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With the Diddy trial now in recess for the long holiday weekend, Billboard is recapping the biggest moments over the first two weeks — from Cassie Ventura’s bombshell testimony about “freak offs” to a hunt for Suge Knight to Kid Cudi’s torched Porsche.
The trial, which is expected to last six more weeks, will decide the fate of Sean “Diddy” Combs, who federal prosecutors say coerced Ventura and other women to partake in the freak offs — drug-fueled sex with male escorts for his entertainment. His attorneys say the events were entirely consensual.
After just two weeks of testimony, there’s no shortage of big moments. Here are the six you — and the jurors — are going to remember.
The Video
On the very first day of the trial, prosecutors wasted no time getting to their most explosive piece of evidence: a headline-grabbing surveillance video of Combs beating Ventura in the hallway at Los Angeles’ Intercontinental Hotel in March 2016.
Ahead of the trial, the two sides spent months arguing over whether the clip could be played for the jury. Combs’ team argued first that it had been unfairly leaked to the press to taint the jury pool, and later said it had been deceptively edited and would confuse jurors. But prosecutors said he was merely “desperate” to hide “some of the most damning evidence of his sex trafficking,” and a judge eventually ruled that it could be played.
Prosecutors did so immediately, calling as their very first witness a former security guard at the hotel who responded to the incident. Playing with no audio in a silent courtroom, jurors looked on impassively as the ugly footage played twice, once with the security guard describing each moment in detail from the witness stand.
Graphic Details About Freak-Offs
Freak offs — elaborate events in which Combs allegedly forced Ventura and others to have sex with escorts while he masturbated — have been at the center of the case since it was filed. But on the first day of the trial, jurors got far more vivid details.
Daniel Philips, a male exotic dancer who said he’d taken part in numerous freak offs, described arriving to dark Manhattan hotel rooms, where he would have sex with Ventura at Diddy’s direction. When a prosecutor asked what Combs had been doing during the events, Philips didn’t mince words: “He was sitting in the corner masturbating.”
Philips’ testimony got darker and more graphic from there, describing ejaculation, urination, drug use and finally an outburst of physical violence against Cassie: “I was shocked. It came out of nowhere. I was terrified,” Philips said.
Later, Cassie told jurors her own side of the story, saying the parties left her feeling “humiliated” and eventually “became a job,” but that she felt she had no choice but to participate — first out of wanting to please a man she loved, and later out of fear of blackmail videos and physical violence.
When asked about whether she had wanted to be urinated on, Cassie was unequivocal: “No, I did not want it,” she said. “It was disgusting, it was too much. I choked. No one could think I wanted it.”
Celebrity Name Drops
The first two weeks of the Diddy trial have seen a number of major celebrity name-drops — none accused of any wrongdoing, but likely still to the chagrin of their publicists.
Under cross-examination, Ventura told the jury about a 21st birthday party that Combs threw for her at a Las Vegas club in 2007 — a key early moment in their romantic relationship. When asked about other celebrities in attendance, she said that Diddy had “brought Britney Spears” to the event. Later, defense attorneys mentioned Michael B. Jordan, suggesting Combs was jealous because he was suspicious Ventura was having an affair with the actor in 2015.
Then at the start of the second week, Danity Kane singer Dawn Richard told jurors that Combs once punched Ventura in the stomach at a Los Angeles restaurant where Usher and other celebrities were present. Richard’s testimony left it unclear whether the A-listers had actually seen the incident or merely been at the event.
The Hunt For Suge Knight
But no celebrity name drop was more dramatic than that of Suge Knight — the former CEO of Death Row Records and a major Diddy rival in the East Coast–West Coast hip-hop rivalry of the 1990s.
During her testimony last week, Cassie told jurors of a 2008 incident in which Combs abruptly left a freak-off after learning that Knight was at a diner nearby. “I was crying,” she said. “I was screaming, ‘Please don’t do anything stupid’.”
Then on Tuesday, Diddy’s former personal assistant David James offered another, more detailed perspective on the incident — saying he driven a black SUV carrying Combs, a security guard and multiple handguns to the restaurant, but that Knight had already left when they arrived. “It was the first time I realized my life was in danger,” James said.
Cassie’s Settlements
During cross-examination, Diddy’s lawyers got Cassie to reveal the size of two major civil settlements stemming from the abuse she allegedly suffered — a tactic likely aimed at making jurors question her motives for speaking out against Combs.
It was Ventura’s civil lawsuit, filed in November 2023, that first raised allegations against Combs. Though it sparked a flood of additional cases and set into motion the criminal probe that led to his indictment, the case itself was almost immediately dismissed after Cassie reached a private settlement.
At trial this week, Cassie confirmed that she had she had received $20 million in that deal. Diddy’s defense attorney quickly noted that Ventura had canceled an upcoming concert tour soon after inking that settlement. “As soon as you saw that you were going to get the $20 million, you canceled the tour because you didn’t need it anymore, right?” Estevao asked Ventura. “That wasn’t the reason why,” she replied.
Later that same day, Ventura said she would give the money back if she could reverse Combs’ abuse. “If I never had to have freak-offs I would have agency and autonomy,” Ventura said.
Near the very end of her testimony, Ventura also revealed another settlement for the first time, disclosing that she was expecting to receive roughly $10 million from InterContinental Hotels over the 2016 incident captured in the surveillance tape.
Kid Cudi Takes The Stand
Beyond Cassie herself, the highest-profile witness to testify so far has been Kid Cudi — a critically acclaimed rapper who briefly dated Ventura in 2011.
Cudi has long been linked to the case. Back when Ventura first sued, she suggested that Combs had blown up Cudi’s car as an act of jealous revenge. A spokesperson for the rapper later confirmed her account to the New York Times: “This is all true.”
Sitting on the witness stand, Cudi said it himself — telling jurors that he believes Combs broke into his Los Angeles house and later torched his Porsche with a Molotov cocktail. Shown a photo of his burnt-up luxury car, Cudi said, “It looks like the top of my Porsche was cut open, and that’s where the Molotov cocktail was put in.”
Cudi later told jurors that Combs had promised him he wasn’t responsible for the car explosion, but he said he believed Combs was lying.
Kendrick Lamar is a student of the rap game, and Questlove was surprised to see the West Coast hip-hop savant pay homage to The Roots with his “Squabble Up” video. The Roots drummer stopped by The Jennifer Hudson Show on Thursday (May 22), where he opened up about Lamar recreating the scene from the Philly […]
Dan Storper, the co-founder and CEO of Putumayo World Music, died on Thursday (May 22) at 74, just two days after his birthday. Sources confirm that he passed peacefully at home in New Orleans, surrounded by family, after a battle with pancreatic cancer.
Jacob Edgar, founder of the label Cumbancha and Storper’s longtime friend and colleague, shared a heartfelt statement with Billboard Español: “Just three days ago, I posted birthday wishes to Dan Storper, the founder of Putumayo World Music and my colleague and friend for nearly 30 years. I knew then that Dan was in his last days, but I couldn’t imagine a world without him. He passed away yesterday after a battle with pancreatic cancer.”
Edgar, who began working with Storper in 1998 after being offered what he called “the dream job no one could dare dream of,” described the late visionary as “an exceptional human,” he wrote. “Funny, energetic, passionate, micromanaging, and compulsive. A workaholic to the extreme. He could drive you crazy, but you loved him anyway because his heart was in the right place, and he was a good soul.”
In 2023, the globetrotting entrepreneur marked 30 years of his groundbreaking label.
But Storper’s journey with Putumayo began long before the label existed. Originally launched in the 1970s in New York as a store selling handcrafted goods and musical finds from his travels in Latin America, Africa, India, and beyond, the shop gradually shifted its focus to music. By 1993, it had transformed into Putumayo World Music, a record label dedicated to curating global sounds for a wider audience, co-founding it with Michael Kraus.
The label became an international success, celebrated for its uplifting and culturally diverse compilations. Known for its signature brightly illustrated album covers and expertly sequenced playlists, Putumayo invited listeners to embark on musical journeys across continents, introducing many to the rhythms, traditions, and languages of faraway lands. Storper’s leadership helped bridge cultural divides through the universal language of music.
In an interview with Billboard Español in 2023, Storper reflected on what he saw as Putumayo’s mission. “I look back with a certain measure of pride at the fact that we’ve really introduced so many people to music that they were not familiar with — whether it be Latin, African, Caribbean, European, and more,” Storper said at the time, as he reflected on his company’s three-decade legacy. He also mentioned that Carlos Santana met several African bands through the Putumayo catalog that the guitarist later ended up collaborating with.
Storper also spoke fondly of how the label crafted its signature compilations. “Putumayo’s strength is not only selecting some great songs with that human touch, but putting together a sequence to take you on a musical journey, and as we say, it’s guaranteed to make you feel good,” he added.
Even as his health declined, Storper’s commitment to preserving global music remained unwavering. This April, he and Edgar donated their shared archive of 37,000 CDs — a collection built over more than 30 years — to the Harvard Music Library and the ARChive of Popular Music. “He and I listened to almost every one of those albums and scrawled notes over most of them marking out the tracks we thought had a chance to make into a Putumayo collection someday. I’m glad to know that legacy will be preserved,” said Edgar.
This week in dance music: Dua Lipa covered Daft Punk’s essential “Get Lucky” while on tour in France, Calvin Harris posted an eight-minute video in response to plagiarism accusations from Chicane and we spoke with BPM festival co-founder Phil Pulitano about his new event, a boutique show happening this January in the Puerto Rican rainforest. […]
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In a recent conversation with Shannon Sharpe on Club Shay Shay, 2 Chainz opened up about a surprising experience he had with Birdman and Lil Wayne during Wayne’s prime.
According to Chainz, Birdman had a habit of charging artists $100,000 just to get them in contact with Wayne. It was a costly fee, but one that many were willing to pay in hopes of securing a collaboration with the legendary rapper.
2 Chainz, however, found a more creative way to bypass the expensive fee. While shopping at a Gucci store, he bought a pair of red Gucci shoes for Wayne, symbolizing Wayne’s “red team” affiliation. He then took the shoes to Wayne at the studio, along with a beat CD. “He don’t know I’m about to take it to him,” 2 Chainz explained. Upon receiving the gift, Wayne was impressed, saying, “Damn, these harder than a b*tch.”
The two quickly got into the studio, but there was an issue with the email containing the song, which Wayne had sent. After sorting it out, they listened to the track, and 2 Chainz immediately recognized its potential. “Man, you did that for me?” he asked Wayne. Wayne responded with a simple, “Yeah boy.”
Despite Weezy’s generosity, Baby still expected his $100,000 for the connection. But as 2 Chainz aka “Tony” quipped, “it’s only going to be just 100, not 200.” That song, “Duffle Bag Boy” by Playaz Circle, would go on to become a major hit, cementing its place in Hip-Hop history.
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New Music Latin is a compilation of the best new Latin songs and albums recommended by Billboard Latin and Billboard Español editors. Check out this week’s picks below.
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Jesse & Joy, Lo Que Nos Faltó Decir (Warner Music Latina)
With a range of sounds representative of their bicultural upbringing (Mexico-U.S.), Jesse & Joy present an eclectic 13-track album that spans pop, regional music, singer-songwriter styles, and soul. “A sonic journey between two worlds, five cities, and all the words yet to be said,” as described in the press release, the Huerta siblings’ seventh album was produced by Martin Terefe along with Jesse, and recorded across London, New York, Los Angeles, Bogotá, and Mexico City.
Collaborators include Carlos Vives, Banda MS, Elsa y Elmar, Eden Muñoz and Poo Bear, on songs as varied as the focus track “Empinar el Codo” with Vives — a heartbreak-themed pop song with a festive vibe — or the bilingual reggae track “Nube” with Poo Bear, about feeling on cloud nine when experiencing the excitement of new love. The album opens with the sweet instrumental “Canción de Mylo” and follows with the uptempo “Digas Lo Que Digas,” one of the previously released singles, which also include “Cuando Estamos a Solas” in support of Coming Out Day. Especially moving is the title track, a heart-wrenching ballad in Jesse & Joy’s signature style.
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Lo Que Nos Faltó Decir coincides with the launch of the duo’s El Despecho Tour 2025. It also comes at a special moment for Joy, who was recently nominated for a Tony Award as a composer for the Broadway musical Real Women Have Curves. — SIGAL RATNER-ARIAS
Morat, Ya Es Mañana (Universal Music Spain)
Morat’s fifth studio album Ya Es Mañana showcases a loyal band that skillfully navigates its evolution without sacrificing its true essence. Inspired by the powerful electric guitar riffs of the ’90s, this emotional set travels from the engaging “Faltas Tú” to the captivating “Me Toca A Mí,” a collaboration with Camilo that thunders with potent drum beats and echoes Def Leppard’s classic sound. Among the 14 gems are “Antes De Cumplir Los 30,” which tells a story of youthful reflection; “Por Si No Te Vuelvo A Ver,” filled with poignant longing; “La Policía,” which carries an undercurrent of social commentary; and “Cuarto De Hotel” with its rich, atmospheric emotion. The standout “Vuelvo A Ti” captures the spirit of a new awakening with its refreshing and heartfelt approach.
“This is the moment to make the most of life, to be aware of what we must do now to create an incredible future. For us, this album embodies the idea of the band we have always wanted to be, and we hope you enjoy it,” said Juan Pablo Villamil during the band’s album release party in Miami on Thursday (May 22). — INGRID FAJARDO
Carín León & Maluma, “Si Tú Me Vieras” (Socios Music)
After teaming up for the runway hit “Según Quién” two years ago, which peaked at No. 1 on Regional Mexican Airplay, Carín León and Maluma join forces once again for “Si Tu Me Vieras,” one of the new tracks from León’s Palabra de To’s (Seca) deluxe album. The two songs couldn’t be more different from each other: Unlike “Según,” which leans more pop with horn instruments giving it that regional touch, “Si Tu Me Vieras” is more acoustic, with prickly guitars and a slapping tololoche leading the way for a more stripped-down approache. Lyrically, both are ultra vulnerable singing about not being able to overcome a heartbreak. “If you could see how I suffer realizing you’re no longer with me,” they sing, almost wailing. León’s deluxe release includes three other new songs, including “Me Está Doliendo” with Alejandro Fernández, “Tres Pesos” and “Por La Suave.” — GRISELDA FLORES
Sergio George, Ataca Sergio! Presents: Urban Salsa Sessions (Sony Music Latin)
In early 2024, Latin producer Sergio George gave the first taste of his ambitious project “Urban Salsa Sessions” with the release of “La Puerta” in collaboration with Jay Wheeler. The heartfelt tropical tune set the tone for what would become the hitmaker’s new studio album — where he reunited some of the biggest names in urban & pop to create brand new salsa songs. The focus track, “La Gata y el Ratón,” features Fariana’s sensual vocals, Juanes’ electric guitar riffs and a sample of Cheo Feliciano’s original voice for a bold interpolation of Cheo’s 1974 classic “El Ratón.”
Moreover, George reeled in Ryan Castro on “Amor Material,” Anthony Ramons singing salsa in English on “I Was the One,” Elena Rose and Oscar D’ Leon on “Me Das Fever” and Cuban newcomer Bebeshito on “Lo Sabe,” where he cleverly blends salsa music with Cuba’s booming urban genre, reparto. Beyond its colorful and flavorful rhythms, Ataca Sergio! Presents: Urban Salsa Sessions, is also home to uplifting and motivational tunes such as the Mike Bahía and Annasofia-assisted “Gracias,” a modern-day salsa with gospel undertones about gratitude, and closing track “La Vida es Una FIesta” with Wisin. — JESSICA ROIZ
Mau y Ricky, Danny Ocean & Yorghaki, “Samaná” (Why Club Records)
After collaborating in 2024 on “La Penúltima,” Venezuelan stars Mau y Ricky and Danny Ocean join forces again —this time also with their compatriot Yorghaki— on “Samaná,” a summer love song whose title is the name of a Dominican coastal city. In this fusion of bachata with Latin and Caribbean sounds, the artists sing about their desire to rekindle a fleeting romance with the woman of their dreams amidst sandy, sun-drenched parties: “I ask God to take care of you/ And if you’re with someone, to be careless/ I don’t know if it took me too long to tell you/ But I want to finish what started in Samaná.”
“‘Samaná’ is the result of several friends coming together to do what they love,” Mau y Ricky says in a press release — a camaraderie that’s also evident in the music video and the artists’ social media posts. — S.R.A.
Alex Ponce, “Como Ella Ya No Hay” (Neon16/Sony Music Latin)
Ecuadorian singer-songwriter Alex Ponce addresses his ex’s new love in his new single “Como Ella Ya No Hay.” The lyrics are a manual for loving a lost love well. With an electropop base, an irresistible electric bass groove and enveloping harmonies, the song vibrates between what was and what will no longer be. For those who have loved badly and understood it too late, this song hits straight to the soul. — LUISA CALLE
Myke Towers, “Baja California” (From F1 The Movie) (Atlantic Records/Apple Video Programming)
Set against the rugged terrain of the Northern Mexican state it’s named after, Myke Towers’ “Baja California” captures the thrill of adrenaline-fueled velocity with unapologetic swagger. Interpolating Black Sheep’s early-’90s hip-hop classic “The Choice Is Yours,” the Puerto Rican rapper turbocharges the track with the chaos and control of dirt bike trails, daunting mountains and the tempestuous coastline.
Produced by El Guincho and Oscar, the single also mirrors the tension and raw energy of the Formula 1 universe. Towers weaves sharp bars about risk, mastery, and chasing victory, embodying a speed demon fearlessly living on instinct (“a la adrenalina nunca le he tenido fobia,” he raps). “Baja California” is part of F1: The Album (out June 27), the official soundtrack for the Apple Original Film, starring Brad Pitt. As the only Latin artist featured on the soundtrack album, Towers holds his own on a star-studded roster that includes Ed Sheeran, Sexyy Red, Burna Boy, and Tiësto. — ISABELA RAYGOZA
Bronco, Tour 45 En Vivo (REC PRIME INC)
The iconic regional Mexican group celebrates its four-and-a-half-decade-long career with this compilation of 16 songs recorded live — 13 of which are duets with international acts from various music genres, such as Julieta Venegas, Matisse, Aleks Syntek, Vagón Chicano, Guaynaa, and Los Auténticos Decadentes. The album was recorded throughout 2024, during the group’s Tour 45 performances in the U.S., Central and South America, in iconic venues including Luna Park in Buenos Aires, Argentina, Arena Ciudad de México in Mexico City, and the Jockey Club in Asuncion, Paraguay. Among the songs included in this collectors piece are “Pastillas de Amnesia,” “Libros Tontos,” “Oro,” “Nunca Voy a Olvidarte” and “Con Zapatos de Tacón.” Definitely a great gift for true fans of Bronco, a legend of Spanish-language music. — TERE AGUILERA
Check out more Latin recommendations this week below:
As spring is winding down, Alex Warren and Jelly Roll, Joe Jonas and more are heating things up with new music released this past week. Nearly a month after debuting the song live during the TikToker’s guest appearance at the “Son of a Sinner” musician’s Stagecoach set in April, the twosome have dropped new duet […]
Two weeks ago, on May 8, the Trump Administration dismissed Librarian of Congress Carla Hayden; then, two days later, Register of Copyrights Shira Perlmutter, alarming rightsholders that the White House would try to make it easier for AI companies to train their software on unlicensed copyrighted material.
The Trump Administration hasn’t said much about this, and the situation has only become weirder. The following week (May 12), Wired reported that two Trump appointees were blocked from entering the Copyright Office, and left voluntarily after Library of Congress staffers contacted the Capitol Police. As recently as January 2024, remember, the New York Times referred to the agency — erroneously and rather obnoxiously — as “the sleepy Copyright Office.”
Now, amid disagreements about the process to replace Hayden and Perlmutter, the latter, who is on administrative leave, just filed a lawsuit (on May 22) claiming that the Trump Administration has no right to replace Hayden or dismiss her, and asking for an injunction to restore her role as Register. At the same time, the Trump Administration’s “Big, Beautiful Bill,” which passed the House of Representatives on May 22, contains language that would drastically limit enforcement of state-level AI regulations, including those that would protect artists’ name, image and likeness rights. If the bill passes the Senate intact, assuming the federal government has the power to limit state laws without making its own, this would represent a serious giveaway to the technology sector. Considered together with Perlmutter’s dismissal, it suggests that the Trump Administration may try to give AI companies a pass to ignore creators rights — along with those of other people.
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It’s tough to know this is true, of course, because the Administration still hasn’t said much about dismissing Hayden and Perlmutter — a White House explanation about Hayden “putting inappropriate books in the library for children” is absurd, since the Library of Congress is a research institution. Troublingly, the move to dismiss both officials seems to have been sparked by an April 17 American Accountability Foundation report on “Liberals of the Library of Congress.” (The organization is a political nonprofit run by Tom Jones, a former Capitol Hill staffer with a background in opposition research who did not respond to a request for comment.) The report makes for a thin meal. Both Hayden and Perlmutter are registered Democrats who each donated less than $15,000 to national candidates over the last two decades. Hayden, who is Black, “participated in a roundtable on DEI” and moderated a conference of the American Library Association, which is portrayed, with considerable exaggeration, as a group of far-left radicals. Perlmutter, who served in the US Patent and Trademark Office under the first Trump administration and is widely respected for her expertise, “is part of a left-wing family,” according to the report. If this makes her unfit for public office, so is Stephen Miller.
It is possible that the Trump Administration simply could not bring itself to tolerate a Register of Copyrights with siblings who criticized the president online. But it’s also possible that some of the technology companies that have influence in the White House want a Copyright Office that will be more compliant. In March, the venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz responded to a request for public comments on the White House AI Action Plan by saying that “neither the Copyright Office nor any other government agency should release guidance related to this issue — or other issues critical to American competitiveness in AI — until the conclusion of the National AI Action Plan process.” In other words, we would prefer new rules to those that exist now.
Or perhaps no rules at all? Technology companies often push for legislation that allows them to avoid other laws or liability: The “safe harbor” from liability in the Digital Millennium Copyright Act; Section 230 of the Communications Act, which gives them immunity from liability for user content; and the Internet Tax Freedom Act. The current version of the “Big, Beautiful Bill” — which I can’t even type without laughing and crying at the same time — could be even worse. It would block enforcement of all current and future local and state laws on AI, including the Tennessee ELVIS ACT (Ensuring Likeness Voice and Image Security Act), which protects artists from AI imitations; and the California AI Transparency Act, which requires big AI companies to identify what has been created by AI tools. Music would only be the beginning, of course. Would this act also forbid the enforcement of laws preventing AI systems from engaging in illegal discrimination? (It’s not clear.) What about deepfake porn?
Although the moratorium on state AI law enforcement would only last for 10 years, laws to protect technology companies can stick around, as what was intended to be an initial boost for an important sector of the economy slowly becomes the status quo. Look at the Internet Tax Freedom Act, passed in 1998 to last a decade, then extended several times and made permanent in 2016. The issues involved in AI will be far more profound, of course, not least because some of those systems might be able to outthink their creators within a decade or two. Imagine creating systems that will soon become smarter than humans, then purposefully making them harder to regulate. This sounds less like legislation than the first act of a Syfy disaster movie. The third won’t be pretty.
Copyright has always been one of the few remaining bipartisan issues in Washington, and Democrats who champion the arts — and, often, the media business — join forces with Republicans who see copyright as a property right worth protecting. Opposing copyright, and online regulation in general, has become a bipartisan issue as well, though. Before Elon Musk had way too much power in the Trump Administration, former Google CEO Eric Schmidt had too much power in the Obama Administration. Now, with Republicans controlling all three branches of government, the political fight over the future of the Copyright Office will take place mostly within the GOP, with MAGA-friendly “tech bros” on one side and more traditional business-focused Republicans on the other.
That is, if Perlmutter doesn’t get the injunction she’s asking for in her lawsuit. Essentially, the President has the power to appoint the Librarian of Congress, who is then confirmed by the Senate. The Librarian then has the power to appoint, or dismiss, the Register. Without a replacement Librarian, Perlmutter argues, “the President’s attempt to remove Ms. Perlmutter was unlawful and ineffective.” This makes sense, but the Trump Administration has taken an expansive view of presidential power, to say the least, and we are now in uncharted territory. And not in a good way.
Even if Perlmutter wins, the Trump Administration will eventually appoint a new Librarian, who will in turn hire a new Register. The question is, who and when? And, more urgently, what happens until then — different people show up and say they have jobs, only to be turned away? That sounds pretty chaotic. Perhaps the chaos is the point, though. The more the Trump Administration interferes with the basic machinery of government — the endless list of federal agencies known by initials, rather than names — the easier it is to argue that all of this is part of a problem, not a solution. And that could be the biggest problem of all.
Skilla Baby (real name Trevon Gardner) was the victim of a drive-by shooting in Redford, Mich., on Thursday evening (May 22), Billboard can confirm. A press release from the Redford Township Police Department — who did not identify the Detroit rapper — said a male was transported to a local hospital to have his non-life-threatening injuries treated.
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The lead investigator on the case, Edward French, told TMZ that the suspect pulled up alongside the rapper’s car and fired an estimated 25 times.
The press release noted that he suffered three non-fatal gunshot wounds before crashing his vehicle into a building in the area of 8 Mile and Centralia around 7 p.m. local time. When officers arrived on the scene, they discovered a bullet-ridden vehicle, but Skilla Baby — who was alone in the car, according to the press release — was already being transported to a local hospital.
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Per FOX2, the rapper was grazed in the head and back, and also shot in the hand area. He was alert during his time in the hospital and is expected to recover.
Police are still searching for the unidentified gunman, who fled the scene.
Billboard has reached out to Skilla Baby’s reps for comment.
Last year, Skilla partnered with the Detroit City Council to produce a gun buyback event, aiming to reduce gun violence across his hometown.
“It was successful,” the 26-year-old told Billboard of the event. “We got 300 guns off the street. I think the underrated part of the gun buyback was that it was a job fair and we expunged a lot of people’s records. That was important to me, because I’m a felon, and to help people change their life and the trajectory of their future — people judge you, and it’s hard to be successful when you’re a felon.”
2024 was a busy year for Skilla Baby, who delivered a pair of projects with The Coldest to start the campaign, followed by Crack Music 3 in November.
Sheryl Crow unfurled her new single “I Know” on Friday (May 23) in honor of Mental Health Awareness Month. On the tender ballad, the nine-time Grammy winner lays out the importance of empathy and connection as she sings, “But maybe I could hold your hand/ And count the teardrops as they flow/ And promise never […]
