TMZ Hip Hop - Page 50

Tennis superstar Naomi Osaka is gushing over her boyfriend Cordae's new album ... praising the rapper for all the hard work he put into it in a mushy message of support.

24-year-old Cordae's sophomore project, "From a Birds Eye View," officially dropped with an album release party featuring Dave Chappelle on Thursday ... and the #14 player in the world made sure to show love on his big day.

"Getting closer to someone and seeing how much love and dedication they put into their craft is truly inspiring," Osaka said on Instagram.

"Makes you feel like some people are born to do certain things, @cordae you're a star and a light, quite literally brighten up every room you walk in (or maybe it's your hair lol)."

"Congratulations on your 2nd album, proud of you ❤️"

NO and Cordae have been dating since early 2019 ... and the Maryland MC has made several appearances cheering on his girl at tournaments over the years.

As for Cordae's album, it's getting a lot of positive reviews already ... which is pretty much expected, as he's one of the most promising talents in the industry.

Kanye West is under the microscope of the LAPD for allegedly punching a fan, but that's not slowing him down professionally -- we've learned he's getting out of L.A. and shifting his focus to a new album and Coachella.

Sources with direct knowledge tell TMZ Ye's leaving the city ASAP, heading for the SoCal desert ... where he intends to focus on nothing but work. We're told he and his creative team already scheduled meetings weeks ago with Coachella production to map out his staging, and he's sticking to that plan.

However, Coachella won't be the only project on Ye's mind -- 'Donda 2' is well underway, and Kanye will use the time outside L.A. to get with artists and producers to finish it up.

Meanwhile, back in L.A., we're told the investigation continues into allegations Kanye pushed, punched and knocked an autograph-seeking fan to the ground. Our law enforcement sources say it's still too early for cops to get in touch with Kanye and his team, but that will be coming in the near future.

TMZ broke the story, Kanye was in a rage outside Soho Warehouse early Thursday morning as his cousin tried to calm him down. A witness tells us Kanye erupted on the fan after asking not to be photographed and complaining he was going through a lot with his divorce.

Cops took a misdemeanor battery report, and witnesses claim the alleged victim hit his head pretty hard on the concrete. He left the scene under his own power, but got checked out at urgent care later on Thursday.

As for Coachella, our production sources tell us Kanye plans to do some sort of Sunday Service on both weekends of Coachella, Easter falls on Weekend 1 of the festival, and we're told there will be special guests involved outside of the Sunday Service choir.

Cops are investigating Kanye West for allegedly punching an autograph seeker, and TMZ has obtained this video showing the man laid out on the street as Kanye rages at people who apparently work for him.

As we've reported, the alleged attack went down around 3 AM in DTLA, outside the Soho Warehouse -- and Ye was absolutely livid. When the video starts he's screaming, "get away from me" at a woman who's desperately trying to calm him down. She also says, "I am your family," but he continued storming away in anger. We're told the woman is Ye's cousin.

Witnesses tell us this was just seconds after Kanye allegedly punched the guy twice -- once in the head, and once in the neck -- and when the autograph seeker went down, his head struck the ground hard.

We're told Kanye had asked the small group of people outside the building not to take photos and said something about them not understanding what he's going through right now. When someone replied that it's okay, we all go through family stuff ... that's when Ye allegedly unloaded the 2 punches.

We're told Kanye had headed downtown after a late-night session in a Hollywood recording studio -- and a separate video shows he was already pissed off when he left there around 2:30 AM.

Ye was yelling at 2 women about something ... it's hard to make out, but they appear to be the same women who were with him downtown when the alleged attack went down.

Cardi B says she wanted to take her own life after seeing the alleged lies posted by a blogger who's now on trial in federal court.

Cardi's lawsuit against the blogger, Tasha K, is now being tried in a federal courtroom in Georgia, and on Thursday morning, Cardi took the stand. She told the jury, "I wanted to commit suicide over the things" Tasha was saying about her.

Tasha made several video posts back in 2018 and 2019 about Cardi, claiming she had been a prostitute and had contracted multiple STIs ... among many other things, which prompted Cardi's lawsuit. As we reported, Tasha didn't take it well when she was served with the papers.

In court, Cardi also testified ... "I felt defeated and depressed and I didn't want to sleep with my husband." This was all going down shortly after Offset and Cardi welcomed their first child, Kulture ... and Cardi told the court she felt like "I didn't deserve my kid."

Cardi's attorney asked her what she thought about Tasha after seeing the posts, and she said ... "I felt like only a demon could do that s**t." The rapper actually apologized to the judge for swearing after that statement.

She eventually broke down in tears after repeating the ordeal made her feel suicidal.

Cardi is still on the stand, and could be cross-examined by Tasha's attorney later Thursday.

Kodak Black isn't in any sort of legal trouble over his NHL game grind sesh ... cops tell TMZ Sports there's no investigation into the matter because "they were not having sex."

The rapper was spotted at the Florida Panthers game on Tuesday enjoying a lapful of butt from his lady friend in a box suite ... and many thought the two were actually getting it on.

Video shot from across the arena showed the couple grinding on each other ... though a more zoomed-in angle of the action seemed to show they were only dancing.

A spokesperson for the Sunrise Police Dept. tells us officers were present in the suite at the time of the action ... and insist the two were not having sex.

"They were just dancing very provocatively," the spokesperson said.

We're told cops asked Kodak and his partner to stop shortly after they began ... and the rapper complied with no issues whatsoever.

Kanye West is a named suspect on an alleged battery early Thursday morning -- allegedly punching a fan -- TMZ has learned, and LAPD is investigating.

Law enforcement sources tell us ... Ye got into some sort of argument that allegedly turned physical around 3 AM in DTLA. We're told the incident occurred near the Soho Warehouse. We do not know if Ye was at Soho before the incident, but given the time, it seems likely.

We're told Kanye allegedly pushed and then punched a male fan ... the case is being investigated as misdemeanor battery ... a crime that carries a maximum jail sentence of 6 months.

FOX 11 -- who first broke the story -- says Kanye knocked the fan to the ground.

We've obtained video of an irate Kanye shot sometime between Wednesday night and Thursday morning. You hear Kanye yell, "Did y'all say that or not? Did y'all say that or not?" "Cuz that's what happened right f****** now."

Earlier in the evening, Kanye was partying at Delilah in WeHo with girlfriend Julia Fox. He left and drove off alone ... Julia stayed at the club.

We've reached out to Kanye's team ... so far, no word back.

Kanye West is clearly working to send a message to Kim Kardashian, showing some PDA of his own with new GF Julia Fox less than 24 hours after Kim and Pete Davidson got cozy on their own date night.

Ye and Julia hit Delilah in West Hollywood with some of Kanye's famous friends Wednesday night. Inside, the two sat next to each other on a couch, vibing with the music played in the club. However, it's what happened outside that has everyone talking.

As the two got ready to leave, Kanye planted a big kiss right on Julia's lips. It's not the first time we've seen the two share a little PDA -- they literally did a whole photo shoot -- but the timing of the kiss seems more than coincidental.

Kim and Pete grabbed pizza and ice cream together Tuesday night, and it was during the ice cream run at Rite Aid when we saw the two loved-up and cuddling ... a huge sign things are getting serious.

Kanye, without a doubt, saw those pics -- so you gotta imagine there was a bit of a revenge factor that played into smooching Julia.

We should note, inside Delilah, Ye and Julia were joined by the likes of Madonna, Floyd Mayweather, Antonio Brown, The Game and Evan Ross.

Antonio Brown is livin' it up in Los Angeles -- hanging with Floyd Mayweather, Kanye West, Julia Fox and Madonna -- all while Tom Brady and the rest of his former teammates prepare for the NFL playoffs.

TMZ Sports is told 33-year-old AB met up with Floyd at the legendary Tengoose boxing gym in Los Angeles Wednesday night. The friends chopped it up ... and Mayweather offered Brown help rehabbing his injured ankle.

After they left the gym, the undefeated fighter and AB -- who was cut by the Bucs last week after walking off the field during a game -- linked up with Madonna, Ye, and Julia Fox at Hollywood hotspot, Delilah.

Ye and Fox have been inseparable since meeting at a New Year's Eve party in South Florida.

While at Delilah, we're told the group had a blast ... listening to music, talking about Ye's next album, "Donda 2," and Floyd's upcoming exhibition fight in Dubai.

Once they left Delilah, they headed to the Hollywood Unlocked studio.

During the night, Kanye also let Floyd model some of his new Yeezy hoodies.

It's not the first time Ye and AB have hung out. The guys went to another L.A. hotspot, Craig's, earlier this week ... where they grabbed dinner.

Young Thug's travel plans were quickly shifted after one man in his party allegedly didn't have the proper ID to fly -- causing the rapper to blow up on the pilot -- and ending with cops getting the call to the runway.

Young Thug was traveling with friends, including Gunna, Wednesday when the altercation went down. The group was supposed to take a private jet from Miami to New York, but that itinerary apparently hit a speed bump when one of the men traveling with TY didn't have the proper docs to fly.

As you see in the video, the pilot asked him to step off the plane before it took off ... but that wasn't the end of the problems.

The pilot informs YT someone traveling in the group made the flight attendant feel uncomfortable, and therefore they can't fly. It's never explained in the video exactly what happened to the flight attendant.

Cops were called to the scene, and law enforcement sources say everything was sorted out, and Gunna and Young Thug booked another plane to their destination.

Nicki Minaj can breathe easier -- a lawsuit claiming the rapper harassed and threatened the woman who accused Nicki's husband of sexual assault has been dropped ... and Nicki's planning to go after the woman to recoup money lost in legal fees.

According to legal docs, obtained by TMZ, the lawsuit against Nicki was voluntarily dismissed Wednesday by Jennifer Hough. A source close to the case tells us there was not any sort of financial settlement reached to make it go away. Nicki's husband, Kenneth Petty, remains a defendant.

In a blistering response, Nicki's attorney, Judd Burstein, tells TMZ Jennifer and her lawyers thought they could shake Nicki down for some easy money, trying to financially settle it from the beginning.

We've seen an email Burstein sent to Hugh's lawyer, Tyrone Blackburn, which reads, in part, "In my view, your conduct in pursuing this case against Nicki represents the worst of our legal system: bottom-feeding lawyers who pursue frivolous actions against a celebrity assuming that they will be paid off if they throw enough dirt."

Judd continues, "You forced my client to spend over $300,000 in fees to defend a case which even my labradoodle, Gracie, could see was frivolous on both the facts and the law."

Kenneth was convicted of trying to rape Jennifer in 1995, and she's since spoken publicly about the ordeal.

TMZ broke the story, Jennifer sued Nicki in August, claiming Nicki and her legal team had offered to pay Jennifer to change her story about what happened with Kenneth.

Kanye West is plotting on Putin -- he wants to have a sit-down meeting with the Russian leader, that is ... and his team is rooting for the ultimate link up.

We caught up with Ye's manager Bu Thiam, and he's definitely here for a Vladimir Putin meets West sit down ... despite many folks who are side-eyeing the whole situation.

Bu says he looooves the idea of the two men sitting down and having a conversation... “That’s King Ye, Why not?” he asked. Well, depends on who he's asking ...

While many people have suspicions about the Russian leader's alleged brutal tactics ... when it comes to Putin, Bu says that he loves him and backed him up by saying most leaders have to make tough decisions.

He dusted off any backlash saying, in America "we hate" everybody that’s not American ... he even doubled down on that by claiming Putin is loved by his own people.

As we previously told you ... Kanye reportedly wants to have a meeting with the Russian leader. He also is planning to start doing his Sunday Service shows in the country starting in the spring or summer.

Ye's team is divided on the topic, with some saying none of this is happening. His business associate told Billboard about the plans, but then his PR rep shot down the story, saying it was "entirely fabricated."

There were more than 15,000 people at the Florida Panthers game on Tuesday ... but no one had as good a time as Kodak Black -- who enjoyed a raunchy twerk sesh from a woman in a box suite during the action!!!

The rapper hit the NHL contest in Sunrise with some killer rinkside seats ... and video showed the dude had an absolute blast watching the Panthers take on the Vancouver Canucks.

He was mingling with fans, taking selfies and zooming in on the on-ice action ... before he hit a luxury box for a little alone time with his lady friend.

One fan spotted the two from afar in the suite -- and it actually appeared like they were getting it on just feet from Panthers execs and hockey fans.

But, a closer look revealed there was nothing X-rated about their actions ... Kodak was simply enjoying a bit of a lap dance!!!

Black posted the zoomed-in footage to his IG ... writing, "Fly Lifestyle."

Kodak and every other Panthers fan eventually left the arena happy ... 'cause Florida took care of Vancouver, 5-2.

Travis Scott's album cover from years ago is landing him in hot water in France ... where one artist is definitely not saying "c'est la vie" over what he claims is outright theft of his art.

A man named Mickaël Mehala -- who also goes by Black Childish -- is suing Travis in his home country, where he alleges the rapper jacked his original artwork for "Travis La Flame" ... an official compilation project which includes a lot of songs from his mixtape "Days Before Rodeo," among others.

The album cover is well known among TS stans ... and has even been featured on Travis' YouTube page and Tidal page at one point or another. That's a problem for Mehala, who claims he actually created this piece himself in 2015 and sent it to Trav via Instagram DM in 2016 -- the same year 'La Flame' dropped -- so he could see it and share it with fans.

Mehala says he never heard back from Travis, but lo and behold ... he saw his centaur art featured front and center when 'La Flame' rolled out, which was big news at the time.

In the French legal docs, obtained by TMZ, Mehala claims he formally registered a copyright for the art in February 2019. He also says he was blowing up Travis and his management team about the issue, and finally heard back from one of his attorneys in the summer of 2019.

He claims the lawyer told him Travis was unaware of using art belonging to anyone in particular. While the lawsuit notes the centaur shot's since been removed from multiple platforms carrying 'La Flame' ... Mehala apparently still wants his day in court.

He also wants d'argent, or as Travis would say ... money, and lots of it. Mehala's suing for hundreds of thousands of dollars, and sole control of his centaur going forward.

We've reached out to Travis' team, but no word back yet.

Kim Kardashian's got no beef with Kanye dating actress Julia Fox, and actually believes the fact Julia's a huge fan of the Kardashian family could be a good sign of things to come in co-parenting with Kanye.

Sources close to Kim tell us she's happy to see Kanye out smiling again, and only wants to see him end up with a good person -- something that's up to Kanye to figure out -- and not for Kim to judge.

As you know, Julia has raved about the Kardashian family, calling herself a "Die-Hard" fan of 'Keeping Up.'

Our sources say, in Kim's eyes, the fact Julia admires her is a good thing -- and if her relationship with Ye continues to grow and Julia comes around the kids -- it'll make co-parenting easier if everyone gets along.

We're told Kim has fully moved on from her romantic relationship with Kanye ... and positive vibes are all she wants for her estranged hubby.

Of course, Kim's been having plenty of fun of her own with Pete Davidson -- most recently they were in the Bahamas with friends, and before that they rendezvous'd in Palm Springs, and enjoyed private dinners in NYC and L.A.

Kanye West has his sights set on Moscow -- where he reportedly wants a powwow with the Vladimir Putin, not to mention a vast plan to establish roots in Mother Russia.

Ye is gunning for a meeting with the Russian President, and also wants to do a series of Sunday Service shows in the man's country fairly soon -- sometime in the spring or summer, in fact ... this according to Billboard, who spoke to KW's biz associate, Ameer Sudan.

Sudan says Ye's schedule will dictate when this all happens, but assures Billboard that the wheels are already in motion to broker a face-to-face between Putin and Kanye.

Sounds like a lot of this is going to be handled by some Russian friends Ye has apparently cozied up to of late -- tycoon real estate developer Aras Agalarov and his son Emin Agalarov ... the so-called "Trumps of Russia," and clients of attorney Scott Balber, whom Sudan says is also helping Kanye make this happen. Unclear if Balber reps Ye personally.

Anywyay, speaking of Emin -- who's actually an aspiring musical artist himself -- Kanye is said to be intent on helping him blow up here in the States via collaboration, so says Sudan.

There's more ... Sudan says Ye's business relationship with the Agalarovs will bear lucrative -- with deals he says they're working on that'll supposedly send his net worth sky-high, north of $10 billion, he claims. So, in other words ... Ye is all in on Russia, it seems.

Sudan went so far to say that Kanye would be making the area a "second home," telling Billboard the guy plans to spend a lot of time out there going forward. As for where those Sunday Service concerts would happen -- word is, he has the Crocus City Hall in mind, and will invite President Putin as his guest. It's a big venue ... capable of seating over 7,000.

Other options are being considered too, per Billboard, like the Grand Sports Arena at the Luzhniki Olympic Complex, where the Olympics were once held. Capacity there is 80k-plus.

One last thing ... Sudan says Kanye is aware of the international strife between the U.S. and Russia -- namely, Putin encroaching on Ukraine, among other things -- but had this to say about it ... "This is Ye, Ye is going to get there regardless. What are they going to say? He's going to be a special guest of the Agalarovs."

He adds, "Kanye knows what's going on more than the average human being, he's well aware of things. And it's nothing against the United States or to cause conflicts, but Ye is Ye -- he can't be controlled."

Welp, now he's got 100 of 'em -- Jay-Z is fuming the feds refuse to release to a man who's served 14 years for weed, and says one of the government's reasons for holding him ... involves a leftover prison meal.

Jay's Team Roc is taking up the cause of a guy named Valon Vailes ... who's serving a 20-year prison sentence for intent to distribute more than a ton of marijuana. Vailes, who was convicted in 2007,  reached out to Jay-Z last year asking him to help him get a reduced sentence -- but in new court docs, Team Roc says the feds won't budge over some "ticky-tac" prison offenses.

Team Roc attorney Alex Spiro says Vailes more than meets the terms for compassionate release, but in docs he says federal prosecutors won't allow it because Vailes dared to ... wait for it ... sneak some leftover chicken from the prison mess hall to his cell.

Seriously. Cold-ass chicken ... that's what we're talking about?

If that wasn't petty enough, in the docs -- obtained by TMZ -- Spiro says Vailes is also getting dinged for merely using a piece of his prison uniform as "workout equipment."

Jay and Team Roc are incensed because they say Vailes, who's now 56, has been a model inmate in every way possible -- he's earned his GED -- and has a "mentally ill" brother at home who needs a caretaker. Vailes' mother had been taking care of the brother, but she died in 2020.

In his letter to Jay, Vailes discussed his frustration with watching corporations and individuals make billions off legalized marijuana, while he rots in prison over it.