TMZ Hip Hop - Page 50

Donald Trump's lawyer thinks there's a benefit to the former President getting indicted in New York City ... she says it puts him on par with Tupac Shakur and Notorious B.I.G.

Trump's attorney, Alina Habba, drew the comparison on "The Benny Show" podcast, claiming the indictment is going to boost Trump's profile similar to other celebs who went to jail ... like Pac and Biggie.

Personally, Alina says Trump is more like Biggie Smalls than Tupac ... but it sounds like there's an East Coast bias at play.

Anyway, the way Team Trump sees it ... Donald is his own brand and "he is everything" ... so the indictment will only make him more popular.

Trump's attorney believes the Pac and Biggie effect is already happening ... Alina says her boss is way up in the polls and she's calling on other Republican presidential candidates, like Nikki Haley, to drop out of the race now and get behind Trump.

Meanwhile, Trump just left Mar-a-Lago and is on his way to NYC, where he's facing more than 30 counts of business-related fraud ... stemming from his former lawyer, Michael Cohen, allegedly paying porn star Stormy Daniels $130,000 to shut her trap about a supposed affair.

We covered it all in a recent episode of The TMZ Podcast.

Drake had a busy weekend living the rapper life ... dropping a new track fans expect to reheat his beef with Kanye West, and then dazzling the crowd at J. Cole's Dreamville Festival.

SiriusXM's Sound 42 premiered a new Drizzy record titled "Rescue Me" on Friday, which features audio of Kim Kardashian from the series finale of "Keeping Up With the Kardashians" ... detailing the moment she knew she wanted a divorce from Ye with Kris Jenner.

You hear Kim drop the line ... "I didn’t come this far just to come this far and not be happy. Remember that," as Drake lyrically croons about whisking away a damsel into a life of luxury.

Fan speculation carried Drake's buzz into his curtain-closing Dreamville Fest performance, where he brought out GloRilla, Lil Uzi Vert and his upcoming It's All a Blur Tour costar 21 Savage while performing a barrage of hits.

Pras Michel has his game face on as his federal conspiracy case kicks into high gear in Washington D.C., with some huge names -- including Leonardo DiCaprio -- set to take the stand.

We caught The Fugees rapper just as he arrived at the courthouse with his defense lawyer ... ahead of what could be a crucial day. Leo is a key witness, and he testified Monday morning after the court allowed him to use a side entrance to avoid the media.

TMZ Hip Hop broke the story back in October ... Leo is just one of the many high-profile witnesses who could take the stand before it's all said and done.

Former U.S. Presidents Barack Obama and Donald Trump, and ex-U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions are all named on the defense's witness list in the saga.

Pras is facing 22 years for his alleged role in a money laundering scheme with Malaysian fugitive Jho Low ... where Low's accused of acting as an agent for the Chinese government.

Leo's not a defendant, but he's been subpoenaed because the feds claim he's one of several celebs who received gifts from Low.

Travis Scott has cleared one major hurdle in the nightclub dispute where he allegedly damaged equipment and assaulted a sound engineer ... and while the criminal investigation remains open, we're told charges are unlikely.

Sources with direct knowledge tell us Travis settled with honchos at Nebula in NYC as well as the sound engineer he allegedly attacked. It's unclear how much Scott had to pony up, but the equipment he damaged was worth at least $12k.

While the settlement marks at least one victory for Travis, a spokesperson for the NYPD tells us, "This remains an active investigation." However, another law enforcement source says the alleged victim has stopped cooperating, which poses potential issues for the case going forward.

Of course, there's always a chance cops could use video of the alleged incident to go after Travis, though that's unlikely given the lack of cooperation from a victim.

It was last month when Travis lost his cool at Nebula, allegedly getting pissed at the sound engineer for turning down the volume during his DJ set. The sound engineer claims Travis punched him in the face and destroyed a video board during the performance.

As for the sound engineer, he did an interview from the hospital shortly after the incident, saying, "My neck is f**ked up. My arm is tingling. I have pins and needles going down it."

Snoop Dogg just made matters worse for The Miz during WrestleMania 39 on Sunday ... doubling up on the Superstar's beatdown from the night before by wrecking him again!!

It all went down at SoFi Stadium ... when the rap legend brought out Shane McMahon for a surprise appearance.

Shane and Miz went at it for a bit ... but Snoop intervened and set his sights on the WWE Superstar himself!!

Snoop stood over Miz, showboating for a bit before dropping him with a vicious People's Elbow and ending him with a three count.

"This is humiliating!!!" the announcers said as Snoop finished Miz.

The whole interaction came as a surprise ... as Miz was fully expecting a casual interaction with the California icon.

Naturally, the hometown guy had the sold-out crowd losing their minds ... but Snoop played it cool as if he had been in the ring plenty of times before.

Of course, Miz took a beating just hours prior -- when George Kittle and Pat McAfee threw him for a loop to end night one of the annual festivities.

Night 2 of WM39 has been filled with a ton of amazing moments ... and we're only halfway through the show -- so stay tuned for even more highlights.

WWE legend Rey Mysterio had a music superstar help him defeat his own son, Dominik, during WrestleMania 39 on Saturday ... with Bad Bunny playing a pivotal part in his win.

The whole match was set to be a star-studded event from the beginning ... with Snoop Dogg helping Rey make his grand entrance at SoFi Stadium.

When the bell rang, it was a hard-fought matchup between father and son ... but one thing that wasn't on Dominik's side was the superstar artist -- the former WWE 24/7 Champion, who patiently awaited his opportunity to help Rey out.

Ultimately, BB's move helped Rey secure the win over Dom ... which restored order to the Mysterio name.

Either way, he still played a huge role in Rey's win.

Bad Bunny is a MASSIVE wrestling fan ... but considering he has Coachella in a few weeks, we take it he was restricted from doing too much inside the ring. WrestleMania 39 has been an event to remember through one night of action ... and we can only imagine what Night 2 will hold.

DJ Drama is all for Suge Knight's pending plans to televise his life story ... but he feels Dr. Dre's narrative is even better suited for prime time!!!

We caught up with Mr. Thanksgiving outside iHeartRadio in NY, where he outlined the many platinum reasons why a Dre TV series could take off.

TMZ Hip Hop broke the story ... the incarcerated Death Row Records cofounder is prepared to begin casting for a Suge biopic series.

Obviously, Suge's saga would include Dre ... but Drama says he thinks the Doc's story is worth its own stand-alone series. As he put it, Dre's N.W.A, Death Row and Aftermath eras are all equally must-see TV!!!

Remember, Dre and the surviving N.W.A members previously told part of their story with 2015's "Straight Outta Compton" ... which won an Oscar for Best Original Screenplay.

Speaking of movies, Drama recently channeled Tupac Shakur from "Juice" to promote his new album, "I'm Really Like That," which dropped Friday and features Lil Uzi Vert, Jack Harlow, Rick Ross and Wiz Khalifa ... among others.

Rihanna's learning motherhood is all about multitasking -- something her son reminded her of as she tried squeezing in a workout, with him riding the human equivalent of shotgun.

The singer posted a sweet home video of her at the crib with the kid -- whose name we still don't know ... but whose face we're certainly getting familiar with as time goes on. The 10-month-old was being held by his mama, and it looks like he was a little fussy in her arms.

In the video, you see her boy squirming about as Rihanna cradles him -- but, before long, she's got him distracted with what sounds like a family-friendly TV show of some sort. That seems to have done the trick ... judging by his big smile and cute cooing.

You can also see Rihanna's growing baby bump here as well ... where she's carrying her second child with A$AP Rocky. Just like we saw at the SB, it's pretty noticeable -- although it's hard to say just how far along she might be at this point. Looks like she's in the second trimester.

Gotta hand it to Rihanna ... she seems to be quite the hands-on mother ... even amid her pregnancy. Her son's been tagging along with her wherever she goes these days -- including for an overnight photo shoot she recently did, where Baby Fenty was asleep on mama bear.

Ever since we saw the kid's face in full view in December ... she's been showing off her little man a lot more on social media, and the kid's absolutely adorable. No exception here either.

Tekashi 6ix9ine is addressing his gym beatdown for the first time ... ripping his attackers as "nothing but cowardly."

The rainbow-haired rapper broke his silence Friday with a social media post saying, "what happen here was nothing but cowardly."

Tekashi says he's not mad about being jumped at an LA Fitness in South Florida, explaining ... "In the street there's no rules so I can't say they were wrong." Still, he says it wasn't a fair fight.

6ix9ine took some more shots at the three men arrested over the attack -- Rafael Medina Jr., Octavious Medina and Anthony Maldonado -- saying ... "Just imagine having nothing to do with a situation and feel obligated to make it your business. (Very weird)."

Tekashi also claims he's been walking around without security for the last two years and says people see him out in public all the time. He says, "I really never hid from anything."

The beatdown sent Tekashi to the hospital but he says he's "happy to be here still."

In his P.S. he takes a parting shot at his attackers -- one of whom law enforcement says is a known gang member -- saying ... "I never knew we respected jumping people. When did that ever become a W???"

Tekashi 6ix9ine is wasting no time seizing the moment now that his attackers are behind bars ... with the rollout of a new music video and dishing out a ton of cash.

The rainbow-haired rapper dropped "Bori" Friday, along with a music video -- shot in Cuba -- which features images of 6ix9ine receiving medical treatment and giving away $50k in American dollars to the locals.

The brunt of 6ix9ine's injuries appears to be severe during the time of filming. In one scene, he brandishes a bloodshot right eye, and shows him getting an MRI in the hospital.

"Bori" features Cuban singer Lenier and while the track doesn't address the gym attack, it does speak on his love/hate dynamic while also speaking on his love for philanthropy.

Law enforcement personnel in Miami are still probing into the last week's attack but feel they nabbed the responsible culprits -- Rafael Medina Jr., Octavious Medina and Anthony Maldonado -- and claim to have significant evidence that Rafael is a notorious chief within the Latin Kings criminal org.

Fivio Foreign's reentry into the world of live performances is going rather smoothly ... although on a much smaller scale than the festival set he recently missed.

The Brooklyn rapper rocked the mic for Benny Da Jeweler's birthday Thursday inside the Da Mikele Illagio in Queens, NY ... his first time back onstage since his Rolling Loud health scare cancelation.

Fivio performed his hits "Say My Name" and "City of Gods" and also clowned around at the party with the kids, a great sign ... given everything he told us the last time we spoke to him.

He blamed a body shutdown on missing the festival circuit but credited nothing but plain ol' water for snapping him back into shape.

Benny's beloved by many rappers ... having hooked up Diddy, Ice Spice and Lil Tjay with bling within the past year.

50 Cent has no qualms about calling out his ex-flame Vivica A. Fox for what he feels is her encroaching on his "BMF" territory!!!

Vivica is currently promoting the "The First Lady of BMF: The Tonesa Welch Story" ... an upcoming BET+ biopic, which she's directing.

According to 50's expertise and (close connections), Tonesa was never a part of Detroit's infamous BMF enterprise, and says she's more accurately linked to the Detroit 263 Crew ... which her ex-husband Terry "Southwest T" Flenory commanded.

50 tagged Southwest in his IG post -- perhaps to get a second opinion on the facts -- and also slandered Judge Mathis' inclusion as executive producer. But, Vivica sees the entire ordeal as promotion and happily reposted her former flame's rant!!!

The series was greenlit several weeks ago and begins filming in April in Washington, D.C.

If you remember, Tonesa lashed out against Lala Anthony's "BMF" character "MarKaisha Taylor" and claimed the role depicted her as a pedophile -- so accuracy is definitely her thing.

Kash Doll later defended the role and the show, reminding viewers the show is only loosely based on real life.

One of the men arrested in Tekashi 6ix9ine's gym beatdown is a high-ranking member of the Latin Kings gang ... at least according to the deputies who busted him.

The Palm Beach County Sheriff says Rafael Medina Jr., the oldest of the three men arrested for assaulting and robbing Tekashi, is a documented Latin Kings gang member who, for several years, has held a high-ranking position within the gang.

The sheriff says their Gang Unit Detectives have evidence Medina Jr. is an "Inca" within the Palm Beach County Chapter of the Latin Kings ... meaning he's the chapter's president.

And, get this, the sheriff says the Latin Kings have a rich history of being allies with the Bloods Gang ... which is notable because Tekashi famously flipped on Blood gang members in federal court.

What's more, the sheriff says Medina Jr. was convicted on felony charges in the mid-2000s as part of a federal gang RICO case regarding the Latin Kings.

TMZ broke the story ... three men beat the crap out of the New York rapper earlier this month while he was in the sauna at an LA Fitness in South Florida. Surveillance video from the gym shows the trio making a beeline for Tekashi as soon as they enter the facility.

According to the arrest affidavit, the guys on video beating 6ix9ine are Medina Jr, his son, Octavious Medina, and a third man, Anthony Maldonado.

The sheriff says Maldonado is a member at LA Fitness and got Octavious into the gym as a guest, Octavious then let his father into the gym.

As for the robbery charges ... the men are accused of taking Tekashi's $3,000 Balenciaga shoes, an iPhone, and the $1,200 key fob to his Lamborghini. They were booked Thursday evening and processed into county jail.

Rae Sremmurd previewed their new “Sremm 4 Life” album in West Hollywood last night … and effectively turned up the heat -- maybe a little too much, because smoke alarms were blaring through the party.

TMZ Hip Hop got video inside the SremmLife shindig, which went down at Melrose PL … with both Swae Lee and Slim Jxmmi commanding the hosting duties and DJ Carisma on the turntables.

Swae thanked both Eminem and Young Thug for clearing their samples that helped complete the album, which also features Future and Sonny Digital.

Billows of smoke clouded the venue throughout the night, as did the sparklers held by the bottle girls ... but neither ever triggered the smoke alarm!

RS hopped on the mic to take credit for the errant alarm when the air was noticeably clear, with no objection from the crowd, which also included Diplo and Jeremih!!!

The album drops on April 7, which ends a nearly five-year album drought from the platinum-selling brothers.

Tekashi 6ix9ine should be sleeping a little easier tonight 'cause cops say they have the three men who beat the crap out of him in custody!

A rep for the Palm Beach Sheriff Office tells TMZ ... detectives rounded up Rafael Medina, Jr., Octavious Medina and Anthony Maldonado for assaulting and robbing the New York rapper. The suspects were being booked Thursday evening and processed into county jail.

TMZ broke the story ... three men assaulted the rapper earlier this month while he was in the sauna at an LA Fitness in South Florida. Surveillance video showed them make a beeline for him as soon as they entered the gym.

It's unclear if the suspects have any connection with the gang members Tekashi flipped on in federal court.

Despite the threat of retaliation after he testified, 6ix9ine hardly went into hiding once he finished his abbreviated prison sentence. He returned to making music and trolling his enemies on social media.

Even after the gym attack, he claimed he wouldn't increase his security because he saw the incident as a fluke.

It will be interesting to see if he returns to his regular gym routine now that his alleged attackers are behind bars.

Kanye West and his Yeezy brand now have to contend with a lawsuit from a former employee, who claims the megastar rapper/designer owes her a cool $275K.

According to court docs obtained by TMZ Hip Hop ... Dora Szilagyi was hired to be Yeezy's "Director of Product Innovation" in June 2021, but only after Kanye convinced her to quit her role at Adidas and work for him full-time.

Dora claims she was promised a $275,000 severance payment if she was fired without cause after September 1, 2021 -- but she claims it was never paid to her when she was let go in mid-December 2021.

In the suit, Dora says she doesn't believe Kanye or his company ever intended to follow through on the severance package, and only dangled it to lure her from Adidas.