TMZ Hip Hop - Page 24

G. Dep -- one of Diddy's top rap lieutenants during his "Harlem Shake era" -- is now a free man after serving more than 13 years in prison ... walking out of the gates this morning.

Records from the New York State Department of Corrections and Community Supervision -- obtained by TMZ Hip Hop -- show Dep was released under the prison's Limited Credit Time Allowance program, which allows eligible inmates a six-month credit on their existing sentences.

Per court docs, the "Special Delivery" rapper -- who's now 49 -- will have to check in with his parole officer, refrain from possessing weapons and drugs without medical authorization, and will have to get permission to leave the State of New York ... pretty standard stuff for a newly released ex-con.

Jake Paul has moved on from punching bags -- the Problem Child just used a Soundcloud rapper to hone his boxing skills ... hitting Lil Pump with a vicious body shot!!

The internet star and fighter welcomed the "Gucci Gang" musician on his "BS with Jake Paul" podcast this week ... and about halfway through the episode, Pump asked if Paul was willing to punch him in the stomach as hard as he could -- just so he could experience what it feels like.

Pump was fully committed to the stunt ... even telling Paul he was down to end up in the hospital over it.

Stevie J posted a video that is Diddy's biggest PR offensive to date ... and the message is clear -- check out who parties with Diddy, because it's virtually every big celeb in Hollywood.

The video is a highlight reel of Diddy's 50th birthday bash back in 2019 in Bev Hills, and the guest list is the Oscars meets the Grammys meets the ESPY awards.

Among the guests ... Kobe Bryant, Dr. Dre, Jay-Z, Mary J. Blige, Kim and Khloe Kardashian, Kylie Jenner, Post Malone, Naomi Campbell, Cardi B, Big Sean, Travis Scott, The Weeknd, Kanye West, Jaden Smith, Snoop Dogg, Queen Latifah, Kevin Hart, MGK, and on and on.

Travis Scott had the LSU campus LIT Wednesday night ... making his way to Baton Rouge and hanging with superstar athletes Angel Reese and Jayden Daniels -- and all the students in attendance went nuts!!

La Flame is dropping his new "Jack Goes Back to College" clothing and headwear capsule this week ... and in honor of teaming up with 28 universities throughout the country, he is popping up at several schools to promote the collab.

Scott and Fanatics honcho Michael Rubin arrived at LSU's bookstore around midnight ... and according to the former 76ers owner, there were thousands of fans lined up almost half the day in preparation for the launch party.

One diehard was even waited 12 hours ... and Scott showed him love by autographing his arm!!

The ongoing Diddy legal saga is getting the documentary treatment, and it's gonna happen several times with several companies ... TMZ has learned.

Multiple industry sources with direct knowledge tell TMZ ... producers at various production companies in Hollywood and the UK have been scrambling to put together long-form documentary films covering Diddy's drama -- everything from the civil lawsuits to the federal raids.

We're told the outreach to ramp up production for most of the docs began immediately after the raids in L.A. and Miami -- which isn't surprising, as the feds' execution of search warrants happened on live TV ... making it more of a national spectacle, and prompting folks to pay close attention to all the fallout.

A couple of big names in country music aren't just embracing Beyoncé's new album, they also think it's a tipping point for the genre ... which is why Chris Young's inviting her to get in-studio with him.

We caught up with Chris in NYC, and he told us he loves Bey's "Cowboy Carter" album -- especially Dolly Parton's intro on the new "Jolene" rendition. As he put it, Beyoncé's venture into the country scene proves the industry's more welcoming now than before.

Showing off some of that southern hospitality, Chris says ... "Tell [Beyoncé] I'm here for her."

Diddy's ex, Cassie, has been in touch with the authorities in the federal investigation -- not just that, we're told she's cooperating  ... as are others who've sued him.

Sources with direct knowledge tell us ... Cassie is among the witnesses the feds have been in contact with in connection with the Diddy investigation ... we're told she's been working with investigators for several weeks ... presumably even before Diddy's homes were raided.

Given the timing, it seems Cassie may have helped the feds establish probable cause to get a judge to sign off on the search warrants. Other women, we're told, have also been in contact with federal investigators.

Shannon Sharpe asked GloRilla the question everyone wants to know the answer to -- did her flirtatious shot at NBA superstar Damian Lillard actually work -- but the rapper dodged the query expertly ... and the whole interaction was hilarious.

The Pro Football Hall of Famer peppered the Memphis rapper about the message she sent to Lillard while the two were on Sharpe's "Club Shay Shay" show this week.

Initially, Shannon tried to get her to talk about her favorite NBA players ... before he pivoted the convo to her social media post where she said she "wanted" Lillard.

Rod Wave found himself in a jail cell this week -- this after cops arrested him on a firearm charge ... even though his attorneys are calling BS.

The rapper was booked into Manatee County Jail Wednesday on two counts of possession of a firearm by a convicted felon -- and he posed for a mug shot on his way in. The exact circumstances that led to RW's bust are still unclear at this point.

In any case -- his attorneys, Bradford Cohen and Mark Rankin, tell us ... "The officers that made the arrest are incorrect. He is not a convicted felon and has never been a convicted felon. We would have hoped additional research would have been done prior to them filing these charges."

Chance the Rapper and his wife, Kirsten Corley, are calling it quits on their marriage -- something they just announced with a joint statement.

They write, "After a period of separation, the two of us have arrived at the decision to part ways. We came to this decision amicably and with gratitude for the same time we spent together. God has blessed us with two beautiful daughters who we will continue to raise together."

The estranged couple continues... "We kindly ask for privacy and respect as we navigate this transition. Thank you."

Ryan Garcia is picking a side amid 50 Cent's longstanding beef with Diddy ... publicly asking the "In Da Club" rapper to walk him out for his fight against Devin Haney.

50 has been having a field day as Diddy faces sexual misconduct allegations and a federal sex trafficking investigation ... constantly posting memes and jokes at his nemesis' expense.

Garcia has also done trolling of his own ... training in a shirt that showed Haney standing shirtless in a pool with Diddy and speculating whether "The Dream" has been involved in any alleged wrongdoing.

On top of that, King Ryan has posted numerous unfounded allegations surrounding Diddy and Haney ... and despite the latter's outright denial, Garcia is now calling on Fiddy to be by his side when he makes his way to the ring on fight night.

"@50cent would be awesome if you walked out with me 4-20," Garcia said ... while adding a new homophobic slang term involving Diddy's name.

"Let's do this!!!!"

It's just the latest example of Garcia's social media antics leading up to the bout -- as we reported, the 24-1 pugilist has posted wild conspiracies and exhibited other bizarre behavior ... and even though he previously vowed to only speak about sports and the fight, that hasn't been the case.

Metro Boomin can't catch a break in this hacking saga ... 'cause now his Tyler, The Creator Louis Vuitton collab order got rerouted last minute to a random address.

In a recent X post, the superproducer dropped a bombshell screenshot from his convo with his high-end goods hookup man -- turns out the guy had just seen Metro's earlier posts about getting hacked, and was worried he'd shipped Metro's order to the hackers.

Metro Boomin replied with a big "Broooooo. Wtfff. No way, please you didn't," and added in the caption: "Now I just found out in real time that all the Tyler LV I ordered just got shipped to the hacker. Going to sleep now."

A report claimed that 50 Cent was being eyed to replace Diddy as the face of Ciroc -- something we now know isn't the case ... despite the guy himself seemingly leaning into it.

Sources connected to the vodka brand tell TMZ there's no truth to rumors or claims that Fiddy is the top name getting kicked around among Ciroc executives -- this in the wake of Diddy and Ciroc (and its parent company Diageo) going their separate ways earlier this year.

One report even goes so far as to cite an anonymous Ciroc honcho who supposedly said 50 Cent was actually their initial choice to lead Ciroc way back in 2007 ... with this anonymous person going on to claim that Diddy swooped in and "stole the deal."

Metro Boomin declaring war on Drake isn't coming without consequences -- the superproducer claims his phone and iCloud recently survived a serious hacking he suspects came directly from Team OVO!!!

Shortly before his new album "We Don't Trust You" dropped -- the one he and Future let Kendrick Lamar go all sicko mode on Drake -- Metro claims he started getting spammed by Toronto-area phone numbers.

Joyner Lucas is looking back at his stint on a major record label with deep regret ... he says his experience was mostly clouded with empty promises!!!

While venting on Math Hoffa's "My Expert Opinion," Joyner and his longtime manager/business partner Drew recalled the time they were courted by Atlantic Records ahead of signing in 2016.

They also claim it took them forever to get paid -- money falling slowly like confetti isn't exactly worth celebrating!!!

Joyner admits he was beyond geeked when he signed with Atlantic, but only released one project with the label, and then bounced a few years later.

He's now calling Atlantic's recruitment a big 'ol sham ... Joyner and Drew both claim the label used love-bombing tactics to trick him into inking the contract.

Joyner says Atlantic execs told them it would be easy to get some of the label's biggest stars -- such as Cardi B, Ed Sheeran and Bruno Mars -- in the studio, but, of course, it never happened!!!

Joyner's nabbed some blockbuster collabs throughout his career ... folks like Eminem, J. Cole and Chris Brown. Even Jelly Roll appears on his newest album "Not Now I'm Busy," but none of those guys are signed to Atlantic.

Stevie J's aggressively defending his pal Diddy, and firing new shots at 50 Cent for his never-ending trolling over the federal raids and investigation ... something he thinks is racially-motivated.

We spoke to Stevie Tuesday on "TMZ Live," and he didn't hold back, accusing 50 of attempting to tear down the Black community ... so much so, he repeatedly labeled him an "Uncle Tom."

Stevie pointed fingers at 50 for spreading propaganda and lies about Diddy ... straight-up telling him to "stop being a girl and talking about him."