TMZ Hip Hop - Page 50

Vic Mensa's pleading guilty to possession of a controlled substance, but he won't do any time behind bars after striking a deal with prosecutors ... TMZ has learned.

Kendra Glover, a rep for the Loudoun County Commonwealth's Attorney, tells TMZ ... Mensa pled guilty to one count of possession of a Schedule III controlled substance, which is a Class 1 misdemeanor.

We're told as part of the plea deal he got 12 months in jail, but that was suspended -- meaning instead of serving it behind bars, he'll have a year of unsupervised probation.

Vic will also have to take a substance abuse assessment, perform 25 hours of community service, and pay a $1k fine. BTW, he'll get 50 percent off that fine if he successfully completes the other probation terms.

As we've reported, Vic was arrested back in January at Dulles International airport for going through customs with a stash of shrooms.

Vic tells TMZ ... "In this case, I have decided to plead guilty to a misdemeanor charge. I have been extremely vocal about my mental health, the culture at large and access to mental health treatment. It is important to note the extensive research being done on the topic of psilocybin [shrooms] and the many significant movements underway for legalization and decriminalization.

He continues, "Esteemed universities such as Johns Hopkins, University of California, NYU, Mount Sinai School of Medicine and The Imperial College of London have all immersed themselves in years-long research programs with full departments and centers dedicated to this work. Unfortunately, our laws have not kept up with the research showing that psychedelic plants and compounds can be successfully used to treat otherwise treatment-resistant mental illness."

Rapper Shyne is jumping back into the music scene in a big way ... he's set to join a ton of artists at the BET Awards to honor one of the biggest names in the game.

The Belizean rapper-turned-politician is gearing up to take the stage for Sunday night's ceremony ... in recognition of Diddy's Lifetime Achievement Award.

Shyne's going to be performing one of his classics from 2000, "Bad Boyz" ... the guy hasn't done the song live much -- once in a lifetime opportunity for fans to witness.

Shyne's been getting into politics since laying down track after track in the industry ... he currently lives in Belize where he serves as Leader of the Opposition and the Ambassador of Music. He's also in Belize's House of Representatives.

Travis Scott is getting dragged for his latest purchase, a $5.5 million luxury car ... the family of a 9-year-old who died at Astroworld says it's just not a good look.

Bob Hillard, the attorney for the family of Ezra Blount, tells TMZ ... Ezra would still be alive today, enjoying his summer, if Travis would've spent half of what he paid for the Bugatti on simple safety measures at the deadly music festival.

As we reported ... Ezra, who was trampled at Astroworld, sued Travis before he died from his injuries ... and Travis recently splurged on a new Bugatti Veyron Chiron Super Sport despite the mountain of lawsuits he's facing.

While Ezra's attorney says Travis has every right to live life as he sees fit, including buying what he wants, Hillard rips Travis' choices as "excessive" ... and says everything Travis does should be questioned because of what happened at Astroworld.

Ezra's lawyer also has some choice words for Travis' camp ... ripping them for trying to make Travis look good with a $5.5 million car in his driveway as the Astroworld litigation heats up.

We reached out to Travis' reps ... so far no word back.

Lizzo isn’t on board with SCOTUS reversing Roe v. Wade and opening the door for states to ban abortions ... so, the “Grrls” rapper put her money -- a lot of it -- where her emotions are.

In a passionate round of tweets, Lizzo revealed she’s taking $500,000 of her upcoming Special Tour money and donating it to Planned Parenthood.

Tour promoter Live Nation will also match that amount, making for a $1 million donation.

As you know by now ... on Friday, the Supreme Court overturned the 50-year-old Roe v. Wade decision, sparking a wave of protests all across the United States.

Roddy Ricch is shaking off the sophomore slump of his last album with a new EP titled "The Big 3" -- and has plenty of wild stories to share about making it.

During a new interview with DJ Hed and Chuck Dizzle for HomeGrownRadio, Roddy discussed making up with Kanye after he had the cojones to publicly diss Ye’s Grammy piss stunt back in 2020.

The 2 made up to record the “Donda” track “Pure Souls” and Roddy says the creative process was so unpredictable, one minute they’d be in the studio … then Arizona, Chicago -- basically anywhere a private jet could land.

Roddy also shared how he hilariously put Ye into a music-making frenzy -- fresh off a plane without any relaxation time -- while others, like Lil Baby, hinted Roddy should walk on eggshells around him.

RR did admit his last album, “Live Life Fast,” slowed him down a bit, but he’s ready to get back into a groove and even pondered making a DJ Mustard-produced album.

Amber Rose is cooking up her own version of a hot girl summer -- she's now a full-fledged rapper who's applying some of her Slut Walk magic to her music!

Amber unleashed her new song "GYHO/Gotcha" … a sexually charged acronym for "Get ya hoe on" and remix to the Big Tymers classic "Get Ya Roll On."

For the video, Amber and friends burn up Hollywood and flaunt plenty of Playboy promo … which is fitting since Amber recently joined their Centerfold brand where Cardi B serves as Creative Director.

Mannie Fresh made the beat so you know it's Cash Money-approved ... and Amber didn't hold back on details with lyrics like, "Pop that Cris, pop that Mo, smash that bish, freak dat hoe."

All in all, the entire video is a touchy-feely affair.

Amber's dabbled in rap before, about 10 years ago, but it appears she's ready for a career switch.

Post Malone has been on a promotional spree -- for his new "Twelve Carat Toothache" album and newborn baby -- and his "Tommy Lee" collaborator Tyla Yaweh couldn't be happier!!!

We chopped it up with the rager rapper Thursday outside LAX, and he says seeing Post Malone adapt to fatherhood is a beautiful thing.

As Posty's BFF and artist, Tyla is one of the handful of people to meet his baby girl, who was born last month. He also had nothing but kind words for Posty's mystery fiancée!

Of course, Tyla isn't settling down soon — he was in town to drop off his upcoming "RAGER BØY" to his record label, which he says he slapped right on their desk.

And, while he's always down for the turn-up and good libations amongst his fans, he wholeheartedly agrees with the recent Juul e-cigarette ban ... because he says it's killing fans!

He'll need them for his upcoming shows. Expect collabos with Machine Gun Kelly, Travis Barker and Post ... with whom Tyla has a platinum history.

Two Travis Scott fans are somewhere cradling his shoes right now, after Trav blew their minds by handing them a pair of shoes ... apparently, right off his feet!!!

Here's how it went down -- Travis was leaving his event Thursday night at TAO in Hollywood, and, as usual, a group of fans were waiting outside to greet him and hoping to snap some pics or get an autograph.

The rapper hopped in his car and decided to swing by the crowd before taking off ... rolling down his window, and shocking the hell out of them by handing out a pair of laced-up Jordans.

Their faces say it all ... complete and utter shock. Even the security guard nearby was showing some respect for their new gifts.

One of the kids took off pretty quick after getting the Jordan 1 Lows -- gotta stash that in a safe place!

TS has been working closely with Nike for a while ... doing shoe collabs that sell out fast -- one of the latest drops had over a million people going online to clean them out in under 30 minutes.

Prosecutors want Nicki Minaj’s husband to do serious jail time -- not home confinement -- for failing to register as a sex offender in California ... TMZ Hip Hop has learned.

According to new legal docs, federal prosecutors don't think 6 months behind bars followed by supervised release is sufficient punishment for Kenneth Petty, who pled guilty to the offense. They specifically note any home confinement ordered as part of his supervised release would be spent in a huge Calabasas home where he and Nicki live.

The feds point out it's in a "gated affluent community" and includes a pool, Nicki’s music studio, and their beautifully landscaped backyard -- amenities not in line with their idea of crime and punishment.

In fact, the U.S. Attorney's Office seems to think that lap of luxury is what led Petty down the wrong path. In the docs, prosecutors say Petty kept up with his sex offender registry paperwork for nearly 20 years ... until he met Nicki in 2019 and moved to Cali. As they describe it, "Defendant began dating his wife, quit his job, moved to Los Angeles, and adopted an affluent lifestyle."

Petty told the court he didn't know the specific requirements to register upon leaving NY state, but prosecutors say he was well aware of the rules after getting annual warnings for 2 decades. As we've reported ... Petty had to register as a sex offender after a 1995 attempted rape conviction in NY.

Now, federal prosecutors in CA are recommending he serve 15 months of prison time, 5 years supervised release and pay $55K in retribution. The judge will have final say when sentencing goes down July 6.

Irv Gotti ripping Drake’s new album as the "demise of hip hop" isn't sitting well with K Camp -- an artist who’s nabbed platinum plaques with his own brand of melodic music.

We bumped into the RARE Sound architect at LAX and picked his brain about the notion Drake dominating the dance charts spells doom for the rap game in general.

While K Camp says he feels where the Murder Inc. boss was coming from, he adds Drake's reached a point where he can create the waves he wants ... and doesn’t have to be a trendsetter.

And, then there's this place KC reps called Atlanta ... known for continuously making hit hip hop music. KC says even if dance does become an obvious trend, ATL culture will still keep rap heads happy.

Look, KC ain't exactly hitting Champagne Papi with a bunch of acclaims -- "Honestly, Nevermind" is not his favorite Drake project, but he says it’ll do for Summer '22. Hell, KC says might even drop a couple of similar-sounding records ... if he's in the mood.

Boosie Badazz isn't one to hold his tongue, and proved it again when he loudly stepped to a guy he claims was giving a woman a hard time ... to the point it totally pissed off the rapper.

The video was apparently shot outside a hotel, though we don't know the location yet, but what's clear is Boosie overheard the man speaking to a uniformed woman in a not-so-pleasant tone. Right from the jump, he was in g-check mode, telling the guy "You ain't gonna talk to her like that. I will beat your azz!!! You ain't gonna talk to no woman like that."

Something about Boosie's involvement shifted everybody's demeanor, though ... the guy was extremely quiet, and the woman -- who the guy allegedly targeted -- shifted into mediation, trying to calm down Boosie.

Funny thing is, there was a guy standing nearby stretching out his arm -- almost like he was prepping for the royal rumble.

Thankfully, cooler heads prevailed, but once the video popped up online ... Boosie felt the need to explain himself.

He claims the man kept pressing the woman, even after she'd apologized to him ... and that's when Boosie stepped up.

Lil Tjay still has a lot of bumps in his road to recovery after Wednesday’s shooting ... TMZ Hip Hop has learned.

The platinum-selling rapper still remains unconscious in the hospital ... according to sources close to the situation. We're told he's scheduled for a CAT Scan and outside of moving his legs yesterday, he's made no other bodily movements.

TMZ Hip Hop broke the story -- NJ police say Tjay was shot multiple times by a man named Mohamed Konate, who was arrested -- but also admitted to a hospital with multiple gunshot wounds.

Prosecutors say hospital video shows someone leaving Konate on the ground outside a hospital.

The 2 men who were with Tjay at the time of the shooting were later arrested for second-degree unlawful possession of a weapon -- while Konate has been charged with 3 counts of first-degree attempted murder.

Tjay was gearing up to release his "Strictly4MyFans" EP this summer led by his "Lavish" freestyle -- but now his primary goal has to be making a full recovery.

Add Lil Wayne to the list of superstar rappers taking the stage for the 2022 BET Awards ... TMZ Hip Hop's learned he'll be performing Sunday.

Weezy F. Baby is a late addition to the award show's lineup, but you can expect nothing short of an uproar performance -- and it's a big treat for his fans after a few mishaps.

Wayne recently had to bow out of a couple of festival shows -- the Governor's Ball in NYC, and Strawberries & Cream Fest in the U.K.

But, now he'll bring his infinite bag of hits to the BET Awards.

The show will be live from the Microsoft Theater in L.A. ... where Taraji P. Henson will throw down as host, and Roddy Ricch, Jack Harlow, Lizzo, Chance the Rapper and many more will perform.

As for the actual trophies, Doja Cat leads all artists with 6 nominations ... followed by Drake and Ari Lennox, Kendrick Lamar and several others.

Kendrick Lamar sat in the front row of Louis Vuitton's Men’s Spring-Summer '23 Show in Paris this morning ... a point worth noting because he was performing at the same time!!!

The French fashion house rolled out all the stops for Men’s Fashion Week as K-Dot publicly debuted a couple of tracks from "Mr. Morale & the Big Steppers" -- "N95" and "Savior."

Speaking of being a savior, Kendrick rocked a crown of thorns -- similar to Jesus Christ's -- as he sat next to his manager Dave Free and belted out the tracks.

He could be still reveling in the fact he has the biggest rap release of the year.

K-Dot also improvised lyrics to dedicate portions of the show to the late Virgil Abloh ... who the hip hop community has been mourning since his passing last November.

As the first Black man to spearhead LVHM as artistic director, Virgil's creative vision directly inspired a wide range of rappers like Kanye, Migos, Tyler, the Creator and, obviously, Kendrick.

Calabasas moonwalkers Blueface and DDG are running pretty tight these days, making music and even cutting their teeth in the world of boxing.

We ran into the 2 rappers Wednesday in Los Angeles during what appears to be a music video shoot. They were pretty tight-lipped on the subject ... but told us to check back later.

What they did want to talk about -- or rather, vent about -- was DDG’s lack of a boxing opponent in the upcoming Social Gloves event at the Crypto.com Arena.

While the “Thotiana” rapper is scheduled to fight former Lakers champ Nick Young ... DDG has been left ass out after PnB Rock just bailed on their fight.

We can definitely see why DDG wants in on the action. During a Social Gloves event last year, he put in work on TikToker Nate Wyatt’s face — fresh off from splurging at the strip club the night earlier.

French Montana's good mood dampened Wednesday morning when news broke that Lil Tjay was shot and rushed to surgery ... a moment he tweeted about with passion.

We caught up with French in NYC, and Tjay was still on his mind. After all, the two earned a gold plaque (along with Blueface) in 2019 for French's song "Slide."

While French wished Tjay a speedy recovery, he also reinforced the message that rappers have the most "dangerous" job and all the love can often be thinly veiled hate.

On a positive note, we're told Tjay is out of surgery and beginning down the road to recovery ... a fact that'll help French sleep easier.

He's on the verge of dropping his new album "Montega" with Harry Fraud, a new wave of outside music that's approved by NYC Mayor Adams himself ... who just launched a crackdown on illegal dirt biking in the city.

French has no issues with the mayor's tactics on dirt biking -- but, politically, he draws the line on prosecutors using rap lyrics in court cases.