TMZ Hip Hop - Page 50

LeBron James took in a concert Thursday night, but it wasn't the Taylor Swift show in L.A. ... instead King James attended Brent Faiyaz's show in Toronto with good friend Draymond Green -- and the hoopers were clearly having a blast!

And for once, LeBron even knew the words! 😅

Concertgoers spotted the NBA champs and agent Rich Paul in what looks to be a VIP area, rockin' back and forth to Faiyaz's "Dead Man Walking" hit.

You can tell LeBron definitely knew the song ... he was singing word for word.

Of course, the NBA legend has been known to flub a line here and there in the past.

Whether it's a track by Lil Baby, Pop Smoke, or 6lack's "Stay Down" (remember "yabadabadodobo old navy" -- the lyrics are actually "Hoppin' out the car, no photos, baby.")

All kidding aside, it's awesome to see LeBron in good spirits, out and about ... after the terrifying health scare his family endured last week, when his son Bronny was hospitalized after going into cardiac arrest.

Eminem's critics have awakened the bear in 2023!!!

The legendary rapper unloaded fiery disses on The Game, Melle Mel -- and Generation Z rap fans too young to remember his heyday -- after they've all been dragging his name through the mud.

The lyrical retaliation arrived Friday on the track "Realest" -- the debut single for Em and Dr. Dre's new artist Ez Mil -- but it was Slim Shady who stole the show.

As we reported last year, Game spent a full 10 minutes dissing Em on his last album and later claimed superiority over him for never having his songs played in the club.

Em says Game's songs only get club play because those are the range of his performance bookings and is a little jelly of his career. Melle Mel also got shredded by Em, after having boosted his profile earlier this year by ripping Em for being a white rapper who benefits from the audience majority share.

Em openly admits to being a "guest" in Hip Hop on the track, a term used to acknowledge Black culture birthed Hip Hop … but points out how his success helped the genre boom across the globe.

He proceeded to roast Melle's gym rat legacy with a clever jab at the notion he uses steroids rapping, "And I’ll be the last to toy with a juice-head whose brain is like half destroyed like a meteor hit it/ Well, there went Melle Mel, we lost his ass to 'roids." Get it? Asteroids!!! ☄

The young whippersnappers of Gen Z who criticize Em arguably felt the worst of his wrath ... some of them weren't even born when he dropped his first studio album back in 1999, and Em coldly credited their era for elevating the country's school shootings!!!

"Y'all need to stick to what you do best/Shootin' schools up, gat/Go load up rounds in your parents' gats, and go to class and let off with the strap and go to town," Em fumed at the kids.

Tyga looked perfectly in control of his crowd during a recent show out in Mykonos ... despite a ton of rappers catching heat for lackluster performances this year.

TMZ Hip Hop obtained video of T-Raww calling for all the Greek girls, while blazing through his hits such as "Swish" and "Ayo" at SantAnna Mykonos on July 28.

We're told Tyga got lit on stage for nearly an hour and stayed and partied with Alexander “A.E.” Edwards and the rest of the homies throughout the night.

Tyga will be back in the building on August 9 and the successful sets will make for perfect practice when he embarks on his co-headlining tour with YG and Saweetie this fall.

As we told you last month, the trio of Cali superstars will be hitting 14 cities across the West Coast ... and Tyga's been racking up new material to perform ever since.

On Thursday, he teamed up with Lil Wayne and Mario for the new collab "Main One" ... the type of song you'd expect to hear at those Greek parties this summer!!!

Cardi B is in the clear after throwing a microphone at a fan ... because the criminal battery investigation has been dropped.

Cardi's lawyers, Drew Findling, David Chesnoff and Richard Schonfeld, tell TMZ, "This afternoon we were notified by the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Dept., that as a result of their investigation, there will be NO charges against Cardi. On behalf of Cardi, we appreciate the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Dept's diligent and prompt resolution of this matter."

As you know, Cardi was performing at Drai's Beachclub last Saturday when she asked the crowd to splash water on her to cool her down in the burning Vegas heat ... but when someone threw a cup with an unknown liquid and ice, she hurled the mic at the person. It ricocheted and hit another person, who filed a police report.

Cardi was then listed as a battery suspect but the case has gone nowhere. It was never ever referred to the D.A. The cops concluded Cardi did not commit a criminal offense.

We learned an audio production company that owns the mic decided to auction off the piece, with the money going to charities like the Wounded Warrior Project and Friendship Circle Las Vegas, which helps teens and young adults with special needs. FYI, the bids have hit $100,000.

Kim Kardashian is back to campaigning for Master P's brother's release from prison ... citing a new law in the state of Louisiana that could possibly land the incarcerated rapper a new trial.

Corey Miller, the former No Limit rapper, has been locked up in the Bayou State since 2002 where he's serving a life sentence for second-degree murder ... an alleged miscarriage of justice, according to Kim.

On Thursday, she dropped several statements on social media breaking down Louisiana's new law Section 926.2 ... which allows people to submit new factual evidence to prove their innocence.

Kim thinks Corey isn't being given his fair rights, as he's never been given an evidentiary hearing to explain his side, and several witnesses have since recanted statements.

"Louisiana recently enacted a new law that provides innocent people with the ability to raise a post-conviction claim of factual innocence. Mr. Miller has raised such a claim and, like all of his prior post-conviction filings, has been denied relief without even so much as an evidentiary hearing. In light of the fact that the only witnesses have completely recanted their testimony, there is absolutely no remaining evidence against Mr. Miller."

The 52-year-old, who rapped under the name C-Murder, has been getting public support from Master P, his family, his ex-GF Monica Brown, and Kim for years ... but the state hasn't shared their sentiments.

LL Cool J is sick of hearing how rap is both a "young man's game" and comparable to sports ... setting the record straight on how he feels hip hop culture should thrive.

The legendary rapper appeared on SiriusXM’s "Sway In The Morning" Thursday to promote his new tour, the 50th anniversary of hip hop, and he closed the interview with his first-ever freestyle on the celebrated radio show. ... supplying a dizzying array of rhymes.

LL rocked the mic for nearly two minutes, causing all Sway's Universe cohosts to go wild as Tracy G proclaimed LL shut down their freestyle segment for the rest of the year.

Earlier in the interview, LL expressed his disappointment with older rappers being rubbed out of the culture, much like he did when he took DJ Akademiks to task last year.

LL admits he's a fan of songs from the likes of Lil Baby, Lil Durk and DaBaby but says his reason for creating his "Rock The Bells" platform was so he didn't have to pretend like he's not older than he is.

The 55-year-old MC also laid into the rap debates that liken the genre to sports and says rappers only flirt with retirement like pro athletes over insecurities of becoming obsolete ... a position LL says he's allergic to!!!

Megan Thee Stallion's music release hiatus hasn't kept her from working ... the "Savage" rapper has gone straight Hollywood with her feature film debut.

Fans got a glimpse of what Megan will bring to the table when A24 popped the lid off its trailer for "Dicks: The Musical" comedy on Thursday ... which stars Aaron Jackson and Josh Sharp as a pair of bumbling salesmen who soon discover they're long-lost twins.

Megan plays their business suit-wearing, potty-mouthed boss and makes use of her artistic talents ... even breaking off into a rap song at the point where she instructs the boys to munch on her male genitalia. 😬

Joseline Hernandez just got slapped with two more felony charges from her backstage brawl at a Floyd Mayweather fight ... so she had to go through the booking process again at a Florida jail.

The "Love & Hip Hop" alum was in court Thursday for her arraignment when the judge dropped the bad news ... prosecutors are charging her with two felony counts of battery on a law enforcement officer.

Joseline stood before the judge stone-faced as he explained why she needed to be taken into custody again and booked on the new felony charges ... check out the video, it sounds like she won't be spending much of her day in jail.

TMZ broke the story ... police body camera footage from the aftermath of Joseline's epic beatdown of Big Lex captured her violent, profanity-laced rage from start to finish ... and the video shows her shoving cops.

Joseline had initially been charged with a felony charge of resisting officers with violence, plus a slew of misdemeanor charges ... and she previously went through the booking process for those charges.

But, as the judge explained, two new felony charges being tacked on meant Joseline needed to be taken into custody and booked a second time ... in part to prevent her legal team from finding some potential legal loopholes.

Lizzo is speaking out for the first time since being sued by three of her former backup dancers who claim she sexually harassed them.

The singer posted a statement Thursday, just days after she was sued. The singer says, "These last few days have been gut wrenchingly difficult and overwhelmingly disappointing. My work ethic, morals and respectfulness have been questioned. My character has been criticized. Usually I choose not to respond to false allegations but these are as unbelievable as they sound and too outrageous to not be addressed."

She continues, "These sensationalized stories are coming from former employees who have already publicly admitted that they were told their behavior on tour was inappropriate and unprofessional."

She went on, "As an artist I have always been very passionate about what I do. I take my music and my performances seriously because at the end of the day I only want to put out the best art that represents me and my fans. With passion comes hard work and high standards. Sometimes I have to make hard decisions but it's never my intention to make anyone feel uncomfortable or like they aren't valued as an important part of the team."

She adds, "I am not here to be looked at as a victim, but I also know that I am not the villain that people and the media have portrayed me to be these last few days. I am very open with my sexuality and expressing myself but I cannot accept or allow people to use that openness to make me out to be something I am not. There is nothing I take more seriously than the respect we deserve as women in the world. I know what it feels like to be body shamed on a daily basis and would absolutely never criticize or terminate an employee because of their weight."

She concludes her statement, "I'm hurt but I will not let the good work I've done in the world be overshadowed by this. I want to thank everyone who has reached out in support to lift me up during this time."

As we reported ... three of Lizzo's former backup dancers -- Arianna Davis, Crystal Williams and Noelle Rodriguez -- claim she subjected them to nude entertainment shows in Amsterdam and Paris on tour earlier this year, to what they say was the clear discomfort of her employees.

In the docs, the women say Lizzo pressured dancers to interact with sex performers at Bananenbar in Amsterdam, where patrons are known to eat bananas out of the performer's vaginas.

Two of Lizzo's accusers, Davis and Williams, joined us on "TMZ Live" Wednesday and told us what their experiences were working for Lizzo ... alleging all of her dancers operate in fear of losing their jobs if they don't bend to her demands and get rewarded for playing ball.

Beyoncé seemingly caught wind of the lawsuit too ... Bey noticeably failed to mention Lizzo by name in the lyrics for one of her songs during a concert in Boston as part of her "Renaissance" tour.

We covered the story on the latest episode of The TMZ Podcast, available on all podcast platforms.

Diddy will have to find another cannabis company to capitalize on, as the Bad Boy mogul's intended $185 million purchase to acquire a pair of marijuana operations is no longer going down.

Sources with direct knowledge tell us Diddy waited in the wings as Cresco Labs and Columbia Care planned their proposed merger that was agreed upon last year.

However, we're told the shareholders never reached an agreement, and Diddy's deal was terminated earlier this week as a consequence. Diddy's team tells us he and his Combs Global empire still have a vested interest in pursuing opportunities to diversify the cannabis industry ... they just have to find the perfect fit.

The move would've made Diddy the owner of 9 stores throughout New York, Massachusetts and Illinois, with each having its own production facility ... effectively making him the biggest Black cannabis business owner.

Travis Scott's "Utopia" is headed to a No. 1 spot on the Billboard 200 -- but not all of the album's participants are celebrating.

Rapper KayCyy, who worked closely with Kanye West on his "Donda" album, is reaming Travis for not crediting him on the track "Thank God" ... despite his vocals being heard on the track.

KayCyy couldn't contain his anger and lashed out at Travis after fans kept pestering him about being left off the credits ... rapper Teezo Touchdown's name made the cut.

Another fan noted how Travis didn't acknowledge KayCyy's appreciation for the album on social media when it dropped last Friday ... another indicator for the Minnesota-bred rapper that Travis could be trying to avoid sharing the royalties altogether.

Interestingly enough, KayCyy initially began working on "Thank God" for Ye's "Donda" before it ended up in Trav's "Utopia" desert.

Lizzo makes it clear her backup dancers will face repercussions if they don't do what she asks, even if that means getting freaky at a live sex show ... at least, that's what 2 of the women suing her are claiming.

The singer's former backup dancers, Arianna Davis, and Crystal Williams, joined us Wednesday on "TMZ Live" and told us about their experiences working under Lizzo.

Arianna and Crystal accused Lizzo of coercing backup dancers to participate in nude cabaret shows ... and they say there's an unspoken feeling among the group of having to bend to Lizzo's demands or be fired if they don't play ball.

As they allege in the lawsuit, sometimes that means eating bananas out of sex performers' vaginas in Amsterdam -- and they told us dancers who went along with Lizzo's idea of fun were rewarded with lavish private jet trips to tropical locations.

On the flip side, they claim dancers who didn't feel comfortable doing everything Lizzo wanted would be threatened with termination.

As for why they're no longer working with Lizzo -- Crystal says she was accused of drinking before performances, and Arianna claims Lizzo body-shamed her for gaining weight ... and she claims Lizzo used an admission of an eating disorder to justify firing her.

Lizzo has yet to comment publicly, or respond to the lawsuit in court ... but her accusers have a lot to say here.

Gunna's not hiding from his public enemy status with Young Thug loyalists -- instead, he's embracing the villain role in his new "Rodeo Dr." video by likening himself to O.J. Simpson!!!

Veteran director Spike Jordan captured Gunna zipping all through California as they reenacted O.J.'s infamous 1994 police chase ... the same one he led cops on for nearly an hour after he was charged with murdering his ex-wife Nicole Brown and Ron Goldman.

The song is featured on Gunna's new album and the YSL rapper mentions the chase on the track's chorus ... "Helpin' the P out, I'm beamin' on Narcos/Thinkin' I should take the Bronco, yeah/O.J., yeah)/Gotta go get it tomorrow."

Many fans, and even artists, have ripped Gunna since he got out of jail back in December ... claiming he snitch on Thug get out -- but he restates his allegiance to YSL on the track with the line, "I'm still doin' it for Jeff and Lil Keed."

O.J. was found not guilty of the murder, and Gunna will avoid jail time as long as keeps his nose clean in accordance with his probation. Not a direct parallel, but obviously, Gunna thinks it's close enough.

His album has plenty of juice this year ... it spawned his biggest hit to date with "Fukumean" ... which has since proven to be tasty ex-girlfriend bait.

Lizzo kept an eye on the famed banana sex show in Amsterdam for years ... sharing her desires way before being sued for allegedly pressuring backup dancers to get in on the act.

Here's the deal ... Lizzo talked about wanting to go to a specific live sex show in the city's infamous Red Light District during a 2019 interview with an Amsterdam radio station ... the same show she's now being sued over.

In her interview with 3FM DJ Frank van der Lende, Lizzo reveals her love for live sex shows in Amsterdam ... and she asks the hosts about the banana sex show, where patrons eat bananas out of sex performers' vaginas.

Lizzo excitedly talks about her desire to find out where the banana show happens ... explaining, "That's what I want to do, I need my potassium if you know what I'm saying. My puss-tassium."

The radio hosts tell Lizzo the place she's looking for is Bananenbar ... a venue that's mentioned several times in the lawsuit she's now facing.

As we reported ... Lizzo is being sued by 3 of her former backup dancers, who say they were sexually denigrated by Lizzo while on the job.

In the suit, the dancers claim during a February 2023 tour stop in Amsterdam, Lizzo took them to Bananenbar and pressured them to interact with the sex performers.

The dancers claim "Lizzo began inviting cast members to take turns touching the nude performers, catching dildos launched from the performers' vaginas, and eating bananas protruding from the performers' vaginas."

It's unclear if the alleged incident was Lizzo's first time at Bananenbar ... but she's clearly had the banana sex show on her mind since 2019 at least.

Houston rapper Big Pokey collapsed mid-performance back in June ... an unfortunate result of a heart attack, his autopsy has revealed.

Tom Gillam III, Justice of the Peace for Jefferson County, Texas, signed Pokey's death certificate this week ... highlighting the medical condition.

"The cause of death, in layman's terms, 'Big Pokey' had a massive heart attack ... He had hypertensive and atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease," Gilliam said in a statement.

Pokey collapsed while performing at a bar in Beaumont, TX on June 18 and died shortly after being rushed to a nearby hospital.

He was 45 years old and left behind a pioneering hip hop legacy for the Lone Star State as a member of the DJ Screw's "Screwed Up Click" ... counting the likes of Slim Thug, Paul Wall and BFF Lil Keke as mourners.

Wallo267's fight promoter aspirations just punched him back in the face!!!

The "Million Dollars Worth Of Game" cohost was congratulating Terence Crawford for his decisive victory over Errol Spence last weekend ... when he immediately looked to the future for Terence's potential next opponent: Jaron Ennis, whose nickname is Boots.

Terence's confidence was understandably swelling after KOing Spence and told Wallo he was indeed the undertaker of the ring ... jokingly asking, "y'all trying to see another dead body???"

Wallo then screenshotted Terence's reply and sent it to Jaron ... who accused Terence of attempting to change weight classes to duck the fight altogether.

The convo was apparently in jest and supposed to stay between friends because Terence completely unloaded on Wallo after he posted it to IG ... upset over the obvious lack of discretion.

Terence appeared on 'MDWOG' ahead of his fight with Spence, and probably thought he'd built a rapport with the boxer. Apparently not THAT good.

That said, now that the gloves are off, will Crawford vs. Ennis become a real thing??? Both fighters are undefeated and Jaron's already told us he wanted dibs on the Crawford-Spence winner.