TMZ Hip Hop - Page 50

Travis Scott had permission from the GOAT to shoot visuals for his newest track ... getting a personal blessing from Michael Jordan to make it happen at his famous Illinois mansion!!!

Cactus Jack just dropped his new hit, "FRANCHISE," with Young Thug and M.I.A. this week ... and His Airness' Highland Park home is heavily featured in the music video.

TMZ Sports has learned ... 29-year-old Travis -- who takes pride in his creativity -- thought the NBA legend's $14.8 MILLION pad would be the perfect set for his vid ... so he hit up MJ to get his approval.

We're told the decision was a complete no-brainer ... with Jordan giving his thumbs-up "without hesitation."

The connection is pretty organic -- Travis has released several signature colorways for the Air Jordan 1, 4 and 6 sneakers via his lucrative deal with Nike ... and has been loyal to the Swoosh for years.

As for the video, the place is recognizable off the rip -- the "23" being displayed at the gate is a dead giveaway.

On top of that, the indoor court's "Jumpman" logo featuring MJ's kids' names is seen during the vid ... as well as the epic backyard with pool and putting greens.

And, good news for those who fell in love with the house from the video -- it's currently for sale!!

Talk about good advertising.

DaBaby's alleged beating victim says he's on the verge of possibly needing back surgery to fix nerve damage ... this according to the man's lawyer.

Anthony Werbin of Downtown L.A. Law Group is repping Cristofher Pocasangre, and tells TMZ his client's now suffering through structural damage to his back and spine ... on top of previously diagnosed nerve damage from the incident with the rapper.

The lawyer says Cristofher has unbearable pain on a daily basis since DaBaby allegedly put a beatdown on him in a Bev Hills hotel last December. He's also getting injections to his back to help ease the pain ... according to Werbin.

If Cris's pain continues, Werbin says he might need to get back surgery in the next couple of weeks.

We got a photo of the alleged injuries ... and though it looks minor on the outside, Werbin says the internal injuries are excruciating. On top of that, Pocasangre claims the incident took an emotional toll on him, saying he was embarrassed and humiliated after the video started circulating on social media.

To that point, Chris' lawyer says friends have been taunting Chris for not standing up for himself against DaBaby. Truth is ... he says he was scared when it all unfolded.

As we reported, Pocasangre sued the rapper -- who he says used to be his fave artist -- claiming DB went on a violent rage when he snapped a selfie with him.

Tory Lanez is making lots of enemies with his album release, slash denial about allegedly shooting Megan Thee Stallion ... because now he's also beefing with the boss.

Rick Ross and Tory exchanged jabs on social media Friday ... with Rick throwing the first punch by questioning the timing of Tory's new music, saying he thinks it shows a lack of respect for Black women.

Rick said Tory made a "poor decision" by ripping Megan the same week the cops who shot and killed Breonna Taylor were not charged with murder. Ross says it's not the way to address allegations about shooting a Black woman, and he reminds Lanez, "we gotta respect these sisters."

Tory just responded, saying he marched 9 days in a row protesting Breonna's death in Miami and didn't see RR in the streets once. He also rips Ross for plugging wine companies in his initial diss, saying Rick also made a "poor decision."

As you know, lots of people are coming at Tory right now ... before Ross, NBA player J.R. Smith called Lanez a "clown" and a "lil ass boy" in response to mentioning his name on the album, and KeKe Palmer's also pissed.

Adding fuel to the fire, TMZ broke the story ... Megan's team is accusing Tory's reps of orchestrating a smear campaign against her ... which Tory's camp denies.

Megan Thee Stallion's got more beef with Tory Lanez ... her camp is accusing him of launching a smear campaign against her as retaliation for her accusing him of shooting her.

Megan's team alleges Tory's camp is creating fake emails in an effort to plant false stories about MTS in the media. Her attorney, Alex Spiro, tells TMZ ... "We have been made aware of manipulated text messages and invented email accounts that have been disseminated to the media in a calculated attempt to peddle a false narrative about the events that occurred on July the 12th."

TMZ has received some of the allegedly doctored texts and emails to which Spiro is referring.

For instance, Megan's camp claims Tory's reps sent one to several media outlets posing as a promoter at LIV Nightclub in Miami. The email falsely claims her management at Roc Nation influenced the plaintiff in a lawsuit filed against Lanez, claiming the rapper went on a menacing attack in the club.

Roc Nation denies any involvement in that lawsuit.

Another email, from a phony Gmail account, pointed the media to a YouTube video of a man claiming to be Tory's ex-bodyguard, who said he'd never seen the rapper get violent with women. However, he also admitted he had no clue what happened with Megan, because he wasn't there the night of the shooting.

As you know ... Megan is adamant Tory pulled the trigger and shot her during the wee hours of July 12 after a night of partying in the Hollywood Hills.

Tory had been silent about the incident until he released new music last night. In the lyrics, he accuses her team of "framing" him for the shooting, and also questions whether Megan was even shot at all.

A rep for Tory says they "strongly deny sending emails or otherwise creating a false narrative. The only commentary which has been made on this topic was the creative output on the album. We are investigating who could be sending these false emails and intend to take action against them.”

As for the shooting investigation ... our sources say police have the bullet that was taken from Megan's foot -- and you'll recall, she posted pretty gruesome pics of her injuries.

L.A. Lakers guard J.R. Smith is clapping back at Tory Lanez after getting DISSED on his latest album ... calling the artist a "clown" and a "lil ass boy."

A bit of a refresher -- the NBA vet was outspoken after Megan Thee Stallion accused Tory of shooting her in July ... saying, "This clown shoots a female and ya’ll listening to his music."

"TF Tory Lanez," J.R. added. "You a straight clown. Facts. And tell whoever to hit my line. It’s whatever.”

Fast forward to Thursday night ... when Tory addressed ALL accusations and negative comments made against him since the alleged incident -- including Smith's jab -- on his track, "Sorry, But I Had To..."

Here are the lyrics about Smith:

"J.R. Smith, it's the pot that piss ... And you the last cat that should talk about some shots that hit."

"'Cause your performance and percentage, player ... Rollin', ridin' benches, n***a, I'm from the trenches, n***a."

"You the type to buy a chick a eighty and ya still won't get a inch up in her."

Smith -- fresh off the Lakers' 114-108 win over the Denver Nuggets -- heard Tory's bars loud and clear ... and fired right back on his Instagram story.

"i got time today too! 🤣🤣," J.R. said. "bout to get real 🌶🌶"

There's more ... "He not even 30 stay in ya place lil ass boy."

"bust ya gun at a female you all types of 🤡"

FWIW -- 5'3" Tory also denies Meg's shooting claims ... but we know where Smith stands on that issue.

Tory Lanez finally broke his silence about allegedly shooting Megan Thee Stallion, but only in song -- he dropped a new record that includes a full denial.

The rapper released a 17-track album Thursday night called "DayStar," and nearly every song seems to be about the altercation with Megan back in July when they were out partying with Kylie Jenner in the Hollywood Hills.

Megan has accused him of shooting her, but Tory's basically calling her a liar on his opening track, "Money Over Fallouts." The lyrics include, "How the f*** you get shot in your foot, don’t hit no bones or tendons?"

He continues ... "How the f*** your team is trying to pay me in some whole millions? / 
I just lost like 10 million dollars because this cold business
 / But I got like 10 million followers that’s gon' roll with me / 
Fans that support me because they know my heart."

Along with poking holes in Megan's account of what went down between them on July 12, he suggests she's been influenced to lie about him. On other tracks, he hints that he hopes to speak with Megan again and even reconcile ... but also that he's moved on with a new GF.

Tory's new album also addresses rumors Kylie was the reason he and Meg were fighting that night -- a theory Megan's firmly denied. Still, Tory raps, "Me and Kylie still off in the pool / We was chilling, kicking s**t was cool / Both of us didn’t know you was tripping / Even though I got a crush on Kylie, I woulda left with you if I knew you was dipping, for the simple reason / You invited me, but I can’t act like shawty didn’t excite me."

Earlier Thursday, Tory apologized to his fans for his silence and implied he'd be opening up about things at 9 PM PT -- when his album dropped. Many thought he'd own up to shooting her and apologize. He went in the other direction.

After weeks of speculation and uncertainty about what went down back in July before police swarmed Megan and Tory's SUV and she walked out with bloody feet ... Meg flat-out accused Tory of shooting her in an August 20 video, stating she was tired of the lies from his side.

Megan said the 2 of them -- along with her friend and Tory's driver -- were all arguing in the vehicle after leaving Kylie's house in the Hills after 4 AM, and she tried to get out and walk home. That's when she alleges Tory started shooting at her out the window, hitting her feet.

As we've reported ... Tory was arrested for possession of a concealed weapon -- a handgun was under his seat -- and Megan was taken to a hospital and treated for a "gunshot injury."

Though Tory's finally broken his silence publicly on the incident, TMZ previously learned he'd texted Megan an apology about 15 hours afterward, saying ... "I know u prolly never gone talk to me again, but I genuinely want u to know I'm sorry from the bottom of my heart."

Justin Bieber and Chance the Rapper are feeling the love for their new collab ... so they're paying it back in the form of cold hard cash.

The Biebs and the Rapper just announced they're giving away a total of $250,000 Thursday on Cash App ... to people who've been affected by these hard times.

That's the only stipulation required to apply for their money, but they are encouraging folks to share their stories if they feel comfortable and drop their $cashtag and the hashtag #JBChanceHoly.

We know of at least one winner so far who received $500 ... she says her family home suffered damage during Hurricane Laura last month. Obviously, there's a lot more winners to be chosen.

"Holy" is Justin's new single featuring Chance, which has already racked up nearly 34 million YouTube views in a week since its release.

Just as the song was taking off last week ... Justin surprised a local youth gospel group working on a dance routine to his song by dropping by to show support.

Kodak Black is turning to Donald Trump for help ... he's begging the President to commute his prison sentence.

The rapper's attorneys, Bradford Cohen and Jonathan Schwartz, sent a petition to Trump, obtained by TMZ, asking the Prez to cut Kodak a break.

Kodak's camp has lots of reasons why Trump should commute his sentence ... Cohen points out Kodak was sentenced to 46 months behind bars in his federal gun case, and claims the average sentence for the same crime is 18 months.

As you know, Kodak's locked up in a maximum-security federal prison in Kentucky, but Cohen says it's not warranted ... he claims the Bureau of Prisons "erroneously" viewed Kodak as level 4 criminal history, paving the way for Kodak to be housed in a maximum-security facility. Cohen claims the judge only put Kodak at a level 2, which means he could be housed at a lower security prison.

Kodak's attorney's also argue he's being unfairly punished for assaulting a prison guard in Miami ... repeating their earlier claim that Kodak was set up and possibly drugged.

KB's legal team also claims he was punished twice for the incident with the guard in Miami ... Cohen says Kodak was only supposed to get a 6-month sentence, but instead ended up with year-long punishment, which has kept him in total lockdown since last September, resulting in no phone calls or visits from anyone but his attorneys.

Trump's also being asked to consider abuse Kodak's allegedly suffering in prison -- beatings at the hands of guards, religious suppression and mental abuse.

As we first told you ... Kodak's suing the Federal Bureau of Prisons for alleged torture and denial of access to a rabbi, which his attorney's claim is a violation of his constitutional rights.

Kodak's also hoping his good deeds go a long way toward swaying Trump ... Cohen cites the hundreds of thousands of dollars he's donated to charities over the years, including playing Santa, gift cards at Christmas, donations to underprivileged youth, helping folks in his neighborhood and paying for children's education.

It seems like a long shot, but there's this ... Cohen may have an in with Trump.

Dr. Dre's estranged wife had the gall to dip into a well-funded cookie jar not just once, but TWICE ... at least according to Dre's biz partner, who's now accusing her of grand theft.

Attorneys for Larry Chatman -- who co-founded Record One studio with Dre in 2015 -- just fired off another letter to Nicole Young ... accusing her withdrawing an extra $30,000-plus from the business account, despite no longer being legally authorized.

We already told you about the $353k Larry claims Nicole embezzled from the account in late August. The company accused Nicole of criminal conduct in draining the account and fired off a letter to that effect. After receiving the letter, Chatman says Nicole siphoned another $31,457, two days AFTER she was given the boot and removed in any official capacity.

In Larry and his attorneys' eyes ... that amounts to grand theft ... on top of the alleged $353k embezzlement from earlier.

And, yes, they're threatening legal action.

Nicole's attorney called their first accusation a "low-grade PR stunt" meant to embarrass his client and take the spotlight away from a recent lawsuit she filed against Dre himself ... in which she accused him of hiding assets she feels entitled to in the divorce.

Nicole's lawyer, Bryan Freedman, tells TMZ, "This is a clear attempt to smear Nicole's name.  As people are well aware, banks do not give out money to people who are not authorized to receive it."

This has become an epically-nasty divorce. Nicole claims Dre tore up the prenup she signed right before getting married. He calls BS on that. She also wants nearly $2 mil a month in temporary spousal support while the divorce winds its way through the legal system.

Cardi B and her sister are getting sued after labeling a group of beachgoers as "racist MAGA supporters" ... this according to a lawsuit.

Peter Caliendo, Pauline Caliendo and Manuel Alarcon are suing the rapper, her sister, Hennessy Carolina, and Hennessy's GF, Michelle Diaz, claiming they defamed them by labeling them as racist during a squabble at the Hamptons earlier this month.

In docs, obtained by TMZ, the plaintiffs claim they were enjoying their time at Smith Point beach with their families when Hennessy approached them with rage ... spitting, insulting and threatening them just because one of them was wearing a MAGA hat.

At the time, Cardi tweeted a video of the altercation ... saying her sister was getting harassed because she and her friend are an Afro-Hispanic gay couple.

The group also claims Cardi B, Hennessy and Michelle edited the video and posted it on social media to falsely paint them as racists. Cardi had posted a video later that day with audio apparently showing Hennessy explaining that someone in the group told her to go back to her country.

Hennessy's side of the story was they were targeted because they "saw us parking here and we were speaking Spanish and we're mixed."

Kodak Black's life has been a living hell at a federal prison in Kentucky due to beatings at the hands of guards, mental abuse and religious suppression ... so claims the rapper in a new suit.

Kodak's going after the Federal Bureau of prisons along with its director and the warden of the Big Sandy maximum security prison, claiming he's been tortured and had his rights violated ever since he was transferred there in October 2019.

According to the docs ... the rapper's transfer was a result of an altercation with another inmate while he was incarcerated at a Miami prison, in which an officer was injured.

Kodak claims Big Sandy guards put a "gang beating" on him shortly after he arrived, allegedly as retaliation for the injured Miami prison guard. He claims the guards "flicked" his testicles during the beatdown.

Since then, the rapper claims he's routinely punished and mistreated for no legitimate law enforcement reason, including being placed by guards in a backless paper gown on a 4-point restraint for more than 6 hours ... with no access to a bathroom.

According to the docs ... this has forced Kodak to urinate and defecate on himself while the guards make jokes. He claims medical records show that this treatment also resulted in his mouth bleeding, lacerations and vomiting.

There's more -- the Big Sandy prison guards are accused of placing Kodak on his knees execution-style in just his underwear while soaking wet, which he claims has caused him physical harm along with emotional distress and humiliation.

Finally, Kodak's legal team of attorneys Bradford Cohen, Robert Buschel and Jonathan Schwartz are following up on their threat to sue because the rapper is also allegedly being denied access to a rabbi.

According to the lawsuit, Kodak is a practicing Hebrew Israelite, but his requests to meet with a rabbi in order to faithfully practice his religion have fallen on deaf ears ... while he claims other inmates are granted access to clergy.

Like the rest of the world, Bobby Shmurda has little to no reason to celebrate 2020 -- because he's not getting out of prison just yet ... despite high hopes he would be paroled.

Law enforcement sources tell TMZ ... Bobby was denied parole after his interview with the Board last week. No reason was given as to why, but we're told he's almost certainly going to be held in custody until the very end of his max sentence ... December 11, 2021.

We know Bobby has NOT been helping his own cause while doing his time. Remember, the rapper racked up 11 violations, including drug possession, fighting and having a shank -- and good behavior clearly weighs heavily with the parole board.

As we reported ... he copped a plea deal back in September 2016 ... to conspiracy to possess weapons and possession of a weapon. The other charges -- including conspiracy to commit murder -- were tossed. Bobby was initially sentenced to 6 to 7 years in prison, and he's been in December 2014.

TMZ broke the story ... Bobby's mother told us her son was ready to drop new music if granted parole, and he also wants to produce a documentary about his life ... in the hopes it can be used as an educational tool for troubled youth.

That documentary's gonna have to wait a little longer.

A company Dr. Dre and his estranged wife founded together is accusing her of draining the primary business account dry and even criminal embezzlement ... just the latest sign of how nasty this divorce is getting.

TMZ has obtained a letter that was fired off to Nicole Young by attorneys for Record One recording studio, which Dre and Larry Chatman founded in 2015. Record One is operated by an LLC. Nicole was a trustee and signatory on the LLC's checking account.

The letter launches right into allegations of wrongdoing by Nicole -- claiming she "decimated" the company's bank account last month to the tune of $353,571.85.  Attorney Ed McPherson, who reps the LLC that operates Record One, attached the check Nicole wrote to herself.

The letter accuses Nicole of "blatant and unjustifiable criminal embezzlement of corporate funds," as well as a breach of her fiduciary duties.

Dre and his other partner demand Nicole return the cash they claim she jacked no later than a week from Tuesday ... otherwise, the attorneys say they'll be filing suit against her.

Remember, Nicole just accused Dre of pilfering assets ... which our Dre sources called BS. Nicole also claims the prenup she signed was under duress and Dre had a change of heart a few years into the marriage and ripped it up. Again, we're told Dre calls BS.

Kanye West enlisted a small army of signature gatherers in several states in order to make the presidential ballot, and even though he spent a fortune ... he still came up short in spots where he dropped a lot of cash.

According to a source at Let the Voters Decide -- the 3rd-party petitioning group Kanye's been using this summer -- the rapper's campaign paid them between $3.5 and $4.5 MILLION across 15 states to send workers out for John Hancocks.

We've covered many of the individual states where the group has been dispersed on Kanye's behalf, but we're told one of the biggest chunks of money went toward Arizona -- where Ye allegedly dished out $1 million to get 93,000 signatures -- only to have a judge bar him from the ballot anyway.

The same is true in Ohio and Virginia -- where our source says Kanye's campaign allegedly spent $325k and $300k respectively to gather signatures ... only to not make the ballot.

As we reported, Kanye also spent at least $30k with LTVD in Illinois -- and that ended poorly for him -- and though it's unclear what he spent in Wisconsin ... he's currently been booted from the ballot in that state too for missing a deadline by just seconds.

Of course, without paying big bucks to Let the Voters Decide, he likely wouldn't have made the prez ballot in states like Kentucky -- where we're told he spent $400k -- or Iowa, where he dropped $80k. He's currently made the ballot in 12 states.

BTW -- the bill keeps growing for Ye, because as you recall, he's already reported $6 million he's spent and disclosed in his first financial report with the FEC earlier this month, which outlined various disbursements to other companies to get him on various ballots.

So, it begs the question ... is it all worth it? Kanye's running as an independent, but many believe his campaign is being fueled by pro-Trump operatives and having his name on the ballot will mostly hurt Joe Biden. Ye denies he's working with Trump and co.

Lil Wayne is about to be another year older, so to celebrate ... his Young Money partner made him a new car owner, with a sweet little announcement about new tunes in tow.

As you might be aware ... Weezy's turning 38 next Sunday, but Mack Maine simply couldn't wait with his gift -- the guy literally pulled up on Wayne a whole week early just to make a special pre-bday delivery. It's a 2020 McLaren 720S ... apparently fresh off the lot too!

TMZ obtained video of the hand-off of keys, and you can clearly see how stoked Wayne is here. He even captured some video of his own and threw it up on the Gram in awe.

Wayne also took to Twitter to praise the early present, saying ... "So my brudda Mack just bought me a McLaren....!!!!!!....wtf!!!!!......'u know I ride for my MF *****' (my voise)." This ride did NOT come cheap BTW -- our sources it ran Mack around $400k, and lights up a different color when the sun goes down. So, yeah ... top-of-the-line custom for the label head.

But, wait ... there's more. Mack also came bearing some good news for music fans everywhere -- announcing that Young Money was putting a deluxe version of "Tha Carter V" on Friday. He was even slapping some of the tracks on the way over to the man himself.

The official version of 'C5' was released a couple years ago after Wayne was FINALLY able to free himself from contractual duties with Birdman and co. ... which kept the project shelved for years.

Kanye West has a new vision for what record deals oughta look like in the music industry -- and his guidelines are heavily in favor of the artist and making them money.

Ye tweeted several pillars that we guess would be in his own terms and conditions as a record label exec -- except, this is what he believes the biz as a whole should adopt STAT ... so artists can stop getting screwed and have an equitable share in the product they put out.

For starters, Kanye says the artists would automatically own the copyright to the songs and recordings they churn out for a label in his ideal world, and that they'd lease them to companies for a maximum period of time of just one year.

He also says the record label/publisher would NOT get the lion's share of any profits during that one year ... Ye thinks it should be split 80/20 in the artist's favor.

There's more. Kanye also thinks artists shouldn't need anyone repping them as they navigate their own deals -- as he feels if you're working in music, you should understand it from top to bottom, with no help. He also wants contracts to be written in plain English, not lawyer talk. He says lawyers are supposed to make things easier ... not convolute the process.

He goes on to say that artists deserve equity in the companies they partner with, and their songs and licenses should serve as stock in a way. Kanye also wants portals for artists to become a one-stop shop for all things royalties, deals, assets, songs, etc.