TMZ Hip Hop - Page 50

A$AP Rocky dodged a guilty verdict this week, but one juror isn’t personally letting him off that easy -- saying she believes a crime may have been committed, but other factors kept him from being convicted.

Freelance journalist Nique Laclaire spoke with a juror after Rocky’s not-guilty verdict Tuesday, and the woman revealed some jurors -- made up of 7 women and 5 men -- did believe the alleged prop gun was actually a real firearm ... but "Unfortunately they didn't have enough evidence to convict on the charges that were handed down to us."

The juror said it was "kind of a little mysterious the way it disappeared and they couldn't produce it as evidence."

A$AP Rocky went out to celebrate his big legal win last night with his partner and baby mama Rihanna, going straight from the drab courtroom to a fancy dining room.

Photogs caught up with Rocky and Rihanna outside the restaurant Gravitas in Beverly Hills Tuesday night, hours after a jury acquitted the rapper on two felony charges of assault with a semiautomatic weapon ... and the couple was all smiles.

Rocky was clearly feeling the weight lifted off his shoulders, thanking bystanders with genuine emotion who congratulated him on his legal victory. Asked how he felt now it's all over, he said ... "Amazing."

6:05 PM PT -- Rihanna just reacted to Rocky's verdict on Instagram writing ... "The glory belongs to God and God alone!

She added ... "Thankful, humbled by his mercy!"

The verdict in A$AP Rocky's assault trial was just announced -- Rocky has been found not guilty.

Rocky's partner and mother of his two sons, Rihanna, was sobbing, and gave Rocky's defense attorney, Joe Tacopina, a big hug. As the jurors exited one by one, Rocky said to them ... "Thank you for saving my life."

Outside the courtroom, Rocky thanked God and the jury for allowing him to be a free man ... telling reporters and fans he was happy to put the legal saga behind him.

Rihanna was there by Rocky's side, just as she was in court ... when he jumped into the gallery to hug her after the verdict was read. Rihanna did not talk to reporters and after some brief comments from Rocky, the couple meandered through a throng of reporters and escaped in their black SUV.

Joe held court after his client left and ripped the prosecution and its star witness A$AP Relli ... saying Relli, not Rocky, is the real criminal here ... claiming Relli perjured himself multiple times during the trial and urging the D.A. to go after Relli next.

Tacopina said he was happy for Rocky, RiRi and their two kids ... relaying the family is ready to move on from the trial.

The Los Angeles jury began deliberations Tuesday morning after closing arguments were completed Friday afternoon ... the rapper was charged with two counts of assault with a semiautomatic weapon, and Rocky would have faced a possible 24-year prison sentence if he were found guilty.

A$AP Rocky -- legal name Rakim Mayers -- was arrested in 2022, accused of firing a gun at former associate and friend A$AP Relli outside a hotel in Hollywood in 2021. Rocky turned down a plea deal from prosecutors last month.

Rocky's defense attorney, Joe Tacopina, maintained his client could not have shot Relli -- legal name Terell Ephron -- because Rocky only carried a prop gun with him at the time. Relli testified his knuckles were scraped by a bullet.

Relli's testimony got heated at times ... with fireworks popping off between himself and Tacopina.

Rocky chose not to testify ... though his voice was heard in court when he yelled at his pal A$AP Twelvyy "Don't say!!!" when prosecutors asked him on the stand what "AWGE" stands for. AWGE is the name of Rocky's creative agency with "Fight Club"-level secrecy rules attached to it.

Rihanna played a background role in the proceedings -- prospective jurors were asked during the selection process whether they'd heard of A$AP or Rihanna, listened to their music, or downloaded any of their songs. A jury of seven women and five men were selected ... none of them Black.

Diddy's ex Cassie says she has another bun in the oven!

Cassie hopped on Instagram Tuesday to announce she's pregnant with her third child, posting a photo that shows off her baby bump with her two other kids -- Frankie and Sunny --  kissing her belly.

In the caption, Cassie wrote "#3" with a pregnancy emoji, indicating the number of children she now shares with hubby Alex Fine, who she married in 2019.

Lil Tjay's days roaming inside Madison Square Garden have come to an end, TMZ can confirm.

The Bronx-bred rapper spewed a batch of juicy "hawk tuah" in a guard's face during the WBO lightweight champion bout between Keyshawn Davis and Denys Berinchyk on Friday -- and the world-renowned venue says he can't come back!!!

Madison Square Garden tells TMZ ... “Our policy is that patrons that engage in confrontational and disruptive behavior will be escorted out and banned from all MSG properties.”

Kodak Black's ex-girlfriend Maranda Johnson is looking to up the ante on her child support payments from the rap star ... TMZ has learned.

The new push for more comes on the heels of the explosive fight between his baby mamas at his daughter's birthday party -- and his team doesn't think it's a coincidence!!!

Kodak's attorney Bradford Cohen tells TMZ Hip Hop ... new legal docs filed in Broward County, Florida last week are a push to get more money from Kodak for their two kids.

LeBron James is apparently hitting the "skip" button on the new Drake album ... instead, the King was busy bumping one of Kendrick Lamar's classic projects during a workout with his daughter!!

James shared the exercise videos on his Instagram Stories on Monday ... just a day after the 2025 NBA All-Star Game in the Bay Area -- which he sat out due to an injury.

James -- who has been on the receiving end of some shots from Drizzy lately for supporting K. Dot -- strengthened his allegiances with the "Not Like Us" rapper amid the beef ... by blasting tracks from "good kid, m.A.A.d city" as he got in a sweat with his youngest child, Zhuri.

Travis Scott is being dragged to court by a man who claims one of the rapper's security guards violently injured him ... but Travis' camp says the lawsuit is bogus.

According to new legal docs, obtained by TMZ, a man named Omar Muhanna claims he was outside a "concert venue" where Travis performed when one of Travis' security guards made violent physical contact with him.

The guy claims he did nothing to cause or provoke the alleged assault and battery ... which he says happened August 17, 2024 in Manhattan and resulted in serious and permanent injuries.

Drake's not letting up on NBA star DeMar DeRozan ... a fan proved the beef is still going strong after seeing his jersey get tossed!!!

The Boy was performing during his first Sydney show of his "Anita Max Wynn" Australia tour Sunday when a DeRozan jersey was flung in his direction as he performed "Rich Flex."

After straightening out the wrinkles and realizing it was a DD jersey, Drake switched sports and spiked the shirt like a football straight off the stage!!!

Marlon Wayans created his "creth-head" jab at Soulja Boy to TMZ in real-time and the funnyman is taking a step further ... using the powers of artificial intelligence to rip the "Crank Dat" rapper a new one with a honky talk diss track!!!

The beef has been festering for days and Marlon continued his viral onslaught on Soulja Boy's career by hopping into his arena ... labeling him a two-bit wonder with his A.I.-generated country tune.

Flavor Flav also catches a stray on the song to describe SB's appearance ... "Soulja Boy's on crinack and meth / I can smell it on his breath ... He'll suck on caulk just for that rock / He look like Flavor Flav without the clock / He's the c*** that jumped over the moon."

Joe Tacopina is ready to flex his legal muscles in court again ... telling us he's feeling good about getting A$AP Rocky off the hook in a criminal assault trial.

The high-powered attorney joined us on "TMZ Live" Monday and we asked him about the Rocky case and some of his legal wins over the years for clients like President Trump and Alex Rodriguez.

Rocky's case is now in the jury's hands after Joe forcefully defended the rapper in court ... telling us it should be easy for a jury to reach a not-guilty verdict, even though it's not guaranteed.

A$AP Rocky had to miss out on the Berlin Film Festival today due to his ongoing assault trial in L.A. ... but his new film costar Rose Byrne and the director are filling his absence with praise!!!

The rapper stars with Byrne in the upcoming flick “If I Had Legs I’d Kick You” ... and according to Variety, she and director Mary Bronstein had nothing but good things to say about his performance.

Bronstein revealed she wanted "non-traditional actors for the supporting roles," which opened up the space for Rocky to play a motel superintendent.

Jay-Z and Beyoncé look like a weight has been lifted from their shoulders .... because they were all smiles in their first public appearance since his rape accuser dismissed her lawsuit.

The power couple ventured out for dinner Sunday night in Beverly Hills, grinning from ear to ear outside the famous Italian restaurant Cipriani.

It's the first time we've seen HOV and Bey since the unnamed woman accusing him and Diddy of rape filed legal docs in federal court to voluntarily dismiss her lawsuit against the music moguls.

Lil Wayne's daughter Reginae Carter is swatting down critics of his 'SNL 50' performance, especially since they're comparing it to Kendrick Lamar's Super Bowl set!!!

The Young Money MC was backed by The Roots and conducted a medley of his classic hits at Radio Music City Hall over the weekend, opposite Miley Cyrus.

Apparently, the negative responses flooded Reginae's timeline ... because she exploded with fury!

Cardi B continues to fuel romance rumors with Stefon Diggs ... 'cause the two painted Miami "Bodak Yellow" late Friday night.

TMZ has obtained videos and photos showing the rapper and the NFL wide receiver arriving to a Miami hotel in the wee hours of Saturday morning ... with Cardi dressed up all sexy in a revealing dress.

Check it out ... Cardi's dress is clinging to her frame -- and, when she bends forward, her entire bust is on display. Diggs dressed in all-red for the occasion, looking comfortable in a jacket and baseball cap.

Snoop Dogg's teaching the next generation to dance like they're '90s rap stars ... 'cause he was spotted moving and grooving with his grandkids Saturday night!

The rapper was at Lucid Studios in Beverly Hills on Saturday night ... and, it seems the Grand-doggy-dogg was put in charge of entertaining the little ones -- holding a balloon over a tiny baby's head that the kid reached his small paw toward.

Later on, Snoop got more movement in ... hitting the dance floor with a little dude who ended up running between his legs.