Music

MC Lyte is back on the scene with her first new album in 10 years and new independent ventures with Grammy winner Warryn Campbell's My Block imprint ... the ideal situation for her, and she's warning other hip hop artists to know the contracts they're signing!!!

On Friday, Lyte released her 9th album "1 of 1" and spoke to TMZ Hip Hop about how she tackled several personal topics across the music.

The track "Lyte Ghost Lil Mama" features Ghostface Killah and Lil Mama, just as the title suggests ... but the NYC rappers dedicate their verses to exposing major label hurdles such as broken distribution deals and fights over ownership a lot of rappers face.

Tekashi 6ix9ine has been slapped with a lawsuit from his ex-girlfriend, who claims the rapper subjected her to a long history of physical, sexual, emotional, and financial abuse ... and says when she broke up with him, he retaliated by posting explicit videos of her on social media.

TMZ has obtained the court docs ... in which reggaeton singer Jorgina Lulu Guillermo Diaz, professionally known as Yailin La Más Viral, alleges the rapper drugged her, abused her, and stole hundreds of thousands of dollars from her to fund his own luxury expenses.

Yailin also alleges Tekashi -- real name Daniel Hernandez -- manipulated, shamed, and coerced her to undergo unnecessary plastic surgery and other cosmetic procedures.

Kendrick Lamar has plenty of hits to choose from when he hits the Super Bowl 59 halftime stage next year -- and has plenty of options with several of his fellow rappers as well!!!

We caught up with Rich The Kid at LAX this week and he tells TMZ Hip Hop that K. Dot can easily dominate the performance on his own ... but Rich wouldn't scoff at the opportunity to perform their 2017 double-platinum collab "New Freezer."

That said ... RTK admits he would immediately turn around and give that hypothetical slot to Lil Wayne, who was pitted into the Super Bowl convo when Kendrick got picked in Wayne's hometown.

Gigi Hadid and Zayn Malik may no longer be together, but they share one important thing in their life ... their daughter, Khai.

The 2 celebrities showered their daughter with love on Instagram Thursday, as their youngster turned 4 years old.

The supermodel took to the picture-sharing site to share a glimpse into Khai's 4th birthday bash ... which mashed-up a theme of rainbows, "The Mandalorian," and Disney Channel's "Descendants."

Donald Trump has been caught sharing his own bit of "fake news" again ... reposting a doctored image of Kamala Harris, implying she attended one of Diddy's alleged "Freak Off" parties.

The Republican nominee took to his social media site, Truth Social, this week, where he reposted a photo shared by a user ... which showed the Vice President posing next to "Diddy" and another woman.

In the wake of Diddy's arrest and indictment, the original poster speculated the Democratic presidential nominee may've attended one of the rapper's alleged Freak Offs -- which prosecutors have described as drug-fueled, days-long sex parties.

Bianca Censori's latest look is surprisingly tame -- at least by her usual standards -- as she managed to keep her curves barely under wraps in a skintight getup that still gives serious "I left half my wardrobe at home" vibes.

Kanye West's better half was spotted on a shopping spree with the rapper in Tokyo ... rocking a skin-toned tank top that plunged daringly low, paired with some Spanx-style matching shorts for a bold undergarment statement.

The only splash of color Bianca added was a pair of black knee-high sock boots ... perfect for staying comfy while hitting the local stores with Ye.

Diddy was placed on suicide watch at the Metropolitan Detention Center in NYC ... but he's not suicidal, at least according to his lawyer.

Diddy's attorney, Marc Agnifilo, tells TMZ ... the suicide watch directive issued by MDC officials was merely a routine measure for "new, high-profile inmates."

Agnifilo noted he spent 6 hours Thursday with Diddy at the federal lockup and the music mogul turned criminal defendant was "not at all suicidal." In fact, Agnifilo says, Diddy was "strong, healthy, confident and focused on his defense."

Singers Charli XCX and Ice Spice are goin' head-to-head (or shall we say 'apples to apples' 🍎) decked out in their finest brassieres ... but which babe is gettin' your vote? The question here is: Who'd you Rather?!

VOTE NOW!

American singer Jennifer Paige was in her mid-20s when she dropped her 1998 pop song "Crush" -- peaking at number three on the Billboard Hot 100 for four consecutive weeks ... and gained much international success in countries like Australia, New Zealand and Canada.

The catchy song was first played on Los Angeles's popular radio station KIIS-FM and was the most requested song of the summer! She made her debut TV appearance, performing the hit track on ABC's "Live with Regis and Kathie Lee."

"It's just (ahh) a little crush (crush)!"

Josh Flagg isn't sold on Diddy's current listing for his Los Angeles-area home ... noting the mansion has a number of hurdles to overcome -- especially after the recent "Freak Offs" allegations.

We caught up with the "Million Dollar Listing" star on Melrose Place in Los Angeles, where he offered his professional real estate opinion on Diddy's Holmby Hills home -- which was listed for over $60 million earlier this month.

As Josh put it ... the listing price is far too high, suggesting $50 million would be a smarter price point for the manse.

Chris Brown and Lil Durk ripped off another artist's song for their collab "Till The Wheels Fall Off" ... at least according to a new lawsuit.

Breezy and Durk are being sued by music producer Micah Foster, who claims CB straight up jacked his track after Micah played it for Chris on a mixtape.

In the docs, obtained by TMZ, Foster claims Chris and Durk's "Till The Wheels Fall Off" copies the chorus, hook and arrangement for his similarly-titled song "Wheels Fall Off."

Maitland Ward says the now-infamous "Freak Off" parties the feds claim Diddy was orchestrating sound way more intense than group sex romps on porn sets.

The former "Boy Meets World" star, who now makes her living shooting X-rated content, tells TMZ ... she's never heard of anyone needing IV fluids while filming an orgy for an adult movie -- and those can go for half a day!

Maitland's referencing Diddy's federal indictment, in which prosecutors say Diddy's victims typically received IV fluids to recover from the physical exertion and drug use from the Freak Offs.

The investigation into Diddy is far from over ... with sources telling TMZ at least one person has been subpoenaed to testify in front of the grand jury -- and we're told others are open to cooperating with federal prosecutors.

Sources with direct knowledge tell TMZ ... at least two new people plan to cooperate with the feds' ongoing investigation of Diddy and are willing to testify in front of the grand jury in the coming days.

We're told one of these people is a current sex worker ... who claims they were involved with Diddy back in 2014.

Sean "Diddy" Combs may be holding up okay at the moment behind bars, but concern for his well-being is warranted ... a celebrity prison coach tells TMZ.

John Fuller, a consultant known for his high-profile clients -- he prepared Martha Stewart for her stay in the can -- tells TMZ ... the rap mogul may not be suicidal in his early days locked up, but concern that Diddy's mental health might take a decline over time is valid ... especially if the trial ends up not going in his favor.

As Fuller put it ... Diddy is likely used to getting his way given his A-list status ... however, those days are over, at least for now -- and that may become complicated for him to process.

Method Man wants everyone attaching Diddy's downfall to the state of hip hop music to pump their brakes ... and stop trying to conflate the issues!!!

We caught up with Mr. Meth at ABC Studios in NYC this week, where he told us the correlation between Diddy and hip hop culture is completely lost on him!!!

As you're aware, Diddy was arrested and indicted on sex trafficking, kidnapping and racketeering charges earlier this week ... alleged actions by a world-famous rapper, but not a clear tie-in as far as Meth sees it.

Derek Carr's recent touchdown celebration was "Bad" in the eyes of the NFL -- 'cause the New Orleans Saints quarterback was just fined a solid chunk of change for channeling his inner Michael Jackson against the Dallas Cowboys.

The pretty shocking moment (considering the subject) went down during the second quarter of the Saints' routing of America's Team in Week 2 ... when No. 4 executed a QB sneak to help put his squad up 35-13.

Once he reached the end zone, Carr did his best MJ impression ... doing a leg kick and grabbing his junk before making his way back to the sidelines.