TMZ Hip Hop

Cardi B might be raising a future doctor ... or at least a kid who can play one on TV -- because it seems she's named her baby Grey.

The singer-songwriter shared several pics showing her youngest child ... the snaps are all super cute ... in some, he's wearing Rocky and Bullwinkle snapbacks ... in others, he's looking stylish in overalls and jackets.

Cardi also shared pics of him as a doctor with a "Grey's Anatomy" banner in the background ... which might seem innocuous -- except Cardi appears to have picked his 1st Halloween costume deliberately.

Nicki Minaj has popped up in New Hampshire for Election Day ... enjoying a photo opp outside a polling place.

According to NBC 10, Nicki was being escorted by police for an appearance outside a polling location at Pinkerton Academy in Derry.

She had a quick exchange with a woman in the crowd who thanked her for touring with President Trump, before being led away to an unmarked tour bus.

Jasmine Crockett thinks Nicki Minaj has been using her massive platform for the wrong reasons ... accusing her political motives of being self-centered.

We caught up with the Congresswoman from Texas on Tuesday in New York City, where she called out the double standard of Nicki -- who's not a U.S. citizen -- acting as a MAGA megaphone while so many other immigrants are being detained by ICE under President Trump.

Check out the clip ... Jasmine is quick to slam Nicki, accusing her of only being out for herself and sowing hate and division.

50 Cent showed up ready for court on Tuesday ... at least virtually -- because the star appeared via Zoom.

The rapper had a court hearing connected to the injunction he filed against Tia Kemp -- Rick Ross' baby mama -- over comments he says she's making about his 14-year-old son on social media.

Tia didn't show up to the hearing ... and not much got done, according to our court reporter.

Sean "Diddy" Combs' prison release date has been shifting for months --- and now his latest walk-out date has been moved up more than 3 weeks, TMZ has learned.

The federal Bureau of Prisons says Diddy will now be a free man on February 6, 2028, instead of March 2, 2028, which was his projected release date last month. Previous release dates also included January 21, February 5, and February 20.

This is great news for Diddy after all of his troubles at FCI Fort Dix in New Jersey, leading to his recent transfer to FCI Allenwood in Pennsylvania.

Nelly says he got way more than a quarter-pound of cheddar from Taylor Swift in exchange for a last-minute performance ... revealing she handed over $50K in a McDonald's bag!

The rapper told the story on an episode of "The Breakfast Club" earlier this week ... explaining T-Swift called him out of the blue in 2011 and told him she needed a big favor.

He says Taylor told him she and her friends had made up a routine to "Hot in Herre" the night before a concert in Houston, Texas, and asked him to fly down from St. Louis for the show.

Kevin Gates says he doesn't care that he had to fork over a small fortune to his estranged wife ... saying he always gives everything to those he loves -- and the seven-figure payment was no different.

The rapper joined us on "The TMZ Podcast" ... and Towanda asked him about a judge ordering him to split the proceeds of his music catalogue sale with Dreka Gates ... to the tune of $1 million.

KG says a portion is nothing to him ... because he's used to giving his loved ones the world ... implying he did just that for Dreka.

Tupac Shakur shooting mastermind Duane "Keefe D" Davis started his 40-year prison sentence in Nevada ... and we can see it written all over his face.

Davis posed for a new mug shot at the maximum-security High Desert State in Indian Springs, NV ... and it's safe to say he's not a happy camper.

Check out the pained look on Keefe's face ... which seems to indicate that reality is setting in for the convicted killer.

Rick Ross is no longer facing a felony charge in his Miami domestic violence case -- and it's all thanks to prosecutors who dropped the felony battery/strangulation charge against him, TMZ has learned.

According to new court documents, obtained by TMZ ... prosecutors filed two misdemeanor charges against the rapper -- one for battery and the other for battery/domestic violence. Prosecutors dropped the top charge of felony battery because of insufficient evidence.

Previously, Ross pleaded not guilty to a felony battery by strangulation charge and a misdemeanor battery charge.

Duane “Keffe D” Davis, the man convicted of orchestrating Tupac Shakur’s 1996 murder, has been transferred to a maximum-security prison in the Las Vegas area ... just weeks after being sentenced to spend decades behind bars.

According to Las Vegas’ 8 News Now, Davis was moved from a Las Vegas jail to High Desert State Prison, a high-security facility, following his murder conviction and sentencing earlier this month.

As we reported ... the 63-year-old was sentenced to 40 years to life in prison on October 13 after a jury found him guilty of first-degree murder in August.

Nicki Minaj is taking her beef with Democrats to a whole new level ... absolutely unloading on New York Governor Kathy Hochul ... calling her an "evil woman" as the state's race for governor heats up.

The rapper went scorched earth on Hochul in a series of posts on X Wednesday ... declaring the Democratic Party should essentially give up on the governor ahead of Tuesday's election.

"Kathy Hochul is an evil woman," Nicki wrote ... warning that even if Hochul wins reelection, she'll be trouble for her own party.

And Nicki didn't stop there ... adding, "She will not escape God's wrath. She did not denounce evil when she had the chance."

Cheek of the Week this week is brought you up by a rapper whose buns even caught the attention of the President! Can you guess whose buns are staring at you in the face?!

Rah Ali is spilling the tea on why she and Nicki Minaj are no longer friends ... and she claims the rapper is out to destroy her.

The Owner of Onsite Media star broke her silence on the end of their friendship in an Instagram video, saying ... "Nicki Minaj and I were friends for well over a decade. We met around 2016, and in that time frame, I have been loyal, I have been honest, I have been trustworthy. I have not done anything at all to her."

She added ... "However, there comes a point where you have to say enough is enough ... and that's where I am. Where I am today is I'm not gonna sit back and allow someone to intentionally try to destroy me, simply because I won't allow them to be a puppet master."

50 Cent scored a legal victory against Rick Ross' ex Tia Kemp ... after a judge granted his request for a temporary injunction protecting his 14-year-old son, Sire, from Kemp ... TMZ has learned.

According to court documents, obtained by TMZ, a Florida judge issued the temporary injunction Monday, ordering Tia to stay at least 500 feet away from Sire and prohibiting her from contacting him directly or indirectly, including through social media.

The judge didn't stop there ... Tia is also prohibited from possessing firearms or ammunition and must surrender any weapons in her possession to law enforcement upon being served with the order.

Jay-Z is completely at ease after picking himself to perform the Super Bowl halftime show ... and he's not letting any outside noise put him under pressure.

We got Hov in New York City on Tuesday, and our photog asked him if he felt any pressure to deliver a top-notch performance at Super Bowl 61 when the big game rolls around in February.

Jay smiled, laughed, and told us there's no pressure involved ... even though millions of folks across the world will be tuning in.