TMZ Hip Hop - Page 50

Nicki Minaj wanted a familiar face to help her tie the knot ... so she brought in her pastor from the other side of the U.S. of A. to officiate the ceremony.

Sources close to Nicki tell TMZ ... the singer flew out her pastor, Lydia Woodson-Sloley, from Brooklyn to Los Angeles for her nuptials with Kenneth Petty.

We're told Nicki and Pastor Lydia -- who fancies herself as a poet, author, Christian life coach and music producer -- go way back, so Nicki just had to have her as the wedding minister.

Lydia founded "Life in Its Poetic Form Christian Ministries" way back in 2000, and Nicki's a huge supporter of her work -- even thanking her in front of millions of people at the 2015 VMAs after accepting the award for best hip-hop video.

Nicki and Pastor Lydia also joined forces in 2017 to rebuild a village in India, making sure people there gained access to clean water.

We broke the story ... Nicki and Kenneth got hitched Monday in L.A. in a low-key ceremony, rushing to the altar because their marriage license was set to expire at month's end.

Nicki and Kenneth are following the blueprint of Justin and Hailey -- no-frills nuptials, followed by a church service and blowout celebration -- so it's a good bet Pastor Lydia will continue to be involved moving forward.

Kanye West just revealed the tracklist for his highly anticipated album, "Jesus is King" ... and it's a radically different version than the one Kim shared back in August.

Though there has been some skepticism based around previously missed album deadlines, Kanye is assuring everyone 'JiK' will hit at midnight.

The 11-song tracklist Kanye revealed is one song less than what Kim put out ... but there are a whole lot of song titles that have changed. In fact, only 4 of the titles Kim shared remain on Kanye's list.

Of course, the songs themselves may have stayed the same -- with only a title change -- but it's also possible Ye scrapped 8 records altogether.

Some of the new track names include ... "Follow God," "On God," "Everything We Need," "Use The Gospel," and "Jesus is Lord."

As we reported ... Yeezy held a massive album listening event at The Forum in L.A. Wednesday night. Fans were treated to a screening of his "Jesus is King" IMAX project and then a full preview of the album.

Kanye West predicts he'll one day be the President of the United States, and when he is ... he'll remember the haters.

In an interview with Apple's Zane Lowe, Kanye chatted about a wide range of topics ... stemming from the upcoming release of his new album, "Jesus is King."

Most notably, Ye says he's working on a plan for a future presidential run -- possibly in 2024 -- and when he wins the election ... "I will remember ... any founder that didn't have the capacity to understand culturally what we're doing."

It's unclear what founders specifically he has in mind, but he did mention Twitter and Facebook honchos, Jack Dorsey and Mark Zuckerberg.

Other subjects Kanye is discussing include ...

Pornography -- Ye says he used to be addicted to porn, and "Playboy was my gateway into full-on pornography addiction," adding ... "it has impacted every choice I have made in my life from age 5 to now." He says he's now kicked the addiction.

Social media -- Kanye says people are addicted to it ... it's the modern-day cigarettes. He also goes off on Instagram models and NSFW content being easily available to kids.

Premarital sex -- West tells Lowe he asked people he was collaborating with on the new album to abstain from doing it. He adds that he also asked people who were working with him to fast and pray together.

Religion -- He says it's not his desire to convert people through his music, but his only mission and calling it to spread the gospel.

Donald Trump -- He says he's a black Trump supporter, but it's not a fight when he puts a MAGA hat on ... it's simply his opinion, and he's not going to stop expressing his opinion.

His legacy -- Kanye says, "I am unquestionably, undoubtedly the greatest human artist of all time. It's just a fact."

There's plenty more ... stay tuned.

Diddy is looking to reinvent himself again with another name change ... he's taking legal action to switch his name from Sean John to Sean Love.

According to docs, obtained by TMZ ... Diddy filed a petition in Los Angeles County Superior Court for a name change.

In the docs, Diddy says he's changing his name from Sean John Combs to Sean Love Combs. Diddy doesn't expressly say why he's yearning for "Love," he just says there's a desire to change his middle name.

It's kinda interesting ... back in 2017, Diddy joked about changing his name to Brother Love, but he never followed through with an official petition.

Kanye West turned one of L.A.'s most famous indoor venues into an outdoor oasis as fans gathered to hear his new album, "Jesus is King."

Yeezy faithful flocked to The Forum Wednesday to get a listen to Ye's latest project ... the floor of the arena was covered in long grasses to resemble the field where he first started Sunday Services.

The event -- which was a no-phone zone (except for Kim) -- started out with a screening of Kanye's "Jesus is King" IMAX film ... a 30-minute glimpse inside the Roden Crater with sounds from a gospel choir.

Then, Kanye appeared on a makeshift stage in the middle of one of the patches of long grass to play his album. Fans went nuts, crowding around Ye to vibe to the new music.

As for the album ... the production is top-notch, as expected, but the lyrics are noticeably different than Kanye's other stuff. It's totally gospel-based, with mentions of Jesus and being saved throughout ... there's also minimal -- if any -- cursing.

And yes, there was merch ... fans lined up deep to grab $170 sweaters and $45 hats.

Nicki Minaj and Kenneth Petty only got hitched because the clock was ticking on their marriage license ... and they'll have a big bash with friends and family later.

Sources with direct knowledge tell TMZ ... Nicki and Petty got married Monday at a private space in L.A. We're told the only people who attended -- aside from the bride and groom -- was the minister.

As for why the rush ... their marriage license expires at the end of this month, so they had to pull the trigger or start all over again at square one. It's only good for 90 days.

Our sources say Nicki and Kenneth are going the route of Justin and Hailey ... a small, no-frills wedding followed by a church service and massive celebration. As for Nicki and Kenneth ... we're told they're in no rush, but they will plan a big event.

Nicki posted custom bride and groom hats and mugs Monday with the date engraved ... a glimpse into the day's festivities.

Our sources say Nicki and Kenneth were already living as hubby and wife ... even referring to themselves as married, so this isn't a real big change.

One of Offset's baby mamas is taking the rapper to court ... 'cause she wants him to pony up more dough to support their daughter.

Nicole Marie Algarin, who goes by the stage name Shya L'amour, has filed legal docs making several requests but chief among them ... child support for their 4-year-old daughter, Kalea. According to legal docs obtained by TMZ ... Nicole says the Migos rapper has "provided limited financial support" for Kalea, but she's now looking for the judge to order more. Or, at the very least, to formalize court-ordered payments.

In docs, Nicole says they've already taken DNA tests that confirm Offset is Kalea's father. What's more, she says Offset has publicly acknowledged he's Kalea's father -- Offset earlier this year posed with Kalea and captioned a picture on Instagram "Daddy's Girl."

Nicole says she just wants the court to follow suit and officially recognize him as dear ol' dad.

Drake really DOES need some really big rings ... 'cause Drizzy just copped a Toronto Raptors championship ring ... and then got an even CRAZIER one done for himself!!!

TMZ Sports has learned ... not only did the Champagne Papi get the "official" ring the Raptors received during their opening night ceremony on Tuesday ... he also hit up Jason of Beverly Hills to get him a one of a kind ring to commemorate his team's title run.

The piece is incredible -- it's got 30 carats of diamonds, which is more than any other championship ring in NBA history.

Jason tells TMZ Sports ... "Drake had me fly to Turks and Caicos for an emergency design meeting."

"It's a championship that's dear to his heart and he wanted to create an over the top ring that not only paid homage to his city but made a statement above and beyond anything else in history."

As for the rings Kyle Lowry and Co. received on Tuesday ... those have a face made of 74 diamonds (to represent the number of team wins during the season), one large diamond, and custom-cut baguette diamonds to make up the Toronto skyline.

The outer edge of the ring is lined with 16 rubies to go with each roster member's numbers ... and the inside of the ring includes personal messages for each player.

According to the Raptors, it has more than 640 diamonds total -- which is a record for most on any pro-championship ring.

Kevin Hart's slowly but surely getting back on his grind, and that includes carving out time to hang with good friends like Jay-Z.

Kev and Jay were out Monday night in Bev Hills with an impressive crew at Avra. The mogul and the movie star kicked it with Murder Inc. honcho Irv Gotti and LeBron James' right-hand man, Maverick Carter.

They all hung out for about 3 hours inside the joint ... where they played poker, broke bread and exchanged hugs on the way out. We're guessing everyone was congratulating Kevin -- who seemed to be moving around well -- on his amazing recovery from last month's scary crash.

As we've reported, Kev continues to get intensive outpatient therapy, and based on this video ... it is definitely working.

Nicki Minaj says she's married to her high school sweetheart -- and we have every reason to believe her, because the handwriting was on the wall weeks ago.

The Queen MC made the big announcement Monday evening, telling her 106 million followers that her new name is "Onika Tanya Maraj-Petty" ... taking the last name of her new boo, Kenneth Petty ... whom she's been with since at least late last year.

Nicki also posted footage from what appears to be the day they tied the knot ... "10.21.19." In the video that she posted, NM shows off custom bride and groom caps and mugs -- it would seem she and Ken had themselves a party ... this might've been the aftermath.

As we've reported ... Nicki and Ken obtained a marriage license back in June, but told her radio audience in mid-August that she'd gotten it renewed that month ... and would be getting hitched about 80 days from then. Looks like she was right on the money.

Nicki seemed to fall for Kenneth quickly, once they went public. The reason, of course, was they were old flames ... who simply rekindled their romance.

We learned about Ken's old rap sheet -- which includes convictions for manslaughter and attempted rape -- but Nicki made it clear she believes that's all in his past.

Future's pulling out (figuratively speaking, that is) all the stops to ghost a new alleged baby mama ... so she claims in a new paternity case alleging he's fathered his EIGHTH CHILD!!!

Cindy Renae Parker has filed legal docs in Nueces County, Texas alleging Future is the father of her 3-month-old son, Legend Ary Wilburn. No, you didn't read that wrong. Anyway ... according to docs, obtained by TMZ, Cindy claims she's made repeated attempts to serve the rapper with papers, but to no avail.

Sources with direct knowledge tell TMZ ... Cindy says Future agreed to a paternity test but then he went radio silent on her when it came time to get it done. We're told taking Future to court was Cindy's last resort and she wanted to solve this amicably and on their own.

Our sources say Cindy got a judge's permission to serve Future's lawyers in his home state of Georgia ... because cause he's harder to track down than Jimmy Hoffa.

This baby mama drama, of course, is becoming a ritual of sorts for Future. TMZ broke the story ... nearly 2 months ago to the date, Eliza Seraphin filed legal docs in Florida alleging he fathered her 6-month-old daughter.

Eliza, like Cindy, alleged Future ghosted her after she gave birth in April. That case is still pending. No word if Maury Povich has volunteered to offer his services.

Offset, Takeoff, Quavo and Saweetie don't make it rain in the strip club, they make it downpour ... because together they dropped a staggering $45,000 on strippers in less than an hour!!!

Saweetie was at VLive Los Angeles last night hosting the strip club's weekly Reign Sundays promotion when Migos showed up and helped her throw around an insane amount of cash ... and we've got it all on video.

Our sources say Migos pulled up to the club around 1:20 AM and by the time the rappers left at 2 AM, they helped Saweetie drop $45k on exotic dancers. Now that's a nice hourly rate for the girls!!!

The money was flowing, and so was the booze ... we're told the club comped bottle service for Migos and Saweetie -- rose, Patron and Hennessy.

Snoop Dogg enjoyed some very special flowers for his birthday -- a customized bouquet enhanced with 4 dozen joints!!! Take that, baby's breath.

Snoop celebrated his 48th bday Sunday, and the folks who know him best surprised him with one of the things he loves most on this Earth ... WEED!!!

Check out this ganja gift ... it's a flower arrangement with 48 pre-rolled joints filled with the stickiest of the icky ... one for each of Snoop's trips around the sun.

Snoop's present is the creation of the cannabis floral designer and artist, Leslie K Monroy ... and she tells us folks at Snoop's weed company, Merry Jane, saw some of her work at Flowers on Flowers and just had to get something dank for the Doggfather.

We're told half the joints are filled with Indica and the other half with Sativa ... and the bouquet also includes 4 small weed clones and 8 tall clones, in addition to the normal plants. We know what you're thinking: Next Mother's Day is gonna be lit!

No word what kinda birthday cake Snoop had, but we guarantee it tasted really good!!!

Kanye West has gone international with his Sunday Service ... this time the destination was Jamaica.

Kanye barreled into Kingston Friday for a concert in Emancipation Park, to the delight of a huge crowd that crammed into the space for the 2-hour service.

No sign of Kim and the kids ... they could have made the trip, but they were nowhere in sight.

Kanye did bring along a choir of at least 120 people. He opened the service with the gospel song, "Prince of Peace," and also performed Damian Marley's "Welcome to Jamrock." He closed the show with "Jesus Walks."

The concert was made even better by weather conditions ... it was a cool, breezy night.  Some of the people in the crowd were so overcome with emotion they were sobbing.

Kanye and company were all wearing City of Kingston shirts. He launched Jamaica themed merchandise on his online shop.

Some people on social media, however, blasted Ye for profiting off government logos without paying royalties.

DaBaby is helping a homeless mother climb out of poverty after shouting out her hat business on social media ... because her products are now flying off the rack.

Since DaBaby pimped Amanda Rose's beanie biz on Instagram, following a chance meeting at his pop-up shop in Atlanta, the 23-year-old mom tells us she's received over 4,000 orders for her handmade hats.

DaBaby's clout is pretty enormous ... Amanda tells us before getting the rapper's endorsement, she was barely making ends meet with 3 to 4 orders per month.

Amanda, who's been living out of a 1999 Nissan Maxima with her son Nick, waited outside DaBaby's pop up for 3 hours hoping to meet him and sell him a hat. When she finally got inside, DaBaby delivered way more than just a single order.

It's pretty crazy ... DaBaby gave her $1,000 on the spot and filmed a quick hit for her hat biz, Lovely Stitching. With thousands of orders flowing in within a matter of hours, Amanda rushed to create a website, and she tells us she's saving up to rent an apartment.

Kanye West's crusade to corner the market for his Sunday Service gear just got shot down by the trademark gods ... of the U.S., anyway.

Ye applied for exclusive ownership of the mark, "Sunday Service," to slap it on clothing, dresses, footwear, headwear, jackets, loungewear, scarves, shirts, socks and tops. But, the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office shut him down because, basically ... someone's already working that corner!!!

According to the docs, obtained by TMZ, someone else already registered the name -- and therefore Kanye using it would likely cause confusion in the marketplace.

We broke the story ... Kanye applied for the trademark in July. He'd started selling gear even before that, on Easter Sunday, to coincide with his performance at Coachella. He was hawking hoodies for $165 and $225 a pop and socks for $50.

Since then, his Sunday Service events have become a weekly attraction all over the country -- from Wyoming to Queens, NY -- attracting big crowds and celebs.