Music

Young Dolph's latest music video is set on a plantation ... and the rapper compares signing to a major record label to modern-day slavery.

Dolph dropped his latest EP, "N***** Get Shot Everyday," a few months back and drops the video for his single, "Slave Owner," Thursday. In the video, Dolph plays an unsigned rapper who arrives at Liberty Land Records Plantation.

Upon his arrival, a white man -- presumably the plantation owner -- declares Dolph will make Liberty Land a lot of money. Dolph is accompanied to Liberty Land by a ton of strippers in a new Bentley truck.

The timing of the video's release seems suspicious given Kanye West's slavery comments on "TMZ Live" earlier this week ... but sources close to Dolph tell us it's purely coincidental -- it has been planned for months.

You can watch the full video here.

T.I.'s having a hard time understanding what's going on with Kanye West, but he's willing to give him the benefit of the doubt -- for now -- for one major reason.

We got Tip at LAX Wednesday and asked if the message of his new song with Kanye -- "Ye vs. the People" -- has been lost with Kanye's slavery comments. T.I. tells us he's uncertain, but implies his message to Kanye was definitely not received.

The rapper also says he's unsure what direction Kanye's going in, or what he's trying to do, but he suggests some patience ... even though he admits he's having trouble with that himself.

T.I.'s pretty adamant about one thing, though -- Kanye's not trying to hurt anybody. In fact, Tip says Kanye believes he's doing the opposite ... to the point of being a sacrificial lamb.

Kanye West's relationship with the paparazzi has changed a lot over the years ... case in point -- his interactions with them now end with a hug.

Kanye was in Calabasas Tuesday afternoon -- apparently talking to Kim on the phone after his visit to the TMZ newsroom -- when he was approached by a photog. Ye answered his question ... then opened up a dialogue.

Check it out -- Kanye asks the guy about his personal life and fatherhood, and explains how his respect for dads has grown after starting his own family ... especially for dads who provide for their family.

Mick Fleetwood says to expect some surprises when Fleetwood Mac hits the road again this year without guitarist Lindsey Buckingham -- including some Tom Petty gems.

Buckingham was fired from the band last month and replaced by Mike Campbell, the lead guitarist for Petty's Heartbreakers, and Neil Finn from Crowded House.

It was a pretty bad departure, but when we got Mick at LAX Wednesday he told us the band wouldn't be cutting all of Lindsey's songs out of the setlist ... but they will be focusing on having fun. Remember, classics like "Go Your Own Way" and "Don't Stop" are largely Lindsey jams.

Damon Wayans Jr. thinks Kanye West's forgetting what life was like before he was a celebrity, and that's why he put on the MAGA hat, but ultimately, he's willing to let the whole thing slide.

We got Damon Wednesday at LAX, where he admitted he's not the biggest fan of Kanye's music -- but he thinks the comment he made about President Trump and slavery during "TMZ Live" will earn him a new fan base. Damon's even got a name for them.

Dr. Phil believes Kanye West saying whatever he thinks and feels is either an attention grab or a serious impulse control problem, but either way ... it needs to stop because he's fueling hate.

Dr. Phil gave us his take on the rapper's behavior and racially-charged comments on "TMZ Live" Tuesday. While he says he can't diagnose Kanye without spending time with him, Dr. Phil believes Kanye's demonstrating "disregulated thought" -- basically ... he has no filter.

What's worse, according to Dr. Phil, is Kanye's motormouth isn't stopped by having a lack of info ... so what he's saying is both ignorant and irresponsible.

A former Dallas Cowboys player is going to bat for Kanye West -- telling TMZ Sports he truly believes Kanye is trying to make America great ... despite his "bad choice" of words.

We spoke with Gerald Sensabaugh -- who's now running for mayor of Sullivan County, Tennessee -- and he tells us, "I understand where Kanye was coming from" in his "TMZ Live" interview.

"His whole thing is that we're choosing to be enslaved by choosing to listen to the media outlets, we're letting people influence our thoughts, influence the way we do things, and I think that's what he meant."

"Kanye's a different guy," the former safety said ... "He's outspoken. He said Trump's his boy so expect him to have some Trump-ish ways but I don't think he means any harm."

Kodak Black is wiping the slate clean by dumping his name and flipping his initials -- cause he's now Bill K. Kapri ... and it's all legal and stuff.

TMZ has learned the currently jailed rapper requested, and was granted, the name change by a Florida judge. Bill's attorney, Bradford Cohen tells us his client wanted a "fresh start" in the middle of everything going on with him now. Fun fact: His real name was Dieuson Octave.

We're told he'll still go by Kodak, professionally, when he gets out of jail ... possibly as early as October. As we've reported, he's doing time in a Florida jail for 2 probation violations.

More good news for Bill -- a child services investigation against him has been dropped ... according to Cohen. We're told the agency launched its probe after the January arrest where his child was in the house along with marijuana and ammunition.

Bill has been taking parenting classes while he's in jail, along with working on his GED. Congrats, BK.

Julius Erving says he's not hurt by Kanye West's comments about slavery being a choice -- he's more hurt by comments that have come out of Donald Trump's White House.

We spotted the NBA Hall of Famer at Ronald Reagan airport in Virginia on Wednesday -- and with such an extensive background in civil rights activism, we had to ask about the Kanye West interview on "TMZ Live."

"He's entitled to his opinion," Erving said.

As for the impact of Kanye's statements on slavery, Erving explained -- "It doesn't hurt me personally because he's only one individual."

"It hurts more to hear things that are coming out of the White House."

Kanye West is not taking his meds, and people close to him believe some of the comments he made on "TMZ Live" were a result of that.

Kanye himself said he was shunning doctors who ordered him to take 3 pills a day ... he says it seriously messed with his mind in a big way and he's now taking 1 or 2 a week.

People close to Kanye say he's talked about slavery before as a metaphor, and was unartfully expressing himself when he said slavery was a choice. In fact, Kanye tweeted, "the reason why I brought up the 400 years point is because we can't be mentally imprisoned for another 400 years. We need free thought now. Even the statement was an example of free thought ... It was just an idea."

We're told the meds have been problematic ... doctors aren't even sure what works and what doesn't, and Kanye is controlling his own destiny by self-regulating ... for better or for worse.

Drake's beef with NBA player Kendrick Perkins went from 0 to 100 real quick ... the two shouted at each other during the Raptors vs. Cavs game -- with Drake reportedly calling him a "f***ing p*ssy."

The two started exchanging words at halftime ... with things getting so heated one of the Cavs players was holding Drake back.

Things continued after the game when Drake shouted to Perkins that he's a "f***ing p*ssy" and challenged him to come out of the tunnel, according to the Toronto Star's Bruce Arthur.

FYI, Perkins is 6'10" and 270 lbs.

After the game, Perkins told ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski, "What happened was I was talking to my old teammate Serge [Ibaka] walking into halftime telling him 'We about to win this game,' and Drake butted in talking sh*t to me. So I said something back to him."

Drake's a Raptors superfan -- but he's also friends with a ton of NBA stars.

"Last Comic Standing" star Ty Barnett is HOT over Kanye West saying 400 years of slavery was a choice black people made -- and says Chicago should be done with the rapper.

Ty, who's from Chicago, was in Hollywood Tuesday when he tore Kanye a new one, and not just for the slavery comment. He's also pissed Ye had the nerve to bash former President Obama for not doing anything to help their hometown.

While Kanye's tried to clarify some of the controversial comments he made on "TMZ Live" ... Ty's not having it, and says Mr. West needs to shut up and let a different Chi-Town rapper take the lead.

Dr. Oz sees a huge red flag when it comes to Kanye West and prescription meds ... and believes he's playing a very dangerous game.

Oz was in NYC Wednesday morning when he reacted to Kanye revealing he got hooked on opioids after having liposuction. He says the rapper's lucky to be alive, but says there was another equally troubling statement.

Kanye told us he had chosen to drastically reduce the dosage of medication he's been prescribed -- presumably before his mental breakdown -- and Oz says he's heading for disaster, if that's true.

Oz thinks Kanye's issues run deep -- all the way back to his mother's death -- and adds that's why he needs to make sure he's taking his prescribed dose of medication.

Kanye West shouldn't just laugh off gang threats in L.A. ... so says Matt Barnes who says the real gangsters in Los Angeles don't mess around.

The ex-NBA star was leaving Catch when we talked about Kanye's appearance on "TMZ Live" -- including Yeezy's reaction to Daz Dillinger's recent call for the Crips to "f*** up Kanye."

"You gotta be careful," Barnes said ... "They don't play out here with gangs so you're treading on thin ice."

Barnes also reacted to Kanye's confession about getting liposuction -- and says it shows Kanye is "not in a comfortable, secure place as a man."

Barnes says a lot of what Kanye is talking about these days -- from Trump to his views on slavery -- are "bullsh*t" -- but he believes the old Kanye can still be saved.

Kanye West had liposuction and started popping painkillers ... all leading up to the 2016 breakdown that landed him in a hospital for more than a week.

Kanye revealed his battle with opioids during his appearance Tuesday on "TMZ Live" ... as he talked about going to visit then President-elect Trump in December of 2016. He says, "I was drugged the f**k out, bro!"

He went on to explain he was addicted to opioids that doctors had prescribed after he had lipo. Kanye says he started taking more pills during the Pablo tour. You'll recall, the tour was cut short in November 2016 due to his hospitalization.

Kanye's got major beef with the amount of meds he was prescribed, and thinks America in general is drugged out.

As for why he had lipo? It couldn't have been an easy decision -- considering the tragic circumstances of his mother's death -- but Kanye says he didn't want to look "fat." He says that concern traces back to the way he feels the media treated his brother-in-law, Rob Kardashian.

DeRay Mckesson -- a prominent leader of the Black Lives Matter movement -- says Kanye West's right about one thing -- slavery was a choice ... but it was the choice of white people.

We spoke with DeRay Tuesday after Kanye's explosive visit to the TMZ newsroom, in which the rapper said 400 years of slavery "sounds like a choice" ... and the civil rights activist believes Kanye's got a warped sense of history.

Mckesson calls out Kanye for victim-blaming, and reiterates his point -- oppressed people don't have a choice about the bad things inflicted on them.

DeRay also believes Kanye's simply not making sense because he's uninformed, but has a suggestion on how he can fix that problem.