TMZ Hip Hop

Robert Glasper is all pumped up to face Chris Brown at the Grammy Awards once again .. and tells us he's open to challenging his R&B category competitor to a dance-off!!!

TMZ Hip Hop linked up with Robert this week, where the reigning "Best R&B Album" winner laughed off his past tensions with CB and praised his artistry.

The 2024 Grammy noms went live a few weeks ago where it was revealed that Rob and Breezy going head to head for the 2nd consecutive year, this time in the "Best R&B Performance" category

Rob doesn't rule out the chances of conspiracy pitting him and Chris up against one another, especially after last year's drama.

Losing the award brought out Chris' gangsta side and questioned Robert's entire existence, before cooling off and doing his research and apologizing after seeing RG was a legit contender.

Robert thinks the best well to settle their differences is to hop in the ring and sweat it out in a dance battle ... which could be the highlight of both their Grammy nights.

Fat Joe believes rappers have a right to use their imagination and lyrics any way they see fit ... and those words shouldn't be used in criminal cases.

The Bronx-bred rap legend spoke to TMZ Hip Hop Friday in NYC as he supported the United Justice Coalition at the Jacob Javitz Center ... he really wants justice for Young Thug after feeling prosecutors in his ongoing RICO trial are trying to jam him up by highlighting generic lyrics.

Joe explains he never goes into writing a song to lie ... he says hip hop is the ultimate storytelling vehicle and compares it to fictional books and movies.

If he had a bad day, Joe says he may record an aggressive track like "Take A Look At My Life," a good mood could birth a Grammy Award nominee in "All The Way Up" ... emotions have always been his guide to lyrical content.

Joe was recently on CNN where he made the 95% estimate during a convo about Young Thug's ongoing RICO trial where his lyrics are being used as evidence by the prosecution in attempts to prove murders and corruption.

He tells us freedom of speech shouldn't come with prison sentences -- or censorship of art.

Joe says he would hate to see Martin Scorsese abandon mafia movies and notes he recently watched three Netflix movies involving killers ... and nobody is going to trial for depicting the fake murders.

Casanova just came up empty in his push for an early release from his 15-year prison sentence ... a judge denied the Roc Nation rapper's plea after admitting responsibility to his crime.

A federal court ruling handed down on Friday denied Casanova's motion for a compassionate release, noting he already got a sentence at the bottom of the sentencing range and has yet to even serve 20% of it.

You'll recall, Cas pled guilty to robbery in August 2020. He distanced himself from his previous associations with the Gorilla Stone Nation gang in a passionate letter to the judge ahead of sentencing, but the judge said Cas hasn't proven he's no longer a danger to anyone in the community, and the 188-month sentence imposed is still warranted.

Lil Wayne is being dragged to court a former bodyguard who is suing the rapper after telling cops Wayne allegedly brandished a gun and punched him in the ear.

According to new legal docs, obtained by TMZ, Carlos Christian claims Weezy threatened to shoot him with a semiautomatic rifle ... a threat he says he took seriously considering Wayne once spent time in prison on weapons charges.

TMZ broke the story ... Christian called cops back in December 2021, claiming Lil Wayne pulled an assault rifle on him during a dispute at the rapper's Hidden Hills, CA home.

The bodyguard told police an altercation escalated to physical violence and Weezy ended up brandishing an AR-15, but sources close to Weezy denied the incident ever happened and claimed Wayne didn't even own a gun.

In the docs, the guard says he incurred medical expenses, lost wages, and suffered emotional distress as a result of the alleged incident ... and he's going after Lil Wayne for compensatory and punitive damages.

How about this ... Bhad Bhabie has a bun in the oven.

Bhad Bhabie, aka Danielle Bregoli, just revealed her pregnancy ... posting a couple mirror selfies on social media showing off her growing baby bump.

It's unclear how far along Bhad Bhabie is ... ditto for the child's gender ... as she's simply letting the photos speak for themselves at this point.

As you know, Bhad Bhabie is just 20 years old -- celebrating her birthday earlier this year by twerking on her mother --  and she's in a relationship with Le Vaughn, and it's getting even more serious now.

TMZ broke the story ... Bhad Bhabie and Le Vaughn debuted matching tattoos back in April, she has his name and his birthday tattooed in red ink near her shoulder and breast. He's got her first name and middle name tattoed in cursive on his neck, in black ink.

It's the first pregnancy for Bhad Bhabie.

Congratulations, and we can't wait to catch this baby outside.

Rubi Rose may have just found the perfect man ... to fuel her bank account, after running into the dude who's been dropping the biggest bags on her OnlyFans account!!!

The "He In His Feelings" rapper posted a pic of herself Friday with a man she dubbed as her "#1 spender" on OF.

The man never bothered with creating an OnlyFans username but he describes himself as a "crypto whale" on his profile page and obviously has a lot of coins to spend on Rubi.

His account says he's dropped $62,321.70 on Rubi's page to date and his facial expression says he doesn't plan on stopping anytime soon!!!

Rubi's dropped several records in the past couple of years but none of them have found their way on any charts just yet.

Fat Joe says when it comes to his rap lyrics, keeping it real is just a catchphrase ... he's been spinning tall tales in 95% of his music!!!

The Bronx rap star made the shocking confession while defending Young Thug to Gayle King during a CNN special report on Thursday.

According to Joe, he's been able to carve out a career by using his imagination, and not actually committing crimes his "Don Cartegena" persona has historically bragged about.

“I’ve been rapping professionally for 30 years — I’ve lied in almost 95 percent of my songs,” Joe told the panel. “I’m being honest. I write like I feel that day. I’m just being creative. You couldn’t build a jail high enough for the lyrics I’ve said on songs which are all untrue."

The "All The Way Up" rapper went on to criticize the prosecutors overseeing Young Thug's RICO case for enforcing lyrics they know aren't real all the same.

Thug's lawyer Brian Steel recently argued in court that Thug's name was an acronym for "Truly Humble Under God" and denied his lyrics had any coded gang meanings.

Joe's been combatting rappers being prosecuted over the lyrics for several years ... having played a significant role in pushing New York's "Rap Music On Trial" bill as the push for legislation continues.

Rappers like Bobby Shmurda want similar bills passed in Georgia -- which would work greatly to Thug's benefit.

Beyoncé fans turned her 'Renaissance' movie premiere into a concert ... singing and dancing in the theater aisles, making for one crazy fun scene.

Ya gotta see the videos from inside the London theater where fans got the first look at "Renaissance: A Film By Beyoncé" ... it looks like one of her tour stops.

The 'Mute Challenge' was also a staple of Beyoncé's recent "Renaissance" world tour ... so naturally, her fans brought it back while watching a movie about the tour.

Beyonce was in the house too ... though she wasn't wearing silver, as has been a theme and the source of some controversy ... pairing a black dress with her platinum blonde hair.

As we reported ... Taylor Swift flew across the pond to give Beyoncé her full support ... seemingly returning the favor after Beyoncé went to Taylor's "Eras" movie premiere.

Beyoncé also dropped a new song, "My House," coinciding with the movie release ... with fans noticing the track playing during the credits.

Jeannie Mai has responded to Jeezy's divorce petition, and she is more than insinuating he cheated on her and claims that will have a HUGE effect on their prenup and division of assets.

According to legal docs, obtained by TMZ, Jeannie more than insinuates her estranged husband is guilty of infidelity. Her lawyer writes, "Wife reserves the right to amend this counterclaim to add other grounds for divorce, but which Wife does not wish to specify herein at this time in the hope this matter can be resolved without having to disclose such conduct publicly."

But, it gets even more pointed ... "Wife further shows that the Court should enforce Paragraph 8 of the Prenuptial Agreement regarding infidelity which provides, in pertinent part, that in the event that either party engages in sexual relations, an emotional relationship, or is emotionally or sexually suggestive in communication with a third party via all forms of electronic communications, including but not limited to texting, sexting, Facetiming, social media and/or Direct Messages, shall result in a significant financial penalty upon the adulterous party ..."

In other words, she's accusing Jeezy of being unfaithful and claiming he's gotta cough up a bunch of dough as a result. The docs do not say who exactly Jeezy was allegedly banging, talking to, or seeing.

Jeannie coming out with cheating allegations is super interesting ... as we first told you, Jeannie was being accused of cheating on Jeezy with "Access Hollywood" host Mario Lopez, but a source close to her told us it was BS.

Jeezy, who filed for divorce in August down in Georgia, also released a 29-track double album, "I Might Forgive ... But I Don't Forget," in the wake of the split ... and it's highlighted by the song "Don't Cheat."

Cheating was also a theme Jeezy kept referencing during his recent interview with Nia Long.

The Weeknd has made a big move to help the humanitarian efforts in Gaza, donating $2.5M ... an amount that will help to provide 4 million meals.

The singer, who is also a United Nations World Food Programme Goodwill Ambassador, made the donation through his XO Humanitarian Fund ... benefiting WFP's humanitarian response efforts in Gaza.

The donation equates to four million emergency meals ... funding 820 metric tons of food parcels that can feed more than 173,000 Palestinians for two weeks.

Since being appointed a Goodwill Ambassador in October 2021, The Weeknd -- real name Abel Tesfaye -- has personally donated $1.8M to WFP's global hunger-relief mission through his XO Humanitarian Fund established in partnership with World Food Program USA.

The Weeknd's contribution comes during a critical time during the WFP's response efforts to feed more than one million Gazans.

WFP's Director for the Middle East, North Africa, and Eastern Europe Region, Corinne Fleischer, thanks Abel for his contribution ... saying, "We thank Abel for this valuable contribution towards the people of Palestine. We hope others will follow Abel's example and support our efforts."

Michael Blackson knows exactly what's really behind Beyoncé's recent lightened appearance, and apologies to Tina Knowles, but he says it's really about a bedroom "Renaissance" for Jay-Z!!!

Mike dropped his juicy theory on us when we got him at LAX, and asked what he makes of all the fan remarks about Bey's appearance during the L.A. premiere of her 'Renaissance' film.

Unlike Mama Knowles, who said the silvery/platinum look was simply about sticking to the theme of Bey's tour -- Michael thinks it's really about the Carters mixing things up in the bedroom. As he sees it, Beyoncé's just giving her man "another woman."

Jokes aside, MB did totally dismiss the haters who claimed B was bleaching her skin ... and he explained why he's filing that under utterly ridiculous.

As we reported, Tina also went to bat for her daughter ... lashing out at anyone spreading the notion Beyonce is anything other than a proud Black woman.

We're not sure Tina would be any more down with Michael's "theory," though.😂

BTW, Beyoncé was still rocking the blonde locks Thursday night for the London premiere of "Renaissance" -- with daughter/backup dancer Blue Ivy by her side -- so, she's clearly not changing a damn thing for the haters.

Or maybe Michael's right, and the new look is intended for Jay's eyes ... and the rest of us are incidental.

Flavor Flav is all for Harvard University's Taylor Swift course, noting he's 100% open to enrolling ... and acknowledging he's reached super-fandom.

The Public Enemy rapper spoke to TMZ Hip Hop in NYC outside of ABC Studios Thursday where he listed off the many reasons why the English Department at Harvard will win big with the course, "Taylor Swift and Her World."

Professor Stephanie Burt is prepping the TS coursework to be taught for the upcoming spring semester and Flav tells us it's the perfect course for him and other artists.

Flav says he's actively studied Taylor's lyrics which ultimately birthed his fan club membership card -- which got the platinum stamp during the "Eras" tour in earlier this year.

Flav thinks Taylor's music is completely relatable -- just as much as Beyoncé and Mary J. Blige's -- but he isn't just sizing TS up against other singers.

Jake Paul wanted to make his Tyron Woodley fight in 2021 extra "Cleveland" by having Kid Cudi perform at the big event in his hometown ... but he says there was just one issue that kept it from happening -- the rapper's "astronomical" asking price.

The Problem Child revealed his failed plans during his "BS With Jake Paul" podcast this week ... when his conversation with guest Rich Paul led to the fellow Northeast Ohio native.

Jake brought up how he personally thinks Cudder doesn't have much Cleveland pride ... which is pretty uncommon for anyone from the area.

The boxer used one of his own experiences to back his stance ... saying, "I tried to get him to perform at the Tyron Woodley fight just before I came out [to the ring], and he asked for like, an astronomical fee that was like, 'F*** you.'"

Jake explained while he understands people have their price, he thought the moment would have meant much more to the city than any check he could write out to Cudi.

"I get it, but it's like, this was like some s*** to tap in back with the city. Like, first event back from Covid."

Jake's cohost, Jasper, defended Cudi ... saying if the roles were reversed, the YouTube superstar would charge his usual appearance fee, too.

But, Jake says that's simply not true ... claiming he always gives a hometown discount to anyone from the area -- even doing some things pro bono.

T.I. stood on business with all ten toes after a club attempted to capitalize off his viral spat with his son, King ... letting the owners of the establishment know he came to shut the party down!!!

Tip and King had been previously scheduled to appear at Atlanta's Elleven45 Lounge for its "R&B Wednesdays" but just one day before the event, the rapper learned a flyer to promote the event included a photoshopped image of Tip holding King in a headlock.

The image was meant to poke fun at King flipping out on his parents during Sunday's Atlanta Falcons game inside the Mercedes-Benz Stadium suites over claims he grew up more rugged than he actually did.

T.I. confronted everyone at Elleven45 Lounge, letting them know it wasn't cool, and threatened the whole appearance would be cut unless things changed.

In his outrage, Tip stated the city of Atlanta was still his -- and regardless if the club honchos were homegrown or outsiders, they'd abide by his rules!!!

Turns out, Tips' fury worked ... because the club promoter changed the flyer and the event went on as planned Wednesday.

T.I., King and Domani all pulled up to the event, and all looked to be well with the fam bam.

Teairra Marí says she's done with Keri Hilson's passive-aggressive attitude and wants to get fully aggressive -- as in serving Keri with a first-class butt kickin' for years of talking behind her back!!!

The R&Beef sizzled on Thursday when Teairra got wind of Keri's chat on Tank's podcast last month.

Keri recalled a time the Teairra was sitting in the front row at one of her concerts and was feeding her toxic "I-don't-wanna-be-here" energy while she was onstage.

The "Pretty Girl Rock" singer says it's important for artists to give one another love during performances, and Teairra was doing the complete opposite.

Teairra didn't take kindly to Keri's recollection of events, and then wrote a fiery threat in the "The Neighborhood Talk" comment section ... "Y'all, people gotta leave me alone. I don't bother anybody, just leave me the f*** alone.! so now, Keri! what's up you wanna fight or do you not want to fight because I'm gonna whoop your ass when I see you I'm sick of you people bothering me! You had a whole different story when I was in your face you're a liar bitch!!"

This battle probably won't be settled with the standard Verzuz setup. Teairra sounds like she wants to inflict pain on Keri by any means necessary!!!