TMZ Hip Hop - Page 50

Prosecutors have just played their hand in the Tekashi 6ix9ine snitching case ... laying out precisely how the rapper will turn on his former gang cohorts when their trial begins next week, and the details are pretty shocking.

The U.S. Attorney in Manhattan sent a letter to the judge in the case, outlining their strategy, which includes key testimony from the rapper who's behind bars after striking a plea deal ... and the key to unlock his cell is snitching on his partners in crime.

According to prosecutors, Tekashi is expected to testify and name names in various alleged crimes, including the July 2018 robbery and kidnapping of Tekashi himself.

The big thing ... he will identify which Nine Trey Blood members are attached to various aliases used in incriminating texts, social media posts, DMs, and other communications. This is critical evidence for prosecutors, since they have to prove the messages were sent by the various defendants.

According to the letter, Tekashi will implicate himself and other gang members in a conspiracy to harm a rapper -- Casanova -- who wrote lyrics they felt were critical of 6ix9ine.

He will also testify ... another member of Nine Trey -- SEQO -- sent out a message if any rival bloods were to come across Tekashi they were to "fire on him."

What's also interesting ... the letter essentially says Tekashi was the bank for the gang ... one of his roles was to make money for the gang and then distribute it among members. Our sources say lots of friction was created when Tekashi turned off the cash spigot. Our sources say that's why the kidnapping/robbery went down ... as retaliation.

As we reported, Tekashi faced a minimum of 47 years in prison, but he could now get out in a matter of years in return for his full cooperation. It's all but certain he would become a member of the witness protection program, but that may be problematic given his distinctive tattoos.

Quavo is damn proud of Antonio Brown for telling Mike Mayock and the Raiders to kick rocks ... the Migos rapper says he's HAPPY AB got to choose his own team for once!!!

"It's time for players to pick their own destiny," Quavo says ... "You gotta be happy with where you're at. You can't just not be happy at an unhappy home."

In other words, Quavo feels it's about time MORE players take control of their careers instead of being helplessly passed around the league like a piece of meat.

His comments fall in line with critics of the NFL Draft -- where players are essentially powerless when it comes to where they play and who they play for ... regardless of which situation is best for them.

Of course, AB has drawn a TON of criticism for the way he handled his time in Oakland ... with Jerry Rice saying he believes the receiver orchestrated ALL of the drama in order to eventually end up in New England.

But, when we got Quavo out in NYC, he told us he has zero issues if that's indeed the case with AB ... and said he wishes MORE players would do it!!

"You gotta have a good home," Huncho says.

As for Brown's new role with the Pats, Quavo says he has no doubts the guy will be a star there ... telling us, "I think the Patriots will be a good spot for him."

Seems Belichick already agrees ... when he was asked Tuesday about bringing in Brown despite all the baggage, he said, "It's the same thing you said about Randy Moss when we brought him in."

Diddy and Lori Harvey's whirlwind summer romance just wrapped its Mexican leg, and it looks like it was a very successful vacay, and by that we mean ... they're doing a lot of belly rubbing!

The Bad Boy honcho and Steve Harvey's daughter arrived at the Cabo San Lucas airport Sunday on their way back stateside. Cabo was just the latest hot getaway for the couple -- remember, they were just in Italy along with her dad.

Speaking of which, Steve might take interest in a couple of these pics ... at one point, Diddy reached under Lori's blouse and appeared to rub her stomach. Lori did the same to herself.

So, here's the rub ... the gesture made photogs think they'd just saw a sign Lori is pregnant. Could be as innocent as a convo about a big lunch, or maybe a tummy ache. Still, we reached out to Diddy's rep. No word back yet.

After Lori and Diddy returned home, she quickly took off on another trip ... sans her BF, while he's hanging at home.

Kanye West's futuristic housing community needs a new home base ... because his dome-shaped structures in Calabasas have been destroyed.

All but one of the housing prototypes were torn down with about a week to spare before the September 15 deadline ... imposed by the L.A. County Dept. of Public Works for violating the building code.

As you can see in these aerial photos taken Monday ... all that's left at the site, where at least 3 of Ye's huge domes once sat, is a bunch of rubble, a dump truck and one small dome-ish tower. We're told that one is also coming down before the deadline.

We broke the story ... Kanye's neighbors were pissed in mid-August over construction crews working on his property all weekend long, including Sundays, which isn't allowed.

Cops were called and put an end to the noise, but the workers have clearly still been busy with the tear-down process.

As we told you ... Kanye's prototypes are part of his vision of an egalitarian community, but he didn't get the proper permits to build them.

Post Malone is preparing for the apocalypse with a $3 million compound tucked away in Northern Utah ... and the first images of the property prove it's a pretty sweet place to await the end of the world!!!

We did some digging on the compound Post's been quietly living in, since buying it early last year ... and the place is simply amazing.

Post's pad is in a super secluded area outside Salt Lake City, and the property sprawls over 6.75 acres of natural beauty, with breathtaking views of the canyons, mountains and city skyline ... best seen from the expansive pool deck in the backyard, and through the floor to ceiling windows covering the home.

The rapper spared no expense keeping himself occupied as he waits for doomsday ... the 5-bed, 6-bath mansion is 12,702 square feet with a fire pit, basketball court, wine cellar, home gym and hot tub ... and Post is putting in a recording studio and 30 bunk beds for his best buds.

Post says he's adding to the home with a massive underground bunker, which he says will survive the end of days. He says he loves living out in the sticks, where he can do what he calls, "cowboy s***," like shooting guns.

Looks like a pretty sweet place to kick back and smoke his own weed. Hopefully, Post doesn't put the apocalypse bunker to the test any time soon.

Kanye West resurrected in his hometown -- with Chance the Rapper, no less -- and the people of Chicago did NOT miss the opportunity to come out and bear witness.

Ye held his Sunday Service in Chi-Town this week, hosting a massive crowd at the Huntington Bank Pavilion on Northerly Island ... and it seemed to be a packed house. The venue has a 30,000-person capacity -- and it seems like they filled that and then some.

It appears this was more of a traditional concert than his usual gatherings -- which has been hittin' the road A LOT lately -- but also nontraditional in some respects too.

For example, it looks like the stage that both Kanye and Chance performed on was closer to ground level than your regular concert venue stage, which made this Sunday Service feel much more intimate and interactive. Folks also seemed to respect the closeness -- there are no reports of anyone rushing Ye, so it seems people kept their distance.

That's not to say that security wasn't on hand -- it absolutely was. Funny enough, at one point, Kanye told a guard to stand down as he made his way through the audience to the stage ... telling the guy to "watch this" ... and then parting the human sea, if you will.

Very on-brand, right?

Anyway, ya gotta imagine Kanye fans are eternally grateful for this road trip -- up until recently, Ye had been hosting Sunday Service in secret areas in and around L.A. and to attend, it seems like you needed a special invite.

YG and Kehlani kept their relationship under wraps for months before finally going public this week ... but she's NOT the reason he's no longer with the woman who recently gave birth to his child.

Sources close to the couple tell TMZ ... YG separated from his baby mama, Catelyn Sparks, BEFORE he got into a relationship with Kehlani, and all parties are cool with how things played out.

YG's baby mama gave birth to their second child in July ... and we're told the rapper will still provide for both kids and their mother, at least financially.

As we reported ... YG and Kehlani confirmed they're dating Thursday night, making their first public appearance together as they strolled hand in hand into a show for New York Fashion Week.

Kehlani actually became a mother herself back in March ... but she's never been in a romantic relationship with the father, who happens to be her guitarist. Nevertheless, they've decided to co-parent.

Logic says he's no Bobby Fischer when it comes to chess, but he's feeling confident enough to challenge one of our photogs to a match ... and dropping bombs about his love life!!!

We got the rapper at Catch Thursday night in West Hollywood, where he had just finished dinner, and he was holding a very interesting accessory ... a friggin' chessboard.

Logic admits he's far from a grandmaster -- maybe that's why he's practicing at the dinner table -- but when our guy asks if he's down for a quick game, Logic jumps at the offer and sets a few parameters.

Speaking of chess pieces, Logic's got his own queen ... telling us his dinner date, Brittney Noell, is his wife now, and they're expecting!!!

We broke the story ... Logic and Brittney took a trip to the courthouse in July to take out a marriage license ... and turns out they followed through to tie the knot.

BTW ... Logic's kept things with Brittney under wraps, so it's pretty rare to see them out together.

Logic dropped a freestyle last month and said he was having a little boy, but he never revealed the child's mother ... until now.

50 Cent and Paris Jackson are going head-to-head over his insinuation Chris Brown is better than Michael Jackson -- and now he's upped the ante with a graphic comment about Jackson's accusers.

Fiddy just fired back at MJ's daughter who, on Wednesday, took umbrage with 50 Cent posting a video of CB doing back flips. If you missed it, the rapper said, "All I'm saying is I never seen MJ come out like this."

Paris responded with, "true legends don't need to exert outrageous amounts of energy just grasp your attention."

Far be it from 50 Cent -- master of the IG troll -- to just let it go. Instead, on Friday, he put up a fresh post, saying ... "Why am I the bad guy, I understand how you feel Paris, but does anyone care about how the little boys butts feels."

Yeah, he went there -- but keep in mind, Dave Chappelle went there too, in his latest Netflix special -- sparking a national debate about believing or disbelieving Jackson's alleged victims.

As we reported, Wade Robson and James Safechuck -- the accusers featured in "Leaving Neverland" -- both blasted Chappelle for the jokes and personal comments he made onstage.

The first domino has fallen in Tekashi69's racketeering case ... the rapper's ex-manager has been sentenced to 15 years in prison.

Kifano “Shotti” Jordan learned his fate Friday, courtesy of a Manhattan judge ... 6 months after he pled guilty to 1 count of using and possession of a firearm in furtherance of a crime of violence and 1 count of discharging a firearm in furtherance of a crime of violence.

TMZ broke the story ... Tekashi and Shotti were both arrested by the feds on racketeering charges back in November. The feds believed Shotti, along with Tekashi, pulled off an armed robbery back in April 2018. The feds alleged they robbed Tekashi's rivals at gunpoint.

Shotti was also accused of firing 2 shots at one of Tekashi's rivals ... on the same night one of Tekashi's crew members fired his gun inside the Barclays Center.

Kanye West is not just a Wyoming visitor anymore, because we've learned he just bought a massive property.

Kanye plunked down some serious money for a property called Monster Lake Ranch. The asking price was $14 million for the huge chunk of land outside Cody, Wyoming.

The Ranch itself has 8 lodging units and is known for "monster trout" fishing. It has 2 fresh water lakes, a restaurant, an event center and meeting facilities. And -- it's a ranch, right -- so there are lots of horse barns, corrals and lots of horsies. Fun fact ... Cody is known as the "rodeo capital of the world." Imagine Sunday Service at the rodeo?!?

We're told Kanye did not pay full price but we don't know exactly how much he plunked down. The property itself is more than 9,000 acres! He now owns 4,500 of those acres, and the rest is leased from the federal government.

Kanye is there now ... earlier this week, he was tooling around his new property on an ATV.

We're told Kanye is currently there ... finishing up his new album, which has a heavy religious theme. As you know, his Sunday Service has become a thing, and now he's going into the studio to put finishing touches on the album that's expected to come out Sept. 27.

Our sources say in the last few days Pusha T joined Kanye in Wyoming. Remember, Pusha was also there when Kanye was working on the album "Ye." He spent a lot of time in Wyoming at the Aman resort putting pen to paper to finish that album.

The lawyer who initially represented A$AP Rocky in his Swedish assault case was shot by someone who appears to have been lying in wait for him ... TMZ has learned.

We're told Henrik Olsson Lilja was leaving his apartment building early Friday morning in downtown Stockholm when a gunman walked up to him and shot him in the head and the chest. Cops tell us the lawyer was inside the building at the time of the attack.

The gunman jumped into a waiting SUV, which then sped off.

We don't know the lawyer's condition, but we're told he actually called the police. TMZ has seen a photo of him on the street and the head injury is too gruesome to post.

The lawyer repped A$AP when he was first taken into custody after assaulting a man who was harassing him on the streets of Stockholm. Olsson Lilja was replaced before the trial began.

So far we don't know if there's any connection to Olsson Lilja's representation of A$AP.

The shooter is still at large.

Nicki Minaj's retirement announcement not only came out of nowhere, but it absolutely doesn't add up -- as in it doesn't seem real -- based on her recent actions ... so say sources close to her.

TMZ's learned Nicki has been busy in the studio working on new music in recent weeks and on top of that ... we're told she made plans to record with several artists just in the past few days.

Our sources say Minaj has a lot of songs already in the can, and despite saying on Thursday she's retiring in order to "have my family" -- she still has studio time booked until next month.

So, why the sudden decision to hang it up? We're told Nicki's been growing increasingly fed up with internet trolls who've been harassing her lately, and finally reached a boiling point.

Our sources say the rapper was pushed over the edge by constantly defending herself over accusations of not writing her own songs, questions about her hip-hop legacy ... and her relationship with her fiance, Kenneth Petty. BTW, rumor is she's already Mrs. Petty, but that's another thing Nicki's tired of discussing.

The good news for the Barbs ... we're told those close to Nicki believe she's just taking a much-needed break from the haters and simply needs a moment to chill and reevaluate. As we told you ... DJ Paul agrees.

One more thing -- Minaj's comment about family got many wondering if she's pregnant. We're told she's not ... yet.

YG and Kehlani are ready to let the whole world know they're officially an item ... the new couple just made their first public appearance together.

The rapper and R&B singer were holding hands Thursday night as they strolled arm and arm into the Kith show at New York Fashion Week.

It's the first time we've seen YG and Kehlani together since rumors of their relationship started swirling ... and they told our guy they're definitely dating.

The timing is interesting ... because YG recently had another child with his baby mama, Catelyn Sparks, who gave birth to their second baby girl in July. Kehlani became a mother back in March, welcoming a baby girl into the world.

Kehlani's no stranger to getting in high profile relationships. The former "America's Got Talent" finalist used to date NBA superstar Kyrie Irving.

Nicki Minaj says she's leaving the music biz ... she's decided to retire because HER family's the next priority.

The rapper made the stunning announcement in a Thursday morning tweet ... saying she's gonna retire because she's ready to become a mom. She wrote, "I've decided to retire & have my family. I know you guys are happy now. To my fans, keep reppin me, do it til da death of me, X in the box- cuz ain't nobody checkin me. Love you for LIFE."

Nicki seems to be saying 2 things ... 1. that she wants to become a mom, and 2. that she's sick of the trolls.

What's not clear ... is she blowing off steam or is this the real deal?

If Nicki's in fact done with the rap game ... she leaves behind a storied legacy. The pride of Trinidad and Tobago and Queens earlier this year became the first female rapper to officially sell 100 million units across her albums, singles and features as certified by the Recording Industry Association of America.

Nicki's been nominated for 10 Grammys, earned a Guinness World Record in 2017 for most Billboard Hot 100 entries by a solo female artist and hauled in five MTV Video Music Awards. It's unclear if retirement means she's also done with the popular "Queen Radio" show.

TMZ broke the story ... Nicki and her boyfriend, Kenneth Petty, got a marriage license not long ago. She's called him her husband since then but we haven't been able to confirm they've actually tied the knot.

But one thing's clear, they seem to be going full steam ahead ... with starting their family seemingly on the horizon.

Originally Published -- 11:50 AM PT

Mac Miller was supplied deadly, fentanyl-laced pills that directly contributed to his death -- according to federal prosecutors, who just filed charges against his alleged dealer.

Charges came down Wednesday against 28-year-old Cameron James Pettit, whom the feds allege supplied the rapper with counterfeit oxycodone pills that contained fentanyl in a new 42-page criminal complaint out of the Central District of California.

Per the docs, prosecutors claim Mac had asked Pettit for "percs" -- short for percocet, a prescribed painkiller full of oxycodone -- and that the dealer ended up supplying the pills that contributed to Mac's overdose death last year. The AP was first to report the story.

TMZ broke the story ... Mac Miller was found unresponsive in his Studio City home. His death was later ruled an accidental overdose from alcohol, cocaine and fentanyl.

According to the charging docs, authorities served search warrants at multiple locations while investigating Mac's death. They say that two days before his death on Sep. 7, Mac received two deliveries of drugs -- one from Pettit, who allegedly supplied the fentanyl-laced oxy pills, cocaine and Xanax -- and another from a prostitute, who allegedly gave him pure oxy, hydrocodone, amphetamine, Xanax and coke on top of what Pettit had dropped off.

Prosecutors say that the prostitute works for a madam, whom is allegedly associated with Pettit. They claim that when Pettit had not immediately responded to Mac for a second delivery, he hit up the madam, who sent the prostitute to leave him the additional drugs.

There's more -- prosecutors allege that Pettit directly messaged about Mac's death shortly afterward on Instagram, allegedly telling friends that he probably shouldn't post anything as a reaction "just to be smart." Prosecutors say he later wrote, "I am not great ... Most likely I will die in jail" when someone asked how he was doing.

The criminal complaint that Pettit was one of three people who supplied Mac with the counterfeit drugs. It's unclear if the two others -- presumably the madam and the prostitute -- have been charged yet.

Pettit was taken into custody Wednesday morning.

Originally Published -- 11:39 AM PT