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Young Thug called out Kid Cudi for testifying in Sean “Diddy” Combs’ sex trafficking and racketeering trial on Thursday (May 22), and labeled the Cleveland rapper a rat on X. Thugger quickly deleted the polarizing message, but the toothpaste was already out of the tube.
“Dam cudi a rat lol,” Thug wrote before taking the post down minutes later.
Billboard has reached out to Cudi’s rep for comment.
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Thugger had been locked up for more than two years while fighting for his freedom as part of the YSL RICO trial. He eventually reached a plea deal on Oct. 31, 2024.
However, there is a connection between the YSL trial and Diddy’s, as Thug’s attorney Brian Steel is part of the Bad Boy mogul’s legal defense team. Steel cross-examined Cudi while he was on the stand.
Cudder briefly dated Cassie in the early 2010s, but the romance was ultimately short-lived. As part of his testimony, Kid Cudi recalled Diddy allegedly setting his Porsche on fire in his driveway with a Molotov cocktail. Cudi also tied a break-in of his home around the time of his relationship with Cassie to Diddy.
Cassie named Cudi in her 2023 sexual abuse lawsuit, which lit the fuse against Diddy, claiming Combs attempted to blow up the “Day ‘n’ Nite” rapper’s car. While on the stand on Day 3 of the trial, she explained why she cut the relationship with Cudi short. “Too much danger, too much uncertainty of what could happen if we continued to see each other,” Cassie said.
As for Cudi, he took to social media to reflect on the “stressful situation” after taking the stand, and the Ohio native said he’s “glad it’s behind” him.
“I’ve been seeing all the love and support and I just want to say thank you so much, man,” Cudi said in a video he shared to various platforms. “People been hitting me up the past week just checking in and even today, it really means a lot to me, man. You guys are the best. I love y’all. This is a stressful situation. I’m glad it’s behind me.”
On Thugger’s side, he’s been teasing his UY SCUTI album, which he’s hinted at a June arrival date for. He reunited with Future for his “Money on Money” single in April.
In an age of elusive algorithms and viral fame, Rob49 has had an uncharacteristically steady rise for a young rapper. After an uneventful stint in the National Guard and two semesters at Southern University, Rob49 picked up the mic for fun during the COVID-19 pandemic. Almost immediately, he garnered co-signs from industry vets like French Montana, and inked a record deal before the year was out. From there, Rob’s uptick in popularity hasn’t ceased — much to the surprise of everyone, even him.
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“I ain’t never wanna be no rapper. I used to really be looking at rappers like they were lying,” Rob told Billboard of his early days. “Like, ‘Ain’t no way you doin’ what I’m doin and made it out this s—t.’ Now, I feel like all rappers gotta be doing what they’re talking about — because ain’t no way your hood let you [fake] that, let you say what you say and get away with it.”
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Rob49’s latest album, Let Me Fly, is a testament to that relentless hustle, and to the acceptance that clearly he was built to be a rap star. The lighthearted nature behind his inescapable hit “WTHelly” shows that making hit songs, even if the origin of it is rather silly, comes as easily to Rob as breathing.
“I don’t be looking for a catchy record,” Rob says. “I really just be doing what I want.”
Below, Billboard talks with Rob49 about “WTHelly,” linking with Justin Bieber, and the key to making good music.
Let’s set the record straight: Who was the first person to say “what the helly?”
I don’t know who the first person was, but a lot of people are trying to take credit for it in my city. It’s New Orleans slang right now.
How are you feeling about the reception to “WTHelly” so far? Were you expecting it to be a hit from the jump?
I knew it was gonna be good, but I was kinda scared. A lot of the other releases I had, I was kinda thinkin’, ‘Oh this is gonna be it!’ and it was not what it was supposed to be. I was scared [“WTHelly”] was gonna be one of them ones. I’m grateful for it [catching on].
It must be nice to see it starting to get the traction the song is getting.
Did you see it?
Did I see what?
Did you see “WTHelly” on your socials?
I had to search it, it didn’t just pop up for me.
Ah, see that’s why I asked you that. We ain’t go hard enough then.
What’s your favorite “WTHelly” flip?
What the helly-Bron James. I came up with that one, and my friends came up with the rest.
How are you feeling about the reception to the remix? Justin Bieber’s verse seemed to really divide people, and I can’t help but notice you haven’t dropped it.
I was gonna drop the [remix] with [G Herbo] first and add it to the album, but we wound up doing it too late. So it might come out the next day on the album, then we’re just gonna go from there with it.
Do you plan to drop the Justin Bieber remix as well?
I talked to Justin a couple of days ago and he was telling me he wanted to do some more songs. So I don’t know.
How is he feeling about the reception to his verse? It was pretty divisive when it dropped.
It’s funny — when he first did it, he was like, “What you think? You think I can go harder?” I told him like, “Man I love it, bro — if you feel comfortable about it, if you like it, then I love it.” You know?
Were you surprised by people’s negative reaction to Bieber’s verse?
No, not really. I knew it was a possibility, because — it was the same way when he asked me, “Do you think I can go harder?”
What do you think people misunderstood about it?
Probably the singing part. You just never know what it’s gonna be — and fans don’t understand that all the time, that you don’t know what a hit is. Like, it just kinda happens. Some people might’ve been, like, “Oh my god he sung!” and if it would have been a hit it would have been a crazy banger. That be the difference between songs.
Tell me about the work you did with Birdman on this album. What did you learn from working and talking with him?
Just go hard, cause you get a lot of motivation from him like that and I just be accepting it. We don’t really be talking about too much. Don’t let up, don’t take it for granted, stuff like that.
You mentioned New Orleans — what’s your relationship like with your hometown right now?
I love my city, but when I go back there now it just feels like dry energy. There’s nothing really there, in terms of anything. I saw so much stuff traveling the world, it just doesn’t feel like enough for me — and that’s scary. I ain’t never wanted it to be like that because I like going home.
I noticed Skilla Baby’s not on Let Me Fly — is that collab album still coming?
I’m gonna call him and talk to him about that. Right now, I’m working on a collab album with me and G Herbo. I don’t know what we’re gonna name it — one of my close friends be saying, “Ghetto Poet” or something like that. I think I wanna name it that. I was gonna ask [G Herbo] how he feel about that. “Ghetto Poet” sounds great for an album, right?
Absolutely. I’m curious about how you approach dropping music. For a lot of young guys the blueprint has been too flood the streets with as much music as possible, but you’ve been very intentional with the singles you’ve dropped since 4 God II.
I just didn’t wanna drop no bulls—t. But at this point in my life I don’t care. I know if it’s hard, it’s better than yours. They got a lot of people out here dropping stuff that’s not better than mine.
Do you ever worry about losing momentum?
I definitely feel nervous about it. I was nervous this time, but I wasn’t nervous for myself, I was nervous cause everyone around me was getting nervous. I keep tellin’ em we good, but then they keep getting nervous! But you gotta be a strong-minded person, and not let people around you dictate your movements.
How did you creatively approach Let Me Fly differently than 4 God II?
I just wanted to be myself for real. 4 God II, it did good, but I felt like I was listening to the people a lot about the songs I was picking and stuff. This time, no one has say so but me.
Do you feel pressure with this record to take it to the next level?
I don’t feel no pressure, I just feel like we gotta go hard. Right now, we don’t have to come out with a fake roll out. The songs are going up for real — it’s not a game. Right now, I feel like I gotta show you [who I am], because a lot of people hold they nuts. You not gonna be able to hold your nuts this year.
A producer on Lil Wayne’s hit 2008 album Tha Carter III has sued Universal Music Group (UMG) over claims that he’s owed more than 10 years’ worth of royalties totaling more than $3 million. UMG was hit with the federal lawsuit on Thursday (May 22) over Darius “Deezle” Harrison’s production work on Tha Carter III, […]
Joey Bada$$ plans to capitalize on the bicoastal rap battle he’s currently winning by releasing a new album this year. While appearing on UPROXX’s video series Sound Check, the Brooklyn rapper and actor told host Jeremy Hecht that he plans to drop his first full-length project since 2022 in the summer. “The goal is to […]
Kid Cudi took the witness stand Thursday (May 22) in the sex-trafficking trial of Sean “Diddy” Combs, telling jurors that he believes Combs broke into his Los Angeles house and later torched his Porsche with a Molotov cocktail out of anger over his relationship with Cassie Ventura.
The “Day ‘n’ Nite” rapper (Scott Mescudi) was a much-anticipated witness in the criminal trial of Combs, who’s accused of coercing Ventura and other women into participating in drug-fueled sex shows known as “freak-offs.” The trial closed out its second week on Thursday (May 22) and is expected to continue for at least another month.
Mescudi was photographed arriving at the Manhattan federal courthouse in a leather jacket and smoking a cigarette. According to reporting from CNN and the Associated Press, he began testifying in the morning and told jurors he briefly dated Ventura in 2011.
From the stand, Mescudi said Ventura, an R&B singer who dated Combs for 11 years, became very scared when the music mogul learned about her new relationship in December 2011. He then claimed Combs broke into his L.A. house while he was at a hotel with Ventura, and that items were moved and his dog was locked in a bathroom when he returned.
Combs allegedly tried to talk to Mescudi after this incident, but the rapper said he ignored the mogul’s texts: “You broke into my house, you messed with my dog, I don’t want to talk to you,” Mescudi testified.
Ventura claimed during her marathon testimony last week that Combs had threatened to blow up Mescudi’s car out of anger about their relationship, and, in her 2023 civil lawsuit against Combs, said that shortly after Combs issued these threats, Mescudi’s car was blown up. Mescudi seemed to confirm this, saying his Porsche 911 was torched in his driveway in early 2012.
At one point, the jury was shown a photo of Mescudi’s burnt-up luxury car. “It looks like the top of my Porsche was cut open, and that’s where the Molotov cocktail was put in,” Mescudi testified of the photo.
Mescudi later said he met up with Combs to discuss their differences after the incident, and that Combs acted “like a Marvel supervillain” during their meeting. He added that Combs promised he wasn’t responsible for the car explosion, but Mescudi said he believed Combs was lying.
Combs has not been officially linked to the car explosion — a point that Combs’ attorneys emphasized when cross-examining Mescudi. Defense attorney Brian Steel suggested that DNA collected from the car was identified as belonging to a woman, though Mescudi responded that he never heard from authorities about this.
Steel did get Mescudi to confirm on cross-examination that Ventura confided in him about physical abuse from Combs, but never mentioned sexual abuse. This supports the defense’s argument that while Combs committed domestic violence, he never engaged in trafficking and that all of his sexual encounters were consensual.
Mescudi posted a video on X thanking fans for support after departing the courthouse.
Also on Thursday, the jury heard additional testimony from Combs’ former assistant George Kaplan, who said he quit in 2015 after witnessing the rapper’s violent treatment of Ventura and other girlfriends.
“The central reason that I left my job as Mr. Combs’ assistant was that I was not comfortable or aligned with the physical behavior that had been going on,” said Kaplan, who began his testimony on Wednesday (May 21). Notably, Kaplan was granted immunity after initially being reluctant to testify.
A parade of other witnesses also briefly took the stand on Thursday. This included Ventura’s former makeup artist, Mylah Morales, who said she saw Ventura with extensive injuries after an argument with Combs in 2010, plus a hotel employee and a computer forensics agent.
The trial is off for the next few days and slated to resume on Tuesday (May 27).
Combs was indicted in September, charged with running a sprawling criminal operation aimed at facilitating the freak-offs and using violence, money and blackmail to keep victims silent and under his control. (Read Billboard‘s full explainer of the case against Diddy here.)
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.
Fat Joe thinks Kendrick Lamar and SZA could eventually dethrone Ja Rule and Ashanti as the greatest rapper/singer duo. During a recent episode of their Joe and Jada podcast, Jadakiss brought up Lamar and SZA’s hit record “Luther” making history by spending the most weeks at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 among duets […]
Kid Cudi took the stand as a witness in Diddy’s sex trafficking and racketeering trial on Thursday (May 22). Following his hours-long testimony surrounding his brief romance with Cassie in 2011, Cudi took to X to reflect on his time in court and thanked his fans for their support along the way.
“I’ve been seeing all the love and support and I just want to say thank you so much, man,” Cudi said. “People been hitting me up the past week just checking in and even today, it really means a lot to me, man. You guys are the best. I love y’all.”
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The Cleveland native continued: “This is a stressful situation. I’m glad it’s behind me. Yeah, I love y’all.”
Producer BNYX and Cudi’s fans showed their appreciation in his replies on X for taking the stand. “You did great Scott! Glad it’s over and done with,” one person wrote. While another added: “I’m so proud of you baby!!!!! Take time for yourself , you did that.”
The “Day ‘n’ Nite” rapper was questioned on the stand Thursday about his short stint dating Cassie in the early 2010s, and Cudi opened up about Diddy allegedly setting his Porsche on fire with a Molotov cocktail. Cudi also recounted a break-in of his home around the time of his relationship with Cassie, which he tied to Diddy.
Cassie’s initial bombshell 2023 lawsuit against Combs accused Diddy of blowing up Kid Cudi’s car in his driveway after repeatedly threatening Cudder.
“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 during her emotional testimony last week.
“[Diddy] said he wanted Scott’s friends to see Scott’s car blown up,” Cassie recalled. “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.”
The Bad Boy mogul could be sentenced to life in prison if found guilty on all counts of sex trafficking and racketeering. Diddy’s trial is expected to last into July.
Watch Cudi’s full statement on his experience at the Diddy trial below:
Mozzy is all smiles and good energy as he sits in a darkened studio.
The West Coast rapper is hard at work on Intrusive Thoughts 2 — which he tells me unprompted, without any lead in. That tape will serve as the follow-up to April’s Intrusive Thoughts, which is why he’s chatting with Billboard in the first place. The album delves even deeper into the trials and tribulations that have come to define some of Mozzy’s best work. His relationship with fame versus the streets, the loss of his loved ones to incarceration, death and more. Like his 2024 record Children of the Slums, Intrusive Thoughts explores difficult topics head on in the hopes of finding motivation in the darkness.
“I would appreciate if the youth got some good game up out of it and utilized it through the gangsta s—t that they gotta endure,” Mozzy says of the album. “I done seen a lot of young throw they life away. That s—t heartbreaking and disappointing. So if I can throw a n—a an alley oop and he can cram it and push for it off of that, I’m gonna throw it every time.”
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Billboard chats with Mozzy about working with CMG, his new album and what the vibe is on the West Coast right now.
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Take me through the recording process of Children of the Slums vs. Intrusive Thoughts. How did you approach Intrusive Thoughts differently? How did the album start to come together?
Children of the Slums, I was more reflective of the people that I lost, people that I loved dearly. I think on Intrusive Thoughts it’s self reflection. Hoping I made ‘Pac proud — I don’t wanna be no role model, it’s self reflection. That’s the difference.
You talk about some pretty intense topics on this record. You’ve explored such tough themes dozens of times in your career at this point. Does it ever get emotionally taxing to keep diving into such intense emotions for your music?
I like how you said that, “emotionally taxing” — emotional extortion. Most definitely. But it’s also helped with the healing process. I just wrote a bar the other day: “I think of Skeemo every day, because I’m still grieving,” and he had died a couple of years ago. I’m able to identify that through the music. It naturally ooze out of me — and when I get to reflecting on what I was really saying in that booth, I can hear that pain, that trauma. So I think it’s very therapeutic.
On “Seven 2’s” you rap, “cleaning up my image, but there’s still a glimpse of residue.” How have you gotten better over the years at navigating your complex journey from a kid from the West Coast projects to the rap star you are now? What lessons have you learned along the way and what kind of “residue” has been difficult to leave behind?
As far as the residue, that’s just the trenches. Like [Nipsey Hussle] said: “My circle got smaller, everybody can’t go.” That s—t is heartbreaking, still dealing with losses, n—as goin’ to jail, expiring at an early date. That’s the residue of me staying connected and still loving that part of me, but I’m most definitely cleaning up my image. I’m not talkin’ about nobody dead ones in my music. I’m providing more nutritious bars for the youth. The way I conduct myself, I’m a business man now. I can’t afford to go to jail… You can’t play in water without gettin’ wet. So it’s about transitioning, bossing yourself up and understanding that you’re bigger than some of these circumstances.
Has navigating that journey of bettering yourself been an intentional act that you’ve constantly had to be aware of, or has it become more subconscious now?
Nah, I think it requires the same amount of intentional energy. I’m forcing myself. I’m currently on paper probation, and it’s like, I gotta walk this thin line. I gotta deal with they stipulations but it’s okay because it’s forcing me to stay within my envelope. It’s forcing me to focus on things that matter. Ain’t nobody gonna come save me.
I wanna ask briefly about your bar on “10 Percent,” where you rap, “Quit asking why I signed to CMG/ Advise you guys not to get me started.” What type of push back have you gotten about your relationship with CMG? What’s your relationship like with Gotti at this point?
Everybody’s entitled to their own opinion. So, when I see n—as asking, I be feeling like, “N—a, mind your muthaf—kin’ business. Don’t ask me why I do what the f—k I do. I got us this far, n—a. Let me do my s—t, fall back, watch out.”
I’m cut from an independent cloth, so you know my independent loved ones have been rooting for me. So now, to sign is like — you just exited out the chat, you hear me? [Gotti] my thug, my loved one. Imagine someone walk you in the building and get you a million. How your relationship gonna be with ’em?
What’s changed for you on the business side since inking that deal with CMG?
I just learned how majors tweak their projects, run their roll-outs, a lot of political things. I was very asleep on the process and how tedious they is — the business they stand on is very strict. Independent ain’t that strict, you can kinda do it as you please. [CMG] just on point.
How has your expectation of rap success measured up to the reality of it?
As a kid, I expected this s—t to be like — you remember how they was trippin’ over Michael Jackson? Bobby Brown, Whitney [Houston]? Even Lil Wayne, the dopest to do it. Remember that Bow Wow era? I thought it was gonna be like that. I didn’t know this s—t was gonna be regular, and 100,000 n—as from each city doin’ the same shit. But it’s a gangsta party. It’s just about being a regular, real n—a.
You gonna meet a lot of entertainers and they gonna be on that entertainment, Hollywood bulls—t. You once looked at him like a super hero, and now it’s like, “F—k that man.” So I feel like I just don’t wanna ever give nobody that feeling. Never do no corny s—t.
What can you tell me about Intrusive Thoughts 2?
There’s most definitely gonna be a Part 2 and you can expect the same things as Part 1. Just more detail, a little more emotional about the situation, etc. I’m not gonna give you the feature list but you know I’m comin’ with my thugs!
You and Millyz just linked on “Trenches Famous…”
You think we need a whole EP or something?
I was just gonna ask. Any chance we could get a collab tape?
Shout out Millyz, that n—a the truth with what he do. One of the dopest to do it. Most definitely, I think we got an EP or somethin’ on the way.
What is the general feeling on the West Coast right now?
It’s a gangsta party, it’s been a gangsta party, it’s still a gangsta party. That’s the aura, that’s the energy, that’s the vibration. So that’s why you get that out of my project. When you hear this next one that’s gonna tell you the vibes of what the West Coast on right now.
Tory Lanez’s father, Sonstar Peterson, joined NewsNation’s CUOMO hosted by Chris Cuomo on Wednesday night (May 21), where he revealed that his son is being transferred to a new prison after being stabbed while in prison earlier in the month.
Peterson explained that Lanez isn’t receiving any special treatment, but his move is part of California prison protocol following an act of violence.
“He’s being moved because it’s part of the prison’s protocol that when a situation like this happens. They believe it’s better for him to be in another facility, and so he is being moved as we speak,” he said. “One thing of course, we are concerned about is because my son is a high-profile person and when things like this happen, there is always some kind of weird news going out trying to spin it to be something else.”
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Lanez was attacked on May 12 by another inmate at California Correctional Institution in Tehachapi around 7:20 a.m. PT, and rushed to a nearby hospital, a spokesperson for the prison told ABC News. A message posted to the singer’s verified Instagram account said he suffered a pair of collapsed lungs and was stabbed 14 times in total, but was in “good spirits” while recovering.
Lanez’s father said that when he arrived at the hospital, he spoke to correctional officers who claimed they were surprised that the singer was involved in an altercation because Tory, according to his dad, “is someone who is liked. He’s not someone who is a troublemaker.”
The Toronto native is currently serving a 10-year sentence in prison after being convicted on three felony counts tied to him shooting Megan Thee Stallion in the feet during an argument outside of a Hollywood Hills party in July 2020.
Between the stabbing and claims of new evidence, Lanez’s case is picking up steam once again. Rep. Anna Paulina Luna of Florida’s 13th district called for California’s Gov. Newsom to pardon Lanez. The congresswoman claimed that there was new evidence exonerating Lanez.
Unite the People attorney Walter Roberts claimed that Kelsey Harris’ bodyguard, Bradley James, filed an affidavit saying he overheard Harris admit to firing the weapon and not Lanez.
Megan Thee Stallion posted a message to her TikTok calling Lanez a “demon” and pushed back against the hate she’s received in recent weeks regarding the shooting case, while SZA also came to Meg’s defense. “FACTS ARE FACTS, he did it , it was PROVEN IN COURT,” she wrote in part. “Ain’t no new f–king evidence yall been saying the same s–t for years.”
Megan’s legal team also released a report on Thursday (May 22) pushing back against the claims of new evidence and support from Tory fans, arguing that the findings are filled with “false narratives” from “foolish bullies.”
Watch the interview between Chris Cuomo and Tory’s father below.
Ye’s (formerly Kanye West) time spreading antisemitism is over, according to the rapper. The embattled rap mogul claimed on X Thursday (May 22) that he’s turned a new leaf and that his time with anything associated with antisemitism is “done.”
“I am done with antisemitism,” he wrote to kick off a series of posts. “I love all people. God forgive me for the pain I’ve caused. I forgive those who have caused me pain. Thank you God.”
Ye has been vocal about having visitation rights with his children, and it appears seeing his kids on a FaceTime call has inspired him.
“I simply got a FaceTime from my kids and I wanna save the world again,” he wrote. “Share peace. Share love.”
Back in October 2022, Yeezy wore a shirt proclaiming “White Lives Matter” at his Paris Fashion Week show, then days later posted on social media he was going to go “death con 3 on Jewish people,” which set off a chain reaction of businesses and entities such as adidas, Balenciaga, Universal Music Group, Gap and more cutting ties with Ye.
The rapper apologized to the Jewish community with a post on social media in Hebrew in late 2023. Fast-forward to 2025, and Ye’s continued to spew antisemitic remarks as part of plenty of explosive X tirades, which also featured praise for Hitler and other forms of hate speech, as well as his attempt to sell a T-shirt featuring a swastika on his website in February, a move that the Anti-Defamation League criticized, writing on X, “There’s no excuse for this kind of behavior.”
But Ye wasn’t done. “I love Hitler, how what b–ches,” he wrote in March, followed by “I’m a Nazi.” The rapper has since claimed he’s not a Nazi and is now waving the white flag on antisemitism as well, though recent actions appear to show the opposite.
Earlier in May, Ye attempted to release his “Heil Hitler” track, but claimed the controversial single was “banned” from all digital streaming platforms. “Heil Hitler by Ye has been banned by all digital streaming platforms,” he wrote on X while calling out the double standard he sees in streaming censorship. “While Rednecks by Randy Newman remains streamable They’re literally keeping the n—-s down.”
He’s since released “Alive” — featuring YoungBoy Never Broken Again — a song that Playboi Carti on Thursday (May 22) slammed. The “Magnolia” rapper alleged in a since-deleted social media post that Ye used an unauthorized sample on the track.
The embattled rapper’s concert scheduled for May 31 in South Korea was also canceled due to “recent controversies” swirling around him.
See Ye’s posts on X about ending his antisemitism below:
God forgive me for the pain I’ve caused— ye (@kanyewest) May 22, 2025
I simply got a FaceTime from my kids and I wanna save the world again…— ye (@kanyewest) May 22, 2025