TMZ Hip Hop - Page 34

Rapper Chino XL's friends and family sadly announced Monday the veteran MC died Sunday ... shattering several generations of the hip hop community.

According to his family, Chino passed away at his home, leaving behind his mother, 4 children, a stepson, 4 grandchildren and his longtime partner Stephanie.

His daughters released a group statement, saying ... "Our father had many titles -- King of Punchlines, Puerto Rican Superhero -- but the most important one was Girl Dad. And what he gave us most in that role was his strength, straightforwardness, and ability to be super realistic. The main thing we are feeling now is that our Dad is at peace, and so we are at peace.”

12:03 PM PT -- R. Kelly's attorney, Jennifer Bonjean, came on 'TMZ Live' Tuesday to discuss her client's SCOTUS filing in more depth -- and she made a pretty compelling argument.

One other interesting thing ... Bonjean says she actually thinks this current version of the Supreme Court is perfect to hear R. Kelly's case -- and it sounds like believes they'd actually side with him if they were to take it up on their docket ... politics be damned!!!

R. Kelly is asking the United States Supreme Court to throw out his convictions for possession of child porn and inducing minors to have sex – claiming his alleged acts occurred decades ago and the charges were therefore barred by the statute of limitations.

Here's the deal ... when R. Kelly was accused in 2020 of possessing child pornography and engaging in sexual acts with underage girls way back in the mid to late-1990s, he argued the statute of limitations had already run its course.

But, prosecutors argued a 2003 law – called the PROTECT Act – made the statute of limitations indefinite for child sex crimes.

Latto's warning Ice Spice not to engage her in lyrical warfare, and it's sound advice according to Power 106's DJ Carisma ... who says that frozen water will get evaporated with the quickness!!!

TMZ Hip Hop caught up with Carisma at Soulja Boy's birthday bash, and she played peacemaker by steering Ice away from engaging with Latto any further.

Ice recently blew off Latto saying the Atlanta rapper had been dragging out their short-lived spat, which was peppered by a few light taps on single releases along the way.

Soulja Boy is beaming with Big Leo energy and it has nothing to do with his recent comments aimed at Drake -- in fact, he says they're actually on great terms now!!!

We caught Big Draco on his 34th birthday Sunday, and he was happy to reveal he's treated himself by hopping on the Tesla Cybertruck wave!!!

SB was impressed with his electro-whip's keycard access and openly called for an Elon Musk collab ... otherwise, he vows to be the first rapper with his own vehicle.

Tampa police feel like they're on the right track to solving rapper Julio Foolio's murder ... 3 people were arrested in connection with the deadly shooting and cops say they're closing in on 2 more!!!

On Monday, Tampa PD held a press conference announcing the arrests of and first-degree murder charges for Isaiah Chance, Alicia Andrews and Sean Gathright. The suspects were all nabbed in Jacksonville.

Cops also released new footage of the June 23 deadly shooting ... and it shows multiple masked gunmen zipping around the Tampa Holiday Inn parking lot, taking position in bushes and firing dozens of rounds into the vehicle carrying Julio.

Lil Pump has taken issue with Kamala Harris identifying as Black -- falsely claiming she has no African heritage (which isn't true) ... all while again doubling down on Donald Trump.

The rapper followed in Swae Lee's footsteps over the weekend -- coming down hard on KH over race ... namely, floating the wild allegation that she "isn't Black." Instead, Pump insists she's only of Indian heritage ... even though a quick Google search disproves that.

Either way ... LP is deep in his delusion here -- he got interviewed about this topic and stuck to his guns about her race -- and also said she's incarcerated over 1500 people over weed-related offenses during her time as district attorney in San Francisco.

Tupac's family is clearly disturbed over an allegation that Diddy may have played a role in the late rapper's murder -- something they're now digging into with a new legal team, who plan to get to the bottom of it, and force action if they find any there-there ... TMZ has learned.

Sources with direct knowledge tell us members of Tupac's still-living relatives have retained attorneys Alex Spiro and Christopher Clore -- as well as a team of investigators -- to look into Keefe D's resurfaced allegation that Diddy offered to pay him and his crew money to take Pac out in the '90s.

You'll recall ... this claim -- which, thus far, is unsubstantiated -- came to light anew last week when prosecutors in Keefe D's murder case included an old transcript from an interview he did in '09, where he alleged Diddy was willing to pay up to $1 million for a hit on Tupac.

Simone Biles' mom says Snoop D.O. Double G was a straight up J-E-R-K back in the day ... and she put him on blast on live television at the Olympics for it!!!

Nellie Biles dropped the shade on the rapper while she was being interviewed by Hoda Kotb at the Opening Ceremony in Paris on Friday.

Initially, she told the world how her daughter was doing in preparation for the Games ... but then she suddenly took aim at Snoop -- who, in addition to being an official Olympic torchbearer, is out in France to help NBC with its broadcast of the action.

Stunna Girl's sharing a harrowing story ... saying she took a bullet to the chest recently -- and sharing pics of a shocking injury.

The rapper posted several photos and videos to her Instagram showing what she says is the bullet wound ... and, if you've got a weak stomach, we recommend looking away from this one.

A large gash sits over her left breast -- seemingly after it's already been stitched up ... and, she gets right up close to it -- giving fans the option to instantly react to the wound with a series of emojis.

Swae Lee's not giving Kamala Harris her 'Sunflowers' ... telling his legion of fans not to vote for the vice president in November -- and, catching flak online for his views.

The Rae Sremmurd rapper took to X Sunday to vent his frustrations with VP Harris ... straight-up telling people to do more research on the Biden administration first before casting their ballot.

Lee also replied to a debate clip from when she ran for president before the 2020 election ... capturing Tulsi Gabbard tearing into her record as a prosecutor that's resurfaced since Joe Biden dropped out and endorsed her last week.

Michael "Boogaloo Shrimp" Chambers says he's hoping for some gold out of the Olympics -- not necessarily medals, but cash for the break dancers debuting their sport on the world's biggest stage.

We caught up with the dancer -- who played Turbo in the hit '80s film "Breakin'" -- and, we had to ask him about break dancing becoming a 1st time Olympic sport in Paris.

Chambers tells us he's excited his life's passion is finally making it into the Olympics -- legitimizing the art form in the mainstream -- and, he's hoping it's going to help him and his breakdancing brothers and sisters make a few more bucks here and there.

Floyd Mayweather got some one-on-one time with Travis Scott at the rapper's wild show in Milan this week ... getting backstage access to the whole concert.

TMZ Sports has learned -- La Flame's team welcomed the boxing legend with open arms at his "Circus Maximus" tour stop in Italy ... making sure to give him the VIP treatment.

The show was so lit, nearby citizens thought the area was experiencing an earthquake as Scott performed his banger "FE!N" a whopping eight times in a row -- but it was actually 80,000 ragers losing their minds during that portion of the show.

Rapper Kyle almost didn't make it to his show in Austin Thursday night ... as he and his friends found themselves in a sticky situation.

Check it out ... firefighters are seen helping a group of people climb out of a broken down elevator at the Soho House in Austin ... where Kyle was front and center with his crew for the RDCWorld event kicking off Dream Con.

Kyle, who's also known as SuperDuperKyle on YouTube, is led down from the elevator ... telling first responders he appreciates their help.

Kanye West and Bianca Censori were living it up at a luxurious California hotel Friday -- as the rapper's wife put her boobs on full display for everyone to see -- which shouldn't shock anyone!

Check out these photos obtained by TMZ ... Ye and Bianca were enjoying a sun-filled day at the swanky San Ysidro Ranch in Montecito while strolling past the fitness center on their way to the pool.

As you can see, Kanye is not exactly dressed for the occasion. Instead of wearing swim trunks, he opted for a t-shirt and khaki pants with black sunglasses.

Who's ready to "work, work, work, work, work, work"?! Take a good look up and down at these two photos of Rihanna ... Can you work your way around the pole and find the discreet changes?

RiRi's been enjoying a romantic summer in the Big Apple with boyfriend and baby daddy, A$AP Rocky. The fashion icon was serving camo-realness and a jersey top as she strutted her way through the crowded streets.

Grab your swaggiest of sneaks and see if you can run up the minor switch-ups of Badgalriri!

Drake may want to stick to attending shows where he's getting paid until further notice ... 'cause even in his hometown, it's not always love.

Limp Bizkit was performing in Toronto Thursday night -- prodding their local audience with the mere mention of Drizzy's name as a guest in attendance ... and it didn't get over well at all, as the crowd booed the hell of him.

The video never shows Drake appear onstage ... but they definitely weren't happy to hear he was in the building -- which left Fred Durst absolutely speechless.