TMZ Hip Hop - Page 50

Megan Thee Stallion says a simple request to renegotiate her contract turned into a stalemate that's keeping a lid on any new tunes.

The rapper took to IG Live Sunday to call her out her record label, 1501, claiming they're not allowing to drop any new music for the time being -- all because, as she claims, MTS asked them to tweak some fine print in the deal she's signed with them at a young age.

Megan says she signed with 1501 when she was about 20 years old, and there were a lot things in her contract with them she simply wasn't aware of -- that is, until she started getting managed by Jay-Z's Roc Nation, which pointed a lot of stuff out to her.

Long story short, Meg says everything was all good and dandy until one day she approached the label and asked to renegotiate ... at which point, she says things went "left."

Megan claims as a result of her asking ... the label has put her and any new tunes on ice. She likens the move to nothing more than greed in its purest form -- and it's clear, there's beef.

Interestingly enough, we actually spoke to the co-founder of Meg's label, ex-MLB player Carl Crawford, and he told us he basically discovered Meg and helped put her on. Didn't sound like there was much friction between her and them at the time -- seems things have changed.

The bad news is for fans, of course -- 'cause if what she's saying is true, it can mean a whole year without some 'Hot Girl' seasons to bless us. Shame ...

Waka Flocka is bringing self-awareness and self-deprecating humor to a whole new level -- saying he was a wack rapper at the peak of his career ... but honest nonetheless.

The hip-hop star was chopping it up with the team at Everyday Struggle, where he made the startling declaration ... that he was wack, he knows he was wack and probably should've stopped rapping way earlier than he actually did. His words, folks ... not ours.

Check out his explanation for yourself ... WFF says he made a massive amount of money around 2012 -- $30 million, apparently -- and says he'd achieved what he'd set out to do in the rap game ... which is to get rich. He insists he didn't need to keep going.

It's funny ... the Everyday crew tries to convince him otherwise -- that he's not wack and actually contributed a lot to the game -- but he remains firm, explaining his hip-hop idols are hardcore lyricists like Nas, KRS-One and others. He says he's simply not near them.

His one saving grace, according to him, was his ability to keep it real. Waka says people probably respected that more than his rapping ability.

Waka might be a little too hard on himself here -- fact is ... the dude put out tons of songs that landed on the Billboard charts, and while they weren't the most lyrically complex ... they were fun as hell for what they were -- and enjoyed by many.

Kylie Jenner and Travis Scott are back together ... at least that's the signal she's giving, and pretty clearly giving at that.

Kylie posted a bunch of pics from the Houston Rocket's Western Conference Quarterfinals back in 2017. It's when she was pregnant with Stormi. Kylie and Trav certainly look couply. She captioned the photos, "It's a mood."

She posted pics of Travis whispering in her ear, another staring into each other's eyes ... get the picture?

Kylie also modeled shoes Travis released Saturday ... Nike SB Dunk low trainers. BTW ... they've gone from $150 a pop online to $1,000.

Pop Smoke's murder is still a mystery, and police are making little progress in finding suspects due to a variety of issues ... but they're still pressing on.

Law enforcement sources tell TMZ ... detectives have hit a road block in the rapper's murder investigation, specifically with regard to witness testimony. We've heard it before -- a lot of people are simply refusing to talk. But also ... a lot of the info they're getting is sketchy.

Our sources say among the potential witnesses cops have spoken with, stories have either changed or are provably untrue. Also, because nobody was outside or nearby Pop's house when the crime occurred ... they have no neutral witnesses.

To make matters worse ... we're told investigators have wasted time looking into videos posted online allegedly connected to the murder, but they've all ended up unrelated to the case.

Likewise, with the case being bi-coastal -- Smoke was killed in L.A. but lived in NYC -- cops have had to spend extra time and effort tracking down people.

Finally, even though the murder appears to be a targeted hit and not a robbery ... our law enforcement sources say they're still having trouble coming up with a motive.

Cops are working all leads and resources possible in the meantime, but it seems they're in desperate need of a break in the case.

Diddy's ready to get down to recruiting in the ATL for his "Making the Band" reboot ... and he's relying on some serious hometown talent to help him get it done.

Production sources tell TMZ ... the music mogul's locked down Quavo, Monica and 112 to serve as advisers when 'MTB' kicks off its official open casting call Friday in Atlanta's famed Center Stage Theater.

And, get this ... Quality Control Music honchos Pierre "Pee" Thomas and Kevin "Coach K" Lee -- who claim Cardi B and Migos, among others, to their label -- have also signed on to help Diddy find the next R&B supergroup.

The casting call goes from 10 AM to 6 PM ... with invitation-only callbacks slated to go down Saturday. The casting call will eventually make its way to Houston, Charlotte and NYC.

And, speaking of Charlotte ... DaBaby's lending Diddy a hand in his hometown. He's already signed up to help there. The show returns to MTV later this year.

As we reported ... Diddy made a surprise announcement back in July 2019 about a possible "Making the Band" reboot. He had some doubts but ultimately forged ahead. And there's been no shortage of former 'MTB' stars wanting to get back in the game.

Offset's officially following the lead of his wife -- he's adding actor to his resume ... along with hip-hop star.

The Migos rapper's set to make his acting debut on "NCIS: Los Angeles" and TMZ got a sneak peek. Offset plays the role of an undercover CIA agent being approached by the show's stars -- Chris O'Donnell and LL Cool J -- to save a special agent who's been captured.

Gotta say, it's pretty solid ... much like Cardi B's Hollywood debut last year in "Hustlers."

As an added bonus, Offset's guest spot will feature the world premiere of his new track, "Danger" .... which you can hear in the clip.

According to a behind-the-scenes vid ... LL says Offset hit him up about getting involved with the hit CBS show and he helped him get going, but Offset did the rest.

They say the role is significant because it's not the normal rapper-turned-actor typecast situation ... and it's clear they're pretty stoked about that.

Future says his alleged baby mama's treating her baby girl like an ATM to squeeze money out of him, and he even claims she's given the child a nickname ... "check baby."

According to legal docs, obtained by TMZ, the rapper claims Eliza Seraphin has referred to the 9-month-old little girl by that phrase. Future's lawyers define the term as "slang terminology describing a child conceived solely for the purposes of extorting monies from the father of a child in the child support setting."

Translation: Future's claiming Eliza got knocked up just to get money out of him. TBH, it's a claim he's made before, but now he's claiming even Eliza cops to it.

In the docs, the rapper claims one of her friends alleged, during an online interview, Eliza had gone as far as researching the amount of child support Future paid to his other baby mamas ... just to see what she could get out of him.

What's more, Future claims that friend also said Eliza started taking fertility pills to increase her chances of getting impregnated by Future.

He says the kid only needs around $450 per month -- a number he based on a financial affidavit Eliza filed in court, detailing her monthly expenses. Anything above that is a money grab, in Future's eyes.

Post Malone proved he can read a crowd ... busting out an awesome custom tee honoring his late pal, Mac Miller, which got concert-goers on their feet and 100% amped.

The singer was performing Monday night at the PPG Paints Arena in Mac's hometown ... and he came out wearing an oldie but goodie that was custom-made to pay tribute to the rapper -- who tragically died of an overdose about 2 years ago.

It's a white T-shirt that's been decked out to read "RIP Mac Miller" with super-dope designs and airbrush lettering. Post originally started wearing the shirt shortly after MM passed.

Sounds like it was a good move to don it yet again in the Steel City, 'cause we're told the audience went crazy -- the energy in the place exponentially jumped, especially when Post and his shirt got splashed across the big screen monitors behind him.

The crowd was definitely into it -- you can hear them helping Posty sing along to his own tune ... even though it doesn't appear he attempted to cover a Mac Miller song while up there. Probably better that way, no one could do it quite like the man himself.

Lil Nas X got his week started with what looks to be a brand new music video -- and like he has in the past ... it seems he's about to wow us with a crazy production.

The rapper was filming Monday atop a parking structure in Downtown L.A., where a set had been built resembling an intricate tree house of sorts. It ain't your usual kid-built MacGyver job either ... the "houses" almost look like apartments.

Check it out ... you see people coming in and out of the entrances, including LNX who had an interesting outfit on -- blue coat, brown pants, and polka-dotted shirt underneath. Feels like this thing could get pretty wacky.

Remember, Lil Nas is known for his over-the-top music vids -- which are top-notch and pull out all the stops on visual effects, props, set design, costumes ... and of course, animals.

His most successful song and video to date is "Old Town Road," which has racked up over 440 million views on YouTube. His other videos haven't really come close to that, but they're just as highly produced and elaborate. Based on what we see here, he's keeping that going.

The big question, of course, is what song this could possibly be for. He already did videos for his 3 big singles off his debut EP, "7," and has recently teased "new bangers" in 2020.

The Weekend and Kendrick Lamar might want people to say some prayers for them ... they're being sued for allegedly jacking music for their hit song, "Pray for Me."

A Brooklyn-based rock band called Yeasayer claims the duo lifted material from its 2007 song, "Sunrise," slightly altered it ... and inserted it into their 'Pray' single, which was featured on the "Black Panther" soundtrack.

According to the legal docs -- obtained by TMZ -- the part allegedly stolen from "Sunrise" is a "distinctive choral performance" the band recorded using their own voices. Yeasayer describes it as "comprised of male voices singing in their highest registers, with animated, pulsing vibrato."

The band claims Weeknd and Kendrick slightly modified a recording of its song with "intent to conceal the infringement" ... and used it in "Pray for Me" up to 8 different times throughout the track.

Yeasayer claims the allegedly stolen material is "immediately recognizable" as theirs. The band is asking for all the "Pray for Me" profits and damages. It also wants an injunction blocking further sales and airplay of 'Pray.'

Kanye West has linked up with another A-list celeb who's just as religious as he is ... one Justin Bieber, who put his talents to good use at Sunday Service.

The Biebs was a special guest this weekend at Kanye's latest gathering, which appears to have migrated indoors after almost a full year of outdoor get-togethers. At one point, Kim filmed Justin giving the crowd a taste of his crooning voice ... they loved it.

Sounds like Justin's singing the opening lines to Marvin Sapp's gospel hit, "Never Would Have Made It," which was actually remixed by Teyana Taylor on her album that Ye produced.

Full circle!

Anyway, it's pretty interesting ... Justin and Ye are definitely the pillars of Christianity and faith these days when it comes to the mainstream music scene, so you would've figured it was just a matter of time before they met up in a creative setting like this.

Lil Nas X trumped Mickey Mouse Saturday, by crashing a wedding reception at Disney World, and some of the guests fully melted down!

The "Old Town Road" icon apparently schemed with the bride, because the 2 of them walked into the reception hall and guests as his song filled the room ... and guests were shocked.

You hear one woman scream, "What the f*** is happening right now!?!!"

The 20-year-old rapper hit the dance floor and no doubt about it ... it made the wedding a night to remember.

Pop Smoke's loved ones will be gathering this weekend to remember him, say some prayers and grieve together ... TMZ has learned.

Sources close to the rapper's family tell us ... they are taking care of some final formal business, but will be transporting his body back to New York soon.

We're told a private event for family and close friends only is scheduled for Sunday at a church in his hometown of Brooklyn. It's a prayer and grief service, but not his final memorial service or burial ... that will be held at a later date.

We broke the story ... Pop Smoke's family is reeling after his tragic death, and desperately seeking answers. They've been heavily involved in the investigation process and we're told they'll continue to be as much as possible back in NYC.

Along with dealing with law enforcement, our sources say the family's also been handling a lot of the rapper's music business with his label and his lawyers in L.A. ... but they're ready to get out of California and bring their son home.

As you know ... Pop Smoke was shot and killed Wednesday morning in what initially appeared to be a home invasion in the Hollywood Hills. However, we've learned surveillance video suggests his murder was a target hit and not a robbery gone wrong.

'Mad' Mike Hughes is believed to possibly be dead after launching himself in the air with a self-made rocket that crash-landed -- and it was captured on camera.

The well-known daredevil and amateur rocket-engineer was doing a rocket launch Saturday in what appears to be near Barstow, CA -- where a reporter says Mike propelled himself into the air with a "self-made steam-powered rocket" and then crash-landed into the ground.

The reporter, Justin Chapman, adds, "Very likely did not survive." He tells TMZ ... Mike is confirmed to be dead there on the ground as well.

In the video, you see a parachute fly out of the rocket, but it doesn't appear anyone is using it. The presumption, for now, is that Mike might've stayed in the rocket as it ascended hundreds of feet into the air.

Mike's rep, Darren Shuster, tells TMZ he was NOT at the launch Saturday, but does believe his longtime client to be deceased based on what he's seen and heard. Darren says Mike was a "one-of-a-kind" adding, "When God made Mike he broke the mold. The man was the real deal and lived to push the edge. He wouldn’t have gone out any other way! RIP"

For Saturday's experiments, Mike is said to have been attempting to get as close to space from Earth as possible -- otherwise known as the Karman line, about 62 miles above Earth's surface -- without the use of advanced tech you might find at NASA or SpaceX.

Much more tragic, Mike seemed pretty stoked for the launch this weekend. He posted a video describing his rocket, where it would go down and what he was aiming to achieve. BTW, he was a big flat-earth believer -- and a doc was even made about him trying to prove it.

We've reached out to the San Bernardino County Sheriff's Dept. for comment ... so far, no word back. However, we were told by a dispatcher at the Victor Valley Sheriff's Station that a call for service had been placed Saturday out of Barstow -- the nature of which is unclear.

Mike was 64. RIP

As cops try to figure out who targeted Pop Smoke for death ... we know the rapper shut down one of his own performances just days before his murder out of concern there were gang members in the audience.

Pop was scheduled to play the Kings Theatre in Brooklyn last Sunday night, but took to Instagram just before the show to cancel. Pop blamed it on cops, saying, "Unfortunately NYPD wouldn't let me perform."

Our law enforcement sources say it wasn't the NYPD that shut the show down ... they say the decision was made by Pop himself. The rapper was out on bail in a federal car theft case and was ordered to stay away from gang members, so cops say canceling the show was really self-preservation.

There's been a buzz in L.A. among Pop's circle that gang members might be behind his murder. The fact that Pop himself had concerns about gang members was something that has not escaped the attention of police.

TMZ broke the story -- the feds busted Pop last month for allegedly transporting a stolen Rolls-Royce -- and that's why he was on bail.

As we first reported ... Pop Smoke's death appears to be a targeted hit based on accounts by those who saw surveillance footage from outside the Hollywood Hills home where he was gunned down.

Cardi B is getting sued for allegedly assaulting, striking and spitting on a female security guard, but witnesses saw it differently and feel Cardi was the one wronged.

The woman, named Emani Ellis, filed the lawsuit against Cardi Friday in Los Angeles County Superior Court. According to the suit, Ellis was at work in Bev Hills on Feb. 24, 2018, when the encounter with Cardi happened.

In the docs, obtained by TMZ, Ellis alleges Cardi maliciously struck her in the head, face and body. Ellis, who says she's African-American, also claims Cardi spit on her and used profanities and racial slurs.

This all went down in a medical building, and eyewitnesses tell us Cardi had just left an appointment -- and the security guard approached Cardi trying to record video or take photos of her. We're told Cardi asked her to stop because she didn't want to be recorded in the doctor's office.

It's also worth noting ... Cardi had not revealed her pregnancy yet. The date of the incident indicates she would've been about 4 months pregnant with Kulture.

The witnesses tell us the security guard got upset and she and Cardi -- who didn't have security with her at the time -- did get into argument. We're told a building staffer ran out and got in between the guard and Cardi, and things never got physical, and there were no racial slurs.

According to the lawsuit, Cardi "then used her celebrity status to get [Ellis] fired from her job as a security guard." However, a rep for the medical building tells TMZ, Cardi's doctor and patient coordinator were the ones who got the guard fired because they both felt the guard had violated Cardi's privacy. The rep says Cardi gave them permission to release that information.