“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. “Pornography production and viewing of this sort is protected by the First Amendment and thus cannot constitutionally be prosecuted.”

For this reason, they believe Diddy actually deserved a sentence closer to 15 months, when he’s already served 19 months. They’re seeking his immediate release. It remains to be seen whether or not this will actually happen, but TMZ’s Harvey Levin says it’s a possibility.

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Diddy’s Appeal

In a new clip, Levin explains exactly why this is the case, also breaking down the arguments Diddy’s team is making. “His defense lawyers are making two arguments that could sway these judges and make them overturn the conviction,” he said. “They will meet and confer, as they say, and write an opinion. If the appellate court buys what Diddy is trying to sell, he could be a free man relatively soon.”

Prosecutors have made it clear that they believe prison is the best place for the Bad Boy founder. According to them, the judge did the right thing by taking the way Diddy treated his alleged victims into account when deciding on a sentence.

“According to Combs, the district court should have closed its eyes to how he carried out his Mann Act offenses and abused his victims,” they wrote in their appellate brief. “Violently beating them, threatening them, lying to them and plying them with drugs.”

Read More: Diddy Argues “Freak-Off” Tapes Are Amateur Pornography In New Appeal

The post Harvey Levin Reveals Why Diddy Could Walk Free Today appeared first on HotNewHipHop.

Per Kurrco, J Cole is going to play for the Nanjing Monkey Kings, a team in the Chinese Basketball Association, on Saturday, April 11. He’s actually been in Nanjing, Jiangsu, China for several days now, getting reps in with his teammates.

For those wondering, the season is coming to a close in China. The regular season for the 2025-2026 campaign ends on April 24. So, J. Cole will only have a few games to showcase his skills. But he, as well as the Monkey Kings organization, are on the same page.

Per ESPN‘s NBA insider, Shams Charania, this sort of deal was in the works for some time. But even though it will be a short stint, J Cole expressed deep gratitude for this opportunity. “I’m getting older… They gave me an opportunity to come play on the court professionally… [it’s] a blessing for me.”

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J Cole The Fall-Off World Tour

As we alluded to earlier, this will be his third time playing on a professional squad. His first run occurred in 2021 with the Rwanda Patriots of the Basketball Africa League. Then, a year later, the Scarborough Shooting Stars in the Canadian Elite Basketball League gave him a chance to play.

With the Nanjing Monkey Kings letting him play presumably until the end of the season, this will give Cole plenty of time to prep for other things. One of which is his gargantuan world tour for The Fall-Off.

The hitmaker and Grammy winner will be on the road from July all the way until December. It’s roughly 70 shows in length and he will be visiting countries like Canada, South America, Australia, the UK, Norway, France, and more.

Read More: FBI Claims Gucci Mane Provided Statement About Pooh Shiesty

The post We Now Know When J Cole Will Make His Chinese Basketball Association Debut appeared first on HotNewHipHop.

Overall, the interview did significant numbers for Cam’ron and his show, Talk With Flee. Now, there are opportunities for Cam to continue growing the show. This proof of concept just goes to show that he should be able to sit down with the likes of Drake and perhaps even Kanye West.

In fact, recently, Cam was asked about who he would like to interview. Of course, the artist said that Drake is currently at the top of his list. This shouldn’t be a surprise. After all, Drizzy is one of the biggest artists in the world, and has proclaimed his admiration of Cam in the past.

When asked about Ye, Cam was a lot less enthusiastic and cited his “Cousins” song as a large point of contention.

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Cam’ron Not A Kanye West Fan These Days

Cam’ron believes Kanye West was using his alleged sexuality out of convenience because he had been canceled. Cam seems to believe that if you come out as gay, people will forgive you.

Interestingly enough, it is hard to really say whether or not the story told on “Cousins” is even real. That song was written by Dave Blunts, who has always been known to be a troll. It is hard to take anything he says seriously. After all, he is also the person who wrote Ye’s track, “Heil Hitler.”

Whether or not Cam changes his mind on Ye, is something that remains to be seen. However, the Drake interview is definitely something that fans could hang their hats on. After all, ICEMAN is expected to drop very soon, and this could be exactly what brings hip-hop back to the top of the Billboard charts.

It’s been a while since Drake sat down with someone in hip-hop media, and this would satisfy that in a lot of ways.

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

The post Cam’ron Refuses Kanye West Interview Over Alleged Sexual Relations With His Cousin appeared first on HotNewHipHop.

Latto shared the exciting news of her pregnancy last month in the music video for her song “Business & Personal (Intro).” It’s the lead single off her upcoming fourth studio album, Big Mama, which is slated for release on May 29.

The femcee has all but confirmed that 21 Savage is her child’s father. He hasn’t publicly addressed the pregnancy directly, though he did show love to his boo’s PAPER Magazine cover on his Instagram Story last month. In it, she poses with her growing bump on full display. “Big Mama Not The Little 1,” he wrote.

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Is 21 Savage Married?

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While plenty of fans and peers are happy for the lovebirds, they’ve also fallen victim to quite a bit of criticism in recent months. This is largely due to the fact that 21 Savage is allegedly still married to the mother of two of his kids, Keyanna Joseph.

Joseph hasn’t spoken out about her ex’s relationship with Latto. She appears, however, to be at least somewhat supportive. She allegedly liked the femcee’s album announcement on Instagram, leaving it unclear exactly where she stands in all of this.

This hasn’t stopped critics, like Le’Veon Bell, from making their feelings known. The athlete took to Twitter/X after hearing about Latto’s pregnancy to suggest that she’s setting a bad example for women. Luckily, Latto appears to be unfazed and ready to embark on this next era, despite all the noise.

Read More: Footage Of Latto & 21 Savage’s Lavish Baby Shower Hits The Internet

The post Latto Flaunts Bougie Baby Shower Gifts From Sexyy Red, Usher & More appeared first on HotNewHipHop.

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

The post Erykah Badu Shuts Down When Asked About Kanye West’s SoFi Show appeared first on HotNewHipHop.

“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

The post Dwight Howard Secures Protective Order Against Amy Luciani Amid Divorce appeared first on HotNewHipHop.

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.”

Read More: Alabama Barker Ignites Speculation After Threatening To Expose Tory Lanez

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.

Read More: NBA YoungBoy Affiliate Ben 10 Reportedly Shot In Houston

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.