TMZ Hip Hop - Page 50

Up-and-coming Los Angeles rapper MoneySign Suede was stabbed to death in a California prison ... cutting his life short as his career was catching steam.

Prison officials for the Correctional Training Facility in Soledad, CA tell TMZ Hip Hop ... they're currently investigating MoneySign's death as a homicide after discovering he was absent from a headcount check Tuesday around 9:55 p.m.

According to our sources, the "Back to the Bag" rapper was found unresponsive in another area of the prison. Prison personnel attempted to administer emergency aid ... but were unsuccessful as he was pronounced dead around 10:00 p.m.

We're told the death has prompted officials to restrict prisoner movement while they conduct their investigation ... with assistance from the Monterey County District Attorney’s Office and the Monterey County Coroner, the latter of whom will determine MoneySign's cause of death.

Nicholas Rosenberg, MoneySign's attorney, told the Los Angeles Times the rapper was stabbed in the neck in the shower and that those who knew him were shocked.

As news of MoneySign's death circulated, his rapper friends Fenix Flexin and Baby Stone Gorillas took to IG to pay emotional tributes.

Fat Joe is fed up with the medical industry duping its patients into paying unfair prices ... personally flying himself from NYC to Washington D.C. to do something about it!!!

TMZ Hip Hop linked with the Don Cartagena as he visited Capitol Hill to rep "Power to the Patients" ... the nonprofit that targets and tackles hidden healthcare fees.

As we told you earlier this week, Joe will be in town through the weekend alongside Busta Rhymes, French Montana and Rick Ross for a special PTTP-helmed concert to bring awareness to the millionaire CEOs of nonprofit orgs. and other associated horseradish ... but today, he was all bars without the beat!!!

We also caught Joe's speech as he addressed the crowd as a proud Bronx native but lashed out at the economic forces that hold Black and Brown people back ... comparing their cries for help as effective as a "dog barking at the moon."

Pras is guilty of committing fraud according to the jury in the federal trial where the Fugees rapper was accused of trading political influence in exchange for millions from Malaysian fugitive Jho Low.

During the trial Pras admitted accepting $20 million from Low for a photo-op with then-President Barack Obama as he ran for reelection -- and also helped set up a scheme to illegally funnel money to the Obama campaign through straw donors. Prosecutors were not going after the Obama campaign.

High-profile witnesses Leonardo DiCaprio and former Attorney General Jeff Sessions took the stand during the case.

Pras reportedly blamed his decision to participate in the schemes on the bad advice of an attorney, but that clearly didn't sway the jury as he's now looking at up to 20 years in prison.

We spoke to Pras outside court during the heat of the trial and he didn't have much to say. The jury clearly felt he said more than enough in court.

Nicki Minaj is on a musical tear like grraah at the moment ... even without a new album out on the market!!!

On Tuesday, her recent single, the Lumidee-sampling "Red Ruby Da Sleeze," crossed the 500k sales mark ... which makes it eligible for a shiny Gold-plated plaque from the Recording Industry Association of America!!!

The track has been lighting up the charts and actively competing with her Ice Spice collaboration ... the "Princess Diana (Remix)" — which shot to No. 1 on the Hot Rap Songs chart, making it the first song by the duo to reach that milestone!!!

Matter of fact, the new "Princess Diana" is so popular, it's been outselling the next 13 top-selling songs COMBINED ... according to a new Forbes report.

Morgan Wallen's "Last Night," Miley Cyrus' "Flowers" and Post Malone's greatest hits track "Chemical" are just a few of the heaters Nicki and Ice have been topping as of late.

Machine Gun Kelly is back in his rap bag ... courtesy of a new freestyle over Central Cee's "Doja" where he invited Cordae to his backyard to tag along!!!

A focused MGK grabbed the mic first in freshly painted fingernails while flipping bars about "Game of Thrones," and even bigged up his life with fiancée Megan Fox after not scoring a date to his prom.

Cordae managed to match Kellz's energy with ease ... even while dropping lines about the size of his junk!!! 😁

The two MCs provided one another's ad-libs and flexed their premier lyrical chops ... even adopting English accents to reflect Cee's styling on the track!!!

Jack Harlow's set to deliver a new set of tunes (and apparently a new alter-ego) this Friday with the announcement of his third studio album titled "Jackman."

The Kentucky-born rapper hopped on IG on Wednesday to reveal the project's album cover art ... which depicts a shirtless JH flexing his guns in a back alley behind a rundown basketball hoop.

Sources close to the project tell TMZ Hip Hop that the upcoming album will lean into Jack's more lyrical side ... after having padded the Billboard Charts with his No. 1 crossover hit "First Class" last go-around.

JT had the party brought to her on 4 wheels ... courtesy of a rideshare driver who surprised her with his knowledge of hip hop music!!!

The City Girls rapper uploaded a video late Tuesday night of a driver named "Ern" going stupid while rapping along to Young Dolph's fiery classic track "Preach."

The street sermon had Ern hyped as he rapped, "I f**ked your bitch, then told her, "I'll see you around/Dolph just skipped town with two hundred thou," while JT egged him on ... and the multi-color in-car ambiance also helped amp up the mood.

Yung Miami recently assured City Girls fans that the duo would be dropping their long-awaited third album in the summer.

The world is down one more musician, philanthropist, and humanitarian with the death of Harry Belafonte, and Chuck D perfectly outlined the tremendous loss.

TMZ Hip Hop caught up with the Public Enemy front man Tuesday at LAX, and he refused to accept the notion today's youth don't know Harry's contributions to the Civil Rights movement, or even his 1956 album, "Calypso."

Chuck explained it perfectly ... saying they've got smartphones and should Google the man!

As we reported, Harry died Tuesday at age 96 of congestive heart failure, and Chuck says the "Day-O (The Banana Boat Song)" singer used each day of that long and fruitful life to uplift people.

And, while the man is celebrated for his art -- as a singer and actor -- Chuck says he should be considered an activist-turned-artist, and not the other way around.

Chuck says "Mr. B.," as he affectionally knew him, will go down as a father figure to the Black community, and he called it an honor to have had the opportunity to soak up some of Harry's laughs, wisdom and intelligence.

Rev. Al Sharpton, who worked alongside Harry for several decades, agrees 100 percent with Chuck. We spoke to him in NYC, and he shed some light on the lighter, more humorous side of Harry's personality.

Flo Rida failed to physically appear in NYC Family Court Tuesday, instead opting to attend virtually ... and that move did not go over well with the judge.

The "Good Feeling" rapper was previously ordered to pay 100% of the medical bills, education, and child support for Zohar, his 6-year-old son with his ex, Alexis Adams.

Flo recently won a huge $82.5 million award in an energy drink lawsuit ... and Alexis requested the judge order him to set aside $400k in a bank account to pay various expenses for their special-needs son.

Zohar is autistic and suffers from a rare disorder known as hydrocephalus. He also recently suffered a near-death experience when he accidentally fell 5 stories from his mother's New Jersey apartment on March 4.

While Alexis was able to make her case to the judge, Flo Rida didn't get that chance. We're told the judge wouldn't allow him to testify over Zoom.

Alexis claims Flo stopped paying the insurance at this crucial time, forcing her to file for Medicaid and Department of Education funding to cover Zohar's bills.

Alexis's attorney Dror Bikel tells TMZ... “He just got an $80 million judgment and his child is on Medicaid, it’s outrageous.”

She claims Flo has never even met Zohar, and all his social media postings such as Zohar "getting the best medical care" are all for show.

Michael Blackson is rejecting Desiigner's "mental health" apology/explanation for his recent indecent exposure charges -- instead, he thinks it's simply a sign American culture is too soft!

On Tuesday, Desiigner posted a video of himself bumping a new tune while claiming he was moments from checking himself into a treatment facility as the aftermath of his bizarre Delta flight unfolds.

TMZ Hip Hop broke the story, Desiigner is charged with indecent exposure for masturbating in plain sight of multiple flight attendants during a flight from Tokyo to Minneapolis. The FBI says he was even armed with a jar of Vaseline.

Michael thinks Desiigner used mental health as a cop-out for his horniness after he got busted and compared American culture to his native homeland of Africa ... a place he says everything gets blamed on the devil!!!

We recently spoke to G Perico, who doesn't have a dog in the fight in the convo, but unlike Michael, says he can see obvious mental health issues in Desiigner's sitch and wished him well.

Latto's reached the finish line in her airport loaded gun case ... because we're told it's been dismissed, now that she's met all requirements of a year-long program to clear the charges.

According to the L.A. County Superior Court Clerk, the rapper's case was officially dismissed Tuesday -- per her diversion program, Latto completed a gun & safety course, 120 hours of community service, and avoided all firearms to get it done.

Latto's attorney Jamal Tooson tells TMZ ... "I am extremely pleased with the outcome and glad my client can move forward with her flourishing career."

As you'll recall, Latto fans first discovered the ordeal when she rapped about it in Mello Buckzz's track, "Boom Pt. 2" ... saying, "I got locked up in the airport, goddamn forgot the gun."

TMZ Hip Hop broke the story ... she was busted at LAX in May 2021 and charged with carrying a loaded firearm and possession of a concealed weapon. She started her 12-month diversion program in April of last year.

BTW ... Latto filled the details in for fans, saying she had a loaded Glock in her purse while trying to get on a private flight to ATL. She claimed cops only kept her for a few hours before she was able to take off for her concert.

LL Cool J is coming in hot for 2023 ... with his first headlining tour in 30 years in addition to his hip hop cruise later this year!!!

On Tuesday, the "Rock The Bells" legend lifted the curtain off "The F.O.R.C.E. Live" ... an acronym that stands for "Frequencies of Real Creative Energy" and should hold up in real life thanks to the massive tour guest list!!!

DJ Jazzy Jeff, The Roots, and Uncle L's longtime tour DJ, Z-Trip, will accompany him on each of the 24 tour stops, and fans will enjoy a rotating bill of special costars in select cities.

Big Boi, Bone Thugs-n-Harmony, Common, De La Soul, Doug E. Fresh, Goodie Mob, Ice-T, Jadakiss, Juvenile, MC Lyte, Method Man & Redman, Queen Latifah, Rakim, Rick Ross, Salt-n-Pepa and Slick Rick are all scheduled to join the tour at various points, giving people the opportunity to attend multiple shows without duplicate performances.

The Roots will back all of the artists for one big, continuous musical set opposed to the typical "top-down" headliner approach.

The F.O.R.C.E. kicks off on June 25 in Boston and takes its final bow in Los Angeles in September.

Steve Lacy's considered one of the world's most influential people ... an honor the multi-layered musician is humbled by, but he isn't letting it go to his head either.

TMZ Hip Hop linked with the "Bad Habit" singer Tuesday at LAX as he was headed to shoot a big TV special ... "TIME 100: The World’s Most Influential People."

Steve was among the handful of musicians who made the 2023 cut, and was inducted last week by his good friend Chloe Bailey.

He tells us there isn't much science behind his cool factor -- he's literally being himself, and if anyone's inspired by his swag ... cool!

We also asked Steve about his latest body tattoo ... a work of art he says took him 4 hours to complete, and pierced his soul with pain!!! 😫

G Perico recently shook off his own run-ins with the law ... and hopes Desiigner does the same after landing himself in hot water last week.

We caught Perico promoting his new DJ Drama-led album, "Hot Shot" outside the "Dub C and Cj Mac Show" in Hollywood ... and picked his brain about Desiigner's current dilemma.

TMZ Hip Hop broke the story ... the "Panda" rapper was recently arrested and charged with indecent exposure for allegedly masturbating in front of flight attendants.

Perico tells us he doesn't know Desiigner personally but says he's witnessed people with mental health issues as a result of his background ... and hopes he gets the necessary treatment.

Desiigner told the FBI agent who interviewed him after the transpacific flight to Minneapolis, he was masturbating because he "didn't really get much cootie" while in Japan.

Don Lemon has a new job option if he wants it -- and it would entail him dipping poultry into boiling hot cooking oil ... under the supervision of one of Rick Ross's managers, no less.

The rapper hopped on the 'Gram Monday to air his thoughts on the news of DL's unceremonious firing from CNN ... and he was more than ready to dance on the guy's grave a bit, 'cause he offered him a new gig at one of his many Wing Stop franchises.

Rozay says he can personally make sure Don gets an interview in front of his top chicken team members. The only thing he's asking the ex-anchor to do ... send a resume. Sounds like Rick's sold on Don's potential ability to hawk a certain flavor of pollo -- take a guess.

He's obviously trolling here ... but that's not the end of his ribbing. Rick goes on to suggest Don can be the face (or name, more like) of a new flavor of his energy drink line -- Rap Star.

Again, he leans into Don's surname a lot to make this joke work ... and yeah, it lands.

While Rick is kidding in his pitch to Don ... we know there's a very real news network he could work for if he's inclined. As we reported, NewsNation execs are interested in bringing him onto the team -- not to mention the recently discarded Tucker Carlson from FOX News.

Rae Sremmurd's Swae Lee's gotta be feeling pretty lucky ... an all-out royal rumble went down with security ahead of his Coachella performance, but he and his baby managed to dodge the blows.

TMZ Hip Hop obtained footage of Swae and his entourage attempting to enter the festival grounds at a security checkpoint behind the stage ... but their path was slowed by several security workers, and that's when things got physical.

You can see Swae actually get knocked back against some fencing as all hell breaks loose ... security guards swarm in like piranhas, pummeling another man in Swae's camp. All the while, one of Swae's guards makes sure his baby -- in a big car seat -- is safe.

Management for Swae tells us ... “As Swae Lee attempted to enter the festival with his newborn son and working crew, overzealous security guards confronted them. As 1/2 of Rae Sremmurd, he was due to perform on Coachella’s Outdoor Theatre stage at 5:55 PM. Security claimed not to recognize the talent and then aggressively initiated contact as they attempted to make their way to the stage."

They continue, "The security guards, which we presume are independent contractors, are seen clearly being the aggressors and then throwing gang signs at end of the video in a celebration."

Swae's team says his own security did a bang-up job protecting him, and more importantly, his baby boy. When the dust settled, Swae and his bro Slim Jxmmi got onstage as scheduled to rock the crowd.