TMZ Hip Hop - Page 50

Nipsey Hussle's alleged murderer, Eric Holder Jr., is standing trial in Los Angeles and prosecutors just laid out the details of Nip's shooting death in court ... and it's horrifying.

Deputy District Attorney John McKinney told the jury Wednesday ... after Holder gunned down Nipsey in a Crenshaw parking lot, Holder walked over to Nispey's bullet-riddled body and kicked him in the head.

The prosecutor also told the courtroom, Holder said to Nipsey, "You're through" ... with Hussle replying, "You got me," before Holder took off from the scene.

McKinney told the jury, Holder's kick to Nipsey's head shows it was a personal attack ... while Holder's public defender is trying to frame the case as something that happened in the heat of the moment.

You'll recall ... Holder was arrested a few days after Nipsey's shooting death, and he's charged with 1 count of murder, 2 counts of attempted murder (two other people were injured by gunshots during the incident) and 1 count of possession of a firearm by a felon.

XXL just released its hotly debated Freshman List for the 15th year — and there are no noticeable snubs ... as far as Yung Bleu can see.

The budding star's the perfect guy to weigh in with his hot take, because just last year he was the center of attention when XXL left him off the 2021 Freshman List.

We caught up with Bleu Davinci outside LAX and he had no smoke for the '22 XXL Freshman List, which consists of Babyface Ray, BabyTron, Big30, Big Scarr, Cochise, Doechii, Kali, KayCyy, KenTheMan, Nardo Wick, Saucy Santana and SoFaygo.

While Bleu feels like the list doesn't have power over artists' careers anymore -- rendering it kind of irrelevant -- he was happy to see the new class members get their shine.

We also got his take on the social media debate of Michael Jackson vs. Chris Brown's talent supremacy -- and Bleu didn't go the route of his homie Tank and side with CB ... he simply stated each generation will crown their hero and both their talents are uncanny.

Bleu’s career has been thriving since the 2021 “snub” … he went on to win Best New Artist at both the BET Hip Hop and Soul Train Awards that year and his double platinum-selling Drake collab “You’re Mines Still” has over 200 million YouTube views.

And, on top of that, he'll be on CB's new album, which is dropping this summer.

Drake brought his IG moniker "Champagne Papi" to life on Tuesday -- winning a title in the Sanctuary Basketball League -- and he celebrated by sprayin' bubbly everywhere!!

The victorious moment was all caught on video -- when his NTIG teammate hit the game-winning shot in the SBL title game right on Drake's basketball court in his Toronto mansion.

Drizzy and his squad went nuts after securing the dub ... cueing up the champagne showers.

And, Drake paid homage to the late Kobe Bryant for his game strategy ... saying he channeled his inner Mamba Mentality.

"I did what Kobe did in Game 7 against the Celtics," Drake said, "Shots not falling, you play f*****g defense!"

BTW, Drake launched the SBL league last year ... and now is a 2-time champ, after his team again won the 'ship.

Megan Thee Stallion is hopeful that Tory Lanez is not only found guilty for allegedly shooting her, but that he's thrown behind bars as well.

Meg -- who's in the middle of a criminal case involving Lanez in which he's alleged to have shot her in the foot in 2020 -- did an interview with Rolling Stone, in which she touched on the legal matter ... and says she wants him to serve time.

She says, "I want him to go to jail," adding ... "I want him to go under the jail." MTS said this after reflecting/questioning why the case is dragging out so long.

As you know, Tory has denied Megan's accusations and pled not guilty to the charges against him. While there've been bumps throughout -- including him being temporarily remanded to custody for violating a protective order -- it seems the case is going to trial in September.

Megan claims her foot was injured during the shooting -- saying she had to undergo surgery, and couldn't walk for days. She says, "Both of my legs wrapped up. I could not walk. I still have bullet fragments in my feet right now. I was very scared that I was not able to be Megan Thee Stallion no more. And, I was f***ed up."

Megan also addressed the other witness in the matter -- her ex-best friend, Kelsey Harris -- saying she feels like she's sided with Tory in the aftermath. An even more triggering result, she says, is the social media backlash she's received from people who don't believe her.

The upcoming celebrity boxing match between Blueface and former NBA star Nick Young isn't too chummy, and won't be very long -- the "Thotiana" rapper is vowing to put Nick to sleep early!

Make no mistake about it, Blueface has already won the July 30 bout in his mind, because he tells TMZ Hip Hop ... "The Famous Cryp is about to be even more famous ... Nick's going down in the 3rd!"

Earlier this week, TMZ Sports hashed out the details: the proud L.A. natives will both have home ring advantage inside Crypto.com Arena where they will be on the undercard for the Social Gloves event where YouTubers Austin McBroom and AnEsonGib are the main event.

Speaking of YouTubers, Blueface has a history of sizing up social media stars for a fight.

Remember, he bashed TikToker Kane Trujillo's face in (as well as a random ring-crasher) during a July 2021 bare-knuckle fight.

Ex-NFL star, and part-time rapper, Le'Veon Bell is also on the card for July 30, but he's still waiting for a challenger.

As for the fight for L.A.'s unofficial celeb belt (which isn't a thing, yet) ... the physical stats are in Swaggy's favor, but Blueface has him beat in-ring experience.

Quavo may or may not be an ex-Migo … but he’s definitely focused on being a movie legend for the time being.

We caught up with Quay Huncho outside of LAX — fresh off his time on the set of his bank-robbing heist "Cash Out" and he had plenty of love for his costars — especially John Travolta, who gave the star rapper some potential Oscar-winning advice.

Quay says John simply told him to be relaxed on set — and be himself at times, which is a little strange considering they're actually portraying someone else.

That being said, most successful actors still don't have filmographies as acclaimed as Travolta's so, yeah.

Although there's no set release date or trailer, Quay was especially pumped, shouting out director Randall Emmett and his costars ... including Noel Gugliemi, who he flicked it up with several times on the "Cash Out" set.

Gold-selling Brooklyn drill rapper 22Gz was arrested on attempted murder charges early Sunday morning the moment he landed at JFK airport.

Law enforcement sources tell TMZ ... 22Gz was in Atlanta since the shooting and may have thought the coast was clear for his Sunday Summer Jam performance ... but police caught up with him at the airport.

The snafu caused him to forfeit his appearance, as he was supposed to be a part of Hot 97's DJ Drewski's set.

The arrest stems from a March 6 shooting inside a Brooklyn party hall where 3 people were shot ... and police say one of the victims ID'd 22Gz as the shooter and provided officers with a detailed description of the "Twirlanta" rapper.

Despite the triple shooting ... we're told the injuries are not considered to be serious.

Brooklyn DA Eric Gonzalez ripped into 22Gz telling TMZ: "This shooting not only wounded the victim, but endangered the lives of everyone in a crowded club. Senseless gang rivalries fuel much of the gun violence in our communities and I remain committed to vigorously prosecuting anyone who engages in this criminal conduct."

In addition to the attempted murder charge, 22Gz is facing 2nd-degree assault and weapons charges for a pistol, along with a 1st-degree reckless endangerment charge.

Gunna isn’t taking his incarceration lightly … evidenced by a fiery letter he’s written from jail where he says America is violating his Freedom of Speech rights.

In an open letter dated on his 29th birthday — Tuesday, June 14, the incarcerated “Pushin P” rapper speaks on how his breakout year was flipped after being part of a 56-count indictment that included Young Thug and several other YSL members.

He writes, “22 & 2, just a bed & a shower, no windows just walls. Can’t see or talk to anyone. I’m writing now & still praying everyday. I was raised to fight fire with water, even tho my country’s amendments have failed me! PROTECT BLACK ART!”

T.I., who’s had several run-ins with the law throughout his rap career, immediately swooped in with words of encouragement.

Sad thing is ... Gunna wasn’t lying about 2022 being his time to shine. His album “DS4EVER” beat out The Weeknd to go No. 1 and his gold-selling “Pushin P” record set a trend.

Thug recently also broke his silence — live at Hot 97’s Summer Jam ... urging fans to sign to the Protect Black Art initiative — as did Chris Brown, DJ Khaled, Post Malone, Polo G, Meek Mill and several other high-profile artists.

Blue Ivy spent the night out with her pops Jay-Z, and fans had to stop and do a double-take after looking way too much like Beyoncé.

The father-daughter duo was at the NBA Finals Monday night in San Fran, and fans couldn't help but compare her to her mom -- the 10-year-old is rocking a new curly-haired look that's definitely very familiar.

Blue's look feels similar to queen Bey in the mid-2000s, or as one fan reacted on social media ... "Beyonce really copy and pasted her looks on her." Not everyone sees the Beyonce comparisons, though ... some still see more of her dad than her mama.

Jay-Z even got the chance to embarrass her at the game in true dad fashion ... pulling her in for a hug while on camera, and she tried to break away as she whispered, "Dad, my hair."

BTW, last night's game 5 pulled Golden State ahead 3-2, and Jay and mini-Bey even got to chat it up with Steph Curry after the game.

Trick Daddy is super pissed at Ron DeSantis for Florida's myriad financial problems, calling the Governor a "white bigot" ... but he's also blaming voters, or lack thereof.

The "I'm a Thug" rapper is the latest guest on "It's Tricky with Raquel Harper," and he rips into Gov. DeSantis when asked what life is like these days in his home state.

Trick Daddy says he feels for all those seeing their rents raised by hundreds of dollars ... but he's not blaming President Biden, a la Jake Paul, and is instead focusing his rage on DeSantis.

Raised rents aren't the only bone Trick Daddy has to pick with DeSantis ... he's also going after the Governor for Florida's so-called "Don't Say Gay" bill and super strict abortion laws.

The way Trick Daddy sees it ... DeSantis, a prospective Republican candidate for president, is singling out all types of people and their ways of life with "racist and biased" legislation.

As for his rant about DeSantis being "from another country" -- we think TD's referring to the fact his ancestors were Italian immigrants in the early 20th century.

Two people have been arrested in the shooting death of rapper Slim 400, months after he was gunned down while sitting in a driveway ... TMZ has learned.

Law enforcement sources say they arrested a man and a woman Thursday in connection to the December murder, we don't yet know their identities or if they knew Slim 400 personally. We're told the arrests were the result of a search warrant that will be sent to the D.A.

You'll remember, the entire thing was captured on a Ring cam in Inglewood ... you see a suspect walk up a driveway before confronting Slim and firing a series of shots. Slim attempts to go after the suspect, but collapses.

Shortly after the attack, he was taken to a local hospital where he was pronounced dead.

Slim was just 33.

Damon Dash will not be going rogue and auctioning off Jay-Z's "Reasonable Doubt" album as an NFT ... he and Roc-A-Fella Records settled the case before it got that far.

According to new legal docs, obtained by TMZ, Dash and RAF have agreed to terms on a settlement -- Dame agrees that only RAF has the rights to sell an NFT of the famous album.

TMZ broke the story ... Roc-A-Fella sued DD back in June 2021, claiming Dash was trying to mint "Reasonable Doubt" as a non-fungible token in order to sell it to the highest bidder.

The record company argued the album was not Damon's to sell because the company owns it.

Under the settlement, Damon and RAF agree no individual shareholder can sell the album as an NFT -- meaning, Jay can't either -- because it's owned by the company and not any individual shareholder.

The only thing Dame can sell, according to the settlement, is his own 1/3 ownership in Roc-A-Fella Records, Inc.

Young Thug still found a way to be at Hot 97's Summer Jam even though he's locked up on RICO charges -- thanking fans for their support during an uncertain time.

We caught Young Thug's somber, yet uplifting message from inside MetLife Stadium where he urged fans and onlookers to help fuel the Protect Black Art initiative, a law that could prevent prosecutors from using rappers' lyrics in court against them.

“I just want to say thank you to all of my friends and my family for coming out and supporting us,” Thug began. “You know, your support during this time means a lot to us, ya know.”

"You know, this isn’t just about me or YSL, I always use my music as a form of artistic expression, and now I see that Black artists and rappers don’t have that, you know, freedom,” he continued. “Everybody please sign the ‘Protect Black Art’ petition and keep praying for us. I love you all.”

Team YSL has been getting plenty of support from fellow high-profile rappers like Drake and Lil Baby, with Meek Mill being the latest as he took time outta his Summer Jam set to double down PBA support.

The Game felt some type of way after he was excluded from the Super Bowl halftime show in his city ... the L.A. rapper saying he was "hurt" Dr. Dre didn't hit him up to perform.

Super Bowl LVI was basically L.A.-themed -- going down at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, CA -- with the Rams repping the NFC. Most Los Angeles of all, the halftime performers ... including L.A. rappers Dre, Snoop Dogg, and Kendrick Lamar.

But, The Game -- an L.A. native who always reps for the city -- was not included in the lineup ... something the 46-year-old rapper said wasn't right while appearing on the "I Am Athlete" podcast.

"The f****** Rams was in the Super Bowl, bro!" The Game said, "L.A., L.A., L.A. all around the Super Bowl and I don't get the call. I was hurt by that.”

"Dre should've called and said why. I would've understand that 'cause I talk to Dre. I talk to Dre often and I just know if I was Dre and he was Game, then he woulda been up there. That's just it. It's L.A. and I am L.A. I'm in the streets."

What made Game even more upset was the fact that Eminem and 50 Cent got to perform ... when they're not even born and raised L.A. rappers.

"Snoop is icon. Dre is icon. Em is an icon, but Em is not from L.A. 50 is not from L.A," Game said.

"I’m not taking away from the fact that they were on the Super Bowl, but L.A. n***** wouldn’t have been in the Detroit Super Bowl or New York Super Bowl. It just wouldn’t have happened."

Even though Game's feelings were hurt, he gets why he didn't get the call -- he's "not a safe artist."

"You don't know what Game gon' do when he get up there," Game said, "They went with the safe artists."

Roddy Ricch won't be on stage for his Governor's Ball performance in NYC today -- instead, he's in NYPD custody for multiple gun charges ... TMZ Hip Hop has learned.

Roddy and his crew were stopped at a security checkpoint for the huge festival going down in Queens this weekend, and according to law enforcement sources ... officers say they found a loaded firearm inside the vehicle he was taking to the show. Cops say there about 9 rounds of ammo as well as a large capacity magazine.

We're told the "Cooped Up" rapper was arrested, along with 2 other people riding in the vehicle. Roddy's been hit with 4 counts of criminal possession of a weapon, possession of a large capacity ammo feeding device and unlawful possession of that device.

The festival had to break the news to sad fans ahead of his performance.

It's been a rough go of it for the Governor's Ball this weekend. After Migos pulled out early this week, Lil Wayne signed on to fill their headlining spot -- but just hours before his Friday night set, he also canceled due to a "flight disruption."

A$AP Ferg took Wayne's slot. No word yet on who, if anyone, will be able to replace Roddy.

One of R. Kelly's many victims thinks the feds' recommendation of 25 years in prison is too low, and instead, he should spend the rest of his days behind bars.

Lizzette Martinez tells TMZ ... Kelly's more than earned a life sentence due to the fact he's hurt so many people over several decades.

She doesn't think his abuse will ever come to an end, because -- as federal prosecutors point out -- the guy's proven multiple times he's using his power to get what he wants, and he can't be given the chance to prey on women again.

Kitti Jones, another one of R. Kelly's victims, tells us she has no issue with the prosecutors' recommendation, however ... no amount of time will give her, and others, back their time or remove their trauma.

Both women were featured in the "Surviving R. Kelly" docuseries which sparked renewed prosecution, and ultimately, Kelly's downfall -- and they say they'll be present for his sentencing later this month.

As we reported, the U.S. Attorney's Office won a conviction against Kelly last September, and just filed its recommendation for his sentencing -- saying there's a laundry list of reasons to send him away for "in excess of 25 years."