TMZ Hip Hop - Page 50

It took nearly 5 years, but Spectacular Blue Smith has officially put his Disney World arrest behind him ... prosecutors just dropped the case!!!

We broke the story back in December 2020 ... the Pretty Ricky rapper was charged with battery after being accused of punching an employee at Walt Disney World's Animal Kingdom, where he was arrested ... for the first time in his life!!!

The criminal battery charge was officially dropped back in November ... and now Spec is celebrating a win in the civil case over the incident.

Diddy's lawyers and prosecutors are making headway on putting together a jury pool ... but, it's slow going -- 'cause there are so many landmines that are getting people tossed.

The second day of jury selection is proceeding in a Manhattan federal courthouse Tuesday ... and, while some people are making it through to the next round of jury selection, many more have been excused for cause.

Juror 149 -- one of many potential jurors who have been questioned to begin this week -- told the judge his son was beaten up and robbed while at George Washington University.

A$AP Rocky's whirlwind Met Gala hosting duties wouldn't have been possible had he been found guilty at his shooting trial ... a moment that's affected his music career -- but boosted his filmography!!!

While speaking to Variety, Rocky spoke out on how the attempted murder allegations levied by his ex-associate A$AP Relli were both “gut-wrenching and nerve-racking," but he was able to channel his emotions through his "Yung Felon" character in Spike Lee's "Highest 2 Lowest" film.

The trailer was released to match Met Gala's energy ... Rocky says portraying an inmate allowed him "to act like a piece of s*** who was going away for a long time but didn’t realize the consequences, because in real life, I knew exactly what the consequences felt like."

Bebe Rexha clapped back at Azealia Banks and other Met Gala haters, revealing she recently went through a pregnancy loss ... and urging people to think twice before tearing someone down over a red carpet look.

It all kicked off with Azealia, who -- while not at the Met -- took it upon herself to roast celebs from the comfort of her couch Monday night.

And she went in hard on Bebe ... "Sis gives me - hormonal birth control implant or something. It’s giving implanon/nuvaring she needs removed or depo shot that needs to stop happening (I’m not even tryna play her)."

Kanye West and Piers Morgan's latest interview came to a screeching halt -- and both guys have totally conflicting reports on what went wrong!!!

Ye and his new streaming buddy Sneako were live Tuesday with Piers from the same Mallorca, Spain mansion where they've been releasing new and old music ... when the conversation took a turn.

Ye can be seen telling Piers that he'll have to live with the response to the questions for the time being, before yanking out his earpiece within the early moments of the interview.

Rihanna says when the sun shines, we shine together ... but, when it rains, it's better to stay far apart -- 'cause the singer-songwriter took an umbrella to the face in stormy weather!

The singer-songwriter was out in New York City before the Met Gala on Monday ... and, while marching into the Carlyle Hotel in Manhattan, she came up behind a man holding his own umbrella.

Check out the clip ... the man turns and his umbrella comes under RiRi's own -- which she's holding herself -- and appears to smack her right in the cheek.

Diddy's former employee Rodney Jones will have to refile his lawsuit against Cuba Gooding Jr. and Justin Combs if he wants to pursue legal action ... because the case has been dismissed due to failure to serve them papers.

The case was dismissed Tuesday morning ... with the court pointing to Jones' attorney Tyrone Blackburn's inability to effectively serve the two stars as the main reasons for the dismissal without prejudice.

According to the docs, Blackburn waited until the service deadline was imminent before making any meaningful efforts to serve them ... and failed to show any good reason for failing to get it done. Jones' lawsuit was filed back in February 2024.

Jay-Z has a new beef with his Jane Doe accuser -- even though she's dropped her lawsuit, he says she's on social media bragging she stands by her allegation he raped her.

Jay just filed an amendment to the defamation suit he filed against her and her attorney, Tony Buzbee. In the new docs, he calls out a TikTok she allegedly posted last month featuring some pretty angry lip-synched audio -- "You couldn't pay me a million dollars to get an apology video out of me, I stand on what I said, f*** you."

According to the suit, Doe publicly standing by her original claim she was raped "continues to display a shocking and reckless disregard for the truth that is both intentional and malicious."

Diddy has added a second Black attorney to his team of legal eagles ... because he just hired Nicole Westmoreland to work with his seven other lawyers to try to get him acquitted at his federal trial in NYC.

Westmoreland will work alongside another Black attorney, Xavier Robert Donaldson, and Diddy's leading trial lawyers Marc Agnifilo and Teny Geragos, who are both white.

Having two African American lawyers on Diddy's legal team is an interesting move, considering that his camp pointed to race as a major factor in what they say is a federal takedown of a rich, successful Black man.

Diddy's successfully excluded a prospective juror who took a cynical look at the legal system ... keeping a woman off the jury who thought the rap mogul might be able to purchase his freedom.

The exchange went down in court Tuesday ... with a judge asking Juror 48 if they answered "yes"  to any questions posed on the questionnaire -- and, she admitted there was one where she gave the affirmative, because of an alleged attempted rape.

While she didn't say she couldn't be fair, apparently she wrote on the questionnaire that the rap mogul has money and could potentially buy his way out of trouble.

Sean "Diddy" Combs is getting extra guidance in court from famed attorney Mark Geragos, but federal prosecutors ain't having it -- because Geragos doesn't have clearance to participate, and frequently discusses the case on his podcast, "2 Angry Men."

Geragos was in court for the first day of jury selection in Diddy's criminal trial -- seated somewhere behind the 7 attorneys Diddy has retained, all of whom have court clearance to defend him.

But, prosecutors say they noticed Geragos and other members of his firm, consulting with the defense team, and they think that's a party foul due to his side gig. In a letter to Judge Arun Subramanian, they cite a rule barring anyone associated with the defense from making public statements that could "interfere with a fair trial."

The Met Gala's so-called strict "no-phone" policy had no bearing on Megan Thee Stallion ... and the rapstress risked it all giving her fans an inside look at all her celebrity hobnobbing!!!

Megan posted and deleted several quickie videos on her IG last night while making it a point in nearly every clip that she wasn't allowed to have her phone out ... a point she doubled down to Tracee Ellis Ross during the glitzy gala!!!

The menu also appeared to pass the flavor test ... Megan captured her, Doechii and Angel Reese toasting to the finer things in life with a lobster truffle roll.

Celebs showed up for the fashion, but it wasn’t just about the style -- there were some epic big-name performances in the mix, too.

Usher and Stevie Wonder headlined at The Met Monday night, with Usher kicking things off, getting the crowd hyped with a medley of bangers -- including "U Don’t Have to Call," "OMG" ... and of course, "Yeah!"

Then Stevie Wonder took the stage with a nine-piece band and served a true musical feast -- belting out classics like "Higher Ground," "Isn’t She Lovely," and crowd-favorite "Signed, Sealed, Delivered."

Rihanna and A$AP Rocky were the life of their MET Gala after-party Monday night with a bevy of other A-listers showing up to have fun and to see the main attraction -- RiRi's new bun in the oven!

That's right! Pregnant RiRi and her baby daddy Rocky were the toast of the town -- or at least Jean's Restaurant in Manhattan, where their festivity kicked off. Rocky and Rihanna rolled inside, rockin' their fanciest duds.

Check out photos, obtained by TMZ ... Rocky sported a snazzy black suit and overcoat, and RiRi wore a leather dress with a black top that exposed her growing baby bump.

The Met Gala style didn’t stop at the blue carpet -- NYC’s after-parties were just as stacked with killer looks and A-listers.

First up: Casa Cipriani on Monday night, where Zendaya, Hailey Bieber, Cardi B -- and even Leonardo DiCaprio -- rolled through and mixed it up with the packed crowd.

You can see Leo -- who skipped the official Met Gala -- kept it classic in all black as he slipped through the venue solo, with no sign of GF Vittoria Ceretti.

Kim Kardashian, Ciara and La La Anthony hit the NYC party scene after the Met Gala Monday night, looking like a trio of fashion femme fatales.

Kim, Ciara and La La made a grand entrance at Teyana Taylor's bash inside the Times Square EDITION hotel in Midtown Manhattan following fashion's big night at the Metropolitan Museum of Art.

TMZ obtained exclusive footage of the three beauties walking hand in hand through the hotel with cameras flashing and all eyeballs staring at them.