TMZ Hip Hop - Page 50

Trinidad James is not onboard the trash Nicki Minaj train for putting out bogus information on COVID vaccines, saying she's an important voice and deserves respect.

We got the Trinidadian-American rapper Friday at LAX, and he seemed frustrated people were going after Nicki hard after she said she heard someone in Trinidad had a reaction to the vaccine that enlarged his balls. There's never been such case that was verified, and health officials in Trinidad were pissed they wasted time trying to track down the phantom person with such an affliction.

Trinidad James says Nicki and the health minister should sit down and have a chitchat, but it's unclear what good that would do ... he's already said she's off base, though TJ doesn't seem to necessarily buy it.

He also gives a peek into COVID on the island. He says Trinidad is so small, just a few cases trigger much greater concern than in the U.S., which views coronavirus on a much larger scale.

Lil Nas X popped back in a big way after giving birth, because he partied his ass off Friday night.

Nas hosted an album release party for "Montero," which dropped Friday -- his debut album.

He's having a great time, rapping along to his songs, graciously accepting a rose, taking selfies with fans ... the works.

He performed for 2 hours to a packed house. Some of the fans were frustrated because he didn't have a mic so they couldn't hear him as he sang some of his new songs and some old ones.

At one point he sat in a large chair, almost like royalty as he posed for photos.

In line with the birthing of his album, sponsors were handing out pink sweatshirts and Beats headphones.

Tory Lanez just dropped a fat stack of cash to help dozens of disadvantaged California families post bail for their loved ones through Unite The People Inc.

The rapper made a surprise visit to the non-profit in Long Beach Friday to meet some of the families who will benefit from his donation. Unite The People offers legal services to folks who are cash-strapped and gives them a fair shot with the legal system.

We're told Tory kicked in $50,000 to the cause ... and the money will help 50 families pay legal fees to bail their family members out of jail.

Tory's been a board member for Unite The People for 2 years and he says he was moved to make the donation after learning what many of the families were going through, including struggles to bring their loved ones home.

Playboi Carti has no problem flossin' his chains but the rapper's got problems paying for his shiny ice in full ... at least according to a new lawsuit.

Eliantte & Co. filed legal docs in New York claiming the "Magnolia" rapper owes $97,063.75, which the company says is the balance for 2 custom chains the rapper ordered back in September 2020.

In docs, obtained by TMZ, Eliantte, who has done jaw-dropping work for the likes of Swizz Beatz and many other celeb clients, says he quickly went to work on a 14-carat white gold diamond rosary chain and a custom diamond tennis chain.

The jeweler says PC was billed $197,063.75 for the pieces. Eliantte claims the rapper made a $100k payment on January 25, but then failed to pay off the rest of the balance despite repeated demands.

So now, Eliantte is suing to get what he's owed.

T.I. and Tiny won't be charged for allegedly drugging and sexually assaulting a woman in 2005 in Los Angeles ... we've learned prosecutors declined to move forward with the case.

According to new legal docs, obtained by TMZ, prosecutors decided not to charge the couple because the case falls outside the statute of limitations.

As we reported ... the accuser filed a police report earlier this year, alleging T.I. and Tiny drugged and assaulted her sometime in early 2005 after the trio met at a club.

In the docs, prosecutors say the 10-year statute of limitations has expired.

It's a similar outcome to other allegations against T.I. and Tiny in Las Vegas ... where another woman claimed she was drugged and sexually assaulted in 2010 after meeting Tiny at the airport and being invited to hang with the couple.

Nicki Minaj's tweet about her cousin's friend becoming impotent and getting swollen testicles has really blown up ... to the point where she's getting chided both on American soil and beyond.

Trinidad and Tobago Health Minister Terrence Deyalsingh blasted the rapper Wednesday, calling her claim about one person's alleged side effect of the COVID vaccine on the Caribbean island bogus.

The health minister said the reason it took his department a couple days to respond is because they were looking into Minaj's comments, adding ... "Unfortunately, we wasted so much time yesterday running down this false claim."

As you know ... Nicki's received major backlash ever since she tweeted about why she's hesitant to get vaccinated, which included the anecdote about her cousin's friend in Trinidad.

It led to senior health officials like Dr. Fauci condemning her unscientific claim, but Nicki later claimed she was invited to The White House to speak with medical experts and get educated on the vax.

However, a WH official later clarified that it did NOT extend an invite for Minaj to visit, but simply offered to hop on a phone call to discuss questions about the safety and effectiveness of the COVID vaccine after her tweets.

Nicki has not taken too kindly to this clarification, and responded with a 14-minute Instagram video claiming she was invited ... and suggesting she's being made out to look like a liar.

For what it's worth, Nicki also claimed her Twitter account had been suspended, but the company denied taking any action against the account.

Usher is standing up and speaking out for his pal Jermaine Dupri ... telling us JD definitely has bangers to compete with Diddy on "Verzuz" -- despite what the latter says about it.

We got Mr. Raymond out Wednesday in Hollywood, where we asked about this back and forth his music industry friends and mentors had about a potential song-for-song showdown on the big stage.

Sounds neat, but Puff made it seem like he was too good for all that -- or too good for JD, rather ... suggesting the dude doesn't match him on hits. To that, Usher says ... hold up!

When we explained what Diddy's saying in response to Jermaine's proposed matchup -- namely, that JD isn't on his level, Usher gave us a side-eye look ... and then defended his longtime producing partner -- who literally made "Confessions" go diamond, among many other accolades.

You gotta watch how Usher breaks it down here -- because on the one hand, he clarifies that Jermaine absolutely has a catalog of hits that could stand up to Diddy's ... but he stops short of declaring who'd be the winner. His allegiance is clearly torn down the middle.

If you didn't know, Diddy gave Usher his start in the music industry and they have deep ties -- but Jermaine has worked with him more often, and has helped Usher reach unimaginable success. It's a tight rope of a convo, but Usher handles it pretty well.

Cardi B's a mother of 2 now ... so she's asking the judge to postpone the trial over her 'Gangsta Bitch' cover art, which she was sued over nearly 4 years ago.

If you don't recall ... the album cover for Cardi's debut mixtape -- "Gangsta Bitch Music Vol. 1" -- features the rapper sitting back, drinking a beer, while a man with an elaborate back tattoo puts his head between her legs.

Kevin Brophy sued over the image, claiming that's 100 percent him in the image, but he never posed for the photo or gave Cardi permission to use his likeness. He also claimed the ordeal ruined his life and wanted at least $5 mil in damages.

The trial was finally slated for next month, but Cardi's filed new legal docs -- obtained by TMZ -- asking for a delay because she just gave birth to her son on Sept. 4.

According to the docs ... Cardi doesn't believe she should be required to travel all the way from the East Coast to Southern California next month, because she needs to be with her newborn for obvious reasons.

She also brings up the risks of COVID from travel and spending extended periods of time in public places, such as airports, hotels, and the courthouse. So, she's asking the court to put the trial on ice for at least 75 days.

Nicki Minaj is fiercely defending herself after letting it be known she won't be getting the COVID-19 vaccine until she's done enough research.

Nicki responded to tweets practically all of Monday night after she'd posted an explanation for her absence from the Met Gala, which required all guests to be vaccinated. She declared, if she gets vaccinated "it won't [be] for the Met. It'll be once I feel I've done enough research. I'm working on that now."

Then, about 20 minutes later, she dropped the tweet that still has social media fired up today. Nicki said her cousin in Trinidad won't get the vaccine cuz "his friend got it & became impotent. His testicles became swollen." She added that "his friend was weeks away from getting married, now the girl called off the wedding. So just pray on it & make sure you’re comfortable with ur decision, not bullied."

Nicki isn't pleased that anecdote is the one grabbing headlines. She's pointing out her critics are purposely ignoring her prior tweets encouraging people to get vaccinated, wear masks and be safe.

She also shared a screenshot of news headlines and called them all lies. Nicki wrote, "3 lies in a row from huge news platforms. I cited my young child as why I didn’t want to travel. But notice how NONE of them mentioned that? Ask yourself why that was."

Nicki also shared that she came down with COVID while preparing for this year's VMAs ... and she feared passing it to her son, who was born last September.

She tweeted, "Do u know what it is not to be able to kiss or hold your tiny baby for over a week? A baby who is only used to his mama?"

Apparently, Nicki's now satisfied with her research -- she relented she will eventually get the vaccine, because she'll have to travel and go on tour.

Kid Cudi boldly went where no man has gone before at the 2021 Met Gala ... with damn near a couple million in bling hanging from his neck!!!

The "Man On the Moon" artist was decked out in a vibrant Louis Vitton getup for the event, but the centerpiece of the look was his not-so-little man on the moon ... an opulent, one-of-a-kind piece designed by Ben Baller and KAWS.

We're told the chain and pendant -- museum quality diamond work titled "SPACE" -- is a whopping $1,600,000 piece ... featuring more than 24,000 clarity E color diamonds, and more than a kilo in 18k rose gold.

The celeb jeweler says, "This is the most detailed and intricate piece of jewelry I’ve ever created in my entire career," adding that he had to shut down his entire factory for 3 months to focus on completing it.

The piece is a miniature take on Kaws' famous "Holiday Space" astronaut figure, and Baller says the pendant's backpack has a secret compartment where Cudi can keep weed -- or other small stuff -- in it.

Blueface is accused of viciously attacking a doorman at a club, and video of the incident shows 3 other men jumped the guy too ... and it's incredibly brutal and disturbing.

TMZ's obtained security footage from late Sunday night at Skinny's Lounge in the San Fernando Valley, where the rapper and his crew are accused of pummeling the club's bouncer for not letting Blueface in without his ID.

As you can see, the altercation started in the entryway to the club, and a member of Blueface's group throws the first punch ... then Blueface and the other 2 men proceed to attack, unloading a flurry of punches and kicks.

It appears a woman in the group is recording the attack on her phone, before Blueface seemingly stomps the bouncer. Then, another guy tries to lift him up by his feet while the attack continued.

Blueface is the last person seen on the video, and appears to give the bouncer a couple of taps to see if he's conscious before leaving.

As we reported ... the bouncer had to be transported to a hospital by ambulance where he got stitches, and photos of his injuries look pretty bad.

Kid Cudi is back to wearing dress-like garments, but a new fella has emerged in something similar ... an NBA player who's kinda considered a man's man, which is a huge statement.

Russell Westbrook posted photos this weekend of himself in the Big Apple for NYFW -- and he was wearing none other than a skirt (or a kilt, perhaps) underneath a cardigan sweater. He also had some black boots to offset the cream color scheme ... not to mention blue hair.

His caption referenced lyrics from Kendrick Lamar's verse on Baby Keem's new single, "Family Ties" ... "'Don’t address me unless it’s with four letters' @kendricklamar"

RW is wearing Thom Browne here -- which is definitely all about the Scottish kilt look.

In any case ... Cudi wore something similar himself for the fashion event of the week -- rocking what appeared to be way more of a traditional skirt under a Nirvana long-sleeve T-shirt. He, too, was sporting blue hair ... makes ya wonder if they were in on this together.

No shame for either of these dudes, but of course ... some folks online were expressing their disapproval, for a myriad of reasons.

Some folks are showing their homophobic colors outright, and others are invoking conspiracy theories ... talking about the emasculation of men, etc. And then, there are those who absolutely love this -- so a mixed bag of reactions here. All the same, Russ and Kid are owning it.

KC's been in a full-blown dress before -- wearing one on 'SNL' earlier this year to honor the late Kurt Cobain, who wore something similar in his day.

2 Chainz has made a statement about the fentanyl epidemic that has ripped through Hollywood and the nation, by throwing a "no fent" birthday party for himself.

Chainz is turning 44 Sunday, and he marked the occasion a few days early with his party Friday night.

The party, which went down in Atlanta at the Members Only Lounge, was not exactly drug-free. He posted a vid of bags that appear to be psilocybin mushrooms.

The bash had a theme -- Hippie's in the '70s -- which sounds kinda awesome.

Chainz and his wife, Kesha Ward, posted pics of them in their party getups.

As for the "no fent" theme ... there have been a rash of fentanyl-related deaths recently. TMZ broke the story, comedians Fuquan Johnson, Rico Angeli and Natalie Williamson all died of a suspected accidental fentanyl OD last week in Venice, California.

And, 16-year-old Logan Williams, who starred in "The Flash," died last year from an accidental fentanyl OD.

Michael K. Williams was found dead last Monday in his Brooklyn apartment, and authorities found drug paraphernalia at the scene. Authorities believe the death was heroin-related and toxicology tests are being run to determine, among other things, if fentanyl was involved.

Tiffany Haddish got emotional with us talking about her friends she lost to fentanyl-related OD's.

"Intervention" host Ken Seeley told us on "TMZ Live" this week how fentanyl hooks people who use drugs and how it takes many of their lives because of its extreme toxicity.

Diddy is snatching up more property on Miami's exclusive Star Island -- TMZ has learned he's the mystery buyer who dropped a huge sum on Gloria and Emilio Estefan's mansion.

According to sources and property records ... Diddy threw down a cool $35 million for the former Estefan estate on Star Island, which the couple bought way back in 1993 for only $1,840,000. How 'bout that return on investment?!?

TMZ broke the story ... Gloria and Emilio unloaded the mansion back in July and got top dollar on their investment, but we didn't know who the new owner was.

Diddy now has plenty of room to shake his body and do that "Conga" -- the property is nearly 8,000 square feet with 6 bedrooms and 10 bathrooms, and it sits on a corner lot with waterfront views of the downtown Miami skyline.

Oh and there's also a 2-story guest house with 3 bedrooms, a spacious living room and its own killer views.

Diddy's kinda playing Miami Monopoly here ... we're told he also owns the property next door, which he purchased in 2003. It's unclear if he plans to combine both properties.

There will be NO lack of star power in the announcer's booths at the Holyfield vs. Belfort fight Saturday night, 'cause TMZ Sports has learned 50 Cent will be joining Triller's coverage of the big event.

But, before you start dreaming about Fiddy sitting shoulder-to-shoulder with Donald Trump ... the hip-hop star and former POTUS will be on a different broadcast.

Sources tell us 50 will be filling Snoop Dogg's usual role doing color commentary ... which in previous fights has been nothing short of hilarious.

Of course, 50 -- a huge boxing fan -- is also known for his antics ... so the entertainment on the main broadcast should be top-notch.

Even though Trump won't have 50 by his side ... DT won't be alone. UFC star Jorge Masvidal WILL be in the booth with Don Jr., providing analysis.

It makes sense ... the former prez and Jorge go back. Masvidal even hit the campaign trail for Trump in Florida during the lead up to the election.

They were last seen together publicly, where they embraced, backstage at the Conor McGregor and Dustin Poirier fight in July.

In addition to DT, DT Jr., and Gamebred ... longtime play-by-play man, Todd Grisham will handle a lot of the heavy lifting in the booth (think Jon Anik).

Kodak Black wants to ensure the daughter of a cop who died from COVID can go to college -- he's making a hefty donation after hearing about the officer's story.

Here's the deal ... Fort Lauderdale police officer Jennifer Sepot recently died after contracting COVID-19 and experiencing complications related to the virus, leaving behind a 2-year-old daughter.

Kodak's attorney, Bradford Cohen, tells TMZ ... the rapper read an article about the cop's COVID death, saw she had a young daughter and said ... "Make sure that kid is straight. Pay for her college fund."

Kodak donated $20,000 to a college fund for the little girl, and we're told he was so moved by Officer Sepot's story because he also battled COVID.

Cohen says Kodak contracted COVID several months ago and suffered from body aches, headaches and difficulty breathing for about 10 days.