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Kanye West is shrugging off brands cutting ties with him, and insists he can't be canceled -- but if he is, he says that only proves the dangerous antisemitic tropes he's been spewing.

The embattled billionaire held an oddly-timed news conference of sorts -- as he left his daughter North West's basketball game Friday night, he stopped to take questions from the crowd of paparazzi.

Right off the bat, Ye addressed Balenciaga dropping him ... saying it was no big deal to him because they weren't paying him anything. In fact, he dismissed the fashion giant's move as purely PR, saying ... "I think people just try to score points" -- and he thinks Balenciaga, LeBron James, Maverick Carter and "Drink Champs" host N.O.R.E. are all guilty of it.

He bemoaned the fact LeBron's producing partner Maverick had yanked "The Shop" episode he shot with them. Remember, Maverick said they pulled it because they didn't want to give Ye a platform to spew "hate speech."

N.O.R.E. did the same with the most recent 'Champs' episode where Kanye went on his antisemitic rant, including his claim the Jews who run Hollywood had screwed him over.

While the rapper and designer has already been widely called out for repeating many of the same theories Hitler did ... Kanye said something Friday night that was classic Nazism.

Ye claimed any backlash against him was only happening because of Jewish people. He said, "I want to talk about the Jewish comment. It's actually proving the exact point that I made. So many actors been bullied behind the scenes."

He then referenced the CEO of Endeavour talent agency's call for Hollywood to cut ties with Ye. He said, "So you got Ari Emanuel asking people to not do business with me. That's how this town been running for so so long. They'll mute you at all costs."

This new claim -- that anyone who denounces him is only doing so at the behest of Jewish people -- is EXACTLY, almost word for word, what Hitler and the Nazis said anytime there was international opposition to their tactics.

Let that soak in, and take note that Ye also strongly hinted he will indeed run for office -- he was wearing his 2024 cap. The whole interaction kinda looked and felt like a campaign stop.

French Montana continues to trailblaze in the name of humanity, and his peers are recognizing him for a mission that's literally changing and saving lives.

The diamond-selling rapper was honored Thursday night at the 2022 Pencils of Promise Gala ... for helping raise more than $226 million towards healthcare in Africa. Specifically, he's funded the Budondo Suubi “Hope” Health Center, which is the primary source of healthcare for new mothers and their babies in an otherwise desolate region of Uganda.

For his efforts, the gala bestowed French with this year's Innovator Award.

Model Meadow Walker -- yes, Paul Walker's daughter -- is also a Global Ambassador for Pencils of Promise, and received the Activist Award for her role within the WASH program ... helping to uplift young girls out of impoverished situations.

Gary Vaynerchuk, Climate Club CEO Adam Braun, and PoP CEO Kailee Scales were also in attendance.

French tells TMZ Hip Hop he was honored to receive the award, and thanked his partners Global Citizen and Mama Hope as well.

He added, "PoP is doing groundbreaking work globally to keep kids in school and make sure they have a safe environment to learn. This reminds me of my humble beginnings growing up in Morocco when I didn't know how to speak English."

French says, "Education was fundamental to my journey immigrating to the U.S. and starting my career as an artist, which is why this work is so important to our youth."

Turns out the answer to the $64,000 question is ... how much a Beatles fan or memorabilia collector will pay for the last letter John Lennon ever typed.

Lennon penned the missive to his accountant on December 8, 1980 -- just hours before the rock legend was gunned down in NYC -- and it just fetched $63,750 at auction, far exceeding expectations.

The letter was expected to go for somewhere between $30K and $50K -- but there was a flurry of bidders at the end of the 17-day online auction, pushing the final price up early Saturday morning for auction house, Gotta Have Rock and Roll.

As for the purchaser's identity ... they're opting to remain anonymous for now.

As we reported ... Lennon signed the letter -- which is the last known legal doc with his autograph -- before sending it to his accountant, Barry Nichols. It listed the names of 3 proxies Lennon chose to vote at an annual meeting for the Beatles corporation, which was to be held 9 days later in London.

Doja Cat knows how to make an exclusive Hollywood event feel even more elite -- her 27th birthday brought out a huge list of big names, who were reminded this is as inside as inside gets.

The bash went down Friday night in WeHo at the Raspoutine on Melrose -- and the guest of honor arrived rocking an elaborate gold mask adorned with more feathers than your average peacock.

In fact, almost all her guests showed up in masks -- thankfully, not the kind we had to wear during the pandemic -- adhering to what seems to have been a masquerade ball theme.

Adding to the elite air of the event was Doja's birthday cake -- a massive black and gold covered 3-tiered dessert -- which had several Illuminati logos on it.

Inside, guests partied to a lot of hip hop hits, of course, but we're told there was also a lot of 1950's jazz played too, seemingly a nod to the evening's theme -- and DC joked she wasn't letting her age get her down.

'Cause, as we all know, it's all downhill from 27. 😭

Justin and Hailey Bieber, Kendall Jenner and Shawn Mendes all showed up ready to party -- although it doesn't look like Shawn got the memo on the theme.

Kanye West's Yeezy shoes have always been just as popular on the resale market as they've been in stores -- but there's a clear shift happening, with many resellers hesitant to make any moves until Adidas announces its position on Ye.

We spoke with several experts involved in the resale market who tell us there are three major factors that will impact how the shoes will move in the immediate future.

1. Will Adidas continue its relationship with Kanye?
2. Will the public forgive Kanye for his comments?
3. If Kanye releases music/merch, how will it be received?

Sneaker expert Remo of Walk Like Us tells us if Adidas ends the partnership, the market will explode, because the shoes will not be produced in mass quantities anymore. This waiting period for Adidas has caused many resellers to hold onto stock in hopes of cashing in if Adidas cuts ties.

Worst case scenario for resellers, we're told, is if Adidas stays on with Ye -- but the public refuses to forgive him -- because then shoe values will plummet.

Kanye West's high fashion connections are dissolving around him -- Vogue's big boss wants nothing to do with him now after his erratic behavior and antisemitic rants.

Anna Wintour, the fashion bible's famed editor-in-chief, has no intentions of working with Ye again ... ending a more than decade-long relationship between them that was both business and personal.

A Vogue spokesperson told Page Six. Ye's unveiling of his 'White Lives Matter' T-shirts in Paris and his subsequent railing against Jewish people were too much for Wintour.

West and Wintour have been tight ever since she invited him to the Met Gala in 2009 -- and Anna would eventually feature Kanye and Kim Kardashian's 2014 wedding on a Vogue cover.

Just last month, the Vogue honcho even modeled Ye's new sunglasses ... a move that came just weeks before Ye's now infamous Paris Fashion Week show -- the one where he debuted the 'WLM' tees.

Even after that, Anna tried to foster reconciliation between one of her editors, Gabriella Karefa-Johnson, and Ye.

Gabriella and the Yeezy founder got into it on social media when she was critical of his 'WLM' stunt ... and he ripped her fashion sense, claiming Anna would hate a pair of boots Gabriella was photographed wearing.

Anna has reportedly told everyone at Vogue ... Kanye's been cut out of the mag's inner circle. This would seemingly mean no more Met Gala invites, cover shoots or Fashion Week coverage for Ye.

Vogue's move comes on the day after Balenciaga ended its relationship with Ye.

Don’t try to define Babyface by his catalog of certified R&B classics -- at least he doesn't, because the legend says he’s too much of a perfectionist to truly enjoy his old bangers.

TMZ Hip Hop chatted with Babyface at his “Girls Night Out” album release party, and asked about his own appreciation for his monster collection of hits … but turns out he takes all that success with a grain of salt.

Babyface tells us he never listens to his old stuff, because he knows he’ll find something wrong with the track, and he wouldn't be able to handle that -- no matter how successful it was on the charts!

In the case of his new album, though, he admits giving these tracks just enough of his time before sending them out for the world to enjoy.

Now, that doesn't mean fans agree with him … the icon counts hits like “Every Time I Close My Eyes” and “Whip Appeal” as his own and has written even more jams for the likes of Whitney Houston, Madonna, Toni Braxton and Boyz II Men among others ... selling millions of records off the strength of his pen.

Babyface also brushed off the year-long conversation started by Diddy about R&B's death … telling us he doesn't buy that, and his “Girls Night Out” project would keep the party going.

Cardi B just got some good news to kick off her weekend ... she says she's won a 5-year-long legal battle over the cover art for one of her mixtapes.

A federal jury in Santa Ana, CA found in favor of Cardi B Friday on all counts, and she walked out of court smiling about the victory, although she admits she was not super confident.

She gave props to her attorneys, but also those for the plaintiff ... saying both legal teams were amazing.

As we reported ... Cardi was sued back in 2017 over the cover art for her "Gangsta Bitch Music Vol. 1" mixtape ... which shows a guy with a ton of back tattoos performing oral sex on her. Kevin Brophy claimed the art used his image and his back tattoos without permission.

After a 4-day trial, the jury ruled Cardi's album cover did not cast Brophy in a false light or constitute a misappropriation of his likeness.

He had been seeking $5 million from Cardi, but with the verdict he's come up empty-handed.

Cardi sounds like she feels a weight lifted from her shoulders, tweeting about her emotional victory -- she says she is beyond grateful and wants to kiss God's feet.

CB says she was planning to cuss out Brophy if she won, but now that she has ... she says she doesn't have the heart to do it, and instead she's wishing him the best.

R&B mainstay Tank recently said he was retiring his recording career, but after soaking up Babyface’s star-studded album release party ... he’s beginning to rethink that decision!!!

TMZ Hip Hop pressed Tank about throwing in the towel during 'Face’s “Girls Night Out” shindig, and he sheepishly admitted seeing the legend pull off a new album didn’t make him feel legit.

In fact, Tank credits BF’s ‘89 album “Tender Lover” for giving him his formal introduction to the world of song … especially since being a church kid made it impossible for him to consume secular music at the time.

Tank says he was in awe of the room -- highlighted by the presence of Chris Tucker, Jordin Sparks and Kim Kardashian -- and gained a newfound inspiration from the night alone.

His 10th album “R&B Money” dropped back in August, and while he claimed it would be his last ... Tank's fans will likely lean into what he told us.

Kanye West has taken a lot of L's lately ... so he's hoping one person, who recently scored Johnny Depp a big W, can come to his rescue.

Sources close to Ye tell us he's recently hired Camille Vasquez and the Brown Rudnick firm. Vasquez should be a very familiar name ... she's the same attorney who gained global attention for her legal skills in the Amber Heard Trial.

We're told Camille will be among a group of attorneys representing Kanye's business interests -- contracts, deals, the works.

As we reported, Kanye's already lost one major partner in Balenciaga in the fallout from his continued antisemitic attacks, claims surrounding the death of George Floyd and when he wore a 'White Lives Matter' shirt to his Yeezy fashion show.

TMZ broke the story, Ye recently hired Melinda Gates' former divorce attorney, Bob Cohen, to represent him in his ongoing divorce with Kim Kardashian. We're told Camille and team will not be involved in the divorce.

If Kim and Kanye can't come to an agreement by December, the divorce will go to trial ... and given Kanye's actions of late, Kim will likely get much of what she asks for from the judge.

Proud Bay Area rapper Mistah F.A.B. is now a certified Oakland legend … having been bestowed the key to his beloved hometown.

F.A.B. tells TMZ Hip Hop he mentally prepared for the moment his entire life … first manifesting the key in his early rap lyrics, and later watching R&B star Keyshia Cole receive a key a few years prior.

He was initially shocked when the mayor contacted him for the distinction, but says Keyshia instilled inspiration from the weight of her career -- and he plans on doing the same for any “desolate minds” ... as he puts it.

Thursday's event marked the first annual Love Life Day where community leaders from The City get their just due.

F.A.B. was honored -- alongside several other activists and educators -- by Mayor Libby Schaaf, citing the veteran MC for his annual holiday giveaways and extensive aid to cancer and domestic violence survivors.

The crowd sang along to his 2005 hit “N.E.W. Oakland" with reverence for all the years he’s been active on the hip hop scene ... locally and nationally.

While F.A.B. says he’ll never abandon rapping, he nods to his booming businesses -- his Dope Era clothing store and nail salons throughout the city.

There's also the opening of a Bay Area museum around the corner -- á la T.I.’s trap museums in Atlanta -- with planned exhibits for Too $hort, Mac Dre and others.

Bronny James put on a show for a star-studded crowd at Overtime Elite's opening night on Thursday ... hitting four 3-pointers on a 16-point night in front of Quavo and Swae Lee!!

"OTE" -- a pro basketball league for 16-19-year-olds -- held an exhibition in Atlanta ... with Bronny's California Basketball Club going up against City Reapers.

The celebs picked a good game to get a glimpse of Bronny -- because the Sierra Canyon point guard made it rain from behind the arc several times.

Paolo Banchero, Jalen Suggs, Druski, K Camp, Atlanta Mayor Andre Dickens, and Mike WiLL Made-It were also in the building to witness Bronny's outing.

Bronny was one of the main offensive options for CBC throughout the night -- finishing the game with 16 points in 35 minutes of action, which was good for the second-leading scorer on his squad.

Puma star Mikey Willams and former NBA star Carlos Boozer's sons, Cayden and Cameron, hit up the game as well to check out King James' son.

17-year-old Bronny has been on cloud nine lately ... he recently inked an NIL deal with Beats by Dre, following in LeBron's footsteps after signing with Nike.

Johnny Depp and Jeff Beck are firing back at the author who claimed they jacked lyrics to one of their songs from an old poem ... calling the whole thing a cash grab.

Johnny and Jeff just filed a lawsuit against folklorist Bruce Jackson, who accused the duo of stealing the lyrics to their song "Sad Motherf*****g Parade" from an old toast performed by an inmate and shared in one of Jackson's books.

According to the suit, obtained by TMZ, Johnny and Jeff say the toast, known as "Hobo Ben," doesn't have clear origins, and they claim Jackson even admitted the person who shared the poem with him admitted it was passed down over time like an old folktale.

In other words, they say it belongs to no one.

The "Hobo Ben" toast goes ... "Ladies of culture and beauty so refined, is there one among you that would grant me wine? I'm raggedy I know, but I have no stink, and God bless the lady that'll buy me a drink. Heavy-hipted Hattie turned to Nadine with a laugh, and said, 'What that funky motherf***** really need, child, is a bath.'"

The song lyrics on Johnny and Jeff's new album feature similar lines to the "Hobo Ben" poem ... "I'm raggedy, I know, but I have no stink. God bless a lady that'll buy me a drink" ... and "What that funky motherf***** really need, child, is a bath."

In their suit, Johnny and Jeff claim Jackson fired off legal letters asserting he was the rightful owner of the "the only known authorized transcription and recording of 'Hobo Ben"' ... but the pair claims Jackson tellingly never said he owned the rights to the toast itself because he knew he couldn't own a copyright to an old folktale.

Jackson's also blasted Johnny and Jeff in the media, telling Rolling Stone ... "I've been publishing stuff for 50 years, and this is the first time anybody has just ripped something off and put his own name on it."

Kanye West has just had one of his most important relationships in the fashion world ended ... Balenciaga has reportedly cut ties with Ye.

According to Women's Wear Daily, Kering, the French fashion house parent company to Balenciaga has released a statement saying, "Balenciaga has no longer any relationship nor any plans for future projects related to this artist."

While the statement did not expand further, you have to imagine the decision was made after Kanye's repeated antisemitic attacks and controversies over the past few months.

Kanye and Balenciaga have a long history, and most recently partnered for a Yeezy Gap Engineered by Balenciaga collection that sold like wildfire.

Kanye also opened Balenciaga's Paris Fashion Week show, walking the runway -- and generating a ton of attention for the brand.

Of course, Kanye still has a multi-billion-dollar deal with Adidas -- a partnership the brand has reportedly said was "under review."

Taylor Swift's highly anticipated new album hit a glitch on Spotify Thursday night when the streaming giant literally crashed as her record dropped, causing mass confusion online.

The Grammy-award-winning artist released her 10th album, "Midnights," right at the stroke of midnight and, not coincidentally, that's when Spotify went down.

But, things got right back on track for Taylor ... as Spotify quickly repaired the problem so her millions of "Swifties" could enjoy the music.

During the outage, though, her fans went into panic mode on social media.

“Spotify crashed following the release of Taylor Swift’s new album #TSmidnighTS,” one freaked-out fan wrote, adding, “something went wrong.”

“YALL DONE BROKE SPOTIFY," said another nervous fan.

A third "Swiftie" said, “Spotify literally broke for like a minute!!! I was in panic mode,” before a fourth posted the app’s error message, tweeting, “Really @Spotify? On a night like this? I am fuming #TSmidnightTS.”

But, all's well that ends well. Taylor treated her "Swifties" to a special edition of the album with seven extra tunes that dropped 3 hours later on Spotify.

Kanye West is catching heat for using the r-word to describe President Biden ... condemned by folks who advocate for folks with Down syndrome and disabilities.

Ye lashed out at Biden in his interview with Piers Morgan, saying POTUS is "f***ing r-word" for not seeking input from Elon Musk, and now the epithet is sparking outrage.

Jordan Kough, Executive Director of the National Down Syndrome Congress, tells TMZ ... the r-word is hateful to all people with disabilities, and it's very disappointing to see Kanye embrace it. Even worse, Kough believes Ye knows it's highly offensive.

The NDSC says the r-word strips humanity from folks with disabilities ... and Kough is encouraging Kanye, and others with big platforms, to consider the power of their words.

Over at the National Disability Rights Network, Kanye's losing tons of support. Executive Director Marlene Sallo says disability advocates appreciated when Kanye once said his bipolar disorder was his superpower, but now those same people are super upset to see Ye use an "outdated and hateful" word.

The NDRN is going a step further ... calling for Kanye to apologize. Good luck with that.

Ye's also being denounced by the National Down Syndrome Society ... a rep there tells us the r-word has no place in public discourse, regardless of whether it's aimed at someone with a disability or not.

As we reported, Kanye's on a tear against lots of groups ... making a slew of antisemitic remarks ... most recently during his chat with Piers, when he stated he only wanted to go "death con 3" on Jews who have screwed him over.