That’s at least what we are to assume after Erykah Badu completely shut down after TMZ asked about him. After her night at the Fashion Trust U.S. 2026 Awards, the outlet stopped her for what became a really short interview.

She was fine for one question about the show before refusing to answer their next one about Kanye West’s show at SoFi Stadium last week. Badu wasn’t rude about it, but you’ll see on their website that she didn’t want to go down what could have been a rabbit hole.

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It’s worth noting that Badu has shown admiration for Ye in the past, though. The neo-soul singer called him “beautiful and kind” after conversing at London Fashion Week in 2022.

While it remains unclear why she really didn’t want to discuss him at all after having fun at the show, we can’t help but speculate that recent events are factoring in.

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Kanye West Banned From The UK

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Of course, we are referring to UK officials banning Kanye West from entering their country. This occurred days after the Chicago native was booked by Wireless to be their headliner for all three nights of their festival this July.

The decision was immediately met with criticism from the UK’s prime minister, Keir Starmer. “It is deeply concerning Kanye West has been booked to perform at Wireless despite his previous antisemitic remarks and celebration of Nazism. Antisemitism in any form is abhorrent and must be confronted firmly wherever it appears. Everyone has a responsibility to ensure Britain is a place where Jewish people feel safe.”

Major sponsors for the event, including Wireless’s main contributor, Pepsi, started to back out as well. All in all, there was too much pushback to not cancel the festival. As a result, Wireless was shut down for this year too.

Read More: Fans Debate Whether Pusha T Or Jadakiss Is The Better Rapper

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“I have personally had to call the police on him 3 times in a barely 14-month marriage,” she alleged at the time. “Everyone around me told me, ‘You made a commitment through sickness and health.’ And that played with my mind after I filed for divorce at 6 months. I came back because, honestly, I tried to listen to the married people around me who said it was too soon to walk away. But now look what I’ve gotten myself into.”

Shortly after Luciani made these claims, Howard filed for divorce, describing their marriage as “irretrievably broken.” He later denied the allegations on Snapchat, insisting that he’d never used cocaine in his life.

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Dwight Howard & Amy Luciani Drama

Now, Us Weekly reports that the former NBA star has been granted a protective order against Luciani. She must stay more than 100 yards away from him and two of his children, per the outlet, and can’t contact any of them via phone or social media.

Howard accused her of stalking and threatening to harm him in a petition filed earlier this week. A hearing about the protective order has been scheduled for April 13.

News of Howard’s restraining order against Luciani comes just a couple of weeks after bodycam footage surfaced online, which shows them speaking with police about a dispute. Luciani alleged that she was locked out of their house, and that it was something he’d done to her before. She also alleged that he called off what was supposed to be their first TV show together without telling her.

Read More: Mother Of Dwight Howard’s Child Suggests CPS Still Has Their Daughter

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It relates to the alleged kidnapping and robbery that occurred on January 10, 2026, at Luminous Studios. In fact, Special Agent Hanson says most of the complaints relied on Gucci and his associates XXL reports.

However, Hanson did admit that they have yet to interview the Atlanta hitmaker nor any other of the alleged victims. Additionally, she shared that they don’t have the alleged release form that Pooh Shiesty allegedly made Guwop sign.

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But as for the interviews, she says they are scheduled and will be conducted soon. While Hanson was making her claims, Bryson “Boom” Paul reports that Shiesty was giving all sorts of frustrated and/or nervous-like nonverbal cues.

He was reportedly resting his head against the courtroom wall. His left leg shook while his attorney, Bradford Cohen, questioned Gucci Mane allegedly having guns pointed at him.

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Pooh Shiesty’s Bond Hearing

Additionally, Shiesty shook his head when Hanson alleged that Gucci told his security during the alleged altercation to “put the gun down.”

While it sounds like it was already a grueling day for Shiesty, the result wasn’t ideal either. The 26-year-old was also denied bond, so he’ll stay in custody for the time being.

Bradford Cohen, whom he recently hired to tackle his case, was pretty confused as to why the authorities took so long to arrest his client. “The FBI doesn’t take three months to arrest someone if they believe everything that was said on the night that it occurred,” he said in a press conference immediately following the hearing. “They were involved the first night, and then nothing happened for three months.”

He also sounded off on how the FBI has none of the physical evidence that they claim were a part of the crime. “What we didn’t hear today was [that] there is no contract — this mystery contract — they have no contract. They have no video of this alleged signing of a contract. They have no guns, no jewelry — they have none of that physical evidence.”

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The post FBI Claims Gucci Mane Provided Statement About Pooh Shiesty’s Alleged “Armed Takeover” appeared first on HotNewHipHop.

The Bad Boy founder is set to appear in court today to appeal his federal prison sentence. He’s seeking immediate release. His attorneys will argue that the recordings of sexual encounters involving partners or sex workers, otherwise known as “freak-offs,” are amateur pornography. This would mean they are protected under the First Amendment.

“Freak-offs and hotel nights were highly choreographed sexual performances involving the use of costumes, role play, and staged lighting which were filmed so Combs and his girlfriends could watch this amateur pornography later,” they claim, per TMZ. “Pornography production and viewing of this sort is protected by the First Amendment and thus cannot constitutionally be prosecuted.”

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Diddy Prison Release Date

Diddy’s legal team believes his sentence doesn’t align with sentencing guidelines. They claim that a typical sentence would be about 15 months, but he’s spent 19 months behind bars.

Prosecutors continue to push back. They argue that the judge did the right thing by taking into account the way he treated his alleged victims. “According to Combs, the district court should have closed its eyes to how he carried out his Mann Act offenses and abused his victims — violently beating them, threatening them, lying to them and plying them with drugs,” they wrote in their appellate brief.

At the time of writing, Diddy is expected to get out of prison on April 15, 2028. Once he gets out, he’ll face a mandatory five-year period of supervised release. He’s serving his time at The Federal Correctional Institution, Fort Dix, a low-security institution in New Jersey.

Read More: Diddy Hit With Yet Another New Prison Release Date

The post Diddy Argues “Freak-Off” Tapes Are Amateur Pornography In New Appeal appeared first on HotNewHipHop.

During that portion of the evening, Scott gave Lamy her flowers and then proceeded to share what’s next for him. “I think the next thing is to probably drop the album whenever it’s ready.” This announcement was met with cheers and claps from the audience and folks in Kurrco‘s comments section are equally amped.

“We will all be there,” one user replies. Another responds, “WE LOVE YOU TRAVIS DROP THAT SH*T.”

This is not the only update that La Flame has delivered recently. Last month, a video from a fan went viral online where he signed a piece of paper at a sporting event. After giving it back to the kid, it said “New album otw” with a bunch of empty dash marks.

Presumably, each mark represents a letter that goes toward the name of the project. But that’s merely speculation.

Elsewhere, he reacted to a fan page of his retiring by deciding to tease the album once more. “[Brown heart emojis] ALWAYS THE RAGE IS ALWAYS IN YA. IM COOKING RIGHT NOW TO GIVE U THAT NEXT STEP OF LIFE INSPO [people hugging emoji].”

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Are Travis Scott & Kanye West Dropping An Album?

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Finally, during his time onstage with Kanye West at SoFi Stadium last week, the Houston native was seen wearing a shirt that said “UNSANE” on it.

That sparked some debate as to whether or not that was a way to hint at the album. Given that he wore it during that moment in particular, we wonder if this has anything to do with the supposed collab tape between them.

Remember, Havoc of Mobb Deep claimed that Ye and Trav have been working on one and that they allegedly used some of his beats for it. The close friends will be headlining the Helwatts Festival in Italy in July as it stands today, so maybe then we will get the big reveal on Travis’s solo plans or his collaborative one with Ye.

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The post Travis Scott Feeds Into Album Hype With Another Massive Update appeared first on HotNewHipHop.

Unfortunately, this “Dot Era” has not resulted in widespread success for hip-hop as a whole. Instead, the genre has mostly fallen off the Billboard charts. It has been nine months since a hip-hop song has reached the Top 10 of the Billboard Hot 100. That song just so happens to be Drake’s “What Did I Miss?,” which was supposed to be on ICEMAN.

The mainstream success of hip-hop has started to flame out, and some believe Drake’s absence is a big reason for this. DJ Akademiks is one of the commentators banging on that drum. During a stream on Wednesday night, Ak had a particularly harsh assessment of Kendrick, claiming that he is to blame for the passive experience music has become.

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DJ Akademiks Goes Off On Kendrick Lamar

In his rant, Akademiks makes the claim that Kendrick “took the fun out of music.” He also goes on to say that “Kendrick came in with all that woke sht and f**ed up the party.”

The commentator blames Lamar for his own disinterest in music these days. He claims that he used to be excited about new music; however, these days, he doesn’t feel the same excitement.

At this point, Kendrick Lamar appears to be an easy scapegoat. However, there are other factors that lead us to understand why hip-hop’s mainstream appeal isn’t where it used to be. Quite simply, there are no superstars looking to take over from the Big Three. Not to mention, the sound of mainstream rap hasn’t changed in over a decade.

It is a tough pill to swallow, and fans are looking for someone to blame. Perhaps Drake can change this with ICEMAN, but there is no guarantee that this will be the case.

Read More: Did Gucci Mane Snitch? Everything We Know About Pooh Shiesty’s Arrest

The post DJ Akademiks Takes Aim At Kendrick Lamar Amid Hip-Hop’s Mainstream Decline appeared first on HotNewHipHop.

This seems to answer a lot of questions about where the two of them stand, which has been a hot topic of debate lately. Some fans even suspect a romantic reunion, which remains unconfirmed. News of the trio’s outing comes after Cardi delivered a fiery message before performing her track “Principle” at San Francisco’s Chase Center in March.

“It’s called the principle. You can’t be out here playing with a b*tch like me. There’s n***a out here praying for a b*tch like me. You hear me?” she said at the time. “You ain’t never had a bad b*tch like this, n***a. Never in your motherf*cking life! None of them b*tches ain’t f*cking with me!”

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Cardi B & Stefon Diggs Drama

Many assumed the message was directed at Diggs, but Cardi was quick to set the record straight. In a tweet, she explained that she was simply introducing the song and quoting her own lyrics.

Diggs’ night out also took place after his mother, Stephanie, seemingly shaded the mothers of his children on Instagram. She made her comment under a post that featured a quote Tom Brady quote about Jayden Daniels. “I haven’t seen Jayden on the field in 7 or 8 months,” Brady had said. “I’m just happy his mom let him play.”

“Stay on his neck!!! Soon as you let up. He they come!! Using a baby to survive or pay for their lifestyles,” Stephanie wrote in the comments section. This led to theories that she had someone specific in mind, though it’s unclear who.

Read More: Chris Blake Griffith Alleges Another Man Is Suing Stefon Diggs For Assault

The post Stefon Diggs Sparks Cardi B Reunion Rumors At D.C. “Little Miss Drama” Show appeared first on HotNewHipHop.

That said, the show ultimately created a market for Cam’ron’s thoughts on all things sports, and some networks were looking to cash in. Recently, Cam even admitted that he had conversations with Stephen A. Smith about joining the network a couple of years ago. Smith had promised the legendary rapper a time slot on Fridays. This would have been a huge look, and could have been extremely lucrative from a monetary point of view.

However, things did not work out as planned. ESPN ultimately cut the deal at the last minute. Why? Well, it all has to do with Cam’s now infamous CNN interview. If you remember, Cam was brought on CNN to talk about Diddy. When the interview went left, he was ultimately blacklisted from the network.

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Cam’ron Lost Out Big Time

As Cam explains, the bosses over at ESPN ended up seeing the interview and decided that he was not the right fit for the network. Stephen A. Smith relayed this information to Cam, explaining how he had spoken to the higher-ups, and they were no longer interested.

Whether or not this was a good thing for Cam is something that can be debated. However, given his off-the-cuff style, it is probably for the best that he remained independent. Now, he can say whatever he wants, without having to worry about the consequences.

Furthermore, he can own his platform and not have to worry about the financial splits. At the end of the day, It Is What It Is remains a powerhouse, and that isn’t going to change anytime soon.

Read More: Did Gucci Mane Snitch? Everything We Know About Pooh Shiesty’s Arrest

The post Cam’ron Reveals How He Lost Lucrative ESPN Deal appeared first on HotNewHipHop.

In the clip, caught by DJ Akademiks, he listed off all of the items/events that allegedly played roles in leading to Shiesty’s arrest that he says authorities don’t have proof of. “What we didn’t hear today was [that] there is no contract — this mystery contract — they have no contract. They have no video of this alleged signing of a contract. They have no guns, no jewelry — they have none of that physical evidence.”

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Cohen continues, “What they have is allegedly five individuals, one of them being a very well-known individual, that is allegedly cooperating with the government and making these allegations…”

During a brief Q&A, Cohen also believes this is a “he said he said” situation. Additionally, he’s wondering why the FBI doesn’t have any statements from the other people that were allegedly at the scene. He names the studio owner, another who allegedly lost their jewelry, and more.

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Did Gucci Mane Snitch On Pooh Shiesty?

But while Cohen believes he has some leverage at the moment, Pooh Shiesty is still in a rough predicament. The result of his bond hearing was not what he wanted as it was denied. That means he’ll remain in custody as this case presses forward.

“I can’t find any condition to offer that hasn’t already been granted to you,” Judge Renee Harries Toliver told the Memphis native.

Going back to Cohen’s point about the “well-known individual” allegedly feeding authorities evidence, that would be a reference to Gucci Mane.

If you didn’t hear, he was allegedly at the center of this alleged kidnapping and robbery in January 2026. In the affidavit, the document alleged that he identified Shiesty, as well as Big30, as two of his assailants.

This alleged “armed takeover” was to get Shiesty out of his deal with Gucci’s 1017 label. It remains that Gucci allegedly has been cooperating with the FBI. However, many people, including his own fans, have been turning on him since that has been presented.

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The post Pooh Shiesty’s Lawyer Slams The Evidence Used To Arrest Him appeared first on HotNewHipHop.

For some, this is yet another example of how hip-hop’s mainstream appeal is beginning to flame out. Overall, it is a sad reality, but there is still some hope. There are those who believe a new Drake album can officially turn the tide and bring the genre back to a mainstream scope. It is not going to be easy, but there is certainly a pathway for this to take place.

With that being said, we have gotten very few updates on ICEMAN over the last few months. All we know is that Drake is still recording the album. It appears as though he has re-recorded the album on a couple of occasions. Why? Because he wants it to be perfect.

Last night, Adin Ross was streaming when Drake decided to enter his chat and offer up yet another update on ICEMAN. Unfortunately, it is one we have heard all too many times.

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Drake Tells Adin Ross The Latest

All he said was that he is currently in the studio working on the album. It is one of those updates that has been said on numerous occasions. At this point, the fans are hoping for something just a bit more concrete. Something that they can hang their hats on.

At this time, ICEMAN largely remains a mystery. It was thought that the album would be released at the end of 2025 or the beginning of 2026. So far, none of those predictions have come true, which is certainly a bit of a shame.

Whether or not the album even drops in 2026 is something that appears to be up in the air. Given that this is Drake’s first solo album since the beef, there is no doubt that there is pressure on him to perform. It’s a tough place to be, and it’s understandable that he would want the album to be perfect.

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