TMZ Hip Hop - Page 50

Cardi B and Offset went all out celebrating their son Wave Set's first birthday with an extravagant sportscar-themed party ... and the videos and pics from the bash are crazy.

Cardi is showing off all the images on her social media accounts, and Wave Set is going to make a lot of kids jealous ... because the bar for his birthday parties has been set super high.

The parents put Wave Set in a custom remote-controlled car and Offset drove him into the party, which featured blue, green and red Lamborghinis parked out front.

Inside, there were tons of balloons, a DJ spinning tunes and areas for all the kids to play, including a couple slides and some model car racing.

The parents had fun too, there was a full bar and a seafood bar ... and they could even get customized denim jackets.

Cardi B's sister, Hennessy Carolina, started crying as she filmed the festivities because the kids are growing up so fast.

Cardi and Offset have thrown a ton of lavish parties for their daughter, Kulture ... and now baby boy Wave Set is getting his turn.

LeBron James and Drake stole the rights to a movie about a segregated hockey league ... this according to a new lawsuit.

The NBA star and rapper are being sued for $10 million by Billy Hunter, the former head of the NBA players union, who claims he holds the exclusive legal rights to produce any movie about Canada's old Colored Hockey League.

According to the lawsuit, obtained by TMZ, Hunter claims LeBron and Drake used their production companies to go behind his back and sign a deal with the authors of a book their "Black Ice" hockey documentary is based on ... icing out Hunter in the process.

Problem is ... Hunter claims he had a deal with the guys who wrote, "Black Ice: The Lost History of the Colored Hockey League of the Maritimes, 1895-1925," where Hunter would hold the exclusive rights to produce a movie.

Hunter says he paid the authors, George and Darril Fosty, a combined $265,000 to lock up the movie rights to the story of a Canadian hockey league for Black players ... but says they worked out a side deal with LeBron and Drake.

In the suit, Hunter claims he confronted the Fosty brothers after hearing about their deal with LeBron and Drake and says the authors claimed the documentary did not violate their agreement with Hunter because a documentary is different than a movie ... a claim Hunter says is "absurd and made in bad faith."

Hunter, who was the head of the NBA players union when LeBron came into the league, is going after LBJ and Drake for a cut of the documentary's profits ... plus $10 million in damages.

A rep for Drake had no comment on the allegations.

NBA YoungBoy is coming for Nick Cannon ... the rapper is expecting his 9th child, meaning he's only one behind Nick.

YoungBoy made the baby announcement in a social media post and a new music video for his song, "Purge Me."

In the Instagram photo dump, the last photo slide shows a woman's hand, rocking an engagement ring, over a pregnant belly. The woman is YoungBoy's already established baby mama Jazlyn Mychelle and she looks pretty far along.

Jazlyn is also featured in the music video ... she's clearly pregnant and there's a few romantic moments with YoungBoy.

YoungBoy already has at least 8 children with 7 different women, and he's only 22 years old.

As we reported ... Nick announced last month he's expecting his 10th baby, this time with ex-girlfriend, Brittany Bell ... and now social media users are comparing YoungBoy to Cannon.

Youngboy's other 8 children are named Alice, Amarni, Kacey, Kamiri, Kayden, Kentrell, Kodi and Taylin.

Pat Stay, known as one of the best battle rappers in the game, is dead after a stabbing incident in Nova Scotia, Canada.

The stabbing happened early Sunday morning in downtown Halifax, according to police -- and while the authorities haven't confirmed Pat as the victim ... his brother, Pete Stay, confirmed his death to CBC.

Police responded just after 12:30 AM, and Pat was taken to a hospital ... but he later died from his injuries. No one's been arrested for the stabbing.

Pat was from Dartmouth, Nova Scotia ... hardly a hotbed for hip hop, but he was still revered within the industry for his freestyling during live rap battles.

Stay had a large social media following, and dropped a new track on YouTube just 2 days ago that rips into The Game -- it's called "The Game DISS."

The video includes brief quotes from Drake, Method Man and Joe Budden ... who all praised Stay's battle rapping.

Drake's take on his skills was, "Pat Stay's definitely one of, if not, the best."

Police are asking anyone with information about the stabbing to call 902-490-5020.

The incredible Super Bowl Halftime Show got a big score Saturday night ... an Emmy for Outstanding Variety Special, and some very big names took home some hardware.

Dr. Dre, who produced and performed in the show, won along with Snoop Dogg, Mary J. Blige, Eminem, Kendrick Lamar and 50 Cent.

The halftime shows are always big, but this is the first one that was honored with an Emmy.

Now get this ... Eminem is now one award away from an EGOT ... all he needs is a Tony and he joins a very small group.

Everyone in the group except Snoop has also won a Grammy.

The show was electric, with iconic songs like "California Love," "No More Drama," "Lose Yourself" and "Still D.R.E."

Some other Emmy winners -- Adele for "One Night Only," and The Beatles "Get Back" documentary.

Congrats!!!

Dr. Dre and Diddy’s first-ever studio session brought out the best in everyone in the room ... especially an up-and-coming artist named Pheelz, who soaked up light-years of music wisdom.

Over the course of a pretty legendary night last week, Dre took a liking to the Nigerian singer and producer ... who gave Doc the nickname "Mayowa," which means "joy bringer" in his native tongue.

Pheelz tells TMZ Hip Hop, being within arms reach of Dre, Diddy, Jimmy Iovine and others in the studio that night was a sight to behold ... and he's sure the finished product will be a win for fans.

He says growing up in Nigeria, he developed a connection with Dre through his music ... which impacted his own producing career.

In 2020, Pheelz won Producer of the Year at the Headie Awards -- Nigeria's top hip hop honor -- and says by linking with Dre, his art is that much better following the studio session.

Talk about a night to remember ... Pheelz had a front-row seat as American powerhouses Diddy and Dre joined forces for tracks that will end up on Dre and Snoop's upcoming joint album.

Sources involved in the blockbuster recording session tell us Diddy took Dre's studio coaching to heart, and their chemistry began to build on the spot.

Pheelz has been slowly building his U.S. visibility and this iconic moment will go a long way to that end. He just released his Davido collaboration titled "Electricity" ... and is set to perform at the BMI Awards in Miami next week.

Tekashi 6ix9ine's girlfriend is legally barred from contacting him following her domestic violence arrest, but the rapper tells us he doesn't think the no-contact order is necessary.

According to new legal docs, obtained by TMZ, Tekashi's girlfriend of 4 years, Jade, is prohibited from having any communication with him, including phone calls, texts, letters and social media.

Jade's also barred from using a third party to contact 6ix9nine ... and she's got to stay at least 500 feet away from 69.

Tekashi tells TMZ ... his relationship with Jade is fine, and he's allowing Jade and her child to stay in his Florida home until the case is resolved. 69 tells us he will shack up in a hotel as the legal process plays out, and when it's over he will move back in with Jade and her kid.

TMZ broke the story ... Jade was arrested last month after getting into a dustup with Tekashi in Miami, with their altercation caught on video.

For his part, 6ix9ine thinks Jade attacked him because she was drunk and was being influenced by her friends.

Kanye West is fired back up again -- now re-focusing his outrage at a specific Adidas executive ... who's plastered all over Ye's Instagram page, with some interesting commentary.

Ye went on the offensive Saturday with a slew of new posts that have Daniel Cherry III in his crosshairs. DC is Adidas' Senior Vice President/General Manager -- and Kanye is dragging him through the coals over what he apparently sees as hijacking his Yeezy brand.

We saw this earlier in the week ... KW was upset over a perceived feeling that he's being iced out of managing Yeezy via Gap -- and now, he's going back to the source in Adidas.

In one of his newest messages -- which looks to be aimed at Cherry -- he references "VCs" ... or venture capitalists. Kanye writes, "VENTURE CAPITALIST WHO'S ONLY ADVENTURE IS CAPITALISM. CANT CREATE SO THEY TRY TO OUT COUNT THE CREATIVES."

Ye adds, "DIE SLOW." There's more  ... Kanye seems to allude to some sort of history he and Cherry share -- alleging DC recently told Lil Uzi Vert that he should've "taken it to the hands" with Ye years ago, which is seriously pissing him off. He says he's already got a fake NYT death cover story in the can for when Cherry gets fired -- something Ye's predicting.

He also writes ... "I GUARANTEE YOU'LL HAVE TO RELOCATE BEFORE I'M LEGALLY FINISHED WITH YOU." Kanye has photoshopped tons of pics of Chery in different scenarios with mocking captions ... alluding to the notion Cherry was hired to manage Yeezy without Kanye's knowledge and is supposedly running it into the ground -- at least from KW's POV.

In one of his new posts ... Kanye also appears to be texting Kim about where their kids should go to school -- picking up where he last left off. Lots on Kanye's mind right now ... and he's airing it all out publicly for the world to see.

Jack Harlow might be a big deal in hip-hop circles, but it doesn't seem he's nearly as impactful among the football crowd -- as seen in his now-viral appearance on ESPN.

The rapper was the special guest Saturday for "College GameDay" -- where analysts and pundits sit around talking shop about all the games going down for the day ... and who they got to win, etc. Jack was on the panel too ... but first, let's start with his performance.

JH was at Ohio State here -- who are playing Notre Dame today -- and as he was introduced on a tiny little stage while surrounded by students ... things fell flat fast.

He was doing his song, "First Class," for the kids ... but it became pretty clear that they just weren't into it. Take a look at the reaction from the crowd -- yes, some toward the front are a little hyped ... but most everyone else is just looking on, like deer staring into headlights.

Jack seemed to notice the lack of energy too -- at one point, he appeared to throw his hands up, as if to say ... WHAT THE HELL, GUYS?!? It was very Ja-Rule-At-The-Bucks-Game.

Still, ever the professional ... Jack powered through, and word is he did damn near the whole song -- which is also getting mocked right now. Namely, the fact that nobody at ESPN thought to just pull the plug and move on. The jokes are flying in every direction over this.

That wasn't the only thing that left an impression, though ... Jack's actual football IQ was on display during his sit-down portion of the broadcast, and there too he's leaving 'CGD' viewers less than impressed ... but certainly entertained.

A$AP Rocky has a lot of things on his mind these days … but tending to the car he was riding around in with Kanye West and Antonio Brown apparently isn't one of them.

TMZ spotted the '70s classic station wagon getting towed out of an L.A. neighborhood ... at the request of police.

The tow truck guy tells us the car was parked illegally and as you can see on the windshield, it had racked up months worth of citations.

No telling who actually owns the vehicle ... Rocky, Ye and AB shot something -- most likely a music video -- in the wood-paneled Jeep wagon early in 2022.

From the looks of it, that might have been the last time it was washed too!

Let's face it, Rock’s got bigger issues to deal with than parking tickets -- L.A. prosecutors are saying the Harlem-bred rapper was the triggerman in the November 2021 shooting where his former friend A$AP Relli was hit.

He's since been charged with 2 counts of assault with a semiautomatic firearm, and he's also facing an assault and battery lawsuit.

Joey Badass is looking get his acting career up to the level of his rap game -- especially after his first movie role was in an Oscar-winner -- so now he's got his eye on a biopic.

In a new interview with Revolt, the Pro Era rapper boldly expressed his wish to play late MC Big L, who died in 1999.

Joey says aside from various people telling him how much he favors the Harlem rapper, he hopes to bring more visibility to Big L’s story.

We spoke with Brian Shafton, a partner at RBC Records, which owns several masters to Big L’s music, and he thinks Joey would literally crush it.

Brian also agrees the film would be huge for Big L’s legacy, especially in these streaming times.

Joey’s 2020 film “Two Distant Strangers” -- a big Netflix hit -- took home the Oscar for Best Short Live Action, so the audience potential is definitely there. Brian says the only potential problem is that Big L’s songs are riddled with so many samples ... it would be near impossible to license all the tracks for a film.

In the meantime, Joey's busy honing his acting craft with a steady role on 50 Cent's "Power Book III: Raising Kanan" -- and on the music side, he just wrapped his "2000" tour.

Just a hunch, but a Big L biopic without his music probably wouldn’t fly with fans.

Z-Ro’s recent scuffle with Trae Tha Truth’s team left a stain on 50 Cent’s Houston Tycoon after the brawl exploded outside a celebrity basketball game ... and footage from the brawl shows TTT was very much involved.

The newly obtained video by TMZ Hip Hop shows the Houston activist delivering blows after previously denying his former friend and collaborator was outnumbered in the fight.

Trae can be seen in the orange ABN shirt as he attacks Z-Ro, and the rest of his team kicks and punches away. Another member of Trae’s team also appears to secure Z-Ro’s gold chain in the melee.

The Houston rapper previously denied outnumbering his former friend in an Instagram PSA, citing his big heart … but the footage tells a different story.

Following the event, Z-Ro spoke to TMZ Hip Hop, detailing how he was tricked into having a conversation on the side of a sprinter van, before being ambushed and assaulted.

The two rappers have a long, rough history ... and the breakup is tearing longtime fans apart.

Kanye West is back to taking shots at his family on Instagram, targeting Kim and the rest of the Kardashians in a flurry of posts that touch on everything from where his kids go to school to labeling himself, Scott Disick, Tristan Thompson and Travis Scott "c** donors."

Ye put up a bunch of now deleted posts Thursday night, including a text exchange with Kim where Kim begged Kanye to stop, writing, "From my mom- PLEASE ... Tell him to please stop mentioning my name. I'm almost 67 years old and I don't always feel great and this stresses me to no end."

That didn't phase Ye, who replied, "Y'all don't have so so over my black children and where they go to school. They will not do playboy and sex tapes. Tell your Clinton friends to come get me. I'm here."

Kanye recently opened up his Donda Academy, and apparently believes his kids should attend the academy for school. He's clearly also taking shots at Kim's sex tape and her and Kylie's posing for Playboy years ago. At one point, he even revealed his porn addiction ruined his family.

However, Ye wasn't done there ... he also posted the names of Travis, Tristan and Scott -- who all have kids with Kardashians -- and the caption, "Calling my fellow c** doners. We in this 2gthr."

He also took shots at Pete Davidson, who got Kim and Kanye's kid's initials tattooed on his neck, and who Kim recently split from, saying, "Ask Pete how those tattoos of my kids doing in the trauma unit."

The series of Instagram posts is just another attack Ye has laid out this week on social media. He also called out GAP and Adidas for allegedly leaving him out of business meetings and copying his designs.

Jay-Z's "Made In America Festival" hits Philly this Labor Day weekend for its 10th year with Bad Bunny, Tyler, The Creator, Snoh Aalegra, Pusha T and many more -- but Flo Milli will be there pulling double duty.

The fast-rap rookie recently joined the MIA lineup and we're told she also got recruited to host a cocktail-making session of Jay-Z's D'USSÉ cognac.

On Saturday evening, the Alabama rapper will be joined by Global Ambassador Sullivan Doh inside a VIP space where she'll dish on her recent grand debut at the MTV VMAs ... and help fans learn how to whip up some adult beverages.

The festival won't only showcase Jay's liquor line -- the Roc Nation CEO's philanthropic arm will also be busy at work during the festival.

Team Roc's Cause Village will be the hub for charitable organizations at Made in America. Clothing apparel SHEIN is joining forces with Team Roc to conduct workshops targeting various issues including social justice reform, education and animal welfare.

Fat Joe had a Latino appreciation post blow up in his face because fans thought he was insinuating hip hop was just as much Hispanic culture as it was Black.

The post highlighted several Latino artists involved in hip hop’s earliest days, and though he never named them creators ... the backlash was fierce and swift.

Joe would go on to lash out at the haters, and DJ Tony Touch is aligned with his defense.

The proud Brooklyn-born, Puerto Rican-bred DJ also helped pioneer hip hop, and he’s telling TMZ Hip Hop ... Joey Crack’s comments weren’t anywhere close to being out of pocket.

Like Joe, Tony points out hip hop’s birthplace, the Bronx, had a healthy mix of Black and Latino people -- and the culture’s 2 chief creators, DJ Kool Herc and Grandmaster Flash, migrated to the U.S. from Caribbean islands.

Kool Herc originally hailed from Jamaica, and Flash from Barbados -- after emigrating to the Bronx, they eventually hosted the very first hip hop parties. The rest is billion-dollar history.

Tony attributes the fierce Joe backlash to the Black Lives Matter movement ... noting how exclusion -- or even the perception of it -- often rubs people the wrong way.

He also points out that hip hop’s first film, 1983’s “Wild Style” is loaded with Latino talent such as members of The Rock Steady Crew and Cold Crush Brothers, Lee Quiñones and graffiti artist Lady Pink.

R&B isn't dead, but it does need to be revived ... at least that's how Tank sees things in the wake of Diddy's commentary on the culture, and he's got definite ideas about how to bring it back.

We caught up with Tank at LAX, and while he's been getting tons of fan support for his new and final album "R&B Money," he says he, and other R&B artists, just aren't getting love from the mainstream ... and that's gotta change.

The response to his project is proof the genre isn't dead, but he says what would really rejuvenate R&B is huge names -- like Chris Brown and Usher -- getting more coverage in the media. As he puts it, "Give us our space back."

Tank cites classics like Boyz II Men's "End of the Road" and Jodeci's "Forever My Lady" as benchmarks for the type of success newer artists should be experiencing.

All hope may not be lost -- Tank says he's been ribbing Jamie Foxx to return back to music ... a sentiment shared by many following the "R&B Money" release party.

The event was a hit ... Jamie, Jon B., Pleasure P, -- and even honorary singer O.T. Genasis were in the building, and Tank says bringing the Foxx from hibernation is his next life's mission.