TMZ Hip Hop - Page 50

Young Thug's prison Wi-Fi seems to be up and running without issue, and the incarcerated rap star is going outta his way to help Kanye West's dream of launching worldwide Yeezy stores.

Ye has been livid on Instagram all week ... waging war with GAP and adidas for swiping his Yeezy designs.

The frustration led Ye to begin plotting to launch a Yeezy brick-and-mortar shop in every state -- starting in Atlanta -- and he furiously began sending sketch ideas to architects Claudio Silvestrin and John Pawson.

Thugger hopped on Instagram on Thursday, from prison, to offer Ye 100 acres Georgia land to use ... free of charge!!!

Clearly excited, Ye began to revel in the news with good friend A$AP Bari ... before hitting up ex-wife Kim Kardashian, in hopes she could work her clemency magic to free the YSL Records leader.

Hopefully Kim can operate at Houdini levels ... Thugga's already been denied bond three times after being named the head of his ongoing Georgia RICO case.

There's a war going on within the Zeus Network ... stemming from "Love & Hip Hop" star Masika Kalysha dragging Hazel-E to court over their televised fight.

TMZ broke the story, Masika wants $6 million for injuries sustained from the brawl, as well as sexual battery after claiming the security guard who broke them up touched her butt ... but their fellow "L&HH" alum Spice doesn't seem so convinced.

We caught the dancehall queen in NYC this week promoting her raunchy "Tape Measure" single ... and while Spice admits she hasn't seen this particular scuffle, Spice thinks punches and kicks sorta complement their particular brand of reality TV.

Spice says certain odds and ends are detailed in TV series contracts, although they might not read as explicitly as "user beware ... may get your ass beat!"

As far as the "touchy-feely" security guard, Spice says there's going to be inadvertent contact when it comes to breaking up a fight. Those hands have to land somewhere!!!

We're still waiting to hear back from Zeus ... but this case will probably be solved by the fine print in the contract!!!

Singer and actress Cassie Ventura celebrated her 36th birthday big ... as in Texas big inside a new Houston nightclub with some super famous pals.

The vibes and drinks seemed to be flowing Wednesday at "Finish Your Champagne" and Cassie was spotted having a ball with a bubble gun, the perfect party weapon of choice.

Plenty of Cassie's famous friends turned out to help her pop the cork off the bottle ... which included NBA stars James Harden and Ja Morant, as well as industry pals Terrence J, Pleasure P, J Mulan, Alaric J. Klaos and Serayah.

A newly-single Ne-Yo was also spotted in the building ... weeks after his estranged wife revealed their marriage was done for good following cheating claims.

The R&B superstar did look unbothered though, especially as the DJ dropped plenty of Ne-Yo songs onto the party ... allowing for the birthday girl to bask in the moment.

Speaking of marriages, Cassie got married back in 2019 to Alex Fine ... who wasn't in the mix for his wife's birthday bash.

He did, however, wish her both a happy birthday and 3rd anniversary on Instagram, so all appears to be good.

Russell Wilson's wife, Ciara, showered her man with love, calling him her "greatest inspiration," after the QB received a massive 9-figure contract extension from the Denver Broncos!!

Ci tweeted, "Baby @DangeRussWilson, I am so proud of you! You’re the most dedicated and hardworking person I know! It’s been so beautiful to see you become a Bronco!"

"So excited for the journey ahead!" she added

Wilson -- who was a part of a blockbuster trade that sent him from the Seahawks to the Broncos -- agreed to a five-year, $245 million extension on Thursday ... which includes $165 million guaranteed, according to ESPN's Adam Schefter.

Russ tweeted Thursday morning before his extension was announced, "ALL THE GLORY TO JESUS!!! #HEisKING."

The couple has fully leaned into being a Bronco. In fact, Ciara teased that Russ got her an adorable puppy as a Mother's Day gift, and fittingly, they named it "Bronco."

The pup joined Russ, Ci, and their three children in a new $25 million home in Englewood, Colorado in April ... which sits on 5.34 acres..

The Wilson's new 20,060 square foot crib has four bedrooms, 12 bathrooms, a nine-car garage, and a large fireplace.

Even before they became local homeowners, the power couple made an immediate impact in the Denver community, visiting patients at the Children's Hospital in Colorado.

It's nothing new for Russ ... who has been one of the most charitable athletes in the world since joining the NFL in 2012 -- whether it be in Seattle or the Mile High city.

Kanye West isn't done taking shots at companies he's helped to make billions of dollars ... now setting his sights on Adidas CEO Kasper Rorsted, with a phony newspaper headline declaring him dead.

Ye fired up his IG account Thursday to post the fake NYT page which says, "Kasper Rorsted Also Dead at 60." Kanye's caption on the post reads, "God Loves Us" ... which doesn't make a whole lot of sense considering the message certainly isn't true, or very holy, for that matter.

There's also a sub-headline on the article that says, "I know what you're thinking ... who is Kasper? but even less importantly who is Kid Cudi?"

If you haven't followed along, Ye has major beef with Adidas lately, who he has his Yeezy shoe line with -- he's pissed at the brand for a recent "Yeezy Day" launch that he allegedly didn't have creative control over. Yeezy Day allowed fans of the shoe to get their hands on previously-released variations of the shoes that may have sold out in the past.

Kanye has also had issues in the past with Adidas, accusing the sportswear giant of stealing design ideas he's used for Yeezy shoes.

You might remember, it was last month when Kanye posted a similar NYT headline, declaring Pete Davidson, who he refers to as "Skete" dead after he and Kim Kardashian split.

This marks the second company in as many days that Kanye's had beef with ... on Wednesday he went on the attack against GAP, accusing them of keeping him out of meetings, stealing design ideas and cutting his kids out of a photo shoot.

50 Cent's TV family is in full dysfunction -- 2 'Power' stars are on the verge of coming to blows, and the infighting is keeping everyone on their toes when cameras aren't rolling.

Sources close to the unfolding drama tell TMZ Hip Hop the problems between "Power Book IV: Force" actor Joseph Sikora and "Power Book II: Ghost" actor Gianni Paolo have been brewing long before Joseph -- who plays Tommy -- dropped a very public diss on Gianni.

50 and singer Joe were on stage in Houston last weekend performing the 'Power' theme song as several cast members joined them onstage.

When Gianni went to give Joseph a pound, he was brutally ignored ... and cameras caught the burn in real time! 😬

Gianni recently fired back at Joseph's claims of reconciliation following the onstage diss so yeah, Houston … there's still a problem!!!

Sources involved with the series back up Gianni's claims, noting there's been an air of coldness when the 2 actors are around each other.

We're also told the rivalry between 'Power II' star Michael Rainey Jr. and "BMF" actor Lil Meech is getting out of hand … with both camps aggressively throwing money at one another during a Houston Tycoon Fest party.

Their respective security teams almost came to blows as a result of the ruckus but we hear cooler heads prevailed to party on.

Last year, Meech and Mike revved up the testosterone on IG … sending shots to one another ahead of the "BMF" premiere and things are still, well … testy.

The last time we spoke to Gianni and Mike, they told us Fiddy was an incredible peer mediator on set … just from his presence alone.

Model Shannon Clermont of the Clermont twins is asking a judge to nullify her brief and secret marriage ... one she claims she was manipulated into.

In the legal docs, obtained by TMZ, Shannon says she married celebrity jeweler Alex Moss in New Jersey back in March after a few years of dating.

The docs say Alex told her he was a Canadian citizen, and in America on a student visa.

She claims he was told by his immigration attorney at the end of last year that he needed to tie the knot to avoid deportation but claims he promised he wanted to marry her regardless of his status.

She says he proposed on January 1, but didn't get down on one knee ... and she claims he said he didn't get her the ring he wanted to get her. Shannon claims Alex told her to keep their marriage a secret, even asking her to keep it from her twin, Shannade.

Shannon says he quickly decided to not move forward with building their life together, separating just 4 days after their courthouse marriage.

She's now looking for an annulment, claiming she was duped into the marriage under fraudulent pretenses.

The relationship between Kanye West and GAP has clearly hit some rough waters ... with Ye taking shots at the retail giant for allegedly leaving him out of meetings and copying his designs.

Ye's now gone off on the company for two days in a row, first announcing Tuesday, "Gap held a meeting about me without me?" Then on Wednesday posting a text exchange with someone accusing GAP of copying Yeezy GAP Engineered by Balenciaga's designs on a standard GAP T-shirt.

According to Kanye, GAP also backed out of a shoot with his kids, writing, "But they canceled the photo shoot with my kids in Japan without me knowing."

Of course, Kanye's Yeezy GAP line has been extremely successful so far -- with impressive sales both online and in-store. However, it appears the relationship has become frayed, with Ye not having as much of a voice in the business operations as he may have intended.

One thing we know Kanye's had full control over, though, is the presentation of the clothing in GAP stores. He faced heavy criticism online for the "trash bag" displays of the products, but announced he wouldn't apologize for being an innovator.

Leave it to LeBron James to get Jay-Z to come outta social media hibernation!

LBJ -- fresh from getting crunk at Kendrick Lamar and Baby Keem's The Big Steppers Vancouver show -- soaked up MSNBC anchor Ari Melber's deep dive into Jay's highly touted verse from DJ Khaled's "God Did."

The news bit hacked into the failed drug policies of ex-Presidents Richard Nixon and Donald Trump ... while highlighting how Jay lyrically details several of America's hypocrisies.

The NBA living legend equally praised Hov and Ari's poetic delivery … prompting a response from the Roc Nation boss, who took it all in stride, stating his primary focus is to give the voiceless a voice.

On the track, Jay raps, "I left the dope game with my record clean, huh/I turned the cocaina into champagne/I cleaned up la madrina with the same soap/Me and Loro talk 'bout how we slang dope/Now the weed in stores, can you believe this, Ty?" … the last line is a nod to his cannabis company Monogram.

Jay's highly touted verse has helped DJ Khaled secure next week's Billboard 200 chart crown … but that doesn't mean the Roc Boy will be lighting up IG or TikTok anytime soon.

While speaking with Kevin Hart over the summer, Jay explained he's down with everyone using social media to their heart's content.

Diddy's "R&B is Dead" campaign has led the Bad Boy Records founder back into the studio ... with the legendary Dr. Dre marking their first-ever musical meetup!

Sources familiar with the session tell TMZ Hip Hop Dre was actually coaching Diddy on how to say certain words and made sure they had it right.

We're told the track will likely end up on Dre's upcoming album with Snoop Dogg (who was also in the building) which the West Coast rap legends have been teasing since February's Super Bowl performance.

Jimmy Iovine, Tank, Pheelz, LVRN's Justice Baiden and others were also in the mix to keep the energy high and ideas flowing.

Seeing as it was their first time recording together, the 2 super-producers were trying to get a feel for each other's chemistry. We’re told the song felt like it was coming together nicely, and Diddy and Dre definitely “clicked” and had fun.

Diddy celebrated the moment with a post calling it a “dream come true,” and labeling Dre a "superhero."

Drake, J. Cole, Kevin Durant and Popcaan certainly know how to have a good time, especially when on the water in a tropical destination.

The superstar friend group was recently in Turks & Caicos, whipping around on jet skis in the crystal clear water.

Popcaan appears to be a new addition to the crew, but the Jamaican artist’s next album #GIHE (Great Is He) is set to come out on Drake’s OVO Sound label and he got really acquainted with the bros ... feasting on giant lobsters in between spa pampering and nighttime partying.

Popcaan began bread-crumbing his latest adventures with Drake & Co. last week when he posted up next to Drake and his private jet on the runway.

The vacation looked fruitful ... Cole is preparing to put on his CEO hat to oversee Ari Lennox’s next album, and KD looked comfortable soaking up the sun as he heads back to Brooklyn next season after all trade talks fell through.

DaBaby may not have sold enough tickets to put on a show in New Orleans, but he seems to be taking it in stride ... laughing it off with a social media GIF.

The rapper was supposed to perform at the Smoothie King Center Friday, but the show was canceled after he reportedly could only sell 500 tickets for the 14,000-seat venue. Of course, Twitter went into a frenzy, poking fun at the rapper ... and he surprisingly joined in.

DaBaby posted a GIF of himself, slyly looking around before smirking and taking a sip of a drink ... seemingly to acknowledge the social media buzz the story created.

Of course, DaBaby's slide in popularity has been pretty significant since his homophobic rant at Rolling Loud ... he's also faced legal issues as well.

7th Ward Shorty, one of the show's promoters and also on the lineup, told Nola.com he blames the low ticket sales on the fact they also booked EDM group Showtek to entice college kids attending this weekend's LSU vs. Florida State game.

He says once the event is rescheduled, it will be only hip hop and won't feature any EDM.

Usher is shutting down any thoughts of him getting in a Verzuz battle ... all because he says his discography is too massive to whittle it down to just 20 songs!!!

The superstar singer was a recent guest on the "PEOPLE Every Day" podcast, where he basically said the best Verzuz matchup would feature him standing on stage battling against himself!!!

Ironically, Usher already did something like that with his 2010 album "Raymond v. Raymond" ... but he's now doubling down on his grandeur, daring any artist to take on his greatest hits.

The air of confidence obviously carried over from Usher's interview last week where he owned the R&B crown, denying the genre was ever dead like Diddy claimed.

Any potential Usher challengers will have to wait. As we've reported, Verzuz creators Swizz Beatz and Timbaland, along with Sony Music, are suing Triller -- but Diddy and Jermaine Dupri are still planning to go head-to-head soon.

50 Cent's Tycoon Houston turned into the venue for a fight between hometown heroes and ex-friends Z-Ro and Trae Tha Truth, and yet Z-Ro says he's letting it slide. For now, at least.

We use the word "fight" loosely to describe what went down last weekend because, judging by the footage, Z-Ro was totally outnumbered.

TMZ Hip Hop caught up with the Mo City Don Tuesday, who gave us his view of what led up to him being surrounded by Trae's goons. Z-Ro says he was out Saturday enjoying the Tycoon Houston festivities, taking pics outside with supporters, when he was approached by Trae to have a conversation outside the crowd.

The two Texas-bred stars went their separate ways around 2012 and while Z-Ro admits they haven't been chummy, he didn't think they had any real issues ... until he was greeted by multiple fists and eventually feet to the face after being lured into Trae's trap.

Check out the footage ... a disoriented Z-Ro actually shrugs off the apparent beatdown to charge his attackers after police intervened, but officers ultimately held him back.

In terms of retaliation, Z-Ro says he's not as mad as some of the fans in the street … who have torn artists they grew up listening to have issues that escalated to violence.

Z-Ro says he’s been asking Trae for a charitable boxing challenge for years in order to settle their differences, but all he's gotten is radio silence.

Freddie Gibbs is apparently switching to album mode following his latest e-tussle with Benny The Butcher ... dropping clues on billboards that are popping up all over the country.

TMZ Hip Hop obtained images from Los Angeles, Chicago and New York ... promoting an “SSS Casino” ... which is also the name of Freddie’s upcoming album.

When dialed, the Las Vegas number plays an automated message from a female concierge who instructs callers their “soul is sold separately,” which is the acronym for “SSS.” The posts also subtly tout Freddie’s “Big Rabbit” nickname in blue lettering, tying the riddle together.

Freddie’s last release came in 2020, the Grammy-nominated “Alfredo” collaborative album with The Alchemist and sources close to the situation say the new project will be slated for a fall release.

The veteran rapper previously boasted collaborators to be Three 6 Mafia's DJ Paul, Jadakiss, Madlib and others ... so it'll be interesting to see who makes the final cut.

​A vicious fight broke out at a Chris Brown concert Friday ... and TMZ has obtained video of the VERY SCARY scene ... a woman laid out unconscious on the ground while two men are going at it around her.

Eyewitnesses tell TMZ ... the nasty brawl started between two women in the front section of the Kia Forum in Inglewood, CA, near the end of Breezy's set. Lil Baby also performed at the August 26 show.

Two men jumped into the fight ... and one of them clocked one of the women, knocking her unconscious.

Several fans dragged the woman to the side of the arena and tried to revive her, but she wouldn't move. The battle between the two men also spilled over to the side. Law enforcement sources tell us at least one person was transported to the hospital.

Our video shows the men wrestling and wildly throwing punches while the woman lays like a rag doll nearby with people standing over her.

We're told bystanders broke up the fight after about three minutes and security guards didn't do much at all when they finally arrived on the scene.

The condition of the injured woman is unknown. It's also unclear what precipitated the fight or how the parties knew each other ... if it all.

As for Breezy, he didn't seem to know what was going down and continued his performance.

We've reached out to police and EMS ... so far no word back.