TMZ Hip Hop - Page 50

Angry Drake fans are calling out the NYPD for what felt like electronic surveillance at his sold-out Apollo Theater show -- and after a clip of officers recording ticketholders went viral, the cops say it's not what it seems.

NYPD law enforcement sources tell TMZ Hip Hop the video shows officers outside the Apollo recording concertgoers as they exited the theater. We're told that video was shot for a social media post to show how police work with venue security to keep concerts safe for fans.

For angry fans, it felt like blatant profiling and surveillance intended to capture and save images of Drake's fans -- but NYPD's scoffing at that notion. Our sources say the community affairs officers seen with the video cameras are not affiliated with the detective bureau, and do not investigate serious crimes.

There are also dozens of city surveillance cameras around the Apollo ... and the whole city, for that matter. The reality of life in the 21st century is we're all being recorded throughout the day without ever knowing it.

Drake was uptown for 2 nights, and inside the venue, a brief but tense moment occurred during the second show when a fan fell over the mezzanine balcony ... onto the crowd below.

The show was briefly paused for about 15 minutes when a spokesperson announced the fan wasn't terribly injured, and that the show would go on.

Hometown heroes Cam'ron, Jim Jones and Juelz Santana of Dipset were brought out and a tour with his "Her Loss" costar 21 Savage was teased.

Beyonce's weekend concert ruffled a few feathers in the LGBTQ+ community, but Ts Madison doesn't see anything wrong with her getting a fat check in Dubai ... because, first and foremost, she says Bey is loyal to her fans.

The actress and activist joined us Monday on "TMZ Live," dismissing claims Queen Bey "sold out" by performing in the UAE -- where there are firm anti-LGBTQ+ laws.

Madison believes most people, even those criticizing Beyonce, would jump at a $24 million payday in Dubai. In fact, she says many people in the LGBTQ+ community already do travel there ... whether it be for work or vacay. So, the whole sellout label seems hypocritical to her.

And, Madison points out Beyonce's been an ally for years ... and doesn't think she'd do something like this to hurt the very group to which she dedicated her latest album, "Renaissance."

As we reported, Beyonce made it a truly grand opening for a new Atlantis resort ... doing a 90-minute set with multiple costume changes, an orchestra and a bunch of her classic hits.

Folks banging on the concert, feel she ditched "her own progressive values" by performing in a "homophobic dictatorship" -- but Madison says those fans should separate politics from the concert ... just as Beyonce seems to have done.

Drake's concert at the Apollo hit pause after a fan fell from a second-story balcony into the crowd below ... and TMZ's got it all on video.

The scary incident happened about 90 minutes into Drake's set, and in the view from the floor seats, you see a body come falling out of the sky ... landing on top of other fans.

Another view, from the mezzanine, shows a man leaning over the balcony and then falling over the ledge.

Drake didn't appear to see the fan fall from the mezzanine, he had his back turned to the crowd at that exact moment, but a few seconds later a crew member runs onstage to tell Drake to pause the show.

You can hear Drake tell the audience, "Just gotta make sure somebody's OK."

Officials tell TMZ ... the person who fell was a 26-year-old man who was possibly intoxicated. We're told the man was uncooperative with officials and was taken to a Harlem hospital.

A rep for the Apollo says "the fan and other audience members reported that they were OK. No major injuries have been reported."

T.I. and DaBaby’s first collaboration ever will appear on the soundtrack for “Fear,” the forthcoming thriller film in which T.I. also stars ... TMZ Hip Hop can confirm.

Sources close to the film’s soundtrack tell us the song’s name is also titled “Fear” and will be featured on the big screen.

Superproducer Sean Garrett will executive produce the album, which will also have more features from DaBaby, E-40 and Freddie Gibbs as well.

Both T.I. and DaBaby performed Saturday to support the film at an event in West Hollywood … where the legendary Atlantans braved sound issues, and ripped the soundman for slacking on the cues to play the tracks!!!

Tip half-joked the DJ should be appreciative of his patience and grace ... reminiscent of when Wiz Khalifa did the complete opposite in a similar situation.

Tip, who’s still yet to do a Verzuz, blazed through several trap classics such as “24’s” and “Rubber Band Man," before passing the mic torch to DaBaby and saluting what he was able to accomplish in hip hop ... hailing from the typically untapped region of Charlotte, NC.

DaBaby graciously thanked Tip for the intro and gave an impromptu performance of his multi-platinum hit “Suge.”

A new XXXTENTACION song titled "I'm Not Human" has surfaced from the late rap icon's estate in celebration of what would've been his 25th birthday, and fittingly features another hip hop alien himself ... Lil Uzi Vert!!!

The official XXXTENTACION account dropped the message Monday which read, "A gift from Jah…Thank you #liluzi 1.23.23.”

The melodic acoustic guitar ballad is a departure from X's trademark rager records, and speaks to his versatility.

Uzi pops up later in the song to add more harmony to X's crooning, working wonders on the posthumous collab.

A heartfelt message -- along with several throwback photos -- was also posted onto X's story ... thanking X for his musical contributions to the world and saluting the fans for keeping his memory alive since his June 2018 murder.

Jury selection for 3 of X's murder suspects began last week in Broward County, FL -- Michael Boatwright, Dedrick Williams and Trayvon Newsome all pleaded not guilty to first-degree murder and armed robbery charges, and face life sentences if convicted.

Chrisean Rock got into a physical altercation shortly after announcing she was pregnant with Blueface's child -- this while trying to get to her alleged soon-to-be baby daddy.

TMZ has obtained video that was taken early Saturday morning in Chatsworth, near Blueface's home. We're told this fight you see here on camera followed what eyewitnesses claim was a bum rush attempt by Chrisean on Blue ... dropping in on him at his house.

You see, we're told Blueface was throwing a party at his crib to ring in his 26th birthday (Friday) ... and that Chrisean crashed the shindig in an effort to pull him away.

What you see here is what we're told happened shortly thereafter ... it seems Blueface was trying to get away in his own vehicle -- with a gaggle of people following him, including Chrisean -- and it all erupted in a massive brawl on the street down the block from his pad.

In the clip, you see Chrisean -- wearing the same pink track suit from earlier in the day -- getting Blueface to herself on one side of a car (presumably hers). We're told she was trying to get him inside to leave with her. Instead, she threw hands with 2 ladies on the scene.

Chrisean finds a way to her feet -- and in the end, eyewitnesses tell us she and Blue left in different vehicles. Unclear if they met up somewhere after, or went their separate ways.

Of course, this is disturbing on many levels. For one, it's another instance of violence between Blueface, Chrisean and/or people in their orbit. More sad, though, is the fact that Chrisean says she's got a bun in the oven -- so this is super dangerous in that regard.

Remember, Blueface has denied the kid is his ... and also said he and Chrisean were done. It seems she might've wanted to patch things up -- which doesn't seem to have ended well.

Beyonce most certainly lived up to her nickname, "Queen Bey," during her Dubai performance Saturday night ... and we got the pics to prove it.

Check out these new images, obtained by TMZ, showing Bey in a yellow sequined gown with a feathered cape -- which was fit for a queen!!! She was surrounded by dancers in large red dresses and a Middle Eastern orchestra.

Bey then changed into a gold body suit with a matching corset and long train. She also wore a red dress with a different corset, stockings and gloves.

Safe to say ... Bey brought the house down at the star-studded event ... Kendall Jenner, Liam Payne and Ronan Keating were just a few of the celebs on hand.

Everyone got to enjoy Bey's 90-minute set that included her biggest hits ... "Crazy In Love," "Naughty Girl", "Halo" and "XO." The show ended with a huge fireworks display.

As we reported, Bey hit the stage at Atlantis The Royal hotel in the United Arab Emirates after an almost 5-year hiatus. The singer was paid a whopping $24 million to be the centerpiece of the hotel's launch party. Recording devices were banned, but many in the packed crowd didn't follow the rules and leaked footage of the event on social media.

The concert was also a family affair ... Jay-Z was present along with Bey's parents, Tina and Mathew Knowles.

Bey/Jay's 11-year-old daughter Blue Ivy, and 5-year-old twins, Rumi and Sir were there as well. Ivy even jumped on stage to perform a duet with her mom, singing a song from the album, "The Lion King: The Gift."

Drake did his make-good Saturday night at the legendary Apollo Theater in NYC for SiriusXM, and he did NOT disappoint.

The show was a timeline of his life, staged in his childhood bedroom where he began dreaming of a music career ... to the boardroom of his record label, and then to an NYC bodega.

His songs punctuated the time periods of his career ... with a little help from 21 Savage and The Diplomats.

During the childhood phase, Drake told the crowd how he sat on his bed and wrote a slew of songs.

Drizzy was amped, imploring the crowd rise up with energy ... "Don't play shy with me!"

Lots of celeb guests on hand, including Kevin Durant and Ice Spice.

Drake was supposed to perform at the Apollo back in November, but he postponed it because he was mourning the death of Takeoff. It was rescheduled for December 6th and 7th, but that had to be pushed because of production issues.

Cyndi Lauper's son Declyn, AKA Dex, is a full go on his rap career, already stacking up credits with some big-name rappers ... and, of course, he can't forget mom!

We caught Dex at LAX touting his own "F*** You Gumbo" cannabis brand, but what he's most excited about are the collabs he scored with Trippie Redd and G-Eazy for his upcoming album, especially after appearing on the latter's "Scary Nights" project.

The 25-year-old also revealed he managed to nab 3 songs with his pop star mother, but only after he earned her respect, as an artist ... not just her son.

Dex and Cyndi have endured a rocky relationship over the years -- he grew up in Harlem, estranged from her -- so he's totally not vibing with the ongoing "nepo baby" debate. Much like Diddy's son, King, told us ... Dex says he's put in enough work that his mother now loves his music. 🥰

He also provided us with an update on his arrest from last summer when, as we first reported, he was popped in NYC for felony unauthorized use of a vehicle.

Dex tells us he was simply attending a candlelight vigil for a slain 14-year-old friend when, in his eyes, NYPD harassed him.

He admits to sitting inside the stolen Mercedes-Benz ... but says he refused to go out "like 6ix9ine," and took the charges without telling officers who actually stole the vehicle.

Hip hop's most dysfunctional couple, Blueface and Chrisean Rock, are expecting a baby -- according to her, anyway ... but he's not buying cigars just yet. So, congrats?

Chrisean dropped the big baby bombshell on social media ... showing 3 at-home pregnancy test sticks and the caption, "Guess how many heart beats?"

Normally, that kinda post gets people feeling all warm and fuzzy -- but, of course, Blueface and Chrisean are far from a normal couple.

The rapper's immediate response was to announce they're no longer together, accuse her of sleeping with 10 other dudes and finally ... demand a DNA test before he'll believe he's the father of Chrisean's child.

Blueface's reaction is hardly shocking -- remember, this is the couple that's had multiple domestic violence incidents.

TMZ broke the story, one of their most violent spilled out into the streets of Hollywood and saw both of them striking each other multiple times -- and after another fight in a Phoenix bar, she got arrested for trespassing.

Chrisean's insisting Blueface IS the father, and as far as them breaking up ... she claims he's just mad and they'll get back together soon. If not, she says she'll be fine on her own.

While some fans are sending congratulations on social media ... others think this is simply adding fuel to the fire for a dangerously volatile couple.

Too $hort is all for setting great examples for younger rappers and hopes his recent trip to the White House offers some inspiration to whoever needs it!!!

We linked with Short Dog in D.C. this week fresh outta the Oval Office and as expected, he said the experience was nothing short of greatness.

Short, along with E-40, Mistah F.A.B. and Sway Calloway got to meet their fellow Oakland native, Vice President Kamala Harris ... and the rap legend says he couldn't be more proud of his hometown.

The Golden State Warriors broke their boycott of the White House in light of Donald Trump no longer being the commander-in-chief and $hort says, as a lifelong fan, he was happy to support the team in person.

He has nearly 40 years in the rap game so Short knows a thing or two about perseverance ... so, we switched gears to football to ask him about Tom Brady possibly, finally retiring. Maybe.

Too $hort is in the camp of folks who say TB12 isn't hanging up his cleats just yet.

Brady and the Buccaneers just got embarrassingly bounced outta the NFL playoffs by the Dallas Cowboys -- but, Short says Tom will give us another pump fake "retirement" and be back on the field for next season.

Ex-3LW singer Kiely Williams is copping to being the ultimate B2K groupie/peer ... claiming she was once intimate with Raz B, Lil Fizz, and J Boog. Sorry, Omarion. 🤷🏽‍♂️

Kiely had no shame in her game as she made the revelation on the "Reality With The King" podcast, calling her relations with the B2K trio an "entanglement" -- a clever callback to Jada Pinkett Smith's famous description of her relationship with August Alsina.

3LW's popularity peaked in the early '00s -- the same time as B2K's glory years, so it wouldn't be uncommon for the groups to intermingle, especially while on the road doing shows.

Kiely says she's a grown-ass woman living her truth and continued to push the lines of TMI by further revealing there was one time she was with all three B2Kers at the same damn time!!!

Naughty By Nature's Treach and his "New Jack City" stage play costars are well aware of the real-life violence in hip hop today, and hope their production of the classic '90s film can scare the genre straight.

We got Treach, Gary Dourdan, Flex Alexander and the one and only Big Daddy Kane Friday in Burbank, CA -- they're putting on the play all weekend at L.A. Orpheum Theater, and they say the production doesn't shy away from violence ... even with the recent string of tragic headlines about slain rappers.

Treach says 'New Jack' highlighted the brutality of the '80s crack epidemic, and delivered the message "that wasn't the route to take." He's hoping today's generation will take that lesson and apply it to the rap game.

Flex says most of the cast has known each other for several decades, so it's been easy to mesh ahead of their live performances -- there's no "take 2" in theater -- and they all credit director Je'Caryous Johnson for getting them game-ready months in advance.

We recently got BDK 1-on-1 back in NYC, where he told us having Allen Payne -- who's reprising his role as Gee Money from the film -- was the cheat code the rest of the cast needed to stay in line with the original.

Speaking of those NYC shows, Gary tells us another OG star, Ice-T, showed up to put his stamp of approval.

For fans of the movie ... Treach plays Wesley Snipes' lead character Nino Brown, Gary steps into Ice's role of Scotty and Flex is Chris Rock's Pookie.

Polo G is an unhappy camper after blogs accused him of unfollowing Gunna on Instagram ... something he vehemently denies, and says is actually impossible!!!

The Chicago rapper lashed out in his IG stories, citing an erroneous post from No Jumper that claimed he was the latest rapper to shun Gunna on social media.

Polo follows more than 600 accounts, but says he doesn't really vibe with other dudes and just minds his own business.

What's more interesting is that Polo and Gunna have collaborated in the past ... once for the remix to Polo's 7X platinum 2019 smash hit "Pop Out," and again in 2021 for Kawhi Leonard's "Culture Jam" album.

Gunna might never get another verse from Polo, but that doesn't mean his fellow ATL native Jacquees feels the same way.

TMZ Hip Hop got Jacquees' take on the rash of Gunna backlash, and the R&B star refuses to hit the unfollow button ... telling us there's no lemming in his DNA!!!

Flesh-n-Bone is proudly sober these days, and wants his fellow rappers to follow suit, which is why he's sending Nelly a message ... just in case his recent show was fueled by illicit substances.

We caught the Bone Thugs-n-Harmony staple at LAX, and he sounded genuinely worried about Nelly following his now-infamous performance in Australia -- y'know, the one where his eyes were rolling in the back of his head!!!

Flesh tells us he's several months free of alcohol and marijuana, and advises Nelly to be careful on the road, as drugs are now commonly being spiked with fentanyl.

We should say, there's no proof Nelly was taking anything ... nor has he said a peep about the rumors.

Flesh's newfound sobriety might shock longtime Bone Thugs fans -- the group sold millions of records, and is credited for "classic" hip hop weed anthems like "Buddah Lovaz." They even lovingly serenaded ecstasy back in 2000.

He calls it a necessary change ... revealing longtime Bone Thugs' producer DJ U-Neek lost 2 sons to overdoses, and also reflected on Gangsta Boo’s death ... which is also suspected to be OD-related.

Flesh remembers GB fondly as a rockstar and says his Bone Thugs brothers deserved the "tongue-lashing" she dished out after they started a fight during their 2021 Verzuz battle with Three 6 Mafia.

Bone Thugs and Three 6 were able to grow tighter after the brawl -- and Flesh says the Memphis rap legends contacted them personally to deliver the unfortunate news their First Lady had passed.

JID says he's hung up his freestyle cleats for good ... on account of Funkmaster Flex's extremely lukewarm reaction nearly 6 years ago!!!

The Dreamville rapper was invited to Hot 97 back in April 2017 and was under the impression he went apes**t on Biggie's "Who Shot Ya?" beat ... that is, until he watched the playback and realized Flex was snoozing behind the wheel -- and his barrage of complex rhymes.

JID's considered one of the top lyricists of today's rap but admitted to the RapRadar podcast the lack of Funk Flex fanfare made him pull back from delivering freestyles.

Fortunately for the sake of the art, JID says he plans to fire back up the freestyling for his next DJ Drama-helmed project, "DiCaprio 3" sooner than later.

Disrespect from Funk Flex has been a point of contention for rappers for years, just ask Conway, who called out the legendary disc jock last summer for not helping pump his brand of New York hip hop.