TMZ Hip Hop - Page 50

Megan Thee Stallion's entourage might need to learn the rules of the road track when it comes to media etiquette at a Formula 1 event -- at least according to this driver-turned-reporter.

Check out this interaction between Sky News' Martin Brundle (an ex-racer himself) and Meg, whom he bum-rushed while she and her posse were striking their way across the grid at the U.S. Grand Prix Sunday ... where all the cars and pit crews were hanging out on the ground-level, and where camera crews were rolling ... with journos on the hunt for interviews.

In the middle of their live coverage -- which was getting broadcast on ESPN -- Brundle noticed MTS making her way through the commotion, and tried getting an impromptu one-on-one chat with her ... which he sorta successfully did, if only for a short while.

He asks her if she has any "rap for us today on Formula One" ... and she laughs, saying no -- she didn't have anything for him. Brundle pressed further, asking who she was rooting for.

Before Megan even got a chance to respond, some dude in her crew swooped in from behind and pushed Brundle back ... apparently telling him he "couldn't do that."

Well, old Martin had a helluva comeback to that ... saying that not only can he do that, but he just did. OHHHHHHH!!!! The irritated look-back from the blond assistant is classic too. 😆

There are different reactions to this ... some say MB shouldn't have gotten in her space like that. However, others say she (and her team) shoulda known it's fair game in the F1 world ... especially from Martin, who's a vet in the biz and well-known figure -- not a random pap.

Snoop Dogg's mother, Beverly Tate, has died ... this according to her own son.

The rapper broke the news Sunday, posting a tribute to her on Instagram and writing ... "Thank u god for giving me an angel 🕊 for a mother 💖🙏🏽🌹💝 TWMA." There's another post where he thanks his mom for having him. A cause of death wasn't revealed.

SD's father, Vernell, also confirmed the news ... and he too asked for prayers, noting the family needed it now more than ever.

Ms. Tate had been hospitalized earlier this year for undisclosed reasons -- Snoop had asked his fans send good vibes while his mother was in the hospital. He later updated folks by letting them know she was "still fighting" and had opened her eyes ... but didn't mention much else specifically.

Clearly, they were close. Snoop attributes a lot of his good qualities to how she raised him -- even recently disclosing that she was the one who encouraged him to apologize to Gayle King over his comments in response to her Kobe Bryant remark last year.

Beverly had two other sons by Vernell ... and raised the family in Long Beach, CA. She brought Snoop up in a church environment -- something he still alludes to this day.

Drake's birthday comes just before Halloween, so he combined the 2 Saturday night for a big costumed-themed bash that was all about the cartel!!!

The party went down on a gigantic sound stage at Goya Studios, and all sorts of folks showed up in costume. Now 35-year-old Drake dressed up as a cowboy/kingpin ... complete with a leather fringe jacket and the obligatory hat.

As for who showed up ... Offset, Jack Harlow, Larsa Pippen, Kawhi Leonard, Luka Sabbat, Future, 24kGoldn and many more of his famous pals.

Oh, and of course ... Drake's dad, Dennis Graham.

Drake was joyful as his friends and fam belted out "Happy Birthday" at the Chico Amante-themed bash. FYI ... the translation of Chico Amante is lover boy. A nod to his latest album, "Certified Lover Boy."

Sisqo is giving Drake some sage advice on how to deal with doppelgängers ... he says it's best not to drag them to court.

We got the "Thong Song" singer in New York City this week and asked him what Champagne Papi should do about his imposter down in Miami who is going clubbing all over South Beach.

Sisqo's a bit of an expert in this particular area ... remember, he infamously dealt with a lookalike back in 2017, when the imposter was able to score all sorts of perks at New York Fashion Week.

The Drake impostor recently cropped up in Miami, and he's been getting tons of attention.

Sisqo says whenever Drake finds the guy's true identity, it doesn't do a lot of good to sue him ... a departure from Sisqo's original reaction to his own impostor.

Despite threatening legal action back in the day, Sisqo says he never followed through with a lawsuit ... after finding some common ground with the fake Sisqo.

NBA YoungBoy is about to get out of jail as he awaits trial in his federal weapons case ... TMZ has learned.

The rapper's attorneys, Drew Findling and Andre Belanger, tell us bail has finally been set for YoungBoy, but he has not yet been released. The judge gave him two options -- put up $1.5 million worth of property or $500k cash.

TMZ broke the story ... YoungBoy was busted in Los Angeles back in March on a federal warrant, with the FBI taking him into custody using a K-9 unit after he allegedly attempted to evade a traffic stop.

After the L.A. arrest, YoungBoy was transported to Louisiana and booked into a jail in St. Martin Parish, where he's remained behind bars.

NBA YoungBoy was previously indicted by a grand jury on charges of possessing a firearm as a felon and possessing a firearm not registered to him. The indictment came 12 days before he was busted in Cali.

Drake's got enemies, got a lot of enemies, but Montrezl Harrell is NOT one of them ... so says the hooper, who claims their heated exchange that led to a technical foul was nothing more than friendly banter.

After the Raptors spent 2020-21 playing home games in Tampa, Drizzy was finally back courtside in the 6ix for the season opener on Wednesday ... and it went from 0 to 100 real quick in the 2nd quarter when the rapper appeared to get in a verbal spat with Harrell.

The Wizards forward was T'd up as a result ... and gave refs a piece of his mind as the Raps' Fred VanVleet nailed the tech free-throw.

Despite what it looked like, Harrell says there's no bad blood with Drake ... clearing the air in a postgame interview.

"Me and Drake was laughing," Harrell said. "There was no problem. Me and Drake cool. We even talked after the game."

Harrell claims he was having a chat with Drake when a Raptors coach got involved in the exchange ... and when the 27-year-old clapped back, he was hit with the tech.

Harrell will be fined $2,000 for the alleged worst behavior ... but he wants the penalty thrown out after explaining his side of the story.

"I need me money back," Harrell added.

"That definitely shouldn't of been no tech. If so, you gotta give it to me and the coach."

At the end of the day, Drake's antics didn't work -- the Raptors lost, 98-83.

Snoop Dogg celebrating old school music and style is nothing new, but Snoop doing that for his 50th birthday is -- and everything about his party was true to the game ... including his badass surprise gift.

Snoop, decked out in a tuxedo, top hat and fur coat -- led the fashion parade for the bash at his Inglewood compound. Guests like Jamie Foxx, Usher, Nelly and T.I. were rocking their own styles that screamed old school playas ball.

The man himself was over the moon about the gift his family delivered to the party -- a fully restored 1955 Chevy Impala.

Snoop was grinning from ear-to-ear when he slid behind the wheel of the new copper whip with matching interior.

Inside the party, with more than 300 of his closest friends, Snoop got on the mic for a little bit ... but mostly got to enjoy comedic and musical performances from other people.

Not all of Snoop's pals could make it to the party -- Martha Stewart posted a 50th birthday message for her partner in pot culture ... and it was fully lit. Complete with a shoutout to Bic lighters. Naturally.

BTW, even before last night's event -- which kept rockin' to the early morn -- Snoop had treated himself to another sweet ride.

Lil Nas X is getting his own special day in Atlanta ... the city just declared a day in honor of the "Industry Baby" rapper.

The Atlanta City Council is behind the move to proclaim Oct. 20 as "Lil Nas X Day" ... and they just surprised Nas with a plaque commemorating the special honor.

ATL says LNX is shaping the city and the world with his "artistic influence and transformative influence" ... mostly through his super-popular songs.

Lil Nas X got the plaque Wednesday night at a special dinner at The Gathering Spot ATL ... and it was presented by city councilman and mayoral candidate Antonio Brown, the city's first Black LQBTQ+ council member.

Nas has deep connections to the city ... he was born and raised in the Atlanta area.

Kandi Burruss, Todd Tucker and Miss Lawrence were among the celebs on hand to see Lil Nas get the special honor.

Rick Ross says that his weed-smoking and overall health have changed for the better -- and it's all because of a hemp business he's gone all-in on ... which sounds revolutionary.

We got Renzel on "TMZ Live" Wednesday to talk shop about his latest business endeavor -- a company he calls Hemp Hop ... which, as you can probably tell, is a play on "hip-hop." It's a CBD biz, that also dabbles in hemp products ... especially when it comes to toking.

Check out the interview to see what we mean here -- RR tells us that ever since he ditched tobacco-laced blunt wraps and swapped them for hemp papers and other CBD spinoffs ... he's seen vast improvements to his well-being, visibly notable in his dramatic weight loss.

Rick explains why this new source is a miracle-worker ... beyond just blazing up. He's right, BTW -- CBD is used for so many things these days -- and is a great alternative medicine.

Speaking of healing ... Rick says the CBD products that Hemp Hop offers has even helped him with seizures he's suffered from over the years, so you're hearing it straight from the man himself -- this stuff works, and he's got it available to the masses with this new upstart.

Speaking of being a boss ... we had to ask about Rick setting his son up with his own Wing Stop franchise -- which is an empire that runs in the family ... one that Rick's been invested in for years and years now.

He tells us he's just trying to get his boy into the habit of running things early -- and what better way than getting him on the ground floor with something that's already in Ross's portfolio.

Dr. Dre's divorce has been extremely contentious, and something happened Monday that punctuates the bitterness ... a process server for his ex-wife attempted to serve him with legal docs at the cemetery where he buried his grandmother.

Sources with direct knowledge tell TMZ ... Dre was at a Los Angeles cemetery Monday to put the woman who helped raise him in her final resting place.

There's a dispute over where exactly Dre was confronted by the process server. Sources connected to Dre tell TMZ ... a process server came up to him at the burial site as Dre was standing by his grandma's casket and tried serving him. Sources connected to Nicole Young tell TMZ ... Dre was served in the cemetery's parking lot after the burial.

Either way ... we're told Dre recoiled in anger and wouldn't take the documents in hand. Our Dre sources claim the process server dropped the documents by the gravesite. Our Nicole sources say they were dropped in the parking lot.

The papers involved payment of Nicole's attorney's fees. There's a dispute over how much he was supposed to pay. The music mogul paid $325,433.  The judge signed an order that he owed a total of $1,550,000. Dre believes that amount is in error and he paid the full fee. Nicole says the order is clear ... Dre owes a balance of $1,224,567. The legal docs that were served included the judge's final order of $1,550,000.

Either way ... this divorce is about as acrimonious as it gets.

Ye is turning more heads in NYC than normal by covering his entire face with a mask that even he would have to admit is ... just beyond the pale.

The artist formerly known as Kanye West is strolling around the Big Apple in your standard-issue ball cap, shades, Balenciaga leather jacket -- oh, and one of those rubber or latex masks he's been wearing a lot lately!!!

This one is super light-skinned, though, to put it lightly. Hell, who we kidding? It's downright Caucasian.

Ye is even wearing something around his neck to keep the same skin tone from his head to chest. He did miss a spot -- from the back, you can see his real skin.

No one really knows what the hell he's up to with these masks. As we first reported, he's filed to trademark "Ye" for use on designer COVID-19 face masks, but we figured that was more akin to the surgical style masks we've been wearing since early 2020.

The full masks might be COVID-safe, but it's gotta be hot as hell in there. If Ye can make these things popular, there's nothing he can't do!!!

Megan Thee Stallion and her BF are celebrating one year together by looking back, and it's clear her guy is enjoying the rearview ... a lot!!!

MTS just dropped a photo dump on her Instagram to mark her one-year anniversary with rapper Pardi Fontaine -- 10 glorious shots of them grabbing ass and having a blast.

In the first pic, Megan's holding a cocktail with her butt, and Pardi is taking a big ole sip ... yes, they look like one fun couple.

There's also pics of Megan hugging a shirtless Pardi below the waist, a mirror selfie with his hands all over her butt and a snorkeling photo where he's posing like he's about to take a big ole bite of her ... um, peach.

It's not all hot shots ... Megan also posted some wholesome content of them dressed to the nines, taking selfies in cars and there's even a piggyback ride outside a private jet.

Kanye West knows a business opportunity when he sees one -- which is why it looks like he's jumping into the face mask game ... and slapping his new name on it, front and center.

The rapper/producer/designer's company filed legal docs to trademark the "Ye" for use on "sanitary masks for protection against viral infection." However, it sounds like these might be slightly more stylish than the blue medical masks ya find at CVS.

In the docs, there's also a reference to branding "fashion masks" with the same moniker -- and knowing Kanye ... they'll likely be elaborate, and chock-full of the Yeezy aesthetic.

We've seen a lot of Kanye lately in varying types of masks, but more recently, they've looked like they were part of a Halloween costume.

The news comes on the heels of the guy legally changing his name to Ye ... sans any last name or anything else. A judge recently signed off on his request -- which means Kanye Omari West is now a thing of the past ... even though folks will probably continue to call him that.

Goodbye, Kanye Omari West ... hello, Ye.

Kanye's name change is official, a judge just signed off on the mogul's petition to officially change his legal name to "Ye" ... according to new legal docs obtained by TMZ. Ye won't have a middle or last name either, just straight to the point.

The judge's approval comes just under two months after we first reported on Kanye filing legal docs in Los Angeles asking a court to give him a new moniker.

He's gone by "Ye" as a nickname for years and years now ... but now the shortened version of the name that's on his birth certificate is what Uncle Sam, and apparently everyone else, will be calling him going forward.

Kim still has "West" in her own surname ... even using it on her recent "Saturday Night Live" hosting gig ... so it will be interesting to see if she keeps it around as their divorce proceeds. However, our sources had previously told us she'll hang onto the name just like the couple's kids.

Drake might wanna reconsider the hatred he reportedly had for his 'Degrassi' character being in a wheelchair -- because lots of kids in wheelchairs actually felt validated thanks to his portrayal.

Madeline Robinson, executive director of Wheelchair 4 Kids, tells TMZ ... she hopes the rapper knows his role as Jimmy Brooks on 'Degrassi' really helped a lot of young people.

She says he actually made them kind of cool and, though he might not have known it, he instilled confidence and made their lives a little better. Robinson says Drake's character brought much-needed representation.

She explains ... kids in wheelchairs are often left out of things like getting invited to birthday parties or movies. She asked, "When was the last time you went to a mall and saw a kid in a wheelchair hanging out with other kids?" Sadly, she says it's rare.

ICYMI ... a writer of the Canadian teen drama show recently claimed Drake threatened to quit and took legal action against the show to get a rewrite, removing Jimmy's character from the wheelchair.

The writer claimed Drake made the demand because he worried it made him look soft. Jimmy was left paralyzed after a shooting, but ultimately underwent stem cell surgery ... allowing his character to stand with crutches in the season 7 finale.

It should be noted ... the show's writer also added that Drake relented and agreed that his character being in a wheelchair was a powerful moment on TV.

Kanye West showed up for a super-fancy wedding Saturday night and performed, although it's hard to know for sure because his face isn't visible!

Kanye was a guest at the wedding of D'Estree founder Geraldine Guiotte and Tiffany & Co EVP Alexander Arnault. The soiree went down in Venice, Italy. BTW ... he wasn't the only celeb on hand. Beyonce and Jay-Z were also there.

Ye performed "Runaway," wearing all Balenciaga ... with a mask that completely covered his face.

It appears from the vid Kanye was having a little trouble performing ... but hey, looking good is half the battle, right?

He also performed his hit, "Flashing Lights" at the party. You can see in video posted to Twitter how big of a crowd Ye was performing for. Looks like fun!

The reception was actually the couple's second. Their first was in July, so they clearly kept the party going. They've been together since 2019. FACT ... a couple that can stay together during a pandemic can make it through anything.