TMZ Hip Hop - Page 17

D4vd was making lots of money by the time he was finishing up high school ... because he was just 17 years old when he signed a record deal that started to line his pockets with a multi-million dollar advance.

TMZ did some digging and found D4vd's minors contract he signed with Darkroom and Interscope Records ... which was filed in court.

D4vd put pen to paper in September 2022, when he was 17, and the deal called for him to be paid at least a $3 million advance for an EP, an album, and various other deliverables.

World champion figure skater Alysa Liu is distancing herself from D4vd amid an investigation into Celeste Rivas' death ... announcing she's scrapping her recently debuted short program due to the singer's song being featured in the routine.

The 2022 Olympian shared the update with her fans on Wednesday ... saying what she had prepared for the 2025-26 season is getting shelved "in light of recent news."

Footage shows Liu going through the short program at the 2025 Lombardia Trophy in Italy earlier this month ... which was choreographed to D4vd and Laufey's "This Is How It Feels."

Chrisean and her rapper boyfriend HoodTrophy Bino partied so hard during their recent stay in a Vegas hotel that cops had to be called -- but it was their room that was left in civil unrest!!!

TMZ Hip Hop obtained photos of the hurricane aftermath the reality TV couple left after staying in the MGM Grand Hotel from September 19 to September 23.

As you can see from the exclusive photos, there are several empty Don Julio bottles, clothes, and even an empty canister of Monster N2P Nitrous Oxide ... which is legally sold at several dispensaries in Vegas.

Chris Brown's No. 1 trusted writer, Eric Bellinger, knows his bud very well ... and luckily for Breezy's massive female fanbase, can't foresee a near future with him walking down the aisle!!!

TMZ Hip Hop caught up with Eric out in NYC on the promo run for his album dropping Friday, "It All Makes Sense."

While most artists are going the country music route, Eric opted for Afrobeats and solidified his authenticity, grabbing Tiwa Savage for the first single.

Rihanna has welcomed Baby No. 3 with A$AP Rocky ... TMZ has learned.

Sources with direct knowledge tell us RiRi gave birth to a baby girl on September 13 in a Los Angeles hospital.

DJ Whoo Kid isn't scared of A.I. stealing any of his live festival gigs soon ... but he says artists like Mariah Carey and sucka DJs who are too busy doing TikToks have another thing coming!!!

TMZ Hip Hop got with the veteran Shade45 host outside the Louis Vuitton store in Bev Hills yesterday to talk on the growing concern within the music industry that A.I. is destined to replace creatives ... Whoo Kid says there is no concern -- UNLESS YOU SUCK.

Whoo Kid chose to use Mariah Carey as a shining example of an artist who could benefit from A.I., suggesting tech will restore her singing abilities -- but he'd still smash!!! His words, not ours, people.

Cardi B is denying the years-long rumor that she's an industry operation meant to disrupt the hip hop status quo ... especially considering she infamously encroached on Nicki Minaj's hip hop reign.

The "I Like It" superstar addressed the rumor on Wednesday's "Call Her Daddy" episode, saying she was "destined" to be a famous rapper -- and no one signed her to take down someone else.

She never mentioned Nicki's name, but her meaning was clear ... the gossip has been swirling for years, ever since Ye claimed in a leaked clip that she was "a plant by the Illuminati" who replaced Nicki on purpose.

City Girl JT has broken her silence on Cardi B's ether-fueled "Magnet" diss track aimed at herself and Lil Uzi Vert with her own fire and brimstone ... and she's lumping Stefon Diggs into the Drama!!!

On Tuesday, it was revealed Cardi was heading for the No. 1 Billboard spot ... and JT couldn't bite her tongue anymore. She shed light on Tasha K's disturbing recent interview with Chris Blake Griffith, where he alleges Diggs sexually assaulted him by sticking his tongue in his ear ... all before exposing himself on a drive back to his house.

JT tagged Diggs' NFL squad, the New England Patriots, to alert them to the interview ... yep, she wants him benched by Sunday!!!

Drake blicked up A$AP Rocky a bit on his fiery "Family Matters" diss at the height of his battle with Kendrick and Rocky is finally revealing why he chose to stay silent -- he didn't want to add to the sideshow!!!

In a new interview with Elle, Rocky gave his two cents on 2024 Rap Wars ... calling it "healthy for Hip-Hop" but thinks Kendrick and Drake's beef got overcooked when guys such as Rick Ross, The Weeknd and JasonMartin began to chime in.

“The battle was between Kendrick and Drake, not Drake and everybody else who might have said something at that time -- and that’s mainly why I fell back," Rocky said.

NBA YoungBoy has some rabid fans ... but one took it all too far when he went totally ballistic and beat the living piss out of an elderly man working the rapper's concert in Kansas City last weekend.

Video posted on X captured every moment of Sunday's beatdown in the crowd inside KC's T-Mobile Center during NBA's sold-out "MASA" Tour.

Check out the clip ... the young fan -- who police describe as a juvenile -- slams the guest services employee into the seats and starts using his face as a punching bag. During the brutal attack, the old man's glasses are knocked to the ground.

50 Cent recently landed a HUGE fighting role as "Balrog" in the upcoming "Street Fighter" live-action film and his longtime G-G-G-G-Unit DJ Whoo Kid has seen firsthand how he can knock somebody out -- rappers, you know who you are!!!

DJ Whoo Kid chopped it with TMZ Hip Hop on Monday and he still has nightmares when he would mess up onstage and 50 would hit him with a Buffalo Charge or Turn Punch, so he's certain Paramount Pictures got the casting right with him!!!

Don't forget, 50 was also a 15-year-old amateur boxer at the Junior Olympics ... Whoo Kid tells us the artists who felt those fists haven't forgotten.

The internet is convinced that Jim Jones is having a midlife crisis dressing like a high schooler, but the Dipset OG explains to TMZ Hip Hop, how can he abandon a lifestyle that he created?!?

The NYC-bred rapper was recently in L.A. for Kai Cenat's 'Mafiathon 3' stream and we caught up to him on his "side-gig" operating the Cousins Maine Lobster truck!!!

Jim quips on how music isn't paying the bills like it used to, but he's found a way to pivot perfectly ... by co-founding a full-scale social media-friendly warehouse compound known as Influencers Club (IFC) with NYC podcaster Esso.

Universal Music Group no longer has to ask about the 411 regarding a lawsuit filed against them over a sample in Mary J. Blige's classic "Real Love" single -- the courts have ruled in favor of the record label to dismiss the suit because the judge says the two songs just don't sound the same at all.

According to court docs, obtained by TMZ, the court examined both "Real Love" and the 1973 protest funk song, "Impeach the President," by The Honey Drippers.

TufAmerica, the company that owns the rights to "Impeach the President," argued UMG had illegally sampled the record by incorporating another song that had first sampled "Impeach the President" into "Real Love."

Sean "Diddy" Combs is a great father and son who gives back to his community ... at least that's what his family, friends and exes are telling the judge who is set to decide his fate.

Diddy's legal team gave Judge Arun Subramanian a mountain of legal homework in a massive filing late Monday night ... and the trove of documents includes more than 75 letters of support.

The Bad Boy founder's mother, Janice Combs, his six eldest kids and a handful of exes, including rapper Yung Miami, spoke highly of Diddy in their letters to the judge in an effort to secure a lighter sentence next month following his conviction on prostitution charges.

Victoria Justice was one of the latest guests on Kai Cenat's steam-boiling Mafiathon III stream and made it worth his while ... by touching all over his soundboard!!!

The former Nickelodeon princess took full advantage of Kai's brief absence and tinkered with the Twitch star's preset sound recordings, ranging from audio uppers such as Lil Uzi Vert's "Do What I Want" and mood benders like Drake's "Marvin's Room."

Speaking of Marvin, Kai got a rise out of Victoria when she pushed the "freaky" button ... causing Marvin Gaye's "Let's Get It On" to blare through the speakers.

Sean "Diddy" Combs' army of attorneys is laying out all the reasons why they say he should not have the book thrown at him when a judge sentences him in his criminal case.

Diddy's defense team -- spearheaded by Marc Agnifilo and Teny Geragos -- just filed a sentencing packet for the court and prosecution, where they advocate for a more lenient sentence.

In the docs, obtained by TMZ, Diddy says the sentencing guidelines for his conviction on 2 counts of the Mann Act is no more than 6-to-12 months in prison on each count, which accurately reflects the seriousness of the offenses laid out at his federal trial in NYC.