TMZ Hip Hop - Page 50

Freeway Rick Ross is giving Tory Lanez some hot tips on how to survive in prison ... saying that having a bodyguard is critical while detailing one of Suge Knight's clever maneuvers to stay safe.

We caught up with the former drug lord at LAX Friday, and he didn't pull any punches when it came to discussing Tory's recent transfer from the local L.A. jail to a California state lockup. As you know, Tory is serving a 10-year sentence for shooting Megan Thee Stallion in the foot.

Ross - who spent nearly 15 years in prison for his crimes -- says he feels sorry that Tory is incarcerated in state prison with some really bad dudes, but he wishes him well.

He says Tory might run into some issues while he's there because he's no longer with his usual clique; instead, he's rubbing elbows with gang members.

Ross warned Tory about getting involved with any gang, explaining he would be forced to take care of the members by getting into potentially violent situations.

He says Tory's successful background in music is going to be his "biggest detriment" because other inmates are going to hit him up for money all the time.

The ex-con turned book writer also advised Tory to pay $300 a month for an inmate bodyguard to shadow him at California Correctional Institution in Tehachapi.

And, finally, Ross encouraged Tory to follow Suge's lead and buy TVs for his fellow inmates to get into their good graces. Suge is currently serving a 28-year sentence for involuntary manslaughter.

Mario believes he belongs among the greats ... making a case for why he says he should be on R&B's Mt. Rushmore with the genre's greats.

TMZ Hip Hop engaged in a friendly R&B debate with the "Let Me Love You" singer in Bev Hills this week, and gauged his picks for R&B's Mt. Rushmore. You'll remember, T.I. just did the same sort of list for the trap rappers.

For Mario, the first two names came easily ... the late, great King of Pop, Michael Jackson, and the Renaissance Queen herself, Beyoncé. Then, Mario throws his own hat in the ring with an explanation of why he says he belongs.

Mario says he absorbed tons of different genres and styles from his mother and grandma growing up that bled into his own platinum-selling career.

He tells us his fourth pick would be Whitney Houston in all her glory but isn't beholden to just picking 4 artists ... he'd add Usher and Chris Brown to that rock in a heartbeat.

Mario was recently spotted in the club celebrating Offset's album release -- and posted up next to a sign that read "R&B Royalty" ... he's not removing his crown any time soon!!!

Mario also drops some advice ... saying R&B stars should focus on making timeless music as opposed to chasing hits if they want to survive.

If it wasn't for music, Rick Ross could've been a damn good basketball player ... at least, that's according to famed NBA shooting coach Lethal Shooter, who tells TMZ Sports the rapper's got the goods on the court!

Lethal -- real name Chris Matthews -- came to the conclusion after working with the "Hustlin'" artist earlier this month before he had to take a private jet to Las Vegas.

Matthews spent about an hour with the celeb ... and he was so impressed with Ross' work ethic, he said the dude could've been "elite" on the hardwood if he had chosen ball over hip hop.

"As soon he got out of the car, he didn't waste any time," Matthews said of Ross. "He was looking to train. He only took two breaks. He wanted to learn."

Matthews, of course, didn't say an NBA career would've been in Ross' future if he had picked basketball at a young age ... but he explained to us the 47-year-old could've potentially made it as a college hooper if he wanted.

"I feel like people don't realize Rick Ross is pretty tall and anything that somebody put their mind to, they're capable of," Matthews said.

"What I saw from somebody, the age that he's at, that he was learning so fast I think he could've been capable at a young age to play at an elite level as far as high school and college."

Matthews knows a thing or two about A-listers with hoops skills ... he's trained a bunch of celebs over the years -- and told us guys like Future and Mark Cuban have some underrated games.

"When I was training Mark Cuban a few months back," Matthews said, "I felt like you can tell at a young age he was one of those guys that was always gonna bring it on defense, always gonna bring the intensity."

When the 38-year-old is not helping celebrities with their jump shots ... he's going nonstop at giving back to his hometown Washington D.C. -- telling us he recently donated $18K to three different schools in the DMV area.

Westside Gunn is working his best to calm the nerves of his fans worried after he announced his latest album will be his last.

The Griselda rapper tells TMZ Hip Hop fans shouldn't get it twisted ... he's still dropping music -- it just won't be in the multi-song format like he just did with "And Then You Pray For Me."

His last project boasts 21 tracks with everyone from hip hop megastars such as Rick Ross and Jeezy to hungry new jacks like Peezy and Travis Scott deflector KayCyy.

Gunn says in turn, he'll be focused on releasing singles tailor-made to fit the public's needs and also put the possibility of having EPs exclusively produced by RZA and Alchemist out in the air.

He refers to the new project as "art" ... as a one-of-kind painting Virgil gave him before his 2021 death is used for the album cover and says fans will benefit by him dropping more music without the album wait time.

Offset didn't hold any expenses in helping Cardi B celebrate her birthday, gifting his wife 3 new crocodile Birkin bags ... a disgusting gesture as far as PETA is concerned.

PETA Vice President Lisa Lange fired off a scathing statement to the couple Friday, writing, "Instead of using his wealth and influence for good, Offset chose to funnel hundreds of thousands of dollars into a gruesome, violent industry that electroshocks crocodiles, shoves metal rods into their heads in an attempt to scramble their brains, and mutilates them while they’re still alive."

Lange feels Offset and Cardi are out of touch, adding, "PETA reminds everyone that people who still spend their money on a closet full of dead animals’ body parts either are clueless or simply don’t care about the extreme cruelty they’re perpetuating—it’s just not worth it."

PETA says they learned of the heinous treatment of reptiles through research and an internal investigation sprawling across Asia, praising luxury brands like Chanel, Burberry, HUGO BOSS and Vivienne Westwood for correcting their practices.

Cardi's birthday celebration continued last night as a dual party for Offset's new album "Set It Off" where she fed the crowd burgers ... which is another issue for the animal rights org.

Drake's wallet will be a whole lot fatter if Logan Paul eviscerates Dillon Danis on Saturday ... 'cause the rapper just placed a massive, $850,000 bet on the WWE superstar to score a knockout victory!!!

The "God's Plan" crooner put down the money on The Maverick on Thursday ... revealing he'll get back $1.35 MILLION if Paul comes through.

Drake said he's backing Paul because of all of the trolling Danis has done in the leadup to their much-anticipated boxing match -- which has included a slew of digs at Paul's fiancée, Nina Agdal.

"Never bet against personal vendetta and settling scores," he said of the wager on his Instagram page.

Paul was clearly happy to have Drake in his corner ... he tweeted in response to the bet, "Easy money."

Danis, meanwhile, was pretty pissed, writing in a statement of his own, "850 on my head is disrespect."

It all, of course, nearly didn't happen ... as on Thursday morning, Danis threw a microphone at Paul that opened up a gash near the YouTuber's right eye. Fortunately for fans of the fight, Paul said it didn't do too much damage, and the match is still on.

Offset's long-awaited album "Set It Off" has finally dropped … and he celebrated with a club bash blowout featuring Cardi B as the ultimate hype woman!!!

TMZ Hip Hop obtained footage from inside Offset’s album release party Thursday night at Poppy in West Hollywood. Cardi got the crowd amped as she dished out tequila shots.

However, Cardi wasn't about to let fans drink on an empty stomach … passing out heaping helpings of Shake Shack for the crowd. Cardi was definitely having a good time, at one point spilling some of the drink all over herself.

R&B star Mario was also in the building, and Bronny James was spotted soaking up the album.

Cardi told fans she's a big fan of the Don Toliver-featured track “Worth It,” and we’re told that will be the album’s next single ... always good to keep wifey happy.

Outside the club, the raunchy couple turned up to their “Freaky” duet — Cardi’s second "Set It Off" album contribution in addition to the previously released “Jealousy.”

Lil Yachty is giving a whole new meaning to the phrase "expensive taste" ... the star rapper just got fitted with a pair of custom veneers, worth a cool $1,050,000!!!

Lil Boat unveiled his new chompers Thursday ... the latest artwork from Thomas Connelly, D.D.S., the Bev. Hills dentist renowned for working with a ton of other celebrities such as Post Malone, Shaq, Odell Beckham, and others.

We're told Angel City Jewelers provided the diamonds ... 16 carats to be exact, complete with 4 custom-cut stones.

Yachty's had a pretty stellar year, he's featured on Drake's new album, and he just earned a rave review from Donald Glover for his "Secret Recipe" collab with J. Cole.

Jada Pinkett Smith is gushing about her love for Tupac Shakur again, but this time she's using language that feels like a slight against Will Smith -- the husband she hasn't really been with for 7 years.

The actress is set to release her tell-all memoir, and on Thursday, spoke to Christal Jordan for RollingOut ... and called the late rap icon her one true "soulmate," despite 19 years of marriage to the Fresh Prince.

Jada's reason for never getting romantically involved with Pac is simple, at least to her -- she claims they didn't have any chemistry.

Even more confounding, Jada told Christal ... Pac had proposed marriage to her -- she turned him down, but ya gotta wonder why he was asking someone to marry him if they had zero chemistry???

Jada did explain she feels a "soulmate" isn't about romance.

Earlier this week, the longtime Hollywood couple revealed they actually called it quits on their marriage in 2016 -- splitting up in every way, but legally -- leaving fans confused about why they kept up public appearances.

Not to mention, totally putting Will's Oscars slap on Chris Rock in a new light!

Jada's been unearthing her personal Pac memorabilia in the public eye for years -- which, for a lot of people, felt disrespectful to Will.

She claims all the questions will be answered when her book, "Worthy" drops on Oct. 17.

Druski is more than happy to publicly discuss his finances -- as he recently did at the Forbes annual Under 30 Summit -- but he is steering clear of any convos about Birdman ... a sign there's no peace between them.

ICYMI, Birdman got at Druski first for his swiping at Drake's new album -- even before he took Joe Budden and Gillie Da Kid to task for their critical opinions about "For All the Dogs."

So, during the Forbes event in Cleveland, Forbes Assistant Managing Editor Steven Bertoni asked Druksi for an update on the Birdman dust-up, and Druski quickly hurried him along ... murmuring they were "good" under his breath but his uneasy body language said the total opposite.

Birdman's been nipping at Druski's heels all year for what he perceives to be "disrespek" on the Cash Money name ... the viral comedian's "Coulda Been Records" has too many similarities for the music mogul's comfort!!!

Rudolph Isley, the singer known as one of the founding members of The Isley Brothers, has died.

The iconic singer passed away Wednesday in Illinois, TMZ has learned. The cause of Rudolph's death is currently unclear, though one person involved tells us it's believed he suffered a heart attack.

Rudolph started singing at a young age in his local church and created The Isley Brothers with his siblings Ronald, O'Kelly, and Vernon when he was just a teenager.

After Vernon was tragically hit by a car while riding his bike at just 13 years old in 1955, the brothers moved to New York to record music ... signing with RCA Records a few years later and debuting with their first song, "Shout" -- arguably one of their most significant tracks.

While the group was still in its infancy, Rudolph married Elaine Jasper in 1958 ... living the married life while the Brothers all went on to garner success with tracks like "Twist & Shout," "This Old Heart of Mine," and "It's Your Thing."

Despite Ronnie often taking the lead in the group, Rudolph got to record lead vocals for some of their songs, too.

As the years went on, The Isley Brothers grew -- adding younger brothers Ernie and Marvin and Rudolph's brother-in-law Chris Jasper into the mix in 1971.

Rudolph left the group in 1989 to carry out his goal of being a Christian minister, but he reunited with the group over the years. They were even inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1992 ... being given the award by fellow music legend Little Richard.

The group has been cranking out tracks for over half a century -- something many groups can't come close to -- with more recent songs like "Busted" and "Contagious" after Rudolph left.

They also made it into some popular rap hits ... being sampled in Ice Cube's "It Was a Good Day" and Notorious B.I.G.'s "Big Poppa."

Rudolph was 84.

Boosie Badazz is feeling like Coach Prime these days ... or at least he'd love to slip on a pair of his shine-blockas to protect him from all the haters coming after him lately.

That's the theme Boosie's operating with for his new video "Deion Shades," which he released on Thursday ... taken from the deluxe edition of his latest album, "Goin' Thru Some Things."

On the track, Boosie calls out rats and snakes with a barrage of sports references ... "I want my son around the best/This that Brady talk/My mind in everyone mouth ... I need Deion's shades!!!"

The shades are indeed a hot commodity ... Deion recently gifted all his Colorado players their own pair ahead of a big game that went on to be etched in history.

The Louisiana rapper also pays homage to Ja Morant ahead of his NBA comeback ... posting up next to the signed #12 jersey the maligned All-Star sent him a couple of months ago.

Plies is adding his two cents on the Israel-Hamas war ... wondering out loud why Americans -- and all humans, in general -- simply don't have empathy for ethnic groups other than their own.

The "Bust It Baby" rapper approached the topic Thursday, but was admittedly walking on eggshells ... well aware saying anything about the current Middle East crisis could open him up to all sorts of criticism.

Plies says he sees the same patterns in Americans' reactions to the Israel-Hamas war as he did with the Russo-Ukrainian war -- people care just enough until they think the U.S. is providing too much aid.

He then asked why each ethnic group in America can't feel the pain of, or show concern for, another group -- whether that be Whites to Blacks, Blacks to Jews or Mexicans to Greeks.

Plies's point is everyone is lousy at caring about any group besides their own ... and it's glaring!!!

Celebrity responses to the latest war have been constant ... Kim Kardashian, LeBron James and Justin Bieber have all spoken out and received mixed reactions ... which Ja Rule told us is par for the course.

Unlike Plies, the "Pain Is Love" rapper thinks everyone does have empathy during these sorts of international conflicts -- but he says they might bite their tongues, publicly, until they're more informed.

Kanye West is reportedly pissing off the people of Italy again ... and this time it's local war veterans angry over his past remarks celebrating Hitler and the Nazis.

Here's the rub ... the rapper is supposedly in secret talks to hold a concert to build a huge event stage at the RCF Arena in the city of Reggio Emilia, according to the Daily Mail.

While no plans have been set in stone, word got around town that 80,000 fans are planning to show up at Kanye's possible gig, infuriating some of the Italian war veterans who fought against Nazis during World War 2, sources told The Mail.

The vets are bitter about Kanye's comments last year, lavishing praise on Hitler and the Nazis. You might recall ... Kanye sat for an interview with conspiracy nut Alex Jones on his show, "Infowars," and made some jaw-dropping remarks.

Kanye said, "I see good things about Hitler ... Every human being has something of value that they brought to the table, especially Hitler."

When Jones argued the other way, Kanye replied, "They did good things too, we are gonna stop dissing the Nazis." At another point, Kanye stated, "I like Hitler.

In a separate interview with Piers Morgan, Kanye doubled down on his antisemitism, blaming Jews in the music industry for his ugly feelings toward them.

Taylor Swift's world premiere of her "Eras" tour film wouldn't be complete without friendship bracelets galore ... and the singer's parents joined in on the fun with her biggest fans -- which included Flavor Flav!

Scott and Andrea Swift were all smiles at the big premiere of their daughter's epic concert movie Wednesday night at The Grove in L.A. -- Andrea was spotted trading and having fun with a fan throughout the night.

Andrea couldn't help but give the Swiftie a hug after getting the accessory from them, which said, "I love you mama thank you so much" ... and she made sure to return the favor by finding a bracelet to give right back.

One of the many celebs who showed up was big-time Swiftie, Flavor Flav -- after snapping a pic with Taylor's pops, they got into the bracelet trading biz, too ... with Scott giving Flav a "Papa Swift" one that apparently is NOT for trading.

Flav gave Scott one to keep all for himself, too ... even double-checking that it'll stay on his wrist!

This isn't the first time Flav has met Taylor's 'rents -- as we reported, the rapper gave them big hugs at her SoFi Stadium concert back in August, and he was decked out in friendship bracelets there, too.

Scott even gave him some sweet guitar picks to pass out to the crowd.

Taylor Swift certainly knows how to draw a crowd -- proving it once again at her movie premiere -- by bringing out a ton of her fans and celebrity friends as well.

Taylor shut down the famous The Grove shopping center in Los Angeles Wednesday for 2,200 fans, but it felt more like a red carpet premiere once celebs started to show face.

As for the guest list -- Beyoncé, Flavor Flav, Simu Liu, Adam Sandler and his kids, Julia Garner, Mariska Hargitay, Maren Morris, Loren Gray and more.

Unsurprisingly, Taylor's fans were eating it all up ... going nuts outside the venue as their favorite singer posed for pics, shared quick stories, signed autographs and did plenty of smiling and waving.

TMZ broke the story ... Taylor had 14 theaters rented out at the AMC location at The Grove and each was packed. Once inside, fans were obviously treated to the movie, popcorn in 'Eras Tour' buckets, drinks, candy and even some face time with Taylor herself.