. The incident went down in a Miami-area condo parking lot ... and it left 2 men injured.

Police had surveillance video that showed all the violence play out, with Pooh armed with an assault rifle in the middle of the action ... as he sat in a McLaren sports car.

He eventually plead guilty to one count of possession of a firearm in furtherance of a crime of violence.

Cohen tells us, "We are going to file a motion for any time he spent in state prison on the same crime to get him additional credit for time served."

Killer Mike's having one hell of a 47th birthday -- celebrating another spin around the sun, and the fact he's getting paid to spotlight something he loves ... the growth of cannabis culture in America.

Mike joined us Wednesday on "TMZ Live" to talk about his 4-part Vice TV docuseries, "Tumbleweeds With Killer Mike" -- but before we got into that he told us how he's toasting his birthday. You gotta see the clip, but let's just say it involves lots of marijuana and his wife Shay Bigga. It's hilarious.

As for Mike's new show ... 'Tumbleweeds' shows the rapper and activist traveling around the country, showing mary jane's economic impact in cities where it's been legalized.

He says one of his goals is to normalize the cannabis industry by showing the business opportunities it brings, and its positive effects on marginalized communities ... where people have been disproportionately imprisoned for marijuana.

The series debuts tonight on Vice, and you can tell Mike's excited about its potential to shift America's views on legalization.

BTW ... his group, Run The Jewels, will be back at Coachella for the 2nd weekend, and it sounds like he and LP are getting a lineup upgrade.

A$AP Rocky was arrested as he flew into LAX Wednesday morning ... TMZ has confirmed.

Eyewitnesses at the airport tell TMZ the rapper flew in to Los Angeles from Barbados on a private jet, where he was met by cops at the terminal and taken away in handcuffs. We're told he was arrested for assault with a deadly weapon with a gun.

Law enforcement sources tell TMZ the arrest stems from a November 6, 2021 incident, where an alleged victim claimed Rocky shot at them 3 or 4 times -- grazing his left hand -- NBC News was first with the info.

Unclear exactly where the alleged shooting happened ... Rocky performed at Complex Con in Long Beach on November 7, Rihanna was in attendance.

As we told you, Rocky and a pregnant Rihanna have been living it up in her native country, jet skiing (while RiRi watched with binoculars) and hanging with friends and family.

TMZ broke the story ... a recent Twitter rumor that the two had split because he cheated was 100% not true -- and evidence that all is good between them was shown in the vacation pics where they're clearly having a great time.

It's unclear when Rihanna's expected to give birth, but has said she's in her third trimester. The couple announced the pregnancy back in January.

Tekashi 6ix9ine has a No. 1 record with Nicki Minaj, but even that accomplishment isn't stopping the rainbow-haired rapper from publicly calling BS on her.

6ix9ine is reacting to his "TROLLZ" collaborator's demand for her Barbz to drive up the YouTube numbers on her new Fivio Foreign record, "We Go Up" ... and he thinks it was an insane request.

"Crazy" was his actual choice of words.

It's doubtful Tekashi meant any "malice" toward Nicki when he sounded off via DJ Akademiks Instagram. It's just interesting because he claimed on "TMZ Live" that he only responds to drama; never instigates it.

He even went so far as to deny having any hate toward Lil Durk, the late King Von or even Fivo ... despite a ton of lyrical evidence to the contrary. So, why stir the pot with Nicki over her Fivo collab???

No doubt, Nicki's had a topsy-turvy relationship with her infamous legion of fans, and on today's episode of "TMZ Hip Hop" the crew addressed her latest attempt to press them into action.

Whether you agree or disagree with the approach, it appears to be working. At the time we posted, the video had 1.4 million views and was No. 1 on YouTube's trending charts.

Drake can rest a little easier for the next few years, now that a judge has granted his request to prevent an allegedly deranged fan from contacting him or his family.

According to new legal docs obtained by TMZ Hip Hop ... Drake's attorneys, Larry Stein and Ashley Yeargan, were in court for Tuesday's hearing, which ended with the judge approving a 3-year restraining order.

The alleged stalker was not in court, but will be served the order. As we reported, Drake's been dealing with this woman for a while now -- she was arrested for trespassing at his Hollywood Hills estate in 2017, and she even attempted to file a $4 billion defamation suit against him ... as if the Certified Lover Boy was the one harassing her.

The court determined the woman was "given timely and proper notice" to give her side of the story – for instance, explaining the email she allegedly sent Drake, saying "put a bullet through your head now bitch."

Wiz Khalifa's been very active on the music front this year and, naturally, he's keeping that going for 420 ... by dropping a huge streaming treat for fans.

The diamond-selling rapper's throwing it back to his earlier days as a mixtape master, and unleashing his 2012 project Taylor Allderdice (named after his Pittsburgh high school) on streaming services for the first time.

Originally released on March 13, 2012 ... the album had top-notch features from Rick Ross, Wiz's then-wife Amber Rose, Juicy J and production from Cardo and longtime collaborators ID Labs: E. Dan, Sledgren, Sayez and Big Jerm.

Today being a national holiday -- for Wiz, anyway -- he told his 36 million Instagram followers he's celebrating with some Khalifa Kush and a gym session.

The project's host – Genius correspondent and rapper Rob Markman – tells TMZ Hip Hop he was so high out of his mind (how'd that happen?!), he doesn't remember actually saying "It's Rob Markman on Twitter – send ya hate mail" to open the project.

"Wiz had a lot of things to get off his chest and basically told me to ask him any and everything and not to hold back," Rob says. "So we interviewed for well over an hour— Juicy J was there, Smoke DZA was there, Chevy Woods was there, Will was there, and there was a TON of weed. It was a good time."