TMZ Hip Hop - Page 50

Karl Malone is a big fan of Post Malone -- and the feeling's apparently mutual, 'cause the rap star rocked the Hall of Famer's Jazz jersey during a recent concert in Utah ... and the Mailman, who happened to be at the show, absolutely loved it!

The Jazz posted video of Karl, 59, at Post's concert at Vivint Arena in Utah ... showing the "Congratulations" rapper getting showered with cheers from the raucous audience. The camera then pans to KM ... who has clearly jazzed the rapper rocked his jersey.

Of course, Karl rocked the iconic #32 jersey throughout his legendary NBA career.

And get this ... after the concert, Karl and Post linked up backstage, where they played beer pong! No word who won.

The Jazz selected Karl in the first round of the 1985 NBA draft ... and he spent 18 seasons with the franchise, beating up on the league for nearly two decades with running mate, John Stockton.

Although Karl never won an NBA title (blame Michael Jordan), "The Mailman" is recognized as one of the best power forwards in league history.

Malone was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 2010 twice --- for his career with the Jazz and as a member of the 1992 U.S. men's Olympic basketball team.

Migos rapper Takeoff was shot multiple times, resulting in his death ... according to the report from the medical examiner's office.

The Harris County Medical Examiner lists Takeoff's primary cause of death as "penetrating gunshot wounds of head and torso into arm."

As we reported, Takeoff was gunned down after shots rang out following an argument outside a Houston bowling alley early Tuesday morning.

In video obtained by TMZ, you see Takeoff's Migos partner Quavo in an argument before the shooting starts. Takeoff was standing just inches from Quavo during the heated exchange, but at no point did he seem to be a part of the back and forth.

While it's currently unclear who fired the fatal shots, we've also obtained video of one man holding a gun in the seconds leading up to the gunfire. Cops tell us that man is currently a person of interest in the death investigation.

A statement from Migos representatives Tuesday read, "Senseless violence and a stray bullet has taken another life from this world and we are devastated." Quavo and Offset have not yet made public statements about Takeoff's murder, though Offset did change his Instagram avatar to a photo of the rapper.

Takeoff was only 28.

Offset has yet to speak out about the loss of his Migos brother Takeoff ... but the rapper is paying tribute to his friend and family member through his social media profile.

Offset's Instagram page changed avatars Wednesday morning -- it now shows a picture of Takeoff smiling for the camera with a heart emoji.

Clearly, Offset's still reeling from Tuesday's fatal shooting ... although the artist hasn't joined the flood of friends and fans in posting about the loss of Takeoff.

As we reported, Takeoff was with fellow Migos member, Quavo, around 2:30 AM Tuesday -- Quavo was in a heated discussion with an unknown group of guys before someone in the crowd opened fire.

TMZ obtained this video -- a new angle of what went down only seconds prior to the gunfire -- and you can see a man dressed in black, with a handgun in his right hip pocket.

While nothing in the video proves the man fired the first shot, there is a point where he's seen raising his weapon and seemingly firing it -- but it's unclear if his weapon was pointed in the direction of Takeoff or Quavo.

An armed man, standing just feet away from Takeoff and Quavo moments before the fatal shots, is now a person of interest in the rapper's death ... TMZ has learned.

We obtained this video -- a new angle of what went down only seconds prior to the gunfire -- and you can see a man dressed in black, with a black satchel and a handgun in his right hip pocket.

You can very clearly see the weapon in the man's pocket -- he has his hand on it -- as Quavo was involved in the heated discussion that preceded the gunfire.

In fact, Quavo, in the bright orange shirt, walks behind the man 2 seconds before the first shot is fired.

Now, there's nothing in the video proving the man fired the first shot, but about 5 seconds later he is seen raising his weapon and seemingly firing it. It's unclear where Takeoff or Quavo were in relation to him at that moment.

Houston PD tells us they have seen this video, and have deemed the man a person of interest. They have not identified him yet.

As we reported, Takeoff was standing a few feet behind Quavo early Tuesday morning outside the Houston bowling alley when things got heated.

After the gunfire -- at least 10 shots were fired -- Takeoff had been hit in the head, and was pronounced dead on the scene.

Two other people suffered non-life-threatening injuries.

The head of Takeoff's label wants his fans, the public and hip hop, in general, to take one thing from his death ... violence isn't the way to go when things get heated.

Pierre "Pee" Thomas, CEO of Quality Control, posted an emotional message late Tuesday night ... starting by saying anyone who knows them "knows how much I love you" -- noting the 28-year-old's death was incredibly unexpected.

Pee says the loss should remind everyone how valuable life is and adds, "I want our community to remember that we don’t have to continue to result to violence every time there is a disagreement. It’s ok to love your brother and sister."

Pee's message, largely written directly to Takeoff, ends with this heartfelt statement -- "You came from the stars so I know you will forever be up there watching down on all of us. I will forever love you. 💔."

As we reported, Quality Control co-founder Kevin Lee -- AKA Coach K -- suggested Takeoff was killed by a stray bullet. Police have yet to confirm that theory, but video TMZ obtained does prove Takeoff was not involved in the heated discussion that preceded the gunfire.

The face-off went down around 2:30 AM Tuesday, immediately after Quavo was having an argument with an unknown group of guys. While it's hard to make out what's being said exactly, Quavo's tone seemed to be let's just keep the peace and keep things moving.

Quavo was toe-to-toe with a group of guys outside that Houston bowling alley -- Takeoff and others had his back while he argued for more than 30 seconds before the shooting began.

TMZ Hip Hop obtained this video of the showdown around 2:30 AM -- you can see and hear Quavo arguing with someone, and Takeoff is a few feet behind him. There's a discussion about playing basketball, and someone -- possibly Quavo -- says "I don't get down like that!"

Seconds later, there's a single crack of gunfire ... and when everyone starts running, a flurry of shots are firing through the crowd. You can hear more than 10 shots in total, and it sounds like they came from at least 2 different weapons.

Chaos ensued, with folks running in all directions to escape the hail of bullets. As we first reported, Takeoff was shot near his head, and despite efforts to resuscitate him -- made by Quavo and a bystander -- he was pronounced dead on the scene.

Members of the Houston Police Department held a press conference Tuesday afternoon and revealed a 23-year-old male and a 24-year-old female were also hit, and went to a hospital for treatment. Cops say most of the witnesses to the shooting fled the scene, and they're asking them to come forward with information about what happened.

Takeoff was only 28.

Originally Published -- 2:08 PM PT

Kanye West has folks trying to help him regain billionaire status via crowdfunding -- but his haters have responded with just as much passion.

Here's the deal ... at least one GoFundMe page (possibly more) popped up this week with the goal of making Kanye a billionaire again, soliciting donations ... apparently carried out by people who felt he'd been done dirty amid his antisemitism.

It doesn't sound like any of those campaigns were successful ... reportedly only making a few bucks before they were taken down entirely. More on why they were yanked later.

In response to that nonsense ... even more silliness. Ye haters have rallied in opposition with their own GFMs that are apparently trying to keep him from hitting 10-digits with an interesting strategy -- namely, asking that *they* be made billionaires instead. 😅

The pages are popping up en masse, it seems, with tons of people laying out their logic as ... hey, Kanye sucks and he doesn't deserve to be a billionaire again, but I sure do!!!

Like we said, it's all pretty goofy ... but the fact these GoFundMes are being created as quickly and widely as they are -- from different parts of the world -- just speaks to how angry Kanye has made folks in the wake of his controversial remarks/fall from grace.

FWIW, these new anti-Ye pages are falling flat. None have raised more than $25, and a majority are in the $5 - $6 range.

In other words, Kanye's fans and haters alike have a better chance of winning the lottery than striking it rich from donations. Sources familiar tell TMZ ... GFM's terms of service may explain why the pro-Kanye campaigns were yanked and the anti-Ye ones are still live.

Boxing star Shakur Stevenson was standing shoulder-to-shoulder with Takeoff right before the rapper was shot and killed early Tuesday morning in Houston, TMZ Sports has learned.

Thankfully, Shakur wasn't physically injured.

25-year-old Stevenson, a former champ who's regarded as one of the best fighters in the world, was seen on video directly next to the Migos rapper ... wearing a blue hat as an argument turned deadly.

Shakur is from New Jersey ... but now lives in Houston. He was seen partying with Jas Prince earlier in the week. He's also friends with the Migos.

Takeoff was tragically murdered around 2:30 AM Tuesday morning outside of a bowling alley called 810 Billiards & Bowling ... following a heated argument between Quavo and another man.

It's during the verbal altercation that Shakur was seen next to Takeoff.

Houston PD has asked witnesses to come forward to recount their side of the story. It's unclear if police have been in contact with Stevenson or his people.

Takeoff's shocking slaying in Houston is prompting the rap community to remember far too many young talents who tragically lost their lives due to gun violence.

Notorious B.I.G., aka Biggie Smalls, was only 24 when his car was gunned down back in '97 ... just 6 months after Tupac had been shot to death. Both men's murders remain unsolved.

More recently, Young Dolph was killed in 2021 outside a Memphis bakery. He was on his way to hand out a truckload of turkeys in his old neighborhood when he met his violent and untimely death.

PnB Rock was climbing the Billboard charts back in 2016 ... but his career, and life, were tragically cut short when he was shot and killed in September during a robbery at a Roscoe's in Los Angeles.

Of course, there have been so many others, both fatalities -- like Pop Smoke, Nipsey Hussle, Slim 400 and XXXTentacion -- and those who luckily survived ... like Lil Tjay and 50 Cent.

Nipsey was gunned down outside his Marathon clothing store in his own neighborhood ... with at least 10 bullets striking Nipsey's body and his murderer also kicking him in the head.

XXX was only 20 years old when he was shot dead as he was leaving a motorcycle dealer in Florida. XXX was blocked from exiting the parking lot by a black SUV, with two gunmen hopping out and approaching his car. A struggle ensued, with the gunmen reaching inside XXX's car for a small bag before ultimately opening fire.

Shock and outrage continue to pour in over Migos rapper Takeoff's shooting death, and Rich the Kid is especially reeling over the tragic news.

In a series of heartfelt posts, RTK shared his love, old pics and text messages between him and Takeoff ... revealing they used to share clothes and shoes back in the days before they could buy whatever they want.

Takeoff, along with Offset, actually partied with RTK during his NYC birthday bash back in July -- when a Migos split seemed to be going down -- proving Takeoff was the bridge of peace between Quavo and Offset.

As we reported, Takeoff was fatally shot early Tuesday morning when Quavo got into a heated argument with some other guys outside a Houston bowling alley.

Police say 2 other people were wounded in a hail of gunfire -- at least 10 shots -- and they're both hospitalized with non-life-threatening injuries.

RTK also referred to Takeoff as his "twin," and someone who, obviously, did not deserve this cruel twist of fate.

Well said ... Takeoff was only 28.

Takeoff, one-third of Migos, is dead after an early morning shooting in Houston ... TMZ Hip Hop has confirmed.

Law enforcement sources, and multiple witnesses, tell us the fatal incident went down shortly after 2:30 AM ... that's when cops got the call for a man shot at a bowling alley called 810 Billiards & Bowling Houston.

We're told Takeoff and Quavo were there playing dice when an altercation broke out and that's when someone opened fire, shooting Takeoff ... either in the head or near his head. He was pronounced dead at the scene.

TMZ Hip Hop has obtained footage from the scene, and you can see Quavo -- in an orange shirt -- and others gathered around Takeoff. At first they tried to move him, but then put him back down, and Quavo yelled for someone to get help.

Police tell us 2 other people were shot and were taken to the hospital in private vehicles. We do not know their conditions. Quavo was not injured.

Just a couple of hours before the shooting, Takeoff posted a pic of himself lighting up at the bowling alley. Quavo had posted video several hours earlier as he drove around Houston with Jas Prince, who was celebrating his birthday.

We're told Jas was not with Quavo and Takeoff when the shooting happened.

Takeoff, who's real name is Kirsnik Khari Ball, was the youngest member of Migos. Quavo was his uncle, and Offset his cousin.

They came together as a group in 2008 in Georgia, and became multi-platinum hitmakers ... dropping their first major hit, "Versace," in 2013. They would hit number one on Billboard in 2016 with "Bad and Boujee."

Most recently, Quavo and Takeoff had released a project as the duo, "Unc & Phew." They had just released their latest music video, "Messy," on Monday.

Takeoff was 28.

RIP

Chuck D says hip hop needs to start addressing the gun violence plaguing the industry ... and killing rappers at an alarming pace.

We talked to the legendary MC on "TMZ Live" to get his thoughts on the latest shooting death in hip hop -- Migos rapper Takeoff being gunned down in Houston -- and Chuck says it's crazy how folks think it's normal to lose rappers to gun violence.

Chuck says attacking someone with a gun should be considered "abnormal behavior" ... and he's lamenting the fact it's become so commonplace in America, people almost seem to shrug it off as just a part of life.

As we reported ... Takeoff was killed during an early morning shooting in Houston, with emergency audio revealing at least 5 shots were fired. We're told Takeoff and Quavo were playing dice at a bowling alley when an altercation broke out and someone, or multiple people, opened fire ... fatally shooting Takeoff.

Chuck D says gun violence in the hip hop community has been ignored for far too long -- he says any other industry with so many fatalities would have addressed the issue before it became normalized.

He adds ... people have grown up thinking a rapper dying young is a normal thing ... and he says it's not only about the death itself, but also the manner -- drugs and gunshots.

Problem is, Chuck says too much music glorifies guns and drugs, whereas before, it was a reflection of what was going on in the community, not a dictation.

Trey Songz is no longer facing a civil suit for an alleged rape in 2016, because the case has been dismissed after legal documents show the statute of limitations ran out on the allegations.

The docs, obtained by TMZ, show Songz's suit was thrown out Monday after Trey's legal team successfully argued the statute of limitations expired long before the woman -- who filed anonymously as a Jane Doe -- filed her complaint.

As we reported, the woman filed the lawsuit earlier this year -- claiming she had a consensual sexual relationship with Songz, but alleges the singer suddenly turned into a "savage rapist" on March 24, 2016.

The statute of limitations in CA is currently 10 years -- but that wasn't made official until 2019 -- prior to that it was 3 years ... but the woman filed 6 years after the alleged rape.

Deion Sanders is forbidding his Jackson State football players from leaving their Houston hotel rooms this weekend ... giving the demand in a heartfelt speech following Takeoff's tragic death.

The NFL Hall of Famer addressed the Migos rapper being shot and killed in Houston with his players on Tuesday ... pointing out the incident happened in the same city where they will play the Texas Southern Tigers on Saturday.

"Takeoff was murdered in a dice game in Houston -- where we're going," Sanders said.

"So, that eliminates all y'all leaving that hotel, 'cause it ain't happening until I give you further notice."

The 55-year-old explained to his team they may need to make drastic life changes to prevent similar incidents from happening to them.

"You cannot kick it with the same dudes you kicked it with," Sanders continued. "You cannot associate in the same realms that you associated with. You gon' have to change if you expect change."

"I'm sad because it always seems like it's us, but we wanna say we matter, we wanna say we keep it 100, but it's always us!"

Of course, Sanders and the JSU Tigers went through this type of loss almost a year ago ... when Young Dolph was tragically killed in his own hometown of Memphis.

"I'm just sick and tired of the consistency of people, that are influential to you, are leaving us consistently -- that's our rappers," Sanders said.

News of Migos rapper Takeoff's death is gripping the hip hop community hard -- and Desiigner wants nothing to do with it anymore.

Desiigner went live early Tuesday, swearing off rap forever ... pointing to plaques of his past work while screaming, "This version of me is done!"

He continued railing against the culture further ... even going as far as proclaiming he "can't live life like this."

Desiigner ended the video by sending a R.I.P to Takeoff ... and other fallen rappers ... PnB Rock, Biggie, Nipsey Hussle and offering condolences to Quavo, Offset, DJ Durel and the rest of Quality Control.

The whole tragic ending is an eerie twist, considering Takeoff was promoting his "Messy" video just 24 hours ago.

Police are still combing through the details surrounding Takeoff's death, which happened early Tuesday morning in Houston. No one is in custody yet, and it's unclear what the conditions are of the 2 other people shot. We'll keep you updated.

Desiigner joins Tee Grizzley as the most recent rapper to quit rap ... although TG walked back his comments shortly after.

Stassie Karanikolaou is taking after her BFF Kylie Jenner when it comes to throwing a banger ... she had a huge Halloween party and some of the biggest celebs pulled up in killer 'fits.

The shindig went down Halloween night at Delilah in L.A., and Stassie stunned in her take on Medusa.

Lots of stars pulled up in their season's best including ... Lil Nas X, Tyga, and David Dobrik. MGK and Megan Fox also showed up in their couples costume.

Among other big names in the building ... Tana Mongeau, Todd Gurley, Wiz Khalifa and girlfriend Aimee Aguilar, Diplo, Addison Rae and Omer Fedi.

Chantel Jeffries, Bronny James, Adam Lambert, Anwar Hadid also were in attendance for the affair -- which seemed to be lacking spookiness, but more than made up for it with the badass costumes.