TMZ Hip Hop - Page 29

Atlantic Records announced a huge restructuring on Thursday affecting hundreds of jobs ... and Nicki Minaj has some backhanded bars of advice for the laid-off execs at her arch-nemesis Cardi B's label!!!

Warner Music CEO Robert Kyncl sent out an email to employees forewarning them of the potential bad news -- fuel for Nicki's ether as she burned them in a post on X.

Nicki invited the newly jobless workers to her label in a taunting post ... "Dear fired executives & A&R’s: Don’t be mad, UPS is hiring. Also, feel free to submit your resumes for a job @ #HeavyOnIt" ... and included a Phaedra Parks GIF to tack on the shade!!!

Zach Bryan's backing off his recent Taylor Swift comments ... apologizing to her legions of fans after he says he did some drunk posting on X the other night.

The singer-songwriter posted a pic of T-Swift's album cover of "The Tortured Poets Department" ... explaining he recently wrote he thinks Kanye makes better music than Swift because he drunkenly tried to compare two albums -- and, it came out all wrong.

ZB says he was speaking strictly musically, and wasn't cosigning any of Ye's other beliefs ... before adding he loves Taylor's music too -- and simply screwed up in his post.

Former Bad Boy Records rapper and current Belize politician Shyne is raking Diddy across the coals after the mogul's arrest -- and is blaming him for destroying his hopes and dreams!!!

Shyne held a press conference with Belizean media as Diddy was being denied bail on Wednesday ... and did his ex-boss no favors in the background.

According to Shyne’s recollections, he was a fresh-faced 18-year-old with dreams of cracking superstardom and making his mother proud.

5:05 PM PT -- We caught up with Marc Agnifilo outside the courthouse after he made his comments ... and, he tells us Diddy's focused on his defense.

He mentions how poor the conditions in MDC Brooklyn are ... and, says he's working to get Diddy moved to another facility.

3:14 PM PT -- Diddy's attorney Marc Agnifilo is refusing to back down after losing out on their bail appeal hearing, noting to reporters outside the courthouse that their "fight continues."

Per Agnifilo, he's hoping to get Diddy's case to trial sooner rather than later to "minimize" the amount of time he'll have to spend behind bars.

He also called out the rapper's prison conditions as "inhumane" ... though, the lawyer said Diddy is "ready" and "focused" ahead of the trial.

Diddy's fight to get out of jail has stopped in its tracks ... 'cause after arriving at court today to appeal a judge's ruling he shouldn't be released on bail, he's headed back to the detention center.

The rap mogul arrived at a federal courthouse in New York City Wednesday ... where his sons, Christian and Justin, came out to support their dad -- though ultimately, the judge in the case decided not to grant Diddy bail.

U.S. District Judge Andrew Carter -- after hearing arguments from the lawyers -- said he was turning down the request because "the government has proven the defendant is a danger. The bail package is insufficient even on risk of flight."

YFN Lucci got caught up in a nasty social media rumor Wednesday that he had been killed in prison ... a pure fabrication for clicks online, TMZ Hip Hop can confirm.

Lucci's attorney Drew Findling, who represented him in his RICO trial that resulted in his 10-year prison sentence back in January, assures us his client is alive and well.

The BlogSpot that spread the hoax was playing on the emotions of the recent death of Rich Homie Quan, YFN Lucci's former labelmate.

Diddy should watch his back in prison ... 'cause a former warden at the facility he's in says there are a whole lot of inmates who would see killing him as a badge of honor.

As you know, Diddy's currently being held in MDC Brooklyn -- a notorious federal detention facility in NYC -- without bail. Sources with direct knowledge tell us Diddy's being held in the Special Housing Unit, away from the general population.

Cameron Lindsay -- former warden of MDC Brooklyn -- tells TMZ Diddy's location in the SHU makes sense because he's a target behind bars ... with his celebrity status and the nature of the allegations against him potentially bringing him unwanted attention from other inmates.

Diddy's got a small reason to smile despite being behind bars in federal custody ... a judge just set aside the $100 million default judgment in his Michigan sexual assault lawsuit.

The embattled rapper scored the legal win during a motion hearing Wednesday ... where one of his attorneys, David Fink, convinced the judge to set aside the massive judgment because inmate Derrick Lee Cardello-Smith -- who claims Diddy drugged and sexually assaulted him at a 1997 Detroit party -- failed to prove he effectively served the lawsuit in accordance with Michigan law.

Judge Anna Marie Anzalone also scrapped the temporary restraining order stopping Diddy from selling off any assets to cover damages ... noting Diddy has a likelihood of winning the case on statute of limitations grounds because Cardello-Smith's claims date back to an alleged incident in 1997.

Prior to his arrest Monday night, Diddy hit the NYC streets and interacted with fans ... days before ending up in federal custody.

Check it out ... Diddy smokes alongside a fan, named Chris Dayes (Christian Daigle), while listening to a song off a cellphone. Diddy, dressed in sunglasses, a baseball cap, and a Prince sweatshirt, looks totally at peace ... even though a grand jury indictment loomed over his head at the time.

The tipster tells TMZ ... the fan encounter occurred on the evening of September 9, when Chris approached the music mogul to pitch himself as a potential new artist.

Kid Cudi and J. Cole's careers both rose through hip hop's Blog Era but their interactions have been relatively light -- and it's all Cole's fault, according to Cudi!!!

On Wednesday, Cudi was giving his fans quality time with a Q&A session on X to celebrate his newly released track "Don't Worry," when someone requested that he and Cole collaborate on a song.

Cudi immediately revealed he's tried to work with Cole in the past and came off rather annoyed.

12:16 PM PT -- Federal prosecutors have fired back, responding in court documents that claim Diddy is just too dangerous to be out walking the streets -- no matter what the rap mogul's lawyers say or do.

As the prosecutors point out ... Diddy repeatedly obstructed justice during the investigation -- not to mention, is still an alleged flight risk. They claim Diddy is capable of coercing witnesses to comply with his demands.

They also voiced concerns that Diddy could consume drugs or throw his so-called "freak parties" if out on bail ... despite the rapper's promise he wouldn't have any female visitors.

Diddy is taking another swing at getting out on bail, and he's upping his offer to the court -- declaring he will forgo contact with almost all women while he's out.

In docs, obtained by TMZ, Diddy's legal team says if he's released on bail, the security company that keeps a log of all visitors to his Miami Beach home, will hand over those logs to the government nightly in order to be fully transparent about who Diddy is contacting. They also say Diddy will limit all visitors to family, property caretakers and friends who are not co-conspirators in the federal indictment.

Specifically, they say Diddy will restrict female visitors ... with the only exceptions being family members or mothers of his children.

Boosie Badazz has come to Diddy's defense after the Bad Boy mogul was denied bail ... an expected outburst for him at this point -- but his reasoning may still surprise you!!!

Diddy was charged with sex trafficking, racketeering and kidnapping, and pled not guilty -- but the way Boosie sees it, those "Freak Offs" have been twisted to demonize common celebrity behavior.

For what it's worth he also appears to frown upon the surveillance footage of Cassie's assault ... suggesting Diddy needs professional help.

Kim Kardashian and Kanye West are no longer together, but they're both making an active effort to spend quality time with their kids ... proving family is the most important priority.

The SKIMS mogul put on her mom hat Tuesday, sharing on social media a back-to-school photo of herself with all 4 of her kids -- North, 11; Saint, 8; Chicago, 6; and Psalm, 5.

Kim offered up a sweet smooch while she snapped a selfie with her kiddos ... some of whom looked more excited for school than others. Little Psalm sported his famous dad's signature scowl posing alongside his older siblings.

Diddy's feeling a severe reversal of fortune right now -- locked up in a federal jail that's held plenty of famous people, but is also about as far from the lap of luxury as the embattled mogul's been in at least 30 years.

On the heels of the judge ordering Diddy to be held without bail, the feds shipped him outta the Lower Manhattan federal courthouse and off to Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn ... a facility notorious for its brutal, sometimes fatal, conditions.

MDC Brooklyn's been the temporary home to several celeb inmates in recent years, including R. Kelly, Fetty Wap, Michael Cohen, Allison Mack and Ghislaine Maxwell. Now, Diddy will be settling into his new surroundings -- a horrifically stark difference from his Miami and L.A. mansion lifestyle.

Pharrell Williams has a message for celebs who publicly voice their political views -- shut the hell up!

The singer gave a wide-ranging interview to The Hollywood Reporter and, at one point, the convo turned to politics, which led to his criticism of his fellow artists.

Pharrell said he gets annoyed when certain celebs whose opinions he does not respect try to make people vote for a specific candidate.

Kid Cudi is back on his feet and in those New York streets with a new single featuring his longtime Cleveland bro Chip Tha Rapper ... a song that notably dropped on the cusp of Diddy's indictment.

On Tuesday, Cudi dropped his new "Don't Worry" and reflected on how he moved to New York to get his rap career off the ground ... and it worked!!!

Cudi directed the video and captures himself bouncin' and boppin' around without flinching -- a positive sign after the nasty tumble he took at Coachella back in April that caused him to shutter his tour.

2:51 PM PT -- Diddy's lawyer is determined to see the rap mogul out from behind bars. We caught up with Marc Agnifilo outside the courthouse in NYC Tuesday, where he vowed to "keep fighting" until Combs is a free man.

Though Diddy was denied bail in court Tuesday, his attorney is feeling confident heading into the bail appeal ... noting it will be a different judge for that hearing.

Watch the video ... Agnifilo reacted to Diddy's case being compared to other high profile sex crime cases, including R. Kelly's and Jeffrey Epstein's.

1:28 PM PT -- The judge just denied bail for Diddy, who will remain in custody.

Diddy's lawyer Marc Agnifilo spoke outside the courthouse after Diddy was denied bail. Agnifilo said they will continue to fight to get Diddy out of jail.  

Judge Robyn F. Tarnofsky told the court ... "I thank your family members for coming, but I cannot release him." Diddy's sons Christian and Justin were inside the courtroom at the time.

12:47 PM PT -- Diddy's attorney is taking on the narrative that the rap mogul isn't a brute and a bully ... seemingly hinting there's more to the story regarding the 2016 hotel hallway incident involving Combs and his then-girlfriend, Cassie.

Diddy's camp argued "victim one" was looking through his phone and discovered he had more than one girlfriend ... hitting the rapper in the head with a cell phone and taking off with his clothing -- which explains why he was in the hallway in a towel in the footage that surfaced back in May.

His lawyer claims Diddy and the unnamed victim, assumed to be Cassie, were very much in love ... until the woman in question cheated "for years" with the trainer the A-lister provided for her. We've reached out to Cassie's reps for comment.

Cassie notably married physical trainer Alex Fine in 2019. They share 2 children together.

Diddy's lawyer claims his client is "not a perfect person" ... though found himself in "toxic relationships," but claims they were mutual.

However, earlier in court, it was suggested that Diddy wrote a large check to an ex for 10 years ... it's unclear who received the payment and for what reason.