Hip Hop

Young Thug's co-defendant Kenneth "YSL Woody" Copeland pled the fifth despite receiving immunity from prosecutors ... and found himself cuffed up for contempt of court!!!

On Friday, Judge Ural Glanville explained several times to Copeland he had to testify in the case because prosecutors had granted him immunity from prosecution with respect to his testimony.

The judge warned Copeland that he was skating on thin ice by continuing to invoke his Fifth Amendment protection against self-incrimination.

Will Smith will tell ya ... even fame can't spare you from the taxman's grip, as he found out the hard way -- in fact, he says it cost him everything he owned back in his Philly days.

The actor spilled the beans on the "7PM in Brooklyn" podcast -- reminiscing about the late '80s, when he snagged his first Grammy for Best Rap Performance with "Parents Just Don't Understand." But, right at that high point, he also got a not-so-friendly notice from the IRS.

Will reflected, "I was, like, 'the IRS gets money from everybody, they don't need mine' -- but they felt differently. So I didn't pay taxes for two years and winning a Grammy and all that…so they just thought they should take my stuff."

Supreme Court Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson nabbed free tickets to one of the biggest concerts of 2023 -- something she just made public ... confirming she's part of the BeyHive.

In the judge's financial disclosure report for 2023 -- obtained by TMZ -- the SCOTUS Justice revealed she was gifted 4 tickets to Beyoncé's "Renaissance" tour last year. She lists Bey as the source too -- and that speaks to their value ... she cites them as being worth $3,711.84.

Unclear which concert Justice Jackson went to ... but based on that price point -- it sounds like she had a great view, 'cause that amount divided by 4 comes out to about $927 a pop!

Nick Cannon's putting his family jewels first ... taking out an insurance policy on his well-tested testes, which he's valuing at a whopping 8 figures!!!

Talk about money well spent -- remember, Nick's golden gonads have already spawned 12 kids with 6 different women, so it should come as no surprise he just launched a new collab with Dr. Squatch's Ball Valuation Tool.

Even less shocking, the men's care company assessed Nick's population-boosting balls at $10 million!

2 Live Crew's Brother Marquis died suddenly on June 3 ... the tragic result of a massive heart attack, TMZ Hip Hop has learned.

Dantez Robinson -- the Chief Deputy Coroner at Etowah County Coroner's Office -- ruled the massive heart attack ... and it was ruled as natural.

The passing rocked the hip hop community to the core ... 2LC famously took on the United States Supreme Court to fight for the culture's freedom of speech and will forever be pillars in history.

50 Cent says his entire interaction with Rep. Lauren Boebert was blown out of proportion because the photo-op everyone's talking about is all he had time for, plus he ain't exactly looking for a new GF.

Of course, that's not the impression 50 or Lauren gave the internet after they posted flirty exchanges to go with the cozy pics they snapped Wednesday at the White House.

We caught 50 out in NYC promoting the final season of "Power Book II: Ghost" and he laughed off the notion he and LB have a congressional romance blossoming.

Ice Spice got super defensive responding to a fan who gave her debut album cover art a few Photoshop modifications ... but it appears the rapper's in the minority with that opinion.

She debuted her "Y2K" album cover yesterday to a largely lukewarm reception, as some felt the design was, well ... let's just say subpar.

The rollout paid homage to Ice's Bronx roots with a subway-themed backdrop and was shot by famed photographer David LaChapelle -- still, lots of fans noted you could barely see the "Munch" rapper's name or the album title in the chicken-scratch cursive sprayed painted on a trash can.

Pharrell Williams is maximizing his love for LEGO, using it to tell his career in motion picture form -- and several of his fellow artists got transformed into the toys to bring the film to life!

Skateboard P and Focus Features released the official trailer Thursday for his upcoming biopic, "Piece by Piece" ... led by Academy Award-winning director Morgan Neville, the film is a cross between "The Lego Movie" and the old VH-1 series, "Behind the Music."

Interviews were shot largely during the COVID-19 pandemic, and they wrangled some big ones -- Kendrick Lamar, Timbaland, Justin Timberlake, Gwen Stefani, Busta Rhymes, Jay-Z, N.O.R.E., Teddy Riley and Snoop Dogg all make cameos.

On top of that, the flick will also feature new music!!!

Chris Brown fans packed the house for his "11:11" tour opener in Detroit this week ... validating the R&B star's longtime claims that it's only the music industry that's against him.

Breezy took a moment to address the sold-out crowd inside the Little Caesar's Arena on Wednesday night -- with him musing ... "For a n**** they say is blackballed, this don't look blackballed to me!!!"

The show didn't spare any theatrics either -- a Michael Jackson voiceover opened the main event right before CB soared over the crowd on wires. It was certainly high production value.

Ray J is convinced he and his ex Kim Kardashian made self-produced XXX content mainstream ... claiming their infamous sex tape led the way for today's adult creators.

The singer addressed his sex tape legacy on the "Club Shay Shay" podcast, telling host Shannon Sharpe the world would be a very different place without "Kim Kardashian, Superstar" ... in every respect.

He says ... "Probably more people would be going to college... there might not be any OnlyFans and other things like that ... Are we a part of the cure or are we a part of the disease? I don't f***ing know. I'm just trying to make it right."

Sean Kingston is leaning on family and friends after being released from jail in his fraud case ... 'cause his ma paid him a visit at his Florida home, and she brought Safaree along.

The "Beautiful Girls" singer couldn't be bothered to put on pants to welcome his guests Wednesday ... greeting them outside his Weston estate in nothing but a white tee and some black biker shorts. Indeed ... the dude looks totally relaxed, despite what's going on.

Sean's had a pretty busy day ... before the in-home visit, he got out of jail, which included conditions. He was released on a $100k bond after surrendering his passport and any firearms.

50 Cent and Rep. Lauren Boebert hung out at the White House during the rapper's visit to Capitol Hill ... and there are some definite flirty vibes in the air, or so it seems.

Fiddy and the Colorado Republican cheesed for the cameras Wednesday in D.C. ... and as you can see, they're locked into a pretty snug embrace here and flashing some huge smiles to boot. So yeah, they're definitely cozy.

Boebert fired off the first flirty social media post ... telling 50, "I'd still love you if you flipped burgers at Burger King ... I used to do that myself! Thanks for the photo, great to meet you!"

Lil Durk says his rehab stint was very successful, and the best path to changing his outlook on life -- so, now he's eager to do the same for other addicts suffering in his community.

The Chicago rap star got very candid, speaking to a photog in Malibu about his rehab journey, which he says involved ridding his system of codeine and Xanax.

Durk endured a rocky 2023 ... despite releasing a gold-selling album and platinum single with J. Cole, he also spent a week in the hospital, causing him to miss several shows that could've propelled the album even higher.

One of the Island Boys tried passing himself off as his twin brother during his reckless driving arrest a few weeks ago ... so claim the cops anyway, who got it all spelled out in a report.

According to new legal docs, obtained by TMZ Hip Hop, officers say they observed Franky Venegas driving at a high rate of speed in his yellow Corvette Stingray on May 24 out in Fort Lauderdale, FL.

Cops claim that after witnessing Venegas speed into a parking lot, they got a call about the yellow Corvette and another gray vehicle near multiple people armed with guns.

YK Osiris says he's eager to get in the boxing ring with DDG and show him the 'Golden Child' golden gloves ... but only after he's reassured he's getting paid!!!

The "Worth It" singer chopped it up with TMZ Hip Hop Tuesday at LAX. He and DDG have both been grandstanding in the gym with their dukes up, and have agreed to fight.

DDG is willing to piece up YK for peanut shillings, but YK told us he's gonna need compensation to have his knuckles scraped. That being said, he kinda hinted they're close to finalizing a deal.

Sean Kingston is finally out of police custody after being arrested and extradited in his fraud case ... 'cause he was able to post bond, but had to jump through a couple hoops first.

According to new legal docs, obtained by TMZ Hip Hop, SK was released on a $100K bond Wednesday in Broward County with special conditions ... Sean had to surrender his passport and any firearms to officials.

Not just this ... but his mortgage collateral will also be filed in public records within 10 days -- so he's got his house on the line here.