TMZ Hip Hop - Page 50

Father's Day 2022 is here and so is a blowout of adorable pics of rappers with their kids!

Even with a ton of money at their disposal for diamonds and diapers — being a rap dad can be tough!

You're always on the road, in the studio or on a video shoot making your time that much more precious ... but dads like Drake, DaBaby and Jay-Z know how to juggle their time and talents with their little ones!

Let Jim Jones tell it, Father's Day has been disrespected enough ... and all the proud papas need to be celebrated for their dedication to raising the next generation the right way.

Kim Kardashian and Kanye West seem to be on much better terms than some might think -- especially amid Pete Davidson's continued integration -- because the exes reunited again.

Check out these photos, obtained by TMZ, which we're told were shot Friday at a multi-purpose gym facility near Thousand Oaks, CA ... where their eldest daughter, North, was playing in a league basketball game for kids around 7 PM.

There's mom and dad in the stands ... looking on as North does her thing with her team. They weren't even that far apart -- just a row back from one another, in very close proximity.

Eyewitnesses tell us they did speak from time to time throughout the evening, and appeared to be cordial. Neither parent made a big scene by cheering or much of anything else ... we're told they looked like they were just trying to lay low and just watch North together.

This is definitely a good sign of successful co-parenting, which Kim and Kanye had already shown they can do without issue. Remember, they did this exact sort of thing back in March when they hit up Saint's soccer game in the same crew. There, too, they looked OK.

That was during a time when Kanye was raging online as Pete and Kim's relationship was getting more serious ... but since then, he's calmed down a lot and been mostly silent.

Of course, much has changed in the months that have followed ... including the undeniable fact that PD has not only met Kim and Kanye's kids, but has gotten pretty close with them as well -- evidenced in a recent one-on-one outing he had with their son at The Grove.

It was June 4. The Warriors just blew a double-digit, 4th-quarter lead to the Celtics at home. Many people thought the championship was there for Boston to take. But, not rap legend E-40 ... who straight up told us Golden State "in 6."

And, that's exactly what happened.

TMZ Sports talked to E-40 Saturday morning about everything from his prediction, to Steph Curry's legacy, to Boston fans talking s***, and in what will be music to the Warriors fans' ears ... how the team isn't done winning 'chips.

"They definitely did [win in 6], and they did it in classy fashion. With all the trash-talking and slander, with all odds against them. Like I said it takes a strong team, mentally and physically. Strong individuals, to overcome what they overcame with so much doubt."

Of course, the Warriors won the series in 6 games.

On Steph's legacy, 40 believes he's one of the greatest players ever.

"Steph Curry my G.O.A.T., bro. I'm not saying that because I know him and he's such a good person."

He continued ... "I've never seen anybody get down like he gets down on the court, ever."

FYI, Curry now has 4 NBA titles, 2 NBA MVPs, and 8 All-Star appearances.

40 even weighed in on the Boston area bar who infamously wrote "Ayesha Curry Can't Cook" on a sign outside their restaurant ... something the diehard Warriors fan says was out of line.

"They're talking about folks wives. That's their livelihood. Even when they were talking about "Ayesha can't cook." They ain't never tasted her cooking, and it's somebody that's also a chef themself, or got a restaurant that said that, that's just straight hatin'," 40 says.

"That's her livelihood. She got all kinds of cooking shows, all kinds of cooking endorsements and all kinds of stuff, restaurants, she doing her thing. So, you don't do that. That's some sucker s*** if you ask me."

When we talked to 40 a few weeks ago, he said he had a special gift for the Finals MVP ... and true to his word, 40 says he's going to hook up Steph with a bunch of his Earl Stevens Selections next week.

Now, the part Warriors fans will really like ... 40's prognosis for the squad going forward. GSW has won 4 titles in the last 6 years ... and they've made 6 Finals in the last 8 seasons. But, 40 says they're nowhere near done yet.

What Quavo wants, Quavo gets -- and in this case, that would be a haircut ... no matter who's in line in front of him.

Check out this video that's now going viral ... it shows the Migos rapper walking into a barbershop with a small crew, and immediately getting the attention of the clipper in chair #1 -- who seems to know Quavo needs a trim and needs it now ... in that exact spot.

Unfortunately for the dude who was already sitting there -- a fella named Lance, it seems -- he got the boot from the barber ... who jokingly tells him he's gotta go and make way for Q.

Lance is a good sport and slowly starts to eject himself as the barber removes the apron and all the cutting gear he's got on him. Everyone seems to just know and accept ... this is Quavo's chair, and he takes priority over anyone else there -- even if it is mid-cut!

As the nation gets ready for the 2nd celebration of Juneteenth as a federal holiday, Wale's revealing his plans for Sunday ... and offering some helpful tips for anyone who doesn't look like him, but still wants to turn up.

We caught up with the D.C.-bred rapper at LAX, and asked how he plans to spend the day -- and while he was at first taken aback, he eventually coughed up a great answer ... simply root for everyone Black!

Now, our photog -- a gent of Caucasian persuasion -- politely asked how he could also have a happy Juneteenth, and again ... Wale dropped a jewel of a response.

If this convo with Wale sounds familiar, it's because it was the basis for his 2019 video "Sue Me" ... where he reversed racial roles in a chilling depiction.

President Biden signed the bill last year to make Juneteenth a national bank holiday, making it the first new federal day off since MLK Day in 1983.

Drake laid out his plans to dominate Summer '22 with his surprise dance album, "Honestly, Nevermind" -- and while Twitter might have you believing it sucks, Drake insists the numbers will prove otherwise.

His 7th studio album's sharp departure in sound from hip hop/R&B to house music and Europop left some fans twisted ... but some of Drizzy's rap competitors are showering the album with high praise!!!

J. Cole called the album nothing short of a classic ... Juicy J and 21 Savage were thrilled to be along for the ride, and Soulja Boy channeled his classic rant from The Breakfast Club a couple of years ago.

Some people -- especially the apparent army of social media Drake-haters -- might blow that off as artists trying to keep in good standing for future features. 👀

However, early data shows Drizzy padding his "King of Apple Music" status. Apple tells us "Honestly, Nevermind" is now the biggest dance album in the platform's history -- breaking the record for worldwide first-day streams.

Additionally, his last album, "Certified Lover Boy," is the biggest album in AM history, and its Lil Baby feature track, "Girls Want Girls" is the biggest song.

Pharrell just gave some huge relief to a handful of NAACP student leaders -- wiping out all their student debt for good.

The artist surprised the group at an NAACP panel on the Black student debt crisis in D.C. Friday ... the good news got the 3 students and 2 recent graduates smiling from ear to ear.

One student, emotional with tears of joy in her eyes shouted, "I'm going to law school!"

Wisdom Cole, NAACP's National Director of Youth and College, told ABC News this is giving the crew an opportunity of a lifetime, and thanked Pharrell for forever changing the students' lives.

He also is hoping this will serve as an example to the President to do the same for struggling students across the country ... the NAACP's meeting was held right across from the White House, where President Biden has been trying to cancel a minimum of 50K in student debt.

Hot girl summer has officially commenced for Megan Thee Stallion -- partying it up in Ibiza on a yacht -- with champagne in hand and her friends along for the ride.

Meg was spotted Friday wearing a bikini and having a good time with some of her besties ... her boyfriend, Pardi, also joined in on the fun.

In true Meg fashion, she's going all out ... even dumping champagne on her body and fooling around with her friends.

One things for sure though, Meg and Pardi aren't afraid to show a little PDA -- even with friends around -- taking some time to love on each other too.

It's probably a nice escape for Meg, as you know, she's in the middle of a criminal case with rapper Tory Lanez, in which he's alleged to have shot her in the foot back in 2020.

Drake's first music video from his new album is a giant not-so-inside-joke -- and while he and Tristan Thompson are laughing ... Khloe Kardashian is definitely not. 😑

Drizzy dropped the vid for "Falling Back" Thursday night, and it's a full-on wedding party, complete with him saying "I Do" to his beautiful brides.

Yes, plural ... 23 gorgeous women, actually -- and the guy getting him ready for the big day is none other than TT, who's clearly leaning into his rep for infidelity.

TT tells the rapper, "Doesn't feel right, we scrap it, we go home," while making sure the guy's looking fresh for his 20+ brides ... clearly poking fun at Tristan's multiple cheating scandals, and Drake's timing for this video is pretty on the nose!

As you know, Thursday's season finale of "The Kardashians" featured Khloe's heated reaction to finding out about Tristan's affair with Maralee Nichols ... who he got pregnant.

Khloe says "You either wear a condom, get a vasectomy, or you don't f*** random people that you meet in other states. It's not rocket science".

So, the release of "Falling Back" -- the first single from his "Honestly, Nevermind" album -- kinda plays like a Kardashian's sequel or spinoff. TBH, it's brilliant marketing -- unless you're Khloe -- and Tristan's clearly in on the joke.

Diddy is dropping his first single in 6 years ... with a message to his ex, Cassie ... saying he's gotta move on -- and that's a good thing, 'cause she already has.

Sources close to Diddy tell TMZ ... the new song is titled "Gotta Move On," and it's dropping Friday and includes a feature from Bryson Tiller.

One of the song's verses includes the lyrics ... "You found a new man, so I gotta move on. Guess you got a new agenda, with someone you barely know. I won't, say you’re wrong. Guess you had to move on."

Diddy briefly teased he was releasing new music when he hosted the Billboard Awards earlier this year, but now it's about to drop.

You'll recall ... Diddy and Cassie split toward the end of 2018 after being on and off for a decade, with Cassie moving on to date and marry celebrity trainer Alex Fine. Cassie and Alex have two daughters together ... so safe to say, Diddy's in her rear view.

When Cassie first got with Alex, Diddy felt betrayed because he believed they hooked up before his breakup with her ... an allegation Cassie denied.

And, don't forget this nugget ... Diddy actually hired Alex -- a pro bull rider and personal trainer -- to train Cassie when he was still dating her.

Nipsey Hussle's murder trial continued with testimony from another man who was allegedly shot by Eric Holder the day Nipsey was killed -- though he remained pretty tight-lipped on the stand.

Kerry Lathan was shot in the back during the same incident where Nipsey died. While prosecutors asked Lathan a variety of questions, he didn't seem to want to get into specifics -- especially when it came to identifying who was present and naming names.

At one point, prosecutors played a video purportedly showing Lathan arriving at Marathon Clothing that day, but Lathan wouldn't confirm it was him in the clip, saying, "I don't know nothing, don't see nothing."

He testified when the shooting started, he heard "a lot" of shots, but wouldn't identify who he thought pulled the trigger.

Prosecutors asked Lathan, "You don't want to testify about what happened?" to which Lathan responded, "That's right."

As we reported, Holder allegedly told Nipsey, "You're through" before killing the rapper. Lathan was asked if he heard anything said during the shooting, but replied with, "He wasn't talking to me."

During opening statements Wednesday, prosecutors warned Lathan may not be very cooperative because of the involvement of Rolling 60's gang members in the case ... so his hesitation to be totally open about the events isn't totally surprising.

Drake's got the music world buzzing again -- this time announcing a surprise album is on the way -- and it drops in just a few hours!!!

Drake took to Instagram Thursday, banning comments from his latest post -- which serves as an announcement for his new album titled. "HONESTLY, NEVERMIND." Not only that, Drizzy says his 7th album drops at midnight ... an hour after his new SiriusXM show "Table For One" hits the airwaves.

We've heard the album is mostly on the melodic side -- not much of a departure from his last album "Certified Lover Boy" -- which is still doing very well on the Billboard Charts at No. 13 nearly 9 months after its release.

Manny Halley, Young Thug's former manager, has no bad blood with his ex-client -- he wants to see him free again, and firmly believes the system is using "our culture" against hip hop superstars.

We chopped it up with Manny Thursday at LAX, where he told us about his time at YSL ... stressing there was never any notion about the company being a gang. He says it feels like law enforcement's using "made-up charges" to take down a successful revenue stream for Black artists.

Manny and YSL unceremoniously parted ways back in 2018 after he was awarded a 7-figure settlement from Thug's former business managers ... but he says it's still all love and wants to see Thug and Gunna free as the air outside.

Some of what he told us echoes attorney Drew Findling's sentiments about Georgia prosecutors and the RICO charges.

The YSL guys have been getting loads of support from the likes of Chris Brown, Lil Baby, and DJ Khaled. Thug even recorded a message played last week at Summer Jam to thank fans for their support.

As we've reported, Thug, Gunna and co. aren't slated to go to trial until early 2023.

Murda Beatz and reggaeton megastar Anitta are officially a pair, TMZ Hip Hop can confirm.

We're told the hip hop super-producer and Latina trap star have been dating for a few months, hung out together during Coachella and Murda recently made the trip to her home country of Brazil to meet her family ... where he made a good impression.

They went IG official this past Sunday ... which was Brazilian Valentine's Day and have been packing on the PDA ever since.

It's not all pleasure, though ... they're also making music together. On Thursday, MB announced his star-studded "NO MÁS" single featuring Pharrell, Quavo, J Balvin and Anitta -- dropping July 8.

Murda, having built his platinum empire making beats for Drake, Migos, Cardi B, Travis Scott and many more ... now has a girlfriend with whom he can drop hits.

Drake is a basketball champion and J. Cole is a pro hooper -- but none of that matters to Lil Durk because he "knows" he's the best hip hop baller out there.

We checked in with Durkio as he was checking outta LAX to get his thoughts on Drake's recent trophy win ... in his own basketball league, mind you.

Seems like an obvious conflict of interest, but Durk says he'd do the same thing if he had his own court and b-ball league.

He also perked up with J. Cole's recent stint in the Canadian Elite Basketball League ... especially while claiming he'd put Cole on a poster with a dunk!!!

He's got backup for that smack talk, though -- remember, LeBron James recently went on record putting Durk's b-ball skills over every rapper out there and Durk is clearly, and proudly, wearing that title on his sleeve.

Hip hop mogul J Prince is sounding the alarm on an alleged Houston gang member who cops say executed his ex's daughter as revenge for a breakup ... Prince says the guy needs to be held accountable

Prince -- the Rap-A-Lot Records honcho who has a reputation for getting things done in Houston -- put the alleged killer on blast Wednesday, telling his 756k Instagram followers ... "We can't have clowns like this running around purposely killing our babies and be ok with it."

Houston police say 22-year-old Jeremiah Jones is the triggerman in a child's fatal shooting, and he's been arrested following a manhunt and booked on counts of capital murder and aggravated assault with a deadly weapon.

Cops say Jones "executed" 9-year-old Khylie Sorrells as possible "revenge" over the girl's mother breaking up with him several months ago and allegedly seeing other men.

Police say Jones went to his ex-girlfriend's home Monday night and got into an argument with her before shooting the woman's child in the head.

J Prince appears to be making a call to action, saying ... "Stand with me on preventing this sick individual from harming another baby. I'm not advocating violence, but we have to protect our kids."

Prince also has this to say about Jones ... "I don't care what gang he's with they are no match for us."