Blowing Money Fast —10 Obscene Hip-Hop Purchases

3) 50 Cent

The purchase: Mike Tyson's former mansion in Farmington, Connecticut
The price tag: $4.1 million
The bottom line: Four mill really isn't a lot to a superstar rapper (re-read the Diddy entry above for proof). But the fact that Fif went from a down-and-out rapper at the end of the 1990s to shacking up in Mike Tyson's old pad was a power move, if we've ever seen one. From the Gucci-print walls to the in-house club, this house was a knockout.

Blowing Money Fast —10 Obscene Hip-Hop Purchases

2) Jay-Z

The purchase: A 1959 Rolls-Royce convertible he gave to then-girlfriend Beyoncé for her 25th birthday
The price tag: Approximately $1 million
The bottom line: Wow, we bet you feel real silly right now for trying to pass off a pair of tickets to a Rihanna concert as a birthday present to your girl, don't you? Hov put Bey behind the vintage wheels and let her celebrate her 25th in style. No wonder he's got the baddest chick in the game wearing his chain ring.

Blowing Money Fast —10 Obscene Hip-Hop Purchases

1) Diddy

The purchase: A lavish 40th birthday party at New York's Plaza Hotel
The price tag: $3 million
The bottom line: When you're worth almost half a billion dollars, a multimillion-dollar birthday party is an annual event. At this particular shindig, Puff treated guests Jay-Z, Bono, Nelly and Denzel Washington to a $30,000 orchid display, all black everything (including a black dance floor and a black chandelier) and a whole lot of bottle popping. Talk about racking up one hell of a bar bill.

Blowing Money Fast —10 Obscene Hip-Hop Purchases

1) Diddy

The purchase: A lavish 40th birthday party at New York's Plaza Hotel
The price tag: $3 million
The bottom line: When you're worth almost half a billion dollars, a multimillion-dollar birthday party is an annual event. At this particular shindig, Puff treated guests Jay-Z, Bono, Nelly and Denzel Washington to a $30,000 orchid display, all black everything (including a black dance floor and a black chandelier) and a whole lot of bottle popping. Talk about racking up one hell of a bar bill.

Blowing Money Fast —10 Obscene Hip-Hop Purchases

While most of America is pinching pennies, rappers are recession-proof. Recently, Bryan "Birdman" Williams posted a YouTube clip of himself accepting his latest purchase-a $2.5 million Bugatti. That got us thinking, what are the most ridiculous purchases rappers have made over the years? TheBVX checks the receipts.

Blowing Money Fast —10 Obscene Hip-Hop Purchases

While most of America is pinching pennies, rappers are recession-proof. Recently, Bryan "Birdman" Williams posted a YouTube clip of himself accepting his latest purchase-a $2.5 million Bugatti. That got us thinking, what are the most ridiculous purchases rappers have made over the years? TheBVX checks the receipts.

1) Diddy

The purchase: A lavish 40th birthday party at New York's Plaza Hotel
The price tag: $3 million
The bottom line: When you're worth almost half a billion dollars, a multimillion-dollar birthday party is an annual event. At this particular shindig, Puff treated guests Jay-Z, Bono, Nelly and Denzel Washington to a $30,000 orchid display, all black everything (including a black dance floor and a black chandelier) and a whole lot of bottle popping. Talk about racking up one hell of a bar bill.


2) Jay-Z

The purchase: A 1959 Rolls-Royce convertible he gave to then-girlfriend Beyoncé for her 25th birthday
The price tag: Approximately $1 million
The bottom line: Wow, we bet you feel real silly right now for trying to pass off a pair of tickets to a Rihanna concert as a birthday present to your girl, don't you? Hov put Bey behind the vintage wheels and let her celebrate her 25th in style. No wonder he's got the baddest chick in the game wearing his chain ring.

3) 50 Cent

The purchase: Mike Tyson's former mansion in Farmington, Connecticut
The price tag: $4.1 million
The bottom line: Four mill really isn't a lot to a superstar rapper (re-read the Diddy entry above for proof). But the fact that Fif went from a down-and-out rapper at the end of the 1990s to shacking up in Mike Tyson's old pad was a power move, if we've ever seen one. From the Gucci-print walls to the in-house club, this house was a knockout.

4) Nas

The purchase: Engagement grills for himself and Kelis
The price tag: $36,000 per grill
The bottom line: Wondering how we knew grills jumped the shark? Exactly... Nas scooping up these mouthpieces a nupital gifts was a pretty bad financial decision. And when you consider that his marriage to Kelis didn't last, it only makes the purchase that much worse. Either way, we're pretty sure who got the jewelry in the divorce. Let us see your grills, girl!


5) T-Pain

The purchase: His "BIG ASS CHAIN" chain
The price tag: $410,000
The bottom line: As far as chains go, there are plenty of obnoxious ones, from Soulja Boy's remote control car chain, Sean Kingston's Crayola Crayons chain and, of course, Lil Jon's "Crunk Ain't Dead" chain. But the fact that T-Pain spent more than $400,000 on a chain that was good for one quick joke takes the proverbial cake. We just hope he recycled it when he lost interest.


6) MC Hammer

The purchase: A stable full of Thoroughbred racehorses
The price tag: Approximately $1 million
The bottom line: To be honest, just about everything MC Hammer bought during the 1990s could be considered obnoxious. After all, the guy made approximately $33 million rapping, turned around and spent $12 million of it on a crib just outside of San Francisco. But horses, Hammer? No wonder you went bankrupt.


7) Kanye West

The purchase: A replica of Michelangelo's Sistine Chapel painting on the ceiling of his dining room
The price tag: $350,000
The bottom line: We're willing to bet that just about everything Kanye buys could be considered an ill-advised investment, $1800 sneakers and $5000 suits are the norm for the Louis Vuitton Don. But the re-creation of the Sistine Chapel that he's got in his dining room is... well, it's just too much. Who do you think you are, dude? The Pope?


8) Nelly

The purchase: A mink-lined Rolls-Royce Phantom
The price tag: $385,000
The bottom line: Do you think Nelly was sitting around one day and thought about ways to make a list like this in the future? If not, we don't exactly know how to explain taking a perfectly-good (and pricey!) Rolls-Royce and lining it with mink. What, the customized "F PETA" license plate was already taken? Good grief.

10) Birdman (yeah, again!)

The purchase: Lil Wayne's 26th birthday present
The price tag: $1 million
The bottom line: No, we didn't forget to tell you what the purchase was. The $1 million was the purchase. Rather than get the martian another car or something he'd probably just return anyway, Birdman slipped Wayne a card briefcase filled with a milli. Hey Baby, want to come to our birthday party next year?! The invitation is in the mail...

Beyonce Knowles pregnant

The ‘Halo’ singer – who is married to hip-hop superstar Jay-Z – was said to be shocked when she discovered she was expecting, but is now thrilled with the news.

A source told Us Weekly magazine: "B was shocked. She loves kids, but she wasn't ready to be a mother just yet. She really wanted to get her album done and tour the world again."

Another insider added: “She now knows this is a gift from God and she's so happy."

Friends of the couple – who married in 2008 – have expressed their delight at the news, saying they will make wonderful parents.

Record executive Kevin Liles – a close friend of Jay-Z – said: "Jay has been all about family since I met him, and he's always going to be. I wish them the best."

Beyonce’s sister Solange added:

"She's got the most beautiful heart. She'll be a great mom."

In 2008, Beyonce said she "isn't ready" to have children.

The 29-year-old beauty revealed: "I know I want kids but I have never been a girl who sees a baby and goes, 'Oh! I want one!' But when I do eventually have a child, I can only pray he is as amazing as my nephew Jules. He's just the best. He is also a lot of work!

"I've seen the reality of having a kid and I know I'm not quite ready for it yet."

Kim Porter Confirms P.Diddy's Infidelity

We were all a little surprised when P.Diddy and his longtime girlfriend Kim Porter split back in July after more than a decade together...and a few kids. Porter has now confirmed that P.Diddy impregnated another woman right after she gave birth to the couple's twin daughters.

She tells the upcoming October issue of Essence magazine the scandal led her to question whether or not she could trust her boyfriend. After about 1000 hookup rumors, I can't believe it took her that long to finally realize that he's messing around with other women. I guess love really is blind.

When asked directly if the rumors about Diddy's infidelity led to the split, Porter says, "Hmm... Well, that definitely was part of it."

Earlier this week there was reports that the couple is considering reconciliation, but Porter insists she'll never wed Diddy.

She tells the publication,"He's not ready to get married. When I get married, I want to stay married. I want both parties to be on the same page at the same time, and to leave a certain type of behavior behind. That's a commitment I don't think he's ready for."

By the time this magazine comes out Diddy and Kim might be together. The two have been spending some "quality" time together. Stay tuned for the story coming soon!

P.DIDDY SUED FOR DISCRIMINATION.

P. Diddy has found himself in hot water after letting an "old and disabled" employee go from his Bad Boy firm.

51 year old Francesca Spero is suing Diddy for $12 million, alleging she was sacked for being old and disabled, after she was laid up with hip surgery in 2008.

According to Francesca, Diddy was “unsympathetic to her condition” and tried to push her out of the company.

In March 2010, she was fired and replaced by a woman much younger who "lacked the skill set and experience Spero brought to the position." So what's a girl to do? Sue sue sue!

Her lawyer Laurie Berke-Weiss said: "Francesca Spero opened the door for Combs' career and, now that she's 51, he showed her the door at Bad Boy."

In his defense he says she earned too much money for "someone who could no longer keep up with his fast-paced lifestyle" and fired her.

Spero also admitted to checking herself into a substance abuse treatment facility in December 2008 after problems with prescription painkillers and alcohol. However, she insisted she had been clean and sober from 1987 until two years ago after being treated for opiate addiction.

Sounds like a messy situation. And Diddy doesn't like a mess. We're willing to bet he's just going to throw a bunch of money at the situation and make it go away as fast as possible.

* NEXT STORY * PREVIOUS STORY 50 Cent photos reveal shocking weight loss for cancer film role

The streamlined 50 Cent for his film role

Rapper-turned-actor 50 Cent has shed four stone in weight for his new film, as these gaunt pictures of the star show. The star also spent three hours a day on a treadmill to get from 15st 4lbs to 11st 2lbs for forthcoming movie Things Fall Apart.

50 Cent - real name Curtis Jackson - lost the weight to play the role of a star high-school footballer who is diagnosed with cancer.

The rapper, 34, normally weighs 214 pounds and is often seen shirtless, flaunting his muscles. Yet after nine weeks on a liquid diet, Jackson now weighs just 160 pounds, and appears gaunt.

He posted these pictures on Twitter, saying he was "starving". Jackson, who begins a US tour tonight, has assured fans: "I've been eating. I'll be back in shape in no time!"

50 Cent previously revealed that he was also having several of his tattoos removed for the role.