TMZ Hip Hop - Page 48

Diddy's focusing on clearing his name as his trial winds down -- a name that got unnecessarily tarnished by Cassie and Jane Doe ... so claims longtime family Lawanda 'Lala' Lane!!!

TMZ caught up with Lala outside the NYC courthouse as jurors began to contemplate Diddy's fate Monday morning.

As the late Kim Porter's BFF, Lala tells us she got a front-row seat to the Diddy love triangles, and she feels Cassie and Jane were both along for the ride -- until they weren't.

Chris Brown's putting one part of his legal battle over an alleged nightclub fight behind him -- as he seems to have reached a settlement with the guy who sued him over it.

Abe Diaw sued Chris back in 2023, claiming the singer struck him with a tequila bottle during an appearance at TAPE nightclub in London -- but on Friday, Abe filed docs asking an L.A. County judge to dismiss the suit.

According to the docs, Diaw wants it dismissed with prejudice ... meaning he can't refile it, and that typically means there was a settlement between the parties. We don't know if there was any money exchanged ... we've reached out to attorneys for Chris and Abe.

Jurors in the federal criminal trial of Sean "Diddy" Combs in NYC are now deliberating after receiving instructions from Judge Arun Subramanian for more than an hour Monday morning.

After the jury of eight men and four women was seated, Subramanian went through each of the charges as the gallery looked on ... telling jurors "Actions may speak louder than words."

The judge told jurors they should decide for themselves how credible they found each witness ... "The evidence is the testimony," he said while reminding the jurors to take note of the acts of everyone they considered to be participants in the events presented.

Nelly is at his wits' end with fans painting him as a traitor to his race after the "Country Grammar" creator performed at the Donald Trump inauguration event at the top of the year ... he figures he's more pro-Black than their failed candidate!!!

The rap megastar has been fending off critics during his press run for his "We Belong Together" reality series with wife Ashanti ... especially when he stepped into The Shade Room and took aim at Kamala Harris!!!

Nelly highlighted his and Snoop Dogg's monetary support towards Historically Black Colleges and Universities over the years, before flipping the switch on the ex-V.P. and her hubs, Doug Emhoff -- labeling them "the woman of color with the white husband and white kids."

Lizzo says it's a "Lizzo-Wayne summer" with her new mixtape "My Face Still Hurts From Smiling" ... and, she's got a couple great opportunities for collaboration.

We caught up with the singer-songwriter Friday in Los Angeles ... and, we had to ask about the new tape -- which she released earlier in the day -- that she says is totally inspired by Houston.

She told Billboard in an interview the mixtape was inspired by Lil Wayne ... so, we wanted to know which track she'd want Wayne to feature on -- and, for the remix, sounds like "Bend It Over" is her pick.

Rihanna and A$AP Rocky are introducing their youngest to high fashion ... but, he's not quite old enough to hit the club scene with his parents after.

The A-listers brought their boy Riot to Rocky's AWGE fashion show during Paris Fashion week in France ... posing and planting kisses on his cheeks in a a few sweet snaps taken at the event.

Check out the pic ... perfect for a family Christmas card with big smiles -- though Riot seems a pensive during the whole experience.

There's absolutely no denying Diddy's insatiable appetite for freak-offs, which has been on full display throughout his federal racketeering and sex trafficking trial.

After 7 weeks of witness testimony -- much of it centered around Diddy's freak-off obsession -- the case will be handed to the 12-person jury on Monday, and they will start deliberating on whether to acquit or convict Diddy on five felony charges.

Here's the thing ... If Diddy walks on all of the charges and strolls out of court a free man, one question immediately comes to mind -- will the music mogul go right back to freaking-off with girlfriends, male escorts and, of course, baby oil?

Lizzo is giving mermaid vibes in her latest swimsuit selfie ... showing off her recent weight loss in a colorful one-piece with long, flowing bleach-blonde hair to complement!

Check out the pop singer's latest Insta post ... she's exuding confidence in a shimmering coral and purple one-piece as she gets oil lathered all over her body.

She even turns around to give fans a glimpse of her derriere -- showing she's here to make waves with her good looks all summer long.

Sauce Gardner is peeling back the curtain on his love life ... telling TMZ Sports things are pretty "cool" with Ice Spice -- and as it turns out, LeBron James had a role in their coupling!!

We caught up with the New York Jets star out in L.A. this week ... and asked him all about his budding romance with the rapper.

While Sauce didn't sing like a bird, he did say he liked how things were going ... and raved about all they have in common -- being based in the Big Apple, experiencing success at a young age and having their fair share of haters.

It's the final countdown ... closing arguments in the Diddy criminal trial are now in the books after an explosive day in court ... with the defense taking aim at Cassie and Jane, and prosecutors getting the last word.

Diddy's defense attorney Marc Agnifilo put on a big show handling the defense's closing argument all by himself ... getting dramatic and theatrical as he paced before the jury and explained why he feels the charges against his client are bogus.

With Diddy's family watching from the gallery, Agnifilo told jurors Diddy was a victim of the government's bedroom policing ... and he warned us all, we could be the next targets if the feds don't like the way we have sex ... as he says was the case with Diddy.

Rick Ross decided Hip Hop was in need of more opulent sound -- so he linked with Pharrell Williams and shot a music video in the streets of Paris!!!

On Friday, Rozay ignited his new record deal with the release of his "For The Money," the lead single for his upcoming 12th album.

Rick Ross tells TMZ Hip Hop, “This record represents elevation — not just in sound, but in mindset."

Federal prosecutors went to their closer Friday as they got the last word in the Diddy criminal trial ... and their star lawyer tried to pick apart an animated closing argument from Diddy's defense.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Maurene Comey, who is known for her closing arguments, handled the government's rebuttal to Marc Agnifilo's impassioned defense of Diddy.

Comey tried to poke holes in Agnifilo's arguments ... a reversal of roles in this trial, as Diddy's army of lawyers spent the past 7 weeks poking holes in the prosecution's 34 witnesses.

Diddy's ice-grilling of a contestant on the artist competition series "The Four" is more remembered than the show itself ... and Elijah Connor says it's all because he REFUSED to party up with Puff Daddy!!!

Elijah was infamously on the other end of Diddy's death stare in 2018 when the Bad Boy mogul blocked him from advancing in the competition ... after he labeled Elijah's audition as cocky and unpolished.

Elijah was in Atlanta this week and announced his plans to expose his recollection of events leading up to the now-infamous GIF through a tell-all book ... a page-turner he thinks could very well cost him his life!!!

Jeremy Renner's "Mayor Of Kingstown" costar D Smoke says he's an inspiration to be around on set -- and it's not just the A-list acting chops that have him in awe!!!

TMZ linked up with the Inglewood rapper during his boxing workout with none other than Manny Pacquiao, where he dished on Renner's recovery on set.

We're 2 1/2 years removed from Renner's near-fatal snowmobile accident, and D Smoke, who just wrapped up 'MOK' Season 4, says Renner powered through Season 3 ... through rehab that included lifting weights on the Paramount+ thriller set.

Daniel Park, the man who committed suicide in federal prison after being arrested as an accomplice in the bombing of a California fertility clinic, won't be missed among the inmates ... Luce Cannon says everyone's spitting on his grave!!!

The former "No Jumper" podcast co-host tells TMZ Hip Hop he witnessed Park dive headfirst into the floor from the highest tier level of the prison ... and no one lost a wink of sleep!!!

Luce says inmates didn't know Daniel Park from a can of paint before his death, but thinks someone would have killed him anyway once they found out why he was there. Park was accused of providing 270 pounds of ammonium nitrate to the primary suspect in a May car bomb attack in Palm Springs.

Diddy's defense says the whole criminal case boils down to the almighty dollar, and co-lead attorney Marc Agnifilo is telling jurors that's the only reason they're even in court ... money, money, money.

Agnifilo is taking the reins on the defense's closing argument Friday, and took jurors back to what the defense says is the beginning of the case against Diddy -- Cassie's 2023 civil lawsuit.

As Agnifilo put it, Cassie "is sitting somewhere in the world with $30 million" ... referencing the $20 mil settlement in her Diddy suit and the $10 mil deal she cut with the owner of the InterContinental Hotel in L.A., the scene of the infamous beating video.