TMZ Hip Hop - Page 50

Chris Paul went absolutely nutty yesterday ... breaking an NBA Playoff record while leading the Phoenix Suns to victory over Curren$y's New Orleans Pelicans, but Spitta Andretti is taking it in stride.

The NOLA rap legend was courtside Thursday night in his hometown to witness CP3 shoot a perfect 33-point game. Following the 115-109 victory, Chris still had enough energy to talk smack to Spitta and his manager Mousa in a viral moment on the sidelines.

The footage is hilarious … CP3 was still in go mode as Curren$y eventually playfully pushed him off.

Curren$y tells TMZ Hip Hop of the heartfelt moment "Chris was just talking s***," as they've been pals for a long time. Remember, CP3 started his future Hall of Fame career with the then-New Orleans Hornets.

Despite the loss, Curren$y says the playoff experience unified the city -- "The Pelicans put it all on the court for us and we filled the arena for them," Spitta continued. I feel like this turnaround season is definitely gonna be a booster shot to the season ticket sales."

Spitta's having a personal come-up in 2022, having dropped off 2 projects this year alone ("Land Air Sea" Chopped + Slopped reissue w/ Cash Fargo and "Continuance" w/ Grammy-Nominated producer The Alchemist) -- and recently blazed his way through a heralded Tiny Desk Concert ... dropped, appropriately, on 4/20.

Travis Scott's team is coming out swinging against the creators of a documentary that takes aim at the tragic events of the Astroworld music festival ... calling it a pathetic money grab.

The "propaganda piece," as Scott's reps have dubbed it, is called "Concert Crush: The Travis Scott Festival Tragedy" and started screening in Texas on Friday.

The movie's director, Charlie Minn, told the AP the project isn't intended to be a hit piece against Travis, but rather a recounting of the devastation from that day.

Clearly, that's not what Travis' team thinks, calling it a, "... farce financed by and containing content from members of the plaintiff's legal teams, who, weeks after a tragedy, sought to exploit and benefit financially from it, with the clear goals of making money and swaying future juries and public opinion."

Interestingly enough, attorney Ricardo Ramos, who represents plaintiffs in multiple Astroworld cases is a producer for the film, and actual plaintiffs from the lawsuits are also featured in the film.

They also go in on Minn, saying, "It's a profit play and a publicity stunt, with no support from the film industry, no distribution, and from a director with no respect from his field who has been termed a "trauma pornographer."

For what it's worth, Minn has been critical of Travis' actions during the festival in the past, telling the Houston Press, "I think he'd be a lot more nervous if he didn't know the mayor and police chief. The police had all the authority to stop things, and the show should have been stopped by the third song. It was a dangerous, evil joke."

The documentary features several concertgoers from that day, most blaming Travis for not seeing what was happening in the crowd.

TMZ broke the story, several Houston Police officers were seen watching Travis and Drake perform while things got worse in the crowd -- apparently unaware of the severity of what was going on.

As we reported, 10 people died from "compression asphyxia" as a result of the events at Astroworld. The investigation continues as to who or what was responsible for the deaths ... but several lawsuits have pointed the finger at Travis and promoter Live Nation.

A$AP Rocky got good news and bad news ... LAPD sources tell TMZ, the guns they found at the rapper's home did not match the gun used in the shooting ... now for the bad news.

Our LAPD sources say they have video of the shooting in their possession ... presumably from a surveillance camera. A$AP was arrested for assault with a deadly weapon ... cops believe he shot a man in Hollywood last November during an argument, grazing his hand.

If the video is clear enough, it could be bad news for A$AP. The video could be even more powerful evidence than the gun itself.

Speaking of the guns ... we've now learned cops did indeed find multiple weapons when they executed a search warrant on his house last week, but they determined on the spot they were not the weapon they were looking for. In fact, we're told cops found shell casings at the crime scene, so they knew the type of caliber, and none of the guns at A$AP's home were a match.

Our Rocky sources say the weapons found were all fully registered and legally purchased.

We're told cops ran the serial number on the guns and they were all legally acquired. Turns out our Rocky sources were correct ... police didn't take the guns to the station -- they left them at Rocky's house.

It was a great night to be a "Drake" on Thursday ... 'cause Drake London got picked in the top 10 of the NFL Draft -- and Drake the rapper made a boatload of cash because of it!!!

Here's the deal ... a few months before Roger Goodell officially put the Jacksonville Jaguars on the clock in Las Vegas -- Drake decided to bet some cash on USC wideout and top prospect Drake London.

The "Toosie Slide" rapper threw down $100K -- saying "Drake betting on Drake just feels right" -- believing London would be the first wide receiver off the board. It was a bold bet, considering most had Garrett Wilson as the favorite for that honor.

Turns out, though, London was the top wideout picked -- going #8 overall to the Atlanta Falcons -- and according to Drake's betting slip, that earned him $225k!

London knew about Drake's bet ahead of the draft ... and told the Falcons' official team website that he and his buddies actually got a kick out of it before the event began.

"My friends were hitting my phone saying Champagne Papi bet on me," London said. "So, I thought that was funny."

Of course, placing -- and winning -- big bets is nothing new for Drake ... in fact, the 35-year-old recently got a huge payday for winning at an online roulette table.

But, he doesn't win 'em all ... remember, he famously lost $275k when he thought Jorge Masvidal would beat Colby Covington at UFC 272.

As for London, all bets side, he said he was thrilled to be picked by the Falcons on Thursday.

"I cannot wait to go out there and put on that jersey and just be a Dirty Bird at the end of the day."

Fresh off saving the day for Coachella by filling its headliner vacancy when Ye dropped out, The Weeknd is cashing in with his longtime label.

Universal Music Group (UMG) announced Thursday ... Abel and his XO imprint entered a long-term deal that will allow him to remain the big market fixture and globally renowned star he is today.

The label went BIG to show its love for The Weeknd -- "Most powerful man in music," Sir Lucian Grainge, XO founder, Wassim 'SAL' Slaiby, Republic Records Chairman, Monte Lipman, and Universal Music Publishing Group Chairman, Jody Gerson, all gathered to give the singer props.

He enters the new deal as popular as advertised: His 2020 single "Blinding Lights" is the record-holder for the longest-running song on the Billboard Hot 100 chart at 90 weeks, his latest album "Dawn FM" set another record for most debut songs on the chart with 24, and he's sold over 75 million albums.

Tekashi 6ix9ine learned the hard way he's still got a ton of enemies, taking a punch to the back of the head as he exited a nightclub with his crew.

We've obtained video from inside Pilo's Tacos Tequila Garden in Miami at about 2 AM where you can see security clear the way for Tekashi and his team. Apparently -- one club-goer wasn't a fan of Tekashi's music, snitching, or maybe even his hairstyle -- and decided to throw a punch as the rapper walked by.

It looks like the blow landed, hitting Tekashi in the back of the head, and the dude who threw the punch takes off.

As for why he was in the club, Tekashi made an appearance and performed one song from behind the DJ booth, so it appears he's trying to test the waters on how he might be received by the average joe ... apparently one guy wasn't feeling it.

Tekashi, for what it's worth, seemed unfazed by the attack and was allegedly signing autographs afterward outside the club.

Tekashi was released from home confinement in connection to his Nine Trey Gangsters trial in August of 2020. The rapper worked with law enforcement to provide information on the wrong-doings of the gang and its members, cutting himself a significant deal.

While he's released music since ... Tekashi has maintained a relatively low profile, but has recently popped up on social media.

T-Pain says Travis Scott is right to get back to doing what he does best ... and his first headline spot at the Primavera Sound festival is definitely the place to rebrand his career.

We got T-Pain Wednesday at LAX ... and he thinks Travis needed a venue like Primavera to prove himself.

He makes an interesting point ... a time-out for the sake of it isn't particularly useful. As he says, plenty of folks get locked up and when they're released they commit the same crime again.

T-Pain's got no doubt Travis will be taking steps to keep the crowd safe.

The crowd will be a lot bigger than Astroworld -- upwards of 200,000 people have attended the South American festival in the past, while Houston officials estimated 50K went to Travis' fatal concert in November.

Our sources say this gig is just one of many TS has on the horizon and he'll be announcing 3 U.S. festival performances soon.

The search at A$AP Rocky's home turned up guns, multiple guns, but what's unclear ... did cops seize the gun that was used to shoot a man during an argument in Hollywood?

Law enforcement sources tell TMZ ... detectives will run ballistic tests on the weapons ... to determine if Rocky was the triggerman.

We're also told cops will run background on the firearms to determine where they came from, who bought them, or if they'd been reported stolen.

As we reported, Rocky was arrested at a private LAX terminal last week when he and Rihanna returned from Barbados. Rocky was booked for assault with a deadly weapon stemming from the shooting in November in which cops say Rocky and an accomplice got into an argument in Hollywood that escalated to gunfire -- the alleged victim's hand was grazed.

TMZ broke the story ... Rocky and his legal team say they were shocked by the arrest and his alleged ties to the shooting. Rather than coordinate a voluntary surrender, cops simply nabbed him off the jet. Police say they needed the element of surprise so as not to tip A$AP off they would search his house for the weapon.

If one of the guns seized at Rocky's home turns out to be the weapon in question ... it could cement the case for prosecutors, who have yet to charge Rocky.

Post Malone has the perfect way to celebrate the 4-year anniversary of his breakout "Beerbongs & Bentleys" album -- announce a NEW friggin' album!!!

On Wednesday, Posty let loose the official release date of June 3 for his upcoming "Twelve Carat Toothache" album.

The project's loaded with star power from the likes of The Weeknd, Doja Cat, The Kid LAROI, Roddy Ricch and Robin Pecknold ... which explains why he's been more than happy to share updates online with fans.

Just so fans know he's serious about the date, Post also revealed he launched a custom website for the record ... complete with colorful cover art.

"Twelve Carat Toothache" has some big shoes to fill ... coming off the 3x platinum "Hollywood's Bleeding," and the aforementioned 5x plat "Beerbongs & Bentleys."

Drake's doing his homie a solid -- French Montana's got a new track with Kodak Black, and Drake's blowing up the Coke Boy's comment section ... letting the world know it's got massive hit record potential.

French unleashed his Kodak-featuring "Mopstick" music vid last night and the Instagram teaser alone got Drake and several other rappers like Russ, Bandman Kevo and AB swimming in flame emojis.

Meanwhile, Drake's comment makes it clear he's hella jealous of the track.

The wild, Rook-directed visual features the 2 superstar rappers hanging with models wielding machetes ... and French is packing hardware too.

The song originally appeared on French's November 2021 album "They Got Amnesia" and given the euphoria around the music video, the title appears to be on the money.

Chris Brown and Drake's mega-hit "No Guidance" is under legal fire from a pair of songwriters who claim that track ripped off one of their recordings, but they've cut Drake a break ... dropping him from the case.

Songwriters Brandon Cooper and Timothy Valentine voluntarily dismissed Drake from their lawsuit, leaving Breezy and Sony Music Entertainment as the remaining defendants ... according to Billboard.

'Guidance' is actually a Chris track -- featuring Drake -- from the 2019 album "Indigo."

TMZ broke the story ... Cooper and Valentine filed the original lawsuit in October 2021, claiming they had a meeting with a Cash Money A&R and insisting the hit song was lifted from another track called "I Love Your Dress."

Travis Scott is officially hitting the big stage once again ... headlining his first music festival since the Astroworld tragedy where he will perform in front of more than 100,000 people.

The Primavera Sound festival will span across Brazil, Chile and Argentina and will feature names like Travis, Lorde, Arctic Monkeys and Jack White. It's the festival's first time in South America -- in the past, it's been held in Barcelona -- and upwards of 200,000 people have attended.

Travis will hit the stage in November and will play 3 shows total, in Sao Paulo, Buenos Aires and Santiago, Chile. Our sources say the festival is just one of many TS has on the horizon for this summer and will be announcing 3 U.S. festival performances soon.

As we've reported, Travis has hit a couple private parties in the last couple months, performing behind a DJ booth ... he's also set to host a club show in Miami in May.

Of course, those gigs will pale in comparison to the Primavera Sound show -- a massive festival -- even bigger than his Astroworld crowd.

DaBaby's legal team says folks are wrong for jumping to conclusions over a recently surfaced video of the rapper shooting and killing a man at a Walmart ... they say it actually supports the rapper's defense.

Here's the deal ... Rolling Stone published surveillance footage Sunday from the 2018 fatal shooting in North Carolina, and the article appeared to question DaBaby's self-defense narrative.

DaBaby's lawyers, Drew Findling and Marissa Goldberg, tell TMZ ... the video was reviewed by prosecutors back in 2018  ... and they concluded DaBaby acted in self-defense and therefore was not prosecuted for homicide.

We're told the video was even viewed by a Mecklenburg County judge in connection with a misdemeanor charge for not having the proper permits for his gun.

As for the self-defense part, DaBaby told cops the victim and another accomplice were following him around the Walmart store, and allegedly threatened him and flashed a gun ... causing him to feel the need to protect himself.

Travis Scott is going from dipping his toe in the performance pool to getting in waist deep -- the guy's first public show is booked ... and it's going down in Miami next month.

The rapper is scheduled to host on Saturday, May 7 at hotspot E11EVEN -- where he appears to be the headlining act for Race Week. There's a Formula 1 Grand Prix that'll be going down around the same time ... so it's gonna be popping in and around the city.

According to promotional flyers and E11EVEN's own website ... tickets are on sale now at a price point of $150 to $250, depending on whether you're a man or woman. Ladies get in cheaper, obviously. Page Six was first to notice the event. We have been told that it's almost sold out ... and demand is sky-high.

VIP tables are also available for reservation as well ... and those can go for a pretty penny, reportedly upwards of $100k depending on what's happening. Considering this will be Travis' first foray, musically, before a large crowd ... ya gotta imagine the cost will be higher.

This certainly isn't the first time TS has grabbed a mic since the Astroworld Fest tragedy in November, when 10 people died. He's been dabbling in smaller performances in the months thereafter -- including a limited set at a pre-Oscars party, ditto for a Coachella afterparty.

At both events, there seemed to be some enthusiasm around his presence ... but time will tell if a club like E11EVEN can muster a large crowd. The jury's sorta out on how people feel about him these days.

At first, there was a lot of anger directed at him ... as some felt he continued the show despite seemingly obvious signs folks were in distress -- but in the wake of all that, there's been different evidence suggesting he may have, in fact, been in the dark on the severity.

Still, he's in the middle of several lawsuits that have named him as a defendant ... and that'll take years to work through the court system. In the meantime, he's making a comeback -- or trying to, anyway.

Twinning!!!

Music superstar Usher chopped it up with his perfect doppelganger at the Grizzlies vs. Timberwolves game on Tuesday ... hanging out courtside with Ja Morant's dad -- and it was hilarious!!

Of course, fans have been commenting about how the Memphis superstar's pops looks strikingly similar to the "Yeah!" singer throughout the playoffs ... and finally, the two men met face-to-face.

Usher pulled up to Game 5 of the Grizzlies' home game against the Wolves ... and of course, Tee Morant was in the building to support his son Ja, who just won the Most Improved Player Award for this season.

Tee has been making headlines all series -- early on in the playoffs, he enjoyed some friendly back-and-forth with Karl-Anthony Towns' dad, Karl-Anthony Towns Sr. ... and fans couldn't help but notice how much he looked like Usher.

While people swear Tee is Usher's doppelganger, it reached new heights on Tuesday ... when the two wore matching black outfits to the matchup!!

Both twins got to see an incredible game -- with about 6 seconds left on the game clock, Minnesota rising star Anthony Edwards hit a clutch 3-pointer to tie the game at 109-109.

But, Ja would not be denied ... as he beat Edwards to his spot and finished at the rim with a nifty layup over Jarred Vanderbilt ... propelling the Grizzlies to a 111-109 victory.

Tekashi 6ix9ine is back to trolling Lil Durk after telling TMZ he doesn't instigate matters when it comes to these things.

The rainbow-haired rapper -- who just targeted the late King Von in his latest music video 'GINÉ' -- decided to up the ante on Tuesday when he found his way in the vicinity of Lil Durk's doppelgänger "Perkio."

The footage for the encounter is pretty wild as 6ix9ine and his crew surround the TikTok star ... only to bless him with a jacket embroidered with a photo of King Von, who was shot and killed in October 2020.

The IG caption reiterates 6ix9ine's overall beef mission statement: Lil Durk and OTF haven't avenged Von's death and it contradicts their lyrics.

What's also wild is Perkio's face when the jacket is placed on his shoulders. He looks extremely uncomfortable and even appears to remove it as Tekashi barks into the camera.

Perkio and the "Fake Drake" have been getting chummy these last few days, making TikTok videos and even hitting the club together. Even better, they have the blessings of the real artists they're emulating.

The video provides a 180° turn for Tekashi's latest moves, which include a modest return to the Billboard Charts thanks to a No. 83 debut for "GINÉ" and giving away $1 million Mexican pesos to a family in need.