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Civil rights attorney Lee Merritt just said the Floyd family is considering suing Kanye for his statements on his death -- saying it's slap in the face. He calls Kanye's remarks false -- but also notes, they can't technically be defamatory since GF has passed.

Kanye West is talking again, and this time he's saying A LOT ... with very pointed thoughts on George Floyd in particular, which is catching tons of backlash right now.

The guy sat down with N.O.R.E. for a new interview on "Drink Champs" -- and during the 43-minute chat, Ye got a lot off his chest ... including the fact that he's buying what Candace Owens is selling in her new doc 'The Greatest Lie Ever Sold,' which is about BLM.

Namely, Kanye repeats a point Candace makes ... which is that, from her POV, George Floyd actually died as a result of a drug overdose and other preexisting conditions like heart disease -- as opposed to Derek Chauvin pinning him down for upwards of 9 minutes.

It's something Chauvin's defense attorney argued in court as well, despite expert witnesses testifying and refuting that ... which the jury ultimately believed through their verdict. BTW, this new take is ironic -- seeing how Kanye paid to cover George's daughter's college tuition.

At any rate, Ye's getting ripped on Twitter for this ... but it's far from the only controversial thing he talked about on 'DC.' He also went on to name-drop Pete Davidson, Trevor Noah, Diddy, Meek Mill, Jay-Z and his ex, Kim Kardashian ... hurling many, many accusations.

He also references Jews several times, again perpetuating antisemitic tropes that they "run the media" and are out to paint him as an abuser ... something he resents. Ye also called PD a "heroin addict" and decried the recent fireplace tidbit played up on "The Kardashians."

KW went after some of his own peers in the rap game as well ... Puff and Meek, specifically. He called them fake hard, and seemed to suggest one or both of them were a "fed."

Lastly, Kanye suggested that Drake has banged Kris Jenner at one point or another ... seemingly confirming it when he mentioned her current BF's name, Corey Gamble. He also called Drake the greatest rapper ever -- and even said he got his address on Google.

There's so much more -- including his gripes about JP Morgan Chase, MAGA, the Clintons, vaccines, White Lives Matter, etc. The full episode drops on Revolt TV Sunday.

Megan Thee Stallion is gonna take a break ... because she says she's both physically and emotionally spent.

Megan pulled double duty on 'SNL' Saturday night as host and musical guest, but before the show went live she told her fans, "Hotties im really sorry but after SNL I really gotta take a break I'm so tired, physically and emotionally."

You can understand why she's kinda at the end of her rope. TMZ broke the story Friday ... while she was in NYC preparing for the show, her home was burglarized and $300k-$400k in jewelry, cash and electronics were stolen.

And then there's the 2020 incident where she was shot in the foot ... Tory Lanez is now facing trial for the shooting.

And in 2019, her mom, Holly Thomas died from a brain tumor.

During her song, "Anxiety" on 'SNL,' Megan was fighting back tears.

A$AP Bari may have moved past his Miami car crash by scooping up a brand new Maybach, but the other guy involved sure hasn’t -- he's now suing the rapper.

A$AP Bari, whose real name is Jabari Shelton, has been hit with a lawsuit over the crash that happened back in July.

According to legal docs obtained by TMZ Hip Hop ... the A$AP Mob co-founder was driving his Mercedes-Benz "carelessly, recklessly, and negligently" when his car collided with another vehicle driven by a guy named Jorge Baez.

As you can see, the car was banged up pretty badly.

Jorge's lawyer, Jared Newman tells TMZ ... the accident left Baez with serious injuries and a bunch of medical bills. He's suing for more than $30K in damages.

As we've reported ... Kanye West gifted Bari a new Mercedes Maybach SUV just days after the wreck.

Jared says, "It was nice of Kanye West to buy A$AP Bari a new Maybach and enable him to move on like nothing happened, but something did happen and A$AP Bari must pay for his negligence."

Billie Eilish might very well be dating The Neighbourhood's Jesse Rutherford -- and Twitter is in a tizzy over it ... calling out the big age difference as wildly inappropriate.

A video surfaced online this weekend that appears to show Billie and Jesse leaving a haunted maze at Halloween Horror Nights in L.A. Friday night ... and as they're exiting, you see the two of them hold hands and walk off with a group that's trailing them.

While you can't quite make out Jesse or Billie's faces too clearly in the video, there's no question this is them ... you see, the internet has already retraced their steps, and they were both out and about last night in the exact same clothes.

Based on pics that JR and Billie posted on their respective socials -- they're all wearing the outfits seen in the clip, as were the guys that Jesse was rolling with (Finneas included).

There are also photos of Billie hanging out with Jesse from back in August of this year, so it's possible they may have been romantic since then.

Whether it was then or now, though, the cat's kind of out of the bag at this point. And fans sure have a lot to say about it -- mostly bad things, BTW.

The reason this is picking up steam is because Billie's 20 years old and Jesse is 11 years her senior ... at 31. While that might not normally be a huge deal on its own, Twitter truthers are noting Billie and Jesse have actually known each other for a good long while now -- which, to them, makes this would-be relationship all the more problematic.

Additional photos of Billie and Jesse posing together at what looks like a Halloween party date back to at least 2017 ... when Billie was around 15 years old.

Point being ... a lot of people are cringing at the fact that Jesse knew Billie when she was underage, only to seemingly hook up with her in adulthood. Many are saying it's gross and creepy, but the reality is ... they're both adults now, and can do what they want.

Billie has been linked to a small handful of guys since blowing up and becoming famous -- but has never really embraced anyone super publicly. She has said she likes to keep her personal affairs -- including SOs -- private because of the frenzy that fires up when the world gets a taste of her love life.

Tsu Surf is looking at a different fight at the moment ... the renowned battle rapper was arrested in Jersey City by U.S. Marshals on Thursday after the feds indicted him over his alleged involvement with a criminal gang enterprise under the Rollin' 60s Crips umbrella.

TMZ Hip Hop has obtained the 52-page indictment in which Tsu (real name Rahjon Cox) has been charged with racketeering conspiracy and possession of firearms and ammunition by a convicted felony.

Nine other people have been hit with a litany of crimes in the indictment, including carjacking, possession with intent to distribute fentanyl and cocaine, and more.

Feds claim he assisted in the shooting against a rival "Crips" gang member in March 2017 and also used his official Instagram page to coordinate an MMDA drug deal in April 2018.

Prosecutors also claim Tsu Surf had an illegal Beretta Px4 Storm .40 caliber firearm in July 2019 and later jokingly mourned law enforcement seizing the weapon on his IG a month later.

An additional October 2020 date also alleges Tsu Surf was involved in an IG drug deal for marijuana.

Does Usher like surprise birthday parties? F*** Yeah!

The superstar crooner was surprised Friday night when a bunch of his closest star pals came out to say HBD to Mr. Raymond at Nomad Library in Vegas hosted by Amazon Music.

Usher has a residency at MGM, and during his show, Chris Brown, Jermaine Dupri and Anita Baker showed up to perform, wishing the R&B legend a happy 44th. Baker sang "Happy Birthday" ... and she wasn't the only one.

After the concert, Usher got the big SURPRISE at Nomad. Dupri and Bryan Michael Cox were on the 1s and 2s as DJs for the festivities ... but stopped the music so everyone at the shindig could sing their own "Happy Birthday."

As for who showed up ... Polow Da Don, Keith Thomas, Hazel E, Kendrick Sampson, Floyd Mayweather and Johntá Austin.

The party moved to Mayweather’s Vegas skating rink at around 3:30 AM, Skate Rock City, for some late-night skating.

Kim Kardashian and Kanye West aren’t talking, but that doesn’t mean they can’t share the same space for their kids.

Ye and Kim K both showed up for North’s game Friday. North arrived with a teammate, Kim with Saint, Psalm and Chicago ... and Kanye solo.

It’s the second time in a few weeks we’ve seen both Kim and Kanye at one of North’s events … as we first told you, Kim didn’t talk with nor even look in Kanye’s direction as he showed up wearing a 'White Lives Matter' shirt to the last one.

Kim wasn’t the only familiar face for Kanye at Friday’s game … giving Nick Cannon a hug as he made his way inside.

Sources at the game tell us Kanye left before it was over, Kim stayed with all 4 kids.

TMZ broke the story, Kim’s cut off all communication from Ye in the midst of an apparent mental health episode.

In times past, sources tell us even when Kim was the target of his attacks, she’d still work behind the scenes to get him help and repair fractured relationships.

Jeffrey Dahmer costumes seem to be all the rage for this year's Halloween season, but people are up in arms over the tone-deaf outfit choice ... so we're taking a look at some of the most controversial costumes worn by celebs.

Chris Brown took the terrorist route for an outfit on Halloween ... complete with a beard and a turban.

Shaun White caught some flack when he once dressed up as Simple Jack from the film, "Tropic Thunder" ... a character mentally disabled in the flick.

Several celebs thought showin' up in blackface would be alright ... like Colton Haynes as Kanye or Canadian PM Justin Trudeau -- but none might've taken the controversial cake quite like Julianne Hough, who got a ton of backlash for portraying Suzanne "Crazy Eyes" Warren from "OITNB."

Megan Thee Stallion's L.A. home was ransacked by a pair of thieves who made their way into her bedroom -- taking hundreds of thousands in goods.

Law enforcement sources tell TMZ two men, wearing hoodies and gloves smashed a glass door at the back of Meg's pad Thursday night ... giving them access inside. We're told from there, the men went into the primary bedroom.

Our sources say the crooks took an estimated $300-$400K in jewelry, cash and electronics from inside the home. Luckily, we're told Meg was not home when the men broke in.

At this time, police have not made any arrests, but we're told there's home surveillance of the break-in, and detectives are working to obtain more video and evidence from neighbors that could help them catch those responsible.

As for Meg ... she's set to host "Saturday Night Live" this Saturday. Usually, rehearsals will start Tuesday for celeb guest hosts, so it's likely that Meg's been out of town the whole week.

Future and Lil Uzi Vert's performance wasn't the only thing turned up in NYC, as it appears the thermostat was too ... check out the rapper's sweating like hell!!!

Sources at Thursday's Louis Vuitton's "200 Trunks, 200 Visionaries" show tell TMZ Hip Hop both rap superstars were pouring sweat all over the stage and their custom LV drip. Sweat or not, both put on a hell of a show, repeatedly thanking the crowd for braving the temps.

LV's "200 Trunks" exhibit traveled from France to Singapore to Los Angeles before settling in its final destination of NYC.

The two performed a barrage of classics -- both solo and from their hit 2020 album "Pluto x Baby Pluto" -- such as "March Madness," "XO Tour Llif3" and "Tic Tac."

Future has been riding high since selling his catalog for a purported eight-figure cash-out and saw his recent album, "I Never Liked You" go Gold in just a few months after being released in April.

Lil Baby has no love for DJ Akademiks, and he let it be known a couple of times on his new album “There’s Only Me.”

The controversial journalist first gets mentioned in the song “From Now On,” featuring Future … where Baby goes into Ak’s pockets, quipping “Akademiks know he ain’t as rich as me!!!"

Baby then applies further pressure on Ak via the song “Top Priority” which sounds more threatening … “‘Akademiks N****s’ think they can't get touched/Ion be on computers much, CED turnt me on to YouTube.”

Ak reacted with surprise to the tracks and has been fishing for the reason behind Baby’s aggression for some time.

On a recent broadcast, Ak explained how Lil Baby blocked him on Instagram -- only to DM him on Twitter, leaving him confused about the status of their relationship.

Ak was caught in a downpour last night ... as Baby’s disses dropped, he was busy denying rumors he was fighting with a woman in Miami after a viral altercation involving him and several women made its rounds on social media.

Ak later clarified he was actually breaking up a fight between his girlfriend and a pair of autograph seekers -- but apologized for raising his voice and blamed alcohol all across the board.

Kim Kardashian has been through the ups and downs of Kanye West's mental health episodes over the years, and while she's stepped in to help in the past ... this time is different.

Sources familiar with the situation tell us Kim has totally removed herself from the situation with Kanye ... and hasn't spoken directly to him in weeks. We're told in times past, even when Kim and her family were the targets of his attacks -- she'd be there to help him until he was mentally sound again.

We've spoken to sources close to Kanye who tell us they wish Kim was still in the picture to step in, but it just ain't happening. Our sources say there's concern Kanye could lose a lot of money while everything seems to fall around him, but there's no safety net.

Sources connected to the estranged couple tell us Kanye has made attempts to reach out, but Kim won't answer ... instead focusing her attention on their kids.

As we reported, Kanye showed up to North's basketball game last week wearing a 'White Lives Matter' shirt. Eyewitnesses tell us not only did Kim not speak to Kanye, she refused to look in his direction, and had her car moved in the parking lot in order to avoid any communication.

Akon is officially copping to using his brothers to stand in for him on stage at the height of his ascension in music ... and laughing about it now, due to the fact he never got caught!!!

TMZ Hip Hop met up with the real Akon walking into DASH Radio, and he told us the underlying reason for pulling those switcheroos back in the day was not wanting to disappoint all the fans worldwide. Put simply, he says he couldn't be in more than one place, and some days he needed to be.

All of this predated social media, and Akon says he was still fairly new on the scene -- shortly after his hit single "Locked Up" -- and raging fans couldn't tell the difference. Remember, he and his brothers are not triplets!

This wouldn't work today, seeing as how his brother Bu Thiam's become a big-time exec in the music industry.

As for his brother Omar, Akon says he would go rogue and do shows on his own, and never offered up a cut of his pay.

Neither brother has the ability to sing and Akon says the DJ gave them the royal Milli Vanilli treatment by pushing play on his songs so they could lip sync!!! 😂

Akon is more tycoon than musician these days ... but fans will easily remember when he was hot as fish grease ... dropping platinum singles left and right, and collaborating with the likes of Snoop Dogg, Eminem and Styles P.

Nicki Minaj and Latto are at each other’s throats ... arguing about which Grammy categories their songs belong in and there's nothing sacred in this war, as they're both putting private convos on front street.

Both rappers had been subtweeting each other for weeks about the Grammy's decision to move Nicki’s smash hit “Super Freaky Girl” from the Rap category to Pop, and Thursday night the feud erupted like a volcano.

As Nicki sees it, Latto should have spoken up in her defense ... seeing as how the Grammys left her record, “Big Energy,” in the Rap category, despite having the same bubbly pop sound.

Nicki then began to retweet Barbz who were dissing Latto's silence on the subject ... prompting Latto to tweet, she "can't win for losing." That's when Nicki posted a DM convo where Latto agreed with Nicki's viewpoints, but said she didn't like the fact Nicki put her in the beef.

Then the gloves really came off.

Nicki called Latto a "Karen" and "Scratch-Off" ... posted more DMs, including one where she turned down Latto's attempt to collaborate on the "Big Energy" remix.

Latto fired back, calling Nicki a 40-year-old bully, and uploaded a recorded phone conversation they had on the Grammy topic ... and you hear both women going at it!!!

Latto accused Nicki of having "only child syndrome" because, at one time, she was the only female rap star in the game -- to which, Nicki scolded her with, "You didn't do your research!"

As of now, there's no resolution, and fans don't expect one.

XXXTentacion's legacy and image will live on very proudly on his mother's neck ... thanks to a custom pendant that uncannily captures the late rap star's likeness with a boatload of diamonds!!!

Eric the Jeweler tells TMZ Hip Hop ... popular Atlanta restaurant owner Mr. Rugs purchased the pendant for XXX's mom, Cleopatra Bernard, as a token of his love -- they're currently dating.

We're told Cleo had longed for a pendant to keep the "Moonlight" rapper close in spirit ... and her BF made it happen through Mavani Jewelry in NYC.

Eric wouldn't disclose the price but did reveal the piece consists of 200 grams of gold, white diamonds and boasts more than 50 carats of blue sapphires used to recreate XXX's trademarked blue locks!!!

To nail the specifics of XXX's face -- right down to his face tattoos -- Eric used enamel paint to detail the 3D pendant.

The matriarch has been riding for her son all year, helping promote XXX's Hulu-powered film "Look At Me" in March.

The last time we spoke to Cleo, she was confident the film would be a worthy addition to XXX's legacy.

Started from the bottom, now we're on soccer jerseys.

FC Barcelona will pay homage to Drake on Sunday ... by wearing the rap superstar's OVO owl logo on their kits for their big match against Real Madrid, the team announced Friday.

Barca -- whose main partner is Spotify -- explained the idea to honor the 6 God came after Drizzy became the first artist to reach over 50 billion streams on the platform.

"For the first time in our history, we are replacing the name of our main partner on the front of the jersey with an internationally acclaimed artist in Drake," Barca exec. Juli Guiu said.

"This initiative shows our potential to become a unique platform to offer experiences that help bring us closer to our fans while reaching out to new audiences around the world.”

The club will also wear a special version of the customized Drake-themed jersey during pre-game warmups -- which will feature his name on the back, and #50 to honor his stream record.

"We were really excited to celebrate one of the biggest games of the year and mark Drake’s milestone as the first artist to reach 50 billion streams," Spotify exec Marc Hazan said.

"We’ve always said that we want this partnership to be a celebration of fans, players, and artist’s on a global stage -- and there’s no bigger stage than El Clásico.”

Drake spoke about the gesture on Instagram ... saying, "this doesn’t feel real but it is."