TMZ Hip Hop - Page 50

Jidenna and Team Wondaland have become quite the hedonists -- a lifestyle the Classic Man wants everyone to know is not for the pushy or immature.

TMZ Hip Hop caught up with Jidenna Tuesday at LAX, where he told us he's excited about hitting the road with Janelle Monáe and his labelmates Flyana Boss, Nate Wonder and Nana Kwabena for The Age of Pleasure Tour ... a concert that's sure to expose a ton of skin!!!

Jidenna will be performing cuts from his latest album "Me You & God" onstage ... a project that's making headlines for its openness to polyamory, and disclosure that he's enjoyed some group sex on the beach!!!

While Jidenna acknowledges his activities might dazzle most cis-hetero males, the rapper makes it clear he always lets women set the boundaries and create their own safe spaces.

He says that's the key, and everyone in his crew operates under that principle.

It's a delicate situation that some of Jidenna's homies outside of the Wondaland fold can't understand, but he says Wondaland aims to please with everything they do.

Travis Scott is ready for a nationwide tour performing his new album ... and he's making a couple tour stops in Texas, with one notable exception ... Houston.

The rapper just announced dates and cities for his upcoming "Utopia" tour, and he's got shows in almost every major American market, except for the place where his infamous Astroworld concert left 10 dead and dozens injured.

Travis going with a full tour -- 26 stops in the U.S. plus two in Canada -- makes it seem like he's not sweating Astroworld all that much ... but it's interesting he's skipping Houston in favor of two other shows in Texas, performing in Austin and Dallas instead.

Of course, a grand jury in Houston recently decided against indicting Travis on criminal charges for the deadly November 2021 concert in H-Town.

Travis is still facing some civil lawsuits in Houston over Astroworld, and with that in mind it seems his hometown is not safe territory ... at least for this tour.

Jay-Z is back on his social media grind, but he's sticking to his pattern of only returning when he's got product to push ... this time it's his new feature film.

The elusive rap legend rebooted his account on Tuesday, revealing the official trailer for "The Book of Clarence" ... the upcoming theatrical release he produced, starring LaKeith Stanfield, Benedict Cumberbatch, Teyana Taylor and others.

Jay made a blip on IG back in November 2021 to promote the movie "The Harder They Fall" ... and then promptly fell back into social media obscurity. But, there's a chance he might stick around this time.

The 'BoC' trailer promises new music from Jay and director Jeymes Samuel ... which could range from a couple of tracks like he supplied for the 'THTF' soundtrack, or even a full-blown album like he did with the 2007 Denzel Washington film "American Gangster."

If he really wants the film to sell, he'll do a TikTok. C'mon, you know Jay on TikTok would be a vibe!!!

Blueface is about to see a whole lot more blue, as he and his ex-girlfriend Chrisean Rock are going to be having a baby boy.

The animated reality star made the official reveal Tuesday ... tearfully thanking her friends during a baby shower and photo shoot.

Chrisean's currently in her third trimester, so delivery time is fast approaching... and apparently will fall into a co-parenting situation with Blueface as they're not currently together.

The two have exchanged back-and-forth spats all year ... intermingled with frequent reconciliations, and fans have been clueless as to what to anticipate next.

50 Cent's "Final Lap" tour will need to take another run at Phoenix after extreme heat forced the rapper to postpone his show.

The G-Unit rapper -- along with Tony Yayo, Busta Rhymes, Jeremih and more --- were scheduled to hit the outdoor stage at Talking Stick Resort Amphitheatre Tuesday, but 50 apparently saw the forecast and nipped the show in the bud.

50 wrote on IG, "Due to extreme heat, the show tomorrow in Phoenix, AZ is being postponed ... For anyone who would like a refund, please go to point of purchase for instructions. I’ll be back in Arizona soon! 116 degrees is dangerous for everyone."

The city has now updated its Extreme Heat Warning to carry on into Wednesday ... but the tour has since moved on to California for several dates.

Jay-Z's giving the world a first look at his new film "The Book of Clarence," but we're only seeing a small part of the journey -- Hov's promised the movie's gonna be stuffed with hidden meanings for fans!!!

The film is set in biblical times and drops in January 2024 with an ensemble cast of LaKeith Stanfield, Benedict Cumberbatch, David Oyelowo, Alfre Woodard, Teyana Taylor and more, but Jay is adamant it's not going to be a preachy experience, telling Vanity Fair he doesn't want the audience to “immediately just focus on the religious aspect of it, and not the human story.”

Jay says he and director Jeymes Samuel are always looking for fresh ways to retell traditional stories and Jay's attention to detail may be the deciding x factor.

Like their previous film, "The Harder They Fall," Jay and Jeymes plan on keeping audiences on their toes by stuffing the movie with Easter eggs, like they did in "TFTF" when they hinted "Book Of Clarence" would be coming next!!!

“I have a thousand stories to tell, so that’s why I can kind of lay Easter eggs in each one” ... Jay assured.

We've seen an awful lot of Kanye West's wife, Bianca Censori, during their Italian trip -- thanks to her rather revealing outfits -- but now, Kanye's the one showing serious skin.

Ye and Censori continued their tour of the country Monday, this time making a stop in Venice. The two hopped on a water taxi, and that's when things got cheeky ... as Kanye's entire backside was exposed as he tried to sit near the back of the vessel.

Apparently, Kanye didn't notice his butt was out, or maybe he just didn't care ... because he didn't really do anything to hide it.

The wardrobe malfunction is quite the opposite of the look Kanye's been going for as of late -- using about every piece of fabric he can find to cover up.

As we've reported, Bianca's been quite the opposite, leaving little to the imagination with her outfits. In fact, it appears she might have taken a pointer or two from looks Kim Kardashian has shown off in the past, especially last week in a nude-color top and leggings.

Eminem is not a fan of Vivek Ramaswamy rapping one of his biggest hits on the campaign trail -- he wants the Republican presidential candidate to lose his music.

The "Lose Yourself" rapper made his feelings known to music licenser BMI after Vivek went viral for rapping some of Em's Oscar-winning track on stage at the Iowa State Fair earlier this month.

In the letter, Marshall Mathers asks BMI to yank his songs from their agreement to stop Vivek from using his tracks.

As a result, BMI fired off a cease and desist letter to Vivek's campaign lawyer last week ... telling them Eminem's objecting to the use of his songs.

Translation: Go ahead and lose yourself, just not in MY music!!!

In the letter, first obtained by Daily Mail, BMI threatens legal consequences should Vivek's campaign keep Eminem's songs in its rotation.

Vivek's fresh off a well-received performance at the first GOP presidential debate and is currently in the middle of a media blitz, including a stop on "TMZ Live," but Eminem's not feeling his vibe.

Nicki Minaj's upcoming "Pink Friday 2" album won't just feature her raps ... she's also flexing her singing skills on at least one new song, "Last Time I Saw You."

On Monday, Nicki fired off a one-minute taste test of the song on TikTok along with a montage of photos of herself, as well as scenes from the upcoming music video.

The bubbly crooning is a swift departure from Nicki's 'PF2' kickoff single "Super Freaky Girl," which she released a year ago ... and still holds the distinction of being the last rap song to top the Billboard Hot 100!!!

Longtime Barbz note how 'Last Time' reminds them of her 2014 single "Pills N Potions," where she carried the track by singing and the music video appears to contain similar vibes ... Nicki's standing on a watery platform backed by a green screen which will surely color in the pink effects.

A guy suing Future for copyright infringement just had his lawsuit kicked to the curb by a judge -- who apparently knows her hip hop ... 'cause her opinion is full of classic references.

Judge Martha Pacold dismissed a suit filed by a man named DaQuan Robinson -- who sued Future 2 years ago for what he claimed was a lot of lifted elements from the guy's song "When I Think About It" ... which he says mirrored his own track, "When U Think About It."

Robinson alleged he'd emailed a draft of the song to Future's team before the official version came out -- and claims Future's track ended up being eerily similar to his original tune.

Specifically, Robinson claimed Future's song touched on a lot of the same content his track did -- namely, guns, money and jewelry -- but Judge Pacold cut him off there ... saying those general themes are not protected by copyright -- and are omnipresent throughout rap.

To make her point, she cites countless examples where these topics are addressed ... such as Biggie's 'Machine Gun Funk,' 'Wu-Tang Clan's 'C.R.E.A.M.' and even Kanye's 'Diamonds from Sierra Leone.' In all of those, she says, these references exist ... and therefore, they're part of the larger hip hop well of content that no one person can claim copyright to in a given song.

The judge didn't even get to the point about Robinson claiming he sent his tune to Future beforehand because the court found the two songs weren't substantially similar enough for it to matter anyway.

There's more musical shout-outs beyond this, too -- including a nod to Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young (Neil Young, that is). Specifically, the judge mentions their song "Our House" to dispute Robinson's claim about Future's alleged misuse of a "core lyric" that he thought was the same as his.

Basically, she says core lyrics are yet another basic element of songwriting ... and not subject to copyright protection in and of itself.

Bottom line ... there isn't enough there to claim copyright infringement -- and the judge ruled in Future's favor -- tossing Robinson's claim with prejudice. He can appeal if he wants to.

NBA players aren't the only ones dragging Noah Lyles for smearing the NBA's "World Champion" title ... Drake took time out from his 'Blur' Tour to rub the track star's nose in his commentary!!!

Drake reps Toronto first and foremost, but even he had to cringe at Lyles' comments and hopped on DJ Akademiks' page to react  ... "He thought this speech was gonna be so hard in the mirror the night before...now the whole league doesn't rate u 😂😂😂"

Lyles' NBA slander also proved to be easy fodder Monday for Charlamagne tha God's "Donkey of the Day" -- countless previous 'DoD' culprits have hailed from the state of Florida and Noah, being born and raised in Gainesville, found himself to be no exception.

Lyles, dominated over the weekend at the World Athletic Games in Budapest, Hungary ... winning 3 Gold medals and many think he got too big-headed to formulate a serious thought.

As Charlamagne -- and several NBA stars noted -- the league attracts the best players from all over the WORLD, and the last 3 MVPs have all been non-American ... and 2 of them won back-to-back!!!

Dutch singer Natalie La Rose was 27 years old when her name held a peak position on the music charts -- hitting the top 10 on the US Billboard Hot 100 -- with her hit song "Somebody" featuring Jeremih back in 2015.

In 2013, Natalie signed with American Rapper Flo Rida and Republic Records. She's collab'd with some of the music industry's hottest stars including Fifth Harmony, Bea Miller and Fetty Wapp.

"I wanna rock with somebody, I wanna take shots with somebody, shot, shot, shot, shot!"

Diddy opened up his wallet this weekend to bolster Black entrepreneurs and creatives while in the Atlanta area -- and he did it with a 7-figure amount that's sure to have a huge impact.

The media mogul was in town this weekend, first stopping off at an event called Invest Fest -- hosted by the Earn Your Leisure network, which offers a platform to up-and-coming Black creators and venture capitalists -- where Diddy was front and center fielding questions.

While there, he made a big announcement ... Diddy's launching an investment fund with EYL brass -- founders Rashad Bilal/Troy Millings -- to kick-start financial strategies immediately ... which will undoubtedly help their growing user base and sprawling roster of talent.

Diddy says, "I'm thrilled to join forces with Earn Your Leisure. We're going beyond discussing finances and taking action to demystify the world of investing for our community." He also said any profits from this will go toward his 3 charter schools on the East Coast.

Like we said, the fund is going to pay for educational tools and resources that teach young Black investors how to properly diversify their portfolios, and how to get their businesses off the ground ... so, a great cause. Diddy didn't stop there, though ... he donated another mil.

He also stopped off at the Cricket MEAC-SWAC Challenge Kickoff in the ATL, and followed through on a pledge he made last year ... donating a million bucks to Jackson State University Football, which will be doled out over the years in regular installments.

Megan Thee Stallion hasn't gallivanted much in public since Tory Lanez got sent to the slammer for 10 years -- but she's out there now ... and, boy, is this a look or what?

The rapper hit the town Saturday in Beverly Hills with some pals in tow -- and she was wearing quite the eye-popping outfit ... and that's because her greatest assets were on display in a very sheer dress that you could see right through, right down to the skin.

Don't worry, her top half is actually covered by some nipple pasties -- so, technically, no harm, no foul there ... but she was definitely pushing the envelope and getting risqué.

Even from the side and behind ... she was quite the sight for sore eyes, and her friend seemed to recognize that too, offering a little handsy support as they boarded a waiting SUV.

Indeed, MTS was flaunting her stuff and then some ... which we suppose telegraphs how she might be feeling in the wake of this ugly saga that just ended with her one-time friend/lover being sentenced to a decade behind bars. Remember, Meg wasn't there for the hearing.

While she skipped the in-person appearance, Megan did speak out in a victim's statement -- saying she still suffers trauma from the shooting incident and urged the judge to hand down a stiff punishment ... which ultimately happened. Tory, meanwhile, has said he refuses to apologize or show remorse, insisting he was convicted for something he didn't do.

Meg performed at Outside Lands in SF shortly after the sentencing, and she said "F*** all my haters" during her show, which is really the only direct messaging from her post-sentencing.

With this latest showing though -- the first time she's been out like this since Tory's fate was decided -- it's safe to say Meg's unfazed. No love lost here, and certainly no regrets either.

Some of 'Love & Hip Hop's stars got busted in Atlanta last night -- and based on this video of the brawl ... they should consider a name change, 'cause there was no love here at all.

Erica Mena and Bambi Richardson -- of 'L&HH: Atlanta' fame -- were taken to jail alongside 'L&HH: Hollywood's' Zellswag ... where they all posed for mug shots and got booked on a slew of charges, ranging from obstruction of law enforcement to battery on a police officer.

Mena is the only one being charged with attacking a cop, BTW ... Zellswag is facing a simple battery and obstruction charge, while Bambi was just charged with obstruction.

As for what the hell happened here, Atlanta PD says they got a call to respond to the Lucca Lounge Friday over a dispute between some patrons and the security guards ... and when they arrived, the officers claim all hell broke loose as they tried deescalating the situation.

APD claims the patrons -- who ended up being Mena, Bambi and Zell, plus a male pal of theirs -- became combative ... and that much seems to be clear in the clip TMZ obtained.

You can see officers trying to rip people off each other ... as others in the lounge rush over to get involved. It looks like some black-shirted security guards were in the mix as well -- all this while Usher's "Nice & Slow" plays loudly. Nothing nice or slow about this, though.

Nicki Minaj fans are on the hunt for "Stephanie Bell," who has a warrant for arrest after allegedly swatting the rapper, but lots of folks with the same name are getting caught in the crossfire.

Here's the deal, Stephanie Bell just isn't the most unique name, and ever since Nicki name-dropped her alleged harasser ... everyone with that name is taking it on the chin, at least on social media.

Some of the Stephanies are coming forward to air their grievances.

One wrote, "I've never been so angry at another Stephanie Bell. You're f***ing it up for all of us.." and another said, "Why y'all still in my inbox."

For what it's worth, some Stephanie Bells online know all about Nicki, but not about her swatting issue ... so, they're pretty confused about why the Barbz are swarming.

BTW, it doesn't sound like anyone getting dragged is the real Stephanie in question ... at least, not yet.

As we reported, law enforcement sources told us Bell, who Nicki put on blast Wednesday, is facing 2 charges of deliberately reporting a false emergency.

We also confirmed there is, indeed, a warrant out for her arrest, as Nicki claimed.

TMZ broke the story, cops told us the attempted swatting occurred in June, with an anonymous caller claiming child abuse was going down at Nicki's L.A.-area home.