TMZ Hip Hop - Page 50

A$AP Rocky's swag just hit his waistline ... thanks to the purchase of a custom belt boasting some semi-precious gemstones.

Celeb jeweler Alex Moss tells TMZ Hip Hop, Rocky wanted to go all out with a special project that would be revered as more than just a simple, run-of-the-mill jewelry piece.

He commissioned Alex for a custom hand-crafted belt and blinged-out buckle that A$AP designed himself, which ran deep into Rocky's pockets ... $322k in total!!!

We're told the entire project took 4 months to complete, which isn't surprising considering it's loaded with VVS natural white diamonds, green diamonds, black diamonds and natural rubies.

The buckle itself is made of solid 18k white gold and Alex says it was no easy task to make but he handled the grueling process in his NYC shop.

Rocky's been teasing the GRIM tagline for a while ... even performing his "GRIM" freestyle earlier this year at Splash Festival to promote his new clothing capsule.

Swizz Beatz and Timbaland's $28 million legal war with Triller over their Verzuz payouts has come to a close -- the 2 hip hop superproducers have settled.

TMZ broke the story ... Swizz and Timbaland sued Triller following the sale of their series, accusing Triller of failing to deliver on all the promised payouts -- and although the terms of their settlement are confidential, both guys say they're happy with the outcome.

Tim and Swizz say ... “Verzuz has always been a platform that is by the artists, for the artists and with the people.”

Their joint statement to Rolling Stone continues, “We’re glad to come to an amicable agreement with Triller and continue giving fans the music and community that they’ve come to know and love from the brand.”

Swizz added, "Was I ready to go to war? Yes. Am I used to it? I’m from the South Bronx. But I had to take my emotions out of it. There were too many creatives for me to lock this whole thing in the lawyers’ box.”

Verzuz was a huge draw for hip hop and R&B fans throughout the pandemic ... boasting marquee matchups like Jeezy vs Gucci Mane and Brandy vs Monica.

After news of the lawsuit spread, the hip-hop community rallied around Swizz and Tim and threatened boycotts.

Diddy, Jermaine Dupri and Styles P were just a handful of the rappers of who promised to move on from Triller if the company didn't do right by the Verzuz co-creators.

Trae Tha Truth is making sure Dave Chappelle stays shining during his stand-up gigs -- he just hooked up the GOAT with a diamond and gold rendering of his signature logo!!!

The Houston rapper was recently in L.A. when he surprised the legendary comedian with the custom pendant, straight from famed H-Town jeweler Iceman Nick.

We're told the piece consists of 15 carats of VS quality diamonds and is valued at $25,000. It was intended to be a small gesture -- Trae noted Dave already has everything money can buy, but he picked wisely.

DC was floored when he opened the jewelry box, and admitted he didn't have a logo chain in his collection ... and graciously accepted the chain and pendant combo.

Dave and Trae have been friends for several years ... Trae regularly shows out to support when Dave is touring around the country, as he is now.

Trae has been in a giving mood lately ... his Relief Gang charity recently delivered clean water and supplies to Jackson, Mississippi residents struggling with contaminated water pipes.

In a far less kind gesture ... he helped hand out a certified beatdown to his former rapping partner Z-Ro a couple of weeks back -- but according to Boosie Badazz, J. Prince's mediation skills have been activated to squash that beef.

Desiigner is trying to complete his next album, but it looks like all hopes of snagging red-hot rapper EST Gee's contributions are in the crapper.

According to Desiigner, he reached out to Gee for a feature verse ... only to learn the tab would run him a cool $75k. Desiigner used to be signed to Kanye West's G.O.O.D. Music label ... which is probably why he took such offense to Gee's price and ripped him a new one on social media.

He apparently ripped more than that -- he claimed to be on the toilet taking a dump when he fired off his response to Gee!!!

Desiigner then went on to scoff at EST Gee's gold plaques and advised the Kentucky-bred rapper to keep all his gold chains ... and accused him of being a slave within the music industry. Yikes!

It's unclear if Desiigner wanted Gee for his clout or credibility. He does call the Yo Gotti-signed rapper complete garbage -- but those disses came only after he didn't like Gee's fee.

Don't sleep on Drake's ability on the basketball court ... 'cause the hip hop superstar can flat out hoop, so says Dribble2Much, Drizzy's longtime trainer.

TMZ Sports recently talked to Dribble2Much -- AKA Johnny Stephene -- and we asked him, who is the best hooping rapper.

"Big shoutout to my boy Drake right now because listen, me and Drake have been working for several years. We're good friends, first of all, and he really loves basketball. He loves the game. The fact that he loves the game and so passionate about getting better at something that he loves, put us on the same level as far as mentality-wise."

FYI, in addition to Drake, Dribble2Much has worked with celebs like 2 Chainz (and many more), and NBA superstars like Kevin Durant, Devin Booker, DeMar DeRozan and Chris Paul.

So, when the man says Drake can play ... listen.

Drake wasn't always regarded as a good player. In fact, he was routinely clowned on social media back in the day for his perceived lack of ability on the court.

But, Johnny says there's been a huge improvement.

"Listen, he's not that Drake from five years ago my man. He's got way better, man. I'm excited just because it's healthy for him to be playing and just being happy doing what he loves. That's dope."

His biggest strength?

"Shooting the ball."

'F.N.F.' rapper GloRilla is maximizing her rookie season with acts of kindness -- just ask her alma mater, who were just surprised with a $25,000 check!!!

Glo was back home in Memphis Thursday at Martin Luther King Prep High School where she donated the funds to the school's fine arts programs in hopes of fostering more talented acts down the line.

MLK Prep principal Chiquita Perry accepted the check in front of students and faculty members, and Glo called being in the position to give back a blessing, just like her recent single.

As we reported, Glo's charitable check comes on the heels of Cardi B also visiting her former school stomping grounds, where she presented her high school with a whooping $100k check earlier this month.

As fate would have it, the two rap stars are combing forces for Glo's upcoming single "Tomorrow 2" ... which drops on Friday.

Glo is a leading favorite for hip hop's 2022 rookie of the year. Her breakout hit "F.N.F. (Let's Go)" dropped in April and peaked at No. 49 on the Billboard Hot 100 ... which earned her a cash-filled contract with Yo Gotti that boasted a $500K stipend.

The last time we spoke to Glo, she said she was already looking to invest her signing bonus and wasn't splurging just for the sake of the 'Gram.

Nardo Wick will be taking names when he hits the road, thanks to the Florida rapper's recent purchase of an insane supercharged Apocalypse HellFire 6x6!!!

Apocalypse Manufacturing tells TMZ Hip Hop ... Nardo dropped a cool $270,000 for the super truck ... which isn't hard to fathom with all its high-powered trimmings and 750 Horsepower Hemi Hellcat engine that can flex 0 to 60 mph in just 4.3 seconds!

The truck is a 6x6 wheel drive vehicle ... and Nardo himself specifically ordered the biggest accessories he could get -- a 12” infotainment screen, 40" tires, 22" inch SFJ rims, purple accents on its weatherproof interior to combat hurricane season, and a premium sound system to test out his new jams.

Those jams include DJ Khaled's "It Ain't Safe" from his No. 1 album "God Did" ... where Nardo stunted with his Apocalypse HellFire alongside Kodak Black in the official video.

Ludacris' manager, Chaka Zulu, has been arrested for murder in connection with the fatal shooting of a man outside his restaurant -- but new video from the incident shows Zulu getting beaten by a group of men before he fired -- giving way to a self-defense argument.

We've obtained surveillance footage recorded June 26 outside Zulu's Atlanta restaurant Apt4B. A group of men, including Artez Benton -- who was killed in the melee -- arrive to Apt4B, park in the valet area and make their way inside. 10 minutes later, the men leave the restaurant after some sort of dispute.

That's where the video starts. Zulu, who was previously in the parking lot speaking to a friend, starts making his way back toward the restaurant ... when he gets into a heated exchange with Tre'mon Robinson, one of the guys who was told to leave the restaurant.

During the argument, a man named Corey Crawford is seen retrieving something out of a vehicle. A source directly connected to the case tells us Zulu's legal team believes Crawford was getting a gun.

Robinson motions to his friends to come over and then appears to chest bump Zulu ... and that's when all hell breaks loose.

Chaka grabs Robinson, but Crawford and Benton jump in and they all begin pummeling Chaka. At one point, Chaka's female assistant (in the orange shirt) attempts to help Chaka, but Robinson punches her in the face ... knocking her to the ground.

Crawford ducks for cover behind two vehicles, and that's when shots ring out. It appears Chaka is the first to fire, striking Benton ... a plume of smoke is visible from Chaka's gun. Another plume of smoke appears to emanate from Crawford's gun. It appears he fired several shots and one hits Chaka in the back.

Benton was hit in the chest ... you see him crawl away. He later died from his injuries.

As we reported, Chaka's been arrested for murder, aggravated assault, simple battery and possession of a firearm during the commission of a crime. He turned himself into authorities last week, but from the beginning, he's maintained he acted in self-defense.

LL Cool J is coming to the defense of hip hop's pioneers ... as he blows a gasket over DJ Akademiks calling older rappers "dusty," and not as rich as the new generation of artists.

In a fiery Instagram Live, LL picked apart Akademiks' stance -- noting how music fans don't check the pockets of legends like Miles Davis, John Coltrane or popular rock musicians. His point is simple ... why do it for hip-hop icons?!?

Ak questioned the validity of some older rappers' stake in the culture on account of their bank accounts -- which LL calls a "misinformed" opinion.

LL also pointed out that when rap started, there were no managers, endorsement deals or big label budgets ... and hip hop stars of the past literally had to create the movement from the ground up.

The Rock The Bells Festival founder said comments like Ak's are exactly why he started the event ... to preserve the foundations of rap, and advised the blogger to never play himself, noticeably checking his composure to prevent from exploding!!!

LL's thoughts immediately garnered plenty of backup -- Busta Rhymes, DJ Premier, Royce Da 5'9, and Pharoahe Monch were just a handful of pioneers who cosigned the message.

LL didn't want to mention Akademiks by name ... but his fellow hip hop legend, former Hot 97 standout DJ Mister Cee, connected the dots and found Ak ranting about older rappers on one of his Twitch streams.

Kanye West says he's fighting to be heard as a parent since splitting from Kim Kardashian ... but he's also apologizing for the headaches he's caused her up to this point.

The artist was candid about his co-parenting struggles when he told Linsey Davis on 'GMA' his ability to have a voice in the relationship with Kim -- once they divorced -- was something for which he fought.

He recalls his time butting heads with Kim about what kind of clothes their kids can wear -- even saying it feels similar to his recent battles with Gap and Adidas.

As you know, Kanye pulled the plug on his partnership with Gap last week, claiming the company double-crossed him with empty promises.

And, while he apologized directly to Kim, saying he's sorry for stressing out her and the family -- he also claimed he's being discriminated against ... in business and as a parent.

Jadakiss' past life as Diddy's ghostwriter still haunts him ... mostly because he hated everything about the process!!!

The LOX rapper was chopping it up on Smoke DZA's 'Personal Party' podcast, revisiting his stint on Diddy's Bad Boy Records -- which was very early in his career, and, apparently, incredibly challenging.

Jada recalls writing Diddy's verses for his debut album "No Way Out" via the tracks "Victory," "Senorita" and the crown jewel "All About The Benjamins," which amounted to a ton of heat for which Jada got zero credit, publicly.

Despite his high skill level, Jada says it was difficult ghostwriting for Diddy simply because they weren't in the same tax bracket, but he had to emulate his boss' fancy lifestyle!!!

Jada says Diddy would simply instruct him to write from the perspective of "Puff Daddy" ... which was tough, considering Puff was already an established mogul hailing from Harlem, while Jada was a rookie from Yonkers who didn't understand the game.

He admits he was a bit rough around the edges ... eventually smoothing out his sound and mentality as he got older. The LOX only released one album on Bad Boy in 1998, but let Jada tell it ... history could've been written differently.

He also recalled Suge Knight phoning LOX rapper Sheek Louch's house with an offer to join Death Row Records amid their label bidding war -- an obvious attempted chess move against Diddy during the height of the East Coast vs. West Coast feud.

Jada says the group pondered the move to L.A. ... seeing as how Death Row was arguably the hottest label out, but ultimately he felt they would've betrayed their NYC lineage by hopping on the California love bandwagon.

Boosie Badazz is feeling optimistic about former Houston rap collaborators Trae Tha Truth and Z-Ro potentially settling their feud -- which already got violent -- and all it took was J Prince coming on the scene.

Boosie was recently back in his favorite VladTV hot seat and revealed he'd seen the Trae and Z-Ro fight footage, but didn't have much of a reaction. The Louisiana rapper chalked up the scuffle-up general town bidness, and expressed regret 2 artists he previously worked with came to blows.

He's also happy no one was shot or killed, especially in the aftermath of PnB Rock's murder.

TMZ Hip Hop broke the story ... Z-Ro was jumped by Trae and several others outside an event for 50 Cent's Tycoon Weekend earlier this month after initially denying the altercation took place.

The silver lining, as Boosie sees it, is that Rap-A-Lot Records CEO and Houston OG J Prince was recently "at the table" with Z-Ro ... which typically signals a peace treaty in the works.

PnB Rock's murder investigation is taking a deep dive into his past -- because, apparently, cops are under the impression this might've been more than just a random robbery ... on the contrary, it may have been a planned execution by a foe.

LAPD sources tell us the case is moving in several concurrent directions -- and one involves detectives digging into the late rapper's personal life ... especially when it comes to who he rubbed elbows with -- or possibly butted heads with -- resulting in would-be beefs.

We're told investigators are especially interested in his ties to Atlanta -- where he apparently spent quite a bit of time -- as well as his home city of Philly ... and they're asking any and everybody if PnB had known enemies who might've had it out for him.

PnB's lyrics are also under a microscope at the moment, with cops wanting to see if he referenced any feuds he might've had with any of his peers and/or other individuals.

This is an interesting development. Cops initially thought it was a fatal robbery -- in which random thieves came across PnB and/or his girlfriend's social media, saw what they were up to, and went on the attack. But why then didn't they just snatch his chains and leave, rather than shooting him multiple times and killing him?

Cops now believe this could've been a more elaborate scheme by someone with a vendetta.

No matter how you cut it ... the fact that this L.A. investigation is now crossing state lines is pretty stunning -- and they certainly wouldn't do that without at least a good hunch.

Now, as for where things stand in terms of ID'ing the suspects and/or the getaway car ... our sources say cops are still trying to track down the vehicle through video feeds. We're told they're getting lots of tips, but it's taking time to sift through them to see which are legit.

Roddy Ricch is calling his hometown a danger zone in the wake of PnB Rock’s slaying inside a beloved L.A. restaurant.

The Compton-bred rapper admitted his PSA was a bit out of the ordinary for him, but felt the need to speak out as things continued to spiral.

He posted ... "LA ! Usually I try to mind my business and let the world rotate but we gotta do better ... It’s too much senseless violence. Too much opportunity and motivation to take things other people work hard for. It’s too much life to live to take someone else’s away."

In addition to PnB Rock's murder last week, Los Angeles has seen an upswing in violent crimes ... including armed robberies and burglaries, and Roddy's calling it out.

He added, "I love my city but we can’t keep going out like this. Before you know it, it’ll be nobody left to take from or kill. Let’s stay on point stay aware and find better ways to pursue our dreams because this shit turning into ALL NIGHTMARES."

Roddy and PnB were friends and former labelmates at Atlantic Records where they collaborated on PnB’s 2019 album "TrapStar Turnt PopStar."

LAPD's investigating potential motives in the case … including the possibility PnB’s murder was preplanned and detectives are examining his lyrics for clues to any potential beefs.

Tekashi69 is being forced to cough up some serious dough to Fashion Nova, according to a judgment in the company's 2020 suit ... and his bill could skyrocket if the other defendants don't pony up the cash.

Legal docs, obtained by TMZ, show Tekashi agreed to a judgment against him in the amount of $350K, after Fashion Nova alleged he and others walked away with their cash in 2018.

Tekashi agreed he alone is responsible for paying off around $39K of the total.

However, he could wind up paying WAY more ... because if the other defendants -- such as booking and entertainment companies -- don't cough up any of the remaining $311K, Tekashi will remain on the hook to satisfy the full judgment.

Tekashi puts it simply, telling TMZ ... "That's hilarious," laughing at the amount of money he could owe. Unclear why he finds the situation funny ... seems like a big chunk of change.

As we reported, the clothing co. paid Tekashi an advance of $225K for brand promotion in 2018 -- he got locked up 2 weeks later ... making him unable to perform his duties.

DJ Envy thinks all rappers should invest in some form of protection for their jewelry following PnB Rock's murder, and "The Breakfast Club" co-host has much experience insuring valuables.

We caught Envy strolling through LAX, where he said hip hop's latest tragedy resonated greatly with him as he too has a prized collection of jewelry and chains.

At the core, Envy feels the world should be a place where people should be allowed to wear the spoils of their success without fear of violence ... but he's quick to acknowledge that just ain't reality!

Envy admits he tends to leave the flashy stuff locked up at home when he's traveling for DJ gigs or car shows -- but if he does hit the scene with a bit of bling, Envy says he's always trailed by security and sometimes self-protection.

He's also been robbed before, and says sometimes it only takes one time getting burned before you opt to carry your own heat.

As we've reported ... PnB was murdered last week in an L.A. Roscoe's Chicken & Waffles, and the killer made off with his chains as he lay on the floor dying.