TMZ Hip Hop

Brendan Paul, Diddy's alleged "drug mule" -- who's been given immunity by Judge Arun Subramanian to testify in the music mogul's federal trial after confirming to the judge he's received a subpoena and intends to invoke the 5th Amendment -- took the stand in the federal trial Friday ... and the testimony is expected to revolve around drugs, TMZ has learned.

Remember ... Diddy's former assistant was arrested in March 2024 at the Miami-Opa Locka Executive Airport when authorities allegedly found cocaine and marijuana candy in his bag. The arrest occurred at the same time federal law enforcement raided Diddy's properties in L.A. and Florida.

The charges against Paul were dropped after he completed a pretrial diversion program ... and, now he's testifying at his former boss' trial.

Chris Brown was back in court Friday morning to answer a charge related to his alleged 2023 bottle-throwing incident at a London club.

The rapper showed up at Southwark Crown Court in the British capital and was greeted by a sea of fans and photographers outside.

Sporting a blue suit and black tie, Chris was all business as he stepped out of his SUV and walked inside the courthouse without uttering a word.

Megan Thee Stallion is bringing Hot Girl Summer to the villa ... 'cause this bombshell just made waves on "Love Island USA" by flaunting her bangin' bikini bod while hosting a twerk comp!

Talk about body-ody ... the singer exudes confidence while strutting onto the latest episode of the hit series in a teeny gold thong bikini.

The "WAP" hitmaker made sure the attention wasn't all on her -- she had islanders participate in a twerking contest ... and some of their moves were hot enough to melt the sun!

Fat Joe's former hype man says in a new lawsuit he saw the rapper have sex with underage girls who were 15 and 16 years old ... but Joe says the allegations are BS.

Terrance "T.A." Dixon filed a lawsuit Thursday claiming there were at least two minor females Fat Joe had sexual relations with, and another he allegedly fell in love with.

In the docs, obtained by TMZ, Dixon's attorney, Tyrone A. Blackburn claims a 16-year-old Dominican girl would perform oral sex and other sex acts on Joe in exchange for cash, clothing and cell phone bill payments.

The Diddy trial went dark Thursday to observe the Juneteenth holiday ... but prosecutors were working overtime, releasing new exhibits showing a cache of weapons and ammo, as well as drugs -- and, of course, baby oil!

Federal prosecutors released the trove of photos that appear to paint a much fuller picture of what federal agents confiscated inside Diddy's Los Angeles mansion during the March 2024 raid.

Homeland Security Investigations agents snapped the images as they recovered pistols, long guns and rifles from inside the security office, as well as bullets, body-armor-piercing ammo and a high-volume ammunition magazine.

DJ Envy’s got a few things to clear up -- mainly, his race -- and what better time to set the record straight than Juneteenth?

TMZ caught up with Envy, and he’s just as confused as everyone else about the chatter -- 'cause at the end of the day, he says he’s Black. Point-blank, no debate!

Catch the clip -- Envy breaks down his family tree, saying both his parents are Black, but his dad’s dad is from a lesser-known Caribbean island ... and that’s where folks might be getting twisted.

Lizzo’s keeping it real -- explaining that her weight loss wasn’t for fame, it was for herself ... and it’s paid off 'cause her life’s been totally leveled up.

Speaking on the 'Just Trish' podcast, the singer said she was hitting up the Met Gala carpet at her heaviest -- so size never blocked her shine. But now? She’s got that extra confidence and thinks she looks good as hell.

Lizzo said she actually believes the compliments now -- 'cause for once, she feels as good as everyone says she looks.

In honor of Thirst Trap Thursday, can you guess which famous rapper put her summer buns on display in these eye-popping shots?! Here are a few clues:

In 2016, her career kicked off with Instagram videos showcasing her freestyles. One of her earlier videos was her rapping over Khia's "My Neck, My Back." This gorgeous gal has collaborated with Doja Cat.

Here's one more selfie she snapped while on her tropical vacay ... Boasting her backside as she should! Are you thinkin', that's "My Type?!"

Rapper Skilla Baby is giving thanks and praise after he was shot multiple times in Detroit last month ... and after some humble words, he gets defiant against unnamed haters in some new rhymes.

Wednesday night, the "Leave It in the Streets" rapper posted a video on Instagram thanking his fans, supporters, and God for his recovery ... with his right hand in view, still bandaged up. Sitting inside a vehicle, he says he never would question God's reason why he was shot -- and then he breaks out with some new bars.

"I don't fear n****s, I fear God / That n**** shot my truck up 20 times, I never cried" ... "They pushed up on a millionaire, they havin' too much pride." Check out the full video to catch the rest.

Diddy's defense played jurors an audio recording of Cassie confronting a man who she says had told her he'd been shown a video of her doing a "freak-off" ... and now we're finally getting to hear what was played for the jury.

In a batch of freshly released Diddy defense exhibits, there's an audio file that Diddy’s defense team says features Cassie making death threats to a man she calls Sugit.

The recording was played in court over a month ago during Cassie's testimony but it's only now being made public.

Cuba Gooding Jr. says he's turning to the Lord during this trying time for Diddy ... revealing he's praying for the fallen mogul as his federal trial creeps on.

We caught up with the actor at LAX Wednesday ... and, we asked him if he's been keeping up on the developments in Diddy's sex trafficking trial -- which he tells us are darn near impossible to avoid these days.

Cuba says he's keeping Diddy and his alleged victims -- pointing to Cassie Ventura and her family specifically -- in his prayers.

R. Kelly is scared out of his mind and desperately begging to be let out of prison, according to members of his legal team -- who say the singer broke down in tears during a recent phone call, as he fears for his life, and his health spirals behind bars ... TMZ has learned.

Nicole Blank Becker, one of Kelly’s attorneys, tells TMZ ... the 57-year-old is petrified to find himself back in prison after he was released from the hospital, and he's fretting about his health and safety. Kelly is currently locked up in the Special Housing Unit in a North Carolina prison.

"He’s emotional, and he cried intermittently on the phone call" on Monday, Becker tells us, adding, "Again, out of fear for his life."

R. Kelly is claiming he's marked for death after an overdose that left him hospitalized this week ... but one of his alleged victims is calling BS on what she sees as a ploy to get sprung from the can.

Here's the deal ... the disgraced music mogul is asking for temporary release to home confinement -- for the third time -- after alleging Bureau of Prisons staff at his federal center in North Carolina purposefully gave him too much medication.

Lisa VanAllen, an accuser who was a witness in Kelly’s 2008 child pornography trial and 2002 federal trial, tells TMZ ... she doesn't buy for a moment there's a grand plot to kill the convicted human trafficker -- 'cause he's not even important anymore!

The juror who got booted from the Diddy trial was NOT in awe of Diddy's celebrity or his rap empire ... we've learned the guy was indifferent about Diddy and is mostly into Spanish-language music, so there was no celeb wow factor for him.

A source close to Juror 6 tells TMZ ... the guy never wanted to be part of the high-profile trial, but he got a summons and ended up being picked for the jury.

We're told he's a quiet person who likes to get his work done without being hassled ... and he's not comfortable with all the media attention now that he's been kicked off the jury.

It's like right out of a Hitchcock movie, but not really ... the judge pulled the plug in the Diddy trial Wednesday after learning one of the jurors came down with vertigo.

We don't know the underlying condition of the juror in question, but the evidence was truly head-spinning this week, with jurors fixated on various freak-off videos.

Jurors put on their headphones Tuesday and watched around 10 minutes of the vids, featuring sex scenes between Diddy, Cassie, and male escorts. You could hear a pin drop in the courtroom, as the peanut gallery heard moans bleeding through the headphones.