TMZ Hip Hop - Page 50

Lil Wayne channeled his inner-Tony Hawk over the weekend by pullin' off some dope skateboard tricks ... and they were all caught on video!

You can see in the footage posted to his social media page Saturday, the "Mrs. Officer" rapper flexed all of his best moves -- starting off with a kick turn on a vert ramp at a skatepark.

He then flew through the track while doing more tricks, including a front side 180 and a pop shuvit. And, we gotta admit, he looks goooood on four wheels!!

FYI, the pro board Lil Wayne is riding in the video was a gift from pro skater, Torey Pudwill and his Thank You Skateboards company. It features the New Orleans rapper's face and some of his best lyrics.

Of course, the 40-year-old's passion for skateboarding is well known -- as he's been into the sport for years. In fact, the award-winning artist was caught watching highlight videos during a Grammy party earlier this month.

He also released a song called "Skate It Off" in 2016 ... and the music video was shot in a skatepark.

Quality Control co-founder Pierre "Pee" Thomas' decision to sell his label to Scooter Braun's HYBE platform for a reported $300 million was a great move, according to no less an authority on the biz than Russell Simmons.

Pee was criticized for building up a Black-owned company only to sell it to white America -- he promptly defended the move on social media -- but Russell says all those haters need to educate themselves before they speak.

We conversed with Rush Friday in WeHo, and he thinks the sale will open new opportunities for Pee, and his partner Kevin "Coach K" Lee, to invest further in their community ... because they'll be able to liquidate assets.

Rush says the music industry is a volatile place -- he referenced the downfall of Young Thug and 300 Entertainment as examples, in addition to his own history.

In 1999, Rush sold off Def Jam Records, the label he co-founded for an estimated $120 million, and was able to branch off into fashion, film, financial service and jewelry!!!

Def Jam is still going strong today and Rush says QC will flourish all the same under Scooter Braun's watch. He also doesn't think race played a role in the sale.

Rihanna's pops found out about his soon-to-be grandkid same as everyone else -- while watchin' her Super Bowl halftime show ... and he's hoping, once again, for 2 X chromosomes.

Ronald Fenty tells TMZ ... he's over the moon about his daughter and A$AP Rocky's new kiddo, and with 4 grandsons already, he's hoping RiRi can shake things up with a girl.

He says he's excited at the prospect of having a granddaughter ... face it, he had great luck in that department with his famous daughter.

Ronald tells us Rihanna got him tickets to the big game, without telling him she's eating for 2 -- so he was insanely surprised when he spotted the bump from the stands ... telling his partner, "Oh my god! My baby girl looks pregnant!"

As we reported, Ronald was crossing his fingers for a girl this time last year when it was first revealed Rihanna was pregnant ... saying he had a feeling they wouldn't stop at just 1.

Ronald says he hasn't been involved with RiRi and A$AP's son's life yet ... referring to her super busy schedule and his living in Barbados.

Jim Jones is applauding NYC Mayor Eric Adams' efforts all across the board, including their developing plans to introduce the Mayor's Cup of Dance throughout the city this summer!!!

TMZ Hip Hop linked up with the Harlem Capo a couple times this week and he was completely floored that Mayor Adams not only bumped up their meeting but also had his aides immediately reach out to get the ball rolling on the Mayor's Cup.

Jim's spearheading the dance initiative and is getting all the boroughs involved. He says he spoke to Fabolous and Maino to represent Brooklyn and wants Cardi B and Fat Joe to stand up for the Bronx, and Nas and N.O.R.E. to lead Queens. He's also planning to include artists from younger generations.

Jim and Dipset recently felt a ton of love from young fans at Drake's sold-out Apollo Theater -- and says he so appreciated Drake, Future The Prince and the rest of the OVO team giving them a hero's welcome.

In fact, he says he'd love to return the favor via a new collab. C'mon, Drake!!!

Jim admits rap is a young man's game but says old and new challengers should still fear him in the booth, and promises to back that up on his upcoming album, "Back In My Prime" ... produced by Hitmaka.

The convo switched to fashion when we spotted Jim and Juelz Santana out in the streets ... where they praised Pharrell's new position as men's head designer of Louis Vuitton.

The Diplomats recalled having a session with Cam'ron back in the day, where Pharrell showed up wearing a fur coat -- in the summertime 🥵!!!

Trey Songz looks over the years are a real "Panty Droppa!"

Here is a 24-year-old version of the R&B singer looking dapper AF, accessorized and ready to party at his Birthday celebration in New York City back in 2009 (left). This was the same year he released his album "Ready," which featured hit songs "I Invented Sex" and "Say Aah."

And, 14 years later ... the 38-year-old handsome papa bear recently dripped himself in diamonds and was shining from ear-to-ear in Dubai for the opening of the "Atlantis The Royal Grand" (right).

His rocks may be getting bigger by the year, but the question is ...

T.I.'s had enough of being the "King of the South" and he's touting his next album -- "Kill the King" -- as the official funeral for his famous tagline!!!

TMZ Hip Hop chopped it up with T.I. this week and, for now, he's adamant "Kill the King" will be his last solo album.

The ATL rap icon explains he adopted that regal label after hearing Mystikal refer to himself as "Prince of the South" on the 2001 album "Tarantula." Tip says he spotted a void for the throne and claimed it.

He then got the blessings of legendary peers Outkast, Scarface, 8Ball and MJG ... but Big Boi warned him the "Kang" title would come with a supersized can of worms, which T.I. admits it did.

The royal title sparked a short-lived beef with Ludacris' camp, among other debacles, and T.I. says he's fully confident with deflating his own ego.

There's no timetable to rush greatness, but he revealed Jermaine Dupri just blessed him with a banger so the album is coming along as we speak.

In addition to recording his last hurrah, T.I. has plenty of other projects in the works.

He recently signed on as a brand ambassador for Cignature, a lifestyle brand that provides smoking products to adults, and is also looking ahead toward the 20th anniversary of his classic breakout album "Trap Muzik" ... which will coincide with the Hip Hop 50th celebration in August.

For the 15th anniversary, T.I. and Grand Hustle debuted the now monumental, Trap Museum in Atlanta, but he's keeping details for the upcoming celebration under wraps for now.

Positive K, best known for his '90s hit "I Got A Man", is turning his hip hop roots into humor -- he's getting onstage to tap into the world of comedy.

The rapper's team says, Positive K's still in the biz of putting out new music, but now he's also using the stage for stand-up comedy, and his career is already taking off!

As a rapper, he's best known for his breakout 1993 top 20 single "I Got A Man" ... and he also had memorable collabs with hip hop legend, MC Lyte.

His debut album "The Skills Dat Pay Da Bills" has become highly regarded as a certified classic, especially for his ability to deliver a different rap style on each track and for adding humor ... and we're told that's exactly what planted the seed for his comedy career.

Positive K's Comedy Experience is already making the rounds in ATL ... having played the Uptown Comedy Corner, Atlanta Comedy Theater and the Laugh Factory. Earlier this year he put on a show to remember at the ATL Punchline.

He's even opened up for comedian Mike Epps, in addition to performing on some of the most legendary stages for comedy.

Travis Scott's Cactus Jack Foundation hosted a celebrity softball game yesterday ... and he scored big by carving out loads of opportunities for Historically Black Colleges in honor of Black History Month.

The star-studded game went down Thursday inside Houston's Minute Maid Park -- home to MLB's Astros -- and raised awareness for the Waymon Webster HBCU Scholarship Fund and Cactus Jack HBCU Classic.

LaFlame put out the call and a huge list of famous athletes answered to help in the effort: 9-time Olympic gold medalist Carl Lewis, Ken Griffey Jr., Reggie Jackson, Jose Canseco and his daughter Josie, Gary Sheffield, Andre Dawson, Shane Victorino and Nick Swisher. Plus, NFL and NBA greats Terrell Owens, Adrian Peterson, Robert Horry, Vince Young, and Tracy Mcgrady.

Travis' fellow artists came out too ... folks like Scarface, Bun B, Metro Boomin, Slim Thug, Sheck Wes, Trae Tha Truth, Paul Wall, and Dominic Fike.

Following the match (which T.O.'s team won), Travis and his family were presented with the Vanguard award by Daniel Moss, Executive Director of the HBCU Foundation, for their dedication to higher learning within the Black community and the scholarship opportunities they've provided.

To date, Travis' efforts have raised about $1 million for 100 graduating HBCU seniors ... who were all celebrated during Thursday's game.

Chris Brown is singling out Cheetah Girls/3LW singer Kiely Williams amongst the peanut gallery upset he's collaborating with Chloe Bailey ... but Breezy is busting her chops, almost literally!!!

Following Chloe's ill-fated preview of "How Does It Feel," Kiely went on a tirade over the collab like several fans -- accusing Chris of exploiting female Black artists' talent to mask his past domestic violence case with Rihanna.

Breezy's currently overseas on tour, but took time to respond to Kiely's disses and did so with a mix of pity and humor ... to him anyway.

He deemed Kiely to be broken -- either mentally, financially, or both -- for the unprovoked attacks, and then took the low road by taking aim at her lisp. He joked how she sang "promithis, promithis" on her hit song "No More (Baby I’Ma Do Right)," and again through a meme captioned "thop it!!!"

While Breezy didn't hesitate to fire away at Kiely, Chloe still has to deal with her angered fanbase ahead of the release of their song.

Shaquille O'Neal just went scorched Earth on everyone bashing Rihanna's Super Bowl halftime performance Sunday ... saying people need to "shut the f*** up!"

"All you people disrespecting Rihanna, shut your face," O'Neal said on his The Big Podcast with Shaq featuring Nischelle Turner and Candace Parker, passionately defending the 9x Grammy winner.

Many people have been critical of Rihanna's performance on Sunday ... but Shaq isn't one of them. The Big Fella believes RiRi did her thing, adding we live in a world where people have too much freedom to criticize others.

"She did a wonderful job," Shaq said. "She's pregnant. She blessed it. She didn't fall. Just leave it there. All you superstars that's disrespecting and causing beef ... shut it up."

O'Neal said it was the first time he ever saw the "Umbrella" artist perform live ... adding, if he were in A$AP Rocky's shoes, he'd be defending her.

"If she was my woman and I seen one of you superstars do that," Shaq said, "I'm gonna have to get at you." "Rappers. Presidential candidates. I'm gonna have to get at you. Leave her alone."

Shaq didn't mention which rappers or presidential candidates he's calling out ... but it's worth noting former President Donald Trump ripped Rihanna's performance.

Trump wrote ... "EPIC FAIL: Rihanna gave, without question, the single worst Halftime Show in Super Bowl history — This after insulting far more than half of our Nation, which is already in serious DECLINE, with her foul and insulting language. Also, so much for her 'Stylist!'”

DT wasn't the only high-profile name who wasn't a fan of Rihanna's 13-minute set at the SB -- WWE legend Goldberg was "disgusted" by the show and thought it was "horrible."

Trick Daddy recently interrupted his own cooking to show to completely UNLOAD on Uncle Murda .. all because he's fed up with the G-Unit rapper's infamous yearly "Rap Up" anthems.

The Miami hip hop legend was warning viewers of the pitfalls of going viral when he turned his ire towards Murda ... dubbing him "The #1 Clown" in the rap game -- 5 years and running!!!

Trick scolded Murda for stalking countless rappers throughout the years, and preying on their most vulnerable moments.

Of course, Trick was one of the many rappers caught in Murda's crosshairs -- but he's held his tongue about it for a couple of years.

Murda dissed Trick back on the 2021 "Rap Up" over his "Beyonce can't sing" comments and subsequent "coke head" remarks ... but Trick says he's calling Murda out for the guys who can't speak up for themselves in the brutal social media gauntlet.

Kash Doll is defending La La Anthony's portrayal of Markisha Taylor in 50 Cent's hit series "BMF," despite fan uproar that La La's character now looks like a bona fide cradle robber!!!

Fans have been livid this season seeing the adult Markisha interact with Terry Flenory (played by actor Da'Vinchi) ... because his character is still in high school.

To make matters worse, OG trap queen Tonesa Welch also ripped the character -- and the casting -- as it appears Markisha is loosely based on the role Tonesa held during the real-life BMF glory days.

The Detroit rapper linked with TMZ Hip Hop this week during her NYC promo run, and reminded us of "BMF's" disclaimer at the top of each show ... some of it's true and some of it ain't!!!

Kash plays Monique ... the linchpin of the love triangle between herself and warring lead characters "Big Meech" and "Lamar."

Kash is also back on her rapping steez -- after having a baby boy about a year ago -- thanks to her new DJ Drama-led project, "Back On Dexter: A Gangsta Grillz Mixtape."

The 11-track effort finds KD flexing Detroit-isms with the likes of Sada Baby, Babyface Ray, Payroll Giovanni, Peezy and more.

Goldberg absolutely hated Rihanna's Super Bowl halftime show on Sunday ... calling the singer's performance "horrible", and saying it left him feeling "disgusted."

"I thought Rihanna was frickin horrible," Goldberg said on his CarCast podcast with Matt "The Motorator" D'Andria. "I was disgusted by it. That's all. Let's just say that. I thought it was horrible."

D'Andria said he thought Rihanna's performance was "kind of boring," and Goldberg agreed, calling Matt's comment "the understatement of the year."

Goldberg seems to have an issue with RiRi's crotch grab -- he wasn't the only one -- and felt like the "Bitch Better Have My Money" artist made the performance too much about herself.

Of course, Rihanna opted to do her 13-minute set at the Super Bowl without bringing out any surprise guests like other performers in the past have done.

Rihanna's SB halftime show at State Farm Stadium in Glendale, AZ was the first time she's performed in over 6 years ... and we now know, she wasn't exactly alone up there. 👶

Goldberg, however, is a fan of Chris Stapleton, who sang the National Anthem before the Chiefs-Eagles played, applauding the singer-songwriter for doing his job "to the fullest."

Chloe Bailey's second single from her upcoming debut solo album has her fans heated, and not in a good way -- they're infuriated she's included Chris Brown as the featured guest.

On Thursday, Chloe teased her Breezy duet "How Does It Feel" ... only to see her fans raise so much outrage, the song's actually trending from the onslaught of negative tweets.

Fans were upset Chloe would choose to collaborate with CB given his tumultuous history with Rihanna. There's no better barometer of the fan anger than this -- some are even calling out Beyoncé for what they deem mismanagement of her Parkwood Entertainment artists. 😬

The song drops tomorrow and Chloe recently revealed she submitted her finished "In Pieces" album to the label ... with the release date soon to follow.

Drake and 21 Savage are no longer stuck in a lawsuit with magazine publisher Condé Nast, the rappers settled the case brought against them over the fake Vogue cover they used to promote their album ... TMZ has learned.

Sources with direct knowledge tell us the duo settled out of court and agreed to pay Vogue's publisher, though the settlement amount is unclear. Condé Nast was seeking at least $4 million in damages.

TMZ broke the story ... back in November, the magazine giant slapped Drake and 21 Savage with a lawsuit over the phony Vogue promos they plastered online and around several cities. The fake Vogue featured the rappers on the cover and it was used to hype their new album, "Her Loss."

The suit said the fake mags were a direct replica of Vogue ... with a doctored pic of editor-in-chief Anna Wintour next to Drake and a fake story.

Drake also used the fake Vogue to promote the album on his social media ... with Drizzy claiming he and 21 Savage would be on newsstands before the Nov. 4 album release. Champagne Papi even shouted out Anna.

As we reported ... after the lawsuit was filed, a federal judge issued a temporary restraining order shutting down all current and future displays of the mocked-up mag for the time being.

Fans have really been testing GloRilla's gangsta during her tour ... with the latest incident involving the red-hot rookie becoming a coatface killah while performing on stage.

Video of Big Glo's Valentine's Day performance at Cervantes’ Other Side in Denver hit the web on Thursday with Glo set to perform her new song "Internet Trolls."

Funny enough, there was a real troll in the crowd, who had the nerve to toss their jacket on stage, hitting Glo upside her head in the process.

After a quick scan of the audience, Glo ID'ed a woman with red braids to be the culprit ... and proceeded to cuss her out for the stunt. Glo also told the crowd the flying coat killed her stage-diving mood -- and was met with dejected moans and groans.

The show wasn't a total wash though ... Glo shared more footage of the Denver show with fans getting crazy — without throwing objects at the stage but the budding Memphis rapper has been experiencing the wild side of her newfound celebrity as of late.

During her afterparty in Oakland last week, fans grew angry she hung out at the club without performing and tossed drinks in her direction as she headed towards the exit.