TMZ Hip Hop - Page 50

The man that was allegedly beat up by DaBaby and his crew was apparently throwing the N-word around during his confrontation with the group ... at least according to new video.

The North Carolina rapper posted the footage himself Saturday, which appears to show Gary Prager pacing back and forth on the grounds of the mansion where the alleged beating took place in December ... and sure enough, you hear him scream "n*****s" in a rage.

DB's caption reads, "On today's episode of 'Let's Make DaBaby Look Like a Bad Person'" ... going on to accuse Prager of being a "PROUD white supremacist" ... adding that he (Prager) was "lying to TMZ & LAPD. Not knowing that he's caught on camera."

Later it reads, "These are the type of people y'all validate & let assassinate DaBaby's character." DaBaby also says Prager spat in his face, but the vid doesn't seem to show that.

For starters, nobody lied to us about this story -- DaBaby has, in fact, been charged with felony battery as it relates to this case ... so his beef is actually with Prager and law enforcement officials. DaBaby will have a chance to confront Prager's claims in court.

As for the guy screaming out the slur ... yeah, that's bad. It's unclear if him saying this occurred before or after the alleged assault -- but we suppose it doesn't really matter ... no excuse for invoking racism in any event.

DaBaby apparently thinks this will help make him look better in the public's eye -- but he seems to have bigger issues beyond just this one event, if we're being honest.

DJ Khaled turned into Adam Sandler to appease his son who was in the mood for some Mickey D's -- looking far and wide for a burger/toy combo ... and finally scoring!

The music producer went on an elaborate mission, it seems, to honor a weekend tradition he and 5-year-old Asahd apparently have -- namely, going out to the Golden Arches and securing the kid a Happy Meal.

Sounds like this is a tradition of theirs ... DJK calls is "Happy Meal Saturdays," and Asahd seems more than happy to tag along. Plus, just great father-son bonding right here.

Anyway, fast-forward to the hunt ... which was way harder than Khaled imagined. He filmed himself pulling up to a McDonald's that actually served Happy Meals ... telling both the drive-thru window workers (and his fans) that they'd struck out at 5 other locations.

He says this McDonald's was still serving Happy Meals ... and you can tell the staff was stoked to oblige, getting selfies with Khaled and asking him to drop some of his lines, which he happily did.

While Papa Bear was grateful to have gotten what he needed for his boy -- he was flabbergasted at how hard it was to come across a Happy Meal ... but there's a reason.

Word is ... McDonald's is phasing out current iterations of their staple menu item to replace the not-so-environmentally friendly plastic toys with biodegradable ones ... all in an effort to be more eco-conscious. So, it sounds like Happy Meals might be on pause at the moment.

Rihanna wants to make it clear to everyone ... she and A$AP Rocky are solid.

A$AP headlined at the Smokers Club Festival Saturday night in WeHo, and RiRi was backstage showing her support.

She's reportedly just weeks away from giving birth to her first child, but showing up at the club was clearly important to her.

There's been lots of drama over the last few weeks. As we reported, A$AP was arrested for assault with a deadly weapon last month in connection with a shooting last November in Hollywood. A$AP and Rihanna were blindsided by cops who met them at LAX and hooked Rocky up. They then searched his house for weapons but did not find the gun used in the shooting.

Rapper Pooh Shiesty won't be a completely free man even after he does his time for a wild shootout -- the artist will have some serious restrictions, according to legal documents.

Pooh's sentencing docs, obtained by TMZ, show he'll have to be on supervised release for 3 years once he completes his 63 months in prison, and the supervision comes with a bunch of rules attached.

During the 3 years, Pooh isn't allowed to associate with any of his co-defendants or gang members ... and his PO has permission to search Pooh and his property from time to time.

The rapper will also have to go through a treatment program for drugs and alcohol.

As we reported, he's currently serving the 5-plus year sentence over a South Florida shootout from back in October 2020.

DaBaby is facing criminal charges for a beatdown a man claims he suffered for trying to stop the rapper's entourage from shooting a music video on his property.

The rapper has been charged with felony battery by the L.A. County District Attorney's Office ... over an incident from early December last year ... which allegedly left a guy, Gary Pragar, with serious injuries.

There's another man named Thankgod Awute who's being charged as well. Prosecutors claim he was DaBaby's cohort in crime ... they hit him with felony robbery.

Pragar filed a lawsuit in February, claiming he was attacked for enforcing basic property rental rules at his place.

DaBaby and his team rented a massive pad that Pragar manages in L.A. ... and Pragar says he was told it was going to be a vacation place for DB and his pals. Pragar says he made clear ... there was a guest limit -- no more than 12 -- which he claims DaBaby's management team agreed to in a rental agreement.

During their weeklong stay ... Pragar says he became aware there were way more than 12 people at the property at any given time and complained to DaBaby's team ... getting assured, falsely he says, that they wouldn't be there for long.

Eventually, on Dec. 2, he says he paid a visit himself and realized they were shooting a music video there with an entire film crew and a ton of other people around -- upwards of 40, he says -- and Pragar tried to shut the whole thing down by talking to DaBaby.

That's when he claims he was attacked by someone in DB's crew, part of which was caught on video. He says DB ordered the guy off of Pragar, but then allegedly sucker-punched him in the face, knocking out his tooth ... this, per the lawsuit.

Sounds like Pragar went to the authorities after this, and now they're coming down hard on DB and co. Tough few weeks for DaBaby -- this is just the latest incident for him in a string of seemingly nonstop hiccups.

Post Malone did a good deed -- a very good deed -- for students who were grieving over the death of their principal.

Post recorded a video for students at P.S. 56, The Louis Desario School in Staten Island. Principal, Phil Carollo, died suddenly last month at 49 ... apparently from a heart attack.

Phil's widow Erin tells TMZ ... her husband was a huge Post Malone fan ... the fam would take car rides and all they played was PM as the couple and their kids sang along.

Well, Phil would have celebrated his 50th birthday Friday, so folks at the school wanted to do something special. They held a carnival, and wanted Post to record a vid honoring Phil that could be played to all the students.

One of the teachers, Linda Acevado, started an online petition to get Post to record the video.

Linda was undeterred ... a colleague had a friend who somehow had a way to get to Post, and he recorded the video.

You see Linda in the video break down in tears as an emotional Post offers words of comfort to the students.

Travis Scott has another fellow artist supporting his decision to resume his music career following the Astroworld tragedy that left 10 people dead.

TMZ Hip Hop caught up with Tinashe at LAX, and the R&B starlet feels it's prime time for Cactus Jack's comeback. While she acknowledged the festival was indeed a "sensitive subject," she doesn't feel Travis should be banned from performing ... provided additional security measures are in place.

The singer -- who just fired off the deluxe version of her "333" album -- actually collaborated with Travis on her 2014 debut album "Aquarius" and echoed much of what T-Pain told us earlier this week.

As for the various Astroworld lawsuits still hanging over Travis' head ... both sides have accused each other of "tainting" the jury pool

Attorneys for victims have criticized Travis for his charitable initiative, Project Heal, calling it a thinly-veiled attempt to get into a jury's good graces -- while reps for La Flare claim a new documentary, "Concert Crush: The Travis Scott Festival Tragedy," is a cash grab, and one that could potentially taint a jury.

Questlove is fresh off his first Oscar for his "Summer Of Soul" documentary, and it sounds like he wants to hand Action Bronson some hardware too ... for his latest album.

As new music releases flooded social media and DSPs Friday, The Roots' drummer, Oscar winner and, let's not forget, all-around hip hop genius ... found his favorite in Action's "Cocodrillo Turbo," and gave it a glowing endorsement on Twitter.

The 10-song project is a fluid offering, finding the colorful New York-bred MC rummaging through his traditional rap bag over production from Griselda's Daringer ... with features from Conway The Machine, Roc Marciano and Meyhem Lauren.

While Quest digs the record, some Twitter mob critics think it lacks hooks, and it's "filled with random phrases that have no meaning and Italian food references over weird jazz beats."

Can't please 'em all, right?

But, AB's loyal fans point out he's been improving his life aura ... chopping down his once familiar 400-pound frame by 160 pounds and even altering his eating habits on his popular show, "F**k, That's Delicious."

As for that album title -- it's Latin for crocodile -- the proud Sagittarian says it's inspired by his time in the water, and he delved into his reptilian side via a freaky short film to tell another story.

Chris Paul went absolutely nutty yesterday ... breaking an NBA Playoff record while leading the Phoenix Suns to victory over Curren$y's New Orleans Pelicans, but Spitta Andretti is taking it in stride.

The NOLA rap legend was courtside Thursday night in his hometown to witness CP3 shoot a perfect 33-point game. Following the 115-109 victory, Chris still had enough energy to talk smack to Spitta and his manager Mousa in a viral moment on the sidelines.

The footage is hilarious … CP3 was still in go mode as Curren$y eventually playfully pushed him off.

Curren$y tells TMZ Hip Hop of the heartfelt moment "Chris was just talking s***," as they've been pals for a long time. Remember, CP3 started his future Hall of Fame career with the then-New Orleans Hornets.

Despite the loss, Curren$y says the playoff experience unified the city -- "The Pelicans put it all on the court for us and we filled the arena for them," Spitta continued. I feel like this turnaround season is definitely gonna be a booster shot to the season ticket sales."

Spitta's having a personal come-up in 2022, having dropped off 2 projects this year alone ("Land Air Sea" Chopped + Slopped reissue w/ Cash Fargo and "Continuance" w/ Grammy-Nominated producer The Alchemist) -- and recently blazed his way through a heralded Tiny Desk Concert ... dropped, appropriately, on 4/20.

Travis Scott's team is coming out swinging against the creators of a documentary that takes aim at the tragic events of the Astroworld music festival ... calling it a pathetic money grab.

The "propaganda piece," as Scott's reps have dubbed it, is called "Concert Crush: The Travis Scott Festival Tragedy" and started screening in Texas on Friday.

The movie's director, Charlie Minn, told the AP the project isn't intended to be a hit piece against Travis, but rather a recounting of the devastation from that day.

Clearly, that's not what Travis' team thinks, calling it a, "... farce financed by and containing content from members of the plaintiff's legal teams, who, weeks after a tragedy, sought to exploit and benefit financially from it, with the clear goals of making money and swaying future juries and public opinion."

Interestingly enough, attorney Ricardo Ramos, who represents plaintiffs in multiple Astroworld cases is a producer for the film, and actual plaintiffs from the lawsuits are also featured in the film.

They also go in on Minn, saying, "It's a profit play and a publicity stunt, with no support from the film industry, no distribution, and from a director with no respect from his field who has been termed a "trauma pornographer."

For what it's worth, Minn has been critical of Travis' actions during the festival in the past, telling the Houston Press, "I think he'd be a lot more nervous if he didn't know the mayor and police chief. The police had all the authority to stop things, and the show should have been stopped by the third song. It was a dangerous, evil joke."

The documentary features several concertgoers from that day, most blaming Travis for not seeing what was happening in the crowd.

TMZ broke the story, several Houston Police officers were seen watching Travis and Drake perform while things got worse in the crowd -- apparently unaware of the severity of what was going on.

As we reported, 10 people died from "compression asphyxia" as a result of the events at Astroworld. The investigation continues as to who or what was responsible for the deaths ... but several lawsuits have pointed the finger at Travis and promoter Live Nation.

A$AP Rocky got good news and bad news ... LAPD sources tell TMZ, the guns they found at the rapper's home did not match the gun used in the shooting ... now for the bad news.

Our LAPD sources say they have video of the shooting in their possession ... presumably from a surveillance camera. A$AP was arrested for assault with a deadly weapon ... cops believe he shot a man in Hollywood last November during an argument, grazing his hand.

If the video is clear enough, it could be bad news for A$AP. The video could be even more powerful evidence than the gun itself.

Speaking of the guns ... we've now learned cops did indeed find multiple weapons when they executed a search warrant on his house last week, but they determined on the spot they were not the weapon they were looking for. In fact, we're told cops found shell casings at the crime scene, so they knew the type of caliber, and none of the guns at A$AP's home were a match.

Our Rocky sources say the weapons found were all fully registered and legally purchased.

We're told cops ran the serial number on the guns and they were all legally acquired. Turns out our Rocky sources were correct ... police didn't take the guns to the station -- they left them at Rocky's house.

It was a great night to be a "Drake" on Thursday ... 'cause Drake London got picked in the top 10 of the NFL Draft -- and Drake the rapper made a boatload of cash because of it!!!

Here's the deal ... a few months before Roger Goodell officially put the Jacksonville Jaguars on the clock in Las Vegas -- Drake decided to bet some cash on USC wideout and top prospect Drake London.

The "Toosie Slide" rapper threw down $100K -- saying "Drake betting on Drake just feels right" -- believing London would be the first wide receiver off the board. It was a bold bet, considering most had Garrett Wilson as the favorite for that honor.

Turns out, though, London was the top wideout picked -- going #8 overall to the Atlanta Falcons -- and according to Drake's betting slip, that earned him $225k!

London knew about Drake's bet ahead of the draft ... and told the Falcons' official team website that he and his buddies actually got a kick out of it before the event began.

"My friends were hitting my phone saying Champagne Papi bet on me," London said. "So, I thought that was funny."

Of course, placing -- and winning -- big bets is nothing new for Drake ... in fact, the 35-year-old recently got a huge payday for winning at an online roulette table.

But, he doesn't win 'em all ... remember, he famously lost $275k when he thought Jorge Masvidal would beat Colby Covington at UFC 272.

As for London, all bets side, he said he was thrilled to be picked by the Falcons on Thursday.

"I cannot wait to go out there and put on that jersey and just be a Dirty Bird at the end of the day."

Fresh off saving the day for Coachella by filling its headliner vacancy when Ye dropped out, The Weeknd is cashing in with his longtime label.

Universal Music Group (UMG) announced Thursday ... Abel and his XO imprint entered a long-term deal that will allow him to remain the big market fixture and globally renowned star he is today.

The label went BIG to show its love for The Weeknd -- "Most powerful man in music," Sir Lucian Grainge, XO founder, Wassim 'SAL' Slaiby, Republic Records Chairman, Monte Lipman, and Universal Music Publishing Group Chairman, Jody Gerson, all gathered to give the singer props.

He enters the new deal as popular as advertised: His 2020 single "Blinding Lights" is the record-holder for the longest-running song on the Billboard Hot 100 chart at 90 weeks, his latest album "Dawn FM" set another record for most debut songs on the chart with 24, and he's sold over 75 million albums.

Tekashi 6ix9ine learned the hard way he's still got a ton of enemies, taking a punch to the back of the head as he exited a nightclub with his crew.

We've obtained video from inside Pilo's Tacos Tequila Garden in Miami at about 2 AM where you can see security clear the way for Tekashi and his team. Apparently -- one club-goer wasn't a fan of Tekashi's music, snitching, or maybe even his hairstyle -- and decided to throw a punch as the rapper walked by.

It looks like the blow landed, hitting Tekashi in the back of the head, and the dude who threw the punch takes off.

As for why he was in the club, Tekashi made an appearance and performed one song from behind the DJ booth, so it appears he's trying to test the waters on how he might be received by the average joe ... apparently one guy wasn't feeling it.

Tekashi, for what it's worth, seemed unfazed by the attack and was allegedly signing autographs afterward outside the club.

Tekashi was released from home confinement in connection to his Nine Trey Gangsters trial in August of 2020. The rapper worked with law enforcement to provide information on the wrong-doings of the gang and its members, cutting himself a significant deal.

While he's released music since ... Tekashi has maintained a relatively low profile, but has recently popped up on social media.

T-Pain says Travis Scott is right to get back to doing what he does best ... and his first headline spot at the Primavera Sound festival is definitely the place to rebrand his career.

We got T-Pain Wednesday at LAX ... and he thinks Travis needed a venue like Primavera to prove himself.

He makes an interesting point ... a time-out for the sake of it isn't particularly useful. As he says, plenty of folks get locked up and when they're released they commit the same crime again.

T-Pain's got no doubt Travis will be taking steps to keep the crowd safe.

The crowd will be a lot bigger than Astroworld -- upwards of 200,000 people have attended the South American festival in the past, while Houston officials estimated 50K went to Travis' fatal concert in November.

Our sources say this gig is just one of many TS has on the horizon and he'll be announcing 3 U.S. festival performances soon.

The search at A$AP Rocky's home turned up guns, multiple guns, but what's unclear ... did cops seize the gun that was used to shoot a man during an argument in Hollywood?

Law enforcement sources tell TMZ ... detectives will run ballistic tests on the weapons ... to determine if Rocky was the triggerman.

We're also told cops will run background on the firearms to determine where they came from, who bought them, or if they'd been reported stolen.

As we reported, Rocky was arrested at a private LAX terminal last week when he and Rihanna returned from Barbados. Rocky was booked for assault with a deadly weapon stemming from the shooting in November in which cops say Rocky and an accomplice got into an argument in Hollywood that escalated to gunfire -- the alleged victim's hand was grazed.

TMZ broke the story ... Rocky and his legal team say they were shocked by the arrest and his alleged ties to the shooting. Rather than coordinate a voluntary surrender, cops simply nabbed him off the jet. Police say they needed the element of surprise so as not to tip A$AP off they would search his house for the weapon.

If one of the guns seized at Rocky's home turns out to be the weapon in question ... it could cement the case for prosecutors, who have yet to charge Rocky.