TMZ Hip Hop - Page 4

5:30 PM ET -- Judge Arun Subramanian just dismissed the jury for the day ... jurors will come back Wednesday morning and head straight for the jury room to continue deliberations.

Diddy is one step closer to learning his fate ... because the jury in his federal criminal trial says they have reached a verdict on four of the five counts against him ... but they don't have a verdict on the racketeering conspiracy charge.

The music mogul is huddling with his lawyers in the federal courthouse in Manhattan, where he's stood trial for the past 7 weeks ... he was brought out of a holding cell after jurors sent a note revealing they had reached a verdict on 4 counts.

The note says jurors are unable to reach a verdict on Count 1 as they have jurors on each side. Count 1 is racketeering conspiracy.

The Ying Yang Twins recently got LOWWWWWWW for a viral performance at SeaWorld that had social media wondering how so many colorful words were allowed in the family-friendly theme park ... the answer being, the PARENTS KNEW ALL THE DIRTY LYRICS!!!

TMZ Hip Hop caught up with D-Roc and Caine and the Atlanta rap legends urge everyone to go back and re-watch and tune out the San Diego crowd.

They're adamant they didn't cuss -- not one, damn time!!!

Halle Bailey found the perfect way to relax in Italy after her grueling custody battle with her ex, DDG -- with the company of a new beau while her buns baked in the sun!!!

"The Little Mermaid" actress was in Positano, Italy, on Saturday, where she and her mystery man were spotted splashing, kissing and cuddling under the Mediterranean Sea.

Halle looked happy posing her bikini bottom for her chocolate, dreadhead man -- but couldn't prevent her thong, th-thong, thong, thong going up the wrong, wr-wrong, wrong, wrong way!!!

Ja Rule recently made 50 Cent the target of ridicule with claims his longtime rival had a paltry crowd turnout at his recent Euro tour stop ... a misfire diss, because we've obtained proof the show was actually at capacity!!!

50 Cent was live inside Hannover, Germany's Heinz-von-Heiden-Arena for his "Legacy" tour on June 28 ... a show where he sold more than 25,000 tickets.

A representative for Curtis “50 Cent” Jackson provided ticketing info and tells TMZ Hip Hop, “Like all of Jackson’s other tour dates, this show was completely sold-out.”

3:09 PM PT -- We confirmed this afternoon that Jay-Z and his legal team have filed a notice of appeal with the court over today's ruling ... so, the fat lady can pipe down for now!!!

Tony Buzbee is taking a victory lap around Jay-Z ... because after a judge dismissed a lawsuit Jay filed against him, Buzbee told us he's planning to go after HOV's attorneys for a lot of money.

Here's the deal ... Jay-Z was suing Buzbee for extortion and defamation, until a California judge stepped in Monday and tossed the lawsuit out of court.

Buzbee's now licking his chops, telling TMZ ... the case was dismissed "in a lengthy, well-reasoned opinion" and he will now be asking for "a lot" of money for attorneys' fees for "defending against a meritless case."

The prospect of Diddy possibly being acquitted in his criminal trial isn't weighing on an ex-girlfriend whose name kept coming up in witness testimony ... 'cause she says she's not scared of him.

Diddy's ex Gina Huynh was leaving a Whole Foods in Las Vegas on Monday when a photog asked her if she thought Diddy was going to walk free.

Gina says she's not sure what the jury verdict will be -- deliberations started a few hours before she was asked the question -- but if he does get acquitted, it sounds like she won't run for the hills.

It's the second day of jury deliberations in the Sean "Diddy" Combs federal sex trafficking and racketeering trial in NYC Tuesday, and arguments over a late-afternoon note sent to the judge Monday shed some light on the opposing legal teams' strategies.

Jurors sent a note to Judge Arun Subramanian asking ... "If an individual asks for a controlled substance and the person hands it over, it is distribution?"

In the back-and-forth in the courtroom, the prosecution team wanted a clear "yes" answer to the question. The defense team simply wanted a restatement of the judge's original instructions ... which seems to indicate they wanted the jury to continue to wrestle with the issue because the jury presumably already had the instructions packet when they sent the note to the judge.

Phil Heath, bodybuilding legend, has a message for Drake -- days after the hip hop mogul popped the hood on social media, showing off his six pack -- let's hit the gym and train!!!

Heath, a 7x Mr. Olympia winner, joined Babcock on TMZ Sports ... where he opened up on the photo that dominated the internet over the weekend -- a topless Drizzy.

"I wish he would train with me," Phil told us, providing a sneak peek of what the regimen would look like.

Hours after jury deliberations in Diddy's federal trial hit a bump when the jury foreperson sent a note about Juror No. 25 being unable to follow instructions ... a second communication from the jury room was sent to the judge.

Just around 4:50 PM ET Monday, Diddy was brought back into the courtroom by federal marshals ... Judge Arun Subramanian announced he'd received two new notes from the jury.

The first note sought clarification on the racketeering-related count -- "If an individual asks for a controlled substance and the person hands it over, it is distribution?" The defense and prosecution attorneys both told the judge they wanted to weigh in on this note.

Diddy's defense made a big deal in court about a scrapbook one of his former assistants -- who testified Diddy raped her -- says she made for his birthday ... and now we're seeing it for the first time.

The ex-assistant, who took the stand under the pseudonym "Mia," testified about making a scrapbook for Diddy's 45th trip around the sun ... Diddy's defense attorney Brian Steel showed it to jurors back in May, and it's now been entered into the public record as a defense exhibit.

The scrapbook features a glowing letter to Diddy ... with Mia writing at the end, "I love you forever and eva and eva."

Loads of Diddy clips and soundbites have been subject to social media scrutiny since his federal sex trafficking and racketeering trial kicked off -- but probably none bigger than his infamous "Drink Champs" interview with Fabolous and Jadakiss!!!

N.O.R.E. hit "The Breakfast Club" on Monday to clear up the viral fiasco where Diddy made some eyebrow-raising comments towards the star NYC MCs ... something about "loving when they're scraping and scrambling for sh*t."

The clip occurred nearly 8 years ago, and N.O.R.E. says he's still getting tagged in it to this day -- but says there's a perfectly good explanation for the shenanigans!!!

Here's the verdict sheet jurors in Sean "Diddy" Combs' federal racketeering and sex trafficking trial were given as they deliberated his fate ... and you can see the charges laid out against him.

The first count is racketeering conspiracy ... and Judge Arun Subramanian told jurors that in order to convict Diddy here, they must find he agreed with at least one other member of the alleged Combs Enterprise to commit two predicate acts within 10 years of each other.

There are 8 qualifying crimes for the RICO charge ... kidnapping, arson, bribery, witness tampering, forced labor, sex trafficking, transportation for purposes of prostitution, and drug distribution.

There's already a dramatic development as the jury began deliberating in Diddy's federal criminal trial in NYC ... a note was sent by the jury to the judge in the courtroom within about an hour of when deliberations began.

Judge Arun Subramanian announced at about 1:15 PM ET ... "We have received a note from the jury." He said the note from the jury foreperson reads, "We have a juror, Juror 25, who we believe cannot follow your honor's instructions," and the foreperson wanted to meet with the judge about it.

Diddy and his lawyers were huddled in the courtroom at this announcement.

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.