TMZ Hip Hop - Page 50

Kodak Black lit up the stage at Rolling Loud California ... but we've learned it took a lot of work behind the scenes to make sure he stayed sober leading up to his performance.

Kodak's performance at the 3-day music festival was his last hoorah before he enters in-patient rehab next week. His lawyer, Bradford Cohen, tells TMZ Hip Hop ... the artist was in L.A. with a full team of folks making sure they steered him clear of any bad influences.

We're told that team included a physician to look after his eating habits, and another person was designated to be by his side at all times and ensure he stayed on the straight and narrow.

Cohen says the "Super Gremlin" rapper doesn't usually do the after-party scene, so that was one less thing to worry about while he was in La-La Land.

ICYMI, a Florida judge ordered KB to 30 days of inpatient rehab after authorities claimed he violated his bail conditions by testing positive for fentanyl.

You'll recall, Kodak was busted in Ft. Lauderdale back in July for possession of a controlled substance without a prescription and drug trafficking ... after cops say they found upwards of 31 oxycodone pills in his car.

Cardi B and Offset's date night meal deal might be a hot seller with McDonald's customers, but some McDonald's franchisees still think they're not good for business.

It doesn't make a hell of a lot of sense by the numbers, but Fortune reports some of the brand's franchisees are making a stink about the partnership with the hip hop superstars ... on the basis their music includes profanity that isn't "family friendly."

The grimacing, if you will, franchisees are even quoting the corporation's "Golden Arches Code" (yeah, they've got one) ... which states, "Partnerships with celebrities and influencers that have potential risk to damage our brand based on statements they have made or their positions on certain issues” aren’t permitted.

Another section of the Code says, "Music partnerships associated with content that includes offensive language in the lyrics" are also forbidden.

McDonald's dropped a bundle to launch Offset and Cardi's meal deal ... buying at least $7 million worth of Super Bowl commercial time -- and it's been paying off.

Mickey D's insiders told Fortune there's been grumbling about the endorsement deal, but since it's successfully bringing in so many younger customers -- as we saw last month in Times Square -- they don't expect anything to come of the franchisees' complaints.

For what it's worth, franchisees do own about 95% of all McDonald's restaurants.

McDonald's chief marketing exec Tariq Hassan said, "We’re focused on putting McDonald’s at the center of culture" ... and, obviously, that's exactly where pop culture icons like Cardi B and Offset can take them.

T.I. says the recent beef between him and Boosie Badazz over a scrapped project is no more ... telling us Boosie knows he messed up by dragging his fellow rapper over snitching claims.

We got T.I. leaving The Cheesecake Factory in Bev Hills Thursday, and he starts our convo by laughing off the drama ... before telling us straight up "someone misspoke" -- that someone being Boosie.

He says Boosie's aware what he said wasn't accurate, and it'll be dealt with behind closed doors ... as Tip puts it, "The way it should've been in the first place."

He also tells us why he isn't focused on getting the music out there -- mainly, this stuff is bigger than a handful of tracks.

As we reported, T.I. clapped back at Boosie last month after he said he ditched their collab project, believing T.I. snitched on his late cousin to avoid a gun charge.

Tip wasn't having any of it -- accusing the rapper of not being truthful and claiming to have docs that proved he never snitched.

Pooh Shiesty has been ordered to cough up a bunch of dough ... and it'll be going to the victims of the shootout he was involved with back in 2020.

According to legal docs, obtained by TMZ, the rapper now has to pay $156,585 in restitution as part of his sentence. The docs say that some of that cash must be forked over from money he earns while working in prison.

As we reported, Pooh was busted in 2020 for a shootout involving himself and other men at a Miami-area parking lot, leaving 2 injured.

Surveillance video from the scene showed the whole thing unfold -- Pooh appeared to have an assault rifle while sitting in a McLaren, directly in the middle of all the action.

Travis Scott is under fire for yet another incident that unfolded just minutes before he allegedly punched a sound engineer in the face -- this time, he's accused of tossing a fan's phone ... and a lawsuit could be coming soon.

In video obtained by TMZ, you can see Travis behind the DJ booth at Nebula in NYC as he performed a surprise DJ set. Already agitated, it appears Travis doesn't appreciate a man with a cell phone filming while he spins.

That's when Travis snatches the phone -- the video is murky at that point, but the phone's owner tells us Travis tossed it -- striking him in the head and cracking his screen.

The man tells us reps for Nebula offered his table a free bottle of booze for his troubles, but he turned it down. However, he tells us he's lawyered up -- with plans to file both a police report and civil lawsuit.

As we reported, it was around 3 AM Wednesday when cops were called to Nebula after the rapper allegedly punched a sound engineer at Nebula in the face before allegedly destroying $12k in video and speaker equipment.

The sound engineer spoke with Fox 5 News Thursday from the hospital, claiming to have suffered neck injuries.

Rapper Lil Mosey has just been found not guilty in his rape case, TMZ has learned.

Lil Mosey, AKA Lathan Echols, was cleared of all charges by a jury Thursday ... as we reported, he pled not guilty and has maintained from the start he didn't do anything wrong.

We're told he passed a polygraph test with flying colors, too. He was potentially looking at a max sentence of life in prison if convicted.

You'll recall, Echols was charged with rape after a woman claimed she and a girlfriend were both raped in 2021 by him and another man after going to see them at a cabin.

The affidavit, obtained by TMZ, said one of the women consented to have sex with Echols while in a car but blacked out after drinking ... and claimed she later woke up to him and the other man forcing themselves on her.

Avril Lavigne and Tyga certainly aren't doing anything to help silence rumors they're dating, being spotted together in Paris ... the same city where she and Mod Sun got engaged.

The pair hit Leonardo DiCaprio's party Wednesday at Kuku, both dressed head to toe in black ... while trying to maintain a low profile.

Of course, the Paris trip comes about a week after TMZ broke the story Avril called off her engagement with Mod Sun about a year after he proposed. Our sources said the two had been on and off for several months before she called it quits.

At the time, Mod Sun was on tour, promoting his "God Save the Teen" album. His rep told us Mod was unaware things were over with Avril, but took to Instagram a few days later to write, "In 1 week my entire life completely changed…I just know there’s a plan for it all. I’ll keep my head up + always listen to my heart, even when it feels broken 💔."

Prior to ending the engagement, Avril and Tyga were seen embracing in the parking lot at NOBU after a dinner out with friends. They later left in the same vehicle ... though, sources close to Avril told us they were just friends.

Chris Brown is totally cool with giving his fans a complimentary lap dance onstage, as long as they don't film it ... as one fan found out the hard way.

CB was in Berlin Wednesday where he invited one lucky gal up for a lap dance for the entire audience to see. Nice gesture from Chris, and the fan wanted to film it ... bad idea.

Instead of being in the moment, she proceeds to keep trying to film herself, Chris, and his backup dancers -- after a while, Chris clearly is over it -- hurling the phone into the crowd.

Fans went wild ... and lucky for the woman, she allegedly got the phone back.

As we reported, Chris has been at the center of controversy recently -- after Chloe Bailey got dragged for collabing with him, with many bringing up his past domestic violence case with Rihanna.

Cheetah Girls & 3LW singer Kiely Williams called Chris out for his past, tweeting "I am swatting the f***ing air rn. Garbage." Chris clapped back, making fun of her lisp while calling her broken.

Maybe that phone on the stage was the straw that broke Breezy's back.

The sound engineer who Travis Scott allegedly attacked in an NYC club says the rapper flipped him the bird and socked him in the head, landing him in the hospital with injuries.

Identifying himself only as Mark, the engineer spoke with Fox 5 News from his hospital bed after the alleged assault at Club Nebula in Manhattan early Wednesday morning.

Mark said he can't turn his head and "My neck is f**ked up. My arm is tingling. I have pins and needles going down it."

He also described the events that led to the violence, saying Travis was playing the DJ music so loud the sound was distorted. When Mark tried to lower the volume, he said Travis flew into a rage.

Travis "stuck his middle finger in my face," Mark said, adding, "So I lowered the monitor a little bit so I could talk to him, and that’s when he ran around the speaker and attacked me."

As we reported ... Travis made a surprise appearance at the club Tuesday night to perform with his protege, Don Toliver.

After Travis had his meltdown in the DJ booth, he purportedly attacked the sound engineer and caused $12,000 in damage to a speaker and video screen, before leaving the club.

The NYPD now wants to question Travis after a police report was filed alleging that he committed assault and criminal mischief.

Travis' lawyer, Mitchell Schuster, told us the incident was "a misunderstanding being blown out of proportion by clickbait and misinformation."

Schuster also said he's working with the venue and law enforcement to resolve the situation and believes Travis will be "cleared of any wrongdoing."

A newly-elected Congressman went viral for a full-blown presentation he gave on the House floor, praising Beyoncé -- and we got to the bottom of what was behind it all.

Our photog ran into Rep. Robert Garcia (D-CA) on Capitol Hill Wednesday ... this after his impassioned speech just hours earlier, where he talked about the end of Black History Month and the start of Women's History Month ... using Queen Bey as the bridge between the two.

Rep. Garcia explained himself perfectly well in his ode to the iconic performer -- rightly noting Beyoncé is, well, awesome, but he elaborated a bit more with us ... breaking down why exactly he felt she was the perfect person to honor.

Watch ... he says Beyoncé achieved that rare feat of being both an entertainer and an activist, which puts her in a different category of celebrity. He also says it's exactly because of this she's worthy enough to be called out in a very good way.

Ray J is making it very clear, both publicly and now legally, he isn't ready to give up on his marriage with Princess Love ... asking the court to once again throw out his divorce.

According to the legal docs obtained by TMZ, Ray filed docs Thursday in Los Angeles asking a court to dismiss his divorce from his estranged wife.

If you've been following along, there's been a ton of ups and downs between the two over the years, but now, it looks like they may be attempting to work things out once again.

You'll recall, Princess and Ray J celebrated his 42nd birthday back in January in Vegas ... despite the fact they were going through the divorce. At the time, RJ said he was looking forward to being a happy family and starting "fresh" with Princess.

TMZ broke the story in October 2021 ... Ray first filed for divorce from Princess and cited the usual irreconcilable differences. We spoke to PL a short time after the docs were filed, and she didn't seem like the door was completely closed.

Vic Mensa spent a night out in the cold to help raise awareness and combat the growing homeless crisis in his home city.

The rapper took to the streets Tuesday night in Chicago, in temps as low as 37 degrees, showing solidarity by doing exactly what the homeless are forced to do every night.

Vic spent his night on the curb with his good friend, Englewood Barbie -- someone who's been feeding and sleeping under the viaduct with the homeless for weeks as a way to bring awareness.

Vic and E.B. are working toward the goal of $1 mil to open up a shelter to house the local homeless. The fundraiser has already raised over $126K, but it's still got a long way to go.

Lore'l definitely had one of the most awwkwardddd class reunions, thanks to Michael B. Jordan's cold shoulder -- but she tells TMZ Hip Hop the online reaction's been even worse than that "Creed III" premiere moment.

We spoke to "The Morning Hustle" host in the aftermath of her viral MBJ incident, and she untangled a lot of misconceptions coming out of their interview, which has made her the target of tons of vile DMs.

Lore'l admits Michael's name was fodder for jokes among 7th-grade students in Newark -- after all, that was Michael "Air" Jordan's heyday -- but she points out she and Michael were only classmates at Chad Science Academy for one year before she moved.

That's why she says the narrative she tormented MBJ throughout high school is pure 🧢.

She also blames misleading headlines stemming from her 2021 podcast where her cohost Dominique Da Diva referred to Mike as "corny" -- that's the comment the Internet jumbled with Lore'l's own back-in-the-day school stories.

BTW, when Lore'l switched schools she ended up being classmates with singers Rotimi and SZA ... who she just saw when her "SOS" tour stopped in D.C., and their reunion went much smoother than the MBJ one!

Tory Lanez's legal team either has some sort of trick up its sleeve to get him out of jail by this weekend, or the people at Rolling Loud are living under a rock ... 'cause he's still on the festival's Cali roster.

Tory was in court Tuesday in L.A. where his sentencing hearing was pushed yet again, this time to April 10. After the hearing, Lanez -- who was dressed in a jail-issued orange jumpsuit -- remained in custody without even an attempt to convince the judge to let him out on bail.

This would seem to pose a big issue for Rolling Loud organizers, who still have Tory slated on the website's flyer to play the festival Sunday.

We should say, it's possible, and likely, when the actual artist set times are released, Tory's name will be left off completely ... but it's odd he's still on the flyer, considering he was found guilty back in December.

There is, however, fine print on Rolling Loud's site to cover Tory becoming a no-show -- "Opening acts, as well as festival performers, are subject to change or cancellation at any time without notice. No refund will be owed if an opening act or festival performer is changed or cancelled."

Tory is facing a maximum of 22 years behind bars. Outside court Tuesday, his attorney David Kenner said the artist is holding up well. He didn't offer much more detail on their efforts to get him out on appeal.

J. Cole gave fans chills Tuesday with the ultra star-studded lineup for his 2023 Dreamville Festival ... because it includes himself, Drake, Usher and Burna Boy as top headliners!!!

The elusive North Carolina rapper only uses social media to get straight to a point -- and this one was directing fans to the fastly approaching festival dates of April 1-2 with a series of head bomb emojis.

A wide range of artists rounds out the bill, including several Dreamvillains, JID, Bas, Lute and Ari Lennox ... and various star power from Summer Walker, GloRilla, City Girls and Lil Durk.

Raleigh's Dorothea Dix Park will serve as the event location and tickets range from $250 in the GA and $1500 for the VIP.

Cole's Dreamville is providing the music for the upcoming "Creed III" soundtrack and his manager has been hinting at him dropping his next album as well.

G Herbo got a taste of what it took to bring his 3 kids into the world by messing around with a birth simulator and taking things to the max ... his internal organs be damned!!!

The Chicago rap star was the latest guest on Kai Cenat's live stream and was eager to flex his toughness until he felt the power of the initial setting rupturing his insides.

Herbo first described the feeling as "tingly" as he attempted to use his past labor room experience to guide him through the pain. That didn't really work out for him.

He also took a couple of shots of alcohol as a cheat code, but still managed to successfully get through setting 10 on the simulator. Not exactly the equivalent of a woman having an hours-long labor before birth, but Herbo made sure to give a shout-out to all the mothers who push out babies for real.

He's an extremely active father, but we're sure this experience will make him think differently about making some more!!!