TMZ Hip Hop - Page 50

Jay-Z's latest hustle is big-time gambling ... he's signed on with some heavy hitters in a bid to open a sportsbook in NY, and the move could make him a pioneer in the billion-dollar industry.

TMZ has learned Jay's name is on one of the applications submitted to the NY Gaming Commission requesting approval for an online sports betting license. Sources with direct knowledge tell us he's partnering with his buddy, Sixers partner Michael Rubin, to form Fanatics Sportsbook, and they've teamed with Kambi ... a company that makes software used for online sports gambling.

Jay and Rubin's group is up against stiff competition ... including companies like FanDuel, DraftKings, BetMGM, Caesars Sportsbook and WynnBET.

We're told NY state will approve at least 2 of the 6 groups, and it's possible Jay-Z will be the secret weapon that puts his group over the top. Not only is he the most prominent public figure applying for a license, but he's the only Black applicant. While the other corporations might have Black employees or execs, they aren't the actual licensees ... whereas Jay would be.

You'd think the guy who rapped about his "Empire State of Mind" would at least have a leg up in his home state -- but there's probably a lot of politics at play too. The Gaming Commission has until December to make the call.

Sports gambling pulled in roughly $1.55 BILLION nationally last year, so it's easy to see why Jay and Rubin want in on the action. Our sources say their Fanatics Sportsbook will be headquartered in NYC, and Jay's already planning to hire a diverse staff -- race and gender-wise -- as he's done with Roc Nation.

Lizzo is once again batting off haters who have nothing but mean things to say about her -- but this time, it's truly gotten to her ... 'cause she's in tears on camera.

The singer went live Sunday and broke down over what she says is growing negativity aimed in her direction following the release of her and Cardi B's new song, "Rumors," which Lizzo says amounts to fat-shaming, racism and accusations of catering to white audiences.

Lizzo says that despite trying to put positive energy in the world through her music or posts or whatever, she feels like she oftentimes receives more hatred back than love ... and while she notes that she's got thick skin for that type of thing, it's weighing on her hard now.

She makes a valid point -- namely, that if you're not into her music or persona or anything else about her artistry, just change the dial to something else ... instead, however, Lizzo says she's been noticing people going out of their way to belittle her, and she can't make sense of it.

This is nothing new for her -- Lizzo's dealt with this type of hate since splashing onto the scene, and she's usually pretty good about telling people to kick rocks. She ends doing that here as well, but this video is truly a peek at how hard all the trash-talking is hitting her armor ... and heartbreaking, to say the least. Even Cardi felt compelled to speak up.

She writes, "When you stand up for yourself they claim your problematic & sensitive. When you don’t they tear you apart until you crying like this. Whether you skinny,big,plastic, they going to always try to put their insecurities on you. Remember these are nerds looking at the popular table." Other celebs have come to her defense as well, including Chloe Bailey.

Lizzo says she's going to start focusing on the positive and ignore hate messages she might read about herself on social media and elsewhere -- TBH, that sounds like a great idea.

Mike Dean had the whole music world thinking he might've abandoned ship on Kanye West's forever-delayed album -- but the guy says he seeing it through, despite some weird tweets.

The legendary producer and hitmaker was the subject of a lot of conjecture over the past 24 hours due to what people perceived as warnings signs that things were amiss between him and Ye ... and the whole creative process behind "Donda" -- which still isn't out yet.

Mike had tweeted things like "F*** IT" ... and later responded to a fan who suggested Kanye's entire rollout for this is unhealthy by saying, "Toxic. That's It." He was also posting photos of himself outside, and people took that to mean he'd finally escaped KW's bunker.

After rumors swirled that he peaced out and left "Donda" behind ... the dude finally cleared the air, telling followers that he hadn't quit anything -- and that work on the album continues.

As for all the "toxic" stuff ... Mike has also since clarified that he's mostly talking about incessant fans who are badgering him about the release date, suggesting they themselves are the toxic ones. With that said, he also seems to think the Mercedes-Benz Stadium air might be a little poisonous too, and is just happy to be stretching his legs a bit.

BTW, Mike hasn't been held hostage there by any means -- he's made a point to address that as well in recent weeks.

Still, it has been a long and arduous journey to get this record out -- and there doesn't seem to be any end in sight at this point as Kanye continues to hole up in the stadium and burn the midnight oil to tinker with the final product. This, of course, after TWO listening events.

During the latest offering this month, Kanye was seen talking to someone on the phone ... right in the middle of the performance. Dean said it was actually him Ye was talking to ... apparently, over some sort of mixing request, Kanye wanted addressed then and there.

Tory Lanez's surprise appearance at Rolling Loud better have been worth it for him, because it's landed him in hot water with prosecutors who are now going after him in court, claiming he violated a court order to stay away from Megan Thee Stallion.

Sources with direct knowledge tell TMZ ... prosecutors have filed a motion to hold Lanez in contempt for violating the restraining order that was issued in his ongoing criminal case.

You'll recall, Lanez was charged with felony assault for allegedly shooting Megan in the foot last summer. The restraining order requires him to stay clear of Megan.

We're told the prosecutors believe Tory's guest appearance during DaBaby's controversial set at the Miami hip-hop festival last month violated the judge's order, because he got within 100 yards of her.

Our sources say prosecutors have filed legal docs asking the judge to either revoke Tory's bail -- which could land him in jail pending trial -- or at the very least increase his bail.

And, our sources also say prosecutors believe Tory and DaBaby attempted to rush the stage while Megan was performing.

A source close to Tory told us he never saw Meg at the festival nor did he ever get physically close to her.

Nicki Minaj and her husband, Kenneth Petty, are being sued by the woman he was convicted of trying to rape in 1995, who claims she's being harassed ... especially after declining Nicki's offers to change her story.

The woman, Jennifer Hough, was the victim in Petty's 1995 conviction for first-degree attempted rape -- the reason he has to register as a sex offender. You'll recall, he was charged with not registering and recently took a plea deal.

Hough claims in new legal docs, obtained by TMZ, Nicki and Kenneth have directly and indirectly harassed her and threatened her to not speak about the incident, and she says they've inflicted emotional distress upon her as a result.

According to the docs ... Hough says this started after Petty and Minaj began dating in late 2018, with Minaj allegedly making comments about how Petty was "wrongfully accused" and claiming Hough had recanted her story back then ... something she denies.

Then, in March 2020 after Petty was arrested for failing to register as a sex offender ... Hough claims Minaj called her and offered to fly her and her family to L.A. in exchange for recanting her rape claims against Petty and helping him out.

Hough says she declined and within days, she and her family "suffered an onslaught of harassing calls and unsolicited visits." Shortly after, she claims Nicki had people reach out to Hough's brother and offer a $500k payment in exchange for a statement recanting her rape allegations against Petty.

According to the docs ... Hough says this was followed by Nicki sending lawyers to her home to try to pressure her into recanting her story, and she began to panic and feel unsafe because she was being harassed at home.

After one more alleged cash bribe offer of $20k and another alleged threat to her safety, Hough says she moved from her home in August 2020 ... and continues to live in fear.

She's suing Nicki and Kenneth for intentional infliction of emotional distress, harassment and witness intimidation ... as well as suing Petty for sexual assault related to the 1995 conviction.

High school hoops star Amari Bailey is now part of the OVO family ... 'cause Drake just hooked him up with an incredible iced out chain of his jersey number!!

Of course, Bailey's mom, Johanna Leia, is currently dating the 6ix God ... and the couple has showed up to the young hooper's games together recently to show support.

The 17-year-old is certainly reaping the benefits of his mom dating the biggest rapper on the planet -- showing off his brand new piece on Instagram.

The bling has a #10 pendant -- his Sierra Canyon jersey number -- infused with all types of colored diamonds ... and the famous owl logo of Drake's OVO brand.

Bailey clearly loves the gift -- he's been posting videos and pics showing off the piece.

It appears Bailey has braced himself for the haters, captioning his post ... "Insert comments below pt.2🤣🤣🤣🔟🌊"

If you forgot, the Toronto rapper was spotted -- by ABC7's chopper -- having a fancy dinner date with the UCLA commit's mom at Dodger Stadium last month.

We found out it was actually a thank you from the Dodgers for Drake's huge donation to their charity ... and the couple had already been together for months.

Eminem's ex-wife, Kim Scott, was hospitalized following a suicide attempt during which she became combative with law enforcement ... TMZ has learned.

Law enforcement sources tell us ... police and emergency workers responded to a call of a suicidal person at Kim's home in Michigan on July 30.

We're told when they arrived, Kim was so combative she had to be restrained by deputies ... and was so violent, paramedics were unable to check her vitals.

Our sources say it appeared Kim had cut herself, as she had several small lacerations on the back of her leg and a good amount of blood was on the floor.

Kim was rushed to a hospital for both medical and psychological evaluation, but is now back at home and is recovering. It's unclear if she's getting additional care.

Nicki Minaj's husband is taking a plea deal that could seriously lighten his punishment for failing to register as a sex offender in California ... TMZ has learned.

According to docs filed by federal prosecutors ... Kenneth Petty has agreed to plead guilty to one count of failing to register, and in return, the feds say they will seek a sentence at the low end of the guidelines.

The judge will ultimately determine exactly what Petty gets, but in the docs -- obtained by TMZ -- the feds note the mandatory minimum sentence is 5 years of supervised release.

If you're wondering why Petty took the deal ... consider that the maximum sentence he could have faced is 10 years in prison with a lifetime of supervised release. He still might end up getting some time behind bars depending on how the judge weighs Petty's criminal history.

You'll recall, Petty was charged back in March 2020. He had moved to Cali with Nicki the previous year, and the feds said he never registered with local authorities as a sex offender -- something he was required to do because of a 1995 conviction in NY for first-degree attempted rape.

A Kanye West fan tried to join the show during the rapper's second "Donda" listening event ... but got taken down by security before he got too close.

About midway through Ye's performance Thursday night at Atlanta's Mercedes-Benz Stadium -- his second in as many weeks -- a man dressed in orange breached security in the stands and made a break for the stage.

As the guy made his way through the large crowd of backup dancers, that's when a security guard came out of nowhere with the big tackle. Unfortunately, it looks like he may have been injured in the collision.

While we hope the guard's okay, the fan was apprehended by several other guards after the take-down and hauled away. However, it seems police were not involved because we're told they have no record of the incident.

As we told you ... Kim Kardashian and all their kids attended the "Donda" listening party 2.0, which was supposed to lead up to the public release of Kanye's 10th studio album after already being delayed.

Turns out, the second time around yielded the same result, as of Friday 7:30 AM PT ... "Donda" is still not out.

Kim Kardashian and all of her children are showing just how much they love and support Daddy ... they're back in Atlanta for Kanye West's encore "Donda" album release.

Kim and their kids -- North, Saint, Chicago and Psalm -- are on the East Coast yet again to attend Ye's second event at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in 2 weeks in anticipation of the release of his 10th studio album ... scheduled for Friday.

Kim and the kids are dressed head to toe in Balenciaga, which sorta makes sense ... the creative director behind the event is the head of Balenciaga.

We're told some family friends are also with Kim -- including KKW's Chief Marketing Officer Tracy Romulus and her kids -- to celebrate the rapper's momentous occasion.

Worth noting -- our sources say this is not some sign that Kim and Kanye are getting back together ... the divorce is still happening, but the family support remains strong.

As we first told you ... Kim and the family were also in attendance on July 22 when Kanye first debuted "Donda" ahead of its initial July 23 release date. It never came out, though ... thus his need for round 2.

Our sources say the plan is for Kayne to put a new twist on the second album release event ... which looks like it may involve transforming into a supervillain.

Then again, as Khloe recently told us ... only Kanye truly knows what's in store.

A boxing super-fight between Blueface and Tekashi 6ix9ine is NEVER gonna happen ... so says Blueface himself, who tells TMZ Sports the controversial rapper is simply too chicken to step in the ring with him.

Remember, the "Thotiana" MC showed he's got some hands after taking down TikToker Kane Trujillo -- and a spectator who invaded the ring -- at BKFC 19 last month.

When we ran into Blueface at The Highlight Room this week, we had to ask if his rival Tekashi could be his next big opponent ... and the guy shut that idea down FAST.

"He ain’t gonna take that, bro." Blueface tells us. "He wouldn’t take that if his mom was on her deathbed and it was her last breath and she said, 'Tekashi just fight Blueface and they’ll give me a new heart.'"

"He still wouldn’t do it."

Of course, there's quite a bit of history between the two -- Blueface recently called Tekashi a "snitch" for allegedly getting his Instagram account deleted ... as a result of their back-and-forth over the LA native's tattoo shoutout to his favorite jeweler.

Long story short, Tekashi accused Blueface of owing NYC Luxury money due to the ink ... something the tattoo artist flat-out denied.

So, if 6ix9ine's out, who will it be?? We asked if Blueface would take a fight with Jake Paul ... and he doesn't shut it down, saying, "It doesn't matter who it is, bro."

Something tells us Tekashi's gonna get wind of this and want to respond.

Lil Yachty's posted up with Kanye West inside Mercedes-Benz Stadium, and from the look of things, Yachty's vibing on "Donda" ... while Ye's morphing into a supervillain.

The "Hit Bout It" rapper paid Kanye a visit at his makeshift ATL home ahead of the second "Donda" listening party set to go down Thursday evening -- and Kanye was wearing his usual full head cover, plus a jacket covered in giant spikes!

Seriously, looks like something from the "Suicide Squad" wardrobe.

Yachty's the latest rapper to visit him inside his quarters at the home of the Atlanta Falcons. Chance The Rapper and Vic Mensa have also popped in to see Kanye.

Apple's launched a stream for viewers to "Watch Kanye finishing Donda in Atlanta," but it's intentionally muted the entire time ... which is why you can't hear any sound coming from the video Yachty posted.

As we reported ... Kanye and co. had been trying to figure out how to make this experience different from the first, which as we first reported, broke the Apple Music Global Livestream record with 3.3 million viewers.

T.I.'s still super chill about his recent bust in Amsterdam ... which he's now calling "a slight kerfuffle" with a dash of "lost in translation."

We got the rapper and his wife, Tiny, Wednesday as they returned to the States, flying into LAX. We asked him to shed some light on the run-in with cops in the Netherlands, and he said the whole thing was a slight miscommunication.

That checks out, 'cause T.I. says he didn't even realize he was talking to a cop! He says the guy's dialect -- a mix of Dutch and English -- totally threw him off.

All good though ... T.I. didn't seem stressed about it then -- he posted video while in custody -- and still doesn't now, saying all's well that ends well.

As we reported ... Tip said he was riding a bicycle when his handlebar broke off the side mirror on a cop car. It's still unclear how the collision happened ... and T.I. couldn't recall any further detail when we asked at LAX.

Moments after he was released, T.I. he went on Instagram Live and chalked up the whole to the cop having a bad morning.

Khloe Kardashian isn't letting on if she has the inside scoop on whether Kanye West will actually release "Donda" this week ... but she still has his back no matter what.

Khloe was at The Grove in L.A. Wednesday with her daughter, True, and mom, Kris Jenner -- along with nieces and nephews Chi, Psalm, Dream and Stormi -- for what led to a rather large ice cream order.

We asked Khloe if Kanye's upcoming 10th studio album's finally coming out Friday -- after already being pushed a couple weeks -- and her answer's pretty telling.

Still sounds like it could go either way, as far as she knows, but she tells us he's family ... so she'll be supporting him no matter what.

Ye's holding a second "Donda" listening event Thursday night in Atlanta in anticipation of the updated August 6 release date, with plans to make it different from the first.

As you may recall ... the initial release date was scheduled for July 23 and he packed ATL's Mercedes-Benz Stadium the night before to debut the album, but it was never made available to the public.

T.I. says cops in Amsterdam busted him over a bike incident involving an officer -- but he says they never put handcuffs on him, and he's already out of jail after posting bail.

The rapper recorded a video Tuesday while he says he was in custody in Amsterdam. According to T.I., he was riding his bicycle and didn't stop when crossing the street. He says instead ... he kept going and his handlebar broke off a cop's side mirror.

What are the chances??? Still, Tip's taking it in stride ... you can tell in the video, it's probably the chillest anyone's ever been while dealing with the police. He says the cops were chill too, and escorted him to the backseat of their car without ever taking out their cuffs.

It seems he was quickly released ... 'cause T.I. later went on Instagram Live and said he wasn't even tripping about the incident. When a friend of his called the incident "bulls**t" ... T.I. quickly responded saying it wasn't and that "everybody has a bad morning."

Some fans sitting outside a nearby joint recognized him and asked for a picture. The rapper pulled up and sat right next to them and ordered drinks.

DaBaby's finally doing a mea culpa ... he's apologizing for the third time over his homophobic rant that led to him getting 86'd from various music festivals and his hit song with Dua Lipa being dropped from playlists.

The rapper apologized with a lengthy statement Monday saying he's educated himself and knows better now following the vile comments he made at the Rolling Loud festival in Miami. He said, "I want to apologize to the LGBTQ+ community for the hurtful and triggering comments I made. Again, I apologize for my misinformed comments about HIV/AIDS and I know education on this is important. Love to all. God bless."

The rapper suggested he's a victim of high-speed social media, saying, "Social media moves so fast that people want to demolish you before you even have the opportunity to grow, educate, and learn from your mistakes. As a man who has had to make his own way from very difficult circumstances, having people I know publicly working against me -- knowing that what I needed was education on these topics and guidance -- has been challenging."

He went on to thank those who came to him "with kindness, who reached out to me privately to offer wisdom, education, and resources. That’s what I needed and it was received."

As we've reported ... Lollapalooza organizers yanked him from Sunday's lineup. Ditto for the UK's Parklife festival ... swift action was taken after DaBaby went on stage at Rolling Loud and said, "If you didn't show up today with HIV/AIDS or other STDs that'll make you die in 2-3 weeks" and "Fellas, if you didn't suck a n***a d**k in the parking lot."