TMZ Hip Hop - Page 50

Christina Milian's looks are simply ageless!

Here's the 18-year-old version of the American-Cuban songwriter, singer and actress at a photoshoot back in 2000 (left) -- just one year before she released her first self-titled album and a few years before her hit song "Dip It Low" hit the top of the charts.

And, 22 years later ... the now 40-year-old mom of three continues to kill the selfie game and absolutely stunned at this year's Coachella Music Festival with her timeless braids and fresh-faced style (right).

Dip it low, pick it up slow!

The question is ...

When it comes to making music, Tiffany Haddish is NOT new to the game ... so says Tiffany herself, who revealed she's been making music for a while now.

We caught up with the "Girls Trip" star at LAX and she told us all about her music and her plans for the future.

Tiffany says being a musical artist isn't a career change 'cause she's actually been dropping tunes for years. She says, she hopes to merge acting and music by putting her music in her movies and TV shows.

As far as the genre, she says she's tapping into Hip Hop and classical. She says, her dream collab would be Beyoncé ... and even said she'd hop on a track with her ex-BF/music artist/actor Common.

Even though Kanye West did not appear on Antonio Brown's new album ... the NFL star tells TMZ Sports the rapper still had a HUGE role in its production -- and he's super grateful for it.

AB says Ye oversaw a lot of the behind-the-scenes things that go into making his new "Paradigm" project ... explaining to us out in L.A. this week that "he oversaw the whole infrastructure."

"He paid for a lot of studio time," Brown said. "Ye had a lot to do with a lot of this production."

Brown went on to personally thank Ye and Donda Sports and "everybody that's been a part of this project."

As for a collab between the two, who became best of friends following AB's messy breakup with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Brown said it still might be coming down the road even though a track featuring the rappers didn't make it to this album.

"We still got a lot of things in the works," Brown said.

Brown -- who's album officially dropped on Wednesday -- tells us that while he's knee-deep in music at the moment ... a football future is still on his mind.

DaBaby appears to be at it again -- a video making the rounds purports to show the guy sucker-swinging on a man in a hallway ... and it's apparently his own artist.

The clip, which has since gone viral, was shot Friday somewhere backstage at Colonial Life Arena in Columbia, SC -- where DB and other artists were scheduled to perform for something called Spring Jam 2022.

It's unclear if this happened before or after the curtains went up ... but in any case, you see a guy who strongly resembles DaBaby walking by a larger man, who seems unsuspecting.

All of a sudden, the shorter dude quickly turns around and unloads on the other guy ... apparently connecting. The bigger man, who's said to be DB's new artist Wisdom, squares up immediately and even throws a jab himself. Before long, they're broken by security.

Like we said, no word on what precipitated this or what happened later. What we do know ... cops weren't called. A rep for the University of South Carolina Law Enforcement and Safety -- which oversees the stadium -- tells TMZ ... no complaint/report was filed.

That's probably a good thing for DB ... he's got more than enough legal matters on his plate as it is. He recently shot a guy on his property -- claiming self-defense -- and that case is under review. His bowling alley beatdown case is also still in the air, albeit stalled of late.

Harry Styles did not disappoint during the kickoff of Coachella, Weekend 2 ... because his surprise guest made the crowd go crazy ... Lizzo!

Harry headlined Friday night in the desert, and one of the songs he and Lizzo chose is a tried-and-true anthem -- Gloria Gaynor's "I Will Survive."

They also paid homage to One Direction ... singing "What Makes You Beautiful."

Lizzo, fresh off her 'SNL' stint, gave Harry a social media shoutout after the set and thanked him for bringing her up ... "Proud of you @harrystyles. Thank u for having me."

Billie Eilish, also a headliner, was just a fan Friday night, clearly feelin' it as she watched Harry perform. Billie will take the stage Saturday night for her own headlining set.

Big Sean also performed Friday ... he brought out the always awesome/adventurous Mike Posner. Lots of throwbacks, including Posner's "Cooler Than Me."

Mike posted after the show ... "From my mom's basement all the way to Coachella - what a journey it's been. Proud to have shared the stage with you again @BigSean. 🙏"

Sean also brought out GF Jhene Aiko.

And, let's not forget Daniel Caesar, who brought out Justin Bieber during Week 1. This time around the guest was Omar Apollo.

Travis Scott is back making music after the Astroworld tragedy.

Travis is featured on the new Future song "Hold That Heat." In the music vid, you see Travis, Future and producer Southside ... Travis sang the chorus ... "Hold that, hold that heater [aka gun]."

Travis and Future also share a joint during the song. And, there's the striptease, courtesy of a woman wearing not a lot.

There's no reference to the tragedy at the Houston festival back in November, where 10 people died. Travis has been laying low for the most part since then, performing at a Coachella after-party recently and hitting up SoFi for a game, but other than that he's kept his head low.

As we reported, Travis is being sued by a number of people who were at the festival, as well as families of those who died. The lawsuits could take years to either settle or litigate, so it's unclear how Travis will manage his career around it.

DMC doesn't get the big fuss over Jack Harlow's success ... because good music is always gonna do well on the charts, no matter who you are.

We talked to DMC leaving NBC Studios in New York, and the 57-year-old rapper sounds a bit confused, no doubt due to all the autographs he's signing ... but he offers up a good point about a musician's color being irrelevant.

He's calling Jack's haters out for being ignorant, saying creative outlets, like music, should be used to bring others together and make the community a better place ... not to tear each other apart.

As you know, Jack's new single "First Class" recently hit the top of the Billboard Hot 100 ... Top Dawg Entertainment President Terrence "Punch" Henderson sparked a debate on Twitter by saying Black artists have to be more awesome than their white counterparts to make it big.

The debate came up on Tuesday's episode of "TMZ Hip Hop" ... as DJ Hed and Rodney Rikai challenged each other on what's really fueling the Kentucky-born rapper’s rise to the top.

Quavo is looking to put city boys up 100 points with his new cannabis line called Birkinz – it's inspired by the super-expensive bags, but he says it's a much better investment ... for guys, anyway.

The Migos rapper tells TMZ Hip Hop he got the idea for the new weed strain because he just "got tired of buying the girls Birkins, so we started smoking it!!!"

Hermès Birkin bags are some of the most name-dropped items in rap lyrics, and they go for $40,000 to $100,000. Some extremely rare ones can even rival the cost of modest homes. Kanye West reportedly dropped $275,000 on one earlier this year.

Of course, Quavo might have PTSD on this subject. Back when he dated Saweetie in 2020, she left him blank-faced and speechless ahead of her "Back to the Streets" record (a song about being newly single) -- as she commanded her female fanbase to drop their dudes if they weren't buying them Birkins.

Now, Quavo isn't buying Birkins, but paying bills with Birkinz and even did a collab with popular streetwear brand Awful Lot of Cough Syrup.

There's a new entry into the debate about whether Jack Harlow benefits from hip hop's version of affirmative action -- and David Banner says there's not much of a debate!!!

TMZ Hip Hop pulled up on the "Cadillac On 22's" rapper Friday at LAX, and picked his scholarly brain regarding the hot topic: Jack and his latest single "First Class" are on top of the Billboard Hot 100, and there are plenty of rap pundits who feel the only reason he got there is because he's white, and the majority rules in America.

Count Banner as one of those pundits. The former Mississippi teacher turned rapper told us being white is an advantage in all aspects of life, all around the world and hip hop is no different.

DB goes even deeper in the clip, claiming white people who denounce racism know they secretly benefit from it ... aka white guilt. He's confident even Jack would agree with that.

According to Billboard, "First Class" had the biggest single week of streams since rap juggernauts Drake, Future and Young Thug released the "Certified Lover Boy" hit, "Way 2 Sexy" in September 2021.

Mike Tyson isn't letting his violent plane beatdown ruin his high -- the boxing legend smoked like a chimney alongside Rick Ross and Ric Flair Thursday night ... around 24 hours after he punched the crap out of a man.

Iron Mike was grinning from ear to ear with the rap superstar and wrestling legend during the Benzinga Cannabis Capital Conference afterparty at LIV in Miami ... taking the stage and sparking up as the crowd cheered below.

Tyson was initially supposed to speak at the weed conference Thursday afternoon alongside the Nature Boy ... but after his violent altercation with an apparent heckler, event organizers said his scheduled appearance was scrapped "due to a flight change."

Tyson seemingly made up for the scheduling conflict at the afterparty ... although it's unclear if he addressed the incident with folks in attendance.

TMZ Sports broke the story -- Tyson repeatedly punched a man on a plane at SFO on Wednesday ... after the passenger allegedly threw a water bottle at him.

Our Tyson sources claim the man was completely wasted -- and wouldn't stop provoking him until the beatdown.

The 55-year-old boxing legend was also super friendly with fans in Miami following the incident on Thursday ... posing for pictures and meeting supporters outside a hotel.

Pusha T's new album features a few verses from Kanye West, who used his guest spot to spill some of his feelings about his family situation ... and also some famous real estate.

Ye pops up on 2 songs ... "Dreamin Of The Past" and "Rock N Roll," and not shockingly he's got the divorce from Kim Kardashian and his kids on his mind.

In "Rock N Roll," he says, "I ain't come to pick up the kids to pick a fight" ... seemingly referencing the arguments he claims to have had with Kim about spending time with their 4 children.

Then, on "Dreamin Of The Past" he raps about the importance of keeping a family together. Some of his lyrics include ... "Born in the manger, the son of a stranger ... When daddy's not home, the family's in danger."

The good news is ... Ye's got some lighter lines too.

We know he's big into pricey real estate, and that comes up in 'Dreamin' when he drops these lyrics ... "I used to watch the Fresh Prince and pray the house would be mine ... Could have bought it but I ain't like the way the kitchen designed."

As you know, Ye hasn't backed down from speaking his mind through music ... his song "Eazy" with The Game features the verse, "God saved me from the crash, just so I can beat Pete Davidson's ass."

The claymation music video showed him dragging Pete with a bag over his head, and then planting him in the ground up to his neck.

The Weeknd isn't about to lose his groove for weekend two of Coachella ... hopping onstage Wednesday night to DJ and sing at a big Hollywood bash.

Check out the video ... T.W.'s clearly feeling it, dancing around as he DJs. At one point, he jumps onstage and sings with Kaytranada and Zack Bia.

As for who hit up the party at the Terminal 27 party ... Leo DiCaprio, Timothee Chalamet, Willow Smith, YG, Alexander Wang, Hunter Schafer, Dominic Fike, Daniel Caesar, Beck and The Martinez Brothers.

Abel had a pretty big weekend a few days back ... headlining Coachella last Sunday with Swedish Mafia House.

The Weekend and SMH had an epic night, performing for a massive crowd on night 3 ...  taking the stage together and each doing their own songs.

Screw the concept of resting up ... Weeknd's revved up for this coming Sunday, when he'll headline again in the desert near Palm Springs.

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.