TMZ Hip Hop - Page 50

Travis Scott has locked himself away in his Houston home, still devastated by the events that took place one week ago ... according to his attorney.

Ed McPherson joined "TMZ Live" Friday to talk about Travis and what happened at Astroworld. While McPherson says there's still a lot of work to be done in terms of the investigation, he remains adamant Travis had no clue as to the dire circumstances -- 8 people dead -- continued to perform.

McPherson tells us Travis is devastated, especially because the tragedy happened in his hometown of Houston, and he has not left his home there since.

Travis was supposed to perform in Vegas this weekend -- a show he's since canceled -- and a petition is growing online to stop his headline event at Coachella next Spring.

Ed says performing is the last thing on Travis' mind right now. He wants to give the families of the victims time to grieve, and has set up an email account through his team for them to reach out to him when they're ready. He's promised to pay funeral costs for the 9 people who died as a result of the show.

Travis Scott and his team were oblivious to the mass casualties in the crowd at his show while he continued to perform, so says his attorney, who claims emergency workers never relayed the message ... and Travis didn't know the scope of what happened until the next day.

Ed McPherson was on 'GMA' Friday, saying there's still a lot to do in investigating exactly what went wrong last week, but he insists his client was in the dark.

McPherson says Travis was clueless about the calamity in the crowd because he had an earpiece blaring music, blinding lights and no one gave him a heads up. As we reported, Travis even left after the concert and hit up Dave & Busters for an afterparty ... unaware that people had died and hundreds were injured.

McPherson points out the now-viral video of Travis stopping the show to get a fan help who had passed out. He also says it was hard for Travis to determine that at one point there was an ambulance in the crowd ... saying it looked more like a golf cart with lights.

When pushed as to whether or not Travis was inciting his audience to get aggressive by telling them to "rage" -- a phrase he's used for years -- McPherson says that was simply Travis trying to get his crowd into the show and have a good time.

TMZ broke the story, Houston cops were seen taking photos and videos while Travis performed 25 mins after the event was considered a "mass casualty event." McPherson says this is further evidence Travis didn't have a clue what was happening. The lawyer points out, if the cops didn't know ... how could Travis?

On Thursday, 22-year-old Bharti Shahani succumbed to her injuries suffered during the show, she was allegedly trampled during a crowd crush, suffering multiple heart attacks and being declared brain dead.

Travis Scott was more concerned with his own safety than that of his fans, and the tragedy at Astroworld should have never happened ... so says an attorney repping one of the victims.

Attorney Tony Buzbee, who is repping the family of Axel Acosta, tells TMZ ... all signs are pointing to Travis and the rest of the festival lineup going to great lengths to protect themselves from the crowd, and not putting nearly enough resources into crowd safety.

Buzbee says Axel traveled all the way from Washington to see the Houston festival and loved Travis, but the feelings were clearly not mutual, because the 21-year-old is one of 9 who perished from injuries suffered at the concert.

The way Tony sees it ... Travis and other artists are full of it when they say they love their fans, because if they really did, they would implement better safety measures at shows. Especially when they're massive 50,000-fan events like Astroworld was.

While Buzbee says he's not singling out Travis from the festival lineup, which also included Drake, watch the clip ... he clearly seems to be laying blame at the feet of the headliner.

TMZ broke the story ... Travis vowed to cover funeral costs for families of the people who died at the show, and provide mental health services to anyone impacted by the events.

Buzbee thinks that's a hollow offer -- he says the Acosta family has not heard a peep from Travis' camp and isn't expecting to get any money for Axel's upcoming funeral.

Travis' camp tells us they have been "actively exploring routes of connection with each and every family affected by the tragedy through the appropriate liaisons" ... adding families of the victims can reach out to them directly too.

Meanwhile, Buzbee is conducting his own investigation, and claims police requested full riot equipment before Astroworld's gates even opened Friday morning -- and by 10 AM cops admitted they had no control ... even with an extra 300 officers coming in to boost the overall number to 500.

Soulja Boy says fans should be more aware of their surroundings the next time they're at a crowded concert like Astroworld ... but it's also on organizers to create a safe environment.

We got the rapper in NYC on Thursday and asked him what artists are doing to prevent another deadly scene like the one we saw in Houston from happening again.

Soulja says it will take a collective effort to prevent another tragedy ... telling us it's also up to fans to enjoy themselves without getting too wild and making sure they know what's going on around them.

As you know ... the death toll from the Travis Scott show now stands at 9.

SB says people can get caught up in the concert, especially when they all have their phones out, and that's when bad things can happen.

But it's not just up to the fans ... Soulja says venues and promoters need to take the proper precautions for everyone's safety, no matter if it's looked at as an inconvenience. Interestingly, he did not mention the responsibility of the artist.

First responders were desperate to get Travis Scott fans help, even calling for the show to end in order to help those needing serious medical attention ... and you can hear the urgency in their radio communications that night.

Several audio clips have surfaced online of Houston Police officers and other medical personnel addressing the issues of crowd crushing, fans passing out and even structural issues during Scott's performance. Things are clearly dire, as one voice says, "... folks are coming out of the crowd complaining of difficulty breathing."

During another radio transmission, emergency workers can be heard saying, "... a lot of people trampled and passed out at the front of the stage."

While the audio doesn't make it clear exactly what time all of this was happening, one thing is certain ... authorities knew things were bad. In fact, at one point they flat out say, "They have to stop the show because there's people trampled and (inaudible) not breathing."

Of course, the major question now -- apart from how 9 people died -- is where the communication broke down between emergency responders and show organizers.

TMZ broke the story, Houston PD officers were spotted taking cellphone video and photos of Travis and Drake as the rappers hyped up the crowd.

According to the timestamps, the officers were seen calmly watching Travis perform between 9:57 PM and 10:02 PM.

22-year-old Bharti Shahani has died ... making her the 9th casualty from Travis Scott's Astroworld Festival.

Shahani, who was a senior at Texas A&M University passed away Thursday after injuries sustained at the event Friday night in Houston ... according to a family attorney.

As we had reported, Shahani had previously been declared brain dead, and was on a ventilator. She had gone to Astroworld with her sister and cousin, but the two got separated during a crowd surge. Bharti had reportedly suffered several heart attacks after the crowd crush and was rushed to a local hospital.

In an emotional press conference Thursday, a rep for Bharti's family confirmed she was the woman in a video -- obtained by TMZ -- that was dropped on her head as she was carried out by first responders. The rep says they want justice for Bharti and her family ... and for whoever put profits over safety to be held accountable.

Bharti marks the latest victim in the tragedy, and it's possible more could come. As we reported, 9-year-old Ezra Blount is still hospitalized and fighting for his life. His family, with the help of civil rights attorney, Ben Crump, sued Travis and Live Nation for injuries they say were caused when Ezra was trampled.

Travis has vowed to pay for the funeral costs of the show's victims and to provide mental health services to those impacted by the events.

A rep for Travis tells us, "Over the last week, Travis Scott and his team have been actively exploring routes of connection with each and every family affected by the tragedy through the appropriate liaisons. He is distraught by the situation and desperately wishes to share his condolences and provide aid to them as soon as possible, but wants to remain respectful of each family’s wishes on how they'd best like to be connected."

There's a full-court press on for Drake and Kanye West to make peace, and a key player in the negotiations is raising fans' hopes with an interesting photo ... but TMZ's learned it's not exactly what it seems.

As you know, Ye made a video plea this week -- with Rap-A-Lot Records founder J. Prince by his side -- for Drake to join him on stage for a concert to support freeing Larry Hoover. Drake's yet to respond, but Wednesday night Larry Hoover Jr. posted pics of himself meeting with Drizzy and J. Prince.

You get why folks would think Drake's moving closer to accepting Ye's offer -- and maybe he is -- but the photos aren't evidence of that. That's because LH Jr.'s camp tells TMZ they were taken a couple of months ago.

During the meeting, we're told they did talk to Drake about supporting the movement to get Larry Hoover released from prison ... but it was long before Ye extended his offer for unity.

ICYMI, Ye's plan is for Drizzy and himself to squash their longstanding feud and come together onstage in L.A. for a December 7 benefit concert in Hoover's honor.

If you're unfamiliar ... Hoover is the former head of a major gang in Chicago, the Gangster Disciples, who was convicted for a murder back in the '70s, and sentenced to 6 life sentences. Many feel he's done more than enough time for his crime, and have been lobbying for his release.

Hoover Jr. doubled down on Ye's video while speaking to TMZ this week ... imploring Drake to do the concert.

The family of one of the deceased victims from Astroworld Fest is aiming to set up a scholarship in their loved one's name -- but not before taking Travis Scott to court first.

Rudy Peña was one of the 8 people who died Friday during the concert, and his family has plans to get a fund going in his honor to continue his legacy -- and are hoping to do so at the college he was attending ... so says their attorney, Rosendo Almaraz.

He tells us Rudy's family wants to set up a scholarship at Laredo College, where Rudy was a student ... studying to become a Border Patrol agent via a criminal justice major. Nothing's set in stone yet though ... but we're told that's their intention.

As for what will fund the scholarship they hope to create ... it'd be leftover money from the $34k they raised via a GoFundMe for Rudy. We're told some of that money is going toward funeral costs, and the rest will be earmarked for the scholarship fund -- around $20k.

BTW, you read that correctly ... the Peña family is already burying their son, and they're doing it without the help of Travis because they say they haven't heard from him ... and aren't holding their breath.

Of course, he said he'd cover the funeral expenses of those who perished -- but the Peñas insist they're paying for everything themselves ... and aren't expecting or waiting for any help.

We're told no official cause of death is in for Rudy just yet -- whose body was just released to his family -- Almaraz says he appears to have been trampled badly.

One last thing ... the Peña family has filed their own lawsuit already, and they have named Travis as a defendant. They're alleging negligence and gross negligence directly contributed to Rudy's death that night.

Members of the Houston Police Department calmly pulled out their cellphones and recorded Travis Scott's performance at the Astroworld festival ... nearly a half hour after it was declared a mass casualty event.

It's significant footage because it looks like cops were unaware of the dire situation behind them, and if they didn't know ... how would Travis?

The Fire Chief called the calamity a "mass casualty event" at 9:38 PM. Now check out the photo (above) of cops shooting cellphone video -- the time stamp shows it was snapped at 9:57 PM ... 19 minutes later.

As for the video -- obtained by TMZ -- it was shot at 10:02 PM, a full 25 minutes after the mass casualty declaration. Again, cops are strolling past the stage, completely oblivious to the carnage behind them.

It's hard to imagine the officers knew what was going on in the crowd. It seems they're in the dark, perhaps because of the noise and general commotion associated with Travis Scott concerts. This seems to buttress Travis' contention he too had no idea this was a mass casualty event.

As we reported, there were people in the crowd begging for someone to stop the show ... some even flat out telling camera operators there were dead people in the crowd. That message seemed to have escaped the officers in the front, and possibly Travis as well.

Teyana Taylor is defending Travis Scott for not stopping his Astroworld show as people in the audience were in peril, because she says crowd safety falls on more than just the artist.

We got Teyana Wednesday at LAX, and our photog asked about her stopping shows when she notices folks having a tough time in the crowd, and if Travis should have done the same at Astroworld.

Just this week, Teyana took time out on her own stage to make sure a fan was okay, but she tells us that wasn't in response to what unfolded at Travis' show.

She's also pushing back on the narrative Travis never looks out for his fans ... saying there are just as many videos of him stopping shows when things get out of hand as there are clips of him encouraging fans to go wild.

The way Teyana sees it ... the artist alone can't be responsible for the safety of everyone in the crowd -- especially at shows as big as Travis' -- and it's also up to the venue staff and security to keep things from getting out of hand.

Some folks think Travis saw what was unfolding at Astroworld and just kept doing his thing, but Teyana isn't so sure that's what really happened.

The Houston Rockets have temporarily axed its "Travis Scott Night" promotion slated for Wednesday night ... with the team planning to honor the victims of the Astroworld tragedy in its place.

The Rockets were set to hand out 3,000 limited edition Scott-themed shirts prior to their matchup against the Detroit Pistons ... but will instead have a moment of silence for the 8 people who died and the others affected at the music festival in Houston.

Of course, Scott is one of the Rockets' most famous fans ... and has been spotted courtside at countless games over the years.

But given the tragic events that took place Friday night, postponing the promotion was a no-brainer.

Rockets head coach Stephen Silas shared his condolences to the families of the victims of the festival ... adding his 14 and 17-year-old daughters actually wanted to attend with their friends, but were unable to due to a volleyball tournament in Dallas.

A second supplier in the Mac Miller overdose case is admitting wrongdoing ... copping a plea with the feds that could see him do serious time.

38-year-old Ryan Reavis pled guilty this week to a single count of distributing fentanyl. He faces up to 20 years behind bars and a lifetime of supervised release -- but it's likely he'll receive a lesser sentence for accepting the plea deal.

Cops had busted Reavis in Arizona, so it wasn't entirely clear how he was connected to Mac's death -- but now we know, according to feds, Reavis was in L.A. around the time the fatal pills were procured for Mac.

Prosecutors say he ended up giving the fentanyl-laced oxycodone pills to MM's alleged drug dealer, Cameron Pettit ... on orders from Stephen Walter, who also recently pleaded guilty to distributing fentanyl.

As we reported ... when cops busted Reavis in 2019, their charging docs noted officers found a doctor's prescription pad at his home.

In the chain of people we know who've been arrested in connection to Mac's death ... the alleged supplier and now the alleged runner have pled guilty.

Scores of lawsuits are sure to be filed in the coming weeks over the Astroworld Fest tragedy -- but would-be plaintiffs could hit a legal snag over something on the Live Nation website.

We're talking about liability here ... and whether Live Nation -- the promoter of Travis Scott's event -- is on the hook for it or not as plaintiffs rush to court to file claims against them and others.

On its face, LN may have an out on that front -- or at least a partial one, anyway -- due to a standard form they made everyone agree to before purchasing tickets from the Live Nation site ... It's the limitation of liability waiver most folks don't read ... but always have to accept.

We did some research, and as it turns out ... an ironclad liability waiver in Texas would almost certainly provide cover for basic negligence -- something we know for a fact concertgoers are alleging against LN in the suits we've seen thus far.

The online waiver reads in part, "You voluntarily assume all risks and danger incidental to the event for which the ticket is issued, whether occurring before, during or after the event, and you waive any claims for personal injury or death against us."

What it doesn't provide is protection against gross negligence, among other claims, which may well be brought forth in court as well.

With that said ... you'd think Live Nation might be in the clear here -- at least on the negligence front -- but not so fast. TMZ took a good hard look at the liability waiver, and it's quite possible they screwed themselves ... and might still be exposed.

Not to bog you down in legal mumbo jumbo -- but in Texas, in order for a liability waiver to be enforced to protect against negligence, there are a few things that must be met first.

The company has to feature clear language -- that your average Joe would understand -- directly addressing negligence in their waiver ... and from our check, Live Nation's Texas waiver does NOT seem to do this at all. Plus, the waiver itself is buried on their site -- which is another benchmark waivers have to clear ... ya gotta have it prominently displayed. In fact, there are clearly people who bought tickets without ever going to the website.

So, basically ... because Live Nation's liability waiver does not seem air-tight, it is NOT a foregone conclusion LN can wiggle out of liability in these mounting lawsuits.

Travis Scott might act like he didn't know how bad things really were at this year's Astroworld Fest -- but his own posts and words demonstrate ... the dude knew how his fans got down, and often encouraged them to risk their safety.

There are a number of still photos Trav has posted on his Instagram account from over the years that show fans of his injured to varying degrees ... from what appears to be simply attending concerts of his.

Many of the times he spotlighted a certain individual who was injured ... and seemed to glorify and glamorize it, with captions like ... "SHE BROKE HER HAND AND SHE DOESN'T GIVE A F***!!!" or "IT'S NOT A SHOW UNTIL SOMEONE PASS OUT."

Here's another one that's especially cringeworthy in light of this weekend's tragedy -- it's a post of a young man laid out on the floor, presumably from one of Travis' shows, with the rapper writing, "TO THE KID THAT DIDN'T SURVIVE THE RODEO. UR A HERO IN MU BOOK."

BTW, a lot of these posts are still up on the guy's IG page as of this posting ... which is even more telling. Frankly, this whole "rage" mentality is part of Travis' brand, image and artistic identity ... except now, people are seeing how unsafe and reckless it really is.

Travis has gotten in trouble in the past for encouraging people to rush the stage. In 2015, he pleaded guilty to charges of reckless conduct stemming from an incident at Lollapalooza. In 2017, he pleaded guilty to disorderly conduct after law enforcement said he incited a riot at a show in Arkansas.

Put aside the fact he's been arrested/cited at least twice for inciting a riot. The real criticism doesn't necessarily lie in him getting his fans hyped ... but more so, him taking things too far, and seemingly, more often than not, refusing to lower the temperature in the room. That has led to lots of his fans getting hurt in his presence. And, even when he does acknowledge an injured person on the spot, it often comes off cold and callous.

The same scrutiny applies for this year's Astroworld Fest -- namely, there appeared to be moments when he acknowledged people were going down, but didn't bring things to a halt.

In one instance that's been captured on video from multiple angles, Travis clearly sees the ambulance cart working its way through the crowd, pauses for a bit, gets approached by some guys whom he shoos away ... and then proceeded to incite the crowd.

That's now the big question ... how much did Travis Scott know ... and when? He claims he was unaware people were dying at the show that night and didn't realize the severity of the situation.

Larry Hoover Jr. is trying to broker peace between Kanye West and Drake ... asking Drake to lower the temperature in their ongoing feud, and join forces in the name of freeing his infamous father.

LHJ, the son of the famous Chicago gangster, tells TMZ ... Drake has the power to help free Larry Hoover, IF he checks his ego and accepts Kanye's proposed peace offering -- a benefit concert starring both rap superstars.

As you know ... Kanye's been fighting to free Hoover, the former head of a major gang in Chicago who was convicted of murder back in the 1970s and sentenced to 6 life sentences. In a video, seemingly orchestrated by James Prince, Ye's already asked Drake to join him for the upcoming Free Larry Hoover Concert ... planned for Dec. 7 in Los Angeles.

Larry Jr. says he and his mother, Winndye, already met Drake at J. Prince's place in Texas a few months ago ... which is why he thinks it makes sense for them to put aside their differences and work together.

While Hoover was convicted of murder, lots of folks believe he has done more than enough hard time for his crime ... and Larry Jr. says his dad qualifies to be freed.

Travis Scott says he didn't know a calamity was unfolding when he was onstage Friday at Astroworld ... and we found out when he left, he went straight to Dave & Buster's for an after-party.

Sources connected to Travis tell TMZ ... the rapper was never told at the festival people had died in the crowd and hundreds more were injured. The sources say, "Travis didn't know the severity of the situation when he arrived at the party, as far as timing, this remains consistent with the fact that no one including the police had publicly confirmed the gravity of the events that had taken place."

The person who threw the after-party -- Drake, who had performed with Travis as a surprise guest just as the tragedy was unfolding. Our Drake sources claim he also didn't have a clue there were people dying in the crowd.

As we reported, there were a number of people who were pleading with camera operators and others to stop the show as the crowd crush took its toll, which is why a lot of people think Travis had to know what was going on ... if not during the concert, before he left. However, our Travis sources insist he was at least 50 yards from that camera operator and did not hear the pleas to end the show because fans were dying.

But, we're told when someone told Travis at Dave & Buster's about the tragedy, he immediately left the party. This seems to support the notion he didn't know ... even when he left the venue.

TMZ broke the story ... Travis has pledged to pay funeral costs for his 8 fans who died at the festival and provide mental health services to anyone who may have been affected.

As we reported, lawsuits continue to pour in against both Travis and Live Nation ... including one filed Tuesday by the family of a 9-year-old boy who is fighting for his life after being trampled at the show.

For his part, Drake released a statement Monday night, saying, "My heart is broken for the families and friends of those who lost their lives and for anyone who is suffering. I will continue to pray for all of them and will be of service in any way I can. May God be with you all."