TMZ Hip Hop - Page 50

1501 Certified Entertainment honcho Carl Crawford is admitting errors in dealing with Megan Thee Stallion, and wants all fences mended going forward -- but says they haven't spoken since 2019!!!

TMZ Hip Hop sat down with Carl and his newly installed 1501 President Kai "Verse" Tyler ... as their label enters a new chapter without the H-Town hottie.

Carl openly admits, as an ex-MLB star, his competitive drive is high but his knowledge of the music industry is somewhat limited ... and that's where Verse enters.

Verse is an industry vet who's had experience dealing with artists' publishing and publicity campaigns ... which led to a convo about 1501's current flagship artist, Erica Banks, and their plans for her career.

Carl also walked back his past vitriol toward Jay-Z and Roc Nation -- he'd previously blamed them for planting evil seeds in Megan's head -- and he came clean about his association with Tory Lanez.

Fans knew the Megan beef was real when Carl and Tory flicked it up last year inside a club, but Carl's admitting he and Tory don't know each other ... and the encounter was just trolling to get back at MTS. Ultimately, he regrets the stunt.

Verse says his focus is boosting the label's artistic reach, and he thinks Erica starting an OnlyFans page is just another aspect of dealing with today's social media generation.

That aside, he's certain the "Bust It" rapper has a banger with Kehlani, and even a cooking show coming up!

Hip-hop heads have been debating for weeks about a new all-time greatest rapper list that has Jay-Z at #1 -- but now Lil Wayne has entered the chat ... and he says he's the G.O.A.T.

Weezy said as much this past week during an appearance on Zane Lowe's Apple Music podcast show, where the topic of Billboard's 50 Greatest Rappers of All Time -- which they published on Feb. 8 -- came up ... and to LW's surprise, he clocked in at only #7, below several others.

The outlet has Biggie, Eminem, Tupac, Nas, Kendrick Lamar and Jay-Z ahead of him, respectively -- but Wayne begs to differ on all of them, especially among those still living. He says straight up, he's #1 ... and even dares survey-takers to ask the guys ranked higher than him how they feel about it. In his view, he thinks they'd agree ... Wayne is greater than them.

Per usual, this is all subjective ... and it's not really clear what sort of criteria Billboard is even following in deeming anyone better than the other. From the looks of it, it seems like they're pegging Jay as top dog because of overall success -- which he's certainly achieved.

But, if you check Twitter ... it appears many are agreeing with the notion that Wayne is, in fact, better than Jay-Z -- both in terms of rap skill and cultural impact, which really should be how these things are measured. Fact is, Weezy is still spittin' fire in 2023 (see the new DMX collab) ... whereas one could argue Jay isn't really rapping like he used to at his peak.

With that said, their numbers are comparable ... Wayne has 3 #1 hits (Billboard Hot 100) and Jay has 4 #1s of his own. However, Wayne has 25 of his songs in the top 10 historically, whereas Jay only has 22 in the same category. So, on a song-for-song basis ... they're close.

Even on an album count, Jay's 14 #1s to Wayne's 9 (Billboard 200) has 'em almost tied.

We suppose this question is really in the eye of the beholder, but can probably be answered honestly with one simple question -- in your heart of hearts, whose music are you actually bumpin' at the function? And who, truly, has the more memorable repertoire overall???

Drake's picking sides in the Jake Paul - Tommy Fury feud, placing a bet on The Problem Child to knockout TNT ... and judging by the massive size of the wager, Drizzy's feelin' confident the 26-year-old YouTuber-turned-boxer will turn out Fury's lights.

Drake posted the Stake betting slip on social media Saturday night ... and he's risking $400,000. In order for the superstar rapper to cash out, Jake can't just win the fight, he must KO Tommy (in any round). If that scenario actually unfolds, Drake would receive $1.4 million ... which included his initial bet ($400k).

The payout's so large because statistically, it's a longshot ... the odds say there's a less than 30% chance the fight ends by Paul KO.

FYI, Jake's 6-0 ... and 4 of those fights have ended by KO. Tommy's also undefeated ... and obviously has never been stopped.

Drake's no stranger to making huge wagers. In fact, he bet $965k total on the Super Bowl ... and while he didn't hit on all his bets, he did pretty well. He's also bets heaps of money on UFC fights.

While the rappers riding with Jake, Tyson Fury is (obviously) siding with his brother. The heavyweight champion revealed earlier this week he put down over $100K on Tommy to win by stoppage.

"I've got 100 racks on it for an inside-the-distance stoppage, so if [Tommy] loses, then I'll lose 100 bags as well," Fury told iFL TV.

Jake and Tommy also made a bet during fight week (though, we'll see if it comes to fruition). If Jake wins the fight, he gets Tommy's money. If Fury wins, Jake double his money.

Bets aside, Paul and Fury flat-out hate each other ... and Sunday's fight is the culmination of years of trash talk. The men were supposed to scrap on two previous occasions, but Tommy pulled out -- once for injury, and the other over a travel issue.

Kodak Black is wanted by cops in Florida -- this after he allegedly violated his bail conditions by failing a drug test earlier this month.

According to new legal docs, obtained by TMZ, a judge signed off an arrest warrant in Kodak's name Thursday ... which just got filed in Broward County court yesterday. In the paperwork, it says Kodak is to taken into custody if any sheriff's deputies encounter him.

The reason ... a judge says he was found to have screwed up twice in recent weeks. On Feb. 3, the agency he's supposed to report to for random drug testing claims he was a no-show for a screening and failed to submit a sample that day. The following week, on Feb. 8, that same agency says Kodak did submit a sample ... but they allege it came back dirty.

According to them, he was positive for traces of fentanyl ... although it's unclear how much.

That was enough for a judge to tell authorities to go get him. If he's caught ... there's additional orders to hold him without bond until his next hearing in this Oxy case from last year.

You'll recall, Kodak was arrested in July for possession of a controlled substance without prescription and trafficking -- this after cops say they found upwards of 31 oxycodone pills in his car, which were found during a traffic stop in Ft. Lauderdale. He posted $75,000 bail and was released, but not without this restriction in place ... namely, keeping his pee clean.

Cardi B is getting her 15 days of community service done one by one -- and it looks like part of that load was designated toward NYC cops ... more specifically, their entertainment.

The rapper popped into the NYPD Police Academy in Queens Friday for what seems to be a formal appearance she set up with some higher-ups in the force -- part of which was caught on camera as officers in training cheered her on ... this according to the NY Post.

Unclear how long CB was there or what exactly she did -- other than dance around for a bit, which can be seen on camera -- but it sure sounds like this counted on her IOU for court.

After the appearance, she was talking about how this would, indeed, go toward her court-ordered community service. In one tweet, she wrote ... "My brains are burning from waking up early ,community service then studio….but I did the crime 'I only have myself to blame.'"

Of course, she certainly seems to be joking here ... considering real community service is often labor-intensive and out by the side of a freeway somewhere. In this case, it appears she just showed up to the Academy for a little face time with cadets and called it a day.

If this is how she's able to check the 15-day requirement ... ya gotta figure she'll be in for a relatively easy path forward -- and frankly, good for her for figuring out a way to skip picking up trash or scrubbing graffiti. Showing up and/or "performing" beats the hell outta any of that.

You'll recall ... Cardi actually missed her OG deadline to have her service done  back in January -- but was given an extension to finish by March 1, which is around the corner.

This all ties back to a strip club beatdown case she was charged in a while back, for which she copped a plea deal ... receiving 15 days of community service as part of her sentence.

Almost near the finish line ... just a few more in-person visits to go! 😅

Rihanna is getting a new addition to her wardrobe ... PETA is sending her a faux fur coat after the pregnant singer appeared to wear real fur to dinner.

Here's the deal ... Rihanna was photographed this week in a full-length fur coat, which PETA tells us is almost certainly made of the real deal ... and now the animal rights org wants RiRi to make some fashion changes.

PETA fired off a letter, obtained by TMZ, to Rihanna's team ... saying they noticed her fur coat, then pled their case for switching to faux fur and offered up a faux fur coat.

In the letter, PETA's senior vice president Lisa Lange cites Rihanna's growing family, writing ... "As a mother, you know what it's like to feel protective and to want to make sure no harm comes to your family. Please understand that this desire -- this instinct even -- is shared by the minks, foxes, and rabbits who are torn away from their families and killed for their fur."

PETA then asks Rihanna, "Won't you please help create a kinder world for your children to grow up in by deciding today that you'll no longer wear fur?"

The org offers to take any of Rihanna's fur clothes off her hands and donate them to survivors of the recent earthquakes in Syria and Turkey ... PETA says those folks truly have an excuse to wear real fur because they lost everything and now have to survive winter.

PETA also tells Rihanna they're sending her a faux fur coat from Unreal Fur, which they say will help her "stay warm and fashionable while making the cruelty-free switch."

Drake and 21 Savage are shaking off their Vogue lawsuit woes with a new music vid in support of "Her Loss" for the "Spin Bout U!!!"

The Dave Myers-directed project features Drake and 21 in acting mode ... playing the part of a pair of Don Juan's who rescue a damsel in distress overboard on their yacht.

After seducing Drizzy with her curves, the woman ... played by model Precious Lee ... reveals her hidden agenda (to rob them, duh!!!) and pulls off a heist with dozens of more baddies who inflict pain on the rappers while they're tied up.

Don't be surprised if there's a Google search spike in S&M searches over the next week as fans eat up the latest taste from the platinum-selling project.

One person who's definitely no "Her Loss" fan is Kodak Black ... who recently revealed the project caused a rift between him and Drake.

Kodak says he and Drake were supposed to drop a collab album but were blindsided by the 21 replacement ... prompting the "Super Gremlin" to cut all ties with Drake ... at least musically.

Stephanie Mills is making no apologies whatsoever over ranking Diana Ross above Beyonce ... a stance that just may infuriate the Beyhive forever!!!

The R&B vet hit "The Breakfast Club" Friday to address her recent VladTV interview ... where she boldly declared Beyonce classifies as a rapper, while Diana Ross is the "epitome of glamour!!!"

Rather than backpedal, Stephanie doubled down ... explaining, in her eyes, Beyonce's last few albums have been more in the "hip hop" lane and no one -- Bey included -- can compare to the Motown queen!!!

Stephanie admits she's always been a Diana Ross "stan" -- she literally set the stage for Diana's portrayal of Dorothy in the 1978 film "The Wiz" after playing the character herself for years on Broadway ... but makes no apologies for her commentary.

She did deny the implication that her comments made it sound like hip hop and rap are beneath old-school R&B -- and she got some backup from guest host, Jess Hilarious.

Beyonce's 2022 "Renaissance" album was largely classified as "dance" and helped her break the record for the most Grammy wins ever. The entire album rollout was about glam ... word to the crystal holographic horse she posed on for the album cover.

Kodak Black quickly learned the laws of cyberbullying during his first game of 'Grand Theft Auto V RP' -- but it's his gaming commentary that has fans doing double takes.

While Kodak was hanging with his clique, some poor, unsuspecting sap attempted to get into their inner circle, only to be accosted and robbed of his digital designer jeans for getting too close.

Not satisfied with that level of humiliation, Kodak then aimed his gun at the guy's junk and demanded he take off his boxers to inspect the guy's d**k size. 😲

Someone in Kodak's entourage eventually knocked out the player with a punch ... and while the rapper initially threatened to shoot the unconscious sim, his crew talked him out of it.

Fans' reactions range from head-scratching to downright amusement but the game is literally named after a felony, so etiquette's not really a thing.

Chloe Bailey didn't let the haters stop her from releasing her new single with Chris Brown ... pushing it out with a new music video that's already gotten hundreds of thousands of views.

Chloe and Chris' "How Does it Feel" dropped Friday, and in a complete reversal from last week, most of the comments in Chloe's Twitter feed about the song are positive ... and in less than 12 hours, the music video itself has close to 350,000 views.

Directed by Arrad, the video shows Chloe and Chris embrace a couple of times as they're holed up in a penthouse as the two sing the ballad.

Brown defended his name, unleashing on Kiely Williams, Blueface and a laundry list of white celebs who also have been arrested for domestic abuse and whom fans still support.

GloRilla had a successful tour stop at NYC's Irving Plaza Wednesday night ... but we're told outside the venue NYPD was busy arresting the "F.N.F." rapper's driver for gun possession.

Law enforcement sources tell TMZ Hip Hop ... NYPD officers say they observed a man named Cameron Blackmon set off a metal detector inside the venue.

After investigating the scene, they found Blackmon sitting in the driver's seat of a Suburban ... as well as two semi-automatic pistols.

We're told officers arrested Blackmon for criminal possession of a firearm, ammo and a switchblade ... and also gave him a parking ticket for posting up in the neutral zone in front of Irving Plaza!!! 😫

Inside the venue, it was a very different scene ... GloRilla was taking shots with her newfound friend, Lola Brooke (whom she later brought out), and capping things off with a surprise Cardi B cameo as they performed their hit song, "Tomorrow 2"!!!

Glo's 'Anyways, Life's Great' tour has been full of enough stuff to fill an artist's memoir. The buzzing star has had a drink and jacket thrown at her and is now dealing with this.

Lil Wayne's revealing his secret to staying lean and fit ... and the main ingredient is steering clear of fast food chains and the gym for the past 20 years!!!

Wayne recalls first moving to Miami when he was 19, and says because his mom was a chef, she urged him to hire one of his own.

The Young Money megastar took his madre's advice and has been thriving as a result ... telling Apple 1's Zane Lowe he couldn't ID the smell of McDonald's if the aroma smacked him in the face, as he's royally opposed to fast food.

Wayne also admitted he doesn't do any working out -- with or without weights -- and quipped Jim Jones is one of the only "gyms" he knows.

We guess Wayne doesn't really count his skateboarding hobby as physical exercise ... despite being plenty active. He says it's the camaraderie amongst skaters more than anything that keeps him riding.

The 40-year-old will undoubtedly keep up his nutrition routine this year ... he's set to not only drop his long-awaited "Carter VI" album but embark on a nationwide tour to pump the music.

BTW, personal chef living isn't always smooth sailing -- as we first reported, Wayne's dealing with a wrongful termination lawsuit from one of his ex-chefs.

R. Kelly has just been sentenced in Chicago to 20 years for his federal sex crimes case.

The disgraced singer was in federal court in Illinois Thursday ... 19 of the years will be served concurrent with the sentence he's carrying out now, while the final year will be consecutive.

Prosecutors recommended a 25-year sentence and asked that it be served on top of the time he's already serving behind bars.

As we reported, Kelly was accused of abusing 4 people, 3 being minors, in this case and faced child pornography charges. He was found guilty on 6 of 13 charges, with the jury convicting him on the child pornography counts, but acquitting him on charges of conspiracy and enticement.

U.S. Attorney Jon Lausch at the time said his sentencing could range anywhere from 10-90 years ... but Kelly seemed to catch a small break earlier this year -- even if it won't make a big effect on his time in prison.

Charges against Kelly from Cook County State Attorney Kim Foxx were dropped in January, with Kelly's attorney Jennifer Bonjean telling us Foxx decided to not pursue the case because he's been convicted twice of similar crimes and is already looking at the possibility of a lifetime lockup.

As you know, R. Kelly's currently serving a 30-year sentence for federal racketeering from a conviction in New York.

Master P and Jess Hilarious' ongoing money dispute has unearthed another one -- DJ Envy says Murder Inc. Records boss Irv Gotti owes him $10K, and claims he's been dodging him for years!!!

"The Breakfast Club" cohost was on the air Thursday when the Master P convo prompted Envy to spill the tea -- he says he and DJ Mono were recruited by Irv for a track, and while he received the front-end payment ... he claims he was told "keep it moving" when attempting to receive his final cut.

Envy hadn't yet reached his current financial status of massive car collecting, and says he was looking forward to the money Irv allegedly owed him. He says he and Mona end up splitting the front-end payment.

We reached out to Irv's team to get his side of the story ... which only came to light because Master P is calling "fake news" on Jess' claim he still owes her $15K for her appearance in the critically panned film, "I Got the Hook-Up 2."

The No Limit Records Colonel dropped off an extensive IG post Wednesday ... claiming to have proof of the contract Jess signed. He's also swatting down Fat Trel's allegation P released some of the D.C. rapper's music without authorization, and got paid handsomely from it.

Jess insists she's still owed the 15 racks, and Trel shared a DM from P's son Romeo Miller vouching for his version of events ... which is alarming, considering father and son supposedly reconciled over the holidays.

Being stuck on a plane for 7 hours sounds terrible, right?! Not if you're Damian Lillard or the Portland Trail Blazers ... 'cause the NBA team turned the unfortunate incident into a rap music video!!

So, the Blazers were supposed to be flying from Portland International Airport to Sacramento, California for Thursday's game against the Kings, but a severe snowstorm delayed their chartered flight for 7 hours.

Though the flight was ultimately canceled, the team took advantage of their time together on the plane by making a dope music video!

Blazers star Lillard dropped it on Wednesday via Instagram ... showing the 7-time NBA All-Star spittin' a freestyle over GloRilla and Cardi B's "Tomorrow 2" beat, while his teammates played hype men in the background.

"Man, how the f*** we stuck up in the snow? Guess we fly this bitch tomorrow." Lillard rapped.

"Back stuck on the plane, I might have to buy a fit tomorrow. And it's cuffin' weather, grab ya bitch, she might get hit tomorrow."

"Shooters in the locker room like we the Wizards, got me tight -- stuck up in this f***in' blizzard."

Of course, anyone familiar with Lillard knows outside of basketball, he loves to rap ... in fact, many consider Dame the best athlete rapper.

The 32-year-old Oakland native -- who goes by the rap name Dame D.O.L.L.A -- has released several albums during his 10-year NBA career, with some songs featuring several artists including Snoop Dogg.

Kay Flock's legal problems continue to pile up while he awaits trial on murder charges ... the Bronx drill rapper was just indicted by a federal grand jury for a slew of racketeering conspiracy charges.

The new indictment accuses Kay Flock and 5 others of running the Sev Side/DOA gang ... and tacks on several counts related to his separate December 2021 murder charge, when authorities claim the rapper murdered Oscar Hernandez in cold blood outside a Bronx barbershop.

According to the indictment, Sev Side/DOA's primary purpose was to commit robberies, acts of violence and financial fraud in their Belmont neighborhood of the Bronx ... they also face several counts of attempted murder and illegal firearm possession.

The 19-year-old rapper managed to maintain a nice buzz while behind bars last April, thanks to his collab with Cardi B "Shake It" which peaked at No. 51 on the Hot 100.