TMZ Hip Hop - Page 5

Fatman Scoop passed away after collapsing onstage in Connecticut last month ... and, now the medical examiner has revealed his official cause of death.

A rep for the Connecticut M.E.'s office tells TMZ ... Scoop -- born Isaac Freeman III -- passed away from hypertensive and atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease.

We're told they consider this cause of death to be natural ... no foul play suspected.

A little drizzle didn’t stand a chance against Cardi B ... who was out there slaying at Paris Fashion Week after welcoming her third child earlier this month.

Cardi was dripping in gold, rocking a fringed, sequined Paco Rabanne dress with matching bling -- and she knew she was killing it as she stopped to hit some poses for the cameras Wednesday, marking her first public appearance since adding to her family.

The rapper was grinning ear to ear, totally in her element, but her umbrella squad? They were battling the raindrops, trying to shuffle her inside for the brand's S/S 2025 show.

People are buzzing about the massive quantity of baby oil found when the feds raided Diddy's homes in Beverly Hills and Miami, and his lawyer is offering up an explanation.

Attorney Marc Agnifilo appears in a new TMZ Studios documentary -- "The Downfall of Diddy: The Indictment" -- which is dropping soon on Tubi.

Agnifilo has a different view of Diddy's "Freak Offs" than the U.S. Attorney. Agnifilo says there were typically threesomes, with Diddy, Cassie and another male.

50 Cent is nearing the final lap of his damning Diddy doc -- and he's reworking the logo of the much-ballyhooed baby oil confiscated by the feds ... labeling it "Diddy Oil"!!!

Of course, 50's not mass-producing the baby oil himself -- he shared a meme on Wednesday to pad the latest announcement that filmmaker Alex Stapleton would be directing and co-executive-producing the documentary project.

In another post, 50 doubled down on the point that he's a notorious Diddy detractor ... "I been telling y’all about all this weird s***, I don’t do NO puffy party’s. you didn’t believe me 🤨but I bet you believe me now!!!"

Diddy’s sitting behind bars over serious allegations, and suddenly his network of friends is back in the spotlight.

As you can see, some celeb sightings with the disgraced rapper are no-brainers, but others might raise eyebrows -- like his hangouts with Prince Harry and Prince William. Oh, and let’s not forget he’s crossed paths with Donald Trump a few times too.

Now, Trump has always had a knack for hanging out with some eyebrow-raising characters ... so the MAGA crowd's probably not sweating those pics of him cozying up to Diddy.

Suge Knight is warning Diddy ... he better watch his back in the can, because other inmates are likely plotting against him.

The former Death Row Records exec spoke with NewsNation's "CUOMO" from prison about his longtime rival, saying Diddy has a target on his back.

Suge says prison and jail are inherently dangerous environments for anyone -- famous or not -- and there are inmates in there who want to harm Diddy to make a name for themselves, or prove themselves.

Ja Rule provided the halftime entertainment at the New York Liberty's series-clinching win over the Atlanta Dream last night -- and can take credit for being the team's good luck charm ... home team was down by 5 at the break!!!

The platinum-selling Queens native ripped through his hits such as "Put It On Me" and local anthem "New York" (minus Fat Joe and Jadakiss).

Ja won over the Barclays Center with an energetic performance backed by electric dancing from team mascot Ellie the Elephant and The Timeless Torches dance squad!!!

Diddy's 4 children with Kim Porter are fed up with conspiracy theories and online rumors suggesting their father had anything to do with their mother's tragic death.

Sons Quincy and Christian, and twin daughters Jessie and D'Lila took the extraordinary step Tuesday night to address what they call "hurtful and false rumors" about their parents' relationship.

In a joint statement, they say it's been hard to reconcile how their mom Kim was taken from them too soon, but they quickly dismiss any unfounded or unproven theories Diddy was involved in her death ... writing, "The cause of her death has long been established. There was no foul play."

5:15 PM PT -- The State of Missouri followed through with the execution by lethal injection, and Marcellus Williams was pronounced dead at 6:10 PM CT.

Busta Rhymes is going to bat for a Missouri man who's scheduled to be executed later today -- but hip hop's Dungeon Dragon insists the state's ignoring evidence as time runs out.

TMZ Hip Hop obtained video of Busta's PSA on behalf of Marcellus Williams, the inmate whose life is at the mercy of Gov. Mike Parson ... who could still issue a stay of execution. However, he recently rejected the inmate's clemency request for life in prison.

Busta passionately argues the DNA evidence prosecutors later discovered should be more than enough to vacate Williams' execution, and facts -- not politics -- should guide Gov. Parson to seek justice.

A Tribe Called Quest assumed their rightful place in the Rock Hall of Fame earlier this year ... and Consequence is celebrating with a trip to Icebox ATL for a custom chain immortalizing the group!!!

The piece is simply titled "TRIBE" but similar to the group's layered musical catalog, there's more to it than meets the naked eye.

We're told the sparkling 2.75 center medallion features 1494 stones hand-set into ATCQ's iconic logo, which packs on over 40 carats of white and black diamonds and gemstones ... while its encased with over 100 grams of pure gold!!!

Cons is set to deliver his new album "Nice Doing Business With You" on Friday, and a custom chain full of hidden jewels is right up his alley. He's still a lyricist first and will be dropping gemstones over beats by Kanye West and himself.

T.I. and Boosie Badazz recently partnered together for some impromptu parenting ... after realizing their sons wanted to shoot a music video while flaunting firearms!!!

On Tuesday, never-before-seen footage of T.I. and Boosie crashing King Harris and Tootie Raww's music video set and blasting them over all the repercussions the guns could bring them down the line.

The clip begins with Boosie explaining how he had just been telling Tip the boys were making positive strides in the music -- only to be shocked by the violent content they were trying to push.

Diddy's seven children are still firmly in their father's corner despite his arrest, indictment and some serious allegations against him.

Sources familiar with the situation tell TMZ … all of Diddy’s kids are supportive of him and stand behind him, adding they love their dad and think he's a great father.

We're told all Diddy's sons and daughters have wonderful relationships with him and will continue to maintain those relationships ... even though he's in custody after being indicted on sex trafficking, kidnapping and racketeering charges.

Diddy is being sued for rape and now his latest accuser and her attorney, Gloria Allred, are speaking out against the music mogul.

Gloria and Diddy's accuser, Thalia Graves, held a news conference Tuesday in L.A. ... just hours after she filed a lawsuit against Diddy, alleging he raped her back in 2001 at the Bad Boy Records studio in New York City.

She almost immediately started sobbing as she told the media about the trauma -- physical and mental -- she says she's suffered since the alleged rape.

TMZ broke the story ... Graves claims she was 25 years old and dating one of Diddy's Bad Boy executives in '01 when Diddy lured her to his personal lounge, and office and raped her on a pool table after slipping something in her drink that altered her consciousness.

Diddy and a friend viciously raped a woman at the Bad Boy Records studio in New York City, and recorded the sexual abuse on video ... at least according to a new lawsuit.

A woman named Thalia Graves is suing Diddy, claiming she's had suicidal thoughts since Diddy and his head of security Joseph Sherman violently raped her back in 2001 ... according to new legal docs obtained by TMZ.

In her suit, Graves claims she was 25 years old and dating one of Diddy's employees when he lured her into a meeting with him and Sherman alone, where she says they sequestered her and gave her a drink "likely laced with a drug that eventually caused her briefly to lose consciousness."

Ashanti is wasting no time snapping back to her vacation bod in the gym after giving birth in August ... but still found a way to supply her newborn with plenty of breast milk!!!

The R&B princess returned to the gym on Tuesday for Day 3 of her comeback but realized there was still milk in her jugs she needed to pump out.

Lucky for Ashanti, the elliptical machine gave her the perfect motion to squeeze out the rest of the milk and burn calories at the same time!!!

12:59 PM PT -- OMG Girlz and their attorney just released a statement to TMZ, reveling in their big win.

“First and foremost, we’d like to thank God for seeing us through this tough battle. We’d also like to thank our attorneys, John Keville, Chante Westmoreland and Rob Green and the entire Sheppard Mullin team for their diligent work and perseverance on this case. It has taken us over four years to get vindication for MGA’s unlawful appropriation of our trade dress and likeness, and we are grateful to the jury for their attention during the case and their ability to see the truth through all MGA’s distractions.

"We hope this case makes companies think twice about taking an artist’s intellectual property without their permission. We will continue to create our music and grow our signature style for our fans. We love all of you for your support!”

John Keville of Sheppard Mullin and lead counsel for the Harris family also added ...
"T.I. and Tiny did what any parent would have done—used their resources to stand up for their kids. We were proud to represent the OMG Girlz, Tiny and T.I. who had the courage to stand up for themselves. They fought a billion-dollar corporate bully with grace, perseverance, and a determination to stand up for themselves and other creatives and because of that a remarkable jury did the fair, just and right thing by holding MGA FULLY ACCOUNTABLE.”

T.I. and Tiny emerged victorious in their lawsuit against toy company MGA Entertainment -- and if the award stands, the couple will be a whole lot richer as a result.

A jury awarded the music duo a whopping $71 million after their weeks-long trial wrapped up Monday after finding MGA violated the intellectual property rights of their teen pop group, OMG Girlz ... according to Rolling Stone magazine.

The jurors reportedly agreed that "L.O.L. Surprise! O.M.G. dolls" infringed on the trade dress and misappropriated the name, image, and likeness of the all-female group that T.I. and Tiny formed in 2009.