Hip Hop

Ratings for Snoop Dogg’s Netflix NFL Christmas Game Day “Holiday Halftime Party” drop next week, but judging from the reactions, it’s gonna draw in HUGE numbers!!!

Snoop's 10-minute performance intersected the Detroit Lions-Minnesota Vikings matchup in Minneapolis, and he didn’t shortchange the showmanship in the late, great Prince’s city.

Snoop and his team delivered an array of his classic hip hop records with a mix of Christmas standards and tons of surprises … country superstar Lainey Wilson, Andrea Bocelli and his son Matteo, Netflix’s chart-topping HUNTR/X and singer Tonio Armani all shared the stage with Santa Snoop.

Kanye West and Bianca Censori slipped out for a super low-key Christmas Eve date night at “The Nutcracker” ballet in Los Angeles ... keeping a tight profile while taking in the entire holiday classic.

An eyewitness tells TMZ … Ye and Bianca stayed for the entire show -- Bianca in a fur coat and Kanye in his iconic incognito mask. Our source tells us he did take the mask off during the performance when the lights were down, but made sure to put it back on during intermission and at the end of the show.

We’re told the couple kept a pretty discreet profile throughout the ballet, clearly trying not to draw attention while still soaking in the holiday classic.

Rapper Nino Breeze allegedly got caught with the wrong kind of tree during the Xmas season ... the Florida native was slapped with a federal cannabis offense, but he's home now celebrating in front the Christmas tree.

Nino's attorneys, Bradford Cohen and Mark Rankin, tell TMZ Hip Hop ... Nino surrendered Monday to the U.S. Marshals at the federal courthouse in Tampa after being charged with conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute marijuana.

The lawyers said Nino was released after a court hearing in which he agreed to post $100,000 cash bond and put up $100,000 in property as collateral.

Diddy's legal team is ripping Judge Arun Subramanian, accusing him of crossing a line with the 50-month sentence ... and acting more like a juror than a judge.

Diddy filed a new appeal late Tuesday evening, demanding his conviction be overturned, and his release from prison ... or, at the very least, his sentence be lightened. While his lawyers have previously filed multiple appeals, this one singles out Judge Subramanian for acting as the "thirteenth juror" in Diddy's criminal trial.

In the docs, lead appeal attorney Alexandra Shapiro claims the judge's "draconian" 50-month sentence is based on the conduct for which the actual jurors acquited Diddy -- namely, the racketeering and sex trafficking counts.

Shapiro claims Subramanian incorrectly said during sentencing he could consider Diddy's behavior related to the more violent charges -- even though he'd been acquited of them -- which she calls a violation of Diddy's constitutional rights.

Drake is always looking out for all the dogs -- just ask Quavo.

While on popular streamer BenDaDonnn's livestream last night, Drake revealed he had made sure Quavo didn't take an L following his 2021 messy breakup with Saweetie ... when he had to part ways with the shiny blue Bentley GTC V8 convertible he had her riding in.

Shortly after Quavo and Saweetie split, the car surfaced on the used car market for a price of $279,888 ... Drake tells Ben he's the one who bought it back for Quavo!!!

Saturday night was a double takeover ... rap artist Compton AV took over one bus, while DJ Sky from "Baddies" held it down on the other -- and it turned into a full-on Christmas Bus Battle when the buses rolled past each other to see which one was more lit!

Compton AV was an incredible host ... not only hyping the crowd, but delivering live performances of some of his biggest hits -- including "Slid'N" -- live on the bus. His bus, complete with a mobile billboard, followed us for an epic, on-the-move concert moment.

DJ Sky looked stunning and had passengers swooning as she led her bus to some of the best bars in town, including The Burgundy Room, one of the coolest, grungiest dive bars around. Both buses then hit Beaches in West Hollywood -- not to be confused with Beaches Tropicana -- where we got free shots and danced the night away.

Amber Rose is riding hard for her girl Nicki Minaj -- backing her up on the political front and saying she flat-out doesn’t get why Nicki’s catching heat for supporting Donald Trump.

We caught up with Amber -- who’s been Team Trump for years -- and she tells us Nicki’s entitled to her own political views in a free country ... and as far as she’s concerned, Nicki did absolutely nothing wrong.

As for claims Nicki’s Trump support could alienate her LGBTQ+ fanbase, Amber shuts that down too -- saying she doesn’t get why people label the Trump administration as homophobic in the first place.

Lil Baby says the OnlyFans star known as "Jaw Morant" doesn't "deserve" a platform -- but the Atlanta-based model is taking issue with everyone spinning the narratives!!!

TMZ Hip Hop caught up with Jaw Morant, AKA Trinity Cheatham, the Atlanta-based model whose alleged interactions with the megastar rapper caused a NSFW stir on social media last week.

Lil Baby added a vomit emoji to his very public denial of every touching Trinity after she conducted an interview dealing him ... a flag on the play as far as she's concerned.

Barack Obama once again flexed his eclectic ears with his annual favorite music list ... leaving singer ROE blindsided, after he selected her independently-released R&B smash!!!

TMZ Hip Hop ran into ROE in Los Angeles as the Obama buzz was still circulating, and the Venice-born singer/songwriter tells us she had no clue how the former Commander-in-Chief came across her song ... but she's thankful that he did!!!

ROE tells us she was leaving the gym when her BFF blew up her phone with 🔥 emojis, and she knew she had gone viral.

Lil Baby and Lil Yachty added prime fuel to the "F The Streets" movement sparked by 21 Savage's rant last week ... by joining their charitable forces for a Christmas giveaway in their hometown!!!

Baby partnered his org, The Jones Project Inc., with The Lil Yachty Foundation for a full-scale holiday takeover in Atlanta’s West End on Sunday that brought out more than 2,000 youth and families for the festivities!!!

Nicki Minaj is a fan of Charlie Kirk, as she made clear at a TPUSA sit-down with Erika Kirk this weekend ... but the slain right-wing activist was not such a fan of hers -- at least according to an old clip making the rounds online.

Watch the video ... Charlie is knee-deep in a debate with a college student when he names Nicki as someone he didn't think was a good role model for "18-year-old black girls."

But, it's hard to tell whether he was even completely sure who Nicki is. He seemed to confuse Nicki for Cardi B, saying, songs "glorifying wet female genitalia" aren't edifying for young black women.

One of the men convicted in the 2002 killing of RUN-DMC's DJ, Jam Master Jay, just had his murder conviction overturned last week -- a big surprise for Darryl McDaniels!!!

TMZ Hip Hop caught up with the legendary DMC walking our way in New York City on Monday, and he didn't even let us finish our sentence ... he had just heard the news!!!

On Friday, a U.S. District Judge granted Karl Jordan Jr. an acquittal on the murder charges handed down in Feb. 2024, citing an overall lack of evidence.

Tory Lanez revealed in his first interview from prison last week that he had new evidence favorable to his appeal after his conviction for shooting Megan The Stallion, and it turns out, the rapper wasn't BS-ing, and he's now going after the former Los Angeles D.A. ... TMZ has learned.

Here's the deal ... Tory's team submitted an official report to the court with testimony from a software expert who reviewed Megan's medical records after Meg was shot by Tory that fateful night in 2020.

After the review, the expert signed the report claiming there were 60 fraudulent errors in the medical findings presented at Tory's 2022 trial by then-L.A. County District Attorney, George Gascon. As you know, Tory was convicted of shooting Megan and sentenced to 10 years in prison. Tory, though, has always maintained his innocence.

J.D. Vance is breaking his silence after Nicki Minaj let out a major verbal slip at the TPUSA summit this weekend -- accidentally referring to him as "the assassin" -- but instead of clapping back, the VP is actually taking the high road.

Vance hopped on X Monday morning and first referenced Nicki’s comments that lifting up little Black girls doesn’t mean tearing down little blonde girls ... making it clear he understood her message was one rooted in unity.

He went on to say politics has pushed people into "zero sum" thinking in recent years, pointing the finger at powerful forces that thrive on division -- and he tagged Nicki directly, saying she rejects that mindset. So apparently no beef between J.D. and Nicki!

Snoop Dogg is turning his limited edition "roach" art pieces into the ultimate stocking stuffer through a one-dollar flex ... with a raffle through Stuff.io.

Throughout the rest of Monday morning, Snoop is selling off the digital image and videos for $1 and fans will get a ticket to win some boss prizes ... 3 winners will be gifted with $1,000 travel to L.A., a $500 shopping spree at Snoop’s clothing store, and a tour of his private compound -- in an addition to one of only three digital roach art pieces!!!

Remember, we caught up with Snoop earlier this year. The legendary rapper and design artist Erica Kovitz collaborated on the "Rich N Infamous: The Joint Venture” roach art project -- made with the remainders of smoked weed joints -- which has since garnered 6-figure sales bids.