TMZ Hip Hop - Page 50

Antonio Brown's decided to treat himself following the success of his new song and dance by copping an insane "The Godfather" watch ... that's filled with 666 diamonds!

TMZ Sports has learned the former NFL wideout hit up Jacob and Co. earlier this week to pick up the timepiece ... and the classic mob film-inspired watch came pretty epic.

We're told it features a miniature Vito Corleone (played by actor Marlon Brando) in the middle of it with his iconic black tux. It also has a hand-painted black piano ... and a Swiss music box that plays the first 120 notes of the movie's theme song!

And, get this ... the music box is played by two cylinders that are paved with 666 brilliant round diamonds and 18k of rose gold!

We're told AB also got a second watch on the shopping spree -- a rose gold Bugatti Chiron Tourbillon that has a crankshaft that turns 16 piston pumps up and down ... like a real engine.

The Super Bowl champ spent somewhere in the neighborhood of $800k for both watches ... and even though AB hasn't earned any money on an NFL field in a few months, he has collected over $80 million in his 12-year NFL career.

Quando Rondo got caught in the middle of a deadly shooting in broad daylight in L.A. on Friday ... triggering a freak-out from the rapper.

Videos circulating online show Quando CLEARLY upset while talking to a police officer in West Hollywood right after the bloodshed. In the videos, Quando appears very animated, flailing his arms and stumbling backward.

At one point, Quando sees the police drag a body out of a black Escalade and he promptly walks away, screaming in agony.

A rep for Quando tells us the rapper is "OK," but then clammed up on us.

Law enforcement tells TMZ ... several gunmen drove to a gas station in Beverly Grove and opened fire, hitting a young man.

His friends loaded him into the black SUV and drove about a mile to West Hollywood, where they were stopped by police officers responding to the shooting scene. This was where the videos of Quando were shot and it appears he's just a witness.

Cops gave CPR to the victim, who was breathing, but not conscious. An ambulance rushed the victim to the hospital, where he died.

The suspects fled in a white sedan.

Quando is no stranger to gun violence. He and his crew were shot at in Blackshear, Georgia, back in May 2021. One of his handlers was wounded in that attack.

Then, in November 2020, King Von was shot dead at an Atlanta hookah lounge following a confrontation between his crew and Quando's entourage.

Akon is jumping to Kanye West's defense in a big way, telling all the critics they're hypocrites for blasting Ye for what they say is disrespecting the homeless ... yet doing nothing about it themselves.

Akon says Kanye owes zero apologies for the containers in Gap stores featuring his fashions. As you know, Ye's getting dragged by folks who believe the containers are garbage bags and it mocks the homeless when customers have to root around inside the bags for the perfect hoodie.

Fact is ... they're not garbage bags ... they're containers and it's a unique presentation that actually has customers venturing into Gap stores ... something done with less and less frequency these days.

Akon says Kanye has no reason to apologize or explain himself ... he's just a guy who happens to be really creative, and owes no explanation to anyone.

Kanye made that point clear to Fox Friday ... he's not explaining or offering any mea culpa.

Akon says Kanye's actually put a spotlight on the homeless problem, and if people are so concerned then they should roll up their sleeves and do something!

DJ Drama's iconic mixtape series 'Gangsta Grillz' has been a fixture in hip hop music for three decades now ... giving star rappers such as Lil Wayne, T.I., and Snoop Dogg a voice outside the traditional music industry agreements.

Well get this, sources connected to the project tell TMZ Hip Hop there are currently more tapes being put together. We're told Drama is "in discussion" with both Tory Lanez and Yo Gotti's CMG artist EST Gee to boost their catalogs with "GG" projects.

Our sources say Meek Mill is also on the shortlist for a new "GG" project, which would be another facet in his comeback to music. As we told you, the Dreamchasers CEO just signed a new deal with WME and made a $10M bet to all industry bigwigs who think his rap career is in the coffin.

NLE Choppa is all for innovation in the bedroom, saying he thinks there's a part of the body that's rarely explored that should be ... the armpit!!!

We caught up with NLE Friday at LAX, who's been on a raunchy rampage since his "Slut Me Out" single dropped ... and sharing with the world he licks his girl's pits, saying, "my saliva yo deodorant."

NLE dissects the meaning behind his tweet, telling us all sorts of things have become more common in the bedroom in recent years, so armpits should fall under the same category.

We also picked NLE's brain regarding the recent rapper face-tat boom ... brought forth by Drake and Cardi B -- who's yet to actually reveal hers.

Tank and Jamie Foxx co-hosted a live performance of "R&B Money Show" last night, which capped Tank's album release career and brought out some energetic moments along the way.

The R&Blowout went down inside The Peppermint Club in West Hollywood with impromptu appearances from Pleasure P, J Valentine, Jon B and even OT Genasis ... who happily blessed the audience with his hilariously bad singing.

Jamie addressed the crowd several times throughout the night, dismissing Tank's retirement … while also sharing heartfelt stories as well as a bubbly rendition of his No. 1 hit “Blame It (On The Alcohol).”

Artists rarely follow through with their retirements but Tank may be the exception ... he's close to going deaf in one of his ears and would rather contribute to music behind the scenes.

He thinks the state of R&B and other music will be fine ... as long as artists spend a decent amount of time with their craft.

Unlike Tank, Diddy has been on a crusade these past few days lamenting that the state of R&B is as good as dead.

The Game has lost another big feature from his "Drillmatic" album ... all because it was just too expensive to keep NBA YoungBoy on the project.

Game's manager, Wack 100, laid out the details in a recent Clubhouse convo attended by Ma$e and several others ... saying that even though YB cut his usual feature price tag of $300k in half, it was still just too expensive to keep it on the album.

According to Wack, it also cost a ton of money to clear samples used on the album -- which actually resulted in 10 additional tracks getting cut.

YB is the most popular rapper of 2022, so his pricey fee makes sense ... but nonetheless, Wack says they have a Game-only version of "O.P.P." ready to upload.

Game also lost a verse from Nipsey Hussle on the album, and it's projected to be his lowest charting project to date ... on top of that, Eminem still hasn't acknowledged his "Black Slim Shady" diss.

Dr. Dre's January 2021 brain aneurysm was a lot scarier than he initially revealed -- his family actually gathered in his hospital room to say their final goodbyes.

The legendary producer's podcast interview with Dolvett Quince continues to leak across social media and he painted the eerie picture rather vividly.

Dre recalled his initial shock seeing his family visit him at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center … after they'd been previously barred due to the then-raging COVID-19 pandemic.

Unbeknownst to Dre, doctors had told the fam there was a strong chance he wouldn't make it.

Ignorance can be bliss ... Dre says he never knew the extent of the danger he faced. Doctors woke him every hour -- for two weeks straight -- to test his vitals ... they were that concerned.

Diddy is backing Swizz Beatz and Timbaland in their ongoing legal battle with Triller ... and he's advising the culture to do the same!!!

The Bad Boy Records mogul dropped a PSA on Instagram Thursday ... right after confirming a Bad Boy vs. So So Def hit-for-hit battle with Jermaine Dupri. As a result of the pending lawsuit, Diddy and JD also agreed their event will not be on Triller, and will happen in Atlanta.

TMZ broke the story … the legendary producers are suing Triller for $28 million, citing an alleged breach of contract. Triller stated there's no wrongdoing on their part, claiming they paid both Swizz and Timbaland $50 million in cash and stock so far.

Dallas rapper Trapboy Freddy was arrested by cops for a weapons charge ... but it might've been a good idea for officers to bring a zookeeper along, too.

Officials say they discovered a tiger cub Wednesday caged inside Freddy's Oak Cliff house. Officials seized the cat, but at this time, he hasn't been charged with anything in relation to having the animal.

The Dallas rapper was charged with one count of possession of a firearm by a convicted felon and is due to appear in court on Friday.

As for the tiger, it was transported it to the Texas Parks & Wildlife Department.

Gordo is riding the waves in 2022 ... the same ones he delivered to Drake to make his latest album "Honestly Nevermind" the record-breaker it is today.

The surprise release saw The Artist Formerly Known as DJ Carnage produce five tracks -- "Currents," "Massive," "Calling My Name," "Tie That Binds" and album jewel "Sticky," where in the latter visual, Drake displayed a ton of exclusive drip.

TMZ Hip Hop chatted with Gordo ... as he preps for his biggest solo show to date, a 5-hour DJ takeover in DTLA this coming Saturday, August 20.

The last time we spoke with Gordo, he was shedding his DJ Carnage image and "Honestly Nevermind" was still a secret to the world. Gordo says he actually parted ways with the song "Tie That Binds" for his own album to uplift the vibes on "HN."

The two prolific artists have a practical joker friendship in real life, but truly want people to have a good time with their musical output.

Fat Joe is taking his legendary storytelling skills to the theatrical stage this fall … via a one-man show à la the same kind Mike Tyson did a couple of years ago!!!

And to sweeten the pot, the show will feature a special introduction from his good friend Dave Chappelle to kick things off!!!

Roc Nation and Magic Lemonade will go half on the co-production duties and filmmaker emeritus Chris Robinson will direct the entire shindig.

Joe Crack tells TMZ Hip Hop, he’s “not holding back” on the keeping it real moments … which should range from topics like him getting kidnapped in Africa, recording with the late, great Big Pun, and serving a jail sentence for tax evasion back in 2013.

“The world will be getting Fat Joe at his most authentic, vulnerable, and comedic self on that stage,” Joe continued. "I’ve always taken pride in my storytelling, but we’re about to take it to the next level. I’m grateful to Dave Chappelle, Roc Nation and Magic Lemonade for their support in sharing my story and helping make this one-man show the biggest event ever.”

We’re also told a crop of Joe’s family, friends and closet collaborators will also supply personal interviews for the event ... making the affair that much more intimate.

And naturally, his multiplatinum rap catalog will play an integral role in the presentation.

Joe is arguably one of hip hop’s greatest storytellers on and off the mic … and his one-man show should coincide with the release of his memoir, “The Book Of Jose” which drops on November 15.

R. Kelly's former goddaughter says the singer had sex with her hundreds of times before she turned 18 years old ... testifying she was only 15 when they first had sexual intercourse.

The disgraced singer's alleged victim took the stand Thursday in Kelly's federal trial in Chicago, telling the jury she had sex with Kelly over and over as a minor because she was too intimidated to say no.

The woman, who is now 37, says she asked Kelly to be her godfather back in the late 1990s when she was only 13 ... and she testified things between them quickly turned sexual.

Kelly's alleged victim told the jury he first touched her breasts when she was about 14, doing so inside a Chicago recording studio ... and claims things escalated to intercourse when she was 15 and he was about twice her age.

The woman, known only by the pseudonym Jane, testified she had sex with Kelly "innumerable times" before her 18th birthday ... claiming the encounters took place at Kelly's home, recording studio, tour bus and hotel rooms.

Asked why she kept having sex with Kelly, Jane told the jury she viewed him as a figure of authority, and didn't know how to respond to his requests. She says she didn't know how to say "no" to Kelly and went along with the sex for so long it started feeling like a normal thing.

Jane testified she and Kelly would also have sex with other teenage girls he had her recruit.

She also testified Kelly recorded some of their sexual encounters, when she was only 14.

Young Thug sat in an Atlanta courtroom on Thursday only to be denied bond again in his ongoing YSL Rico case.

Thug’s lawyer, Brian Steel, informed the court the rapper was willing to comply with a 24-hour home confinement and argued the prosecution was creating a false narrative by using 2014 lyrics as evidence, but that still wasn't enough to sway the judge.

As for the prosecution, they referred to Thugger as the “General” of the entire YSL regime, and believe he should remain locked up.

This makes Thug’s third bond denial since he was arrested back in May, and at this rate, he will be behind bars until at least January.

Young Thug and Gunna have both been behind bars -- part of a 56-count indictment -- which included weapons and drugs charges. There were even allegations YT was tied to possible shootings and murders.

Chris Brown’s risqué meet and greets have allowed his fans to get seriously up close and personal with their favorite performer ... a trend he thinks can work to save the relationships between other artists and their fans.

Breezy took to Instagram Thursday to credit his own contributions to the culture by claiming his fan meetups during his tour with Lil Baby are, "Starting to inspire artists to actually give a f*** about their fans."

While there's not necessarily enough evidence to support his claims, yet, you can certainly see Chris' fans have enjoyed the photo shoots, lining up to pay $1k at his shows for a quick convo with Chris.

Nappy Roots rapper Fish Scales is lucky to be alive after he was shot, robbed and kidnapped outside an Atlanta brewery he co-owns.

Police say two suspects first robbed a customer in the parking lot before entering Atlantucky Brewery and forcing Scales into his car at gunpoint. The robbers then drove Scales up the road to his home in a neighboring suburb where he was able to escape, but not before being shot in the leg during a struggle.

Scales, who is one-fourth of the Grammy-nominated rap group, is now resting in the hospital -- Nappy Roots put out a statement saying, "We are so thankful our brother is safe and on the road to recovery."

Police were able to recover Scales' vehicle ... but as of now, no arrests have been made.