Music

Meek Mill's been getting a raw deal from Judge Genece Brinkley and deserves a new trial without her on the bench ... and that's according to the District Attorney in Philly.

The D.A.'s Office just filed new docs in Pennsylvania Superior Court stating Judge Brinkley's appearance of bias has been evident throughout the case ... and therefore, Meek should be retried in his probation violation case.

You'll recall, Judge Brinkley sentenced Meek to 2 to 4 years in state prison -- which was eventually set aside when Meek was released in April 2018 ... promptly boarding a chopper with 76ers owner Michael Rubin.

Since then, he appealed and asked for a new trial, but Judge Brinkley shot him down last June ... refusing to grant the retrial.

It's kind of extraordinary ... with Wednesday's filing, you now have the D.A. on the record siding with the defendant. In the docs, obtained by TMZ, the D.A. calls out Brinkley's bias against Meek ... singling out a surprise visit she made to a homeless shelter where Meek was doing court-ordered community service.

The D.A. points out that's not what judges do ... that's for probation officers who report back to the judge. According to the docs, Brinkley also "abused her discretion" when she hit him with the 2 to 4 year sentence for "technical violations" of his probation. Still, she has repeatedly refused to recuse herself from the case.

Even the D.A. says Meek serves no threat to the community, and had completed drug treatment -- and, therefore, deserves another shot in court ... sans Brinkley.

Lil' Kim and Lil' Cease still have a crush on each other after all these years of bad blood -- and they finally got together to bury the hatchet for the one and only Notorious B.I.G.

The former Junior M.A.F.I.A. members reunited Tuesday night in NYC, where a huge party was thrown at TAO Downtown in honor of what would've been Biggie's 47th birthday. This appears to be the first time the two have interacted publicly since their falling out in 2005.

In case you're unfamiliar, Cease testified against Kim during her federal perjury trial -- which helped prosecutors' case against her when she was found to have lied to a grand jury about a shooting she'd witnessed. Kim spent a year in prison for it.

She denounced Cease and other JM members after she got out, calling their testimony a betrayal and a breaking of street code. Cease defended himself, insisting he wasn't a snitch since he'd been subpoenaed and had no choice but to tell the truth on the stand.

That all seems to be water under a bridge between LK and LC -- both of whom were incredibly close to Biggie when he was alive and have recorded a number of songs together ... including their '96 hit, "Crush on You."

Kim and Cease were seen hanging out together with a bunch of their famous pals, like Busta Rhymes, Cedric the Entertainer, Jadakiss and other hip-hop heads too.

Nipsey Hussle's first baby mama will object to the appointment of the rapper's brother to administer his estate, and might even ask that SHE be appointed administrator, if the hearing goes down as planned, and millions of dollars are on the line ... sources connected to the case tell TMZ.

Sources connected to Tanisha Foster tell TMZ, she will not accept Sam Asghedom, Nipsey's brother, as the manager of the late rapper's fortune, which Sam estimates at $2 million. Sam filed legal docs, saying Nipsey died without a will, and he wants to be appointed the administrator of his brother's estate. A judge is set to rule on Sam's request June 10.

Under California law, Nipsey's children would share equally in his estate. In addition to 10-year-old Emani, the child Nipsey had with Tanisha, he left behind 2-year-old Kross, who's mother is Lauren London. So, each would get around $1 million, less fees and taxes.

Tanisha is fighting for custody of Emani, and if she's successful, she would have some power in handling the money and would probably be entitled to use some of it to provide for the child. A judge has temporarily blocked Tanisha from having physical custody of Emani ... the child is currently living with Nipsey's sister.

Cardi B apparently wants in on the television biz, because she's just filed legal docs staking her claim.

Cardi wants to own the name, "Bocktails with Cardi B" -- in case you didn't know, bocktails is a play on cocktails.

As for the premise, according to the trademark documents, she's laying claim to "entertainment services in the nature of providing ongoing episodes for distribution via television and the Internet featuring celebrities and artists."

From the name, it sounds a lot like "Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen."

She wants more than a show with the name, "Bocktails with Cardi B." She's asking for exclusivity on clothing, including shirts, t-shirts, sweatshirts, hooded sweatshirts, hats, caps, footwear, skirts, dresses, blouses, sweaters, pants and shorts."

And, there's more ... she wants to use the name for "alcoholic beverages, except beer and beverages containing beer."

Something against beer?

Kodak Black has criminal cases to deal with in multiple states, and his latest arrest in Miami is complicating things, big time ... so he's begging the judge for an assist.

As we've reported ... the rapper was arrested 11 days ago during the Rolling Loud festival, and though he was granted a pre-trial release -- if he can post a $500k bond -- the feds are appealing that and want to keep him behind bars.

Kodak's problem is he's also facing a serious felony charge in South Carolina for sexual misconduct, and needs to appear in court to stand trial. So, he's proposing a compromise to the federal judge in Florida ... let me out, but keep me under 24-hour surveillance while I'm traveling.

In new docs, the rapper says he still wants out on bond, and proposes a system of nonstop, round-the-clock supervision to ensure he makes all of his required court appearances ... and then gets back to Florida.

Fatboy SSE -- the comedic social media influencer co-starring with Master P in his "I Got the Hook Up" sequel -- hooked up with cops who busted him for marijuana and outstanding warrants.

According to cops in Jersey City, Fatboy was pulled over Monday night for a traffic violation. He was in the car with 2 other guys -- his manager and security guard -- and when cops ran his license, they discovered it was suspended. First mistake.

Second mistake? They found outstanding bench warrants ... which prompted a search of his car ... which is when cops say they found the weed.

Cops arrested Fatboy -- government name Tyriq Kimbrough -- for 1 count of possession of weed and bail jumping for the 2 bench warrants. Adding insult to injury, cops also slapped him with tickets for failure to observe a signal and driving on the suspended license.

Fatboy -- who has more than 5.5 million Instagram followers -- remains in custody.

His management posted a message on his IG page about the arrest, saying ... "If you have not been able to reach him this is why."

Nipsey Hussle's alleged killer, Eric Holder, has been indicted by a Grand Jury, and new charges have been added ... and this could have to do with a problem with the case.

The L.A. County District Attorney had previously charged Holder with 4 crimes, including premeditated murder. The D.A. decided to have the case revisited, this time by the Grand Jury, which indicted him on the 4 previous crimes -- murder, 2 counts of attempted murder, and possession of a firearm by a felon.

The Grand Jury added 2 new charges ... 2 counts of assault with a firearm for the victims who did not die.

As for why the D.A. chose to go to the Grand Jury when they had already charged Holder, the main function is to skip the preliminary hearing. The D.A.'s office will not say why they chose to jump the prelim -- where a judge must find probable cause of a crime in order to make the defendant stand trial -- but it's sometimes done if there's a problem with the evidence.

Holder allegedly shot and killed Nipsey in front of his store, The Marathon Clothing, on March 31.

Jay-Z is being sued by a former Roc Nation Sports boxer -- who blames Hova and the company for the severe brain injuries he suffered after taking 3 fights in 79 days.

The boxer behind the lawsuit is Daniel Franco -- who claims he signed a deal with Roc Nation Sports back in 2015 ... and won his first 5 fights with Jay-Z's company.

But, the problems started in March 2017 ... Franco claims he came down with a bad flu before a big fight which sidelined him from training for 3 weeks.

Franco claims he told Roc Nation he needed to postpone or cancel the March 23 fight -- but Roc Nation pressured him into fighting anyway.

Franco says he lost badly in the 3rd round and should have taken time off to recover ... but instead, Roc Nation booked him to fight again 50 days later on May 12.

Then, Franco claims Roc Nation booked him for a third fight just a month later on June 10 ... his third fight in 79 days.

But, Franco claims Roc Nation never took the steps to make sure he was medically fit to take that third fight ... and it could have cost him his life.

In the court documents, Franco claims he believes he suffered 2 skull fractures and a brain bleed before the June 10 fight that could have been detected.

Instead, Franco says he fought on June 10 -- and lost again -- suffering major damage in the process.

Franco claims he was diagnosed with a brain hemorrhage and went into a coma. Doctors needed to remove a piece of his skull to relieve pressure from the bleed.

After 2 weeks, Franco awoke from his coma but claims he still has severe neurological and cognitive issues ... and is required to wear a helmet at all times to protect his brain.

In his suit, Franco says Roc Nation and Jay-Z had a duty to protect him -- but instead acted recklessly by scheduling him to fight 3 times in 79 days without "necessary medical testing."

He's asking for unspecified damages.

11:48 AM PT -- Cardi's team tells TMZ ... "Cardi says she's very disappointed and hates to let her fans down, but she wants to reassure them that she'll see them in September!"

10:20 AM PT -- Event organizers have announced the makeup date is September 8.

Cardi B is backing out of a Memorial Day Weekend concert in Maryland, and TMZ has learned it's all because of some serious fallout from her recent cosmetic surgeries.

Cardi was set to headline the 92Q Spring Bling Festival this Friday night in Baltimore, but now it's been postponed because she's gotta pull out. Sources close to the rapper tell us ... CB needs to recover from her recent liposuction and breast augmentation.

We're told it's gotten so bad, she simply can't perform -- a move her doctors had encouraged, telling Cardi she needs time to let the swelling go down and for her body to fully recover. Doctors are recommending a couple of weeks of R & R.

Cardi's been extremely open about recently deciding to undergo the procedures after giving birth to baby Kulture.

Going under the knife didn't stop Cardi from working her ass off ... until now.

She recently performed at Rolling Loud in Miami and was twerking non-stop in L.A. at the launch party for her Fashion Nova clothing line.

Cardi told the crowd at her May 5 concert in Memphis she should have canceled because "moving too much is going to f*** up my lipo" ... but she rocked the house anyway.

Our Cardi sources tell us the surgeries are finally catching up to her ... and the heavy workload proved to be too much, too soon.

Get well soon!!!

Lil Nas X is showing the love to his country counterpart on "Old Town Road" ... by delivering him a seriously stylish whip for that ride down Rodeo.

The rapper and Postmates devotee wanted to get Billy Ray Cyrus a gift as a token of appreciation for his support on X's track ... so he utilized the delivery service to make it happen.

Yes, Postmates can even deliver a Maserati sports car.

Lil Nas -- dressed in cowboy boots and a matte black hat -- surprised the country star at his L.A.-area home Monday night, and Billy Ray was stoked. The 2 then hopped in the Maserati GranTurismo Convertible to take it for a spin, and according to Cyrus ... they might still be cruising.

No word if they'll hit up Old Town Road.

BTW -- the 'OTR' remix featuring Cyrus has topped the Billboard Hot 100 for the seventh week, and the new music vid's already approaching 50 million views. The Maserati appears in the vid ... and now it sits in Billy Ray's driveway.

The man who allegedly killed Nipsey Hussle went off the rails shortly before the incident, and pistol-whipped a guy over a drug deal gone wrong ... this according to new witness statements submitted to prosecutors.

The L.A. County DA's Office got the account from 2 women who say a male friend told them he was attacked at his apartment by murder suspect Eric Holder ... just an hour before Nipsey's murder.

According to the statements ... Holder lived in the same building as the guy and they sometimes hung out and smoked pot. The guy's story goes like this -- Holder showed up at his place around 2 PM on March 31, and he was pissed. He accused the neighbor of selling him weed that was laced with some other drug.

They went into the hallway to talk, and according to the statements ... Holder was "breathing very heavily and appeared very excited and very agitated." When Holder got more hostile, the neighbor tried to return to his apartment but was allegedly pistol-whipped in the back of the head.

According to the statements ... the neighbor was knocked down, but still conscious and claims he saw the gun on the floor. He describes it as a "big silver gun" and "semi-automatic."

The neighbor got up and safely retreated to his apartment, but says Holder was "shaking and looked very nervous" before leaving.

The women -- repped by attorney Harley D. Breite -- claim their friend admits to selling Holder $10 worth of pot, but it was straight from a dispensary and not laced, to his knowledge.

The neighbor told the women he learned a few days later that Holder was the suspect in Nipsey's murder case, but he was afraid to report his encounter because he knows Holder's a gang member. Plus, he DID sell him marijuana.

We broke the story ... Hussle was shot around 3 PM in L.A. on March 31 and pronounced dead at 3:55 PM at a downtown hospital. Video of the incident shows a man -- believed to be Holder -- shooting Nipsey outside his Marathon clothing store.

Holder was arrested 2 days later and eventually charged with murder. It's unclear if Holder intends to raise the allegedly laced weed as part of his defense.

As we reported, he's been in the market for a new attorney since Christopher Darden quit the case after he and family members received death threats.

21 Savage is shooting down any theory the so-called "hip-hop cops" are behind a rash of rapper arrests -- himself included -- and instead says ... some rappers just ain't too bright when it comes to the law.

Savage was leaving TAO Monday night in Hollywood and we asked if he had any advice for Kodak Black, who's been in federal custody since his arrest at Rolling Loud more than a week ago. Savage immediately made it clear his situation is NOT the same as Kodak's and, his bigger point -- "The law is the law. You break the law, you gotta deal with the consequences."

You gotta see the clip, because the ATL rapper seemed to dismiss any talk of law enforcement setting up rappers, and instead said ... some people are just stupid, and they gotta own up to it when they are.

It is true, however ... his and Kodak's cases aren't the same deal.

TMZ broke the story ... the feds say fingerprints, car rental records and ballistics all point to Kodak's involvement in a Florida shooting. Meanwhile, Savage is dealing with a pending immigration issue that could potentially end with his deportation to the UK.

Kodak's looking at hard time in a federal prison. At worst, Savage will be rich and chilling in London.

Mel B's eye problems are a lot scarier than some media folks are reporting, so she's setting the record straight ... and searching for a cool eye patch.

Scary Spice says she had an awful experience last week -- she went blind in her right eye and her left eye went blurry. She was freaked out and in a lot of pain so she went to the hospital, where she was diagnosed with severe iritis in her right eye and uveitis in her left.

This contradicts reports saying Mel B was doing fine and this has happened many times before ... due to her eye herpes. Mel says those reports are total BS, and the press "needs to get there [sic] silly facts right big time." She doesn't specifically address the eye herpes element in the report.

The Spice Girl claims this has never ever happened to her before, but the good news is the eye specialists she went to have it under control and she's no longer worried things might get worse.

She says she's now on meds and got heavy duty drops to heal her eyes, but she'll still be dealing with it for the next 3 or 4 months ... which means it'll be an issue on the upcoming Spice Girls reunion tour.

The tour's set to kick off Friday in Dublin, so Mel says she needs to find a "very cool Scary eye patch." She's asking for help on that too ... but not from Madonna.

Halsey put a pause on stealing the show ... ditching the assless chaps to catch her man's show.

The singer hit up Yungblud's performance over the weekend in Columbus, Ohio at the Sonic Temple Festival. You can see her British rocker BF performing onstage ... with Halsey hanging out kinda backstage.

We're told she was dancing her ass off and shooting video ... basically, being the perfect IG GF.

It's not the first time Halsey's surfaced in Columbus to show her man some love. You'll recall she was there last August jamming out to G-Eazy while he was there on tour. They broke up 2 months later.

No jinx! Halsey's relationship vibe with Yungblud seems to be on a healthy path and they're obviously really digging each other -- whether they're rocking in Ohio, lighting it up in WeHo or all lovey-dovey at Disneyland.

They're in such a good place right now, we'd like to suggest a celebration's in order. Perhaps another cowboy-themed party?!? Yungblud couldn't agree more.

Nipsey Hussle's daughter, Emani, will not go back to her mother ... and the mother is livid.

Tanisha Foster was in court Monday, trying to regain custody of her 10-year-old girl. Emani has been living with Nispey's sister, Samantha, since his death last March.

Nipsey's family was in court and squared off with Tanisha, whom they believe is not fit to care for Emani. The hearing was sealed ... but there's another date scheduled in July.

Tanisha's lawyer, Larry Lewellyn, tells TMZ he's working with Nipsey's family on a visitation schedule that will be in Emani's best interest.

As for Tanisha ... she left the courtroom crying and told us she's "pissed off."

We broke the story ... Samantha believes Emani's biological mother is unfit to care for the 10-year-old, and Samantha played a crucial role in helping raise her when Nipsey was alive. Samantha wrote in her petition that she wants to "ensure the continued stability for Emani and ensure that she will be able to maintain her current and ongoing relationship" with her fam.

Emani's mother, Tanisha, broke down crying in court last week, saying she hadn't seen her daughter in months. At the time, the judge gave them about 20 minutes alone together.

Still ... Nipsey's sister might have a strong case in asking for guardianship. Tanisha has a warrant out for her arrest right now, relating to an unsettled DUI case in 2017. She's also got a lengthy rap sheet filled with arrests dating back to 2006 and 2007.

Bijou Phillips' mom -- a South African model, actress and singer -- died over the weekend in L.A. ... TMZ has learned.

Sources close to Bijou tell us Geneviève Waite passed away in her sleep Saturday. We reached to Bijou who tells us, "Our beautiful mother Geneviève Waite Phillips, passed away in her sleep. She was a beautiful soul, and born from another planet. Her ideas, her songs, her voice, and her heart beat to a beautiful African rhythm no one else had and I am so thankful she was able to share it."

Geneviève married John Phillips from The Mamas & The Papas in 1972 ... and they had two children together, Bijou and Tamerlane.

Bijou continues, "She was a light, a fairy, and a gift of a creature. The lyrics she wrote on her album were timeless and smart. Her mind was poetry and wit, her sense of humor was quick and dry. My father and my mother had a magical, wonderful, heartbreaking life together but they created a masterpiece of music (Romance is on the Rise) and I'm so honored to be their child."

Geneviève's most notable film performance was in "Joanna" in 1968 ... a drama about an interracial couple in London.

Bijou says, "My mother's role in 'Joanna' was groundbreaking for racial divides. My mother was a gift and I will miss her everyday. In everything I cook, and in everything I sing and in everything I do without her wise guidance."

"It's nice thinking she is with our Dad, dancing around in heaven."

Geneviève was 71 years old.