TMZ Hip Hop - Page 50

LL Cool J is pleading no contest in the case of allegedly laughing at Jay-Z's freestyles when the latter was in high school ... a legend LL doesn't exactly recall happening.

At any rate, the Rock The Bells creator suspects his long-ago mocking of Jay could be the reason he's never been invited to the Roc Nation brunch!!!

LL was being quizzed inside "Big Boy's Neighborhood" about some of his iconic career mysteries when the topic of battling Jay-Z came up.

While LL can't remember teasing a young Jay, he doesn't see the big deal, because ... well, it was freakin' high school after all.

Despite his hazy memory, LL knows for a fact he's never been invited to the yearly Grammy weekend shindig, and now he's wondering if his wisecracks have anything to do with it.

Jay actually remembered things slightly differently in a 2003 interview with Sway Calloway. He says he confronted LL outside a club, not in a high school hallway, and he didn't hint at losing the battle either.

The two also didn't exactly see eye to eye during Jay's short stint as Def Jam President in the mid-2000s ... which also coincided with LL's exit from the label.

Kendrick Lamar's breaking from his reclusive ways in a big way ... not only showing up at the Met Gala, but he even stopped to pose for photos with some other MCs.

He wound up kicking it Monday night with fellow rhyme sayers Jack Harlow and Stormzy during the fashion first event. Kendrick was rocking a sleek Chanel fit accented with a red bandana as he was flanked by the other 2 artists.

Jack and Stormyz also cleaned up nicely in their dapper blue suits all the same.

Kendrick is notoriously low on words, but if a picture's worth a thousand of 'em ... his respect for Stormzy and Jack's MC skills runs deep!!!

Jack just released his lyrical-leaning "Jackman" album, and Stormzy is set to headline the Rocking the Daisies Festival in South Africa later this year ... so K-Dot's keeping good company, even if just for a quick photo!!!

Speaking of live shows, Kendrick's 2022 "Big Steppers Tour" recently became the highest-grossing rap tour of all time, raking in $110.9 million from its 73 shows.

Diddy and Yung Miami are turning heads once again ... showing up at the Met Gala together, and shocking everyone, because the City Girls rapper just said their dating chapter had come to a close!!!

On their way inside, La La Anthony asked Diddy about his fashionable reunion with Miami, and the Love Records mogul could barely speak. Flustered and out of breath -- with Miami standing right there -- he had to wipe down his brow before finally saying, "We definitely go together, real bad!"

Mind you, the sweat was still pouring down on his face.

To be fair, Diddy had just climbed the gala's famed staircase while wearing a very heavy ensemble. As expected, Diddy went all out to honor both Karl Lagerfeld and André Leon Talley in a custom, king-sized Sean John robe created by June Ambrose.

After catching his bearings, Diddy explained to La La that he and Miami don't want to put labels on their situation, but he called her his "best friend" and said he was "blessed" to have her as his date.

Then he asked for a cloth to mop up his perspiration.

Diddy and Miami were very much in the public eye together until last October when the hit-making producer welcomed a baby daughter with another woman ... a moment Miami admitted fractured their union.

Rihanna and A$AP Rocky were 2 hours late to the Met Gala but apparently wanted to squeeze the life out of their Met Gala after-party experience ... leaving the Remedy Diner in the wee hours of Tuesday morning!!!

The couple hazily greeted cameras early Tuesday morning, Rihanna dressed in white and Rocky in a trench coat while sporting a gigantic J in his mouth.

Rihanna, who recently revealed she's in her third trimester, didn't seem to let pregnancy slow her down at all ... as she was clearly able to keep up well into the night -- and morning.

The pair were the talk of the Met, with some wondering if they were even going to show face, but all was made right when they finally graced the carpet -- 2 hours late.

The Super Bowl of fashion is here ... celebs are flocking to the Met Gala, each making a grand entrance draped in some of the world's most luxurious designers.

The annual event is going down right now in NYC at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, where Penelope Cruz, Dua Lipa, Roger Federer and Michaela Coel are serving as co-chairs alongside Anna Wintour.

This year's Met Gala theme honors Karl Lagerfeld, the late iconic fashion designer ... and celebs are wearing pieces from the fashion houses where Karl worked ... including Chanel, Balmain, Chloé and Fendi.

The invitation-only gala features a star-studded guest list, and celebs are starting to pour in ... we've already seen Emily Ratajowski, Emma Chamberlain, Phoebe Bridgers and Rita Ora.

There's a lot of hype around Gisele Bundchen's appearance ... she's at the Met Gala for the first time as a single woman since 2006, following her split from Tom Brady, wearing Chanel as a nod to her working history with Karl, which includes her becoming the face of Chanel N°5 perfume back in the day.

Paris Hilton is attending the Met Gala for the first time in her life ... which is fitting because she used to be really close with Karl.

Ice Spice is another first-timer ... Anna personally invited the rapper as a guest of Vogue, and she's wearing a custom Balmain piece.

Big celebs and hot couples, like Kendall Jenner and Bad Bunny, are in NYC for the Met Gala ... and that means the city's luxury hotels look like fashion runways leading up to the big event.

Kendall and BB are just a couple of the A-listers in the Big Apple Monday ... and, interestingly, the lovebirds are crashing at separate hotels. Seems like someone, or both of 'em, don't want to share the spotlight.

Doja Cat pulled up to her hotel looking super casual and couldn't resist playing some Animal Crossing, which is why she brought her Nintendo Switch!

Priyanka Chopra was bearing some midriff before getting all done up for the glitz and glamor of the Met's iconic arrival ceremony.

As we reported, there are several other interesting guests tonight -- Gisele Bundchen's showing up solo for her first MG appearance post-Tom Brady, Ice Spice is a special guest of Vogue, and Lizzo's making her return ... despite dragging last year's event!

FYI -- celebs on the west coast brought their own Met Gala vibes to a Bev Hills dinner party Sunday night, which drew the likes of Austin Butler, Katy Perry, and Oprah.

N.O.R.E. and Cam’ron are currently at odds over comments the "Drinks Champs" star made on Joe Budden's podcast ... that seemingly took aim at Killa Cam's new sports talk show.

Budden has repeatedly expressed his joy in seeing fellow rappers from his generation fail at the media crossover ... a sentiment he got N.O.R.E. to cosign back in February during his 'JBP' appearance.

Cam may be a few months late, but he felt both guys were dissing his series, "It Was It Is," and lashed out at 'em with some Harlem heat -- accusing N.O.R.E. of being two-faced while calling Budden all types of crackheads.

Budden didn't take Cam's disses lightly, and warned the Dipset rapper he was seconds away from getting a full-court press smear campaign ... but didn't respond when asked to meet in person.

N.O.R.E., for his part, couldn't understand why Cam would take the conflict to social media and reminded him they go way back with several vintage video clips.

Cam and N.O.R.E. appeared on one another's debut albums in 1998 ... with the classic posse cut "Banned From T.V." notably birthed from one of their studio sessions.

This "beef" would serve fans' wildest dreams on wax, but neither guy raps anymore ... so social sneak disses it is!!!

Chance the Rapper is thankful he cleaned up his act following his 2013 breakout project, "Acid Rap" -- he swears his drug-binging days while making that music would've eventually killed him.

The Chicago rap star made the sobering admission while basking in the LP's 10-year anniversary with Complex.

According to Chance, he earned enough money from his first headlining tour to rent a house outside of his parents' supervision ... and went buck wild with the drugs.

Chance thanks a spiritual intervention for pulling him out of the substance abuse splurge and noted how his legacy would have just been limited to an acid user had he succumbed.

His story sounds eerily similar to that of Mac Miller, who died in 2018 following a drug overdose in the Los Angeles house where he'd been holed up.

The sounds of "Acid Rap" are set to have their biggest stage yet, come August 19 at Chicago's United Center for its 10th-anniversary concert.

The show is coheadlined by "Acid Rap" collaborator Saba ... which opens the door for other hometown featured artists Vic Mensa, BJ The Chicago Kid and Twista to make appearances all the same.

Ryan Reynolds has some competition in his quest to buy the Ottawa Senators ... and it's none other than rap legend Snoop Dogg!!

According to the Athletic, the Dogg Father has joined the group headed by Neko Sparks in hopes of becoming the next big celebrity sports team owner.

Sparks, a Los Angeles-based entrepreneur, first became known as a bidder for the team back in January 2023. Since then, he has rounded up a dozen people to join his efforts to not only buy the team ... but make history as the first black owner in the NHL. The group also reportedly has Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson as a member.

In case you didn't know, Snoop is a massive fan of hockey. In 2018, he teamed up with the NHL to release a weekly video series called "Hockey 101 with Snoop Dogg."

On top of that ... in 2020, he called a whole period of NHL action for the L.A. Kings during the team’s matchup with the Colorado Avalanche. If you want to dig even further, in his famous "Gin and Juice” music video ... Snoop is rocking a Pittsburgh Penguins jersey.

While adding Dogg to his ownership group certainly bolsters its cause, it will still be a battle for Sparks' group to win the Senators. Reynolds and real estate mogul Christopher Bratty are rumored to be preparing a $1 billion dollar bid to buy the team. They would also build a new stadium for the org., although it's unknown if Sparks and his group would do the same.

Reynolds is no stranger to owning a team. Back in November 2020 ... Reynolds and actor Rob McElhenney bought Wrexham FC for $2.5 million dollars. Back on April 22nd, the team earned promotion to the English Football League after falling out 15 years ago.

Ice Spice will be fully "in ha mood" at this year's Met Gala ... TMZ Hip Hop has learned she got a special invite from the one and only Anna Wintour!!!

Sources involved in the Met's production inform us Ice was invited by Anna as a guest of Vogue, and will be strutting her stuff in a custom Balmain piece.

The "Gangsta Boo" rapper will also be partnering with Vogue and eBay for a special behind-the-scenes look into her journey to the Met ... which caps a hip hop megastar career-in-the-making in just a few months!!!

Ice's newest "Princess Diana" duet with Nicki Minaj recently shot to the Top 5 of the Billboard Hot 100, which follows the platinum plaque she earned from her "Boy's a Liar Pt. 2" collab with PinkPantheress.

Mark Wahlberg officially hosted the grand opening of Cathédrale Restaurant at ARIA Resort & Casino in Las Vegas on Sunday ... and Anderson .Paak's music choices were fully supported by Wiz Khalifa and Flavor Flav!!!

AP has been pushing his DJ alter-ego "Pee.Wee" for months now, and thankfully, at this party he didn't have to spin R. Kelly.

Flav assumed his legendary hype man role as AP dropped the bass on Fergie's "Fergalicious" and Salt-N-Pepa's "Push It."

Wiz also popped up in the DJ booth ... and AP tried to get the "See You Again" rapper to lose his shirt and flex those MMA training muscles, to no avail. Catch him at the beach club for that!!!

Daz Dillinger is fully denying Suge Knight's allegation Dr. Dre cheated Tha Dogg Pound producer straight outta his rightful credit for Snoop's "Doggystyle" -- and, it's a very aggressive denial, at that!

Daz posted a video calling Dre the "best producer in the world," and suggested Suge was still salty over Snoop's purchase of his once beloved Death Row Records.

Suge recently spoke to TMZ Hip Hop and claimed Dre approached Daz right before "Doggystyle" was released, and convinced him to sign over his writing/producing rights ... so, the album would be better promoted with Dre's celebrity attached.

Daz says he never signed any contract and also accused veteran music industry exec Alan Grunblatt of shady business. Alan was president of eOne Entertainment when the company acquired Death Row ahead of Snoop's buy-in and Daz claims they were all fumbling the bag.

Tha Dogg Pound legend swore on "the streets" Suge was lying and also called for him to get beat up ... presumably by a fellow inmate in the CA state prison where he's serving out a 28-year sentence for voluntary manslaughter.

Ralph Yarl, the teen who was shot when he accidentally rang the wrong doorbell, now has a personal invite from Alicia Keys ... TMZ has learned.

Here's the deal ... Alicia has a concert scheduled in Kansas this July, and Lee Merritt, attorney for the Yarl family, tells us the singer asked Ralph to come out to the show and meet her.

As if that wasn't big enough, we're told Roc Nation also reached out to him ... letting Ralph and co. know the company wants to help out too, in any way possible.

Ralph's fam has been feeling the love from folks all over the country, and they've set up a trust fund for all the donations. We're told writer and social justice advocate Shaun King helped the Yarl family find someone to map out the financial assistance.

As we reported, Ralph's GoFundMe picked up serious steam -- it's already passed $3.4 million raised -- and while there's no set plan for the money yet, the trust ensures it will be there for Ralph when he needs it.

BTW, Ralph's mom Cleo also got emotional support from Ahmaud Arbery's mother, Wanda Cooper-Jones ... who's also repped by Merritt. We're told she encouraged Cleo to lean on prayer, and reminded her victims, like her son, hold the power.

Meanwhile, 84-year-old Andrew Lester -- who shot Ralph 2 times -- was charged with assault in the first degree and armed criminal action.

While AI is sparking intellectual property debates, funnyman Bill Bellamy's making it clear ... he's not down with the tech using his jokes -- and the fact is, he's still feeling some kinda way about a different financial loss.

We linked with Bill out in NYC and tackled the ongoing discussion about artificial intelligence ... and he's unapologetically Team Human.

Bill not only thinks AI would have a hard time matching his joke-writing wit, he also believes deceased superstars -- like Michael Jackson, Tupac Shakur and Notorious B.I.G. -- would also frown upon their voices being remixed without legal approval.

We also talked to Bill about a golden opportunity he admits missing out on back in the '90s -- namely, not trademarking the "booty call" catchphrase he coined as a young comic on Def Comedy Jam.

The phrase has since been placed in the Merriam-Webster dictionary, and Hollywood also took advantage ... tapping Jamie Foxx and Vivica A. Fox for the 1997 rom-com.

Speaking of Jamie, Bill tells us his inner circle relayed positive news about the Academy Award winner's condition after he suffered a medical emergency in Atlanta.

JoJo isn't as concerned as the rest of the music industry when it comes to AI-generated tracks, saying folks should learn how to use the technology as an advantage ... cuz it's not going anywhere.

We caught up with the singer in NYC Wednesday where she spilled her thoughts on the uptick of robots in music ... which has taken the internet by storm as of late.

JoJo says the concept is actually pretty interesting, and could have some benefits to be used in the studio for harmonies and backgrounds. As far as JoJo is concerned, there's no stopping AI tunes, so people should figure out how to use 'em.

Of course, not all artists see it like JoJo. Drake's label ripped the idea after multiple AI-generated Drizzy tunes began trending. Before that, Universal Music Group had to remove an AI song featuring Drake and The Weeknd.

Other artists like Khalid agree the technology is inevitable, but unlike JoJo, he's not a fan.

LeBron James knows a good reference when he hears it -- and after booting the Memphis Grizzlies out of the playoffs ... a classic Mystikal line came to mind, and it's perfect.

The King was feeling cocky Saturday after the Lakers crushed Ja Morant's team in decisive fashion Friday in front of the home crowd ... which ends their season and sends LBJ and co. into the next round, where they await either the Warriors or the Sacramento Kings.

Bron took to IG with a huge flex -- posting an epic in-game photo of himself after one of his many buckets, where he's roaring in Crypto.com Arena. His caption was just as badass.

He writes, "If you ever see me fighting in the forest with a Grizzly bear, HELP THE BEAR."

Of course, the line is a nod to two things -- one, it's the bar that Mystikal dropped back in 2012 during a freestyle on Invasion Radio ... which has gone down in hip hop history. It also, obviously, refers to the Grizzlies as a unit in general ... and their ferocious fluffy mascot.

And yes ... it's also very likely one final shot at SF Dillon Brooks, who was talking mad s*** to LeBron early on in the series -- and who famously said after their Game 2 win that he liked to "poke bears" when asked about his back-and-forth with LeBron on the court.

You'll recall ... Dillon brazenly called Bron "old" and said he doesn't respect anybody who doesn't give him at least 40 points. LBJ never quite did that but he owned the dude in just about every respect of the game ... not to mention the Memphis squad as a whole.

Dillon has mostly avoided talking to the media since then ... and his playoff performance was mediocre, to say the least. Seems like LeBron isn't letting him live it down just yet.