TMZ Hip Hop - Page 6

Offset brought vibes and stuff to New York City last night to boost the awareness of his upcoming "Kiari" album for the ultimate test amongst the Big Apple's club crowd!!!

TMZ Hip Hop obtained video of Offset and his merry band of amigos inside NYC's The Boiler Room ... the rap star hyped up the crowd behind the DJ booth as he ran through some of his new tracks.

The album drops Friday, and judging by the crowd's reaction, he'll have "bodies" moving on the dance floor ... or maybe the bedroom.

Ray J put on a show for our "TMZ After Dark" tour riders Saturday night ... no, it wasn't a rap show, it was a striptease -- 'cause he popped his shirt off!

The rapper joined us once again on the new tour -- he's our most regular celebrity rider so far -- and, he gave the whole group an unforgettable experience ... kicking off by showing everyone what it's like to be the subject of paparazzi pics.

A whole bunch of paps shot Ray J through the door ... and, he told the riders this is the life of a celeb in H'wood -- before taking them around to some of the hottest spots in the area.

5:50 PM PT -- Stephen Jackson has spoken out regarding his initial post, saying he removed the post because him and Lil Yachty spoke and apologized to each other -- claiming Yachty understands the outrage -- and Jackson says "I salute him" for owning up to his mistakes.

Lil Yachty is catchin' serious heat over a lyric about George Floyd in a new song, with ex-NBA star Stephen Jackson leading the charge, calling it some "weak ass s***!"

The star hip hop artist was on PlaqueBoyMax's live stream on Thursday when he previewed the track ... and one of his bars went like this: "Put my knee up on her neck, I went George Floyd."

Jackson -- a 14-season NBA veteran -- felt some type of way about the lyric, a reference to the 2020 murder of his close friend Floyd, who lost his life after a Minneapolis cop knelt on his neck during an arrest.

Nipsey Hussle would've turned 40 today, August 15, but the late rap star's presence is still looming in his beloved neighborhood ... Los Angeles Metro is honoring him at one its stations with a full "Marathon" makeover.

Metro temporarily renamed the Hyde Park Station that touches Crenshaw Blvd. and Slauson Ave. to "Nipsey Hussle Station" through the end of the month -- complete with limited edition TAP cards that bear his likeness.

The initiative is dubbed the "Metro x Culture" series to celebrate L.A.'s most influential natives and will supplement its Low-Income Fare is Easy (LIFE) Program, making rides affordable for families.

R&B star Givēon is going to give it to you straight -- but also make it sound good. His love anthems are extremely personal tales written by him -- and they just happen to be TOXIC.

TMZ caught up with Givēon outside "Jimmy Kimmel Live" this week, where he performed his new song, "I Can Tell" -- a sweet-talking burner where he tells the girl about her own heart.

Giveon admits his music can be toxic from time to time -- but says you gotta respect it comes from an honest place.

Sean Kingston has officially been sentenced in his federal wire fraud case ... receiving a sentence close to what his lawyers asked for.

The rapper was sentenced in a Florida courtroom Friday to 42 months -- which works out to 3.5 years -- in federal prison.

As you know ... Sean was convicted of federal wire fraud back in March, along with his mother, Janice Turner. Janice was sentenced to five years.

George Floyd's brother Terrence is going in on Lil Yachty for referencing George's death in a new song ... and Terrence says Yachty needs a history lesson.

Terrence joined us on "TMZ Live" Friday, and we asked how he felt about Lil Yachty's new song with the lyrics, "Put my knee up on her neck, I went George Floyd."

George's brother says Lil Yachty and others should be careful what they say about GF ... because his death remains a sensitive topic, and it still hurts and upsets the family.

Sir Lucian Grainge finds it absolutely RIDICULOUS that Drake says he was behind a scheme to hurt one of his biggest artists when the label released Kendrick Lamar's "Not Like Us" diss track ... the Universal Music Group CEO's says he's got way bigger responsibilities as head of the company, and he watched the beef unfold from the sidelines just like everyone else!!!

In a written declaration released Thursday evening, Grainge clapped back at Drake's recent filing, explaining he's much too busy running his multibillion-dollar corporation across nearly 200 markets to oversee day-to-day ops such as approving artwork or music videos.

Grainge goes on record that he had zilch to do with Kendrick's "Not Like Us" rollout ... calling the allegation "groundless and ridiculous" while noting it was Interscope Records (a UMG subsidiary) that finalized and released the record.

T-Hood was struck by gunfire just months before he was shot dead inside his home ... TMZ has learned.

We obtained a police report in Georgia that states T-Hood showed up to a hospital in late April with gunshot wounds.

The report says the DeKalb County Police Department was called to a Shell gas station for a report of a shooting. Cops say they encountered a woman with a gunshot injury to her leg and approximately 10 bullet shell casings in the parking lot and roadway.

This is why T-Hood's shooting death is being investigated as possible self-defense -- TMZ Hip Hop has obtained video showing him attacking his GF Kelsie Frost ... whose brother is the sole suspect in T-Hood's death.

This surveillance video -- inside Kelsie and T-Hood's Gwinnett County, GA apartment -- shows her lying down, while he paces around their bedroom. After about 25 seconds, T-Hood stands at the edge of the bed, staring at Kelsie ... and then violently pounces on her, seemingly trying to choke her.

Sources connected to the Frost family tell us this video was recorded earlier this year, and they claim it was not an isolated incident. We've also obtained photos of Kelsie with bruises and scratches on her face, neck and chest.

Cardi B is answering the question to her own upcoming album -- "Am I The Drama?" by remaking a classic Jay-Z track -- when everyone knows Nicki Minaj is on his head!!!

For her newest single, "Imaginary Playerz," Cardi and her day-one partner, Patientce Foster, share directing duties as she takes over a private jet runway, draped in bejeweled outfits, while boasting about her hip hop fashion dominance ... "The first rap b*tch on the cover of Vogue!!!"

Cardi also drops a curious line on the 2nd verse of the track ... "Now you’re 15 up, you already out of time / I’m a legend, they gon' hang my heels from the power lines."

Flint, Michigan rappers Rio Da Yung OG & YN Jay are among today's generational leaders of horniest hip hop tunes around, so naturally, they abide by an entirely unconventional set of relationship rules!!!

TMZ Hip Hop caught up with Rio at his "F.L.I.N.T. (Feeling Like I'm Not Through)" album release party in Hollywood on Wednesday night with YN Jay AKA "The Coochie Man" in tow ... he's on the project a couple times too!!!

We ask Rio about his lead single "Sneaky B" that's racked up millions of plays on Spotify and YouTube. Rio tells us he's too slick to let cheating go undetected but admits he needs some spice in his life, so he'd rather be suspicious than bored!!!

Sean "Diddy" Combs is on a heater, at least when it comes to tackling the mountain of lawsuits he's facing ... and now former "Making The Band" singer Sara Rivers is finding out firsthand what kind of roll he's on.

According to new legal docs, obtained by TMZ, a judge just threw out the claims Sara made against Diddy and the other defendants in her lawsuit. They were dismissed with prejudice, meaning they cannot be filed again, although one is still up in the air.

Among the claims dismissed ... racketeering, assault and battery, forced labor, sexual harassment and false imprisonment.

As for the one outstanding claim, the judge wrote the "determination of whether to dismiss, with or without prejudice, Count 15 (the Gender-Motivated Violence Protection Act claim) ... is hereby stayed pending" a ruling from an appellate court.

Lil Jon adopted meditation and wellness a couple years ago, and those results have been paying off in the gym ... let's just say, he's not so little anymore!!!

The veteran hitmaker posted a video of himself completely melting the iron in the gym on Thursday, showing off a muscular and slimmed-down physique.

Jon tells TMZ Hip Hop ... “My diet is high protein, low carbs, spring water, no sugar, and no processed foods. I've been hittin’ the gym 3-4 days a week for 2 years now."

BigXthaPlug took a moment to celebrate his accomplishments now that his breakout album "Take Care" has been certified Platinum ... depression almost took him out!!!

The Texas rapper thanked all his supporters on his Instagram page and admitted he questioned EVERYTHING ... his goals, his career -- even his reason for being on Earth.

If you remember, we caught up with BigX on the cusp of "Take Care's" release last year when he revealed Wallo267 of the Million Dollarz Worth of Game podcast was his lone guest appearance ... which was more of a spoken word interlude.

J. Cole's longtime Dreamville artist Cozz wants fans to know the label isn't going anywhere -- his labelmate JID just happened to misspeak!!!

Cozz tells TMZ Hip Hop the Dreamville distribution deal that Cole signed with Interscope back in 2014 simply expired, it didn't get sold off ... the brand is still alive and well!!!

JID was a recent guest on "The Joe Budden Podcast," where he framed things like Dreamville was being dissolved and liquidated like laundry detergent.