TMZ Hip Hop - Page 50

Cardi B says she wanted to take her own life after seeing the alleged lies posted by a blogger who's now on trial in federal court.

Cardi's lawsuit against the blogger, Tasha K, is now being tried in a federal courtroom in Georgia, and on Thursday morning, Cardi took the stand. She told the jury, "I wanted to commit suicide over the things" Tasha was saying about her.

Tasha made several video posts back in 2018 and 2019 about Cardi, claiming she had been a prostitute and had contracted multiple STIs ... among many other things, which prompted Cardi's lawsuit. As we reported, Tasha didn't take it well when she was served with the papers.

In court, Cardi also testified ... "I felt defeated and depressed and I didn't want to sleep with my husband." This was all going down shortly after Offset and Cardi welcomed their first child, Kulture ... and Cardi told the court she felt like "I didn't deserve my kid."

Cardi's attorney asked her what she thought about Tasha after seeing the posts, and she said ... "I felt like only a demon could do that s**t." The rapper actually apologized to the judge for swearing after that statement.

She eventually broke down in tears after repeating the ordeal made her feel suicidal.

Cardi is still on the stand, and could be cross-examined by Tasha's attorney later Thursday.

Kodak Black isn't in any sort of legal trouble over his NHL game grind sesh ... cops tell TMZ Sports there's no investigation into the matter because "they were not having sex."

The rapper was spotted at the Florida Panthers game on Tuesday enjoying a lapful of butt from his lady friend in a box suite ... and many thought the two were actually getting it on.

Video shot from across the arena showed the couple grinding on each other ... though a more zoomed-in angle of the action seemed to show they were only dancing.

A spokesperson for the Sunrise Police Dept. tells us officers were present in the suite at the time of the action ... and insist the two were not having sex.

"They were just dancing very provocatively," the spokesperson said.

We're told cops asked Kodak and his partner to stop shortly after they began ... and the rapper complied with no issues whatsoever.

Kanye West is a named suspect on an alleged battery early Thursday morning -- allegedly punching a fan -- TMZ has learned, and LAPD is investigating.

Law enforcement sources tell us ... Ye got into some sort of argument that allegedly turned physical around 3 AM in DTLA. We're told the incident occurred near the Soho Warehouse. We do not know if Ye was at Soho before the incident, but given the time, it seems likely.

We're told Kanye allegedly pushed and then punched a male fan ... the case is being investigated as misdemeanor battery ... a crime that carries a maximum jail sentence of 6 months.

FOX 11 -- who first broke the story -- says Kanye knocked the fan to the ground.

We've obtained video of an irate Kanye shot sometime between Wednesday night and Thursday morning. You hear Kanye yell, "Did y'all say that or not? Did y'all say that or not?" "Cuz that's what happened right f****** now."

Earlier in the evening, Kanye was partying at Delilah in WeHo with girlfriend Julia Fox. He left and drove off alone ... Julia stayed at the club.

We've reached out to Kanye's team ... so far, no word back.

Kanye West is clearly working to send a message to Kim Kardashian, showing some PDA of his own with new GF Julia Fox less than 24 hours after Kim and Pete Davidson got cozy on their own date night.

Ye and Julia hit Delilah in West Hollywood with some of Kanye's famous friends Wednesday night. Inside, the two sat next to each other on a couch, vibing with the music played in the club. However, it's what happened outside that has everyone talking.

As the two got ready to leave, Kanye planted a big kiss right on Julia's lips. It's not the first time we've seen the two share a little PDA -- they literally did a whole photo shoot -- but the timing of the kiss seems more than coincidental.

Kim and Pete grabbed pizza and ice cream together Tuesday night, and it was during the ice cream run at Rite Aid when we saw the two loved-up and cuddling ... a huge sign things are getting serious.

Kanye, without a doubt, saw those pics -- so you gotta imagine there was a bit of a revenge factor that played into smooching Julia.

We should note, inside Delilah, Ye and Julia were joined by the likes of Madonna, Floyd Mayweather, Antonio Brown, The Game and Evan Ross.

Antonio Brown is livin' it up in Los Angeles -- hanging with Floyd Mayweather, Kanye West, Julia Fox and Madonna -- all while Tom Brady and the rest of his former teammates prepare for the NFL playoffs.

TMZ Sports is told 33-year-old AB met up with Floyd at the legendary Tengoose boxing gym in Los Angeles Wednesday night. The friends chopped it up ... and Mayweather offered Brown help rehabbing his injured ankle.

After they left the gym, the undefeated fighter and AB -- who was cut by the Bucs last week after walking off the field during a game -- linked up with Madonna, Ye, and Julia Fox at Hollywood hotspot, Delilah.

Ye and Fox have been inseparable since meeting at a New Year's Eve party in South Florida.

While at Delilah, we're told the group had a blast ... listening to music, talking about Ye's next album, "Donda 2," and Floyd's upcoming exhibition fight in Dubai.

Once they left Delilah, they headed to the Hollywood Unlocked studio.

During the night, Kanye also let Floyd model some of his new Yeezy hoodies.

It's not the first time Ye and AB have hung out. The guys went to another L.A. hotspot, Craig's, earlier this week ... where they grabbed dinner.

Young Thug's travel plans were quickly shifted after one man in his party allegedly didn't have the proper ID to fly -- causing the rapper to blow up on the pilot -- and ending with cops getting the call to the runway.

Young Thug was traveling with friends, including Gunna, Wednesday when the altercation went down. The group was supposed to take a private jet from Miami to New York, but that itinerary apparently hit a speed bump when one of the men traveling with TY didn't have the proper docs to fly.

As you see in the video, the pilot asked him to step off the plane before it took off ... but that wasn't the end of the problems.

The pilot informs YT someone traveling in the group made the flight attendant feel uncomfortable, and therefore they can't fly. It's never explained in the video exactly what happened to the flight attendant.

Cops were called to the scene, and law enforcement sources say everything was sorted out, and Gunna and Young Thug booked another plane to their destination.

Nicki Minaj can breathe easier -- a lawsuit claiming the rapper harassed and threatened the woman who accused Nicki's husband of sexual assault has been dropped ... and Nicki's planning to go after the woman to recoup money lost in legal fees.

According to legal docs, obtained by TMZ, the lawsuit against Nicki was voluntarily dismissed Wednesday by Jennifer Hough. A source close to the case tells us there was not any sort of financial settlement reached to make it go away. Nicki's husband, Kenneth Petty, remains a defendant.

In a blistering response, Nicki's attorney, Judd Burstein, tells TMZ Jennifer and her lawyers thought they could shake Nicki down for some easy money, trying to financially settle it from the beginning.

We've seen an email Burstein sent to Hugh's lawyer, Tyrone Blackburn, which reads, in part, "In my view, your conduct in pursuing this case against Nicki represents the worst of our legal system: bottom-feeding lawyers who pursue frivolous actions against a celebrity assuming that they will be paid off if they throw enough dirt."

Judd continues, "You forced my client to spend over $300,000 in fees to defend a case which even my labradoodle, Gracie, could see was frivolous on both the facts and the law."

Kenneth was convicted of trying to rape Jennifer in 1995, and she's since spoken publicly about the ordeal.

TMZ broke the story, Jennifer sued Nicki in August, claiming Nicki and her legal team had offered to pay Jennifer to change her story about what happened with Kenneth.

Kanye West is plotting on Putin -- he wants to have a sit-down meeting with the Russian leader, that is ... and his team is rooting for the ultimate link up.

We caught up with Ye's manager Bu Thiam, and he's definitely here for a Vladimir Putin meets West sit down ... despite many folks who are side-eyeing the whole situation.

Bu says he looooves the idea of the two men sitting down and having a conversation... “That’s King Ye, Why not?” he asked. Well, depends on who he's asking ...

While many people have suspicions about the Russian leader's alleged brutal tactics ... when it comes to Putin, Bu says that he loves him and backed him up by saying most leaders have to make tough decisions.

He dusted off any backlash saying, in America "we hate" everybody that’s not American ... he even doubled down on that by claiming Putin is loved by his own people.

As we previously told you ... Kanye reportedly wants to have a meeting with the Russian leader. He also is planning to start doing his Sunday Service shows in the country starting in the spring or summer.

Ye's team is divided on the topic, with some saying none of this is happening. His business associate told Billboard about the plans, but then his PR rep shot down the story, saying it was "entirely fabricated."

There were more than 15,000 people at the Florida Panthers game on Tuesday ... but no one had as good a time as Kodak Black -- who enjoyed a raunchy twerk sesh from a woman in a box suite during the action!!!

The rapper hit the NHL contest in Sunrise with some killer rinkside seats ... and video showed the dude had an absolute blast watching the Panthers take on the Vancouver Canucks.

He was mingling with fans, taking selfies and zooming in on the on-ice action ... before he hit a luxury box for a little alone time with his lady friend.

One fan spotted the two from afar in the suite -- and it actually appeared like they were getting it on just feet from Panthers execs and hockey fans.

But, a closer look revealed there was nothing X-rated about their actions ... Kodak was simply enjoying a bit of a lap dance!!!

Black posted the zoomed-in footage to his IG ... writing, "Fly Lifestyle."

Kodak and every other Panthers fan eventually left the arena happy ... 'cause Florida took care of Vancouver, 5-2.

Travis Scott's album cover from years ago is landing him in hot water in France ... where one artist is definitely not saying "c'est la vie" over what he claims is outright theft of his art.

A man named Mickaël Mehala -- who also goes by Black Childish -- is suing Travis in his home country, where he alleges the rapper jacked his original artwork for "Travis La Flame" ... an official compilation project which includes a lot of songs from his mixtape "Days Before Rodeo," among others.

The album cover is well known among TS stans ... and has even been featured on Travis' YouTube page and Tidal page at one point or another. That's a problem for Mehala, who claims he actually created this piece himself in 2015 and sent it to Trav via Instagram DM in 2016 -- the same year 'La Flame' dropped -- so he could see it and share it with fans.

Mehala says he never heard back from Travis, but lo and behold ... he saw his centaur art featured front and center when 'La Flame' rolled out, which was big news at the time.

In the French legal docs, obtained by TMZ, Mehala claims he formally registered a copyright for the art in February 2019. He also says he was blowing up Travis and his management team about the issue, and finally heard back from one of his attorneys in the summer of 2019.

He claims the lawyer told him Travis was unaware of using art belonging to anyone in particular. While the lawsuit notes the centaur shot's since been removed from multiple platforms carrying 'La Flame' ... Mehala apparently still wants his day in court.

He also wants d'argent, or as Travis would say ... money, and lots of it. Mehala's suing for hundreds of thousands of dollars, and sole control of his centaur going forward.

We've reached out to Travis' team, but no word back yet.

Kim Kardashian's got no beef with Kanye dating actress Julia Fox, and actually believes the fact Julia's a huge fan of the Kardashian family could be a good sign of things to come in co-parenting with Kanye.

Sources close to Kim tell us she's happy to see Kanye out smiling again, and only wants to see him end up with a good person -- something that's up to Kanye to figure out -- and not for Kim to judge.

As you know, Julia has raved about the Kardashian family, calling herself a "Die-Hard" fan of 'Keeping Up.'

Our sources say, in Kim's eyes, the fact Julia admires her is a good thing -- and if her relationship with Ye continues to grow and Julia comes around the kids -- it'll make co-parenting easier if everyone gets along.

We're told Kim has fully moved on from her romantic relationship with Kanye ... and positive vibes are all she wants for her estranged hubby.

Of course, Kim's been having plenty of fun of her own with Pete Davidson -- most recently they were in the Bahamas with friends, and before that they rendezvous'd in Palm Springs, and enjoyed private dinners in NYC and L.A.

Kanye West has his sights set on Moscow -- where he reportedly wants a powwow with the Vladimir Putin, not to mention a vast plan to establish roots in Mother Russia.

Ye is gunning for a meeting with the Russian President, and also wants to do a series of Sunday Service shows in the man's country fairly soon -- sometime in the spring or summer, in fact ... this according to Billboard, who spoke to KW's biz associate, Ameer Sudan.

Sudan says Ye's schedule will dictate when this all happens, but assures Billboard that the wheels are already in motion to broker a face-to-face between Putin and Kanye.

Sounds like a lot of this is going to be handled by some Russian friends Ye has apparently cozied up to of late -- tycoon real estate developer Aras Agalarov and his son Emin Agalarov ... the so-called "Trumps of Russia," and clients of attorney Scott Balber, whom Sudan says is also helping Kanye make this happen. Unclear if Balber reps Ye personally.

Anywyay, speaking of Emin -- who's actually an aspiring musical artist himself -- Kanye is said to be intent on helping him blow up here in the States via collaboration, so says Sudan.

There's more ... Sudan says Ye's business relationship with the Agalarovs will bear lucrative -- with deals he says they're working on that'll supposedly send his net worth sky-high, north of $10 billion, he claims. So, in other words ... Ye is all in on Russia, it seems.

Sudan went so far to say that Kanye would be making the area a "second home," telling Billboard the guy plans to spend a lot of time out there going forward. As for where those Sunday Service concerts would happen -- word is, he has the Crocus City Hall in mind, and will invite President Putin as his guest. It's a big venue ... capable of seating over 7,000.

Other options are being considered too, per Billboard, like the Grand Sports Arena at the Luzhniki Olympic Complex, where the Olympics were once held. Capacity there is 80k-plus.

One last thing ... Sudan says Kanye is aware of the international strife between the U.S. and Russia -- namely, Putin encroaching on Ukraine, among other things -- but had this to say about it ... "This is Ye, Ye is going to get there regardless. What are they going to say? He's going to be a special guest of the Agalarovs."

He adds, "Kanye knows what's going on more than the average human being, he's well aware of things. And it's nothing against the United States or to cause conflicts, but Ye is Ye -- he can't be controlled."

Welp, now he's got 100 of 'em -- Jay-Z is fuming the feds refuse to release to a man who's served 14 years for weed, and says one of the government's reasons for holding him ... involves a leftover prison meal.

Jay's Team Roc is taking up the cause of a guy named Valon Vailes ... who's serving a 20-year prison sentence for intent to distribute more than a ton of marijuana. Vailes, who was convicted in 2007,  reached out to Jay-Z last year asking him to help him get a reduced sentence -- but in new court docs, Team Roc says the feds won't budge over some "ticky-tac" prison offenses.

Team Roc attorney Alex Spiro says Vailes more than meets the terms for compassionate release, but in docs he says federal prosecutors won't allow it because Vailes dared to ... wait for it ... sneak some leftover chicken from the prison mess hall to his cell.

Seriously. Cold-ass chicken ... that's what we're talking about?

If that wasn't petty enough, in the docs -- obtained by TMZ -- Spiro says Vailes is also getting dinged for merely using a piece of his prison uniform as "workout equipment."

Jay and Team Roc are incensed because they say Vailes, who's now 56, has been a model inmate in every way possible -- he's earned his GED -- and has a "mentally ill" brother at home who needs a caretaker. Vailes' mother had been taking care of the brother, but she died in 2020.

In his letter to Jay, Vailes discussed his frustration with watching corporations and individuals make billions off legalized marijuana, while he rots in prison over it.

Antonio Brown appears to be showing some regret over his infamous, shirtless breakup with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers ... admitting his wild outburst was unprofessional and unnecessary.

AB touched down in Los Angeles Monday afternoon after a week of living it up in NYC ... and just hours after his flight to the west coast, he hit up hotspot Craig's for a bite to eat with his new buddy, Kanye West.

But, before he went inside, the Super Bowl champ had a quick convo with the camera guys about his bizarre departure from last Sunday's game ... and he seems to wish he had handled himself differently.

"It probably wasn't necessary or professional," AB said ... all while keeping a smile on his face.

It's an interesting admission -- AB had previously been giving the middle finger to the Bucs since the breakup ... claiming they were trying to force him to play with an ankle injury prior to his exit.

Despite all the drama, AB has shifted his focus to music ... and has been linking up with some huge names like Fabolous after his season ended.

As for why he dined with Kanye? Rumor has it the rap legend wants to collab with AB on a track.

Kanye West and Julia Fox certainly know how to attract attention, hitting one of the most-trafficked celeb spots in L.A. for a dinner date night ... all while kinda-sorta matching their outfits.

The two arrived separately to Craig's Monday night, Kanye wearing his signature hoodie, jeans, sunglasses and boots -- while Julia wore similar colors -- with a tight jacket, jeans, heels and what appears to be a Balenciaga handbag.

It's the first time we've seen the new couple together on the West Coast -- they were up and down the East last week in both Miami and NYC -- hitting dinner, doing an impromptu photoshoot and Kanye dressing his new boo in Balenciaga.

However, it wasn't just Ye and Fox at Craig's Monday, they were joined by former Tampa Bay Buccaneer Antonio Brown, who is reportedly going to be making music with Ye in the near future.

No word on what the table conversation consisted of, but with that trio, there's certainly a wide scope of possibilities.

A Doja Cat fan is behind bars Sunday after making a bomb threat at her concert.

Doja Cat was performing at a concert in Indianapolis Saturday night, when the impatient fan wanted to cut the line to get inside.

A Deputy Police Chief told the IndyStar, "A fan wanted to advance in line so he exercised very poor judgment and told those around him in line he had a bomb in his backpack."

Cops were called and no explosives were found, but the guy was arrested for unrelated, outstanding warrants.

It's always insane for anyone to make such a threat, but especially in these times... and not just because of the political landscape. After the Astroworld tragedy, lots of people are on edge at concerts, so something like this predictably will cause chaos.

A concertgoer posted this ...  "Just waited 4 hours to see doja cat for their [sic] to be a literal bomb threat(???) scariest moment of my actual life the ground was covered in ice we were all running and slipping around literally so scary."

A fan was also freaked out ... "We were considering leaving before the bomb threat happened. Saw the front of the line push everyone back and dipped out of there. Not going back."

By the way ... another, smaller incident once the concert began. Doja Cat stopped the show for a short while because 2 fans were fighting.