TMZ Hip Hop - Page 50

Travis Scott's seemingly genuine gesture of wanting to cover burial costs for those killed as a result of his Astroworld Festival has been turned down by the show's youngest victim.

The family of 9-year-old Ezra Blount -- who was allegedly trampled at the concert, and later died from his injuries -- is rejecting the rapper's offer to pay for the funeral ... this according to their attorney, Bob Hilliard, who just filed suit against Scott on behalf of the Blounts.

In a letter, obtained by Rolling Stone, Hilliard writes ... "Your client’s offer is declined. I have no doubt Mr. Scott feels remorse. His journey ahead will be painful. He must face and hopefully see that he bears some of the responsibility for this tragedy."

Blount was laid to rest in a private ceremony last week ... after he was taken off life support a few weeks following the tragedy in early November. Ezra became the 10th person in the death toll, with hundreds more injured.

This rejection came in response to an olive branch extended by Travis' attorney, Daniel Petrocelli, who sent the Blounts the funeral expense offer on behalf of his client, writing ... "Travis is committed to doing his part to help the families who have suffered and begin the long process of healing in the Houston community. Toward that end, Travis would like to pay for the funeral expenses for Mr. Blount’s son."

Ye's on a mission to help the homeless population of Los Angeles, meeting with charitable organizations and coming up with strategies he believes can help to ease the growing problem in the city.

As we'd shown you ... Kanye stopped by the L.A. Mission to drop off 1,000 meals last week but turns out he also took time to meet with the people in charge. We're told during his sit-down with Reverend Troy Vaughn, CEO of L.A. Mission, Ye laid out 4 ways he believes he can help the homeless.

First, Kanye wants to create a plan to continue feeding the unhoused by establishing a working relationship with orgs across the city. He also wants to use his own companies to help provide education, jobs and housing.

Ye believes he can use his platform and Sunday Service to inspire and uplift the homeless community in L.A. in only ways his artistry has been able to do with others.

Finally, Kanye wants to partner with other groups tackling the crisis and combine their efforts with his ability to provide a bold and innovative vision for the future. Together, he believes they can eliminate the homeless situation.

As we reported, Kanye also spoke to those in attendance at the mission, saying he believes God will bring him and Kim Kardashian back together ... inspiring millions of couples in the process.

Of course, the homeless population in L.A. has only grown since the start of the pandemic, with lawmakers and citizens looking for ways to help those in need.

Kanye West is grieving the loss of his close friend, Virgil Abloh, and it seems he's deleted every post on his Instagram page in response the Abloh's death.

Ye's Instagram page went blank Monday, about 24 hours after it was announced the Louis Vuitton visionary had passed away after a private battle with cancer. Kanye has not spoken out publicly since the news broke, but the two had a very strong friendship, so you have to imagine he's devastated.

Celebrity tributes poured in from celebs, athletes and all sorts of people who had either interacted with Virgil directly or had been inspired by his work.

Kanye and Virgil had their bumps in the road along the years -- with Kanye upset Virgil had taken the Louis job -- but they resolved things in 2018 during an LV fashion show. The two embraced, cried, and everything seemed to be good from then on.

One of, if not the last time, the two saw each other was at Kanye's "DONDA" listening event in Chicago.

While his cancer battle was entirely hidden from the public, those closest to him -- including Kanye -- knew Virgil had been sick for quite some time.

Virgil was just 41 years old.

Kanye West's fleet of cars from his Wyoming ranch did huge numbers on the auction block ... and the winning bid for one of his trucks made history.

Ye's used vehicles were open for bidding at Musser Bros. Auctions ... and the owner of the auction house, Harold Musser, tells us the winning bids for the 7 cars totaled a whopping $434,780.

We're told the auction, which ended Tuesday, had over 137,000 views and over 800 bids from folks spread across the country -- from Florida to California -- making this the biggest auction ever for Musser Bros. Sounds like Yeezy is a big deal.

One of those bids set a record ... we're told Kanye's 2019 F-150 Raptor sold for $86,900, including the 10% buyer premium ... making it the most expensive Ford Raptor ever sold.

TMZ broke the story ... Kanye sold his old ranch fleet back to his local Ford dealer in Cody, WY and the dealership turned around and enlisted the auction house to sell the cars.

Kanye unloading his Wyoming wheels makes sense ... because he's also listed his massive Monster Lake Ranch for $11 million ... and the heavy-duty trucks are better suited for ranch life than his new beachfront property in Malibu.

Ye ... he's no longer a Ford truck man.

Kanye West is clearly upset over his impending divorce with Kim Kardashian, but Friday night he had a ton of fans offering him comfort.

Kanye was swarmed at the Lakers game as he entered the Staples Center. He signed autographs and posed for selfies and seemed like he was in a great mood as fans mobbed him.

Ye sat courtside with a friend as he watched the Lakers fall to the Kings in a nail-biter. Kanye wore a black leather jacket with a matching hoodie and a cap. He chowed down on chicken strips and fries.

His mood seemed to change pretty dramatically ... hours before, he posted a photo of him and Kim kissing, in yet another effort to resuscitate their marriage.

Ye stopped by the L.A. Mission Wednesday and grabbed a mic ... telling the folks he was keeping faith that God would repair things between Kim and himself.

Kanye has pulled out all the stops to try and save his marriage ... even admitting to failures as a husband.

On Thanksgiving, Kanye posted a prayer, confessing to drinking too much, letting his ego and temper get the best of him and even to being a "self-righteous Christian," saying, "I was arrogant with my Jesus. Like I had just got me some Jesus at the Gucci store with a stimulus check."

He went on ...  "Good Lord, my wife did not like me wearing the red [MAGA] hat. Being a good wife, she just wanted to protect me and our family. I made me and our family a target by not aligning with Hollywood's political stance, and that was hard for our marriage."

Ye is putting on a full-court, very public press to patch things up with his currently estranged wife, Kim Kardashian -- he's using old photos, and confessing to his failures as a husband ... all in hopes of getting her back.

The man formerly known as Kanye West is feeling some sorta way about an old pic of himself and the missus kissing -- he posted the black and white image on his IG story Friday morning. We'll get back to that in a moment, but he did something else extraordinary on his social media.

Ye posted what he called his Thanksgiving prayer on Thursday evening. He warned it would be "super super super super super long," and then over 5 minutes he confessed to drinking too much, letting his ego and temper get the best of him and even to being a "self-righteous Christian."

In the earnest speech he goes back and forth between jokingly poking fun at himself -- "I was arrogant with my Jesus. Like I had just got me some Jesus at the Gucci store with a stimulus check" -- to dead serious.

Ye admitted, "Good Lord, my wife did not like me wearing the red [MAGA] hat. Being a good wife, she just wanted to protect me and our family. I made me and our family a target by not aligning with Hollywood's political stance, and that was hard for our marriage."

The earnest and revealing prayer came one day after he publicly declared God would help him and Kim come back together.

As we previously reported, Ye stopped by the L.A. Mission on Wednesday, and grabbed a mic to let everyone know he was keeping faith that God will help repair things between Kim and himself. In fact, Ye attached our headline from that story to his posting of the old kissing shot.

As for that B&W pic? It dates all the way back to September 2019, when Kimye and their kids had taken a family vacay to the Bahamas. Kim posted it back then but, mysteriously, deleted it moments later. Clearly, Ye did not delete it from his memory.

Of course, Mr. West's pining for his wife comes just as she's feeling more and more at ease with Pete Davidson in public. Earlier this week, they were spotted at dinner in Santa Monica ... where Pete was sporting a hickey on his neck.

The family of 14-year-old John Hilgert -- who lost his life at Astroworld -- are devastated by the loss of their son, and want to hold those responsible accountable ... reportedly filing a lawsuit against Travis Scott, Live Nation and others.

The suit, filed Wednesday in Houston, claims Travis and concert organizers failed to provide a safe environment for those in attendance. Among the security failures listed, according to People, a lack of personnel, barriers and emergency medical staff.

A statement from John's dad, Chris, reads, "The pain of our loss from our son John not making it home alive from an event such as this is intolerable. He was a beautiful young man who simply wanted to enjoy his first concert event with friends, whom he treasured spending time with more than anything else."

He continues, "If this lawsuit prevents even one family from having to go through the extreme pain and anguish that we have endured, then it is the least we can do to honor John's memory."

The suit, filed by attorney Richard Mithoff, is reportedly seeking in excess of $1 million in damages.

Of course, the Hilgert lawsuit is just one of dozens filed against Travis, Live Nation and others. As we reported, one filing asks for $2 billion in damages, another asks for $750 million and represents hundreds of alleged victims -- whether those injuries be mental or physical.

Hilgert was one of 10 to lose his life at the show. The main questions to be answered by investigators, what happened and who is to blame?

Sources close to Travis have been adamant, he didn't know the extent of what was happening in the crowd. There was also a clear breakdown in communication among emergency workers, after we obtained video of cops enjoying the show more than 25 minutes after the Houston Fire Chief allegedly called the concert a "Mass Casualty Event."

Bobby Shmurda is celebrating Thanksgiving outside prison walls for the first time since 2014 ... and doing so by giving back to those less fortunate.

The rapper was in Brooklyn Wednesday night to help distribute 300 turkeys at the Marlboro Houses, an area with residents in desperate need of assistance. We're told Bobby spent several hours there, chatting it up and taking pics with volunteers and those who came through for groceries.

Following the bird giveaway, Bobby made his way to an outreach program in Ridgewood in Queens to talk with troubled teens. Bobby, joined by Rowdy Rebel, talked to the kids about their experiences in prison and just how important it is to stay out of trouble.

As for how the whole night came to be, we're told Bobby and his team first reached out to Maurice Ballard, who runs a nonprofit called Game of Life.

Bobby was first taken into custody in December 2014, but copped a plea deal in 2016 to conspiracy to possess weapons and possession of a weapon. He got credit for around 2 years of time served before the sentence.

Tyga just got a little bit of good news in his domestic violence case ... we've learned he will NOT be hit with a felony.

Law enforcement sources tell TMZ ... the police passed the rapper's DV case to the Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office so they could decide if they wanted to file charges against Tyga.

But, according to the L.A. County D.A. ... the case has now been kicked over to the Los Angeles City Attorney's Office ... and that means he won't be charged with a felony because only the D.A.'s Office can charge folks with a felony.

TMZ broke the story ... Tyga was arrested for felony domestic violence last month, turning himself in to authorities after his ex-girlfriend, Camaryn Swanson, claimed he got physical with her.

Camaryn filed a police report, claiming Tyga hit her ... and she later posted video showing her alleged injuries. Tyga's camp claims her allegations are "false and will be disproven."

The exes reportedly started dating early this year, and in March they went Instagram official. It's unclear when they split, but we're told it happened before the alleged incident.

We're told, Camaryn's injuries and the evidence did not rise to a felony charge and that's the reason it was kicked to the City Attorney.

The AFC and NFC champs won't have to travel far for the Super Bowl this year ... 'cause Snoop Dogg tells TMZ Sports he thinks the Rams and Chargers will face off in the big game!!!

Of course, D-O-Double-G will be front and center at SoFi Stadium on Feb. 13 -- he's headlining a massive halftime show alongside Kendrick Lamar, Dr. Dre, Eminem and Mary J. Blige.

Since he's part of the party, we had to ask which teams will be duking it out on the field on Super Bowl Sunday ... and Snoop thinks it's gonna be a battle of the City of Angels!!!

As for the performance, Mr. Dogg doesn't reveal any secrets ... but we can already tell he's got some crazy stuff prepared.

BTW, Snoop was giving back to the community when we chopped it up with him -- the rap legend was handing out 2,500 turkeys in Inglewood alongside the Rams and Chargers.

Snoop was definitely into it -- he was dancing and hanging out with folks throughout the day ... while his own music blared in the background.

Travis Scott is finally venturing out of his Houston home after the Astroworld tragedy ... flying to SoCal to golf with some A-list friends and spend the holiday weekend with family.

Travis hit the links this week with Michael Jordan, Mark Wahlberg, Kris Jenner's BF, Corey Gamble and actor Said Taghmaoui.

Witnesses spotted the famous group Tuesday on the course attached to the gated Palm Springs-area community where Kris has a home.

Travis still looked pretty somber in some shots taken while they were chilling off the course. The outing marks the first time the rapper's been seen out in public since 10 people were killed and hundreds injured during his Nov. 5 festival in Houston.

He had been laying low at his home in the Houston area for several weeks, devastated by what went down during the concert.

As we've reported ... Travis, Live Nation, Apple and several other organizers have been hit with multiple lawsuits since then. Most notably, one for $750 million and another for a whopping $2 billion.

His attorney, Ed McPherson, told us Travis was unaware of the scope of casualties during his performance ... and didn't learn of it until several hours after the show. Travis has vowed to pay all funeral expenses for the Astroworld victims.

Ye is in the giving spirit -- and also hopeful for his future with estranged wife Kim Kardashian -- saying God will bring them back together, and inspire millions of families to do the same.

The man formerly known as Kanye West stopped at the L.A. Mission Wednesday to drop off 1,000 meals for skid row. Before his visit was over, Kanye grabbed the mic and shared words of wisdom and faith with the crowd ... including a message about the collapse of his marriage.

During his speech, Ye says he's done things in public that were "not acceptable as a husband," but believes "The Kingdom" aka God will help to repair things with Kim.

Ye believes if they reconcile, millions of families coping with divorce or separation could be inspired to do the same thing. He got big applause for that message.

He also mentioned his kids, saying he needs to be with them as much as possible and if he can't be "in the house" he'll get a house right next door.

And, let there be no doubt, Ye clearly still has issues with the Kardashian family living on reality TV -- he insisted he'll be the one to write his family's history, not a streaming service like Hulu, Disney or E!

Of course, the words come just days after Kim was spotted grabbing dinner with Pete Davidson in Santa Monica. They had a private table, and it appeared Davidson was sporting a hickey on his neck.

Kodak Black is still finding a way to give back to his community while he's in rehab ... helping folks in Florida make sure they have food on the table this Thanksgiving.

The rapper dropped $14,500 for more than 5,000 turkeys and had his team distribute them through a Thanksgiving tour of sorts across several South Florida communities ... according to Kodak's attorney, Bradford Cohen.

We're told Kodak's turkey giveaway made 7 stops in 3 days, with his team coming through in rental trucks to hand out the birds.

With Kodak's help, folks in the Sistrunk and Sunland neighborhoods will be able to have a nice Thanksgiving dinner ... as well as those in Delray Beach, Fort Lauderdale, North Miami, Little Haiti in Miami and of course, Golden Acres, where Kodak grew up.

Kanye West is up to something at his new Malibu pad -- and whatever that something is ... he wants the man living in one of the most unique homes in town to help.

James Goldstein -- who owns the famed Sheats-Goldstein Residence in the Beverly Crest hood of L.A. -- tells TMZ he recently had a face-to-face with Ye ... and not just that, but it sounds like they're gonna be working together on an architectural project.

That project, we're told, encompasses some complex plans KW has for his newly purchased mansion along the coast ... ones he believes Goldstein can advise him on, considering his experience in this field.

If you don't know ... JG's house is perhaps the most awe-inspiring in all of La La Land, due to its mind-bending construction and elaborate architecture -- most of which was undertaken by the late John Lautner, who teamed up with James years ago to bring his vision to life.

With that in mind, we're told James got a call from Kanye last week to see if they could link up and talk shop about home design -- and after sending his own architect out to inspect James' place, he tells us the man himself paid a visit on Friday to see it himself.

James says Ye toured the grounds thoroughly, taking pics and complimenting certain features he found wowing -- like the stairway and the pool -- and eventually came clean on what he wanted ... namely, for him (James) to come over to the 'Bu and help with his project.

James says Ye is interested in James' expertise and perspective, and indeed ... he accepted his request. Now, as for what exactly Kanye is cooking up, JG says he actually showed him some drawn-up rectangular-based plans -- but couldn't really make sense of it, so he's gonna swing by in person soon to talk in more detail and figure out what Ye's got in mind.

Kanye West got a little QT with his son, Saint, and also got in a round of catch with the old pigskin -- but it wasn't Ye tossing the ball ... it was Tom Freakin' Brady!

The rapper-producer brought his 5-year-old to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers game Monday at Raymond James Stadium, where they hung out one-on-one with none other than the G.O.A.T himself inside their luxury suite before kickoff.

Check out the video ... looks like Saint helped TB warm up by throwing a ball back and forth, while papa bear filmed. Not just that, but Tom chopped it up a bit with the kid, too.

Super cute moment, no doubt -- and you can tell the Bucs QB knows a thing or 2 about talking to kids. He does have 3 of his own, one of whom he references here.

According to Tom, Saint is just like his middle son, Ben, who's apparently pretty creative. Ye makes a suggestion that gets a chuckle out of TB ... who knows, they may schedule a follow-up play date after this!

All in all, a very cool daddy's day out with at least one of his brood -- and peep the music Ye put on this video. It's the Sunday Service version of "God's Plan" ... another sign he and Drake are totally cool now.

No sign of Ye's other kids here, who might have been back on the West Coast with Mom ... even though she was a little busy herself.

As you know ... Kim went out to dinner Sunday night with Pete Davidson, where they had their own little booth ... and where PD was flashing some bruised skin.

In a day that saw more than 30 new lawsuits filed against Travis Scott and the organizers of Astroworld, now event staffers are filing legal papers of their own ... including two security guards who say the event has left them permanently scarred.

Samuel and Jackson Bush say they were hired by AJ Melino and Associates to work security at the event. The docs claim that while only 50,000 people bought tickets, there were many more in attendance ... and the massive crowd caused bigger problems.

Both men claim mental and physical injuries from working the event. Jackson says he witnessed CPR being performed on lifeless bodies and pulled a person from a crowd crush who ended up dying.

The lawsuit is asking for more than $1 million in damages ... and going after not only Travis, but Live Nation, AJ Melino, Cactus Jack Records and others in the process.

As we reported, the new filings are just a fraction of what's already come in. Just last week, a $2 billion lawsuit was filed on behalf of more than 280 attendees ... prior to that, another lawsuit for $750 million was filed against Travis and others.

Cops continue to investigate exactly what went wrong, but from almost all fan accounts, overcrowding and crowd surges seem to be to blame.

Travis remained out of the public eye since the festival, and 10 people have died after suffering injuries at the concert ... he's offered to pay funeral expenses and set up an account where families can get in touch with his team to work things out.

Travis' attorney, Ed McPherson tells us, "It was reported that the Operations Plan designated that only the festival director and executive producers have authority to stop the show, neither of which is part of Travis's crew. This also runs afoul of HPD's own previous actions when it shut down the power and sound at this very festival when the performance ran over 5 minutes back in 2019."

He continues, "Investigations should start proceeding over finger-pointing so that together, we can identify exactly what transpired and how we can prevent anything like this from happening again."