TMZ Hip Hop - Page 2

Kevin Powell, an acclaimed writer and activist, is putting Snoop Dogg on blast for performing for Donald Trump ahead of the inauguration ... accusing the rap legend of selling out.

We caught up with Kevin on "TMZ Live" Monday, where he shared his candid opinion about Snoop's decision to perform at Trump's pre-inauguration ball over the weekend ... slamming SD and saying the performance is proof of the A-lister's "lack of values."

Kevin notes Snoop wasn't always this way, pointing out the rap mogul has a long history of being there for his community. Yet, KP says Snoop's decision to perform for Trump spoke volumes ... alleging the "Drop It Like It's Hot" rapper has abandoned his audience "for a bag of money."

The FireAid Benefit Concert isn't the only show raising serious dough for victims of the California wildfires ... Rolling Loud is doing its part thanks to a pretty profitable pop-up concert.

Matt Zingler and Tariq Cherif, the cofounders of Rolling Loud, have organized a benefit concert in Florida to help people impacted by the destructive wildfires in SoCal ... and they tell TMZ Hip Hop the event is already sold out, raising $25K just through ticket sales.

Per Matt and Tariq, the raised funds are going to be directly donated to GoFundMe's official Wildfire relief page ... which has already brought in over $4 million.

Rapper Metro Boomin was allegedly forced to evacuate a yacht docked in Miami waters after a blaze engulfed the ship ... resulting in a fiery spectacle.

According to Miami-Dade Fire Rescue ... a 95-foot luxury yacht went up in flames  minutes after it arrived to a dock outside a strip club around 3:30 AM on Sunday.

We're told fire crews immediately went about putting out the fire, which was made difficult by the vessel's size and fuel load.

Local10 -- a local Miami outlet -- reports the ship was rented by Metro Boomin.

The fierce flames forced a harrowing evacuation of 10 guests, apparently including MB, as well as 5 crew members.

Snoop Dogg's bringing Doggystyle to D.C. performing at an event for Donald Trump's inauguration ... and, the crowd didn't seem super into it.

The rapper performed at the Crypto Ball in Washington D.C. last night ... the first of several events marking Trump's ascension to the highest office in the land.

Check it out ... Snoop took the stage in front of a crowded audience and performed some of his hit songs -- including "Drop It Like It's Hot."

Wendy Williams sounds like the same person she was 10 years ago and is not showing a hint of disability ... so says TMZ Executive Producer Harvey Levin, who just spent 90 minutes with her on the phone.

Harvey's shocked the person he spoke with is under a guardianship that has stripped her of her personal and financial freedom. She was lucid, articulate, opinionated and with it ... a far cry from the picture being painted by her guardianship's attorney, who says she is permanently disabled with frontal lobe dementia.

Wendy showed no lapse in judgment, no hesitation at all. Charlamagne Tha God was on the call as well, and Harvey co-signs on his assessment that Wendy is a far cry from disabled.

Tank says the Grammys are making the right call by pivoting in the wake of the L.A. wildfires.

We got the R&B star at LAX and he told our photog the Grammys are doing the right thing by focusing the award show on relief efforts and awareness.

Tank's a member of The Recording Academy and he's praising CEO Harvey Mason Jr. for turning the Grammys into a big fundraiser.

Lil Baby is adding one of his biggest hits to his setlist for his upcoming gig at a benefit concert for folks who lost everything in the L.A. wildfires ... and there's a California connection.

Sources close to the rapper tell TMZ Hip Hop ... Lil Baby will perform his 2022 hit "California Breeze" at FireAid.

Lil Baby is the only hip-hop artist who has been booked for FireAid so far ... and he's currently got the No. 1 album in the country, "Wham" ... so he's a big addition.

The Weeknd is stepping up in a big way … dropping $1 million to support L.A. firefighters and residents caught in the chaos of the raging wildfires.

The singer is teaming up with his XO Humanitarian Fund and World Food Program USA … directing his donation to the LAFD Foundation, GoFundMe’s Wildfire Relief Fund, and the L.A. Regional Food Bank to bolster relief efforts.

This is just the latest move from The Weeknd amid the crisis … he also pulled the plug on his January 25 concert at the Rose Bowl.

Jason Derulo is feeling optimistic about TikTok's fate ... despite the ticking countdown to the social media app's ban in the United States.

The singer shared his take on the looming ban on Kannon with a K's "Open House Party" radio show, where he defended TikTok as far "too valuable" to just go dark.

As he sees it ... there is just too much at stake for the social media app to shut down, noting there are a lot of people behind the scenes who want to find a way to keep TikTok available in the U.S.

1:40 PM PT -- Our original report included a reference to a line in the song mis-transcribed as "The Spanish goin' back" ... the actual lyric is "This granny's going bad."

Roseanne Barr is making a career pivot inspired by Donald Trump's upcoming return to the White House ... debuting a new rap alter-ego in a music video celebrating the president-elect.

Check it out ... the controversial comedian wears sunglasses, leopard print, and her hair braided in blonde cornrows as she raps alongside Canadian rapper Tom MacDonald in their pro-Trump anthem, "Daddy's Home."

The two performers not so subtly rub DT's successful reelection bid in haters' faces, opening up the song with ... "We won, you mad, It's done, too bad, Boo-hoo, so sad."

Tekashi 6ix9ine is taking LA Fitness to court, suing the gym over a vicious attack he endured in 2023 that sent him straight to the hospital.

TMZ has obtained legal docs from Palm Beach County, Florida, revealing the rapper is asking for more than $1 million in damages, claiming the gym failed to provide adequate security to prevent the brutal attack by three men -- labeled as Latin Kings gang members in the suit -- at one of the company's South Florida locations.

Tekashi -- real name Daniel Hernandez -- is alleging the gym staff was not properly educated or informed regarding security protocols at LA Fitness, claiming employees failed to promptly request police presence once they were aware of the attack.

A man told cops Method Man unleashed a beatdown on him at a gym ... but the Wu-Tang rapper is denying the allegations ... TMZ has learned.

Law enforcement sources tell us a man accused Method Man of punching him multiple times in the face last week at a Staten Island Crunch Gym -- leaving the man in pain and dizzy.

We're told the man was not transported to a hospital for treatment. Cops say they took a report and are investigating -- but so far, no arrests have been made.

Kid Cudi's residence sounds like it needs a deep cleaning ... because police say an unwelcome visitor really made himself at home.

Law enforcement sources tell TMZ ... the rapper's Los Angeles area home was burglarized by an intruder who they say helped himself to Kid Cudi's food, used the bathroom, and freshened up in the shower.

Our sources tell us the intruder was discovered Wednesday around 5 PM when a shirtless man was seen on Kid Cudi's security system ... hanging out in the kitchen.

Rapper Busta Rhymes is facing multiple assault charges after an alleged altercation with his assistant in NYC ... TMZ has learned.

It all went down January 10 ... Busta got into an argument with Dashiel Gables over being on his phone during work hours in the lobby of Gables' condo building in downtown Brooklyn, according to law enforcement sources.

We're told the dispute soon escalated into violence when Busta slugged Gables several times in the face.

Lil' Kim isn’t backing down … doubling down on her wish for a monsoon to drench L.A. and put the wildfires out for good -- despite online backlash.

The rapper posted on X Thursday saying she didn’t get what all the fuss was about -- insisting a monsoon is just heavy rain, which in her mind, is exactly what L.A. needs.

Lil' Kim even backed up her take with a Google definition of a monsoon, highlighting the part about it causing a "seasonal shift in wind direction that can bring extreme wet or dry weather."

Wendy Williams says her "life is f***ed up" and feels like she's trapped in a prison ... and it's all due to her being stuck in a conservatorship, despite not being "cognitively impaired."

In a rare interview, Wendy opens up about her lack of well-being on "The Breakfast Club," where she went in depth about how she's been mistreated over the past three years by her conservator, Sabrina Morrissey.

Wendy called in to the popular radio show, since she was unable to leave what's described as a "luxury prison." Wendy was joined on the call by her niece, Alex, who helped expand on Wendy's poor living conditions.