TMZ Hip Hop - Page 50

Joe Budden may be considered to have the top hip hop podcast, but he's not above throwing shots ... just ask Gillie Da Kid.

On the latest "Joe Budden Podcast" episode, Joe questioned Gillie's alleged big money contract for his "Million Dollaz Worth Of Game" pod by taking a shot at his living quarters, quipping, "Your headboard is covering a very small window in your primary bedroom ... I can tell it’s not like that!!!"

DJ Akademiks shared the Budden snipe with a clip soundtracked by Rick Ross' aggressive track "I'm Not a Star" and several gunshot sounds to increase the dramatic effect.

Gillie took the bait and barked back at Budden ... echoing Vivica A. Fox's disses about wife-beating but says he's refusing to escalate things until JBP reaches MDWOG's bank status.

Budden seemed content with getting under Gillie's skin, if not for anything, bringing more attention to his platform.

Complex recently bestowed a #1 hip hop media ranking on Joe Budden's — with Gillie and Wallo coming in at #4.

Chris Brown is finally speaking out about his hectic weekend -- but he's only taking aim at one confrontation he's said to have been involved in ... and not the big one with Usher.

The singer publicly commented on an IG post that was reporting on his face-off from Saturday night, where he was in the middle of what appeared to be a scuffle on the verge of breaking out backstage during Missy Elliott's set at the 'Lovers & Friends' festival in Vegas.

He writes in no unclear terms, "yall been geeked all weekend, y'all dragging it now. It was mad people backstage and security was trying to clear everyone off the stage. People started pushing back.. I INTERVENED To let them know MY CHILD WAS BACK THERE."

CB adds, "So y'all can keep ya narrative."

Of course, he's referring to the video that surfaced Sunday which showed him in the mix. There was no overt violence in the clip -- but considering what had apparently happened just the night before on his birthday ... it was certainly cause for concern.

It goes without saying ... we're referring to the alleged brawl that occurred between him and Usher -- which eyewitnesses have told us did, in fact, go down out in the lot of a skating rink ... where CB's 34th bday bash was being held, and which eventually turned sour.

It's interesting Chris isn't addressing the elephant in the room head-on, which is telling considering the speculation has been at an all-time high all weekend. If there was truly nothing to what's been said to have happened, you would think he'd deny that too.

He didn't, though ... and only wanted to put out the fire on this second incident.

Funny enough, you could argue that both Usher and Teyana Taylor -- who were also at the center of Friday night's purported brouhaha -- have been trying to stamp out this story as well on behalf of Chris ... albeit, quietly and with more signals than actual words.

Usher, for example, made sure to hop on social media Saturday ahead of his set to show that he was just fine ... and that everything, at least on its face, was happy-go-lucky.

There's also the video of Teyana herself dancing during Usher's performance Saturday, where she's getting down to his cover of one of Chris's famous songs. Again ... all subliminal.

Ginuwine can't hop on the pony like he used to ... the R&B vet took a pretty nasty tumble while performing at 'Lovers & Friends' this past weekend!!!

It appears Ginuwine was attempting to get closer to his adoring fans while performing his classic love ballad "In Those Jeans."

Ginuwine attempted to jump between the stage and a platform but completely underestimated the distance and completely flopped off the stage ... and almost pulled the sign language interpreter down in the process.

The scene is pretty comical, all things considered. As the stage personnel and the cameraman rushed to G's side, the song kept playing across the speakers and the interpreter kept doing his job.

They say the show must go on -- which is exactly what Ginuwine told his fans following the show ... as he poked fun at himself by singing Donnie McClurkin's "We Fall Down."

Distraught Juice WRLD fans can take comfort ... plans for a new mural honoring him are already coming together after the original was abruptly removed from its Chicago site.

Peter Jideonwo, manager to the late "Lucid Dreams" rapper, tells TMZ Hip Hop that he and the family still have no clue who painted over the mural, which had become a beloved cultural landmark.

Thousands of fans flew to the windy city to see the original piece since its intro back in 2020 ... honoring Juice after his December 2019 death from a drug overdose.

The art piece cost the 999 Squad $50K to enlist artist Corey Pane.

No one has taken ownership of clearing the mural and the Chicago Department of Streets and Sanitation even conducted a paint test to prove it had nothing to do with it.

The city agency tells us there are protocols in place for artists to register, and to be notified when their graffiti is slated to be removed as well.

Although they're still in the early planning stages, Peter tells us he and the rest of Juice’s team are not only plotting how the new installation can be a better piece, but also one that withstands vandals or accidents going forward.

Chris Brown was caught on camera in yet another confrontation -- this, apparently, just a day after his dust-up with Usher ... part of which was also captured on video.

New footage circulating online appears to show Chris aggressively trying to reach somebody across from him in what looks to be the backstage area of a venue. Per several blog accounts, this was purportedly taken during Missy Elliott's set Saturday night in Vegas.

No details are out yet about this -- including what led up to it, or who Chris may have been beefing with. We're working to confirm what exactly was going on here -- however, on its face -- it doesn't look good for CB ... who was just in this exact type of sitch 24 hours earlier.

Fortunately, based on what we can see in the video ... it would seem cooler heads prevailed here, and nothing truly violent went down. It's unclear if this had to do with Usher or not.

Speaking of him, Usher was clearly trying to telegraph a different narrative than what we'd been told about the skating rink birthday bash thrown for Chris the night prior -- which allegedly turned brutal for Mr. Raymond, according to eyewitnesses we've spoken with.

He looked totally fine last night, though, and was making sure to show off his face and the fact he appeared uninjured. Chris even came and did his set as well ... with no sign of trouble on stage, or any mention of the alleged brawl that's said to have occurred.

Here's the thing ... we know Chris was pissed off on Friday night, and now -- he once again seems to be pissed here. So, despite their best efforts -- there's obviously friction in the air.

Usher and co. appear to be engaged in a nothing-to-see-here act -- but at some point, you gotta figure they might have to address this straight up ... because the rumors are flying, and there's irrefutable video evidence of Chris acting up and coming across as belligerent.

Luckily, despite the apparent drama behind the scenes, it sounds like 'Lovers & Friends' was a success and went off without a hitch. And, if nobody comments on this any further going forward -- perhaps it's safe to assume they've dealt with it privately/are moving on.

Here's hoping that's actually the case ... 'cause Chris and Usher are known to be boys.

Usher took the stage Saturday night at the "Lovers & Friends" music festival, after a physical confrontation with Chris Brown Friday night that left him bleeding.

Here's the thing ... Chris performed right before Usher, and never made reference to the fight.

As we reported, the confrontation went down at a roller rink party, after Usher and Chris got into a heated confrontation that turned physical. TMZ obtained video of the lead up to the fight.

Thing is ... Usher and Chris were super close, and the party was to celebrate Chris's 34th birthday with lots of celebs on hand.

As we reported, the fight was over Chris' scrapped AMAs performance last year -- when he was set to do an MJ tribute, which as 86'd at the last minute. As for what led up to the fight ... Teyana Taylor, who was at the party, was being confronted by Chris because he blames her for his canceled MJ tribute.

Chris demanded that Usher show her the door, and things escalated quickly.

Bad Bunny impressed Kendall Jenner in addition to millions of wrestling fans Saturday night, after defeating Damian Priest in a featured event.

BB made his grand entrance to his 2017 hit, "Chambea," as fans sang along.

The show went down in Bad Bunny's OG stomping ground ... Puerto Rico.

Kendall's BF is on a roll ... he defeated The Miz in a tag team match at WrestleMania 37.

It's kinda interesting ... both Bad Bunny and Priest are from Puerto Rico, but the crowd was squarely on BB's side.

Grammy-winner Robert Glasper is thankful for Chris Brown's temper tantrum about this year's Grammy ceremony ... mainly because the controversy helped line his pockets!!!

We caught up with Rob at LAX, where he told us he's still raking in the residuals from his "Black Radio III" album.

If you remember, the project took home the "Best R&B Album" Grammy in February -- and Chris cast a bigger spotlight on Robert's win with a sore loser reaction ... asking his 130 million+ followers "Who The F*CK is Robert Glasper?"

Rob eventually got an apology from Chris, but even better than that -- he sold the negative question on t-shirts, which he says earned him enough to buy a really nice car.

Our only question now is ... are we talking a Bentley or a very brand-new Buick?!!

He also says Chris' viral outburst scored him around 20,000 new followers and several musicians flooded his DMs hoping to collaborate.

Usher's squabble with Chris Brown isn't going to affect his performance later tonight in Las Vegas -- because the guy's taking the stage regardless ... TMZ has learned.

Sources with direct knowledge tell us Usher -- who's currently scheduled as the headliner for Saturday's "Lover & Friends" music festival -- will take the stage as planned ... meaning, the show will, in fact, go on despite what happened earlier this morning with CB and co.

We're told that Usher was, indeed, injured during the brouhaha at the skating rink ... and that his nose and face are kinda jacked up right now. And yet -- our sources assure us he's going to power through and put on a good show. He may, however, be covering up a bit.

In other words ... be on the lookout for him wearing sunglasses of some sort tonight, and perhaps rocking some fresh battle scars that might pop out through any stage makeup.

As for Chris -- who was also in the lineup as one of the big acts slated to perform -- we're told it's unclear if he'll do his set tonight. Chris hasn't said anything publicly as of Saturday.

There's more ... TMZ can confirm reporting by B. Scott, who said the drama appears to have stemmed from Chris' scrapped AMAs performance last year -- when he was set to do an MJ tribute, only to claim he got the rug pulled out from under him last minute.

Our sources say that is, indeed, true -- and the reason he went after Teyana here is because we're told she was actually involved in the planning of that performance ... but something went awry before the day of. This makes sense, as it's been widely reported of late that TT has stepped into the role of a creative director lately for a number of artists/their shows.

Anyway, Chris clearly felt some type of way, and was confronting her -- which only escalated when she snubbed him. Not just that, but we're told Chris actually demanded Usher make her leave ... in addition to asking her to get out himself, seeing how it was his bday party.

We're told Usher refused, and the rest is history ... some of which you can see on video.

Time will tell, we suppose, if Chris will come out himself, or if he'll address this further. BTW, it looks like Teyana -- who was once a fierce CB defender -- has unfollowed him on IG.

We'll also keep our eyes peeled for anything Usher might have to say later today. Something tells us he just may talk about it.

Machine Gun Kelly has entered the chat for the "second greatest white rapper" debate after Jack Harlow declared himself heir apparent behind Eminem ... and he might have a claim.

MGK -- who's been much more about rock and roll lately than he has about rap -- just dipped his toe back into the genre where he cut his teeth ... dropping a new freestyle in which he's spittin' pretty ferociously, and where he also takes an explicit shot at Jack.

Check it out for yourself ... Kelly is rapping over Jay-Z's "Renegade" beat, which also features Em -- something that surely wasn't lost on MGK when he was picking an instrumental.

As for the bars themselves ... we gotta say, they're pretty damn good. Solid flow and rhyme scheme -- and the references he's making are a cut above your average mumble rap verse these days. Of course, he eventually called out Jack by name with a telling few lines.

Kelly raps, "Make sure there's no confusion // I'm a great white, I can eat these barracudas." Then, he goes for the jugular ... "I see why they call you Jackman // You jack man's whole swag // Give Drake his flow back man." Indeed, it's pretty vicious, and there's no ambiguity.

This is clearly in response to what Jack said on one of his tracks from his new album -- in which JH rapped ... "The hardest white boy since the one who rapped about vomit and sweaters // And hold the comments 'cause I promise you I'm honestly better // Than whoever came to your head right then." That claim caused a firestorm on Twitter.

Other names got thrown around as possibly being better than Jack ... including the underrated Action Bronson, Lil Dicky, Mac Miller and, yes, Machine Gun Kelly too.

Usher and Chris Brown got into a heated argument last night -- which apparently led to some sort of a scuffle that got violent outside ... and TMZ has video of the lead-up to that.

Check out this footage that we obtained, which we're told was taken very early Saturday morning at the Skate Rock City roller rink in Vegas ... where CB was celebrating his 34th birthday among a lot of celeb pals, including Usher -- with whom he's incredibly close.

While Usher and co. sang to Chris earlier in the evening when everything was fine, things unfortunately got ugly in the wee hours of the morning ... when eyewitnesses tell us Chris was attempting to talk to Teyana Taylor, who was also in attendance and sitting on a bench just outside of the rink. We're told, for whatever reason, Teyana was ignoring him.

Our sources tell us this pissed Chris off, and he started to yell at her ... and that's when Usher intervened and tried to calm him down. You can see that in our video here.

We're told Chris wasn't having it, cursing at Usher and Teyana -- but then, mostly focusing his anger directly at Usher. Eventually, our sources say Chris told his crew they were leaving and they exited the facility. We're told Usher took off his skates and went after them.

Our eyewitness -- who says they were present for this -- tells us they saw Usher go behind a string of charter buses that were parked in the lot ... where Chris and his crew were at. We're told a short time later, Usher emerged with what appeared to be a bloody nose.

Unclear if he went to the hospital, or if a police report was filed. We've reached out to Vegas Metro -- but haven't heard of anything even remotely resembling this being called in.

Meanwhile ... Usher, Teyana and Chris have all been radio silent this morning -- with none of them having said a thing yet to confirm or deny a report initially put out by Hollywood Unlocked, which broke the news of a fight between the two R&B superstars/friends.

Pras says folks are reading way too much into his guilty verdict for fraud -- the ex-Fugees rapper tells TMZ Hip Hop the widespread rumor he secretly worked out a deal with the feds is one big lie!!!

We caught up with Pras in Bev Hills, and while the reality of his case has to be kicking in, he told us he can't react too much for legal reasons. As he put it, "We got work to do. We'll be okay."

As we reported, a jury in federal court found him guilty of all 10 counts he was facing. During the trial, rumors he acted as an FBI informant were fueled by fake social media headlines and over-the-top reactions from 50 Cent.

Pras sternly tells us he never worked for the FBI or CIA -- he says his testimony proves it, and encourages everyone to check the transcript. He refuses to be lumped in with Tekashi 6ix9ine who cooperated with the feds while testifying against fellow gang members in court.

He makes a fair point -- Tekashi pled guilty, but Pras was found guilty by a jury. If he'd struck a deal to work with prosecutors, he would have entered a plea, and not left his fate to the jury. That's just how it works, folks.

The veteran MC solidified his place in rap history as a member of The Fugees with Wyclef Jean and Lauryn Hill, but the megastars were noticeably MIA following his guilty verdict.

Jennifer Hudson and Common aren't just comfortable together, they've jumped to looking like a longtime married couple that takes romantic strolls in the middle of the day.

They were out together Thursday afternoon in the Chicago suburb where Jennifer currently lives, and they were not in a hurry. We're told the couple strolled around the neighborhood for about 90 minutes ... arm in arm, looking as cozy as ever.

Folks in the area tell us they've seen more of J Hud this week. She shoots her syndicated talk show in L.A., but with the writers' strike in full swing, she's got time to chill at home with her man.

Of course, their romantic walk isn't all that surprising. Common and Jennifer first fueled dating rumors back in February, when they had a date night at celeb hot spot Nobu in Malibu.

Before the outing, fans had been speculating they were a thing ... pointing to the fact that they were spending more time together after connecting on the set of the upcoming movie, "Breathe".

Hurricane Chris recently claimed the late Pimp C threatened him and his crew with deadly force -- but the UGK rapper's widow is saying the only thing he planned on killing was a track!!!

On Friday, Chinara Butler got wind of the Lousiana rapper recalling Pimp C getting the boot from his star-studded 2007 "Ay Bay Bay (Remix)" ... and getting an earful about it afterward.

Chinara says she remembers the moment vividly, as she was the one who intercepted the email, and burned the instrumental on a CD for Pimp to drop his vocals.

According to Chinara's memory bank, Pimp C took about 2 days to submit a fire azz verse ... but was told it was sent too late to make the cut.

In true Pimp C fashion, Chinara says he grew enraged and floated the idea of doing a remix titled "A-K-K" ... as in the assault rifle, and "kill all his competition!!!" The finalized track featured E-40, The Game, Boosie Badazz, Jadakiss, Birdman and Angie Locc. Pimp clearly missed out on a banger!!!

HC remembers things a bit differently, claiming Pimp C angrily called his phone with detailed knowledge of his location.

Rich the Kid is inadvertently agreeing with Tekashi 6ix9ine ... calling out Billboard's newly minted bundle initiative as a bad move for the music biz.

We caught Rich out at LAX and he told us he's fine with "floppy artists" getting the extra boost in sales, but also feels Billboard's move could seriously water down the quality of music that ends up charting.

Billboard announced this week it's re-allowing bundle sales under the tag "fan packs" -- which allows for a limited amount of physical merch to be counted toward sales on the album chart.

Tekashi had a cow over the news ... after seeing thousands of his unit sales discounted back in 2020 when Billboard eliminated the merch rule.

Rich doesn't think sales trickery will stop his shine and says he doesn't plan on hopping on the bundle bandwagon with incentives like crappy Crocs.

Antonio Brown can't help but put that s*** on, even if he's up to his eyeballs in controversy ... 'cause the ex-NFL star hit up an Albany bar and performed his hit song for a bunch of college kids Thursday night -- and TMZ Sports has the video!!

Witnesses tell us AB arrived at Wolff's Biergarten unannounced shortly after midnight Friday ... and the whole crowd was shocked over the surprise appearance, but loved every bit of it.

Once AB was in the bar, we're told he walked right up to the DJ booth and told him to -- well, this is confusing to say -- put "Put That S*** On" on.

Our video shows the Super Bowl champ standing on a platform above the patrons ...  getting the students hyped before starting his viral song.

We're told AB stayed for close to an hour before dipping ... but he didn't leave folks empty-handed -- witnesses say he was passing out free Empire tickets to anyone in attendance.

After the bar, AB seemingly hit up a frat house ... where he crowd-surfed as more students freaked out over his presence.

AB's impromptu concert comes right on the heels of accusations he's an owner from hell for the National Arena League's Albany Empire ... with former coaches and players claiming they weren't paid and lost access to their team hotel rooms, among many other issues.

Brown denies the accusations.

On top of that, Brown has been sued by his jeweler for $1.1 million ... and a judge ordered cops to arrest him over unpaid child support payments, which he claims he made.