TMZ Hip Hop - Page 50

Jadakiss isn't down in the dumps over the cancelation of his first major acting gig ... because he says it's opened the door to more roles in the near future.

We caught the 'King of Verzuz' outside the MLB store in NYC, just a few days after ABC pulled the plug on "Queens" -- a hip hop series starring Eve, Brandy and Naturi Naughton -- after just one season.

Jada appeared in several episodes, but as he tells TMZ Hip Hop, get ready to see him in several other projects, and hear him doing voiceover work too.

While Hollywood's calling, he's still keeping up on the latest and greatest in rap ... and took time to praise Kendrick Lamar and Dave Free's new visual masterpiece, "The Heart Part 5"

Although K. Dot hasn't released a solo project in over 5 years, Jada says it doesn't matter because music is a feeling and should be expressed when the timing feels right.

That expression comes for Kendrick this Friday the 13th when his album "Mr. Morale & The Big Steppers" is unleashed unto the world.

iLoveMemphis, the rapper responsible for the "Hit The Quan" dance craze, allegedly had a little too much fun at a raging block party ... because he left in handcuffs.

Memphis was arrested Saturday after cops say they responded to a home hosting a bash with at least 50 people, where someone reported bottles being thrown at passing cars.

According to the police report, obtained by TMZ, when cops arrived at the scene a shirtless Memphis approached officers with slurred speech and reeked of booze.

Police say they asked Memphis several times to identify himself with his first and last name and date of birth ... but when he failed to do after repeated requests, officers tried taking him into custody.

Cops say when they started placing Memphis into restraints, he tensed his arms ... preventing the cuffs from being slapped on. They say he also tensed his upper body and screamed as police tried putting him in the cop car.

When officers finally got him inside their vehicle, Memphis allegedly called one cop a "p**** a**" and an "immigrant."

Memphis was arrested and booked for multiple charges, including resisting arrest and disorderly intoxication.

Rude awakening for Roddy Ricch Monday morning -- he's now the butt of Internet jokes after seemingly forgetting the words to his MASSIVE hit "The Box," but it was really a huge technical error to blame ... TMZ Hip Hop has learned.

Roddy was hired as a secret performer for the Stoned Ape Crew NFT group's showcase Saturday night in L.A., and the crowd thought he flamed out during the first verse of his Diamond-certified hit.

You can see him sheepishly pointing to his earpiece while signaling to the DJ booth before jumping back on the beat later in the verse.

Roddy's label reps tell us the Compton-bred rapper powered through "major" audio issues during his set -- his earpiece wasn't connecting with the track, leaving him to take his cues from the sound blaring from the speakers.

When you know that, it's actually impressive how quickly he snapped back into action.

Released in December 2019 just as the COVID-19 pandemic was setting in, it would be kinda crazy to forget the lyrics to such a well-traveled song as "The Box."

After spending 11 straight weeks atop the Billboard Hot 100, it was eventually given Diamond honors by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) for going 10x Platinum.

Roddy has plenty of festival appearances coming up this year -- Governors Ball, Hot 97, UK's Wireless to name a few -- so, it's definitely time to sharpen that stage setup.

Travis Scott is officially firing from all cylinders on his journey back to being one of music's biggest performers ... he's scheduled to hit the 'BBMA' stage next week.

Sources connected to the "Billboard Music Awards" tell us TS will perform at the upcoming show. It'll be his first televised performance in 6 months, and will be watched by millions of people around the world.

As we reported, Travis hit the stage in Miami over the weekend, as part of Miami Grand Prix weekend ... so it's safe to say he's getting back into the swing of things. Travis certainly didn't hold anything back, and the crowd loved his performance.

As we've reported, Travis has performed at a few private parties in the last couple months ... like the Pre-Oscars event and a Coachella after-party, but an award show is a different level.

He's also gearing up to headline his first musical festival since Astroworld at the Primera Sound festival -- where he is expected to perform in front of more than 100,000 people.

As you know ... Travis, Astroworld promoter Live Nation, and others have been hit with several lawsuits after 10 people tragically died at the Astrowold festival, last November.

The investigation continues into who was responsible for those that died ... and Travis maintains he was unaware of the severity of things at the time.

Speaking of comebacks ... we've told you, Country music singer, Morgan Wallen, will also be performing his first gig since 2020 at this year's Billboard Awards ...  after he came under fire for saying the 'n-word'.

YG is off the hook for an alleged robbery in Sin City ... his criminal case was just dismissed on the morning of jury selection.

Sources close to the rapper tell TMZ ... YG settled out of court with the alleged robbery victim, and the guy was no longer interested in cooperating with prosecutors in the criminal case.

TMZ broke the story ... YG was facing a felony robbery charge for allegedly yanking a dude's chain off his neck in a 2018 altercation at the Cosmopolitan Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas, before making off with the diamond-laced pendant.

We're told YG maintained he never stole the chain from the man, though he admitted the bling snapped off when the two were in a fight.

YG’s lawyer, Joe Tacopina, tells TMZ … "Justice was served expeditiously, we would've had the same result if the case went to trial."

Mommy-to-be Rihanna lit up the night with her Mother's Day get-up ... stepping out for date night with Boyfriend A$AP Rocky.

The two hit Giorgio Baldi in Santa Monica Sunday, RiRi wore a sparkling set with lots of cutouts, but made sure to stay warm with a fur shawl. It'll be Rihanna's last Mother's Day without a kiddo of her own ... as it's expected she'll give birth in the next few weeks.

Rihanna and A$AP are frequent fliers at Giorgio Baldi -- it's actually one of her favorite places to grab dinner -- but one thing's for sure ... there are ALWAYS cameras there, so you gotta imagine RiRi knew they'd get her flashy fit.

Of course, pregnancy hasn't slowed RiRi down much. She and A$AP recently enjoyed visiting family and friends in her hometown of Barbados.

Cardi B was the perfect person to ask about mommy duty on Mother's Day -- especially since Rihanna is about to become one herself -- and her sage advice is ... (cue video).

The rapper was leaving Carbone Sunday night in NYC next to her hubby, Offset, and at least one of their kids (looks like Kulture) ... and Cardi chopped it up with our photog before getting into her waiting SUV about a lot of stuff, including words of wisdom for mom-to-be RiRi.

Check it out ... she says motherhood is something that comes pretty naturally, and she thinks the same will happen for Rihanna when the baby comes -- which should be any day now.

We also asked about Roe v. Wade, but she wasn't as chatty about that. What she did clarify, however, was her stance on fame ... and seemingly being done with it, which she alluded to about a week or so ago in sorta dramatic fashion.

Luckily, CB sets the record straight with us about what she meant ... and it sounds like she was mostly referring to her online presence more than anything. So, no -- Cardi's not scrapping music altogether. Good to hear!

Nas went from a King of New York to an Emperor in Miami this weekend -- the guy headlined a banger of a show to round out the Formula 1 event in town ... and killed it.

The rapper took the stage Sunday at Carbone Beach, where the whole joint went on a trip down memory lane to some of his early hits in the '90s ... including a ton of 'Illmatic' tracks that the crowd was vibing to in what appears to have been a pretty intimate setting.

Speaking of that audience ... it was about as star-studded as they come. Some of the A-listers in attendance -- DJ Khaled, Venus Williams, Jamie Foxx, Hailee Steinfeld, Brooklyn Beckham and Nicola Peltz, Busta Rhymes, Lindsey Vonn, Kevin Love, LeBron James, Rich Paul, Maverick Carter, Meek Mill, Timbaland, and Karrueche Tran ... among others.

Nas himself played to the spectators throughout his set, all while holding some sort of beverage in his hand. Looks like it was a boozy affair -- just about everyone seemed to have a cocktail to themselves.

Definitely a great way to end the week, and Nas's performance is right up there with Travis Scott's show from Saturday night ... where the guy rocked the mic in full capacity, the first since he's done a show like that since Astroworld.

Kendrick Lamar is a man of many faces, including some very famous ones he features in his new music video ... addressing the most infamous moments of the past few years.

KL dropped a song Sunday called 'The Heart Part 5,' where he talks about the culture at lightning-quick speed, hopscotching through different scenarios and employing the monikers of celebs to make his point -- including Will Smith, Kanye West and Jussie Smollett.

It's true ... the video shows Kendrick's face change to all of these men at different points in the song, using some fancy technology that we suppose you could equate to a deep fake.

He also features O.J. Simpson briefly while bringing up a "bulletproof Rover," seemingly referencing the Ford Bronco from way back when. Then, he transitions to Ye's face while mentioning "friends bipolar," and finally to Jussie as he says "the streets got me f***ed up."

Eventually, his face becomes Will's as he raps this ... "In the land where hurt people hurt more people // F*** callin' it culture." Of course, he's addressing the Oscars slap there.

There are two other stars he morphs into ... the late Kobe Bryant and Nipsey Hussle. In both instances, he's referring to death and reflecting on the legacy he leaves behind ... praying it's a worthy one.

The Nipsey line is especially telling ... Kendrick raps, "To my brother, to my kids, I'm in Heaven // To my mother, to my sis, I'm in Heaven// To my father, to my wife, I am serious, this is Heaven" ... going on to say he forgives the killer who sped up his demise.

French Montana could be getting dragged to court soon 'cause a rapper is accusing him of stealing his lyrics ... and, he is demanding French settles it soon, or else.

'Hot Boys' rapper Turk had his lawyers fire off a demand letter to French Montana's lawyer, claiming French ripped some of their client's lyrics for his 2021 song, "Handstand".

According to the letter, obtained by TMZ ... Tab Virgil Jr., aka Turk, claims French lifted lyrics from his group's 1999 hit, "I Need A Hot Girl" without permission ... and say, FM's track with the stolen lyrics has already scored more than 17 million views on YouTube.

In case you didn't know, The Hot Boys was a hip hop group formed in the '90s ... the members were Lil Wayne, B.G., Juvenile, and Turk.

The song, "I Need A Hot Girl", was a huge hit for the group and even appeared on Billboards Hot 100.

In French Montana's song, Doja Cat and Saweetie join him to sing "I need a project b****, a hood rat b****. One don't give a f*** and say she took that d***". These are close to the exact lyrics Turk claims he wrote and performed in the throwback song.

A source with direct knowledge tells us French had actually purchased the beat and the hook with the understanding all was clear. However, there must've been some sort of confusion ... nonetheless, we're told French's team is already working to rectify the situation.

Megan Thee Stallion looked more like Megan Thee Rag Doll in NYC this weekend -- and that's because her boyfriend was having his way with her in the club ... woof!

The femcee was hosting a party Saturday night in the Big Apple in honor of her new single, "Plan B," which she debuted at Coachella a few weeks ago. Seems like it was a rager, with MTS and her man, Pardison Fontaine, leading the charge in the hot and heavy department.

Check it out ... at one point, Pardi picked up Megan and started bouncing her up and down with hip thrusts, this as she had her arms wrapped around him. Yeah, it's pretty hot.

Even before this pony ride, it looks like Pardi had a firm grasp on her/the sitch at large -- literally carrying her upstairs like nothin'. It's wild ... Meg's not a small girl by any means -- she's reported as 5'10", so for him to be able to hoist her up like this is ... impressive.

Anyway, once they were in their own zone ... the dirty dancing continued, with Meg twerking and Pardi coming in for a taste. Looks like they're all about showing off PDA early and often -- which is great for everyone else taking in the show.

Travis Scott made his move Saturday night ... performing at his first public venue since last November's Astroworld tragedy.

Travis headlined at E11EVEN during the Miami Grand Prix weekend. It was not for the faint or weary ... T.S. showed up at 3 AM. He first beelined it for the DJ booth, told the crowd he'd be back in 10 and then warned people when he re-appeared, everyone "better lose their motherf***ing minds!"

He did indeed come back 10 minutes later and hopped on the stage ... the sold-out crowd went nuts.

Travis' set lasted around 45 minutes, and he did not disappoint ... with "Sicko Mode," "Antidote," "Pick Up the Phone," and "Goosebumps."

What's interesting ... Travis didn't seem uneasy about going full throttle, telling the crowd to take shots as he gripped a bottle of 1942 Don Julio. Travis was happy to throw some loot into the audience.

Logan Paul was there, and at one point he screamed, "The one thing I know about you is that you turn the f*** up!"

Toward the end of his set, Quavo jumped on stage ... they did "Dubai S**t" and ended up handing the mic to a fan who was super impressive.

Travis did not blow out of there ... he stayed until 6 AM. Prior to his performance, Travis grabbed a bite at Prime 112.

There were tons of celebs on hand ... Future, Tyga, Zedd, will.i.am, Busta Rhymes, Joakim Noah, Danny Amendola, Damson Idris, Travis Kelce, P.K. Subban, Terrence J, Teyana Taylor, Karrueche, Carnage, Alec Monopoly, and Todd English.

Travis has performed after Astroworld, but only at private events, like the pre-Oscars event and a Coachella after-party.

Drake's DM to one dude's wife may have crossed the line, but it's all love and the guy is actually a big fan ... so says the troll himself!

As we reported ... Drake clapped back to a guy named Cedric, by DM'ing the dude's wife. He wrote, "I just followed your girl cause she prob miserable and needs some excitement in her life".

Drizzy followed up by messaging Cedric's wife, Toni saying ... "I'm here for u ma".

It all started after Cedric took a jab at Drake on Instagram on a post where Drake defended Tee Morant -- father of NBA star Ja Morant. Cedric chimed in referencing a rumor that Drake doesn't write his own music, obviously, hitting a nerve for the 6 God.

Of course, the beef sparked lots of reactions from folks on social media, but we talked to Cedric and his wife, Toni, and they were actually in good spirits over the whole thing.

Cedric says, he felt Drake took things a little too far, by messaging his wife ... but he finds the whole situation hilarious. At first, he didn't think the comment would go anywhere, and he was shocked when a little trash-talking escalated into Drake actually DM'ing his wife.

Cedric says he's actually a huge fan of Drake. His wife, Toni, was all smiles over the dustup. She says, she's not interested in going on a date with Drake, because she's super happy with her hubby ... but she insisted they all meet!

Snoop Dogg's son, Cordell Broadus, got his brand new whip jacked ... but the car was recovered pretty quickly ... this according to cops who were hot on the trail.

LAPD sources tell TMZ ... Cordell's 2022 BMW X6 was jacked Wednesday in L.A. We're told a tracking company located it, passed the info on to the LAPD and cops rushed to retrieve it.

Officers found the BMW and took the alleged carnapper into custody.

As for how the car was stolen ... we're told someone left the keys in the car, making it an easy steal.

The alleged culprit already had an active warrant and was booked on a charge from that incident -- burglary of a motor vehicle. Cops say they found stolen items in Cordell's BMW. The D.A. will now decide whether to charge the guy.

Jack Harlow SZN is officially upon us with the release of his new album "Come Home the Kids Miss You" -- and his label boss, DJ Drama, says Jack's impressing his peers as much as fans.

The project touts all-legend features -- Drake, Lil Wayne, Pharrell and Justin Timberlake -- and even a hidden one from Snoop Dogg on the song "Young Harleezy."

Generation Now's honcho was on "TMZ Hip Hop" this week to set the record straight about any misconceptions the "First Class" rapper is mooching off the culture he loves so dearly.

After Drama discovered Jack in 2018, he helped Jack get to this point, and maintains good music and "bodies of work" -- not race-baiting or gimmicks -- will prove the young emcee's value to the game.

Drama himself has grad student level skillz in both the music biz and street hip hop culture. His legendary Gangsta Grillz series was just culminated to fit Tyler, The Creator's "Call Me If You Get Lost" album ... which won the Best Rap Album Grammy this year.

He's also overseeing the budding careers of GN artists Lil Uzi Vert and Seddy Hendrinx.

Harlow's "First Class" shooting to the top of the Billboard Hot 100 reignited the ol' white rappers debate online, and on the "TMZ Hip Hop" set, but DJ Drama isn't pressed. He's certain Jack will earn the respect of doubters everywhere.

Snoop Dogg and his Mt. Westmore groupmate Ice Cube are about to be a lot closer … now that Snoop is a part-owner in Cube’s Big3 basketball league … TMZ Hip Hop has learned.

Snoop and PayPal co-founder Ken Howery dropped $625,000 together to purchase a 40 percent stake in BIG3 team “Bivouac” that went winless last season due to injuries.

BIG3 opened the floodgates for people to grab a stake in the franchise team through NFTs... which is exactly what Snoop and Ken did.

They weren't the only ones, either. Popular NFT hubs DeGods, Gary Vaynerchuk and VeeFriends, Bill Lee and MyDoge/DogeCoin, and Krause House all got in the spending spree, copping all 25 Fire-Tiers of the Killer 3’s, Trilogy, Aliens and Ball Hogs, respectively.

Snoop has become one of the space’s most avid NFT collectors … even touting his newly re-bought Death Row Records will be a 100 percent “NFT Label”

Snoop and Howery reportedly purchased all 25 Fire for Bivouac priced at $25,000 each. In other words, the team’s stock was divided into blockchains for sale. Remaining editions will be available come Saturday, May 7 for hungry Discord members.