TMZ Hip Hop - Page 3

Before IShowSpeed rubbed shoulders with Kim Kardashian and Justin Bieber at his gala, his "Speed Does America" tour made a pit stop for refueling empty stomachs ... and ended up at Nipsey Hussle's Marathon Burger joint.

TMZ Hip Hop obtained video of YG connecting with IShowSpeed as his official "Hollywood" tour guide on Tuesday afternoon, and they hopped in an old-school whip -- complete with hydraulics.

News of the tour caused a full-blown traffic jam on Melrose ... tons of fans rushed to the scene ... massive hysteria!!!

Kim Kardashian and Kris Jenner are fed up with Ray J, claiming they're the subject of a federal criminal racketeering investigation, so they're suing him for defamation.

Kim and Kris say it's just the latest in a decades-long campaign Ray J has waged against them. The lawsuit, filed by Alex Spiro, says Ray is "unable to accept the end of his fleeting relationship with Ms. Kardashian over 20 years ago."

They say he has repeatedly exploited their prominence for personal gain.

Kai Cenat and his AMP team's 'Mafiathon' was a huge success, and the already legendary streamer just notched another accolade for the ages -- the inaugural plaques awarded by the Stream Certification Association!!!

In an iconic last act before LeBron James cut his hair ... Kai & Co. were surprised live on air by a rep from the newly minted SCA, with a plaque for going 6x platinum!!!

The SCA outlined the criteria for TMZ ... a Gold plaque signifies 50,000+ concurrent viewers on a stream; Platinum marks 100,000+ concurrent viewers; and the soon-to-be coveted Diamond plaque will reward 1,000,000+ concurrent viewers!!!

Before Diddy finds out how long he's going to prison, he's got some things to get off his chest ... and he's planning to say it in open court.

Friday's hearing in federal court -- where Diddy will be sentenced for his conviction on 2 counts of the Mann Act -- is a little more interesting now, because he wants to address the judge. In court docs, his attorney Teny Geragos says, "The sentencing proceeding holds significant importance for Mr. Combs. He wishes to appear before the Court, address Your Honor, and allocute in the most dignified and respectful fashion possible."

They're also asking Judge Arun Subramanian to allow Diddy to wear street clothes, instead of his jail jumpsuit ... clearly wanting to look his best for the big speech.

Kim Kardashian, Justin Bieber and Suni Lee all hit an event on Tuesday ... but no, it wasn't for an awards show -- it was all thanks to IShowSpeed!!

The streaming superstar hosted a night at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum ... and a bunch of A-listers were present for the premiere of his six-episode YouTube series, "Speed Goes Pro."

Some of the biggest celebrities rolled through in support ... including Kim K, who chatted with Speed about his 35-day tour that wrapped up in L.A. She also brought some of her kids to meet him ... earning her some major cool mom points.

This is not okurrrr -- Nicki Minaj dragged Cardi B's daughter Kulture into their feud when they were trading barbs online Tuesday ... and things got messy.

Check out the tweets -- it all started Monday when Nicki began talking trash Cardi's new album, "Am I The Drama?" It got personal when Cardi hit back and accused her foe of "going to different fertility doctors cuz you couldn’t reproduce from all them percs scrambling your eggs."

Minaj clapped back, denying she's ever "seen or spoken to a fertility doctor" ... and even threatening a lawsuit.

Diddy's headed for sentencing in his federal criminal case ... because the judge rejected his request for a new trial and to acquit him of his Mann Act conviction.

Judge Arun Subramanian wrote in his 16-page order there's plenty of evidence proving Diddy violated the Mann Act by transporting male escorts across state lines for the purposes of prostitution during his infamous freak-offs. Diddy's freak-offs were marathon sex sessions between his girlfriends and male escorts, with Diddy watching and often recording them.

In the order, the judge said Diddy was right when he argued in his motions for acquittal and a new trial that "the Mann Act’s text and application have changed over the last century."

Bad Bunny is palling around with the cast of "Saturday Night Live" ahead of his quickly approaching hosting gig!

Check out our clip of the Puerto Rican superstar leaving New York City's Lattanzi Restaurant ... where he dined with 'SNL' favorite Marcello Hernández Tuesday.

BB follows the comedian out the door, dressed casually in a green and yellow striped sweater and blue jeans. He appeared to be in high spirits as he waved at excited fans.

Rod Wave's "Last Lap" tour didn't conclude as planned, and the Florida rapper is now staring down a new lawsuit filed by concert giant Grizzly Touring, who says Wave made costly mistakes ... to the tune of $27 million!!!

According to legal docs, obtained by TMZ Hip Hop, Grizzly claims Rod Wave and Hit House Entertainment owe the touring company approximately $27 million in unearned advances, insisting the "Rags To Riches" star flat out REFUSED to honor his contractual obligations to secure exclusivity to his live performances.

Grizzly says they advanced Rod Wave and were set to pay him $40,250,000 for 35 shows -- and even advanced him $20,125,000 upfront to cover various costs, including production ... and then advanced even more money for various expenses, bringing the grand total to more than $57 million.

Yet to date, the touring giant says Rod has only performed 26 shows, earning $29,900,000 against the guarantee, and Grizzly says he or Hit House haven't complied with their demands for the extra $27 million owed on the advances!!!

To add insult to injury, Grizzly says they've been watching Rod's pockets and saw how he spent the unearned advance money on private jets and a lavish 2nd home.

The lawsuit claims Rod Wave also announced plans to launch a new tour through his own touring company ... which Grizzly says is a blatant violation of his obligation to give them exclusivity under the contract.

All in all, Grizzly says it is owed more than $27 million for the advances plus additional damages for their lost profits ... and they want the judge to block Wave from performing any concerts in violation of the exclusivity provision of their deal.

Kai Cenat recently paused his Mafiathon III festivities and pulled his best friend Rakai's card to alert him that his purported girlfriend, popular streamer Reece, was "cheating" on him ... and we now know who the new rooster in the hen house is ... none other than Caiden The Crownholder!!!

The 14-year-old rapper/streamer found himself on Kai's radar -- when he and Reece went viral on the music platform, On The Radar!!!

The Crownholder is actually a vet of the industry space, being the son of former "Love & Hip Hop: New York" couple, rapper Consequence and Jen The Pen and all.

21 Savage's had a pretty interesting career during his time in the rap game ... and we're here for all of it!

The performer's had a crazy journey to becoming one of the most famous rappers in America -- even though he wasn't born stateside.

Here's a look at the background and career of the performer ... and a bit of info about the current state of his love life.

Police body cam shows officers swarming D4vd’s Texas family home -- just days after Celeste Rivas' body was discovered in his Tesla -- responding to a report of gunfire.

The footage shows cops walking up to D4vd’s Hempstead home with guns drawn on September 18 ... after a 911 caller claimed they heard gunshots outside the home, a woman screaming and someone dead.

When officers knocked, it was the singer's parents who answered, looking stunned and very confused.

Prosecutors currently want to bury Diddy under the jail for a decade, but West Coast rappers Jay 305 and Jay Anthony are championing the embattled Bad Boy's catalog for life -- the music means too much to the culture!!!

TMZ Hip Hop recently caught up with both Jay's outside the fresh fashion boutique Dover St. Market in DTLA, fresh off the release of their joint album, "No Guestlist."

The L.A. duo led off the LP with their banging single, "Dumb Dumb," which samples "All About The Benjamins" -- by way of The Jackson 5's "It's Great To Be Here" ... although the sample flip favors Diddy's classic.

Method Man and Havoc of Mobb Deep fame started collabing on an album before it got stalled during the COVID-19 pandemic, but now the Wu-Tang legend says work on the record is heating back up again!

TMZ interviewed Meth about the project and the hip hop legend told us he needed to tinker with the tunes a bit, so it never initially came out after it was plugged for release some time between 2019-2020 around the time of the pandemic.

Now, Meth has a well-timed update with the project set to be released soon -- and Meth and his team are currently boosting the track list!

Meth's revelation arrives perfectly for Mobb Deep fans ... as the rap group is set to release their 9th studio album, "Infinite," on October 10, through Nas' Mass Appeal Records.

If you needed another reason to hop on our "TMZ After Dark" tour (and trust, we’ve got plenty) -- Justina Valentine gave the ultimate sales pitch by turning the weekend into a full-blown rager!

The 'Wild N Out' rapper totally owned the crowd ... freestyling wild about everyone on the party bus -- like a private concert on wheels.

Check out the full vid ... Justina even dropped a bar about Ray J, who made a special -- and shirtless -- guest appearance during this night out in Hollywood.

Marshawn Lynch is now up for the Pro Football Hall of Fame, but in the meantime, the iconic running back is huddling around a new business venture -- his own weed brand!!!

TMZ obtained video of Mr. Beast Mode connecting with actor Anthony Anderson and fans at the Dodi launch inside long-standing cannabis brand's Originals Family Farms' flagship facility in South Los Angeles on September 27.

The football legend was in high spirits, even shooting dice with a few fans ... that's probably because his newly minted stash is cultivated, manufactured, and distributed by Originals!!!