TMZ Hip Hop - Page 2

Atlanta rapper Silentó, of "Watch Me (Whip/Nae Nae)" fame has been sentenced to 30 years in prison for his role in the 2021 shooting death of his cousin.

The DeKalb County District Attorney announced on Wednesday that the 27-year-old rapper, born Ricky Lamar Hawk, pled guilty to voluntary manslaughter, aggravated assault and possession of a firearm during the commission of a crime, as well as concealing the death of another -- Frederick Rooks III.

As we told you, DeKalb County Police found Rooks suffering from multiple gunshot wounds, with bullet casings at the scene.

Charlamagne Tha God says Hitmaka sounded like an absolute jackass discussing the Diddy and George Floyd cases ... strong opinions without knowing the facts never make a compelling argument!!!

"The Breakfast Club" co-host was in disbelief on Wednesday when he ran back Hitmaka's recent interview during the BET Awards weekend and decided he deserved the "Donkey of the Day."

Hitmaka told Loren LoRosa he feels Diddy needs to be released from prison because he was just "high and freaky" and incorrectly declared Jeffrey Epstein received house arrest in comparison to Diddy's flight.

Diddy's ex once suggested the possibility of a freak-off to get Diddy to ditch his date ... this according to her testimony.

"Jane" is back on the stand for another intense day of cross-examination ... and, Diddy's legal team asked her about a text she sent where she seemed to be using the mogul's turn-on to get him to do what she wants.

Diddy's lawyer, Teny Geragos asked Jane about a night when Diddy was hanging out with Yung Miami on vacation.

Nicki Minaj has Lil Wayne's back in his beef with the NFL and Jay-Z on their latest collab -- and also found time to fire back at Shannon Sharpe!!!

Wayne just released his "Carter VI" album -- without any features from Nicki but the two convened on Tuesday night with the remix for one of the songs, “Banned From NO.”

Nicki apparently has been waiting on the perfect moment to clap back at Shannon for his "Nicki who?" remarks a year ago and she leaned into her backhanded lyrics on social media ... “If I send a pic of Shannon, you ain’t that Sharpe!!!"

Diddy's ex-girlfriend was back on the stand Tuesday in the 20th day of witness testimony in the music mogul's federal criminal trial ... and she got testy with Diddy's defense team.

In a tense exchange, "Jane" got short with Diddy's defense attorney, Teny Geragos, while testifying about her jealousy over a Chanel bag Diddy gave to another woman while they were in a relationship.

Geragos asked Jane if she got a Chanel bag and Jane shot back, "I only got trauma." Geragos asked Jane about a Bottega Veneta bag and there was a verbal gasp in the courtroom when Jane retorted, "I'm sure you have one."

R. Kelly says his life is in immediate danger behind prison walls, and his legal team has filed an emergency motion seeking his immediate release!!!

According to court docs, obtained by TMZ, the Pied Piper's attorneys claim they have evidence that outlines a murder-for-hire plot involving prison officials and another inmate to have him whacked inside the North Carolina penitentiary where he's serving his 30-year sentence for sex crimes.

Kelly's legal team submitted a sworn statement from a terminally ill inmate and Aryan Brotherhood gang leader named Mikeal Glenn Stine, who explicitly claimed authorities offered him his freedom to spend his last days on the outside -- in exchange for murdering the singer.

Diddy’s prison getup from one of his first big film roles just hit the auction block -- and it sold for a seriously jaw-dropping price.

An overseas collector just dropped $24,510 on Diddy’s cinematic prison ensemble -- consisting of a gray hoodie, jeans with one pant leg chopped off, and black shoes -- from the 2001 romantic-thriller "Monster's Ball" ... GWS Auctions tells TMZ.

The outfit is worn by Diddy in the early scenes of the movie before his character meets his grim fate on Death Row.

Social media had a field day with Bow Wow during the performance of his cutesy classic "Like You" at the 2025 BET Awards last night -- the duet turned into a solo because Ciara was M-I-A onstage!!!

TMZ Hip Hop caught up with Bow Wow outside the Peacock Theater right after the awards ... the rap star started to blame himself for not having Ciara at his side, but tells us it was BET who didn't get their talent ducks in a row!!!

Fans were confused and cracked jokes ... the elephant in the room is they're former flames and now that she's married to Russell Wilson, such a performance is beneath her.

Diddy's ex-girlfriend "Jane" had a tense back-and-forth with defense attorney Teny Geragos ... after getting asked about the price of some designer handbags.

It all played out Tuesday in Diddy's federal criminal trial in New York, with Jane under cross-examination from Geragos, who is 4 months pregnant.

Jane -- who is testifying under a pseudonym to protect her identity -- was talking about an argument with Diddy over a Chanel bag he allegedly gave to another woman.

Anthony 'Top Dawg' Tiffith saw several of his protégés clean up at the BET Awards last night -- and Paul Pierce saw it too!!!

TMZ Hip Hop linked up with the TDE label boss outside the Peacock Theater last night in L.A. ... fresh from racking up new accolades for the empire.

SZA took home Best Female R&B/Pop Artist and Best Collaboration alongside Kendrick Lamar for their chart-dominating “Luther” while Doechii walked away with the Best Female Hip Hop artist -- and a new beef with President Donald Trump!!!

Rae Sremmurd had the world freezing in their tracks over their track "Black Beatles" years ago ... which is now officially a social media challenge for a Diamond-selling song!!!

On Tuesday, the Recording Industry Association of America doled out the award to Swae Lee and Slim Jxmmi for selling 10 million records of their 2016 smash hit that featured Gucci Mane La Flare.

The groovy vibe appeared on their sophomore album "Sremmlife 2" and dominated the Billboard Hot 100 chart at No. 1 for seven straight weeks, and also has more than a billion plays on Spotify and YouTube.

Diddy's ex-girlfriend "Jane" says a threesome they had with a male escort had them feeling like NBA ballers ... testifying she and Diddy compared themselves to Kobe Bryant and Michael Jordan.

During cross-examination Tuesday in Diddy's federal criminal trial, Jane told jurors Diddy referred to a particular three-way as a "trifecta" and compared them to three NBA Hall of Fame basketball stars.

Jane -- who's testifying under a pseudonym to protect her identity -- said the trifecta included a male escort, Paul ... and she told jurors in this scenario she was Kobe, Diddy was MJ and Paul was Shaquille O'Neal.

Diddy's ex-girlfriend says the music mogul was so addicted to having sex with her he called her "crackpipe" ... and the jury heard it straight from Diddy's mouth in a voicemail.

During cross-examination, jurors in Diddy's federal criminal trial on Tuesday heard a voice message Diddy sent to "Jane" in March 2023 ... where he told her, "You are the crackpipe. That's my new nickname for you: crackpipe."

Diddy's defense attorney Teny Geragos asked Jane -- who's testifying under a pseudonym to protect her identity -- what Diddy meant by "crackpipe" ... and Jane said he was addicted to having sex with her.

Diddy's ex-girlfriend "Jane" took the stand on the 20th day of his federal racketeering and sex trafficking trial, saying the disgraced music mogul’s favorite show was the true-crime TV news magazine, "Dateline."

Jane -- who's testifying under a pseudonym to protect her identity -- dropped the "Dateline" info during cross-examination by Diddy's defense attorney, Teny Geragos.

Geragos kicked off her questioning by asking Jane if she loved Diddy. Jane said she loved spending time with her partner, prompting Geragos to ask Jane if she wanted to cuddle and give Diddy foot rubs.

Kevin Hart showcased a masterclass of hosting abilities at the 2025 BET Awards -- an opinion shared by his celebrity peers in real-time!!!

TMZ Hip Hop was everywhere on the scene after the BET Awards let out in DTLA last night ... Deon Cole gave us his review of K. Hart's performance -- a rousing 10/10!!!

Kevin Gates told us the hosting magic is all in the name, Tiny Harris and Jermaine Dupri felt this year's show was the best in a long time and Tamar Braxton thinks Kevin should return in 2026 ... it was a hit!!!

Kai Cenat made Wale go viral for all the wrong reasons at the 2025 BET Awards ... after the top Twitch streamer thought the rapper was simply a fan shaking his hand!!! 🤣

Ahead of the show, Kai was filmed making his way through a parking garage when he encountered Wale and dapped him up, addressing him as "broski" and asking about the Nintendo Switch game in his hand.

Kai's fans in the chat immediately began to flag the impromptu celebrity linkup, but Kai didn't see it that way ... he pronounced his name "Wally" and asked his videographer, "What he do?!?" 🥴