TMZ Hip Hop - Page 50

Real 92.3 radio host J Cruz says he was all set to get married on the Rolling Loud stage -- that is, until Offset made his grand onstage gesture to Cardi B back in 2018 ... stealing Cruz's thunder!!!

Cruz says his plans were set in stone -- he'd flown in family members, including his siblings and his soon-to-be wife was decked out in her wedding dress ... but the one thing he couldn't plan for was Offset’s impromptu move.

He shared the sad, yet funny-in-hindsight, story with GloRilla -- the “FNF” rapper's been mentored in the rap game by Cardi, so Cruz figured this was his best shot to unload his old wedding woes.

Cruz says his relative lack of celebrity prompted Rolling Loud officials to cut his nuptials altogether ... leaving him to face the embarrassment of his family and pile on therapy sessions shortly after.

The silver lining is Cardi and Offset are still going strong more than 5 years later ... welcoming another child since then and are set to star in a McDonald's Super Bowl commercial next month!!!

GloRilla keeps grinding out gigs on the road, and recently found herself face-to-face onstage with platinum producer Polow Da Don ... but she held back on giving him the full Glo experience.

TMZ Hip Hop got this vid of Glo pump faking as if she was gonna throw her “FNF” clappas on Polow -- she threw out all sorts of sensual questions, only to flip the script and bust into a performance of her viral hit, “Nut Quick.”

The switcheroo went down at Polow's stomping grounds inside Atlanta’s Center Stage Theater ... and, as you can see, he was a good sport about Glo's stunt.

The next few weeks will be busy for the Memphis rapper, who just earned her first Grammy nomination ... and, on Monday, graced the cover of "The Cut."

We're hearing Glo will be hosting parties in the Phoenix area for Super Bowl LVII, and this coming weekend, she'll be in L.A. for the Grammys ... where she's up for Best Rap Performance.

Jason Derulo is facing a new challenge ahead of his big Super Bowl performance -- no, not a TikTok challenge ... he recently suffered a nasty injury and now he's walking on a cane.

A Source familiar tells TMZ ... the "Wiggle" singer was injured playing basketball 3 weeks ago. Apparently, he was going up for a rebound and wound up landing on someone's foot ... he now has a small break in his foot and a torn ligament to boot.

He was lucky enough to avoid surgery, but he did have stem cells injected, which help speed up recovery time.

As of now ... Jason's going to physical therapy daily and is getting around with the help of a cane.

Of course, this couldn't be worse timing for Jason. ICYMI, he and The Black Keys were announced as this year's headliners of the NFL TikTok Tailgate ... which is supposed to go down prior to the big game.

Our sources say, although he may not be fully recovered for the performance, he will power through it, come hell or high water.

The late Young Dolph's life and times have expertly been curated through a traveling pop-up museum ... attracting rap peers like Jim Jones, who recently soaked up the detailed exhibit.

TMZ Hip Hop got vid of the Dipset Capo during his recent visit at the NYC edition of Dolphland as he examined a toy car exhibit that replicated Dolph's jaw-dropping fleet of vehicles.

Key Glock was on hand to greet both Jim and Maino, and we're told more of Big Apple rap's finest -- like DJ Clue and Dave East -- also turned out to support.

Visitors also took in an exquisite bust statue of Dolph, as well as portraits of his Paper Route Empire artists, and the Memphis rapper's album covers such as "Role Model" and "Gelato."

NFL legend and newly appointed University of Colorado head coach Deion Sanders has been keeping Dolph's name vibrant since his November 2021 murder. He paid his respects by visiting the Denver Dolphland and chopping it up with PRE's Kenny Munney!!!

Lil Jon isn't feeling love or friendship from Live Nation, which he claims is using his song title, "Lovers & Friends," for a festival he's not even playing -- so, now the King of Crunk's threatening a lawsuit.

TMZ Hip Hop obtained a copy of the letter Jon's team fired off Monday to the concert-promoting corporation ... detailing his efforts to reach a financial agreement over the incredibly popular Las Vegas festival.

Jon says he and Live Nation began talks back in May 2022 through one of his lawyers, Doug Davis, and assumed Live Nation would do the right thing. We're told he didn't want to push too hard because he was focused on ensuring last year's festival -- headlined by Jon, Usher and Ludacris -- was a success.

Now it's a year later, and Usher recently announced the lineup for this year's lineup -- boasting megastars Chris Brown, Missy Elliott, 50 Cent, Nelly ... but no Lil Jon!!!

In the letter, Jon's powerhouse attorney Ed McPherson compares putting on a "Lovers & Friends" fest without Jon ... to having a "Don't Stop Believin'" festival without Journey, or a "Cheeseburger in Paradise" festival without Jimmy Buffett.

It's an obvious attempt to put the dispute in terms Live Nation's attorneys will understand.

Sources connected to Jon tell us he's been hoping to avoid litigation, and for months, attempted to reach a settlement.

For the record, Jon readily admits his "Lovers & Friends" -- from his 2004 "Crunk Juice" album -- is a cover of Michael Sterling's 1991 song, but insists his version is the one that became "omnipresent in the Black community" ... so much so, Live Nation's slapped the name on its festival.

Bottom line ... Lil Jon believes they owe him big, because Live Nation's trading off his hard work to create such a lasting hit.

Kanye West's presidential aspirations don't come cheap -- just ask his campaign, which paid Milo Yiannopoulos tens of thousands last year ... while reimbursing Nick Fuentes for a few expenses, as well.

According to FEC filings obtained and viewed by TMZ, Kanye 2020 -- his official presidential committee that appears to still be active -- shelled out a whopping $40,000 to the alt-right media personality ... with whom Ye recently cut ties amid his anti-Semitic spiral.

The docs show that Milo was paid this amount for "Campaign Wrap Up Services" ... with the cash getting dispersed about a week or so before Christmas 2022. That would seem to line up with what we were seeing at the time publicly ... Milo tagging along with Ye throughout much of the fall.

That's not the end of Milo's payday, though ... the filings also show a separate $9,955 that was paid to him by the Kanye's campaign in November for what they describe as "Domain Transfer."

Keep in mind ... Milo was claiming in early December that Ye actually owed him $116k for campaign consulting -- but our Ye sources said nothing was ever in writing.

On top of this, the FEC docs also show that Nick Fuentes was paid back by the campaign for some travel costs ... totaling $14,719.87. You'll recall -- NF was on Ye's national press tour for a while too, going city to city with Kanye for months on end.

Some rappers make NBA highlights just by sitting courtside -- but a few artists actually got on the court this weekend to make some Top 10-worthy jumpers!!!

Both Travis Scott and The Game got the royalty treatment during the Utah Jazz win over the Dallas Mavericks Saturday inside Vivint Arena ... and were able to shoot around before the game, targeting nothing but the bottom of the net.

Not to be outdone, YG sank a half-court shot Sunday inside Moda Center, decked out in baggy gear from his 4Hunnid line.

The "Alone" rapper was in Portland for his Red Cup Tour stop and got to see his Lakers beat the Trail Blazers before hitting the stage.

Game hit a couple of consecutive long bombs and went the extra mile and campaigned for an NBA 10-day contract. He also called out Gillie Da Kid to pull up to his home court in L.A. and earn an ass-whooping!!!

Gillie's one of the better shooters in hip hop ... even showing out NBA organizations in the past, so this could get interesting.

Master P is still the only traditional rapper who played in the NBA, having suited up for both the Charlotte Hornets and Toronto Raptors in the late '90s.

Rich Dollaz has his daughter Ashley Trowers' back after her arrest for allegedly shooting at her ex in Memphis ... insisting she's a domestic violence victim who acted in self-defense.

The "Love & Hip Hop" alum hopped on "TMZ Live" Monday and emphatically claimed Ashley only fired out of fear, and added she and her child's father have had multiple domestic disputes in the past.

TMZ Hip Hop broke the story ... cops say Ashley was approached by the ex, Demiah Tatum, and his friend Mykel Yates during her first day working security at a Kroger's, and she ended up firing 2 shots at the vehicle.

Rich says Ashley already had a temporary restraining order requiring Demiah to stay away from her -- but he claims Demiah got out of his car to confront her.

Rich says people have told him Demiah's claiming he just happened to "pull up" at the Kroger's where Ashley worked ... but her dad isn't buying it was a total coincidence.

Flavor Flav is reflecting on the tumultuous drug-bingeing past he says nearly cost him his life and did cost him almost $1 million/year -- and he's convinced God allowed him to survive to share his story.

The Public Enemy hype man came clean on DJ Akademiks' 'Off The Record' Spotify podcast ... admitting getting off drugs was the hardest obstacle he's ever overcome.

Flav claims he spent $2400 per day on crack and hid it from those closest to him, including Chuck D and his other PE bandmates.

The Long Island-born rap legend first revealed his crack addiction in his 2011 book, "Flavor Flav: The Icon The Memoir." He tells Ak he was his own biggest and best customer, on account of having a lot of money during his heyday.

Flav also frowned upon today's hip hop landscape ... noting how rappers are filling their lyrics with drug use, which doesn't leave him very hopeful for the future.

He predicts crack will be around as long as there are humans -- a claim on which Boosie Badazz would, no doubt, cosign.

The rapper ranted about today's drugs being too strong. He'd been reacting to Gangsta Boo's death -- which some believe was a fatal OD -- when he offered some wildly irresponsible advice about getting high.

Miami's Club LIV was the location for a Young Money-sanctioned movie last night ... with Lil Wayne, Drake and 2 Chainz all gracing the stage to celebrate the birthday of DJ Stevie J!!!

Drake was seemingly in a great mood last night after winning big betting on the Super Bowl-bound Philadelphia Eagles ... and you can see his enthusiasm as he surprised the crowd by rapping along to performances of Wayne's "Steady Mobbin'" and 2 Chainz' "Watch Out."

The event was thrown by Michael Gardner and Louis Oliver and hosted by Wayne ... who was in his element ripping through a flawless rendition of his classic tongue-twisting track, "A Milli."

Drake eventually grabbed the mic, joining Wayne on their platinum collaboration "The Motto" and for his own "Her Loss" opening track, "Rich Flex" ... giving the crowd an impromptu concert on Sunday for David Grutman's club at Fontainebleau.

Meek Mill celebrated the Eagles' big win with a freestyle rap on Sunday ... taking shots at 49ers fans by dropping bars on one of the most iconic diss tracks of all time.

The Philly rapper posted his video to Instagram right after Philly whooped San Francisco 31-7 in the NFC Championship game ... punching their ticket to Super Bowl LVII.

Meek used the beat from Tupac's "Hit 'Em Up" to send his message to the Niners ... which, of course, was a diss track to Notorious B.I.G. -- and to this day, remains one of the top verbal attacks in the rap game.

"This for all my 49ers fans right here ... First off, f*** ya clique and the team you claim," Meek starts off.

"Northside, Southside this an Eagles game. Y'all claim to keep it playa, but we packed ya bag -- plus the other quarterback, y'all couldn't even pass it back."

Of course, Meek is referring to S.F. rookie quarterback Brock Purdy, who injured his elbow in the first half. To make matters worse, his backup, Josh Johnson, left the game in the 3rd quarter with a concussion.

BTW, Meek was watching the game in the Lincoln Financial Stadium suite with an A-list crowd -- Kevin Hart, Lil Baby, James Harden, Joel Embiid, Michael Rubin, and former Eagles receiver DeSean Jackson.

Chrisean Rock has hinted at getting married to Blueface, but it seems the wedding might've just been for show ... or for the camera, rather.

The volatile couple were seen on what appears to be a set Friday -- the day CR said she'd be saying "I do" during a visit to a bridal shop in DTLA. A lot of photos/clips have since leaked showing what they were up to, and it looks like they were shooting a music video.

You can see BF suited and booted in a white tux, surrounded by a group of pals -- one of whom is actually a fellow rapper, DDG. You can also hear music playing in the background as they pose in front of a professional video camera ... the telltale signs this is a production.

In other words, the whole idea of actual nuptials that Chrisean was teasing doesn't seem to have gone down in reality -- although, they certainly went all out to make it feel authentic.

Chrisean was decked out in a white bridal gown ... which she presumably picked up the day she was talking out loud about all this. And then, there's the ring ... a purported photo of which has since been posted -- and it has all the sparkle of a damn nice rock.

Meanwhile, on social media, Chrisean and Blueface have been posting clips of what seems to be new music on the way from both of them -- so it all adds up this is just make-believe.

Of course, the interesting thing about this is the fact that Blueface and Chrisean are on solid terms once again ... this just a week after a massive blowup/breakup that spelled trouble to the outside world. Remember, she announced she was pregnant -- and Blueface denied it was his/dumped her.

Shortly thereafter, they were involved in a scuffle on the street ... and things looked bad.

It would appear they've made up again and are back to work. Not only are they romantically involved, but Blue and Chrisean obviously have a working relationship too ... their reality show, and joint projects as well. So, it probably isn't so easy for either to just walk away.

Kanye West is the named suspect in a battery investigation after a heated exchange with a photographer escalated to the point of Ye grabbing and throwing the woman’s phone.

Check out the video, Ye’s clearly upset — accusing the woman of following him — all the while she continues to record.

The woman exclaims, “You’re a celebrity!” but that’s enough for Ye, who grabs and throws the woman’s phone into the street.

He then hops into his SUV where his wife, Bianca Censori, is patiently waiting.

A law enforcement source tells us Kanye’s the named suspect in a battery investigation, deputies from the Ventura County Sheriff’s Department were called to the scene around 4:30 PM and were provided video evidence of the incident.

It’s currently unclear if the woman is a professional photographer or was just taking videos of Ye as a citizen.

We should note … the whole thing happened near a sports complex where North West had a scheduled basketball game.

Sada Baby shocked fans earlier this week, announcing he was done with lean and cigarettes after spending upwards of $20k on the habits per week ... a move he says not only benefited his health, but his pockets too!!!

TMZ Hip Hop chopped it up with Sada, who openly admits he pushed his body to its limits, calling it an "immature goal" that backfired ... comparing himself to late Temptations frontman David Ruffin, who infamously died of an overdose.

Sada says his addiction forced him to mentally disregard the rising cost of lean and even admitted being muddy influenced some of his biggest songs ... but he no longer wants to be a hypocrite in the streets for fans who actually look up to him!!!

After merging with Asylum Records (a division of Warner Music Group), Sada shared he's now an independent artist and says he's eager to finally make streaming money from his own music and will receive his masters and royalties in due time.

The money's there to make -- Sada says he's dropping a mixtape next month but is really anticipating the release of his debut album with possible features from Chris Brown, Marc Rebillet and Sevyn Streeter ... and beats from Hit-Boy, Hitmaka and Mustard!!!

Sheek Louch thinks Pusha T did himself a favor by choosing to part ways with Kanye West following his 2022 string of hate and antisemitism.

The LOX legend recalled how disappointed he was in Ye's antisemitic rants when DJ Vlad alerted him Pusha had quit his longtime gig as GOOD Music President over those very same outbursts!!!

Sheek applauded Pusha for choosing to bounce away from Ye ... calling him "solid" while voicing some pretty hefty complaints of his own about the embattled megastar.

Back in August 2021 when Ye was rallying the troops for his "Donda 1" album, he called upon a sleep-deprived Sheek, Jadakiss and Styles P to fly on a private jet in the middle of the night to work on the project.

The LOX had just beaten Dipset in their historic Verzuz battle but still agreed to help Ye for the culture.

Sheek says once they got there, Ye thanked them for coming ... through his mask — which he didn't remove one time — but even crazier, that was the last time they saw him!!!

Sheek floated the idea of telling Ye to suck a 🍆 — the ultimate form of disrespect in his book — if he reaches out to do a track in 2023, but doesn't think Ye and Pusha should beef going forward.

One person who strongly disagrees is proud Ye loyalist Consequence ... who's currently dragging Pusha's name in the gutter for abandoning ship!!!

Pusha T is firing back at Consequence's latest interview that painted "disgust" on his recent departure from Kanye West's GOOD Music, in a theological fashion ... with a quote from the Bible that outlines his views on the entire debacle.

The "It's Almost Dry" rapper took a page outta 1 Corinthians 6:7 ... quoting "suffer yourselves to be defrauded," a call for Cons to focus on the bigger picture and not attempt to clean up Ye's mess.

Push is heavily rumored to be restarting his Clipse duo with brother No Malice, who's a devout Christian, which probably explains why he's rattling off bible verses like they live on Genius.

Push started his 2023 off Kanye-free ... having cut ties with Ye and GOOD Music after years by his side over his antisemitic rants, but Consequence says his reasoning was total BS.

Cons says Kanye prevented Push from getting on stage at a Donda performance in Chicago and has been on some taking-his-ball-home-ish ever since!!!

Cons says Push's real loyalty is to Pharrell, but he expected more outta the Virginia rapper, after hanging around all these years.

He also blamed Push for bringing tensions with Drake into Good Music, revealing he's actually been to Drake's crib but never stepped foot inside Push's house!!

Kanye West's GOOD Music is a dub as we know it -- Push, Kid Cudi, Big Sean, Desiigner -- have all departed with less than stellar things to say about Ye and Consequence wants to know where's the loyalty!!!