TMZ Hip Hop - Page 27

Diddy's arrest and subsequent indictment have not deterred his fans from listening to his music ... in fact, he's seen a spike in streams in the wake of the controversy.

Luminate, a data and analytics company, claims the rap mogul's expansive music catalog has seen an over 18% increase in streams in the week since he was put in handcuffs at the Park Hyatt in midtown Manhattan.

TMZ broke the story ... the Bad Boy Records founder was arrested last Monday, 6 months after his Los Angeles and Miami homes were raided in connection with a sex trafficking investigation conducted by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.

Usher's hitting back hard, saying "No, No, No!" to those speculating he’s hiding something in the wake of his former mentor Diddy's arrest ... especially after his X posts mysteriously vanished over the weekend.

The singer had an explanation for the social media wipeout ... writing on the platform Sunday evening, "Account got hacked and damn y'all ran with it! 😂😂😂."

Usher sidestepped the Diddy drama but seemed to make it clear he’s got nothing to hide. He wrapped up the post by promoting his next show, saying, "See you tonight at Intuit Dome✌🏽👀✌🏽."

Chingy suddenly became the center of hip hop political collusion over the weekend when he was announced as the master of ceremony at an upcoming Republican rally -- a gig that's still happening despite a social brouhaha!!!

TMZ Hip Hop spoke to Chingy's rep Scott Adkins, who says the "Right Thurr" rapper is still on board to perform during the Log Cabin Republicans' "Red, White and Rock" event on September 29 ... going down at Kid Rock's Big Honky Tonk & Steakhouse!!!

MAGA leaders Donald Trump Jr. and Kimberly Guilfoyle are the official headliners but Scott clarifies the event is not a Donald Trump presidential rally nor will the RNC nominee be making an appearance.

A resurfaced clip from "Keeping Up With The Kardashians" is raising eyebrows ... with Khloe Kardashian spilling the tea about attending one of Diddy’s notorious parties, casually name-dropping that Justin Bieber was also in the mix.

In the clip from 2014, Khloe told sister Kourtney, "I got on a plane at 5:30 AM. Well, this party ... I think half the people there were butt-naked ... You would have loved it!"

When Kourtney asked who was with her, Khloe casually rattled off the guest list ... mentioning she was with a bunch of pals -- Diddy, Quincy, and Bieber, who was 20 at the time.

Ray J is coming clean about Diddy's notorious parties, but he says there's nothing to see in terms of criminal behavior.

The singer was interviewed by Chris Cuomo on NewsNation's "CUOMO" — and he gave a window into his decades long relationship with Diddy, zeroing in on what the feds say were illicit soirees.

Ray J told Cuomo he and other entertainers frequently attended Diddy's gatherings, yet he never saw any sex trafficking or other serious crimes as detailed in the federal indictment against the music mogul.

UFC fighter Colby Covington showed off his moves Saturday by putting Lil Pump in a choke hold, and you see the rapper gasping for air as CC continues to hold his grip.

At a point, you see Lil Pump's body go limp, but Colby doesn't let go. Pump struggles at first to free himself, but at a point, his body fails and his eyes widen.

It's unclear how long Colby had Pump in the hold. The video starts with Covington choking Pump, and you see the UFC fighter tighten his grip. That lasted for around 10 seconds before Covington released the hold.

Cardi B is back in action, because she took to the streets with 2 of her kids on a shopping trip, and it's super sweet!

Cardi, 6-year-old Kulture and 3-year-old Wave hit up a store in NYC and zeroed in on some Hello Kitty hair ties.

The mother of 3 -- the newborn wasn't there -- was playing to the photogs, telling Kulture to smile for the cameras.

Janet Jackson's pushing a conspiracy theory about Kamala Harris' race ... parroting claims Donald Trump made about the VP a couple months ago -- claiming she's not Black.

The music legend sat down for a chat with The Guardian, published late Friday, when the interviewer asked her about the upcoming election and how she felt about possibly having a Black woman in the White House.

In response, JJ replies that she heard KH isn't actually Black ... and, instead she's Indian -- a claim DJT made during a disastrous conversation at the National Association of Black Journalists Annual Convention in July.

An old clip of Diddy advising Conan O'Brien on how to how to lock women up at parties has reemerged — and, as you might imagine, the video isn't aging well.

Diddy sat down with the host of "Late Night With Conan O'Brien" back in 2002 ... and the two talked all about the music mogul's killer soirees.

Conan was first to bring up the topic — joking that he personally throws on Paul Anka's music at his parties and breaks out the "Cheez Whiz," but no one comes by.

Lizzo's sharing her weight loss with fans ... posting before and after clips -- and making it clear that she thinks she looks great either way.

The singer-songwriter shared a short clip to her TikTok ... jumping from one vid of her to another -- and, highlighting her weight loss in it.

Watch the vid ... Lizzo goes from a black bra and underwear combo to a white one-piece spandex top -- while mouthing audio from Nicki Minaj where the rapper says, "The fact that you would even discuss my looks is insane. I'm a bad bitch, always been a bad bitch."

Here's the moment Diddy's whole life changed ... TMZ has the first video of federal agents making their surprise arrest in an NYC hotel lobby -- potentially his final moment of freedom for at least the next decade.

The video clearly shows Diddy, clad in a black trench coat, walking into the Park Hyatt New York hotel in midtown Manhattan with his crew of several men -- but the moment he enters the lobby, law enforcement pounces, stops the mogul and separates him from his friends.

You can see from Diddy's team's reaction ... they're unsure of what's happening, walking around the hotel lobby in shock as the rapper's taken away. More on that later.

Diddy's firing back against claims of sexual misconduct ... filing a response in one of the many civil suits he's facing saying his alleged actions are time-barred -- 'cause the statute of limitations ran years ago.

The lawyers for the rap mogul, Bad Boy Entertainment and Daddy's House Recording fired off a letter in response to Crystal McKinney's sexual assault lawsuit ... saying the claims under the Victims of Gender-Motivated Violence Protection Law expired in 2010, seven years after McKinney claims Diddy assaulted her.

While her lawyers cited a local government ordinance that created a revival period for claims, Diddy's team says New York State Law takes precedence ... and state law says the time has come and gone for CM to make her claim.

Ryan Garcia's been trollin' Devin Haney heavy for his alleged link to Diddy ... but the boxing star tells TMZ Sports at the end of the day, it's no laughing matter.

Garcia -- who is currently suspended from boxing -- spoke with us in Los Angeles just a few days after Diddy was arrested in New York on sex trafficking and racketeering charges.

The allegations center around alleged "Freak Off" parties ... and with photos showing Haney with Diddy in the past, Garcia has trolled Devin on social media.

Saints star Demario Davis is pumped the Super Bowl's coming to New Orleans, but the 5x All-Pro wholeheartedly believes Lil Wayne should be part of the halftime show!

TMZ Sports asked 35-year-old Davis about the controversial SB situation -- which has the internet/music world in a frenzy -- in the wake of the NFL announcing Kendrick Lamar as the halftime show performer, despite Weezy, a legend in the city, wanting the gig.

While DD makes it clear he's not disrespecting K-Dot -- in fact, he called Kendrick and Taylor Swift the hottest acts in all music -- he also talked about the importance of having someone from Louisiana, given the rich music history, be part of the halftime show.

Diddy's not in a good situation right now ... locked up in the Special Housing Unit of a notoriously tough jail -- but, TMZ has learned his chief concern is his children.

Sources close to Diddy's family tell TMZ ... Diddy's holding up okay -- given the circumstances -- but he's worrying about his kids from his 10 ft. x 8 ft. jail cell, desperately wanting to speak to his kiddos.

We're told people closest to him are trying to process the situation ... but, they all know they have to be strong for the kids' sakes.

Grammy-winning jazz musician Robert Glasper knows a thing or two about jamming with Kendrick Lamar ... and he says his schedule will miraculously be free should he get the call to join him on that Super Bowl 59 halftime stage!!!

We linked with Rob at LAX Friday, and he tells us the chances may be slim, but if K. Dot needs him to key up any tracks from his 2015 monster album "To Pimp A Butterfly," he's the guy -- because he was the guy when it was recorded!!!

Rob worked on smooth songs such as "These Walls" and "The Blacker The Berry" with his homies Terrace Martin and Thundercat ... amazing compositions -- but thinks K. Dot will crank up the energy for the Big Dance and drop "Not Like Us."