TMZ Hip Hop - Page 12

Justin Bieber is one of the millions of fans ready to see Chris Brown rage on stage -- and gave him a warm welcome back on the 'Gram!!!

C. Breezy racked up over a million likes with his "first day out" post, a pic of him hopping off a private jet fresh from out of the slammer after he posted over $6 million in bail.

Biebz dropped into the comment section and wished him a "welcome home" under Chris' "Cook, remain humble" caption ... these pop megastars have been tight for years!!!

Suge Knight has no doubt Diddy would have shot at him if Diddy tracked him down at a famous restaurant in L.A. ... but his story will never be heard at Diddy's trial, even though it feels pretty important to the prosecution's case.

The former Death Row Records owner tells TMZ ... his rivalry with Diddy was so bad back in the day, Diddy would have had no choice but to use a gun if their paths ever crossed in public.

That almost happened back in 2008 at Mel's Drive-In ... because Diddy's former personal assistant testified this week he went to the famous diner to get cheeseburgers for Diddy, and bumped into Suge.

Nicole Brown Simpson's sister is making a bunch of comparisons between the trials of O.J. Simpson and Diddy ... and she sees a lot of similarities between her sister and Cassie.

Tanya Brown says the Diddy trial feels a lot like O.J.'s "Trial of the Century" ... mainly because of abuse allegations and the power dynamics of both couples.

Cassie gave four days of intense testimony last week in Diddy's federal racketeering and sex trafficking trial in NYC, and Tanya says folks following the case should not be quick to judge Cassie because they haven't walked in her shoes.

A former makeup artist for Diddy and Cassie just testified for the prosecution in Diddy's federal sex trafficking trial in NYC ... and she told the jury she saw injuries to Cassie's face after an altercation with Diddy following a Grammys party at Prince's house.

Mylah Morales says during Grammys weekend in 2010, she went to a party with Cassie at Prince's Los Angeles estate ... and then they went back to a hotel room. She says Diddy burst in and asked, "Where the f*** is she?"

Morales told jurors Diddy went into a room where Cassie was and shut the door ... and Morales said she heard screaming and yelling. She testified Diddy stormed out and then a "distraught" Cassie emerged with a swollen eye, busted lip and knots on her head.

Kid Cudi didn't let Diddy allegedly orchestrating the fire-bombing of his car ruin his love for Porsche ... judging from the cheeky song title he picked for his last album's lead single.

The hip hop star released the track "Porsche Topless" for his "Insano" album back in June 2023, over a decade after his convertible literally had its roof blown off by a Molotov cocktail.

At the time of its release, Cudi told listeners to envision “Imagine ur floating high up in the bright blue sky on a nice warm summer's day” ... clearly pushing down the bad memories of seeing his beloved car cooked extra crispy in his Hollywood Hills driveway.

Diddy's hotel reservations came with a few warnings ... because his booking profile carried a few notes attached to it -- mainly about messes he and his companions made in the room.

Frédéric Zemmour -- general manager of L’Ermitage Beverly Hills -- took the stand in Diddy's federal sex trafficking and racketeering trial in NYC Thursday, and he was asked about how Diddy booked rooms in the fashionable hotel over the years.

Zemmour explained the hotel uses a system called OPERA -- a software hotels can use to aggregate reservations, create loyalty programs and more -- and, he said one feature on it allows hotel employees to enter notes about specific guests.

Kid Cudi detailed the damage his Porsche sustained from a Molotov cocktail during his testimony in the Diddy trial -- an incident he thinks Diddy was involved in -- and now we're seeing some of what jurors were shown in court.

Photos of Kid Cudi's car fire aftermath were just entered as exhibits in the case ... and they appear to show what Kid Cudi testified about in terms of fire damage from a Molotov cocktail.

Cudi told jurors someone cut a hole in his Porsche's convertible top and dropped in the fire bomb ... and photos show a large opening in the soft top that appears to have been slashed open, and there looks to be some melted fabric.

Kid Cudi says Cassie played him like a fiddle during their 2011 fling.

The "Pursuit of Happiness" rapper testified Thursday in Diddy's federal criminal trial in NYC, and he talked a lot about his brief relationship with Cassie.

Cudi admitted he felt like he was played by Cassie when she told him things were over with Diddy ... only for her to get back with Diddy after they broke up.

DaBaby won't be dragged through the gutter anymore over the bowling alley lawsuit filed by his ex-girlfriend DaniLeigh's brother ... the case has been dismissed!!!

On Wednesday, a Los Angeles judge noted that Brandon Bills' "lack of urgency" was the biggest holdup in the case ... after filing the lawsuit in 2022, yet failing to serve DaBaby for more than three years -- and still didn't follow through after initiating that process!!!

We broke the story ... DaBaby and Brandon duked it out at Topanga, California's Corbin Bowl bowling alley in Feb. 2022 in front of tons of witnesses.

Kid Cudi is testifying about his infamous car fire-bombing ... and he says he knows Diddy had something to do with it, even though Diddy denied it to his face during a meeting where Diddy came off like a Marvel supervillain.

The rapper testified Thursday in Diddy's criminal ... telling the jury his Porsche went up in flames outside his house in January 2012, shortly after he broke things off with Cassie.

Kid Cudi says he wasn't at home when he got a call from his dog's babysitter, informing him his car was on fire. He says he rushed home and found his car damaged.

Tory Lanez is currently on the mend after surviving a brutal prison attack, and now has a change of scenery -- after being moved to a completely different facility!!!

As of Thursday morning, we've confirmed Tory was shipped out to California Men’s Colony (CMC) to ensure his safety ... 3 hours away from the California Correctional Institution (CCI) where he was stabbed 14 times, resulting in both lungs collapsing.

Tory’s attorney Crystal Morgan tells TMZ Hip Hop the "Color Violet" artist is doing fine, considering the severity of his injuries ... but isn't necessarily happy he had to move to CMC, near San Luis Obispo.

Kid Cudi says Diddy broke into his Los Angeles home after finding out he was dating Cassie ... and he says Diddy screwed with his pooch.

The rapper took the stand Thursday in Diddy's federal criminal trial in NYC and told the jury about some of the drama that unfolded between him, Diddy and Cassie back in 2011 ... when she was on a break from Diddy and they started dating.

Kid Cudi testified there was a break-in at his home in December 2011 after Cassie called him early in the morning and told him Diddy found out about them. He says cops were called, too.

Kid Cudi will testify today at Diddy's federal sex trafficking trial ... and, it looks like he's taking a few nicotine hits to steady himself before he does.

We recorded the rapper getting out of his car and walking into the Manhattan courthouse Thursday ... a serious expression on his face. He didn't say anything to the gathered crowd -- using his mouth to puff on a cigarette instead.

Cudi quickly turns the corner out of view in the clip -- before resurfacing inside the courthouse, where he can be seen through a window ... taking off his jacket to go through a security checkpoint, speaking to a guard.

The 8th day of testimony in the Diddy trial is in the books and prosecutors are still trying to gain headway on the racketeering charges against the mogul ... and one of their witnesses even thinks he helped Diddy's defense.

Wednesday opened with Homeland Security Investigations agent Gerard Gannon detailing more about a raid on Diddy's home on Star Island ... a search that turned up guns, ammo, drugs, lube, baby oil, sex toys and lingerie.

Interesting stuff ... and maybe the guns help prosecutors prove a RICO case against Diddy ... 'cause some of the serial numbers on the magazines were scratched off.

Kanye West and Playboi Carti have been in a weird place for months over "I Am Music" album credits -- and things are about to get even WEIRDER over an NBA YoungBoy feature -- on both of their songs!!!

On Tuesday, Ye debuted a new adrenaline-fueled track titled "Alive" with him and YoungBoy rapping frenetically over an industrial rap-rock beat that also samples Carti's "Music" song, "Crank."

Ye used the track to simultaneously announce the upcoming arrival of his Yeezy SZN 10 fashion line ... only for Carti to swoop in and steal his thunder with a track of his own ... featuring the same beat and NBA YoungBoy verse!!!

Diddy's former employee George Kaplan says part of his work as an executive assistant at Combs Enterprises called for him to set up hotel rooms for his boss ... complete with some staples for a "freak-off" -- like lube, baby oil and candles.

Kaplan testified Wednesday in Diddy's federal criminal trial in NYC, telling the jury he booked rooms for Diddy at hotels in New York, Miami and Los Angeles -- including at the InterContinental Hotel, where Diddy was later seen on video beating Cassie in March 2016 -- although Kaplan said he only worked for Diddy from 2013 to 2015.

He told jurors he would book rooms for Diddy using the alias Frank Black ... which he says was derived from one of The Notorious B.I.G.'s nicknames, Frank White.