TMZ Hip Hop - Page 50

Tee Grizzley can't leave rap, the game needs him ... so he tells TMZ Hip Hop, clarifying some recent comments that made it sound like he was retiring.

The Detroit rapper appeared on Bootleg Kev's podcast last week, emphatically signaling the end of his career himself -- but, at LAX, he told us he was just trolling, mainly because he just dropped an album full of storytelling raps in "Chapters of the Trenches," which he likens to mini-movies.

TG has a 'Grand Theft Auto' online empire that brings in thousands monthly so he's not hurting on cash, even if his music output slowed, but is still plotting on breaking through in Hollywood and shared his unique plan with us.

Most rappers are usually typecast as fictional rappers or hood dudes in TV and movie projects, but TG says he's looking for unconventional roles -- like starring as a TJ Maxx clerk who earns Employee of the Month.

Offbeat roles have come for some rappers -- Busta Rhymes doing kung fu on Michael Myers or Ice-T warring with a leprechaun come to mind -- and we welcome the sight of TG in a tie and khakis nailing his lines!!!

NLE Choppa is defending his right to show off what he's packing in his boxers ... even if half his fanbase wishes they could push the dislike button.

The Memphis rapper was apparently feeling sexy and posted a provocative mirror selfie over the weekend ... garnering much attention from appreciative women, and disapproval from male supporters, including one fan account.

Popular YouTuber Adin Ross couldn't believe his eyes and sent NLE several texts in disbelief ... which were put on blast online as well.

The response was overwhelming to the point NLE issued a response ... stating he was comfortable enough in his own sexuality to pull off such a photo, but did clarify he was a heterosexual male.

NLE is just about a week away from his 20th birthday -- but has been exhibiting sexual maturity in his tweets and music for several years now.

The last time we spoke to him, NLE was steadily promoting his "Slut Me Out" single and spoke on the extent of his fetishes ... highlighted by his love for armpits.

Quavo recently poured gasoline on the Migos' burning house ... sparking rumors for many that Saweetie hooked up with Offset -- and Cardi B is stepping in to tell everyone to mark their calendars for the truth!!!

Cardi took some heat over the weekend after a blog called her out for caring more about her short-lived beef with Madonna than cleaning up the public perception of her marriage.

Cardi let everyone know Offset would seize the moment to put an end to the rumors on his upcoming solo album, which is due out on November 11.

Call it fighting fire with flames ... Quavo initially sold the sensation on his and Takeoff's Migos-deflecting album "Only Built 4 Infinity Links."

While rapping on the song "Messy," Quavo erupted the volcano with the lyrics, "'Caresha Please' 'cause she too messy/Bitch f****d my dog behind my back, but I ain’t stressin'/You wanted the gang, you should’ve just said it, we would’ve blessed it."

Offset previously filed a legal injunction to separate himself from his longtime label Quality Control ... and it's safe to say Cardi is securing his buzz to boost the first-week streams boost.

Lil Durk is off the hook for a 2019 shooting case in Georgia, and the 5 felonies he was charged with should have been dropped long ago for a lack of evidence ... at least according to his attorney.

Fulton County D.A. Fani Willis recently filed paperwork with the court declining to move forward with the case against Durk because of "prosecutorial discretion," but she's declined to elaborate beyond that. Willis noted there was probable cause to initially arrest Durk, but after a thorough review of the facts, she decided against moving forward with the case.

Durk's attorney, Manny Arora, tells TMZ ... Willis simply didn't have enough evidence to prove her case against the rapper.

Arora insists Durk never committed a crime that day despite his presence at the scene. He added it was a "shame" it took 3 years to finally drop the charges, but he's not surprised since he believes prosecutors often drag out cases to save face.

TMZ broke the story...Durk surrendered to police in May 2019 in connection with a non-fatal shooting at The Varsity restaurant in Atlanta.

Police responded to a 911 call on Feb. 5 and found a man with a gunshot wound. Witnesses told police the wounded man had been involved in an argument with an unknown black male before the shooting. The man was rushed to the hospital, where he underwent surgery. He ultimately survived.

Durk was originally hit with a slew of felony charges ... aggravated assault, criminal attempt to commit murder, possession of a firearm by a convicted felon, possession of a firearm during the commission of a crime, and more.

Khloe Kardashian is publicly sending her support to the Jewish community amid Kanye West's continued antisemitic rants ... becoming the first to do so in her family.

The youngest of the OG 3 sisters reposted a simple statement which reads ... "I support my Jewish friends and the Jewish people." Pretty straightforward, but powerful at the same time -- especially since it's her ex-brother-in-law fueling the hate against Jewish people.

Her remark comes as Ye's bigotry sparks rallies in his name with neo-Nazis coming out of the woodwork in all sorts of forms throughout Los Angeles.

None of the other Kardashians, Kim included, have spoken up about the issue so far ... instead, it seems like they're just giving Kanye the silent treatment.

Khloe might be the first KarJenner to pipe up, but she's certainly not the first A-lister in general to say something about the wave of antisemitism.

Sofia Richie, Reese Witherspoon, Julianne Moore, Jennifer Aniston and several others reposted the same message Khloe did, but also expressed their horror and anger over the images of that Nazi rally over L.A.'s 405 freeway.

For his part, Kanye continues to get further and further isolated -- both professionally and socially -- but his biggest business partner, Adidas, is feeling the heat the most right now.

They've remained silent throughout this whole mess.

Blue Ivy Carter had some play money to throw around at an auction this weekend -- but even her sky-high allowance has limits, it seems, 'cause she lost out on pair of diamond earrings.

Jay-Z and Beyonce's 10-year-old placed an $80,000 bid on some diamond earrings Saturday night during the Wearable Art Gala in L.A. -- where stars were out in abundance. Keke Palmer and Blue's grandma, Tina Knowles, were heading up this portion of the purchases.

Check it out ... BIC shot her paddle up when the Lorraine Schwartz jewelry got called out, surprising the auctioneers on stage. Unfortunately for Blue, someone else wanted them more.

Monique Rodriguez -- founder of the beauty company Mielle Organics -- got in on the action as well ... via her husband, Melvin, who started throwing up his own paddle, going higher and higher until Blue eventually tapped out in the six-figure range.

The Rodriguezes walked away with the bedazzled earpieces at $105k, and Monique proudly showed them off on social media. It's not the first time Blue's lost in an auction either.

In 2018, Tyler Perry topped her for a painting of Sidney Poitier, on which she bid $19k, but TP was determined to take it out ... and did. As he noted at the time, he wasn't about to be beaten by a child -- even if she is Jay and Bey's kid.

Big Sean is all geeked about becoming a parent -- he and his partner Jhené Aiko are expecting a baby boy, and it means Sean's gonna be stepping away from his J-O-B for a bit.

We got Sean Don at LAX and tried to get some insight on potential baby names. He admits it's a great topic to cover, but also said he's coming up empty on options -- or, at least, that's what he's telling us.

Ya gotta figure he and Jhené have discussed a few.

The glowing couple just celebrated the pregnancy with a dazzling baby shower, and Sean tells us he's actually looking forward to taking some time to get acquainted with his son.

Fans demand so much from artists -- especially in the streaming era -- but Sean definitely agrees there should be some sort of paternity grace for dads in hip hop.

While he doesn't have a foreseeable date for his return to music, Sean still has a musician's ear -- he recommended DJ Drama and Jeezy's "SnoFall" mixtape ... as well as Taylor Swift's Spotify-crashing "Midnights" album for your playlist updates.

Travis Scott is shrugging off a rumor he was hanging out with a rumored ex-GF last week -- calling the allegation and a blurry on-set video clip of himself ... "a lot of weird s**t."

Travis is referring to a video recently posted on IG by a woman named Rojean Kar, who he allegedly hooked up with way back before he and Kylie Jenner met and started dating.

The clip, in her IG stories, shows Travis on the set of a music video he's directing ... and it makes it seem like Rojean is just a few feet away from him. She joked in her caption, "I'm directing obvi."

But early Sunday morning Travis denied any knowledge of her being on the set -- if she actually was -- and even further, seems to be denying they were ever a thing.

His response says, "An uninvited person was sneaking photos on what was supposed to be a closed set while I was directing a video. I am saying this for the last time. I don't know this person. I've never been with this person."

For her part, Rojean claimed, in The Shade Room comments, she didn't even know Travis was going to be on the music video set, and said she was absolutely invited to be there. She doesn't say who invited her, though.

Travis' denial seems to have pissed her off ... she posted a video saying the rapper is full of BS, and claimed to have receipts proving they once dated.

What we do know for sure is Travis never publicly declared they were dating when they were first linked in 2013 -- but, they had posted pics and videos together. There were rumors she was at the center of Trav and Kylie's 2019 split, but even Rojean denied that.

In her video, she does claim to have been with Travis on Valentine's Day ... another claim he's shooting down by posting a photo with a very dismissive caption.

Madonna apparently wanted credit for "paving the way" for a ton of modern-day artists to embrace their sexuality -- but the way she said left a very bad taste in Cardi B's mouth.

Madge pissed off Cardi this weekend with a passive-aggressive note she posted on her IG Stories -- one in which she celebrates the 30-year anniversary of her infamous "S.E.X." book, but in the same breath ... seems to take some shots at a select few ladies by name.

She describes the boundaries she pushed back then and how influential her book turned out to be in pop culture despite the backlash she endured, going on to say ... "Now Cardi B can sing about her WAP, Kim Kardashian can grace the cover of any magazine with her naked ass and Miley Cyrus can come in like a wrecking ball," adding, "You're welcome bitches 🤡"

That last part is what's pissing off CB -- 'cause she's on Twitter right now absolutely s****ing on Madonna for it. In one tweet, she says ... "These icons really become disappointments once u make it in the industry that’s why I keep to myself."

There are other tweets where Cardi expresses her anger over the fact Madonna felt the need to both ask for a pat on the back while also hurling what Cardi perceives as an insult.

It seems Cardi's catching a little bit of heat for being so vocal about her criticism of Madonna ... with some folks telling her to chillax -- but she's doing the exact opposite, digging her heels in and insisting on defending herself against anyone ... icon status or not.

For Cardi, it comes down to tone and she simply feels Madonna could've made her point without being rude. And as most people know, CB's not afraid to square up (digitally) against anyone these days. She's in constant feuds on Twitter, and now Madonna's on the list too.

Madonna versus Cardi B ... what a world!

If there was any doubt Kanye West is sowing seeds of hate with his bigoted and antisemitic remarks ... a Los Angeles rally should erase all of it.

These banners were draped on an overpass of the infamous 405 freeway, and the organizers implored drivers to "Honk if you know Kanye is right about the Jews." The fiercely hateful words and rally appear to be the work of a group called the Goyim Defense League.

The Anti-Defamation League describes the group as a loose network of virulently antisemitic conspiracy theorists -- and that very well may be, but Saturday's impromptu rally suggests the group is suddenly emboldened ... clearly by Kanye's words.

Members of the group were also throwing up the Nazi salute at passing drivers.

The menacing sight -- imagine being a Jewish person seeing that on your drive home -- comes, not coincidentally, on the heels of Kanye repeatedly spewing tropes about Jewish people controlling everyone in Hollywood and in banking.

Two weeks ago, he tweeted he was "going death con 3 On JEWISH PEOPLE" after Instagram restricted his account.

During his Piers Morgan interview, Ye said he only had one regret about his antisemitic comments ... but he stood by his most dangerously bigoted remarks.

As we reported, Kanye told photogs Friday night the backlash against him only proves his point about Jewish people controlling the narrative -- however, Saturday's rally shows Ye is also driving his own narrative ... a pretty hate-filled one.

Stacey Abrams is leaning into her celeb connections to rally support ahead of election day -- which landed her on stage with Latto to deliver a message about abortion rights in Georgia.

The candidate for Governor came out during Latto's Saturday night gig in ATL, and not coincidentally, she came out as the rapper performed "Pussy" ... the anthem she wrote after the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade.

Abrams was kicking it with backup dancers as Latto did her thing -- and carried a "my body, my choice" sign over her head the whole time.

When the song was over she got on a mic and told the crowd ... "I just want to remind you that if you believe in my body, my choice, I need your vote," Abrams said.

Playing to the crowd, Abrams referenced Latto's mega-hit as she yelled, "I need your big energy. Let’s get it!"

Last week Abrams debated her opponent, Georgia's current Governor Brian Kemp, and early voting has already opened in that state.

Trap music pioneer Drumma Boy is basking in his hometown's newfound hip hop dominance ... especially because he's been waving the Memphis flag for years in his music!!!

DB was in his studio putting the finishing touches on his new album "Welcome to My City Vol. 4" when he told TMZ Hip Hop ... the project includes GloRilla, Project Pat, Big Boogie, Jucee Froot, Big Moochie Grape -- all Memphis artists who bleed 901 culture.

In addition to the booming talent of NLE Choppa, Duke Deuce, Key Glock and Big30 ... adjacent to legacy acts such as Three 6 Mafia, Yo Gotti and 8Ball & MJG -- Drumma is confident saying Memphis has ended Atlanta's nearly 3-decade reign as hip hop's top hub!!!

DB recalls having to migrate to Atlanta to shop his beats ... citing infighting within Memphis as the primary reason.

He credits Three 6's Gangsta Boo for spreading his name around town ... eventually getting on the radar of Big Boi and André 3000 of Outkast, Pastor Troy and Jeezy.

Beyoncé fans are mad at Kelis for not getting as upset at 2 women playing with her hair as when she flipped her lid over Bey allegedly using her music without permission.

The latest Twitter fracas is underway now ... the Beyhive is seriously voicing their displeasure over a video the "Milkshake" singer posted that shows her having her braids felt up by a couple ladies in Singapore, where Kelis is apparently visiting at the moment.

The clip shows Kelis seated at an outdoor table with a friend, who's filming, when these two gals start to caress and feel on her braids ... without notice or permission.

Kelis is taken aback but rolls with it, playing with their hair in return, and kinda letting them have their way -- they seem pretty fascinated with her 'do. While she looks confused, it doesn't seem Kelis is all that fired up about the awkward encounter ... more so amused.

That's where Beyoncé stans are jumping in ... chiding her for not showing the same amount of gusto for these women as she did for Bey's sample in "Energy" from her new album ... which used a part of Kelis's hit song, supposedly without being properly cleared.

You'll recall, Kelis was very public with her resentment over that. She called it disrespectful/ignorant ... and suggested Bey was somebody in the biz who had no soul or integrity. It was harsh, but it worked -- because Beyoncé yanked the sample and reworked the song in the end ... just one of many problems she had with the roll-out at the time.

Now, in light of this latest Kelis news ... some are saying Kelis is "all bark, no bite" -- among other mean comments -- suggesting this is objectively more objectionable, and that she picks and chooses when to get angry ... and may have a problem with Beyoncé, specifically.

Kanye West is shrugging off brands cutting ties with him, and insists he can't be canceled -- but if he is, he says that only proves the dangerous antisemitic tropes he's been spewing.

The embattled billionaire held an oddly-timed news conference of sorts -- as he left his daughter North West's basketball game Friday night, he stopped to take questions from the crowd of paparazzi.

Right off the bat, Ye addressed Balenciaga dropping him ... saying it was no big deal to him because they weren't paying him anything. In fact, he dismissed the fashion giant's move as purely PR, saying ... "I think people just try to score points" -- and he thinks Balenciaga, LeBron James, Maverick Carter and "Drink Champs" host N.O.R.E. are all guilty of it.

He bemoaned the fact LeBron's producing partner Maverick had yanked "The Shop" episode he shot with them. Remember, Maverick said they pulled it because they didn't want to give Ye a platform to spew "hate speech."

N.O.R.E. did the same with the most recent 'Champs' episode where Kanye went on his antisemitic rant, including his claim the Jews who run Hollywood had screwed him over.

While the rapper and designer has already been widely called out for repeating many of the same theories Hitler did ... Kanye said something Friday night that was classic Nazism.

Ye claimed any backlash against him was only happening because of Jewish people. He said, "I want to talk about the Jewish comment. It's actually proving the exact point that I made. So many actors been bullied behind the scenes."

He then referenced the CEO of Endeavour talent agency's call for Hollywood to cut ties with Ye. He said, "So you got Ari Emanuel asking people to not do business with me. That's how this town been running for so so long. They'll mute you at all costs."

This new claim -- that anyone who denounces him is only doing so at the behest of Jewish people -- is EXACTLY, almost word for word, what Hitler and the Nazis said anytime there was international opposition to their tactics.

Let that soak in, and take note that Ye also strongly hinted he will indeed run for office -- he was wearing his 2024 cap. The whole interaction kinda looked and felt like a campaign stop.

French Montana continues to trailblaze in the name of humanity, and his peers are recognizing him for a mission that's literally changing and saving lives.

The diamond-selling rapper was honored Thursday night at the 2022 Pencils of Promise Gala ... for helping raise more than $226 million towards healthcare in Africa. Specifically, he's funded the Budondo Suubi “Hope” Health Center, which is the primary source of healthcare for new mothers and their babies in an otherwise desolate region of Uganda.

For his efforts, the gala bestowed French with this year's Innovator Award.

Model Meadow Walker -- yes, Paul Walker's daughter -- is also a Global Ambassador for Pencils of Promise, and received the Activist Award for her role within the WASH program ... helping to uplift young girls out of impoverished situations.

Gary Vaynerchuk, Climate Club CEO Adam Braun, and PoP CEO Kailee Scales were also in attendance.

French tells TMZ Hip Hop he was honored to receive the award, and thanked his partners Global Citizen and Mama Hope as well.

He added, "PoP is doing groundbreaking work globally to keep kids in school and make sure they have a safe environment to learn. This reminds me of my humble beginnings growing up in Morocco when I didn't know how to speak English."

French says, "Education was fundamental to my journey immigrating to the U.S. and starting my career as an artist, which is why this work is so important to our youth."

Doja Cat knows how to make an exclusive Hollywood event feel even more elite -- her 27th birthday brought out a huge list of big names, who were reminded this is as inside as inside gets.

The bash went down Friday night in WeHo at the Raspoutine on Melrose -- and the guest of honor arrived rocking an elaborate gold mask adorned with more feathers than your average peacock.

In fact, almost all her guests showed up in masks -- thankfully, not the kind we had to wear during the pandemic -- adhering to what seems to have been a masquerade ball theme.

Adding to the elite air of the event was Doja's birthday cake -- a massive black and gold covered 3-tiered dessert -- which had several Illuminati logos on it.

Inside, guests partied to a lot of hip hop hits, of course, but we're told there was also a lot of 1950's jazz played too, seemingly a nod to the evening's theme -- and DC joked she wasn't letting her age get her down.

'Cause, as we all know, it's all downhill from 27. 😭

Justin and Hailey Bieber, Kendall Jenner and Shawn Mendes all showed up ready to party -- although it doesn't look like Shawn got the memo on the theme.