Music

50 Cent has been using A.I. magic to highlight his thoughts on Diddy's ongoing federal sex trafficking trial and jury selection ... all roads point to GUILTY!!!

On Friday, 50 laughed at Diddy's current defense strategy by posting A.I. images of himself as a lawyer in the courtroom rummaging through docs with a wisecrack ... "Your Honor this theory of Cassie kicking Diddy ass, I’m not buying it!"

Diddy's defense team argued that Cassie was an equal distributor of pain throughout their relationship ... more details could emerge when she takes the stand next week.

Keke Palmer channeled the spirit of Usher to clap back hard at her baby daddy Darius Jackson on her new song ... he tried to cut her down and now she gotta let him BURN!!!

It's been nearly 2 years since Darius put Keke on blast for slipping into a sexy black dress to get close to Usher during his Las Vegas residency ... but Keke is claiming on her track "My Confession" they were broken up at time, due to Darius' childish antics.

The song lightly interprets Usher's own "Confessions" and a couple of his other hits, and it's ripe with getback ... by labeling Darius a stone-cold liar and even celebrating the fact that Keke's fans gave him a tough time online.

Kendrick Lamar is currently beaming with pride over the release of Lefty Gunplay's new album ... they turned the "TV off" and now the up-and-coming rapper has been put on!!!

On Friday, Lefty and JasonMartin AKA Problem's "Can't Get Right" joint album released with plenty of support from the West Coast ... The Game, Ty Dolla $ign, Mike & Keys, and Wallie the Sensei, who also appeared on K. Dot's "GNX" with Lefty.

JasonMartin broke the news via text to Kendrick, who's currently out in New Jersey on tour with SZA, and the megastar rapper exclaimed he dropped everything to give it a whirl.

Finesse2tymes can count a new legal win on his stacked docket ... his wild terroristic threat criminal case from the top of the year has been thrown out!!!

TMZ Hip Hop obtained court docs filed on Friday, May 9, showing prosecutors moved to dismiss Finesse's case because the allegations couldn't be proven beyond a reasonable doubt.  The judge signed off on the dismissal.

Carl A. Moore, Finesse2tymes' attorney, tells TMZ Hip Hop … Mr. Ricky Hampton maintained his innocence from the onset of this case and justice prevailed today.

2 PM PT -- Turns out Kanye West's threatening letter to Kim Kardashian accusing her of exploiting their kids is a hoax.

After we spotted a bunch of red flags pointing to this being a phony correspondence -- Kanye's camp confirms to us the letter is bogus ... and they say Ye had nothing to do with it.

Kanye West says Kim Kardashian is not only exploiting their children, but he claims she left North all alone in a car while prancing around the Met Gala this week ... and now he's threatening to drag her to court over all of it.

The rapper's lawyer, Kathy Johnson, sent Kim's attorney, Laura Wasser, a cease and desist letter, "concerning the welfare and custody of Mr. West’s minor children: North West, Saint West, Chicago West, and Psalm West."

As you know, Kim and Kanye got divorced in 2021 after 7 years of marriage and 4 kids. As part of their divorce settlement, they have joint custody of the kids and Kanye pays $200K every month in child support.

The list of alleged Diddy victims involved in his sex trafficking trial is expanding ... because we've learned the feds also have a witness they're calling "Victim 5."

Prosecutors buried the existence of a 5th alleged victim in legal documents last month, but "Victim 5" just came up in court Friday as Diddy's trial proceeds.

Now, this person's identity is still unknown, but that could soon change ... because Judge Arun Subramanian ruled Friday "Victim 5" will NOT be granted anonymity in the trial.

Diddy's defense team is leaning in hard that the music mogul was abusive toward his ex, Cassie ... but they're also saying Cassie was no angel either ... because she allegedly got violent with him, too.

Day 4 of the Diddy trial saw prosecutor Emily Anne Johnson and Diddy attorney Marc Agnifilo having a very interesting exchange with Judge Arun Subramanian in an NYC federal courtroom.

It kicked off with Johnson telling the judge that Victim 1 -- who is believed to be Cassie -- will not be cross-examined about certain medical issues.

The judge then said if prosecutors open the door on the rest of the issues, the defense can walk through it and cross-examine the witnesses.

Most Valuable Prospects 12 is slated to go down on Friday ... and TMZ Sports has already done the heavy lifting for anyone wanting to track down the promotion's newest ring girl -- her name is Marissa Ayers, and we talked to her ahead of her big debut!!

We chopped it up with the MVP newbie and fellow models Delia Sylvain and Rapha Milagres ahead of fight night in Orlando ... and the rookie opened up on how she ended up in the family.

It turns out Rapha played a role in getting the Georgia native and Alabama student on board ... and after a few convos, she was handed her sparkly blue outfit and got to work as an MVP event model.

Summer Walker's winter fling with her rapper BF Rico Recklezz is officially over ... and the R&B superstar's hinting it may be her last hurrah dating a dude!!!

Before the weekend kicked off, Summer posted a pic with herself, Playboi Carti, and his GF ft.gioo AKA Giovanna Ramos ... while revealing she's a newly single woman -- suggesting things with Rico ran their course.

The unlikely couple made headlines going official on social media back in December after a heavy pursuit from Rico ... but Summer says she's better off alone and is "literally honestly & truly over men" going forward.

Mark Geragos won't answer the question -- Is he a member of Diddy's defense team? -- and it made for some lively discussion on TMZ's new Tubi weekly show ... "TMZ Presents: United States V. Sean Combs: Inside the Diddy Trial."

Geragos joined Nancy Grace, Ashleigh Banfield and Eboni K. Williams, when Harvey pressed him on his association with Diddy. It's true, Geragos has repped Diddy on various legal issues in the past, but the question now is whether he's part of the current defense team.

Geragos tried to skirt the issue, but then TMZ producer Brian Andrews popped up and laid out what he saw in the courthouse -- Geragos sitting behind the defense team and passing notes to Diddy's chief lawyers Marc Agnifilo and Teny Geragos (Mark's daughter), Geragos chatting it up with Diddy's lawyer during lunch breaks in the courthouse cafeteria, and Geragos coming out of the judge's chambers as Agnifilo had his arm around Mark's shoulder.

The boy band gods were clearly watching over the Vatican ... 'cause Harry Styles casually showed up in the massive crowd gathered to welcome new Pope Leo XIV!

Totally random, and there’s photo proof and everything -- Harry was right there in the crowd, rocking shades, a popped blue collar, and a gray hat that fans pointed out reads "Techno is My Boyfriend."

A fan shared the photo, and the caption -- which was translated from Turkish -- says she spotted Harry walking by in St. Peter's Square, their eyes met, and she just had to snap the moment.

Addison Rae is "feeling beautiful" and making sure you know it -- dropping a flurry of sultry IG snaps to really drive the message home.

Peep the pics -- the internet personality turned music star rocked a barely-there look, with a lacy purple bra spilling over a tiny crop top, and lace-up micro shorts that left very little to the imagination.

Addison was clearly feeling herself, serving up sexy poses with her mouth slightly open and major "look at me" energy in every frame.

Hollywood stars are deep in the heart of Texas ... with the Backstreet Boys, Jelly Roll, Chase Stokes and Kelsea Ballerini among the celebs in the house for a big award show.

The Academy of Country Music Awards is going down at the Ford Center at The Star in Frisco ... and ya gotta see what all the celebs are wearing.

We've seen Gretchen Wilson, Rascal Flatts, LeAnn Rimes and Eddie Cibrian, Mickey Guyton, Morgan Wade, Reba McEntire, Rita Wilson and Wynonna Judd ... just to name a few.

The iconic home of late music producer Quincy Jones is hitting the market ... and the place looks amazing.

Quincy designed the nearly 25,000 estate and lived there until his November 2024 death ... and now the property is being listed for $59,995,000.

The home features 5 bedrooms and all the bells and whistles ... we're talking an infinity pool, tennis court, indoor garden, wine bar, game lounge, home gym and a screening room.

DDG boasting to us about releasing hip hop's first-ever album created on live stream has backfired ... DJ Statik Selektah will be damned if any young whipper-snapper will take credit for his credentials!!!

Last week, we spoke to DDG about his new album "Blame the Chat," which he made for fans in real-time and even let them in on the creative control by picking beats and features.

On Thursday, Statik angrily entered said chat and gave DDG a history lesson on his discography -- including his joint projects with Freeway, Freddie Gibbs and the 4 collab albums with Bun B he created live on YouTube!!!

Federal prosecutors are taking a big gamble with one of their star witnesses in Diddy's sex trafficking trial, because the woman they call "Victim 3" has always made it clear she does NOT want to testify ... TMZ has learned.

During jury selection this week, lead prosecutor Maurene Comey admitted the feds do not know whether the alleged victim -- one of Diddy's ex-girlfriends -- intends to appear in court to testify against him. Comey said the woman does not live locally, there's an issue getting in touch with her attorney ... and she may not even show up to court despite a subpoena.

Our sources with direct knowledge say the woman has never cooperated with prosecutors, and never gave them an indication she would be willing to take the stand during the trial.