TMZ Hip Hop - Page 50

A company Dr. Dre and his estranged wife founded together is accusing her of draining the primary business account dry and even criminal embezzlement ... just the latest sign of how nasty this divorce is getting.

TMZ has obtained a letter that was fired off to Nicole Young by attorneys for Record One recording studio, which Dre and Larry Chatman founded in 2015. Record One is operated by an LLC. Nicole was a trustee and signatory on the LLC's checking account.

The letter launches right into allegations of wrongdoing by Nicole -- claiming she "decimated" the company's bank account last month to the tune of $353,571.85.  Attorney Ed McPherson, who reps the LLC that operates Record One, attached the check Nicole wrote to herself.

The letter accuses Nicole of "blatant and unjustifiable criminal embezzlement of corporate funds," as well as a breach of her fiduciary duties.

Dre and his other partner demand Nicole return the cash they claim she jacked no later than a week from Tuesday ... otherwise, the attorneys say they'll be filing suit against her.

Remember, Nicole just accused Dre of pilfering assets ... which our Dre sources called BS. Nicole also claims the prenup she signed was under duress and Dre had a change of heart a few years into the marriage and ripped it up. Again, we're told Dre calls BS.

Kanye West enlisted a small army of signature gatherers in several states in order to make the presidential ballot, and even though he spent a fortune ... he still came up short in spots where he dropped a lot of cash.

According to a source at Let the Voters Decide -- the 3rd-party petitioning group Kanye's been using this summer -- the rapper's campaign paid them between $3.5 and $4.5 MILLION across 15 states to send workers out for John Hancocks.

We've covered many of the individual states where the group has been dispersed on Kanye's behalf, but we're told one of the biggest chunks of money went toward Arizona -- where Ye allegedly dished out $1 million to get 93,000 signatures -- only to have a judge bar him from the ballot anyway.

The same is true in Ohio and Virginia -- where our source says Kanye's campaign allegedly spent $325k and $300k respectively to gather signatures ... only to not make the ballot.

As we reported, Kanye also spent at least $30k with LTVD in Illinois -- and that ended poorly for him -- and though it's unclear what he spent in Wisconsin ... he's currently been booted from the ballot in that state too for missing a deadline by just seconds.

Of course, without paying big bucks to Let the Voters Decide, he likely wouldn't have made the prez ballot in states like Kentucky -- where we're told he spent $400k -- or Iowa, where he dropped $80k. He's currently made the ballot in 12 states.

BTW -- the bill keeps growing for Ye, because as you recall, he's already reported $6 million he's spent and disclosed in his first financial report with the FEC earlier this month, which outlined various disbursements to other companies to get him on various ballots.

So, it begs the question ... is it all worth it? Kanye's running as an independent, but many believe his campaign is being fueled by pro-Trump operatives and having his name on the ballot will mostly hurt Joe Biden. Ye denies he's working with Trump and co.

Lil Wayne is about to be another year older, so to celebrate ... his Young Money partner made him a new car owner, with a sweet little announcement about new tunes in tow.

As you might be aware ... Weezy's turning 38 next Sunday, but Mack Maine simply couldn't wait with his gift -- the guy literally pulled up on Wayne a whole week early just to make a special pre-bday delivery. It's a 2020 McLaren 720S ... apparently fresh off the lot too!

TMZ obtained video of the hand-off of keys, and you can clearly see how stoked Wayne is here. He even captured some video of his own and threw it up on the Gram in awe.

Wayne also took to Twitter to praise the early present, saying ... "So my brudda Mack just bought me a McLaren....!!!!!!....wtf!!!!!......'u know I ride for my MF *****' (my voise)." This ride did NOT come cheap BTW -- our sources it ran Mack around $400k, and lights up a different color when the sun goes down. So, yeah ... top-of-the-line custom for the label head.

But, wait ... there's more. Mack also came bearing some good news for music fans everywhere -- announcing that Young Money was putting a deluxe version of "Tha Carter V" on Friday. He was even slapping some of the tracks on the way over to the man himself.

The official version of 'C5' was released a couple years ago after Wayne was FINALLY able to free himself from contractual duties with Birdman and co. ... which kept the project shelved for years.

Kanye West has a new vision for what record deals oughta look like in the music industry -- and his guidelines are heavily in favor of the artist and making them money.

Ye tweeted several pillars that we guess would be in his own terms and conditions as a record label exec -- except, this is what he believes the biz as a whole should adopt STAT ... so artists can stop getting screwed and have an equitable share in the product they put out.

For starters, Kanye says the artists would automatically own the copyright to the songs and recordings they churn out for a label in his ideal world, and that they'd lease them to companies for a maximum period of time of just one year.

He also says the record label/publisher would NOT get the lion's share of any profits during that one year ... Ye thinks it should be split 80/20 in the artist's favor.

There's more. Kanye also thinks artists shouldn't need anyone repping them as they navigate their own deals -- as he feels if you're working in music, you should understand it from top to bottom, with no help. He also wants contracts to be written in plain English, not lawyer talk. He says lawyers are supposed to make things easier ... not convolute the process.

He goes on to say that artists deserve equity in the companies they partner with, and their songs and licenses should serve as stock in a way. Kanye also wants portals for artists to become a one-stop shop for all things royalties, deals, assets, songs, etc.

Ruth Bader Ginsburg's death and President Trump's race to fill her seat isn't just a one-issue problem ... so says Lil Nas X, who fears big setbacks for the LGBTQ community.

LNX was leaving LAX Saturday when he told a photog how he felt about the Supreme Court Justice's passing, and what it could possibly forebode ahead of the election. He says he's worried a super-conservative justice could seriously hurt progress made for gay rights.

Check it out ... Nas X is a man of few words, but the ones he does drop are powerful and speak to the anxiety being felt by various marginalized groups.

Yes, the abortion/pro-choice battle is front and center and top of mind -- but the possible dismantling of gay marriage and other LGBTQ causes that have been pushed through SCOTUS in recent years is also a very real possibility if Trump gets his way.

To say Cardi B just opened up about her divorce would be an understatement, because she unloaded lots of feelings and frustrations on video.

Cardi went on Instagram Live Friday to make it clear ... she's not divorcing Offset because of cheating, out-of-wedlock baby rumors, none of that ... she just got sick and tired of arguing.

Cardi was clear, saying, "I'm okay. I wanted to let y'all know I have not shed one tear." She did say in the past she's shed tears over media reports about Offset and their marriage, but no more ... "This time, I wasn't crying. You want to know why? The reason for my divorce is not because of none of that s*** that ever happened before. It's not because of cheating. I'm seeing people be like, 'Oh, he has a baby on the way.' That's a whole f***ing complete lie. That's the second time people are trying to pin babies over here. No, that's bulls***."

So, as for the real reason for the breakup ... "I just got tired of f***ing arguing. I got tired of not seeing things eye to eye. When you feel like it's just not the same anymore, before you actually get cheated on, I'd rather just leave ... nothing crazy out of this world happened, sometimes people really do grow apart."

Cardi wasn't done, saying, "I been with this man for four years. I have a kid with this man, I have a household with this man… sometimes you’re just tired of the arguments and the build-up. You get tired sometimes and before something happens, you leave.”

She was incensed at media reports the divorce filing was a PR play to sell albums.

Lil Baby's going to war with the baby mama of his 5-year-old son, and it's gone beyond social media squabbles ... they've now taken it to court.

Here's what's up -- the rapper has been going back and forth with Ayesha Howard for weeks after she accused him of failing to pay for their son Jason's schooling, which she says resulted in the boy being kicked out.

Ayesha then filed legal docs -- obtained by TMZ -- seeking a declaration of paternity and child support from Lil Baby, claiming he has a net worth in excess of $4 million ... which includes money he makes on various endorsement deals. She says one of these deals involves the use of a photo of their son.

She also claims Lil Baby owns at least 7 luxury vehicles, including 2, million-dollar Lamborghinis. By contrast, Ayesha claims she makes less than $25k per year.

In response ... the rapper fired back with legal docs of his own, claiming he already covers "all expenses for the care, support and maintenance" of their son, along with providing regular support payments.

On top of that, Lil Baby wants the court to grant joint legal custody of Jason ... and he's seeking primary physical custody.

Ayesha claims Lil Baby has never sought primary custody before, and alleges it was done "in a retaliatory fashion and in an attempt to punish, harass, threaten and intimidate."

AJ McLean would never bust a Kanye West and pee on a Grammy ... not because he doesn't have one to pee on, but because it's just downright wrong.

We got the Backstreet Boys member leaving 'DWTS' practice this week and wanted to get his take on Ye taking a leak all over one of his Grammys stuffed inside a toilet. No matter the message Kanye was trying to send ... pretty clear AJ wasn't a fan of the move.

Check out the video ... AJ says even though the Boys don't have a Grammy -- YET!!! -- he thinks what Kanye did was way outta line.

As we reported ... Kanye whizzed all over his own Grammy statuette to underscore his message about Black people needing a seat at the table. Remember, Kanye had been ranting about African-Americans not getting their fair share of the pie and instead are being exploited by companies run by Whites. He pointed the finger at the NBA and the music biz as prime examples. He also talked about ownership of his master recordings, blasting Universal Music Group and alleging they won't even give him a chance to buy them outright.

Our photog asks AJ if artists should own their own master recordings ... and the Backstreet Boy seems to somewhat agree with Kanye.

Kanye West is back from his Twitter time-out with an outrageous claim -- he's offering to get back Taylor Swift's master recordings from Scooter Braun!!!

Yeezy just offered his services to his longtime enemy, vowing ... "I'M GOING TO PERSONALLY SEE TO IT THAT TAYLOR SWIFT GETS HER MASTERS BACK. SCOOTER IS A CLOSE FAMILY FRIEND."

The jaw-dropping move came in the middle of Ye's most recent Tweet storm ... hence his ALL CAPS mood. Prior to this, he's been railing for days against the music industry ... demanded that artists, himself included, deserve to own their recordings.

This is the second time Taylor's come up this week on his Twitter feed. Earlier, he posted a text exchange with someone who's suggesting he follow Taylor's lead and either try to buy his masters or re-record them.

Remember, Taylor is beefing with Scooter -- Justin Bieber and Demi Lovato's manager -- who recently bought Big Machine Records which owns Swift's first 6 album masters. Taylor is determined to get her OG tunes back and, as of now, plans to re-record the songs that made her famous.

Of course, the idea of Kanye seeing himself as Taylor's knight in shining armor on this, or any, issue is pretty laughable at best -- and horribly offensive at worst.

Taylor's been fighting this fight on her own just fine -- calling out Scooter specifically, and the music industry in general, for bullying women. Not to mention the fact Kanye's said some awful things about Taylor over the years ... so this is one helping hand we're guessing she'd rather do without.

Still, Kanye seems to think he can broker a deal between Taylor and Scooter, who he counts as a close family friend.

Dr. Dre's estranged wife says he secretly transferred valuable assets to himself after they split -- in particular his stage name and "The Chronic" -- but sources connected to Dre call her claim "ridiculous" and an attempt to embarrass him into submission.

Nicole Young just filed legal docs claiming the mogul created a solely-owned, brand new holding company and transferred into it what she claims is joint property -- trademarks for "Dr. Dre" and "The Chronic." Nicole says it's a blatant attempt to hide assets that are community property."

Sources connected to Dre tell TMZ, "They were married in 1996. Chronic came out in '92 and Dr. Dre used his name since the 80's, so it's all his and his alone."

According to Nicole's legal docs, she says Dre transferred the trademarks after he allegedly kicked her out of their home and before he threatened on June 27, 2020 to divorce her. Nicole beat him to the punch ... filing for divorce just 2 days later.

Nicole calls Dre's move an "epic failure and reveals the true nature of his character, or lack thereof.” Nicole says the Dre trademark was first filed in 1997 -- when they were already married.

Our Dre sources fire back, "It's the act of a desperate woman who finally realized that the iron-clad prenup she signed doesn't win her the lottery." As we reported, they had a prenup, which Nicole says she signed under duress. She also says he ripped it up several years into the marriage. He strongly denies he ever ripped it up.

Nicole also claims she was the victim of physical, emotional and financial abuse during their marriage. She does not outline specific instances of abuse. Our Dre sources say to that ... "In their 26 years together, there has never been any hint or claim of threatened or actual physical violence and the insinuation is an insult to actual victims of domestic abuse." A Dre source adds there was one incident of violence 30 years ago -- not involving Nicole -- and Dre copped to it and "paid the price for it."

More legal trouble for Tory Lanez ... this time it's a man claiming the rapper went on a menacing attack in one of Miami's hottest nightclubs.

Christopher Harty is suing, claiming Tory and his security detail -- or other members of his crew -- beat him to a pulp while at LIV Nightclub. In docs, obtained by TMZ, Harty says he was in the club in November 2019 when things went south. He claims Tory started to verbally antagonize him, and that the trash talk eventually escalated to Tory taking a swing at him and landing a punch.

Harty claims Tory's security detail or crew also joined in ... punching, kicking and beating him. The suit includes a 5-second video that shows a ruckus but it's hard to make out if Tory's part of the melee.

He never says what triggered the initial verbal exchange -- but claims the physical beatdown left him with blunt force trauma to his head, neck, chest and back and multiple contusions and bruises to his body.  He's suing Tory for unspecified damages.

This comes as Tory is already in hot water with the L.A. County D.A. over allegedly shooting Megan Thee Stallion ... and for gun possession.

Kanye West isn't easing up off his push for Black ownership in enterprise, or his gripes about not getting a chance to own the masters to his songs.

Ye was going off again early Wednesday about African-Americans, by and large, not getting their fair share of the pie -- instead, he says they're mostly used by companies run by whites. He again points to the NBA and the music biz as examples.

In his new Twitter rant, he says, "We sat back and watched Nick Cannon get canceled and we go to play ball in a bubble with black lives matter on our backs ... brothers let’s stand together for real ... there is no NBA or music industry without black people ... fair contracts matter ... ownership matters."

Insisting he's made "multi billions," Kanye says he's one of the few who can openly speak on this issue without repercussion -- the implication being he's rich enough to where he doesn't have to worry about a record label trying to muzzle him.

Speaking of that ... Ye brings the convo back to himself and his own fight for ownership of his master recordings, blasting Universal Music Group and alleging they won't even give him a chance to buy them outright -- because he feels they know he can probably afford them.

Of course, this is the same argument his nemesis, Taylor Swift, made not too long ago ... as one of Kanye's associates pointed out to him on Tuesday morning.

Ye and Taylor on the same page??? 2020 strikes again.

Travis Scott's getting dinged for the rowdy gathering at a Mickey D's over his new $6 meal ... but he won't have to pay much more than that to get out of trouble.

Both the rapper and the McDonald's location in Downey, CA have been cited by the city over a whole slew of fans showing up at the fast-food joint last week for the launch of his new meal ... because they didn't have permits.

According to the tickets, obtained by TMZ, Travis failed to obtain an event permit for a crowd over 200 people before he showed up to greet fans who were waiting in line to try his Cactus Jack meal. He also allegedly failed to get a permit to film.

Both citations come with $100 fines, so he's gotta pony up $200 to Downey to square up ... same goes for McDonald's.

As we reported ... Travis showed up to celebrate the launch of his new meal and got mobbed by fans -- many who were maskless and not social distancing -- and had to run for cover.

A spokesperson for Downey tells us cops reported about 500 people in attendance, and the PD dispatched several units to make sure the large crowd stayed safe.

We're told there were no injuries and it doesn't seem like any arrests either, so the only McDamage is to Travis' and Ronald McDonald's wallet ... but it ain't much.

BTW -- Scott getting his very own McDonald's meal is a pretty big deal ... he's the first celeb to have one since Michael Jordan back in 1992.

Order the Cactus Jack $6 deal and you'll get a Quarter Pounder with cheese, bacon, lettuce, pickles, ketchup and mustard ... medium fries with BBQ sauce ... and a Sprite.

Cardi B wants a divorce from Offset, but she wants it to be friendly, and had no idea her lawyer filed documents that made it sound highly contentious.

As we reported, Cardi's lawyer filed legal docs asking for legal custody and primary physical custody of 2-year-old Kulture. That's a screaming sign Cardi has issues with Offset's parenting, but we're told that is NOT the case.

Sources connected to Cardi and with direct knowledge tell TMZ ... Cardi did not know the lawyer was positioning her case this way. We're told she wants Offset to have joint custody of Kulture and is determined to have an amicable, co-parenting situation. Our sources say Cardi is in touch with her lawyer and the document will be amended to reflect her wishes.

Her divorce petition also says she wants child support. Our sources say she does not want any support from Offset ... in the financial department, she's the Bank of Cardi.

Offset has yet to respond to the divorce petition.

Cardi B is apparently over her marriage to Offset -- she just filed for divorce ... TMZ has learned.

The rapper filed court docs in Georgia indicating she's seeking a dissolution of marriage. Cardi is listed as the plaintiff and Offset is listed as the defendant. She filed the paperwork on Tuesday.

There's also this ... according to the court docs, obtained by TMZ, Cardi is seeking primary physical custody as well as legal custody of their 2-year-old daughter, Kulture. She also wants Offset to pay child support -- unclear how much though at this point. No word on spousal support either, for now at least.

She also makes clear in her docs that they're currently separated, and "there are no prospects for a reconciliation."

Cardi is also adamant in the docs she wants Offset to be ordered to pay her legal expenses.

And, get this ... it doesn't sound like there's a prenup, because Cardi is asking for "an equitable division of all marital assets."

Cardi and Offset were secretly wed in 2017 and shared their hitched status the year after. As we first reported ... their nuptials were a bit unorthodox from the jump, and almost went backward (publicly speaking).

In October 2017, Offset got on bended knee at the Philly Powerhouse concert ... and Cardi accepted his ring right then and there. As it turned out, they had already been legally married for over a month at that point ... 'cause they said "I do" in a bedroom that September.

We'd heard it was a spur of the moment thing ... Offset turned to Cardi and said "marry me," and she was down. They brought in an officiant to formally marry them, and shortly thereafter ... filed for and received a marriage certificate in Fulton County, which made it legit.

They hit a rough patch in the marriage a few years ago -- amid cheating rumors -- but they buried the hatchet and seemed tight ... this after a whole lot of apologizing and courting on Offset's end. Remember, he crashed her Rolling Loud set in 2018 to beg for forgiveness, but went full mea culpa on social afterward too. Eventually, Cardi did take him back.

Sadly, Cardi's divorce filing comes just a few days shy of what would've been their third wedding anniversary. Hollywood Unlocked first broke the story.

Kanye West is on the attack -- against Universal, Sony and the NBA -- claiming they are enslaving Black people and he's trying to save them ... but somehow, Taylor Swift gets brought into the mix too.

Kanye's latest Twitter diatribe is focused on the music industry and the NBA, which he compares to "modern day slave ships." Ye seems to be encouraging rappers, singers and basketball players to free themselves from their business contracts and instead ... buy land and property, as suggested by his following tweets.

Though Kanye -- AKA "the new Moses" -- started tweeting late Monday night, he's continued Tuesday morning ... and that's where Taylor comes in.

Ye posted a long message from someone -- possibly a lawyer or business partner -- offering advice on how he can move forward in his relationship with Universal and Sony.

The person suggests they could follow in Swift's footsteps and either try to buy his masters or rerecord them ... but makes sure to point out Kanye's would probably be worth a lot more.

It's all moot though ... because Kanye says he's done with "any form of business" with the media giants.