TMZ Hip Hop - Page 7

New Edition's Ricky Bell can't wait to return "home again" to Boston for his iconic group's street naming -- the same block where the band came together!!!

TMZ caught up with Ricky at LAX this week en route to the East Coast to link up with his NE brothers Ronnie, Bobby, Mike, Ralph, and Johnny.

Boston Mayor Michelle Wu certified August 30 "New Edition Day" ... designating Dearborn Street as "New Edition Way," which intersects Roxbury's Orchard Park Projects, where Ricky grew up.

8/29 6:10 AM PT -- The new lineup has been updated ... beginning of an era, next week!

Funkmaster Flex left 50 Cent, Jadakiss, and a whole legion of radio listeners in the Tribeca area floored, announcing that his days of dropping radio bombs on his Hot 97 7 PM timeslot were coming to an end on Thursday ... all because he's switching up his schedule!!!

TMZ Hip Hop confirmed with multiple sources that Funk Flex will operate on the 5 PM to 10 PM slot after the Labor Day holiday.

50 and Jada predicted the death of traditional rap as we know it, but Flex will still be delivering daily heat on the NYC airwaves, just at a different time.

Karrueche Tran says she'd be your average jaded dater -- if it wasn't for Deion Sanders rocking her world!!!

The "Claws" actress was a guest of honor on DOPE Network via her longtime BFF's "What's Next w/ J. Ryan" podcast alongside Christina Milian -- when he threw a hot pot in her lap by putting her on the spot to tackle those Deion dating rumors.

Coach Prime survived bladder removal surgery to stop a cancerous spread back in July -- and Karrueche was spotted supporting him bedside ... sparking the notion they were an item.

When J. Ryan got Karrueche to cop to dating Deion, she confirmed her relationship is legit and she's very happy.

Karrueche -- who's publicly dated Chris Brown and Victor Cruz in the past -- says she wouldn't even waste her time if the love wasn't good.

Otherwise, she'd be a yoga-flexing housecat ... at this point in her life, Karrueche says she knows what she knows and likes!!!

Elsewhere in the episode, Christina revealed she's inching towards joining the cast of "Real Housewives of Beverly Hills" after being offered a spot and J. Ryan reminisced about seeing the girlies doing their makeup together, butt-naked over FaceTime.

French Montana's been linked to some pretty big names in the past -- like Khloe Kardashian and Iggy Azalea, just to name a couple -- now it looks like he's ready to settle down, because he's engaged to Sheikha Mahra!

We broke the news about the happy couple's engagement in August 2025, and it appears as if the rapper's ready to stick it out with his future wife for the long run.

Here's a look at how the life of the rapper's fiancée looked before she started planning out a life with the songwriter.

Mahra's a member of the royal family of the United Arab Emirates ... she's the daughter of Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, who's the Ruler of Dubai -- a city in the UAE -- and holds the positions of Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE.

And Mahra's not the Sheikh's only daughter -- by a long shot! -- as he's fathered numerous children with several partners.

Sheikha eventually pursued higher education in London, and she shared several photos from her 2023 graduation on Instagram.

She's also got a bit of an entrepreneurial streak to her, as she launched a fragrance line, Mahra M1, in 2024, although her brand appears to have shut down.

French Montana's not Mahra's first partner, as she was formerly married to Sheik Mana Bin Mohammed Al Maktoum, who's also a member of the royal family.

The pair tied the knot in a lavish wedding ceremony in June 2023, and Mahra later gave birth to a daughter.

However, the rapper's future wife ultimately split up from her first husband in 2024 via Instagram ... she posted a message to let him know about their breakup, which partially read "I divorce you, I divorce you, and I Divorce You. Take care. Your ex-wife," according to CNN.

The message appeared to contain a reference to triple talaq -- or "instant divorce" -- a practice in some Muslim-majority countries where a man can immediately divorce his wife by declaring his intention three times in a row. It's not typically done to husbands though.

Mahra and French Montana were initially linked back in 2024, when she shared a set of photos on Instagram showing the rapper around Dubai.

The rapper and the royal family member were subsequently seen together on various dates, mainly around Europe and the Middle East. French is from Morocco, and he's produced a documentary film detailing his family's history.

The thing is, they'd been engaged for a little while before letting the public know, as the performer popped the big question during Paris Fashion Week in June.

Bhad Bhabie's mom could be facing legal trouble after getting into it with one of her daughter's friends, and calling the cops .. and now, that friend's thinking about pressing charges.

According to the Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office, Barbara Bregoli got a security alert earlier this month indicating someone was in the master bedroom at Bhabie's Florida house.

Sources tell us Bhad Bhabie and her mother live separately, but the mother and daughter apparently co-own the house where the alarm was triggered.

BB was at home in California, nowhere near the action.

YFN Lucci had the State Farm Arena lit last weekend for his sold-out Welcome Home concert ... and the home of the Atlanta Hawks had him feeling like a baller backstage!!!

TMZ Hip Hop obtained video of Lucci being surprised with a jersey embroidered with "Lucci 650" on the back, given to him by Atlanta Hawks Senior V.P. of Facilities and Events Geoffrey Stiles!!!

Latto, Rick Ross, Quavo, BunnaB and more were also onstage to help welcome Lucci back into the world of rap.

Cardi B had time to meet and greet fans for a quick autograph session on her way out of a California courtroom, but seemed to be tiptoeing very carefully while she did it.

TMZ Hip Hop got this vid of Cardi looking stunning in an all-white pantsuit, while rocking the $73K diamond-encrusted watch her boyfriend, Stefon Diggs, gifted her ... along with a highly bedazzled Louis Vuitton bag.

But it's not Cardi's fashion a lot of fans are eyeing, instead her Wednesday exit from court in Alhambra -- just east of L.A. -- is remarkable because of the help she was getting from a bodyguard.

She took a rest inside her SUV during the lunch break, and struggled a bit to get into the back seat.

Can you guess which sexy star put her rockin'-hot bod on full display in this eye-popping shot?! Clearly she's worked up a bundle, but can you identify this celeb with deep pockets?

She shared this shot from the iconic Magic City Strip Club ... she has a beauty brand and don't knock out her popular social media following ... Latto and Ice Spice are just a few big stars who follow her.

Roddy Ricch is at the center of "A Compton Love Story" in the aftermath of his baby mama, Allie Kay, confronting India Love ... over a 7-year-old case of man-stealing!!!

The drama unfolded last weekend at rapper Kalan.FrFr's "TwoFr Day" back-to-school giveaway event for the kids on the Compton College campus.

Sources close to the situation tell TMZ Hip Hop that India was cohosting the event and was being brought to the stage to address the crowd when Allie ran up on her.

Super Swiftie Flavor Flav is so excited by Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce's engagement, he's volunteering for a major wedding role.

The rapper tells TMZ ... he is so happy for Taylor and Travis following their engagement announcement yesterday -- lovingly calling the pop star his "girl" and the Kansas City Chiefs tight end his "boy."

Per FF, he always knew Taylor and Travis were "endgame" ... and offered up his services as officiant for whenever the pair decide to tie the knot.

Joke's on anyone following for the Ja Rule TikTok trend ... the "Always On Time" rapper was recently in Los Angeles for Nelly's Where The Party Out Tour, where he got Lizzo's support ... while also getting her lit!!!

TMZ Hip Hop got video of Ja, his wife Aisha, and Lizzo backstage at the Intuit Dome, flicking it up and throwing back shots of his Amber & Opal honey botanical whiskey and listening to vintage Ghostface Killah.

Lizzo was analyzing the sweeteners used in the whiskey and ended up suggesting herself into creating a Vanilla Coke flavor, so stay tuned!!!

Ooh, baby, baby ... Salt-N-Pepa's upcoming induction into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame for musical influence is missing an RSVP ... according to the group's original DJ Spinderella!!!

TMZ Hip Hop spoke to Latoya Hanson, who was a founding member of SNP all the way up to the release of the trio's 1986 debut album, "Hot, Cool & Vicious" ... you can see her on the cover art!!!

Latoya tells us no one from SNP contacted her about the ceremony going down -- not surprising on her part because she says it's the type of sneakiness from Cheryl "Salt" James that got her booted from the group!!!

Rihanna just made a grand social media announcement and no, it's not from Savage X Fenty ... her profile picture and header has been updated with her album titles.

On Tuesday, Riri's longtime label, Roc Nation, revealed this Friday marks the 20th anniversary of the island gal having everyone do the "Pon de Replay" via her debut album, "Music of the Sun."

The social drop also rattled off all her album titles from "MOTS" to the final one, "Anti" with a promise to deliver new merch.

Allow TMZ Hip Hop to be the first to offer congratulations to French Montana and Sheikha Mahra, a Princess of Dubai ... the "royal" couple have an engagement to celebrate!!!

Love seems to be swirling in the air amid the pre-NFL season engagement of Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce ... but a rep for French tells us the couple got engaged during Paris Fashion Week in June, shortly after he stunted on the runway.

The two have been spotted together since 2024, from everywhere from mosques, to upscale restaurants in Dubai and Morocco, to magnifying their love at the Pont des Arts in Paris, and enjoying desert escapades by camelback.

Cardi B returned to the stand Wednesday in court to defend herself against assault allegations made by a former security guard -- and she suspects a cash grab!!!

The prosecutor was questioning Cardi about her and Emani Ellis' social media posts in the aftermath of an alleged altercation at a Beverly Hills obstetrician's office in 2018.

Cardi said her fans got wind of Ellis "posting lies" about the incident at the time, and she told the prosecutor she blew it off ... claiming Ellis is just trying to get money from her. When asked why she thinks the civil suit is a ploy for payment, Cardi bluntly said "because she's suing me for $24 million."

One of Offset’s all-time worst experiences? Sounds like marriage -- he swears he’ll never be a groom again … and even advised other men to run from the altar!

On the "Full Send" podcast, the rapper laid it out ... at 33, he’s done the whole marriage thing with Cardi B, raised three kids ... and in his mind, that mission’s already complete.

Offset doubled down ... even warning host Kyle Forgeard, who dreams of settling down, not to do it unless he’s ready to flip his whole life upside down.