genre hiphop
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Rod Wave (born Rodarius Green) was arrested on Tuesday (May 20) in Georgia and booked into Fulton County Jail on aggravated assault and possession of a firearm charges. Explore Explore See latest videos, charts and news See latest videos, charts and news According to jail records viewed by Billboard, he was hit with 12 additional […]
A$AP Rocky continues to tease new music ahead of dropping his highly anticipated album Don’t Be Dumb. However, the song that was played as he walked down the red-carpet stairs in the rain with his pregnant partner Rihanna at the Cannes Film Festival on Monday night, when his new movie Highest 2 Lowest premiered, sounds […]
50 Cent is back at it. The Queens rapper and filmmaker continues to troll Diddy as the Harlem mogul’s sex trafficking trial heads into its second week. This time, he posted an AI-generated picture of himself on Instagram wearing a white “Free Diddy” shirt in front of a courthouse and followed that up with a […]
Several new witnesses took the stand Tuesday at Sean “Diddy” Combs’ sex-trafficking trial, including a male escort named “The Punisher” and Cassie Ventura’s mother, who testified that she was “scared for my daughter’s safety.”
Regina Ventura told jurors that she documented the physical abuse Cassie suffered from Combs, who prosecutors claim coerced the younger Ventura and others into participating in drug-fueled sex shows known as “freak-offs.”
The elder Ventura later testified that she once wired $20,000 to Combs’ company in 2011 after Cassie told her that the rapper was threatening to release a sex tape of her, according to the New York Post and other media outlets — allegedly because he was enraged at her romantic relationship with Kid Cudi: “I was physically sick,” she testified, before adding, “I was scared for my daughter’s safety.”
She later said the money, which she obtained by taking out a home-equity loan, was returned days later and she had no contact with Combs about it.
Later in the morning, jurors heard testimony from Sharay Hayes, a male exotic dancer who goes by the nickname “The Punisher.” He testified that he attended as many as 12 freak-offs, and that Combs often closely directed how he and Ventura were to have sex.
Combs was indicted in September, charged with running a sprawling criminal operation aimed at facilitating the freak-offs — elaborate events in which Combs and others allegedly pressured Ventura and other victims into having sex with escorts while he watched and masturbated. Prosecutors also say the star and his associates used violence, money and blackmail to keep victims silent and under his control.
Once one of the music industry’s most powerful men, Combs is accused of racketeering conspiracy (a so-called RICO charge), sex trafficking and violating a federal prostitution statute. If convicted on all of the charges, he faces a potential life prison sentence.
Defense attorneys maintain that Ventura and other women consensually took part in the sex parties. They’ve admitted that Combs had committed domestic violence during his and Ventura’s “toxic” relationship and had unusual sexual preferences, but that he had never coerced her into participating in his “swinger” lifestyle.
Tuesday also saw testimony from David James, Combs’ former personal assistant, continuing his testimony from Monday; and Gerard Gannon, a federal law enforcement agent who led the headline-grabbing raid of Combs’ house in Miami last spring that turned up guns and huge amounts of baby oil.
Cudi himself is expected to take the witness stand later this week, where he will potentially be asked about an infamous incident in which Combs allegedly set his car on fire as payback for his brief relationship with Ventura.
NFL wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr. is standing by his friend Chris Brown, who remains behind bars in a U.K. jail following his May 15 arrest. The former New York Giants superstar took to his Instagram Story early Tuesday (May 20), calling for CB’s freedom. “Free Breeeezyyy,” OBJ wrote. “The moral compass will never lie… […]
Kid Cudi is expected to testify as a witness in Diddy’s sex trafficking trial.
According to CNN, prosecutor Maurene Comey announced on Tuesday (May 20) that Cudi (born Scott Mescudi) will take the stand later this week.
Last week, during Cassie’s time on the stand, she testified that Diddy became irate and threatened to blow up Cudi’s car after learning she was dating the Cleveland-bred rapper in 2011.
“Too much danger, too much uncertainty of what could happen if we continued to see each other,” she reportedly said of why she ended things romantically with Cudi after a brief dating stint.
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“[Diddy] said he wanted Scott’s friends to see Scott’s car blown up,” Cassie added. “We met, [Diddy], [Kid Cudi] and me. [Kid Cudi] said, ‘What about my vehicle?’ And [Diddy] said, ‘What vehicle?’ And that was the end of the meeting.”
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Cassie’s bombshell 2023sexualabuse lawsuit against Combs accused Diddy of blowing up Kid Cudi’s car in his driveway after repeatedly threatening the “Day ‘n’ Nite” rapper. Reps for Cudi confirmed the car explosion to The New York Times.
Cassie’s mother, Regina Ventura, took the stand and claimed that Diddy demanded he be paid $20,000 for the money he spent on Cassie as he became enraged to find out she was dating Cudi.
According to Complex, Ventura took out a home equity loan to get Diddy the cash, but returned the money days later without an explanation.
An email sent from Cassie to her mom was reportedly shown in court, which accused Diddy of threatening to leak a pair of sex tapes featuring Cassie. “He is going to release two explicit tapes of me,” the 2011 email reportedly reads. “One on Christmas Day… Another one soon after that. He has also said that he will be having someone hurt me and Scott Mescudi physically.”
Kid Cudi’s testimony will follow George Kaplan, who was an employee of Diddy’s who quit after allegedly witnessing physical abuse. Cudi’s time on the stand could come on Wednesday (May 21) or Thursday (May 22).
Diddy is facing charges of sex trafficking and racketeering, and the Bad Boy mogul could be sentenced to life in prison if found guilty on all counts. The trial is expected to last into July.
Megan Thee Stallion is saying anything but “we can’t be friends” to Ariana Grande, whom the rapper said she’s eager to collaborate with again following the success of their “34+35” remix.
In a game of “Truth or Wear” for Who What Wear — the cover of which she appeared on Monday (May 19) — Meg had an immediate answer when challenged to name her dream duet partner. “I would probably have to say Ariana Grande,” the Houston Hottie said.
“I collabed with her one time, but now that I’m in a new space with music and such — and I feel like she’s in a new space with her life and her music,” she continued. “I would really like to see what we would come up with right now.”
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It’s been about four years since Thee Stallion and the Wicked star last teamed up, joining forces for a remix of Grande’s Positions single “34 + 35” with Doja Cat. After the two rappers added to the track, it reached No. 2 on the Billboard Hot 100.
Meg and the “Yes, And?” singer have been tight ever since, with Grande writing, “I adore @theestallion” on Instagram last year after the hip-hop star emphasized the importance of voting in the presidential election in her Billboard cover story.
For WWW, Meg reciprocated the love — “That’s my girl, that’s my queen,” she said of Grande — before setting things into motion. “Ariana!” the “HISS” artist said into the camera. “Call me.”
The interview follows the release of Thee Stallion’s new single, “Whenever,” which dropped in late April. This week, she also unveiled her new swimsuit collection with Walmart.
The past few days, however, have also presented some less pleasant news for the “Savage” spitfire; as rappers including Drake and Ye have started petitioning for the release of Tory Lanez, who was sentenced to 10 years in prison after being convicted in December 2022 of shooting Meg in the foot three years prior, Lanez’s lawyers have claimed new evidence has surfaced proving he wasn’t the one who shot her. In response, Meg wrote in a post on TikTok Monday (May 19), “Ain’t no new f–king evidence yall been saying the same s–t for years … TORY PLEASE LEAVE ME ALONE you are a f–king demon.”
Watch Meg reveal Grande as her dream collaborator above.
Fans who have always wanted to compete against their sports heroes will have their chance. Fanatics has launched Fanatics Games — a first-of-its-kind competition series — debuting at Fanatics Fest NYC 2025 in June.
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Fanatics is picking 50 fans to compete against a star-studded group comprised of 50 athletes, music artists, streamers, celebrities, WWE superstars, influencers, entertainers and more. The competition will include eight different sporting events showcasing various athletic skill sets.
The stars slated to compete in Fanatics Games include Tom Brady, Kevin Durant, Kevin Hart, IShowSpeed, Druski, Logan Paul, Micah Parsons, CJ Stroud, James Harden, Alex Rodriguez, Odell Beckham Jr., Tyreek Hill, Jayden Daniels, Liv Morgan, Cody Rhodes, Seth Rollins and Rhea Ripley.
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Fanatics CEO Michael Rubin is on a mission to find the best athlete in the world. Fans and the superstars will compete in a quarterback challenge, an NBA 3-point contest, baseball pitching accuracy, hockey puck shooting, UFC striking, a WWE superstar entrance, soccer goal scoring and a closest to the pin golf contest.
Contestants — both the stars and fans — will have the opportunity to win a grand prize of $1 million. Second place will receive a new Ferrari 812 GTS, while third place takes home a 2003 LeBron James rookie Topps Chrome card, which is estimated to be worth $250,000.
Quavo and Gillie Da Kid hopped into Rubin’s comments section on Instagram looking to throw their names into the ring, and Huncho is feeling good about his chances. “Come on now u kno u gonna win,” the Migos rapper wrote.
It’s all going down at Fanatics Fest NYC 2025, which is taking place at the Javits Center June 20 through June 22. Tickets are still available for purchase.
Watch Michael Rubin’s explainer of the competition below.
A new era of rap beef is upon us. One where diss tracks get dropped left and right, forcing curious fans to scramble around trying to catch up.
Enter Joey Bada$$.
Since the Brooklyn rapper kicked things off on New Year’s Day with “The Ruler’s Back,” there have been 22 tracks released (and counting), with a flurry of them coming after Joey’s recent “Red Bull Spiral Freestyle” verse, where he addressed the drama that he started. “Since ‘Ruler’s Back,’ they been tryna measure up,” he rapped. “Look, my name ain’t Rick, but I talk slick, don’t press ya luck/ And I ain’t taking no words back, I’m with all that (All that) But this ain’t gotta turn to nothin’ else, let’s keep it all rap.”
He then referenced Kendrick’s infamous “Control” verse from 2013 when he named names and invited his peers to a friendly competition. “First off, I could never hate the West Coast,” Joey rapped. “But since n—as comin’ for Joe, f—k it then, let’s go/ N—as must’ve forgot what Dot said on ‘Control’/ There’s still a buncha sensitive rappers in they pajama clothes, I guess/ This ain’t no East versus West, I just think that I’m the best, as a matter fact, I know.”
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And you know what? He’s right.
So far, Ray Vaughn, Daylyt, Reason, and AZ Chike have stepped up for the West Coast with a couple decent tracks here and there, but nothing really to write home about. I was into AZ Chike’s decision to step into the ring with his song “What Would You Do?,” but that effort was squashed when Joey called him “Ass Cheek” and brought along battle rap vet Loaded Lux to add insult to injury on their reply entitled “My Town.”
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Speaking of Lux, a handful of New York rappers have stepped up to the plate in Pro Era member CJ Fly, Brooklyn rapper Kai Ca$h and Jadakiss’ son Really Jaewon. And while I dug Kai’s “Knicks in 6” record, the offerings from the East Coast heir have been mainly forgettable already — but they’ve managed to show the type of solidarity the West showed during the Kendrick and Drake battle, which I have to commend them for. Somebody else from NYC needs to drop a crazy diss record over a Cash Cobain beat or something, though. Let’s get everybody involved.
Anyway, there have been fans clamoring for the Griselda guys to get involved, but they haven’t taken the bait yet. Rome Streetz tweeted out a popular meme clip of Stephen A. Smith to express how he feels about people trying to drag him into this thing — and Benny the Butcher seems perfectly fine being a spectator like the rest of us, tweeting out earlier that he felt like Joey was “handling himself exceptionally well.”
And you know what? He’s right.
The Brooklyn rapper hasn’t dropped a full-length project since 2022 and has been focusing on a bubbling acting career in recent years. So, when he randomly dropped his Conductor Williams-produced track with a shot at the West Coast’s recent dominance, fans were taken aback. He then followed that up with a three-song EP in Pardon Me in February, which included the already released “Sorry Not Sorry” and the aforementioned “The Ruler’s Back,” and he told Red Bull that he’s planning on releasing a lot of new music this year in an interview.
If that’s the case, then he’s doing a good job with his album rollout — even if the stakes of this battle are pretty low compared to others in rap’s history. His songs “The Finals,” “My Town” and “Crash Test Dummy” are the strongest out of the bunch to me as of press time. Filing a TDEast trademark and buying the domain so that his new battle releases can live there was also a nice touch.
Call it East Coast bias, or maybe blame it on the Knicks being in the Eastern Conference Finals — but Joey is winning this thing so far, and I’m not sure it’s been close.
Rep. Anna Paulina Luna of Florida’s 13th district is calling for Tory Lanez’s freedom. The Republican urged California’s Gov. Gavin Newsom to review the Toronto singer’s 2020 shooting case and issue Lanez (born Daystar Peterson) a pardon in a message posted to X on Monday (May 19).
“I am calling on Gov. Newsom @CAgovernor to review Tory Lanez’s case and issue a pardon,” she wrote. “His 10-year sentence was based on flawed evidence, political pressure, and prosecutorial bias. Justice must be blind— not driven by headlines. Free Tory Lanez.”
Lanez is currently serving a 10-year sentence after being convicted on three felony counts tied to shooting Megan Thee Stallion in the feet following a July 2020 party in Hidden Hills, Calif.
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Rep. Luna has also claimed via X on Tuesday (May 20) that new “compelling evidence” will be presented in the next 36 hours, which she believes will exonerate Lanez. “We have compelling evidence proving Tory Lanez’s innocence, and it will be released within the next 36 hours,” she wrote. “Those who rushed to call for his incarceration, and worse yet pushed false evidence, should prepare to be held accountable.”
Billboard has reached out to Megan Thee Stallion’s rep for comment on Luna’s messages on X.
Reps for Lanez from the Los Angeles nonprofit social justice organization Unite the People presented alleged new findings in Tory’s case during a press conference last week. Attorney Walter Roberts claimed that Kelsey Harris’ bodyguard, Bradley James, filed an affidavit claiming he overheard Harris admit to firing the weapon and not Lanez.
Megan Thee Stallion’s attorney, Alex Spiro, released a statement refuting Roberts’ claims. “Tory Lanez was tried and convicted by a jury of his peers and his case was properly adjudicated through the court system,” he said. “This is not a political matter — this is a case of a violent assault that was resolved in the court of law.”
The “Savage” rapper herself also slammed the claims of new evidence on Monday. “FACTS ARE FACTS, he did it , it was PROVEN IN COURT f–k the hate campaign on the internet TORY YOU SHOT ME !!” she wrote in a social media post. “Ain’t no new f–king evidence yall been saying the same s–t for years.”
Lanez was stabbed in prison on May 12 inside California Correctional Institution in Tehachapi. He was hospitalized for his injuries, and a statement posted hours later to his social media said he was stabbed 14 times, but was in “good spirits” while recovering. It also noted that his lungs had collapsed, but was breathing on his own at the time of the posting.