TMZ Hip Hop - Page 23

DaBaby won't be dragged through the gutter anymore over the bowling alley lawsuit filed by his ex-girlfriend DaniLeigh's brother ... the case has been dismissed!!!

On Wednesday, a Los Angeles judge noted that Brandon Bills' "lack of urgency" was the biggest holdup in the case ... after filing the lawsuit in 2022, yet failing to serve DaBaby for more than three years -- and still didn't follow through after initiating that process!!!

We broke the story ... DaBaby and Brandon duked it out at Topanga, California's Corbin Bowl bowling alley in Feb. 2022 in front of tons of witnesses.

Kid Cudi is testifying about his infamous car fire-bombing ... and he says he knows Diddy had something to do with it, even though Diddy denied it to his face during a meeting where Diddy came off like a Marvel supervillain.

The rapper testified Thursday in Diddy's criminal ... telling the jury his Porsche went up in flames outside his house in January 2012, shortly after he broke things off with Cassie.

Kid Cudi says he wasn't at home when he got a call from his dog's babysitter, informing him his car was on fire. He says he rushed home and found his car damaged.

Tory Lanez is currently on the mend after surviving a brutal prison attack, and now has a change of scenery -- after being moved to a completely different facility!!!

As of Thursday morning, we've confirmed Tory was shipped out to California Men’s Colony (CMC) to ensure his safety ... 3 hours away from the California Correctional Institution (CCI) where he was stabbed 14 times, resulting in both lungs collapsing.

Tory’s attorney Crystal Morgan tells TMZ Hip Hop the "Color Violet" artist is doing fine, considering the severity of his injuries ... but isn't necessarily happy he had to move to CMC, near San Luis Obispo.

Kid Cudi says Diddy broke into his Los Angeles home after finding out he was dating Cassie ... and he says Diddy screwed with his pooch.

The rapper took the stand Thursday in Diddy's federal criminal trial in NYC and told the jury about some of the drama that unfolded between him, Diddy and Cassie back in 2011 ... when she was on a break from Diddy and they started dating.

Kid Cudi testified there was a break-in at his home in December 2011 after Cassie called him early in the morning and told him Diddy found out about them. He says cops were called, too.

Kid Cudi will testify today at Diddy's federal sex trafficking trial ... and, it looks like he's taking a few nicotine hits to steady himself before he does.

We recorded the rapper getting out of his car and walking into the Manhattan courthouse Thursday ... a serious expression on his face. He didn't say anything to the gathered crowd -- using his mouth to puff on a cigarette instead.

Cudi quickly turns the corner out of view in the clip -- before resurfacing inside the courthouse, where he can be seen through a window ... taking off his jacket to go through a security checkpoint, speaking to a guard.

The 8th day of testimony in the Diddy trial is in the books and prosecutors are still trying to gain headway on the racketeering charges against the mogul ... and one of their witnesses even thinks he helped Diddy's defense.

Wednesday opened with Homeland Security Investigations agent Gerard Gannon detailing more about a raid on Diddy's home on Star Island ... a search that turned up guns, ammo, drugs, lube, baby oil, sex toys and lingerie.

Interesting stuff ... and maybe the guns help prosecutors prove a RICO case against Diddy ... 'cause some of the serial numbers on the magazines were scratched off.

Kanye West and Playboi Carti have been in a weird place for months over "I Am Music" album credits -- and things are about to get even WEIRDER over an NBA YoungBoy feature -- on both of their songs!!!

On Tuesday, Ye debuted a new adrenaline-fueled track titled "Alive" with him and YoungBoy rapping frenetically over an industrial rap-rock beat that also samples Carti's "Music" song, "Crank."

Ye used the track to simultaneously announce the upcoming arrival of his Yeezy SZN 10 fashion line ... only for Carti to swoop in and steal his thunder with a track of his own ... featuring the same beat and NBA YoungBoy verse!!!

Diddy's former employee George Kaplan says part of his work as an executive assistant at Combs Enterprises called for him to set up hotel rooms for his boss ... complete with some staples for a "freak-off" -- like lube, baby oil and candles.

Kaplan testified Wednesday in Diddy's federal criminal trial in NYC, telling the jury he booked rooms for Diddy at hotels in New York, Miami and Los Angeles -- including at the InterContinental Hotel, where Diddy was later seen on video beating Cassie in March 2016 -- although Kaplan said he only worked for Diddy from 2013 to 2015.

He told jurors he would book rooms for Diddy using the alias Frank Black ... which he says was derived from one of The Notorious B.I.G.'s nicknames, Frank White.

SZA is sticking by her homegirl Megan Thee Stallion ... and telling Tory Lanez supporters to either get their man'z to file something in court or STFU!!!

The Diamond-selling R&B singer found herself in alignment with a post by social media legal influencer The Luncheon Lawyer on Tuesday ... which shades Tory's team for seeking public attention instead of alerting the government to the new evidence they've found.

SZA shamed all of Tory's delusional fans in the IG post ... "The density!!!!! I'm actually SO shocked at the amount of ppl fully comfortable bullying a woman that's proven to be a victim of assault ??! Like out loud where other ppl can see you ?? Lmao u finna be stupid OUTLOUD?”

Sharay Hayes, an exotic male dancer known as "The Punisher," tells us he's unsure why federal prosecutors called him as a witness in the Diddy trial ... because he says he never saw Diddy do anything that seemed illegal and thinks his testimony may have actually helped the defense.

"The Punisher" joined us on "TMZ Live" Wednesday and we asked him if prosecutors gave him any indication why they wanted to get him on the stand, because his testimony Tuesday left many people wondering how prosecutors thought it related to any of the charges against Diddy.

Hayes says he is still confused as to why his testimony was necessary ... telling us he let prosecutors know from the jump he didn't see anything that looked criminal during his sexual interactions with Diddy and Cassie.

Tory Lanez never said "dance, b****" to Megan Thee Stallion, but he did catch a raw deal in his shooting trial that got him 10 years in prison ... according to Florida congresswoman Anna Paulina Luna.

The Sunshine State's first Mexican-American woman elected to Congress joined Harvey and Charles on "TMZ Live" on Tuesday ... claiming there's never-before-seen evidence that proves Tory did NOT shoot Megan after a Hollywood Hills party back in 2020.

As to why a Florida politician is interested in a California case -- Luna says she became hip to Tory's plight through their mutual friend Amber Rose ... and as she began to dig deeper, she claims she's found several inconsistencies in the prosecution's arguments.

Prosecutors are calling an expert witness in the Diddy trial, a clinical and forensic psychologist who is telling the jury about why victims stay in abusive relationships, how they cope, the obstacles they face in leaving, and how their memories are affected by trauma.

Dawn Hughes took the stand Wednesday morning as the 11th witness called by the feds.  Prosecutors are presenting her as an expert witness who specializes in trauma and traumatic stress.

Hughes told jurors it's quite common for victims to remain in abusive relationships ... explaining there's all sorts of mechanisms that make victims feel trapped, and it's not just reserved to physical violence.

Chris Brown is out on bail, fresh out of jail, "Breezy Bowl XX" dreaming -- his recent legal drama won't affect his tour stops!!!

Shortly after the R&B megastar was granted a hefty $6.7 million bail in London court stemming from a 2023 assault charge in the UK, Breezy let his 144 million Instagram followers know he was heading from "the cage to the stage" -- beginning on June 8!!!

Chris was charged with grievous bodily harm for allegedly beating music producer Abraham Diaw upside the head with a tequila bottle, and the situation was jeopardizing his jam-packed itinerary.

Federal prosecutors just dropped another document dump of evidence presented in court at Diddy's sex trafficking and racketeering trial -- and the pics give us a window into the music mogul's lavish and kinky lifestyle on Miami's Star Island.

As you know, Diddy lived in a huge mansion on the island -- and Homeland Security Investigations Agent Gerard Gannon testified Tuesday he was the head of the operation that conducted a raid on the property in March 2024. Gannon told the court the feds confiscated loaded assault rifles, sex toys and bottles of lubricant.

Now, the feds have publicly released a mountain of photos showing exactly what items the feds recovered from Diddy's sprawling estate -- which, by the way, is pretty darn high-end.

Meek Mill felt the need to go on "public record" about Diddy parties he's attended ... amid the spiraling allegations being flung around the Bad Boy mogul's federal sex trafficking case.

Speculation about Meek's involvement with Diddy has run rampant since he was linked in producer Lil Rodney's lawsuit last year ... which has since had several key complaints tossed out.

On Tuesday, Meek called all allegations an attack on his brand before flipping to his experience at Diddy parties ... he's claiming the craziest thing he's seen is "coke vibes."

Testimony continues Wednesday in Diddy's federal sex trafficking and racketeering trial in NYC, where Homeland Security Investigations Agent Gerard Gannon has taken the stand to continue Tuesday afternoon's questioning.

After some back-and-forth between attorneys regarding proceedings, prosecutors announced Mr. Mescudi -- AKA Kid Cudi -- will not testify Wednesday ... he's expected to take the stand Thursday.

As the hearing got underway, Gannon was asked on the stand by the prosecution about details of the 2024 raid on Diddy's mansion on Star Island in Miami -- pictures from the raid were released into evidence overnight depicting drugs, guns and bedroom items.