TMZ Hip Hop - Page 23

Summer Walker's winter fling with her rapper BF Rico Recklezz is officially over ... and the R&B superstar's hinting it may be her last hurrah dating a dude!!!

Before the weekend kicked off, Summer posted a pic with herself, Playboi Carti, and his GF ft.gioo AKA Giovanna Ramos ... while revealing she's a newly single woman -- suggesting things with Rico ran their course.

The unlikely couple made headlines going official on social media back in December after a heavy pursuit from Rico ... but Summer says she's better off alone and is "literally honestly & truly over men" going forward.

Mark Geragos won't answer the question -- Is he a member of Diddy's defense team? -- and it made for some lively discussion on TMZ's new Tubi weekly show ... "TMZ Presents: United States V. Sean Combs: Inside the Diddy Trial."

Geragos joined Nancy Grace, Ashleigh Banfield and Eboni K. Williams, when Harvey pressed him on his association with Diddy. It's true, Geragos has repped Diddy on various legal issues in the past, but the question now is whether he's part of the current defense team.

Geragos tried to skirt the issue, but then TMZ producer Brian Andrews popped up and laid out what he saw in the courthouse -- Geragos sitting behind the defense team and passing notes to Diddy's chief lawyers Marc Agnifilo and Teny Geragos (Mark's daughter), Geragos chatting it up with Diddy's lawyer during lunch breaks in the courthouse cafeteria, and Geragos coming out of the judge's chambers as Agnifilo had his arm around Mark's shoulder.

DDG boasting to us about releasing hip hop's first-ever album created on live stream has backfired ... DJ Statik Selektah will be damned if any young whipper-snapper will take credit for his credentials!!!

Last week, we spoke to DDG about his new album "Blame the Chat," which he made for fans in real-time and even let them in on the creative control by picking beats and features.

On Thursday, Statik angrily entered said chat and gave DDG a history lesson on his discography -- including his joint projects with Freeway, Freddie Gibbs and the 4 collab albums with Bun B he created live on YouTube!!!

Federal prosecutors are taking a big gamble with one of their star witnesses in Diddy's sex trafficking trial, because the woman they call "Victim 3" has always made it clear she does NOT want to testify ... TMZ has learned.

During jury selection this week, lead prosecutor Maurene Comey admitted the feds do not know whether the alleged victim -- one of Diddy's ex-girlfriends -- intends to appear in court to testify against him. Comey said the woman does not live locally, there's an issue getting in touch with her attorney ... and she may not even show up to court despite a subpoena.

Our sources with direct knowledge say the woman has never cooperated with prosecutors, and never gave them an indication she would be willing to take the stand during the trial.

Memphis rapper Big Boogie has been known to say some outlandish things ... but he wasn't joking when he had to suck up his fear of Chuck E. Cheese -- to please his daughter!!!

Boog posted video of himself admitting he hasn't confronted the pizza-slicing rat since he ran away scared from the mascot as a kid, and his profession as a street rapper has kept him distanced from rodents ever since.

It's a moment of hilarity when Boogie and Chuck E. Cheese meet face to face, prompting the rapper into a wide-eyed stance ... but he manages to overcome his anxiety, at least for the moment.

Boogie kept his distance for the most part and wedged his daughter between himself and Big Chuck for a photo-op she'll likely tease him about when she gets older.

That Charles Entertainment Cheese childhood trauma probably led to making decisions to turn down multimillion-dollar college scholarships ... but the party appeared to be a hit with the tykes, at least.

Gloria Estefan says Diddy was nice to have as a neighbor ... but that doesn't mean they had any "Freak Off" parties together.

We got Gloria leaving iHeartRadio in New York City on Thursday and our photog asked her about a lawsuit she was named in last month ... where a man claimed he was sexually assaulted, raped and humiliated at a "freak off" party in Miami attended by Jay-Z, Beyoncé, LeBron James, Diddy, and Gloria.

Gloria says the guy behind the lawsuit is "not well in the head" ... and she's doubling down on her vehement denial of some serious allegations against her.

The New York Knicks' unexpected 2-0 lead in their playoff series against the Boston Celtics isn't sitting well with the green team's core fan base ... and veins are popping out of temples as a result!!!

On Thursday, Benzino dared all Knicks fans to bet him that his Celtics would prevail in Game 3 ... at Madison Square Garden with their backs against the wall.

Benzino noted how the Knicks haven't won a chip since 1973 and didn't foresee it happening this year ... they're running with the Mets colors, for cryin' out loud.

Cassie is set to testify against Diddy in his federal trial ... and, it better be sooner rather than later -- 'cause it looks like she may need to rest, recuperate and get ready for baby number 3 soon!

Photogs snapped Cassie out in New York City Wednesday ... standing on a stoop in a gray sweater that just barely covers her massive baby bump.

It's hard to tell exactly how far along the singer-songwriter is here, though she did announce she's with child back in February ... but, it's clear she's deep in pregnancy mode now -- and, she'll be waddling up to the witness stand soon to testify.

Ashanti wouldn't be the R&B star she is today if it wasn't for Irv Gotti ... so says his brother Chris, who's also pissed she'd deny her past sexual relationship with the late mogul!!!

Chris appeared on the "Let's Keep It 100" podcast and ripped into Ashanti ... pointing out how she and 50 Cent's career lineage will always be tied in with Irv's Murder Inc.

Irv died from suspected stroke complications in February, further highlighting the rift between him and Ashanti after Murder Inc. was dismantled.

Drake's label says there's a giant hole in the lawsuit he's filed over Kendrick Lamar's "Not Like Us" ... and they're basically saying Drizzy should've paid closer attention to the Super Bowl Halftime Show.

As expected, Universal Music Group filed a motion to dismiss the defamation lawsuit, and in the docs they point out Drake, or his lawyers, made a major misstep when they amended their lawsuit following Kendrick's performance at Super Bowl LIX.

UMG says Drake's lawsuit isn't really about K Dot calling him a "certified pedophile" ... because he didn't even include those words during the performance. Now, the reality is the Superdome crowd did the damage itself, chanting the lyrics ... but that's not on Kendrick.

Mark Geragos may not like that Diddy's lawyers are subject to a gag order -- and so is he ... but, a prominent prosecutor from L.A. says prosecutors need it to avoid a possible appeal.

Kirsten Brown-Neil -- a deputy district attorney for L.A. County -- spoke with us on "TMZ Live" about Judge Arun Subramanian warning Geragos to watch what he says on our "2 Angry Men" podcast.

When asked about Geragos citing a Supreme Court ruling saying defendants and their attorneys have the right to speak publicly about the case, Kirsten said she thinks Geragos is taking a very narrow view of the ruling.

Kendrick Lamar's verse on Future and Metro Boomin's "Like That" record will forever go down in infamy for its shots aimed at Drake and J. Cole -- but the guy behind one of the samples in the track, Rodney O, says it pains him to even hear it because he hasn't been getting paid his royalties!!!

Rodney says he doesn't really have much beef with Kendrick, Metro or Future, but blames Epic Records and the Estate of Barry White for his lack of royalties.

TMZ Hip Hop obtained legal docs filed by the "Everlasting Bass" rapper on Wednesday and spoke to him about his past year since K. Dot and the boys went super viral at Drake's expense.

Spectacular "Blue" Smith has a new battle on his hands, now that his wild Disney lawsuit is dropped and accounted for ... helping his Pretty Ricky bandmate Corey "Slick 'Em" Mathis overcome his drug addiction is next.

Earlier this month, Pretty Ricky celebrated its 20th anniversary as a platinum-selling group with a sold-out concert in D.C. ... Pleasure P and Baby Blue both reunited with Spec onstage, and he tells TMZ Hip Hop that's the permanent lineup for now.

Spec says he set up everything for Slick 'Em to simply walk into a $60K-per-stay rehab facility to get the treatment he needs ... only for Slick 'Em's denial phase to rear its ugly head and refuse the help.

Diddy's third day of jury selection featured a couple people with close ties to the case ... this despite the judge's direction to both sides to better vet prospective jurors.

Proceedings in Diddy's case are moving forward ... with more potential jurors called Wednesday as both sides worked to put together the 45-person jury pool -- and, it seems they weren't vetted with a fine-tooth comb.

Juror 317 took the stand ... which got Judge Arun Subramanian laughing immediately -- 'cause he and the man used to work on anti-class action cases together.

Diddy's federal trial may begin without one of the biggest witnesses for the prosecution ... 'cause the feds still can't get in touch with the woman known as "Victim 3."

The third day of jury selection in Diddy's federal case wrapped up just a short time ago ... and, the prosecution told the judge they still haven't been able to locate this unidentified person or get through to their attorney.

As we told you ... the prosecution, led by Maurene Comey, admitted Monday that Victim 3 does not live near New York City -- and, try as they might, they're worried about getting her to show up in person.

The judge in Diddy's criminal trial is issuing a warning to Mark Geragos over his public comments about the case, and vows he'll be watching and listening weekly to his podcast, "2 Angry Men."

Judge Arun Subramanian called Geragos into chambers Tuesday -- on day 2 of jury selection -- for a tête-à-tête about the famed attorney referring to the federal prosecuting team as a "6-pack of white women" during last week's episode of the podcast he co-hosts with TMZ's Harvey Levin.

Prosecutors alerted the judge to the comment, which they claimed violated court rules because Geragos appears to be consulting with Diddy's defense team. The rule bars prosecutors and attorneys involved in a trial from making public comments that could influence the jury.