TMZ Hip Hop - Page 50

Travis Scott is casting an early vote for the 2024 presidential election ... saying on his latest album he'd choose his bud Kanye West over current Prez Joe Biden.

TS took a dig at Biden on his track, "Skitzo" -- a hit from his "Utopia" album, which came out on Friday. In the song, he says, "Crazy how they love to talk s*** and got no Trident / I’m loyal, bitch, I got Ye over Biden."

As we reported, Ye's been talking quite a bit about sliding into the Oval Office next year, although he hasn't officially thrown his hat in the ring.

Worth noting Kanye's got producing or songwriting credits on a few tracks for Travis' album, and they've been close friends for a while ... so this could be just a friendly shout-out -- but it sure doesn't sound like it.

ICYMI, Kanye supporters have been selling "Ye24" merch for a while, with things like phone cases and hoodies for fans to scoop up and show their support.

The rapper's also been restructuring his presidential campaign team -- bringing his frequent collaborator Milo Yiannopoulos back on board in May as his Director of Political Operations ... giving the boot to the controversial former man in charge, Nick Fuentes.

From there, Milo started "cleaning house," according to him ... the campaign committee's treasurer resigned and Ali Alexander also got the boot around the same time.

Kanye also saw sponsors and companies drop him amid his antisemitic rants last year, so it seemed like all support for the guy was lost.

Drake's Thug Life is officially complete -- the megastar rapper has emerged as the buyer of Tupac Shakur's $1 million crown ring, which now ranks as a historic moment at a Sotheby's auction!!!

On Friday, Drake showed off his latest prized possession via IG ... and promoted Travis Scott's album "Utopia" which dropped at midnight, as he's featured on the song "Meltdown" where he reignites his beef with Pusha T!!!

Earlier in the week, Sotheby's announced they had sold the Tupac ring in New York City for $1,016,000 ... blasting through the initial estimates of $200k-$300k and making it the “most valuable hip-hop artifact ever sold at auction.” The ring's the only piece purchased for over $1 million.

The glitzy 14k ring sports an amalgam of gold, ruby and diamond jewels and will make a nice addition to Drake's jewelry collection. BTW, on "Meltdown" he raps about permanently altering chains he bought from Pharrell!!!

Tupac was Drake's #1 artist for his Spotify streams last year, so his flex is true to his fandom.

Travis Scott is treating Kylie Jenner's new boyfriend, Timothée Chalamet, like an oompa loompa on his new album "Utopia" ... and wants his bm to know she'll never find another beau more lit than him!!!

On the appropriately titled track, "Meltdown," Travis blows his tops going at Timothée while dissing his upcoming role as the King of Candy with the lyrics, "Chocolate AP and chocolate the Vs got the/ Willy Wonka factory (Vs)/ Burn an athlete like it's calories find another flame hot as me, bitch!!!"

In case you're not following Travis' hot lines, an AP is short for Audemars Piguet, one of the watches rappers favor these days that cost just as much as a moderately sized mansion ... while Timothée is set to play Willy Wonka in the fable's latest reboot ... a move too corny for his taste.

Confirmation that Kylie was getting cozy inside Timothée's chocolate factory began to surface in April, when her car was spotted at his house, and again during a mid-day taco run.

Kylie and Travis entered the summer in a fluid co-parenting situation, with zero expectations of getting back together ... but Travis is clearly upset Kylie moved on with the Golden Ticket guy!!!

Travis dropped his long-awaited "Utopia" album on Friday and all signs point to it being a huge success, with several fans complaining of outages on streaming services as everyone rushed to listen.

Well, everyone 'cept for Timothée most likely.

Drake used the bulk of his mic time on Travis Scott’s new "Utopia" album to fire shots at both Pusha T and Pharrell … and he was definitely aiming for their heads!!!

On the track "Meltdown" (the same song where Travis jabs at Kylie Jenner's new dude Timotheé Chalamet), Drake digs into Pharrell, claiming to have bought his coveted N.E.R.D. jewelry just to alter it.

If you recall, Drake flexed Pharrell's rare stones in his "Jumbotron Shit Poppin" video -- but Jim Jones has since been accused of doing the dirty work for Drake in his beef against Pusha. Now the OVO rapper says he can fight his own battles!!!

Drake also ruthlessly dissed Pharrell's new gig at Louis Vuitton ... declaring LV to be a faded brand now that Virgil Abloh is dead.

As for Pusha, Drake says there's no reason for him and his camp to duck the fade as his "It's All a Blur" tour schedule is easy to Google.

Drake also claims he would’ve pulled up on Pusha during his runway stroll amid Paris Fashion Week if it wasn’t for Vogue magazine's pesky $4M lawsuit against him. 👀

Beyoncé is giving her fans another reason to rejoice -- she's made her way onto Travis Scott's latest album, and to the surprise of just about everyone!

Bey lends her mountains of talent to Travis' track, "Delresto (Echoes)" ... the 9th song on his much-anticipated album, "Utopia," which dropped on Friday.

It's a solid track, with a distinct synth vibe -- similar to Beyoncé's recent "Renaissance" album, which dropped last year. Bon Iver's Justin Vernon also jumps on the song.

Bey and Justin aren't the only ones bringing star power to the album -- Drake, Young Thug, and SZA are just a few of the big names that collabed with Travis to bring "Utopia" to life.

As we reported, TS was partying with Drake and French Montana Wednesday night after Drake's show at The Garden ... and we're sure the album drop just around the bend was on Travis' mind.

Of course, he had a big show for the album that was set to go down in Egypt at the Pyramids of Giza on Friday -- Live Nation said the plug was pulled just a couple of days before, saying, "Complex production issues meant that the show could not be constructed in the desert."

Toccara Jones wants to work with the Drake fan who went viral after throwing her huge bra on stage -- she's offering Miss 36G a modeling job with her lingerie line.

We got the ex-"America's Next Top Model" contestant Thursday at LAX, and she told us why 21-year-old Veronica Correia would be the perfect fit to model for her company, Toccara Intimates.

For starters, Toccara and Veronica both have similar body shapes and bra sizes ... Veronica's 36G bra caught Drake's attention during his recent concert in Brooklyn.

But, it's not only about the curves for Toccara .. who tells us she also likes the confidence Veronica has in her body, as evidenced by her behavior at the concert.

She adds, Veronica should move quickly to cash in on her newfound fame. As we reported, Playboy's also offering an opportunity ... so the iron is plenty hot.

Toccara says even if Veronica doesn't seize the day, she's already struck a blow for women with all natural assets -- a statement that came with a very jiggly exhibition!

Vic Mensa's being sued by an ex-landlord, who claims he's way behind on rent ... but the rapper says the landlord was operating an unsafe building, which led to a terrifying incident for Vic's girlfriend.

Attorney George Georgopoulos filed the suit on behalf of the property owner and claims while Vic was highlighting a flashy lifestyle on social media -- pics of fancy watches and sports cars -- he was failing to pay his rent.

According to the lawsuit, Vic now owes $8,340 in rent and late fees.

Georgopoulos adds, his client “is left holding the bag of paying real estate taxes, maintenance, and other costs for the building while Vic Mensa continues to use and occupy the space without paying rent.”

However, a rep for Vic says the landlord's way outta line here ... telling TMZ the landlord actually "put the lives of Vic Mensa's family in danger, particularly his girlfriend." He points to a March incident when cops say someone broke into the place when his girlfriend was home alone.

Police records confirm a man was arrested and charged for breaking in to the apartment -- and court records show that suspect has also been previously arrested multiple times for battery, and for violating the sex offender registry.

Vic thinks the landlord failed to take adequate security measures around the building despite numerous requests, so he moved out immediately after that incident ... and, yes, stopped paying rent, because he no longer lived there.

Drake took a big bite out of the Big Apple this week, performing at Madison Square Garden to sold-out crowds and partying into the wee hours with some of his famous friends.

Drake, Travis Scott and French Montana popped into the rooftop lounge at the Dream Hotel in Manhattan after Drake's Wednesday night gig at The Garden. Not surprisingly, the trio was the center of attention, wowing all the guests.

Check out the video, obtained by TMZ, which shows Drake walking around and mingling with security shadowing him. Drake was also spotted chilling with a hot blonde -- and the two seemed to be having a good ol' time together.

Then there was Travis, who hit the DJ booth and grabbed the mic to say a few words before spinning some tunes. We're told Travis took a break at one point to go hang out with his buddy, French.

French arrived with a small posse and was seen texting, yapping on his phone and kicking it with his peeps.

Drake's joining forces with Snapchat to bring one of the social media platform's most popular filters with him on tour ... and the results are quite the sight to see.

Here's the deal, Drake's recently started using a new camera feature on crowd shots at his "It Was All a Blur" Tour ... an augmented reality filter powered by Snapchat technology.

As you can see, the AR lens makes it look like people are crying ... even when they aren't. Drake is using the filter when he performs his hit, "Laugh Now Cry Later," with the stage screens showing the crying lens on audience members.

Champagne Papi debuted the Snapchat tech during his July 17 show in Brooklyn, and we're told he will be using it at each concert for the remainder of his tour.

The crying lens has become one of Snap's most popular lenses and has been used over a billion times. Drake has a long-standing relationship with the company -- he even performed at one of its holiday parties.

Drizzy's busted out a whole bag o' tricks on this tour ... like an ugly Anna Wintour, giant sperm cells, massive Ghostface, and a hologram of the late Virgil Abloh.

Page Kennedy is feeling the burn of the ongoing SAG-AFTRA strike ... not only putting a damper on his upcoming summer blockbuster, but also reminding him how crappy royalty checks are!!!

TMZ Hip Hop caught up with Page, who says he's in shambles over the strike, which is affecting his upcoming film with Jason Statham "Meg 2: The Trench" ... a real bummer because he says he almost drowned filming the project.

Page reprised his role as "DJ" from the first 'Meg' thriller, but tells us he wasn't fully prepared to film scenes in the ocean -- at one point, he swallowed more water than his gills could handle. Luckily, the crew was able to usher him to safety.

The veteran actor/rapper has dozens of film credits under his belt, but echoed the sentiments of many actors who say their ever-shrinking residuals aren't cutting it -- and he even showed us some of his checks to drive home that point.

For example, his one-episode appearance on FX's popular Western drama "Justified" paid him $123 ... while his time on the short-lived FOX series "Backstrom" just netted him $59.

It might not be a get-rich-quick option, but Page says his love for acting is still there ... even if he feels execs like Disney CEO Bob Iger wear their greed on their sleeves!!!

He's also in the trenches with the picketers every day, and is back in his rapper bag with a new album, "A Book of Pages," slated for an August 4 wide release.

Rauw Alejandro is setting the record straight on his recent split from Rosalía ... debunking the theory that infidelity was to blame for the couple's end.

The Puerto Rican singer took to Instagram Wednesday to let fans know the facts, saying the 2 broke off their engagement a few months ago -- but makes it clear there were no third parties involved in the breakup, and says there was no cheating going down.

He says he never thought he'd have to speak publicly about something like this, but the folks claiming he's been less than faithful was enough to get him to come forward. He doesn't go into details on the split, but he's at least crossing a few theories off the list.

As we reported, Rosalía announced their engagement back in March, and the 2 have been practically joined at the hip ever since their romance began in 2021 ... so the split came as a shock to fans everywhere.

BTW, people online have been speculating Rauw was hooking up with IG model Valeria Duque ... and while Rauw's been taking a beating over the rumors, Valeria's been catching flack, too -- and she's since switched her account, which has 1.4M followers, to private.

Bow Wow's getting dragged for allegedly swindling a child rapper outta her hard-earned pennies when she requested a feature -- but he insists there was no deal with him, the kid just got catfished.

The case is currently pending in a Georgia court, but Bow Wow is claiming the plaintiff fell victim to an all too common online scam. However, on social media -- where no one waits for a verdict -- folks went on the warpath against Bow.

TMZ Hip Hop got ahold of the docs ... the suit was actually filed back in March by a man named Steven Roberson.

According to Steve, he wired Bow Wow $3K via Cash App, back in 2021, to guest star on a song for his daughter back in 2021 called, "Daddy's Girl." He says the deal required Bow Wow to record his feature within 2 weeks of getting the payment, but that never happened.

Bow Wow is now defending his reputation, insisting he never conducts business through Cash App and doesn't intend to in the future. He says this incident marks the 3rd time someone got duped by someone pretending to be him.

The DJ who played 50 Cent tracks -- prompting Rick Ross' longtime pal Gunplay to blow his top in da club -- is speaking out, and hoping like hell to squash their beef.

DJ 305 dropped an IG video Tuesday apologizing to Gunplay and his family for the July 19 incident that led to the rapper threatening to "shoot up" club G5ive Miami.

Gunplay had been celebrating his 44th birthday when DJ 305 dropped not one, but two 50 Cent songs "I Smell P****" and "Many Men" -- both with implications of beef and war (although they were originally created as Ja Rule diss tracks).

You can see for yourself how Gunplay took the musical gesture and he went on to explain, and remarkably, own up to his actions that evening.

DJ 305 says he didn't mean any disrespect behind his song selection and hopes to still be cordial with Gunplay and MMG down the line ... as his stage name references Rick's city!!!

Gunplay hasn't responded to 305's mea culpa just yet, but was in G5ive last night to redo his birthday bash after the previous drama.

Bad news for Travis Scott fans that were hoping to see the rapper perform at one of the 7 wonders of the world ... because just two days before the big event, the show's been canceled.

Live Nation shared the news Wednesday, saying the Utopia show -- which was slated to go down this weekend at Egypt's Pyramids of Giza -- is no longer happening.

The company adds, "Despite highest efforts, complex production issues meant that the show could not be constructed in the desert." Live Nation says issues will be refunded to ticket holders, issuing an apology to those planning on attending.

The reasoning seems a little suspect considering just recently Egypt's Musicians Syndicate announced it wasn't pleased with Travis coming over to perform, saying the org canceled the show's permit ... claiming the type of concerts TS puts on "goes against the cultural identity of the Egyptian people."

Ice Cube has a serious bone to pick with the NBA and Adam Silver ... saying the league talks a good game about equality, but when it comes to supporting a black-owned company --like Cube's BIG3 -- they've completely dropped the ball.

The rap legend and 3-on-3 league founder teed off on the commish while he was on Tucker Carlson's Twitter show ... calling out Silver for making it seem like the league is at the forefront of change -- when, in his opinion, it's not doing much at all.

He said, "The NBA is full of great slogans and they write 'Black Lives Matter' on the court and they do all those things, but pretty full of s*** when the rubber meets the road."

Cube believes promoting the BIG3 would be a layup for the Association to show they're really about the cause ... but instead, their grand gestures have resulted in no real action.

"I'm just saying it's easy for them to put that on the court. It takes a little more effort to really care to work with a league like the BIG3. You really gotta want to make a difference."

Cube has been in an ongoing feud with Silver ... claiming there are several NBA team owners who want to get involved in the BIG3, but the league won't let them.

He's even openly said "I don’t give a f**k about working with the NBA" ... but wants the league to quit trying to keep his organization from growing.

It's not only politics that makes for strange bedfellows -- Ice Cube's unloading on Barack Obama, Black Lives Matter, COVID-19 vaccines and more ... with, of all people, Tucker Carlson.

The duo rolled through South L.A. together for an episode of Tucker's show on Twitter -- and they quickly found common ground on several topics ... starting with former President Obama. Cube said he was proud America had elected a Black man, and thought maybe "this guy is gonna be the guy."

But, ultimately Cube feels Obama -- like all of his White House predecessors -- did nothing to change his life.

Tucker and the rapper/actor also bro'd out on BLM ... Cube's criticism being the org didn't improve things for the Black people he knows and loves, while Tucker's voice-over and editing attacked BLM for allegedly misappropriating millions of dollars.

Interestingly, Tucker -- a staunch and vocal proponent of police -- never asked Cube about writing the song "F**k Tha Police." 🤔 Interesting.