TMZ Hip Hop - Page 50

Dr. Anthony Fauci's urging to "lay low" for Super Bowl weekend didn't get to Tory Lanez or a few hundred others partying hard in Tampa ... with zero distancing or masks.

The rapper held a pre-Super Bowl soiree Thursday night at WTR Pool in Tampa where fans packed in and swarmed around the stage where Tory was performing -- loudly singing along to his hits.

What pandemic, right?

Now, Tory's event isn't the only game in town when it comes to crowded parties -- and everyone knows Florida's been wide open for months. Even though it was held outdoors ... health officials have insisted for some time now that even while outdoors, social distancing and face coverings are essential.

It's interesting though ... promotions for the bash noted, "Social distancing and mask guidelines will be strictly enforced as per city guidelines."

As we reported, Dr. Fauci urged Americans earlier this week to cancel Super Bowl LV parties ... fearing nationwide super-spreading events.

Cardi B says it's hard to do TikToks, but she appears to be right in her element joining the latest craze -- the Silhouette Challenge.

The rapper shared her entry late Wednesday night, which starts with her walking into frame wearing a kimono with her hair in curls ... and revealing a stripper pole in the background.

As those who are familiar with the challenge know -- as a mash-up of Paul Anka's "Put Your Head On My Shoulder" and Doja Cat's "Street" plays ... the beat drops, screen goes red and it's sexy silhouette time.

Cardi, of course, was a stripper before she was famous, so even though she claims this challenge was challenging ... she nailed it.

Floyd Mayweather says he's ALL THE WAY DOWN to scrap with 50 Cent -- telling the rapper to get in line and he'll beat his ass at the end of 2021.

The 43-year-old boxing legend just laid out his schedule for the year ... assuring his fans the postponed exhibition bout with Logan Paul will DEFINITELY happen before the end of the year.

But, Floyd also touched on other boxing challenges ... and responded to 50 Cent who went on V-103's "The Morning Culture" last week and said he'd love a crack at Floyd.

Remember, 50 expressed concern that Floyd is too small and wouldn't agree to a catchweight -- since Floyd usually fights at 150 lbs and Mr. Cent is closer to 180.

Now, Floyd says size doesn't matter one bit -- he'll happily accept 50's challenge.

"I also heard that 50 cent would fight me but claims I'm too small," Floyd said on IG ... "If he wants to lace up at the end of the year we can do an exhibition then."

"I don't care about weight class with any of these guys. The Paul brothers will make great money with the events, but with 50 cent It has to be Winner Takes All.'"

WHO WOULDN'T PAY TO SEE THAT?!?!!

There's more ... Floyd also says he's down to fight Logan's little bro, Jake Paul, but only if he defeats his upcoming opponent, Ben Askren, when they face off in April.

Also on the schedule, 43-year-old Mayweather says he plans to take another exhibition fight in Tokyo -- just like he did back in 2018 when he beat the dog snot out of undefeated kickboxer Tenshin Nasukawa.

A champagne company in which Drake's heavily invested claims it got screwed by a distributor that's treating its luxury product like cheap booze ... and it thinks "racial bigotry" is involved.

Mod Selection is suing the retail store Total Wine & More for allegedly conspiring with the distributor Southern Glazer's Wine & Spirits to destroy the brand ... and claims the distributor was downright racist when it came to marketing the champagne.

According to docs, Mod entered an agreement with Southern in 2018, but claims the distributor failed to market the high-end champagne the right way ... and it all comes back to the famous rapper.

Drake -- who's not suing or being sued, but is described in the suit as an investor and brand ambassador for Mod Selection -- was holding a bottle of it on stage in 2019 when he accepted his Billboard Music Award for Best Male Artist.

In the docs ... Mod says Drake permitted the company to use his name, image and likeness to promote and market their champagne, but Mod claims Southern Glazer damaged that relationship when it "repeatedly subjected [Drake] to browbeating and dismissive treatment."

Mod claims Drake considered this treatment to be motivated by "racial bigotry" ... and says he was also angry Southern marketed Mod as a "black" or "rapper's" champagne ... suggesting racial insensitivity. Attorneys for Mod tell us they have texts from Drake calling out Southern.

All of this led to Southern terminating its deal with Mod in 2019, but Mod alleges the distributor twisted the knife one last time ... by dumping its remaining Mod supply at Total Wine & More locations for as low as $49-149 per bottle -- when it should be selling for $300-400.

Drake's high-powered attorney, Larry Stein, says he doesn't know if Drake sent angry texts to Mod Selection -- but says he's been involved in all the negotiations and had no idea Mod was even filing this lawsuit.

Lil Wayne can display this next to his platinum albums and Grammy Awards ... his official pardon letter signed by former President Donald Trump.

The rapper's Presidential pardon was filed last week in federal court in South Florida, where Weezy pled guilty in December to a gun charge that could've meant serious time behind bars ... IF Trump hadn't come through for him.

The doc, obtained by TMZ, is embossed with the official seal from the Department of Justice and, of course, Trump's John Hancock.

As you know ... Lil Wayne received the pardon from Trump on his last full day in office. Tunechi was scheduled to be sentenced in March for illegally possessing a loaded weapon on a private jet.

That sentencing's off the books now with the pardon ... which came a few months after Weezy endorsed Trump for Prez.

Bad Bunny .... OFF THE TOP ROPE!?!

That's right ... the Puerto Rican rap star busted out a frog splash at the Royal Rumble, screwing over two WWE superstars in the process.

... and it was pretty awesome!!!

Here's the deal -- Bad Bunny was booked to perform his hit song "Booker T" (with the WWE legend Booker T) at Sunday night's Royal Rumble.

But during the show, he got into it with WWE superstars The Miz and Morrison -- who pitched Bunny on a musical collaboration.

Bunny shot those guys down ... and they responded by trashing Bad Bunny's DJ's gear before the Rumble started.

You following this? Okay, great.

During the Rumble, Bad Bunny decided to charge the ring to get even with Miz and Morrison -- but security stepped in and got in the way.

But, the chaos distracted Miz and Morrison for JUUUUUUST long enough -- allowing wrestler Damian Priest to toss M&M out of the ring, eliminating them from the match.

While they were down, Bunny climbed to the top rope and busted out a frog splash -- hitting both of his newfound enemies in the process!

Bunny's jump was actually pretty impressive compared to other celebs who've tried it ( ... lookin' at you Snoop).

Pretty cool moment for Bunny, who's a known wrestling fan --  who once had Ric Flair in one of his music videos.

50 Cent says there's one guy he'd love to punch in the face -- Floyd Mayweather -- but he doesn't think Floyd would ever agree to throw down.

Everyone knows the backstory ... 50 and Floyd used to be super tight -- but they've had SEVERAL falling outs over the years and it seems like the relationship is still fractured.

So, when 50 appeared on V-103's "The Morning Culture" show Friday and was asked who he'd like to square off against in a celebrity boxing match, it wasn't too shocking when the rapper dropped Floyd's name.

"I'd fight Floyd," 50 Cent said ... adding, "I don't think I can make weight though."

50 pointed out Floyd usually fights around 150 lbs -- and the 45-year-old rapper says there's just no way he can slim down to match Floyd's weight.

50 claims the last time he dropped to 150, "I looked like a homeless person."

Instead, 50 says he thinks he could fight at 180 lbs ... which is closer in weight to Floyd's next opponent, Logan Paul, who fights around 190 lbs.

Let's get serious ... everyone would watch Floyd vs. 50 -- especially since 50 has real boxing training under his belt and reportedly stays in solid shape.

Remember, the two used to be super tight -- 50 famously walked Floyd to ring when he fought Oscar De La Hoya back in the day.

But, they've since beefed about everything from Floyd's reading skills to 50's financial situation ... and the hatchet appears to be far from buried.

One might say Mark Cuban's got a baby shark on his hands -- his 11-year-old son got in on the Robinhood craze, but in just one day he learned some tough lessons.

The "Shark Tank" star joined us on "TMZ Live" Thursday and told us all about his fam's newest trader, Jake, who was flying high Wednesday, when he opened his Robinhood account and picked up a couple shares of AMC and BlackBerry.

Mark says Jake was riding high as he turned his first trades into seemingly easy money -- but like millions of investors, Thursday morning turned into a learning experience for him.

Pop had to break it down for Jake -- what goes up sometimes comes way down. Like, way down.

Fortunately for Jake, his father is a billionaire, so this lesson won't cost him everything -- he only invested about $100, anyway. But, watch the clip ... Mark taught his son something else about how to react when a stock you like suddenly plummets.

Stock school aside, Jake is ticked off about Robinhood shutting down trades -- and Mark told us why the free-trading app has some explaining to do.

Megan Thee Stallion recently sounded off about Tory Lanez allegedly shooting her, and now he wants to level the playing field, and speak his mind.

A judge had ordered Lanez to keep his lips sealed about info he gets from prosecutors in his case, and also barred him from contacting Meg on social media -- but in a new court filing he says that's totally unfair.

In the docs, Lanez says it's unfair Megan is able to say whatever she wants ... while he is basically prevented from defending himself.

Lanez says he is particularly miffed about what went down last week, when erroneous reports began circulating that the charges against Tory were dropped.

Megan responded on social media, saying ... "AT THIS POINT IM GETTING ANNOYED! STOP BELIEVING EVERYTHING YOU READ ON THE MF INTERNET. Imagine how I feel waking every day seeing people LIE and turn my trauma into a joke? That whole team figures out ways to create doubt with my story every week and the media eats it up."

According to Lanez ... Megan falsely insinuated he and his legal team had something to do with the bogus reports, therefore maligning their integrity.

Megan also commented, "I can’t wait until the MF FACTS come out! Bitch you shot me AND MY STORY NOT CHANGING AND BITCH YOU GOING TO JAIL."

According to the docs, Lanez claims there's evidence refuting Megan's side of the story -- including "evidence of gunshot residue implicating others" -- but because of the protective order ... he's not able to disclose any of it.

Tory's also worried about optics -- in the docs he worries his silence might make it look like he's conceding what Megan says is true. So, he's asking the judge to modify the gag order against him.

Kanye West's cooking up something with his futuristic foam footwear ... with a little spray.

A Yeezy employee was spotted outside Ye's Calabasas office Monday spraying on what appears to be a new Yeezy Foam RNNR Ararat prototype. It's unclear what exactly the employee's trying to accomplish, but the sole's getting the bulk of the spray. Non-stick spray? Who knows.

Either way, this is the first look at Kanye's new Adidas RNNR prototype ... 7 months after the foam shoe's first release.

Some of Kanye's biggest pals have been seen wearing the Foams ... including Justin Bieber on a yellow Vespa and his wife, Hailey, during a recent shopping spree with Kendall Jenner.

Even though the shoe was soundly ridiculed when they were first released, they've made a killing on the resale marked ... going for as much as $800. The retail price was only around $100.

Lil Wayne wasted no time getting back to stuntin' after he received a pardon from President Trump ... and it looks like he was enjoying the hell out of his free pass.

Tory Lanez says Tunechi was on set to help out with his music video for "Big Tipper" the very next day after Trump pardoned the rapper in his federal gun case.

In the clip Lanez shared, Lil Wayne's in a hot pink getup, flashing serious ice on both wrists, smoking and vibing to the music. Oh, and that's all with a nude model in front of him on a table.

As we reported ... Weezy was facing serious time behind bars after pleading guilty in federal court last month to illegally possessing a loaded weapon on a private jet.

Trump's pardon -- on the heels of Wayne endorsing Trump for President -- let him off the hook for all that, though ... which cleared his schedule for music vid shoots like the one with Lanez.

Tory gushed with all sorts of appreciation for Weezy coming through for him ... after Trump came though for Weezy.

Kodak Black was in a giving mood when he promised to donate a million bucks toward charity if Donald Trump freed him from prison ... but it looks like he might be going back on his word.

The rapper's account tweeted back on November 27, "If The President Them Free Me, I'm Gonna Spend 1 million on Charity within The First Year I'm Out. That's on Everything."

As you know ... the Prez did commute Kodak's sentence last week, along with 142 other people he either pardoned or freed from prison, but now Kodak's tweet has been deleted.

We broke the story ... just because Trump commuted the rapper's sentence for a federal crime, does not mean he's protected against prosecution for state crimes, which is exactly what he's facing in South Carolina.

Kodak's accused of forcing himself on an 18-year-old woman in a hotel room after a Feb. 2016 concert -- allegedly raping her and biting her -- and prosecutors in the state have vowed to "aggressively" go after him in their pending case.

Maybe Kodak's waiting to see how that all pans out before he starts giving away the mil -- but, even if that's the case, why delete the tweet? Regardless, social media's already set a reminder for him ... with several users and bloggers questioning his intent.

Kodak Black is getting out of federal prison thanks to Donald Trump, but prosecutors in South Carolina are still ready to aggressively pursue a sexual assault case against him.

The rapper was indicted in South Carolina on a felony charge of first-degree criminal sexual conduct ... and prosecutors tell us they still plan on pressing the case against Kodak until he cops a plea deal or there's a trial.

Ed Clements, the 12th Circuit Solicitor in Florence County, tells TMZ ... their pending case against Kodak from 2016 has been disrupted by COVID -- jury trials are suspended and there's no court date scheduled -- but prosecutors still want to "aggressively" go after Kodak.

As we reported ... Trump commuted Kodak's 46-month sentence for making a false statement on a federal document, so he's getting out after serving half the time.

But, here's the catch for Kodak ... Trump commuting his sentence for a federal crime has NO impact on cases in state court, like the one he's facing in South Carolina, and Clements says it's full steam ahead.

Prosecutors in S.C. claim Kodak forced himself on an 18-year-old woman in a hotel room after a Feb. 2016 concert, allegedly raping her and biting her neck and right breast ... according to legal docs obtained by TMZ.

Kodak's attorney in S.C., Beattie Ashmore, tells us, "Aggressively prosecute? It’s been four years. That speaks volumes. Kodak was on bond and on tour for two years before his federal case even began. Ed’s a very fine and experienced prosecutor and I look forward to once again speaking with him about this case. It’s been awhile."

President Trump came through for Lil Wayne with a full pardon that gets him off the hook for a gun charge that could've meant serious prison time, and rapper Kodak Black also got clemency with a commutation of his sentence.

Wayne's pardon announcement included a statement of support by Brett Berish of Sovereign Brands, who described him as "trustworthy, kind-hearted and generous." The pardon statement then reads, "Mr. Carter has exhibited this generosity through commitment to a variety of charities, including donations to research hospitals and a host of foodbanks."

Deion Sanders, also a supporter of the pardon, referred to Lil Wayne as "a provider for his family, a friend to many, a man of faith, a natural giver to the less fortunate, a waymaker [and] a game changer."

Weezy's pardon came just hours before the sun set on Trump's Presidency ... and it's just one of a stack of pardons, including Kodak Black. Black, who was sentenced to 46 months in prison for making a false statement on a Federal document, served nearly half his sentence.

The pardon statement notes he has been charitable in various ways, "such as providing educational resources to students and families of fallen law enforcement officers and the underprivileged." It goes on to note KB has provided funding to daycare centers, helped with food banks and worked with underprivileged children. And, the statement notes Kodak donated $50k to Dave Portnoy's Barstool Fund, which provides financial assistance to struggling businesses in the wake of COVID.

Wayne endorsed Trump in the final days of the 2020 election campaign -- posing for a photo, talking up Trump's criminal justice reform efforts and his proposed "platinum plan" to benefit the Black community.

With the pardon ... Weezy no longer has to worry about his federal gun case. As we reported ... he pled guilty in federal court last month to illegally possessing a loaded weapon while traveling to Miami on a private jet a year earlier.

He hadn't been sentenced, but faced the possibility of up to 10 years. That's all in Wayne's rearview mirror now.

Snoop Dogg is trying to sway President Trump to free Death Row Records co-founder Michael 'Harry-O' Harris from an attempted murder conviction ... but the clock's ticking.

During the presidential transition, Snoop's been secretly lobbying Trump to commute Harris' sentence and the rapper even enlisted Alice Marie Johnson to bolster his case ... according to The Daily Beast.

Harris, who started Death Row Records with Suge Knight way back in 1992 and helped sign Snoop and Tupac to the label, is serving time on attempted murder and drug charges at California's FCI Lompoc.

Supposedly a changed man, Harris has been incarcerated for nearly 30 years ... and he's not supposed to get out until at least 2028, unless Trump steps in.

Snoop's reportedly gotten Trump's attention ... Alice Marie says Trump, Ivanka, Jared and White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows all know about Harris' case. Remember, Kim Kardashian helped Alice get her life sentence commuted by Trump.

What's remarkable about Snoop's effort here is that back in 2017 ... he made his hatred of Trump perfectly clear in his "Lavender" music video by pulling a fake gun on a Trump lookalike in clown makeup.

So, this could be an uphill battle for Snoop to get Trump to see things his way. There's a long list of candidates for potential pardons with less than 24 hours to go in Trump's presidency ... so stay tuned.

Gucci Mane and Tyga are among a throng of celebs living it up like the pandemic has long been defeated ... partying at a huge maskless rager in Miami.

Gucci and Tyga were seen partying over the weekend at a 150-person bash in the 305. The shindig was apparently held in the backyard of ex-"Real Housewives of Miami" star Lisa Hochstein and her plastic surgeon husband, Lenny Hochstein.

Some of the other celebs there included Lil Pump, Scott Disick and Lil Baby. You can see from the videos there wasn't a mask in sight for the private party/concert being held for Electric Feel label founder Austin Rosen. Post Malone and 24kGoldn are among Rosen's artists ... Post wasn't at the party, but 24kGoldn was in attendance.

Guests were encouraged to wear their masks while not drinking and eating ... and they were also supposed to practice social distancing but that clearly didn't happen. And, get this ... according to the NY Post, which first reported the story, guests were on a so-called "honor system" to get tested for COVID before attending the party.

Hochstein told the Post, "We offered the backyard of our home to a friend that wanted to plan a last-minute get together. They were required to hire private security and cap the capacity at 150 people." She went on to say guests were also temperature checked and they were only allowed access to the outdoor space surrounding the house.