TMZ Hip Hop - Page 50

Jermaine Dupri is admitting he dropped the ball getting Yung Joc's 2006 No. 1 smash hit "It's Goin Down" for his So So Def empire ... all because he decided to go to bed!!!

The platinum producer revealed he had signed the song's producer Nitti to his label, and was expecting Joc to follow suit once he heard the song ... but the very next day the pair went over to Diddy's Bad Boy.

As they say, the rest is history ... the song topped the Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs for 8 weeks straight.

JD's "For Motivational Use Only" collaborator Curren$y quipped on "The Breakfast Club" ... JD should've "stayed up" -- which the platinum producer agreed, but also said he didn't actually sign Joc to lock him and the 3x platinum track.

The first version of "It's Goin Down" kicked off with the So So Def audio tag so JD thought the song was in the bag ... a costly mistake as far as Joc was concerned.

The Atlanta rapper recently ranked Diddy over JD in terms of marketing savvy on an episode of "My Expert Opinion" ... and also felt JD stretched his focus too thin for his liking.

JD still has the opp to get revenge against Diddy in their still pending Verzuz battle, which he insists is still happening -- but the 2 superproducers are plotting a bigger event than what fans are used to seeing.

Jay-Z is still very much a business, mannnn ... according to Forbes, the Roc Nation rapper is now worth a jaw-dropping $2.5 billion following the sale of his alcohol brand.

The updated ranking from Friday makes Hov the 1,203rd richest person in the world.

Back in February, Jay sold his 50% stake of his D’USSÉ cognac back to its parent company Bacardi for a reported $750 million after a tense court battle ... and still retains sizeable ownership in the brand.

Bernard Arnault, CEO of LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton, is still the richest person in the world with a net worth of $216.1 billion ... but bragging rights for the most-paid rapper currently sit with Jigga.

Not only that, Billboard recently named him "The Best Rapper Of All-Time," and he holds the most Grammys for a rapper with 24.

Tekashi 6ix9ine should get the hell out of Dodge or at least up his security after his brutal gym beatdown -- that's what most people think -- but we've learned that ain't the case.

Sources close to Tekashi tell TMZ ... he's actually been going out in public without his hired muscle pretty regularly over the last year -- without issue. We're told he's not about to let one incident change the way he lives. He wants to continue to live as normal a life as possible ... and is chalking up the gym beatdown as an outlier.

What's more, Tekashi has no plans on leaving South Florida, despite the attackers saying snitches weren't welcome in their neighborhood.

As we reported, Tekashi was sent to the hospital after he was pummeled inside the locker room of an LA Fitness -- suffering injuries to his back, face, jaw and ribs. Video obtained by TMZ shows one of the alleged attackers chatting on a cell phone before bringing another inside the facility.

From there, you see both men beeline it to the locker room to execute their attack with a third person.

Lance Lazzaro, Tekashi's attorney, told us he's going to talk with the feds about getting some protection for his client -- but it sounds like 6ix9ine wouldn't be too keen on accepting any.

SZA celebrated the end of her month-long tour Thursday night with a star-studded performance in L.A. ... but it was J Lo who really stole the show with her crazy dance moves.

Jenny from the Block gave everyone a crash course on how to cut loose to the music of SZA, who was joined by Lizzo and Phoebe Bridgers on stage at the Kia Theatre.

Check out video, obtained by TMZ, showing J Lo shaking her booty while wrapped in a huge fur coat and sporting cool shades. We're told J Lo was also twerking at one point.

It appears Ben took the night off and stayed home 'cause he was nowhere in sight.

Meanwhile, Jeffree Star made a cameo appearance, dropping in with some friends to watch the concert. The makeup guru kept it low-key, chatting with his posse and enjoying all the entertainment.

At two points during the show, SZA shared the spotlight with Phoebe and Lizzo, each singing one song with the R&B superstar. Phoebe cranked out SZA's "Ghost in the Machine" while Lizzo performed her own tune, "Special."

American singer and rapper Matthew Morris, aka MattyBRaps, was just seven years old when he started his music career after sharing his raps and tunes on YouTube back in 2010.

He initially became popular after remixing and covering songs ... Justin Bieber's "Eenie Meenie" being the first of many! Some of his originals like "I'm Missing You" have accumulated over 240 million views on the 'Tube.

Morris collaborated with some big names including JoJo Siwa, James Maslow and Vanilla Ice, and his success landed him on some major talk shows including "Dr. Phil," "The Wendy Williams Show" and "The Queen Latifah Show."

Rihanna's house became the center of some serious police action after one man showed up wanting to ask for her hand in marriage.

Law enforcement sources tell TMZ the man, who traveled from South Carolina, walked up to Rihanna's home Thursday where he was almost immediately greeted by her security.

Our sources say the man claimed he was there to propose to the singer, and Rihanna's team called the cops right away. When officers arrived, they put the man in handcuffs, got him in a car and had a serious chat about his intentions.

We're told it was determined the man -- dressed in a red Nike hoodie -- had not broken any laws, though he was asked to leave and told not to return.

It was back in 2018 when a man named Eduardo Leon was arrested inside Rihanna's L.A.-area home. Leon allegedly had been inside the home for at least a day, while Rihanna was out of town, before he was discovered. He allegedly told cops he was there to have sex with the singer.

Chevy Chase met LeBron James for the first time Wednesday night at the Suns-Lakers game -- and the two icons seemed to really hit it off, sharing a warm embrace with one another on the court at Crypto.com Arena.

Chase -- a longtime Lakers fan who frequented games during the "Showtime Era" -- was invited by Jeanie Buss and Linda Rambis, wife of Kurt Rambis, to attend the Western Conference showdown between Phoenix and L.A.

Chevy didn't get to see LeBron play -- King James is still sidelined with a foot injury -- but the 79-year-old comedian got some face time with the Lakers superstar nonetheless ... and the guys really seemed to enjoy their interaction.

Chase hit up the game with his agent, Darren Prince -- and when he wasn't chatting with LeBron, he was taking pics courtside with Jeanie, and her fiancé, actor/comedian Jay Mohr.

Chevy wasn't the only legend at the game ... rapper Lil Wayne and NFL free agent wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr. were also courtside watching Devin Booker and Chris Paul go at it with Anthony Davis.

There will be no summer renaissance for Beyoncé and Adidas this year ... the two powerhouses have mutually agreed to part ways.

The Wall Street Journal reports Beyoncé's custom clothing line Ivy Park fell WAY below its 2022 sales projections of $250 mil ... only bringing in roughly $40 mil to close out the year.

Those numbers were also considerably lower than 2021's tally of $93 million ... and fresh marketing campaigns with celebs such as Irina Shayk, Yara Shahidi, Megan Thee Stallion and current hip hop it-girl Ice Spice weren't able to rouse the public's interest at the cash register.

Before cutting ties, 2023's projections were shifted from $335 mill to $65 mill. Beyoncé's contract is finished at the end of the year but is still on track to earn her $20 mil annual salary.

What's also interesting about the split is Beyoncé is set to embark on her Renaissance World Tour ... which could've brought in huge merch sales for Ivy Park.

A sickening story out of St. Louis as a local man -- who goes by the rap name Woozy The Goat -- has been accused of killing his own grandparents.

Lincoln Co. Prosecuting Attorney Mike Wood tells us Davionne McRoberts walked into a psych ward covered in blood earlier this week ... he's been tied to the murders of his grandparents Donald and Kathy McRoberts, who were found dead in their home.

Wood told the St. Louis Post-Dispatch McRoberts is currently being held in the mental hospital under police watch.

There aren't many details yet on the specifics of the murders, but local law enforcement was reportedly looking for Davionne Tuesday night before he essentially surrendered himself to the psych ward.

Davionne's rap persona Woozy The Goat has a very small social media following and appears to have dropped some songs on SoundCloud. He posted some very disturbing messages on Facebook in the time leading up to his grandparents' deaths ... declaring he was God.

In one of the messages, he wrote, "WHO WANNA DIE TODAY? Y'all don't believe me? Come show me I'm not god."

Another reads, "Hey I really am god truly everyone I'm trying to help you all but I came to terms y'all got too comfy in hell I'm not trying to take peoples money when I say donate to $WoozyTheGoat I'm trying to show y'all new life ..."

Lil Nas X's presence on social media has got him in some hot water once again ... with people saying his tweet about 'gays' in Africa is incredibly insensitive on the heels of serious anti-gay legislation in Uganda.

The "Old Town Road" rapper was met with a ton of backlash Wednesday after he tweeted "where do the gays be in africa i wanna come there". The tweet came on the heels Uganda parliament passing one of the most sweeping anti-gay legislations in the world.

The law punishes people with up to 10 years behind bars for simply identifying as gay, lesbian, bisexual, queer or anything other than male or female.

More shockingly, citizens can be sentenced to life behind bars for committing gay sex acts and be sentenced to death for "aggravated homosexuality" -- a broad term to include sex acts committed by force as well as incest.

After LNX's tweet, folks quickly hopped on social media to express their disdain, for what they see as an extremely dangerous message. One user wrote, "This is so insensitive especially after Uganda just announced the harsh punishment of even identifying as being LGBTQ” ... and many others backed these same sentiments.

As you know, this isn't the first time he's been in the hot seat for his social media postings, recently issuing an apology for making a trans joke online.

Tekashi 6ix9ine's bodyguard is denying social media rumors he was the one who orchestrated 69's beatdown in a FL gym ... instead challenging his attackers to a pricey fight.

Miami-based bodyguard Bam-Bam lashed out in a fiery IG message, offering $10k to the goons who carried out the attack if they'll fight him -- even offering to go 4 against 1!!!

Here's the deal tho ... Bam-Bam says, "If you lose you die," so there's clearly a lot more than just money on the line here.

Bam-Bam has been seen alongside Tekashi for a long time, but obviously wasn't with him on Monday night at the time of the attack. He also addressed, Bullet Guzman, the man many blamed for the attack.

Bam-Bam seemingly clears Guzman, saying Bullet was not one of the clowns throwing "weak ass punches" ... and cleared him of any wrongdoing.

Tekashi 6ix9ine might've faced an even more brutal beatdown if it weren't for the quick-thinking gym staff that rushed in to get him to safety after he was ambushed in a sauna.

It's a bummer for 69 ... especially since our sources say he'd actually frequented this gym quite a bit in the past without any issues. We're told he's normally in there for about 20 minutes, and sticks to the StairMaster ... minding his business.

Our sources tell us if Tekashi is ever approached or recognized, most of the interactions are peaceful ... and he's usually accommodating and willing to pose with fans. Of course, he's clearly got enemies out there -- no doubt still lingering from the infamous RICO case.

Rick Ross can now add top-shelf cannabis distributor to his résumé, thanks to his new partnership with brand High Tolerance, TMZ Hip Hop has learned.

The MMG rap star's strain will be called "Collins Avenue" -- after his old Miami-Dade stomping grounds -- and he's put a boss-like stamp on the product.

"High Tolerance is the best flower for all the ones who like to blow that good gas," Rozay tells TMZ Hip Hop. "This is the best flower in the world ... this is why I decided to team up with High Tolerance. They have the best flower on the streets. Shout out to Manny, the biggest."

HT's co-founder Manny also showed excitement for having Rozay on board ... telling us the rapper is "a true cannabis connoisseur."

Rozay's strain drops June 1st and he now joins the storied rapper ranks of Jadakiss, Jim Jones, A Boogie Wit Da Hoodie, Dave East, Juelz Santana, 'BMF' star Lil Meech, Ghostface Killah, Beanie Sigel, Millyz and the late Draco the Ruler as HT ambassadors!!!

The news comes on the hooves of Rozay making headlines after his livestock escaped from his 235-acre estate ... but he's going the distance to prove his animals are harmless!

Rozay reported live from his Promise Land estate Tuesday and introduced his followers to his pet bison "Timbuktu" while feeding it a couple of apples.

The men allegedly involved in the brutal beatdown of Tekashi 6ix9ine appeared to have had a plan in place to get to the rapper ... as evidenced in new surveillance footage from the gym.

Check out the video, obtained by TMZ, showing one man already inside the South FL LA Fitness location chatting on his cell phone. The man approaches the front door of the gym to let another man in, and after a brief convo with the front desk employee, they beeline it to the gym's restroom and sauna area joined by a third man.

It certainly looks like the two men were in on some sort of plan ... but it's still unclear if they knew Tekashi was going to be at the gym all along, or if one man possibly saw 6ix9ine and called his buddy to help.

TMZ broke the story, Tekashi was rushed to a hospital Tuesday night after the attack, suffering from injuries to his face, back, ribs and jaw. Sources close to Tekashi tell us he's still receiving treatment in the hospital.

Video from inside the gym's sauna area shows a group of men punching, kicking and cussing out the rapper for being a snitch.

Freddie Gibbs is still going full steam ahead with his "SSS" album ... with plans to roll out the track "Zipper Bagz" as the next music video.

TMZ Hip Hop obtained stills of Gangsta Gibbs we're told are from the upcoming visual, which we're hearing could drop sometime this week.

The video's plotline is still under wraps but the Grammy-nominated rapper appears to be having a terse conversation with a woman in one scene ... while another shot features Freddie in front of a motel sign — and later suspiciously peering out of the window!!!

"SSS" marked Freddie's major label album debut and he's been pretty visible since its release ... most recently, rocking "The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon" with Anderson .Paak and The Roots.

The Securities and Exchange Commission is cracking down on Crypto companies ... and some big-name celebs -- including Jake Paul, Lindsay Lohan and Soulja Boy -- who praised the currency companies while getting paid without disclosing it ... and they've agreed to cough up some dough to make it all go away.

Jake and Lindsay are among the celebs named in the SEC's filings Wednesday ... they're charged with illegally touting Tronix and BitTorrent. Others charged include Lil Yachty, Ne-Yo, Austin Mahone, Kendra Lust and Akon.

The SEC says these celebs failed to disclose they were getting paid for promoting these companies.

Almost all of the celebs agreed to pay a total of $400K to settle the charges.