TMZ Hip Hop - Page 8

Diddy and Justin Bieber hung out back in the day ... but it was hard to gauge just how close the two celebs were ... until now.

TMZ has obtained rare archived photos of the music legends kicking back at two events ... the 2010 Haiti Benefit Concert at American Airlines Arena in Miami and the 2016 after-party for the 58th Annual Grammy Awards at 1OAK in L.A.

Reviewing the images, one thing becomes abundantly clear ... Diddy and the much younger Bieber were super tight.

Ex-NFL star Reggie Bush says he would've attended a Diddy party back in the day if it weren't for a blacked-out friend puking before entering the bash ... but he believes his obliterated plus-one was a "sign."

The Heisman winner detailed the past experience in an interview with Robert Griffin III ... saying he was invited to a rager at Diddy's Star Island mansion around 3 or 4 in the morning, so he headed over with a group of friends and a Red Bull rep -- as he was sponsored by the energy drink at the time.

As his crew waited to get into Diddy's crib, Bush said the RB rep started blowing chunks on the front lawn ... right in front of a slew of security guards.

Lil Durk and the cast of "Power Book II: Ghost" bang out the series finale in epic fashion -- and take it from LaToya Tonodeo, the Chicago rapper's acting skills are the real deal!!!

TMZ Hip Hop linked with LaToya, who also has a big role in the grand closing as her long-standing character Diana Tejada in 50 Cent's hit show ... and she says Durk has the acting chops to go far in this biz, after seeing him pull off drills on-screen for her loved ones!!!

Durk posted up with "Power II" costars Michael Rainey Jr. and Gianni Paolo on-set ahead of his scenes and they echoed the same sentiment.

Aries Spears makes a living speaking his mind even when the public doesn't agree -- but he's not hopping on the Diddy joke train before all the facts have been displayed!!!

We caught up with the comedian at LAX Thursday en route to his upcoming Apollo gig, and he's siding with Dr. Umar Johnson's recent viral comments ... Diddy's an innocent man until the courts rule that he's guilty!!!

Johnson has set ablaze several fiery rants in favor of Diddy, questioning the lack of evidence while claiming America is running a successful Black man through the wringer to distract from the presidential election.

Will Smith blended the old with the new, treating a crowd to a mashup of the beloved 'Fresh Prince of Bel-Air' theme with some new material Thursday.

The party kicked off at the Grammy Museum in Los Angeles, where Will pumped up a small but hyped audience with the iconic tune and the classic "Summertime" before dropping his new jam, "You Can Make It."

As you can see, Will was totally in his element, dancing up a storm with a lucky fan onstage and having a blast.

Diddy and Justin Bieber are seen together in a resurfaced 2011 video ... and their little hangout sesh on "Jimmy Kimmel Live" will totally shock you.

Check out the clip from February 2011 ... Diddy was sporting dark shades and sitting side by side with the much younger Biebs, with host Jimmy Kimmel parked behind his desk, chatting with the famous duo.

The convo started off with Jimmy asking Diddy and Justin what their relationship was about and if they were collaborating on music.

Rich Homie Quan's first posthumous album, "Forever Going In," was released Friday -- a month after his death ... the day the star rapper would have turned 35.

The album looks to capitalize on RHQ's growing streaming numbers while also memorializing his life -- it clocks in at 35 songs!!!

2 Chainz, Lil Tjay, Sukihana, Skilla Baby and more help round out the guest list -- RHQ's family dedicated the project to all the supporters.

George Lopez doesn't buy the idea that Melania Trump is a pro-choice supporter one bit, gauging from her choice in picking Donald Trump as a husband -- but he isn't giving the same scrutiny to the ongoing Diddy saga!!!

TMZ caught up with GL in NYC and the comedian couldn't help but scoff at Mrs. Trump's grand revelation that there should be no restrictions against abortion in the U.S. -- which totally contradicts DJT's ongoing presidential campaign.

Switching gears, George says he doesn't side with the nonstop wave of Diddy jokes on social media since the allegations started ... well, sort of.

Here's Flavor Flav raising money for a cause near and dear to his heart in the most flavorful way possible ... selling a custom clock straight off his neck!!!

TMZ obtained video of the rapper taking the stage at the Black Music Action Coalition Gala in Beverly Hills and spontaneously auctioning off his blinged out clock.

A mini bidding war ensued, with Flavor Flav hyping up the crowd and putting on the hard sell ... and when the dust settled, the time piece sold for a cool $15,000.

Halle Bailey and DDG are no longer a couple ... the rapper just announced their split on social media.

DDG says ... "After much reflection and heartfelt conversations, Halle and I have decided to go our separate ways. This decision was not easy, but we believe it's the best path forward for both of us."

Halle and DDG share a son, Halo, together ... and DDG says they will co-parent the child.

Transgender model Sidney Starr and "Family Matters" alum Darius McCrary have been putting on a strong public front for months, and their union just got a whole lot tighter ... and Sidney says it's all thanks to gender-affirming surgery!!!

The two lovebirds recently paid Adam22 a visit at "No Jumper" ... where Sidney jumped at the chance to reveal Darius slapped down big bucks for her member to get the permanent snip!!!

Adam asked to be gifted Sidney's removed penis for safekeeping, but it looks to be long gone.

Diddy's got a club inside one of his Los Angeles homes and he had a strange request during a shindig after he won a big award ... telling the crowd to make sure they had lotion on.

TMZ obtained video from a party at Diddy's Holmby Hills home in June 2022, the night after he was presented with a BET Lifetime Achievement Award at the BET Awards, and Diddy grabs the mic and makes the bizarre lotion comment.

Diddy says ... "Ayo, everybody make sure your breath is fresh, make sure you're lotion'd up." He says people need to use mouthwash if they're smoking weed and encourages ladies to hit the dance floor even if their date doesn't want to dance.

"Power Book II: Ghost" star Michael Rainey Jr. has already begun shaping his future after the series wraps up this week -- he's entering the world of hip hop, via making beats!!!

TMZ Hip Hop linked with Michael at an intimate dinner with friends and fam to celebrate 'Power II's' final season ... and he admitted he enjoyed "Tariq St. Patrick" -- and clearly fans did too.

He tells us they were so invested in the series' penultimate episode that involved a major cast change they actually got pissed at him!!!

Ashton Kutcher is said to be concerned about getting dragged into the Diddy criminal case, but federal investigators do not have him in their crosshairs ... TMZ has learned.

Multiple sources with direct knowledge of the Diddy probe tell TMZ ... Ashton in no way is a target of the federal criminal investigation involving Diddy.

Additionally, a source close to Ashton tells TMZ ... "This narrative has got to stop. Ashton has nothing to do with this. Zero involvement. Zero knowledge of these [Diddy's] activities. Ashton like everyone else in Hollywood attended a Diddy party 20 years ago."

City Girls breaking up their successful duo has turned JT into a savage -- her debut solo mixtape single "Okay" is now glittering in gold!!!

JT posted up with her Quality Control label execs Pierre "Pee" Thomas and Kevin "Coach K" Lee on Thursday with her new Gold plaque from the Recording Industry Association of America.

In addition to the 500K sales the song needed to strike gold, it also has over 4 billion streams on the DSPs. Okay?!? 💅🏾

50 Cent's hit series "Power Book II: Ghost" is going out with a bang, but series costar Gianni Paolo has real beef with Hollywood's TV sector ... millions tune into their show while award shows act like they don't exist!!!

Gianni tells us the proof is in the puddin' ... his "Power" series topples critically acclaimed shows like "The Bear," "Succession" and "The Penguin" in terms of ratings, but feels like the Golden Globe and Emmys voters simply don't like -- or get -- hood cinema.

It's not just during award season Gianni says he feels the cold shoulder ... he notes how "Power" cast members missed out on being interviewed by the Jimmy Fallons and Jimmy Kimmels of the entertainment world. Good thing TMZ Hip Hop exists, eh? 😅