TMZ Hip Hop - Page 22

Beyoncé went 0-for-17 at the People's Choice Country Awards despite her staggering number of nominations ... and her consolation prize is an onstage shoutout from Shaboozey.

Queen Bey was up for more awards Thursday than any other female artist ... but she walked away empty-handed, losing categories like People's Artist, Album of the Year, Song of the Year and Female Artist.

Beyoncé's country album, "Cowboy Carter," is right up there with Taylor Swift and Billie Eilish releases ... at least as far as commercial success goes ... but the financials aren't translating to awards.

Tommy Richman -- the singer behind the "Million Dollar Baby" hit all over your playlists this year -- released his first album since blowing up big on Friday ... enter his "Coyote" era!!!

TMZ Hip Hop obtained video of Tommy celebrating with his friends and family last night inside Hubble Studio in downtown Los Angeles ... the place appeared to be designed like a desert setting ... even adding taxidermied coyotes for extra effect.

Tommy basically cussed out the crowd while instructing them to fight attention deficiency and dedicate 30 minutes to listen to his album -- because it had songs they never heard before!!!

"Million Dollar Baby" is closing in on a billion Spotify streams after dropping back in April, yet Tommy didn't include it or its successful follow-up single "Devil Is A Lie" on the new project.

The passion is understandable ... Tommy says he and the team worked on the album for over a year -- it's disrespectful to just skim through it!!!

The Wu-Tang Clan is back together and back for more with their booming Las Vegas residency this weekend -- and a healthy consensus of the legendary rap pack is picking their classic "Triumph" track as the marquee attraction!!!

TMZ Hip Hop linked with Cappadonna, Ghostface Killah and Inspectah Deck this week in between their rehearsals for “Wu-Tang Clan: The Saga Continues…The Las Vegas Residency” at The Theater at Virgin Hotels.

All 3 MCs agreed "Triumph" holds a special place in their hearts -- and the residency setlist. Deck's opening "bomb atomically" verse has been hailed as one of the greatest in hip hop history.

Diddy is facing a new lawsuit filed by a woman who claims the rap mogul drugged and sexually assaulted her ... and continues to menace and intimidate her.

In new documents filed Friday, and obtained by TMZ, a Jane Doe claims the Bad Boy Records founder repeatedly assaulted her over a 4-year period, and says one of the encounters even resulted in her getting pregnant -- but she ended up suffering a miscarriage.

The anonymous woman, represented by attorney Joseph L. Ciaccio, claims she first met Diddy overseas in the fall of 2020 and was invited to join the rapper on an all-expenses paid trip.

A Houston-based law firm is representing more than 50 alleged victims who say they've faced sexual assault and abuse from Diddy and his associates -- and they’re predicting the group will keep growing as the case progresses.

Attorney Tony Buzbee made some serious allegations on his firm’s IG ... saying the group of men and women who came forward have "gut-wrenching" stories about what went down at Diddy’s alleged "Freak Off" parties.

He detailed the alleged "mindboggling" violations against them as "debauchery and depravity, exacted by powerful people."

Buzbee claims some of the accusers were minors when the alleged incidents occurred ... and mentioned plans for a press conference where individuals can share their stories.

While he has not yet filed, Buzbee says he intends to file a class action lawsuit on behalf of all the victims early next week.

Megyn Kelly doesn't think Zach Bryan is a "real" man after the country singer fled from social media in the wake of making controversial comments about Taylor Swift.

During Thursday's broadcast of her SiriusXM podcast, "The Megyn Kelly Show," the conservative commentator weighed in on the "Bad Blood" instigated by Bryan ... when he infuriated Swifties by suggesting Kanye "Ye" West is better than Taylor.

Kelly made it clear she was less than impressed with the country star's apologetic handling of the controversy, commenting on her show ... "Oh my God, I’m sorry, Zach Bryan, where are your balls? Mankind would like to know."

Diddy's case is yet another example of the federal government's hostility toward successful Black men ... at least according to his lawyer, who tells us race is a major factor here.

Diddy's attorney, Marc Agnifilo, appears in a new TMZ Studios documentary -- "The Downfall of Diddy: The Indictment" -- which has just dropped on Tubi ... and he says the feds are targeting Diddy because of the color of his skin.

Agnifilo says the feds are just looking to take down Diddy because he's a successful Black man ... and when they couldn't nail him for anything related to taxes or his business empire, they started poking around in his bedroom.

Memphis jurors took several hours to reach a verdict Thursday, ultimately delivering a guilty verdict to Justin Johnson ... one of the men prosecutors claim murdered Young Dolph back in 2021.

The jury returned unanimous guilty verdicts to the charges of first-degree murder, conspiracy to commit first-degree murder and being a convicted felon in possession of a firearm -- and Judge Jennifer Mitchell immediately threw the book at him with a life sentence!!!

Closing arguments were delivered Wednesday. Johnson never took the stand but Cornelius Smith testified during the trial Yo Gotti's slain brother Big Jook and suspect Hernandez Govan orchestrated for them to kill any Paper Route Empire rappers they could find.

Rihanna's looking absolutely savage in her new photoshoot ... rocking a bright yellow lingerie Savage X Fenty set.

Savage X Fenty dropped the RiRi pics just hours ago ... capturing the star in all her scantily clad glory -- no back to the bottoms and limited coverage up top too.

Her ensemble -- complete with thigh-high stockings and elbow-length gloves -- features a lace floral pattern running all over the 'fit.

One of Sean "Diddy" Combs' alleged encounters with a sex worker was videotaped, and that tape is now in the hands of federal prosecutors ... TMZ has learned.

Sources with direct knowledge tell TMZ ... the male sex worker met with the feds Wednesday in NYC and signed a proffer agreement, which allows him to speak to federal investigators without fear of prosecution.

We're told the conversation revolved around Diddy ... with the man explaining how he got in touch with an escort to engage in a "freak off" involving himself, Diddy and a woman.

Kanye West can pop Champagne ... because he officially sold his gutted mansion disaster project in Malibu.

Real estate sources tell TMZ ... Ye just closed on the sale of his controversial oceanfront estate for $21 million.

Kanye infamously stripped the property down to its bare bones after initially scooping up the Tadao Ando-designed home in 2021 for $57.3 million.

Diddy's not afraid of other inmates giving him a poisoned apple in prison ... 'cause TMZ has learned he's not as paranoid about what's going into his food as some have suggested.

Here's the deal ... multiple outlets have reported Diddy's stopped eating behind bars because he's paranoid about someone poisoning his food at New York's notorious MDC Brooklyn.

However, a source close to Diddy says this is total BS ... he's eating normal jailhouse food like any other inmate -- the music mogul receives no special treatment.

"Family Matters" star Reginald VelJohnson wants everyone dragging him into the Diddy allegations to get a life -- and the legendary TV dad doesn't appear to be kidding around 🫨 ...!!!

We caught up with Reg outside his "Dancing with the Stars" rehearsals in Los Angeles yesterday and a photog straight-up asked him about the story floating around.

Comedian Luce Cannon claimed he once stumbled onto a "freak off" sex romp where Diddy had Reginald squealing like Steve Urkel behind closed doors!!!

Diddy's lawyer offered a potential "explanation" for why the feds found a large stock of baby oil at the rapper's homes -- namely, buying in bulk at Costco, but the folks at Costco beg to differ.

A spokesperson for Costco tells TMZ ... none of the company's U.S. locations carry baby oil, even though Diddy's attorney Marc Agnifilo told us the rap mogul might have bought the item in bulk at the members-only warehouse retailer.

The proof is in the pudding, so to speak ... as a quick search of the store's site shows there's nothing akin to baby oil offered at Costco. There is, however, hair and cleansing gel sold for babies, but it'd be a stretch to confuse that with baby oil.

Austin Butler's back in action on set, filming scenes for his new movie "Caught Stealing" -- and he's got some star-studded company, teaming up with none other than Bad Bunny.

The rapper was almost unrecognizable in a dark red hairdo and matching beard as the cameras rolled in NYC Wednesday, and Oscar nominee Austin was splattered with fake blood -- so you can bet your bottom dollar they’re diving deep into the gritty crime thriller.

Looks like they got a lot of action in the can during the evening shoot for Darren Aronofsky's upcoming film. At one point, Austin and Bunny were locked in an intense scene, cruising around in a car ... in another scene, Zoë Kravitz joined Austin in a bar setting.

Huge news in the Diddy criminal case ... he's chomping at the bit to defend himself in a federal courtroom ... and he will take the witness stand to tell his story.

Diddy's attorney, Marc Agnifilo, appears in a new TMZ Studios documentary -- "The Downfall of Diddy: The Indictment" -- which is dropping soon on Tubi ... and he tells us Diddy can't wait to testify in court.

It's a risky move ... Diddy's going to be able to tell his side of things, but he's also going to be cross-examined ... and obvious topics include the Cassie beating video, the famous "freak off" parties and accusations he blew up a car belonging to one of Cassie's exes.