TMZ Hip Hop - Page 50

Kanye West had a lot to reflect on a year after starting his Sunday Service -- and he did that and then some in a place you might've never thought you'd see him ... Skid Row.

Ye was in DTLA this weekend holding a Sunday Service at the Union Rescue Mission on Skid Row, which is a homeless shelter that offers food and spiritual guidance for the needy. While there with his usual choir, he got on the mic at one point to do some preaching.

He got into a lot of different topics -- including how Sunday Service itself saved him since it began a full year ago. He also talked about the homeless crisis in L.A. and elsewhere ... going on to say he's had a vision for a worldwide solution. That sounds familiar, doesn't it?

At one point, Kanye also ranted a bit about "Devil-approved" and "God-approved" subjects -- and he seemed to allude to T.I.'s highly scrutinized comments from earlier this year about how he once brought his daughter to the gynecologist to make sure she was a virgin.

Rich Homie Quan is off the hook in his seemingly endless drug case.

According to legal docs obtained by TMZ ... the drug case against the rapper has been tossed. RHQ's lawyer, Lucy Bell, tells TMZ it was dismissed due to a lack of evidence. Bell says the "tiny amount of marijuana" was in somebody else's pocket and RHQ was wrongfully accused. We've reached out to prosecutors to confirm that ... so far, no word back.

TMZ broke the story ... Rich Homie Quan and his crew were busted back in May 2017 in Wadley, GA on suspicion of a stolen gun and drugs. A few days later, the weapons charge was dropped but he was booked on felony possession of drugs with intent to distribute.

If convicted, he faced up to THIRTY YEARS in prison. But, Homie don't play that .. lucky for him, the case was officially dropped after the judge signed off.

Kanye West's legal drama with EMI is NOT going away ... cause the once close-to-being-done case over a contract dispute is suddenly and officially back on.

According to new legal docs, obtained by TMZ ... the judge in the case has signed off on EMI's request to officially reopen the case. EMI -- which has been battling Kanye in federal court over his publishing deal since earlier this year -- back in September told the court it and Kanye had struck "an agreement in principle" to settle the case.

The court then tossed the suit with prejudice but said the case could be reopened if either party showed good cause. The deadline to reopen the case was December 27 ... so just a few days ago, EMI's lawyers wrote a letter to the judge saying "unfortunately the parties have been unable to finalize the terms of the settlement agreement."

Translation: the deal fell apart ... so it's back to square one.

The wait is over ... Kanye West and his Sunday Service choir have finally dropped its "Jesus is Born" gospel album.

Kanye had everyone waiting with anticipation since he teased the album in an interview back in October. The 19-track album hit all major digital streaming platforms today ... just in time for Christmas. Instead of going with a major label to release his album, Ye chose a New Jersey-based Indie distributor, Vydia.

Some of the track titles include "Count Your Blessings," "That's How the Good Lord Works" and "Satan, We're Gonna Tear Your Kingdom Down." Kanye, of course, dropped his "Jesus is King" album back in October after many delays. That album featured 11 tracks.

Yeezy had a massive album listening event at The Forum in L.A. when that album dropped. Fans were also treated to a screening of his "Jesus is King" IMAX project.

Cardi B and Offset just showed off the incredible ATL mansion they just bought, and it's entirely possible they'll never leave the crib ... because it's got pretty much everything they need.

It's a pretty amazing Xmas present for each other ... 22,500 square feet of house, which includes a gun range with steel walls. Didn't even know that was legal, but there it is.

That's just the beginning ... Cardi's seriously thinking of becoming a wine connoisseur now that she has a vino cellar that could service a restaurant.

And, then there's Offset's man cave, an amazing pool and on and on. The entire property sits on nearly 6 acres.

The girl who infamously hurled a chair out of the 45th floor of a Toronto condo building can no longer be seen in Drake's new "War" video ... because the singer 86'd her.

Marcella Zoia was an extra in the vid, and people noticed ... many assuming it was Drake himself who decided to include her and they went after him hard. Drake made it clear ... he doesn't cast extras, but when he found out what was up, he took matters into his own hands and removed her.

Zoia has got some serious legal issues ahead of her. She pled guilty to mischief causing danger to life and is awaiting sentencing next month. She could get 6 months in jail. She doesn't seem particularly contrite over the whole thing ... she tried to use her new-found fame to become a social media influencer.

Too Short's rape accuser has officially dropped her lawsuit against the rap legend ... TMZ has learned.

Teana Louis had sued Too Short claiming he sexually assaulted her on multiple occasions in Los Angeles between June and October of 2016.

In her lawsuit, Teana claimed the attacks included forced oral sex, vaginal sex and sodomy.

Too Short had been adamant Teana's allegations amounted to an extortion attempt.

Now, Teana has filed new court docs calling off the suit -- asking to dismiss it with prejudice, which means she can't refile it.

Unclear if Too Short and Teana struck a settlement -- but it's not uncommon in situations like this.

DaBaby is incensed at cops in Charlotte, North Carolina ... saying they were up to no good when they swarmed his car and busted him for weed.

DaBaby had just performed at the Bojangles' Coliseum Monday night, left the venue and got in his car in the parking lot when, according to him, 15 cops swarmed his vehicle, searched it and found weed.

The rapper clearly was not having it, because he was cited not just for weed possession but also for resisting an officer. He was not arrested ... just cuffed, cited and released.

DaBaby said afterward he was wrongfully targeted after cops received a "bogus" tip he had drugs and guns in the vehicle. The rapper said, "Every time. There's nobody when I pull up in the parking lot, the second I get out the car, 15 cops come around -- can I borrow your microphone?  ****** grabs mic ... shining it into the car windows ... they follow me, they pull us over for no reason."

Earlier in the day, DaBaby passed out hundreds of toys to poor families in the area.

Lil Wayne is being held up at an airport in Miami right now as federal agents search a plane he was a passenger on, but he's got legal help at the ready ... TMZ has confirmed.

Miami Herald broke the story ... Weezy was one of a few different people aboard a private jet Monday that was stopped by the feds after it landed at Miami-Opa Locka Executive Airport. The paper says it was on its way to California after a stop in Florida.

For now, it doesn't appear anyone's been arrested for anything -- the Herald reports a search is currently underway and that Wayne and co. are being held at the airport. Per the outlet, agents got a tip on possible drugs being transported ... and obtained a search warrant.

One thing we do know for sure ... we're told Wayne -- who's a Miami resident -- has already contacted his lawyers in the area, and they're on the scene with him now.

Law enforcement sources also confirmed the details of Miami Herald's reporting.

MH also notes that if any arrests or charges stem from this ... it could mean someone's gonna be behind bars for Christmas. Apparently, the federal courts won't be open on Christmas Eve or Day, and the earliest a person's case could be heard would be Thursday.

That aside, the search echoes of one that recently ended in tragedy. Of course, we're talking about Juice WRLD ... who suffered a fatal seizure at an airport in Chicago 2 weeks ago.

Federal agents were also there waiting to search the private aircraft he was in, and we're told folks saw him ingest a number of unknown pills after realizing what was happening.

He later died after life-saving efforts were made on the spot.

Cardi B is playing Santa Claus this year -- only she's doing it without the big red hat, reindeer or sleigh -- and will bring smiles to a ton of kid's faces.

Cardi was spotted in Miami Friday spending a bunch of money on gifts for kids at a local Target store. The rapper also had a U-HAUL rented to load the presents and ship em off for those in need.

We're told in total, Cardi spent about $5,000 on everything from games, dolls, car sets and more. She had staffers help her load everything up in the truck.

It's unclear exactly where the gifts will go -- Cardi talked about helping kids out in New York -- but nonetheless, it's an awesome gesture.

Cardi's daughter, Kulture, will be celebrating her second Christmas this year, and if mom's spending for other kids on Friday is any indication ... it's about to be a big year.

Merry Christmas from Cardi Claus!!!

Kanye West brought his city-hopping opera to NYC -- and while much of it was the same -- Yeezy added some Christmas flare to the latest tour stop.

Kanye, his choir and band hit Lincoln Center's David Geffen Hall Sunday to perform "Mary." The stage was decked out in plants, over 100 choir members and props to tell the story of Jesus' birth from the eyes of his mother.

The choir belted out songs from Kanye's "Jesus is King" album -- as they normally have -- but there was also a rendition of "The Little Drummer Boy" added to the setlist.

Dave Chappelle, Bradley Cooper and Kim Kardashian West were among the stars in the crowd ... and Kanye voiced much of the show from offstage.

It's been a family affair for the West's in NYC -- we got Kim, Kanye and the kids leaving The Ritz Friday -- North was definitely in a holiday mood.

Kanye West seems ready to switch things up for his second go-around on 'Mary' -- this time, kids are going to be directly involved, as will a big surprise guest ... supposedly.

The rapper's in NYC right now, where he's hours away from his 2nd performance of his latest opera at Lincoln Center's David Geffen Hall. On Saturday, he was in rehearsals ... and a bunch of tykes were spotted onstage at the David H. Koch Theater across the way -- where we're told everyone was warming up their pipes and getting the cues down.

People on the scene tell us they saw the kids rehearsing their singing too, as we're told it appears they're going to be incorporated into the chorus of adults -- made up of Ye's Sunday Service choir, of course. That's different than what he did at Art Basel 2 weeks ago.

Kodak Black isn't letting a little thing like prison bars stop him from giving back this holiday season -- because the guy's opening up his wallet and shelling out for strangers.

The rapper's attorney, Bradford Cohen, tells TMZ ... KB is giving thousands of dollars away this Christmas -- to both charities, religious institutions and individual families. We're told Kodak has authorized his camp to buy an allotment of toys for the Paradise Day Care Center in Broward County, FL ... which will be dished out to kids from 70 different families in need.

The children range in age, from 2 to 7-year-old ... who'll get bikes, dolls and a ton of other stuff on behalf of inmate 18149 at FCC Miami (that's Kodak, BTW). But wait, there's more!!!

Kanye West has a simple message on what people should take away from his journey in 2019 -- but his son has an even louder one that might resonate more.

We got the Kardashian-West family Saturday in NYC, where they left a restaurant and boarded a waiting SUV with two of their kids in tow ... North and Saint, who were feeling chatty after dinner. Saint had a firm message for the paps standing by ... they didn't listen.

As Kim got the kids situated in the car, we asked Ye what it was he wanted folks to know or remember about him and his religious awakening from this past year ... which was pretty much a complete 180 from his rocky 2018 and mostly positive, all things considered.

At the start of this year, Kanye pivoted away from politics and dove head first into music -- and as it turned out, God too. His Sunday Services seemed to be his focal point, which started indoors but quickly went outside ... and, eventually, to Coachella and beyond.

Drake has completed his fly-boy look with something folks thought he would've had done years ago ... getting his ears pierced. And, the reason he finally did it is hilarious.

Otniel Pichardo, who's the owner of Atlanta Ink -- a tattoo and piercing studio in the ATL -- tells TMZ ... Drizzy's team called up their shop Friday night out of the blue and requested Otniel and the crew come to Drake's hotel in Buckhead, Atlanta for a personal session.

Apparently, the rapper's camp did a quick Google search of the best piercers in the area, and Atlanta Ink came up close to the top in the results. Talk about having a good rep!!!

Anyway, Otniel rolled out with his biz partner, CJ, and their best piercer, Christian, and they hit up Drake's hotel room ... where none other than Champagne Papi himself was waiting. We're told Drake wanted his ears pierced ... and naturally, was kinda nervous about it.

50 Cent just spoiled his son rotten for Christmas ... getting an entire Toys 'R' Us on lock and letting the kid have whatever his heart desired. Jealous much?

The rapper pulled the ultimate parenting move this weekend for his 7-year-old, Sire, by renting out an entire store in New Jersey -- only one of two locations open at the moment -- and closing it off to the public while his boy went around and picked out anything that caught his eye and letting him take it all home as his gift(s) for the holiday.

Basically, a personal shopping spree for a kid ... which became even more of a custom experience with Sire's name and mug incorporated into the presentation. A decal on the ground read 'Sire's Toys R Us' ... not even Charlie Bucket could've dreamt of this.

As for how much all of this cost ... we're told Fitty dropped a pretty penny to give his son the best Christmas ever -- about $100k to have this place to himself and Sire.

Hell, it looks the cash went so far as to pull Geoffrey the Giraffe out of retirement -- who posed with 50 and Sire in a sweet photo-op. You'll recall, Toys 'R' Us temporarily closed up shop last year -- but it's being brought back, slowly but surely, under new ownership.