TMZ Hip Hop - Page 50

Tekashi 6ix9ine was savagely beaten by a group of men inside a South Florida gym ... with injuries so bad the controversial rapper was rushed to a hospital by ambulance.

6ix9ine's attorney, Lance Lazzaro, tells TMZ ... the rapper was inside the sauna Tuesday at an LA Fitness when all of the sudden he was attacked by several guys without warning.

Lazzaro says 6ix9ine tried to fight off the combatants, but there were too many of them, beating him to a pulp before fleeing. Lance notes 6ix9ine did not have security with him at the time of the attack.

Gym staff heard the commotion and immediately notified a manager. Police and EMS were then called to the scene, and he was transported to a hospital by ambulance.

We've obtained a photo of Tekashi taken from the hospital where you can see the damage to his face -- with gashes and swelling. We're told he also suffered injuries to his jaw, ribs and his back.

The next step, Lazzaro says, is he plans to call the Feds to make sure 6ix9ine gets the protection he clearly needs. Remember, he was granted early release from federal prison after cooperating with authorities to land several of his gang member cohorts behind bars.

It's currently unclear if the gym attack had anything to do with Tekashi's cooperation.

Sydney Leday, a woman who claims she too was injured by the bullets flying the day Takeoff was killed, has been on the long road to recovery, one that she says has racked up medical bills in the 6-figures.

The 24-year-old spoke to "The Shade Room" on her lingering traumas and revealed she owes over $200k to the hospital where she stayed for a week after slipping into a coma.

Sydney was left with a bald spot where she was shot in the head, and now attends therapy sessions to treat her PTSD ... admitting loud events like New Year's Eve are triggers.

She called the November 1 shooting "senseless" and says the other witnesses are still traumatized all the same.

Houston Police arrested a man named Patrick Clark who they believe is responsible for shooting Takeoff but have still not named a suspect for the bullet that struck Sydney.

Afroman is being dragged to court by the same Ohio sheriff's deputies who searched his home ... because the deputies are pissed the rapper's using footage from the raid to make money.

Several deputies and sergeants are suing Afroman, claiming he's using videos and pictures from the August raid at his Ohio home in music videos, and selling merchandise with their images.

According to the lawsuit, obtained by TMZ, the deputies claim Afroman was not home at the time of the raid, but his wife was in the home and she whipped out a cell phone and recorded the search. The officers also claim Afroman's home was full of security cameras, which also recorded deputies during the raid.

Their main gripe is this ... deputies didn't give Afroman permission to use the footage in music videos, or to slap their faces on merch ... and he's profiting off their images and likenesses.

In the suit, the officers say Afroman's music videos, social media posts and merchandise related to the raid amount to an invasion of privacy and misappropriation of their likenesses ... and they say it's causing them emotional distress, ridicule, humiliation, loss of reputation and embarrassment.

For his part, Afroman says deputies raided his home in search of narcotics but came up empty ... and he claims deputies ended up seizing cash during the search, $400 of which wasn't returned. The Clermont County Sheriff's Office investigated and found that the Adams County sheriffs had miscounted the money seized and the correct amount had been returned.

Latto can see daylight in her airport loaded gun arrest ... it's been a lengthy process, but we've learned she's nearing the finish line to finally getting the charges dropped.

Records show Latto was busted in May 2021 at LAX and charged with carrying a loaded firearm and carrying a concealed weapon. She subsequently entered a year-long diversion program which started in April 2022.

Law enforcement sources tell TMZ ... the program required Latto to complete a gun safety course, perform 120 hours of community service and avoid all firearms.

We're told if she completes all the requirements, both charges will be dismissed -- and there's a hearing set for late April to see if she's satisfied all the conditions.

If ya missed it, Latto made a pretty public confession when she featured on Mello Buckzz's new track, "Boom Pt. 2" ... rapping the lyric, "I got locked up in the airport, goddamn forgot the gun."

Before J. Cole was smoking his rap competition, he was regularly smoking cigarettes in elementary school -- but he credits his mother for setting him straight!!!

Cole made the shocking confession on Golden State Warriors General Manager Bob Myers' "Lead By Example" podcast and admitted to taking his first tobacco puffs at just six ... attempting to impress the older kids in his Fayetteville, N.C. neighborhood.

Cole says he didn't have a strict upbringing but when his older brother, Zach, got wind of his shenanigans, he told their mom ... and she immediately smelled the cigs on his breath and proceeded to give him a "life-changing" ass whooping!!!

The Dreamville rapper recalls immediately growing remorseful for initially lying to his mother about smoking and changed his ways, which brought him to his true love for making music. Obviously, that panned out for him.

After five platinum albums, he's been hinting at retirement but still oversees his stable of Dreamville artists, who all just combined forces for the "Creed III" soundtrack last month.

The Weeknd is officially the G.O.A.T ... at least, according to the folks at Guinness World Records, whose data shows he's officially the most popular artist on the planet!!!

Weeknd just broke 2 new records on Spotify ... one for most monthly listeners in Spotify history by breaching the 111-million mark, and another for being the first artist to breach the 100-million monthly listeners' mark in general.

He recently joined Michael Jackson as the only artist with multiple No. 1 songs from 3 of his albums ... thanks to his recently released "Die For You (Remix)" with Ariana Grande.

The 2020 track "Blinding Lights" is also the biggest song EVER ... achieving the most Spotify streams, and it's also the longest charting song on the Billboard Hot 100 of all time with a total of 90 weeks on the chart.

XXXTentacion's family can finally turn the page over his tragic murder now that 3 men were found guilty of killing him -- so says his mother ... who's relieved justice was served.

The late rapper's mom, Cleopatra Bernard, tells TMZ ... she and her brood are grateful the jury delivered a guilty verdict, and thankful prosecutors were able to secure it through their work at trial. She says this has given them closure and will allow them to move forward in peace.

We're told she's also sending love and thanks to all of XXX's supporters ... who showed up for him in a variety of ways during this saga -- both digitally and, in some cases, in person.

As for whether Cleopatra anticipated this outcome, she tells us she actually did ... and went into court Monday expecting all three defendants would be found guilty of murder -- which, of course, they were after about 2 weeks of deliberations. She was also wearing an XXX shirt.

Cleopatra says the experience has been gut-wrenching but is glad it's all over now.

One last thing from Cleopatra here -- she tells us that the attempt to rope Drake into this trial from the defense side was a transparently desperate ploy just to raise doubt -- and insists she and her loved ones always knew who was responsible for her son's death.

Young Dolph was planning to expand his Paper Route Empire into the world of TV and film before he died ... a strategy the late rap star expressed to his team in this newly released footage.

In the conclusion of “Love For the Streets,” a track that appears on Dolph's posthumous LP "Paper Route Frank," Dolph toasts golden champagne bottles with his PRE team, urging them to get their life affairs in order for their 2021 takeover.

Unfortunately, Dolph was shot and killed in November of that year but his team has been keeping his name going strong with exhibits like his pop-up museum and drops like the new music video ... which also goes the distance in showing off his fleet of camouflaged luxury whips.

The 3 men accused of killing XXXTentaction have just been found guilty of murder in the 2018 shooting.

The verdicts came in Monday for Michael Boatwright, Trayvon Newsome, and Dedrick Williams. The decisions follow the jury's deliberations, which started March 8.

As we reported, 20-year-old XXX was at a South Florida motorcycle dealership almost 5 years ago when prosecutors say he became the victim of a robbery -- getting shot while in his vehicle. They say the men ran off with $50K in cash and a Louis Vuitton bag.

The 3 were charged with first-degree murder with a firearm and armed robbery ... and in closing arguments last month, defense attorney Joseph Kimok claimed evidence clears all 3 men from the crime -- saying the DNA found on the rapper's body and necklace didn't belong to them.

You'll recall, a 4th man named Robert Allen was also arrested in connection to the killing ... but he pled guilty last year to second-degree murder and agreed to testify against the other 3 suspects, adding he was hesitant about the robbery and even asked the others to ditch the idea in the moment.

In a discovery and bail hearing for Allen back in 2018, surveillance video from the dealership was shown -- which appeared to show the entire thing going down in real time.

Rick Ross is grateful one of his neighbors is pointing out he has a problem with stray pets ... a few of his cattle and bison are roaming a little too freely.

Rick says he always manages to corral the livestock on his "Promise Land" estate ... no easy feat, seeing as how the property sits on 235 acres of land. Rozay compares it to the popular TV series "Yellowstone" ... AKA it's the wild wild west when it comes to the wildlife!!!

The level of damage the bison caused to the neighbor's yard doesn't seem like the equivalent of returning a lost pooch ... but the MMG rapper explained they're actually peaceful animals that will graciously accept carrots on request!!!

We broke the story -- one of Rick's neighbors of his Fayetteville estate grew INFURIATED his bison were destroying her yard ... but he urged his neighbors to be courteous and reminded them to keep collars on their pets.

French Montana just got hit with a lawsuit stemming from a shooting that took place while he celebrated the release of his mixtape and filmed a music video ... an incident that left 10 people injured.

According to the suit, obtained by TMZ, French was filming the music video with fellow rapper Rob49 for their song, "Igloo," at The Licking in Miami Gardens in January.

The suit says French personally ordered the move to the restaurant after a robbery had occurred across the street involving production staff and unknown assailants. Plaintiff Carl Leon says he was asked to be an extra in the video and was present along with about 80 or so other crew members.

Leon says an "unknown individual caused severe injury to multiple people, including the Plaintiff."

He goes on to say the Miami Gardens PD investigated, concluding that French failed to get the necessary permits required by the city to ensure the set was safe and secure with proper police protection.

As you may recall, Police Chief Delma Noel-Pratt released a statement at the time, essentially blaming French and his crew for the shooting. The chief said French and Co. should have notified police beforehand so protocols would have been put in place to avert such violence.

French, his record label, Coke Boys, and the restaurant are all named defendants in the suit.

Leon's attorney, Josiah Graham of the Graham Injury Firm, filed the suit Monday. Leon is asking for more than $50,000 in damages, claiming the defendants were negligent.

Rick Ross has a home, a BIG one, where his pet buffalo roam ... yet the giant beasts still range onto his neighbor's yard, and she's worried because her young kids play outside.

The neighbor, who lives on a plot of land behind RR's Fayetteville, GA compound, tells TMZ ... the two buffaloes -- aka bison -- have wandered onto her property twice this week. Keep in mind, adult buffalo can tip the scales at around 2,000 lbs.!!!

She's worried they may pose a danger to her small children.

TMZ obtained video showing Rick's behemoth pets running through the neighbor's front yard ... and she says she came home from work to discover the wild scene.

She also snapped photos of the buffaloes grazing on the grass near a paved driveway full of parked cars.

Rick's neighbor says she went to the rapper's place to confront him about the buffaloes grazing on her property ... which turned into a verbal dispute with a member of Rick's team.

Unsatisfied with that interaction, she says her next step is filing a neighbor dispute with the city. She tried calling police, but they told her it's a civil dispute and didn't take a report.

In addition to the potential danger the roaming animals pose to the woman's kids, they also appear to be tearing up her yard. Definitely not as important, but it could still be costly.

Remember, Rick was gifted the bison last March and they are absolutely huge. He also has four horses and a bull. No deer or antelope, though.

Patrick Beverley's right -- at least, that's what Ja Rule is saying, telling TMZ Sports he believes Ja Morant is absolutely being poorly influenced by hip hop.

The Chicago Bulls guard made waves earlier this week by sayin' he believed rap and the culture surrounding it are contributing to Morant's recent missteps ... and when we got Ja Rule out at LAX this week, he couldn't have agreed more.

He said growing up he was influenced to smoke weed by Redman's "How To Roll A Blunt" -- and pressured to drink booze by Snoop Dogg's "Gin and Juice" ... and he made it clear, he thinks Morant is being similarly impacted by today's tunes.

But, the "Holla Holla" rapper told us he thinks Morant needs to quit all of that ASAP ... telling us, "that ain't the way."

"Go play ball, man," he said. "The streets ain't about nothing, man. Go grind on 'em. Keep balling. That's it, man."

Morant has been investigated by police at least three times in the past calendar year -- most recently when he was seen on video flashing a gun at a strip club earlier this month.

Each time, Morant has dodged charges ... though he admitted in a sit-down interview with Jalen Rose this week he needs to start making better choices.

"In the future," he told Rose, "I will show everybody who Ja really is, what I'm about and change this narrative."

Ja Morant's publicity problems are now costing NLE Choppa, whose new song was all set to be featured in a Powerade commercial ... that is, until the NBA star flashed a gun on camera.

Sources with direct knowledge tell TMZ Hip Hop ... NLE's newest track, "Mo Up Front," was set to lead Ja and Powerade's "What 50% More Means" ad campaign. The TV spot was going to highlight the NCAA's March Madness tournament.

Those plans were scrapped, of course, in wake of Ja's infamous gun-waving video and subsequent eight-game suspension from the NBA ... thereby screwing NLE out of the commercial placement for his track.

Despite missing out on the national exposure, we're told the Memphis rapper is still a fan of Ja, and maintains a relationship with his hometown Grizzlies. He walked the team out onto the court for their home opener, so he's a diehard.

NLE is scheduled to partake in the team's celebrity basketball game on March 20 to benefit St. Jude's hospital. As for the music ... we're hearing he still has mo' heat in the can.

Avril Lavigne is looking iced out these days ... and the new, flashy jewelry around her neck comes courtesy of her new bf, Tyga.

Eric Mavani, a celebrity jeweler out of New York City, tells TMZ ... Tyga gifted Avril the custom diamond chain Thursday, and the piece is worth $80K.

Avril's already posted selfies flaunting the chain and was spotted wearing it Thursday night in Los Angeles.

We're told the bling features 50 carats of white diamonds, black diamonds and pink sapphires. Diversity matters! 💎😂

As you can see, the chain features several pendants ... one with Avril's first name, two with the letter "A" imposed over a pink heart, and a pair of skulls and crossbones with pink ribbons.

We're told Tyga reached out to Eric three weeks ago, right before Paris Fashion Week, to make the piece.

The timing is worth noting ... because Tyga and Avril started hanging out a lot more when they were in Paris, kissing for the cameras and strolling through the streets hand in hand.

TMZ broke the story ... Tyga and Avril are still in the early stages of dating, and they're not putting any labels ... like girlfriend/boyfriend on anything, at least not yet.

It will be interesting to see if the expensive diamond gift changes that.

Travis Scott's skills as a fashion innovator are coming under fire by Dennis Rodman ... who's accusing the superstar rapper of copying the look of his signature sneakers.

Dennis went after Travis at Got Sole's recent sneaker convention in Chicago as the NBA champ pointed out his high-top kicks originated the reverse Nike Swoosh logo before Travis' model hit the market.

The Worm's Nike Air Darwin shoe dropped in 1994, shortly before his days of playing with Michael Jordan and the Bulls. Travis and Jordan Brand connected for his popular mocha-colored AJ1 Retro High OG sneakers in 2019.

Dennis didn't seem to be a fan of Travis' shoe, and said he just wants his credit for putting out the design first.