TMZ Hip Hop - Page 50

Rihanna has yet another reason to tack on that "Queen" title in front of her name ... she now holds the record for most Diamond-stamped releases, according to the RIAA.

On Friday, RiRi and Roc Nation were showered with a slew of new plaques -- including Diamond certifications for her Jay-Z-assisted "Umbrella," the Drake-featured "Work," as well as her classic tracks "Needed Me" and "Stay."

Rihanna had previously been tied at 3 Diamond releases with several other female megastars but talked that talk reacting to the news on X ... she declared "Ain’t no back n forth."

Kendrick Lamar and Drake ending their beef doesn't mean the 2024 Rap Wars have a ceasefire ... 'cause Cardi B just fired a ton of shots on "Whole Lotta Money" rapper BIA.

Both Cardi and BIA have been cryptically dissing each other for some time now and Cardi let her have it on GloRilla and Megan Thee Stallion's red-hot "Wanna Be (Remix)."

Cardi acknowledged she sees BIA's sneak disses on her timeline ... "Guess I’m a teacher since you wanna sub me" before slicing into BIA's résumé ... "Thought she was on the shelf, IKEA. Hope she talk like that when I see her/Bitch please, don’t nobody wanna be her BIA!!!"

Eminem didn't spare anyone's feelings on his first single which signals the last of his Slim Shady character -- he went after Dr. Dre, his own kids and even Megan Thee Stallion on this one.

On Friday, Em dropped both his newest single "Houdini" and the lyrics/visuals are exactly what you'd expect from hip hop's biggest-selling artist by now -- and so are the jabs that he fired off ... like the one aimed at MTS, which touched on her Tory Lanez shooting.

The song sounds and looks like his 2002 "Without Me" classic ... Em pokes fun at aging into a politically correct, social media/VR society -- yet still dons the 'ol Robin outfit and tackles today's topics with his Batman -- Dr. Dre -- by his side. Eminem is in rare form here.

Diddy's family members were out and about in Los Angeles this week to celebrate one of his kids' graduation -- and that includes his two sons that were caught up in the West Coast raid.

The hip-hop mogul's brood hit the town Thursday night on the heels of his teenage daughter Chance's ceremony where she walked the stage as a high school grad -- and while Papa Bear himself wasn't there ... you could argue he was with them in spirit.

Justin and Christian "King" Combs were among the kiddos who hit Mr. Chow after graduation -- as you can see ... they weren't hiding or shying away from anything. In fact, they looked happy.

Lenny Kravitz's decision to go nearly a decade without taking anyone to bed is baffling for Ice-T ... so much so, he thinks the rock star is completely off his rocker.

After LK randomly revealed he's been on a spiritual journey that's led him to be celibate for 9 years, Ice-T reacted with the purest response you could imagine -- saying ... "9yrs without Sex? F that BS. Weirdo s***."

LK also revealed a deeply rooted reason why he's stayed celibate ... his parents split up when he was a teen and he watched his father spiral into a playboy lifestyle ... which became Lenny's reality once he divorced his ex Lisa Bonet.

Fat Joe's fact-and-fictitious raps have earned him a grand accolade ... the legendary rapper was just awarded an honorary doctorate from Lehman College in his Bronx hometown today.

TMZ Hip Hop got vid of the newly minted Dr. Joseph “Fat Joe” Cartagena on Thursday ... the Don was given a Doctorate of Humane Letters ... pretty much the standard certification for celebs with outstanding philanthropic contributions to society.

Joe took to the podium to share the secrets of success with the graduates -- the key is not to let age be a deterrent, he says.

Snoop Dogg's wife officially opened the doors to her new strip club -- the perfect hub for her hubby and his rap buds to live out their fantasies, which they 100% did on night #1.

TMZ Hip Hop obtained footage from inside The Players Club grand opening Wednesday night in L.A. ... Snoop can be seen in his natural element as the life of the party, posing for pictures and making it rain on every dancer that came his way.

The Doggfather was later joined by his longtime tour partner Wiz Khalifa for a VIP smoke session and DJ Quik and JasonMartin, who are currently promoting their upcoming "Chupacabra" album, also pulled up -- clearly, they were out there tryna function!!!

The Notorious B.I.G.'s mom, Voletta Wallace, thinks Diddy needs a motherly pimp slap after the Cassie video ... and she says she'd love to be the one who delivers it.

Ms. Voletta gave Rolling Stone her unfiltered opinion on the heels of their engrossing report on Diddy's alleged past at Bad Boy -- as well the explosive video that showed him beating Cassie at a hotel in 2016 ... and she rained down disappointment as if he was her own son.

She says ... "I hope that I see Sean one day and the only thing I want to do is slap the daylights out of him. And you can quote me on that. Because I liked him."

Diddy is missing some key milestones for his kids as his legal troubles mount -- and this week he'll be MIA for the latest one, involving his 17-year-old daughter Chance.

Sources with direct knowledge tell TMZ ... Chance is set to put on her cap and gown Thursday for her graduation from Sierra Canyon School in the L.A. area -- and while we're told other family members are flying in for the ceremony, her dad won't be present.

We're told Diddy's already communicated this news to the family, although he did not offer any exact reason for his absence -- but it can't be all that shocking to them.

Tina Knowles popped the lid on the intimate details of how her Grammy Award-winning daughter Solange came into the world ... an African vacay got so steamy, it expanded the family!!!

Miss Tina was a recent guest on Vogue's "The Run-Through" podcast where she shared the complete origin story of both Solange and her eldest Beyoncé.

Tina says she got pregnant with Beyonce in Paris, and just so happened to buy a French book of baby names where she discovered the name Solange.

Diddy got blasted by dozens of ex-associates and colleagues in a bombshell report -- but he's still got at least one person in his camp ... one of the singers from his old musical trio.

"Love and Hip Hop: Atlanta" alum and Diddy-Dirty Money member Kalenna Harper was interviewed for Rolling Stone amid their 6-month investigation ... and she was one of the few who defended him, this while also crapping on all the Bad Boy artists who were piling on.

Kalenna not only praised her time working with Diddy, but she scoffed at the Bad Boy alums who blamed him for flatlining their careers ... which was a recurring theme in the RS piece.

Diddy has apparently been a Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde character over the years -- either a super nice guy, or allegedly violent and vicious ... this according to a new bombshell report.

Rolling Stone just published a sprawling article about the embattled rap mogul -- detailing his life story and rise to fame starting in the '90s ... now coinciding with his current federal criminal investigation, which could land Diddy behind bars for a long time.

During their 6-month investigation, RS reporters reached out to 300-plus people in Diddy's world and interviewed over 50 former friends, acquaintances, employees, artists and industry insiders. Many of them refused to talk ... but those who did had quite a bit to say.

Diddy's legal troubles are getting even worse as a grand jury has reportedly been empaneled to hear evidence in his federal probe, indicating he could face a possible criminal indictment.

CNN published a story Wednesday morning, saying the Justice Department is moving forward in its investigation of the music mogul by notifying witnesses they could testify before the grand jury in the Southern District of New York, according to two sources familiar with the situation.

Some of the potential witnesses would likely be Diddy's accusers who have filed lawsuits against him for sexual assault, human trafficking and other serious offenses. So far, Diddy has been named in 8 lawsuits, including the most notable one brought by his former girlfriend, Cassie, which they settled quickly.

Snoop Dogg's wife Shante Broadus is injecting new energy into the L.A. nightlife scene ... with the grand opening of a new strip club geared toward all the big ballers!!!

Sources close to the situation tell TMZ Hip Hop ... Shante's company, Boss Lady Entertainment, is rolling out the blue carpet this week at The Player's Club in downtown L.A. for a private party filled with their celebrity pals.

Players will be coming from far and wide -- we're told Tiffany Haddish, Too $hort, Big Boy and Cedric the Entertainer will be in the building as DJ Drama and DJ Sky High Baby spin the beats.

Ice Cube is reminding hip hop fans that his iconic "No Vaseline" packed more bang for its buck than any other rap diss track around ... he didn't just kill soloists, he annihilated an entire squad!!!

The Don Mega was Sunday night's co-headliner for California Roots Festival '24, where W.C. joined him and they gave the crowd a piece of his mind about today's beef culture ... a hot-button topic in the Drake-Kendrick Lamar aftermath of 2024 Rap Wars.

Cube showed love to Tupac Shakur's "Hit 'Em Up," Nas' "Ether" and K. Dot's "Not Like Us" --  all brutalizing tracks in their own right, but because his "No Vaseline" knocked out the entire N.W.A and their manager Jerry Heller ... he says he deserves the crown!!!

Cardi B doesn't want any WAP censored on her timeline -- 'cause she's sticking up for XXX content ... this after Candace Owens proposed it should be completely illegal.

Candace recently called for a pornography ban on her X account, arguing its true intentions were to psychologically control and weaken men -- and amid all the pushback, Cardi herself chimed in with her opinion ... and as it turns out, she's very pro-porn.

Cardi's thoughts on the subject came courtesy of an IG comment she left on a blog that published Candace's recent tweet about this ... and it's clear CB wants to keep porn around.