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Halle Bailey has been granted a restraining order against DDG, her ex-boyfriend and the father of her 1-year-old son, Billboard can confirm.
TMZ was first to report Tuesday (May 13) that the 25-year-old singer/actress had filed a police report against the 27-year-old streamer and rapper and requested court-ordered protection, claiming he had attacked her multiple times.
In court documents obtained by Billboard, Bailey alleged “things got physical” starting in January, when DDG (real name Darryl Dwayne Granberry Jr.) came over to pick up their then-13-month-old son Halo and she initiated a conversation about scheduling his visits.
Bailey claims that as she was buckling Halo into his car seat in the back of Granberry’s car, he yelled, “Get out of my car, bi—.” At that point, she alleges, Halo started crying, making her nervous to leave the baby with him in his agitated state. When she stayed in the car, she alleges that Granberry pulled her hair, slammed her face on the steering wheel and chipped her tooth. After they arrived at Granberry’s family’s house, Bailey says she told his family what happened and left the baby with them.
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Bailey attached photos of her alleged injuries, including her chipped tooth, to the restraining order request.
In the docs, Bailey went on to detail two more alleged incidents of abuse: one in March, which she says she filed a police report over, and one this past weekend, when she says Granberry accused her of vacationing with Brent Faiyaz in a series of texts while she was on a Mother’s Day trip with their son and her mother.
Granberry announced the couple had split in October 2024, ending their two-year relationship.
“This decision was not easy, but we believe it’s the best path forward for both of us. I cherish the time we’ve spent together and the love we’ve shared,” he wrote on his Instagram Story at the time. The following month, Bailey shared in a since-deleted X post that she felt “extremely upset” when Granberry brought Halo with him during an “unapproved” appearance on Kai Cenat’s live stream. She later backpedaled, writing, “maybe i did overreact…. i know that halo is always safe with his dad. i just don’t like finding out with the rest of the world what my baby is doing.”
Shortly after those tweets, Granberry came to Bailey’s defense in a YouTube video in which he implored negative commenters to leave her alone, citing her transparency over her struggles with postpartum depression. “When situations like this happen, I try to handle it with as much grace as possible because Halo needs her. I need her,” he said at the time. “We need each other to try to create a childhood that’s safe, fun and memorable for him.” But in March, Granberry aired his grievances over their custody issues in a song titled “Don’t Take My Son.”
In the restraining order request, Bailey also requested permission to take Halo with her while she travels to Italy to film a movie, where she will have family and a traveling nanny to help care for him. She also asked the judge for a cease-and-desist order to prevent Granberry from “posting and/or streaming on any and all platforms about Halo and/or me. He is a YouTube and Twitch Blogger and creates a fan frenzy by making false claims about me. This has caused me to feel afraid and victimized. His fans then threaten me. I am often scared for my life and Halo’s safety.”
A hearing has been set for June 4 over whether a more permanent restraining order should be put in place.
Representatives for Bailey and Granberry did not immediately respond to Billboard‘s requests for comment.
Drake ends the longest break of his career from the No. 1 spot on Billboard’s Rhythmic Airplay chart as “Nokia” reaches the summit of the list dated May 17. The single gives the superstar his first leader since “Rich Baby Daddy,” featuring Sexyy Red and SZA, ruled for two frames in December 2023, and becomes Drake’s record-extending 40th No. 1 on the radio ranking.
Drake’s absence from the Rhythmic Airplay summit in 2024 wrapped a 15-year string of at least one No. 1 every year since his breakthrough single, “Best I Ever Had,” stormed to a 10-week domination in 2009. The streak nearly continued, as Drake’s best Rhythmic Airplay result was a No. 2 finish for “You Broke My Heart” in March 2024.
“Nokia,” released and promoted through OVO Sound/Santa Anna/Republic, advances from No. 2 to become the most-played song on U.S. panel-contributing rhythmic radio stations in the tracking week of May 2-8, according to Luminate. The track registered a 10% gain in plays for the tracking period compared to the previous frame and wins the Greatest Gainer honor, given each week to the song with the largest increase in plays.
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As “Nokia” ascends to the top slot, it unseats Doechii’s “Anxiety” after its two-week reign. “Anxiety” slides to No. 2 with a 4% drop in plays for the week.
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With a 40th Rhythmic Airplay No. 1, Drake continues to lap the competition for the most champs since the radio chart’s launch in October 1992. Here’s a review of the updated leaderboard:
40, Drake17, Rihanna15, The Weeknd14, Chris Brown13, Bruno Mars13, Usher13, Lil Wayne
Elsewhere, “Nokia” nears the top of multiple other radio charts. It climbs 4-3 on Mainstream R&B/Hip-Hop Airplay with a 4% gain in weeky plays and 22-20 on Pop Airplay (up 21%).
Shifting to audience-based airplay charts, “Nokia” holds at No. 2 on the Rap Airplay chart – its third consecutive week in the runner-up position – though it added 6% more audience impressions than the previous frame. On R&B/Hip-Hop Airplay, the single rises 7-6 through a boost to combined 11.3 million in audience from mainstream R&B/hip-hop and adult R&B formats, up 3% from the prior week. The multi-format increases drive “Nokia” 19-15 on the all-genre Radio Songs chart, where it registered 32.4 million in total audience for the tracking week, an 11% improvement from the week before.
“Nokia” appears on $ome $exy $ongs 4 U, largely a collaborative album from PARTYNEXTDOOR and Drake. The pair share billing on 14 of the album’s 21 tracks, while Drake has six solo cuts, including “Nokia,” and PARTYNEXTDOOR has one. The set, released in February, debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 albums chart and has remained in the top 10 for its first 12 weeks on the list.
The rap game could use some more posse cuts, and Red Bull is providing just that with the third season of their “Red Bull Spiral Freestyle” series.
Shot in one take, season 3 kicks off with the Midwest, West Coast and East Coast being properly represented by the likes of Detroit’s Big Sean, Carson’s Ab-Soul and Brooklyn’s Joey Bada$$, respectively.
Sean starts things off with a stellar verse taking aim at social media critics who live on the Internet. “You goin’ nowhere fast but from your view you could never tell,” he raps. “No wonder ‘cause you live your life based on a carousel/ You bums could prolly teach a masterclass on takin’ L’s/ Truth is, if you wake up hatin’ life, then you hate yourself.”
Ab-Soul then comes through and takes off his J Dilla hat to Sean before going in and addressing Joey’s back-and-forth with Ab’s friend Daylyt and TDE labelmate Ray Vaughn. “In which case, Joey, you put me in a sticky predicament,” Soulo admits. “I had to show solidarity to my syndicate/ Nah, you know anybody can get it/ In such a way that it will make any physician conflicted/ But listen, the 47’s still on my tricep/ Pass the pot, let me skillet, I’m quite the chef.”
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He added: “Pro Era the masters, that ain’t ever incorrect/ But it’s still TDE ’til 3000 and forever/ Lyt was heavy and Ray definitely stepped/ But this is hip-hop, you know we still on that.”
Joey then closes the cypher out by replying to fans suggesting that he’s been trying to ignite another East vs. West beef when he dropped the video for “The Ruler’s Back,” where he mentions a famous Jay-Z line about West Coast admiration. “Since ‘Ruler’s Back,’ they been tryna measure up,” he spits. “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/ But this ain’t gotta turn to nothin’ else, let’s keep it all rap.”
The Brooklyn rapper then brings up the heat he was taking from fans, rapping, “First off, I could never hate the West Coast/ But since n—as comin’ for Joe, f— 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.”
You can watch the new Red Bull Spiral Freestyle below.
50 Cent is getting back on the road. The G-Unit boss announced that he’ll be heading to Europe with a stop in North Africa for the Legacy Tour on Tuesday (May 13).
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The trek kicks off across the pond in Germany on June 8 with additional stops in England, Morocco, London, Scotland, Switzerland, Paris, Denmark and the tour wraps up in Poland on Aug. 10.
It’s going to be a special tour for 50, who will be celebrating his 50th birthday on stage with a concert bash in Dublin on July 6.
“The Legacy Tour is here. I’m hitting Europe this summer to celebrate the music, the moments—and my 50th birthday. You know it’s gonna be crazy! Get your tickets now,” he wrote to Instagram. Tickets are currently available on 50’s website.
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The post is accompanied by a cinematic trailer 50 posted to his Instagram, running through various electric performances from his career spanning the last 20-plus years, filled with cameos ranging from G-Unit to Eminem and LeBron James.
The hip-hop legend is currently coming off his Final Lap Tour, which took the star around the globe in 2023 and grossed $103.6 million, with 1.05 million tickets sold across the 83 shows. At the time, he was only the second-ever headlining rapper to do so, joining Drake.
The Queens icon also took over Las Vegas for a six-show residency at Ph Live at Planet Hollywood to close out 2024 and ring in 2025.
“It’s cool. You don’t usually have artists that sustain themselves this long in our culture,” he told Billboard last year. “Hip-hop has a low attention span, and it’s out with the old and in with the new repeatedly. There’s even a point [where] they’ll create a resistance for you.”
Find all of the dates of 50 Cent’s Legacy Tour below:
Drake has given DDG his flowers for his new album Blame The Chat and clowned Adin Ross for having not listened to it. In DDG’s latest Twitch stream on Monday (May 12), DDG and Adin Ross spent the day together, culminating in a video call with The Boy. “Congrats on your album,” Drake told the […]
Usher has been honored with Diamond plaques from the RIAA during his decorated career, and now, he’ll be celebrated on the baseball diamond. The Atlanta Braves announced on Tuesday (May 13) that the first 15,000 fans in attendance of June 18’s game against the New York Mets at Truist Park will receive a limited-edition collectible […]
That Mexican OT might be able to add bullfighter to his resumé. The Texas rapper served as a guest coach at the Ultimate Bullfighters Midnight Bullfight Saturday (May 10) at Cowtown Coliseum in the Fort Worth, Texas, and decided to step into the arena to try his hand at freestyle bullfighting. Armed with just a […]
Sean “Diddy” Combs’ ex-girlfriend Cassie Ventura took the witness stand Tuesday (May 13) at the rap mogul’s sex trafficking trial, telling jurors that Combs “controlled a lot of my life” and subjected her to repeated “physical abuse.”
Ventura, an R&B singer who dated Combs for 11 years, is at the very center of the case against him — in which prosecutors say the superstar used his music empire “feed his every desire,” including by forcing Ventura and other women to have sex with male escorts — events allegedly known as “freak offs.”
Just a day after the trial began, Ventura took the witness stand to tell jurors she felt she had no choice but to participate in those sexual encounters — at times because she was in love with Combs and wanted to please him, but also because she feared blackmail, physical violence and other blowback.
“Sean controlled a lot of my life, whether it was career, the way I dressed — everything,” Ventura, visibly pregnant with her third child, testified. “I just didn’t have much say in it at the time.”
Sometimes emotional, Ventura testified that “violent arguments” with Combs “too often” led to “physical abuse” that included him punching, kicking and dragging her. She also offered more details about the freak offs, including that some lasted days: “The freak offs became a job,” she said, “where there wasn’t any space to do anything else but to recover and just try to feel like normal again.”
Combs was indicted in September, charged with running a sprawling criminal operation aimed at facilitating the elaborate freak offs, in which Combs and others would allegedly ply Ventura and other victims with drugs and then coerce them into having sex with escorts while he masturbated. Prosecutors also claim the star and his associates used violence, money and blackmail to keep victims silent and under his control.
It was Ventura’s civil lawsuit, filed in November 2023, that first raised those allegations against Diddy. Her case, which accused the star of rape and years of physical abuse, was quickly settled with a large payment from Combs, but it sparked a flood of additional suits from other alleged victims and set into motion the criminal probe that led to his indictment.
Once one of the music industry’s most powerful men, Combs is formally accused in the case 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.
The trial, expected to last two months, kicked off Monday (May 12) with opening statements, during which prosecutors told jurors that Combs and his associates used “coercive and criminal” conduct to make the freak offs happen: “For twenty years, the defendant, with the help of his trusted inner circle, committed crime after crime,” prosecutor Emily A. Johnson told the jury. Prosecutors also quickly played a 2016 surveillance video of Combs beating Ventura at a Los Angeles hotel.
When it was their turn, defense attorneys told jurors that Ventura and other victims had consensually taken part in the sex parties. They admitted that Diddy committed domestic violence during “toxic” relationships with the women and that he certainly had unusual sexual preferences, but said those did not amount to racketeering or sex trafficking: “Sean Combs is a complicated man, but this is not a complicated case,” said defense attorney Teny Geragos.
Following Tuesday morning’s testimony, Ventura is expected to testify more in the afternoon and for several days after that. When prosecutors are finished questioning her, Combs’ attorneys will have a chance to cross-examine her. They will likely seek to cast doubt on her credibility and portray her as a willing participant in the freak offs.
After Ventura’s testimony is complete, prosecutors will continue to call other witnesses, including a second alleged freak off victim identified by the pseudonym “Jane” and an alleged employee victim identified by the pseudonym “Mia.”
Qidere “LGP QUA” Johnson was shot and killed in Philadelphia on Mother’s Day in what authorities are saying was a robbery gone wrong.
The Philadelphia Police Department confirmed to ABC News that the 30-year-old artist, who was also outspoken about gun violence and promoted positivity, was shot multiple times a little after 4:40 p.m. in the Juanita Park neighborhood. He was pronounced dead at a local hospital shortly before 5 p.m. Law enforcement is currently searching for three men who may be linked to the fatal shooting, and is offering a $20,000 reward for information leading to an arrest and a conviction in the case.
“His life will never be in vain with me,” QUA’s publicist, Nikki Bagby, told ABC 6 Action News. “I am heartbroken because people knew QUA as a rapper, but people didn’t know him as a community advocate. Literally, he was the voice of the youth.”
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The young rapper was known as the “Voice of the Youth” because of the honest way he approached street life in his music. The rapper decided to rebrand himself as a positive influence after spending time in prison.
Media personality Mina “SayWhat” Llona, who has interviewed LGP multiple times, spoke with ABC 6 Action News about Johnson’s death. “It’s heartbreaking, it’s just not enough words and I think people are just tired,” she told the news outlet. “You know, we’re tired of saying ‘rest in peace,’ we’re tired of it being the same story and the same narrative. We’re losing young people that are very talented.”
She noted that it’s unfortunate that even someone as positive as Johnson is vulnerable to gun violence. “A young guy not saying those things, being positive,” she said. “You know, giving people inspiration and even he is susceptible to some of the things that our youth are dealing with right now, and it’s just sad.”
Meek Mill was also disappointed when heard the news, taking to his Instagram Stories to make a statement. “Killing ambitious young bulls like this on Mother’s Day is a Philly type of thing,” the Philly rapper said. “S—t will make you different. Prayers to your family, and let’s collect some of them guns. S–t sad out here.”
In 2018, LGP QUA was honored by the city and state at his former school, Edward T. Steel Elementary, where he and Puma also donated $10,000.
“Whoever is looking at me getting these awards and certificates, is like, ‘There is hope,’” the rapper said at the event. “They see someone who was on the negative side change and is on the positive side now.”
The school’s principle Jamal Dennis added at the time, “It’s very hard to do a lot of things if you never seen it, Bringing someone in that they can actually see and hear from, that the road is going to be bumpy — things happen in life.”
Tory Lanez is recovering after being stabbed 14 times in prison on Monday morning (May 12), according to the statement shared on his Instagram. The positive update confirmed the singer, born Daystar Peterson, was “in good spirits” following the attack. “Tory was stabbed 14 times, including seven wounds to his back, four to his torso, […]
