Music

Nelly started carving out his mega career back when he delivered "Country Grammar" to the masses, but quite frankly, he has no idea how the current crop of rappers can duplicate his success.

TMZ Hip Hop caught up with Nelly outside Crypto.com Arena in L.A. and tried to pick his brain for advice he'd give new artists. We'll say this ... he kept it short and sweet. Well, short, at least.

With more than 20 years in the industry, Nelly admits he has no idea how the game works for new school rappers -- but he did tell us what's gotten him where he is. Maybe there's a clue in there for the up-and-comers.

Nelly's lack of advice for the next gen is particularly interesting in the aftermath of DJ Akademiks' recent "broke and dusty" controversy.

Ak found himself on the social media hot seat after ranting about older rappers not glowing up with wealth nor passing down game to the younger generation.

We're guessing Ak would probably say Nelly's guilty of exactly that ... right or wrong.

Nowadays ... Nelly is getting his bread buttered through country music. He recently linked with platinum-selling singer Chris Lane for their "Birthday Girl" collaboration and he's the only traditional rapper on the bill for Stagecoach '23.

Takeoff's memorial service in Atlanta just ended, and his sendoff was marked by several emotional moments ... especially speeches from his Migos family and Drake.

The service started shortly after noon, and lasted several hours Friday from State Farm Arena ... which was packed with mourning fans, as well as the celebs who worked with Takeoff and loved him.

Justin Bieber, Chloe Bailey and Yolanda Adams all performed during the ceremony, and Takeoff's family members -- including his mother, brother and sister -- addressed the crowd.

His close friend Drake spoke about the great times he and Migos all shared while touring together. He compared their brotherhood to the famed Rat Pack -- Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, Sammy Davis Jr., Joey Bishop and Peter Lawford -- which he grew up watching on TV.

Of course, Offset and Quavo spoke not only about Takeoff as their groupmate, but as family. Their speeches, especially Offset's, really had the audience in tears.

All the free tickets to the event were gone almost instantly, and folks in attendance weren't allowed to use their phones -- ushers locked them in pouches during the service.

The venue, where the NBA's Atlanta Hawks play, lit up a big sign out front that read "Celebrating the life of Takeoff."

As we reported ... Cardi B and Offset were dressed in all black Thursday evening in Atlanta, looking somber during a gathering with close friends.

Swedish House Mafia is looking out for their fans ... because their show came to a grinding halt due to issues with fans passing out.

TMZ obtained this video of SHM's final show of their worldwide tour, which they had to pause twice due to issues with crowd safety.

The show was in Norway and you can hear Swedish House Mafia telling the crowd if they see something happening to tell them or security and the music will be turned down until it's all sorted out.

Fan safety has been on a lot of artists' minds lately ... as we reported, Billie Eilish paused her concert at Madison Square Garden in NYC back in February, asking the packed house to take a deep breath and step back.

The Astroworld tragedy is the catalyst for all this ... and even Travis is stopping his concerts now when things get out of control.

Multi-platinum producer Sonny Digital thinks passing weed during recording sessions is a thing of the past -- a sentiment apparently shared by some of his hip hop peers, including Mr. 420 himself, Wiz Khalifa!!!

Sonny was a recent guest for On The Radar’s podcast when he went on a mini-rant about refusing to pass the J going forward.

In the post's caption, Sonny noted how the premium prices of his weed also influenced his shift on the topic.

Iconic films like Ice Cube’s “Friday” have deeply rooted that sharing is caring when it comes to cannabis but Sonny says it’s a new day, and he’s not swapping spit with anyone!!!

The post struck a nerve with many of his fellow artists, who are choosing to relate rather than hate.

Artists like Gashi and Vory couldn’t contain their laughter ... while Da Honorable C.N.O.T.E. revealed his fear of catching mouth sores.

Wiz -- one of rap’s undisputed chieftains -- maintained he hadn’t passed weed in years and advised anyone who wanted to smoke with him to bring their own stash.

Sonny did eventually swat off another commenter accusing him of being stingy ... but hey, safety first.

Fat Joe's about to drop his memoir, which is filled with lessons many young rappers could use -- but it's actually an old-school rapper, one Kanye West, who recently sought out Joe's counsel.

The legendary Bronx MC joined us Friday on "TMZ Live," and revealed he, almost literally, ran into Ye while walking out of his L.A. hotel room. Joe says Ye asked him for advice on how to handle all the backlash for his bigoted and antisemitic remarks.

He says he told Ye the truth, as he sees it, reminding him he's got pals from all walks of life and all religions. FJ advised Ye to keep God in mind, and stop using hurtful words.

Joe's got a lot more gems to drop -- especially for hip hop's up-and-comers -- in 'The Book of Jose.' His memoir will be available Tuesday, and reveals his days as a street hustler and his rise to rap superstar. He told us he knew exactly when his life had changed, and he needed to stop hanging with his old crew from the block.

It comes down to 2 words: RICO laws! You gotta see Joe explain the light bulb moment.

BTW, after his Ye run-in ... Joe also had an encounter with Will Smith, who's been laying low since that Oscars slap.

Rick Ross is finally coming to grips with the fact he's got way more stuff than he can handle -- but he still made room at his Georgia estate when he got a very special Jumpman delivery!!!

Rozay's finally admitting he's a proud hoarder, a title he really couldn't avoid seeing as how he had an armful of DJ Khaled's new custom Air Jordans at the moment.

Apparently, there are only 23 of the complete DJ Khaled x Nike Air Jordan 5 capsules and Rozay is a lucky recipient.

The J's will be released on November 28 AKA Cyber Monday '22,  in "Sail" and "Crimson Bliss" colorways with the remaining ones staying on the exclusive circuit ... for now.

Khaled is hosting a fan event in Miami for the coveted kicks over the weekend to potentially induce more pandemonium ... but Rozay still has his work cut out at home as he decides what to keep and what to dump.

Earlier this week, he laid out tons of designer clothes and valuables across his mansion, debating if he should have a Boss-style yard sale.

Bobby Shmurda is handing out zero stars in Atlanta after seeking out his beloved oxtail dish, but commenters like Rich Homie Quan are telling the "Shmoney" rapper he just needs a better tour guide.

A disgusted Bobby took to Instagram to blast his oxtail, rice and peas meal from the Peach Cobbler Café ... claiming he was served runny rice that was oozing a creamy white substance.

He also compared the food to the crap he got in jail while doing 6 years at Rikers. 😬

Bobby also wasn't feeling the mondo-sized chicken wings and proclaimed New York City to be the mecca of Jamaican-American food ... much to the disapproval of Atlanta's very own Rich Homie Quan.

RHQ doesn't think Bobby got a proper Atlanta eatery experience and advised him to check in with locals in the know.

Other commenters agreed, telling Bobby to check the reviews of the spots he visits beforehand.

Bobby just cooked up a new album in "SHMURDAGOTCASH" and has plenty of spot concert dates remaining for the rest of the year.

Nas and Jay-Z arguably participated in hip hop's most publicized beef as far as the music goes ... but 20 years later, it's nothing but LOLs between the 2 rap greats.

On Nas' new album, "King's Disease III," he revisits their bitter diss tracks via the song "Thun" where he raps ... "No beef or rivals, they playing 'Ether' on TIDAL / Brothers can do anything when they decide to / In a Range Rover, dissecting bars from 'Takeover' / Sometimes I text Hova like, 'N****, this ain't over ... laughing!"

Jay dropped "Takeover" on his 2001 classic album "The Blueprint" and accused Nas of falling off while Nas returned fire with "Ether," which was an early precursor for pretty much what we know now as dragging someone on social media.

Jay sold off his TIDAL ownership last year for more than $300 million but the master copy of "Ether" lives on the streaming service ... so their history will also be set in stone.

Throughout the years, the 2 would go on to trade more disses on tracks such as "Supa Ugly" and "Last Real N**** Alive" ... but they've long deaded their issues, and even appeared together on DJ Khaled's 2021 cut "Sorry Not Sorry."

"King's Disease III" marks the third in the series and Nas' 4th consecutive album with Hit-Boy ... who he calls the "Quincy Jones to his Michael Jackson."

Rihanna's delivering her second song for the "Black Panther: Wakanda Forever" soundtrack ... another riveting ballad entitled "Born Again."

The song closes out the 'BPWF' soundtrack and is produced by the all-star team of The-Dream and Ludwig Göransson ... with Grammy-winner James Fauntleroy adding to the songwriting.

"Born Again" has Rihanna bookending the film's soundtrack -- her last song, the Chadwick Boseman tribute "Lift Me Up," is the opening track.

Both songs mark Rihanna's return to music after a 6-year hiatus and giving birth to a baby boy ... but fans shouldn't get their hopes up for a new album just yet.

During her Savage X Fenty Show Vol. 4 rollout last week, she clarified things for her rabid fanbase ... revealing her upcoming Super Bowl LVII performance didn't necessarily mean she was dropping a new album.

The last time we spoke to Rihanna she admitted she has some anxiety about the halftime show performance -- but the way her fans are excitedly receiving her new music should help with any butterflies.

Cardi B and Offset were spotted for the first time since the death of Takeoff ... heading off to go honor the rapper ahead of Friday's big memorial.

The 2 were dressed in all black Thursday in Atlanta, looking somber as they gather with what appears to be some close friends.

It's the first time we've seen Cardi and Offset since November 1 -- when Takeoff was fatally shot and killed at a bowling alley in Houston.

Fans of Migos know the group wasn't together when Takeoff passed ... Offset was already on the outs, while both Takeoff and Quavo had been doing their own thing -- but it doesn't look like that's gonna stop Offset from honoring his bud.

As we reported, Takeoff's huge memorial is going down at State Farm Arena in ATL. The venue recently lit up its big sign out front, which reads "Celebrating the life of Takeoff."

On the heels of Aaron Carter's death, some of his fans are making life even harder for his fiancée Melanie Martin by harassing her ... and occasionally even spooking her in person.

Sources connected to Melanie tell TMZ ... ever since Aaron died, going online has been a nightmare for Melanie because she's getting so many hateful messages from the singer's supporters.

The constant harassment includes fans wishing death on Melanie, while others accuse her of being responsible for Aaron's death.

She's also come face-to-face with some real-life drama.

Our sources say folks have been showing up at Aaron's Lancaster, CA home ... where he was found dead in a bathtub. We're told they come onto the property and go right up to the windows of the house or vehicles to peer inside, and it's scaring the hell out of Melanie.

TMZ broke the story ... there was a police presence outside Aaron's home earlier this week, while Melanie was moving some of her things out of the house.

We're told Melanie called police to the house to keep the peace. Due to all the harassment directed at her, she wanted to ensure there'd be no issues while she was at Aaron's house.

Our sources say Melanie was retrieving baby items, diapers and clothes for their son, Prince, along with some of her things ... and now Aaron's fans are accusing her of stealing his possessions, which we're told is NOT the case.

It's all getting to Melanie ... we're told she's scared and now understands the issues Aaron was living with for years, because the online harassment turned from him toward her.

Marc Lamont Hill is standing with Megan Thee Stallion against Drake's bars -- and others in hip hop -- and he's getting flak for it online ... something that doesn't surprise the author and activist.

On Thursday, Marc -- along with Congresswoman Maxine Waters, MeToo founder Tarana Burke, Planned Parenthood CEO Alexis McGill Johnson, Tamika Mallory and several other influential leaders -- joined the Southern Black Girls & Women’s Consortium in signing an open letter in support of Meg.

The letter denounces violence against women, in general, but also strongly proclaims the culture "failed" Megan after she was shot in the foot ... allegedly by Tory Lanez.

Marc tells TMZ Hip Hop he was approached by Tarana about the letter ... and immediately decided to join the cause.

He says it was a bit mind-boggling seeing so many dudes angry that he spoke out against Drake's "Circo Loco" lyrics -- the ones about the "stallion lying about being shot" -- but ultimately wasn't totally surprised.

According to Marc, hip hop has allowed misogyny to run rampant in otherwise good music for years ... and when Drake is your favorite artist, you're bound to get a little defensive.

Following the track's release, Megan ripped into Drake and social media trolls as a whole ... vowing they would regret making a mockery of the alleged situation.

Her attorney Alex Spiro told us the same thing and then some ... proclaiming all the artists who publicly flipped on Megan will have a stain on their character when all the facts come out in Tory's trial.

Marc says his job as a journalist is to challenge the dominant mind from subscribing to the norm, so he's aware of the uphill battle ahead.

The rap track Eli Manning has been working on with Fivio Foreign is finally here ... and let's just say, the former New York Giants star was spittin' some crazy bars!!!

Just kiddin' ... but the song is still fun nonetheless!!!

The ex-quarterback, Fivio, and Eli's former center, Shaun O'Hara, officially dropped the song on Thursday ... with a hilarious video accompanying it.

In the song -- a "Giants on 3" remix to the NY rapper's "1 on 3" tune -- Manning and O'Hara take turns rappin' over Fivio's beat.

Neither former Giants player is all that great on the mic -- but, hey, at least Fivio killed it!

The video, meanwhile, is pretty awesome ... Eli and Shaun rocked colorful outfits and did their best to at least pretend to look like they belonged in the booth.

Eli, Shaun and Fivio initially began working on the music earlier this week ... when all three were seen in the studio taking shots together.

Score 1 for Anna Wintour in the Vogue war with Drake and 21 Savage -- a judge is forcing the rappers to shut down all their album promotions using a fake magazine cover ... at least for now.

As TMZ Hip Hop first reported ... Vogue publishers Condé Nast slapped the duo with a lawsuit over the promos they plastered around several cities and online. The phony Vogue, featuring 21 and Drizzy, was used to hype their new album, "Her Loss."

Now, a federal judge is siding with Vogue by issuing a temporary restraining order to shut down all current and future use and display of the mocked-up cover. The order also blocks them from using Vogue editor-in-chief Anna Wintour's likeness.

Prior to the album's release, Drake had posted the fake Vogue, and even shouted out Anna ... thanking her for putting them on the cover. Of course, that was all made up ... and, in fact, Condé Nast says it had explicitly told Drake and 21 they did NOT have permission to do the Vogue stunt.

Drake's taken down that post in accordance with the restraining order.

AEW star Max Caster threw shade at Tom Brady, Kyrie Irving and Herschel Walker while rapping right before his match on Wednesday -- targeting three of the most controversial athletes of the moment.

Max and his tag team partner, Anthony Bowens, were walking to the ring to take on The Gunns and Swerve In Our Glory ... when the 33-year-old got busy on the mic.

Caster wasted no time going after TB12, who's struggled all season (game-winning drive on Sunday, aside) as he deals with his high-profile divorce from ex-wife Gisele.

Check out the performance.

"Acclaimed on the mic got the place going crazy, ya'll about to take more L's than Tom Brady," Caster rapped.

"Keep the fence work (???) it's awkward, we got the receipts like he's Herschel Walker."

"I'll make you cry til' you're eyes are burning, I'mma make you say sorry like Kyrie Irving."

Sheesh!

Of course, Tom's Bucs squad is 4-5 ... and after struggling on the field at times, some fans have wondered if he should have stayed retired.

Meanwhile, Herschel, a football legend and current U.S. Senate candidate in Georgia (his race is going to a runoff in early December), has been under attack after he was accused of reportedly paying for a woman's abortion ... despite running on a pro-life platform.

As for Kyrie ... he recently apologized to the Jewish community (though many were unfulfilled by his words) after he posted a link to a controversial film containing antisemitic messaging.

Adidas' announcement it will sell Yeezy designs without Yeezy branding should be money to Kanye West's ears ... TMZ has learned he has that in writing, but he's not getting a dime.

Sources with direct knowledge of the deal Ye signed with Adidas ... tell us there's a clause in the contract that calls for the rapper/designer to get a reduced fee if Adidas sells his designs without his branding.

That's interesting because when Adidas cut ties last month with Ye -- over his antisemitic and bigoted statements -- it said it would not pay him a single cent from that day forward. Of course, that was before Wednesday's announcement it will roll out some of Ye's shoes in 2023 ... just with the Adidas name and markings, instead of Yeezy.

TMZ asked the German shoe co. if it planned to follow through on paying Ye's reduced fee, and a spokesman said he's getting zero, zilch, null ... bupkis.

Now, there's most likely a morals clause in the contract as well -- and Adidas could easily say Ye's hate speech constituted a breach which nullified their deal. Adidas is providing no further explanation, so we've gotta read the tea leaves.