TMZ Hip Hop - Page 50

Cassie's legal team is crapping on Diddy's apology over the leaked 2016 video that shows him assaulting her -- calling him a hypocrite ... and suggesting he misled the public.

One of Cassie's lawyers, Meredith Firetog, issued a statement Sunday -- saying, "Combs’ most recent statement is more about himself than the many people he has hurt."

She adds, "When Cassie and multiple other women came forward, he denied everything and suggested that his victims were looking for a payday." Of course, she's referencing Diddy's strong denial in December ... this after he'd been sued by yet another accuser, post-Cassie.

Diddy's uttering his first words about the videotaped beating of Cassie ... saying he "takes full responsibility for his actions," and claims he's already gone to rehab.

He posted a video Sunday morning, looking directly into camera, he said, "It's so difficult to reflect on the darkest times in your life, but sometimes you gotta do that. I was f***ed up. I mean, I hit rock bottom."

He says he's not making any excuses for his behavior -- the brutal March 2016 assault on his then-girlfriend Cassie while they were staying at the InterContinental Hotel in Los Angeles. The surveillance video -- obtained by CNN -- showed Diddy chase her down a hallway, grab her by the back of the neck and hurl her to the ground .. where he kicked her and dragged her.

Diddy's former employees at Revolt, the media company he co-founded, are reacting to the horrific video of him assaulting Cassie.

The company posted a statement saying, "We are deeply saddened and disturbed by the recent video circulation of our former chairman, Sean "Diddy" Combs,”

It added, "Even with his recent separation from REVOLT, it is still our duty to address this matter, and recognize the direct impact it has on our staff, our audience, and the culture we represent."

Drake's losses are coming at a fast and furious clip -- the embattled rapper/sports gambler put more than half a million down for Tyson Fury to win his boxing match ... and, he did not.

It's debatable who's in more pain this morning ... Drake or Tyson, after the boxer lost to Oleksandr Usyk by a split decision Saturday night in Saudia Arabia. Prior to the bout, Drake posted his $565,000 wager backing Tyson, and IF he'd won ... Drake would've won $1 million.

Shoulda woulda coulda ... the massive financial blow has fans buzzing about the ol' "Drake curse" in the sports world.

Joe Budden's explaining a controversial cut to a recent episode of his podcast... diving into why he edited a segment about Diddy, and asserting he's not in Diddy's pocket.

The hip hop commentator says he was live on "The Joe Budden Podcast" Friday when CNN posted the video of Diddy assaulting Cassie from 2016. The episode was uploaded Saturday with the description promising Joe would discuss it.

But, he never touched on it ... completely editing out the segment. Upset fans demanded answers, and JB organized a discussion on Twitter Spaces to address the controversy.

Diddy's ex Cassie seemed to be sporting bodily injuries as they attended a glitzy L.A. film premiere just 2 days after his now-notorious 2016 beatdown of her that was captured on hotel surveillance cameras.

Check out these images from March 7, 2016 ... Diddy and Cassie were dressed to the nines while posing for pics on the red carpet for the opening of a movie she starred in called "The Perfect Match."

Like any normal couple, they were standing side by side and holding hands, but a closer look at Cassie's extremities showed well-hidden signs of what had happened to her -- although heavily covered by makeup, there were faint marks and bruises on Cassie's arms and legs.

Kanye West and Bianca Censori chowing down at America's Diner isn't something you'd expect, but their affordable meal comes as a major shakeup goes down at Ye's company.

New video obtained by TMZ shows Kanye -- with a white hoodie tight around his face -- walking into a Santa Barbara Denny's behind Bianca, who was in one of those skintight nude-colored bodysuits she loves. They were keeping a somewhat low profile, but it's clearly them.

We're told they arrived at the restaurant around 8 PM Monday, and were very animated with each other during their meal. Plus, eyewitnesses say an issue with the food might have sparked an argument with their server.

Public distancing from Diddy is in full swing in the hip hop community as artists watch the brutal footage of him assaulting his ex-girlfriend, Cassie Ventura ... and some are calling for his head.

50 Cent didn't react with his usual jokes this time around, but tossed a sarcastic jab at Diddy's legal counsel for their inevitable defense of their client ... quipping the entire saga gave him "Maury vibes."

The G-Unit rapper previously announced he's putting together his own Diddy documentary ... so, he's not only watching this from his usual vantage point -- as social media troll supreme -- but also as a producer.

Roddy Ricch and his ex-girlfriend Alexandra Kiser have reached a custody agreement for their 3-year-old son ... finally putting an end to their parental tug-o-war.

"The Box" rapper will have joint legal custody and is getting physical custody of the kid for a couple days each week from Tuesdays to Thursdays.

He also has to pay Alexandra $8K a month in child support ... on top of their son's private school tuition, medical bills, any special-needs therapy, and additional extracurricular activities.

An ex-federal prosecutor is weighing in on Diddy's assault video -- and she says while this isn't necessarily a smoking gun in the investigation he's facing, it certainly doesn't help him.

We talked to Katie Cherkasky -- who's had years of experience with these sorts of legal matters -- on "TMZ Live" Friday ... where she declared that the now-viral video, in which Diddy can be seen beating Cassie -- should make him and his camp worried.

Katie says the tape gives credibility to Cassie on multiple fronts -- both in the public eye, but also with the feds who are drilling down into major allegations against Diddy right now.

Lil Yachty doesn't think Drake is permanently scarred by his battle with Kendrick Lamar -- although, almost everyone agrees he lost ... Champagne Papi's still king in Yachty's book!!!

The Boatster broke his silence about the Drake-Kendrick beef on his "A Safe Space" podcast after lyrically getting looped into the mix.

Kendrick poked at Yachty's friendship with Drake on "Euphoria" when he growled, "Yachty can't give you no swag neither, I don't give a f**k who ya hang with" -- an incredible strategy Yachty says, but not enough to ruin the OVO legacy.

1:13 PM PT -- A rep for InterContinental Hotels & Resorts tells TMZ ... "This hotel is no longer under IHG management, and we do not have any access to prior incident records or footage."

10:56 AM PT -- Law enforcement sources tell TMZ ... there is no record cops can track down as it pertains to this 2016 incident at the InterContinental, so it doesn't appear to have been mentioned to cops in a police report, or otherwise reported to the authorities.

In terms of cops opening a case on this now, LAPD tells TMZ ... For cases before January 2020, it's a 3 year statute of limitations -- and after January 2020, it's 5 years. In other words, there's no chance cops will dive into this specific incident for potential criminal charges at this point, at least as far as the LAPD is concerned.

Diddy brutally beat up his ex-girlfriend Cassie at a hotel in L.A. 8 years ago -- something she detailed in her lawsuit ... and which we're now seeing for the first time on camera.

Cardi B isn't shying away from her parenting duties even as a multi-millionaire --- in fact, it sounds like she wants little to no help ... including from her own parents.

In her recent Rolling Stone interview, Cardi revealed she isn't too keen on relying on her folks for assistance in helping bring up her 2-year-old and 5-year-old, Wave and Kulture ... whom she shares with her husband Offset.

Cardi says, "I had them kids. They came out of my p***y, not my mom's. They mine."

Lil Baby and his music video crew got caught in the crossfire -- that's the early word from cops investigating the gunfire that erupted in the middle of his Atlanta music video shoot.

TMZ Hip Hop obtained audio of the chaotic 911 call during the shooting ... and you can hear dozens of rounds exploding through the air.

One caller sounded so frantic, he couldn't provide the dispatcher with any usable details.

Angel Reese made her own WNBA debut following Caitlin Clark's historic opening night -- and although the rookie sensation from LSU also took a loss, she still had Latto front and center to support her!!!

Latto snuck in a quick interview at the Chicago Sky's season opener against the Dallas Wings Wednesday night -- she only flew into Texas to see Angel play.

The "Big Energy" rapper told viewers she believes 2024 is the year of the woman and backing the WNBA falls under that umbrella.

Cardi B won’t be casting her ballot for Joe Biden or Donald Trump this November … 'cause she’s calling them both failures as Commanders In Chief.

Cardi wasn't going out of her way to discuss the upcoming election, but in her extensive Rolling Stone profile that dropped Thursday, the topic came up ... and she emptied the clip on both candidates' presidential performance during their respective times in office.

She says ... "I don’t f*** with both of y’all n****s" -- adding that Biden's current domestic and foreign policies have been the source of "layers and layers of disappointment" for her.