TMZ Hip Hop - Page 50

A$AP Rocky was arrested as he flew into LAX Wednesday morning ... TMZ has confirmed.

Eyewitnesses at the airport tell TMZ the rapper flew in to Los Angeles from Barbados on a private jet, where he was met by cops at the terminal and taken away in handcuffs. We're told he was arrested for assault with a deadly weapon with a gun.

Law enforcement sources tell TMZ the arrest stems from a November 6, 2021 incident, where an alleged victim claimed Rocky shot at them 3 or 4 times -- grazing his left hand -- NBC News was first with the info.

Unclear exactly where the alleged shooting happened ... Rocky performed at Complex Con in Long Beach on November 7, Rihanna was in attendance.

As we told you, Rocky and a pregnant Rihanna have been living it up in her native country, jet skiing (while RiRi watched with binoculars) and hanging with friends and family.

TMZ broke the story ... a recent Twitter rumor that the two had split because he cheated was 100% not true -- and evidence that all is good between them was shown in the vacation pics where they're clearly having a great time.

It's unclear when Rihanna's expected to give birth, but has said she's in her third trimester. The couple announced the pregnancy back in January.

Tekashi 6ix9ine has a No. 1 record with Nicki Minaj, but even that accomplishment isn't stopping the rainbow-haired rapper from publicly calling BS on her.

6ix9ine is reacting to his "TROLLZ" collaborator's demand for her Barbz to drive up the YouTube numbers on her new Fivio Foreign record, "We Go Up" ... and he thinks it was an insane request.

"Crazy" was his actual choice of words.

It's doubtful Tekashi meant any "malice" toward Nicki when he sounded off via DJ Akademiks Instagram. It's just interesting because he claimed on "TMZ Live" that he only responds to drama; never instigates it.

He even went so far as to deny having any hate toward Lil Durk, the late King Von or even Fivo ... despite a ton of lyrical evidence to the contrary. So, why stir the pot with Nicki over her Fivo collab???

No doubt, Nicki's had a topsy-turvy relationship with her infamous legion of fans, and on today's episode of "TMZ Hip Hop" the crew addressed her latest attempt to press them into action.

Whether you agree or disagree with the approach, it appears to be working. At the time we posted, the video had 1.4 million views and was No. 1 on YouTube's trending charts.

Drake can rest a little easier for the next few years, now that a judge has granted his request to prevent an allegedly deranged fan from contacting him or his family.

According to new legal docs obtained by TMZ Hip Hop ... Drake's attorneys, Larry Stein and Ashley Yeargan, were in court for Tuesday's hearing, which ended with the judge approving a 3-year restraining order.

The alleged stalker was not in court, but will be served the order. As we reported, Drake's been dealing with this woman for a while now -- she was arrested for trespassing at his Hollywood Hills estate in 2017, and she even attempted to file a $4 billion defamation suit against him ... as if the Certified Lover Boy was the one harassing her.

The court determined the woman was "given timely and proper notice" to give her side of the story – for instance, explaining the email she allegedly sent Drake, saying "put a bullet through your head now bitch."

Wiz Khalifa's been very active on the music front this year and, naturally, he's keeping that going for 420 ... by dropping a huge streaming treat for fans.

The diamond-selling rapper's throwing it back to his earlier days as a mixtape master, and unleashing his 2012 project Taylor Allderdice (named after his Pittsburgh high school) on streaming services for the first time.

Originally released on March 13, 2012 ... the album had top-notch features from Rick Ross, Wiz's then-wife Amber Rose, Juicy J and production from Cardo and longtime collaborators ID Labs: E. Dan, Sledgren, Sayez and Big Jerm.

Today being a national holiday -- for Wiz, anyway -- he told his 36 million Instagram followers he's celebrating with some Khalifa Kush and a gym session.

The project's host – Genius correspondent and rapper Rob Markman – tells TMZ Hip Hop he was so high out of his mind (how'd that happen?!), he doesn't remember actually saying "It's Rob Markman on Twitter – send ya hate mail" to open the project.

"Wiz had a lot of things to get off his chest and basically told me to ask him any and everything and not to hold back," Rob says. "So we interviewed for well over an hour— Juicy J was there, Smoke DZA was there, Chevy Woods was there, Will was there, and there was a TON of weed. It was a good time."

Antonio Brown didn't shy away from his Bucs blowup on his new rap album ... in fact, the NFL player dropped multiple bars about his famous Tampa Bay exit on several tracks.

AB posted the album -- called "Paradigm" -- on Wednesday morning ... and in two songs, he referenced his Jan. 2 shirtless tirade at MetLife Stadium.

In the songs "Business Boomin" and "Put That S*** On" ... he rapped about the way he quit on his team during the Bucs vs. Jets tilt.

"Sorry, ran up off the field," AB sang in the "Business Boomin" track. "I’m boomin'. Gotta get my money. I'm boomin'."

"Walk out your bitch life like I walked off the field or something," he sang in the "Put That S*** On" track. "AB, why you make the G.O.A.T retire? What's your deal or something."

DaBaby -- who's featured on the "Business Boomin" song -- also brought up the incident ... rapping at one point, "I throw off my shirt like AB, I don't wanna play for your team."

Brown also poked fun at his infamous failed trade to the Buffalo Bills in 2019 ... rapping in "Put That S*** On" ... "Buffalo skin on my coat, she think I play for the Bills or something."

Overall, the album shows the receiver is serious about the craft ... and has some dope features Fivio Foreign, Young Thug, Jacquees and Keyshia Cole, who did a music video with AB for "Don't Leave".

Of course, Kanye West might've been a major influence on this project ... especially since the award-winning rapper/producer has been spotted with AB in the studio numerous of times.

Cheech & Chong are celebrating 4/20 in the only way they know how -- smoking a fat blunt -- while puff, puff, passing with cops in a new music video.

The iconic comedy stoner duo is teaming up with Doggface, the viral Fleetwood Mac skateboarder from 2020, for his first rapping debut in "Low Rider" ... blazing up a fatty in the video, and prompting a visit from police.

The video's release date is April 20, the unofficial marijuana holiday, so naturally, the police actors start sharing the blunt with Cheech, Chong and Doggface, some real reefer madness.

Doggface's first song -- titled "Low Rider" -- is Klypso's and it features War and another well-known stoner, Snoop Dogg, who doesn't shy away from smoking on camera either.

George Lopez even makes a cameo ... parking it up too!!!

As we first told you ... the music vid was filmed over 4 days at Snoop's compound and a Burbank studio and cost around $300k to produce, with Snoop getting nearly $100k, and a big chunk going to production.

The song is a stoner's spin-off of the original (by War) and the celeb cast makes sense ... remember, Cheech and Chong played the OG "Low Rider" in their iconic movie, "Up in Smoke" ... and the tune doubles as the theme song for George's self-titled sitcom, "George Lopez."

Danielle Bregoli, aka Bhad Bhabie, wants to lose another aka -- the "Cash me Outside" chick from Dr. Phil -- because she says she's been more than successful on her own.

Bhad Bhabie says she wants everyone to forget about her 2016 TV interview with the good Doc, the one that's amassed 14 million views. In the video she says she's become a massive success post-Phil, and those are the accomplishments that matter.

For e.g., she points to her OnlyFans triumph of snagging a million bucks in 6 hours. And, there's more -- she says all tolled, she's raked in $50 million. Not bad for a 19-year-old.

Kendrick Lamar is a man of the people -- the rap superstar hit up the Dodger game and sat with fans in the stands on Tuesday ... just days after announcing his highly-anticipated album.

The pgLang rapper has been the talk of the town since revealing he's got a new project coming next month ... and despite all the hype surrounding him, Kendrick managed to show his supporters appreciation by mingling with them at the game.

Of course, K. Dot is rarely out in public and hardly has a social media presence ... so whenever he's seen out and about, it's always a big deal for fans.

The Dodgers' broadcast made sure to highlight Kendrick's surprise appearance ... showing him on the big screen in left field as the crowd cheered for the SoCal native.

Lamar has hit up Blue Heaven on Earth in the past -- in 2015, he threw out the ceremonial first pitch to Carl Crawford ... and it was a much better throw than some of the recent celebs who've been tapped to do the tradition (we're looking at you, 50 Cent, Conor McGregor, and Dr. Fauci).

It's been an exciting few months for Kendrick -- he performed during the Super Bowl LVI halftime show with Mary J. Blige, Dr. Dre, Snoop Dogg, and Eminem. As always, Lamar had the visuals and aesthetics on point and he performed two of his classics -- "m.A.A.d city" and "Alright."

Kendrick's next album is expected to be his last one with Top Dawg Entertainment -- the lyricist previously announced he was leaving the TDE label.

Tiffany Haddish has something cooking in the kitchen -- but it ain't a comedy thing, it's music ... and she says she's hoping she can make it pay dividends.

The comedian/actress dished about her new musical endeavor to a photog Tuesday night out at the Mint Room Studios in Glendale, where it appears she was in the middle of some recording sessions for a collection of original tunes she's pulling together.

Before you run off thinking Tiff's about to drop an album, listen to the clip first ... because she makes it clear there's no such project in the works, although she is laying down tracks.

As TH explains -- these songs aren't for streaming, per se, but more so for TV and film use. Tiffany obviously understands where the dough is in the biz, and it ain't in traditional music releases ... but more so in residuals, which she's trying to cash in on right now.

No word on what exactly her vibe feels like or how these songs might sound -- but we DO know Tiff can carry a tune ... and we're also hearing she's recruiting the likes of Snoop Dogg, Lil Wayne and even Beyonce for this project of hers. So, let your imagination run wild.

Jack Harlow's on top of his game and at the top of the Billboard Hot 100 Chart thanks to his new single “First Class” -- but some fans, critics and industry execs wonder if race is playing a role in his success.

Of course, Jack's hit samples Fergie’s 2006 multi-platinum track, “Glamorous" ... and we all know it absolutely blew up on TikTok, which definitely helped it grab the top spot.

Still, Top Dawg Entertainment President Terrence "Punch" Henderson sparked a debate Tuesday on Twitter by proclaiming Black artists have to be more exceptional compared to their White counterparts.

Even though "Punch" never mentions Jack by name, the twitterverse got his point.

He also seemed to reference Macklemore and Ryan Lewis' "The Heist" album beating Kendrick Lamar's "good kid, m.A.A.d. city" at the 2014 Grammys as an example.

The debate came up on Tuesday's episode of TMZ Hip Hop ... as our DJ Hed and Rodney Rikai challenged each other on what's really fueling the Kentucky-born rapper’s rise to the top.

Great convo, and you gotta check out the clip, because they actually answered this hypothetical: IF Jack were a Black rapper, whose career would his most resemble???

Dave East and Saweetie fans, pay attention!

All in all, Jack is having a renaissance year within a still blossoming career. His new album "Come Home the Kids Miss You" is set to drop May 6, he’s starring in the "White Men Can’t Jump" reboot ... and he's fresh off a KFC campaign that benefits several social justice and youth groups.

Fat Joe's taking a break from ripping mics to tear into America's healthcare system and the politicians allowing hospitals to essentially steal from patients ... and TMZ Hip Hop's learned he's taking this fight all the way to Washington, DC.

Joey Crack recorded this incredibly powerful message last month in the Bronx, calling out healthcare "crooks" for hiding hospital prices -- something that's actually illegal, but as Joe points out ... no one's policing the system.

Joe teamed up with Power to the Patients to demand change, and you can tell he's feeling this cause as much as any verse he's ever recorded. As he says on the spot, "When we can't see or compare prices, hospitals charge us whatever they want. They robbing us!!!"

The Bronx icon has some A-list companies in the fight for patients' rights. You might recall ... Susan Sarandon and Cynthia Erivo filmed their own PSAs last year for Power to the Patients, which aired during the Oscars.

Susan also joined us on "TMZ Live" to tackle the hot button issue.

We're told Fat Joe's so serious about this campaign, he'll be attending the White House Correspondents' dinner later this month to rep the org, and, hopefully, get some DC powerbrokers onboard with the effort.

Nicki Minaj is straight up threatening her most hardcore supporters, aka the Barbz -- if they don't start watching her new video with Fivio Foreign, she might scrap any album plans!

Onika unleashed the vid Tuesday for her New York drill anthem, “We Go Up,” with Fivio ... and while it features plenty of "outside energy" Nicki thinks it's lacking online energy.

Directed by Andre "Drevinci" Jones, the clip connects hoods from Queens and Brooklyn and has Nicki stunting in a pink Lamborghini -- but sounds like Nicki's unimpressed with the number of views it's gotten to this point.

She issues a warning to the Barbz that she'll be inside real quick if the vid doesn't blaze up the YouTube charts -- meaning, she'll shelve her upcoming 5th studio album.

It doesn't appear to be a drill. She even wanted fans to know she was channeling Meryl Streep's ice cold "Devil Wears Prada" character.

While drill music is undoubtedly the hottest subgenre in hip hop, Nicki isn't hopping on the wave – she sorta helped bring it to prominence.

Back in 2014, she did a feature for a then-little-known G Herbo (who was rapping underneath the name Lil Herb) on the song "Chi-Raq," a direct ode to Chicago drill.

A$AP Rocky and Rihanna are doing the ultimate love bird thing that an expecting couple could while on vacation -- soon-to-be Mama Bear looking on as dad takes on Mother Nature.

The singer/fashion mogul was taking in the sights Tuesday down in her native Barbados -- notably, the sight of her baby daddy ripping and roaring through the ocean just outside their vacay home while mounted on a jet ski.

Check it out ... Rihanna is surrounded by some friends/fam, checking in on A$AP with a pair of binoculars as he navigates the choppy waters solo. Seems like she was impressed by what she was seeing, and likewise ... he was pretty happy too. Each of them were all smiles.

Of course, RiRi is heavily pregnant -- it looks like she could pop any day now -- so she definitely wasn't going to join on this particular excursion.

No worries, because A$AP was able to manage just fine on his own ... and before long, he reunited with his lady on land and they headed back inside together. If you didn't believe your eyes before this weekend, you can believe this -- they're very much together.

We'd already been told there was no truth to them splitting over alleged cheating -- it was nothing more than a Twitter rumor that took off like wildfire -- but the proof is in the pudding now that they're in each other's company again, looking super boo'd up, per usual.

Like we said, the future parents aren't just putting on a united front in paradise ... they very much are a united front, for realsies.

Drake and Taylor Swift are NOT about to drop new music together ... despite a social media post from Drizzy fueling rumors about a potential collab in the works.

Sources with direct knowledge tell TMZ … sadly there is NO collab between Drake and Taylor that is about to be released, and Champagne Papi's Instagram post from Monday is just a throwback photo with no hidden message.

As we reported ... the OVO rapper posted a photo dump on IG, which included a photo of him with his arm around Taylor. Drake captioned the post, "They too soft to understand the meaning of hard work".

Our sources say there's nothing behind the pic other than memories ... and the photo with T-Swift is from a few years ago, sometime in 2017 or 2018.

Drake and Taylor are friends with a long history ... and the post and caption led many to believe Drizzy was signaling new music ... but we're told it's just a harmless throwback post.

DJ Envy has an admitted 50 Cent bias – but he's still calling cap on Benzino's plans to sue the "Power" series honcho for defamation.

We caught "The Breakfast Club" co-host with his wife Gia outside Fox News in NYC, and while he pledged his allegiance to 50 Cent (they came up through the same underground hip hop grind in Queens), he doesn't feel Benzino can truthfully present a winning case in court.

Envy acknowledged Young Buck and Benzino's beefs with 50 Cent ... after catching his social media wrath, but in his opinion, they're both out of legal luck.

Again, he's admittedly biased, but even Envy opted to deflect when we asked him about Fiddy's Easter Sunday shot at Jay-Z ... saying he looks like a "gay painter" and posting a side-by-side of Jigga and Basquiat.

Back to Benzino ... he was just on TMZ's "It's Tricky With Raquel Harper," calling for 50's head in court and comparing him to Tekashi 6ix9ine ... in terms of alleged snitching, at least.

DJ Envy and Gia are currently promoting their book, the ridiculously long-titled "Real Life, Real Love: Life Lessons on Joy, Pain & the Magic That Holds Us Together" -- but what could feel longer than being married for 10 years without an orgasm?

The couple recently stepped into The Shade Room to reveal they not only endured a cheating scandal, but 10 years of Gia faking the big O to satisfy Envy's ego. That admission stirred up a spicy convo on the latest episode of TMZ Hip Hop.

Trick Daddy insists his restaurant did NOT take a hit, following his controversial take on Beyoncé's singing skills -- and yet, the rapper-turned-chef is firing some new shots.

He joined "TMZ live" to clear the air on those comments he made about Bey. ICYMI, his restaurant, Sunday's Eatery, got flooded with bad online reviews, starting last summer, when he said "Beyoncé can't sing."

The joint's Google ratings dropped from 4.8 to 2.6, but TD tells us Sunday's Eatery weathered the storm just fine. Most importantly -- for the Beyhive, anyway -- he also called Beyoncé the greatest entertainer (not singer) in the world.

As far as those bad reviews, he blames trolls and not Beyoncé's dedicated fans ... because he says, "real fans" understand people have different opinions.

The whole experience isn't making him shy, though ... he offered up what he admits will be an "unpopular opinion" -- "Kevin Hart ain't funny."