TMZ Hip Hop - Page 15

Even Big Freedia admitted their bounce lost some of its spring when Lil Wayne was snubbed and denied the headline halftime spot in his hometown New Orleans Super Bowl ... and turns out the entire city is feeling the burn!!!

We interviewed Big Freedia on 'The TMZ Podcast' and word in the 504 streets is that everyone in New Orleans is sad for Wayne -- especially since he attempted to put things into existence months ago ... but ended up gutted when Kendrick Lamar got the nod.

Big Freedia told hosts Charlie Neff and Wyld Young there's still hope ... Kendrick could easily share stage time with Wayne in February and all would be right in the world ... and wards.

Diddy's grand jury is still looking into the allegations against him ... hearing from at least one more sex worker about their alleged relationship with the mogul, and it's possible it could lead to new charges.

Sources with direct knowledge tell TMZ ... the grand jury is absolutely still convened, and this week it heard testimony from a male escort who said he's interacted with Diddy in the past.

We're told the testimony covered Diddy's alleged outreach to the escort and his willingness to participate in a "Freak Off."

Jason Martin is responding to the last 24 hours of post-Kendrick Lamar vs. Drake madness and raging war for the West Coast ... Toronto rapper Top5, Adin Ross, Akademiks -- all challengers are welcomed!!!

On Friday, JM fired off the song "Kill Switch" -- boosted by fellow Cali artists Daz Dillinger and MyGuyMars -- warning everyone that it's "on onsite" and closed the song echoing Kendrick's "Euphoria" commentary about outsiders emulating their culture.

The song comes directly after the threats hurled in a recent livestream hosted by Ak and Adin to welcome Top5 home.

Chino XL's family has broken their silence around his sudden death in July ... revealing the veteran rapper died of suicide.

His family is hoping to turn the tragedy into a healing and preventable moment for anyone battling mental illness, and released a statement Friday.

The statement reads ... “With the most profound sadness imaginable, we share the news that our beloved father decided to end his own Life. It’s been the most painful and personal experience of our lives but in honor of Suicide Awareness Month, we decided to share this truth. Dad would hope that this news may help someone else stay alive.”

DaBaby avoided any jail time after a wacky 2020 music video shoot allegedly turned violent -- and now he's officially settled the civil case with the homeowner he was accused of assaulting.

We obtained court docs Friday showing the Diamond-selling rap star and Gary Pagar -- the California man who owned the home of the Stunna 4 Vegas' "Play You Lay" music video shoot location -- reached a global settlement on the entire ordeal.

They're asking the courts to nix all future conference dates so they can ink the final settlement papers and put the whole thing to bed.

Blac Chyna's mom, Tokyo Toni, is calling foul on her daughter's ex-BF Twin Hector's allegations ... saying she was the one who left him with gnarly injuries ... not Blac, as he claims in his lawsuit.

Tokyo is fired up in a social media video as she declares she was the one who "beat his motherf***in' ass" -- adding she had warned Hector she'd be rolling into L.A. specifically to settle the score for messing with her and Blac.

Tokyo is fired up, taking major offense to Hector’s claim that Blac was the one who did him dirty ... straight-up saying it makes zero sense, especially since Blac’s petite in stature.

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.