TMZ Hip Hop - Page 50

Diddy has a new defender in Hollywood -- and that would be Jason Derulo ... who says the guy shouldn't be persecuted by the public until all the facts are in, and they're just not yet.

We talked to the singer Tuesday in NYC while he was out and about, and our photog asked JD head on ... should innocent until proven guilty apply here for Puff???? Considering Diddy actually helped Jason break into the industry way back when ... his answer is telling.

Jason says he agrees with the old adage ... and that Diddy should be afforded that grace until more evidence surfaces, if any does at all, that implicates him in something nefarious.

Aoki Lee Simmons has already called it quits with her much older boyfriend ... TMZ has confirmed.

The exact reason for their split remains unclear -- but we're told Aoki isn't planning on dating restaurateur Vittorio Assaf beyond the time they've already spent together in St. Barts ... where they've been canoodling for the past several days.

While we know Russell was supportive of the relationship -- People Mag reports that Aoki's mom was not approving at all ... in fact, they say KLS was "concerned" about the age gap.

J. Cole's decision to pump the brakes on his battle with Kendrick Lamar has left several of his former costars with mixed feelings, including one of Cole's longtime producers ... who says he's making a list of who's not keeping it 💯.

Omen -- who's laid beats for Cole since 2009 -- sent out an ominous social media post on Tuesday ... singling out a particular group of artists who are now criticizing Cole.

Back in 2019, Omen helped orchestrate the "Revenge of the Dreamers III" compilation -- which meshed several outside artists with the Dreamville camp -- successfully landing 3 Grammy noms for their teamwork.

L.A. rappers Guapdad 4000 and Buddy appeared on several 'ROTD3' tracks -- but posted how Cole "killed his spirit" after he gobbled up a slice of Kendrick's humble pie.

Buddy -- like Suge Knight -- had no issues rooting for the hometown and hit his backyard boogie at the news of Cole's surrender.

TDE artist Reason even had fans calling for him to bounce to Dreamville when the tape dropped due to his chemistry with Cole's team ... but he also expressed doubts about the "7 Minute Drill" turning into a pump fake.

Cole's current artists Ari Lennox and Bas countered the backlash and offered up public support to their CEO, and Bas seems to have his own beef brewing with the outsiders.

Don Toliver was arrested on suspicion of DUI this week -- but it sounds like he was an easy customer for cops ... 'cause they didn't even take him to jail.

According to a report from California Highway Patrol -- obtained by TMZ -- the rapper was pulled over for speeding early Tuesday morning near the San Fernando Valley here in SoCal -- and cops say they had reason to believe he might've been impaired behind the wheel.

The report says that officers observed signs of impairment but instead of throwing him in handcuffs ... Toliver was simply cited and released in the field.

Jelly Roll's adamant about keeping those good vibes rollin' ... so much so, he says he bailed on the chance to meet Diddy months earlier 'cause he got some bad mojo from him.

The rapper dished all during the "Cancelled with Tana Mongeau" podcast ... saying he just had to trust his gut that the vibes were off, even if it meant passing up the opportunity to hang out with a big-time rapper like Diddy.

The topic kickstarted when Tana asked the country singer if there were any celebs he didn't get along with or he felt were "giving Illuminati or dark side" -- and he came clean, even though he gave the disclaimer the story he was about to tell may stir up some trouble.

Bianca Censori seems to be telegraphing a positive message about safe sex -- that is, if you see what we see with her latest outfit ... which looks very latex-y, if you catch our drift.

The ex-architect was out with Kanye West Sunday -- grabbing dinner at Bacari in Silver Lake, CA ... and stepping out afterward in this little number, which once again made a bold fashion statement. As you can see, she's in a see-through dress -- and yes, she appears to be naked underneath.

Nothing new there, per se, but what is eye-popping this time around is what exactly she's wrapped in -- on its face, it resembles a plastic shower curtain ... or, realistically, a condom.

Russell Simmons and Kimora Lee Simmons' 21-year-old daughter is dating a 65-year-old guy -- with whom she's on vacation right now -- but Papa Bear isn't trippin', or so it seems.

The Def Jam co-founder tells TMZ he spoke with his daughter, Aoki, a day before the news came out she was romantically involved with Vittorio Assaf -- the founder of Serafina Restaurant Group -- which came to light last week through PDA-filled vacay photos of them.

The couple is out in St. Barts right now -- and shots of them smooching have gone viral ... not to mention invoking the wrath of social media, but Russell says he's not stressing it.

City Girls haven't put out any music together in months and the current state of things isn't looking up ... 'cause Yung Miami and JT are currently going at each other's necks online!!!

The spat began on Monday during the solar eclipse when Miami reposted JT and accused her of throwing shade these past few weeks as her association with Diddy has come in the legal crosshairs.

YM even accused JT's recent songs "Sideways" and "No Bars" of containing sneaky lyrics aimed at her ... and she was done putting up with what she characterized as a fake friend.

Neither have pushed the City Girls name much since their October 2023 album "Raw Ass Whores" stalled out in just its first week with only 10k in sales.

Sources close to the group tell TMZ Hip Hop the rift is just "a family dispute" outside their professional careers -- fans are blaming it on the eclipse but things aren't looking good.

Suge Knight couldn't be more disappointed with J. Cole waiving the white flag to Kendrick Lamar -- reacting to the brief beef live from his prison cell ... and we got the recording.

TMZ Hip Hop obtained audio from Breakbeat Media's "Collect Call" podcast of Suge's reaction for Cole's forfeiting to Kendrick at his Dreamville Festival this weekend ... and he's got more of a coronation for Kendrick and a harsh lecture for Cole.

Suge tells Cole in order to be the best, he has to beat the best and knocked Cole for throwing in the towel -- saying if African-Americans at large shared his attitude, they'd still be enslaved.

Drake hasn't responded to Kendrick Lamar's "Like That" diss, but he's aware of J. Cole's public apology ... and Akademiks says that's not a route Drake's planning to take. Bring on the beef!!!

Ak has been losing sleep on his Rumble stream ripping into Cole's apology, but told his chat he had a long convo with Drake who scoffed at the notion of saying sorry to Kendrick.

Ak says Drake literally laughed at him when warned not to apologize like Cole, and shared an incredulous message ... "I can’t f***ing believe you would say some s*** like that to me.”

Meek Mill is ripping into Wale for what he deems the ultimate sign of disrespect ... being chummy with one of his enemies!!!

Meek got wind that Wale had posted up and taken a photo with his ex-pal Dean, and launched into arguably his biggest social media meltdown of the year ... vowing to exact revenge on his former MMG labelmate.

The way Meek sees it, guys like Wale sneak behind his back and conspire to derail his career ... while schmoozing with Meek's current BFF, Michael Rubin.

Wale didn't share Meek's level of fury and dismissed Meek and Dean's feud as "unserious drama" and appeared to go about his day.

Dean worked with Meek and his Dreamchasers label during its come-up years, but has since been on a media tour with Akademiks ... dragging the "Dreams & Nightmares" rapper's name through the mud.

J. Cole says his "7 Minute Drill" diss towards Kendrick Lamar will be removed from streaming services shortly ... and he's ashamed he ever recorded it.

On Sunday, Cole signed off his Dreamville Festival to address the buzz created from the track that slandered Kendrick's catalog -- making it clear he didn't want any smoke, steam, or vapors going forward!!!

Cole told the North Carolina crowd he was proud of his new "Might Delete Later" project ... save for the Kendrick diss. In Cole's own words, "That was the lamest, goofiest s***" ... which echoes most of the comments when he dropped the track.

Diddy's ex-girlfriend Yung Miami is hitting back at claims she's a sex worker for the Bad Boy Records founder ... and says a video of her calling herself one was totally in jest.

The 30-year-old rapper took on the allegation after Diddy's nemesis 50 Cent resurfaced an interview where YM repeatedly referred to herself as a "whore" on "The Jason Lee Show."

Yung Miami slammed the clip as being taken out of context ... explaining she's previously used the derogatory term during a playful exchange with her gay cousin.

Diddy might be in the crosshairs of the feds right now -- and he may even be getting wrecked on social media -- but in real life ... it would appear the people still love him.

The hip-hop mogul has been laying low at his Star Island home in Miami ever since his two properties got raided -- stepping out here and there in public -- but on Sunday, there was yet another sign that folks still hold him in high regard ... at least in the Miami area anyway.

Take a look at this footage ... it was shot Sunday as a group of people were cruising by Diddy's estates there on the private island, and as you can see -- onlookers were starstruck.

Instagram model Jade Ramey is squarely saying Diddy accuser Rodney Jones is lying that she was a sex worker for the rap mogul.

Ramey acknowledged to ET she had a relationship with Diddy, but ... "Dating someone doesn’t directly correlate to any of the false allegations made."

She wasn't done ... "How unfortunate we’ve entered a time where caring for someone or falling in love is worthy of scrutiny in the court of public opinion. What may be amusing for you is real life for others, and my feelings have never been for entertainment, nor are they up for discussion."

The raids on Diddy's L.A. and Miami homes may've made national news ... but real estate tycoon Josh Flagg isn't convinced the legal drama will impact the value of the properties.

We caught up with the "Million Dollar Listing Los Angeles" star ... who says Diddy's residences are still worth a pretty penny -- despite being tied to a sex trafficking investigation conducted by Homeland Security.

Josh, an L.A. native, speaks about the Bad Boy Records founder's Holmby Hills estate, which Diddy scooped up for $40M in 2014. The broker boasts it's centrally located in the A-list neighborhood and is in good condition ... aside from the feds trashing it during the raid.