TMZ Hip Hop - Page 50

Pop Smoke's tragic death came as a devastating shock to his family ... who are now heavily involved in trying to solve the who, what, why and how of the rapper's murder.

Family sources tell TMZ ... Pop Smoke's loved ones, who live in NYC, beelined it to the airport to fly to LAX and headed to the hospital after getting word he'd been shot.

We're told the family is at a loss trying to understand what happened -- nothing makes sense to them.

Our family sources say they had no clue that Pop Smoke had any enemies in L.A. They also don't believe someone would have followed him from New York to L.A. Since he spent so much time on the East Coast, if someone there wanted to harm him, they would have done it there.

Our sources say family members have personally questioned friends and witnesses, who were at the Hollywood Hills house before the shooting, to try to gather evidence ... and they want to see security footage.

We broke the story ... surveillance video suggests Pop Smoke's murder was a target hit and not a robbery gone wrong, a notion with which the family is struggling.

As far as the family knows, Smoke was in L.A. to focus on promoting his new mixtape which had just dropped, and to relax a bit before going on tour in March.

As we reported, he was killed Wednesday morning after multiple shots were fired inside his home and they only struck Pop Smoke, who was rushed to Cedars-Sinai Medical Center where he was pronounced dead.

Our sources say just like law enforcement ... the rapper's family is in full investigation mode, and won't stop until they get some answers.

Lauren London's making it perfectly clear she's NOT dating Diddy or anyone else for that matter ... 'cause it'll be her and Nipsey Hussle 'til the end of time.

Lauren took to Instagram Thursday and posted a picture of the late rapper and captioned it "Still His! King Ermias! Never Forget!" And, for those who didn't get the message the first time she took it a step further and said, "Stop f***ing playing with me and my name. Now let me get back to healing."

The actress felt compelled to quash rumors she and Diddy are dating after Diddy reportedly posted -- and then deleted -- a couple of black and white pics of him and Lauren.

Diddy initially captioned the Instagram pics "#lostfiles ... @laurenlondon❤️." The pics, BTW, were taken at Jay-Z's Roc Nation Pre-Grammy brunch last month. Reports started to surface not long after speculating Diddy and Lauren were a thing. But, Lauren's not about to have it.

She also posted on her Instagram Story to make it crystal clear ... it's her and Nipsey forever.

For the record, Diddy eventually re-posted his pic with Lauren on his Instagram Story and captioned it "More Lost Files ... Me & My Sister @laurenlondon at the @rocnation brunch."

Pop Smoke's death wasn't a robbery gone wrong ... it was a targeted hit ... and that conclusion is supported by surveillance video.

People who have seen the surveillance footage from outside the Hollywood Hills home where Pop was killed Wednesday morning tell us ... you see 4 men approach the home at around 4:30 AM and sneak around back.

A couple minutes pass before 3 of the 4 walk back up the side of the home to the front. The 4th apparently walked in the backdoor but no camera was trained on it. The next time you see the man, he exits through the front door of the house.

As we reported, multiple shots were fired inside the home and they only struck Pop Smoke, who was rushed to Cedars-Sinai Medical Center where he was pronounced dead.

At first, it seemed like it might have been a robbery because the rapper posted a photo earlier in the day of a bunch of gifts ... one of which had his home address emblazoned on it. He also posted another pic hours before the shooting of himself and a friend in a car ... the friend is holding an enormous amount of cash.

But, here's the thing. The folks who have seen the surveillance video tell us the person inside the house -- presumably the shooter -- did not carry anything out. Given that he shot someone, it's doubtful he would take the time to stuff items in his pocket.

Pop Smoke was only 20 and already making a name for himself in music. His song, "Welcome to the Party" was remixed by Nicki Minaj and he appeared on Travis Scott's latest project "JACKBOYS." His mix tape charted #7 Tuesday on the Billboard 200.

Pop Smoke, an up-and-coming rapper, was shot and killed Wednesday morning in what appears to be a home invasion robbery ... TMZ has learned.

The rapper was at a home in the Hollywood Hills at around 4:30 AM when 2 men wearing hoodies and masks broke into a house ... this according to law enforcement sources. We're told the 2 men fired multiple shots, striking and critically wounding Pop Smoke. The men were seen fleeing on foot.

Pop Smoke was rushed by ambulance to Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in West Hollywood where he was pronounced dead.

The suspects have not been caught and as far as we know they have not been identified.  It's unclear if Pop Smoke knew the shooters. One man was placed in handcuffs but cops determined he was not involved and was released.

Pop Smoke released an album back in July and one of the songs, "Welcome to the Party," blew up ... it was considered by many the song of the summer. Nicki Minaj did a remix of the song a few months later. He also did a song, "Gatti," with Travis Scott.

We got Pop Smoke out at LAX back in July, and he told us about a hoop dream that came true.

Pop Smoke was 20.

RIP

James Harden had a front-row seat for a Desiigner performance in Vegas, but he got more than he bargained for ... 'cause the rapper fell off stage right into the NBA superstar!!!

Desiigner was in the middle of his hit song "Panda" Tuesday around 1:30 AM at JEWEL Nightclub when he misstepped. Seriously, he just missed a step and toppled off stage onto Harden's back. Chill, Houston ... you don't have a problem. The Beard and its owner were not injured.

Our sources say James was trying to keep it low-key inside the club -- he had his hoodie on when he arrived. That went out the window when Desiigner found out he was there and blew up Harden's spot.

The brush with Desiigner didn't ruin Harden's night or his All-Star break -- the Rockets are off until Thursday night. We gotta give JH props here ... for NOT flopping!!!

The Kobe Bryant tributes were AMAZING at the NBA All-Star Game on Sunday night ... and some of the biggest stars in the world were front and center for all of the emotional moments.

Kim Kardashian and Kanye West sat courtside at the United Center in Chicago -- surrounded by stars like Cardi B, Chris Tucker, Ludacris, Offset, Chance The Rapper, Chadwick Boseman and more!

There's more ... a LOT more -- Fat Joe, Bad Bunny, Ninja, Spike Lee, Jeff Ross, Common, Tiffany Haddish and Jon Stewart were all on hand to watch Team LeBron take on Team Giannis.

But, the show started BEFORE tip-off when Chicago-native Jennifer Hudson performed an incredible tribute to Kobe ... with a beautiful video montage in the background.

One of the cooler tributes at the game was a Kobe tribute video with music by Dr. Dre. The video was created by 23-year-old director Gibson Hazard and Jackson Bannon ... and honestly, it's pretty amazing stuff.

As we previously reported, the NBA renamed the All-Star Game MVP award after Kobe ... and Kawhi Leonard became the first person to take home the Mamba-inspired honor.

After the game, Leonard told the crowd, "This one's for him."

Kobe and his daughter, Gianna, died in a helicopter crash on Sunday, Jan. 26 -- along with 7 other people.

The strip club cavalry has arrived in Chicago with THOUSANDS of dancers, literally, making sure NBA superstars and fans are well entertained during All-Star Weekend!!!

The good folks at Ocean Gentleman's Club, Factory and Club O tell TMZ Sports ... they've hired Last Coast Entertainment to promote events at all the clubs this weekend. We're told that means 3,000 strippers will be swarming around poles all over Chi-town.

The forecast calls for some serious rain, because we're told each club will have $450,000 in single dollar bills on deck each day for customers -- NBA and otherwise -- to spend on the dancers. The clubs are ready to bring in the Brinks trucks too, if they need even more Washingtons.

As for who's leading all this fun ... Offset will be front and center hosting an epic after-party Sunday at Ocean Gentleman's Club, following the All-Star Game. Also, Kid Capri's hosed that club's Saturday night bash.

The clubs also tell us they already have 10 tables reserved each night, exclusively for NBA ballers -- and their kitchens will be working OT to serve up lamb chops, burgers, wings and shrimp. BIG dudes have BIG appetites!

BTW, NBA All-Star Weekend is like an annual Super Bowl for the strippers ... so there's high-demand to get work in the host cities each year. We're told the dancers have to fork over $300 to $350 per night to a club just to get their high heels in the door.

Other gentlemen's clubs around Chicago -- like Scores and Rick's Cabaret -- are adopting NBA themes. Dancers will wear basketball uniforms, to start anyway, and of course, there will be VIP sections just for NBA studs.

Lil Nas X is applauding Dwyane Wade and Gabrielle Union for supporting their 12-year-old kid who is now identifying as female ... and he's also got some advice for Zaya.

The "Old Town Road" singer, who came out last year, weighed in on Zaya's big announcement Wednesday at LAX ... explaining why it's important for kids to have parents in their corner when they reveal their truth.

As you know ... the NBA legend appeared on 'The Ellen Show' Tuesday and told the world his kid identifies as a female after being born male.

Dwyane and Gabrielle are being super supportive of Zaya coming out as transgender, and their oldest son, Zaire, also says he'll always have his sibling's back ... and Lil Nas X says the family backing is super important for anyone in Zaya's shoes.

Zaya's also spoken out against folks who may disagree with her announcement ... saying, "What's the point of being on this earth if you're gonna try to be someone you're not? It's like you're not even living as yourself, which is like the dumbest concept to me."

Snoop Dogg is issuing a public apology to CBS anchor Gayle King after ripping her for the Kobe Bryant interview ... and he wants to hash things out in private.

Snoop just issued his mea culpa to Gayle, saying the way he came at her with a profanity-laced social media rant was out of line.

As you know ... Snoop went nuclear on Gayle last week, heavily criticizing her for an interview she did with WNBA legend Lisa Leslie, which included a question and follow up about Kobe's 2003 sexual assault case.

Now, Snoop admits he was wrong for lashing out at Gayle -- who says she's getting death threats for the Kobe question -- and he says he overreacted because he was rife with emotions and angry at her line of questioning.

Snoop says he was just trying to defend Kobe because Mamba can't defend himself, but he regrets the way he expressed his feelings.

As for why the change of heart ... Snoop says his mom gave him some sage advice. He added ... "2 wrongs don't make it right."

In his initial rant, Snoop called Gayle a "funky dog head bitch" and asked her, "How dare you try to tarnish my motherf***in' home boy's reputation, punk motherf***er? Respect the family and back off, bitch. Before we come get you."

The father of Malika Haqq's unborn son is her ex-BF, O.T. Genasis, but there's zero awkwardness -- they're still great friends and plan to be greater co-parents.

Sources close to the situation tell TMZ ... Khloe Kardashian's BFF and the rapper still have a wonderful relationship despite breaking up last summer, and O.T.'s been nothing but supportive from the moment Malika revealed she was pregnant.

We're told the exes are both nervous and excited to meet their baby boy, but there's no concern about parenting together. They remained friends, kept things drama-free after their split ... and we're told they will do what's best for their son going forward.

You might recall ... Malika kept the identity of her baby daddy under wraps after announcing she was expecting in September, but there was immediate speculation it was her former longtime BF.

Turns out, that was dead-on but we're told they both wanted to keep it private as long as possible to avoid unnecessary rumors.

Malika held her baby shower this weekend -- with a big assist from Khloe, of course -- and that's when she confirmed O.T. is the daddy-to-be.

He also confirmed the good news and asked fans for baby name suggestions.

NBA teams in need of a 5'10" point guard need to look no further ... 'cause Quavo says he's available and ready to make a jump to the Association, telling TMZ Sports he's the next Master P!!

Of course, the Migos rapper balled out with Justin Bieber, Sheck Wes, Drake and more in NYC last week  -- and Huncho was in full BEAST MODE scoring at least 15 points!!

So, when we caught up with Quavo, we had to ask who really has the best skills outta the celeb bunch on that court ... and he gave us a far from humble answer.

"It gotta be me," Quavo says. "We beat OVO. I ain't even have my team with me."

Beating Biebs and Drizzy is one thing ...  going against NBA stars like LeBron, Kawhi and KD is another. But, Quavo says he's up for the challenge to make it to the league!!

"I could be the next Master P! Ima go for it!"

FYI,  Master P was signed to Charlotte Hornets in 1998 and Toronto Raptors in 1999 ... but never made it to the court for a regular-season game.

Megan Thee Stallion's setting the record straight about a prior arrest, and if you think she can rap ... wait till you see her tell a story!!! Despite the circumstances, it's kinda hilarious.

The "Hot Girl Summer" MC came clean Tuesday about getting busted in 2015 after she, admittedly, put hands on her 6-foot-10 BF at the time. Meg opted to share the full story with her fans after her mug shot from the Texas arrest was posted on a blog.

Right off the bat, she called it a "toxic relationship," and said things boiled over at a SXSW concert when she found out the BF cheated and had a kid with another woman.

She says that triggered a violent argument, with the guy allegedly roughing her up and stomping on her phone. That prompted her to take matters into her own hands -- Megan says she was punching him when cops showed up.

You gotta watch her description of what happened at that point. Getting arrested is rarely funny, however, all these years later ... Megan's found some humor in how it all went down.

The whole case was dismissed in April 2016, after the BF didn't show for court and didn't want to press charges.

Kanye West may not like this ... Kim Kardashian says she doesn't think she can handle any more children because they wouldn't get the attention they deserve.

Kim makes the revelation on Laura Wasser's 'All's Fair' podcast ... telling the Disso Queen she's open to having more babies with Kanye but has some serious doubts about doing so.

As you know ... Kanye recently said he wants 7 kids, despite his wife saying she's ready to throw in the towel after becoming a mother of 4.

Kim says she's already got her hands full with Saint, North, Chicago and Psalm ... and she's worried about not being able to pay enough attention to all the little ones if the family expands.

While Kim admits having more kids would be nice, she says her age and her desire to become a lawyer are two major roadblocks.

It's funny ... Kim says she still hounds Kris Jenner on the daily, and that's another reason why she's got some reservations.

Laura's podcast is available on iHeartRadio today. Her website -- Itsovereasy.com -- is also available for people who are getting divorced and don't want to break the bank or wage war.

Rihanna and A$AP Rocky ain't fooling anyone at this point ... though give 'em an A for effort in trying to throw everyone off the scent.

Riri and Rocky arrived separately to The Nice Guy in WeHo early Tuesday morning. The Barbados Babe showed up just before 1 AM ... with A$AP following not long behind and arriving just after 2 AM.

Goes without saying, neither was in the mood to chitchat about their relationship. Such was the case when we got Rihanna out in NYC over the weekend. As we reported ... Rihanna flew solo for her shindig at Bergdorf Goodman in Midtown Manhattan.

No sign of A$AP there that night, which seemed odd since they've been hanging out A LOT ever since Rihanna's breakup with Hassan Jameel after 3 years of dating.

A stripper in Texas proved she's got nerves of steel and fantastic muscle memory ... hopping right back into a twerking routine after taking a 15-foot fall off a pole.

The gal's name is Genea Sky, and she seriously injured herself this weekend at a gentlemen's club in the Lone Star State -- where she was performing onstage and hiked up a super tall pole that some people say reached the two-story mark ... only to go tumbling down.

Genea ends up falling on her face from that high up, but what's even crazier ... she almost immediately bounces right back up and starts twerking from all fours. What a pro!!!

In all seriousness, though, it was a nasty fall. And, it sounds like the dancer took some lumps as a result -- Genea later took to social media to announce she'd fractured her jaw, cracked some of her teeth, sprained her ankle ... and needed stitches, plus surgery.

Now, a ton of people have made jokes about the video -- which as since gone viral. Even 50 Cent has weighed in, jokingly saying she must've died and that the nerves are what made her shake afterward. That said, Genea notes there's nothing funny about her predicament.

In fact, one of her good friends even went so far as to create a GoFundMe for Genea to help cover her medical expenses. So far, it's already racked up over $13k out of a $20k goal.

No word on where exactly this took place, but one thing you gotta wonder about in this case ... is she eligible for worker's comp? Do strip clubs have medical?? Hmmm ... 🤔

Justin Bieber and Quavo are helping shine a light on a good cause ... and their new music video is helping a shelter for homeless women.

Here's the deal ... the music vid for Justin and Quavo's collab, "Intentions," tells the story of a group of women in search of a better life in Los Angeles. The women are all living out of Alexandria House, a shelter for homeless women and homeless women with kids.

The video wraps with a special shout-out to Alexandria House ... Justin and Quavo say they donated $200,000 to the non-profit... and viewers are directed to a link where they can lend a helping hand.

The response has been pretty amazing ... since the video dropped at midnight Thursday, we're told the shelter has received more than $10,000 in donations.

It's pretty cool ... the money is flowing in from all over the world -- Italy, Romania and China, etc. -- and many of the donations are small, as in the $1 and $5 denominations. There've been a few large donations of $1,000 and $5,000, but it's mostly people chipping in what they can afford.

Alexandria House tells us its website is also seeing a huge influx of traffic ... as in, an 800 percent increase in traffic compared to the day before the video dropped.

Justin and Quavo spotlighted 3 women in the video, and we're told some of the funds are going towards their tuition and after-school programs for their kids, plus a one-woman show for the lady who does poetry.

The rest of the money, we're told, will aid the 30 current residents and some 200 former residents ... so they can buy textbooks, furniture for their new homes and even car repairs.

Ah, the power of Bieber and Quavo.