TMZ Hip Hop - Page 50

Manti Te'o -- the college football superstar who fell for one of the most famous catfishing scams to date -- is opening up on his decision to go public with his side of the hoax ... saying attending a Jay-Z concert helped him come forward.

Remember, the former Notre Dame linebacker reportedly lost his grandma and girlfriend within hours of each other in 2012 ... except the entire romance was based on a lie.

As it turns out, Te'o didn't know his GF -- Lennay Kekua, a student at Stanford -- didn't actually exist ... despite previously stating he had met her in person (Te'o adamantly denies being involved in the hoax).

Manti -- who was eventually drafted by the San Diego Chargers in the second round of the 2013 NFL Draft -- is now speaking about the whole thing ... and says he was first inspired to go public with his story after attending a Jay-Z concert as a member of the New Orleans Saints in 2017.

"Cam Jordan with the Saints took a bunch of us teammates to a Jay-Z concert," Te'o said on "CBS Mornings."

"And at that concert, Jay-Z opens up with saying these words -- 'you cannot heal what you don't reveal.' And it may have been just some random words to everybody, but for me, at that time, it hit me like a ton of bricks."

"In order for me to kind of heal from this, I needed to reveal it."

Te'o said he vowed to share his side when the next opportunity came -- and in 2020, documentary director Tony Vainuku approached him.

What resulted was the "Untold: The Girlfriend Who Didn't Exist" project, which just hit Netflix on Tuesday.

Nipsey Hussle got a ton of love for what would've been his 37th birthday, an honorable gesture ... but YG wishes the rapper could've seen the honor for himself.

TMZ Hip Hop caught up with YG at Nip’s Hollywood Star unveiling, which also included the announcement of August 15 as Nipsey Hussle Day in Los Angeles.

The Compton rap superstar acknowledged the amount of love Nip received is more than warranted, considering he was a leader to so many he touched, but says he'd do anything to have Nip back on earth.

YG and Nip were thick as thieves on multiple levels. Together, they set positive examples within the Los Angeles gang culture while collaborating on several hip hop staples including "Last Time That I Checc’d" from Nip’s breakout "Victory Lap" album.

YG has kept The Marathon continuing in his own right since Nips’s death … having expanded his portfolio into his own fashion house and signing a joint venture deal with Epic Records and his own 4Hunnid Records to allow his artists Day Sulan and D3 to get solo shine.

These days, YG is having fun with the music -- and the videos these days.

Just look at his new "Toxic" video co-starring social media star and ex-PJ Washington flame Brittany Renner. The comical clip is just the latest in new music YG tells us is on the way.

A$AP Rocky is now facing criminal charges for an alleged shooting in Hollywood, where he's accused of firing multiple shots at a former friend.

Los Angeles County District Attorney George Gascón announced Monday his office has charged the rapper with two counts of assault with a semiautomatic firearm.

Prosecutors say Rocky pointed a gun at a man during a heated discussion in Hollywood back in November ... and during a follow-up confrontation, Rocky pulled the trigger and fired two shots in the direction of the alleged victim.

Remember ... Rocky was arrested for the alleged shooting in April at LAX, where cops were waiting for him to get off his private jet with Rihanna.

Rocky is also being sued for assault and battery by former A$AP Mob member A$AP Relli, who says he is the alleged victim in the shooting. Relli says he was hit with bullet fragments and suffered injuries.

Snoop Dogg recently hinted at reuniting in the studio with Dr. Dre, a myth-turned-moment thanks to Eminem’s latest social media post.

On Monday, Slim Shady dropped a photo of himself wedged between the two “G Thang” legends in the studio captioning the pic … “just a few bros.. hangin out.”

The trio’s shared hip hop history ranges from the legendary Up In Smoke Tour to performing at this past Super Bowl and fans excitedly wondered what the session will produce … and if it’ll actually see the light of day.

Em’s been pretty active these few weeks … releasing the 2nd installment of his “Curtain Call” greatest hits, which featured a new collaboration with Snoop as well as some familiar gems.

Snoop has also been active … passing out Death Row chains to the likes of Jamie Foxx and producer Benny Blanco while teasing his latest work inside Dr. Dre’s office.

It's Dre who's actually due for a new batch of music. He released a collection of unreleased music for the "Grand Theft Auto" video game franchise in February but him being the constant in these studio sessions strongly suggests the music is going into his own solo project.

P.S. The Death Row albums still aren’t on streaming services … a void Snoop has been largely mum about all year.

The upcoming Rolling Loud New York is poised to become that much more "lit" now that Playboi Carti is in the mix.

The King of the Vamps was added to the lineup on Tuesday — joining current headliners Nicki Minaj, A$AP Rocky and Future for the September 23-25 hip hop blowout at Citi Field.

Rolling Loud organizers tell TMZ Hip Hop they've "believed in Carti ever since 2015" ... years before his breakout self-titled mixtape dropped in (yeah, the one with "Magnolia.")

RL continues ... "Carti's redefining what it means to be a hip hop artist, so it’s only right for him to play a big part in our latest festival in hip hop’s hometown. We can’t wait to see what this future headliner has planned for the New York crowd.”

The announcement comes on the heels of Carti's fellow 2017 XXL Freshman, Ugly God proclaiming Carti released the last album amongst their peers with zero songs to skip ... his 2018 project "Die Lit."

Quite the glowing cosign in an era where rappers are typically stingy with the compliments for one another.

Proud L.A. rapper Saweetie was on hand for the bittersweet moment where Nipsey Hussle posthumously received his Hollywood Star on the Walk of Fame ... and thinks the honor should serve as one of the most important in the world.

Saweetie spoke with our TMZ Hip Hop team Tuesday at the ceremony, telling us before she actually got her own taste of big time music success, she worked as a Marathon model girl for Nip’s clothing line.

The grand ceremony to honor Nip served as a full-circle moment for Saweetie, calling the festivities “overwhelming” at times as she bottled her emotions.

On the bright side, she says Nip’s star -- in addition to his flagship Marathon store and now, his own day in the city of L.A. -- will attract positive tourism to California and the West Coast and in her mind, should qualify for the title of “8th Wonder in the World!!!”

The Icy Girl wasn’t the only rapper on hand for the ceremony, as Nipsey’s All Money In crew, Roddy Ricch and YG also turned out to celebrate the late Crenshaw rapper's life and accomplishments.

Nipsey Hussle’s birthday will now be known as Nipsey Hussle Day in Los Angeles for years to come ... an announcement made during the late rapper's Walk of Fame Ceremony.

Nip was honored Monday with a star on Hollywood Boulevard, right outside the famed Amoeba Music store. During the ceremony, Los Angeles City Councilman Marqueece Harris-Dawson announced from here on out August 15 would be a day to remember the rapper.

Nipsey's partner, Lauren London, his sister, father, and grandmother all wished him a Happy Birthday from a podium during the ceremony to honor the L.A. native.

As for how Nipsey Day will be celebrated ... there will be Marathon events, much like the one planned at the upcoming opening of his flagship Marathon store.

Fellow Compton-bred rappers YG, Roddy Ricch, NBA stars Russell Westbrook, Isiah Thomas and Nip’s All Money In artists all attended the ceremony.

Many men wish death upon 50 Cent, but Floyd Mayweather isn't one of them ... 'cause the rapper says they have officially squashed their longtime beef.

Remember, the two used to be really tight up until 2012 ... when Fiddy claimed TBE stiffed him out of $2 million used to kickstart his Money Team boxing promotion.

The feud went viral -- with Fif incessantly calling Mayweather out on social media, including a video challenging the boxing legend to read one page of a Harry Potter book on camera to prove he could read.

Despite the bad falling out, 50 says that's all water under the bridge now ... telling "The Breakfast Club" he made amends with Floyd at a comedy show in Vegas earlier this year.

50 says the two realized life is short and they have a ton of respect for each other's success ... and after he apologized, Floyd replied, "What took you so long?"

The make up was made official on social media on Sunday ... with 50 announcing Floyd would be attending his Tycoon Weekend comedy event.

R. Kelly wants anyone who has seen the 'Surviving R. Kelly' docuseries to be banned as a potential juror in his trial ... saying there's no way they can give him a fair shot.

R. Kelly and his team filed a motion Monday to disqualify jurors who have seen any portion of the docuseries, as his 2nd federal trial begins in Chicago.

According to legal docs obtained by TMZ ... "any potential juror who has watched any portion of this docuseries must be disqualified for cause on whether they can be fair, too great a risk exists that such a juror would base their verdict on matters not introduced into evidence in the courtroom".

Kelly's facing charges of child porn and obstruction of justice ... and his alleged victim from his infamous 2008 case is expected to testify.

The docs state, "Any potential juror who has seen any portion of Surviving R. Kelly is prejudiced where there's no scenario which an individual exposed to the contents of Surviving R. Kelly can be impartial."

In other words ... his camp says there's absolutely no way anyone who has seen any parts of the doc can be fair, and they shouldn't be allowed to be jurors in the case.

His team claims there are episodes that talk specifically about his 2008 prosecution, in which he was acquitted ... and they say the docuseries also includes allegations that the government has said won’t be featured in this trial.

Draymond Green's wedding celebration turned into a rap concert this weekend ... 'cause after the Golden State Warriors star tied the knot with his fiancée, Hazel Renee, he took the stage with DaBaby and Roddy Ricch!!

Green and Hazel -- who got engaged back in 2019 -- jumped the broom on Saturday ... and their wedding ceremony brought out some of the biggest names in hoops AND music.

NBA stars Jayson Tatum and LeBron James were in attendance to see the Warriors forward get married ... as well as his Dubs teammate, Steph Curry, and his brother, Seth.

Green -- a 4-time NBA champ -- is no stranger to celebrating his accomplishments ... he's fresh off earning his most recent title after beating the Boston Celtics in the Finals.

Green tapped DaBaby and Roddy Ricch to perform their hit song "Rockstar" for all the guests ... and, instead of watching them do their thing, Green joined the duo and started performing too.

In the video, you see Green and his wife, Hazel, flanked by both DaBaby and Roddy Ricch ... rapping word for word, and you can tell #23 was super into it.

Rich Paul and Maverick Carter were also in the building ... and Mav and LBJ seemed to be having the time of their lives at the reception.

Trey Songz has an ally in his corner when it comes to claims of sexual assault against him -- a woman testified an attorney for Songz's alleged victim offered her up to $200,000 to change her story and make Trey the bad guy ... a claim the attorney denies.

If you haven't followed along, Trey's in the middle of a sexual assault lawsuit filed by a woman named Jauhara Jeffries -- who says he violated her at a 2017 New Year's Eve party in Miami.

We've obtained a transcript from a recent court hearing in the case, where a woman named Mariah Thielen testified she met with Jeffries' attorney, Ariel Mitchell, in April 2021 at a bar in Miami. Thielen says Mitchell smelled like weed during the meeting, and was carrying a gun.

According to the transcript, Thielen -- who was with Jeffries the night of Trey's alleged assault -- says Mitchell offered to pay between $100k-$200k if she'd lie and say she witnessed Trey sexually assault Jeffries ... and claim that Trey assaulted her too. Mitchell allegedly said she was trying to paint Trey as "the next R. Kelly."

Thielen says Mitchell's plan was to take her allegations to Trey's team in hopes of coming to a monetary settlement, and her lies would help to make that amount larger ... again, this according to the transcript.

Thielen claims she turned the offer down -- saying she wouldn't have lied for even $10 million -- and reported the meeting to Trey's legal team a short time later.

Mitchell denies the claims, telling us, "We’re highly confident and certain the court will find the witness committed perjury. Parties are still awaiting the judges' further instructions on how to proceed given the witness’s inconsistent testimony during the hearing."

Mitchell's partner, George Vrabeck, withdrew from the case, stating there was "multiple grounds for withdrawal" that existed under the Florida Rules for Professional Conduct ... but Mitchell says that's only because, "He will be representing me against the parties involved in this disgraceful motion brought by Trey Songz and his representatives."

Wack 100 is accusing Nipsey Hussle’s brother Blacc Sam of removing a posthumous verse from The Game’s new album at crunch time … a claim we’re told is farfetched considering the song’s verses were never discussed prior to the album’s release.

Sources close to Nipsey’s family tell TMZ ...  Nipsey’s label, Atlantic Records, was confused by Game’s “Drillmatic” announcement last week … which touted a Nipsey featured a song named “World Tours.”

Nipsey’s music handlers — not Sam — then alerted the attorneys to check for the song’s existing paperwork who in turn, sent Wack a cease-and-desist after discovering no such agreement ever existed.

Wack has been critical of Nip’s legacy on numerous occasions since his death and accused Blacc Sam of holding a grudge during a recent Clubhouse chat.

Wack argued that his and Game’s industry gripes weren’t mutually exclusive and the song should have been cleared, considering Game has waved the proverbial Marathon Flag in Nip’s memory over the years.

Kodak Black says the Florida cops who arrested him for allegedly trafficking oxycodone are still holding onto his car and thousands of dollars in cash nearly a month later ... and now he's out of patience and wants it all back.

Kodak is asking the court to make the Florida Highway Patrol officers who busted him return a Dodge Durango and $74,960 in cash they seized during the arrest ... this according to legal docs obtained by TMZ.

Kodak's lawyer, Bradford Cohen, says his client can prove the car and cash belong to Kodak and were not involved in any illegal activity.

For starters, Cohen claims the Durango is registered to Florida-based record label Sniper Gang, and Kodak is a manager of that entity.

Since Kodak has already turned over the prescriptions for the pills found in the vehicle, Cohen claims there is no legal basis for the police to continue to hold the Durango and should return it pronto.

As for the roughly $75K in cash, Kodak's attorney says he carries so much dough around because he's a rapper and it goes with the territory ... claiming Kodak needs large sums of money on him to pay various expenses on tour. Also, he's often paid in cash for his gigs.

Remember ... cops pulled Kodak's car over last month and say the ride reeked of weed, prompting a search that turned up the cash and 31 oxycodone pills ... this according to cops.

Kodak's attorney claims he ended up providing cops with a prescription for the pills ... and insists there's no basis for cops to continue holding the car and cash as evidence.

The court has yet to rule.

Travis Scott, Cardi B and countless others have already hyped up GloRilla's breakout hit, solidifying her entry into the game ... and pumping her wayyy up.

We caught up with Glo in Hollywood earlier this week to talk about the massive success of her single "F.N.F. (Let's Go)" which has been positioned on the Billboard Hot 100 all summer and also dubbed the song of the summer by Cardi B.

Glo praised Cardi for the "realness" of her advice once she struck it big ... especially since she went out of her way to talk about a smaller artist.

The Memphis rap starlet has been a frontrunner for rap's rookie of the year, signing to Yo Gotti's CMG label and going equally viral for the $500K advance he blessed her with.

Glo tells us she not only hasn't spent a dime of the advance but also plans to use it as a deeper investment. She says she's also down to recruit Cardi, Travis (or both) for any potential 'F.N.F.' remix ... but isn't forcing anything.

Next month, she's performing at Jay-Z's Made In America Festival and her debut album is in the making.

R. Kelly was once prosecuted for allegedly abusing a minor -- an infamous case from 2008 in which she never testified ... but that's all about to change now as he heads to trial anew.

The disgraced singer, who's already been convicted of sex crimes in New York and faces 30 years behind bars, has another day in court ahead of him. Come Monday, his federal trial in Chicago -- for which he's facing similar charges and sentencing -- is going to begin.

On top of the 4 accusers in this Chicago case -- all of whom will testify -- the woman who Kelly was accused of urinating on on tape at just age 14, among other heinous crimes, is set to take the stand as well ... to speak on the '08 case and her experience with him in general.

Per new court filings, cited by AP, prosecutors say the unidentified alleged victim from back then -- now in her 30s -- will address claims that R. Kelly rigged the 2008 case in an attempt to obstruct justice ... including allegedly paying off/threatening this woman at the time.

Many will recall ... Kelly was acquitted and went free, largely because the alleged victim refused to cooperate and testify. Now, it appears she'll explain why that happened, from her perspective, for the first time ever. Her identity has remained hidden all these years.

There's more ... these new filings say prosecutors plan to play that same VHS tape from '08 in court again as this current trial fires up. In addition to that, there are reportedly going to be at least 3 other videos presented as evidence in court. Unclear if they all pertain to 2008.

Prosecutors claim that R. Kelly had sex with/recorded the 2008 alleged victim hundreds of times between 1998 and 2000, a period when she was as young as 13 years old. They also acknowledge that some of these sex tapes had been stolen and peddled on the street.

The L.A. Mission thinks Kanye West needs to turn his words into action, and the org. is frustrated he hasn't followed through on his vow to help the homeless get jobs and housing ... folks familiar with the Mission's struggles tell TMZ.

Kanye got all inspirational Friday, posting this on IG ...  "look to the homeless as the biggest inspiration for all design." It's unclear what he meant, but it resurfaces some of the promises the rapper made last year, when he visited the Mission and vowed to use his companies to help the homeless get jobs, education and housing.

Our sources say little if anything has been done since.

Kanye waxing philosophical isn't moving the ball forward for the homeless crisis in L.A.

As we reported, Kanye met with leaders of the org. last November, where he laid out ambitious plans on how to tackle City's biggest challenge -- the homeless crisis. We're told folks from the Mission have attempted to contact Ye several times since the meeting, to no avail.

Kanye has done some good for the homeless ... among other things, he donated 1,000 meals and spent time encouraging volunteers and L.A. residents to join in and help. He also held a Sunday Service at the Union Rescue Mission on Skid Row back in 2019.

We're told the L.A. Mission wants to work with Kanye, because he's a huge star with a megaphone and could do a lot of good.