TMZ Hip Hop - Page 50

Cher and Alexander Edwards had people's jaws on the floor after being spotted gettin' cozy together over the last few weeks ... and we're told this isn't for show -- it's the real deal.

Sources with knowledge tell TMZ ... despite the fact Alexander is a Universal Music exec, the 2 aren't working on any projects together.

We're told they've spent A LOT of time together over the last couple of months at Cher's Malibu home ... the one that's currently on the market for $85 mil!!!

The couple first met at Rick Owens' Paris fashion show back in September ... where Cher and Tyga snapped some pics together.

As we reported, Cher and Alex -- 40-year age difference and all -- had a fun night in WeHo earlier this month ... hittin' up a couple of spots with Tyga -- before the 2 headed back to her pad for the night.

DJ Khaled is giving two lucky fans a chance to walk in his shoes -- literally. He's offering a decked-out Airbnb stay that comes with a version of his own sneaker closet!!!

The hip hop mogul is giving away two exclusive one-night stays at a beautiful home in the heart of Miami.

The house has all the bells and whistles, including an outdoor lounge and the obligatory pool. Best part ... it's loaded with some of Khaled's most prized possessions -- sneakers!

Whoever gets the keys will be able to sleep in gym shoe heaven ... Khaled recreated his legendary sneaker closet, and it features a ton of his personal kicks, but not all of them -- he has more than 10,000 pairs.

Guests will also get a pair of We The Best Jordan 5s, a private shopping session at a premiere sneaker store, 305 kicks ... and they'll even get catered dinner from his restaurant, The Licking.

The one-night stay goes down Dec. 5 and 6, and guests will be greeted with a handwritten welcome note from Khaled himself.

Guests only have to pay $11 (a nod to his shoe size) a night for the one-time experience in the 305.

Flavor Flav's beef with Spirit Airlines is making him a hot commodity with a rival carrier -- Southwest Airlines has entered the chat and it comes bearing valuable gifts.

Sources close to the rap icon/reality TV star tell TMZ ... Flav and his camp were contacted by a Southwest honcho after they got wind of his Las Vegas airport rant after missing a Spirit flight.

We're told the exec is a friend of someone on Flav's team, and made him an offer you'd think he simply can't refuse -- flying for free with Southwest whenever he wants.

TMZ broke the story ... the Public Enemy rapper lost his cool, when he was denied entry to his Spirit flight. He claimed the agent shut the door in his face, setting off a heated back and forth.

Spirit investigated the incident and decided the customer was right -- the airline refunded FF and upgraded him to "Gold", its highest frequent flier tier.

Now that the dust has settled, Flav's got options! A rep tells us he's getting an outpouring of love from flight attendants with several airlines -- including Delta and American. Southwest even sweetened the pot, throwing in a buddy pass to go with his free ride.

Flav has a good history with Southwest -- he played honorary flight attendant during a past flight into Vegas -- so, maybe the airline is in the driver's seat for his business.

Usher's looks over the years are so fine they'll make you 'Scream!'

Here is a 26-year-old version of the R&B singer looking stage-ready with his blinged-out accessories and perfectly groomed goatee at the Staples Center in Los Angeles back in 2004 (left). This was the same year his song "Yeah" became a smash around the world!

And, 18 years later the papa bear recently decked out in all white and shined bright in diamonds at a benefit in Atlanta (right) ... also, he was just photographed roller-skating in London for a new music video!

Can you say, "Yeah!?"

The question is ...

If Jay-Z can pull off a deal for the Commanders, Shannon Sharpe tells TMZ Sports it'd be HUGE for the NFL.

The Hall of Fame tight end broke it down for us at LAX earlier this month ... explaining having a guy like Hov in the Washington owner's box would do wonders for the league.

"It's a good look," Sharpe said. "It shows we're trying to diversify and we're trying to expand. And we're trying to do the right things."

It's unclear if Jay has formally put in an offer to Daniel Sndyer for the team -- but we do know he is interested in eventually submitting one with Jeff Bezos ... if the two haven't already.

The titans had a secret dinner in Los Angeles on Nov. 7 to discuss it all ... and it seems if Snyder is truly willing to part ways with the org., the duo wants it.

Sharpe told us he thinks it'd all be "great" -- adding that he hopes D.C. native Kevin Durant somehow finds a way to get involved too.

Chris Brown says he was supposed to put on a big tribute to Michael Jackson during the AMAs this weekend -- but claims honchos pulled the plug last minute out of nowhere.

The singer posted a lengthy video Saturday that shows him in a dance rehearsal with a group of people ... and he's putting on some serious MJ-inspired moves to a few classic hits, which Chris says would've been part of a showstopping number during Sunday's broadcast.

The songs featured include "Beat It," "Billie Jean," "Wanna Be Starting Something" and "Thriller." Presumably, this is in line with the 40th anniversary of Mike's best-selling album.

Chris's original caption reads, "U SERIOUS?" He followed up in a later comment, writing ... "WOULDVE been the ama performance but they cancelled me for reasons unknown." IG users are mostly in support of Chris, openly asking why they scrapped it if it was this good.

Of course, there's speculation as to why CB's performance may have been nixed. Frankly, he's controversial ... even all these years later. Michael himself is obviously also polarizing ... especially in more recent years with the allegations highlighted in the documentary "Leaving Neverland."

Still, Chris's tribute would've been a nice full-circle moment -- the guy has famously done MJ tributes in the past, like in 2010 when he did a big one at the BET Awards ... a year after Michael had died.

There's also the nonstop comparisons made between himself and the King of Pop. Akon recently brought it up again, saying Chris could've been as great if he had a cleaner crew.

Afroman took a nasty spill during his concert in New Hampshire Friday night ... but, thankfully, he wasn't hurt -- and even finished his performance with a big smile.

The rapper was singing his hit, "Because I Got High," near the end of his one hour set at Wally's in Hampton Beach when the mishap -- and Afroman -- went down.

Check out this video, obtained by TMZ ... Afroman's moving about the stage with a drink in hand as the packed crowd grooves to his music. Suddenly, he tumbles off the stage, plummeting into a pit, as his drink flies high in the air.

At first, the audience is horrified as Afroman's handlers dash out to see if he's ok and help him back on stage. Turns out Afroman was better than OK ... he shared a big fat grin with his fans and went right back into the song.

Earlier in the show, the DJ had some technical problems with his laptop ... but Afroman played through those issues, dazzling everyone with his guitar licks.

Shaggy is heading to the Grammys again thanks to his "Com Fly Wid Mi" album, but musical accolades aren't the only thing fueling his drive ... he's very much about giving back, these days.

We caught the reggae icon at LAX, and this time he couldn't deny it -- it absolutely was him recently speaking to inmates at Michigan's Genesee County Jail.

Shaggy was the guest speaker for the graduation of IGNITE ... which stands for Inmate Growth Naturally and Intentionally Through Education.

Through the program, inmates are given tools to successfully reenter society -- as Shaggy explained to us, ex-cons typically have a hard time adjusting to life on the outside.

Shaggy says he works with a company called Colour Bank that offers inmates financial literacy courses -- and credit cards to use with the education they've earned!!!

With over 4 decades in showbiz and a new Best Reggae Album nom, Shaggy wants to leverage his success to help anyone in need going forward ... and he left us with some wisdom he learned from the late Notorious B.I.G.

Quoting Biggie's final interview, Shaggy reacted to the string of violence in the music community as of late, saying artists should become responsible for the content they make once they hit it big ... especially because they're able to influence so many.

Post Malone is celebrating a new addition to his already impressive jewelry collection -- a blinding 23 carats worth of diamonds, and all that bling is just for the littlest finger of them all.

Guess his hand was feeling a little light, because sources close to Post tell TMZ ... he called up his pals at Angel City Jewelers to hook him up with a new piece for his pinky.

Angel City's owner, Isaac Bokhoor, came through with the goods while PM was making a recent tour stop in Las Vegas ... and unveiled the "Rockstar" sized ring ... which we're told set the singer back about half a million bucks!

For that kinda dough, ya better love it ... and Post clearly does. Check out his reaction right after getting it backstage -- you're looking at a 5-carat Emerald cut center stone, with another 5 carats of round diamonds on the side. There are 13 more 1-carat stones around the band.

Of course, the "White Iverson" is no stranger to getting blinged out by Isaac and co. -- remember, he was the master behind Post's $250k Dallas Cowboys chain.

He got it back in 2019, appropriately while he was in Dallas at AT&T Stadium. That one came with 3,000 stones, 9.7 carats of baguettes, 13.5 carats of sapphires and 8.7 carats of diamonds.

The World Cup is just a day away, and the biggest sporting event in the world is already mired in controversy -- much stemming from alleged human rights issues -- causing some to boycott the soccer tourney ... something Akon says makes no sense.

TMZ Sports ran into the rap star, a big soccer fan, at LAX on Wednesday -- just four days before the 2022 FIFA World Cup kicks off in Qatar -- and we asked him about fans who say they won't watch because of the controversy surrounding the host country.

"I don't understand the purpose of the boycott, me personally, I think everywhere you go in the world there's different cultures, different way of living, different life standards," Akon explained.

The 5x Grammy nominee went on to say he believes many of his fellow Americans who are calling for a boycott don't actually understand why they're refusing to watch.

"I think when you look at a place like America, we have a tendency of taking certain things for granted, and we got a tendency of following suit of things we don't understand. Instead of taking a trip there to understand the culture, understand what's going on, you're just going to follow suit cause everybody else says there's humanitarian issues."

FYI, Dua Lipa recently quelled speculation she'd perform in Qatar, saying she wouldn't go to the country until they "fulfilled all the human rights pledges it made when it won the right to host the World Cup." Rod Stewart also said he was offered a million dollars to perform, but he refused.

Of course, Qatar, a relatively small peninsular country with a population of under 3 million, has been accused of discriminating against people in the LGBTQ community. There are also reports of migrant workers dying while working under unsafe conditions in an effort to finish the WC facilities in the months before the tourney. Officials have also interfered with the press. These are just a few of the troubling allegations made against Qatar.

But, Akon sees it differently than the boycotters ... it's not that he's saying he agrees with Qatar, he's saying he recognizes that their culture is different.

"I think a lot of that is a cultural issue, a cultural difference. You know when you look at a place like Africa, Middle East, a lot of places, LGBTQ is not really a culture they came up under," Akon says.

"It's not a matter of dislike. It's just a different culture. know what I'm saying? it's just a matter of people better understanding each other's culture, understanding the reasons and the whys."

Akon believes we'd be a lot better off talking to the Qatari people and finding common ground, rather than ignoring them.

"How about going to explain your view from your position? Help them better understand. Know what I mean? Life is about communication. I think the moment people start jumping to conclusions and just take a position before understanding, things are always gonna be complicated."

Mustard filed for divorce from his wife of less than 2 years back in May, but their relationship is still unraveling in the public eye.

Chanel Thierry took to IG to vent on Friday with claims her estranged producer hubby was being stingy with the spacious cars in their household … and left her with just a Lambo SUV to lug around their 3 kids.

She called the luxury whip a “ghetto birthday gift” and was likely referring to the 2021 Lamborghini Urus Mustard got for her birthday back when they were on happier terms.

Despite the rant, Chanel accused Mustard of being the bitter one who's refusing to pay child support and threatening to ruin her behind the scenes. She also admitted she signed a prenup, a tidbit Mustard had included in the divorce petition he filed in court.

TMZ Hip Hop broke the story … Mustard cited irreconcilable differences in filing for divorce and asked for joint custody of their children.

Jhené Aiko and Big Sean are now the proud parents of a newborn baby boy.

Jhené introduced the new bundle, who the couple has named Noah Hasani, on Instagram, saying, "After 24 hours of labor, a total lunar eclipse, and while it was pouring rain… he came, my baby Yoda, my Sani."

The "Twenty88" couple had a gender reveal during a joint performance in Los Angeles on October 13 ... marking six wonderful years together.

Last time we spoke to Sean Don ... he was pondering potential baby names.

TMZ Hip Hop broke the story of the pregnancy after the pair was spotted on an outing in Beverly Hills on July 2 -- Jhené was glowing and looking visibly pregnant.

Chance the Rapper and Vic Mensa officially announced their free Ghana concert is happening in January 2023, but DJ Akademiks recently claimed the event signals the end of their relevance.

The Chicago rappers have been plotting and planning the free show all year and finalized the details Friday. The concert also includes Erykah Badu, T-Pain, Jeremih and 2023 Best New Artist Grammy nominee Tobe Nwigwe.

During a recent Twitch broadcast, Ak royally scoffed at the Ghana news ... noting how Chance dominated with his Coloring Book Tour a few years ago but is now a cold artist selling wolf tickets overseas. He said it, not us.

Vic Mensa previously clashed with Ak during his former Complex TV series "Everyday Struggle" and the popular blogger had smoke for him as well ... claiming Vic's been cursed ever since they went head up on air!!!

Ak made it clear his rants are rooted in comedy, and was all laughs as he pulled up Drake's 2019 song "Draft Day" ... where Drizzy sniped Chance's entire career with just a few bars. 🙈

Nicki Minaj has no time for any 2022 World Cup controversies ... the Barbz rapper has been enlisted for "Tukoh Taka" the official FIFA Fan Festival anthem!!!

The song is a collaboration between Nicki, Colombian singer Maluma and Lebanese singer Myriam Fares and delivers lyrics in 3 different languages -- English, Spanish and Arabic to cater to the global soccer audience.

"Tukoh Taka" translates to "click clack" in Yankee talk and the 3 megastars all display their presence in the video.

Edgar Esteves and Juan Felipe Zuleta direct the high-octane visual ... which splices between cut scenes of fútbol highlights, Nicki gyrating on a school bus and Maluma and Myriam Fares performing in a green-screened desert.

World Cup action kicks off starting Sunday from Qatar ... but this year's event has many pundits raising eyebrows as festivities are underway.

Unlike Nicki, artists such as Dua Lipa and Shakira have refused to participate in Cup performances ... citing various alleged human rights infractions in the country.

FIFA also announced it's banning all alcohol sales in World Cup stadiums ahead of the opening games ... leaving many fans pissed.

NBA YoungBoy is targeting his former artist NoCap over a money dispute, and neither one is showing signs of backing down.

YoungBoy recently resurfaced on Instagram ... to throw subliminals at Kodak Black and, apparently, to very openly shade NoCap.

In an IG story, Youngboy accuses him of throwing undercover disses behind closed doors, and said they no longer collaborate because the respect is gone!!! Well, that's the cleaned-up version ... but you get the idea.

NBA also claims NoCap owes him money ... which was further explained through NoCap's fiery response.

According to him, NBA tried to charge him for their last collaboration, "Flags to the Sky," which appeared on the Alabama rapper's "Mr. Crawford" album.

"Mr. Crawford" was released through Atlantic Records and NBA's Never Broke Again imprint ... and NoCap can't believe his own label boss would try to tax his pockets.

NoCap alluded to the Kodak cheap shots while claiming he never badmouthed NBA, but also says he's never been supported in his 3 years signed to the label.

DDG is living his best life these days ... and wants his good friend Blueface to do the same thing in light of his recent legal troubles.

We got DDG out in Bev Hills Thursday, and he told us there's only a handful of rappers he considers a "real friend" ... and Blueface is one of 'em.

The 2 hit platinum gold with their "Moonwalking in Calabasas" collab ... and were working on a joint album before drama got in the way.

DDG says he wants Blueface to emerge victorious in his still-developing attempted murder case ... and he also sent positive vibes to Blueface's GF Chrisean Rock.

DDG and his GF, 'Little Mermaid' star Halle Bailey, double-dated with Blueface and Chrisean in the past, and says he's looking forward to better times once again.

TMZ broke the story ... Blueface allegedly shot at a man in a pickup truck outside a Las Vegas strip club, where they'd had an altercation.

Undercover cops arrested him this week for attempted murder.

On a lighter note, sorta, DDG introduced us to rising social media star Woo Wop ... the kid famous (or maybe infamous) for those "I Wanna Kill My Mom" viral videos blowing up TikTok!!!

Woo Wop -- who's DDG's nephew -- gave us a demo of his skills, but he doesn't seem the least bit impressed with his own fame.